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Post by lordroel on Jun 10, 2021 2:45:32 GMT
Day 1006 of World War II, June 10th 1942Eastern FrontSiege of Leningrad Day 276 - on the Volkhov River, Soviet 2nd Shock Army’s has held a salient 40 miles deep since January 13 but they were cut off and surrounded by a German pincer on May 30. As the ground firms up in the late Spring, the German noose tightens and Soviet General Andrey Vlasov struggles to extract his 180,000 troops. Sevastopol - the battle of attrition continues with Luftwaffe pounding Soviet positions and German infantry making no progress. Soviet destroyer Svobodnyy and transport ship Abkhaziya (part of a flotilla regularly resupplying the besieged garrison and taking out wounded) are sunk by German dive-bombers as they unload in the port. Photo: a Soviet Mortar crew changes position
Soviet submarine D-3 goes missing with all hands in the Barents Sea, probably lost in Bantos-A minefield off Rybachy Peninsula, USSR, or Schpeer III minefield off Berlevog, Norway. Protectorate of Bohemia and MoraviaThe Czech towns of Lidice and Ležáky have been incorrectly linked to the assassination of Richard Heydrich. On Hitler’s orders, everyone in Ležáky and all men in Lidice are murdered, while Lidice women are deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp (4 pregnant women are first forcibly aborted at the hospital where Heydrich died). Both towns are burned and Lidice is levelled. In total, 1300 people are massacred in retaliation for Heydrich's death. Photo: Lidice, Czechoslovakia, after the Lidice massacre
North African campaignLibya - at Bir Hacheim, General Kœnig’s Free French endure another day of assaults from German 15th Panzer Division and bombing by 100 Luftwaffe aircraft. French defenses hold, again with aid of British Bren gun carriers, as the garrison makes plans for a stealthy overnight evacuation. After dark, French sappers begin clearing a path to the Southwest through their own minefields, while German troops prepare for another attack in the morning (unaware that the French are essentially out of ammunition). Photo: Ariete tanks on the move during the battle Battle of the Atlantic 880 miles East of Newfoundland, U-94 attacks convoy ONS-100 and sinks British SS Empire Clough on her maiden voyage (5 dead, 44 survivors rescued by British corvette HMS Dianthus and Portuguese trawler Argus) and SS Ramsay (35 crew and 5 gunners killed, 7 crew members and 1 gunner picked up by British corvette HMS Vervain). PM 340 miles South of Bermuda, U-129 sinks Norwegian MV LA Christensen (all 31 hands escape in 3 lifeboats, picked up after 18 hours by Norwegian SS Bill). Battle of the Caribbean AM 60 miles South of Cozumel, Mexico, U-107 sinks American SS Merrimack (43 killed, many in a grisly accident; 10 survivors). U-68 sinks 3 British ships heading to the Panama Canal, MV Ardenvohr (1 dead, 70 survivors including 17 rescued from American SS Velma Lykes sunk by U-68 on June 5) and SS Surrey (12 dead and 55 survivors) and just before midnight MV Port Montreal (all 88 on board escape in 4 lifeboats, including 43 rescued from SS Tela sunk by U-504 on June 8, but 2 die before the survivors are picked up 6 days later by Colombian schooner Hiloa). Battle of the Mediterranean 7 miles off the Egyptian coast 50 miles West of Alexandria, Egypt, U-81 and U-559 attack convoy AT-49, U-81 sinks British SS Havre (18 crew and 2 gunners lost, 30 survivors picked up by the British armed trawler HMS Parktown). U-559 torpedoes Norwegian tanker MV Athene igniting the cargo of 6000 tons of aviation fuel which burns for 2 days (14 killed, 17 survivors including many badly burned) and damages Royal Fleet Auxiliary oiler RFA Brambleleaf which is towed to Alexandria to be used as an oil hulk (7 killed, 53 survivors picked up by Greek destroyer RHS Vasilissa Olga). Operation Harpoon involves a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta, under Admiral Curteis. His escort forces include 1 battleship, 2 carriers, 4 cruisers, and 17 destroyers and 6 merchant ships. There are also several merchant ships sailing independently. Admiral Vian leaves Alexandria with another convoy for Malta under Operation Vigorous. The 11 merchant ships are escorted by 8 cruisers and 26 destroyers. Photo: View of a 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun position overlooking Grand Harbour, Malta, 10 June 1942 United kingdomPhoto: Infantry of 10th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment wading across a stream during battle training near Sudbury in Suffolk, 10 June 1942 Photo: Universal carriers 'attack' men of 10th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment defending from slit trenches during training near Sudbury in Suffolk, 10 June 1942 Photo: M3 Grant tank on test at the AFV Gunnery School at Lulworth in Dorset, 10 June 1942 Pacific WarALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN Completely ignoring the debacle at Midway, Radio Tokyo announces the "great victory" of the occupation of Attu and Kiska Islands in the Aleutian Islands. Local patrol is flown at Umnak . Patrol planes of Pat Wing 4 discovered the presence of the enemy on Kiska and Attu--the first news of Japanese landings that had taken place on the 7th. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): B-17s bomb aircraft and buildings at Rabaul. HQ 38th BG (Medium) moves from Amberley to Eagle Farms. USS Saratoga (CV-3) in TF 11 (Rear Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch) makes rendezvous with TF 16 and transfers planes to bring carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-8) up to strength. INDIES-PENSIBLE REEF Photo: Japanese Nakajima Type 97, B5N2 Kate, horizontal bomber crashed landed on middle reef of Indes-Pensible Reef, June 10, 1942. Aircraft was from Japanese carrier Shokaku, home of the 5th Carrier Division
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Post by lordroel on Jun 11, 2021 5:06:28 GMT
Day 1007 of World War II, June 11th 1942Eastern Front Battle of attrition at Sevastopol continues, with Soviets pushing in their last reserves. Luftwaffe flies 1044 sorties and drops 954 tons of bombs. Air War over Europe Aircraft and crews of the 97th Bombardment Group deployed temporarily to the W coast, are ordered back to New England for movement to the UK. Photo: The personnel required to keep one Avro Lancaster flying on operations, taken at Scampton, Lincolnshire. Front row (left to right); flying control officer, WAAF parachute packer, meteorological officer, seven aircrew (pilot and captain, navigator and observer, air bomber, flight engineer, wireless operator/air gunner and two air gunners): second row, twelve flight maintenance crew (left to right; n.c.o. fitter, flight maintenance mechanic, n.c.o. fitter, five flight maintenance mechanics, electrical mechanic, instrument repairer, and two radio mechanics): third row, bombing up team; WAAF tractor driver with a bomb train of 16 Small Bomb Containers (SBC), each loaded with 236 x 4-lb No. 15 incendiaries and, behind, three bombing-up crew: fourth row, seventeen ground servicing crew (left to right; corporal mechanic, four aircraft mechanics, engineer officer, fitter/armourer, three armourers, radio mechanic, two instrument repairers, three bomb handlers, machine gunbelt fitter): back row (left to right); AEC Matador petrol tender and two crew, Avro Lancaster B Mark I heavy bomber, mobile workshop and three crew Battle of the Atlantic In the middle of the North Atlantic 500 miles East of Newfoundland, U-569 and U-94 combine to sink British SS Pontypridd, (2 killed, Captain taken POW by U-569 and imprisoned at camp Milag Nord, 45 survivors picked up by Canadian corvette HMCS Chambly). 500 miles Northeast of the Azores, U-455 sinks British tanker SS Geo H Jones (2 dead, 40 survivors). In the early evening in the South Atlantic, German armed merchant cruiser Michel shells British freighter SS Lylepark (carrying 8000 tons of aircraft parts, petrol and military supplies from New York around the Cape) without any warning (20 killed, 21 taken POW by Michel). SS Lylepark’s Captain Charles Low is picked up by an aircraft from the Escort Carrier HMS Archer, while First Officer Read, Third Officer Coysh and a gunner are picked up Blue Star liner Avila Star – all are landed at Freetown, Sierra Leone. Photo: Aerial reconnaissance photgraph of the German heavy cruiser Lützow and a destroyer in Norway on 11 June 1942, probaby in Bogen Bay, Ofotfjorden Battle of the Caribbean U-159 attacks a small convoy off Panama and sinks British SS Fort Good Hope on her maiden voyage (2 killed, 45 survivors picked up by American gunboat USS Erie). 50 miles Southwest of Grand Cayman Island, U-504 sinks Norwegian liner Crijnssen carrying 10 survivors rescued from tanker MV Lise sunk on May 12 by U-69 and 12 rescued from tanker SS Sylvan Arrow sunk on May 20 by U-155 (1 killed, 92 survivors) and US SS American (4 killed, 34 survivors picked up by British SS Kent). 5 miles North of Cuba, sinks US tanker SS Hagan (Master (6 killed, 38 survivors drift ashore in 2 lifeboats). In the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Louisiana, U-158 sinks Panamanian tanker MV Sheherazade (1 dead, 58 survivors picked up by 2 fishing boats). North African campaignOvernight, General Kœnig’s Free French evacuate the fort at Bir Hacheim, Libya, along a path cleared in the minefields. They are spotted by the Germans and come under artillery fire, and the orderly procession becomes a panicked dash with many vehicles driving into the minefields and exploding. According to Susan Travers (Kœnig’s English mistress and driver, who will become the only woman to serve with the French Foreign Legion and receive their highest award, the Legion d'Honneur), walking wounded are ordered out of vehicles to reduce weight and the chance of setting off mines. The first French column reaches the British extraction point at 4 AM, although British patrols rescue lost vehicles and men all day. Bir Hacheim’s garrison was 3700; 2400 escape to British lines, 800 are killed during the siege and evacuation or captured during the breakout, and only 500 seriously wounded men are in the fort when the Germans enter. Despite an order from Hitler to execute French prisoners, Rommel treats them as ordinary POWs. Rommel sends 15th Panzer and 90th Light Divisions back Northeast towards El Adem, to attack British 8th Army who have worn themselves down in fruitless, piecemeal attacks on the Cauldron. Pacific WarPACIFIC USS Wasp, with battleship North Carolina and escorting destroyers pass through the Panama Canal on their way to the Pacific. PACIFIC The USN aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, in Task Force 11, rendezvoused with Task Force 16, consisting of the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Hornet, yesterday to transfer aircraft to replace the planes lost in the Battle of Midway. However, the weather was poor and the transfer could not take place until today. The losses suffered by the Torpedo Squadrons were especially heavy so the Saratoga Air Group transfers TBD Devastators of VT-5 to the Enterprise Air Group, TBF Avengers of VT-8 to the Hornet Air Group and SBD Dauntlesses to both air groups. ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN The 11th Air Force and the USN's Patrol Wing Four strike at Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands for the first time. Five B-24's and five B-17's from Cold Bay load bombs at Umnak Island and along with PBY Catalinas, attack Kiska harbor installations and shipping targets. Low-altitude runs score near misses on two cruisers and a destroyer. AA downs a B-24; the other B-24s are pursued by four fighters back to Unmak where US fighters drive them off. PBY Catalinas, operating from the seaplane tender USS Gillis in Nazan Bay, Atka , hit ships and enemy positions on Kiska in an intense 48-hour attack which exhausted the gasoline and bomb supply aboard the Gillis but was not successful in driving the Japanese from the island.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jun 12, 2021 5:34:23 GMT
Day 1008 of World War II, June 12th 1942Eastern FrontAt Sevastopol, Crimea, Soviet cruiser Molotov and destroyer Bditel'nyy bring 2,314 soldiers, 190 tons of ammunition and 28 artillery pieces. North African campaignLibya - while German 90th Light Division attacks towards the RAF airfield at El Adem, 15th Panzer overruns British anti-tank guns along nearby Rigel Ridge. The German tanks then turn South and crush British motorised infantry (201st Independent Guards Brigade) plus 2nd and 4th Armoured Brigade in an area known as “Knightsbridge” where the Trigh Capuzzo intersects another desert track. Rommel is only 15 miles from Tobruk and also threatens to cut off lines of retreat of the main British defensives at Gazala which now lie to his West. Battle of the Atlantic 550 miles East of Newfoundland, U-124 sinks British SS Dartford (30 killed, 14 crew and 3 gunners picked up by British rescue ship Gothland). 400 miles North of Puerto Rico, U-129 sinks British SS Hardwicke Grange (3 killed, 75 survivors). In the Gulf of Mexico 20 miles off Louisiana, U-158 sinks US tanker SS Cities Service Toledo carrying 84,000 barrels of crude oil (15 dead, 30 survivors). Photo: A crewman on board a Lockheed Hudson of No. 269 Squadron RAF based at Kaldadarnes, Iceland, takes a photograph from one of the starboard windows, with a Type F.24 aerial camera, while flying on an ice-pack patrol Battle of the Mediterranean British launch a desperate effort to bring supplies into Malta. In Operation Harpoon, 5 freighters and 1 tanker leave Gibraltar carrying 43,000 tons of cargo and oil, escorted by battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Eagle, 4 cruisers, 17 destroyers, 4 minesweepers, 1 minelayer and 6 motor gunboats. In Operation Vigourous, 11 ships sail from Haifa, Palestine, and Port Said, Egypt, escorted by 8 cruisers, 26 destroyers, 9 submarines and disarmed WWI-era battleship HMS Centurion (disguised as functional, after the Italian manned torpedo raid on Alexandria harbour in December 1941 incapacitated battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant). The Vigourous convoy is attacked by German Ju88 bombers South of Crete, damaging freighter City Of Calcutta which puts in at Tobruk. Photo: A Supermarine Spitfire Mark VC takes off past a parked Bristol Beaufighter at Luqa, Malta, during operations to protect the 'Harpoon' Convoy from Italian naval forces At dawn, in the first US Air Force bombing of Europe and the Middle East, 13 B-24s flying from Fayid, Egypt, (en route from US to China) bomb Ploesti oilfields, Romania, but cause minimal damage. 7 B-24s land at airfields in Iraq, 2 land in Syria and 4 are interned in Turkey. 25 miles off Bardia, Libya, U-77 sinks British destroyer HMS Grove returning from bringing supplies to Tobruk (110 killed, 60 survivors). In the Aegean Sea, Greek submarine Papanikolis sinks 2 small sailing vessels Catina and Aghia Aikaterini. Pacific WarALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN The USAAF's 11th Air Force dispatches six B-17 Flying Fortresses and a B-24 Liberator to bomb shipping in the harbor at Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands. A near miss damages a Japanese destroyer. CHINA In China, the American Volunteer Group's 1st Squadron shoots down four Ki-27 "Nate's" and five unidentified twin-engine aircraft over Kweilin at 0605 hours local. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): B-17s bomb the building area and Vunakanau and Lakunai. AUSTRALIA 40 miles off Sydney, Australia, Japanese submarine I-21 fires 4 torpedoes at a convoy sinking collier SS Guatemala (all hands rescued by Australian minesweeper HMAS Doomba). In the Mozambique Channel, I-16 sinks Yugoslavian merchant Supetar and I-20 sinks Panamanian merchant Hellenic Trader and British merchant Clifton Hall. GULF OF SIAM In the Gulf of Siam 60 miles off Koh Rong Island, Cambodia, US submarine USS Swordfish sinks Japanese transport ship Burma Maru.
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Post by lordroel on Jun 13, 2021 5:31:49 GMT
Day 1009 of World War II, June 13th 1942
YouTube (Sevastopol Must Fall!)
Eastern Front
Sevastopol - at 3 AM, German 22nd Infantry Division attacks the massive Fort Stalin after 24 hours of dive bombing and shelling. At 5.30 AM, Germans capture the fort after clearing al the bunkers in fierce hand-to-hand fighting (German casualties are 32 dead, 126 wounded and Soviet casualties 180 killed, 20 taken prisoner). Despite shelling of Fort Stalin from the neighbouring Volga fort, Soviet troops do not try to retake Fort Stalin. Luftwaffe bombing of the docks sinks transport ships Gruzyia and TSch-27, patrol boat SKA-092, motor boat SP-40, 5 barges and a floating crane.
After leaving base at Kronstadt, Leningrad, 2 days ago, Soviet submarine ShCh-405 is lost in the Tiger minefield off Seskar Island in the Baltic Sea (all 38 hands lost).
Operation Pastorius
U-202 lands 4 German saboteurs (including 1 US citizen), with enough explosives for a 2-year sabotage campaign, at Amagansett, Long Island, New York (today this is Atlantic Avenue beach). After being discovered by unarmed US Coast Guard John Cullen, who they release unharmed, they take the train into New York City.
Battle of the Caribbean
Off the coast of Panama, U-159 sinks US liner SS Sixaola at 4.12 AM (29 crew sleeping in the bows killed by the torpedo strike; 87 crew, 6 gunners and 108 passengers in 5 lifeboats and 6 rafts rescued) and American SS Solon Turman (all 53 hands in 2 lifeboats rescued 28 hours later by Colombian schooners Envoy and Zaroma, but the assistant engineer falls overboard and drowns).
28 miles South of Key West, Florida, US Coast Guard cutter USS Thetis sinks U-157 with depth charges (all 52 hands lost).
Battle of the Atlantic
In the South Atlantic 650 miles South of Cape Verde Islands, Italian submarine Da Vinci sinks British collier SS Clan MacQuarrie (1 killed, 89 rescued).
Battle of the Mediterranean
Crete - overnight, British Commandos are landed from Greek submarines Papanicolis and Triton but are unable to reach Maleme airfield due to an electric fence. However, Commandos under George Jellicoe (son of WWI Admiral John Jellicoe), dropped on Crete by Greek submarine Triton on June 10, blow up 20 German Ju88 aircraft at Heraklion airfield using Lewes bombs.
HMS Farouk is a British Q-ship (Palestinian 2-masted caique requisitioned by 53 year-old Temporary Lieutenant Arthur Lockington, who has experience of Q-ships in WW1, and armed with 2 guns hidden in a false deckhouse), designed as bait to attract submarines that will then be attacked. At 11.10 AM near Ramkin Island, off Chekka, Lebanon, U-83 uses the deck gun from 3000 yards on HMS Farouk which sinks before the crew can return fire (9 killed).
Operation Harpoon - convoy WS 19Z (Force X) transits the Straits of Gibraltar. The ships are soon detected by German reconnaissance aircraft. Escort (Acting Captain Cecil C. Hardy, RN) for the five freighters (two of the five, U.S. motorship Chant and Dutch Tanimbar have Navy Armed Guard crews on board) and one tanker is provided by antiaircraft cruiser HMS Cairo (flag), nine destroyers (eight British and one Polish), four minesweepers and six motor gunboats; a covering force (Force W), formed around British battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Eagle, light cruisers HMS Kenya (flagship for Vice Admiral Alban T.B. Curteis, RN), HMS Charbydis and HMS Liverpool, and eight British destroyers. A second convoy MW 11 (Operation Vigorous) sets out from Alexandria and Port Said, Egypt, and Haifa.
Operation Vigorous - convoy force of 11 ships and their escorts sailed from Haifa and Port Said, and were met off Tobruk by Rear-Admiral Philip Vian's Med Fleet cruiser Force A with 7 light cruisers and 17 destroyers. The total escorting force now comprised 8 cruisers and 26 destroyers supported by corvettes and minesweepers, along with the old battleship "Centurion" which, disarmed between the wars, had been refitted with AA guns. Two British battleships had been sunk in Alexandria harbour in Dec. 1941 (HMS "Queen Elizabeth" and HMS "Valiant") so no battleship was available to provide cover except for "Centurion". 9 submarines were deployed as a screen at Taranto. The convoy sailed through "Bomb Alley", between German-occupied Crete and North Africa and came under intense bomb, torpedo and surface attacks almost as soon as the convoy had left Alexandria. Early Axis attacks were concentrated on the cruisers and the 11 ships of the convoy but later the destroyers became the principle targets.
Germany
At Peenemunde Albert Speer, General Adolf Galland, and General Milch watched a demonstration flight of the Me 163A with 3 aircraft in a formation take-off.
North African campaign
Libya - German 21st Panzer Division advances East from the Cauldron, joining 15th Panzer & 90th Light Divisions and surrounding British troops in the Knightsbridge box. Rommel's use of tanks, anti-tank guns and aerial bombardment reduces British tank strength to 70, giving Afrika Korps superiority in tanks for the first time in the battles around Gazala. Overnight, surviving British troops retreat from Knightsbridge, precipitating a withdrawal towards the Egyptian frontier.
Pacific War
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN
In the Aleutians, despite bad weather, the USAAF's 11th Air Force and the USN's Patrol Wing Four dispatch an LB-30 Liberator to fly a weather mission, and for the third straight day, shipping in the harbor at Kiska Island is bombed by five B-17 Flying Fortresses, three B-24 Liberators and PBY Catalinas.
UNITED STATES
Long Range Navigation (LORAN) equipment is given its first airborne test by the USN. The receiver is mounted in the nonrigid airship K-2 and, in a flight from NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey, accurately determines position when the airship was over various identifiable objects. The test culminated with the first LORAN homing from a distance 50 to 75 miles (80.5 to 120.7 km) offshore during which the LORAN operator gave instructions to the airship's pilot which brought them over the shoreline near Lakehurst on a course that caused the pilot to remark, "We weren't just heading for the hanger. We were headed for the middle of the hanger." The success of these tests lead to immediate action to obtain operational LORAN equipment.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA
(5th Air Force): B-17s hit the Lakunai Airfield.
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Post by lordroel on Jun 14, 2021 2:47:48 GMT
Day 1010 of World War II, June 14th 1942Operation PastoriusGerman saboteur George Dasch changes his mind about the sabotage mission and calls the FBI New York Office. Using the name "Pastorius", he informs them of the saboteurs arrival from Germany and says he will call FBI Headquarters when he gets to Washington. Battle of the Mediterranean Operation Harpoon - in the morning, convoy from Gibraltar to Malta is attacked South of Sardinia by Italian SM.79 torpedo bombers, which sink Dutch MV Tanimbar (5 killed) and damage British cruiser HMS Liverpool (15 killed, 22 wounded; HMS Liverpool is towed back to Gibraltar by destroyer HMS Antelope). In the evening as the convoy enters the Strait of Sicily, all British escort warships turn back for Gibraltar except cruiser HMS Cairo and some destroyers. Unbeknownst to the British, Italian cruisers Raimondo Montecuccoli and Eugenio di Savoia plus destroyers Ascari, Oriani, Malocello, Premuda and Vivaldi leave Palermo, Sicily, to intercept the convoy. Operation Vigourous from Alexandria, Egypt - Dutch freighter SS Aagtekerk heads to Tobruk with mechanical problems and British corvettes HMS Primula and HMS Erica leave Tobruk to meet her. 40 Ju87 and Ju88 bombers sink SS Aagtekerk (3 killed) and cause minor damage to HMS Primula. In late afternoon, Ju88 bombers from Crete sink SS Bhutan (1 killed) and damage freighter Potaro in the main convoy. Italian battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, cruisers Trento, Gorizia, Garibaldi and Duca d'Aosta plus 12 destroyers sail from Taranto, Italy, to intercept. For the first time, they are equipped with radar. Overnight, German motor torpedoboats from Derna, Libya, attack the convoy. S-55 sinks British destroyer HMS Hasty (13 killed, survivors taken of by destroyer HMS Hotspur) and a torpedo from S-56 blows a hole through the bows of cruiser HMS Newcastle (returns to Alexandria, then under repair in New York until November). Crete - Germans execute 50 citizens of Heraklion, Crete, in reprisal for yesterday’s British Commando raid on the airfield. They are commemorated today (along with 12 civilians killed on June 3) by Heraklion’s Avenue of the 62 Martyrs. Battle of the Caribbean U-172 sinks American SS Lebore (1 dead; 39 crewmen, 6 gunners and 49 rescued from Norwegian liner Crijnssen sunk on June 11 by U-504 all survive). 200 miles Southwest of the Cayman Islands, U-504 sinks Latvian SS Regent (11 killed, 14 survivors). American tanker SS Victory Sword sees the sinking and saves herself from attack by turning away at full speed and radioing distress messages. North African campaignLibya - with the centre of the Gazala Line collapsing and the Southern ‘boxes’ gone, the Allied coastal ‘boxes’ (which have seen little action and are mostly intact) are abandoned to avoid being cut off. British forces hold Rommel at Rigel Ridge, allowing 1st South African Division to withdraw along the coast road to Tobruk. This road is too small for British 50th Division also, so they attack South into the desert through the Italian Brescia and Pavia Divisions before turning East to go around the German armour and back to Egypt. Photo: Free French Foreign Legionnaires raise a cloud of dust from their Bren gun carrier while on a patrol from Bir Hacheim, 12 June 1942 Photo: Free French Foreign Legionnaires "leap up from the desert to rush an enemy strong point", Bir Hacheim, 12 June 1942 Pacific WarNEW ZEELAND The first echelon of the U.S. 1st Marine Division arrives at Wellington, New Zealand. Photo: The US 1st Marine Division arrives in Wellington aboard the USS Wakefield on 14 June 1942 ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN In the Aleutians, the USAAF's 11th Air Force dispatches four B-17 Fortresses and three B-24 Liberators to bomb shipping in the harbor of Kiska Island from an altitude of 700-feet (213.4 m), the lowest altitude yet. The crews claim two cruisers are hit and one scout seaplane is shot down; two B-17s are heavily damaged but return to base. A USN PBY Catalina bombs Japanese ships sailing SW of Kiska just missing the light cruiser Tama. The Japanese light cruiser Abukuma and four destroyers arrive at Amchitka Island from Attu Island to reconnoiter and search for suitable airfield sites but none are found. The force is spotted by a B-17 and is shadowed. Japanese bombers attack targets in the Nazan Bay area of Atka Island. HAWAII Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mustin (DD-413) at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 14 June 1942, following the search for survivors of the Battle of Midway. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified) Photo: The U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Portland (CA-33) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (USA), 14 June 1942, with her crew paraded on deck in "Whites". Note the external degaussing cable fitted to the hull side of this ship
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Post by lordroel on Jun 15, 2021 2:50:22 GMT
Day 1011 of World War II, June 15th 1942Air War over Europe Major General Carl Spaatz, Commanding General of the USAAF's 8th Air Force, arrives in the UK. The VIII Bomber Command takes a significant step toward development of the organization for control of combat operations by establishing the 1st Bombardment Wing (Provisional) at Brampton Grange, England. Battle of the Atlantic U-552 sinks 4 British freighters and Norwegian tanker Slemdal in convoy HG-84 in the Atlantic 400 miles West of Brest, France (total of 15,858 tons of shipping). Convoy KN-109 blunders into a minefield (laid by U-701 on June 11) 5 miles off Virginia Beach, Virginia, sinking British anti-submarine trawler HMT Kingston Ceylonite (33 killed, 18 survivors) and US tanker Robert C. Tuttle (1 dead, 46 survivors). US tanker Esso Augusta and destroyer USS Bainbridge hit mines and are badly damaged (no casualties). Battle of the Mediterranean Malta resupply convoys - in the Strait of Sicily, Italian cruisers from Sicily shell the Harpoon convoy from Gibraltar. British cruiser HMS Cairo is hit by two 6-inch shells (damaged in the bow but able to proceed, 2 killed), destroyer HMS Bedouin is immobilised by 12 6-inch shells and sinks after being hit by an Italian torpedo bomber (28 killed, 213 rescued and taken POW by the Italians) and destroyer HMS Partridge is also hit. Italian destroyer Vivaldi is hit by British gunfire and catches fire but is taken in tow. German bombers attack the merchant ships damaging freighter Burdwan and Chant and tanker Kentucky, which are abandoned and then sunk by the Italian warships. Overnight, the convoy reaches Malta but runs into a minefield entering the Grand Harbour. Polish destroyer ORP Kujawiak sinks (13 killed, 20 wounded) while British destroyers HMS Badsworth (9 killed) and HMS Matchless and the freighter Orari are damaged. Of the 6 merchant ships in the convoy, 4 have been sunk and only Troilus and Orari arrive at Malta. Photo: Airmen ground crew, assisted by soldiers and sailors, load a Mark XII aerial torpedo into the bomb bay of a Bristol Beaufort Mark I at Luqa, Malta, in preparation for a sortie against the Italian naval force threatening the 'Harpoon' Convoy Photo: Bristol Beaufighter Mark VIC, X8035 'J', of No. 235 Squadron RAF Detachment, taking off from Luqa, Malta, during the Italian naval attack on the "Harpoon" Convoy Photo: Aircrews of No. 39 Squadron RAF gather round Flying Officer A O S Jepson in front of his Bristol Beaufort Mark II as he recounts his part in the Squadron's attack on the Italian Battle Fleet on 15 June 1942, for the benefit of the press cameras at Fayid, Egypt
 Operation Vigourous from Alexandria, Egypt - British Beaufort torpedo bombers from Malta (217 Squadron) attack the Italian battlefleet from Taranto, immobilizing cruiser Trento at 5.15 AM. At 9.10 AM a torpedo from British submarine HMS Umbra detonates the magazine and Trento sinks (over 360 crew killed). Vigourous convoy turns around due to the presence of the Italian battlefleet and returns to Alexandria. Axis aircraft attack all day, hitting British destroyer HMS Airedale in the magazine which then explodes (44 killed, 133 rescued) and damaging British cruiser HMS Birmingham and Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor which sinks next day. Photo: On the horizon HMS Airedale seen blowing up after a direct hit from enemy bombers during a convoy from Alexandria to Malta Battle of the Caribbean 90 miles West of Grenada, U-502 sinks 3 steamers (2 American, 1 Panamanian, total 18,713 tons). 50 miles off Costa Rica, U-172 sinks Norwegian SS Bennestvet. 20 miles off the North coast of Colombia, U-68 mistakenly sinks Vichy French tanker SS Frimaire (all 60 hands killed). Battle of the Baltic Sea Yesterday, Soviet submarine M-95 left Moshchny Island (Finnish: Lavansaari Island) in the Gulf of Finland. M-95 is damaged by a mine in the recently-laid German Seeigel mine barrage near Hogland Island (Finnish: Suursaari Island) and then sunk by Finnish bombers (all 19 hands lost). North African campaignLibya - General Auchinleck (C-in-C Middle East Command) has promised Churchill to defend a line at El Adem, West of Tobruk. However, his subordinate General Ritchie withdraws 8th Army into Egypt and orders 2nd South African Division under General Klopper to hold Tobruk in another siege. United StatesPhoto: The U.S. Navy cargo ship USS Oberon (AK-58) underway off Kearny, New Jersey (USA), on 15 June 1942. She is painted in the splotch patterns of Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified Pacific WarALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN In the Aleutians, a bombing mission to Kiska Island by three B-17 Flying Fortresses and two B-24 Liberators of the USAAF's 11th Air Force is aborted due to weather. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): 63d Bombardment Squadron, 43d BG, moves from Sydney to Charleville with B-17s. OFF THE COAST OF THE PHILIPPINES 10 miles off Lubang Island, near Manila Bay, Philippines, US submarine USS Seawolf sinks Japanese auxiliary gunboat Nampo Maru.
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Post by lordroel on Jun 16, 2021 2:47:47 GMT
Day 1012 of World War II, June 16th 1942Eastern FrontSevastopol - Having crushed Fort Stalin, German artillery and Luftwaffe bombers turn their attention to the massive Fort Maxim Gorky. When Maxim Gorky’s 12-inch guns cease firing, German 132nd Division overruns the Fort. Soviets will claim Fort Maxim Gorky ran out of shells but contemporary photographs show the guns destroyed. Air War over Europe Overnight, RAF sends 106 bombers (40 Wellingtons, 39 Halifaxes, 15 Lancasters, 12 Stirlings) on another inaccurate raid to Essen, Germany. Only 16 bomb Essen while 56 bomb other targets including 45 attacking Bonn. 4 Halifaxes, 3 Wellingtons, 1 Stirling are lost. Battle of the Atlantic 25 miles East of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U-87 attacks convoy XB-25 sinking British SS Port Nicholson (2 killed, 85 survivors taken off by Canadian corvette HMCS Nanaimo, 2 crew and 4 Canadian sailors drown trying to reboard SS Port Nicholson) and American liner SS Cherokee (65 crew, 1 gunner and 20 US Army passengers killed; 47 crew, 10 gunners and 26 US Army passengers rescued by steamer Norlago and US Coast Guard cutter USS Escanaba). Battle of the Caribbean 70 miles West of Grenada, U-126 sinks US steamers SS Arkansan at 2.30 AM (4 killed, 36 survivors) and SS Kahuku at 3.20 AM (6 crew, 3 gunners and 8 survivors from the Cold Harbor and Scottsburg, sunk yesterday by U-502, killed; 46 survivors). At 4 AM 50 miles North of Matanzas, Cuba, U-67 sinks Nicaraguan SS Managua (all 25 hands survive). At 2.10 PM, U-161 indulges in a little piracy, stopping Dominican sailing boat Nueva Altagracia with gunfire then taking onboard the cargo of fruit and chickens plus all 8 crew. Nueva Altagracia is sunk with scuttling charges. U-161 releases the crew next day to another Dominican sailing ship Ciudad Trujillo, after helping themselves to more fruit. Battle of the Mediterranean In the last act of Operations Vigourous and Harpoon, at 00.19 AM 115 miles North of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, U-205 sinks British cruiser HMS Hermione returning to Alexandria (87 killed, 440 rescued by destroyers HMS Aldenham, HMS Exmoor and HMS Beaufort). Royal Navy has lost 1 cruiser, 5 destroyers and 6 merchant ships sunk (with many more warships damaged) for only 2 freighters reaching Malta and 1 Italian cruiser sunk. Photo: Port quarter of HMAS Nestor (GO2) listing to port and abandoned after suffering fatal damage to her boiler rooms Photo: A damaged destroyer on her way into the dockyard creek North African campaignLibya - Churchill, reassured by General Auchinleck’s promise that Tobruk is secure, leaves England on a non-stop flight to USA to meet Roosevelt. However, Rommel attacks El Adem and Sidi Rezegh, South and East of Tobruk. With most of British 8th Army withdrawing into Egypt, it looks likely Tobruk will be cut off again. Pacific WarSOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): FEAF was planning a joint strike against Lae and Salamaua similar to the operation of June 9. The morning schedule was interrupted by a fighter sweep of A6M2 Zeros of the Tainan Kokutai over the Port Moresby area. 32 P-39 and P-400 Airacobra of the 39th and 40th Fighter Squadron were scrambled. They were hit hard and four were shot down and two heavily damaged. Tainan piliots claim 17 shot down and 2 probables and lost no aircraft damaged or shot down. Lost is P-39F 41-7204, P-39F 41-7136, P-39F 41-7222 and P-39 piloted by Lynch. Three of the pilots shot down returned while one went MIA. In the afternoon, 22nd BG B-26s and 19th BG B-17s hit Lae and 3rd BG B-25s hit Salamaua hitting runways and buildings and starting several fires. They meet their Airacobra escort on the return flight, shot down is P-39 piloted by Magre. INDIAN OCEAN Photo: An aerial photograph of the heavy cruiser HMS Frobisher underway in the Indian Ocean
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jun 17, 2021 2:54:05 GMT
Day 1013 of World War II, June 17th 1942Eastern Front The Soviet defensive line North of Sevastopol begins to collapse. Germans overrun Forts Maxim Gorky, Molotov, Schishkova, Volga and Siberia, although some Soviet troops will hold out in underground tunnels and continue fighting for many days. Battle of the Atlantic In the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, American SS Santore sinks on a mine laid by U-701 on June 11 (3 killed, 43 survivors picked up after 30 minutes by the US Coast guard). Battle of the Caribbean In the Gulf of Mexico. 280 miles South of Galveston, Texas, U-158 sinks Panamanian SS San Blas at 4.50 AM (30 killed, 14 survivors on 4 rafts picked up on June 29 by a US Navy Catalina flying boat 195 miles North just of the Texan coast) and Norwegian tanker SS Moira at 1 PM (1 killed, 18 survivors rescued next day by a fishing boat). At 11 PM 10 miles North of Cuba, U-129 sinks American SS Millinocket (11 killed, 24 survivors picked up by 3 Cuban boats next morning). Battle of the MediterraneanPhoto: Army and RAF personnel refuelling and a Spitfire Mk V, Malta, 17 June 1942 North African campaignLibya - Rommel continues pursuing the British 8th Army’s withdrawal towards Egypt. Photo: British Valentine tanks similar to those which equipped 32nd Army Tank Brigade, 18 June 1942 Air War over Europe 225 miles West of Land’s End, Cornwall, England, 12 German Ju88 bombers attack British destroyer HMS Wild Swan and a group of Spanish trawlers, sinking 3 of the trawlers. HMS Wild Swan shoots down 6 aircraft but is damaged by several near misses and sinks after ramming another trawler (31 killed, destroyer HMS Vansittart picks up 133 crew, including 5 seriously injured, and 11 Spanish fishermen). United kingdomPhoto: Covenanter tanks of 28th Armoured Brigade, 9th Armoured Division on parade at Barton Mills near Newmarket in Suffolk, 17-18 June 1942 United StatesPhoto: A U.S. Navy Curtiss SOC-3A Seagull of Auxiliary Scouting Squadron 1 (VGS-1) landing on the escort carrier USS Long Island (AVG-1) on 17 June 1942. Note the bomb (or anti-submarine depth bomb) carried on the plane's centerline rack, and the arresting gear wires on the carrier's flight deck
 Pacific War PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (7th Air Force): P-40s of 73d Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, aboard the aircraft carrier. USS Saratoga are flown off the carrier at Midway to replace USN aircraft lost in the Battle of Midway. The P-40s begin dawn and dusk patrols which continue until the P-40s are relieved on 23 Jun 43. Photo: Crewmen spotting a Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat on the hangar deck of the U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Long Island (AVG-1), 17 June 1942. Several other F4F-4s are present, as are Curtiss SOC-3A Seagull scout-observation planes. All are from Auxiliary Scouting Squadron 1 (VGS-1) ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN In the Aleutians, a Kiska Harbor bombing mission by the USAAF's 11th Air Force is cancelled due to weather as is a patrolling mission by heavy bombers.
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Post by lordroel on Jun 18, 2021 5:16:55 GMT
Day 1014 of World War II, June 18th 1942Eastern Front At Sevastopol, Germans have control of most of the ground North of Severnaya Bay but there are still several powerful Soviet Forts. At 11 AM, German 132nd Infantry Division attacks Coastal Battery No.12 (Kartashevsky's Battery) on the Black Sea coast, using flamethrowers to clear out trenches and bunkers by 7 PM. 2 miles inland German 24th Infantry Division overruns Soviet defenses at Bartenyevka. Soviet Navy is still trying to bring in reinforcements and evacuate wounded, but Leningrad-class “destroyer leader” Kharkov is badly damaged by German bombers. Continuation WarPhoto: Finish Riilahti Minelayer on 18th of June 1942 Battle of the Atlantic In the North Atlantic 500 miles West of Newfoundland, U-124 fires 6 torpedoes at convoy ONS-102 at 6.22 AM, damaging American SS Seattle Spirit (4 killed). 51 survivors abandon ship and are picked up by convoy escort Canadian corvette HMCS Agassiz, which also sinks the wreck of SS Seattle Spirit with shellfire. Overnight, British destroyer HMS Albrighton and steam gun boats SGB 7 and SGB 8 cross the English Channel and attack a German convoy in the Baie de la Seine (2 supply ships escorted by 6 motor torpedo boats and 1 armed trawler). SGB 7 sinks 1 German supply ship with a torpedo but is then herself sunk (4 killed, 7 crew taken as German POWs). Battle of the Caribbean 12 miles off the coast of Colombia, U-159 sinks Dutch SS Flora with shellfire. All 37 crew escape in a motorboat and a lifeboat and reach Colombia next day, but 1 man dies of wounds. 80 miles off the coast of Panama, U-172 uses 40 rounds from the deck gun to sink British tanker MV Motorex, carrying 20,000 barrels of diesel oil from Texas via the Panama Canal (1 dead, 20 survivors). Operation Pastorius U-584 lands another 4 German saboteurs (including 1 US citizen) at Ponte Vedra Beach, near Jacksonville, Florida. The saboteurs board trains to Chicago and Cincinnati. North African campaignLibya - Rommel moves North from the desert to cut off Tobruk. German troops and tanks reach the Mediterranean coast, cutting the supply road from the next port Bardia (70 miles West near the Egyptian border) and capturing RAF Gambut, a small airfield 40 miles West of Tobruk, making resupply by air much more difficult. Photo: British Valentine tanks similar to those which equipped 32nd Army Tank Brigade, 18 June 1942Photo: A Grant tank crew loading up with ammunition from a truck, 18 June 1942 Photo: Two Stuart tanks advancing in the Western Desert, 18 June 1942 Photo: North Africa, near Bir Hacheim - 8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun firing. In the background Colonel General Rommel's armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz. 250 "griffin"; KBK Lw.7
Photo: German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel observing the field near El Alamein, Egypt, 18 Jun 1942 Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th Air Force): 1 LB-30, 3 B-17s and 4 B-24s make a precision high-altitude attack on Kiska Harbor. A transport is left burning and sinking, another is mauled, and 2 scout planes are possibly shot down. 1 B-24 crashes at sea; part of its crew is saved. Photo: Decoy aircraft are laid out by occupying Japanese forces on a shoreline on Kiska Island, Alaska, on 18 June 1942 SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): Air echelon of 69th Bombardment Squadron, 38th BG (Medium), leaves Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii with B-26s and proceeds to New Caledonia to join the ground echelon; the squadron will fly sea-search missions until Dec 42.
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Post by lordroel on Jun 19, 2021 3:18:37 GMT
Day 1015 of World War II, June 19th 1942Eastern FrontAt Sevastopol, Germans widen the breach in the Soviet lines North of Severnaya Bay and attempt to reduce the remaining Forts. Soviet 138th Naval Infantry Brigade makes an unsuccessful counterattack on German 22nd Division. Both sides are exhausted but the Red Army is wearing out faster. In the Black Sea South of Yalta, Italian fast torpedoboat MAS-571 sinks Soviet submarine SC-214. (In January 1942, Germany requested Italian assistance to help patrol the Black Sea because of “the superiority of the light surface and underwater torpedo crafts of the Regia Marina”. Italy sent 4 MAS boats, 6 CD class pocket submarines, 5 torpedo-motor boats and 5 explosive motorboats overland). Air War over EuropeOvernight, RAF sends 194 bombers to Emden, Germany (112 Wel1ingtons, 37 Halifaxes, 25 Stirlings, 11 Hampdens, 9 Lancasters) but 29 aircraft attack Osnabrück, 80 miles away. 6 Wel1ingtons, 2 Stirlings & 1 Halifax are lost. Battle of the Atlantic Overnight 10 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-701 and US anti-submarine trawler USS YP-389 engage in a gun duel. USS YP-389’s 3-inch gun fails due to a faulty firing pin and she is sunk by armour piercing, high explosive and incendiary shells from U-701 (4 dead and 21 survivors). U-701 sustains only slight damage from USS YP-389’s Springfield machine guns. Battle of the Caribbean 20 miles North of Colombia, U-159 sinks Yugoslavian SS Ante Matkovic with 100 rounds from the deck gun (6 dead and 23 survivors). 20 miles West of Puerto Rico, U-107 shells unarmed US schooner Cheerio. A US patrol aircraft attacks U-107, forcing her to submerge and break off the attack but Cheerio sinks anyway (all 9 crew rescued clinging to wreckage by US Coast Guard ship USS CG-459). North African campaignLibya - all day Rommel's forces (German 90th Light, 21st Panzer & 15th Panzer and Italian Ariete Divisions) pursue the British 8th Army withdrawal into Egypt, apparently bypassing Tobruk. But at dusk, they reverse course and head back to surround Tobruk in preparation for a surprise dawn attack. Photo: Changing the barrel of an 8.8 anti-aircraft gun on an African airfield. The individual work of changing, pulling out the barrel, hanging the gun barrel, inserting it and finishing it United KingdomPhoto: Royal Engineers marching through Preston, 19 June 1942 Pacific War NEW ZEELAND Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, USN, assumes command of the South Pacific Area with headquarters at Auckland, New Zealand. AUSTRALIA Off the West coast of Australia, German armed merchant cruiser Thor stops Norwegian tanker MV Herborg carrying 11,000 tons of oil from Abadan, Iran, to Fremantle, Australia. After Thor takes the crew on board, MV Herborg is renamed Hohenfriedberg and sent to Japan with a prize crew, arriving on July 7. Photo: A line up of four U.S. Army Air Forec Curtiss P-40E Warhawk aircraft of the 8th Pursuit Squadron, 49th Pursuit Group at Darwin, Northern Territories (Australia) on 19 June 1942. The aircraft closest to the camera (No. "L Ace") was flown by Lieutenant James Bruce Morehead who shot down seven Japanese aircraft while flying out of Darwin. Captain W.J. Hennon, who has shot down at least five Japanese aircraft, is sitting in the cockpit of P-40 No. 36. Note the whitened former red circle of the US national insignia MIDWAY The seaplane tender (destroyer) USS Ballard rescues 35 Japanese survivors of the aircraft carrier HIJMS Hiryu that had been scuttled on 5 June during the Battle of Midway; one of the survivors dies shortly after being rescued. The 35 were members of the engineering department who were presumed dead when the ship was scuttled; they had been sighted in the water by a PBY Catalina. ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN In the Aleutians, the U.S. submarine USS S-27, commanded by Herbert L. Jukes, is lying off Kiska charging batteries in a heavy fog and is carried about 5 miles from her estimated position. At midnight, she gets underway and soon after 0043 hours local, breakers are sighted about 25 yards forward of the bow, and the ship grounds on rocks off St. Makarius Point. Waves bumped her violently against the rocks, rolling her 10 to 15 degrees on each side. By 0330 hours, the pounding has increased and plans were made to move the greater part of the crew off the boat onto land. Six radio reports are sent but only one is received at Dutch Harbor and this one lacks a position. Men, provisions, clothing, guns, and medical supplies are transferred safely. The last men leave the boat at 1550 hours. Photo: USS S-27 on June 19th 1924 B-24's of the USAAF's 11th Air Force taking off to bomb Kiska Island abort due to fog. One of them and two of its crew are lost when forced to land in the water. A B-17 is dispatched to attack a reported submarine but makes no contact. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): B-17s pound shipping and Vunakanau Airfield.
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Post by lordroel on Jun 20, 2021 6:03:06 GMT
Day 1016 of World War II, June 20th 1942YouTube (Tobruk: A second siege)Eastern FrontSevastopol - German 24th Infantry Division attacks Battery Lenin and Fort North. Battery Lenin, defended by only 1 anti-aircraft gun, gives up immediately. Fort North (300m wide, containing 32 concrete bunkers and 7 armored cupolas, with an anti-tank ditch and minefields) holds out all day, using anti-tank fire to destroy 3 German Borgward B IV remote-controlled explosive carrier demolition vehicles. Air War over EuropeOvernight, RAF sends 185 bombers to Emden, Germany, but again most aircraft miss the target. 3 Wel1ingtons, 2 Stirlings, 1 Halifax & 1 Lancaster are lost. Battle of the Caribbean In the Gulf of Mexico 90 miles South of New Orleans, U-67 damages Norwegian tanker MV Nortind with a torpedo (1 crew member lost). MV Nortind reaches New Orleans 2 days later and will be repaired at Mobile, Alabama, and return to service in September. Operation Pastorius3 German saboteurs (who landed on Long Island on June 13) are arrested in New York City. The FBI is acting on information from the fourth saboteur, George Dasch, who turned himself in yesterday in Washington. North African campaignLibya - Rommel unleashes a surprise attack on Tobruk beginning at 5.30 AM with artillery and a succession of bombing raids involving every German and Italian bomber in Libya plus some from Crete. 11th Indian Infantry Brigade cracks under the barrage, creating a gap on the Southeast corner of Tobruk’s perimeter which 100 German and Italian tanks pour through at 7 AM. By noon, Rommel is in view of the port. South African General Klopper does not rush reinforcements into the breach, so British and South African troops remain in their trenches and gun pits in other sectors or along the coast. German infantry fight their way into the town against shore-based British naval personnel and are in control of the port by 7 PM. British start destroying stocks of food, fuel and ammunition while an exodus of small boats leaves Tobruk harbour under heavy German artillery fire. United States Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Meade (DD-602) off New York City, 20 June 1942, probably during her delivery voyage from the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard at Staten Island. The ship, which is flying her builder's flag, was commissioned two days later. Note that no radars are fitted, yet, and her Measure 12 (Modified) pattern camouflage Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th Air Force): 1 LB-30, 1 B-17 and 7 B-24s take off on a search and bombing mission over Kiska. 3 aircraft abort the mission due to weather, 3 bomb through an overcast with unobserved results, and 3 others search in vain for a B-24 lost on the preceding day. 56th and 57th Fighter Squadrons, 54th Fighter Group, based at Harding Field, Baton Rouge, Louisiana begin operating from Nome and Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Alaska respectively with P-39s. The crew of the U.S. submarine USS S-27 (SS-132) that sank yesterday off Amchitka Island, Aleutian Islands, reaches a deserted village on the island and sets up camp. PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (7th Air Force): Major General Willis H Hale becomes Commanding General 7th Air Force, and Colonel Albert Hegenberger becomes temporary commanding officer of the VII Bomber Command. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): B-17s bomb the runway at Lae. NEW GUINEA US 6th Army HQ is established at Milne Bay, New Guinea by General Krueger. The 17th Australian Brigade successfully repels a Japanese attack in the area of Mubo, New Guinea. VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH COLOMBIA In the evening, Japanese submarine I-26 surfaces 2 miles off Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In the first attack on Canada since the war of 1812, I-26 shells the Estevan Point lighthouse and radio-direction-finding (RDF) installation, causing all lighthouses along the coast to shut down. Photo: Canadian Naval officers inspect an unexploded shell from the Estevan site. A second unexploded shell was found in 1973
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Post by lordroel on Jun 21, 2021 2:48:21 GMT
Day 1017 of World War II, June 21st 1942Eastern FrontPhoto: German soldiers using artillery Photo: Column of motorcycles with sidecars belonging to the 13th Panzer Division Photo: “Anti-aircraft gunners getting a machine-gun ready for a fight”. Anti-aircraft gunners getting a machine-gun ready for a fight during the defense of Moscow in WWII Air War over Europe 50 Luftwaffe bombers attack Southampton while 56 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Bay of Biscay. Battle of the Atlantic Canadian minesweeper HMCS Georgian (waiting off Newfoundland to escort a convoy bound for Sydney, Australia) spots an unfamiliar submarine and rams it, unaware that British HMS P-514 (WWI-era US Navy submarine R-19, transferred to Royal Navy on March 9 1942) is in the area. HMS P-514 sinks with all 29 crew. Battle of the Caribbean 120 miles East of Barbados, U-128 sinks American SS West Ira. All 49 hands escape. 48 are rescued or make land in a week but the radio operator dies alone on a raft and his body washes ashore 11 days later. Battle of the Mediterranean 9 Bristol Beauforts (RAF 217 Squadron) and 6 Bristol Beaufighters (RAF 235 Squadron) from Malta attack an Italian convoy from Naples, Italy, to Tripoli, Libya. They hit German freighter Reichenfels, which is loaded with ammunition and blows up (3 Beauforts shot down, 7 killed, 1 wounded, 5 aircrew taken POW). Off Cape Bon, Tunisia, British Fleet Air Arm Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers (830 Squadron from Malta) attack Italian destroyer Strale which runs aground and is abandoned. North African campaignTobruk - Rommel holds the port but Allied troops enjoy numerical superiority and occupy more territory inside the perimeter. At dawn, Allied commander South African General Klopper orders both a breakout and a bloody fight to the death but he inexplicably surrenders at 8 AM. 19,000 British, 13,400 South African and 2500 Indian troops go into captivity (Klopper is booed when he tries to address his troops in the POW cage and cannot finish his speech). Klopper will later be exonerated by a court of inquiry for his actions. At 6.45 AM, South African minesweeping whaler HMSAS Parktown, evacuating troops from Tobruk, is attacked by 4 Italian MAS fast torpedoboats. Many crew and soldiers are killed but some are rescued by a tug and a British motor torpedo boat, which then sinks HMSAS Parktown with depth charges. Photo: view of street to Tobruk Harbor Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th Air Force): The War Department authorizes the XI Air Force Services Command, hitherto the Provisional Service Command, which is activated at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage. It is charged with maintaining and supplying all of the 11th's bases. Weather cancels all missions except an armed weather sortie over Kiska. Fighters fly local patrols. WEST COAST OF UNITED STATES Japanese submarine I-25 surfaces and fires 17 14cm shells at the US Army Fort Stevens on the Oregon side of the mouth of the Columbia River (no hits scored and no damage done). Photo: American servicemen inspecting a shell crater after the Japanese attack on Fort Stevens
 MIDWAY A USN PBY-5A of Patrol Squadron Twenty Four, based on Midway Island, rescues the two man crew of a Torpedo Squadron Six TBD Devastator 360 miles N of Midway Island. The two were from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and had ditched their plane on 4 June during the Battle of Midway. These are the last survivors of the battle to be recovered. GAVUTU ISLAND US submarine USS S44 sinks Japanese gunboat Keijo Maru off Gavutu Island, North of Gaudalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
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Post by lordroel on Jun 22, 2021 2:45:46 GMT
Day 1018 of World War II, June 22nd 1942Eastern Front At Sevastopol, the struggle for the North shore of Severnaya Bay continues. Meanwhile, Soviet defenses East and South of Sevastopol also begin to crumble under the weight of German attacks. Further North near Kharkov, German 1st Panzer Army and part of 6th Army launch Operation Fridericus II. Having routed the Soviet offensive from the Izium salient in May, Germans hope to push Soviet 38th and 9th Armies further back from Kharkov and the Donets River to provide a better starting point for their coming Summer offensive (Operation Blau). Photo: Waffen-SS infantry and armour advancing Photo: Soldiers in observation position behind a dam, holding light armored personnel carrier (Sd.Kfz. 250) Air War over Europe Overnight, RAF sends 227 aircraft (144 Wellingtons, 38 Stirlings, 26 Halifaxes, 11 Lancasters, 8 Hampdens) to bomb Emden, Germany (50 houses destroyed, damage in the harbour, 6 civilians killed and 40 injured). Decoy fires draw many bombers away from the target. 4 Wellingtons, 1 Lancaster, 1 Stirling are lost. Battle of the Atlantic 120 miles Southeast of New York, U-202 sinks neutral Argentinian SS Rio Tercero carrying cargo to New York from Buenos Aires (5 dead, 37 survivors). Battle of the Caribbean 175 miles South of Puerto Rico, U-159 stops US tanker SS E.J. Sadler (carrying 149.003 barrels of kerosene from Aruba) with shellfire. All 36 crew abandon ship in 4 lifeboats. The tanker is set on fire by numerous hits but does not sink, so a boarding party from U-159 sinks her with scuttling charges 4 hours later. Battle of the Baltic Sea 5 miles West of the Swedish island of Gotland, Soviet submarine ShCh-317 sinks neutral Swedish SS Ada Gorthon, which is carrying iron ore to Germany and goes down within 1 minute (14 killed, 8 survivors). North African campaignTobruk - Rommel receives a telegram from Hitler, sent yesterday, promoting him to Field Marshall (Rommel notes privately that an additional Division would have been better). He replies, tantalizing Hitler with the chance to push the British out of Egypt and open the route to the Middle East oilfields in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq. Rommel has captured 5000 tons of food, 2000 tons of petrol, 2000 working vehicles and much ammunition at Tobruk, plus the harbour in good condition and a water distillation plant in working order, and claims he can now advance to the Suez Canal. As the British 8th Army withdraws 140 miles into Egypt, to prepare a new defensive line at Mersa Matruh, Rommel's troops reach Bardia, Libya, just 10 miles from the Egyptian border. Photo: A Panzer II of the Afrika Korps Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th Air Force): A B-17 weather reconnaissance aircraft flies over Kiska . Fighters fly air base patrols. A bombing mission is cancelled due to weather. FIJI ISLANDS Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Meredith (DD-434) at sea in the Fiji Islands area on 22 June 1942. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified)
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Post by lordroel on Jun 23, 2021 2:44:35 GMT
Day 1019 of World War II, June 23rd 1942Operation Pastorius2 German saboteurs (Kerling and Thiel, landed in Florida by U-584 on June 18) are arrested in New York City by FBI on information provided by traitor George Dasch. Battle of the Atlantic 540 miles West of the Azores, U-84 sinks Norwegian tanker SS Torvanger (4 dead and 33 survivors). 100 miles East of Grenada, U-128 sinks Norwegian tanker MV (0 dead, 38 survivors). Battle of the Caribbean 40 miles south of South Pass, Louisiana, U-67 torpedoes US tanker SS Rawleigh Warner which bursts into flames and sinks in 10 minutes (all 33 hands lost). 300 miles further South, U-158 sinks American SS Major General Henry Gibbins (all 47 crew and 21 US Army gunners survive). 100 miles West of Aruba, U-68 sinks Panamanian tanker MV Arriaga (1 dead, 24 survivors). 200 miles East of Nicaragua, U-172 sinks tiny Columbian sailing boat Resolute with 2cm gunfire and hand grenades (6 dead, 4 survivors). Battle of the Mediterranean In the Gulf of Sirte, off the coast of Libya, British submarine HMS Thrasher sinks Rommel resupply ship, Italian merchant Sant Antonio. Italian torpedo boat Perseo mounts an ineffective counter attack. North African campaignLibya - Hitler allows Rommel to pursue British 8th Army’s withdrawal, entranced by the prospect of conquering Egypt and disrupting British oil supplies from the Middle East. German probing attacks run into British 7th Armoured Division at Sollum, in Egyptian territory. Hitler writes to Mussolini “the goddess of fortune in battle passes by her captains but once; he who does not seize her now may never overtake her”. This prose convinces Mussolini to cancel his pet project, the planned Italian invasion of Malta to support Rommel's advance. USAAF B-24D bombers of Halverson Provisional detachment (HALPRO) attack Benghazi. HALPRO is in Egypt, en route to China for bombing raids on Tokyo. United StatesPhoto: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Lawrence (DD-250) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 23 June 1942. Note that her after smokestack and after torpedo tubes have been removed, but she still retains 4/50 guns Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th Air Force): Weather cancels a bombing mission. A B-17 flies a reconnaissance mission over Kiska . A P-40 on defensive patrol crashes at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage. Photo: 11th Fighter Squadron P-40s at Fort Glenn AAF June 1942 SUVA,FIJI ISLANDS Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Meredith (DD-434) at Suva, Fiji Islands, on 23 June 1942. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified). The photo was taken from the seaplane tender USS Tangier (AV-8)
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Post by lordroel on Jun 24, 2021 2:48:42 GMT
Day 1020 of World War II, June 24th 1942Battle of the Atlantic In the mouth of Delaware Bay, US rescue tug John R. Williams hits a mine laid on June 11 by U-373 and sinks instantly (chief engineer, 2nd assistant and 2 deckhands survive as they are blown overboard but 14 other men drown). 5 German Ju88 bombers attack Allied shipping at anchor in the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, USSR. 1 or 2 bombs hit British minesweeper HMS Gossamer which is blown in two and rolls over at 9.21 (23 killed, 12 wounded). Battle of the Caribbean 700 miles Southeast of Bermuda, U-156 sinks British SS Willimantic with shellfire after missing with the last torpedo at 8.10 AM (6 dead, 32 survivors). 30 miles off Cape Fear, North Carolina, U-404 sinks Yugoslavian SS Ljubica Matkovic, which catches fire on the combustible cargo of 4100 tons of sugar, 850 tons of fuel oil and 25 tons of wood, but all 30 hands escape. North African campaignWithout pausing to regroup after the conquest of Tobruk, Rommel launches an attack into Egypt. British 7th Armoured Division withdraws from Sollum, allowing Rommel to advance 50 miles almost to Sidi Barrani. General Auchinleck puts X Corps (just arrived from Syria) into the line at Mersa Matruh, replacing XIII Corps which falls back to El Alamein (Auchinleck’s favoured position for a last stand to prevent Rommel reaching the Egyptian heartland of Cairo and Alexandria). United States 43rd and 52rd Bombardment Squadrons, 29th BG (Heavy), cease flying ASW patrols and move from MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida to Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho with B-17s. United Kingdom
Photo: Survivors of the Polish Navy destroyer ORP Kujawiak, sunk by a mine in the Operation Harpoon in the Mediterranean, come ashore at Greenock, still wearing tropical kit, 24 June 1942 Photo: General De Gaulle inspecting sailors on the Free French destroyer Léopard at Greenock, 24 June 1942 Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th Air Force): Weather cancels bombing. 1 B-17 flies a weather reconnaissance over Kiska . Fighters patrol airfields. Three USN PBY Catalinas rescue the remaining survivors of the sinking of the U.S. submarine USS S-27 (SS-132) from Amchitka Island, Aleutian Islands. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): B-17s hit Vunakanau Airfield on New Britain. Bomb loads include several bundles of incendiaries which cause intense fires. THAILAND Ban Pong: Work begins today on the first phase of an ambitious plan by Japan to improve its lines of supply by extending the Singapore- to- Bangkok railway 294 miles north through the jungle to Rangoon. It proposes to build the line using the vast pool of Allied PoW labour now at its disposal. 600 British PoWs led by Major R. S. Sykes arrived here yesterday from Singapore after a four-day rail journey to begin building the Thai base camp. The first 34 miles of line are on the flat, but at Tha Makham, where the line crosses the fast-flowing Kawe Noi, the PoWs will have to build a 240-yard long wooden trestle bridge. NEW GUINEA Allies still suspect another Japanese attempt to capture Port Moresby in Papua, so they take protective actions. Australian 39th Battalion and Papua Infantry Battalion are sent to hold the Kokoda Track, the overland route from the Japanese-held North of the island. Australian forces depart from Port Moresby in Dutch ships Karsik and Bontekoe, escorted by Australian sloop HMAS Warrego and corvette HMAS Ballarat, to begin the construction of airfields at Milne Bay on the Eastern tip of Papua. These airfields will protect the sea route to Port Moresby through the Coral Sea and also provide a forward base for bombing of Japanese bases at Rabaul. MIDWAY ISLAND Photo: The U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Pensacola (CA-24) bringing in U.S. Marine Corps reinfocements to Midway on 24 June 1942. USS Ballard (AVD-10) is visible in the background. In the foreground is the tail of Ensign Bert Ernest's Grumman TBF-1 Avenger (BuNo 00380) Photo: The sole surviving U.S. Navy Grumman TBF-1 Avenger (BuNo 00380, side number 8-T-1) of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) on Midway's Eastern island, shortly after the Battle of Midway, on 24 June 1942
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