Air Operations, Aleutians

11 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s and 6 P-39s attack 2 cargo ships in Kiska harbor and the seaplane ramp and drop demolition charges throughout the Japanese camp. Japanese Navy aircraft attack the US base at Adak, but there is no damage.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s attack the airfields in the Rabaul area.

Air Operations, Europe

• 6 Mosquitos attack a steelworks at Liege without a loss.

• 188 aircraft are sent to Krefeld: 95 Wellingtons, 39 Halifaxes, 31 Lancasters and 23 Stirlings.
• Pathfinders run into dense haze and their marking is late; the raid is dispersed and does not cause much damage; only 3 streets in the northern part of the town are reported hit.
• 3 Halifaxes, 2 Wellingtons, 1 Lancaster and 1 Stirling are lost.

• 3 Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisians without a loss.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command A-20s and V Fighter Command P-40s attack Japanese Army campsites, bridges and trails in the Owen Stanley Mountains.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 27 A6M Zeros with an altitude advantage attack 33 Cactus Air Force F4Fs which have been launched too late to effectively intercept. 6 F4Fs are shot down with the loss of 4 pilots while the F4Fs down 3 of the Zeros.
• 5th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack Rekata Bay.

Atlantic

The British cruiser Curaçao is sunk 20 miles off Donegal, Ireland after a collision with the 81,235-ton liner Queen Mary which is being used as a troop transport and is carrying 10,000 American troops. Like the other giant ocean liners, the Queen Mary is normally unescorted for the major part of any voyage, relying on speed of about 28 knots and a zigzag course to keep out of trouble. Only in waters close to the British Isles are escorts provided. The liner makes a turn to maintain such a course and, incredibly, does not communicate to the Curaçao. The cruiser is sliced in two, her halves separated by 100 yards after the liner's high speed maneuver. A total of 338 men aboard the cruiser are killed and 101 are saved by the British destroyers Branham and Cowdray, no thanks to the Queen Mary which feared U-boats in the area and never so much as pausing to find out what happened. Note - A court decision in 1947 held the Curaçao at fault for failing, as an escort, to stay clear of the ship overtaking it.

The liner Queen Mary in wartime paintwork. She was known as the ‘Grey Ghost’ during this period when she conveyed tens of thousands of men across the Atlantic.

The Queen Mary, Known as the 'Grey Ghost'

The World War I vintage light cruiser HMS Curaçao

Light Cruiser HMS Curaçao

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British anti-submarine trawler Lord Stonehove (444t) is sunk by the German motor torpedo boat S-112 off Eddystone with the loss of 18 of her crew.
• U-512 is sunk off Devil's Island by a Douglas B-18 bomber.

Eastern Front

The remnants of the 2nd Shock Army in the Gaitolovo Pocket are destroyed, the Volkhov Front losing 12,000 men captured along with as many killed, and 300 artillery pieces, 500 mortars and 240 tanks lost.

At 0600 hours the 295th Infantry Division launches a frontal and surprise rear attack on the right wing of the 13th Guards Division. Ferocious fighting erupts as the Soviets fight to prevent their annihilation, instead destroying to a man the German infiltration force.

Further heavy attacks continue to smash the divisions in the factories. The 112th Rifle is hard pressed, suffering heavy losses as the Germans attack with overwhelming force. Fighting intensifies as the Germans penetrate into the Barrikady, Tractor and Red October complexes. The 193rd Rifle Division fights in the Red October kitchens, bathhouse and workers' houses, while the 39th Guards holds the factory itself.

On the southern wing, the 64th Army counterattacks with 4 rifle divisions southwest of Yelshanka in an effort to link up with the 62nd Army. After a day of bitter fighting the attack fails.

To reinforce the 62nd Army, the 308th Rifle Division is ferried across the Volga during the night. The division is ordered to take up positions in the Barrikady factory. Forward elements of the 37th Guards Division also crosses the Volga and deploys in the Tractor factory, close to the northwestern edge of the Barrikady estate. The 37th Guards deploys betwen the 112th and 308th Divisions.

An aerial view of Stalingrad after German Stukas bombed the city

Aerial View of Stalingrad

Ellice Islands

US Marines land and begin to build a base on Funafuti Atoll in the Ellice Islands.

Guadalcanal

The Japanese send 9 bombers and 36 Zeros in from the west unseen by the coastwatchers. The Japanese fighters catch the Americans before they get up. 6 F4Fs are lost but 4 Zeros are shot down. Geiger has only 26 operational fighters at the end of the day to an estimated 100 Zeros at Rabaul.

Madagascar

The British proceed with the occupation of the southern part of the island.

United States, Home Front

• Pres Roosevelt is granted power to control wages, salaries and agricultural prices from Nov 1 by the Stabilization of the Cost of Living Act which now becomes law.
• (Oct 1st?)The Bell XP-59 Airacomet, the first Allied jet fighter, makes its maiden flight at Muroc Dry Lake, California. The jet is equipped with 2 Whittle-type engines.