Air Operations, Bismarcks

1 V Bomber Command B-24 attacks an island in Marien Harbor, New Britain.

Air Operations, Europe

• 5 Mosquitos, out of 8 sent, bomb Duisburg and Düsseldorf without a loss.

2 P-38s of the Iceland Air Command's 50th Fighter Squadron down an FW-200 flying boat over the island.

Air Operations, New Guinea

More than 30 V Bomber Command B-25s attack Bogadjim and Saidor, barges at Alexishafen and Madang, and a bridge while 1 B-24 attacks Finschhafen.

Air Operations, Sardinia

NASAF B-25s attack the switching station at Guspini, and P-40 escorts claim a U-boat sunk off southwestern Sardinia.

Air Operations, Sicily

• Two forces of NASAF B-17s mount separate attacks on he port facilities and rail yards at Messina.
• NATAF aircraft attack a variety of tactical targets, including troop positions and gun emplacements, in direct support of Allied ground forces.
• NATAF aircraft also attack motor vehicles behind the lines and all manner of ships and craft encountered in the Straits of Messina or along the coasts on either side of the straits.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack roads and road junctions around Francavilla three times and troop concentrations around Adrano twice in support of British 8th Army ground attacks.
• IX Fighter Command P-40s attack Messina harbor and shipping in the Straits of Messina.

Air Operations, Solomons

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Rekata Bay.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s and Marine Corps F4Us strafe barges at Gizo Island.
• US Army ground forces capture the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia.

Baltic Sea

U-34 is sunk after a collision with the U-boat tender Lech.

U-34

Battle of the Atlantic

The US gunboat Plymouth (PG-57) is torpedoed and sun by U-566 about 120 miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia.

Diplomatic Relations

Sweden revokes the agreement permitting the passage of German troops and munitions along her railways.

Eastern Front

The attacks of Konev's armies make rapid progress, capturing Belgorod, a key position on the north side of the German salient at Kharkov, and advancing to the southwest. In the Orel sector the Germans are also being pushed back after 2nd Pzr Army suffered such heavy losses that it has been incorporated in 9th Army. Besides holding their own salient at Kursk the Russians are eliminating the German salient at Orel, to the north of Kursk. But the Germans have prepared a fortified line, called the Hagen line, at the base of the salient, based on the Bryansk and covering almost the whole of a line running from Sevsk in the south to Kirov in the north.

Russian Infantry Supported by Tanks

Greeting the Red Army

The Soviet 3rd and 63rd Armies recapture Orel.

The Soviet 5th Guards and 6th Armies batter enemy forces around Tomarovka as the 27th and 40th Armies advance to the west of the town. Toward evening, the units of the XLVIII Panzer Corps begin a fighting withdrawal from the town to save themselves. The Soviet 1st Tank and 27th Armies approach Bogodukhov as the 53rd Armies severs the Belgorod-Kharkov road. Inside the city, the 7th Guards and 69th Armies eject the German defenders and establish bridgeheads over the Donets.[MORE]

New Georgia

Biblio hill falls to American soldiers of the 145th Infantry Regiment. Munda is captured as the 3rd Battalion of the 172nd Infantry eliminates the last major Japanese defensive position.

North Sea

In a raid by the German 2nd and 6th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotillas in the Harwich area, the British minesweeping trawler Red Gauntlet is sunk by S-86 with the loss of 21 of her crew.

Pacific

The US submarine Pike (SS-173) sinks the Japanese transport Shoju Maru (2022t) west of Marcus Island.

Sicily

The British enter Catania at 8:30a.m.. and also capture Paterno a few miles inland. On the coast the American 3rd Div's advance is held up by German defenses on the crest of San Fratello hill, between Sant' Agata and the sea.[MORE]

British Troops Scramble over Rubble

Solomons

In New Georgia, after 12 days of savage jungle warfare, the Americans finally take their main objective, Munda airfield, and begin the mopping-up of the whole island. US engineers set about making the airfield fit to US aircraft to use a a forward base for the Solomon Islands campaign.

Soviet Union, Home Front

120-gun 'Victory Salute' is fired in Moscow at midnight to celebrate the liberation of Orel.

United States, Planning

The Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) organization if formed under Jacqueline Cochran, director of women pilots. More than 1,000 women civil service volunteers are recruited and pass flight training to fly Army Air Force aircraft from factories to training bases.