Air Operations, Bismarcks

3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack Gasmata.

Air Operations, CBI

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge at Meza.
• Japanese fighters based in Burma down a C-46 along the Hump ferry route.

Air Operations, Europe

Attempted night raids on London and Hull fail abysmally.

• 358 Lancasters of Nos. 1, 5, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Leipzig.
• This is the first serious attack on this distant German city. The weather conditions are bad and the bombing is widely scattered.
• 16 Lancasters are lost.

• 28 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, Cologne, Brauweiler and Emden, 15 Stirlings lay mines in the Frisians and there are 26 OTU sorties.
• 2 Mosquitos are lost.

Air Operations, Gilberts

VII Bomber Command B-24s and VD-3 PB4Ys obtain extensive preinvasion photographic coverage of Tarawa Atoll.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack ground targets and 2 freighters at Manokwari. B-25s attack the Bogadjim area.
• 30 Japanese fighters mount an unopposed attack against Finschhafen, but damage is minimal.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 6 USN PVs and 7 AirSols SBDs mount 3 attacks against Kakasa.
• 24 F4Us and 24 P-40s, escorted by Navy F6Fs, attack Kahili.
• VF-33 and VF-40 F6Fs down 4 fighters over or near the Kahili airfield on Bougainville between 1135 and 1150 hours.
• 2 F6Fs are lost.

Battle of the Atlantic

Aircraft (VC-13) from the US escort carrier Core (CVE-13) sink the German submarine U-378 in the North Atlantic area.

Caribbean

U-516 sinks 6 ships in the Caribbean and escapes despite a week-long hunt by Allied forces.

Diplomatic Relations

Britain, Russian and the United States agree to establish an investigative War Crimes Commission establishing the basis for the Nürnberg war crimes trials.

Eastern Front

4 Russian 'Fronts', army groups, previously known as Voronezh, Steppe, Southwest and South, are redesignated 1st to 4th Ukraine Fronts.

Army Group Center reports to OKH that is is in excess of 200,000 men below establishment.

The Stavka redesignates its southern fronts, the final major change to the order of battle of the Soviet formations on the southern wing for the remainder of the war. The Voronezh Front is renamed the 1st Ukrainian Front, the Steppe Front becomes the 2nd Ukrainian, the Southwest Front the 3rd Ukrainian and the South Front the 4th Ukrainian Front. Rokossovsky's Central Front becomes the Belorussian Front, while Eremenko's Kalinin Front is renamed the 1st Baltic Front and the old Baltic Front under Popov becomes the 2nd Baltic.

Italy

The US 45th Div takes Piedimonte d'Alife while on its left 3rd and 34th Divs advance on either side of the Volturno with the 34th taking Alife. While the US 3rd Div continues its march northward against Mignano, west of the Volturno, the 34th makes for Capriati on the Volturno, east of the river.

New Guinea

The 24th Bde arrives at Finschafen to reinforce the Australian 9th Div troops already there and to help clear the continuing Japanese resistance in the area.

Pacific

In Operation RO the aircraft from the Japanese carriers in Truk are transferred to Rabaul. The ships concerned are Zuikaku, Shokaku, Zuiho, Junyo, Hiyo and Ryuho. Although the aircraft are withdrawn from Rabaul in November they take heavy losses in the meantime, further signalling the decline of the Japanese naval air force as the number of experienced pilots dwindles. Adm Mineichi Koga, successor to Yamamoto, decides to send naval forces to the Solomons and New Britain.

In the American camp Adm Halsey has agreed with Gen MacArthur's view that it would be impossible to 'skip' Bougainville as was done on Kolombangara, and in fact the Americans are preparing to invade the big island, from which it will be much easier to capture or neutralize New Britain.

Soviet Union, Armed Forces

In recognition of the Red Army's advances, the Stavka renames a number of fronts. The Voronezh Front becomes the 1st Ukrainian Front, the Steppe Front the 2nd Ukrainian Front, the Southwestern Front the 3rd Ukrainian, and the Southern Front the 4th Ukrainian. The Central Front is renamed Belorussian Front, the Kalinin Front becomes the Baltic Front and the Baltic Front is retitled 2nd Baltic.

Scenes from October 20, 1943

U-378 under attack by VC-13 Avengers from the USS Core (CVE-13), 20 October 1943.

U-boat Under Attack

U-378 under attack by VC-13 Avengers from the USS Core (CVE-13), 20 October 1943.

Another View of the U-boat Under Attack

Crewman Scrambles to Help Hellcat Pilot

A crewman of the Enterprise scrambles to help the pilot of a burning F6F Hellcat which crashed on the flight deck during operations around Makin Island. Flying on and off the heaving carrier decks was hazardous under the best of circumstances. One miscalculation could send the plane hurtling into the crash barrier at the end of the deck or over the side. The process was also dangers for the deck crews, known as 'deck apes', who were exposed to everything from crash landings and spinning props to loose bombs.

B-17F 'Old Baldy' 41-24455 engine work at 7 Mile Drome near Port Moresby. (Credit: USAAF, 5th AF, 43rd BG Date: October 20, 1943)

Engine Work on a B-17F near Port Moresby

Nis, Serbia October 20, 1943 after the bombardment. Dozens of British and American bombers dropped hundreds of bombs on the city of Nis, killing more than 250 Serbian civilians, including dozens of children. It remains a mystery why the Allies bombed their ally Serbia, and not the neighboring Nazi satelite states.

Mystery Bombardment on Nis, Serbia

A wooden mockup of the Jagdtiger, presented to Adolf Hitler on 20 October 1943, can be seen behind the medium Italian tank P 26/40.

wooden Mockup of the Jagdtiger