Air Operations, Egypt

Air Operations, Europe

There is another night raid on Weston-super-Mare.

In minor operations, 14 aircraft are sent to St Nazaire, 4 Lancasters lay mines in the Gironde River and 1 Stirling makes a leaflet flight. There are no losses.

Air Operations, Libya

HALPRO B-24s attack shipping and harbor facilities at Tobruk.

Air Operations, New Guinea

During the night 5th Air Force B-17s attack both Rabaul and Lae.

Arctic

The Home Fleet leaves Scapa Flow to provide distant cover for PQ-17. There are 2 battleships, Duke of York and Washington, and 1 carrier, the Victorious, with cruisers and destroyers.

SS Raphael Semmes

The SS Raphael Semmes, a U.S. cargo vessel built in 1920, was torpedoed without warning at 0833 GCT on June 28, 1942 at 290 30’ N – 640 30’ W by U-332. Ten of the survivors were taken aboard the U-boat, given medical attention and supplies and then released. After 19 days adrift at sea, the survivors were rescued by the SS Explorer and taken to Jersey City NJ.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The unarmed US freighter Raphael Semmes (6027t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-332 losing 19 of the 37 men on board in the attack.
• The US freighter Sam Houston (7176t) is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by U-203 losing 3 crewmen in the attack.
• The US tanker William Rockefeller (15,054t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-701 about 16 miles northeast of Diamond Shoals, North Carolina. The escorting Coast Guard cutter CG-470 attacks the U-boat without success, but rescues all hands, 44 crewmen and the 6-man Armed Guard.
• The US freighter Sea Thrush (5447t), en route to Cape Town, South Africa, is torpedoed and sunk by U-505. All on board survive the attack which include 42-man crew, 11-man Armed Guard and 14 passengers.
• The US freighter Ruth (4833t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-153 about 100 miles north of Cape Maysi, Cuba. There are only 4 survivors of the 34-man crew and the 4-man Armed Guard unit.

Eastern Front

The Germans step up their summer offensive in all sectors. It is called Operation BLAU (BLUE) and begins on the southern part of the front with 100 divisions, 50 German, 9 Italian, 27 Rumanian, 13 Hungarina and 1 Slovak. They are supported by about 1,500 aircraft. The Russians have about 120 divisions. The drive is directed toward the Don River and is designed to cut off the Russians in the salient around Kursk. Von Bock's Army Group South begins to drive east from around Kursk toward Voronezh. In the north the Germans gain an important victory, crossing the Volkhov and eliminating the Soviet salient.

In the siege of Sevastopol, the Germans establish a bridgehead on the southern shore of North Bay directly threatening Sebastopol city.

At 0215 hours the 4th Panzer Army, with 2nd Army in support, attacks the junction of the 13th and 40th Armies. Fierce fighting develops as the XXIV Panzer Corps crushes 2 divisions of the Bryansk Front and pushes toward the Kshen River. Golikov commits his XVI and I Tanks Corps to seal off the wound, while Stavka orders the IV and XXIV Tank Corps of the Southwest Front to help and the XVII Tank Corps to move from operational reserve at Kastornoye.

By evening the XXIV Panzer Corps has punched its way through the junction of the 13th and 40th Armies and attacked the headquarters of the 40th Army, throwing it into disarray. Recognizing this as the beginning of the German summer offensive, but mistakenly believing it to be aimed at Moscow, the Stavka instructs Golikov to commit the 5th Tank Army with its II and XI Tank Corps.

In the Crimea, Inkerman falls to the 50th Infantry Division. Manstein is preparing to launch an attack across Severnaya Bay in order to outflank the rear of the Sapun position that is holding up the XXX Corps.

Germany, Policy

OKW chief Keitel sends a telegram to his commanders in the East: 'Fleeing prisioners of war are to be shot without preliminary warning to stop. All resistance of POWs, even passive, must be entirely eliminated immediately by the use of arms.'

The most famous Arctic convoy was PQ-17, which left Reykjavik, Iceland on June 28 1942 bound for Murmansk. 33 merchant ships escorted by 21 warships set out. Off the northern coast of Norway it was spotted by a German Focke-Wulf FW-200 Condor, which radioed the convoy's position and course back to HQ.

Arctic Convoy PQ-17

The German Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Condor, Germany's only 4-engined warplane type, was used extensively to intercept Russian-bound convoys in the Arctic.

German Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Condor

Mediterranean

The German steamer Savona (2120t) sinks after striking a submerged wreck off Benghazi.

Middle East

Lt-Gen Brereton assumes command of US Army Middle East Air Forces (USAMEAF) with headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. All US military air assets in the theater are consolidated under his command.

North Africa

The British X Corps breaks out of Mersa Matruh. The German 90th Light Div takes Mersa Matruh and again a large quantity of stores and equipment are captured. The Axis forces break through the 29th Brigade of the 5th Indian Div, which is covering the withdrawal of the X Corps to the Fuka area. XIII Corps Commander Lt-Gen William Gott sends word to Auchinleck that he is withdrawing and Auchinleck sends word on to Lt-Gen William Holmes who commands the X Corps. The message does not reach hime until 0430 on the 28th. Holmes does fight his way out during the night but at the cost of 6,000 men. The 8th Army and the German and Italian forces are intermingled in a great stream heading back toward El Alamein where Auchinleck has decided to make a stand. Advance guards of the German 90th Light Div reach Fuka, about 45 miles east of Mersa Matruh. In 2 days of fighting 8,000 Allied troops are captured. All British forces are ordered to pull back to El Alamein, only 70 miles from Alexandria, Egypt.

As a result of the victory, Rommel feels he can head toward Alexandria and Cairo.

Pacific

The US submarine Stingray (SS-186), attacking a Japanese convoy, sinks the gunboat Saikyo Maru (1292t) about 190 miles north of Yap, Carolines.

Secret War

The code used by the US military attaché in Cairo is changed. This is a blow to Rommel since German intelligence was routinely decoding his highly informational report being transmitted to Washington. The new code cannot be broken immediately, denying Rommel his best source of intelligence.