August 18
We Remember:
1939: Placards have been appearing in London with a simple but ambiguous question, 'What price Churchill?' Now, The Times prints a letter signed by 375 academics urging the Prime Minister to include Churchill in his cabinet. As the Foreign Office learns that a German attack on Poland is threatened to take place in two weeks' time, Sir Nevile Henderson, the British Ambassador in Berlin, begs Chamberlain to write personally to Hitler. (Andy Etherington)
Donitz despatches his 35 operational U-boats. 18 go to the eastern Atlantic and the remaining 17 are sent to the Baltic for operations against Poland and possibly Russia too. (Andy Etherington)
1st Army Group in the Lake Khasan and Khalkin-Gol region of Siberia, under Corps Commander Georgi Zhukov, report a state of readiness after 57,500 tons of supplies have reached them over dirt roads 465 miles from the Trans-Siberian railhead. There are ready to begin a counter-offensive against the Japanese. (Andy Etherington)
1940: In the Battle of Britain, Luftwaffe Do17s of KG 76 bomb Kenley and Biggin Hill, only two aircraft from 9.Staffel returning unscathed.
RAF Fighter Command: First Luftwaffe intruders of the day were six reconnaissance aircraft including a Bf110 of LG 2 which was shot down at 31,000 feet over Manston. Come midday and an enormous force, 350-strong was assembling. 10 and 11 Groups' squadrons were called to readiness. Three waves of raiders crossed the coast between North Foreland and Dungeness heading for targets south and south-east of London. One raid dropped 33 bombs on Deal. Other raids attacked Biggin Hill, Kenley and West Malling airfields. Nine Do 17Zs of 9/KG 76 attacked Biggin Hill at low-level, strafing and bombing with mixed long and short-delay fused bombs. About 150 HE bombs were dropped with 60 hitting the airfield, the rest hitting the golf course. Kenley was attacked shortly before West Malling. About 100 bombs were dropped. Twelve personnel died, 20 were injured. The afternoon phase began with six raids approaching east of the Isle of Wight just before 14:00. 70 Ju87s of StG77 accompanied by 2
4 Ju88s of KG54 attacked Poling CH radar station bringing down two pylons and disabling the station for a week, Ford naval air station destroying two hangars, a third of the quarters and killing 14, Gosport and finally Thorney Island where at 14:30 several Ju87s bombed a hangar and started a fire. At 15:30 a dozen Bf109s strafed Manston destroying two Spitfires, killing one man and injuring 15. Two hours later 8 raids crossed over the Essex coast via the Blackwater and Thames estuaries. During the night raids took place on South Wales, RAF Sealand (Chester), Birmingham and Wolverhampton. (Andy Etherington)
RAF 4 Group (Whitley). Bombs Caproni aircraft factory at Milan and Aluminium factory at Rheinfehlen. (Andy Etherington)
In the heaviest day of fighting so far, the Luftwaffe loses 67 planes to the RAF’s 33; another 29 RAF machines are wrecked on airfields. (Andy Etherington)
L/Sgt William John Button (d. 1969), Royal Engineers, showed great coolness before and after a bomb on which he was working exploded, killing five sappers. (Andy Etherington)
Goering rebukes the Luftwaffe generals for their disappointing campaign, and the fighter ace, Adolf Galland asks for Spitfires in reply. (Andy Etherington)
Vickers Wellesley's of the RAF bomb Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from Perim Island. (Andy Etherington)
U.S.: As a result of the conference between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King at Odgensburg, New York, yesterday, the two leaders sign the Ogdensburg Agreement which provides for a Permanent Joint Board for the Defense of the US and Canada. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
Walter P. Chrysler, the auto tycoon and founder of the Chrysler Corporation, dies at age 66. Chrysler had been president of the Buick Motor Company and resigned in 1919 to take control of the Maxwell Motor Company. In 1925, the company was renamed the Chrysler Corporation the manufacturer of Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler automobiles. (Jack McKillop)
In a display of utter bad taste and stupidity, Jimmy Powers, the sports editor of the New York Daily News newspaper, writes that the bad play of baseball's New York Yankees can be attributed to "a mass polio epidemic" contracted from former Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig. Gehrig, who is suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and quit the game in 1939, and his former roommate, catcher Bill Dickey, sue the Daily News and the newspaper retracts the story on 26 September and apologizes. (Jack McKillop)
1941: The Soviet Southern Armies, under Budenny, begin a withdrawal byhind the Dnieper. Gingisepp, on the Luga west of Narva falls to the Germans. The German 1.Panzergruppe (von Kleist) establishes a bridgehead across the Dnepr at Zaporoshe. From Kairala in northern Finland, 20.Gebirgsarmee (Dietl) begins an offensive with the objective of capturing the vital Lend-Lease port of Murmansk. (John Nicholas and Mikko HŠrmeinen)
U.S.: President, Franklin D Roosevelt announces that the U.S. is ferrying combat aircraft via Brazil and Africa to the British in the Near East.The company that will ferry the aircraft is Pan American Air Ferries, a subsidiary of Pan American Airways. This activity resulted from a meeting between Juan Trippe, the head of PanAm, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London in June 1941. Over dinner, Churchill asked if PanAm could fly aircraft and supplies to Cairo, Egypt, to counter the Germans in North Africa. On his return to the U.S., Trippe met with President Roosevelt and was told to set up the routes across Africa as soon as possible; the U.S. Government also provided money to assist in this effort. Pan American Air Ferries was established on 24 July 1941, all available pilots were hired, and the operation began shortly thereafter. (Jack McKillop)
Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles informs the Finnish Ambassador Hjalmar Procope that Soviet Union is willing to discuss peace terms with Finland. The Soviets are even willing to modify the terms of the Peace of Moscow of 1940 (ending the Winter War) more advantageous to Finland. Welles stresses that he is merely passing the information on, not acting as an official middle-man. Soviet Premier Josef Stalin had earlier, on 4 Aug, written to Roosevelt that he would appreciate if Finland could be withdrawn from the war. Procope replies by asking if the western powers are willing to give guarantees to Finland in the case Germany loses the war. Welles is unwilling to discuss the matter. In the end Finnish government is forced to give no definite answer to the tentative peace offer. As the German armies are advancing everywhere in the eastern front, there is perceived to be no sound basis for a peace between Finland and Soviet Union. (Mikko HŠrmeinen)
The government tasks the U.S. Coast Guard with enforcing laws to protect war-lanes in Alaskan waters. (Jack McKillop)
In Germany, Adolf Hitler issues two orders:
- He orders the deportation of Berlin's remaining 76,000 Jews to ghettoes in Poland.
- He orders that the systematic murder of the mentally ill and handicapped be brought to an end because of protests within Germany. This program had been initiated in 1939 and 50,000 German adults and children had been killed before it was terminated. (Jack McKillop)
RN Submarine P.33 is believed to have been lost in a depth charge attack off Tripoli on this day. The only clues to her fate were reports of a severe depth
charge attack by P.32 and HMS Unique which appeared to come from the area allocated to P.33. Subsequent attempts by P.32 to contact P.33 were unsuccessful.
After hearing the depth charge attack, which may have foretold the demise of P.33, RN submarine P.32 attempts to manoeuvre into position to attack a convoy of merchant ships, by passing under a minefield. As she rises to periscope depth P.32 strikes a mine and the front end of the submarine is flooded, killing 8 men. An escape attempt from 210 feet is made but only the commander and a petty office survive the sinking. There are 28 casualties. (Alex Gordon)
Adding on to the story of HMS P-32:
Whilst on patrol on 18th August 1941, P32 intercepted five merchantmen under escort in the swept channel approach to Tripoli Harbour. Realising they were not in a good position to carry out an attack Lt. D. A. B. Abdy (later Lt.Cdr.) decided to run under the minefield, running at full speed for about ten minutes until he believed that he had reached the swept channel. Periscope depth was ordered and P32 was just rising when she struck a mine forward on the port side. The explosion put out all the lights, the forward control door jammed, she took on a heavy list to port and sank to the bottom, 210' below the surface. In actuality, the whole of the boat forward of the control room had been destroyed, killing the eight crew members forward. The remaining 24 sought refuge in the after spaces.
Once it was realised that the boat could not be saved or surfaced, the decision to attempt escape was taken. In Abdy's opinion the engine room offered the brighter prospect of escape as he was concerned about the pressure being put on the forward control room door. However, taking into consideration the number of crew members in the engine room (23 besides himself) and the amount of time that P.32 had been submerged he decided to split the group up. The Coxswain (Petty Officer E. Kirk), and ERA Martin volunteered to join Abdy in an attempt to make what was believed to be the more dangerous escape via the conning tower.
Abdy and the coxswain escaped successfully but ERA Martin was dead on his arrival on the surface (in actuality, any successful escape, even with DSEA gear, was considered impossible beyond 150'). Both Abdy and Kirk were later picked up by an Italian naval vessel shortly after being spotted by an aircraft which had been searching the area after the mysterious explosion. When it was reported by Abdy that others would appear shortly, the Italians opted to remain for several hours but no other survivors were seen to escape. Adby and Kirk were made prisoners of war and eventually chosen for prisoner exchange in March 1943.
Due to the belief that the escape hatch was a weak point during heavy depth charging (and the chance of escape from a sunk submarine in war time being considered remote), it was fairly standard for an iron bar to be welded over the escape hatches of HM submarines on active duty. It later came to light that, in all likelihood, this had been performed on P 32 during her last stop in port and that was the reason that no one emerged from the after portion of the boat. The truth of this thought has, to my knowledge, not been determined by divers. (Mark Horan)
BRAZIL: A Panair do Brasil Lockheed 18-10 Lodestar, msn 18-2083, registered PP-PBD, crashes near Sao Paulo; all 8 aboard the aircraft are killed. (Jack McKillop)
1942: Hitler issues a directive which gives more power to SS Special Units and orders harsher measures against partisan activity.
The 900 men of the IJA 28th Regiment are landed at Taivu Point, east of the US Marine perimeter at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal. These men are commanded by Col. Ichiki. His orders are to attack the estimated 3,000 marines on Guadalcanal. If not successful in overrunning the airfield, he is to continue harrassing raids to prevent completion of the field, while awaiting the arrival of further reinforcements. Col. Ichiki plans to attack on his second night and requests permission to occupy Tulagi. He is a member of the "Bamboo Spear Tactics" school within the Japanese Army.
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Heavy fog over Japanese-held Kiska and Attu Islands precludes armed reconnaissance but a B-24 Liberator of the USAAF's 11th Air Force takes oblique photos of Amchitka and Tanaga Islands. [Amchitka is located about 58 nautical miles (107 kilometers) east-southeast of Kiska Island and Tanaga Island is about 44 nautical miles (88 kilometers) west of Adak Island.] (Jack McKillop)
In India, Major General Clayton L Bissell becomes Commanding General 10th Air Force, relieving Brigadier General Earl L Naiden who now devotes full time to command of India-China Ferry Command under the 10th Air Force. (Jack McKillop)
For a second consecutive day a single USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress of the
Allied Air Forces attacks Kavieng, New Ireland Island; bombs fall in the
airfield dispersal area. (Jack McKillop)
In the Solomon Islands, 8 IJN G4M "Betty" bombers based at Rabaul, attack Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Marine AA gunners damage 5 of the attackers. (Jack McKillop)
The US submarines USS Argonaut (SS-166) and USS Nautilus (SS-168) evacuate the Marine raiders landed on Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands yesterday. About 120 Marine Radiers, including their commander Lieutenant Colonel Evans F. Carlson, USMC, spend the night on Butaritari Island. The Marines are disorganized and many have lost their weapons and equipment attempting to reach the two submarines that landed them yesterday.
In the middle of the night a small Japanese patrol approaches the Marine perimeter; one Marine is wounded before three Japanese are killed. With the enemy apparently still full of fight and his raiders disorganized and weakened, Carlson called another council of war. Without much input from the others, he decided to surrender. His stated reasons were concern for the wounded, and for the possible fate of the president's son, Major James Roosevelt, executive officer of the 2d Raider Battalion, (who was not present at the meeting). At 0330 Carlson sent his operations officer and another Marine out to contact the enemy. They found one Japanese soldier and eventually succeeded in giving him a note offering surrender. Carlson also authorized every man to fend for himself -those who wished could make another attempt to reach the submarines. By the next morning several more boatloads made it through the surf, including one with Major Roosevelt. In the meantime, a few explorin
g raiders killed several Japanese, one of them probably the man with the surrender note.
The situation changed during the morning. There were 70 Marines on the island and they equipped themselves with weapons lying about the battlefield. Patrols found 83 dead Japanese and 14 dead Americans; there was no organized resistance on the island. Japanese aircraft made four separate attack during the day, but they inflicted no losses on the raider force ashore. The two submarines, USS Argonaut (SS-166) and USS Nautilus (SS-168), were contacted and by 2300 hours, the remainder of the force was back aboard the ships. After returning to Pearl Harbor, it was determined that the casualties were 18 dead and 12 missing.
Only after the war would the Marine Corps discover that nine of the missing raiders had been left alive on the island. These men had become separated from the main body at one point or another during the operation. With the assistance of the natives the group evaded capture for a time, but finally surrendered on 30 August. A few weeks later the Japanese beheaded them on the island of Kwajalein Atoll.
The raid itself had mixed results. Reports painted it as a great victory and it boosted morale on the home front. Many believed it achieved its original goal of diverting forces from Guadalcanal, but the Japanese had immediately guessed the size and purpose of the operation and had not let it alter their plans for the Solomons. However, it did cause the enemy to worry about the potential for other such raids on rear area installations. On the negative side, that threat may have played a part in the subsequent Japanese decision to fortify heavily places like Tarawa Atoll, the scene of a costly amphibious assault later in the war. Despite the trumpeted success of the operation, the Navy never again attempted to use submarines to conduct raids behind enemy lines. (Jack McKillop)
In the U.K., the government reveals that Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited the Eighth Army in Egypt en route to Moscow. (Jack McKillop)
CARIBBEAN SEA: Two German submarines sink four four merchant ships en route from Trinidad and Aruba to Key West, Florida:
- Convoy TAW (S), 15 ships escorted by USN gunboat USS Courage (PG-70), British corvette HMS Clarkia (K 88), two U.S. Coast Guard cutters and four submarine chasers, is attacked by German submarine U-162, which torpedoes an unarmed U.S. freighter about 47 nautical miles (87 kilometers) west-southwest of Grenada, British West Indies, in location 11.45N, 62.30W. The ship is again torpedoed by U-162 tomorrow and finally sinks.
- U-553 attacks Convoy TAW 13, steaming south of Cuba. The submarine torpedoes and sinks three ships, a 2,845 ton Swedish motor freighter, a 6,959 ton British motor freighter and a 7,176 ton armed U.S. steam freighter, about 61 nautical miles (113 kilometers) west-southwest of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, in position 19.41N, 76.50W. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.: The motion picture "The Pride of the Yankees" premiers in New York City. This biography of the New York Yankees' baseball superstar first baseman Lou Gehrig, is directed by Sam Wood and stars Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan and Dan Duryea. Appearing as themselves are Yankees' players Bill Dickey, Bob Meusel and Mark Koenig along with radio sportscaster Bill Stern. Future movie star Dane Clark has a bit role as a fraternity brother. The film is nominated for eleven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper) and Best Actress (Wright); it won an editing award. Cooper, who batted right handed, wore a uniform with everything backwards to emulate the left hand hitting Gehrig, e.g., instead of NEW YORK on the traveling uniform, the letters KROY WEN were sewn on the shirt and then the film was reversed. (Jack McKillop)
1943: US cruisers and destroyers bombard Palmi and Gioai Taura, Italy.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, 70+ USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells,covered by almost 100 fighters, hit Wewak, Boram, Dagua (But East) and But (But West) Airfields. The attackers claim 30+ Japanese fighters shot down. (Jack McKillop)
The US VIII Air Support Command in England flies Missions 25A and 25B against 2 Luftwaffe airfields without loss. (1) 22 B-26B Marauders bomb the Vlamertinge Airfield at Ypres, Belgium at 1016 hours. (2) 32 B-26Bs attack Woensdrecht Airfield in the Netherlands at 1032 hours. (Jack McKillop)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-403 is sunk about 51 nautical miles (109 kilometers) south of Dakar, French West Africa (now Senegal), in position 13.42N, 17.36W, by depth charges from a French Wellington Mk XIII of the RAF's No 344 Squadron based at Quakram Airfield, Dakar. All hands, 49 men, on the U-boat are lost. (Jack McKillop)
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 596 bombers (324 Lancasters, 218 Halifaxes and 54 Stirlings) in a night attack against the experimental and development laboratories and plant for V-1 and V-2 rockets at PeenemŸnde, Germany. (Jack McKillop)
1944: The Polish Corps from the north and the US forces from the south close the gap at Falaise, France.
The US 3rd Army reach Versailles on their way the the Seine.
The US VI Corps is now advancing toward Aix-en-Provence with French units advancing on Toulon and then Marseilles.
The First Ukraine Front takes Sandomierz, on the west bank of the Vistula in southern Poland.
BULGARIA: Five heavy bombers of the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy visually bomb the port area of Lom without loss. (Jack McKillop)
ROMANIA: Heavy bombers of the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bomb five targets: 273 bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti (48 using H2X radar and the rest visually) with the loss of seven aircraft; 102 bomb the Steauea Oil Refinery at Campina with the loss of one aircraft; two bomb a highway, another a railway and one bombs the marshalling yard at Craiova. (Jack McKillop)
YUGOSLAVIA: Heavy bombers of the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bomb four targets without loss: 87 bomb Alibunar Airfield; two bomb the railroad at Kraljevo; one bombs the marshalling yard at Lapovo; and one bomb a railroad line. (Jack McKillop)
The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 3 missions (numbers in parenthesis are numbers of bombers attacking):
Mission 561: B-24s bomb Amy Airfield at Roye, France (42) and 10 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 96 P-51 Mustangs.
Mission 562: 720 bombers and 242 fighters, in 3 forces, are dispatched against bridges, airfields, fuel dumps and an aircraft engine factory in France and Belgium; 2 bombers and 1 fighter are lost. (1) B-17s bomb bridges at Namur (37), Liege/Benoit (36), Huy (35), Yvoir (35), Liege/Seraing (26), Vise (25) and Maastricht (24); 13 hit Tongres marshalling yard, 12 hit Eindhoven Airfield and 12 hit targets of opportunity; escort is provided by 99 P-38 Lightnings and P-51s; they claim 46-0-15 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 is lost. (2) B-24s attack airfields at Metz (78), Nancy/Essey (70), Woippy (60) and Laneureville (35); escort is provided by 38 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost. (3) B-17s hit St Dizier Airfield (116), Pacy-sur-Armancon (39) and Bourran (38); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; escort is provided by 93 P-51s; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
Mission 564: 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night. (Jack McKillop)
In France:
In northern France, the US Ninth Air Force dispatches nearly 100 B-26s and A-20 Havocs to strike a fuel dump, ammunition dump, rail and road overpass, rail embankment, and junction beyond the battleline to disorganize retreating German forces; 1,000+ fighters fly cover over ground forces in the Argentan-Paris area, along the Seine River, and armed reconnaissance over northern and western France.
In southern France, the US Twelfth Air Force sends medium bombers to blast coastal guns in the Toulon area and shipping in Toulon harbor; fighter-bombers closely support beachhead troops, hit rolling stock and rail lines, and generally disrupt communications as the US VI Corps overruns the primary defenses in the coastal area of southeastern France; fighters maintain beachhead patrols and area cover for the bombers. (Jack McKillop)
BAY OF BISCAY: Two German submarines are sunk:
- U-107 is sunk west of La Rochelle, in position 46.46N, 03.49W, by depth charges from an RAF Sunderland Mk III of No 201 Squadron based at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. All hands, 58 men, on the U-boat are lost.
- U-621 is sunk of La Rochelle, in position 45.52N, 02.36W, by depth charges from the RCN destroyers HMCS Ottawa, HMCS Kootenay and HMCS Chaudiere. All 56 men on the U-boat are lost. (Jack McKillop)
FRANCE: German troops stationed near the Spanish border and the Gulf of Biscay begin withdrawing. (Jack McKillop)
1945: FORMOSA: Subhas Chandra Bose, the Indian nationalist leader, is fatally injured at age 48; his Japanese plane crashes off Formosa en route to Tokyo. (Jack McKillop)
FRENCH INDOCHINA: The Viet Minh Municipal Committee addresses a crowd of 200,000 in Ba Dinh Square, Hanoi, announcing the beginning of the revolution. The Viet Minh take control of key buildings in Hanoi and Japanese and Vietnamese government forces surrender without resistance. (Jack McKillop)
JAPAN: A group of Japanese Army Officers arrive at the residence of the Japanese Prime Minister, NARUHIKO Higashikuni, and demand that he withdraw the decision to surrender, because all of the military men, especially the young officers, are against ending the war. Their plan is to meet in front of the Palace and present their demands to the Emperor, by force if necessary. (John Nicholas)
Two USAAF Fifth Air Force B-32 Dominators on a photo mission over Tokyo are jumped by about 14 Japanese "Zekes" (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) and "Tojos" (Nakajima Ki-44, Army Type 2 Single-seat Fighters Shoki). One of the B-32s is damaged but both manage to return safely to Okinawa. The American gunners claim two fighters destroyed and two probables. (Jack McKillop)
The first American flag flies over Japan by American POWs on Mukaishima Island before any U.S. forces have landed on Japanese soil. Material used to make this flag was from red, white and blue parachutes used to drop food and medical supplies to the prisoners. The flag is completed today, and at 1100 hours local, the Japanese colors are lowered and this American flag is raised. The strains of "To the Colors" blown on a Japanese bugle, accompanied the ceremony conducted before the assembled group of 99 prisoners. The flag was thereafter raised daily until the liberation of the Americans on 13 September 1945. (Jack McKillop)
MANCHURIA: The Soviet attacks continue and most of the province of Manchuria has been overrun. They have captured Harbin and are advancing on Mukden and Changchun. (John Nicholas)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Missions from British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia, and Chinese Gernalissimo Chiang Kai-shek have arrived in Manila for the conference with the Japanese surrender emissaries. (Jack McKillop)
U.S. The 35 mph (56.3 km/h) speed limit on America's roads is ended. (Jack McKillop)
In New York City, scheduled demonstrations to end segregation in organized baseball are called off. The demonstrations were to be held at the Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants, and Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. (Jack McKillop)ÊÊÊÊ
"Peace riots" end in San Francisco, California. Eleven people died and 1000 were injured. More than 100 windows were broken on Market St. District Attorney Edmund G. "Pat" Brown promises a full report on the disturbance to the grand jury. (Jack McKillop)
The top songs on the music charts are"If I Loved You" by Perry Como; "I Wish I Knew" by Dick Haymes; "Till the End of Time" by Perry Como; and "Oklahoma Hills" by Jack Guthrie. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.S.R.: Moscow radio broadcasts a message from Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to Soveit Premier Josef Stalin saying "Close friendship between our nations will not only server as an everlasting foundation of peace in east Asia but will be an important factor in the creation of a new order in the whole world." (Jack McKillop)
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