Air Operations, Bismarcks

3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack barges and shore targets along the New Britain coast.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-25s attack Koepang and Oeikoesi, Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 202 Lancasters and 10 Halifaxes of Nos. 1, 5 and 8 Groups are sent to Cologne.
• The marking for this raid is done by 16 heavy bombers of the Pathfinders fitted with H₂. The target is covered in cloud and some of the Pathfinder aircraft have trouble with their H₂ sets. The skymarking is late and sparse. As a result, the bombing of the Main Force is scattered.
• 14 Lancasters are lost.

A Lancaster is Fuelled prior to the Night Op

• 3 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and there are 4 OTU sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

Naples is hit in a night attack by the RAF.

Air Operations, New Guinea

3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack shore emplacements and barges along the northeast coast.

Air Operations, Solomons

• An estimated 24 D3A 'Val' dive bombers and 70 A6M Zeros attack a US Navy fleet assembling at Guadalcanal to undertake an invasion of the central Solomon Islands at and around New Georgia (Operation TOENAILS).
• 104 AirSols fighters, including New Zealand Kittyhawks, and ship- and shore-based antiaircraft guns down nearly 100 Japanese Navy aircraft against a loss of 6 Allied fighters. XIII Fighter Command fighters down 15 D3A 'Vals' and 26 Zeros, VF-11 F4Fs down 15 'Vals' and 16 Zeros, and USMC fighters down 1 'Val' and 2 Zeros, all between 1345 and 1420 hours. 6 AirSols fighters and 5 pilots are also lost.
• 3 vessels are hit by bombs and 2 of them have to be beached. Losses afloat are 25 killed, 22 missing, and 29 wounded.

Canada, Home Front

Madame Chiang Kai-shek addresses Parliament.

Eastern Front

Guderian reports to Hitler that the new Panther tanks are encountering teething problems. Hitler maintains that the Panther is vital to the success of CITADEL and presses them into service regardless, despite Guderian's arguments to the contrary.

Japan, Home Front

Tojo tells the Japanese Diet that the war situation has reached a critical stage.

Mediterranean

U-97 is sunk by Hudson 'T' of No 459 Squadron RAAF. The aircraft is supposed to be operating in joint air-sea search for a U-boat but proceded independently when it failed to meet the ships. The aircraft sights a U-boat at 1437 about four miles away. The attack is made out of the sun with four 250lb charges, one of which exploded on impact. A few minutes later the bows of the U-boat rose up to the vertical and she sank.

U-97

Operation HUSKY

The first convoys for the invasion of Sicily leave the United States. On June 17 the first units of the supporting naval force set out from the British Home Fleet base at Scapa Flow.

Solomons

American headquarters decide on the first objective to be taken in the central Solomons as a preliminary to the attack on the main objective, which is the Munda air field on New Georgia. The operation is to begin June 30.

About 120 Japanese aircraft attack Guadalcanal and shipping in the waters off the island, damaging 2 warships and a transport, the cargo ship Celeno (AK-76), which has to be grounded to prevent it sinking. One of the other ships damaged in the attack is the LST 340. They pay dearly for this comparatively successful operation. US fighters from Henderson Field claim to have shot down 93(107?) aircraft from the Japanese attacking force of 120. Only 6 US planes are lost.

1st Lieutenant Murray Shubin after downing 5 Zeros off Guadalcanal June 16, 1943.

1st Lieutenant Murray Shubin