Dublin in neutral Ireland was bombed by the Luftwaffe. It'd be bombed again the next night.
Cardiff in Wales was also bombed, this being the second and worse day of the Cardiff Blitz. Both events are not unrelated in that, in the context of 1941, air forces had a difficult time bombing accurately by night, and largely did not. In that context, it was possible for the Luftwaffe bombing crews to miss their marks by a large distance and, as this demonstrates, end up bombing a neutral city.
Today in World War II History—January 2, 1941
The Andrew Sisters released Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, one of their signature songs.
This song is strongly associated, of course, with World War Two, but at the time of its release, the United States was not at war. Rather, large numbers of men were in the service in training, having been drafted in anticipation of the war, or being in called up National Guard units.
The US announced its plan to build Liberty Ships as part of our war effort while we were not yet at war.
An enormous number of them would come to be made, and manufacturing time was reduced to such an extent that they were manufactured in twenty-four days or less. Part of their innovation was to use welds, rather than rivets, in their construction.
Only four remain.
Elsewhere on this day during World War Two:
