Chronology of World War II

November 1944

Wednesday, November 22


Air Operations, CBI

BURMA
  • More than 40 10th Air Force P-47s attack troops and supplies at six locations.
  • 37 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Pinwe area.
  • 15 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Bhamo area.
  • 12 P-47s attack the airfield at Kawlin.
  • 8 14th Air Force B-25s attack stores at Kutkai and Wanling.
CHINA
  • 22 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Hankow.
  • 11 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack targets around Liuchenghsien and Ichang.
  • 95 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets across southern China.
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Air Operations, Carolines

  • After Truk-based Japanese Navy aircraft attack a US convoy twice in a four-hour period on November 20, 24 30th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s, escorted by 25 318th Fighter Group P-38s, attack airfields in the Truk Atoll. 4 of 8 A6M Zeros that attack the B-24s are downed by P-38s.
  • US carrier aircraft from Task Group 38.4 attack the Yap Atoll with napalm bombs, the first use of the weapon by carrier aircraft.
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Air Operations, East Indies

  • FEAF B-24s attack small ships in Brunei Bay and a nickel mine and targets of opportunity near Kendari.
  • 23 347th Fighter Group P-38s attack airfields in northeastern Celebes and targets of opportunity in the Makassar area.
    • 3 P-38s are lost.
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Air Operations, Europe

RAF BOMBER COMMAND
Daylight Ops:
Minor Ops:
  • 1 Hudson is on a Resistance operation and 1 Wellington makes an RCM sortie.
    • There are no losses.
On a quiet day for Bomber Command, Air Chief Marshal Harris is joined by Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett at a ceremony held at Gravely to mark the Squadron's ties with the Anglo-Argentinian Fellowship of the Bellows.

The Fellowship of the Bellows


The Fellowship of the Bellows

Mosquito B.XVIs of No 692 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Squadron.

The Fellowship of the Bellows


The Fellowship of the Bellows

Evening Ops:
  • 171 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group are sent to attack the U-boat pens at Trondheim, but the target is covered by a smoke-screen and the Master Bomber orders the raid to be abandoned after the illuminating and marking force are unable to find the target.
    • 2 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito are lost.
Minor Ops:
  • 17 Lancasters lay mines off Heligoland and in the mouth of the Elbe River.
    • There are no losses.
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Air Operations, Philippines

FEAF B-24s, V Bomber Command B-25s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the Bacolod airfield on Negros and the Sasa airfield on Mindanao, and barges, bridges, and targets of opportunity around Ipil and Ormoc. A 475th Fighter Group P-38 downs an A6M Zero over Leyte at 1730 hours.

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Eastern Front

In the extreme north, Finnish troops, now in accordance with the terms of the armistice, fighting the Germans, pursue the enemy and reach the Norwegian border.

In Hungary the Germans take over full power in Budapest. The Russians have already reached the Danube south of the city.

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Pacific

  • The Japanese transport No. 151 is sunk by the US submarine Besugo (SS-321) in the South China Sea.
  • The British submarine Strategem is sunk by Japanese surface craft near Malacca. 45 of the crew are lost. 8 survivors are rescued and made prisoners of war.
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Philippines

On Leyte, in the US X Corps sector, the 128th Inf of the 32nd Div finally wipes out Breakneck Ridge and captures Limon, west of Carigara, not far from the north coast of the island. The small Japanese pockets left behind are liquidated by the middle of December. One battalion of the 34th Inf, fiercely attcked by the Japanese on Kilay Ridge, has to rectify its line to avoid being surrounded. The Americans are getting ready to move south toward Ormoc.

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Western Front

Sevenum and Horst, northwest of Venlo, are occupied by the 15th Div, VIII Corps, British 2nd Army. The British 53rd Div reaches the Maas River, with other units advancing toward Venlo.

In the US 3rd Army sector the headquarters of the XX Corps orders an attack on a huge scale toward the Saar River by all 3 divisions, the 10th Arm on the left, the 90th in the center, and the 95th on the right.

There is a new plan of attack for the 35th and 26th Divs of XII Corps along the Maderbach: units of the 35th Div reach Leyviller and St Jean-Rohrbach, with support from the 6th Arm Div, while the 104th Regt of the 26th Div tries to surround Alberstroff. The German 1st Army withdraws its units from the town during the night.

In the southern sector of the front, where the US 7th Army is operating, units of the 2nd Arm Div, advancing from Bouxwiller in the north and Birkenwald in the south, converge on Saverne.

Meanwhile the 100th Div reaches Senones and heads for St Blaise. The 3rd Div accelerates its advance toward enemy positions near St Blaise and Saales and units of this division take St Dié without opposition.

In the French 1st Army sector, the 1st Div, II Corps, takes Giromagny, opening a gap in the enemy line along the course of the Savoreuse. The I Corps re-takes the ground lost following the counter-offensive by the forces of Wiese's German 19th Army, and enters Mulhouse, northeast of Belfort, only a little way from the frontier between France and Germany.

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Images from November 22, 1944

22 November 1944: At Lindbergh Field, San Diego, California, a brand new Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, Bu. No. 59554, took off on its first test flight. A company crew of six men were aboard.

Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer


Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer

Shortly after takeoff at 12:20 p.m., the left outboard wing of the airplane separated. The airplane immediately went out of control and crashed near a residential area in Loma Portal, a short distance west of the airfield. The wing panel struck the roof of a house at 3121 Kingsley Street. All six crew members were killed. The house was occupied but there were no persons injured there. - The wreck of Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, Bu. No. 59554, burns on a hillside west of Lindbergh Field, 22 November 1944.

Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer


Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer

The left outer wing panel of PB4Y-2 Bu. No. 59554 struck the roof of the residence at 3121 Kingsley Street, Loma Portal, San Diego. It came to rest in the front yard.

Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer


Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer

Men of 2nd Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders hitch a ride on a flail tank, 22 November 1944

Hitching a Ride


Hitching a Ride

Churchill tanks of 3rd Scots Guards, 6th Guards Tank Brigade, with infantry of 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, advance near Beringe in Holland, 22 November 1944

Advancing in Holland


Advancing in Holland

US Servicemen Standing in a Field with a Crash-landed British Spitfire at Loiano, Italy, 22 November 1944


Crash-landed British Spitfire

German Infantry Gun in Huertgen Forest, 22 November 1944


German Infantry Gun

Wounded Photographers Mate Joseph Day Is Eased from a Bombing 20 Helldiver, 22 November 1944


Wounded Photographers Mate

[November 21st - November 23rd]