diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/file-succeed-if-already-absent.yaml b/changelogs/fragments/file-succeed-if-already-absent.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8a2f50fdea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/file-succeed-if-already-absent.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+- file module - Eliminate an error if we're asked to remove a file but
+  something removes it while we are processing the request
+  (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/39466)