We Remember:
1939: Night-time air war exercises are conducted over England on a larger scale than any since the Great War. 500 aircraft (Bombers with fighter support) sweep in from points east to attack Birmingham, Rochester, Bedford, Brighton and Derby. 800 defenders rise to challenge the attackers. Westland (defending) forces had been largely successful in beating off the Eastland (attacking) forces. Bombers approaching London had had particular difficulty because of the balloon barrage above the capital. (Andy Etherington)
Julius Schnurre, head of the Economic Policy Department of the German Foreign Ministry, picks up discussions with Georgi Astakhov, Charge d'Affaires of the Soviet Embassy, sounding out the possibility of a pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. (Andy Etherington)
Drax and the other delegates spend the day sightseeing in Leningrad. (Andy Etherington)
1940: RAF 4 Group (Whitley). Bombs industrial targets at Frankfurt-am-
RAF Fighter Command: Weather, cloud and rain. Little Luftwaffe activity, no aircraft losses. Some activity in the Channel and Bf110 pilots of Erpro 210 attempt a surprise evening strike on Norwich. Bombs fall for the first time on Abergavenny, Rochester and Wallasey along with heavy raids on Swansea and Weymouth. (Andy Etherington)
RAF Coastal Command: 608 Sqn. carries out its first operation with its new Blackburn Botha general reconnaissance aircraft. (Andy Etherington)
Despite the threat of invasion, Churchill decides to send three regiments of tanks (about 150) to North Africa. (Andy Etherington)
Laval offers Germany 200 pilots, from Vichy France, to help fight the Battle of Britain. (Andy Etherington)
Rumanian Anti-Semitic legislation is passed. (Andy Etherington)
Baldur von Schirach becomes Gauleiter of Vienna; Artur Axmann will take over as Reich youth leader. (Andy Etherington)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The 16,923 ton Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Transylvania of the Northern Patrol is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-56 off the northwest coast of County Donegal, ナre, about 56 nautical miles (104 kilometers) north-northwest of Londonderry, County Derry, Northern Ireland.ﾊ (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
The Japanese naval blockade of the coast of China is extended to South China.The Japanese naval blockade of the coast of China is extended to South China. (Jack McKillop)
In the U.S., the motion picture "The Return of Frank James" is released. This western, directed by Fritz Lang, stars Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney (her film debut), Jackie Cooper, Henry Hull, John Caradine and Donald Meek. The plot has Frank James (Fonda) seeking revenge against the men who killed his brother Jesse. (Jack McKillop)
1941: NEWFOUNDLAND: The Atlantic Charter Conference between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill continues for a second day in Placentia Bay. Roosevelt boards the destroyer USS McDougal (DD-358) and is transported to religious services in the battleship HMS Prince of Wales as a guest of Churchill. After inspecting the topsides of the British battleship, the President returns in McDougal to heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31); that night, the President hosts the Prime Minister at dinner. (Jack McKillop)
Great Britain and the Soviet Union promise aid to Turkey if it is attacked by the Axis Powers. (Jack McKillop)
1942: Off Kavieng, New Ireland the US submarine S-44 sights 4 IJN cruisers heading for the harbor. At 700 yards she fires 4 torpedos. Kako is sunk. These are 4 of the 7 cruisers from Admiral Mikawa's 8th Fleet, the victors of Savo Island.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
Off New Ireland Island in the Bismarck Archipelago, the IJN's Cruiser Division 6, which had inflicted one of the worst defeats of the war on Allied surface ships in the Battle of Savo Island yesterday, are nearing Kavieng. At 0750 hours, the submarine USS S-44 (SS-155) sights the formation, four heavy cruisers, their track less than 900 yards (823 meters) away. At 0806 hours, the submarine fires four torpedoes at the rear ship, HIJMS Kako, only 700 yards (640 meters) away. By 0808, all four torpedoes have exploded; heavy cruiser KAKO is sinking, and S-44 has begun her escape. By 0812 hours, Japanese destroyers have started depth charging, without success; S-44 reaches Brisbane, Australia, on 23 August. (Jack McKillop)
In the Aleutian Islands, the USAAF's 11th Air Force dispatches 5 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 3 B-24 Liberators to bomb Kiska Island targets; fighters and AA down 1 B-24. (Jack McKillop)
In the Solomon Islands, the first aircraft lands on Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. The aircraft, a PBY-5A Catalina, is assigned to the Commander,
South Pacific Force. (Jack McKillop)
1943: The Red Army liberates Khotinets, east of Orel. The skillful German defense does not seem to impede the speed of the Soviet advance.
In the Aleutian Islands, P-38 Lightnings, P-40s, A-24 Dauntlesses, B-24s and B-25 Mitchells of the USAAF's Eleventh Air Force bomb and strafe various targets on Kiska Island; direct hits are scored on revetments west of the Wheat Grove and on gun emplacements, as well as on buildings on Little Kiska Island. (Jack McKillop)
In the Solomon Islands, USAAF Thirteenth Air Force P-40s and P-39 Airacobras turn back about 40 A6M "Zeke" fighters attacking US construction troops working on Munda Airfield on New Georgia Island. (Jack McKillop)
1944: Vimont, S of Caen, falls to the Canadian 1st Army.
St. Malo and Dinard are liberated by the forces under General Middleton. The XX Corps liberates Nantes, France.
German forces in the Mortain area withdraw slightly bowing to US pressure and the threat to their rear areas.
Organized Japanese resistance on Guam ends. Isolated groups are holding out in the jungle. The last of these survivors will hide out until 1972. US casualties total 1,300 KIA of 7,000 total.
The Polish II Corps reaches the Cesano River in Italy.
In the Kurile Islands, 4 USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-25s, based in the Aleutians, spot 2 patrol boats 75 miles (121 km) east-southeast of Shimushu Island while on a shipping sweep; one is sunk, the other is damaged. (Jack McKillop)
The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies 4 mission.
- Mission 537: 175 B-24 and 249 fighters are dispatched against fuel
dumps and bridges southeast of Paris; 38 hit Clamecy Bridge, 31 hit Joigny,
31 hit Pacy-sur-Armencon, 26 hit Sens, 23 hit St Florentin and 13 hit
targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost. Escort is provided by 238 P-51
Mustangs; 3 P-51s are lost.
- Mission 538: 138 fighters are dispatched to hit rail targets in central
and eastern France; 5 fighters are lost.
- Mission 539: B-17s drops leaflets on Brest, France.
- Mission 540: 4 B-17s drop leaflets in France and Norway during the night.
- 583 fighters are dispatched to hit rail targets in France; they claim
19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-38s and 4 P-51s are lost. (Jack McKillop)
In France, the USAAF's Ninth Air Force sends almost 200 B-26 Marauders and
A-20 Havocs to bomb rail bridges and embankments in wide areas around Paris; fighters escort bombers, support ground forces, give defensive cover, and fly armed reconnaissance in battle areas and around Amiens, Paris, Cambrai, Meaux, Dijon, and Troyes. (Jack McKillop)
The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy sends 450+ B-17s and B-24s, with
fighter escort, to bomb 6 oil refineries in the Ploesti, Rumania area. 45 Eighth Air Force P-51s in Italy during an Operation FRANTIC mission are dispatched with Fifteenth Air Force aircraft to escort a troop carrier evacuation mission. (Jack McKillop)
The US XX Bomber Command based in India flies 2 missions during the night
of 10/11 August.
- 24 B-29 Superfortresses, out of Chengtu, China, bomb the urban area of
Nagasaki, Japan and 3 others hit targets of opportunity; the B-29s claim 1
fighter shot down, the first such claim (except probables) by the B-29s.
- 31 B-29s, staging through China Bay, Ceylon, bomb oil refineries at
Palembang, Sumatra, 8 mine the Moesi River nearby, and 3 hit targets of
opportunity and a secondary target; the first attack, from Ceylon to Sumatra, is the longest single-stage combat flight (about 3,900 miles or 6,276 km) by B-29s during the war. (Jack McKillop)
US Seventh Air Force B-24s, flying their first mission from Saipan Island, pound Iwo Jima Island, Volcano Islands, beginning the USAAF's neutralization campaign of that island. (Jack McKillop)
BAY OF BISCAY: German submarine U-608 is sunk about 85 nautical miles (158 kilometers) west-northwest of La Rochelle, France (46.30N, 03.08W) by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Wren (U 28) and a British Liberator Mk. V or VI of No. 53 Squadron based at St Eval, Cornwall, England. All 52 crewmen of the U-boat survive. (Jack McKillop)
Organized Japanese resistance ends on Guam in the Mariana Islands. (Jack McKillop)
USS Foote (DD-169), was commissioned as HMS Roxborough (I-07) and USS Maddox (DD-168), commissioned as HMS Georgetown (I-40) on 23 Sep. 1940. They are transferred to Russia Roxborough as Doblestnyi and Georgetown as Zhostkion. They were part of the destroyers-for-
1945: The Japanese Imperial Conference begins just prior to midnight. After much discussion by various cabinet members, they are still unable to make a decision. At 2:00 am, PM Suzuki addresses Hirohito and asks, "Your Imperial decision is requested as to which porposal should be adopted, the foreign minister's or the one with the four conditions."
This was the first time in recorded Japanese history that the Emperor had been asked to make a decision. The military had expected the conference was for discussion and would then disperse. Now, the living god whose every command they had sworn to uphold was about to speak.
"I agree with the foreign minister." is the beginning of his answer. He then reviews events of the past several months. Then he goes on: "Some advocate a decisive battle in the homeland as the way to survival. In past experience, however, there has always been a discrepancy between the fighting services' plans and the results."
The military had demanded death before dishonor for Japan. Hirohito, the God-sent Ruler of the Great Japanese Empire (his official title) favored dishonor, if need be, as the price of life for his countrymen and survival of Japan.
At 3:00 am the cabinet meeting is resumed. The Emperor's decision is ratified. At 7:00 am General Yoshizumi, Chief of the Military Affairs Division of the War Ministry goes to the foreign ministry to derail sending the notice of the decision, he is too late.
During the day, the military are working at cross purposes. The Senior Officers are trying to comply with the Emperor's decision. The junior officers are confused, disillusioned and ready to revolt.
The conditional Japanese acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration is announced on Japanese Radio.
The Japanese radio announces the Japanese desire for peace and US Army Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (USASTAF) limits operations to precision missions. 104 Twentieth Air Force B-29s fly 2 missions against Japan without loss.
- Mission 323: During the day, 70 B-29s, escorted by 2 groups of P-51s,
bomb the arsenal complex at Tokyo; 3 others hit alternate targets.
- Mission 324: During the night of 10/11 August, 31 B-29s mine
Shimonoseki Strait, Nakaumi Lagoon, and waters at Sakai and Yonago, Japan
and Wonsan, Korea. (Jack McKillop)
In Japan:
- 80 B-24s, 118 B-25s, and 220+ P-47s and P-38s of the US Far East Air
Force (FEAF) pound the Kumamoto area; 20+ B-24s bomb the Oita area; 39
P-51s provide cover over both targets; nearly 40 B-25s attack destroyers,
cargo ships, and small vessels during a shipping sweep between Kyushu Island and Korea; P-47s bomb Sasebo Harbor; and P-51s hit various targets of opportunity on Honshu and Kyushu.
- Carrier-based aircraft from the RN's Task Force 37 and USN's Task Force 38 attack shipping, airfields and railways in the Hokkaido and northern
Honshu area; they claim the destruction of 720 aircraft on the ground.
Participating in this attack, are Corsair Mk IVs of the RCN's No. 1841 Squadron in HMS Formidable. (Jack McKillop)
Dr. Robert H. Goddard, the father of modern rocketry, dies in Baltimore, Maryland, at age 62. On 16 March 1926, Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts and on 8 March 1935, he was the first to launch a liquid-propellant rocket that attained a speed greater than that of sound. Between 1942 and 1945, he was Director of Research, US Navy Department, Bureau of Aeronautics developing jet-assisted takeoff and variable-thrust liquid-propellant rockets, at Roswell, New Mexico & Annapolis, Maryland. He also served as a consulting engineer with the Curtiss-Wright Corporation at Caldwell, New Jersey, between 1943 and 1945. (Jack McKillop)
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