Chronology of World War II

June 1943

Saturday, June 12


Air Operations, Europe

RAF BOMBER COMMAND
Evening Ops:
  • 503 aircraft are sent to Bochum. Included in the total are 323 Lancasters, 167 Halifaxes and 11 Mosquitos.
  • The raid takes place over a completely cloud-covered target, but accurate Oboe skymarking enable the Main Force to cause severe damage in the center of the city.
    • 14 Lancasters and 10 Halifaxes are lost.
Aerial recce picture of Bochum after the raid of 12/13 June.

Damage in Bochum


Damage in Bochum
Minor Ops:
  • 34 Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisians, off Lorient and St Nazaire.
    • There are no losses.
  • There is a heavy night raid on Plymouth. It will be repeated on August 11 and November 15.
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Air Operations, Mediterranean

Allied bombing continues without respite hitting Catania and Palermo, Sicily, causing many casualties and serious damage.

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Air Operations, New Guinea

  • V Bomber Command B-24s attack Kaimana and Nabire and 1 B-25 attacks barges in Langemak Bay.
  • 49th Fighter Group P-38s down 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters over Bena Bena at 0930 hours.
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Air Operations, Pacific

The US kill-to-loss ration widens, as 31 Japanese bombers are downed for a loss of only 6 US fighters.

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Air Operations, Solomons

An estimated 50 A6M Zeros attacking Allied facilities and shipping at Guadalcanal are thwarted by 91 AirSols fighters. XIII Fighter Command fighters down 8 Zeros over or near the Russell Islands at 1030 hours, VF-11 F4Fs down 14 Zeros over the Russell Islands at 1025 hours, and VMF-121 F4Fs down 6 Zeros between the Russell Islands and Guadalcanal at 1100 hours. 6 AirSols fighters are lost with 2 of their pilots.

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Atlantic

The US submarine R-12 sinks off Key West due to unknown causes.

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31 Squadron Beaufort Strikes Taberfane Seaplane Base on Aru Island southwest of New Guinea 12 June 1943 (Photo: AWM P01160-001)

Air Strike on Aru Island


Air Strike on Aru Island

Battle of the Atlantic

The German submarine U-118 is sunk by aircraft (VC-9) from the US escort carrier Bogue (CVE-9) in the mid-Atlantic area.

U-118 under attack by aircraft from USS Bogue (CVE-9) 12 June 1943.

U-118 Under Air Attack


<i>U-118</i> Under Air Attack
LtJG Fryatt's depth charges straddle U-118. Splashes from his turret guns can be seen as the Avenger pulls away after the attack. Two crewmen can be seen seeking shelter behind the conning tower. U-118 is trailing oil after previous attacks by LtJG Stearns and LtJG Fowler.

Depth Charges Straddle U-118


Depth Charges Straddle <i>U-118</i>
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Mediterranean

  • King George VI arrives in Tripoli to visit the troops and congratulate them on victory. He visits Malta on June 20.
  • The island of Lampedusa surrenders unconditionally at 5:30p.m. to the Allies. Sgt Stanley Cohen of the RAF makes a forced landing there and the Italian garrison surrenders to him. Like Pantelleria it has been heavily bombarded.
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Solomons

There is major air battle near Guadalcanal in which the attacking Japanese forces lose 31 aircraft to 6 of the Allies. This is only one of a series of such encounters about this time.

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[June 11th - June 13th]