Air Operations, CBI

• 7 10th Air Force B-25s attack Hsenwi.
• 30 P-47s attack several occupied towns and ammunition dumps and the town area at Myothit.
• 13 P-47s attack the Katha area.
• 7 P-47s attack a rail bridge at Nansiaung.
• 7 P-47s attack a bivouac at Pinwe.

• More than 40 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack river traffic, communications targets, troops, and buildings in east-central China.
• 10 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s transport fuel from India to China.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s attack Menado.
• B-25s attack oil stores at Boela.

Air Operations, Europe

• 341 aircraft including 222 Lancasters, 84 Halifaxes and 35 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 8 Group bomb in the Calais area again. The target areas are covered by cloud, but the Master Bomber brings in the planes below the cloud to bomb visually. The attacks on the German positions are accurate.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 96 Halifaxes, 71 Lancasters, and 8 Mosquitos of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups attack the Ruhroel AG synthetic oil plant in the Welheim suburb of Bottrop. The target is almost entirely cloud-covered and most of the bombing is aimed at Oboe skymarkers, although a few aircraft are able to bomb through small breaks in the cloud. Explosions and black smoke are seen.
• There are no losses.
• 171 aircraft of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups attempt to bomb the Sterkrade oil plant. In the aircraft total are 143 Halifaxes, 21 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos. Only 83 aircraft bomb the main target, through thick cloud. 53 aircraft bomb alternative targets, most of them aiming at the approximate position of Duisburg.
• There are no losses.

• 73 Halifaxes are on fuel-carrying flights, 5 Hudsons are on Resistance operations, and there are 6 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

• 271 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 5 Groups are sent to Kaiserslautern, the only major raid on this city during the war.
• 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito are lost.

• 46 Mosquitos are sent to Kassel, 6 to Aschaffenbyrg and 6 to Heilbronn, and there are 27 Mosquito patrols and 12 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.
• German planes try but fail to destroy the Nijmegen bridges.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command P-40s attack the airfield at Waren, Kokas, Waren, and shipping off the Vogelkop Peninsula.

Eastern Front

The 13 armies of the Leningrad Front and the 3 Baltic Fronts force the German Army Group North back into the defensive perimeter around Riga, which is powerfully fortified. German resistance on the Estonian mainland is largely over. The Germans still retain a narrow corridor back into East Prussia. The Soviets land on Vormsi Island just west of Haapsula.

In Hungary there has been heavy fighting around Cluj for several days because of German counterattacks. These battles continue. The Russian 57th and 46th Armies prepare to advance on Belgrade from Bulgaria and Rumania.

Units of the 8th Army land on Vormsii Island and quickly overrun the island. The 13th Air Army provides support.

The Germans launch renewed attacks against the Polish forces in the Zoliborz district and Kampinos Forest. The Poles attempt to push south of the forest and break out.

Pacific

The Japanses coast defense vessel No. 10 is sunk by a submarine topedo in the East China Sea.

Palau Islands

On Peleliu the 321st Inf, supported by the 7th Marines, attacks the enemy pocket on Mount Umurbrogol. The fire from the defenders, experienced veterans of the 14th Japanese Inf Div, which distinguished itself in Manchuria, opens wide gaps in the attackers' ranks. Units of the 5th Marines mop up on Mount Amiangal, while others reach the north point of the island, where they come under fire from enemy artillery in the islets of Ngesebus nad Kongauru.

On Angaur the US 322nd Inf begins the methodical liquidation of the Japanese in the Lake Salome area.

Sweden

Swedish ports are closed to German shipping.

United States, Home Front

Aimee Semple McPherson ('Sister Aimee'), charismatic and controversial evangelist, dies at the age of 53.

Western Front

The US XX Corps, 3rd Army, begins to attack the outer defenses of Metz. Much of 3rd Army's efforts will be devoted, perhaps wastefully, to this sector for some time to come.

Field-Marshal Montgomery presses Gen Harry Crerar, Commander of the Canadian 1st Army, to free the Scheldt estuary as quickly as possible.

Images from September 27, 1944

The Three Humber Armored Cars of 8th Army Tac HQ’s Defence Company, 27 September 1944

Sherman tanks of 26th Armoured Brigade, 6th Armoured Division, lined up on the road north of San Benedetto, in preparation for the final push to Forli, 27 September 1944.

Sherman Tanks of 26th Armoured Brigade

The Grant tank of 8th Army Tac HQ’s Defence Company, 27 September 1944. This was General Montgomery’s command tank at El Alamein and was a permanent feature of 8th Army Tac HQ

General Montgomery’s Command Tank

Northrup P-61 Black Widow of the 9th Air Force, P-61A 42-5585 of the 425th Night Fighter Squadron Coulommier France 27 September 1944

Northrup P-61 Black Widow

P-47 'Frenchie', Iceland 2nd Service Group, 27 September 1944

On 27 September 1944, the US flag was raised over Peleliu, symbolizing that the island was secured. The honor guard was comprised of 1st Marine Division Band members.

Peleliu Is Secured

Personnel Of The 834Th Engineer Aviation Battalion Fill Up Bomb Crater During The Repair Of An Airfield At St. Trond, Belgium, 27 September 1944

Repair Of An Airfield At St. Trond, Belgium

Polish Soldier from Mokotów District Surrenders to German Troops, 27 September 1944