Air Operations, Bismarcks

A VMF-222 F4U downs an A6M Zero near the Panapai airfield on New Ireland at 1705 hours.

Air Operations, Carolines

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Woleai Atoll, and Satawan Island in the Nomoi Islands.
• 27 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
• 26 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• Several 10th Air Force P-51s attack Mogaung.

• 4 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack shipping in the South China Sea.
• 18 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 56 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack a marshalling yard at Wuchang.
• 12 fighter-bombers attack a Japanese Army barracks and headquarters at Loyang.
• 4 P-40s attack Japanese Army positions at Kaitou and Watien.
• Nearly 70 B-25s and fighter-bombers attack many targets in the Tungting Lake region.
• 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s down 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters in a morning engagement near Puchi.
• A battle-damaged 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25 is written off after crash-landing at the Lingling airfield on its return from the Wuchang mission.

• 39 10th Air Force B-25s airlift ammunition to Imphal.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Liang airfield on Amboina.

Air Operations, Europe

• 8 Mosquitos are sent to Münchengladbach and 3 to Düren. 8 Stirlings and 4 Lancasters lay mines off Brest and St Nazaire. 2 Halifaxes are on Resistance operations flights. There are 15 Serrate patrols.
• There are no aircraft losses.

Air Operations, Marianas

• In the first carrier-based attack of its kind, 20 F6F fighter-bombers guided by 2 radar-equipped F6F night fighters from Task Group 58.1 attack a Japanese Navy troop convoy 132 miles west of Guam, but only 1 transport is damaged by the inexperienced pilots, who have not been trained to bomb moving targets at sea.
• A VF-15 F6F downs a Ki-49 'Helen' bomber at sea at 0900 hours.
• A VF-25 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 0945 hours.
• 4 VC-5 FMs down a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 1105 hours.
• A VF-15 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber near Pagan Island at 1600 hours.
• A VF-25 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea 25 miles from Task Force 58 at 1620 hours.
• A VF-25 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea 35 miles from the task force at 1630 hours.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• More than 100 V Bomber Command A-20s, along with a small number of B-25s and V Fighter Command P-39s, attack numerous targets in the Wewak area.
• A-20s attack Japanese Army ground positions near Borokoe, Biak.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s attack fuel dumps near Sarmi and a destroy a bridge spanning the Orai River.

Britain, Home Front

German cross-channel guns hit Maidstone, Kent at a record range of 81 km.

Burma

Japanese units gain ground in bitter fighting at Myitkyina.

Eastern Front

The Soviet 23rd Army captures Terijiko and Yalkena.

English Channel

The British destroyer Boadicea, escorting a convoy to Normandy, is sunk by German aerial torpedoes off Portland, England. 170 of her crew are lost. 12 survivors are rescued.

Italy

South African troops from 8th Army take Bagnoregio just east of Lake Bolsena and other units take Narni between Orte and Terni.

Kuriles

Adm E. G. Smaill leads a cruiser and destroyer group to bombard the Japanese on Matsuwa. The sortie is repeated on June 26 this time against Paramushiro.

New Guinea

On Biak the Japanese cave positions in the east of the island are being gradually worn down. American aircraft are now operating from Mokmer Airfield.

Pacific

• 7 US battleships bombard Saipan in the Marianas.
• The Japanese submarine RO-36 is sunk by the US destroyer Melvin (DD-680 in the Marianas Islands area.

Secret War

An experimental V-2 crashes in Sweden. The British Government purchases the wreckage in exchange for radar equipment and flies it to Farnborough on July 31.

V-Weapons

At 3:30a.m. the first German V-1 Flying Bombs are directed toward England from launching pads on the Channel coast. The 'V' stands for Vergeltung, the German for 'reprisal'. Hitler's secret weapon, developed in the base at Peenemünde, is very much like a small aircraft, 26 feet long with a wing span of 16 feet; the total weight is 2 tons, including about 1,800 pounds of explosive. Launched from slightly sloping ramps, and also from specially adapted aircraft, the V-1 flies at a height of about 3,000 feet at a maximum speed of about 375m.p.h. In the initial salvo 10 are fired of which 4 cross the Channel successfully. Only 1 lands in London (Bethnal Green), killing 6 civilians. The others land in Gravesend, Cuckfield and Sevenoaks.

Between this date and September 6 about 8,000 of these flying bombs are launched. Later, over 1,200 will be launched from ramps build on the North Sea coast. A total of 2,300 reach London. They have a profound psychological effect on the civilian population. Defense is initially difficult, and the distinctive buzzing followed by its crashing descent was terrifying. The toll from these weapons is great. 5,479 are killed, 15,934 are injured with 1,104,000 houses are destroyed or damaged along with 149 schools, 11 churches and 95 hospitals.

Western Front

In the American VII Corps sector the 4th Div continues to advance slowly along the east coast of the Cotentin peninsula and the 90th Div makes slow progress westward across the Merderet River. A violent counterattack by the German 17th Pzr Div to recapture Carentan carries the attacking troops to the outskirts of the town but swift intervention by the 101st Airborne Div and units of the 2nd Arm Div halts the Germans. In the US V Corps sector the 1st Div captures Caumont, while the 38th Regt of the 2nd Div, with decisive artillery support, reaches a point about 2 miles from the Elle River in the direction of St Lô. As evening falls Gen Bradley, Commander of the US 1st Army, holds up the advance of the V Corps, ordering the formation to maintain its positions, waiting for the attempt by VII Corps to cut off the Cotentin peninsula and capture Cherbourg. In the British XXX Corps sector, the 7th Arm Div captures Villers-Bocage, an important road junction between Caen and St Lô, and moves on toward Caen as far as Height 213, northwest of the town, where it is held up by lively resistance by the German 2nd Panzer Div, which has just arrived from the Beauvais area. The German counter-attack takes the British by surprise, and they withdraw to the west, abandoning Villers-Bocage. The British division's position is critical. Obersturmführer-SS Michael Wittmann, in a single Tiger tank, traps and totally destroys a 25-vehicle column of the British 4th Country of London Yeomanry of the 7th Arm Div in a lane near Villers Bocage.

Images from June 13, 1944

Invasion of Saipan, 13 June 1944

The Royal Navy Beachmaster's HQ on the Beach near Courseulles, Normandy, 13 June 1944

US 9th Division Marching into St. Marie du Mont, France, 13 June 1944

Two Panzer VI (Tiger I) disabled by US anti-tank fire lie amid the ruins during bitter fighting shortly after the Normandy invasion. Village of Villers-Bocage, June 1944

Two Panzer VI (Tiger I) Disabled

Sherman Tanks of the Royal Marines Armored Support Group, Normandy, 13 June 1944

Centaur IV tank of 'H' Troop, 2nd Battery, Royal Marine Armored Support Group, 13 June 1944

Results of the Battle of Villers-Bocage between Wittmann and British 4th County of London Yeomanry, 13 June 1944

Aftermath of Battle of Villers-Bocage, 13 June 1944

German Prisoners Being Searched by Soldiers of 1 Rifle Brigade near Tilly-sur-Seulles, 13 June 1944

13 June 1944: An English brewery donates a sizable amount of fresh beer for the troops fighting in Normandy and a unique delivery method is created, strapping kegs to the underwings of Spitfires being shipped to forward airfields. Flying at 12 000 feet chills the brew to perfection

Beer Delivery

Villers Bocage, 13 June 1944: in less than 15 minutes Wittmann's Tiger (photo nearby), with limited support, destroyed an estimated 13 British tanks, 15 other vehicles and 2 anti tank guns before it was finally immobilised by a shot from the rear. Wittmann escaped on foot but was killed by a Sherman Firefly in August.

Villers Bocage, 13 June 1944

Jeep Bringing Casualties to a LST for Evacuation, Utah Beach, Normandy, 13 June 1944; Note Line of German POWs

13 June 1944 - Germany launches a V1 Flying Bomb attack on England, in Hitler's view a kind of revenge for the invasion. He believes in Germany's victory with this "secret weapon." The V-1 attacks will continue through June - German soldiers transporting a V-1 flying bomb to the launch site.

Germany Launches a V1 Flying Bomb Attack

Royal Signals Despatch Riders Wash and Shave in Slit Trenches at 69th Brigade HQ, 50th Division, 13 June 1944

British Soldiers in Audrieu, 13 June 1944

French civilians wave encouragement to an American M3 Halftrack rolling through a town in northern France on the way to the front, 13 June 1944.

French Civilians Wave Encouragement