1940: ENGLISH CHANNEL: British destroyer HMS Wren (D 88) is bombed and sunk off Aldeburgh, Sussex, England as she gives AA cover to minesweepers. He111s of Bomber Wing (Kampfgeschwader) 53 (KG 53) take the credit. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
Bombs fall for the first time on Faversham and Sheppey in Kent. 17 HE bombs dropped on Canvey Island, Kent. Thundery weather delayed any further attacks until late afternoon. Then Dover was the target with the barracks and marine station were hit. HMS Codrington takes four direct hits. The boilers explode and Codrington sinks.
This event and the discovery that the Germans are building emplacements for long-range, heavy-calibre guns near Calais, forces the Admiralty to move the destroyer flotilla from Dover to the Nore. (Andy Etherington)
The first of 81 Grumman Martlets I's (F4F-3 (Wildcat)- US designation) is delivered to the British Purchasing Commission. (Andy Etherington)
Bulgaria's Prime Minister confers with Hitler at Berchtesgaden; yesterday Rumania's Premier did the same. (Andy Etherington)
Warner Brothers releases a cartoon entitled "A Wild Hare" the first cartoon in which Bugs Bunny is fully recognizable. (Jack McKillop)
The motion picture "They Drive by Night" is released. Directed by Raoul Walsh, this drama about truck driving brothers from A.I. Bezzerides' novel stars George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Hale and Roscoe Karns. (Jack McKillop)
1941: Soviet forces in and around Smolensk are cut off by the German pincer movement. Kallinin is under attack by the Germans.
The ships that escorted Convoy Substance to Malta arrive safely back in Gibraltar. (Andy Etherington)
The Germans murder two members of the Vilna Judenrat [Jewish council] when the community fails to pay an enourmous bribe. (Andy Etherington)
Japan will station troops within striking distance of Thailand when she lands at least 24,000 men in southern Indo-China near Saigon. 8,000 troops will be garrisoned at Pnom-Penh, 4,000 will be garrisoned at the naval
base of Cam Ranh Bay, north-east of Saigon (now, Ho Chi Minh City). (Andy Etherington and Marc Small)
Masatsune Ogura, Japan's Finance Minister, declares that the urgent thing for Japan to do is to "forge ahead towards establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity sphere." (Andy Etherington)
The ground echelon of the USAAF's 33d Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) sails for Iceland in the transport American Legion. The ship is part of Task Force 16 consisting of the battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41), the heavy cruisers USS Quincy (CA-39) and USS Wichita (CA-45), five destroyers, the miscellaneous auxiliary USS Semmes (AG-24), the store ship USS Mizar (AF-12), and the cargo ship USS Almaack (AK-27). Within a few days, TF 16 is joined by the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7), carrying the air echelon of the 33d Pursuit Squadron, the heavy cruisers USS Vincennes (CA-44), and the destroyers USS Walke (DD-416) and USS O'Brien (DD-415). (Jack McKillop)
Japanese diplomats deliver a protest to the U.S. State Department regarding the shipment of U.S. supplies to Vladivostok, USSR, through Japanese waters. (Jack McKillop)
Douglas MacArthur is promoted to Lieutenant General today after having been recalled to active duty yesterday as a Major General. MacArthur had never previously held this rank, though his father had been one of the few Lieutenant Generals in the US Army from the Civil War until World War II. MacArthur would hold this rank until he was promoted to full General following the Japanese assault on the US and its possessions in December, 1941. MacArthur was subsequently promoted, over his protest, to temporary General of the Army and then to permanent General of the Army, the rank he held at his death in 1964. (Marc Small)
1942: Army Group B, including the German 6th Army of General Paulus, meets heavy Russian resistance in their battle to clear the elbow of the Don River.
In the Aleutian Islands, the bombardment of Kiska Island by the 2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers and destroyers of the USN's Task Force 8, is postponed due to limited surface visibility and the ships retire to Kodiak. While covering TF 8, four USN PBY Catalinas bomb Kiska. (Jack McKillop)
The light cruiser USS Boise (CL-47) departs Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, via Midway Islands towards Japan. The Boise is tasked with emitting enough radio traffic to create the impression of an approaching American task force. (Jack McKillop)
In New Guinea, USAAF B-26 Marauders and A-24 Dauntlesses support Australian troops by bombing Gona and targets along the Buna trail. (Jack McKillop)
All Allied air units in the South Pacific Area are placed under the command
of Rear Admiral John S. McCain, USN, Commander, Aircraft South Pacific Area (ComAirSoPac)
German submarine U-166 completes mining operations off the Mississippi
River Delta south of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. (Jack McKillop)
In the U.S., singer Peggy Lee records her first hit record in New York City. With backing of the Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Miss Lee sings "Why Donât You Do Right" for Columbia Records. (Jack McKillop)
1943: The fighting at Agira and Nicosia is heavy and inconclusive.
In the Aleutian Islands, 12 bombers and 20 fighters of the US Eleventh Air Force take off on 5 attack missions to Kiska Island. Several of the fighters jettison bombs. The other aircraft hit Main Camp, North Head and Little Kiska Island. The Japanese Navy's Operation "KE GO," the evacuation of their forces from Kiska, continues. The light cruisers HIJMS Kiso and HIJMS Abukuma and escorting destroyers take off 5,183 men undetected by US forces. Three midget submarines based on Kiska are destroyed by the retreating troops. (Jack McKillop)
The Japanese Navy begins laying the LaPerouse minefield between Hokkaido and the Kurile Islands. This is an attempt to prevent US submarines from operating in this area. (Jack McKillop)
In England, the US VIII Air Support Command flies Mission Number 5; 17 B-26Bs bomb Tricqueville Airfield, France at 1825 hours. (Jack McKillop)
In the Solomon Islands, US Thirteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb airfields at Kahili on Bougainville Island and Ballale Island; 8 P-38 Lightnings and 70+ US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft again attack the Munda area on New Georgia Island, hitting positions on Bibolo Hill and targets at Gurasai, Munda Point, and Munda Airfield. (Jack McKillop)
On the ground in Sicily, the US Seventh Army reaches Tusa and San Mauro and pushes toward Nicosia.
In the air, USAAF Ninth Air Force P-40s attack tactical targets in battle area in northeastern Sicily, and others hit shipping at Catania. Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders bomb the landing ground at Scalea while Northwest African Tactical Air Force fighters and light bombers continue bombing and strafing of ports, shipping, bridges, landing grounds, and motor transport. (Jack McKillop)
In Italy, Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the airfield at Capua and the railroad at Lioni. (Jack McKillop)
In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, the premier and dictator, issues Order Number 227 to motivate both the military and civilians in and around Leningrad; the order becomes known as the "Not one step backward" order. The order states that "panic makers and cowards must be liquidated on the spot. Not one step backward without orders from higher headquarters! Commanders·who abandon a position without an order from higher headquarters are traitors to the Fatherland." (Jack McKillop)
In India, the Chinese-American Composite Wing (CACW) manned by American-trained Chinese pilots, is activated at Karachi and assigned to the USAAF's Fourteenth Air Force. The first two operational units are the 1st CACW Bombardment Group with B-25 Mitchells and the 5th CACW Fighter Group with P-40s. Each wing consists of four squadrons. These Chinese Air Force units will begin training in August and operational missions are scheduled to begin in October. (Jack McKillop)
Col. Joseph Duckworth, became the first pilot to intentionally fly into a hurricane's eye. He made two flights in a two-seat, AT-6 trainer from Bryan Field, Texas, into a hurricane over land near Houston. Duckworth flew into the eye of that storm twice that day, once with a navigator and again with a weather officer.
These were generally considered to be the first airborne attempts to obtain data for use in plotting the position of a tropical cyclone as it approached land. Duckworth's pioneering efforts paved the way for further flights into tropical cyclones. (Drew Halevy)
1944: The US VII Corps breaksthrough between Lessay and Periers.
The First Ukraine Front, under Konev, takes Lvov and Stanislav. The Second Belorussian Front, under Zakharov, captures Bailaystock. The First Baltic Front, under Bargamyan, takes Siauliai. The Second Baltic Front, under Yeremenko, takes Daugavpils and Rezekne.
The US 77th Division is preparing an attack on Mount Tenjo on Guam.
US construction begins on the newly captured airfield at Ushi Point on Tinian.
The US Eighth Air Force in England flies three missions.
Mission 498: 26 B-17s are dispatched to hit coastal batteries at Ostend and Cap Gris Nez/Calais area but weather prevents bombing. In Belgium, of 120 B-24s, 34 hit a Luftwaffe communication center at Brussels/Vilvorde, 20 hit a coastal battery at Gravelines, 11 hit oil installations and industrial plants at Ghent and 1 hits a target of opportunity without loss. Escort is provided by 154 P-38s, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; 1 P-51 is lost.
Mission 499: 193 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s fly fighter-bomber mission against rail traffic south of Rouen and Amiens; 2 P-38s and 1 P-51 are lost.
Mission 500: 7 B-17s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and France during the night. (Jack McKillop)
In Hungary, the US Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 366 B-17s and B-24s to bomb an armament works at Budapest; 24 other B-24s attack Pecs marshalling yards; P-38s and P-51s escort the Budapest mission. (Jack McKillop)
Supporting the US invasions in the Mariana Islands, Seventh Air Force B-24s from the Marshall Islands bomb Truk Atoll. (Jack McKillop)
In the Caroline Islands, USAAF Far East Air Force (FEAF) B-24s hit the airfield on Woleai Atoll and supply areas on Mariaon and Tagaulap Islands in the Caroline Islands. Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Groups 58.1 continue their attacks on Fais and Ngulu Islands and Sorol, Ulithi and Yap Atolls while aircraft of Task Groups 58.2 and 58.3 attack targets in the Palau Islands. (Jack McKillop)
In the U.K., the RAF's No. 616 Squadron equipped with Gloster Meteor Mk. I jets and based at Manston, Kent, England, flies their first operational mission targeting V-1 "buzz bombs" in southern England. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.S.R.: The Soviet Navy lists submarine V-1 Northern Fleet off coast of England (sunk in error by British bomber off Norway) (Mike Yared)
The 10-minute documentary "Battle Stations" is released in the U.S. Narrated by James Cagney and Ginger Rogers, this short describes the role of the U.S. Coast Guard's SPARS and how they are freeing men for service overseas in World War II. (Jack McKillop)
In the U.S., the top four pop songs today are (1) "Iâll Be Seeing You" by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra with vocal by Frank Sinatra; (2) "Swinging on a Star" by Bing Crosby which becomes the Number 1 song of the year; (3) "Amor" by Bing Crosby; and (4) "Straighten Up and Fly Right" by The (Nat) King Cole Trio. (Jack McKillop)
1945): The Potsdam Declaration calling for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese is delivered to the Japanese government. They ignore the ultimatum and US President Harry S Truman subsequently approves the plans to drop atomic bombs on Japan. (Jack McKillop)
In Japan during the night of 27/28 July, US Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortresses fly Mission 296 a mining mission; 24 B-29s drop mines in Shimonoseki Strait, at Fukuoka, Niigata, Maizuru, Senzaki, and in Fukawa Bay; 1 other mines an alternate target; 3 B-29s are lost to heavy flak and 1 crash lands on Iwo Jima and is subsequently scrapped. During the day, 60+ Fifth and Seventh AF B-24s pound a marshalling yard at Kagoshima, Kyushu and 50 escorting P-51s attack numerous nearby targets of opportunity; 150+ P-47s over Kyushu hit communications and industrial targets, including a tunnel south of Kurino, bridges at Okasa, Hitosuse-gawa, and Matsubase, and factories and a power plant at Yatsushiro. (Jack McKillop)
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