Air Operations, Asia

Targets for the 14th Air Force include Hankow, Pailochi, Hainan and Hong Kong.

Air Operations, Europe

This month RAF Bomber Command drops about 16,000 tons of bombs and 8th Air Force about 3,600. Hamburg is the principal target (see July 24-30). Essen and other cities in the Ruhr are also attacked by the RAF. American objectives include towns in France, Norway and Germany.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

In the early part of the month the main target of the Allied Mediterranean air forces is Sicily. Later, Naples, Bari and Rome are among the objectives. The raid on Rome on July 19 is particularly heavy

1,100 tons of bombs are dropped by 700 aircraft. In all the raids on Italian cities leaflets are dropped urging an Italian surrender.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

During the night, 10 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Lakunai and Rapopo airfields att Rabaul.

Air Operations, Europe

• 12 Lancasters lay mines in the Frisians and there are 25 OTU sorties with no losses.

• In the day's only combat air engagement in the theater, 78th Fighter Group P-47s down 2 FW-190s over the Dutch coast.
• 1 P-47 and its pilot are lost

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s attack Kela Point and Logui.
• 6 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s strafe targets around Lae and support Australian Army troops near Nassau Bay.

Air Operations, Solomons

• VMSB-132 and VB-11 SBDs attack Viru, New Georgia, in support of US Marine Corps Raiders.
• VF-27 and VF-28 F4Fs down 4 of 12 D3A 'Val' dive-bombers and 1 of 18 A6M Zeros that attack Allied shipping off Rendova between 1015 and 1100 hours. P-40s of the 18th Fighter Group’s 44th Fighter Squadron down 9 'Vals' and 7 Zeros between Munda and Rendova between 1020 and 1140 hours.

Air Operations, Tunisia

Patrolling Spitfires of the 52nd Fighter Group's 5th Fighter Squadron down 4 Luftwaffe fighters northeast of Cape Bon.

Axis Diplomacy

Marshal Antonescu comes to visit Mussolini to suggest that Italy, Rumania and Hungary should leave the war together. This would clearly be a sensible policy for Mussolini to attempt but he is afraid to give any lead and in meetings with Hitler over the next few weeks he is too frightened to speak out.

Eastern Front

Troop dispositions at the begining of July 1943.[MORE]

Air Operations, Aleutians

17 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s and 16 B-25s mount 5 separate attacks against Kiska, including two conducted with radar guidance.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

11 V Bomber Command B-17s and 7 B-24s attack the Vunakanau and Rapopo airfields at Rabaul.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Mosquitos are sent to Cologne, 2 to Duisburg and 32 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians and off the Brittany ports.
• There are no losses.

• 91 IX Bomber Command B-24s mount a preemptive attack against Axis airdromes in the 'heel' of Italy -- at Grottaglie, Lecce, and San Salentino.
• 4 B-24s are lost

Air Operations, Mediterranean

Major ports in central and southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia continue to be the targets for heavy Allied air raids.

Between June 12 and this date the Allies have dropped more than 2,000 tons of bombs on Italian territory, causing immense damage and shattering the morale of the troops who will have to face the Allied landing. In the bombing raids on this day German aircraft make unsuccessful 'air-to-air' bombing runs over the US formations.

NACAF (Northwest African Coastal Air Force) aircraft attack 2 Axis ships at sea off Italy's west coast.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s attack Kela Point and Logui and one B-24 attacks targets around Salamaua.
• 10 Japanese bombers mount unopposed bombing and strafing attacks against the Nassau Bay beachhead.

Air Operations, Sicily

• The intensified final phase of Operation HUSKY, the pre-invasion bombardment of military targets in Sicily, formally begins.
• NATAF (Northwest African Tactical Air Force) B-25s attack the Castelvetrano Airdrome.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack the Sciacca Airdrome.
• NATAF's 86th Fighter-Bomber Group, in A-36s, makes its combat debut in attacks on Sicily mounted from its base at Korba, Tunisia.
• The independent 99th Fighter Squadron scores its first victory of the war downing 1 FW-190. 3 other FW-190s are damaged in the day's action, but 2 P-40s and their pilots are lost.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s and AirSols F4Us attack Bairoko, New Georgia.
• After the Allied fighter umbrella is withdrawn because of impending bad weather, an estimated 18 G4M 'Betty' bombers, escorted by 20 A6M Zeros, mount a particularly telling attack against US Army and Marine ground forces on Rendova Island at 1330 hours. 59 Allied servicemen are killed by bombs.
• VMF-121 F4Us down 6 Zeros over and near Rendova during the early afternoon.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US tanker Bloody Marsh (10,195t), en route from Houston, Texas to New York City, is torpedoed and sunk by U-66 with the loss of 3 crewmen.

Air Operations, Aleutians

6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kiska.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

13 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Rabaul-area airfields and 1 B-24 attacks the Cape Gloucester airfield on New Britain.

Air Operations, CBI

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge at Myitnge.

Air Operations, Europe

• 653 aircraft are sent to Cologne. Included in the total are 293 Lancasters, 182 Halifaxex, 89 Wellingtons, 76 Stirlings and 13 Mosquitos.
• The target for this raid is that part of Cologne situated on the east bank of the Rhine, where a great deal of industry is located. Pathfinder ground marking is accurate and is maintained by both the Mosquito Oboe aircraft and the backers-up. The Main Force follows with their bomb loads causing extensive damage. Among the sites receiving extensive damage is the Humboldt-Deutz works which makes U-boat accumulators.
• This night sees the first operations of a new German unit, Jagdgeschwader 300, equipped with single-engined fighters using the Wilde Sau (Wild Boar) technique. In this, a German pilot uses any form of illumination available over a city being bombed - searchlights, target indicators, the glow of fires on the ground - to pick out a bomber for attack.
• Liaison with the local flak defences is supposed to ensure that the flak is limited to a certain height above which the Wild Boar fighter is free to operate. The new German unit claims 12 bombers shot down over Cologne but has to share the 12 available aircraft found to have crashed with the local flak, who also claims 12 successes.
• 9 Halifaxes, 8 Lancasters, 8 Wellingtons and 5 Stirlings are lost.

• 4 Mosquitos are sent to Duisburg, 4 more to Hamburg, and 14 Stirlings lay mines in the Frisians.
• 2 Stirlings are lost.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kendari airfield on Celebes and 2 V Bomber Command B-25s attack Koepang, Timor.

Air Operations, New Guinea

Approximately 7 Japanese bombers, escorted by A6M Zeros, attack the Nassau Bay beachhead, but they are intercepted by 14 49th Fighter Group P-40s returning to the airfield at Dobodura from another mission. P-40s of the 49th Fighter Group’s 7th Fighter Squadron down a Ki-46 'Dinah' recon aircraft and 5 of the Zeros between 1610 and 1615 hours.

Air Operations, Sardinia

• NASAF (Northwest African Strategic Air Force) B-17s and B-25s attach the Alghero, Chilivani, and Monserrato Airdromes.
• NASAF B-26s attack the Capoterra and Milis Airdromes.
• A 14th Fighter Group P-38 downs 1 Bf-109 near Cagliari while covering one of the afternoon bombing missions.

Air Operations, Sicily

• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack the Comiso Airdrome.
• 33rd and 325th Fighter Group P-40s down 2 Luftwaffe fighters in separate actions over the Sciacca and Trapani/Milo Airdromes, respectively.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia and anti-aircraft emplacements.
• P-38s of the 347th Fighter Group’s 339th Fighter Squadron down 5 A6M Zeros near Rendova at about 1445 hours. The Zeros are part of a force of 40 that sweep the invasion area.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-126 is sunk by Wellington 'R' of No 172 Squadron which detected the U-boat by radar. The aircraft dropped eight depth charges whice exploded on either side of the submarine causing her to sink.

U-126 Class Type IXC CO Oberleutnant zur See Siegfried Kietz Location Atlantic, NW of Cape Ortegal Cause Air attack Casualties 55 Survivors None

U-628 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Hasenschar Location Atlantic, NW of Cape Ortegal Cause Air attack Casualties 49 Survivors None

• U-628 is sunk by Liberator 'J' of No 224 Squadron. A radar contact is reported and one minute later the U-boat is spotted. The aircraft makes two attacks, the first with depth charges and anti-submarine bombs and the second with just depth charges. After the second attack debris and bodies are seen in a large brown oil slick.
• The US freighter Elihu B. Washburne (7176t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-513 off the coast of Brazil without a loss of those on board.

Eastern Front

Operation CITADEL, the offensive for the elimination of the Russian Kursk salient, is delayed by preventive bombing by the Russians which holds up the deployment of the German forces.

Air Operations, CBI

• 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack a road bridge at Shweli.

Air Operations, Europe

• 3 Mosquitos are sent to Duisburg and 13 Stirlings lay mines off La Pallice and in the Gironde River. There are also 4 OTU sorties. There are no losses.

• 166 1st Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s attack aircraft-industry targets in Le Mans and Nantes at 1245 hours with more than 404 tons of bombs.
• 7 B-17s are lost, 54 damaged; 1 crewman is killed, 9 wounded, 70 missing
• 71 4th Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s attack La Pallice about noon with more than 137 tons of bombs.
• 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged, 10 crewmen are missing

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF B-17s and B-26s attack the Catania and Gerbini Airdromes.
• NASAF B-25s attack two of Gerbini Airdrome's satellite fields.
• NATAF A-20s and B-25s attack the Castelvetrano, Comiso, Sciacca, and Trapani/Milo Airdromes.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack the Comiso Airdrome.

• 324th Fighter Group P-40s down 5 Axis fighters while covering the NATAF morning missions against the Sciacca Airdrome.
• 82nd Fighter Group p-38s down 3 Italian Air Force fighters while covering NASAF's two afternoon attacks against the Gerbini Airdrome complex, about 1315 hours and between 1500 and 1530 hours, respecively.

Air Operations, Solomons

• XIII Bomber Command B-17s attack Bairoko, New Georgia.
• VF-21 and VF-28 F4Fs down 4 G4M 'Betty' bombers and 3 A6M Zeros between Rendova and the Russell Islands at 1415 hours.

Mediterranean

British Commandos attack German military air bases on Crete and withdraw safely.

Poland, Politics

Gen Wladyslaw Sikorski is killed in an air crash near Gibraltar. He was 62. Stanislaw Mikolaczyk replaces him as prime minister of the London exile government and Gen Marian Kurkiel becomes Commander in Chief. Neither of these men is as capable as Sikorski. The commander of the Polish Home Army, Stefan Grot-Rowecki, was arrested by the Germans in Warsaw on June 30. His replacement is Gen Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski who, although personally a fine man, is less suited for the job. Also killed in the crash are Mme Zofia Lesniowska, Sikorski's daughter, Maj-Gen Tadeusz Klimecki, the Polish Chief of Staff, and Col Victor A. Cazalet, M.P., a British Liaison Officer.

A Yugoslav draftee in the German army who deserted to the Russians tell his questioners the Germans are planning a huge attack around Kursk at dawn on the 5th. Russian forces are alerted and move into stronger defensive positions.

The Germans are finally ready to launch Operation CITADEL. Their order of battle is as follows:

9th Army

On the northern shoulder of the salient stands the 9th Army under the command of Col-Gen Model (335,000 men, 590 tanks and 424 assault guns), made up of 21 German and 3 Hungarian divisions. The Hungarian divisins are used for anti-partisan and security duties and therefore will not be part of the offensive force. Of the 21 German divisions, 6 --the 2nd, 4th, 9th, 12th, 18th and 20th-- are panzer formations, with the 10th Panzergrenadier Division and 14 infantry divisions completing the line-up.

XLVII Corps:

the 2nd, 9th and 20th Panzer Divisions, 6th Infantry Divusuib and 21st Panzer Brugade. The armored divisions of the this corps are equipped with Panzer IIIs and IVs, plus StuG IIIs. However, the 21st Brigade has 3 Tiger companies in the 505th Panzer Detachment with 45 Tigers and 15 Panzer IIIs and the 909th Assault Gun Detachment has a total of 36 vehicles.

XLVI Corps:

the 4th and 12th Panzer Divisions, as well as the 10th Panzergrenadier Division, with a total of 184 tanks (held in reserve).

XLI Corps:

the 18th Panzer Division, as well as the 86th and 292nd Infantry Divisions. It also comprises the 653rd and 654th Heavy Tank Destroyer detachments, recently formed and equiped with the entire production run, to date, of Porsche Ferdinand tank destroyers and a small number of Panzer IVs. Additional firepower is provided by the StuG IIIs of the 177th and 244th Assault Gun Brigades, and by the 66 Brummbar assault guns of the 216th Panzer Battalion.

XX Corps:

4 infantry divisions.

XXIII Corps:

three and one-third infantry divisions.

4th Panzer Army

On the southern shoulder of the salient is the 4th Panzer Army, commanded by Col-Gen Hermann Hoth; and Army Detachment Kempf, commanded by Gen Walter Kempt. The Strength of Manstein's command is nearly 350,000 men, 1,269 tanks and 245 assault guns, excluding reserves.

LII Corps:

on the left, consistes of 3 infantry divisions, which will assume a mainly defensive posture.

XLVIII Panzer Corps:

in the center, comprises the 3rd and 11th Panzer Divisions, the 167th Infantry Division, and the Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadier Div, which includes the 200 Panthers of the 10th Panzer Brigade --in all, 535 tanks and 66 assault guns.

II SS Panzer Corps:

to the south, is made up of 3 SS Panzer Divisions --Leibstandarte, Das Reich and Totenkopr-- with a total of 390 tanks and 104 assault guns, including 42 ot Army Group South's 102 Tigers.

Army Detachment Kempf is tasked with guarding the right flank of the 4th Panzer Army, and consistes of 3 army corps.

III Panzer Corps:

the 6th, 7th and 19th Panzer Divisions with 299 tanks; 228th Assault Gun Detachment with 25 StuG IIIs; and the 168th Infantry Division. The cutting edge of the III Panzer Corps is the 503rd Panzer Detachment with 45 Tigers.

XI Corps (Corps Rauss):

the 106th and 320th Infantry Divisions and the 905th and 393rd Assault Gun Detachments with 25 StuG IIIs each.

XLII Corps:

the 39th, 161st and 282nd Infantry Divisions plus the Nashorn-equipped 560th Heavy Panzer Destroyer Detachment with 40 tank destroyers, and Heavy Tank Destroyer Detachment C with approximately 40 assault guns.

XXIV Panzer Corps:

In support is XXIV Panzer Corps, which includes the 17th Panzer Division and the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, a total of 112 tanks.

The Wehrmacht has amassed n impressive force, but its Red Army opponent is equally strong. To the north of Army Group Center is the Western Front: 50th Army, 11th Guards Army and the First Air Army, a total of 211,458 troops, 4,285 guns and mortars, 144 rocket launchers, 745 tanks and self-propelled guns and 1,300 aircraft.

Air Operations, Europe

• 5 Mosquitos are sent to Cologne and 4 more to Hamburg. 34 aircraft lay mines off the French ports and in the Frisians and there are 18 OTU sorties. 1 Stirling and 1 Wellington are lost in mine-laying operations.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

B-17s and Spitfires engage 100 German and Italian fighters over Gerbini airfield on Sicily. The top Italian 'ace' Capt Franco Lucchini, 26 victories, is shot down and killed.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-25s attack the airfield at Salamaua, 2 Japanese Army headquarters, and a trail.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s attack various parts of the Gerbini Airdrome complex and the radar stations at Licata and Marsala.
• NATAF aircraft attack the Biscari, Comiso, Sciacca, and Trapani/Milo Airdromes.
• 86 IX Bomber Command B-24s attack port facilities, oil storage, and rail yards at Messina.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack the Biscari and Sciacca Airdromes.
• In the most heavily opposed bombing mission of the pre-invasion bombing cycle, 27 B-17s of NASAF's 99th Heavy Bomb Group bound for the Gerbini Airdrome complex are attacked by an estimated 100 Axis fighters. The formation succeeds in dropping 3,240 fragmentation bombs on the airdrome, resulting in damage or loss to an estimated 28 Axis fighter on the ground. Bomber gunners claim 38 fighters downed and 11 probables, but these are certainly liberal estimates. P-38s of the 82nd Fighter Group down 5 Axis fighters.
• 3 B-17s are lost

Air Operations, Solomons

• 9 XIII Bomber Command B-24s on an antishipping strike to the Buin area fail to locate targets, so they attack the airfield at Ballale and the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia. This is the first strike force able to reach the northern Solomons in weeks on account of continuously bad weather.
• P-40s of the 18th Fighter Group’s 44th Fighter Squadron down two A6M Zeros over Munda and Rendova between 1245 and 1330 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Returning from patrol with two other U-boats, the three subarines are spotted by Liberatro 'G' of No 53 Squadron. U-535 is sunk by the aircraft becoming damaged in the process.

U-535

Class	Type IXC/40
CO	Kapitänleutnant Helmut Ellmennreich
Location	Atlantic, NE of Cape Finisterre
Cause	Air attack
Casualties	55
Survivors	None

• The US freighter Maltran, in Convoy GTMO-134 and en route from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Ponce, Puerto Rico, is torpedoed and sunk by U-759. Submarine chaser SC-1279 rescues all hands, 35 crewmen and 12 Armed Guard sailors.

Indian Ocean

The US freighter Alcoa Prospector (6797t), in Convoy PA-44 and en route from Abadan, Iran to Montevideo, Uruguay, is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-27. The Royal Indian Navy minesweeper Rins Bengal rescues the survivors. The crew will reboard the Alcoa Prospector the next day as the Indian ship stands by.

Eastern Front

Operation ZITADELLE (CITADEL), the final German summer offensive, begins. It is an attempt to encircle and destroy 2 Russian army groups in the Kursk salient. Hitler declares, in an Order of the Day, the the Operation will 'decide the war' and that giant new Tiger tanks will smash the Russian defenses.

Both sides have assembled huge ground and air forces for what is to be the largest tank engagement of the war, the Battle of Kursk. The Germans hope to cut off the Kursk salient and create a huge gap in the Soviet front which can then be exploited. They will attack the salient in the Orel, Kursk and Belgorod sectors. The battle will take place on a 200-mile front. The Soviets are well aware of the general German intentions from local reconnaissance and high-level espionage information and have decided, after much debate, to follow Zhukov's advice and stand on the defensive rather than attack first themselves.

Altogether the Soviets and the Germans have concentrated 2,000,000 men, 6,000 tanks and 5,000 aircraft to take part in the operation with the Soviets having a slight numerical superiority in all categories. In artillery the Soviets have a significant advantage with 20,000 guns and 920 Katyusha flame-throwers. As far as the quality of the equipment is concerned, in every class the Red Army is receiving newer and better designed weapons than has been the case in the past. The excellent T-34 tank, already in service, is being supplemented by new assault gun models. These qualitative improvements are particularly significant for the Red Air Force, which now has much more advanced fighter and ground-attack aircraft. The Germans have delayed the planned starting date of the battle at Hitler's command, in order to allow larger numbers of the new Panther tank to be supplied to the units taking part. The heavy Tiger tanks and the even more massive Elefant assault guns are also to have an important role in the attack. All these models are basically very effective designs but the conditions of the battle, and minor design errors and teething troubles for the new Panthers and Elefants, will limit their performance and to some extent set aside the advantage of skill which the German tank crews and small-unit commanders still maintain.

In the Orel area, the northern wing of the German pincer is led by Gen Model and is spearheaded by XLVII Panzer Corps of 9th Army. The somewhat stronger southern wing is commanded by Gen Hoth and includes 4th Panzer Army and Operational Group Kempf and will advance from the Belgorod area. Manstein and von Kluge are in overall charge of the southern and northern army groups respectively. Model's attack falls on Rokossovsky's Central Front and Hoth's on Vatutin's Voronezh Front. Konev's Steppe Front is in reserve to carry out the planned counteroffensive when the Germans have shot their bolt. Zhukov is supervising the defense in the north and Vasilievsky in the south.

In all areas the Soviets have prepared elaborate fixed defenses of minefields, other obstacles and anti-tank guns. The densitiy of the minefields in the most important sectors is 1,500 anti-tank mines and 1,700 anti-personnel mines to every square kilometer, or 3,900 and 4,400 per square mile. Even before the German attack starts they fire a disruptive bombardment which causes the Germans considerable loss. When the attack is launched at dawn on July 5 the progress made is slow in both sectors and many tanks are lost. The Germans manage to make small penetrations in the Russian positions both to the north and south, but at tremendous cost. In the north, the gains of 6 miles of ground on a front of 12 miles costs them 25,000 dead and the loss of 200 tanks and as many aircraft. In the south an advance of about 25 miles on a front of 30 miles is paid for with 10,000 dead and the destruction of 350 tanks. On the very first day the Russians announce that they have destroyed 586 tanks and 203 aircraft. This is certainly an exaggeration, but it gives an idea of the scale of the giant battle, the biggest tank battle in history and one of the most important aerial battles which is to see the Luftwaffe lose its dominance in the Russian skies for the first time. Soviet casualties are also considerable, but at this stage, few of their tanks are engaged.

Air Operations, Aleutians

6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kiska, but other bombers abort due to mechanical problems and failure to rendezvous with a Patrol Wing 4 PV radar pathfinder.

Air Operations, CBI

5 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s and 8 23rd Fighter Group P-40s attack the airfield at Pailochi.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-25s attack the Penfoei airfield on Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 4 Mosquitos are sent to Cologne and 3 to Düsseldorf. 36 aircraft lay mines off the Biscay ports.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-25s attack targets around Labu Lagoon.

Air Operations, Pacific

The Japanese bomb US troops on Rendova Island.

Air Operations, Sicily

• Beginning before dawn, NATAF aircraft mount day-long attack against the Biscari, Comiso, Sciacca, and Trapani/Milo Airdromes.
• NASAF B-17s and IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the Gerbini Airdrom complex.
• NASAF B-25s attack the Biscari Airdrome.
• In an engagement over Gerbini about 1520 hours, 1st Fighter Group P-38s claim 7 Bf-109s as damaged or probably downed, but no victory credits are awarded.
• During the night, NATAF light bombers attack the Sciacca Airdrome.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 35 US Marine Corps TBFs and SBDs attack Japanese defenses at Bairoko, New Georgia, in support of US Marine Corps ground troops.
• During the evening, 13 307th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kahili airfield on Bougainville, the first visit to Kahili since June 24. 7 other B-24s attack the airfield at Buka.
• 6 5th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack the airfield at Ballale Airdrome.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a beached Japanese destroyer.
• VF-11 F4Fs down 4 A6M Zeros over Kula Gulf between 1030 and 1040 hours.

Aleutians

The Japanese positions on Kiska are bombarded by 4 cruisers and 4 destroyers led by Rear-Adm Robert C. Giffen. This attack, the first in 11 months, is repeated several times by smaller forces over the next few days.

China

Bombers of the US 14th Air Force attack ships in ports in western China held by the Japanese.

Eastern Front

The bitter fighting of the Battle of Kursk continues. Model's 9th Army, part of von Kluge's Army Group Center, makes slight progress, about 6 miles. The Elefant assault guns employed here suffer heavily from infantry attack as their support is destroyed and their lack of machine guns prevents effective self-defense.

In the south excellent artillery and air support helps achieve rather more. A heavy downpour restricts the advance here a little, especially on the left on the lower ground allocated to the front of XLVIII Corps. The 4th Panzer Army under Hoth and Kempf Operational Group of Manstein's Army Group South, drive the Russians back 12 miles to the north. The Russian bulletin speaks of the destruction of 433 tanks and 111 aircraft. German losses are not as great as the day before, but still very high.

In the northern sector of the Kursk salient both sides focus their efforts on the ridges stretching between Pomyri and the heavily defended villages of Olkhovarka and Samodurovka. The Soviet XVI Tank and XVII Guards Rifle Corps attack but are thrown back. The Russian withdrawals are followed closely by tanks of the XLVII Panzer Corps advancing to the second defensive belt held by the XVII Guards Rifle Corps' 70th and 75th Guards Rifle Divisions. To the east of the line XLI Panzer Corps again tries to split the 13th and 48th Armies, but fails to do so. In the early evening the Soviets launch a counterattack, the 150 tanks of the XIX Tank Corps hitting the tip of the German 20th and 2nd Panzer Divisions in the Bobrik-Samodurovka sector. The tanks are stopped by German firepower, but once again both sides suffer heavy losses. The German 9th Army has again failed to make a breakthrough.

Air Operations, Asia

• A Japanese Ki-77 courier plane is lost over the Indian Ocean en route to Berlin.
• RAF Vengeance dive-bombers attack the Japanese Headquarters at Thaungdara, north of Rangoon.

Air Operations, CBI

• 7 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s and 22 23rd Fighter Group P-40s attack Japanese shipping in Canton’s West River estuary. 23rd Fighter Group P-40s down 2 A6M Zeros over Canton at 1220 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

Top Luftwaffe 'ace' Lt Erich Hartmann shoots down 4 Lagg fighters and 3 Shturmoviks near Kursk.

• 4 Mosquitos are sent to Cologne and 4 more to Düsseldorf without a loss.

IX Fighter Command P-40 fighter-bombers attack the Lucca Airdrome.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-24s and B-25s, with Royal Australian bombers, attack targets in the Mubo area, near Nassau Bay, with more than 100 tons of bombs.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s attack the Gerbini Airdrome complex and the Bo Risso Airdrome.
• NATAF A-20s attack the Biscari, Bo Rizzo, Comiso, Mazara del Vallo, and Trapani/Milo Airdromes, as well as the Marsala radar station and several other targets.
• IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the Gerbini Airdrome complex and the rail line north of Brucoli.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack the Biscari and Comiso Airdromes.
• In one of at least three fighter engagements during the day, P-40s of the 325th Fighter Group's 317th Fighter Squadron down 5 Bf-109s and an Mc-202 during an attack on the Trapani/Milo Airdrome about 1030 hours.

Air Operations, Solomons

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Kahili airfield on Bougainville.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 347th Fighter Group P-38s attack the Vila airfield on Kolombangara.
• During at least 2 midafternoon aerial engagements, VMF-121 and VMF-122 F4Us down 6 of 13 G4M 'Betty' bombers and 10 of 60 A6M Zeros intercepted around Rendova.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-185 sinks 3 ships in the Brazilian convoy BT-18. The U-boat first torpedoes the US freighter James Robertson (7176t) and the tanker William Boyce Thompson (7061t) in the first assault. The James Robertson collides with a couple of ships in the convoy before she is abandoned. The submarine chaser PC-575 rescues 21 men. 3 men are lost in the attack on the William Boyce Thompson before she is abandoned. Her survivors are picked up by the gunboat Surprise (PG-63). U-185 next torpedoes the US tanker S.B. Hunt (6849t) and the freighter Thomas Sinnickson (7176t). The former has no casuaties and manages to reach port at Trinidad. The latter loses 1 Armed Guard sailor in the initial explosion. The gunboat Surprise takes of 18 men this day and the rest the next day as the ship sink despite efforts by the crew to save her..
• The German submarine U-951 is sunk by Army aircraft in the eastern Atlantic.

U-951

Britain, Policy

London announces that Malta will be given its independence at the end of the war.

Diplomatic Relations

Gen Henri Giraud arrives in Washington to confer with Pres Roosevelt and other senior military officers about the role of the Free French in the war's coming stages.

Eastern Front

In the northern sector of the Battle of Kursk the Germans can only make a very small advance. For the rest of the battle Model is able to push forward less than a mile a day. The Russians carry out local counterattacks while preparing for a general counteroffensive. In the south the Germans come close to a breakthrough on the front of XLVIII Corps around Syrtzevo but Soviet armored counterattacks arrive in time to hold the Germans up in what soon becomes a slogging match. Russian sources speak of 520 tanks destroyed and 111 aircraft shot down. The reports also mention the recklessness of German tank crews driving straight through Russian minefields and suffering severely as a result.

Air Operations, Aleutians

9 28th Composite Bomb Group B-25s attack Kiska.

Air Operations, CBI

• 22 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s escorted by 13 23Rd Fighter Group P-40s attack port facilities and shipping at Haiphong.

Air Operations, Europe

• 282 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos are sent to attack Cologne.
• The Oboe skymarking is accurate and another successful raid follows. The northwestern and southwestern parts of the city are the hardest hit.
• 7 Lancasters are lost.

• 8 Mosquitos are sent to Duisburg, 46 aircraft lay mines off Texel, Brittany and the Biscay ports, and there are 27 OTU sorties.
• 1 mine-laying Wellington is lost.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

2 Ju-88 recon aircraft are downed, 1 near Bizerte and the other over the Algerian ocast, by pilots of the NACAF's 350th and 52nd Fighter Groups, respectively.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s support Australian Army ground troops in the Mubo area.
• P-40s of the 49th Fighter Group’s 9th Fighter Squadron down 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters over Bena Bena at 1045 hours.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF B-25s and B-26s mount several attacks against the Gerbini Airdrome comples.
• NASAF P-38s strafe radar installations in the eastern part of the island.
• NATAF B-25s attack the Biscari and Comiso Airdromes.
• NATAF A-20s attack the Sciacca Airdrome.
• NATAF A-36s attack a sulfur plant, a rail yard, and numerous rail and road targets throughout the island.
• IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the railroad station, a marshalling yard, and telephone and telegraph links at Catania.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack the Biscari and Comiso Airdromes.

• IX Fighter Command P-40s attack the Biscari Airdrome.
• 3 Bf-109s are downed in a large afternoon fighter battle involving 324th Fighter Group and 99th Fighter Squadron P-40s over the Sciacca Airdrome.
• During the night, NATAF aircraft attack the Sciacca and Trapani/Milo Airdromes.

Air Operations, Solomons

During the night, XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Kahili airfield on Bougainville, Buin, and Poporang.

Atlantic

Strong forces of the British Home Fleet cruise off Norway but they are not noticed by the Germans. This operation is designed to draw attention away from the Mediterranean operations.

In an attempt to divert German attention from Operation HUSKY, the US Alabama and the South Dakota carry out an unsuccessful sortie along the Norwegian coast.

Battle of the Atlantic

• A U-boat is sunk by an acoustic homing torpedo for the first time when U-514 is attacked by a B-24 Liberator.

U-514 Class Type IXC CO Kapitänleutnant Hans-Jurgen Auffermann Location Atlantic, NE of Cape Finisterre Cause Air attack Casualties 54 Survivors None

U-232 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Ernst Ziehm Location Atlantic, SW of Cape Finisterre Cause Air attack Casualties 46 Survivors None

• The German submarine U-232 is sunk by Army aircraft off Portugal.
• U-510 attacks Convoy TJ-1 about 150 miles northeast of Cayenne, French Guiana and sinks the US freighter Eldena (6900t). The submarine chaser PC-495 rescues all hands.

Eastern Front

The fierce fighting in the Battle of Kursk continues. The position in the south is still quite hopeful for the Germans despite their considerable losses but gradually their force is being worn down and in the very confused situation command and weapon-handling skills are becoming devalued. The losses attributed to the Germans by the Russians today are 304 tanks and 161 aircraft. The Germans claim the loss of 400 tanks and 193 aircraft by the Russians. There can be no question about the outcome of the battle. From the start the attackers have been outnumbered by the defenders, and Russian's intelligence network has always kept them minutely informed about the plans of the Wehrmacht.

Air Operations, CBI

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a rail bridge spanning the Mu River.

Air Operations, Crete

IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the Maleme Airdrome.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-25s attack the Cape Chater and Dili airfields on Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

In East Grinstead, Sussex a Luftwaffe plane bombs Whitehall Cinema killing 235 people.

• 418 aircraft are sent to Gelsenkirchen. In this total are 218 Lancasters, 190 Halifaxes and 10 Mosquitos.
• The raid is unsuccessful as 5 of the Mosquitos have Oboe equipment failure and a sixth drops skymarkers in error 10 miles north of the target.
• 7 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters are lost.

• 4 Mosquitos are sent to Nordstern and 18 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians and off Texel.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

B-24s destroy the Axis General Headquarters at Taormina, Sicily.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-25s attack Japanese Army ground troops at several locations.

Air Operations, Sicily

• Throughout the day, NAAF and 9th Air Force bombers and fighters attack numerous targets, especially airdromes, throughout Sicily.
• In a special last-minute reaction to late-breaking intelligence, 18 IX Bomber Command B-24s successfully mount a low-level attack against a hotel at Taormina that is thought to house the main headquarters overseeing all German forces in Sicily.
• P-40s ot the 324th Fighter Group's 316th Fighter Squadron engaged by Bf-109s over the Castelvetrano Airdrome during a morning mission receive credit for 5 confirmed victories and 5 probables.
• In other morning action, a 14th Fighter Group P-38 downs 1 Bf-109 near Sciacca Airdrome, and a 324th Fighter Group P-40 downs 4 Bf-109s over Trapani/Milo Airdrome.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 18 US Marine Corps SBDs attack Japanese ground defenses at Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s and AirSols fighters fail to locate Japanese Army troops in transit near Vella Lavella, so they strafe several island camps and a beached Japanese destroyer.
• 1 P-39 with the 347th Fighter Group’s 68th Fighter Squadron downs an A6M Zero over Rendova harbor at 1425 hours. VF-11 F4Fs down 3 A6M Zeros over Rendova at 1440 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-435 is sunk by Wellington 'R' of No 179 Squadron RAF. The aircraft spotted the submarine fully surfaced and dropped four depth charges straddling the U-boat. Violent explosions blew debriw into the air. The U-boat then rolled over on to her beam ends and sank.

U-435 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Siegfried Strelow Location North Atlantic Cause Air attack Casualties 48 Survivors None

U-590 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Werner Kruer Location Off mouth of Amazon R Cause Air attack Casualties 45 Survivors None

• Naval land-based aircraft (VP-94) sink the German submarine U-590 near the mouth of the Amazon River, Brazil.
[ | ]


---

After receiving the go ahead for Operation HUSKY from Gen Eisenhower from his advanced headquarters on Malta, the Allied landing force for the operation sails from harbors in Tunisia and is being concentrated around Malta but the bad weather is an issue. The tremendous pre-invasion air offensive against island results in Allied air superiority over the enemy. The defense of Sicily is entrusted to Gen Alfredo Guzzoni's Italian 6th Army. He has about 240,000 men, of whom a quarter are German. The Italian troops are all demoralized and poorly equipped, and many are tied down to fixed coastal defenses. The Allies have about 1,200 transports and 2,000 landing craft which will land elements of 8 divisions, more than on D-Day. By the third day 150,000 will be ashore and eventually 480,000, of whom slightly more than half will be British, will be landed. Gen Eisenhower is the Supreme Commander and his deputy, Gen Sir Harold Alexander, will lead 15th Army Group. This is composed of Patton's 7th Army and Montgomery's 8th Army. The naval commander is Adm Andrew Cunningham with Adm Sir Bertram Ramsay and Adm H. Kent Hewitt controlling the British and American landings respictively. Arthur Tedder commands the Allied air forces which provide 3,700 aircraft for direct supporting operations.

The Allies have mounted a considerable deception operation pointing both to Greece and Sardinia (see April 30, 1943 for one famous incident). This has been fairly successful. Hitler believes that Sardinia will be the target and has moved an airborne corps to the south of France to guard against this as well as taking precautions in Greece. Mussolini correctly expects that Sicily will be next but he is reluctant to call for the German help necessary to strengthen the defenses there.

During the night British and US airborne troops take off from Tunisia and are dropped on the island. High winds prevailing in the assault areas handicap both sea and airborne forces, but the latter surprise the enemy and take assigned objectives, which will facilitate the forward movement of the seaborne forces when they arrive. The 1st Air Landing Brigade Group of the 1st Airborne Division, XIII Corps, British 8th Army, loaded into 147 gliders and towed by the US 51st Carrier Wing, is dropped near Syracuse to hasten the capture of that port. The majority of the 147 gliders land wide of drop zone and 65 fall into the sea, but one group of 8 officers and 65 men reach and hold its objective-- the Ponte Grande bridge. The US parachute task force under Col James M. Gavin, consisting of 82nd Airborne Division's 505th RCT (Regimental Combat Team) and the 3rd Battalion of 504th Parachute Regiment, is dropped from 226 C-47's to take the high ground near Ponte Olivo airfield, northeast of Gela, and assist seaborne forces of US II Corps, 7th Army, in the capture of the airfield. Although drops are very widely scattered over southern Sicily, the objective is taken. This is the first major airborne operation to be undertaken by Allied forces in World War II and consequently becomes subject of intensive study.

Order of Battle - Allies --Axis

Air Operations, Aleutians

6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s and 5 B-25s attack a convoy near Attu.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Boela in the Molucca Islands.

Air Operations, CBI

• 9 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the port area at Haiphong.

Air Operations, Europe

• 36 of 64 1st Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s attack the Abbeville/Drucat Airdrome about 0730 hours with over 62 tons of bombs.
• 34 of 116 1st Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s and 5 YB-40s dispatched attack the Caen Airdrome about 0830 hours with more than 74 tons of bombs.
• 1 B-17 is lost, 33 damaged; 1 crewman wounded, 10 missing

Air Operations, Japan

8 28th Composite Bomb Group B-25s operating from the airfield on Attu attack Paramushiro Island in the northern Kurile Islands. Technically, this is the first attack by Allied land-based bombers against mainland Japan.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s attack Logui and Salamaua and support a link-up between the Nassau Bay invasion force and large Australian Army forces.
• B-24s attack Babo and 1 B-24 attacks Kela.

Air Operations, Sicily

• In history's first mass airborne assault, which begins at 0245 hours, 133 tow planes, including 105 51st Troop Carrier Wing C-47s, release glider-borne British Army airborne troops near Syracuse. Of the 133 gliders released, only 12 come down in the landing zone and 47 are lost at sea, most with all the troops aboard. The remaining 74 come to rest pretty much all over the island.
• A concurrent parachute drop by American paratroopers against Gela meets pretty much the same difficulties. A total of 226 52nd Troop Carrier Wing C-47s drop 2,781 paratroopers and 891 parachute equipment packs, but barely enough of both to secure th vital Gela crossroads actually hit the drop zone.
• Throughout the day, NAAf and 9th Air Force bombers, fighters, and fighter-bombers undertake a variety of missions in support of the Allied invasion forces.
• Throughout the day, only 24 Axis aircraft are downed by NAAF fighters. In the day's biggest air action, which takes place over southewestern Sicily between 1800 and 1820 hours, P-38s of the 82nd Fighter Group's 96th Fighter Squadron down 9 Axis fighters and 1 Ju-88.
• During the night, NASAF aircraft attack the Sciacca and Trapani/Milo Airdromes.

Air Operations, Solomons

US Marine Corps TBFs drop supplies to US Marine ground forces near Enogai, New Georgia.

Eastern Front

In the north Model's attacks finally grind to a halt in the Battle of Kursk. In the south the unrelenting German pressure has seriously worried Vatutin and help is sent from Konev's Steppe Front - principally the 5th Guards Tank Army.

German success at Kursk now hinges on the 4th Panzer Army. The Totenkopf crosses the Psel and captures the northern slopes of Hill 226.6. The Leibstandarte advances up the Prokhorovka road and captures the Komsomolets State Farm and becomes engaged in vicious fighting for Hill 241.6. The hill is taken shortly after nightfall. After a gruelling battle of attrition, Das Reich gains only a foothold in the small village of Ivanovskii Vyselok. the II SS Panzer Corps has made slow progress, but enough for Hitler to order that Operation CITADEL be continued. On the Soviet side, the 5th Guards Army arrives at Prokhorovka during the night and the 5th Guards Tank Army moves into assembly areas in the 5th Guards Army's rear.

Hitler rejects his generals' advice and decides to persevere with the Kursk offensive.[MORE]

The main Allied landings for Operation HUSKY begin. 160,000 men with 600 tanks set foot on the southeast coast of Sicily. The landings are carried out without much difficulty, thanks to the accurate and intense fire of the warships. Naval support for the landings come from 6 battleships, 2 carriers, 18 cruisers, 7 submarines and 210 other warships. Also, the defending forces did not expect a landing in such bad weather. 200 landing craft are put out of action because of the rough seas. Other US naval casualties in the landings include the destroyer Maddox (DD-622) sunk by a dive bomber, LST 313 sunk by a horizontal bomber and the minesweeper Sentinel (AM-113) sunk by a dive bomber. Damaged in collisions during the landing operation are destroyers Roe (DD-418) and Swanson (DD-443); attack transport William P. Biddle (APA-8) and the LST 382; and the LST 345 and the submarine chaser PC-611. During the operation British and American fighters from bases in Malta and Pantelleria fly in formation over the landing places to deal with any possible Axis counterattacks

The British 8th Army (Gen Montgomery) lands to the east of the US II Corps between Pozzallo and Syracuse. The British XXX Corps, with the 231st Brigade on right, the 51st Division in the center, and the Canadian 1st Division on left, lands on Pachino peninsula and clears town of Pachino and airfield. The British XIII Corps, on the eastern flank, employs the 5th Division on the right and the 50th Division on the left. While the 50th takes Avola, the 5th makes contact with airborne forces of British 1st Airborne Division at Ponte Grande and crosses bridge to capture Syracuse during the night.

Gen Patton's 7th Army lands in the Gulf of Gela between Licata and Scoglitti. They meet only slight opposition and quickly take Gela, Licata and Vittoria. After taking Gela about 8:00am Americans of the 1st Division and the Rangers encounter powerful counterattacks by the German Hermann Goering and Italian Livorno Divisions.

In the south where the American 45th Division is in action, Vittoria and Santa Croce Camerina are taken. To the north the US 3rd Division, 2nd Armored Division and Rangers take Licata, including the harbor and airfield, and consolidate their positions, keeping an eye on the movements of the German 15th Panzer Division, whom they have identified between Canicatti and Caltanissetta, and who are reported by American reconnaissance to be moving east.[MORE]

Air Operations, Aleutians

6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s and 6 B-25s mount 3 attacks (including 1 radar-guided attack) against Kiska.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-17s and B-24s attack Rabaul-area airfields.

Air Operations, CBI

• 8 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack barracks and troop emplacements at Kunlong.

• Several 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and 3 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the harbor area at Haiphong. 3 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the port area at Campha. 23rd Fighter Group P-40s attack an oil depot at Lao Kay and road traffic between Lao Kay and Cha Pa.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-25s attack Penfoei, Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the port area at Reggio di Calabria, directly opposite Messina.

Air Operations, Gilberts

Three VII Bomber Command B-24s reconnoiter Little Makin Island in Makin Atoll, and 2 of the B-24s bomb the island.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s attack Japanese Army ground troops and trails in the Nassau Bay area.
• 8th and 49th Fighter group planes down 3 A6M Zeros and 4 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters around Salamaua between 1040 and 1045 hours.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF B-17s attack the marshalling yards at Catania.
• NASAF B-26s attack the Gerbini Airdrome complex and the Trapani/Milo Airdrome.
• NASAF B-25s and P-38s attack the Sciacca Airdrome and a town.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack the Bo Rizzo and Trapani/Milo Airdromes as well as several area targets.

• Like the previous day, Axis air forces are again less aggressive in the defense of Sicily. 16 Axis aircraft are downed, half of which are Luftwaffe medium bombers.
• It is decided by the high command to conduct a reinforcement of an area threatened by a major Axis counterattack. Some 2,000 US Army paratroopers are assigned to the night drop which will be carried out from bases in North Africa to the vicinity of Gela by 144 C-47s from 4 troop-carrier groups under the control of the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing. A number of obstacles make the drop a disaster - strong head winds, the landing zone back under Axis control, and strong anti-aircraft fire from Allied ships. Aircraft losses are put at 23, but many crewmen and passengers in aircraft are killed or wounded by penetrating bullets and shrapnel. Half of the C-47s returning to Tunisia report heavy damage. Needless to say, the reinforcement is a lot less than was hoped.

Air Operations, Solomons

• XIII Bomber Command B-17s and B-24s attack the Kahili airfield on Bougainville.
• During the morning, VMF-221 F4Us down a Japanese Navy fighter near Vella Lavella and a G4M 'Betty' bomber near Munda Point. VMF-221 F4Us down a G4M 'Betty' and 4 A6M Zeros over Kula Gulf at noon. 1 VMF-214 F4U downs an A6M Zero over Guadalcanal at 1440. VMF-213 planes down 4 A6M Zeros between New Georgia and Kula Gulf at 1440 hours. 1 P-39 from the 347th Fighter Group’s 68th Fighter Squadron downs a Zero over Kula Gulf at about 1500 hours.

Eastern Front

The vicious fighting continues in the southern sector in the Battle of Kursk. The 4th Panzer Army and the Kempf Operational Group throw in all the forces at their command in a desperate attack on enemy positions at Prokhorovka. They succeed in taking several miles of territory, but lose 400 tanks. It is now more strictly a tank battle with the air and other supporting forces unable to intervene effectively. Visibility on the battlefield has become so poor because of dust and smoke that the Germans can make nothing of their advantage in long-range gunnery. The northern and southern points of the German forces are still very far apart, and they never get any closer. Manstein and von Kluge beg the Füher to call off the terrible costly Operation CITADEL, already doomed to failure. But they receive refusals.

In the north of the Kursk salient, Model commits the 10th Panzergrenadier Div, which launches a series of desperate attacks at Ponyri. Although the Germans now hold most of the town, it is impossible to move forward as their losses have been too great, To the west, the Soviet XVII Guards Rifle Corps takes the full force of the German attack, especially around Hill 257. But agains the Germans fail to break through. The II SS Panzer Corps continues its advance, the Leibstandarte's panzers advancing along both sides of the Prokhorovka road supported by the Luftwaffe. Driving the elements of the already depleted Soviet II Tank Corps before it, the Leibstandarte Division is subjected to flank attacks and artillery fire. The SS division takes Hill 252.2 and pushes on to capture the Oktiabr'skii State Farm. The Leibstandarte has driven a wedge into the Russian lines in front of Prokhorovka, and II Tank Corps' defenses are in disarray. However, its losses have been heavy and it now has only 60 tanks, 10 assault guns and 20 self-propelled tank destroyers in working order.[MORE]

Air Operations, Bismarcks

1 43rd Heavy Bomb Group B-17 attacks Garove Island and 5 V Bomber Command B-24s attack Rabaul and nearby airfields.

Air Operations, CBI

• Flights of the the 14th Air Force’s new 21st Photographic-Reconnaissance Squadron, in F-4s and F-5s, mount their first missions of the war from bases at Kweilin and Kunming.

• 7 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the port area at Campha, shipping at Ha Long Bay, and rail faicilities, warehouses, and a power plant at Hongay. Also, 23Rd Fighter Group P-40s strafe motor vehicles near Ha Giang.

Air Operations, East Indies

2 V Bomber Command B-25s attack several villages and the airfield at Lingat in the Molucca Islands.

Air Operations, Europe

• 295 Lancasters of Nos. 1, 5 and 8 Groups are sent to Turin.
• The main weight of this raid falls just north of the city center in clear weather. Among the RAF casualties on this night is Wing Commander J. D. Nettleton, Commanding Officer of 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, who had won the Victoria Cross for the low-level daylight raid on Augsburg in April 1942. Nettleton's Lancaster is shot down by a German night fighter over the Channel while returning from Turin. He and his crew all die.
• 13 Lancasters are lost.

• 22 Wellingtons lay mines off Brest, Lorient and St Nazaire, and there are 19 OTU sorties.
• There are no losses.

IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the port facilities, ferry terminal, and marshalling yards at Reggio di Calabria, and the ferry terminal and rail yards at Villa San Giovanni.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF B-17s attack rail bridges around Messina.
• NASAF and NATAF B-25s, B-26s, and A-20s attack the Gerbini satellite fields, and the Agrigento, Canicatti, and Trapani/Milo Airdromes.
• NATAF A-20s and fighters attack the Trapani/Milo Airdrome and numerous rail and communication targets throughout the island.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack the Bo Rizzo Airdrome.
• Efforts by Axis aircraft to penetrate the Allies air cover over the fleet and the invasion beaches are virtually nil. Throughout the day 10 Axis fighters are downed in the area.

Air Operations, Solomons

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfield at Ballale.
• 10 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the Vila airfield on Kolombangara, which is also attacked later in the day by XIII Bomber Command B-24s on an armed reconnaissance mission.
• AirSols SBDs attack troop bivouacs and anti-aircraft emplacements at Munda.
• 3 VMF-122 F4Us each down an A6M Zero over Rendova at 0815 hours.
• P-40s from the 18th Fighter Group’s 44th Fighter Squadron down 3 A6M Zeros over the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia between 0825 and 0830 hours.
• A 6th Night Fighter Squadron P-38 downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber over the Russell Islands at 2000 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Liberator 'C of the 480th Group USAAF sinks the German submarine U-506 near Portugal.

U-506

Class	Type IXC
CO	Kapitänleutnant Erich Wuerdermann
Location	N Atlantic, W of Vigo
Cause	Air attack
Casualties	54
Survivors	6

• The US freigher African Star (6507t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-172 off the coast of Brazil with the loss of 1 Armed Guard sailor. The 56-man crew and 30 Armed Guard sailors are rescued the next day by the Brazilian destroyer Maranhao.

China

Chiang Kai-shek accepts the proposal put forward at the Trident Conference for a limited offensive, code-named SAUCY, to re-establish communications by land across Burma.

Mediterranean

• U-409 is sunk by the British destroyer HMS Inconstant off Dellys on the Algerian coast. After making contact with the U-boat 6 depth charge attacks are made before the submarine surfaces and is then fired upon. The crew abandons her and she sinks.

U-409 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Hans-Ferdinand Massmann Location Mediterranean, NE of Albiers Cause Depth charge Casualties 11 Survivors 35

U-561 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Fritz Henning Location Mediterranean, Straits of Messina Cause Torpedo Casualties 42 Survivors 5

• U-561 is torpedoed by MTB-81 in the Straits of Messina. It is the only occasion on which a U-boat is known to have been sunk by British coastal forces.

New Guinea

Allied forces advance on Mumbo wiping out serveral Japanese strongholds.

In the Battle of Kursk the 4th Panzer Army, led by the II Panzer Corps, makes one final effort in the direction of Prokhorovka but cannot break through the fresh Soviet forces. Army Group South is now being threatened near Taganrog and Stalino, and in the north of the salient a huge Soviet counteroffensive begins toward Orel even as von Kluge orders Model to withdraw some of his panzers to meet such a threat. At the end of the day Hitler orders that the battle be discontinued. This new Soviet attack involves the 8 armies of the Central Front which is under Constantin Rokossovsky, the Bryansk Front under Markian Popov, and the Western Front under Vasily Sokolovsky. The attack is made in two thrusts, west from Novosil and south from between Kozelsk and Sukhinichi.

In this battle the Germans have conceded the strategic initiative to the Soviets for good. Their shortage of manpower has compelled them to attack on a limited front and to commit almost all of their tank force to one effort. The Soviet losses in the battle so far have probably been rather greater than the German's but they can afford it. The Luftwaffe losses have been severe and its dominance is now over. The Germans must also send troops to Italy but Hitler still forbids his Generals to make necessary withdrawals.

To stop the Germans breaking through to Kursk in the south, Vatutin has been ordered to attack with the 1st Tank, 6th Guards, 5th Guards Tank and 5th Guards Armies against the mose immediate German threat. Gen Paul Hausser's II SS Panzer Corps and Gen Otto von Knobelsdorff's XLVIII Panzer Corps. In addition, 7th Guards Army's XL Rifle Corps is ordered to strike the right flank of Army Detachment Kempf (Gen Werner) east of Razumnoe to prevent III Panzer Corps from kaing progress in its drive to link up with Haussers' men. The 500 tanks and assault guns of the 5th Guards Tank Army attack at 8:30am, driving back the panzers fo the Leibstandarte toward Oktiabr'skii. By the end of the day the Leibstandarte will have destroyed 192 Soviet tanks and 19 anti-tank guns for the loss of only 30 tanks. At 8:30am, 120 tanks of the II Guards Tank Corps went into the attack, preventing Das Reich from supporting the Leibstandarte's assault on Prokhorovka and from defending the Leibstandarte's right flank. South of the Psel River, with 121 tanks and assault guns, the Totenkopf has, by midday, captured Hill 226, greatly weakening Rotmistrov's right flank. But is is unable to advance farther than Poleshaev.

Air Operations, CBI

• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s sow mines in the Irrawaddy River.

Air Operations, Europe

• 374 aircraft are sent to Aachen. Included in the total are 214 Halifaxes, 76 Wellingtons, 55 Stirlings, 18 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos.
• A strong tail wind brings the first wave of the Main Force before Zero Hour with the result that, when the first Pathfinder markers are released, an unusually large number of aircraft drop their bombs in the first few minutes of the raid. The visibility is good and it appears that large areas of Aachen burst into flame all at once. In the words of the report from Aachen, 'A Terrorangriff (Terror attack) of the most severe scale was delivered.'
• 15 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters, 2 Wellingtons and 1 Stirling are lost.

• 2 Mosquitos carry out a diversion for the Aachen raid by dropping target indicators over Cologne. 8 OTU Wellingtons carry out leaflet flights over France.
• 1 Wellington is lost crashing into the sea.

IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the Crotone Airdrome.

Air Operations, New Guinea

In support of a final advance on Mubo by Allied ground forces, more than 40 V Bomber Command B-25s attack trails and Japanese Army troops and anti-aircraft positions around Salamaua. 6 B-17s and B-24s mount individual attacks in the Lae area. As a result of the air support, Mubo is captured without loss.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s attack the Carcitela, Enna, and Trapani/Milo airdromes, the town of Randazzo, and numerous targets of opportunity.
• NATAF bombers and fighters attack tactical and communications targets including Axis troop concentrations.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack road targets and several towns in the British 8th Army zone.
• It is noted that Axis aircraft are no longer offering resistance over the island. Only 3 Bf-109s and 1 Mc-202 are downed over Sicily by USAAF fighters.
• In the Siclian Campaign's fourth and final airborne mission, 51st Troop Carrier Wing C-47s are charged with dropping a force of British Army paratroopers at night against a bridge near Catania. Of the 124 C-47s sent from North Africa, 11 are shot down, 50 are damaged by friendly fire, and 27 return to their bases with paratroopers aboard. Despite the obstacles, the British force does succeed in securing the objective.
• During the night, NATAF bombers, fighters, and fighter-bombers attack numerous tactical and communications targets throughout the island.

Air Operations, Solomons

• In the first mission of its kind in the theater, 12 US Marine Corps SBDs attack Japanese Army ground positions within 1,000 yards of US Army infantry positions on New Georgia.
• VF-21 and VF-28 F4Fs down 6 A6M Zeros near New Georgia between 0845 and 0850 hours.
• During the night, 36 XIII Bomber Command B-17s and B-24s attack the airfields at Ballale, Buka, and Kahili on Bougainville.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Over the next month and a half planes from the US escort carriers Core (CVE-13), Santee (CVE-29), Bogue (CVE-9) and Card (CVE-11) sink 12 U-boats and seriously disrupt operations.
• The German submarine U-487 is sunk by aircraft (VC-13) from the escort carrier Core (CVE-13) in the North Atlantic area.

U-561 Class Type XIV CO Oberleutnant zur See Konstatin Metz Location Mid-Atlantic, S of the Azores Cause Air attack Casualties 31 Survivors 33

U-607 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Wolf Jeschonnek Location Atlantic, N of Cape Ortegal Cause Air attack Casualties 45 Survivors 7

• U-607 is sunk by Sunderland 'N' of No 228 Squadron after the aircraft received gunfire from 3 U-boats. U-607 broke away from the other 2 submarines and was immediately attacked by the aircraft. 7 depth charges are dropped which blows off the bow and the conning tower.

Eastern Front

Hitler reluctantly calls off the offensive in the Kursk area and begins pulling troops out for re-deployment to Italy because of the invasion of Sicily.[MORE]

Germany, Strategy

Worried about a possible Allied invasion in the south of Europe (the Allies had landed in Sicily on July 10), Hitler informs the commanders of Army Group Center and South: 'I must prevent that. And so I need divisions for Italy and the Balkans. And since they can't be taken from any other place, apart from hte transfer of the 1st Panzer Division from France or the Peloponnese, they will have to be released from the Kursk Front. Therefore I am forced to stop CITADEL.

New Guinea

The Japanese positions at Mubo are overrun and their force is practically wiped out. The Australian 3rd Division completes the mopping-up of Lababia Ridge.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Koepang, Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 8 Mosquitos carry out a nuisance raid on Berlin.
• 1 Mosquito crashes into the sea.

• 53 of 64 1st Heavy Bomb Wing sent attack the Amiens/Glizy Airdrome about 0745 hours with 83 tons of bombs. 1 381st Heavy Bomb Group B-17 had exploded and crashed during assembly. 6 of the crew are killed in the explosion, 4 are rescued.
• 1 B-17 is lost, 36 are damaged; 6 crewmen are killed, 3 wounded, 10 missing
• 52 of 84 4th Heavy Bomb wing B-17s attack the Paris/Le Bourget Airport with nearly 123 tons of bombs.
• 4 B-17s are lost, 51 are damaged; 16 crewmen are wounded, 41 missing
• 101 of 111 1st Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s and 5 YB-40s attack the Villacoublan Airdrome with more that 232 tons of bombs about 0810 hours.
• 2 B-17s are lost, 68 are damaged; 1 crewman killed, 3 wounded, 21 missing
• Fighter escort is only provided to the extremity of their range on the Amiens/Glisy mission. All 128 operational P-47s of the 4th, 56th, and 78th Fighter Groups are involved. 2 FW-190s are downed, but 3 P-47s are lost.

In an effort to limit the movement of Axis reinforcements and supplies to Sicily a major intensification of the air effort is ordered. During the night, with Naples as the primary target, RAF Wellingtons under NASAF control, attack the Naples area.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

• Allied bombing is intensified on the lines of communication leading from the north to the south of the peninsula and the main southern towns. Naples is the principal target.
• Messina is hit by 212 Allied bombers which drop 800 tons of bombs. This Sicilian city is the funnel for Axis reinforcements and supplies from the Italian mainland.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 3d Light Bomb Group A-20s attack targets around Orodubi.
• 1 43rd Heavy Bomb Group B-17 attacks Lae.
• P-40s of the 49th Fighter Group’s 7th Fighter Squadron downs 3 D3A 'Val' dive bombers near Salamaua between 0825 and 0845 hours.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s attack Enna, Marsala, Messina, Randazzo, and numerous targets of opportunity all across the island.
• IX Bomber Command B-24s and RAF heavy bombers under IX Bomber Command control attack the rail line, marshalling yards, port facilities, and oil storage at Messina.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack targets around Enna.
• Only 1 Luftwaffe is downed this day, a HS-129 ground-attack plane, by a P-51 of the 68tj Recon Group's 111th Recon Squadron.
• During the night, IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Palermo.

Air Operations, Solomons

A total of 11 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack small craft off New Georgia.

Battle of the Atlantic

The German submarine U-160 is sunk by aircraft (VC-29) from the escort carrier Santee (CVE-29).

U-160

Eastern Front

Despite the formal order to abandon the battle, Hoth's forces continue to make local efforts in the southern part of the Kursk salient. To the north both of the Soviet pincers make good progress toward Orel. The Voronezh Front, under Vatutin, now goes over to the offensive in the southern sector of the Kursk salient opposite the 4th Panzer Army and the Kempf Operational Group (Gen Werner).

German forces in the south of the Kursk salient continue limited offensives. The Grossdeutschland and 3rd Panzer Divisions counterattack the Soviet V Guards and X Tank Corps, which have been reinforced by the VI Tank Corps. The German units drive the Soviets back. In addition, the III Panzer Corps and the Das Reich Division wipe out an enemy pocket between the Lipovyi Donets River and the Northern Donets River.

The West Front brings up its 4th Tank Army to add weight to the attacks by 11th Guards Army. In addition the 11th Army moves up from reserve to support the 11th Guards. Bryansk Front moves its 3rd Guards Tank Army up behind the 3rd and 63rd Armies to crush the apex of the German salient. Further heavy fighting rages as the Germans slowly withdraw.

Air Operations, Aleutians

9 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s and 14 B-25s attack Kiska. 1 bomber is lost when it crashes on landing.

Air Operations, Europe

• 165 Halifaxes are sent to attack the Peugeot motor factory in the Montbéliard suburb of the French town of Sochaux near the Swiss border.
• The outcome of this raid illustrates again the difficulties of hitting relatively small targets in the occupied countries and the danger to surrounding civilians. The night is clear, the target is only lightly defended and the attack altitude is 6,000 to 10,000ft, but the center of the group of markers dropped by the Pathfinder crews of 35 Squadron is 700 yards beyond the factory. The factory is classed as only 5 per cent damaged. Production level is normal immediately after the raid.
• 5 Halifaxes are lost.
• 617 Squadron carries out its first operation since the Dams Raid in May. It has been decided to keep the squadron in being and to use it for independent precision raids on small targets. It remains part of No 5 Group and most of its replacement crews come from the squadrons of that group. The targets on this night are two electrical transformer stations in Northern Italy one near Bologna and the other near Genoa. The intention is to disrupt the supply of electricity to the railways carrying German troops and supplies to the battle front in Sicily. 12 Lancasters of 617 Squadron are joined by 12 further No 5 Group Lancasters for these attacks, which are not successful. No flares or markers are carried and the targets are partially hidden by mist. After bombing, the Lancasters fly on to North Africa.
• 2 Lancasters of the supporting force are lost.

• 6 Mosquitos fly a nuisance raid to Munich, but only 2 actually reach the target.
• There are no losses.

• NASAF B-17s attack Villa San Giovanni.
• IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the main airfield and two satellite fields at Foggia.

Air Operations, New Guinea

3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack Japanese Army positions between Orodubi and Komiatum.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NASAF medium bombers attack Vibo Valentia.
• NATAF A-20s and fighters attack Palermo and targets of opportunity around the island.
• NAAF fighters mount numerous ad hoc strafing missions wherever tactical and communications targets can be located.

• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Randazzo.
• During the night, NATAF A-20s and B-25s attack Randazzo and nearby roads.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 36 US Marine Corps SBDs attack Japanese ground defenses at Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia.
• 13th Air Force B-25s, P-38s, and P-40s attack landing barges off New Georgia.
• In a major air battle over the central Solomon Islands, AirSols fighters down 45 Japanese aircraft from a formation of 27 G4M 'Betty' bombers and an estimated 40 A6M Zeros. 3 US airplanes are lost. This is virtually the last Japanese Navy attempt to mount an air attack against Allied forces in the central Solomons.
• VF-21 F4Fs down 4 A6M Zeros over Rendova at 1435 hours.
• P-40s of the 18th Fighter Group’s 44th Fighter Squadron down a B5N 'Kate' torpedo bomber, a G4M 'Betty' bomber, and 11 A6M Zeros over Vella Lavella and Gizo islands between 1430 and 1500 hours.
• VMF-122 and VMF-213 F4Us down a total of 15 G4M 'Bettys' and 16 A6M Zeros in running battles between Rendova and Vella Lavella between 1430 and 1530 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Naval land-based aircraft (VP-32) sink the German submarine U-159 in the Caribbean area.

U-159 Class Type IXC CO Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Beckmann Location Caribbean, S of Haiti Cause Air attack Casualties 53 Survivors None

U-509 Class Type IXC CO Kapitänleutnant Helmut Witte Location Atlantic, NW of Madeira Cause Air attack Casualties 54 Survivors None

• The German submarine U-509 is sunk by aircraft (VC-29) from the US escort carrier Santee (CVE-29) south of the Azores Islands.
• U-135 attacks the freighter Twickenham in convoy OS-51. The ship is damaged but the submarine is spotted by escorts, the sloop Rochester, and the corvettes Balsam and Mignonette. A series of depth-charge attacks follow blowing the U-boat to the surface where she is rammed by Rochester.

  U-135

  Class	Type VIIC
  CO	Oberleutnant zur See Otto Luther
  Location	N Atlantic
  Cause	Depth charge/ramming
  Casualties	5
  Survivors	41

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Air Operations, Europe

• 18 Lancasters of No. 5 Group raid 2 transformer stations in northern Italy. 7 planes bomb the Cislago station accurately but the other station is not located and the planes bomb an alternate target.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 6 Mosquitos are sent to Munich and 7 OTU Wellingtons make leaflet flights over France.
• There are no losses.

• In the VIII Air Support Command's inaugural operational combat mission, 14 323rd Medium Bomb Group B-26s conduct a medium-altitude attack with about 17 tons of bombs against a marshalling yard at Abbeville.
• 10 B-26s are damaged by flak; 2 crewmen are wounded

• IX Bomber Command B-24s attacking the Bari Airdrome are attacked by Axis fighters. Bomber gunners claim 11 Axis fighters downed.
• 3 B-24s are lost

Air Operations, Mediterranean

• Axis air units, which have all but disappeared from the skies within range of North Africa-based Allied day fighters, intensify their efforts to bomb Allied shipping and ground targets around Sicily at night. The only Axis aircraft downed in the theater is an Fi-156 observation plane that falls prey over Sicily to a 27th Figher-Bomber Group A-36 during an afternoon ground-support mission.
• At 1950 hours, 17 325th Fighter Group P-40s attack and knock out the radar station on Ustica Island, northwest of Sicily.

Air Operations, New Guinea

1 V Bomber Command B-24 attacks Japanese Army ground troops at MacDonald’s Junction.

Air Operations, Pacific

• 100 Avengers and Dauntlesses bomb the Munda airfield.
• The Japanese make a night raid on Guadalcanal.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NATAF aircraft attack a town and numerous targets of opportunity.
• IX Bomber Command aircraft attack two towns.
• During the night, IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Catania in support of the British 8th Army.

Air Operations, Solomons

• US Marine Corps TBF light bombers attack Japanese Army ground positions on New Georgia, but 3 US Army soldiers are killed and 10 are wounded by a misdropped bomb.
• During the night, 31 XIII Bomber Command B-17s and B-24s attack the Kahili airfield on Bougainville with 40 tons of fragmentation bomb clusters.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Aircraft (VC-13) from the US escort carrier Core (CVE-13) sink the German submarine U-67 in the mid-Atlantic area.

U-67

Class	Type IXB
CO	Kapitänleutnant Günther Müller-Stöckheim
Location	Atlantic, Sargasso Sea
Cause	Air attack
Casualties	48
Survivors	3

• The US freighter Richard Caswell (7177t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-513 about 200 miles off the coast of Brazil losing 9 crewmen in the attack. Three boatloads of survivors reach safety within a week.

Diplomatic Relations

Roosevelt and Churchill issue a special joint statement calling for an Italian surrender and suggest to the Italian people that they get rid of Mussolini, 'If you continue to tolerate the Fascist regime, which serves the evil power of the Nazis, you must suffer the consequences of your choice. . . . We are determined to destroy the false leaders and their doctrines which have brought Italy to her present position.' They conclude that Italians will have to decide whether to 'die for Mussolini and Hitler--or live for Italy and for civilization.' In Italy some of the Fascist politicians are beginning to plot to accomplish exactly what is proposed, getting rid of Mussolini.

Eastern Front

In the Kursk salient sector the Germans withdraw as they try to hold the powerful Russian thrust. Hitler justifies the abandonment of Operation CITADEL by the possible need to send substantial forces to deal with the situation in Italy. In the Kuban the Russians are preparing an offensive to liquidate the enemy bridgehead between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

In the Orel salient the 9th Army comes under heavy attack by the West, Bryansk and Central Fronts but prevent any penetration of the line.

Kurile Islands

A US submarine shells Matsuwa Island. The group of islands is already within range of American bomber based in the Aleutians.

Air Operations, East Indies

During the night, 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack targets in the Molucca Islands while V Bomber Command B-25s attack Lautem, Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 4 OTU Wellingtons drop leaflets over France without a loss.

• 205 1st Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s and 2 YB-40s, on a mission against rail-industry targets in Hannover, are recalled due to weather. 33 B-17s attack various targets of opportunity along the return route.
• 52 B-17s are damaged by Luftwaffe fighters; 1 crewman is killed, 9 wounded, 3 missing
• B-26s of the VIII Air Support Command's 3rd Medium Bomb Wing conduct an unchallenged diversionary mission to the Cayeaux area.
• The 13th Photographic Recon Squadron sends 5 F-5s to France, of which 1 is lost.

• At approximately 1430 hours, 77 IX Bomber Command B-24s attack marshalling yards and rail installations around Naples. This attack is followed at 1530 hours by 49 NASAF B-17s going after the same targets.
• About 1600 hours, 49 NASAF B-26s, escorted by 98 P-38s, also attack Naples. During this mission, in the only fighter action of the day, the P-38s down 1 Axis fighter.
• About 1700 hours, 48 NASAF B-17s and 72 NASAF B-25s attack targets around Naples under escort by 67 NASAF P-38s.
• In total, 868 tons of bombs are dropped in 408 NASAF bomber sorties. Damage is heavy in and around Naples.
• 10 bombers are lost in the day's missions

• 4th Heavy Bomb Wing is sent on a mission to attack an aircraft factory in Hamburg, but is recalled because of bad weather. 22 B-17s drop 49 tons of bombs through holes in the clouds on what they believe to be the Fokker aircraft factory in Amsterdam. No bombs hit the Fokker plant, but 150 Dutch civilians are killed.
• • 1 B-17 is lost, 42 damaged; 1 crewman is killed, 3 wounded, 14 missing

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-25s attack Japanese Army headquarters and ground emplacements in the Lae area.

Air Operations, Pacific

223 Allied planes, including some B-17 bombers, make a 12-hour attack on Bougainville. Shipping offshore and the airfields between Buin and Faisi are attacked. The action is a major success. 49 Japanese aircraft are shot down, and many others destroyed at the devastated airfield at Kahili. Dauntless dive-bombers and Avenger torpedo-bombers sink 7 ships in Buin-Faisi harbor, including a light cruiser(?) and the destroyer Hatsuyuki, losing only 6 aircraft.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NATAF aircraft attack Catania and Paterno, the Riposto railroad station, and tanks, guns. trains, and trucks throughout the island.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Catania and Rail lines and roads around Palermo.

Air Operations, Solomons

• During the morning, 7 XIII Bomber Command B-24s, 35 AirSols TBFs, and 36 AirSols SBDs, escorted by 114 AirSols fighters, attack Japanese shipping in the Shortland Islands area. Claimed as destroyed are one Japanese destroyer (confirmed) and seven other vessels (unconfirmed).

• US Marine Corps F4Us down 36 A6M Zeros, 1 F1M 'Pete' reconnaissance plane, and 1 A6M2-N 'Rufe' fighter-bomber over Tonolei Harbor, the Kahili airfield on Bougainville, and southern Bougainville. 2 US Marine Corps SBDs each down an A6M Zero. VB-11 and VT-11 SBD and TBF crews down 3 A6M Zeros in the Kahili area. P-38s of the 347th Fighter Group’s 339th Fighter Squadron down 6 Zeros over Kahili between 0925 and 0940 hours. 1 TBF, 1 SBD, 1 F4U, and 2 P-38s are lost in the day's action.
• A 6th Night Fighter Squadron P-38 downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber over Guadalcanal at about 2245 hours.

Eastern Front

The Soviet drive north and west of Orel is gradually slowed down by German tank forces. Moscow announces that Russian troops have completely recaptured the positions they held before July 5 south of Orel. In the south of the Kursk salient the German fighting withdrawal continues. Farther south still, Malinovsky's Southwest Front opens attacks around Voroshilovgrad.

The 11th Army supports the attacks of the 11th Guards Army while the 4th Tank Army tries to speed up the advance. The LV Corps manages to slow the Soviet advance, inflicting heavy losses. To the east the XXXV and LIII Corps continue their dogged resistance against the 3rd and 63rd Armies.

Gen Fyodor Tolbukhin's South Front and Malinovsky's Southwest Front begin probing attacks along the Mius and Donets. Light attacks strike Gen Eberhard von Mackensen's 1st Panzer and Gen Karl-Adolf Hollidt's 6th Armies, alerting Manstein to what he believes is the next Soviet offensive. He therefore begins to move II SS Panzer Corps south to deal with this threat. This move denudes the southern face of the Kursk sector of a significant portion of its armor, 4th Panzer retaining the battered XLVIII Panzer Corps while XXIV Panzer Corps remains in reserve. The latter unit will also soon leave for the Mius line. Manstein is not expecting a major Soviet attack north of Kharkov, believing the Voronezh Front to be spent and being unaware of the existence of large-scale Soviet reserves.

Air Operations, Aleutians

2 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s and 6 B-25s attack Kiska.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

V Bomber Command B-25s attack ships and barges off New Britain.

Air Operations, CBI

• 7 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack shipping at Haiphong and Hongay.

Air Operations, East Indies

During the night, 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Makassar, Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

• 16 Wellingtons of No. 1 Group lay mines off Lorient and St Nazaire without a loss.

Air Operations, Gilberts

• 6 VII Bomber Command B-24s based at the airfield at Funafuti attack Betio Island in Tarawa Atoll.
• Japanese Navy bombers attacking Canton Island jettison their bombs and flee in the face of fighter opposition and intense anti-aircraft fire.

Air Operations, Japan

6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack shipping in the Kurile Islands and the newly completed airfield at Murakami Bay, Paramushiro.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• A small number of V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s provide direct support for US Army ground forces landing at Tambu Bay to secure ground for an advance supply base.
• P-38s of the 35th Fighter Group’s 39th Fighter Squadron down a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter and an A6M Zero near Salamaua between 1355 and 1400 hours.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NATAF A-20s attack Catania.
• NATAF A-36s attack several towns in the battle area.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Catania and Randazzo.
• Between 1918 and 1923 hours, 14th Fighter Group P-38s down 15 Ju-52s between Ischia and Ustica Island.
• During the night, NATAF A-20s attack Catania.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 21 XIII Bomber Command B-24s and 35 AirSols TBFs and SBDs, escorted by 134 AirSols fighters, attack the Kahili airfield on Bougainville and many other targets throughout the Kahili area. 9 AirSols fighters and 1 TBF are lost in aerial combat or to ground fire. VF-21, VF-26, VF-27, and VF-28 F4Fs down 15 A6M Zeros over Kahili and southern Bougainville at about 1000 hours. US Marine Corps F4Us down 10 A6M Zeros over and around Kahili between 1015 and 1030 hours.
• 3 VMF-214 F4Us each down a G4M 'Betty' bomber over a US Navy transport in the New Georgia area.

Caribbean

There is a fight between the USN 'Blimp' K-74 and U-134 north of Cuba. The blimp is shot down. It is the only naval airship lost to enemy action.

Eastern Front

Fierce fighting to the north and south of the Kursk salient continues.

The 11th Guards and 11th Armies, with the support of the 4th Tank Army, are only 12 miles from Khotinets and Karachev but still face stubborn resistance from the LV Corps.

The Southwest and South Fronts continue their attacks on the Donets and Mius, making minor penetrations.

Gen Richard Ruoff's 17th Army comes under renewed attack in the Kuban as the North Caucasus unleashes its fourth offensive against the German pocket.

Air Operations, CBI

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a road bridge at Shweli.

• 4 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack a cement factory at Haiphong.

Air Operations, Europe

• The US 15th Air Force bomb Rome for the first time. Some 700 American bombers drop 800 tons of bombs on the Littorio and Ciampino airport and the railway junction that crosses the San Lorenzo district. The attack, carried out in two phases, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, kills about 2,000 people and causes immense damage, casualties include the basilica of San Lorenzo, built by the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century and containing the graves of many popes. The historic center of the city is not bombed, but there is great distress in the city and throughout the country. Only 5 planes are lost.

• Luftwaffe planes of the 1st Air Division conduct a campaign to stem the advance of the Russians near Orel. Red Army tanks incur some of the heaviest losses ever suffered from the air by armored units.

Air Operations, New Guinea

1 43rd Heavy Bomb Group B-17 attacks the airfield at Finschhafen Airdrome. 1 V Bomber Command B-25 attacks a bridge, and RAAF Bostons attack a gun emplacement and a military encampment.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NAAF P-40s attack rail facilities around Alcamo.
• NATAF A-36s attack railroads and road traffic throughout western Sicily.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Catania and Randazzo.
• During the night, NATAF A-20s and B-25s attack roads and towns near the battle area.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 8 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s, 19 US Marine Corps TBFs, and 18 Marine SBDs attack Japanese ground defenses at Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia.
• During the night, in attacks on a Japanese Navy task force near Choiseul, AirSols PBYs and 8 AirSols TBFs sink a Japanese destroyer with bombs and seriously damage a heavy cruiser. 8 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 5 AirSols TBFs attack the convoy before dawn, but no hits are scored. 2 B-25s and 2 TBFs are lost to anti-aircraft fire.

Aleutians

Rear-Adm Kinkaid confirms the plan for the invasion of Kiska Island. The island is bombed and shelled from sea and air a number of times. During the past month the aircraft of the US 2nd Air Force have dropped over 1,200 tons of bombs.

Axis Politics

Hitler and Mussolini meet at Feltre in the Italian Dolomites in northern Italy. The talks last from 11:00am to 6:00pm and the Führer tries to revive the Duce's morale, which has slumped in the wake of the military disasters in Africa and Sicily and of the changed political situation at home. Hitler hardly lets Mussolini speak and does little but demand more effort from the Italians. Hitler is aware of proposals put forward by some senior officers and political leaders that Italy should seek a separate peace with the Allies.

Mussolini realizes that Italy cannot fight much longer, but face to face with Hitler he will not admit it. The angry criticism of Mussolini's government following the heavy Allied air raids on Rome illustrates the Italian war weariness. Hitler dazzles Mussolini with his usual long-winded eloquence. He tells him of secret weapons being built in Germany which will guarantee an Axis victory, and he offers to send German troops to Italy. At the same time he demands from his 'colleague', giving the suggestion the form of an ultimatum, that Mussolini should wield the iron fist and purge his party and his country of those who oppose him.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Over the next 2 weeks US and Brazilian aircraft sink 4 U-boats.
• Naval land-based aircraft (VP-74) sink the German submarine U-513 off Brazil.

U-513

Air Operations, Bismarcks

1 V Bomber Command B-24 attacks Arawe.

Air Operations, CBI

• 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack rail facilities at Mandalay.

• 4 23Rd Fighter Group P-40 fighter-bombers attack warehouses at Tengchung and 6 P-40s attack rail and river traffic over a wide area around Puchi and Sinti.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-25s attack Dili, Lautem and the Cape Chater airfield on Timor.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s support US Army ground forces at Tambu Bay (5 miles from Salamaua) and attack Bogadjim, Komiatum, Logui, Madang airfield, and other targets, including supplies being staged at Madang for transshipment to Lae and Salamaua.

Air Operations, Pacific

US Land-based aircraft attack Japanese ships south of Choiseul Island in the Solomons. The destroyers Kiyonami and Yugure are sunk off Vella Lavella.

Air Operations, Sardinia

48 P-40 dive-bombers from the 325th Fighter Group attack the Monserrato Airdrome. 7 of about 40 Axis fighters that rise to meet the attack are downed in a running dogfight between 0700 and 0720 hours with the 317th Fighter Squadron P-40s.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NAAF fighter-bombers attack numerous targets of opportunity in western Sicily.
• IX Bomber Commmand B-25s attack two towns.
• NASAF B-25s attack the Montecorvino Airdrome.
• During the night, NATAF B-20s attack an Axis motor column near Randazzo.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 18 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Ballale airfield and the Kahili airfield on Bougainville.
• AirSols fighters attack barges near New Georgia.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Command B-25s mounting a skip-bombing attack on a Japanese Navy task force in the Shortlands area sink a destroyer.

Arctic

7 U-boats begin laying mines south of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic.

Atomic Research

Roosevelt issues a firm order that atomic information should be shared with the British. Discussions between the British and American staffs follow and in August at the Quebec Conference, a formal agreement is signed by which Britain and the United States agree to share their knowledge, not to use atomic weapons against each other, not to use atomic weapons without the other's consent and not give information to any third party. The British deny any right to exploit atomic knowledge after the war except to the extent judged fair by the US President (see September 1944).

Battle of the Atlantic

The German submarine U-588 is sunk by US Army aircraft in the Bay of Biscay.

U-558

Eastern Front

The Germans retreat in both the northern and southern sectors of the Kursk front. Manstein orders withdrawal despite Hitler's instructions. Troops of Popov's Bryansk Front clear the Germans out of Mtsensk as the German Army Group North pulls back toward Orel.

Despite the introduction of their armor, the Soviet advance upon Orel bogs down as the 3rd Guards Tank becomes enmeshed in the bitter fighting with the LIII Corps. With its tanks stalled the 3rd Guards Tank turns northeast and joins the thrust of the 3rd Army toward the Oka. Progress picks up but is still very slow.

Air Operations, Aleutians

9 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kiska.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

1 V Bomber Command B-24 attacks Rabaul.

Air Operations, Europe

NASAF B-17s attack the Grosseto Airdrome.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• More than 50 V Bomber Command B-25s attack targets around Madang, especially supply dumps. Other B-25s attack Bogadjim and the area around the junction of the Gori and Ioworo rivers. 7 V Bomber Command B-26s attack barges and dock areas near Voco Point. 1 B-24 attacks the airfield at Finschhafen Airdrome.
• P-38s of the 8th Fighter Group’s 80th Fighter Squadron and the 35th Fighter Group’s 39th Fighter Squadron down 12 A6M Zeros, 6 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters, and 4 Ki-61 'Tony' fighters over the Ramu Valley between Bogadjim and Madang between noon and 1217 hours.

Air Operations, Sicily

About 20 IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Randazzo.

Air Operations, Solomons

• In support of a US Marine Corps ground attack at Bairoko in northern New Georgia, 22 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s, more than 170 AirSols light bombers, and 50 AirSols fighters attack Japanese Army defensive positions with more than 135 tons of bombs.
• VF-26 and VF-28 F4Fs down 3 A6M Zeros over Rendova between 1640 and 1700 hours, but a large number of D3A 'Val' dive bombers are able to attack the island.
• Approximately 60 Japanese Navy aircraft attack targets in the Rendova area at about 1700 hours, just minutes after the last AirSols fighter patrol has left the area to return to the Russell Islands.

Battle of the Atlantic

US Naval land-based aircraft (VP-94) sink the German submarine U-662 near the mouth of the Amazon River, Brazil.

U-662

Eastern Front

The Soviets capture Bolkhov.

Soviet Infantry Go on the Attack with T-34 Tanks

Air Operations, Aleutians

28th Composite Bomb Group bombers and US Navy warships open a preinvasion bombardment of Kiska Island. 17 B-24s, 26 B-25s, 20 343rd Fighter Group P-38s, and 13 P-40s attack the island and Little Kiska. 1 B-25 is downed by anti-aircraft fire, but its crew is rescued, and 18 B-25s are damaged of which 1 crashes upon landing.

Air Operations, East Indies

• 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack oil-producing facilities at Soerabaja, Java.
• B-25s attack Selaroe Island in the Moluccas.

Air Operations, Europe

• NASAF B-17s attack the Foggia Airdrome complex and a marshalling yard at Battipaglia.
• NASAF B-26s attack a bridge and a marshalling yard at Salerno.

Air Operations, New Guinea

More than 50 V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and B-26s attack Japanese Army ground positions and anti-aircraft batteries in the Komiatum battle area and Salamaua.

Air Operations, Pacific

B-24s raid Surabaya.

Air Operations, Sardinia

• The 325th Fighter Group returns to Sardinia in an ongoing effort to break the will of the Axis air units defending the island. In the course of several simultaneous sweeps over the island's airdromes, the P-40s down 12 Mc-202s, 2 Me-109s, 2 Ju-52s, and 2 Fi-156s between 0940 and 0950 hours.
• 2 P-40s and their pilots are lost.
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Air Operations, Sicily

NATAF A-20s attack Randazzo and roads, rail lines, and other ground targets near the battlefront.

Air Operations, Solomons

In 2 afternoon strikes, 12 US Navy PB4Ys, 6 XIII Bomber Command B-24s, 18 AirSols TBFs, and 18 AirSols SBDs, escorted by a total of 134 AirSols fighters and fighter-bombers, attack a troop-laden Japanese seaplane tender and other shipping in the Buin area. The seaplane tender is sunk by the light bombers with great loss of life and several other vessels are damaged. VF-21 F4Fs down 5 A6M Zeros over southern Bougainville and the Shortland Islands at about 1535 hours.

Aleutians

Major US naval forces bombard Kiska which the Japanese Imperial Staff has already decided to evacuate. 2 battleships, 5 cruisers and 9 destroyers as well as fighter forces are involved.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US tanker Cherry Valley (10,172t), traveling from New York to Aruba, N.W.I., is torpedoed by U-66. The second torpedo attack fails and the U-boat surfaces to finish her quarry by shellfire only to meet Armed Guard gunfire. Cherry Valley escapes her assailant and reaches San Juan, Puerto Rico under her own power without any casualties.

Eastern Front

The Russians take Mtsensk and Bolkhov and in the northern sector launch a limited offensive south of Lake Ladoga.

The Leningrad Front's 67th Army, situated on the Neva east of the city, and Gen Georgy Volkhov Front's 8th Army deployed on the west bank of the Volkhov north of Tosno launch the Mga Offensive Operation, employing a combined total of 253,300 men. The aim of the offensive is to force the Germans away from Leningrad and strengthen the precarious corridor south of Lake Ladoga.

Air Operations, CBI

• Japanese bombers based at Canton and Hankow mount heavy attacks against 14th Air Force bases in eastern China. P-40 pilots of the 23rd Fighter Group’s 74th and 76th Fighter squadrons down 5 A6M Zeros and 2 bombers in a running fight from Lingling to the southeast between 0630 and 0710 hours.
• P-40s from the 23rd Fighter Group and 76th Fighter Squadron down 3 A6M Zeros and 5 bombers over Hengyang at 0945 hours. P-40s from the 74th and 76th Fighter squadrons down 3 Zeros southeast of Lingling at 1500 hours for a total of 18 victories for the day’s action.

Air Operations, Europe

• 7 OTU Wellingtons make leaflet flights over France without a loss.

• NASAF B-17s attack Leverano Airdrome.
• NASAF B-25s attack Crotone Airdrome.
• NASAF B-26s attack Aquino Airdrome.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, and B-26s attack numerous targets in northeastern New Guinea, including supply dumps at Madang.
• P-38s of the 35th Fighter Group’s 39th Fighter Squadron and the 49th Fighter Group’s 9th Fighter Squadron down 7 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters over Lae and Salamaua between 0950 and 1000 hours.
• P-38s of the 8th Fighter Group’s 80th Fighter Squadron down 6 A6M Zeros and 1 Ki-61 'Tony' fighter over Bogadjim between 1045 and 1050 hours.

Air Operations, Sicily

NATAF B-25s and fighters attack vehicles and bridges near Ransazzo and Axis landing craft off the coast.

Air Operations, Solomons

AirSols B-25s, SBDs, and P-40s attack Rekata Bay.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Aircraft (VC-9) from the US escort carrier Bogue (CVE-9) sink the German submarine U-527.

U-527 Class Type IXC/40 CO Kapitänleutnant Herbert Uhlig Location Atlantic, S of the Azores Cause Air attack Casualties 42 Survivors 13

U-613 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Helmut Koppe Location Atlantic, S of the Azores Cause Depth charge Casualties 49 Survivors None

• The US destroyer Badger (DD-126) sinks the German submarine U-613 south of the Azores Islands.
• US Naval land-based aircraft (VB-107) sink the German submarine U-598 off Brazil.

U-598

Eastern Front

In the south of the Kursk salient the Germans are now back in their original positions as well as the ground taken in the Orel area.

Somewhere in Russia

Air Operations, Aleutians

62 343rd Fighter Group P-40s and Canadian Kittyhawks mount 9 separate attacks against Kiska. 1 P-40 is lost to anti-aircraft fire.

Air Operations, Central Pacific

8 Midway-based B-24s of the VII Bomber Command’s 11th Heavy Bomb Group attack Wake Island. The formation is attacked by as many as 30 A6M Zeros, and 1 B-24 is lost in a collision with a Zero.

Air Operations, CBI

• Japanese bombers based at Canton and Hankow continue to mount heavy attacks against 14th Air Force bases in eastern China.
• 23rd Fighter Group P-40s and 1 449th Fighter Squadron P-38 (in the unit’s combat debut) down 9 A6M Zeros and 8 bombers over Kweilin and Hengyang between 0845 and 1015 hours.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command B-25s attack Fuilaro, Koepang, Lautem, and Tenau on Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 791 aircraft are involved in the first raid of the Battle of Hamburg. Included in the total are 347 Lancasters, 246 Halifaxes, 125 Stirlings and 73 Wellingtons.
• 'Window' is used for the first time this night. The weather is clear over the target with a gentle wind. The marking, a mixture of H₂S and visual, is a little scattered but most of the target indicators fall near enough to the city center for a concentrated raid to develop quickly. 728 aircraft drop their bomb loads in the span of 50 minutes. Bombing photographs show that less than half the aircraft drop within 3 miles of the city center and a creepback 6 miles long develops. However, because of Hamburg's size, severe damage is caused in the central and northwestern discticts, especially in Altona, Eimsbüttel and Hoheluft. The Rathaus, the Nikolaikirche, the main police station, the main telephone exchange and the Hagenbeck Zoo are among the well-known Hamburg landmarks to receive hits. 140 animals in the zoo are killed. Civilian casualties include about 1,500 people killed in the raid, the largest number outside of an area where Oboe could be used.
• 4 Halifaxes, 4 Lancasters, 3 Stirlings and 1 Wellington are lost.
• Over the next week and a half Hamburg is raided in the most effective attacks of the European campaign in Operation GOMORRAH. Hamburg is of vital strategic importance with its 3,000 industrial plants, almost all of them involved in war production. The RAF mounts major operations on 4 nights: July 24, July 27, July 29 and August 2. On the first 3 of these nights about 780 bombers drop 2,300 tons of bombs each night and on the fourth night 425 bombers drop 940 tons. The USAF joins in on July 25 and 26 and the RAF sends small forces on every other night. Altogether about 50,000 civilian deaths are caused and as many injuries. About 800,000 people are made homeless.
• The attack on July 27 includes many incendiary weapons and a fire storm is raised for the first time. A fire storm occurs when the fires in a given area become so intense that they devour all the oxygen nearby and suck more into themselves creating a hurricane-force winds which both feed the fires and move them along a great speed. The Allied bombers only raise firestorms on a handful of occasions during the war including the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1945.

• Tactically the raids are important for the RAF since they use 'Window' for the first time. This consists of strips of metal foil dropped from supporting aircraft which confuses the German radar system by giving false echoes. It is very successful at first as only 12 of 240 aircraft are lost but improved radar nullifies some of its benefits during later months. A token of the growing strength of Bomber Command is that it is able to mount major attacks on other targets even during this period. The attacks on Hamburg and other later efforts make up the second of Air Marshal Harris' 'battles'.
• This period also sees intensive operations by the US forces against other targets, inlcuding many German aircraft factories. The 8th Air Force loses 88 planes in these operations.
• 33 Lancasters of No. 5 Group returning from North Africa bomb the Leghorn docks but the target is covered by haze and the bombing is scattered.
• There are no losses.
• 13 Mosquitos carry out diversionary and nuisance raids to Bremen, Kiel, Lübeck and Duisburg. 6 Wellingtons lay mines in the Elbe River while the Hamburg raid is in progress and there are 7 OTU sorties.
• There are no losses.

• NASAF B-17s and B-25s attack the rail yards at Bologna.
• NASAF B-26s attack the rail yards at Paola.

• 167 1st Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s accompanied by 1 YB-40 and 41 4th Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s attack a nitrate plant near Heroya and the naval base at Trondheim, respectively, with more than 495 tons of bombs. Both forces are virtually unopposed.
• 64 B-17s are damaged, 1 crash-lands in Sweden; 3 crewmen are wounded, 10 are interned

Air Operations, Mediterranean

In its first operations sortie of the war, NACAF's independent 414th Night-Fighter Squadron, in Beaufighters, scores the unit's first confirmed victory. An He-115 recon floatplane is downed over the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-25s attack Lae and the surrounding area, and barges off northeastern New Guinea.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NATAF fighter-bombers attack an Axis transport at sea near Mt. Etna and port facilities, barges, and several Italian Navy warships in and around Messina harbor.
• 33rd Fighter Group P-40s fly combat and armed-recon missions in support of ground troops and attack motor vehicles.

Battle of the Atlantic

US Army aircraft sink the German submarine U-622 off Norway.

Air Operations, Aleutians

40 343rd Fighter Group P-40s and Canadian Kittyhawks mount 7 separate attacks against Kiska.

Air Operations, CBI

• Japanese bombers based at Canton and Hankow continue to mount heavy attacks against 14th Air Force bases in eastern China.
• 23rd Fighter Group P-40s down 4 A6M Zeros over Kweilin and Hengyang between 1500 and 1545 hours.
• In response to bombing attacking against 14th Air Force bases in eastern China, 9 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s, escorted by 17 23rd Fighter Group P-40s and 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s, attack the airfield at Hankow, where many of the Japanese bombers are based. This is the first offensive mission undertaken in the theater by P-38s.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s mount individual attacks against targets in the Molucca Islands.

Air Operations, Europe

• 705 aircraft are sent to Essen. In this total are 294 Lancasters, 221 Halifaxes, 104 Stirlings, 67 Wellingtons and 19 Mosquitos.
• This is an attempt to make a good raid on this major target while the effects of 'Window' are still fresh. The raid is a success with significant damage in Essen's industrial areas in the eastern half of the city. The Krupps works suffers probably its most damaging raid of the war. The next morning, Dr Gustav Krupp suffered a stroke from which he never recovered and probably saved him from being charged with war crimes after the war. Fierce fires are started in the city. The damage inflicted on the city prompts Goebbels to write in his diary, 'The last raid on Essen caused a complete stoppage of production in the Krupp works. Speer is much concerned and worried.' A total of 340 Germans are killed.
•    10 Halifaxes, 7 Stirlings, 5 Lancasters and 4 Wellingtons are lost.

• 6 Mosquitos are sent to Hamburg, and 3 each to Cologne and Gelsenkirchen. 17 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians and there are 7 OTU sorties.
• There are no losses.

• 13 323rd Mediumb Bomb Group B-26s, of 18 dispatched, attack coke ovens near Ghent from medium altitude with 16 tons of bombs.
• 6 B-26s are damaged

• 123 1st Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s are sent to Hamburg but diverted due to heavy cloud cover. 100 of the B-17s drop nearly 196 tons of bombs between 1317 and 1414 hours on various targets of opportunity.
• 15 B-17s are lost, 67 damaged; 1 crewman killed, 5 wounded, 150 missing

• 118 of 141 4th Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s sent to attack the aircraft factories in Warnemunde fail to locate the targets because of bad weather. 118 B-17s attack the Kiel shipyards and other targets of opportunity with a total of just over 522 tons of bombs between 1630 and 1700 hours.
• 4 B-17s are lost, 51 damaged; 1 crewman killed, 3 wounded, 40 missing

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s mount individual attacks against targets in the Finschhafen area.
• The 348th Fighter Group, in P-47s, makes its combat debut in a mission over New Guinea.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NATAF A-20s and B-25s mount around-the-clock attacks on docking facilities, shipping, road traffic, and Axis tanks.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack docking facilities and shipping at Milazzo.
• About 100 IX Fighter Command P-40 fighter-bombers attack the harbors at Catania, Milazzo, and Taormina.
• During the night, NATAF B-25s attack Adrano, Milazzo, and Paterno.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 30 to 40 D3A 'Val' dive bombers escorted by 30 A6M Zeros attempt to attack Rendova, but the bombers jettison their bombs early and flee when they are confronted by the AirSols fighter patrol.
• VF-21 F4Fs down 8 Zeros over and around Munda at 0930 hours. XIII Fighter Command fighters down 5 more Zeros over the Munda area and Rendova between 0945 and 1015 hours.
• This is the last appearance of US Navy F4Fs presently based ashore in the Solomon Islands as VF-11, VF-21, VF-26, VF-27, and VF-28 are all withdrawn to the United States to be re-equipped with F6F fighters and retrained for carrier duty.
• In AirSols’ largest mission to date in the war, 171 B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, TBFs, and SBDs, escorted by more than 70 fighters, drop more than 145 tons of bombs on Japanese Army defensive positions around the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia as 2 US Army infantry divisions begin the final assault against the base. Later in the afternoon, 10 B-24s, 53 TBFs, and 54 SBDs attack gun emplacements in the airfield's defense complex.
• V Bomber Command B-24s mount individual attacks against a large Japanese Navy transport near Buka.

Germany, Planning

The news of the fall of Mussolini reaches Hitler at his headquarters at Rastenburg, now called Ketrzyn in Poland, in the afternoon. The Führer immediately discusses the position with his generals and makes a lightning decision to send the 8 German divisions in southern Germany and France to occupy all the Italian Alpine passes. Every pass between Italy and France, Italy and Switzerland, Italy and Austria, is in German hands before Badoglio even has time to think of a counter-measure.

Air Operations, Aleutians

32 11th Air Force B-24s, P-38s, and P-40s attack Kiska with a record 104 tons of bombs. 1 P-40 is shot down, but its pilot is rescued.

Air Operations, Central Pacific

8 Midway-based B-24s of the VII Bomber Command’s 11th Heavy Bomb Group attack oil- storage facilities at Wake Island. The formation is attacked by as many as 20 A6M Zeros, but there are no losses. This is the last attack against Wake Island to be staged from Midway.

Air Operations, CBI

• 5 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s escorted by 12 23rd Fighter Group fighters attack the Japanese bomber base at Hankow. As many as 50 Japanese fighters intercept the bombers, but 23rd Fighter Group P-40s and P-38s down 4 A6M Zeros over Hankow during the morning bomber-escort mission. 1 P-40 is lost. 23rd Fighter Group P-40s down 2 Zeros over the airfield at Hengyang during the morning.

Air Operations, Europe

53 B-17s bomb the Neuhoff Power Station in Hamburg.

• 6 Mosquitos are sent to Hamburg and there are 3 OTU sorties with no losses.

• Sent to attack the St.-Omer/Ft. Rouge Airdrome, 15 of 18 Medium Bomb Group B-26s are only able to find the St.-Omer/Longuenesse Airdrome upon which they drop 15 tons of bombs.
• 4 B-26s are damaged

• 50 1st Heavy Bomb Group B-17s and 2 YB-40s and 44 4th Heavy Bomb Wing B-17s bomb two separate rubber factories in Hannover between noon and 1245 hours with about 134 tons of bombs. There is heavy flak and Luftwaffe fighter opposition over the target area.
• 14 B-17s are lost; 4 crewmen are lost, 22 wounded, 126 missiong
• Unable to attack the briefed target in Hannover, 4th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s attack targets of opportunity, including Wilhelmshaven, Wesermunde, and a convoy at sea.
• 5 B-17s are lost, 1 ditched at sea, 1 damaged; 1 crewman killed, 3 wounded, 51 missing
• A separate mission by 121 1st Heavy Bomb Group B-17s is sent against the Hamburg U-boat yards, but because of bad weather, only 54 bombers drop about 126 tons of bombs.
• 2 B-17s are lost; 1 crewman killed, 3 wounded, 20 missing
USAAF
ITALY:


NASAF B-26s attack a marshalling yard at Paola.

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Air Operations, New Guinea

• More than 40 V Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfield at Lae, Komiatum, Malolo Ridge, and Salamaua.
• P-38s of the 49th Fighter Group’s 9th Fighter Squadron and the 35th Fighter Group’s 39th Fighter Squadron bring down 11 A6M Zeros, Ki-43 'Oscars', and Ki-61 'Tonys' over the Markham Valley and Lae beteen 1350 and 1410 hours.
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Air Operations, Sardinia

In an attack on the island by 325th Fighter Group P-40s aroung 0930 hours, the fighters down 4 Mc-202s and 1 Bf-109.

Air Operations, Sicily

• NATAF A-20s repeatedly attack Regalbuto through the day.
• NATAF fighters attack Axis troop and supply movements via road, rail, and shipping.
• IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Milazzo.
• IX Fighter Command p-40 fighter-bombers attack Catania and shipping at Riposta.

Air Operations, Solomons

• 37 US Marine Corps TBFs and 24 SBDs attack dual- purpose anti-aircraft batteries within the beseiged Munda Point airfield complex on New Georgia. 1 SBD is downed by anti-aircraft guns.
• 21 Marine Corps F4Us strafe the Kahili airfield on Bougainville ahead of 10 XIII Bomber Command B-24s that drop fragmentation cluster bombs on aircraft revetments.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s and AirSols fighters attack targets in southern Kolombangara.
• During the night, 6 XIII Bomber Command B-17s attack the airfield at Ballale and the Kahili airfield on Bougainville.

Aleutians

In a single raid American bombers drop 104 tons of bombs on Japanese positions on Kiska. At 6:40pm 3 light cruisers and 8 destroyers of the Japanese navy, making clever use of the Arctic fog that has enveloped the island take off in one hour almost all the 6,100 men in the garrison and leave without being spotted by the enemy. Some submarines also take part in the operation.

Atlantic

Over the next 2 days 4 British merchant ships are bombed northwest of Lisbon.

Battle of the Atlantic

US Naval land-based aircraft (VP-32) sink the German submarine U-759 in the Caribbean area.

U-459