Air Operations, Europe

The Allied effort is directed mostly at tactical targets in very many fairly small raids. RAF Bomber Command drops 56,000 tons and the 25,600 sorties flown by 8th Air Force add nearly as much. Light and medium forces contribute another 25,000 tons. A proportion of the heavy bomber raids are against strategic targets mostly connected with oil production. Objectives include Gelsenkirchen, Bohlen, Politz and others in Hungary and Yugoslavia. The 15th Air Force from Italy joins these raids as well as attacking communications targets in southeastern Europe like Nish, Giurgiu and Brod. Railways in northern Italy are also hit.

Air Operations, Carolines

Due to bad weather, only 6 of 48 XIII Bomber Command B-24s sent are able to attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 7 10th Air Force B-25s attack Bongyaung, Songon, and targets on the road between Tiddim and Imphal.
• 19 P-40s attack targets around Myitkyina.
• USAAF transports complete a frantic six-day effort to airlift supplies, US and Chinese army ground troops, and 2 US Army engineer battalions to hold the airfield and town at Myitkyina.

• 25 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack rail facilities at Chenghsien.
• 18 fighter-bombers attack port facilities, a Japanese Navy gunboat, and barracks near Chiuchiang, and 300 Japanese Army ground troops at Sanyenchiao.
• 23rd Fighter Group and 3rd CACW Fighter Group P-40s down a trainer and a transport in the course of 3 minor aerial skirmishes between 1020 and 1800 hours.

• More than 20 10th Air Force B-25s airlift ammunition to Allied ground forces at Imphal.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Amboina, Boroe, and the Kai Islands.

Air Operations, Europe

• 101 Halifaxes of No. 1 Group and 8 Pathfinder Mosquitos attack the main German radio-listening station at Ferme d'Urville near the coast chosen for the invasion, but clouds and haze prevent an accurate bombing.
• There are no losses.
• 58 Lancasters of No. 5 Group hit the railway junction at Saumur. Photographic reconnaissance shows severe damage to the junction.
• There are no aircraft losses.

• 6 Mosquitos are sent to Aarhus, Denmark, 18 aircraft lay mines in the Kattegat and off Dunkirk, 40 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 3 Serrate patrols.
• 1 Halifax is lost on a Resistance operation.
• 'G' Force Air HQ' is formed at Bari, Italy. It will be renamed the Balkan Air Force on June 7.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 36 B-25s and A-20s attack Noemfoor Island, Ransiki, and in the Kaukenau area.
• B-25, A-20s, and V Fighter Command P-39s attack various targets between Hollandia and the Wakde Islands.
• 5th Air Force and RAAF aircraft attack various targets between Hansa Bay and Wewak.

Burma

On the northern front the Chinese 22nd Division overcomes Japanese resistance and cuts the Kamaing road, in the Mogaung valley, at several places southeast of Nanyaseik above Kamaing. Since the Chinese 38th Division is already blocking the road at Seton, below Kamaing, there is a serious threat to the Japanese garrison in that town. American reinforcements are sent urgently to the Myitkyina area.

The monsoon slows down operations. The Allied supply situation in the area is difficult for the American have rations for only 24 hours, the Chinese for 2 days.

On the Salween front units of 2 Chinese Divisions reach the Shweli valley from Tatangtzu Pass and join up with a regiment of the Chinese 198th Division coming from Mamien Pass. The Japanese withdraw some units from the upper Shweli valley to reinforce the line at Lungling farther south. 2 regiments of the Chinese 9th Division cross the Salween. After hesitating so long, Chiang Kai-shek has finally decided to send adequate forces to Burma.

Eastern Front

Although the German pressure near Jassy is maintained, Russian counterattacks are now succeeding in re-taking and holding the disputed ground.

Germany, Command

The German Army's military intelligence unit, the Abwehr, is removed from the control of the Wehrmacht by Hitler. Its chief, Adm Canaris, is dismissed and all secret service activities are places in the hands of Heinrich Himmler, the SS leader. Canaris had been clandestinely conspiring against Hitler.

India

The Japanese 31st Division at Kohima begins to withdraw, signalling the final end of the U-GO offensive into India. The collapse begins when the 7th Indian Division overruns Japanese positions in Naga village before the 5th Brigade outflanks the the Japanese around Aradura Spur 2 days later. Although the Japanese have been militarily defeated, lack of supplies is also a major catalyst for the withdrawal.

Italy

The German 14th Army is still holding out both in the Albano sector and near Lanuvio. South of the Alban Hills the 141st Infantry Regiment of the US 36th Division takes Velletri after a hard struggle. Exploiting the success of 36th Division, the US II and VI Corps begin to drive toward Rome at full strength attacking through the Alban Hills and toward Albano and Valmonte on either side. On the left flank the 85th Division attacks Monte Ceraso, meeting strong resistance. Since the 'Caesar' Line has now been breached by these advances, Kesselring orders a fighting withdrawal to the 'Gothic' Line, north of Rome. This fortified line crosses Italy from the Ligurian Sea, between La Spezia and Viareggio, as far as the Adriatic, just above Pesaro, passing north of Lucca and Pistoia and then turning south of San Marino before finally continuing nortward to Pesaro. The German forces still fight skillfully to delay the Americans, however.

Air Operations, Carolines

5th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s are weathered in at Momote airfield on Los Negros, but 15 307th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s are able to attack the Truk Atoll, as planned.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s are unable to locate their primary target at Yenangyaung, but they do attack secondary targets in the area.

• More than 80 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack numerous sampans on Tungting Lake and Japanese Army ground troops and motor vehicles at Chungyang and Tengchung.
• 3rd CACW Fighter Group P-40s down 7 Japanese fighters over and near Chenghsien in an early-morning engagement.

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

Air Operations, Europe

The first 'shuttle' raid by 130 B-17s of the 15th Air Force takes place as Operation FRANTIC. Italian-based bombers attack the Debrecen railway yard in Hungary, then fly on to the Ukraine escorted by Marauders and Yak fighters. The 8th Air Force attacks V-1 sites in Pas de Calais. RAF Typhoons attack the Dieppe-Caudecote radar statsion.

• 128 aircraft attack the railway yards at Trappes. Included in this total are 105 Halifaxes, 19 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 4 and 8 Groups. Most of the bombs fall on the eastern half of the target area.
• 15 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster are lost.
• 103 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups attack a radar-jamming station at Berneval with great accuracy and without a loss.
• 271 aircraft including 136 Lancasters, 119 Halifaxes, and 16 Mosquitos, attack 4 coastal gun positions. In only 1 area is the bombing accurate, but not a concern because this is part of the invasion deception plan. All of the targets are in the Pas de Calais, not in the Normandy area.

• 23 Mosquitos are sent to Leverkusen, 4 to Laval and 3 to Lison, 53 aircraft lay mines from Dunkirk to Brest, 36 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 9 Serrate and 6 Intruder patrols and 16 RCM and 11 OTU sorties.
• 1 Stirling is lost on a Resistance operation.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Mokmer airfield on Biak.
• 17th Reconnaissance Squadron B-25s and 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack targets of opportunity on Biak Island.
• B-24s and B-25s attack bivouacs near Sawar and the Wiske River, and roads along the Orai River.
• B-25s attack the Kaukenau and Timoeka areas.
• B-24s, V Fighter Command P-39s, and RAAF aircraft attack the Wewak area.
• At 1640 hours, a large formation of Japanese Navy aircraft based at Sorong attack 8 US Navy LSTs off Biak Island. There are no USAAF fighters in the area due to bad weather over their bases, so the Japanese are able to strafe the LSTs. The attacks continue in piecemeal fashion for 65 minutes, but intense anti-aircraft fire from the LSTs and shore batteries down 12 of an estimated 54 attackers, and very little damage is sustained by the LSTs.

Allied Planning

The British and American Chiefs of Staff reach a compromise agreement on the strategy to be followed in Southeast Asia. The airlift between India and China is to be further strengthened so as to play a part in the Pacific operations as well as in China. Land operations are to be undertaken and maintained to the extent that they can help to increase the volume of supplies from India to China; to the end the capture of Myitkyina area in northern Burma and the reopening of the land route from India to Burma, including the construction of an oil pipeline into China, are of the first importance.

Britain, Home Front

The Cambridgeshire railway station is wrecked by an explosion on a munitions train.

Burma

The final siege of Myitkyina begins. The Chinese dig tunnels to get inside the enemy lines. On the Salween River front the Chinese 36th Division captures the village of Kaitou and surrounds Chiaotou, in the valley of the Shweli. On the Arakan front the Indian Divisions have re-established contact and resumed the initiative against the Japanese, advancing towards Akyab. On the Indian front, where there is bloody fighting around Imphal, the British-Indian forces can now call on 100,000 effectives. The 7th Indian Division brought back from the Arakan, succeeds in breaking through the lines of the Japanese 31st Division north of Kohima. The Japanese begin to withdraw slowly.

China

Japanese units win all their objectives in Honan Province and halt offensive action.

Air Operations, CBI

• 15 10th Air Force B-25s attack the Tiddim-Imphal road.
• A small number of P-40s attack the Mogaung area.

• 14th Air Force B-25s, P-51s, and P-40s attack the Pingkiang area.
• P-40s support Chinese Army ground forces at Tantangtzu and Watien, and attack barges in the Gulf of Tonkin and on Tungting Lake.

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

Air Operations, Europe

A Ju-290 lands in northern Greenland and rescues a 26-man team of meteorolgists that were left there by U-boat in August 1943.

• 96 Lancasters of No. 5 Group and 4 Pathfinder Mosquitos attack the important German signals station at Ferme d'Urville which had escaped serious damage from a raid two nights previous. 3 of the Oboe Mosquitos place their markers perfectly and the Lancasters wipe out the stations.
• There are no losses.
• 127 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3 and 8 Groups continue the deception raids on coastal batteries batteries at Calais and Wimereux. The bombing is accurate and there are no aircraft losses.

• 20 Mosquitos are sent to Ludwigshafen, and 5 to Argentan, 57 aircraft lay mines from the Scheldt River to Dunkirk, and there are 6 Serrate and 3 Intruder patrols and 4 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Carolines

• 20 5th Heavy Bom Group B-24s and 18 307th Heavy Bomb Group attack the Truk Atoll.
• During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s attack Japen Island, Mokmer, Seroei, shipping off Manokwari, and the airfields on Normfoor and Biak and Timoeka.
• V Fighter Command P-38s attack the airfield at Babo, where many Japanese aircraft are destroyed on the ground.
• P-47s and P-40s attack Sawar airfield, dumps at Sarmi and along the Kai River, and coastal barge and troop hideouts.
• 5th Air Force B-24s and fighter-bombers attack coastal targets between Hansa Bay and Wewak.
• Planned attacks by V Bomber Command B-24s against Japanese Army positions on Biak Island are hindered by bad weather.
• Between 1105 and 1132 hours, 9 G4M 'Betty' bombers and 32 A6M Zeross based at the Sorong airfield, along with 10 Japanese Army fighters based at the airfield at Samate, attack a flotilla of destroyers and landing craft off Biak. Delayed by bad weather, 348th Fighter Group P-47s arrive at 1120 hours and immediately attack the Japanese aircraft, which are either shot down or driven away.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s down 6 Japanese fighters over Biak Island at 1120 hours. 49th Fighter Group P-38s down 12 Japanese fighters over the Babo airfield at 1130 hours.

Burma

The Chinese and American forces of the 42nd, 150th and 89th Regiments launch an assault on the Japanese positions, but are driven back with heavy losses, especially to the Americans. The Japanese rearguard leaves Kohima.

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting continues to rage on the Rumanian front, but the Germans can make little headway against fierce Russian resistance.

Air Operations, Carolines

During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 20 10th Air Force P-40s attack targets in the Myitkyina area.
• 19 P-40s attack numerous targets while conducting sweeps over northern Burma.

• 14th Air Force P-40s support Chinese Army ground troops on the Salween River battle front.

• 14th Air Force P-40 fighter-bombers attack rail targets of opportunity in northeastern French Indochina.

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

Air Operations, Europe

• 259 aircraft of Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to bomb 4 gun positions. In this total are 125 Lancasters, 118 Halifaxes and 16 Mosquitos.
• 3 of the targets are deception targets in the Pas de Calais, but the fourth is at Maisy in Normandy, which will become known as Omaha and Utah beaches where American troops will land in 36 hours' time. Maisy is cloud-covered and can only be marked by Oboe skymarkers and the area is bombed by 52 Lancasters of No. 5 Group. 2 of the targets in the Pas de Calais are also covered in clouds, but the position at Calais itself is clear and accurately marked by the Mosquitos and well-bombed by Halifaxes and Lancasters of No. 6 Group.
• No aircraft are lost on these operations.

• 20 Mosquitos are sent to Cologne, 6 to Argentan, 4 Halifaxes and 3 Lancasters lay mines from the Scheldt to Dunkirk, 17 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 6 Serrate patrols and 4 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Borokoe airfield on Biak and the Namber airfield on Noemfoor, and the mouth of the Orai River.
• 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack the airfield at Babo.
• A-20s attack Wewak, port facilities at Manokwari, and shipping near Geelvink Bay.
• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack coastal targets at Hansa Bay.
• Planned attacks by V Bomber Command B-24s against Japanese Army positions on Biak Island are thwarted by bad weather.
• At 1740 hours, 6 G4M 'Betty' bombers and 28 A6M Zeros based at the airfield at Sorong attack a US-Australian surface battle force 120 miles east of Biak. One USN cruiser is slightly damaged.
• During the evening, 2 Japanese bombers attack Allied aircraft on the ground at Wakde Airdrome and cause very heavy damage.
• A 475th Fighter Group P-38 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Moisnneom Island at 1040 hours.
• 348th Fighter Group P-48s down a B5N 'Kate' torpedo bomber and 3 A6M Zeros near Biak Island between 1740 and 1755 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

An American Navy anti-submarine force captures a German submarine (U-505) 150 miles off the coast of Rio de Oro (Spanish Sahara), Africa. It is the first enemy ship captured by a US naval boarding party since 1814. The submarine surfaced when attacked, but the crew abandoned it when it started to sink. American seamen boarded and salvaged it, and the submarine is towed to the US. The anti-submarine force responsible for this capture include the escort carrier Guadalcanal (CVE-60) and the destroyer escorts Pillsbury (DE-133), Pope (DE-134), Flaherty (DE-135), Chatelain (DE-149) and Jenks (DE-665).

U-505

The date for Operation OVERLORD, the landing in Normandy, where the enemy least expect it, was fixed on May 8 by Eisenhower, and confirmed on May 17, as June 5 or 6, or at the very latest June 7. These are the only dates on which he can rely on two conditions essential to success. The first, the moon will rise late and help the landing by the parachutists and airborne troops - about 22,000 men of the American 101st and 82nd Divisions and the British 6th Division. The second, low tide will be at dawn and will uncover all the obstacles and mines that Rommel has had put down so that they can be most easily neutralized by specialists going ashore ahead of the first wave, blowing up the mines and destroying the obstructions. The next low tide will come just before sunset, and then the second wave will land. These three days are the only ones in the whole month when the meteorological requirements will be right. Although the tides will be favorable again on June 19, by then the moon will be wrong and the airborne forces would have to attack in complete darkness. If the June dates are missed it will be necessary to wait until July, but so long a delay, as Eisenhower says later, is 'too painful to contemplate.' Eisenhower decides first that the landing shall take place on June 5, but on June 4, a Sunday and the day Rommel leaves for Germany, he orders a 24 hours' delay because of bad weather.

The convoys for the invasion are already at sea, but because of bad weather expected on June 5, they turn back to wait. Late in the evening Eisenhower decides, after consulting with the meteorological staff headed by Air-Marshal I. N. Stagg of the RAF, that the invasion can take place on June 6 when a break in the weather is expected. He says, 'I don't like it but I don't see what else I can to. I am absolutely convinced that the order must be given.' It has long been decided that the first landings must be at dawn when there is a low tide. This should allow the engineering teams to work their way up the beach to the high-water mark clearing visible obstacles. These tidal conditions only occur on about three days every fortnight. Also desirable is for the moon to rise late to aid the airborne troops. These conditions pertain on June 5 and 6 and less ideally June 7. If the invasion does not take place then, the tides will be right about June 20 but the combination of moon and tides not until July. Eisenhower, therefore, has had to take a very difficult decision because any postponement would be bound to affect the troops morale; to give the Germans more time to improve their defenses; to upset relations with the Russians; and almost certainly jeopardize the security of the plan (for one thing the deception operation has been scheduled in line with the June 5 date).

Air Operations, Asia

B-29 Superfortresses of the US XX Bomber Group carry out their first bombing mission against Bangkok.

Air Operations, Europe

• In preparation for D-Day, Allied Air Forces have flown 200,000 sorties delivering 200,000 tons of bombs in only 2 months. 200 planes have been lost. The French railway system is virtually immobilized. All the bridges over the Seine River between Paris and the Channel have been destroyed. The final strike is a saturation bombing of 10 coastal batteries by 1,136 RAF heavy bombers during the night dropping 5,267 tons of bombs.
• In Operation TAXABLE 5 RAF Bomber Command squadrons and 18 naval vessels carry out diversionary operations in the Pas de Calais area.

• 1,012 aircraft are sent to bomb coastal batteries at Fontenay, Houlgate, La Pernelle, Longues, Maisy, Merville, Mont Fleury, Pointe du Hoc, Ouisterham and St Martin de Varreville. Included in this total are 551 Lancasters, 412 Halifaxes and 49 Mosquitos.
• 946 aircraft carry out their bombing tasks. Only two of the targets, La Pernelle and Ouisterham, are free of clouds and all the other bombing is entirely based upon Oboe marking. At least 5,000 tons of bombs are dropped, the greatest tonnage on one night thus far in the war.
• 2 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group on the Mont Fleury raid and 1 Lancaster of No. 6 Group on the Longues raid are lost.
• 110 aircraft of Nos. 1 and 100 Groups carry out extensive bomber-support operations: 24 'Airborne Cigar' (ABC)-equipped Lancasters of No. 101 Squadron patrol all likely night-fighter approaches, so that their German-speaking operators can jam the German controllers' instructions; No. 100 Group flies 34 RCM sorties and 27 Serrate and 25 Intruder Mosquito patrols.
• 2 Intruders and 1 ABC Lancaster are lost.
• 58 aircraft of Nos. 3 and 5 Groups carry out a variety of operations to conceal the true location of the invasion for as long as possible. 16 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron and 6 G-H fitted Stirlings of No. 218 Squadron drop a dense screen of Window, which advances slowly across the Channel, to simulate a large convoy of ships approaching the French coast between Boulogne and Le Havre, north of the real invasion coast. These flights require exact navigation; both squadrons had been practising for this operation for more than a month. The second diversion is carried out by 36 Halifaxes and Stirlings of Nos. 90, 138, 149 and 161 Squadrons. These aircraft drop dummy parachutists and explosive devices to simulate airborne landings over areas not being invaded.
• 2 Stirlings of No. 149 Squadron were lost while carrying these operations.
• 31 Mosquitos bomb Osnabrück without a loss.

Air Operations, Carolines

VII Bomber Command B-24s based at Eniwetok photograph and bomb Guam, then proceed to the Momote airfield on Los Negros.

Air Operations, CBI

• 9 10th Air Force B-25s attack Bhamo.
• 4 B-25s attack a bridge at Ledan Chaung.
• 50 fighter-bombers attack the Myitkyina area.
• More than 20 fighter-bombers attack Loilaw, Mogaung, Namti, and Tagwin.
• 18 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and 12 14th Air Force B-24s attack Lashio.
• 7 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack barracks and warehouses at Namhkam.

• 29 14th Air Force P-40s attack oil barges near Yuankiang.
• 12 P-40s support Chinese Army ground troops on the Salween River front.
• 8 P-40s attack tanks at Taying.

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

• 77 of 98 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched from bases in the Karachi area mount the first B-29 attack of the war against rail targets at Bangkok between 1052 and 1232 hours. Due to heavy undercast, 48 B-29s employ radar guidance to drop their bombs. 5 B-29s are lost in operational accidents in which 15 crewmen are killed or missing.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• At 0115 hours, 4 Japanese Navy torpedo bombers attack the US-Australian surface battle force east of Biak Island, but no hits are scored.
• V Bomber Command B-24s attack targets near the airfield at Sorido.
• B-24s based at the Nadzab airfield undertake fruitless missions against a Japanese Navy convoy rumored to be in the western New Guinea area.
• V Fighter Command P-39s and RAAF aircraft attack the Wewak area.
• Throughout the night, Japanese aircraft mount harrassment raids against the airfield at Wakde, where several USAAF and RAAF aircraft are destroyed on the ground and many others are damaged.

Arctic

HM submarine Satyr sights a surfaced U-boat just after 9:00am about 4,500 yards away. The British submarine turns to port and runs in fast to gain a favorable firing position. At the new position it is discovered U-987 has altered her course. The Satyr adjusts her course and fires 6 torpedoes. 2 torpedoes strike the U-boat in the bow and under the conning tower. The forward part of the target is thrown into the air as if its back had been broken resulting in both halves sinking.

U-987

The German 15th Army's radio monitor intercepts the second half of Verlaine's verse, the second part ot the message to the Resistance, which according to Canaris is to be given not more than 48 hours before the invasion: 'Blessent mon ca'ur | D'une langeur | Monotone.' ('Wound my heart with a monotonous langor'). The 15th Army - but still only the 15th - is put on a state of maximum alert.

Just after 10:00pm the paratroopers and glider-borne infantry take off. A little after midnight the sky over Normandy, bright as day with the flares, is filled with the rumble of aircraft and of German anti-aircraft guns, as Allied night bombers open the assault. The main mission of the airborne troops is to seize vital ground behind the German forces on both flanks of the Normandy invasion front and block German reinforcements from reaching the beachhead.

A vast fleet approaches the French coast. 2,727 ships of every kind including merchant ships, cross-Channel steamers, hospital ships, small Transatlantic liners, tugs, and tankers, carry or tow more than 2,500 landing craft. They are escorted by over 700 warships including 23 cruisers, 5 battleships - the British Ramillies and Warspite and the American Texas (BB-35), Arkansas (BB-33) and Nevada (BB-36), back in action after being sunk in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor - and 104 destroyers. To oppose this armada, the equal of which has never been seen on the seas, the Germans have a total of 3 destroyers, 36 motor torpedo-boats and 34 submarines. The US minesweeper Osprey (AM-56) sinks when it hits a mine.

Air Operations, Carolines

VII Bomber Command B-24s returning to the Marshall Islands from Los Negros attack Ponape Island.

Air Operations, CBI

• 24 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Waingmaw, the Hopin and Wuntho areas, and targets along the Imphal-Tiddim road.
• 80 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Myitkyina.
• Nearly 40 fighter-bombers attack targets in the Mogaung Valley.
• 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s down 3 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters in a large engagement over the airfield at Meiktila at 0730.

• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 10 14th Air Force P-51s attack Tayang Chiang.
• 5 B-25s attack Pailochi.
• 50 P-40s attack shipping and Japanese Army troops and horses around Fulinpo and Kweiyi.
• 9 P-40s attack roads and Yellow River shipping.
• 2 P-40s attack junks at Kwangchow Wan.
• 76th Fighter Squadron P-51s down 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters in an afternoon engagement near Yuankiang.

Air Operations, Europe

104 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 42 P-51 fighters of the US 15th Air Force, taking off from bases in the USSR, carry out a raid on Galati airport in Rumania.

Allied Air Forces fly 14,674 sorties over Normandy up to midnight. The Luftwaffe flies about 100 sorties. RAF Coastal Command maintains continuous patrols over the east and west approaches to the English Channel. 250 gliders land reinforcements and supplies for the British 6th Airborne Division.

• 1,065 aircraft are sent to bomb railway and road centers on the lines of communication behind the Normandy battle area. In this total are 589 Lancasters, 418 Halifaxes and 58 Mosquitos.
• All of the targets are in or near French towns. 3,488 tons of bombs are dropped on targets at Achères, Argentan, Caen, Châteaudun, Conde sur Noireau, Coutances, St Lô, Lisieux and Vire. Every effort is made to bomb accurately, but casualties to French civilians are inevitable. Clouds affect the accuracy of the bombing at many of the targets, and at Achères, the Master Bomber orders the raid to be abandoned because of clouds and no bombs are dropped. Some details are available of the effects of the bombing. At Argentan, Châteaudun and Lisieux, much damage is done to railways, although the towns, Lisieux in particular, are hit by many bombs. Important bridges at Coutances are badly damaged and the town centers of Caen, Conde sur Noireau, St-Lô and Vire are all badly bombed and most of the roads through those towns are blocked.
• 10 Lancasters and 1 Halifax are lost on these raids. 6 of the Lancasters are lost in the No. 5 Group raid at Caen, where the main force of bombers have to wait for the target to be properly marked and then fly over an area full of German units and guns at bombing heights below 3,000 feet.

• 32 Mosquitos are sent to Ludwigshafen, 19 aircraft lay mine in the Brest area, 26 aircraft are on resistance operations, and there are 18 Serrate patrols.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s and B-25s attack shipping at Efman and Waigeo islands.
• B-24s based at Nadzab undertake fruitless missions against a Japanese Navy convoy rumored to be in the western New Guinea area.
• 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based in Australia fruitlessly attack several Japanese cruisers off Waigeo Island.
• B-25s and A-20s attack the Namber airfield on Noemfoor.
• 17th Reconnaissance Squadron B-25s and 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s attack Japanese Army tanks near the Mokmer airfield on Biak.
• A-20s attack Babo airfield.
• A-20s, V Fighter Command P-39s, and RAAF aircraft attack supply dumps and hideouts between Hansa Bay and Wewak.
• A 475th Fighter Group P-38 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Babo airfield at 1210 hours.
• During the night, following several weeks of ineffective nocturnal harrassment, 2 Japanese bombers attack the airfield at Wakde, where they kill 5 US servicemen, wound 4, destroy 6 aircraft, and damage 80 other aircraft.

China

Supplies of ammunition from India for the US 14th Air Force are substantially increased in view of its heavy liabilities resulting from the Japanese offensive in eastern China.

Eastern Front

THE WESTERN FRONT

The second front is finally opened as the Western Allies invade Normandy. For the next few weeks Hitler will be fixated with the defense of the West and the destruction of the Allied landing force. The Anglo-American invasion of Italy in September 1943 had opened a limited second front against the Germans but failed to tie down sufficient forces to influence the fighting in hte east to any great degree. Possibly the most decisive factor in the West is the Allied combined bomber offensive. By attacking the German ability to wage war, the Allied air forces inflict crippling losses on the German fuel suppliers and production facilities. Furthermore, the raids have drawn the Luftwaffe away to the west, paving the way for the Soviet air armies to gain absolute air superiority. With the loss of thousands of valuable 88mm artillery pieces acting in an anti-aircraft role, the ground forces are deprived of one of their most effective anti-tank guns, a valuable resource condidering the Soviet preponderance of armor.

The Allied Plans and Preparations

The Allies can call on 86 Divisions which include 25 armored Divisions equipped with Churchill and Sherman tanks and 55 motorized Divisions, 3,100 bombers and 5,000 fighters. In overall command of the Allied forces is Gen Eisenhower, with the British Air Chief-Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder as his deputy. Gen Montgomery commands all the Allied land forces, the British Adm Sir Bertram Ramsay and Air Chief-Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory command the naval and air forces. The strategic air force is under the American Gen Carl Spaatz.

Briefly the Allies intend to land units of 4 army corps and 3 airborne Divisions on the beaches of Normandy between Caen and Valognes. Normandy has been selected for a number of reasons. The topography of the beaches and the area just inland is favorable. Normandy is within fighter range of southern England and is convenient for all ports on the south coast. It is a less obvious choice than the Pas de Calais and is, therefore, less well defended.

The preparations have been enormous in scale and elaboration. There are nearly 3,000,000 men under Eisenhower's command and a mass of vehicles and stores has been accumulated. Not the least important items of equipment are the various parts of the Mulberry Harbors. There are old ships, assorted huge blocks of concrete and steel and all the metal roadways necessary to turn these into great artificial ports as soon as they are sunk off the beaches. This obviates the need to plan to seize a port as a first priority. All the ports are of course heavily defended, as the Dieppe experience has proved. The undertaking for the construction of the parts of the Mulberries (there are two - one British and one American) is so vast that it has absorbed a considerable proportion of the British war-production effort for several months. All the parts have been made in Britain because of their size and unwieldiness. The British have also produced a range of specially modified tanks and other armored vehicles mainly to help their engineers clear beach obstacles under fire. The 'Funnies' are organized as part of the 79th Armored Division which has been led and trained by Gen Sir Percy Hobart, one of the pioneers of tank warfare. All these devices are offered to the Americans, but they have chosen to accept only the amphibious tanks. This is a serious error.

As well as the preparations for the actual attack, a considerable effort has been put in to misleading the Germans as to the location of the landings. The main section of the deception plan has been designed to suggest a landing in the Pas de Calais by a fictional 1st US Army Group (FUSAG) based in Kent and supposedly commanded by Gen Patton. At first, real formations are based in Kent supposedly as part of this army, and when these transfer to France they are replaced by fictional units behind a screen of false radio traffic and reports from double agents. Some dummy installations, airfields and landing craft are also erected. A similar scheme is run to stimulate the presence of a British 4th Army in Scotland preparing for a descent on Norway. Again a real personality is chosen to command, a British Gen Andrew Thorne. It is essential for these schemes to have real commanders of sufficient stature reported to be in charge. After Patton goes to France he is succeeded by another senior American general. The FUSAG scheme is a notable success in drawing attention away from Normandy and keeping alive the idea that the real landings might in fact be a feint.

The enormous number of air attacks on targets in France have been carefully orchestrated to avoid giving away the real location of the landings. Thus, destroying the Seine bridges, which has been done, will seem to the Germans to be just as necessary to prevent troops moving from Normandy to the Pas de Calais as the reverse. These and other air attacks have been a considerable success, but the real effect of the air operations is to come after the landing in the prevention of German reinforcements reaching Normandy in full strength or as quickly as might otherwise have been the case. Lorries and other types of 'soft' vehicles are particularly vulnerable.

The German Dispositions

Altogether in France, Belgium and Holland the Germans have 60 Divisions including 11 armored. These figures are somewhat misleading, however. About half of the infantry Divisions are not equipped for mobile warfare and all are understrength. Some are in France simply to refit after heavy losses on the Eastern Front and are hardly fit for action. To lead them they have, in Supreme Command, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, with headquarters at St Germain, and commanding Army Group B is the northern half of the country, Field Marshal Rommel with headquarters at La Roche-Guyon. Army Group B comprises the LXXXVIII Corps, stationed in Holland, the 15th Army between Antwerp and the Orne River, and the 7th Army manning the sector between the Orne and the Loire. Johannes Blaskowitz commands in the south. The landings will initially be opposed mostly by units of Friedrich Dollmann's 7th Army except on the British left flank where part of Hans von Salmuth's 15th Army is stationed. However, this chain of command is made almost totally useless by Hitler's interference. As ususal he insists on involving himself in even the most immediate tactical decisions. This difficulty is compounded by real doubts about the correct strategy both as to where the attack is going to fall, and how it ought to be met. As to the location, both Hitler and Rommel have nursed a belief that Normandy might well be the target. Interestingly once the invasion has come where he predicted, Hitler convinces himself that it is a feint. In the work Rommel has done to make the Atlantic Wall defenses a reality the Normandy area has received at least its fair share. The more important problem concerns how the armor reserve should be handled. Von Rundstedt wishes, in the classic style, to create a strong central reserve which can be used for a grand counterstroke once the focus of the Allies' operation has been discerned. Rommel, on the other hand, believes thet the invasion must be defeated as near to the beaches as possible and that the reserves should therefore be spread all along the front. He fears that Allied air power will prevent the sort of counterstroke that von Rundstedt desires happening sufficiently promptly or in adequate strength. He realizes also that once solidly ashore the Allied material, quantitively superior, is bound to tell. This belief can only be reinforced by the German intelligence appreciation that the Allies have 87 Divisions in Britain, when in fact the total is 52 and only 37 are intended for France.

Both Rommel and von Rundstedt put their views to Hitler and his decision gives a compromise result fatal to both schemes. He allows Rommel some of his way by releasing a few Divisions from the reserve but not the 3 Panzer Divisions for Normandy that Rommel wants among his other plans. Von Rundstedt is left with an inadequate force for his strategic reserve, and to make matters worse, he cannot call on it without permission from higher authority at OKW which in practice means Hitler.

The Luftwaffe can contribute only 165 bombers and 183 fighters of which only 160 are considered battle-worthy. Several squadrons have been withdrawn from northern France only a few days earlier, though Hitler has promised his generals that there will be 1,000 aircraft ready to support the land forces on the day France is invaded.

The Forces Deployed

On the ground in Normandy the Germans have 6 infantry Divisions. The 2nd, 322nd and 716th, are wholly deployed on the beaches concerned along with parts of 2 more, 709th and 711th (from 15th Army). In reserve on the left there is the 91st Division and a parachute regiment and on the right, around Caen, the 21st Panzer Division. 3 more Panzer Divisions are within range farther inland but they are part of the OKW reserve and cannot be called in without permission. The fixed defenses are nowhere as formidable as has been planned because of shortages of transport, materials, especially concrete, labor, mines and other explosives. Partly because of these shortages and partly because of his belief that the invasion must be beaten on the beaches, Rommel has largely demolished what there was of a second defense line a little inland to use the materials for the beach defenses. This can only make the initial landings more crucial. The Allied air attacks have contributed to the difficulties with materials and construction.

At sea, the German Commander-in-Chief West, Adm Theodor Krancke, is dreadfully overmatched. When in port his ships come under constant air attack and at sea are harried equally continuously. He has 2 large and 2 small destroyers, 31 motor torpedo boats and about 200 smaller vessels in the Channel. He has about 15 submarines under his direct command. In the air the situation is at least as bad. Huge Sperrle's 3rd Air Fleet has less than 200 operational aircraft from a paper strength of only perhaps twice that. Many of the pilots are almost complete novices. The Luftwaffe still absorbs a disproportionate fraction of the German manpower and by edict of Göring has only rarely been used to help in, for example, the construction of defenses. The Luftwaffe troops, several Divisions, are not fully integrated in the army command structure. An indication of the German weakness in the air is that only one Allied aircraft is shot down by an enemy plane on June 6. When the Allied plan is in turn examined, the list of participating units is massive. The naval forces include 2 battleships, 2 monitors, 23 cruisers, 105 destroyers and 1,076 other warships (minesweepers and anti-submarine vessels especially) as well as 2,700 merchant ships and 2,500 landing craft. In the air 3,500 heavy bombers, 1,700 medium and light bombers, 3,500 fighers and 2,400 transport aircraft are employed. Despite this massive air and naval contribution the actual landing forces are by no means overwhelming in strength when compared to the German garrison in Normandy. There are 3 airborne Divisions and 5 infantry Divisions landed in the first waves as well as various independent Commando and Ranger units and, in the British and Canadian sector, 3 armored brigades. The principal limiting factor is the number of landing craft available. Partly bacause of the British commitment to produce Mulberry, almost all of the recent production of landing craft has been in the United States under the control of the US Navy. Adm King has been most reluctant to release landing craft to the European theater and he still has many times greater number in the Pacific. Altogether there are 21 American convoys and 38 British and Canadian.

The Airborne Landings

The 2 US airborne Divisions, 101st and 82nd, begin to land shortly after midnight inland from the western flank beach, Utah. Just inland from Utah the ground is marshy and 101st Division therefore has the task of taking the exits on the various causeways through this area. The 82nd are to land somewhat farther inland and clear ground on either side of the Merderet between St Mere Eglise and Pont l'Abbe. Largely because of the inexperience of many of the pilots the men of both Divisions are dropped in widely scattered groups. Many of the paratroopers are drowned in the swamps around the Douve and Merderet Rivers and in the areas flooded by Rommel as an anti-invasion obstacle weighed down by their awkward equipment. Some of the gliders crash on landing killing the occupants. Of the 13,200 men in the 2 American Divisions, only a few thousand manage to concentrate immediately after the landing, and only a very few units are where they ought to be by dawn. At dawn, for example, 101st Division only has 1,100 men under command out of 6,600. Groups of perhaps 50 men are attempting tasks planned for battalions. However, this scattering proves extremely confusing for the German defenders. By a stroke of luck the commander of the 91st Division is ambushed and killed by one such group. This Division, left leaderless, is intended by the Germans to deal with an airborne attack and has been specially trained. The missions of the airborne troops are to disrupt the enemy's communications, cause the maximum confusion and capture vital bridges before the Germans can blow them up. The 101st succeeds in winning control of the area between St Martin de Varreville and Pouppeville and there gets ready to support the landing of the 4th Infantry Division at Utah. In a multitude of small gallant and successful actions the capture of St Mere Eglise, the first village in France to be liberated, stands out.

Utah

Just after 1:00am the headquarters of the German LXXXIV Corps at St Lô begins to get messages that 'enemy paratroopers' have landed in the region of Ranville-Brèville and on the north side of Barent Wood, northeast of Caen near St Marie-du-Mont and St Germain de Varreville.

On the left, eastern, flank of the attack only one Division, the British 6th Airborne, can be committed because of lack of aircraft. They have three main tasks. They are to take positions holding various crossings of the Orne and the Caen Canal between that town and Ouistreham. The large battery at Merville is to be stormed and finally various bridges over the dives are to be blown up to protect the flank. Although, as on the opposite flank, many of the troops are not landed in the correct place, the drops are fairly good and all the objectives are achieved and where necessary held until reinforcements fight their way off the beaches. Even better, a large part of 21st Panzer Division is first attracted by the parachute landings and then held by the threat of a major break out from the beaches. They are unable to follow orders to move against Omaha.

All goes reasonably well for the British 6th Airborne in their sector. By 3:30am when the Division Commander, Gen Richard Gale, lands with the third wave, a great part of its objectives have been achieved. The Ranville bridgehead has been consolidated, the coastal batteries at Merville have been destroyed, the bridges over the dives River blown up. But of the 5,000 men in the British Division about half are missing.

The west flank landing beach is allocated to Gen Lawton Collins VII US Corps. The naval force is commanded by Adm Don P. Moon and includes 8 attack convoys and, for bombardment, a battleship, a monitor, 5 cruisers, and a dozen destroyers. The assault is carried out by the US 4th Infantry Division under Gen Raymond Barton. There are some problems with rough seas which are to some extent offset by a commander of tank landing craft in launching his amphibious cargo closer inshore than the normal American practice. (The British operate differently.) The landings almost all take place by mistake on the southern sector of the beach and there is little resistance. The troops are quickly advancing inland held up mostly by the marshy ground. By the end of the day 23,250 men have gone ashore at Utah - an almost unqualified success. Less then 200 have died.

Air Operations, Carolines

• 10 of 48 XIII Bomber Command B-24s sent attack the Truk Atoll, but the rest turn back in the face of heavy weather.
• During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Ponape Island.

Air Operations, CBI

• 11 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Kalemyo and Wuntho.
• 9 10th Air Force B-25s attack a bridge at Thityabin and the rail line between Shwebo and Wuntho.
• Several 10th Air Force P-51s attack Lachigahtawng.
• 10 14th Air Force B-25s attack Lashio and other targets on the Salween River front.

• 3 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 15 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Japanese Army tanks at Taying, locomotives at Linfen, and rail facilities at Chenghsien.
• B-25s and P-40s attack a schooner off Nampang Island and sampans at Ft. Bayard.

• 2 14th Air Force P-40s attack a carbide plant at Na Duong with aerial rockets.

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

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s based at Nadzab undertake fruitless missions against a Japanese Navy convoy rumored to be in the western New Guinea area.
• B-25s attack numerous targets on Biak Island and supply dumps along the Orai River.
• A-20s attack shipping around Manokwari.
• A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack coastal targets between Hansa Bay and Wewak.
• US Army ground forces drive across the Mokmer airfield on Biak, but the airfield remains dominated by Japanese forces holding the high ground.

Air Operations, Europe

• 337 aircraft attack railway targets at Achères, Juvisy, Massey Palaiseau and Versailles. Included in this total are 195 Halifaxes, 122 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos.
• Bombing conditions are better than on the previous night. All targets are bombed accurately, and although no details are available, it is probable that fewer civilians are killed. The targets are more distant from the battle front than those previously attacked and the German night-fighters have more time to intercept.
• 17 Lancasters and 11 Halifaxes are lost.
• 112 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 5 and 8 Groups carry out an accurate attack on an important 6-way road junction half-way between Bayeaux and St Lô at Forêt De Cerisy. The surrounding woods are believed to contain fuel dumps and German tank units preparing to counterattack the Allied landing forces. The nearest French village is several miles away.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 32 Mosquitos are sent to Cologne, 22 Halifaxes and 3 Stirlings lay mines off Lorient and Brest, 24 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 18 Serrate and 18 Intruder patrols, and 10 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Atlantic

• German light naval forces and U-boats commence frequent sorties, mainly at night, against the Allied invasion fleet, but suffer heavy losses including 2 destroyers, and sink only a small number of transports and landing craft and the destroyer RNN Svenner.
• US ships lost in the Normandy area after striking mines include: the minesweeper Tide (AM-125), the transport Susan B. Anthony (AP-72), tank landing craft LCT-458 and LCT-586.

Battle of the Atlantic

Sunderland 'S' of No 201 Squadron RAF obtains a radar contact which is illuminated with flares. The U-boat (U-955) dives, but the aircraft begins baiting tactics hoping the U-boat will resurface. At 0300 a contact is reported which, when illuminated, proves to the the U-boat. 6 depth charges are dropped one of which seems to explode directly under the boat which then fades from the radar screen.

U-955

Although the Allies have not reached the objectives set for the first day they are everywhere solidly established ashore. The priority is obviously to link up the four beachheads (Gold and Juno are joined already) and to expand inland to create room for the reinforcements now beginning to arrive. The Utah force, VII Corps, tries to link up with the scattered paratroop contingents and to advance toward Carentan and Montebourg. The V Corps from Omaha makes a general advance hoping to reach Isigny and Bayeaux. They get as far as attacking Formigny. From Gold the British 50th Infantry Division takes Bayeux and other units cut the Caen-Bayeux road. Already the pattern for the battle is being established for the weeks to come.

For the Germans it is a matter of life or death to drive their enemies back before they can widen the breach they have mad in the coastal defenses. The German reserves are being drawn and held committed by the British advance toward and on either side of Caen. This gives the American at Omaha especially a welcome respite to consolidate and expand. This is the plan that the Allied Commanders and particularly Montgomery had hoped to work to.

Gen Eisenhower, visiting the front, orders the US V and VII Corps to converge as soon as the one has taken Isigny, assigned to the 29th Division, and the other Carentan, by the 101st Airborne. The 4th Division of the VII Corps advances north in the direction of the line Quineville-Montebourg, but is halted by firm German resistance on the line of fortifications from Crisbecq to Azeville. Meanwhile columns from the 8th Regiment converge on Ste Mère Eglise to support the units of the 82nd Airborne Division against a dangerous German counterattack from the north. Other units from the 82nd Division reach the east bank of the Merderet River, but meet with violent opposition at the La Fière bridge. South of Ste Mère Eglise units of the 101st Airborne Division on the north bank of the Douve River hold up their attacks to establish a bridgehead across the water. The German detachments at Le Port and La Barquette surrender to them. The US V Corps, with the 29th Division on it right flank and the 1st Division on its left, advances toward Isigny and Bayeux.

Air Operations, Carolines

• V Bomber Command B-24s based at Nadzab pass through Hollandia on their way to attack the Palau Islands.
• During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s sow mines off Mergui.
• 9 10th Air Force B-25s attack the Imphal-Tiddim road.
• A small number of P-51s and A-36s attack Japanese Army ground forces in the Mogaung Valley.

• 19 14th Air Force P-40s attack Ichang and Shasi, and strafe Japanese Army cavalry at Nanying.
• 4 P-51s attack rail traffic between Chengting and Singtai.

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

• 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s sow mines off Bangkok.

Air Operations, Europe

• 483 aircraft attack railways at Alençon, Fougères, Mayenne, Pontabault and Rennes to prevent German reinforcements from the south reaching Normandy. All of the raids appear to have been successful.
• 2 Lancasters from the Pontabault raid and 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito from the Rennes raid are lost.
• The first 12,000lb Tallboy bombs developed by Barnes Wallis are used on this night by No. 617 Squadron in a raid on a railway tunnel near Saumur, 125 miles south of the battle area. The raid is prepared in great haste because a German Panzer unit is expected to move by train through the tunnel. The target area is illuminated with flares by 4 Lancasters of No. 83 Squadron and marked at low level by 3 Mosquitos. 25 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron then drop their Tallboys with great accuracy. The huge bombs explode under the ground to create miniature 'earthquakes'. One bomb actually pierces the roof of the tunnel and brings down a huge quantity of rock and soil. The tunnel is blocked for a considerable period and the Panzer unit is badly delayed.
• No aircraft are lost on this raid.

Atlantic

Mines are responsible for sinking two US ships in the Normandy area: the destroyer escort Rich (DE-695) and LST-499. Destroyers Glennon (DD-620) and Meredith (DD-726) are damaged.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s attack Manokwari, Efman Island, targets in the Schouten Islands, and artillery positions at Kamiri.
• A-20s attack the Wewak area.
• V Fighter Command P-40s attack occupied villages and supply dumps in the Sarmi area.
• Beginning at 1245 hours, 10 17th Reconnaissance Squadron B-25s based at Lake Sentani and escorted by 475th Fighter Group P-38s locate and attack a Japanese supply convoy on its way to Biak Island. 1 of 6 destroyer-transports is sunk and 3 are damaged. During the air attack, 3 B-25s are lost with their crews and most of the other airplanes are damaged. The remaining B-25s are so badly damaged that the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron must be withdrawn to Finschafen to draw new equipment and retrain.

• The convoy continues on toward Biak, but when a G4M 'Betty' search plane finds at 1440 hours that a USN-RAN surface battle force is poised to intercept, the 5 remaining destroyer-transports withdraw. At about 2200 hours, a VB-115 PB4Y relocates the Japanese convoy and is thus instrumental in an interception by US destroyers that results in the sinking of another destroyer-transport by gunfire.
• 475th Fighter Group P-38s down 3 Japanese fighters over the Japanese convoy between 1335 and 1345 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Sunderland 'R' of No 228 Squadron attacks a surfaced U-boat (U-970) which had been found by the plane's radar and illuminated with flares. The U-boat disappears during the attack and it is unsure if the attack was successful. German air-sea rescue picks up 13 survivors later in the morning.

U-970

Class	Type VIIC
CO	Oberleutnant zur See Heinrich Ketels
Location	Bay of Biscay
Cause	Air attack
Casualties	38
Survivors	13

• Liberator 'G' sights U-629 which had first been located by radar and attacks with six depth charges. The charges are dropped in a straddle with three landing on each side of the conning tower. The explosions seem to list the U-boat clear of the water before it sinks.

U-629 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Helmut Bugs Location English Channel, SW of Ushant Cause Air attack Casualties 51 Survivors None

U-373 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Detlev von Lehsten Location English Channel, SW of Ushant Cause Air attack Casualties 4 Survivors 47

• Less than half an hour later, the same aircraft sights and confirms another U-boat. Another six depth-charge attack is carried out with the charges also straddling the U-boat. The U-boat (U-373) could be seen listing to starboard and sinking by the stern.

Burma-China

On the Salween front the Chinese 88th Division achieves a limited penetration into the defenses of Lungling. The Chinese 87th Division reaches the north gate of the town and cuts the Japanese supply route between Lungling and Tengchung.

Eastern Front

As a prelude to the big summer offensive the Russian 23rd and 21st Armies of the Leningrad Front of Govorov, after a three-hour-long artillery preparation, attack the Finnish positions in the Mannerheim line in the isthmus of Karelia, between Lake Ladoga to the east and the Gulf of Finland to the west. Russian diplomacy has tried to get Finland out of the war with a negotiated peace, but the conditions demanded by Moscow have so far been unacceptable to the Finns.

English Channel

The British netlayer Minister is sunk by a mine in Seine Bay with the loss of 57 of her crew.

Air Operations, Carolines

• In support of the upcoming Marianas invasion, V Bomber Command B-24s mount attacks to neutralize airfields on Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, the Woleai Atoll, and Yap Island.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfield on Alet in the Puluwat Islands and airfields on Satawan Island.
• 25 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
• During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll and Ponape Island.

Air Operations, CBI

• 5 10th Air Force B-25s attack the Imphal-Tiddim road.
• More than 40 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Kadu, Mogaung, and Myitkyina.

• 14th Air Force B-25s, P-51s, and P-40s complete more than 200 sorties throughout the day against numerous targets in the Tungting Lake region.
• Fighter-bombers and 3 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack shipping in the South China Sea.
• 76th Fighter Squadron P-51s down 3 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters near Siangyin during the morning.
• 3rd CACW Fighter Squadron P-40s down 2 Ki-4 'Oscars' in an engagement near Ichang at 1330 hours.

• More than 20 10th Air Force B-25s airlift ammunition to Imphal.

Air Operations, Europe

• 401 aircraft bomb airfields at Flers, Le Mans, Laval and Rennes all situated south of the Normandy battle area. Included in this total are 206 Lancasters, 175 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. Bomber Command documents do not give any reason for these raids other than they may have been to prevent these airfields from being used for German reinforcements being brought by air because all the railway systems were blocked. All the attacks are successful.
• 2 Halifaxes are lost on the Laval raid.
• 108 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group along with 5 Pathfinder Mosquitos attempt to bomb a railway junction at Étamps, south of Paris. The marking is accurate but late, and the bombing spread from the railway junction into the town.

• 36 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 24 Halifaxes and 4 Stirlings lay mines off Brest, and there are 2 Serrate patrols and 13 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command A-20s attack port facilities at Manokwari.
• 5th Air Force B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and P-39s, and RAAF aircraft, mount continuous attacks against numerous targets in and around Wewak.
• Elements of 2 US Army aviation engineer battalions begin constructing a new airfield on Owi Island in the Paidado Islands.

Atlantic

In the Normandy area the US destroyer Meredith (DD-726) is sunk by a horizontal bomber after suffering damage by a mine on the previous day. Two LSTs are sunk by torpedos from German surface craft: LST-314 and LST-376. Infantry landing craft LCI-416 is sunk by a mine and shore batteries damage the motor minesweeper YMS-305 and the US freighter Ezra Watson.

Battle of the Atlantic

Liberator 'F' of No 120 Squadron sights the wake of a U-boat (U-740) about 5 miles away and it is diving. The aircraft drops six depth charges ahead of the swirl and oil was soon seen to be rising to the surface.

U-740

Burma-India

Adm Mountbatten sends an instruction to Gen George Giffard, Commander of the British-Indian 11th Army Group: the area of Dimapur-Kohima-Imphal road must be cleared of the enemy by July 15, so as to go on to the liberation of the Imphal plain and the area between Yuwa and Tamanthi and then to an offensive across the Chindwin after the end of the monsoon rains.

Eastern Front

The Russians start an offensive on the Finnish front. The 21st and 23rd Armies attack with air support along a 14-km-wide coastal sector or the Karelian Isthmu. 3,000 guns obliterate the Finnish advance positions, but Russian tanks make little progress by nightfall.

The Leningrad Front begins probing attacks against the South Eastern Army. The 7th and 32nd Armies have 202,000 men for the attack, while the 21st and 23rd Armies have 189,000.

Air Operations, Carolines

• 39 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
• During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 23 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Chauk, Lonywa, and Yenangyaung.
• More than 50 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Mogaung, Myitkyina, and Tapo.

• USAAF transports based in Yunnani, China, airlift ammunition to 2 Chinese Army Divisions in action along the Salween River.
• 3 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack shipping in the South China Sea.
• 23 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack Japanese Army tanks at Lingpao and rail lines at Linfen and Loning.
• B-25s, P-38s, P-40s, and P-51s mount numerous attacks throughout the Tungting Lake region.

• 29 10th Air Force B-25s airlift ammunition to Imphal.
• 6 14th Air Force P-40s attack a bridge at Tasa.

Air Operations, Central Pacific

A VF-50 F6F downs a Marianas-based P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber at sea near Task Force 58 at 0825 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

• 432 aircraft attack railway targets at Achères, Dreux, Orléns and Versailles. In this total are 323 Lancasters, 90 Halifaxes and 19 Mosquitos. All targets are believed to have been hit although there are no details available.
• 15 Lancasters and 3 Halifaxes are lost.

• 32 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 30 aircraft lay mines off France on the flanks of the invasion area, and there are 7 Serrate and 18 Intruder patrols and 13 RCM sorties.
• 2 Mosquitos are lost on the Berlin raid.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command A-20s attack the Babo airfield.
• B-25s, A-20s, and RAAF aircraft attack the Wewak area.

Atlantic

• The US destroyer Glennon (DD-620) is sunk by coastal gunfire in the Normandy area.
• Tank landing craft LCT-209 sinks after running aground off the beachhead.
• The US freighter Charles Morgan (7244t) is damaged by a bomb off Utah Beach that kills 7 of the 64-man Army stevedore unit on board and 1 merchant crewman. The fleet tug Kiowa (ATF-72) rescues the survivors. Despite effortes to save her, the Charles Morgan is declared a total loss.
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  Battle of the Atlantic

  Mosquitos 'T', 'S', 'V' and 'W' of No 248 Squadron are on patrol over the approaches to Brest intent on attacking any U-boats attempting to break out. Flying at low leve, the aircrews see U-821 break the surface about 2-1/2 miles ahead. The U-boat apparently has not seed the aircraft since they are at only 30 feet above the water. Each aircraft attacks in turn and after a series of strafing runs, the crew are seen abandoning the submarine. Liberator 'K' comes up in support and makes two depth charge attacks, the second of which sinks the U-boat.

  U-740

  Class	Type VIIC
  CO	Oberleutnant zur See Ulrich Knackfuss
  Location	English Channel, N of Ushant
  Cause	Air attack
  Casualties	50
  Survivors	1

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  Burma

  Chinese-American attacks against Myitkyina meet with no success. In the Mogaung valley Chinese forces besiege Kamaing. On the Salween front the Chinese 87th and 88th Divisions attack Lungling.

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  China

  The Japanese advance along the Liu-yang River with 5 Divisions and threaten the important town of Changsha, north of Canton.

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  Eastern Front

  Over the next few days Gen Aleksandr Cherepanov's 23rd Army attacks the Finnish positions on the Karelian Isthmus. As always now in any Soviet operation the artillery support is massive. Terijoki and Yalkena are quickly taken. 3 Russian Divisions annihilate 1 Finnish regiment of the 10th Divisionisiom and advance 10 kilometers in the Karelian Isthmus.

  FINNISH SECTOR
  

  The Leningrad Front begins its artillery preparation. After a considerable bombardment, Gen Nikolai Gusev's 21st Army attacks on a 9-mile front, pushing the Finns slowly back across the Sestra. The 23rd Army also begins its probing attacks while the 13th Air Army pounds the Finnish defenses as the ground troops move forward.

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  Indian Ocean

  In a diversionary operation for the coming American attacks on the Marianas the British fleet carrier Illustrious and the escort carrier Atheling raid Sabang.

  [ | ]
  

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Air Operations, Carolines

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfield on Peleliu in the Palau Islands.
• 34 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
• During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 23 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Chauk, Lonywa, and Yenangyaung.
• More than 50 10en Air Force fighter-bombers attack Mogaung, Myitkyina, and Tapo.

• 14th Air Force B-25s and P-40s attack Japanese Army cavalry, fortifications, tanks, and barracks at Ichang and Lingpao.
• More than 80 P-38s, P-40s, and P-51s attack numerous targets throughout the Tungting Lake region.
• 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s down 2 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters near Anking between 0940 and 0955 hours.
• 5th CACW Fighter Group P-40s down 2 D3A 'Val' dive bombers near Kunming during the late afternoon.

• 30 10th Air Force B-25s airlift ammunition to Imphal.

Air Operations, Marianas

• As Task Force 58 makes its final approach on the Marianas to commence Operation FORAGER, 2 VF-50 F6Fs down a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber at sea at 0605 hours.
• A VF-1 F6F downs an H8K 'Emily' flying boat at sea 70 miles from the task force at 1220 hours.
• A VF-1 F6F downs a Ki-48 'Lily' bomber at sea 25 miles from the task force at 1245 hours.
• A VF-2 F6F downs another H8K 'Emily' flying boat at sea 50 miles from the task force at 1250 hours.
• A VF-1 F6F downs an H8K 'Emily' at sea 50 miles from the task force at 1300 hours.
• A VF-14 F6F downs a twin-engine airplane at sea at 1300 hours.
• A VF-2 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea 50 miles from the task force at 1310 hours.
• Beginning at 1430 hours, 208 F6F fighter-bombers and 8 TBM command aircraft from Task Force 58 carriers open the pre-invasion bombardment against Japanese bases in the Marianas, beginning with sweeps against Guam, Saipan, Pagan, Rota, and Tinian. The US Navy aircraft quickly gain air superiority over the islands at a cost of 11 F6Fs with 8 pilots lost. An estimated 100 to 150 Japanese aircraft are destroyed on the ground.
• Between 1345 and 1530 hours, as F6Fs attack shipping, airfields, and ground targets on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, F6Fs and FMs down 81 Japanese fighters (nearly all A6M Zeros), 3 G4M 'Betty' bombers, 4 H8K 'Emily' flying boats, and 1 H6K 'Mavis' flying boat. Among the Japanese Navy fighters downed is 1 J2M 'Jack' fighter, the first of this new type to be encountered by US pilots in the war.
• A VF-8 F6F downs 1 Ki-61 'Tony' fighter at sea 45 miles from Task Force 58 at 1545 hours and a VF-8 F6F downs 1 B6N 'Kate' torpedo bomer at sea 30 miles from the task force at 1630 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

(Return flight?)The Rumanian airfield at Focsani is raided by planes from 15th Air Force from Italy. After bombing the planes fly on to Russia. This is the first 'shuttle' raid of this pattern.

• 329 aircraft of Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups attack railway targets at Évreux, Massey Palaiseau, Nantes and Tours. In this total are 225 Lancasters, 86 Halifaxes and 18 Mosquitos. All the raids appear to have been successful.
• 3 Lancasters and 1 Halifax are lost; 1 from each raid.

• 33 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 13 Halifaxes lay mines on the flanks of the invasion area and there are 30 Serrate patrols.
• 2 Mosquitos are lost on the Berlin raid.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Sorido airfield on Biak.
• 5th Air Force B-25s, A-20s, and P-47s attack targets throughout the Hansa Bay and Wewak area.

Atlantic

• US LST-496 sinks when it hits a mine in the Normandy area.
• The US ocean tug Partridge (ATO-138) is sunk by torpedo in the Normandy area delivered by German torpedo boats attacking invasion shipping. Damaged in these attacks is the tank landing ship LST-538 and the destroyer Nelson (DD-623).
• The infantry landing craft LCI-219 is sunk by aircraft.

Battle of the Atlantic

China

The Japanese penetrate in force across the Liu-yang River, meeting little resistance from the Chinese forces in the 11th war zone.

Eastern Front

Following up their offensive against the Mannerheim Line, the Leningrad Front armies penetrate 15 miles into the Finnish lines on a front of 30 miles. The Finnish 10th Division retreats behind the 'VT Line' (Vammelsuu-Taipale) across the Karelian Isthmus.

The 23rd Army joins the offensive. Fighting is bitter as the heavily outnumbered Finns fight to halt the Soviet onslaught. Despite repeated counterattacks each Finnish position is overwhelmed, Soviet forces drawing close to the second defense line. By evening the first defense line collapses, forcing the Finns northward.

Air Operations, CBI

• 16 10th Air Force P-40s attack targets at Mogaung and in northern Burma.

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 14th Air Force P-51s, and P-40s attack Japanese Army troop concentrations at Lingpao and near Loyang.
• More than 100 P-40s and P-51s attack numerous targets in the Tungting Lake region.

• More than 30 10th Air Force B-25s airlift ammunition to Imphal.

Air Operations, Europe

• 671 aircraft attack communications, mostly railways, at Amiens/St Roch, Amiens/Longueau, Arras, Caen, Cambrai and Poitiers. In this total are 348 Halifaxes, 285 Lancasters and 38 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups. Bomber Command's records state that the Poitiers attack, by No. 5 Group, is the most accurate of the night and that the 2 raids at Amiens and the raid at Arras are of reasonable accuracy. The target at Cambrai is hit, but many bombs also fall in the town. The most scattered attack (also by No. 5 Group) is at Caen.
• 23 aircraft - 17 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters - are lost from these raids; all being from Nos. 4 and 6 Groups.

A Canadian airman, Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski from Winnipeg, is awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery on the Cambrai raid. His Lancaster, of No. 419 Squadron, is attacked by a night fighter and set on fire and the crew are ordered to abandon the aircraft. Mynarski is about to jump when he sees that the tail gunner is trapped in his turret and he goes through fierce flames to help. The rear turret is so badly it jams and can not be freed and the trapped gunner eventually waves Mynarski away. By the time he leaves the aircraft, Mynarski's clothing and parachute are on fire and he dies while being cared for by French civilians soon after he lands. The tail gunner is fortunate to survive the crash and his report on Mynarski's courage leads to the award of the Victoria Cross. Pilot Officer Mynarski is buried in the small village cemetery at Meharicourt, east of Amiens.

• 303 aircraft carry out the first raid of the new oil campaign, the target being the Nordstern synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen. In this total are 286 Lancasters and 17 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3 and 8 Groups. The attacks opens with exceptional accuracy owing to the good work by the Pathfinders and to improved versions of Oboe sets now available. Later phases of the bombing are spoiled by the clouds of smoke from the burning target and by a rogue target indicator which falls 10 miles short of the target and is bombed by 35 aircraft. A German industrial report shows that all production at the oil plant ceased, with a loss of 1,000 tons of aviation fuel a day for several weeks, as well as the loss of other fuels.
• 17 Lancasters are lost on the raid.

• 27 Mosquitos are sent to Cologne, 9 Halifaxes and 5 Stirlings lay mines off Brest and St Nazaire, 13 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 39 Serrate and 13 Intruder patrols and 3 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Carolines

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfield on Peleliu.
• 39 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
• 26 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack airfields in the Truk Atoll.
• During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, Marianas

• 8 Truk-based G4M 'Betty' bombers attack the main body of Task Force 58 from 0315 hours to 0415 hours. No damage results from the attack and 1 'Betty' is downed by anti-aircraft fire.
• Beginning at dawn, US carrier aircraft mount heavy attacks against the main islands in the Marianas, focusing now on land targets, especially on Saipan. Task Group 58.1, detached from the main body of Task Force 58, will carry out strikes against Guam.
• At least 10—and as many as 14—Japanese ships and numerous fishing vessels are sunk in two separate strikes by Task Group 58.4 aircraft as a convoy attempts to flee from the area, and several other ships are sunk or damaged at or near Saipan. US carrier aircraft also attack a large number of sampans near Pagan Island, because it is believed the sampans are being used to transport troops between islands.
• A VF-50 F6F downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber at sea 20 miles from Task Force 58 at 0613 hours. A VF-31 F6F downs another 'Judy' at sea 30 miles from the task force at 0620 hours.
• While covering air attacks and participating in sweeps that commence over Guam at 0630 hours, F6Fs and FMx down 22 Japanese aircraft over Guam and Rota.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• Japanese aircraft attack Allied ground forces and shipping at Biak Island. One US destroyer is severely damaged by a bomb.
• 5th Air Force A-20s and P-47s attack the Hansa Bay and Wewak areas.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47 glide bombers destroy several bridges spanning the Orai River.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s down 7 B5N 'Kate' torpedo bombers and 1 Ki-61 'Tony' fighter near Biak Island between 1030 and 1045 hours.

China

Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung announces his support of Chiang Kai-shek in the war against Japan. Similar declarations have been made before, ant the Communists still jealously guard their own territorial areas in northern China.

Eastern Front

The Finnish 4th Division arrives in the Karelian Isthmus from eastern Karelia.

Germany, Home Front

The first electro-boat, U-2321, is commissioned. It is a Type XXIII, a small coastal submarine, carrying two torpedoes.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

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

Air Operations, Carolines

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

Air Operations, CBI

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

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

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

Air Operations, East Indies

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

Air Operations, Europe

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

Air Operations, New Guinea

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

Air Operations, Marianas

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

Battle of the Atlantic

U-715 is attacked by Canso 'T' of 162 Squadron RCAF. The U-boat surfaces, begins to steer an erratic course, and then settles by the bow before the stern rises up and she sinks.

U-715

Britain, Home Front

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

Burma

Japanese units gain ground in bitter fighting at Myitkyina.

Eastern Front

The Soviet 23rd Army captures Terijiko and Yalkena.

English Channel

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

Italy

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

Kuriles

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

Air Operations, Carolines

• 30 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
• During the night, VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• Several 10th Air Force P-40s attack targets around Mogaung.

• 43 14th Air Force P-40s attack Japanese Army troops, Yangtze River traffic, and occupied villages in the Tungting Lake region.

• 21 10th Air Force B-25s airlift ammunition to Imphal.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the seaplane base at Halong, Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

• 221 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3 and 5 Groups carry out Bomber Command's first daylight raid since May 1943. The targets are the fast German motor-torpedo boats (E-boats) and other light naval forces harbored at Le Havre which are threatening Allied shipping off Normandy only 30 miles away. The raid takes place in 2 waves. Most of the aircraft in the first are from No. 1 Group and the second from No. 3 Group. Pathfinders provide marking for both raids by their usual methods. The naval port is accurately bombed by both waves with 1,230 tons of bombs. Few E-boats escape damage. No. 617 Squadron sends 22 Lancasters, each loaded with a 12,000lb tallboy, and 3 Mosquito marker planes to attack the concrete-covered E-boat pens just before the first wave. Several hits are scored on the pens and 1 bomb penetrates the roof.
• The raid is regarded as an experiment by Sir Arthur Harris, who is still reluctant to risk his squadrons to the dangers of daylight operations, but both waves of the attack are escorted by Spitfires of No. 1 Group.
• Only 1 Lancaster is lost.

• 337 aircraft of Nos. 4, 5 and 8 Groups attack German troop and vehicle positions at Aunay-sur-Odon and Évrecy, near Caen. In this total are 223 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes and 14 Mosquitos. The raids are prepared and executed in great haste in response to an army report giving the details of the presence of major German units. The weather is clear and both targets are successfully bombed.
• There are no losses.
• 330 aircraft of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups attack railways at Cambrai, Douai and St Pol. All the targets are either partially covered in cloud or affected by haze and the bombing is not completely concentrated or accurate. 3 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster are lost, the Lancaster being the Master Bomber's aircraft at Douai.
• 35 Mosquitos are sent to hit the Scholven/Buer oil plant. A German report says that 3 bombs fell in the plant area and that 3 civilians outside the factory are killed.
• There are no aircraft losses.

• 12 Stirlings lay mines off French ports, 10 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 19 Serrate and 18 Intruder patrols and 8 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Japan

4 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s are attacked by 20 Japanese fighters while on a photo-reconnaissance mission over the Kurile Islands.

Air Operations, Marianas

• US warships and carrier aircraft continue to attack pre-invasion targets, especially on Saipan.
• A VF-50 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 0830 hours.
• A VF-16 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber near Saipan at 1255 hours.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Kamiri airfield on Noemfoor.
• B-25s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command P-39s attack the Wewak area.
• A-20s attack the airfield at Babo, and a bridge, fuel dumps, and other targets along the Orai River.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47 glide bombers destroy several bridges across the Orai River.

Air Operations, Pacific

(15th? or 13th?) The first B-29 Superfortress raid on Japan takes place. 48 planes carry out an ineffective night attack on the Yawata iron and steel works from bases in China. 4 planes are lost.

Atlantic

The US tank landing ship LST-280 is torpedoed by U-621 off Normandy.

Britain, Command

The appointment is announced in London of Adm Sir Henry Moore to be Commander of the British Home Fleet.

Burma

The Chinese and American forces continue to attack Myitkyina. The Japanese counterattack, taking advantage of the gaps they have opened between the enemy units to create little pockets, but they do not succeed in wiping these out. A part of the 3rd Indian (Chindit) Division is ordered to reinforce the Sino-American force, but cannot reach them because of the flooded condition of the ground and exhaustion of the men. Also, the approaches to the area are strongly defended by the Japanese. In the Mogaung valley the Chinese tighten the ring around Kamaing.

On the Salween front the Japanese reinforce their positions and mount vigorous counterattacks on the outskirts of Lungling, retaking an important bridge.

China

The Japanese capture Liu-yang, increasing the threat to Changsha.

Eastern Front

The Russian 23rd and 21st Armies, Leningrad Front, advance into the Karelian Isthmus after breaching the outher defenses of the Mannerheim line. The Russians break through the 'VT Line' at the village of Kuuterselka. The sole Finnish armored Division counterattacks during the night and briefly recaptures the heights near the village, but the Russians recapture them the next morning.

The 23rd and 21st Armies launch a concerted attack upon the second defense line and break through, pushing the Finns back on an 8-mile front.

Air Operations, Asia

(14th?)47 B-29 Superfortresses of the US 20th Bomber Command, taking off from China, carry out their first raid on Japan. They drop 221 tons of bombs on steelworks at Yawata(Yahata?) on Kyushu Island. This is the first attack on the home islands since the Doolittle raid more than 2 years before.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

Seeking to sever the only viable route of land-based aircraft reinforcements from Japan to the Marianas, and despite heavy seas, carrier aircraft from Task Group 58.1 and Task Group 58.4 mount powerful afternoon attacks against airfields, fuel supplies, and barracks on Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, and Iwo Jima. Losses are 2 TBMs, 2 SB2Cs, 3 F6Fs, and all 13 men who flew in them. VF-1, VF-2, and VF-15 F6Fs down 40 A6M Zeros over Iwo Jima between 1445 and 1555 hours.

Air Operations, Carolines

39 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 27 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Mogaung and Myitkyina.

• 24 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack warehouses at Canton.
• 24 14th Air Force P-40s attack Japanese Army cavalry at Chuchou and supply craft on the Siang-Chiang River.

Air Operations, East Indies

380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack airfields on Timor.

Air Operations, Europe

• 297 aircraft of Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups carry out attacks on German light naval vessels now gathering in Boulogne harbor. Included in this total are 155 Lancasters, 130 Halifaxes and 12 Mosquitos. The tactics employed and bombing results are similar to the attack on Le Havre the previous night. The only details from a short French report called this the worst raid on Boulogne of the war, with severe damage to the port and surrounding areas.
• 1 Halifax is lost.

• 227 aircraft of Nos. 4, 5 and 8 Groups attack an ammo dump at Fouillard and a fuel dump at Châtellerault. In this total are 119 Lancasters, 99 Halifaxes and 9 Mosquitos. The raid at Fouillard, carried out by No. 4 Group with Pathfinder marking, hits the northwestern section of the target and the No. 5 Group raid at Châtellerault destroys 8 fuel sites out of 35 in the area.
• There are no losses.
• 224 aircraft of Nos. 3 and 8 Groups attack railway yards at Lens and Valenciennes. In the total are 184 Lancasters, 30 Stirlings and 10 Mosquitos. The raid takes place in clear visibility and both targets are accurately bombed.
• 6 Lancasters are lost on the Lens raid and 5 on the Valenciennes one.

• 31 Mosquitos are sent to Gelsenkirchen, 7 Stirlings and 4 Halifaxes lay mines off Channel ports, and there are 13 Serrate and 21 Intruder patrols.
• 1 Mosquito is lost on the Gelsenkirchen raid.

Air Operations, Japan

During the night, in their first-ever strategic-bombing attack against targets in Japan, 47 of 68 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s staging through airfields around Chengtu, China, drop a total of 221 tons of bombs on a steel plant at Yawata, Kyushu. Also, 9 B-29s attack targets of opportunity. 1 B-29 is downed by anti-aircraft fire over Yawata and 5 B-29s are lost in operational accidents. Also, a B-29 that lands at the airfield at Neihsiang, China, because of engine problems will be destroyed on the ground on June 16 by Japanese fighters and bombers. 54 crewmen and a correspondant are killed in the various crashes.

This mission all but exhausts fuel supplies stockpiled at the Chengtu bases and results in the virtual curtailment of B-29 combat missions.

Air Operations, Marianas

A force composed of 10 P1Y 'Galaxy' bombers, 3 D4Y 'Judy' dive bombers, and 11 A6M Zeros based at the Yap Atoll and organized in two waves attack Task Group 58.2 and Task Group 58.3 between 1805 and 2230 hours. F4U night-fighters, F6Fs, and FMs down an undetermined number nearly over the carriers. Anti-aircraft fire also brings down several of the attackers. Japanese records concede the loss of 11 aircraft in all.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighters attack a village in the Wakde Islands and barges around Manokwari.
• USAAF bombers scheduled to support the Marianas offensive from the Mokmer airfield on Biak are unable to do so because Japanese Army ground forces continue to dominate the airbase from unsecured high ground.

Battle of the Atlantic

The German submarine U-860 is sunk by aircraft (VC-9) from the US escort carrier Solomons in the South Atlantic area.

U-860

Burma

Fighting continues in the Myitkyina area. On the Salween front the Chinese succeed in capturing part of a mountainous feature dominating some 40 miles of the Burma Road, where it crosses the Salween valley.

Eastern Front

The Finnish IV Corps withdraws, under pressure from Soviet 21st and 59th Armies, to positions before Viipuri.

The Finns fall back the their final defense line before Vipurii, closely pursued by the 21st and 23rd Armies.

Italy

The IV Corps of the US 5th Army reaches the Ombrone River which it begins to cross at sundown. Patrols are sent toward Grosseto.

The VI Corps, withdrawn from the front a little time earlier, is assigned to the US 7th Army for Operation ANVIL, the Allied landing in the south of France.

In the British sector, while the advance of the V Corps along the Adriatic coast continues, the British 3rd Division replaces the 4th Indian Division in the front line.

Marianas

While the heavy ships of TF 52 keep shelling the main phase of the Saipan landings, Operation FORAGER, gets under way. Adm Richmond K. Turner is in command of the support ships as well as the landing vessels and Gen H. M. Smith leads the V Amphibious Corps. Altogether there are 67,500 men in the land force mostly from the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions (Thomas E. Watson and Harry Schmidt). The defending forces come from both the Japanese Army and Navy. Gen Yoshitsugo Saito commands the reinforced 43rd Infantry Division and Vice-Adm Chuichi Nagumo leads the naval contingents, in all perhaps 30,000 men. On Saipan the Japanese have little more than 60 guns. The Japanese minelayer No. 101 is sunk by gunfire from the US naval ships.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• Despite very bad weather, carrier aircraft from Task Group 58.1 and Task Group 58.4 are able to mount unopposed afternoon attacks against airfields, fuel supplies, and barracks on Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, and Iwo Jima.
• 2 F6Fs and their pilots are lost, one to anti-aircraft fire and one in an operational accident.
• 2 VF-32 F6Fs down an H8K 'Emily' flying boat at sea at 1350 hours.
• Task Group 58.1 and Task Group 58.4 retire to the Marianas, with Task Group 58.1 refueling along the way.
• In two days of attacks, an estimated 86 airplanes are destroyed or severely damaged on the ground at Iwo Jima, and 21 seaplanes and floatplanes are destroyed at Chichi Jima.

Air Operations, Carolines

39 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk and Yap atolls.

Air Operations, CBI

• 28 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Myitkyina and targets in northern Burma.

Air Operations, Europe

Since midday on the 15th 244 V-1s have been launched against London.

• 2 Mosquitos of No. 100 Group carry out uneventful Intruder patrols Leeuwarden airfield.

• 405 aircraft of Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups begin a new campaign against flying bomb sites. Included in this total are 236 Lancasters, 149 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitos. This raid is to 4 sites in the Pas de Calais area. All targets are accurately marked by Oboe Mosquitos and are successfully bombed. There are no losses.
• 321 aircraft including 162 Halifaxes, 147 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups, attack the synthetic oil plant Sterkrade/Holten despite a poor weather forecast. The target is covered by thick cloud and the Pathfinder markers quickly disappear. The Main Force crews can to little but bomb on the diminishing glow of the markers in the clouds. Photo reconnaissance and reports from the ground say that most of the bombing is scattered, although some bombs do fall in the plant area but do not affect production. Unfortunately, the route of the bomber stream passes near a German night-fighter beacon at Bocholt, only 30 miles from Sterkrade. The German controller has chosen this beacon as the holding point for his night fighters.
• Approximately 21 bombers are shot down by fighters and a further 10 by flak. 22 of the lost aircraft are Halifaxes. No 77 Squadron, from Full Sutton near York, loses 7 of its 23 Halifaxes taking part in the raid.

• 25 Mosquitos and 1 Lancaster of No. 8 Group are sent to Berlin, 8 Stirlings and 4 Halifaxes lay mines in the Frisians and off the Biscay coast, there are 53 Serrate, Intruder and flying-bomb patrols and there are 12 RCM sorties using the airborne Mandrel jamming screen for the first time this night.
• 1 RCM Stirling is lost.

Air Operations, Marianas

During the day, in response to the discovery by US submarines that a large component of the Japanese Navy’s First Mobile Fleet is sailing from the southern Philippines toward the Marianas, the US Fifth Fleet commander Adm Raymond A. Spruance, and his chief subordinates decide to reinforce the carrier anti-aircraft screens with cruisers and destroyers drawn from fire-support and shore-bombardment groups as well as to shift the entire burden of responding to ground-support missions and on-call air support to aircraft based aboard Fifth Fleet escort carriers. In the meantime, carrier aircraft from Task Group 58.2 and Task Group 58.3 concentrate on neutralizing all the airfields on Guam and Tinian. This effort will ultimately fail, because pleas by experienced carrier airmen to add the power of large naval guns go unheeded.

A VF-60 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 1440 hours.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• Escorted by 8th and 475th Fighter group P-38s that refuel at Wakde airfield, 41 38th and 345th Medium Bomb group B-25s based at Hollandia attack the airfields at Jefman and Samate at very low levels at 1255 hours. This is the longest B-25 mission yet undertaken by V Bomber Command B-25s.
• 1 P-38 is lost in aerial combat.
• 5th Air Force bombers and fighters attack the Babo airfield, Sorong, and barges and bivouacs between Hansa Bay and Wewak.
• A 348th Fighter Group P-47 downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane near Biak Island at 1050 hours.
• 8th and 475th Fighter group P-38s down 2 Ki-51s 'Sonia' bombers, 2 D3A 'Val' dive bombers, and
• 21 Japanese fighters over or near Jefman airfield between 1245 and 1300 hours.

Burma

Units of the Chinese 50th Division capture Kamaing in the Mogaung valley. Beyond Kamaing the Chinese 38th Division links up with the Chindits of the Indian 3rd Division at Gurkhaywa.

On the Salween front the Japanese counterattack, driving the Chinese 87th Division back 3 miles. Farther north, the Chinese 2nd and 36th Divisions capture Chiaotou.

China

The Japanese open their offensive against Changsha, and the garrison there, units of the Chinese 4th Army, withdraws to Paoching.

Eastern Front

Mannerheim orders the Finnish forces in the Isthmus to retreat to the 'VKT Line' (Viipuri-Kuparsaari-Taipale).

Italy

Troops from the British X Corps take Spoleto and push on to enter Spoligno as well while the Germans are still completing the withdrawal of their 10th and 14th Armies behind the 'Gothic' Line. The 8th Army also threatens Perugia. On the west side American units take Grosseto.

Marianas

At Saipan, on the north flank of the beachhead, the US 2nd Marine Division consolidates its own positions, capturing Point Afetna and the village of Charan Kanoa and joining up with the 4th Marine Division south of Point Afetna. The 4th Marine Division advances inland against strong resistance. In the previous night's fighting the Japanese lost more that 1,000 men. American guns try to silence the Japanese batteries which are firing very effectively on the beachheads from the interior of the island.

Rear-Adm Walden L. Ainsworth's battleship squadron shells enemy installations on Guam. Meanwhile Vice-Adm Raymond A. Spruance puts back the date for the invasion of Guam, in the knowledge that a big fleet under the command of Vice-Adm Jisaburo Ozawa is about to arrive there.

Air Operations, Carolines

41 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 8 10th Air Force A-36s attack Japanese Army ground troops at Mogaung.

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Lanchi and the Chuchou area, large Japanese Army troop concentrations at Fenglinpu and Shanglishih, troop-carrying barges at Changsha, supply boats at Yoyang, and military targets at Ichang.
• A 76th Fighter Squadron P-51 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Kiatow in the morning and 5th CACW Fighter Group P-40s down 2 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters in an engagement near Changsha at 0820 hours.

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

Air Operations, Central Pacific

A VB-109 PB4Y based at Eniwetok sinks a Japanese submarine at sea.

Air Operations, Europe

• 317 aircraft of Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups attack railway targets at Aulnoye, Montdidier and St Martin l'Hortier. Included in the total are 196 Lancasters, 90 Halifaxes and 19 Mosquitos. All targets are covered by cloud and the Master Bombers at Aulnoye and Montdidier order their forces to stop bombing after only 7 and 12 planes had dropped their loads respectively. 87 aircraft of No. 4 group bomb the St Martin l'Hortier target, but results are unknown. 1 Lancaster is lost on the Montdidier raid.
• 90 Halifaxes, 19 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups bomb a site at Oisemont near Abbeville, but results are unknown.
• No aircraft is lost.

• 30 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 4 to the Scholven/Buer oil plant, 8 Stirlings and 4 Halifaxes lay mines in the Channel Islands, 12 Halifaxes are on Resistance operations, 54 Mosquitos are on Serrate, Intruder and flying-bomb patrols and there are 10 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Japan

12 28th Composite Bomb Group B-25s cover a US Navy surface force that bombards installations at Kurabu Cape in the Kurile Islands.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighters attack the airfield at Babo.
• B-25s, A-20s, and fighters attack the Wewak area.
• Escorted by 68 8th and 475th Fighter group P-38s that refuel at the Wakde airfield, 35 38th and 345th Medium Bomb group B-25s based at Hollandia attack Japanese shipping near Sorong.

Air Operations, Marianas

• Task Group 58.2 and Task Group 58.3 withdraw from combat operations to refuel at sea while Task Group 58.4, freshly returned from the Bonins and Volcanos, mounts a 35-plane strike against the Pagan airfield.

• Due to the impending threat from the Japanese Navy’s 1st Mobile Fleet, aircraft from the fleet carriers and light carriers are diverted from planned ground-support missions to search for Japanses carriers as well as neutralize Japanese airfields on Guam and Rota. The US escort-carrier air groups remain on station at Saipan in sole support of the US troops ashore.
• Several VMO-2 and VMO-4 OYs are launched from the escort carriers USS Fanshaw Bay and USS White Plains to one of the landing beaches and a temporary beachside landing strip, from which they immediately begin mounting artillery-observation missions for the US Marine Corps Divisions ashore on Saipan.
• A VF-10 F6F downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber at sea 35 miles from Task Force 58 at 1325 hours.
• A VF-14 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 1640 hours.
• VC-65 FMs down a Ki-21 'Sally' bomber and an A6M Zero at sea 30 miles from the task force between 1644 and 1651 hours. Escort carrier FMs down 2 G4M 'Betty' bombers, 3 B5N 'Kate' torpedo bombers, and 1 Ki-61 'Tony' fighter near Saipan at 1850 hours.
• At about 1750 hours, 5 B6N 'Kate' torpedo bombers and 1 J1N 'Irving' twin-engine night fighter based at Truk attack a group of large US landing craft east of Saipan. One troop-carrying LCI is mortally damaged by an aerial torpedo and 3 of the 'Kates' are shot down by anti-aircraft fire.
• At about 1830 hours, 17 D4Y 'Judy' dive bombers, 31 A6M Zeros, and 2 P1Y 'Galaxy' bombers based at Yap damage an LST off Saipan and then attack the Task Force 52 escort carriers between 1850 and 1912 hours. 46 FMs are dispatched on an incorrect vector and miss the attack force, but ships’ gunners down several D4Ys and both P1Ys. Nevertheless, the USS Fanshaw Bay is seriously damaged by a bomb that kills 11 sailors and causes the ship to list. One returning VC-4 FM that is shot up by friendly anti-aircraft gunners and then attacked by 4 other FMs makes an understandably bad landing aboard the USS White Plains that leads to the loss of 6 other FMs. In addition, 2 flight-deck crewmen are lost in operational accidents during post-battle night landings.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Catalina 'D' of No 333 Squadron RAF sights U-423 on the surface and attacks with six depth charges. The attack is a perfect straddle and the U-boat sinks in six minutes.

U-423 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Klaus Hacklander Location North Sea Cause Air attack Casualties 53 Survivors None

U-123 Class Type IXB CO Kapitänleutnant Horst von Schroeter Location Bay of Biscay Cause Scuttling Casualties None Survivors None

• Despite being a relatively new boat, U-123 is written off because she needed spares for her battery which could not be supplied locally. Since there was no future of the large Type IX submarine in the inshore campaign being fought in the Channel, she is written off and her crew redistributed.

Burma-China-India

On the Salween front the Chinese 87th and 88th Divisions are ordered to withdraw in the area of Lungling.

In India where the British and Indians have resumed the offensive, the British have had 2,700 dead and 10,000 wounded since March 4, the Japanese about 30,000 dead.

China

Chinese forces fall back from the city of Changsha, which the Japanese begin to occupy. The third Battle of Changsha, as it will come to be known, is significant in that the Chinese won the first two battles in 1939 and 1941 and Changsha came to represent a point beyond which the Japanese could not penetrate. That they have indicated the determination of the Japanese to seize Hunan Province.

Air Operations, Carolines

34 XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 16 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Mogaung and Myitkyina.

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 14th Air Force P-40s attack Yoyang and shipping in the Siang-Chiang River delta.
• P-51s and P-40s attack an estimated 100 supply boats on lower Tungting Lake.
• P-51s and P-40s strafe a village near Changsha and Japanese Army cavalry between Changsha and Siangyin.
• 5th CACW Fighter Group P-40s down 4 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters near Changsha at 0830 hours.
• A 449th Fighter Squadron P-38 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter over Anking during a late-morning engagement.
• A 51st Fighter Group P-40 downs a Ki-27 'Nate' fighter near Hsuchang during the morning.
• 76th and 26th Fighter squadron P-51s down 3 Ki-43 'Oscars' in an early-afternoon engagement near Changsha.

Air Operations, Marianas

In the opening move of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, 9 Yap-based G4M 'Betty' bombers searching for Task Force 58 miss that target but instead locate a Fifth Fleet escort carrier group southeast of Saipan. As a result of this sighting report, 6 P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber and 11 A6M Zeros from Yap and 38 A6M Zeros and 1 D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber from Palau are sent to attack the escort carriers. They miss the target but at 1545 hours attack a group of fleet oilers, of which they damage 3.

US carrier F6Fs and FMs down a B6N 'Kate' carrier-based reconnaissance plane, 4 G4Ms 'Betty' bombers, 1 E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance float plane, 1 D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber, and 1 Ki-61 'Tony' figher between 0755 and 1630 hours. The D4Y pilot is captured, a rare event. Throughout the day, 19 US carrier fighters and 1 pilot are lost in operational accidents.

• Elements of the US 27th Infantry Division capture the Aslito airfield on Saipan, from which VMO-2 and VMO-4 OYs immediately begin operating.
• The torpedo-damaged escort carrier USS Fanshaw Bay retires toward Eniwetok.
• During the afternoon, several 1st Mobile Fleet carrier-based search aircraft locate Task Force 58.
• During the evening, Japanese Navy bombers attack troop-laden US transports. 1 LST is mortally damaged and later scuttled. Escort-carrier FMs down 9 Ki-61 'Tony' fighters, 1 Ki-45 'Nick' fighter, and 2 J1N 'Irving' fighters near Saipan between 1630 and 1730 hours. A VC-10 TBM and a VC-10 FM each down a P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber over the escort carriers at 1800 hours. VC-5 FMs down 9 A6M Zeros over Saipan and Tinian between 1810 and 1820 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

A V-1 destroys the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London, killing 119 and injuring 102.

• In a period of bad flying weather, 10 Mosquitos are sent to hit a large concrete flying-bomb storage facility in the woods at Watten, near St Omer. 9 aircraft bomb, but the results are unknown.
• There are no losses.
• 5 Halifaxes and 2 Stirlings lay mines off Brest and St Malo.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, V Fighter Command fighter-bombers, and RAAF aircraft attack supply dumps and other targets in the Wewak area.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-767 is located by D/F by the 14th Escort Group comprising HMS Fame, Hotspur, Inconstant, Icarus and Havelock. Fame attacks first with Hedgehog and soon hears 3 explosions which in effect ended the U-boat. Attacks by the other ships are carried out, but the first attack did the job.

U-767

Battle of the Philippine Sea

The US forces make their rendezvous west of the Marianas while the Japanese continue to approach. The Japanese are heavily outnumbered by US Task Force 58, which includes 7 battleships, 14 carriers (7 heavy), 21 cruisers, and 69 destroyers. Late in the evening the Japanese scout planes sight the American fleet. This is the only advantage that the Japanese have and comes about principally because their scout planes have a longer range. The Japanese plan to launch their strike planes early the next day while still at very long range and, after attacking, to have them fly on to Guam where the local forces can protect them while they re-fuel and re-arm. Once this is done they can attack again on the return journey. The glaring weakness in this plan is that the air forces on Guam have suffered seriously from American attacks recently and have failed to inform the fleet of this. In fact this shortcoming is less significant that might have been the case as the American ships exact such a heavy price from the first attacks.

China

Japanese troops of the 11th Army capture the cities of Chuchow and Changsha, 322 km south of Hankow.