Air Operations, Bismarcks - 140 V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and B-26s attack Cape Gloucester.
- 20 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack Japanese Army ground forces near Arawe.
- 37 V Fighter Command P-39s attack Gasmata.
- In the first mission of its kind from bases in the South Pacific Area, 41 5th and 307th Heavy Bomb group B-24s, escorted by 48 AirSols P-38s and RNZAF Kittyhawks, are sent to attack Rabaul and Simpson Harbor. The B-24s are based at Guadalcanal, but they need to pass through the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia in order to reach Rabaul. Due to bad weather, only 6 5th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s are able to reach Rabaul. 2 F4Us are lost when an estimated 50 Japanese fighters intercept the strike force.
- VMF-222 F4Us down 3 A6M Zeros near Rabaul at 1315 hours.
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Air Operations, CBI
BURMA
- During the night, 20 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack dock areas and rail yards in Rangoon.
CHINA
- Japanese bombers attack Yunnani Airdrome without loss.
- 12 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s and 8 14th Air Force P-40s attack Ansiang and Nanhsien.
- 25th Fighter Squadron P-40s down 60 Ki-48 'Lily' bombers and 4 A6M Zeros in a running fight from Yunnanyi to the southeast during the late morning.
THAILAND
- During the night, 20 of 21 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s sent attack the Bangkok port area with 110 500-pound bombs, including 59 incendiaries.
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Air Operations, Marshalls - 29 VII Bomber Command B-24s based at Baker Island and Nanomea attack the Maloelap and Mille atolls. 318th Fighter Group P-39s based at Starmann Field on Butaritari strafe the airfield on Mille.
- A P-39 with the 318th Fighter Group’s 72d Fighter Squadron downs an A6M Zero over the Mille Atoll at 1015 hours, but 2 P-39s are downed by Japanese Navy fighters.
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Air Operations, New Guinea - 30 V Bomber Command B-25s and B-26s attack the airfield at Madang.
- A total of about 30 5th Air Force B-25s, A-20s, and P-39s attack barges and Japanese Army positions near Finschhafen as 348th Fighter Group P-47s sweep the northeast coast.
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Air Operations, Solomons - A VF(N)-75 F4U night-fighter downs an A6M2-N 'Rufe' fightr-bomber near Cape Torkina at 0235 hours.
- 25 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bivouac and a supply dump on Bougainville. Numerous AirSols aircraft attack targets of opportunity, bypassed airdromes, and other targets throughout the Bougainville and Buka areas.
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New Britain The US forces at Arawe take the nearby Japanese airstrip and fight off minor Japanese counter-attacks.
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Occupied France Rommel inspects the 'Atlantic Wall' defenses on the French coast.
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Pacific The Japanese destroyer Numakaze is sunk by the US submarine Grayback (SS-208) off the Ryukyu Islands.
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Soviet Union, Home Front The new National Anthem, composed by Alexander V. Alenxandrov with lyrics by S. Mikhailov and I. Registan, replaces the 'Internationale'.
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Images from December 19, 1943
US Soldier Examines Italian Machine Gun in Italy, 19 December 1943
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German Prisoners of War Are Being Fed American Rations in Italy, 19 December 1943
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US Mortar Crew Pulling a Cart in Venafro, Italy, 19 December 1943
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Busy pier scene at Fremantle, Australia, 19 December 1943. From left to right, stern view to the camera are the Bonefish (SS-223), Rasher (SS-269), Bowfin (SS-287), Bluefish (SS-222), Narwhal (SS-167) and the sub tender Pelias (AS-14). Second row, bow view are the Cod (SS-224), Tinosa (SS-283) and Crevalle (SS-291).
Busy Pier Ccene at Fremantle, Australia
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American artillery observers keep their field glasses glued on enemy fortifications being pounded by artillery shelling in valley near San Pietro, Italy. 19 December 1943. (Signal Corps Photo)
American Artillery Observers
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Slowly, carefully, a member of a US Army mine detector squad removes detonator from German S-mine in a heavily mined field in the Venafro sector. (Signal Corps Photo)
Removing a Detonator from German S-MIne
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African American Soldier Chasing Turkeys in Italy, 19 December 1943
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US Soldiers Celebrate Christmas in Italy, 19 December 1943
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F4U Corsair 17736 Returns to Torokina Airfield with Tail Damage, 19 December 1943
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American Bombers Hit Madang Harbor, Papua-New Guinea, 19 December 1943
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