Air Operations, Aleutians

28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Amchitka's Constatine Harbor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 17 aircraft lay mines in Kiel Bay and off Denmark.
• 3 Wellingtons are lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command P-40s attack bridges and trails in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Baltic Sea

U-446 sinks after hitting an Allied air-laid mine.

U-446

Burma

The British begin their first land counteroffensive against the Japanese in the Arakan, an area along the Bay of Bengal coast. The offensive fails and the 14th Indian Division suffers heavy losses.

Indian Artillery Gunners of the British Army in the Arakan Mountains

Eastern Front

The Russians continue to hold the Germans in the northwest suburbs of Stalingrad as house-to-house fighting breaks out.

The 11th Army begins its counterattack at Gaitolovo. Soviet forces in the salient are attacked on both flanks, XXVI and XXX Corps slicing through to isolate virtually the entire force. The constricted forces inside the pocket are subjected to ferocious artillery and air attack, suffering terrible casualties.

The 6th Army fends off more attacks by the 1st Guards, 24th and 66th Armies, keeping the German forces north of Stalingrad fully occupied.

Inside the city, the battle for the Nail Factory continues. The Soviet battalion is cut in two as hand-to-hand fighting rages through the ruined machinery and buildings. Under fierce attack, the Soviets abandon the factory. Elements fight to the end in the Univermaag store, while others fall back to the Volga, establishing strong positions on the corner of Krasnopiterskaya and Komsomolskaya Streets. The fighting here rages for five bloody days. Further heavy fighting also rages on the slopes of the Mamayev Kurgan and in the grain elevator.

After protracted fighting, the XLVIII Panzer Corps clears the bed of the Tsaritsyn stream, isolating the 92nd and 42nd Rifle Brigades on the southern wing of the 62nd Army. The 14th and 24th Panzer, 29th Motorized and 94th Infantry Divisions are attacking the Soviet brigades.

Pacific

• The US submarine Grouper (SS-214) sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Tone Maru (4070t) in the China Sea east of Shanghai.
• The US submarine Trout (SS-202) sinks the Japanese auxiliary netlayer Koei Maru (863t) south of Truk.

Sweden, Politics

In the national elections the pro-Nazi candidates do very badly.

First Prototype of the B-29

The B-29 Superfortress, the most advanced bomber produced during World War II, was the result of Boeing’s reaction to specification XC-218, which called for a bomber with a range in excess 5000 miles that could carry a bigger bomb load at higher speed than B-17B. Fortunately for Boeing, design work had been carried out on their next generation of heavy bombers over the preceding 2 years, and full scale mock up of model 341 had been produced. This was remarkably close to specification XC-218, and so with a small amount of rework, Boeing was able to submit their design. Three prototypes were ordered and the first XB-29 flew in September 21, 1942. Meanwhile a priority order 1500 aircraft had been placed with Boeing following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The first YB-29 evaluation aircraft was delivered to the 58th Bombardment Wing in July 1943 and was followed 3 months later by the first batch of B-29 –BW production aircraft. The Superfortress had many advanced features including remotely controlled gun turrets and a partly pressurize fuselage.