Air Operations, Pacific

The atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki dominate the events of the month (see August 6 and 9). There are also conventional strikes against many Japanese cities. Among the targets are Tokokawa, Yawata, Hikari, Nagoya and Toyama. The last strategic bombing raid is on the night of August 14 when Kumagaya and other targets northwest of Tokyo are bombed.

Air Operations, Central Pacific

Light Carrier Air Group 32 (USS Cabot) attacks Wake Island.

Air Operations, CBI

• Bad weather grounds the 14th Air Force, but several 426th Night Fighter Squadron P-61s are able to sweep rivers around Canton, Tsingyun, and Wuchou.

• FEAF B-24s attack marshalling yards at Tourane and P-51s escorts strafe rolling stock at Quang Nam.

Air Operations, East Indies

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Pontianak, Borneo and barracks and anti-aircraft batteries adjacent to Makassar Strait.
• XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack locomotives near Soerabaja.

Air Operations, Formosa

V Bomber Command B-24s based in the Philippines attack military stores at Takao.

Air Operations, Japan

• Nearly 50 FEAF B-24s attack the port area at Nagasaki.
• B-24s attack the Konoya airfield on Kyushu and Kakeroma Island.
• FEAF B-25s and fighter-bombers attack shipping and rail and port facilities at Nagasaki.
• More than 80 FEAF P-47s attack bridges and rail facilities at Sendai.
• VII Fighter Command P-47s and P-51s based on Iwo Jima attack rolling stock and airfields in the Itami, Nagoya, and Okazaki areas.
• 348th Fighter Group P-51s down 4 Ki-84 'Frank' fighters over the Kyushu area at 1015 hours.
• The 414th Fighter Group, in P-47s, makes its combat debut over Japan with the VII Fighter Command. This is also the first appearance of Iwo Jima-based P-47s over Japan.
• During the night 836 B-29s are dispatched on the 20th Air Force’s largest effort of the war: 169 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Hachioji; 173 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Toyama; 125 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Nagaoka; 160 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Mito; 120 315th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack petroleum targets at Kawasaki; 37 504th Very Heavy Bomb Group B-24s sow mines in Shimonoseki Strait, Nakaumi Lagoon, and off five port cities; and 17 B-29s attack targets of opportunity.
• 1 B-29 is lost.

Air Operations, Philippines

• XIII Fighter Command P-38s support US 8th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• 1st Marine Aircraft Wing F4Us attack troops and defenses near Upian.

Air Operations, CBI

• 17 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and nearly 75 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack a wide range of targets across most of eastern and southern China.

Air Operations, Japan

6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kataoka and Kukutan Cape.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Fighter Command P-38s support US 8th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Pacific

B-29 raids devastate Nagasaki and Toyama. The next day, B-29s drop huge volumes of sea mines around the Japanese coast, blockading harbors. In recent months, air-dropped sea mines have been sinking more Japanese ships that US submarines.

Britain, Home Front

King George VI receives Pres Truman aboard the HMS Renown at Plymouth.

Air Operations, CBI

• 16 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and more than 50 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack transportation targets in and Japanese forces withdrawing from eastern and southern China.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the seaplane base at Kangean Island and the Sidate airfield on Celebes and the Tanamon airfield.

Air Operations, Japan

Nearly 100 VII Fighter Command P-47s and P-51s based on Iwo Jima attack airfields and rail targets in the Tokyo area. A 506th Fighter Group P-51 downs an A6M Zero over Sagami Bay at 1417 hours.

Air Operations, Pacific

B-29s drop mines to seal off the main port effectively creating a complete blockade of Japan.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Bomber Command B-25s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack various targets on Luzon.

Burma

The last of the organized Japanese troops in Burma are either killed or captured. In the 'Battle of the Breakthrough' 10,000 Japanese under Maj-Gen T. Koba in the Pegu Yoma mountain range are mauled, with 8,300 killed.

Air Operations, CBI

• Despite bad weather, 4 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge at Sincheng.
• 4 B-25s and 2 14th Air Force P-51s attack the airfield at Pailochi and motor vehicles.
• 7 P-51s attack trains and motor vehicles in southern China.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Miti airfield on Halmahera.

Air Operations, Japan

FEAF B-25s attack industrial targets, warehouses, a railroad bridge, and a marshalling yard on Kyushu.

Air Operations, Malaya

8 P-38s of the 347th Fighter Group’s 67th Fighter Squadron based on Palawan stage through Brunei Bay to sweep the Singapore area. 67th Fighter Squadron P-38s down 2 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters near Singapore between 1206 and 1220 hours. These are the 13th Air Force’s final aerial victories of World War II, a string that was begun over Guadalcanal almost exactly three years earlier—by the 67th Fighter Squadron.

Air Operations, Pacific

US B-29 bombers drop leaflets over Japan warning that, without a surrender, strategic bombing will destroy 12 more cities.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Bomber Command B-24s and B-25s, and XIII Fighter Command P-38s support US 8th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

A VMF-351 carrier-based F4U downs a Japanese airplane at sea at 1620 hours.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

A 506th Fighter Group P-51 pilot downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane near Iwo Jima at 0935 hours.

Air Operations, CBI

• 20 14th Air Force P-51s attack a bridge, rail targets, and river traffic in southern and eastern China.
• A VC-41 FM downs a P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber near Shanghai at 1506 hours.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Fighter Command B-24s attack the Miti airfield on Halmahera and anti-aircraft batteries along Makassar Strait.

Air Operations, Japan

• 63 FEAF B-24s, 84 B-25s, 32 A-26s, 97 P-47s, and 49 P-51s attack numerous targets on Kyushu.
• More than 100 VII Fighter Command P-51s attack airfields and military installations in the Tokyo area.
• During the night 64 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Imabari. 63 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Saga. 92 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Maebashi. 250 73rd and 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Nishinomiya. 106 315th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack a coal-liquifaction plant at Ube. 27 504th Very Heavy Bomb Group sow mines in Nakaumi Lagoon and off 8 port cities. 10 B-29s attack targets of opportunity.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Bomber Command B-24s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s support US 8th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

A 548th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber north of Okinawa at 0243 hours.

Air Operations, Pacific

During the night, 6 cities, previously warned, are totally devastated during incendiary attacks. 325 planes of the US 5th and 7th Air Forces, based on Okinawa, raid Tarumizu in southern Japan.

Air Operations, Central Pacific

Fleet Carrier Air Group 10 (USS Intrepid) attacks Wake Island.

Air Operations, CBI

• 10 14th Air Force P-51s attack locomotives.
• Assorted FEAF aircraft attack targets of opportunity in the Shanghai area.
• 15 Task Unit 95.3.1 FMs, 6 F4Us, and 2 F6Fs attack port facilities, shipping, and an airfield at Tinghai.

Air Operations, Japan

• The 509th Composite Bomb Group B-29 Enola Gay, piloted by Col Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., the group commander, drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima at 0815 hours. An estimated 71,000 people are killed in the blast, and more than 80 percent of the city’s buildings are destroyed.
• More than 150 319th Medium Bomb Group A-26s and FEAF P-47s fly through bad weather to attack their primary target, the city of Miyakonojo.
• More than 170 FEAF B-24s, B-25s, and P-47s attack their secondary target, the city of Kagoshima.
• More than 60 FEAF B-25s and P-51s attack shipping and targets of opportunity around the Tsushima Strait and the northern Ryukyus.
• FEAF P-51s sweep the seas between Kyushu and Korea and attack targets of opportunity on Saishu Island.

• FEAF P-47s attack Anjo, Tanega Island.
• Assorted aircraft attack targets of opportunity on the Inland Sea, western Shikoku, southern Honshu, the northern Ryukyus, and the southern Korea coast.
• Nearly 100 VII Fighter Command fighter-bombers based on Iwo Jima attack airfields and 6 other military installations in the Tokyo area.

Air Operations, Korea

348th Fighter Group P-51s down 4 A6M Zeros over the Cheju airfield at 0935 hours.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack pockets of resistance on Negros.

Air Operations, Pacific

Operation CENTERBOARD. At about 9:30am a B-29 named Enola Gay, named after the pilot's mother, of the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group, 20th Air Force, and commanded by the American Col Paul Tibbets, takes off from Tinian in the Marianas at 2:10am, and drops the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was a 20-kiloton bomb named 'Little Boy' from an altitude of 31,000 feet. It explodes after 18 seconds 1850 feet above the city. More than 4.5 square miles of built-up area is obliterated. The tail-gunner on the aircraft, who sees the explosion, exclaims: 'My God! What have we done!'

Air Operations, CBI

• The 14th Air Force headquarters moves to Peishiyi from Kunming.

Air Operations, East Indies

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack targets on Borneo.
• XIII Fighter Command P-51s attack the port area at Soerabaja.

Air Operations, Formosa

V Bomber Command B-24s based in the Phlippines attack the Takao airfield.

Air Operations, Japan

• 124 20th Air Force B-29s, escorted by VII Fighter Command P-51s and FEAF P-47s, attack the naval arsenal at Toyokawa.
• FEAF B-24s and 319th Medium Bomb Group A-26s attack the Tsuki airfield.
• 23 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack a coal liquifaction plant at Omuta.
• FEAF B-25s attack the Chiran airfield on Kyushu, the Izumi airfield on Honshu, bridges, and various other targets at Kawajiri and Matsubase.
• FEAF fighter-bombers attack transportation targets throughout Kyushu.
• VII Fighter Command P-51s released from B-29 escort duty attack rail targets and shipping at Atsugi, Chofu, Magarimatsu, and Sagami.
• 5 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kataoka airfield.

• A 418th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber over the Kumamoto airfield on Kyushu at 2230 hours.
• During the night 504th Very Heavy Bomba Group B-29s sow mines in Shimonoseki Strait and off 4 port cities.

Air Operations, Korea

• FEAF B-25s attack a convoy off Pusan.
• During the night 504th Very Heavy Bomb Group B-29s sow mines off Najin.
• SB-24s of the XIII Bomber Command’s 868th Heavy Bomb Squadron based on Okinawa open a night-harrassment campaign against various military targets in Korea.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Bomber Command B-25s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s support US 8th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

VMF(N)-543 F6Fs down 2 G4M 'Betty' bombers off Okinawa at 0245 and 2331, respectively.

Air Operations, CBI

• 10 14th Air Force P-51s attack rivercraft, motor vehicles, buildings and targets of opportunity.
• Assorted FEAF bombers and fighter-bombers attack various coastal targets.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Lolobata airfield on Halmahera while searching for shipping in the Molucca Islands.

Air Operations, Formosa

• Assorted V Bomber Command bombers and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers based in the Philippines attack various targets.
• FEAF B-24s attack Shinchiku.

Air Operations, Japan

• At about noon, 221 20th Air Force B-29s attack Yawata with incendiary bombs.
• In the late afternoon, 60 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack an arsenal and aircraft factory in Tokyo.
• More than 100 VII Fighter Command fighter-bombers based on Iwo Jima attack airfields, other military targets, and rail facilities in and around Osaka.
• Throughout the day, FEAF B-24s, B-25s, A-26s, P-47s and P-51s mount numerous attacks against targets throughout Kyushu.
• 7 B-29s lost during the day’s missions are the last of their type to be downed in the war.

• The VII Fighter Command’s 413th Fighter Group, in P-47s, and 507th Fighter Group, in P-51s, both undertake their first and only bomber-escort mission of the war, to Yawata. On this mission 413th and 507th group planes down 10 Japanese fighters.
• A 318th Fighter Group P-47 downs a Ki-84 'Frank' fighter near Setsume Saki at 0940 hours.
• 348th Fighter Group P-51s down a J2M 'Jack' fighter over Mumamoto at 1015 hours and an A6M Zero at sea at 1035 hours.
• 58th Fighter Group P-47s down 2 A6M Zeros near Usa at about 1100 hours.
• 318th Fighter Group P-47s down a J2M 'Jack' fighter and a Ki-84 'Frank' fighter over Shimbara Bay at 1100 hours.
• 348th Fighter Group P-51s down a Ki-84 'Frank' fighter and 3 A6M Zeros near the Tsuiki airfield at 1120 hours.
• A VBF-86 F4U downs a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter off Honshu at 1220 hours.
• A VBF-88 F4U downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane off Honshu at 1530 hours.
• During the night 91 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Fukuyama with incendiary bombs.

Air Operations, Korea

Assorted FEAF bombers and fighter-bombers attack various targets on land as well as shipping between Korea and Kyushu.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Bomber Command B-24s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack various targets on Luzon.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

VMB-413, VMB-423, and VMB-443 PBJs mount what will be the final attack of the war against the bypassed Japanese base at Rabaul.

Air Operations, CBI

• 9 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and a small number of 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack rail targets, a motor-vehicle convoy, and a number of targets of oppotunity.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Laha, Ceram.

Air Operations, Japan

• After diverting from Kokura because of obscuring clouds over that city, the 509th Composite Bomb Group B-29 Bock’s Car, piloted by Maj Charles W. Sweeney, drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki at 1058 hours. At least 24,000 Japanese are killed.
• FEAF B-24s attack the Iwakuni airfield on Honshu and military stores at Matsuyama.
• FEAF B-25s attack Noma, the Kanoya airfield complex on Kyushu, shipping in Beppu Bay, various targets at Tsurusaki, and various targets in the Tsushima Strait area.
• FEAF B-25s and A-20s (in their first appearance over Japan) also attack the Kanoya airfield complex on Kyushu and industrial targets at Kushikino, Minato, and Shimahira.
• More than 200 FEAF P-47s and P-51s attack a broad array of targets on Kyushu, Shikoku, and in the northern Ryukyus.
• After reconnaissance aircraft locate a large concentration of transport aircraft and bombers in the Hokkaido-northern Honshu area, especially at the Misawa airfield on Honshu, Task Force 38 and Task Group 37.2 carrier aircraft mount an all-out effort to destroy them. It is revealed after the close of hostilities that the Japanese plan to use many of these airplanes to drop or land as many as 2,000 troops on USAAF B-29 bases in the Mariana Islands. An estimated 251 aircraft are destroyed on the ground and another 144 are damaged.
• At 1456 hours, a kamikaze severely damages a US destroyer serving as a radar picket between Task Force 38 and the coast. Losses are 48 killed and 66 wounded.
• A VF-16 F6F downs a C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissance plane 42 miles from Task Force 38 at 1235 hours.

• A VF-6 F6F pilot downs a B5N 'Kate' torpedo bomber 8 miles from Task Force 38 at 1300 hours.
• VF-88 F6Fs down 2 B7A 'Grace' torpedo bombers at sea at 1500 hours.
• 2 VF-27 F6Fs down an A6M Zero at sea at 1600 hours.
• A VF-86 F6F downs a B7A 'Grace' torpedo bomber over Task Force 38 at 1615 hours.
• A VBF-1 F4U downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber at sea at 1700 hours.
• A VF(N)-91 F6F downs 2 D4Y 'Judy' dive bombers at sea at 1835 hours.
• During the night 95 315th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack an oil refinery at Amagasaki.

Air Operations, Philippines

• XIII Bomber Command B-25s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s support US 8th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• VMB-611 PBJs attack targets on Mindanao under the guidance of a captured Japanese Army lieutenant.

Air Operations, Pacific

• The second atomic bomb, named 'Fat Man', is dropped by the US Air Force on Nagasaki. The aircraft is a B-29 christened Great Artist and commanded by Maj Charles Sweeney. Casualties total 23,753 dead and 43,020 injured, many of whom die later. This bomb is a plutonium fission device of the type tested at Alamagordo. The attack is less devastating than at Hiroshima even although the bomb is of the technologically more advanced plutonium type.
• In an effort to destroy Japanese aircraft which has been moved to northern Honshu, US and British carrier-based planes attack airfields in continuous waves. 34 Allied planes are brought down, but 397 Japanese aircraft are destroyed and 320 damaged.

Britain, Home Front

The death of Sir Bernard Partridge, political cartoonist of 'Punch' magazine, at age 83 is announced.

Air Operations, CBI

• 5 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and nearly 60 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous military and transportation targets in southern and eastern China.

Air Operations, Formosa

FEAF B-24s attack Shinchiku.

Air Operations, Japan

• 70 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack an arsenal in Tokyo.
• 80 FEAF B-24s, 118 B-25s and A-26s, and more than 220 P-38s and P-47s attack targets in the Kumamoto area.
• More than 20 FEAF B-24s attack targets in the Oita area.
• Nearly 40 FEAF B-25s attack Japanese warships and shipping during a sweep of waters between Kyushu and Korea.
• FEAF P-47s attack the harbor at Sasebo.
• FEAF P-51s attack targets of opportunity on Honshu and Kyushu.

• Task Force 38 carrier aircraft complete the destruction of a large concentration of transport aircraft and bombers in the Hokkaido-northern Honshu area. In the two-day action, US Navy pilots claim the destruction of 720 aircraft, all on the ground. Among the carrier aircraft taking part in the day’s strikes are Corsairs of the Royal Canadian Navy’s 1841 Squadron off HMS Formidable. These are the only Canadian aircraft to undertake carrier-based combat sorties in World War II.
• 15th and 506th Fighter group P-51s down 7 Japanese fighters over the Tokyo area between 1020 and 1120 hours.
• During the night 504th Very Heavy Bomb Group B-29s sow mines in Shimonoseki Strait, Nakaumi Lagoon, and off Sakai and Yonago.

Air Operations, Korea

During the night 504th Very Heavy Bomb Group B-29s sow mines off Wonsan.

Air Operations, CBI

• 9 14th Air Force P-51s attack troops and river and rail targets at Chenghsien, Hengyang, and Tehsien. These are the last offensive sorties of World War II by USAAF aircraft in China.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Laha.

Air Operations, Formosa

V Bomber Command B-24s based in the Philippines attack the airfield at Heito.

Air Operations, Japan

FEAF bombers and fighter-bombers complete nearly 530 effective sorties against a dizzying array of targets across Kyushu, the Inland Sea, and the Tsushima area.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack several targets on Luzon.

Allied Command

Gen MacArthur is declared the Allied Supreme Commander, giving him the authority of accept the Japanese surrender on behalf of the Allied nations.

Britain, Home Front

The Queen Mary docks at Southampton.

Diplomatic Relations

The Allies reply, saying that the Imperial authority would be subject to the decision of the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in the occupation force. The Japanese are not yet ready to accept this demand which still seems very close to unconditional surrender.

Air Operations, Formosa

V Bomber Command B-24s based in the Philippines attack the Kagi airfield and marshalling yards at Takao.

Air Operations, Japan

• FEAF B-24s based on Okinawa attack the Matsuyama airfield on Shikoku.
• FEAF B-25s and 319th Medium Bomb Group A-26s attack the Chiran and Kanoya airfields on Kyushu.
• FEAF A-20s, A-26s, and P-47s attack Akuna, Kushikino, and Miyazaki.
• FEAF B-25s and fighter-bombers attack communications targets and shipping across Kyushu, the northern Ryukyus, and between Japan and Korea.
• 4 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kataoka.

• 3 B-24s attack the Suribachi airfield.
• 7th Air Force B-24s and 41st Medium Bomb Group B-25s undertake what will be their final missions of the war.
• V Fighter Command fighters down 3 Japanese fighters during the morning.
• Task Group 37.2 retires to Manus Island to replenish, but in order to assure a Royal Navy presence for the impending surrender, HMS Indefatigable and a number of Royal Navy surface vessels, including the battleship HMS King George V, remain on station with Task Force 38 under the new designation Task Group 38.5. An impending typhoon causes Task Force 38 to curtail combat flight operations and withdraw to safety.

Air Operations, Philippines

XIII Fighter Command P-38s support US 8th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Japan

• Task Force 38 carrier aircraft attack Japanese aircraft on the ground, claiming 250 destroyed and 149 damaged.
• V Bomber Command B-24s and B-25s attack shipping in the Inland Sea and between Kyushu and Korea.
• FEAF fighter-bombers patrol aggressively over Kyushu.
• In the 11th Air Force’s final combat mission, 6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kashiwabara with the aid of radar.
• A VBF-16 F6F downs a C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissanceplane at sea at 0515 hours.
• 2 VBF-85 F4Us down a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter 20 miles from Task Force 38 at 1100 hours.
• A VF-86 F6F downs a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter over Task Force 38 at 1120 hours.
• 2 VBF-85 F4Us down a B7A 'Grace' torpedo bomber 122 miles from Task Force 38 at noon.
• VF-86 F6Fs down 2 B7A 'Grace' torpedo bombers off Honshu at 1300 hours.
• A VF-16 F6F downs a B7A 'Grace' torpedo bomber 50 miles from Task Force 38 at 1340 hours.
• 2 VF-1 F4U down a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber 10 miles from Task Force 38 at 1345 hours. 2 VBF-85 F4Us down a B6N 'Jill' torpedo bomber 12 miles from Task Force 38 at 1400 hours.
• VF-87 F6Fs down a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomer and a B6N 'Jill' dive bomber near Task Force 38 at about 1600 hours.
• A VF-49 F6F downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber 20 miles from Task Force 38 at 1623 hours.
• A VF-34 F6F pilot downs a Ki-84 'Frank' fighter at sea at 1650 hours.
• A VF-38 F6F downs a J1N 'Irving' fighter at sea at 1815 hours.
• VF(N)-91 F6Fs down 3 Ki-45 'Nick' fighters and 2 P1Y 'Galaxy' bombers at sea between 1835 and 1915 hours.

Air Operations, Korea

• 507th Fighter Group P-51s down a G4M 'Betty' bomber, a K5Y 'Willow' biplane trainer, and 18 Japanese fighters near Keijo between 1349 and 1415 hours, as 48 P-47s are conducting a fighter sweep between Ie Shima and Keijo.
• 1 P-47 is downed, but its pilot is later rescued.

Air Operations, Malaya

XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack shipping around Singapore.

Air Operations, Pacific

• Sub-Lt Saburo Sakai, one-eyed Zero 'ace' with 64 victories, shoots down a B-29 near Tokyo.
• As a further incentive to get the Japanese to surrencer, 1,600 aircraft attack Tokyo in one of the most concentrated raids of the war.
• Millions of copies ot Japanese translations of the Potsdam Declaration are dropped on Japan's cities. The document calls on the Japanese 'to follow the path of reason' or face 'utter destruction'.

Air Operations, Philippines

In the 13th Air Force’s final combat mission, XIII Bomber Command B-25s attack Japanese Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Japan

• 157 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack the naval arsenal at Hikari.
• 145 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack an arsenal at Osaka.
• 108 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack rail yards at Marifu.
• 8 B-29s attack targets of opportunity.
• In the VII Fighter Command’s final mission of the war, more than 160 fighter-bombers based on Iwo Jima escort B-29s over Japan and, upon release, attack airfields and military targets in the Nagoya area.
• 1 P-47 is lost.
• In the FEAF’s final missions of the war, V Bomber Command B-25s, and V Fighter Command and VII Fighter Command P-47s and P-51s attack Japanese warships and shipping between Kyushu and Korea.
• In the USAAF’s final fighter engagements of World War II, 110th Tactical Reconnaisance Squadron F-6s down 4 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters near the Fukuoaka airfield on Kyushu betwen 0930 and 0937 hours. A 318th Fighter Group P-47 downs a Ki-84 'Frank' fighter near Osaka at 1030 hours. 507th Fighter Group P-47s down 3 A6Ms Zeros, 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters, and a Ki-44 'Tojo' fighter near Kyoto between 1040 and 1130 hours. A 413th Fighter Group P-47 downs a Ki-84 'Frank' over the Kaneyama airfield at noon. In the very last USAAF fighter engagement of the war, 8th Fighter Group P-38s down 5 Ki-84 'Frank' fighters off southern Honshu at 1215 hours.
• In the war against Japan, from December 7, 1941, onward, USAAF fighter pilots are credited with downing 5,214 Japanese airplanes in every part of the war zone.

• The Government of Japan accepts the Allies’ tender to surrender unconditionally.
• During the night, in the 20th Air Force’s final missions, 86 73rd and 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Isesaki. 81 313th and 314th Very Heavy Bombt wing B-29s attack Kumagaya. 132 315th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s (in the longest single-stage round-trip mission of World War II—3,650 miles) attack an oil facility at Tsuchizaki. 39 504th Very Heavy Bomb Group B-29s sow mines off 4 Japanese port cities.
• 2 B-29s attack targets of opportunity. Before the B-29s return to their bases in the Marianas, President Harry S Truman announces the cessation of hostilities.

Air Operations, Pacific

In the final raid of the war, B-29s attack Kumagaya, Isesaki, and Akita.

Air Operations, Philippines

During the night, upon the formal declaration that hostilities have ceased, the US 11th Airborne Division leaves for Okinawa by air, en route to occupation duty in Japan.

China

The Russians have routed the Japanese Kwangtung Army and penetrate between 100 and 250 miles into Manchuria, occupying a number of towns including Mukden. They also proceed with the occupation of Sakhalin and the Kurils.

Air Operations, Japan

• At 0415 hours, 103 Task Force 38 carrier aircraft are launched against Tokyo-area targets. Orders to cease hostilities are broadcast just as the first attackers arrive over their targets.
• While the Allies mount no more offensive strikes, they must nonetheless defend themselves against a spate of strikes, perhaps mounted by Japanese pilots unhappy with the surrender. In the final aerial engagements of World War II, a VBF-83 F4U downs a C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissance plane at sea at 0540 hours.
• VF-31 F6Fs down 4 A6M Zeros and a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter at sea at 0545 hours.
• VF-49 F6Fs down 6 A6M Zeros near Mito at 0620 hours.
• VF-6 F6Fs down an A6M Zero and 2 J2M 'Jack' fighters over Sagami Bay at 0705 hours.
• VF-88 F6Fs down 5 Ki-84 'Frank' fighters and 3 J2M 'Jack' fighters near the Atsugi airfield on Honshu at 0720 hours and 3 C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissance Planes over the Hokoda airfield at 0743 hours.
• A VBF-6 F4U downs a B5N 'Kate' torpedo bomber over Task Force 38 at 1122 hours.
• A VBF-85 F4U downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber 15 miles from Task Force 38 at noon.
• A VF-86 F6F downs an A6M Zero at sea at 1300 hours.
• A VF-86 F6F downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber at sea at 1331 hours.
• Beginning with an A6M Zero downed at 0825 hours on December 7, 1941, over Pearl Harbor by VS-6’s Aviation Radioman 1st Class William C. Miller, US Navy fighter pilots and carrier-based light-bomber crews have been credited with downing 6,800 Japanese aircraft in the Pacific War.
• Task Force 38 recalls a 73-plane afternoon carrier strike mission when Adm Chester W. Nimitz, Jr., orders Adm William F. Halsey, Jr.: 'Suspend air attack operations.' Shortly, several apparently uninformed Japanese pilots down 4 F6Fs on patrol over the coast.

• Pending an actual surrender, Task Force 38 withdraws to an area 100 to 200 miles southeast of Tokyo and maintains its normal wartime routine.

Air Operations, Pacific and East Asia

Effective immediately, all Allied military forces are ordered to terminate offensive action against Japan and Japanese forces.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

On or about this date, the 5th Air Force’s 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group displaces to Ie Shima from the Philippines. The group’s primary mission is locating prisoner-of-war camps, assessing bomb damage, and charting the movement of Japanese military forces in southern Kyushu.

Diplomatic Relations

A Treaty of Friendship is made between Nationalist China and the USSR.

China, Politics

The Chinese Communist leadership tells the US Government that it wants territorial gains from any post-war settlement with Japan. The Soviet Union pledges to return Manchuria to China within 3 months of the end of hostilities with Japan.

China

Russian operations continue. Marshal Alexandr Vasilevsky proposes that hostilities shall cease at midday on August 20. There is no reply from the headquarters of the Japanese Kwangtung Army, but from 7:00pm many units begin to surrender.

Britain, Home Front

In the House of Commons in London Winston Churchill voices his fears that 'an Iron Curtain, will fall across Europe'.

Diplomatic Relations

In Moscow the Soviets and Poles sign a treaty establishing the Soviet-Polish border.

Argentina

U-977 arrives at Mar del Plata and surrenders, having left Kiel on April 13 and sunk a Soviet ship in the Arctic.

Dutch East Indies

Indonesian nationalists led by Sukarno declare independence from Dutch colonial rule and proclaim the 'Provisional Indonesian Republic Government' on Java.

France, Home Front

De Gaulle commutes the death sentence on Pétain to life imprisonment.

Air Operations, Pacific

2 F-7 reconnaissance planes (converted B-24s) are attacked by 10 fighters and flak over Tokyo. Both are damaged and 1 man is killed, but 2 fighers are destroyed.

India, Home Front

Subhas Chandras Bose is fatally injured in a plane crast on Formosa. He was 48.

China

Chiang Kai-shek forbids Japanese forces to surrender to the Red Chinese and orders the latter to hold its positions. Mao disregards this.

Diplomatic Relations

A Japanese peace delegation arrives in Manila by air via Okinawa to confer directly with Gen Douglas A. MacArthur regarding details of the surrender. MacArthur was named on August 15 to the post of Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers for the express purpose of negotiating and accepting the surrender.

Burma

Mountbatten broadcasts surrender instructions to the Japanese forces.

China

All operations cease. The Japanese Kwangtung Army has lost 700,000 men killed, wounded and prisoners. However, Russian operations still go on in Sakhalin and the Kurils.

Diplomatic Relations

The Japanese delegation returns to Tokyo with the Allies dispositions for the occupation and for the signature of the surrender.

Manchuria

The Russians capture Harbin and Mukden.

Norway, Home Front

The trial of Quisling for high treason opens at Oslo. Quisling who claimed to be the 'savior' of Norway is sentenced to death on September 10 and is executed by a firing squad on October 24.

United States, Home Front

All outstanding Lease-Lend contracts are cancelled by President Truman. Because Britain had been receiving many foodstuffs through this program, rationing in Britain will get worse than in wartime.

Japan, Home Front

The 'People's Volunteer Corps' , the Home Guard, is disbanded.

Manchuria

The Kwantung Army surrenders at Harbin. Russian airborne forces land at Port Arthur. 'Emperor Kan Teh' of Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet ruler in China, is captured by the Russians on Mukden airfield.

Britain, Home Front

Both Houses of Parliament ratify the UN Charter.

A US Air Force B-24 crashes into a crowded school building in Freckelton, England, killing 76 children and the entire crew.

China

The Russians occupy Port Arthur (now Lu-Ta).

Occupied Austria

British, American and French troops enter Vienna.

Britain, Home Front

Attlee complains that the abrupt ending of the US Lease-Lend program has left Britain in a 'very serious financial position'. Bevin says the 700,000 London homes need repair.

Diplomatic Relations

The USSR and China sign a treaty of alliance.

China

Communists and Nationalists struggle for control in China as Nationalist Kuomintang troops enter Shanghai and Nanking. The Communist leader Mao Tse-tung refuses to visit Chungking for discussions with Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek.

Japan, Home Front

Radio Tokyo reports 'groups are committing hara-kiri before the Imperial Palace in large numbers.'

US carrier aircraft begin uncontested flights over Japan, monitoring the surrender of Japanese military facilities and also locating and supplying Allies prisoners of war formerly held in Japanese camps.

Occupied Germany

British forces in western Europe are redesignated 'British Army of the Rhine' (BAOR).

Philippines

Gen Yamashita informs the commander of the US 32nd Division that he has ordered all Japanese troops in the Philippines to lay down their arms.

Occupied Japan

The Russians begin occupying the Kurile Islands.

Pacific

• The Allied 3rd Fleet, including US, British, Commonwealth and Dutch warships, anchors at Sagami Bay, within sight of Mount Fujiyama.
• Two Japanese submarines surrender to four US destroyers off Honshu, Japan.

Burma

Japanese forces in Burma formally surrender in Rangoon.

Occupied Japan

The first American units, Air Force technicians, arrive in Japan at Atsugi airfield. Their arrival has been delayed for 48 hours by the forecast of a typhoon.

Occupied Germany

Göring, Ribbentrop and 22 other Nazi leaders are indicted as war criminals.

Singapore

Adm Lord Mountbatten receives the surrender of the Japanese forces in Southeast Asia, about 740,000 men. The document is signed by Gen Seishiro Itagaki.

Diplomatic Relations

Mexico recognizes the Spanish Republican Government as the legitimate government of Spain.

Hong Kong

A British naval squadron under Rear-Adm Cecil Harcourt re-occupies the colony. PoWs are liberated.

Diplomatic Relations

The US re-establishes diplomatic relations with Finland.

Marcus Island

The Japanese garrison surrenders to the American Adm Francis Whiting on board the US destroyer Bagley (DD-386).