Air Operations, Asia

In the first raid since 1941 the Japanese bomb Chungking, the home of the Chinese Nationalist Government.

Air Operations, CBI

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s mount a low-level attack against a bridge at Myitnge.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kendari airfield on Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

• Mosquito night fighters shoot down 4 Me-410 fighter-bombers attacking airfields in East Anglia.
• RAF Mitchells, escorted by Spitfires, bomb the St Omer marshalling yards. Wing-Cdr J. E. Johnson scores his 23rd victory.

• A total of 719 aircraft: 335 Lancasters; 251 Halifaxes; 124 Stirlings and 9 Mosquitoes, are dispatched to Berlin. Counting planes involved in route marking, mine-laying and leaflet dropping, 788 Bomber Command aircraft will be operational, almost the entire strength of Bomber Command.
• 70 aircraft abort their missions for various reasons, a serious depletion of the main bombing force. German night fighters take out a few more, but they are not as effective in locating targets since the diversionary 'window' began being used about a month earlier.
• The Luftwaffe is currently using a tactic known as Wild Boar (Wilde Sau). They would commit single-engined fighters directly over the projected target. Using various types of illumination over a target city - searchlights, the glow of burning buildings and the flares and markers dropped by British Pathfinders - to seek out the bombers by sight and attack them on their vulnerable bomb runs. Local Flak units cooperate by restricting the height of their gunfire to allow the Wild Boar pilots to operate above that height.
• About 626 bombers make it to the Berlin area to drop their bombs. The raid is not successful in that the intended areas are not hit. The planned approach which had been from the southeast does not happen. The Pathfinder follow up and the main force swing in from due south after the early markers and bombs are seen to go down. Many of the main force bombers drop on the first markers seen instead of the center of the markers as ordered. Upon examining post bombing photos only 5 aircraft bomb within 3 miles of the correct aiming point and only a quarter of the force hit vulnerable areas of Berlin. Most hit the lightly built-up surburban areas. There are also decoy fires which added to the total missing the bombing areas. There is damage however. 2,611 properties are listed as destroyed or burned out of which 2,115 were classed as dwellings. There is a total of 854 deaths: 684 civilians, 60 service personnel, 6 air-raid workers, 102 foreigners of which 89 were women and 2 POWs. 83 more civilians are missing, buried under the collapsed blocks of houses.
• Bomber Command loses 62 aircraft: 1 Lancaster destroyed in a bomb accident before take-off, 57 lost over Holland, Germany and the sea, 2 Halifaxes in a collision over England, a Stirling written off after crash landing at its airfield; and another Lancaster returning when hit by fire over Norfolk. This is the heaviest loss of Bomber Command in one night so far in the war: 8.7% of the bombers dispatched.
• Aircrew casualties include 298 killed, 117 POWs, 9 interned in Sweden, 2 shot down but evading capture and a small but unknown number injured in the returning aircraft.
• The German night fighter force lose 9 aircraft: 5 Me-110s, 3 FW-190s and 1 Me-109. There are 4 aircrew killed and 2 injured.

As Dusk Descends, Stirlings Prepare to Take Off for Berlin

As soon as the crews had returned from the night's operation, they were met by an intelligence officer who obtained as much information as possible about the success (or otherwise) of the mission.

Debriefing After the Mission

Another Crew is Questioned about the Berlin Raid

• 40 Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisians and off Lorient and St Nazaire and there are 22 OTU sorties. There are no losses.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s attack the Aroe Islands, Finschhafen, and several villages.
• 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack Kela.

Air Operations, Solomons

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s and XIII Fighter Command P-39s strafe Wagina Island.
• VMF-124 F4Us down 5 A6M Zeros over Vella Lavella between 1145 and 1305 hours. VMF-123 F4Us down 4 Ki-61 'Tony' fighters over Vella Lavella at 1705 hours.

Eastern Front

There are special Soviet celebrations to mark the capture of Kharkov. At 9:00p.m. 20 salvoes are fired from 224 guns in Moscow to salute the troops who have taken Kharkov. Bells peal throughout the city.

Farther south the Soviets are pushing forward beyond Voroshilovgrad.

Scenes from the Battle of Kursk

Kursk Battle - Scene 1

Kursk Battle - Scene 2

Kursk Battle - Scene 3

German forces withdraw from Kharkov as the III Panzer Corps counterattacks at Bogodukhov against the 1st Tank and 6th Guards Armies. As the German 6th Army withdraws from its Mius positions the 5th Shock Army encircles the German XXIX Corps at Taganrog. The Red Army has suffered great losses during its battles for the eastern Ukraine: Voronezh Front 48,300 killed and missing and 108,000 wounded, and Steppe Front 23,000 killed and missing and 75,000 wounded. Combined equipment losses are 1,864 tanks, 423 artillery pieces and 153 aircraft.[MORE]

Mediterranean

The US submarine chaser SC-694 and SC-696 are sunk by enemy dive bombers in the Sicilian area.

New Guinea

4 American destroyers bombard Finschafen in support of air operations against Wewak.

Solomons

3 Japanese destroyers making for Rekata Bay in Santa Isabel Island to take off the local garrison are spotted and attacked by American aircraft, and forced to return to their base. In view of the American pressure and the wide dispersion of their forces, the Japanese Imperial Headquarters has decided to evacuate the central Solomons and concentrate men and materials in the southern islands, especially in Bougainville.

Soviet Union, Home Front

The Soviet government, which had vacated Moscow in the autumn of 1941, returns to work in the capital.