We Remember:
Birthday of King Haakon VII of Norway (1872-1957). (Glenn Steinberg)
1939: A secret meeting takes place between Ambassador Herbert von Dirksen (German Ambassador to Great Britain) and Sir Horace Wilson, head of His Majesty's Civil Service, the Prime Minister's closest adviser takes place in London. Britain was prepared to increase trade with Germany, talk constructively about Germany's need for colonies, take a helpful view of Germany's need for expansion in south-east Europe, announce jointly a co-operative programme to help improve the world economic situation, look seriously at the possibility of limiting armaments (including a possible loan to Germany to offset the financial difficulties limitation would bring), and finally, agree not to intervene in matters concerning the Greater Reich, which would include Danzig. There was only one pre-condition: that Germany and Britain should sign a treaty of non-aggression, in which both sides would renounce unilateral aggressive action as a policy method. (Andy Etherington)
1940: The Italians invade British Somaliland under General Nasi. They outnumber the defending British by a factor of 7.
RAF: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombs oil refineries at Mannheim and Dusseldorf.
(Andy Etherington)
Mines laid off the North Sea coast by RN destroyers continue to claim victims. U25 is lost as she heads out for Atlantic patrol. (Andy Etherington)
AMPLIFYING ANDY'S ITEM:
According to U-Boat.net, U-25 was sunk on 1 August 1940 in the North Sea north of Terchelling, the Netherlands, in position 54.14N, 05.07E to British mines. All 49-men on the U-boat are lost. (Jack McKillop)
Japan protests at the US embargo on aviation fuel exports. (Andy Etherington)
RAF Fighter Command: Weather, cloudy, bright intervals. Luftwaffe attacks shipping by day. At night South Wales, Crewe and Liverpool are bombed.
Losses: Luftwaffe, 4; RAF 0. (Andy Etherington)
The Soviet Union annexes Lithuania as a Soviet Socialist Republic. (Jack McKillop)
1941: A German encircling movement closes on Russian forces near Pervomaysk on the Bug.
After three days' intense fighting, the divisions of Maj. Gen. Laatikainen'
While escorting convoy SCL81, HMS St Albans takes part in the sinking of U-40. USS Thomas (DD-182), commissioned as HMS St Albans (I-15), part of the destroyers-for-
In the U.S., President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his staff depart Washington, D.C., by train for Submarine Base New London, Connecticut. Arriving later in the day, they board the presidential yacht USS Potomac (AG-25), escorted by the miscellaneous auxiliary USS Calypso (AG-35), and sail to Point Judith, Rhode Island, where they anchor for the night. (Jack McKillop)
1942: Army Group B continues the attack on Kletskaya, Russia. The 4th Panzer army has crossed the Don and is advancing east around Kotelnikovo. The 1st Panzer Army attacks from the Kuban east toward Stavropol and south toward Maykop.
British PM Churchill and General Brooke arrive in Cairo. They are on an inspection trip which includes the 8th Army. Churchill is disappointed with the results the 8th has so far achieved given the resources furnished.
A U.S. submarine sinks a Japanese transport west-southwest of Truk Atoll, Caroline Islands. (Jack McKillop)
In the Aleutian Islands, the USAAF's 11th Air Force dispatches 3 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 2 B-24s and 1 LB-30 Liberators to fly a bombing and photo reconnaissance mission to Tanaga and Kanaga Islands and also bomb Kiska Island; 4 of the aircraft have mechanical trouble but all return. (Jack McKillop)
1943: Labor unrest begins in Italy, leading to strikes in Genoa, Turin, and Milan. (Glenn Steinberg)
In the Aleutians, the USAAF's Eleventh Air Force flies 6 attack missions, 2 of which abort, to Kiska Island by B-24s, B-25 Mitchells, P-38 Lightnings, and P-40s; numerous targets hit and strafed include installations at North Head and South Head. (Jack McKillop)
In the Atlantic, the surfaced German submarine U-572 is sunk northeast of Trinidad, British West Indies, in position 11.35N, 54.05W, by depth charges from a PBM-3S Mariner of the USN's Patrol Squadron Two Hundred Five (VP-205) based at Port of Spain, Trinidad. During the attack, the PBM is shot down; all hands on both the submarine and the aircraft are lost. (Jack McKillop)
On the ground in Sicily, US forces continue east along the north coast toward the Furiano River. At Troina, further inland, the enemy continues firm resistance.
In the air, USAAF Ninth Air Force B-25s bomb Adrano and its highway approaches; and 300+ P-40s, the largest Ninth Air Force total to date, attack harbors and shipping at Milazzo and Messina, and give direct support to British ground forces in the Catania-Bronte area. Northwest African Tactical Air Force light bombers hit tactical targets; and fighters, light and medium bombers hit shipping in the Straits of Messina and at Milazzo and attack Adrano and Biancavilla and gun emplacements and bridges in the area. (Jack McKillop)
1944: Mortain, France falls to the US 1st Army.
Crossings over the Vistula River are seized by Konev south of Sandomierz which is 110 miles south of Warsaw.
Most of the Japanese garrison slips away from pursuing Chinese and US troops as Myitkyina falls in the Burma Theater.
In the Aleutians, the heavy cruiser USS Baltimore (CA-68) carrying U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, arrives at Naval Operating Base Adak on Adak Island, from Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. (Jack McKillop)
A U.S. submarine sinks a Japanese auxiliary netlayer in the Molucca Sea. (Jack McKillop)
The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions.
Mission 512: 672 bombers and 352 fighters are dispatched to hit rail and other targets in the French/German border area and oil dumps and bridges southeast of Paris; 6 B-17s and 6 P-51 Mustangs are lost:
1. Of 345 B-17s dispatched, 106 hit the Merkwille Oil Refinery, 68 hit Strasbourg marshalling yard, 62 hit Saarbrucken marshalling yard, 54 hit Mulhouse marshalling yard, 16 hit Croix de Metz Airfield at Toul, 11 hit a railroad near Saarbrucken and 6 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 4-1-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 175 P-51s; they claim 6-0-0 aircraft in the air and 5-0-1 on the ground; 6 P-51s are lost.
2. Of 155 B-17s dispatched, 38 hit Troyes Bridge and 36 hit La Roche Bridge at Joigny. Escort is provided by 96 P-51s.
3. Of 172 B-24s dispatched, 27 hit Conches Airfield, 12 hit Melun marshalling yard, 11 hit Etampes Mondesir Airfield and 3 hit targets of opportunity. Escort is provided by 47 P-47 Thunderbolts.
Mission 513: 482 bombers and 178 fighters are dispatched to oil installations and dumps in the Brussels, Paris and Lille areas and CROSSBOW (V-weapon) sites in the Pas de Calais; 2 bombers are lost:
1. 112 B-17s and 117 B-24s hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais; a B-24 is lost. Escort is provided by 43 P-51s.
2. Of 76 B-24s dispatched, 62 hit Brussels/Vivorde, 10 hit Ghent/Terneuzen and 1 hits a target of opportunity. Escort is provided by 33 P-47s.
3. Of 159 B-24s, dispatched 49 hit Harnes, 28 hit Courchelettes, 22 hit Pas de Calais V-weapons sites, 10 hit Lille/Marquette, 10 hit Lille/Sequedin and 8 hit Ghent marshalling yard. Escort is provided by 90 P-51s.
133 P-38s and P-47s fly fighter-bomber missions against rail traffic in the Metz-Strasbourg-
In France, 180+ A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders of the USAAF's Ninth Air Force bomb rail bridges, overpasses, and junctions at Mantes-la-Jolie, Chartres, La Chenaie and Merey, fuel dump at Maintenon, and alternate rail targets in northern France; fighters escort IX Bomber Command bombers and a few C-47 Skytrains, provide cover for ground forces, and fly armed reconnaissance over wide areas of northern and western France. (Jack McKillop)
The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy dispatches 600+ bombers to attack targets in Germany; B-17s and B-24s hit industry in the Friedrichshafen area, including chemical works, fabric works, and 2 aircraft factories; B-24s also bomb communications targets in the Brenner Pass area, attacking Avisio viaduct and bridges at Ora and San Michele all'Adige; fighters fly about 300 sorties in support; the bombers and fighters claim 18 enemy aircraft shot down; 11 USAAF airplanes are destroyed. (Jack McKillop)
1945: In Japan, 90+ VII Fighter Command P-47s and P-51s from Iwo Jima fly nearly 100 effective sorties throughout the Tokyo area, hitting airfields, rail installations, and trains.
Mines previously laid by Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortresses sink two freighters and a transport and damage three other vessels. (Jack McKillop)
MARTINIQUE: Pan American World Airways Sikorsky S-43 seaplane, msn 4306, registered NC15066, sinks on landing at Fort de France; 10 of the 14 aboard survive. (Jack McKillop)
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