Air Operations, Bismarcks

43rd Heavy Bomb Group B-17s and individual 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kavieng airfield on New Ireland.

Air Operations, CBI

17 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge at Myitnge in 2 waves.

Air Operations, Europe

FW-190 fighter-bombers raid Eastbourne and strafe streets crowded with shoppers.

• 12 Venturas bomb shipping at Brest and 8 Mosquitos attack railway targets in Belgium and France.
• 1 Mosquito is lost.

• 348 aircraft are sent to Essen. In this total are 225 Lancasters, 113 Halifaxes and 10 Mosquitos.
• The weather forcast was not favorable and the Pathfinders prepare a plan for both skymarking and ground-marking the target area. The Main Force crews are a little confused to find two kinds of marking taking place. The bombing, however, is accurate and there is a lot of good photographs of the results. Reports from the ground indicate widespread damage in the city center and in the western half of Essen.
• 12 Halifaxes and 9 Lancasters are lost with 2 more Halifaxes crashing upon return to England.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s mount individual attacks against Korindini.
• 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack Kitchen Creek.

Air Operations, North Africa

Spitfires, flown by American pilots destroy a Stuka squadron over Tunisia.

Death of a Stuka

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting and major air battles are taking place on the Leningrad front.

New Guinea

Units of MacKechnie Force land near Morobe harbor and begin to prepare defensive positions.

North Africa

The Germans continue to hold off the attacks by Patton's troops around El Guettar. Axis forces begin to withdraw northward on the so-called Enfidaville line.

Gen Alexander alerts Gen Patton to be prepared to move the US II Corps to the northern flank of the British 1st Army upon the collapse of the enemy's Wadi Akarit position. The 9th Div is to move first. Hard fighting continues in the area for positions dominating both the Gumtree and Gabès roads. The 1st Div takes the village of Sakket, but the 9th is still checked by the enemy on Hill 772.

In the British 1st Army's V Corps area, a French naval party, made up of a detachment of goumiers and elements of the Corps Franc d'Afrique, occupies Cap Serrat. The French XIX Corps repels limited enemy thrusts westward from Pichon.

Pacific

The Japanese submarine chaser No. 13 is sunk by the US submarine Pickerel (SS-177) off Japan.

US submarine Pickerel (SS-177) was lost along with her 74-man crew while on her 7th war patrol off Honshu. The exact cause of her loss has never been determined, but her OP area contained numerous minefields.

US Submarine Pickerel (SS-177)