Air Operations, Bismarcks

43rd Heavy Bomb Group B-17s mount individual attacks against Gasmata and Ubili.

Air Operations, CBI

• 8 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the rail yards at Maymyo and 9 B-25s attack a bridge at Myitnge.

• 4 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Bangkok, but 12 others abort in the face of bad weather. The assigned target is an arsenal but the crews are unable to locate it.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-25s attack Laga, Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

There is a night raid on Aberdeen. There is a direct hit on an air raid shelter causing heavy casualties.

Bomb Damage in Aberdeen from the Night Raid

More Damage from the Night Raid on Aberdeen

• 127 Bombs dropped (mixture of Incendiary, High Explosive and Cluster Bombs)
• 98 Civilians killed
• 27 Servicemen killed at Gordon Barracks
• 93 Serious injuries
• 139 Slight injuries
• 9,668 houses damaged

• 11 Venturas bomb the railway yards at Abbeville.
• 3 Venturas are lost.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

• 79th Fighter Group P-40 pilots down 3 Bf-109s near Cap Bon during a dawn sweep.
• IX Fighter Command P-40s strafe and bomb barges along the coast.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s attack Kaimana.
• 43rd Heavy Bomb Group B-17s mount individual attacks against villages in northeastern New Guinea.

Air Operations, South Pacific

In retaliation for the previous day's attack on Nauru by US planes, the Japanese make a pre-dawn attack on the Funafuti airfield in the Ellice Islands. 1 VII Bomber Command B-24 is struck by a bomb, and its bombs damage 5 other B-24s when they are detonated.

Air Operations, Tunisia

• NASAF medium and heavy bombers are grounded by bad weather, but NATBF A-20s, fighters, and fighter-bombers mount a variety of missions in support of Allied ground forces.
• 31st Fighter Group Spitfire pilots down 3 BF-109s, 2 FW-190s, and 2 FW-190s, respectively, in three separate missions.

Britain, Policy

Churchill warns the Germans of reprisals if they use poison gas against the Russians.

The first of thirty C-46 Commandos (an untried cargo transport whose performance was superior to the C-47's in cargo capacity and ceiling) arrived in India.

C-46 Commando Cargo Transport

Indian Ocean

The US freigher John Drayton is torpedoed by the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci off the coast of South Africa and abandoned. The submarine then finishes off the freigher with gunfire. 21 crewmen and 6 Armed Guard sailors are lost in the attack.

Japan, Command

Adm Mineichi Koga is appointed to succeed Adm Isoroku Yamamoto in command of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Splendid is sunk by depth charges from the German destroyer Hermes south of the Isle of Capri with the loss of 18 of her crew. 30 of the crew are picked up by the German destroyer.

North Africa

A German counter-attack in the sector between Medjez el Bab and Goubellat, at the center of the Allied line, is driven back with heavy loss.

The 18th Army Group completes its preparations for the main VULCAN assault. The US 34th Div, which has trained vigorously in the vicinity of Fondouk and Maktar, begins moving during the night to the new zone of the US II Corps.

In the British 1st Army area, the enemy counterattacks in the Medjez el Bab-Goubellat area which results in a costly failure. This action delays the start of the 46th Div, IX Corps, by a few hours on the 22nd.

The British 8th Army concludes offensive operations in Tunisia. The X Corps is so bitterly opposed at Takrouna that Gen Montgomery decides late in the day to confine the offensive to the coastal region. The army subsequently regroups while holding its current positions. The offensive is never renewed.

Destructive Force of German Tiger Tank

It was 21 April 1943 when 48th Royal Tank Regiment newly arrived in Tunisia from Britain went into action against the Germans for the first time. Alongside an infantry battalion, they attacked German positions in the hills at Medjez-aI-Bab. Lt. Peter Gudgin, who commanded one of two troops of Churchill tanks leading the attack, was among them. He was soon to experience the destructive force of the Tiger. "As we advanced towards our objectives we could see no sign of the enemy," Peter told The Tank Museum. "But suddenly my fellow troop leader's tank erupted in an enormous explosion.Before l had chance to locate the source of this shot, my tank was hit by a shot which passed through the from plate, through the fighting Compartment and into the engine, settrng it ablaze." Lt. Gudgin and his crew bailed out under heavy machine gun fire and were fortunate to escape with minor injuries; the crew of the other tank were all killed. "The next day We took the opportunity to examine our burnt out tank. It had been cleanly penetrated by an 88mm shell which had been fired by a Tiger tank that had been found abandoned on our objective." The abandoned tank was Tiger 131. British tank crews first encountered Tigers in January 1943. German crews had been thorough in carrying out their orders to completely destroy abandoned Tigers in order to prevent them falling into enemy hands. As a result little was known about this formidable new opponent, so the capture of a complete Tiger was a prize of enormous importance which would yield valuable information. This makes the capture of Tiger 131 as significant as it was enigmatic. The fate of the crew remains a mystery but the fact that the tank was abandoned seems to have been considered dishonourable. The unit's war diary simply states; "Crew members of Tiger 131 panic and abandon the tank after two harmless hits from a Churchill." The evidence shows that the tank was subject to several direct hits which were far from harmless. The most important strike, which is clearly visible today, saw a 6-pounder round scrape the underside of the Tiger's 88mm gun, before hitting the gun mantlet and lodging itself in the turret ring. This jammed the turret and effectively prevented the Tiger from fighting. It also split the weld on the top plate and, according to a contemporary report, shattered the radio. It was surmised that this shot could have "incapacitated the driver and front gunner' Evidence of a second 8pdr strike can also be seen on the right hand turret lifting stud, but a third 6 pdr hit the open loader's hatch, smashing it and deflecting the round to hit the hatch rim, again potentially injuring crew members inside. Whatever happened, the evidence shows that Tiger 131 was literally fought to a standstill by 48 RTR’s Churchill tanks. The damage caused by their 8pdr’s indicates an incredibly high standard of gunnery as they were almost certainly firing on the move. The fact the tank was captured at all proves that, despite its clear but often overstated strengths, the Tiger was not invincible. Behind the myth and hyperbole with which it is often associated, Tiger 131 tells an important story about the human element in tank warfare; the role of the crew. We may speculate that the inexperience or poor morale of its crew led to the surrender of a tank famed for its strength; but what of the men who had to face the fearsome Tiger in machines they considered inferior. When Lt. Gudgin and his men arrived in Tunisia, they were confronted by the spectacle of stacked Churchill tank hulks. Large holes had been punched through even their thickest armour. It must have been a most discouraging sight. They knew that their comparatively under—gunned Churchills would be no match for the Tigers when they eventually met. But this did not deter them from conducting their duty with almost casual, daily acts of considerable personal courage.

Unites States, Home Front

Roosevelt condemns the beheading of US airmen captured by the Japanese during the 'Doolittle Raid'. With credible indications from neutral sources and American intelligence that American prisoners of war are being executed by the Japanese, Pres Roosevelt issues a statement on criminal responsibility: 'This government vigorously condemned this act of barbarity in a formal communication sent to the Japanese Government. In that communication this Government has informed the Japanese Government that the American Government will hold personally and officially responsible for these diabolical crimes all of those officers of the Japanese Government who have participated therein and will in due course for the postwar trial of war criminals in Japan.