August 13
We Remember:
1939: On holiday in Scotland, Neville Chamberlain complains of his poor luck at fishing. (Andy Etherington)
Ciano returns to Rome disgusted at the attitudes of Ribbentrop and Hitler. "They have betrayed us and lied to us. Now they are dragging us into an adventure which we do not want and which may compromise the regime and the country as a whole."(Ciano) (Andy Etherington)
1940: In the Battle of Britain it is 'Adlertag' [Eagle Day]. The Luftwaffe launches Adlertag too early as the weather is dull and cloudy and postponement orders do not reach all units.
The major attack came around 16:00 with 40 Ju88s on course for Southampton and Middle Wallop, to their west were 30 Ju87s of II/StG 2, with 50 more Ju87s escorted by JG27. At least 23 bombs fell on Southampton docks killing 5 and injuring 25. But when the Stuka's of II/StG 2 arrived at Portland their escort, short of fuel, left for home allowing the Spitfires of 609 Squadron to destroy six of them. Another attack on Middle Wallop strayed and attacked Andover instead. Later in the day 40 Ju87s of LG 1 devastated Detling, killing 67 and destroying 22 aircraft. The station was functional the next day. (Andy Etherington)
At Night, He111s of Kgr 100 equipped with the X-Gerat navigational system attack the Spitfire factory at Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. KG 54 attacks the aerodromes at Odiham and RAE Farnborough, but the formations are broken up by RAF fighters. Large-scale Luftwaffe attacks follow during the afternoon, with the loss of 45 aircraft. (Andy Etherington)
RAF 4 Group (Whitley). Bombs Fiat works at Turin and Caproni aircraft factory at Milan. (Andy Etherington)
The Luftwaffe makes 1,485 sorties to mark Adlertag [Eagle Day] - the start of full scale bombing of England. (Andy Etherington)
In a move aimed against the Freemasons, all secret societies are banned in Vichy France. (Andy Etherington)
1941: Beginning last night 6,000 Polish troops replace 5,000 Australians at Tobruk. These troop movements will continue through the 18th. They are being made at the request of the Australian government.
In the U.S., President Franklin D. Roosevelt confers with Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, and Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles concerning the transfer of destroyers to Britain. Consequently, Roosevelt informs British Prime Minister Churchill (in telegram sent from Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles to Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, Sr.) that among other items previously sought "it may be possible to furnish to the British Government... at least 50 destroyers..." Roosevelt states, though, that such aid could only be given provided that "the American People and the Congress frankly recognized in return...the national defense and security of the United States would be enhanced." The President thus insists that (1) should British waters be rendered untenable the British Fleet would be sent to other parts of the Empire (and neither turned over to the Germans nor sunk) and (2) that the British go
vernment would grant authorization to use Newfoundland, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and British Guiana as naval and air bases, and to acquire land there through 99-year leases to establish those bases. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.: In baseball, Larry MacPhail, General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, stages a fashion show before a Ladies Day crowd at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Such promotions, as well as the Dodgers pennant race, will push the home gate to over one million fans. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.S.R.: The German 11th Army of Heeresgruppe SŸd captures Cherson on the Black Sea, the gateway to the Crimea. (Jack McKillop)
1942: A Japanese Army detachment landed last night at Buna, New Guinea.
The 4th Panzer Army advances toward Elista, Russia
Cruiser HMS Manchester and 7 merchants from Operation Pedestal are sunk before arriving at Malta. (John Nicholas)
Whilst escorting the Pedestal convoy through the Skerki channel, cruiser HMS Manchester (Captain Drew) is struck by a torpedo fired by either Italian Ms16 or Ms22, 4 miles N of Kelibia at 36 50N 11 10E. 120 Non-essential crew members are taken off by destroyer HMS Pathfinder and attempts are made to get the damaged ship moving again. Later, however, rather than face more air attacks which the ship would be incapable of resisting, it is decided to scuttle her. There were 132 casualties, but 568 survive to be interned by the French. (WSC did not approve of this scuttling) (Alex Gordon)
In the Aleutian Islands, the US 11th Air Force dispatches 1 B-24 Liberator to fly photo reconnaissance over Kiska Island. (Jack McKillop)
A Japanese convoy, headed toward Basabua near Gona, New Guinea, with 3,000 construction troops, is attacked first by USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses of the Allied Air Forces 76 mi (122 km) NE of Gona, followed by B-26 Marauders 20-25 mi (32-40 km) north of Gona and another B-17 attack as the convoy approaches landing position. (Jack McKillop)
In the Mediterranean during Operation PEDESTAL, the German torpedo boats S30 and S 36, and Italian torpedo boats MAS 554 and MAS 557, attack the Malta-bound convoy before dawn and sink British merchantman SS Wairangi and damage SS Rochester Castle (which will eventually reach Malta although she is damaged further by Luftwaffe Ju 87s and Ju 88s). The U.S. freighter Almeria Lykes is torpedoed and abandoned, in position 36¡40'N, 11¡35'E; the ship remains afloat, but is sunk by scuttling charge after daybreak and the crew is rescued by the RN destroyer HMS Somali rescues all hands. The U.S. freighter SS Santa Elisa is torpedoed in the same attack, approximately 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Cape Bon, in position 36¡48'N, 11¡23'E, and is abandoned when her cargo of aviation gasoline catches fire; the 96 survivors are rescued by the destroyer HMS Penn. The three surviving British transports and the one tanker will reach Malta later this day; a fourth transport will reach the island
tomorrow. (Jack McKillop)
Three U.S. merchant vessels are sunk by German submarines off the U.S. coast.
1. U-171 sinks an armed tanker by torpedo and shells in the Gulf of Mexico in position 28.37N, 90.48W while the ship is en route to Port Arthur, Texas.
2. Later in the day, an unarmed freighter is sunk in the Atlantic in position 4.55N, 18.30W.
3. U-600 sinks an armed freighter in convoy TAW-12 in the Windward Passage in position 19.55N, 73.49W. The survivors are rescued by RN destroyer HMS Churchill [ex USN destroyer Herndon (DD-198).] (Jack McKillop)
In the U.S., the classic motion picture "Bambi" premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. This animated Walt Disney film, based on the Felix Salten novel, is directed by David Hand; Sterling Holloway is the voice of a flower in an uncredited role. The plot is about a young deer growing up in the woods and how the phases of its life parallel the cycle of seasons in the forest. The film is nominated for three Academy Awards. (Jack McKillop)
1943: "The most sensational of the early raids carried out by the 380th Bombardment Group (Heavy), in view of the planes and techniques available at that time, occurred today, against strategic Balikpapan on the island of Borneo. At 1730, eleven B-24's carrying 69 x 500-pound bombs took off from Darwin and headed out across the Timor Sea in cloudy and turbulent weather. One aircraft was forced to turn back and another failed to find the target, but between midnight and 0145, nine planes hovered over the oil refineries, tanks, and harbor installations, dropped their bombs from between 5,000 and 8,500 feet, and claimed forty-eight 'hits.' As the last plane turned for the long flight back to the base, two refinery areas and one medium-sized vessel were afire and seven large oil-tanks were exploding. In just under seventeen hours from the take-off, eight of the nine aircraft had returned. The ninth, short of fuel, had crash-landed, but all crew members were safe." (Jack McKil
lop)
The Soviet Army captures Bolshaya and Danilovka in their advance on Kharkov. A new offensive begins in the Smolensk area and Spas-Demensk, west of Kirov falls.
British and US military leaders meet in Quebec, Canada joined by Roosevelt and Churchill. Discussion concerns General Morgan's plans for Overlord, future operations in Italy, and the Pacific. Churchill accepts a US General to command the invasion of France. Admiral Mountbatten is selected to lead a new Southeast Aisa Command. This conference will continue through August 24th.
USS John Penn (APA-51) had just finished unloading a cargo of 155-mm. ammunition off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal. At 2120 she came under attack by enemy torpedo planes. Three minutes later, when the transport took one of the planes under fire, it burst into flames and crashed into her mainmast. About that same instant a torpedo hit from another plane hit the ship. Although vigorous efforts were made to save her, John Penn went down stern first at 2150.
In the Aleutian Islands, 7 US Eleventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells from Adak Island bomb targets at Main Camp and North Head on Kiska and Little Kiska Islands. A B-24 flies a special reconnaissance mission. From Amchitka Island B-24s, B-25s, A-24 Dauntlesses, and P-38 Lightnings fly 8 more bombing missions against Kiska Island pounding the Camp area, gun emplacements, buildings, shipping, and airstrip revetments. (Jack McKillop)
61 US Ninth Air Force B-24s based in North Africa, hit an aircraft factory at Wiener-Neustadt in the first Ninth Air Force raid on Austria. (Jack McKillop)
On New Georgia Island in the Solomon Islands, 4 P-40s of the US Thirteenth Air Force, become the first Allied aircraft to land on the reconstructed Munda Airfield; after refueling, they are sent on a sweep of the Kolombangara Island coast; 9 B-17s, with fighter cover, bomb a Kape Harbor depot; and 2 others on armored reconnaissance bomb Vila on Kolombangara Island. On Santa Isabel Island, 12 B-25s bomb supply areas in the Rekata Bay area; 2 B-24s on armored reconnaissance hit Suavanau Point, 8 bomb the airfield on Ballale Island, and 13 bomb Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island. (Jack McKillop)
9 US Fifth Air Force B-24 based in Australia bomb the oil center at Balikpapan, Borneo during a late night raid; the round trip covers 1,200 miles (1,920 km); the B-24s are airborne for 17-hours. (Jack McKillop)
In the Mediterranean, Luftwaffe aircraft attack convoy MKS 21 off the coast of Algeria, strafing and holing U.S. freighters SS Jonathan Elmer, in position 36¡07'N, 03¡07'E, and SS Anne Bradstreet, in position 36¡19'N, 02¡18'E. U.S. freighter Francis W. Pettygrove is torpedoed at 36¡08'N, 02¡14'E; partially abandoned, the survivors that clear the ship are taken on board RN minesweeper HMS Hythe. The rest of the crew and Armed Guard remain on board to prepare the ship for tow. (Jack McKillop)
In the U.S., the motion picture "Du Barry Was a Lady" is released. This comedy, directed by Roy Del Ruth, stars Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Zero Mostel, Donald Meek, Tommy Dorsey and Lana Turner in a bit part; Hugh Beaumont, Ava Gardner, Dick Haymes and Jo Stafford appear in uncredited roles. The plot has nightclub hat check man Skelton in love with singer Ball who is looking for a man with money but she changes her mind when he wins the Irish Sweepstakes. After swallowing a knockout drug, he dreams that he is Louis XVI and she is Madame DuBarry. Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra are featured with Buddy Rich on drums and The Pied Pipers, Dick Haymes and Jo Stafford. (Jack McKillop)
1944: Argentan is cleared by the US XV Corps. Bradley orders a halt.
The US XII and XX Corps advance on Orleans and Chartres from the area of Le Mans.
In the Kurile Islands, 4 B-24s and 2 F-7A Liberators of the US Eleventh Air Force over Paramushiru and Shimushu Islands, hit targets which include shipping in Higashi Banjo Strait and buildings and runway on Suribachi; enemy fighters give battle; the B-24s score 3 kills and 13 probables and damaged; 6 more B-25s fly an uneventful shipping sweep and take photos over Shimushiru Island. (Jack McKillop)
The shuttle-bombing mission flown by US Eighth Air Force from UK-USSR-Italy-UK is completed; of the 72 B-17s taking off from Fifteenth Air Force bases in Italy, 3 have various problems; the others bomb Francazal Airfield, Toulouse, France and then proceed to the UK; 62 P-51 Mustangs (part of the shuttle-mission force) and 43 from the UK provide escort; no aircraft are lost; 70 B-17s and 58 P-51s land in the UK; 5 B-17s and 6 P-51s, either left in Italy or returning there during this mission, subsequently return to the UK. The Eighth Air Force also flies two missions:
- Mission 545: 577 bombers and 436 fighters, in 2 forces, are dispatched to make visual attacks on the Metz marshalling yard and airfield in central and eastern France; 3 bombers and 3 fighters are lost (number in parenthesis are the number of bombers attacking the target). (1) 276 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Mourmelon (75), Laon/Athies (63), Laon/Couvron (61) and Juvincourt (52); 3 B-24s are lost. (2) 301 B-17s are dispatched to hit airfields at Chaumont (72), Buc (67), La Perthe (58) and Etampes/Mondesir (12);and 69 hit the Metz marshalling yard. The 2 forces above are escorted by 386 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost.
- Mission 546: 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
- 486 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s attack transportation targets in the Paris
and Brussels areas; they claim 18-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-38s, 5 P-47s and 7 P-51s are lost.
- 220 P-47s and P-51s attack transportation targets in northeastern
France; 2 P-51s are lost. (Jack McKillop)
In France, US Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26s attack the Oissel rail bridge, Corbeil-Essonnes refueling siding, and numerous points along highways in the Argentan area with the aim of bottling up enemy troops; fighters fly ground forces cover and armed reconnaissance over wide areas of western and northern France, also escort IX Bomber Command aircraft. (Jack McKillop)
In Italy, the US Fifteenth Air Force dispatches almost 550 fighter-escorted B-17s and B-24s to attack targets in France and Italy; the B-17s bomb gun positions in the Savona, Italy area; B-24s attack gun positions in the Genoa, Italy and the Marseille, Toulon, and Sete areas of France; 100+ P-51s strafe radar installations and other coast-watching facilities along the southern French coast; these strikes are preparatory to Operation DRAGOON, the invasion of southern France. (Jack McKillop)
US Seventh Air Force B-24s based on Saipan Island hit shipping, a seaplane
base, and the airfield on Chichi Jima Island, Bonin Islands. (Jack McKillop)
Two German submarines are sunk:
- U-198 is sunk near the Seychelles, in position 03.35S, 52.49E, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Findhorn and the Indian sloop HMIS Godavari. All hands, 66 men, are lost.
- U-981 is sunk in the Bay of Biscay at La Rochelle, in position 45.41N, 01.25W, by an air-laid mine (field "Cinnamon") and depth charges from an RAF Halifax Mk II of No. 502 Squadron based at St David's, Pembrokeshire. 40 of the 52 U-boat crewmen survive. (Jack McKillop)
US President Franklin D Roosevelt concludes his inspection of naval facilities in the Pacific and departs Puget Sound, Washington for Washington, DC. (Jack McKillop)
U-270 (Type VIIC) is sunk at 0010hrs in the Bay of Biscay west of La Rochelle, in position 46.19N, 02.56W, by depth charges from a Australian Sunderland aicraft (RAAF Sqdn. 461/A).
U-547 (Type IXC/40) is damaged by mines in the Gironde near Pauillac and taken out of service at Stettin, 31 Dec 1944. (Alex Gordon)
1945: The Cabinet Secretary Sakomizu and Lord Kido among others, have been branded as "false advisors" to the Emperor. Placards and posters over the country have sprung up urging that they and others of the "peace faction" be killed on sight.
Lt. Gen. Okido, commander of the Kempeitai (Military Police), appears in the PMs office demanding to see Suzuki. After finding out he is not there he tells Cabinet Secretary Sakomizu that "If Japan surrenders the army will rise. This is certain. Has the PM confidence that he can suppress the revolt?"
The Japanese Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, meets at 8:45 this morning. The SCDW is know as the Big 6 of the Japanese Cabinet. PM, FM, War Minister, Navy Minister, Army CofS, Navy CofS. The meeting is interupted by a call from Hirohito for both Chief of Staffs. Hirohito asks for their offensive plans during peace negotiations. They agree to refrain from offensive measures. After the SCDW meeting resumes, it accomplishes nothing. FM Togo leaves to report to the Emperor. He instructs the FM to do his best to settle the matter.
Junior Japanese Army officers meet in small groups during the day. They are determined to take over the government and continue the war.
The full cabinet meets at 3:00 pm. Anami leaves to call Lt. Gen. Yoshizumi and tells him that the cabinet is coming around to the army's way of thinking. It is not.
At 4:00 pm a Japanese IGHQ communique is released: "The Imperial Army and Navy having hereby received the gracious Imperial Command to protect the national polity [Emperor System] and to defend the Imperial Land, the entire armed forces will single-heartedly commence a general offensive against the Allied enemy forces." The War Minister and Army Chief of Staff immediately order the distribution of this message stopped. They know nothing about it.
By 7:00 pm the cabinet meeting has decided nothing. The PM, desiring to follow the Imperial will announces that he will report to the Emperor and again ask His Majesty to give his gracious decision. This in effect puts the military on notice that any coup must happen before another Imperial Conference.
The US Eleventh Air Force in the Aleutians dispatches its last combat mission when 6 B-24s radar-bomb the Kashiwahara Staging Area on Paramushiru Island with incendiaries, leaving huge columns of smoke. PB4Y-2 Privateers of the USN's Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Twenty Two (VPB-122) based on Shemya Island, bomb Kakumabetsu and strafe Torishima Retto on Paramushiru Island. (Jack McKillop)
In Japan:
- US Far East Air Force B-24s and B-25s from Okinawa pound shipping in
the waters off Korea and Kyushu Island and in the Inland Sea claiming several vessels sunk and damaged; P-47s over Keijo encounter 20 Japanese aircraft and claim at least 16 shot down.
- RN and USN carrier-based aircraft of Task Force 38 attack Japanese
airfields in the Tokyo area and claim 250 aircraft destroyed on the ground. (Jack McKillop)
A USAAF OA-10A Catalina rescues a TBM Avenger crewman from the inner reaches of Tokyo Bay midway between Yokohama and Kizarazu, marking the first time that a U.S. plane has accomplished a rescue in those waters. The crewman was assigned to Torpedo Squadron Eighty Seven (VT-87) in the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). (Jack McKillop)
No comments:
Post a Comment