Air Operations, CBI

• 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attacking shipping in the Andaman Islands claim near misses that damage 1 vessel. This is the first in a series of attacks aimed at clearing the sea approaches to Burma.

Air Operations, Europe

• 6 Wellingtons of 3 Group lay mines off La Pallice without a loss.

Air Operations, New Guinea

In support of ongoing Allied ground attacks, V Bomber Command B-25s and 22d Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack Japanese Army defensive emplacements, antiaircraft positions, and airfield facilities in the Buna area. 49th Fighter Group P-40s down 8 A6M Zeros over Buna at 1140 hours.

Air Operations, Tunisia

• About noon, B-17s of the 97th Heavy Bomb Group, escorted by 16 1st Fighter Group P-38s, attack port facilities in Bizerte. 1 Bf-109 is downed and another damaged by a 27th Fighter Squadron pilot.
• 9 319th Medium Bomb Group B-26s, escorted by P-38s, attack Gabes Airdrome and the town's marshalling yard. The P-38s also strafe the airfield.
• 1 B-26 is downed over the target and another crash-lands in the desert due to battle damage
• 15th Light Bomb Squadron A-20s, escorted by P-38s, attack a bridge and the railway station at Djedeida.
• During the course of two of the day's three fighter actions, 14th Fighter Group P-38s down 2 Luftwaffe fighters, and a 52nd Fighter Group Spitfire downs another.

Battle of Tassafaronga

The regular night run of the Tokyo Express again develops into a major battle. Tanaka in his 2nd Destroyer Flotilla has 8 destroyers and the US Adm Wright has 5 heavy cruisers and 7 destroyers. Although radar helps Wright get off the first shells and torpedoes the American fire is ineffective, with one Japanese destroyer, the Takanami sinking later. In the Japanese reply one cruiser, the Northampton, is hit by Japanese torpedoes and sinks the next day at 3:04a.m. as a result of major leaks in the hull. 3 other cruisers, Pensacola, New Orleans and Minneapolis, suffer damage from Japanese torpedoes. Despite these successes Tanaka is reprimanded for failing to deliver his supplies to the starving Japanese forces on the island. Despite the failure of the supply convoy, the action again demonstrates Japanese excellence in naval night-fighting.[MORE]

US Navy chart of the Battle of Tassafaronga based on accounts by both Japanese and US participants

Battle of Tassafaronga(Click map for larger image)

TF-67 heads for Guadalcanal on November 30. Fletcher (foreground) is followed by Perkins, Maury, Drayton, and the cruisers (far distance).

US Navy Ships Head for Guadalcanal

Burma

The advance of the British 123rd Bde in the Arakan has now reached Bawli Bazar. Terrible weather, which would normally be expected to clear during November, has been impeding the advance and making road construction difficult.

Eastern Front

The Soviet VI Tank Corps is destroyed near Osuga. At Belyi, the 1st and 20th Panzer Divs force back the 41st Army.

Group Hollidt engages the Soviet 5th Tank Army on the Chir River.[MORE]

German Raiders

The German raider Thor is destroyed by fire in Yokohama Harbor. In a cruise lasting from January to October 1942, Thor sank 10 ships of 56,000 tons.

New Guinea

The Australian 21st Bde, after a periods of rest and reorganization following the campaign in the Owen Stanley mountains, replaces the 25th on the Gona front. In the Sanananda sector, turning the enemy positions, units of the 126th Regt of the US 32nd Div block the Soputa-Sanananda track, but frontal attack on Sanananda itself are unsuccessful. The Japanese 'Triangle' is still impregnable.

North Africa

The Germans and Italians have managed to land in Tunisia up to this date about 15,500 combat troops, who without too much effort are containing the offensive thrusts of the British 1st Army and the American and French divisions. The 11th Bde of the British 78th Div fights off German attacks near Djedeïda. The British 1st Army prepares to launch an attack on Tunis by Blade Force and Combat Command B, US 1st Armored Div, on December 2. Combat Command B is concentrated in the Medjez el Bab area and Blade Force in the vicinity of Chouïgui.