Air Operations, Australia

49th Fighter Group P-40s down 1 A6M Zero and 1 3 G3M 'Nell' bomber in the Darwin area at 1300 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

• 106 aircraft are dispatched to bomb Essen. In the total are 40 Wellingtons, 39 Halifaxes, 15 Lancasters and 12 Stirlings. Only 16 crews report they identified Essen. 56 planes bomb alternate target, 45 of which hit Bonn. Only 3 high-explosive bombs and about 400 incendiaries hit in Essen. 1 person is injured. 4 Halifaxes, 3 Wellingtons and 1 Stirling are lost.
• In minor operations, 12 Hampdens lay mines off Lorient and 9 aircraft make leaflet flights over France. There are no losses.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 3 5th Air Force B-17s, 9 B-25s and 10 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack runways and builds on the airfields at Lae and Salamaua.
• 35th Fighter Group P-400s shoot down 2 A6M Zeros over Maiama at 1425 hours.

Caribbean

The US freighter Kahuku (6062t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-126 losing 18 of the men on board. Coastal yacht Opal (PYC-8) and district patrol vessel YP-63 rescue the 91 survivors.

Diplomatic Relations

Evidently reassured by Gen Auchinleck's optimistic despatch, Winston Churchill leaves for Washington to review the military situation on the various fronts with Pres Roosevelt.

Mediterranean

Throughout Operation HARPOON there are many air attacks and the total casualties include 2 destroyers and 3 merchant ships sunk and 4 of the escorts damaged. 2 merchant ships reach Malta.

With the ships involved in Operation VIGOROUS there is a further loss when the British light cruiser Hermione is sunk by U-205 south of Crete. 87 are lost on the cruiser, 440 survivors are picked up by escorting destroyers and taken to Alexandria.

HMS Hermione

Australian Destroyer Nestor Attacked by Air

At around 1800 on 15 June, while off Crete, an Italian bomber successfully attacked the Australian destroyer Nestor, killing four sailors and seriously damaging the destroyer's engine rooms. The British destroyer HMS Javelin began to tow Nestor, but by 05:30 on 16 June, the quantity of water taken on by the Australian ship meant that recovery was no longer practical. The ship's company transferred to Javelin, and Nestor was scuttled with depth charges. Nestor was the only major RAN ship to never visit Australia.

North Africa

The British send four infantry brigades, with artillery and armored units, to man the Tobruk fortress. The rest of the British 8th Army continues in action against heavy Axis pressure. A German-Italian armored column makes for Sidi Rezegh and creates a diversion against El Adem. British troops withdraw from El Adem, finally conceding any chance of forming a front west of Tobruk.[MORE]