Air Operations, Europe

In minelaying operations, 91 planes are sent to the Frisians and off Swinemünde. 2 Lancasters, 1 Stirling and 1 Wellington are lost.

Air Operations, Pacific

American aircraft begin attacking Japanese positions on Kiska in the Aleutians.

Battle of the Atlantic

• German submarines begin mining US waters. U-87 plants 10 mines off Boston harbor. No damage is ever recorded as a result, and US authorities never knew Boston had been mined until captured German naval files were studied after the war. U-373 drops 15 mines off Delaware Bay. The German mines generally are set off with devices which render them harmless after 80 days to permit submarines to return to those areas and plant additional devices without fear of being blown up themselves.
• The unarmed US tanker F. W. Abrams (9310t), en route to New York from Aruba, blunders into a minefield off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and hits two mines. The 36 crewmen abandon ship and reach shore near Morehead City, North Carolina.

Diplomatic Relations

• The Soviets and the Canadians agree to reopen diplomatic relations.
• It is announced in Washington and London that Litvinov and Hull sign a new mutual assistance pact. Under it the Russians will be able to repay in kind the loans made to them under the Lend-Lease Act.

Germany, Armed Forces

The court martial of 26-year-old army captain Michael Kitzelmann ends in Orel. Kitzelmann, who holds the Iron Cross Second Class for bravery, has spoken out against atrocities being committed on the Eastern Front. He told his fellow officers: 'If these criminals should win I would have no wish to live any longer.' A devout Catholic, he had written in a letter, 'At home they banish the crucifixes from the schools, while here they tell us we're fighting against godless communism.' Before his execution he forgave the sergeant who had denounced him. His farewell letter stated: 'God has granted me the grace of a holy death. I go ahead of you to our heavenly homeland. Divine Redeemer, grant me a merciful judgement when I come to you. Praised be Jesus Christ?' Kitzelmann is shot later in the day.

Mediterranean

Over the next 6 days there are two major convoy operations to supply Malta. Admiral Curteis leads Operation HARPOON from Gibraltar and Adm Vian Operation VIGOROUS from Alexandria, Egypt. The HARPOON force passes from Gibraltar on the 11th and has 6 merchant ships escorted by the battleship Malaya, the carriers Eagle and Argus, 4 cruisers and 17 destroyers. Several other merchantmen sail independently.

North Africa

Axis forces take Bir Hacheim capturing 100 French soldiers, mostly wounded. Rommel's forces break out from 'The Cauldron' and attack the line of ridges beween Knightsbridge and El Adem. Ritchie is compelled to fight there as he has foolishly left the bulk of his infantry still in the Gazala Line and because his massive base organization outside Tobruk is threatened.

At 1500 the 15th Panzer Div with the Trieste Div on its left flank, advance to the east of Knightsbridge, while the 90th Light Div, along with Recon Units 3 and 33, head northeast for El Adem.

Little progress is made at first. The 90th Light Div is opposed by a 'Jock Column' from the 7th Motorized Brigade which proves to be only a nuisance, but finds El Adem strongly held by the 29th Indian Brigade. Maj-Gen Ulrich Kleemann, whose 90th Light Div is down in numbers, can make no impact on this day or the following. He is ordered to withdraw on the 13th. The 15th Panzer Div has little success in the face of the 4th Armored Brigade and spends the night southeast of Knightsbirdge.

A US military recovery crew on swarms over an Imperial Japanese Navy Zero aircraft on Akutan Island, Alaska on July 11, 1942. The airplane crashed on June 3, 1942, after bombing Dutch Harbor. The pilot was killed in the crash, but the soft marshy surface prevented serious damage to the aircraft, which was later used for intelligence purposes. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

US Recover Crew Looking Over Japanese Zero