This Day In The War, In The Pacific

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
SOLOMONS: A detachment of the USN's Patrol Squadron Fourteen based at Noumea, New Caledonia with PBY-5 Catalinas, bombs the Japanese base at Tulagi Island, Solomon Islands.

ALASKA: In the Aleutians, an 11th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress weather aircraft flies over Kiska Island but a solid weather front cancels bombing. On this and the following day US advanced reconnaissance parties land on Adak Island from submarines.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th Air Force): 11th Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy), based at Kunming, China, sends a detachment to operate from Dinjan, India with B-25s.

NG: - Four Australian platoons land and attack Japanese position at Salamaua, killing about 100 enemy troops, bringing back three trucks and a portable bridge. Allied morale is boosted, but the attack fails to gain any signifigant ground from the Japanese.

1943
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) In the Aleutian Islands, 6 B-25's bomb Gertrude Cove, Little Kiska Island and the southern Main Camp area through holes in the overcast. The mission is partly ineffective because of faulty bomb-release mechanisms.

CENTRAL PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Seventh Air Force) A bombing mission against Nauru, Gilbert Islands from Funafuti Atoll, Ellice Islands is hampered by engine trouble and bad weather. 1 B-24 had crashed at Palmyra Island, Oceania the previous day while en route from the Hawaiian Islands to the staging base at Funafuti Atoll. Of the 18 arriving at the forward base, 2 are released from duty because of engine trouble, 2 crash on takeoff, and 8 are grounded after a second crash. 6 heavy bombers are airborne for the mission, 2 abort, 2 fail to find Nauru Island because of heavy front, and 2 drop bombs on the island, with unobserved results.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) HQ 80th Fighter Group and it's 88th and 90th Fighter Squadrons arrive at Karachi, India from the US with P-40's.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) The 394th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy) transfers with B-24's from the Fiji to Guadalcanal.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 8 B-24s fly fuel to Kamaing; ammunition delivery to Imphal, India is continued by 47 B-25s; 14 other B-25s pound the Naba-Mawlin railroad.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In the Yangtze River-Tungting Lake area of China, B-25s and fighter-bombers fly 160+ sorties attacking river shipping at several locations, bombing the towns of Hengshan, Liling, and Pingkiang, and bombing Japanese HQ and gun sites in the Siangsiang area; also in the Hengyang area the B-25s and fighter-bombers hit rear supply bases and cavalry and infantry concentrations; and 11th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Kweilin to Yang Tong with B-25s (detachments are operating from Kweilin and Liuchow).

NEI - BIAK: On Biak Island, New Guinea the western caves have been cleared. Remaining Japanese troops are scattered and the remaining operations are scattered.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s and P-61s carry out daylight raids and defensive night patrols over Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Attacks on the Wewak area continue; Japanese HQ and communications in the Suain-Karowop Plantation area and coastal road from Babiang to Nyaparake are hit; airfield and fuel dumps on Noemfoor, Japanese positions and occupied areas and buildings on Biak and Efman, a village near Babo, and the Tor River and Maffin Bay areas are attacked; and 421st Night Fighter Squadron, V Fighter Command, moves from Nadzab to Owi, Schouten Islands with P-61s (detachment is operating from Wakde Island). B-24s bomb the airfield and town on Yap and communications on Sorol and Woleai. AA guns E of the Tobera area are attacked.

MARIANA'S: USN carrier-based aircraft fly their first preinvasion strike against Japanese installations on Guam. USAAF P-47s based on Saipan attack targets on Rota, Tinian and Saipan.

From the CINCPAC Press Office: NAVAL ADVANCE TO THE WESTWARD The advance of our Naval forces to the westward began with the reoccupation of Attu and Kiska in the far north, and the capture of the most important islands in the Solomons group in the far south. From our far northern bases we began attacking the Japanese Kuriles from the air. We have also made several surface vessel bombardments against the enemy's shore installations in the Kurile chain.
In the south, the successful termination of the Solomons campaign made possible air and surface raids against Japanese garrisons in the Bismarck Archipelago and along the northern New Guinea Coast.
With our positions in the far north and in the south firmly established the next step was the squeeze made in the middle of the enemy's perimeter. This resulted in the capture of the Gilbert Islands. Following that, the Marshall campaign then gave us Kwajalein, Majuro; and Eniwetok. Farther to the south we took the Admiralty Islands and also important positions on New Britain. Then strategic areas along the northern New Guinea coast fell to us with the result that we were then able to launch air and surface attacks against Truk, Ponape, Kusaie and other islands in the Caroline group, from several directions. We also were able to strike from Australia in the far south against Japanese positions in Java. But it was the capture of certain of the Marshalls group that permitted us to launch our surface and air attacks as far west as Palau, Guam, Saipan, Rota and the Bonin Islands.
Our last offensive blow, aimed in the ultimate capture of Saipan, already has permitted our air and surface fleets to strike still farther westward. The final occupation of Saipan will enable us to project surface and air operations that will include the mainland of Japan, the Philippines and a greater part of the Dutch East Indies.
CINCPAC COMMUNIQUE NO. 65, 1. United States Marine and Army troops have made further gains on Saipan Island, pushing north nearly two miles along the east coast, passing the villages of Donnay and Hashigoru: On the west coast, further penetrations have been made into Garapan Town. Enemy troops broke through our lines containing them on Nafutan Point on the night of June 26 (West Longi-tude Date), and attempted to drive northward. Two hundred enemy troops were killed in this
counterattack. The next day further attacks were launched by our forces against Nafutan Point and the enemy now holds only the extreme tip of the point.
Close support is now being given our troops by shore-based aircraft operating from Aslito Airdrome. Tinian Island has been subjected to protracted daily bombardment to neutralize enemy positions there.
On the night of June 25 several enemy torpedo planes attacked a carrier group screening our transports. Several torpedoes were launched, but no hits were obtained. One enemy plane was shot down, and another probably shot down. During the night of June 26-27 enemy aircraft again attacked our transports, but all bombs landed in the water. One near miss on a transport injured a member of the crew.
2. Surface units of the Pacific Fleet bombarded Kurabu Zaki at the southern tip of Paramushiru in the Kuriles on the night of June 25-26. Paramushiru and Shimushu Islands were bombed by Liberators of the Eleventh Army Air Force and Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four before dawn on June 25 and 26. Several fires were started in these raids. Antiaircraft fire was intense. Eleven enemy fighters attacked a single Ventura of Fleet Air Wing Four near the airfield at Paramushiru before dawn on June 26. Two of the attacking planes were damaged, and one disappeared into a fog bank trailing smoke. The Ventura returned with superficial damage.
3. Carrier aircraft swept Guam and Rota Islands in the Marianas on June 26. Fuel reservoirs and coastal defense gun positions were bombed. three small craft in Apra Harbor at Guam were destroyed. The cargo vessel damaged in previous strikes was observed to have sunk. At Rota the airstrip was strafed and buildings were set afire. There was no enemy air opposition during these attacks.
4. Truk Atoll was bombed by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators on June 25. One of five enemy fighters which intercepted our force was shot down. We suffered no damage. Army and Marine aircraft attacked enemy objectives in the Marshalls on June 25.
5. An enemy twin-engine bomber was shot down south of the Hall Islands by a search plane of Fleet Air Wing Two, Group One, on June 26. The same day an enemy torpedo plane was damaged by another search plane northwest A Truk.

1945

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th Air Force): Colonel Robert C Oliver assumes command of the X Air Service Command. 9th Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (attached to USAMEAF) departs India for Palestine with B-17s. Ground echelon leaves from Lahabad, India and air echelon leaves from Baumrauli, India.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s hit Lakunai Airfield and Lae Airfield during the night of 28/29 Jun. 35th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, moves from Port Moresby to Woodstock with P-39s.

CHINA: China's Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek requests that the U.S. transfer, or at least commit to sending, U.S. infantry divisions to China. He also requests the transfer of 500 combat aircraft and a monthly allotment of 5,000 tons of supplies by air from India.

USA: The USN's Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Ernest J. King, asks the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff to authorize a large-scale offensive against the Japanese naval base on Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands.

1943
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th Air Force): Colonel Robert C Oliver assumes command of the X Air Service Command. 9th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (attached to USAMEAF) departs India for Palestine with B-17s. Ground echelon leaves from Lahabad, India and air echelon leaves from Baumrauli, India.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s hit Lakunai Airfield and Lae Airfield during the night of 28/29 Jun. 35th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, moves from Port Moresby to Woodstock with P-39s.

NEW GEORGIA: US cruisers and destroyers bombard positions at the Japanese naval base at Shortland in the Northern Solomon Islands.
Amplifying the above:
In the Solomon Islands during the night of 29/30 June, four cruisers and four destroyers of the USN's Task Unit 36.2.1 bombards the Vila-Stanmore area on Kolombangara Island and the Buin-Shortland area on Bougainville Island. At the same time, three light minelayers of Task Unit 36.2.2 sow mines off Shortland Harbor on Bougainville and between Alu and Munda Islands. One of the minelayers also mines an area off New Georgia Island.

1944
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 2 B-25s fly a negative shipping sweep.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 16 B-24s continue the fuel lift to Kamaing; 45 B-25s haul ammunition to Imphal, India; 23 other B-25s bomb Tamu; 19 A-36s, P-51s, and P-38s hit Myitkyina and Myitnge bridge; and a B-25 bombs targets in the Mohnyin-Naba area.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In the Tungting Lake area of China, 60+ B-25s and fighter-bombers hit shipping, gun positions, troop concentrations, and general targets of opportunity at several locations, including Lingvang, Liling, Hengyang, Yuhsien, Hengshan, Siangsiang, Chaling, and Yiyang. In Formosa, 3 B-24s bomb Takao docks. In French Indochina, P-40s damage a bridge and attack rail traffic at Phu Lang Thuong.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s carry out bombing and strafing missions over Saipan, Tinian, and Rota Islands. B-24s, staging, through Eniwetok pound Truk Atoll while B-25s based at Makin hit Ponape Island. Lost is B-25G "Coral Princess" 42-64977 over Nauru.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Japanese concentrations at Aitape and a variety of targets of opportunity including barges, villages and bivouacs in the Wewak area are hit by A-20s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers. Lost is A-20G 43-21416. B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack airfields and AA guns at Babo, Manokwari, Waren, and Moemi, barges at Noemfoor, and villages east of Maffin Bay. On New Britain Island, AA positions S of Ralum are bombed.

NEW GUINEA: Australian forces have advanced west from Wewak 70 miles to the Sepik River.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUE NO. 66, Organized resistance at Nafutan Point on Saipan Island ceased on June 27 (West Longitude Date). The entire point has been occupied by our forces. Small gains were made along the western shore into Garapan Town, and in the center of the island. Our advance northward is being made against severe enemy resistance. On the night of June 27 enemy aircraft dropped bombs in the area occupied by our forces. Two of the attacking planes were shot down by antiaircraft batteries.
Carrier aircraft attacked Pagan Island on June 27. Barracks and a water reservoir were hit. Only one plane was seen on the ground, and it appeared unserviceable. Several small craft badly damaged in previous strikes were hit by rocket fire.
Truk Atoll was bombed by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators on June 27, and neutralization raids were made against objectives in the Marshall and Caroline Islands on June 26 and 27.
JUNE 29, 1944 NAVAL AVIATORS HAVE DESTROYED MORE THAN 6,259 JAPANESE AIRPLANES
Naval Aviators have shot 5,521 Japanese warplanes out of the air since Pearl Harbor, while losing 1,260 planes in aerial combat. At least 65 per cent of the U. S. Navy airmen shot down have been rescued. In addition to the 5,521 Jap aircraft destroyed in the air, Naval Aviators have, in 1944 alone, destroyed at least 738 Jap planes on the ground. Only 17 Navy planes were lost in this way during the same period.
This 43 to 1 ratio in ground destruction partially explains the drop in ratio of U. S. air victories In the last three months from 4.7 to 1 to 4.4 to 1, according to Rear Admiral A. W. Radford, USN, Acting Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air). He explained that the accumulation of Naval strength in the Pacific, plus increasing effectiveness of Navy aerial recon-naissance, has made it possible for carrier task forces to surprise the Japanese and destroy their aircraft before they can become airborne to fight.
"As a result," Admiral Radford said, "fewer Jap planes are available for us to shoot down. In addition, the Jap pilot is becoming less and less anxious to close with our pilots. So the air ratio of victories has dropped slightly. This is more than compensated, however, by the 43 to 1 ground ratio. We don't care where they are when we destroy them"
Compilation of statistics in ground destruction of planes for 1942 and 1943 is being completed, but that phase of the aerial war during that period was relatively unimportant.
Combining the available figures not including ground losses of 1942 and 1943, the Navy enjoys a 4.8 to 1 advantage over Japan in the air war, having shot out of the air and destroyed on the ground a total of 6,259 planes, as against 1,277 planes lost. These figures for destruction of Jap planes do not include losses inflicted by antiaircraft fire. They cover the period from Decem-ber 7, 1941, through June 23, 1944. The figures for the period May 1 through June 23, 1944, are not final.
One reason for the increased air losses of Navy planes in 1944 over 1942 and 1943 is the loss of planes in the incessant Bombing raids on Jap holdings, such as the Kuriles, Truk and the Marshalls, where aerial opposition is rarely encountered any more, but where heavy antiaircraft exacts a toll-a very small toll in relation to the frequency and intensity of the bombing raids carried out.
The record of air losses by years follows:
Year Japs Navy Ratio
1942 (including December 1941) 1134 384 3-1
1943 2212 351 6.3-1
1944 2175 525 4-1
Total 5521 1260 4.4-1
1944 (ground) 738 17 43-1
Grand total 6259 1277 4.8-1
All of the Navy's planes have played a part in amassing the victory record. Naturally, it was the fighters-Grumman Hellcat and Wildcat and Vought Corsair-which scored the large majority of the victories, either while escort-ing the torpedo and dive bombers, or while defending American sea and land forces. The bombers-Grumman Avenger, Douglas Dauntless and Curtiss Helldiver, Consolidated Catalinas and Liberators, Lockheed Venturas-drove hone the heavy blows while the fighters fended off the enemy's air forces.
The Wildcat and Avenger are also built by General Motors' Eastern Aircraft Division, the Corsair by Goodyear. The Helldiver is also built by Canadian Car and Fairchild of Canada, the Liberator by Ford and Douglas.
CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 464, Aslito Airfield on Saipan Island today was renamed Isely Field in honor of Commander Robert Henry Isely, USN, Commander of Torpedo Squadron Sixteen, who was shot down June 12 by Japanese antiaircraft fire as he was leading a bombing attack on the field.
The change in name was recommended by Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, Commander, Fast Carrier Task Force, Pacific Fleet, and was made by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas. Aslito Airdrome was first attacked by carrier aircraft of Admiral Mitscher's task force in February of this year.
A Naval aviator since 1937, Commander Isely had taken part in attacks at Tarawa and other Gilbert Islands, at Kwajalein, Palau, Woleai and Truk. He flew aerial cover for General MacArthur's troops when they landed in Hollandia in New Guinea. Admiral Mitscher's recommendation was based on Commander Isely's gallant performance of duty during all of these Pacific actions. '

1945

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm] 183/874

1942
USA: The US Navy now has 5,612 ships and district craft and 843,096 personnel consisting of 640,570 sailors; 143,528 Marines; and 58,998 Coastguardsmen.

CHINA: A Japanese attempt to destroy Communist headquarters in south-eastern Shansi, is defeated.

ALASKA (11th Air Force): A B-17 flies weather reconnaissance over Kiska .

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th Air Force): 11th Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy), based at Kunming, China, sends detachments to operate from Kweilin, Hengyang and Nanning, China with B-25s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s attack Dili and Koepang on Timor and Kendari; B-25s and 22nd BG B-26s hit Lae. 36th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, moves from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Townsville, Australia with P-39s.

1943
SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) The invasion of New Georgia Island begins with amphibious landings by US Army and US Marine Corps forces on Rendova. Subsidiary landings take place at other points in the New Georgia area. USAAF and other allied fighters cover the landings. At 1100 hours, 30+ Zekes attack the beachhead; Allied fighters intercept, claiming 16 shot down. At 1500 hours, a large force of fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo-carrying bombers attack the vessels of the Task Force which is handling the landings. F4U's, F4F's and AA down all the torpedo-carrying bombers as they attack vessels however, a torpedo strikes the flagship, the attack transport USS McCawley (APA-4), amidship severely damaging the vessel (later mistakenly sunk by US PT boats). Early in the evening about 30 more Japanese aircraft return to the assault area. Allied fighters claim 18 of these shot down. B-25's and US Navy dive bombers bomb Munda Airfield. A B-24 strike on Kahili aborts because of bad weather. Lost is B-24D Liberator 42-40254.
Amplifying the above:
In Operation TOENAILS, the USN's Task Force 31, supported by land-based Allied aircraft, lands the 172nd Infantry Regiment of the 43d Infantry Division, on Rendova Island in the Solomon Islands; two companies of the 169th Infantry Regiment are also landed on two small islands bracketing the passage through the coral reef to the future landings on New Georgia Island. The 4th Marine Raider Battalion, which had landed at Segi Point on Vangunu Island off the southeast coast of New Georgia Island on 21 June, marches overland to seize Viru Harbor on the southeast coast of Vangunu.
At 1530 hours local, 49 IJN aircraft attack the retiring USN invasion; the attack force consists of 24 torpedo carrying "Betty's" escorted by 25 "Zero's" One "Betty" launches a torpedo that hits the attack transport USS McCawley, the force flagship, in the engine room, killing 15 of her crew, and knocking out all power. The ship is taken under tow but at 1640 hours, all the crew except the salvage party is taken off. At 1730 hours, 30 IJN fighters attack the invasion force and the McCawley is strafed by not damaged. At 2023 hours, the ship is struck by another torpedo and sinks in 30 seconds. The following day, it was learned that six USN PT boats had torpedoed an "enemy" transport in Blanche Channel, after having been informed there were no friendly forces in the area.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) Allied amphibious forces begin landings, unopposed, at Nassau Bay during the night of 29/30 Jun. Forces push N and S toward the Bitoi River and Tabali Creek, respectively. Troops make contact with enemy forces in the Cape Dinga area S of Nassau Bay. Australians open the assault on Bobdubi Ridge and maintain pressure on the enemy in the Mubo area. B-25's pound Bobdubi Ridge in support of the assault and hit forces at Logui and Salamaua. B-25's also bomb the airfield at Cape Chater on Timor Island. 43rd BG B-24's and B-17's bomb an airfield at Rabaul, lost is B-17F "Pluto" 41-24543. One heavy bomber scores a hit on a cargo vessel off Cape Gloucester. The 57th Troop Carrier Squadron, 375th Troop Carrier Group arrives at Port Moresby from the US with C-47's.
Amplifying the above:
In Operation CHRONICLE, the USN's Task Force 76 lands the 112th Cavalry Regiment and the 158th Infantry Regiment, on Woodlark and Kiriwina Islands in Nassau Bay respectively. At the same time, the 1st Battalion, 162d Infantry Regiment lands in Nassau Bay. Airfield construction soon begins on Woodlark Island.
The landing on 30 June 1943 at Nassau Bay was by a battle group based on US I/162nd Bn. So far as I am aware, there was only one Australian with the landing force (Capt McBride AIF, a liaison officer from General Savige's HQ) and his landing craft did not actually make it until the following night, so the landing was actually an all-US affair.
However, Australians were on-shore to guide the landing craft in. I recall the landing craft were supplied by the 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment, part of the US 2nd Engineer Special Brigade. Many were destroyed in the exceptionally high surf (fortunately with no loss of life). This influenced General Blamey's subsequent decision to discard Nassau Bay as a staging area for Operation Postern (the capture of Lae).
I/162nd Battalion was commanded by Lt-Col Harold Taylor. I believe the battalion earned a Presidential Unit Citation for its subsequent work in the liberation of Salamaua. It is now part of the Oregon National Guard. "Mackechnie Force" initially referred to the balance of 162nd Regiment (II and III battalions plus attached AAA units and arty). Taylor's I battalion was detached as part of 17 Bde AIF (u/c Brigadier Moten) but was later restored to Mackechnie Force. Mackechnie Force was briefly referred to as "Coane Force" when commanded by Brigadier Ralph Coane but reverted to its former name on Col Mackechnie's return on 13 Aug 43.
Simultaneous landings took place on 30 June 1943 on the Trobriand Islands (Kiriwina and Woodlark) by RCTs from US 6th Army, however both islands were already occupied by Australian forces (a radar station, infantry and native forces). Unfortunately, neither the US landing forces nor the incumbent Australians were advised of the other's presence! Fortunately, good luck and common sense on both sides prevented any "blue on blue" incidents.

1944
URMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 47 B-25s continue the Imphal, India ammunition run while 17 B-25s haul gasoline to Kamaing; 18 B-25s bomb Tamu and 6 hit Wainggyo; and 11 P-38s attack Myitnge bridge.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, B-25s and fighter-bombers again pound numerous targets in the Tungting Lake area, concentrating on river shipping, town areas, troop concentrations, and road traffic; towns bombed include Pingkiang, Hengshan, Liling, Yuhsien, Siangyin, and Chuchou; also hit is the airfield at Hengyang and bridges at Leiyang and Liling. 15 P-40s over NE French Indochina damage bridge approaches at Phu Lang Thuong and blast 3 trains; detachment of 26th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, operating from Kweilin with P-40s, returns to base at Kunming.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s on Saipan Island continue to pound enemy forces remaining on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota Islands. Detachment of 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Seventh Air Force (attached to VII Fighter Command), based at Kipapa Airfield, Territory of Hawaii, begins operating from Kwajalein with F-5s.

MARIANA'S: US forces on Saipan advance north of Mount Tipo Pales and Mount Tapotchau. Death Valley and the Purple Heart Ridge are also captured.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Tobera and Erventa Island are also bombed. Barges, troop concentrations, and other targets of opportunity near Nyaparake and Suain are attacked; Kamiri and Namber Airfield, supply areas, and defensive positions on Noemfoor are hit; ground echelon of 17th Reconnaissance Squadron (Bombardment), 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group, begins a movement from Finschhafen to Biak Island (air echelon is operating from Biak with B-25s); and 389th Bombarment Squadron , 312th Bombardment Group, moves from Nadzab to Hollandia with A-20s.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUE NO. 67, Our troops on Saipan Island have made new gains both in the center and on the right flank of our lines, pushing ahead through difficult terrain and intensified enemy resistance. High ground occupied near the town of Charan Danshii places our forces in a commanding position over the area held by the enemy. Strong points in the Tanapag area are being subjected to aircraft bombing and shelling by Naval surface vessels. Air attacks and Naval gunfire continue against
enemy defenses on Tinian Island.
Our casualties in the ground fighting on Saipan Island through June 28 (West Longitude Date) are as follows: Killed in action: Marines, 1,289, Army, 185, total 1,474. Wounded in action: Marines, 6,377, Army 1,023, total 7,400. Missing in action: Marines, 827, Army, 51, total 878. No accurate estimate of enemy casualties is possible. A great many Japanese dead and wounded have been carried back by the retreating enemy troops. However, our troops have buried 4,951 enemy dead.
Rota Island was attacked by carrier aircraft on June 28 (West Longitude Date). Fires were started, and revetments and runways were bombed and strafed. No enemy aircraft attempted to intercept our forces. Army, Navy, and Marine aircraft continued neutralization raids against enemy objectives in the Marshall and Caroline Islands on June 28.

1945

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1940:
USA: US President Roosevelt signs another naval construction bill. This provides for the construction of 45 more ships and provides 550 million dollars (US) for this and for other projects.

1941:
USA: All US men aged 21 or over have to register for the draft today.

JAPAN: Germany and Italy officially recognise the Japanese puppet government of Wang Chingwei.

CHINA: The Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang government, in Chungking, has broken off diplomatic relations with Germany and Italy in retaliation for the decision by the Axis powers to recognise its new rival, the Reformed Kuomintang, the puppet regime set up the Japanese in Nanking under General Chingwei. The Kuomintang leader, General Chiang Kai-shek, has reluctantly ordered the recall of the Kuomintang's ambassador in Berlin and its charge d'Affaires in Rome. The Axis decision to support the Nanking regime is the result of diplomatic pressure from Tokyo, overriding the views of German officials in China who oppose recognition for Nanking. They argue that, following the outbreak of war with the Soviet Union, Germany and China - the latter at war with the Communists in the north - should unite against Communism.

1942
PACIFIC: The USN submarine USS Sturgeon sinks the unmarked 7,267-ton Japanese transport SS Montevideo Maru about 65 miles west of Luzon, Philippine Islands. The transport had sailed from Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, on 22 June 1942 destined for Hainan Island carrying 1,250 Australian civilians and POWs of the 2/22 Battalion. The only survivors of the sinking are 18 Japanese seaman.

ALASKA (11th AF): The XI Bomber Command (Provisional) comprising the 28th Composite Group and its assigned squadrons is activated, Colonel William O Eareckson in command. A B-17 flies weather reconnaissance over Kiska, Aleutian and lands early due to weather.

WESTERN US DEFENSE (4th AF): 4th, 7th, 18th and 391st Bombardment Squadrons, 34th BG (Heavy), move from Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona to Geiger Field, Washington and continue flying ASW patrols with B-24s.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) (10th AF): In China, 4 B-25s from Hengyang, escorted by P-40s, bomb docks at Hankow; bad weather handicaps the bombardiers, and the effects of the raid are inconsequential.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th AF): B-26's bomb Salamaua. Other medium and heavy bomber strikes abort due to bad weather.

1943
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) During the month of July: The 21st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 30th Bombardment Group based on Umnak Island ceases operating from Amchitka Island, and The detachment of the 344th Fighter Squadron, 343d Fighter Group that has been operating from Amchitka with P-40's since May 43 returns to it's base on Shemya, and The 632d and 633d Bombardment Squadrons (Dive), 407th Bombardment Group (Dive) based at Drew Field, Tampa, Florida begin operating from Amchitka Island with A-36's.

ANTISUBMARINE WARFARE (AAF ANTISUBMARINE COMMAND) The 27th, 30th and 392d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 30th Bombardment Group based at March Field, California with B-24's, ceases flying ASW missions. The squadrons have been flying these missions since Jan 42.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) The 2d Troop Carrier Squadron, Assam Air Base Command, transfers with C-47's from Yangkai, China to Dinjan, India.During the month of July, the detachment of the 9th Photographic Squadron, Tenth Air Force operating from Dinjan, India with F-4's and F-5's returns to its base at Pandaveswar, India.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) During the month of July, the 69th Bombardment Squadron, 42d BG (Medium) transfers with B-25's from Guadalcanal to New Caledonia; the squadron continues to operate from Guadalcanal until Oct 43.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, A-20's bomb and strafe forces in the Duali area as nearby Allied troops consolidate positions along the Sarm of the Bitoi River; other A-20's strafe the Lae area; and B-25's hit Kela Point and Logui. B-17's and B-24's bomb airfields at Rabaul on New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago. The 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group transfers with P-38's from Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia to Amberley Field, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The squadron has yet to enter combat.
US forces advancing from Segi Point, New Guinea capture Viru.

NEW GEORGIA: In the morning, the IJN dispatches 40+ aircraft to attack Allied shipping off New Georgia Island in the Solomon Islands. USN F4F Wildcat pilots shoot down four of 12 "Val" dive bombers and one of 18 "Zero" fighters off Rendova between 1015 and 1100 hours local. At the same time, USAAF P-40 pilots shoot down nine "Vals" and seven "Zekes" between Munda and Rendova Islands between 1020 and 1140 hours.

NEI: The USN submarine USS Gar (SS-206) lands commandoes on Timor Island in the Netherlands East Indies.

1944
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): At dawn in the Kurile Islands, 4 B-24s radar bomb southern Shimushu Island and Kurabu Cape Airfield, Paramushiru Island through overcast.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 8 P-40s fly ground support missions in the Myitkyina area; 2 B-25s bomb rail targets at Mohnyin and Naba. In India, the 12th Combat Cargo Squadron, 3d Combat Cargo Group, moves from Sylhet to Fenny with C-47s.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, B-25s and fighter-bombers again pound targets throughout the Tungting Lake region; river shipping is attacked on a large scale at numerous locations and 250-300 trucks are strafed between Tungcheng and Pingkiang; Hengyang Airfield is bombed as are the towns of Pingkiang, Hengshan, Liling, and Yuhsien; a pontoon bridge and Japanese positions at Leiyang are also hit; B-24s lay mines in the river at Canton during the night; the detachment of the 24th Combat Mapping Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, operating from Hsinching with F-7s, returns to base at Guskhara; and the detachment of the 71st Liaison Squadron, AAF, India-Burma Sector, operating from Kunming, China with L-4s and L-5s, returns to base at Ledo, India. During Jul, the detachment of the 16th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, operating from Yunnani with P-40s returns to base at Chengkung; and the 76th Fighter Squadron, 23d Fighter Group, moves from Lingling to Liuchow with P-40s.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Twentieth Air Force): HQ 444th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and 676th, 677th, 678th and 679th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy) move from Charra to Dudhkundi, India with B-29s.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, light and medium bombers hit fuel dumps, rail bridges, viaducts, and docks in NC Italy; fighter- bombers concentrate on road and rail bridges behind the battle area, destroy several fighters in combat over Reggio Emilia Airfield, and hit guns S of Carsoli; and a detachment of the 12th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 3d Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), begins operating from Follonica with F-5s. During Jul, the detachments of the 414th Night Fighter Squadron, 63d Fighter Wing, operating from Ghisonaccia and Borgo, Corsica with Beaufighters, return to base at Alghero, Sardinia.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): In the Marianas Islands, P-47s fly bombing and strafing missions over Saipan, Tinian, and Rota Islands. B-24s, staging through Eniwetok hit Truk Atoll during the night of 1/2 Jul and follow up with another raid during the day. Makin based B-25s bomb Ponape Island, Caroline Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb the airfield at Namlea and hit shipping throughout the Amboina-Ceram-Boeroe, Moluccas Islands area; other B-24s, B-25s, A-20s and fighter-bombers hit airfield, AA guns, bivouacs, supplies, and Japanese defenses on Noemfoor in preparation for Allied landings on 2 Jul; the airfield at Manokwari is also bombed; bombers and fighters continue to pound the Wewak coastal area; many of the strikes are in conjunction with US Navy (USN) motor torpedo (PT) boats; and the 35th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, moves from Nadzab to Owi with P-38s. A few B-24s on armed reconnaissance bomb targets on Yap and Peleliu; Lost on a courier mission is B-25D 41-30182. During Jul 44, HQ V Fighter Command moves from Nadzab to Owi, Schouten Islands; and the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group, moves from Finschhafen to Hollandia with C-47s.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 68, JULY 1, 1944
Our troops are consolidating their positions on Saipan Island and have wiped out several pockets of resistance by‑passed in previous advances. Small
gains were made during June 29 (West Longitude Date) in the central sector of our lines. During the night of June 29‑30 several enemy planes dropped bombs in the area occupied by our forces. One enemy plane was shot down. Aircraft bombing and Naval shelling intended to neutralize enemy gun posi*tions on Tinian Island continues.
Buildings and runways on Rota Island were bombed by carrier aircraft on June 29. No enemy aircraft attempted to intercept our force.
Paramushiru and Shimushu in the Kurile Islands were bombed before dawn on June 29 by Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four. No at*tempt was made to intercept our force and antiaircraft fire was meager. All of our aircraft returned.

1945
USA: In the U.S., New York State establishes the New York State Commission Against Discrimination to prevent discrimination in employment because of race, creed or natural origin; it was the first such agency in the United States.

JAPAN: For the first time since the Doolittle Raid in April 1942, B-25s attack the Japanese home islands; 33 B-25s, operating in two flights from Okinawa, and escorted by USMC F4U Corsairs, bomb Chiran Airfield on Kyushu Island: two others hit Yaku-shima Island in the Osumi Islands.
HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): During the night of 1/2 Jul, 1 mining and 4 incendiary missions are flown:
Mission 240: 152 B-29s attack the Kure urban area destroying 1.3 square miles, 40% of the city; 2 other B-29s hit alternate targets.
Mission 241: 154 B-29s hit the Kumamato urban area destroying 1.0 square mile, 20% of the city; 1 other B-29 hits an alternate target; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 242: 100 B-29s bomb the Ube urban area destroying 0.42 square miles, 23% of the city. Mission 243: 126 B-29s attack the Shimonoseki urban area destroying 0.51 square miles, 36% of the city; 5 other B-29s hit alternate targets; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 244: 24 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and the waters at Nanao and Fushiki.
148 Iwo Jima based P-51s are dispatched to hit airfields in the Nagoya area (Kasumigaura, Itami, Hamamatsu, and Nagano); they claim 2-0-0 aircraft in the air and 3-7 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
KOREA: USN PB4Y-2 Privateers based on Okinawa conclude their mining operations off the Korean Archipelago.

PACIFIC: The USN's Task Force 38 sorties from Leyte, Philippine Islands, for the attacks on the Japanese home islands. The eight aircraft carriers and six light aircraft carriers of TF 38 are:
Task Group 38.1
USS Belleau Wood with Light Carrier Air Group Thirty One (CVLG-31)
USS Bennington with Carrier Air Group One (CVG-1)
USS Hancock with CVG-6
USS Lexington with CVG-94
USS San Jacinto with CVLG-49
Task Group 38.3
USS Bataan with CVLG-47)
USS Essex with CVG-83
USS Monterey with CVLG-34
USS Randolph with CVG-16
Task Group 38.4
USS Bon Homme Richard Night Carrier Air Group Ninety One. CAG was Cdr. HM Avery, VF(N)-91 commanded by Lt Cdr A Minvielle. and VT(N)-91 under Lt Cdr RH Smith. USS Cowpens with CVLG-50
USS Independence with CVLG-27
USS Shangri-La with CVG-85
USS Yorktown with CVG-88


NEI: The reinforced 7th Australian Division, General Milford, land at Balikpapan, Borneo. Naval support is from the TF commanded by Admiral Barbey.
Amplifying the above:
USN Task Group 78.2 lands the 7 Australian Division (Reinforced) (less one brigade) at Balikpapaen, Borneo. The landing is proceeded by a 40-minute preinvasion strike by 83 USAAF B-24s and naval gunfire. A B-25 Mitchell lays a last minute smoke screen to conceal the landing craft. Once the troops are ashore, air support is provided by USAAF B-25s and P-38s and carrier-based aircraft of Task Group 78.4 consisting of the escort aircraft carriers USS Block Island with Marine Carrier Air Group One, USS Gilbert Islands with MCVG-2 and USS Suwanee with Escort Carrier Air Group Forty. This is the last major amphibious operation of World War II.
In Borneo, B-24s pound defenses at Balikpapan as Australian forces make amphibious landings; and B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s hit airfields at Oelin, Tabanio, and Trombol, and bomb the Tawau area. B-24s hit Limboeng Airfield and Mandai Airfield.

PHILLIPINES: Fighter-bombers hit troops and gun positions in the Kayan-Tadian area on Luzon, Philippine Islands.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): 2 B-24s from Guam Island, Mariana Islands, bomb the building concentration on Marcus Island in the N Pacific. 33 B-25s, operating in two flights from Okinawa bomb Chiran Airfield. 2 others hit Yaku-shima Island in the Osumi Islands. During Jul, HQ VII Bomber Command moves from Saipan Island, Mariana Island to Okinawa. The 9th Troop Carrier Squadron, Seventh AF, moves from Saipan Island to Guam Island with C-47s.

Fourteenth Air Force: In China, a few B-25s bomb a bridge and ferry terminal at Chungmow and near Kaifeng and 4 escorting P-47s strafe Kaifeng Airfield and locomotives in the area; 4 other P-47s bomb the railroad yards at Yuhsiang and 4 P-51s knock out a bridge E of Kiehsiu; on this date Chinese forces capture Liuchow.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1940:
The U.S. Congress passed the Export Control Act allowing the President to prohibit or curtail the exportation of military equipment, munitions, tools, and materials when he feels that it is "necessary in the interest of national defense."

1941:
JAPAN: An Imperial Conference is held in Japan. These are repeats of Liason Conferences. Liason Conferences are held between military and political leaders. Imperial Conferences repeat the information for the Emperor and obtain his approval. This Conference ratifies the decision to attempt to take bases in French Indochina, even at the risk of war. (Additional Imperial Conferences will appear on other dates.)
Japan is preparing for war against Britain and the US over Indochina by conscripting one million men and recalling all its merchant ships from the Atlantic. While 400,000 conscripts will reinforce the Kuomintang army in China, the rest will be committed to south-east Asia. The decision to open up the southern front - known as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere - has been spurred by the speed of the German successes in Europe.

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): In the Aleutian , 7 B-24s and 1 B-17 fly photo and bombing missions to Attu , which appears deserted, and to Kiska and Agattu; near misses are scored on a transport and a destroyer at Agattu.

WESTERN DEFENSE COMMAND (4th AF): 48th Bombardment Squadron, 41st BG (Medium), moves from Minter Field to NAS Alameda, California and continues flying ASW patrols with A-29s and B-18s.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) (10th AF): B-25s and P-40s hit the Hankow dock area for the second consecutive day. This raid, more successful than the first, causes considerable damage. The Japanese retaliate during the night by attacking Hengyang but fail to hit the airfield.

US: The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff define three stages for the occupation of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. The first phase is the occupation of the eastern Solomon and Santa Cruz Islands; second, an advance through the rest of the Solomons and along the northeastern coast of New Guinea; and finally, the liberation of New Britain and New Ireland Islands and further advances in northeastern New Guinea. The first offensive will be the occupation of eastern Solomons with the code name Operation WATCHTOWER assigned to the invasion of Tulagi Island scheduled for 1 August 1942.

1943
NEW GEORGIA: The Japanese forces on Rendova Island in the Solomon Islands hold on in the face of the US buildup on the island. A IJN naval force bombarded US positions during the night.
(Thirteenth Air Force) B-25's and US Navy F4U's bomb and strafe a small vessel in the anchorage at Bairoko, sinking the Kashi Maru.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE
Over Rendova Island, an estimated 18 IJN "Betty" bombers escorted by estimated 20 IJN "Zeke" fighters attack at 1330 hours local. It is an opportune time because Allied fighter cover had been withdrawn due to impending adverse weather. The bombing kills 59 men on the ground.
During the night of 2/3 July, the IJN cruiser HIJMS Yubari and nine destroyers bombard the beachhead. The IJN ships are engaged by three USN motor torpedo boats but the PTs do not score any hits.

ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) 3 bombers and 4 P-38's fly 4 reconnaissance missions over Kiska and Segula Islands. 17 B-24's and 16 B-25's then attack Kiska Island in 5 missions, 2 of them radar-guided. Fires are started at several of the targets, which include Gertrude Cove, the harbor, and buildings in the Main Camp area. Intense AA fire damages 3 aircraft. 2 B-25's on a submarine attack hit the Kiska seaplane ramp after making no contact with the target. 2 P-40's cover troops which make an unopposed landing on Rat Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, B-25's pound defenses in the Kela Point area and a trail near Logui while a lone B-24 bombs the Salamaua area. The Allied invasion force (the MacKechnie Force) holds firm a beachhead on Nassau Bay, and makes contact with Australian forces to the N. B-17's and B-24's again attack airfields at Rabaul.
In New Guinea, ten Japanese bombers make unopposed bombing and strafing runs against the Allied invasion beaches on Nassau Bay.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 7 P-40s continue support of ground forces in the Myitkyina area; and 2 B-25s hit railroad tracks at Pinwe and Katha.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 11 B-25s and 42 fighter-bombers again attack river shipping, compounds, and troop concentrations in the Tungting Lake region; also the town of Hengshan is bombed; and B-25s and P-51s pound the airfield and town area at Lupao.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s on Saipan bomb and strafe forces on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota Islands.

MARIANA ISLANDS: USMC troops capture Orote Airfield on Guam, Mariana Islands. Japanese resistance on Tinian is increasing now that the US Marines have occupied most of the northern half of the island.

NEI, BIAK: A Japanese pocket around Ibdi, on Biak, is eliminated by US forces.

ALEUTIONS: In the Kurile Islands, 3 US Eleventh Air Force B-24s from the Aleutian Islands fly bombing and reconnaissance runs over Shimushu Island and Paramushiru Island sites including Kurabu Cape installations.

B29 MISSIONS: In China, 70+ US XX Bomber Command B-29 Superfortresses operating from Chengtu bomb the Showa Steel Works at Anshan and harbor at Taku; the first B-29 to be shot down on a combat mission falls to 5 fighters near Chenghsien (which the B-29 bombs after engine trouble causes an abort from the primary mission); another B-29 bombs Chinwangtao before making a forced landing at a friendly field near Ankang.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s, and fighter-bombers, along with naval guns, bombard the Kamiri area, after which Allied amphibious forces land with little opposition and secure the beachhead; other B-25s attack barges near Manokwari; and HQ 308th Bombardment Wing and HQ 43d BG (Heavy) move from Oro Bay and Nadzab respectively to Owi.

PACIFIC: The US heavy cruiser USS Baltimore with President Franklin D Roosevelt aboard, departs Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, for Adak, Aleutian Islands.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 69, JULY 2, 1944
Marine and Army troops on Saipan Island have made small gains in the central sector, and on the right side of our lines advance patrols have forged ahead distances up to a mile. To June 30 (West Longitude Date) eighty enemy tanks have been destroyed or captured. Our troops have buried 6015 enemy dead and have taken more than 200 prisoners of war.
Seventy tons of bombs were dropped on Truk Atoll by Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force on June 29. Several airborne enemy fighters made ineffective attempts to intercept our force. Meager antiaircraft fire was en*countered. On the same day Army, Navy, and Marine aircraft bombed Ponape and Nauru Islands and remaining enemy objectives in the Marshall Islands.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 70, JULY 2, 1944
The Second and Fourth Marine Divisions and the Twenty‑seventh Infantry Division have made gains ranging from 500 yards to a mile along their entire front on Saipan Island. The advance was made during July 1 (West Longi*tude Date) with the close support of aircraft, artillery, and Naval gunfire. On the right flank our troops are within 5 1/2 miles of the northern tip of the island. On the left flank our forces have penetrated further into Garapan, and have seized the heights overlooking the town and Tanapag Harbor. In the center we have occupied the mountain village of Charan Tabute. Large quantities of enemy equipment, including food and ammunition, have fallen into our hands.
Before dawn on July 1 several enemy aircraft attempted to attack our transports and screening vessels. These attacks did no damage. Two enemy aircraft were shot down.
Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force attacked Truk Atoll on the night of June 30‑July 1. Moderate antiaircraft fire was encountered. Several enemy fighters made an ineffective attempt to attack our force. Army, Navy and Marine aircraft continued attacks against enemy positions in the Marshall islands on June 30. A Dauntless dive bomber of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing was forced to land in the water near Maloelap Atoll, and the pilot VMS rescued by a Catalina search plane of Group One, Fleet Air Wing Two.

CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 465, JULY 2, 1944
The principal components of the expeditionary troops now fighting on Saipan consist of the Second Marine Division, the Fourth Marine Division and the Twenty‑seventh Infantry Division, U.S.A.

1945
NEI: In Borneo, B-24s bomb defenses in the Balikpapan area, P-38s support Australian forces as they complete the capture of Balikpapan and its oil installations and B-25s hit the Bintula personnel area.

PHILLIPINES: On Luzon Island, fighter-bombers hit resistance pockets near Kiangan and supply areas in the Cervantes sector.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): 3 B-24s from Guam Island attack a radar installation on Marcus Island. Unit moves to Okinawa: HQ 11th BG and 26th, 98th and 431st Bombardment Squadrons from Guam with B-24s; HQ 319th BG and 437th, 439th and 440th Bombardment Squadrons to Kadena from the US with A-26s.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 245: During the night of 2/3 Jul, 39 B-29s bomb an oil refinery at Minoshima; 1 other hits alternate targets.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: In China, 28 P-51s hit rail, river, and road traffic, bridge, and buildings around Hengyang, Hankow, and Yoyang, attack a bivouac area and HQ E of Changsha, and bomb a troop concentration and buildings at Yangan. The fighter-bombers pound HQ, buildings, a fortified compound, barracks, general targets of opportunity around Tartin, and a troop concentration near Sichuan.

FORMOSA: B-24s pound Toyohara Airfield on Formosa.

UK: London: Admiral Mountbatten is ordered to launch Operation Zipper, the liberation of Malaya in August.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): In the Aleutian , 7 B-24s and 2 B-17s bomb Kiska and Near , encountering neither fighter opposition nor AA; results are not observed.

WESTERN DEFENSE COMMAND: 46th Bombardment Squadron, 41st BG (Medium), moves from NAS Alameda to Hammer Field, California with A-29s and B-18s and continues flying ASW patrols.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) (10th AF): In China, 10th AF aircraft bomb and strafe the airfield at Nanchang, the probable base of the preceding night's raiders on Hengyang; several parked aircraft are destroyed; during the night Japanese aircraft again strike at Hengyang and once more fail to hit the airfield.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th AF): B-17s attack the barracks area at Koepang, Timor and airfield at Lae. 1 A-24 bombs Tulagi.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: The RN submarine HMS Truant sinks a Japanese army cargo ship off the coast of Sumatra west of Kuala Lumpur.

1943
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) 6 B-24's bomb Main Camp on Kiska Island and take photos of Segula Island.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) B-25's hit the oft-bombed bridge at Myitnge, Burma, knocking the S end span into the river.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) B-25's bomb the airfield and AA positions at Munda.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) B-24's bomb airfields in the Rabaul, New Britain Island area and hit Kendari Airfield on Celebes Island. Koepang on Timor Island is attacked by 2 B-25's. A lone B-17 bombs landing strip at Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island.

1944
NG: A US parachute battalion is dropped on the Kamiriz airfield, in New Guinea, to occupy the area.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
On Noemfoor Island, Schouten Islands, the USA's 739-man 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment drops from C-47 Skytrains on Kamiri Airdrome under cover of a smoke screen laid by A-20 Havocs. High winds carry the paratroopers to bone-cracking landings in supply dumps, vehicle parks, and amidst wrecked Japanese aircraft. No paratroopers are killed but 128 are injured, including 59 serious fracture cases. The 503d also gets the job of mopping up Noemfoor.
Fifth Air Force P-38 Lightnings and B-25 Mitchells hit personnel and supply areas south of Kamiri Airdrome and support invading ground forces as they push east along the north coast of Noemfoor.

PTO: Carrier-based aircraft from the USN's Task Groups 58.1 and 58.2 attack Japanese airfields and shipping at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, and Chichi Jima and Haha Jima in the Bonin Islands. These two task groups are composed of four aircraft carriers and four light aircraft carriers.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 20+ fighter-bombers support ground forces in the Myitkyina area, which also is covered by 10-plane combat patrol.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 4 B-24s bomb Yoyang railroad yards in the Tungting Lake area; B-25s and P-40s pound river shipping, bridges, gun sites, compounds, and villages at several locations, including Leiyang, Ssutang, Yungfengshih, and Tsungyang; B-25s drop ammunition to Chinese ground forces at Hengyang. In French Indochina, P-40s damage a bridge at Phu Lang Thuong and hit nearby targets of opportunity.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s continue to hit troops remaining on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota Islands. B-24s, staging through Eniwetok Atoll, bomb Truk Atoll.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: P-38s and B-25s hit personnel and supply areas S of Kamiri and support invading ground forces as they push E along the N coast of Noemfoor. Efman, Manokwari, and Biak Island are attacked by B-24s, A-20s, and fighters; the Wewak coastal area continues under sustained air attack as Allied aircraft pound targets including forces at Brandi Plantation and supplies and a bridge near But; Larat is also bombed; and the 70th Troop Carrier Squadron, 433d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Nadzab to Hollandia with C-47s. B-24s hit airstrips, AA positions, and targets of opportunity in the Yap, at Woleai and at Peleliu; Saumlakki, Tanimbar Island, Moluccas Islands is also bombed. Lost is P-39Q 42-19999.


1945
PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, fighter-bombers hit resistance areas in the Mankayan and Kiangan sectors.

NEI: Sepinggan airfield on Borneo falls to the 7th Australian Division. On Celebes Island, B-24s bomb runways at Mandai Airifled and Limboeng airfields. In Borneo, B-24s pound Batu Kawa airstrip SE of Kuching and defensive positions near Balikpapan in support of the Australian drive inland.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): 2 B-24s from Guam Island attack water storage buildings
on Marcus. 36 B-25s from Okinawa, attacking in two flights, hit Chiran Airfield. The 438th Bombardment Squadron, 319th BG, arrives at Kadena, Okinawa from the US with A-26s.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 509 B-29s participate in 1 mining and 4 incendiary missions during the night of 3/4 Jul; 3 B-29s are lost:
Mission 246: 26 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and waters at Funakawa and Maizuru during the predawn hours of the 4th; 2 other B-29s mine alternate targets.
Mission 247: 116 B-29s attack the Takamatsu urban area destroying 1.4 sq mi, 78% of the city; 3 other hit alternate targets; 2 B-29s are lost.
Mission 248: 125 B-29s hit the Kochi urban area destroying 0.92 sq mi, 48% of the city; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 249: 106 B-29s attack Himeji urban area destroying 1.216 sq mi, 63.3% of the city.
Mission 250: 129 B-29s hit the Tokushima urban area destroying 1.7 sq mi, 74% of the city; 2 B-29s attack alternate targets.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: 3 B-25s knock out a bridge near Suicheng while 2 P-47 escorts hit nearby AA positions; 70+ P-51s and P-47s continue to disrupt the Japanese withdrawal, attacking transport, supply, and communications targets, troops, bridges and Japanese-held points; the targets are near Hengyang, Paoching, Kueiyangshih, Changsha, Kweilin, Lingling, Kukong, Hankow, Siangtan, Isuho, Chiuchiang, Fahsien, Tanchuk, Lohochai, and the Luichow Peninsula. The fighter bombers also hit shipping, a cement plant, an airfield, and barracks area near Haiphong, French Indochina.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): The air echelon of the XX Bomber Command, including Brigadier General Joseph Smith, Commanding General, sets sails from India for Okinawa; the rest of the command sails in 2 lots, on 12 Jul and 4 Aug, leaving only a few small detachments in the India-Burma area. [The 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) earlier sailed to the Marianas on 27 Feb].

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Fifth AF fighters fly their first mission over Japan, P-51s destroying floatplanes in the Fukuoka harbor area on Kyushu. The 868th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), Thirteenth AF, moves from Morotai Island to Leyte Island with B-24s (the squadron specializes in low-level night attacks and pathfinder missions).

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) (10th AF): CHINA AIR TASK FORCE (CATF): CATF is activated under command of Brigadier General Clare L Chennault. This new command is the successor to Chennault's American Volunteer Group (AVG) which had attained 300 confirmed victories over Japanese aircraft at a cost of less than 50 aircraft and only 9 pilots. Only 5 pilots and a few ground personnel of the AVG choose to join the USAAF, although 20 other pilots agree to stay until replacements arrive in Kunming, China. Combat elements of CATF are:
1. HQ 23d Fighter Group at Kunming with Colonel Robert L Scott, Jr in command and 74th and 76th Fighter Squadrons at Kunming with P-40s and 75th Fighter Squadron at Hengyang with P-40s; all units were activated today.
2. 16th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group attached to 23d Fighter Group, at Kunming with P-40s.
3. 11th Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy), at Kunming and a detachment at Kweilin, Hengyang and Nanning with B-25s; Colonel Caleb V Haynes is in command.

In air action in China, 5 B-25s, with fighter escort, heavily damage buildings, runways and parked aircraft at Tien Ho Airfield. P-40s over Kweilin intercept a formation of fighter-bombers, claiming 13 destroyed; the Japanese fail to bomb the target.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th AF): B-17s, B-26s and B-25s bomb airfields at Lae and Salamaua. 19th Bombardment Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), moves from Townsville to Woodstock, Australia with B-26s. Lost during an interception over Port Moresby is P-400 AP 378.

1943
NEW GEORGIA : The US force advancing from Zanana toward Munda on New Georgia meet heavy Japanese resistance.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) B-24's attack the Shweli, Burma road bridge but fail to cause appreciable damage.

NEW GEORGIA: (Thirteenth Air Force) B-17's pound Bairoko
(JAAF) 16 Ki-21 Sallys of the 14th Sentai (misidentified as Bettys), escorted by Oscars and Zeros, attack the newly landed American forces on the beachheads of Munda and Rendova, they are met by heavy anti-aircraft fire and fighters, losing five bombers, and shooting down three American fighters.

1944
PTO: Two task groups of US TF 58 strike Iwo Jima and Chichi Jimi. The other task groups strike Guam.
Amplifying the above:
Carrier-based aircraft from the USN's Task Groups 58.1 and 58.2 attack Japanese airfields and shipping at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, and Chichi Jima and Haha Jima in the Bonin Islands. These two task groups are composed of four aircraft carriers and four light aircraft carriers.

NG: Kornasoren airfield is captured on Numfoor, New Guinea. Paratroops are used and lose heavily due to inexperience.

MARIANA'S: TG 58.3 returns from Eniwetok Atoll and commences air attacks over Guam while USAAF P-47s attack IJA troops on Aguijan, Rota, Saipan and Tinian Islands. TG 58.3 consists of two aircraft carriers and two light aircraft carriers. With the return of TG 58.3, TG 58.4 retires to Eniwetok.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 30+ P-40s continue support of ground forces near Myitkyina; 20+ P-47s and P-51s fly an offensive sweep over the Lashio area, patrol the Mogaung area, and bomb targets of opportunity at Taungni, Nampadaung, and Mogaung; 4 B-25s hit bridges and railroad tracks in the Hopin and Naba areas.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 38 B-25s and 74 fighter-bombers pound targets throughout the Tungting Lake-Yangtze River region and in the Yellow River and Canton areas; river shipping is hit hard, particularly along the Siang-Chiang River; troop concentrations, road traffic, and general targets of opportunity are hit at many locations; towns bombed include Shasi, Lukou, Yungfengshih, Liling, Siangtan,and Yuhsien; Hengyang Airfield is bombed and supplies are dropped to Chinese troops in the area; airfields and warehouses in the Canton area are bombed and targets of opportunity at Linfen, Wenhsi, and Puchou in the Yellow River region are strafed.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s on Saipan Island continue fighter-bomber operations against forces on Saipan, Tinian, Aguijan and Rota Islands in the Marianas Islands. B-24s, staging through Eniwetok Atoll, pound Truk Atoll.
USN - Carrier Raid against Iwo Jima and bombardment. Japanese A6M5 Zeros of the 301st Kokutai intercept. Several American aircraft are lost, including F6F piloted by Ensign Alberto C. Nisi, Lt(jg) J.N. Dougherton (MIA), Ens F. Hancock Jr. (MIA), Lt(jg) M.L. Loomis (MIA) and Lt(jg) Wilson (rescued). SBC2 piloted by Hintz is lost over Chi Chi Jima.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: A-20s continue support of Allied ground forces pushing E and SE from the Kamiri Airfield area and taking Kamiri village and Kornasoren Airfield; P-47s strafe targets of opportunity at nearby Biak Island while B-24s bomb airfield at Efman; other aircraft bomb and strafe troops E of Maffin Bay; personnel areas at But and Dagua and barges at Wewak Point are also attacked; and the 388th Bombardment Squadron, 312th Bombardment Group, moves from Nadzab to Hollandia with A-20s. B-24s hit shipping and airfields in the Amboina, Ambon-Ceram Island area. B-24s bomb Yap and hit airstrips in Woleai and Sorol Atolls and Peleliu Airfield.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 71, JULY 4, 1944
Garapan and Tanapag Towns on Saipan Island have been captured by our forces in a general advance along the entire front. Our line now extends inland from Tanapag on the west coast of the island, skirts the mountain village of Atchugau in the center, and is anchored on the east coast at a point within four miles of Inagsa Point at the northeast tip of Saipan. During the night of July 2‑3 (West Longitude Date) a small force of Japanese attacked our lines from the rear. Twenty‑five enemy troops were killed. We suffered no losses. Our troops have buried 7,312 enemy dead.
Carrier aircraft of a fast carrier task group attacked Iwo Jima Island on July‑2 (West Longitude Date). Thirty‑nine enemy fighters which attempted to intercept our force were shot down, and 16 were probably shot down. In*complete reports indicate 24 enemy aircraft were destroyed or damaged on the ground. Two small vessels were strafed, and bomb hits were obtained on a fuel dump.
Rota Island was bombed by carrier aircraft and shelled by light Naval surface units on July 2. Runways and revetments were hit. A huge explosion was caused by a hit apparently in an ammunition dump.
Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force bombed Truk Atoll during day*light on July 1 and at night on July 2. In the attack on July 1 seven enemy fighters intercepted our force. Four enemy aircraft and two Liberators were damaged. All our planes returned. No effective opposition was encountered on July 2. Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing attacked enemy positions in the Marshall Islands on July 1 and 2.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 72, JULY 4, 1944
Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands and Haha Jima in the Bonin Islands were heavily attacked by carrier aircraft of a fast carrier task group on July 3 (West Longitude Date). Iwo Jima, in addition to being severely bombed and strafed, was shelled by cruisers and destroyers. Rocket fire from carrier aircraft was extensively employed at both objectives
Preliminary reports indicate the following damage to the enemy
Three destroyers sunk or beached.
One large cargo ship sunk.
One medium oiler sunk.
One destroyer, dead in the water and burning.
Several small cargo ships damaged.
Harbor installations and warehouses at Haha Jima were set afire by bombs, rockets, and machine gun fire.
Twenty‑five enemy planes were shot down by our aircraft, and an undetermined number damaged on‑‑the ground. We lost six planes.
There was no damage to any of our surface craft.

1945
NEI: On Borneo, B-24s again pound defenses near Balikpapan and B-25s bomb Sibuti. On Celebes Island, B-24s pound the Donggala seaplane base and runways at Boeloedowang and Limboeng Airfields.

PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, fighter-bombers support ground forces in the Cagayan Valley and others attack Batan Island.

JAPAN: [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: P-51s fly a massive sweep along the W coast of Kyushu Island, Japan.
General Spaatz will command the US Strategic Air Force against Japan. General Carl A. Spaatz is selected to command the US Army Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (USASTAF) when it is activated in mid-July.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (Eleventh Air Force): To celebrate the 4th of July, 8 B-24s radar-bomb the Kataoka naval base on Shimushu with napalm.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): 3 B-24s from Guam Island attack AA installations on the SW corner of Marcus.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 159 Iwo Jima based P-51s attack the Yokosuka naval base, and airfields in the Tokyo area (Imba, Tsukuba, and Kasumigaura); they claim 9-25 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) A group of officers arrives at Chungking Airfield to organize HQ, AAF China Theater.

Fourteenth Air Force: 30 P-51s and P-38s over French Indochina and S and E China attack docks and shipping at Haiphong, Red River shipping between Hanoi and Hung Yen, French Indochina, small craft between Mon Cay, French Indochina and Pakhoi, China, between Hongay and Pai-lung Wei Cape, and between Pai-lung Wei Cape and Umpo, China; the fighter-bombers also hit road traffic on the Luichow Peninsula and sampans E of Tanchuk, China.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1940:
US President Roosevelt bans the export of minerals, chemicals and aircraft parts to Japan.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invokes the Export Control Act passed by Congress two day ago, by prohibiting exportation of strategic minerals and chemicals, aircraft engines, parts and equipment to Japan without an export license issued by the U.S. government.

US President Roosevelt today warned the American people to entertain no thoughts of compromise with what he called "the new corporate governments" of the world - Germany, Italy and the USSR. Speaking at a press conference, the President said that the many Americans who were evidently impressed with the efficiency of the "corporate" or totalitarian states should not be deluded into compromising with them. They were indeed more efficient than the democracies, but only because they swept aside the democratic system of checks and balances in the legislature, executive and judiciary: "The new governments generally destroy the legislative and judicial branches and delegate all powers to an executive or a dictator, thus striking at the heart of fundamental liberties by which men should and must live." He outlined "Five Freedoms" as conditions for a permanent peace:
1. Freedom from fear.
2. Freedom of information.
3. Freedom of religion.
4. Freedom of expression.
5. Freedom from want.
Mr Roosevelt said that it was an important issue whether the USA should encourage, by lack of opposition, countries which removed these "freedoms".

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): A B-17 flies a weather mission.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th AF): B-17s and 22nd BG B-26's attack Lae and Salamaua. HQ 22d BG (Medium) moves from Townsville to Woodstock, Australia.

1943
SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) 9 B-24's over Buin fail to find shipping and bomb Munda and Ballale instead.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, B-25's bomb and strafe the airfield at Salamaua, Komiatum Track, and HQ areas at Kela and Salamaua.

RAAF: Shot down by US Navy anti-aircraft fire over Nassau Bay is Boomerang A46-88.

USN - Battle of Kula Gulf (night of July 5-6). Sunk is USS Helena CL-50.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma 20+ P-40s and A-36s continue support in the Myitkyina sector while 12 other aircraft fly armed reconnaissance in the same area; 20+ other P-40s, P-51s, and A-36s hit targets of opportunity in the areas around Hopin, Namma, and Naungtalaw; the town area of Naungtalaw also is pounded by 11 B-25s.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 136 fighter-bombers and 64 B-25s attack targets throughout the Tungting Lake area; targets include river shipping, warehouses, troops, artillery, trucks, and other targets of opportunity at Liling, Lukou, Pingkiang, Yungfengshih, Siangyin, and Chuting; Hengyang Airfield is bombed, and supplies are dropped to Chinese forces in the vicinity; in the Salween area 40 transports drop supplies to Chinese forces on the battleline, and 4 fighter-bombers pound the town and vicinity of Tengchung; 22 B-24s bomb a supply and ammunition depot at Canton; 6 B-25s attack airfields in the area; and 5 B-24s lay mines in Shanghai harbor.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s fly fighter-bomber operations over Saipan, Rota, and Tinian Islands.

RNZAF - Lost is F4U NZ5327 off Kukum.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In the area around Wewak, A-20s and fighter-bombers hit dumps at Dagua and attack barges during the night of 4/5 Jul; light strikes are flown in support of troops on Noemfoor and against barges, airfields, and troop concentrations on Efman and Biak Islands and at Moemi, Manokwari, and in the Wakde area. B-24s bomb airstrips and AA guns on Yap and Woleai; Sorol Atoll and Peleliu are also hit.

1945:
PACIFIC: General Douglas MacArthur declares that the Philippine Islands have been completely liberated.

UK: Today is election day in Britain. The results of this first postwar election will not be available until July 26 so that the votes of soldiers overseas may be counted.

PHILLIPINES: Fighter-bombers fly nearly 100 sorties in support of ground forces in the Kiangan area on Luzon.

NEI: In Borneo, B-24s bomb Manggar and Riko and Australian troops cross Balikpapan Bay and land on the W shore.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): 46 B-24s and 24 B-25s all from Okinawa bomb Omura Airfield and 2 towns in the Omura-Nagasaki area, Japan.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 100 P-51s, based on Iwo Jima, strike airfields in the Tokyo area (Ibaraki, Yatabe, Yawatasaki Cape, and Maruta); they claim 5-11 aircraft on the ground.

Fourteenth Air Force: 8 B-25s sink several sampans and junks at Haiphong, French Indochina and damage several larger vessels. 2 B-25s and 2 P-47s knock out a bridge S of Chumatien, China. 37 P-51s over French Indochina and S and E China blast shipping in the Hongay and Haiphong, French Indochina area, and in China, pound docks and small vessels at Chikhom, knock out a bridge at Chumatien, blast a barracks area at Anyang, and hit river and rail traffic around Tanchuk and Chenghsien.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s bomb Toshien, Takao, Toyohara and the nearby Kamioka supply area, and Taihoku Airfield. P-51s sweeping Kyushu Island, Japan strafe targets of opportunity and down several aircraft.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): 4 B-24s and 1 LB-30 fly bombing and weather missions to Kiska ; results are not observed.

CHINA AIR TASK FORCE (CATF): B-25s bomb the waterfront at Canton, China, marking their initial action against coastal facilities of Japanese-held Chinese ports.

1943
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) In the Aleutian Islands, 2 B-24's and 2 P-40's on 3 weather reconnaissance missions report Kiska Island overcast, and take photos of Segula Island. 6 B-24's bomb Main Camp on Kiska. 8 B-25's abort a radar run over Kiska Island when 1 has engine trouble and the others fail to locate a PV Pathfinder. They sight a submarine which crash-dives immediately.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force) In China, 5 B-25's and 8 P-40's hit runway and revetment area at Pailochi Airfield.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) B-17's and B-24's pound airfields at Kahili, on Ballale and on Buka Island. B-25's hit a beached destroyer at Bamberi, New Georgia Island. Heavy raids on Bougainville soften it up for a future target for invasion forces.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) B-25's attack the airfield at Penfoei on Timor Island and hit Labu Lagoon area in New Guinea.

JAPAN: The USN submarine USS Permit sinks a Japanese merchant cargo ship off the west coast of Hokkaido Island.

NEW GUINEA: The 3d Battalion, 162d Infantry, part of the U.S. 41st Infantry Division's Coane Force, goes ashore at the Nassau beachhead and begins a period of active patrolling. The 2d Battalion, 162d Infantry, takes over positions vacated by the 3d Battalion at Morobe.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The IJN dispatches ten destroyers, seven of them carrying troops and supplies bound for Vila on Kolombangara Island. The USN had been alerted to their voyage yesterday and Task Group 36.1 under Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth, consisting of the light cruisers USS Helena, USS Honolulu and USS St. Louis and four destroyers, is positioned off the northwest corner of New Georgia Island to meet them. What ensued has been called The Battle of Kula Gulf. The first contact is made at 0106 hours local by radar in the IJN destroyer HIJMS Nizuki. TG 36.1 begins firing at 0157 hours and destroys the Japanese destroyer.
However, two other IJN destroyers had fired torpedoes and USS Helena is struck by a torpedo at 0203 hours local and loses her bow back to No. 2 turret; within three minutes, she is struck by two more torpedoes and she sinks. During the battle, six other IJN destroyers are damaged including HIJMS Nagatsuki which grounded near Bambari Harbor and is demolished by USAAF B-25 Mitchells during the day.
Both sides begin a general retirement but not before the Japanese landed troops at Vila. During the night, both sides have destroyers in the area attempting to rescue survivors; one Japanese and two American. Around 0500 hours, HIJMS Amagiri and USS Nicholas exchange torpedoes and then gunfire; Amagiri is hit and retires, leaving the USN to rescue survivors of USS Helena. The USN lose a light cruiser and 168 men; the Japanese lose two destroyers and 300 men.
During the day, 35 USMC TBF Avengers and SBD Dauntlesses attack Japanese positions at Bairoko on New Georgia Island, in support of ground troops. The 169th and 172d Infantry Regiments of the Infantry Division are now on New Georgia I. The 172d closes along the Barike River and the 169th, starts toward the river from Zanana. The Japanese repulse attacks against their road block on the Munda Trail. The troops of USMC Lieutenant Colonel Harry Liversedge, Commanding Officer Northern Landing Force, reaches and crosses the Tamakau River.
Heavy bombers begin a series of strikes against enemy airfields on Bougainville Island, the next objective in the Solomons. During the evening, 13 USAAF B-24 Liberators attack Kahili Airdrome on Bougainville, seven B-24s attack Buka Airdrome and six B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Ballale Airdrome.
A USN PB4Y-1 Liberator of VB-102 based at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands, piloted by the squadron commander, Lieutenant Commander Bruce A. Van Voorhis, attacks Japanese-held Kapingamarangi Island in the Greenwich Islands, Solomon Islands. [The Greenwich Islands are located about 81 nm east of Guadalcanal.] Van Voorhis and his crew made six low-level bombing runs
against a radio station and several strafing runs against three sea-planes and shipping in the lagoon until it was shot down by three "Pete" seaplanes and crashed in the lagoon with no survivors. For his action, Van Voorhis was awarded the Medal of Honor; the co-pilot was awarded the Navy Cross and all other crew members were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. All awards were made posthumously.

1944
NG: Namber airstrip on Numfoor is captured by US forces and is almost immediately readied for operations.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
In New Guinea, the 158th Infantry Regiment occupies Namber Airdrome on Noemfoor Island, Schouten Islands, in an amphibious landing after an air and artillery barrage. (Jack McKillop)

MARIANA'S: The US forces on Saipan continue to advance towards the north end of the island. The senior Japanese commanders, Admiral Nagumo and General Saito both commit suicide while their remaining troops plan a final attack.

USA: While riding on a bus from Camp Hood, Killeen, Texas, Lieutenant Jackie Robinson of the U.S. Army, refuses to give up his seat to a white man. He is court martialed for refusing the order of a civilian bus driver to move to the back of the bus and is acquitted.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 12 P-40s attack a bridge near Myitkyina while 40+ others support ground forces in the area; several other P-40s attack Maingna, barracks at Sahmaw, a train at Taungni, and troops at Sakangyi; 6 B-25s bomb Maingna and 2 hit Mohnyin; and HQ 311th Fighter Group moves from Dinjan, India to Tingkawk Sakan.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, B-25s, P-40s, and P-51s continue to pound river shipping, bridges, troop concentrations, road traffic, and general targets of opportunity throughout a wide area around Tungting Lake and along the Yangtze River; hit particularly hard are the town area and supply depot at Sinshih; B-25s near the Burma border cause considerable damage at Tengehung and drop supplies to Chinese ground forces on the Salween front, and during the night of 6/7 Jul bomb Tien Ho Airfield at Canton.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Twentieth Air Force): Brigadier General LaVern G Saunders becomes Commanding General XX Bomber Command with HQ at Kharagpur.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s bomb and strafe forces on Saipan, Rota, and Tinian Islands. B-24s, staging through Eniwetok Atoll, pound Truk Atoll during the night of 5/6 Jul and follow with another raid during the day. B-25s, based at Makin hit Nauru Island. The 333d Fighter Squadron, 318th Fighter Group, moves from Bellow Field, Territory of Hawaii to Saipan Island with P-47s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers continue to pound the Wewak area, concentrating on troops S of Matapau; Lost is P-39N 42-18813. B-25s and fighter-bombers sweep the N coast of the Vogelkop Peninsula and offshore islands, hitting targets of opportunity; other fighter-bombers hit the Manokwari area and buildings at Ransiki, Moari, and Oransbari; airfields, gun positions, communication targets, and supply dumps in the area around Babo are hit by B-24s, A-26s, A-20s, and P-38s. B-24s bomb the town and warehouse area of Yap and a few hit the airfield at Woleai.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 73, JULY 6, 1944
Reports from a fast carrier task group which attacked Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands on July 3 (West Longitude Date) and participated in the attack on Haha Jima the same day indicate the following additional damage to the enemy
A group of several enemy ships located eighty miles northwest of Chichi Jima was attacked, resulting in the sinking of two destroyer escort type vessels and damage to a medium cargo ship. At Chichi Jima the following results were obtained:
One small oiler, one medium ammunition ship and one medium cargo ship, sunk. One minelayer, one trawler and four luggers probably sunk. One large cargo ship, three medium cargo ships, one small cargo ship, two small oilers, one minelayer and one destroyer damaged. Several were beached.
At Haha Jima two small cargo ships and nine luggers were damaged. Buildings and defense installations were bombed at both objectives. Nine enemy aircraft were shot down, and three were damaged on the ground. In these strikes we lost five pilots and four aircrewmen from seven of our aircraft which failed to return.
Pagan Island in the Marianas was attacked by carrier aircraft on July 4 (West Longitude Date). The runway at the airfield and adjacent buildings were bombed and strafed.
Barracks and supply facilities at Guam Island were bombed by carrier aircraft on July 4, starting large fires. We lost one plane from intense antiaircraft fire.
Search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two, Group One, bombed gun positions at Marpi Point on Saipan Island on July 4, strafed the airfields at Tinian Island and bombed defense installations.
Forty tons of bombs were dropped on Truk Atoll by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators on July 4, hitting antiaircraft positions and objectives near the airfield. Five enemy aircraft were in the air but did not attempt to intercept our force. Corsair fighters and Dauntless dive bombers on the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing continued to neutralize enemy positions in the Marshalls on July 4.

1945
PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, fighter-bombers continue to support ground forces N of Kiangan and bomb the town of Mankayan.

NEI: B-24s over Borneo bomb Bandjermasin warehouses, Tandjoengredeb buildings, Samarinda shipyards, and the Balikpapan and Manggar areas.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Taking off during the late evening hours of 6 Jul, 517 B-29s make four incendiary and 1 HE attacks between 0700 and 0800 hours local on 7 Jul; 1 B-29 is lost: Mission 251: 124 B-29s attack the Chiba urban area destroying 0.86 sq miles, 43.4% of the city; 1 other B-29 hits an alternate target.
Mission 252: 123 B-29s hit the Akashi urban area destroying 0.81 sq miles, 57.0% of the city; 1 other B-29 hits an alternate target.
Mission 253: 133 B-29s attack the Shimizu urban area destroying 0.71 sq miles, 50% of the city; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 254: 131 B-29s hit the Kofu urban area destroying 1.3 sq miles, 65% of the city; 1 other B-29 hits an alternate target.
Mission 255: 59 B-29s drop 500-pound bombs on the Maruzen Oil Refinery at Wakayama; 1 other hits an alternate target. 110 Iwo Jima-based P-51s attack airfields in the Tokyo area (Kumagaya, Yamagata, and Chiba); they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 6-25 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Lieutenant General George E Stratemeyer officially assumes command as Commanding General AAF China Theater; he will arrive in China several days later.

Fourteenth Air Force: 98 P-51s and P-38s over French Indochina and S and E China continue to disrupt the Japanese retreat and hit transport and supply targets; rail, road, and river traffic, coastal shipping, bridges, troops, Japanese-held areas, and general targets of opportunity are blasted at many locations chiefly around Kweilin, Kukong, and Yangso, China, and Haiphong, and Hanoi, French Indochina.
On this date Major General Claire L Chennault, Commanding General Fourteenth AF, requests permission to retire, which is soon granted.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In Formosa, B-24s bomb Heito, Ryutan, and Taien Airfields and A-26s pound the Taito railroad yards. Okinawa-based P-51s hit transportation targets in the Kagoshima Bay area of Japan.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): 1 B-17 and 7 B-24s fly weather, bombing and photo missions to Kiska, Attu and Agattu ; all bombs are returned to base due to weather; 1 seaplane is shot down.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Joint Chiefs of Staff): Major General Millard F Harmon, USAAF, is designated Commanding General of US Army Forces in the South Pacific (COMGENSOPAC).

USA - An agreement was reached between the Army and Navy, which provided that the Army would deliver to the Navy a specified number of B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and B-34 Venturas to meet the Navy's requirement for long range landplanes. Also, the Navy would relinquish its production cognizance of the Boeing Renton plant to the Army for expanded B-29 production and limit its orders for PBY's to avoid interference with B-24 production.

PACIFIC: Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, South Pacific Area commander, arrives in Australia to discuss the upcoming operations in the Solomon Islands with General Douglas A. MacArthur, the Commanding General Southwest Pacific Area.

USA: Second Lieutenant Richard Bong loops the loop around the central span of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, while flying a P-38 Lightning. He then flies up Market Street at low altitude causing a local woman's laundry to be blown off the clothes line. Bong is ordered to report to Major General George C. Kenney, Commanding General 4th Air Force, and Kenney orders him to re-wash the woman's laundry as punishment. Kenney goes on to command the Fifth Air Force, and later Far East Air Forces, in the Southwest Pacific Area. Bong is later assigned to the Fifth Air Force and becomes the U.S.'s top fighter ace of all time with 40 Japanese aircraft shot down.

1943
CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force) 7 B-25's and 22 P-40's attack shipping at Canton, China. At least 2 interceptors are shot down.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) B-25's and P-38's attack Vila Airfield and B-24's bomb Kahili Airfield. Lost are B-24D "Scrap Iron" 42-40384 and Hudson NZ2033.
In aerial combat over Rendova Island in the Solomon Islands, USMC F4U pilots shoot down six of 12 "Betty" bombers and ten of 60 "Zero" fighters.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, B-24's and B-25's, along with Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airplanes, operate in direct support of Allied ground operations in the Mubo area, dropping over 100 tons of bombs on numerous targets as the MacKechnie Force begins an assault on Bitoi Ridge and Australian forces (2/6 Battalion) capture Observation Hill, an important terrain feature W of Mubo.
Some amplification:
Observation Hill was not captured until 12 July, however 7 July marks the opening of the battle by Australian and US troops of the 3rd Australian Division (GOC Maj-Gen Savige). Mubo lies on the southern approaches to Salamaua. It possesses an airstrip (vital in PNG). It also sits astride the only track for miles linking the coastal landing site of Nassau Bay with the inland Bulolo Valley.
The Japanese were in strength at Mubo. Deceptive patrols and small attacks prior to the battle by 15 Australian Brigade (militia and commandos) caused Col Araki to denude Mubo of troops, leaving it to be defended only by II/66 Bn.
On 7 July, 17th Brigade AIF (2/5 Bn AIF, 2/6 Bn AIF and I/162 US Inf Bn, supported by 1st Aust Mtn Bty and 218 US Fd Arty Bn) launches a double-envelopment against Mubo. Over the next five days the US and Australians conduct numerous small attacks and fighting patrols in close contact with the enemy. On 12 July, with US infantry on the right flank threatening to cut off their withdrawal route, the Japanese abandon Mubo and withdraw to the Mount Tambu line. Observation Hill is occupied on 12 July. Mubo airstrip is ready for medevac by 14 July. Allied casualties are light.

ALASKA: An IJN rescue force of two light cruisers, ten destroyers and an oiler, depart Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands at 1600 hours. This force is part of Phase II of the KE-GO Operation to evacuate Japanese personnel from Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands.

1944
MARIANAS: Saipan - The Japanese garrison is now down to 3,000 soldiers. They mount an attack on the US lines south of Makunsha Village. The better armed US forces suffer terrific losses in holding this attack, some of which is fought at close quarters.
In the Marianas, carrier based aircraft from Task Group 53.7 (five escort aircraft carriers) and Task Force 58, begin the first of daily systematic attacks against Japanese installations on Guam.
(Seventh Air Force): P-61s carry out interceptor missions over Guam, Saipan, and Rota Islands, Marianas Islands, during the night of 6/7 Jul.

CHINA - B29's: Fourteen XX Bomber Command B-29 Superfortresses, operating out of Chengtu, China, during the night of 7/8 July, bomb Sasebo, Omura, and Tobata, Japan (most of the planes hitting the Sasebo area); three others attack secondary and last resort targets at Laoyao and in the Hankow area of China.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In the Tungting Lake area of China, B-25s and fighter-bombers hit Yoyang, Siangtan, Liling, and Yungfengshih, strafe cavalry forces N of Yuhsien, hit river shipping, troops, and a pontoon bridge at Siangsiang, attack compounds in the Leiyang area, and bomb storage at Shihshow; 10 miles (16.1 km) E of Ichang on the Yangtze River P-40s thoroughly blast a Japanese post; and B-25s and P-51s bomb Tien Ho and White Cloud Airfields and pound the town of Tsingyun.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In New Guinea, B-24s and A-20s bomb Moemi and Nabire Airfield; supply dumps along the Wiske River are also attacked; a few fighter-bombers and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft attack barges, gun positions, and troops along the coast in the Wewak area. B-24s bomb Yap, Sorol Atoll radio station, and runway at Woleai.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 74, JULY 7, 1944
Our ground forces on Saipan have continued advancing against strong opposition. On the eastern side of the island our line has reached a point less than two miles from Inagsa Point on the northeast tip of Saipan, and extends laterally across the island to a western anchor slightly more than four miles from Marpi Point on the northwest tip. A force of approximately 200 of the enemy attempted to evacuate from the northwest coast of Saipan in barges on the night of July 4‑5 (West Longitude Date). The formation was broken up by artillery fire. Our troops have buried 8,914 enemy dead
Aircraft of our fast carrier task force attacked Guam and Rota on July 5 and 6 (West Longitude Date). Airstrips and other ground installations were worked over with bombs, rockets, and machine gun fire. At Rota one enemy plane was destroyed on the ground, and two were damaged. There was no enemy interception at either objective. We lost two fighters. The pilot of one was rescued.
During July 5, Seventh Army Air Force Liberators attacked Moen, in the Truk group, with 30 tons of bombs. On the same day Corsairs and Dauntless dive bombers of Group One, Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing attacked Wotje, Jaluit, and Taroa in the Marshall Islands. We lost no planes.

1945
PHILLIPINES: On Luzon Island, B-25s and fighter-bombers strike at remnants of the Japanese army in the Laguna de Bay and Marikina areas and fighter-bombers also hit areas of resistance near Kiangan, Penablanca, and Mankayan.

NEI: B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s support Australian ground forces in the area near Balikpapan, Borneo.

USA: U.S. President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of State James F. Byrnes and Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy depart the U.S. in the heavy cruiser USS Augusta for Antwerp, Belgium. This is the first leg of their journey to the Potsdam Conference with British and Russian leaders.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 100+ P-51s dispatched from Iwo Jima to hit airfields in the Tokyo area abort due to bad weather. HQ XX Bomber Command arrives at Sakugawa, Okinawa from India; HQ 414th Fighter Group and 413th, 437th, and 456th Fighter Squadrons arrive at North Field, from the US with P-47s (first mission is 13 Jul).

Fourteenth Air Force: 80+ P-51s and P-38s over French Indochina and S and E China continue to disrupt the Japanese withdrawal, pounding numerous communications and transport targets and general targets of opportunity particularly in the Yangso, Kweilin, and Fenstun areas.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s bomb Matsuyama and Taihoku Airfields in force.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): 404th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group arrives in the Alaskan Theater with B-24s, originally destined for N Africa; first mission is 18 Jul. In the Aleutian , 1 B-24 flies 2 photo missions over the S shore of Kiska and over Little Kiska ; the bombing mission is cancelled due to weather.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) (10th AF): A single B-25 piloted by Colonel Caleb V Haynes, bombs Japanese HQ at Tengchung, China near the Burma border. Bad weather, pilot fatigue, and maintenance halt major operations for several days.

1943
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) 9 B-25's fly a special mission to Attu.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force) 22 B-24's, escorted by 13 P-40's, attack shipping, docks, and a cement works at Haiphong, French Indochina.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, B-25's continue to pound enemy positions around Mubo and along the coast of NE New Guinea, hitting Kela Point and village, Malolo, Buigap Creek, and trails from Salamaua Airfield and Kennedy's Crossing to Logui. Lost is B-25D "Blunder Bus" 41-30028. The 319th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 90th Bombardment Group transfers with B-24's from Darwin to Port Moresby.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 30+ A-36s and P-40s hit a bridge at Myitkyina and support ground forces in the area; 12 B-25s also pound Myitkyina.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, B-25s and fighter-bombers fly nearly 100 sorties against targets in the Tungting Lake area; river shipping is hit hard throughout the whole lake area; trucks, bridges, warehouses, supply dumps, troop concentrations, Japanese posts, and targets of opportunity are attacked at Sinshih, Sinyang, Leiyang, Liling, Chuchou, Puchi, Siangsiang, and Yuhsien; 18 B-24s bomb military area near Canton, and 37 P-40s attack Japanese-held villages and river shipping NW of Canton; 20 Japanese aircraft bomb Suichwan Airfield, rendering it temporarily unusable; enemy aircraft also damage Kanchou Airfield. In French Indochina 10 P-40s hit shipping all along the coast while 5 B-25s knock out 2 bridges at Cam Lo.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s fly fighter-bomber operations against troops on Saipan, Pagan, and Tinian. During the night of 7/8 Jul B-24s stage through Eniwetok Atoll and bomb Truk Atoll; more B-24s follow with another raid during the day.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Medium bombers and fighter-bombers hit fuel dumps, barges, villages, and various other targets at Babo, Fak Fak, Sagan, Kokas, at the mouth of the Maroe River, along Cape Kariensore, and W of Namber; B-25s, A-20s, fighter-bombers and a few B-24s attack Wewak, hitting barges, gun positions, and communication targets. Lost on a transport flight is B-17E "Queenie" 41-2464

MARIANA'S: The USN's Task Group 53.18 under Rear Admiral C. Turner Joy and consisting of cruisers and destroyers, begin a daily bombardment of Japanese installations on Guam.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 75, JULY 8, 1944
Before dawn on July 6 (West Longitude Date) several thousand Japanese troops launched a desperate counterattack directed against the left flank of our line on Saipan Island. In this attack our lines along the western shore were penetrated up to 2,000 yards, and the enemy reached the outskirts of Tanapag Town. The counterattack was halted before noon, and our troops began to push the enemy back. In this assault the fighting was very severe and numerous casualties were incurred. It is estimated 1,500 Japanese troops were killed. Meantime on the right flank our forces continued their advance and are now a little more than a mile from the airfield at Marpi Point.
Small groups of enemy planes raided our positions on Saipan before dawn on July 6 and on the night of July 6‑7. Bombs were also dropped near some of our ships but did no damage. One enemy plane was shot down. Isely Field on Saipan was shelled by shore batteries on Tinian Island before dawn on July 6 but the enemy batteries were quickly silenced by destroyer and artillery fire.
Supplementing Communiqué Number 72, it has been determined that 32 enemy aircraft were destroyed and 96 damaged on the ground by our carrier aircraft in attacks on Chichi Jima and Haha Jima on July 3.
Nineteen of the aircraft destroyed and 34 of those damaged were two-engine bombers.
Some of this total may have been damaged in previous strikes by our aircraft.
Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force dropped 43 tons of bombs at the Dublon Island naval base in Truk Atoll on July 6. Five of approximately 12 enemy fighters which attempted to intercept our force were shot down. Three of our aircraft received minor damage.
Nauru Island was bombed by Liberator and Mitchell bombers of the Seventh Army Air Force on July 6. Incendiary bombs started fires visible for 30 miles.
Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing attacked Wotje and Maloelap Atolls on July 6, bombing and strafing remaining enemy defense installations.

1945
PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, P-38s and P-51s supporting ground operations hit supply and personnel areas near Kiangan and Penablanca.

NEI: On Borneo, B-24s and B-25s, supporting Australian forces, hit the Balikpapan area defensive positions, Samarinda shipyards, various targets along the Samarinda road, and warehouses at Tandjung. B-24s [including some of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)] bomb warehouses at Donggala on Celebes Island.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 2 fighter groups (100+) P-51s from Iwo Jima pound airfields and other targets at Hyakuri, Chofu, Tokorozawa, and Yachimata, Japan; 5 aircraft are claimed downed and at least 25 destroyed on the ground; 8 P-51s are lost.

Fourteenth Air Force: 6 B-25s and 4 P-47s severely damage a bridge N of Sinsiang and hit nearby trains. 60+ P-38s, P-47s, and P-51s pound river shipping, rail traffic, supplies, and troops at Haiphong, Do Son, and Tourane, French Indochina and at numerous locations in S and E China.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s bomb Shinchiku Airfield, B-25s start fires at the Getsubi alcohol plant and on Koto Island, and P-38s attack oil production area at Gyuni Kuki. The 69th and 311th Fighter Squadrons, 58th FG, move from Porac to Okinawa with P-47s.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
AMERICAN ALASKA (11th AF): 5 B-24s fly photo, weather, and bombing missions to Kiska but return with the bombs due to weather.

1943
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) B-25's bomb the railroad bridge on the Mu River between Ywataung and Monywa, Burma scoring 2 direct hits and leaving the bridge temporarily unusable.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) In the Solomon Islands during the night of 8/9 Jul, B-24's bomb Kahili Airfield and Buin and Poporang. B-25's and several fighters sent against forces near Vella Lavella, fail to locate the target and strafe Buki and Ganongga Islands, and a destroyer beached on SE Kolombangara Island.

NEW GEORGIA: US forces on New Georgia are now advancing on Munda, in the Solomon Islands. In the Solomon Islands, four USN destroyers shell the area near Munda on New Georgia Island. Later in the day, 18 USMC SBD's bomb the
same area.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) B-25's hit forces in the vicinity of Old Bobdubi, Malolo, and Busama. Lost on a weather mission is B-25 piloted by Webster. On Timor, B-25's hit landing fields, Dili and Cape Chater.

ALEUTIONS: In the Aleutians, the USN destroyer USS Aylwin bombards Japanese installations in the Gertrude Cove area of Kiska Island. The Japanese return fire but do not hit the ship. The IJN makes an unsuccessful attempt to evacuate personnel from Kiska. The two cruisers and eight destroyers retire towards the Kurile Islands.

PHILIPINES: In the Philippines, a USN submarine lands men, equipment and ammunition on Negros Island.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 60+ A-36s, P-51s, P-47s, and P-40s support ground forces and hit a bridge in the Myitkyina area, strafe gun positions at Shwebo and targets along the Irrawaddy River in the Katha area, and attack targets of opportunity in areas around Loilaw, Hopin, Mohnyin, Maingna, Anisakan, and Onbauk; 19 B-25s hit storage sheds at Waingmaw and railroads and bridges at Mohnyin, Naba, and Hopin. In India, HQ 443d Troop Carrier Group moves from Sookerating to Dinjan.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 40 P-40s and 8 B-25s hit the town area, trucks, and supply sampans at Shayang and damage tunnel entrances and a highway bridge at Sinyang. 5 B-25s bomb a power plant and building area at Tinh Soc, French Indochina.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s hit the remnants of Japanese forces on Saipan and Tinian Islands, as organized resistance on Saipan ends; Saipan will become a base from which B-29s will bomb Japan. Makin based B-25s bomb Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: A-20s and fighter-bombers pound shipping, airfields, troops, and other targets at Babo, Manokwari, Efman, Biak and various points along the coastline of Geelvink Bay; B-25s and fighter-bombers sink a 3,000-ton vessel and several barges around Halmahera Island, Moluccas Islands; dumps at Marubian, Kairiru, and Niap and a bridge at But are bombed by B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers; B-24s bomb Namlea Airfield and attack Yap and Woleai. Lost on an transport flight is C-47 "Shakes All Over" 42-23705. Lost is A-20G 43-9499.

MARIANA'S: Final Japanese organized resistance on Saipan ceases as the US forces reach Point Marpi. US casualty list of 3400 KIA and 13,000 WIA; Japanese estimated 27,000 KIA and 1,780 prisoners.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 76, JULY 9, 1944
Our forces have completed the conquest of Saipan. Organized resistance ended on the afternoon of July 8 (West Longitude Date) and the elimination of scattered, disorganized remnants of the enemy force is proceeding rapidly.

Aircraft of our fast carrier task force attacked Guam and Rota on July 7‑8 (West Longitude Date). Runways, antiaircraft batteries, coastal defense guns and barracks were subjected to rocket fire and bombing. On July 7 nine enemy fighters apparently attempting to fly from Guam to Yap Island were shot down by our combat air patrol. Six twin‑engine enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground and two were probably destroyed near Agana Town at Guam. We lost one fighter and one torpedo bomber in these raids.

Twenty‑two tons of bombs were dropped on Truk Atoll on the night of July 7‑8 by Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force. There was no Inter*ception, and all of our planes returned safely.

During July 7 Mille, Jaluit, Taroa, and Wotje were harassed by Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing, and a search Catalina of Group One, Fleet Air Wing Two, attacked Taroa before dawn on July 7. We lost no planes.

1945
PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, P-38s and P-51s fly ground support in the Iguig area of the Cagayan River Valley and hit Sabangan.

NEI: On Borneo, B-24s and P-38s supporting Australian forces, hit Japanese forces in areas near Balikpapan, Manggar, and Sepinggang; (Australian and Dutch forces complete the encirclement of Balikpapan Bay); other B-24s hit the Samarinda shipyards; and B-25s in support of operations in the Brunei Bay area bomb a Japanese-occupied area E of Beaufort.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): 43 B-24s from Okinawa bomb Omura Airfield, Kyushu, Japan (1 other bombs the airfield on Kikaiga-shima, Amami Islands, Ryukyu Islands) and 50+ Okinawa-based B-25s hit Tokuno Airfield on Tokuno Shima, Amami.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): During the night of 9/10 Jul, 1 mining, 1 bombing and 4 incendiary missions are flown against Japan; 3 B-29s are lost:
Mission 256: 29 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and the waters at Niigata and Nanao; 1 other mines other targets; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 257: 123 B-29s attack the Senai urban area destroying 1.22 sq mi, 27% of the city area; 1 other B-29 hits an alternate target; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 258: 115 B-29s attack the Sakai urban area destroying 1.02 sq mi, 44% of the city area; 3 other B-29s hit alternate targets.
Mission 259: 108 B-29s hit the Wakayama urban area destroying 2.1 sq mi, 52.5% of the city area.
Mission 260: 129 B-29s attack Gifu urban area destroying 1.93 sq mi, 74% of the city area; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 261: 61 B-29s attack the Utsube Oil Refinery at Yokkaichi with poor results; 1 hits an alternate target.
102 Iwo Jima based P-51s hit airfields at Itami, Hamamatsu, Aichi, and Washinomiya, claiming 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 15-5 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost.

Tenth Air Force: The 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Reconnaissance Group, moves from Nagaghuli to Dergaon, India with F-6s.

Fourteenth Air Force: 5 B-25s knock out 2 bridges in the Sinantien area; 14 P-51s and P-38s knock out bridges near Hengyang and Sinshih, damage a bridge near Chihsien, and attack shipping and railroad targets of opportunity around Hankow, Lukou, and Sinshih, China, and Dong Hoi, French Indochina. The detachment of the 1st Combat Cargo Squadron, Fourteenth AF, operating from Liangshan returns to base at Hsinching with C-47s.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Nearly 50 P-51s are weathered out of a Kyushu, Japan sweep from Okinawa. On Formosa, B-24s bomb Okaseki, Toyohara, and Takao Airfields and A-26s attack Karenko. Unit moves: HQ 348th FG and 340th Fighter Squadron from Floridablanca to Ie Shima with P-51s; ground echelon of 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Group, from San Jose, Mindoro Island to Okinawa (air echelon is at Clark Field, Luzon with F-5s); 310th Fighter Squadron, 58th FG, from Porac to Okinawa with P-47s; 418th Night Fighter Squadron, V Fighter Command [attached to 308th Bombardment Wing (Heavy)] from San Jose, Mindoro Island to Okinawa with P-61s.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1940
US President Roosevelt asks Congress for a $4,848 million defence budget to fund a 1.2 million man army and 15,000 new planes.
That US$4.848 billion in 1940 is now worth US$79.475 billion in year 2000 dollars.

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): 1 B-24 aborts a reconnaissance mission to Kiska due to weather.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th AF): Ground echelon of the 11th BG leaves Hawaii for the S Pacific aboard USS Argonne.

SOLOMONS: In the Solomon Islands, USN PBY-5 Catalinas of Patrol Squadron Fourteen based at Noumea, New Caledonia, attempt to bomb Japanese installations on Tulagi and Gavutu Islands but bad weather causes the mission to be aborted.
The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff change the date of Operation WATCHTOWER, the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi, from 1 to 7 August.

ALASKA: the crew of a VP-41 PBY-5A Catalina spots a crashed "Zeke" fighter (Mitsubishi A6M2 Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter Model 21), while flying low over the tundra of Akutan Island near their base at NAF Dutch Harbor. The pilot of the fighter had engine problems and attempted to land on what he had assumed was a grass field, not realizing that it was actually a swamp. The "Zero" had nosed over immediately on landing, breaking the pilot's neck. The aircraft had lain there undiscovered since the Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor in early June.
The pilot of the PBY later leads a recovery party to the site to retrieve the aircraft. The "Zero" was disassembled and then sent under great secrecy to NAS San Diego, California, where it was reassembled and test flown. It was the first example of the "Zero" to fall in to Allied hands and proved to be one of the more fortuitous finds of the war.

1943
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) The Eleventh Air Force attacks the Japanese Home Islands for the first time as 8 B-25's raid Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands, scoring hits on the S part of Shimushu, Paramushiru Island, Kurile Strait, and northern Paramushiru Island, in dead reckoning runs when solid cloud cover prevents a maximum altitude attack. No AA fire is encountered and no enemy aircraft are sighted. The B-25's stage through Attu Airfield on returning to Adak Airfield. 6 B-24's, originally slated to accompany the B-25's to Paramushiru and 5 other B-25's are on short notice dispatched to attack a convoy off Attu. They claim 2 medium freighters sunk in deck-level strikes.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force) 9 B-24's bomb the dock area at Haiphong, French Indochina.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) B-24's pound Kahili Airfield. Lost is B-24D "Alley Cat" 42-40646. Seabees report a 3,300' airstrip at Segi Point available for limited operations; this provides an emergency landing field only 40 mi (64 km) from Japanese facilities at Munda.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, B-25's pound Salamaua, Logui, and the SE bank of the Francisco River as Allied ground forces effect junction at Buigap Creek cutting communications between Salamaua and Mubo; a single B-24 bombs the village of Kela. B-24's bomb Boela and Babo.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 24 P-40s and P-51s support ground forces at Myitkyina; 20+ A-36s P-51s, P-47s, and P-40s hit Mogaung, buildings and boxcars at Mohnyin, trucks at Sahmaw, a factory at Loiwing, and Punga pagoda; the railroad supply area at Mohnyin is bombed by 6 B-25s; a
detachment of the 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, begins operating from Myitkyina with P-40s (the squadron is based at Kisselbari, India).

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 70 P-40s and 6 B-25s hit river shipping between Siangtan and Siangsiang, between Changsha and Chuchou, and N of Hengyang; strafe and bomb posts and trucks in the Pingkiang, Tungcheng, and Tsungyang areas and in the Changsha-Kweilin area; and bomb airfields at Hankow and Wuchang; the 24th Combat Mapping Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, based at Guskhara, sends a detachment to operate from Liuchow with F-7s; and the detachment of the 491st Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), operating from Kweilin and Liuchow with B-25s return to base at Yangkai.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s hit troops and gun positions on Tinian Island. B-24s, staging through Eniwetok Atoll, pound Truk Atoll during the night of 9/10 Jul and again during the day.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In New Guinea, B-24s attack Laha, Namlea, and targets of opportunity in the Boeroe Island, Sunda Islands-Ceram Island-Ambon area; A-20s, fighter-bombers, and a B-25 hit troops, villages, and barges in the Wewak area; the 64th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Nadzab to Owi, Schouten Islands with B-24s; and the 67th Troop Carrier Squadron, 433d Troop Carrier Group, and 387th Bombardment Squadron, 312th Bombardment Group, move from Nadzab to Hollandia with C-47s and A-20s respectively. B-24s bomb airfields and town areas at Yap, Gagil-Tomil Island, Yap Islands and Sorol Atoll. Operations also include small- scale strikes in the Wakde area and snooper and armed reconnaissance missions over the Caroline Islands. The 529th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), (Heavy), moves from Long Strip to Darwin, Australia with B-24s.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 77, JULY 10, 1944
Guam Island was shelled by light surface units of the Pacific Fleet on July 8 (West Longitude Date). Defense positions And buildings were dam*aged, and several small craft along the beaches were hit.
Carrier aircraft of a fast carrier task group attacked Guam and Rota island on July 9. At Guam military objectives at Piti Town were hit, and antiaircraft batteries and coastal guns bombed. Antiaircraft fire ranged from moderate to intense. One of our aircraft made a water landing and a de*stroyer rescued the crew. At Rota Island rockets and bombs were used against objectives in Rota Town and the airstrip, and gun emplacements were strafed.
Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force bombed Truk Atoll on July 8. Several enemy aircraft were in the air but did not press home an attack. One Liberator received minor damage from moderate antiaircraft fire. Corsair fighters and Dauntless dive bombers of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing attacked Jaluit, Maloelap and Wotje in the Marshalls on July 9.

1945
APAN: In Japan, the USN's Task Force 38, consisting of eight aircraft carriers and six light aircraft carriers under Vice Admiral John S. McCain, launches carrier-based aircraft to attack airfields around Tokyo. Fighter-bombers locate and destroy an estimated 100 degassed aircraft dispersed at sites no closer than 10 miles from any airfield. (The Japanese have decided to hoard their aircraft preparing for the Allied invasion which they believe will occur in October 1945.)

Passing through frontal weather during the night and preceded by a submarine sweep on the look out for enemy picket boats and with air barriers formed by patrol aircraft to prevent snooping, Task Force 38 arrived undetected at a point 140 miles SE of Honshu at 0400 on 10th July. As anticipated, the weather cleared sufficiently to allow strikes to be launched. The primary targets for the day's strikes were airfields and aircraft mainly in the Tokyo area, but extending from Koriyama in the north to Hamamatsu in the southwest. No airborne opposition was met. Only 13 airborne aircraft were seen, all of which avoided contact. Around the Task Force, only 3 enemy aircraft were sighted, 2 of which were shot down by the CAP and the 3rd was chased away before making contact.
The air defense of the Task Force was organized to counteract any possible suicide attacks. The method was similar to those used off Okinawa except that sufficient destroyers were available to establish 3 destroyer picket stations - 2 "Tomcat" stations consisting of one division of destroyers each, placed on bearing clear of the probable approach path of enemy aircraft and a further destroyer division called "Watchdog" on the mean = of the target bearing line - all 40 to 50 miles from the Task Force Guide. All aircraft returned to the Task Force via the Tomcat positions (one DD in each division being fitted with YE or YG homing beacons) and were inspected visually before being allowed to proceed towards the approach sector to the Task Force. The Watchdog was primarily a fighter direction base, one of whose destroyers was one the long hull 2200 ton class DDs fitted with SP radar which allowed accurate height finding on aircraft at much longer ranges from the Task Force. E
ach Task Group maintained a CAP of 32 fighters, 24 of them at various heights over the Task Group and 8 fighters over either the Tomcats or the Watchdog.
Pilots returned with reports that few aircraft could be seen on the ground and that those that were seen were mainly well dispersed and camouflaged. Photographs of airfields were available within 2 hours after the camera planes landed, showing that large numbers of aircraft were present, but most of them ingeniously dispersed in fields woods and villages, some of them as much as 3 miles from their parent field. A total of 1500 aircraft were counted on photographs of 61 airfields. Altogether, 69 airfields were attacked; 109 aircraft were destroyed on the ground and 231 damaged. Air facilities and industrial targets were also attacked. 1303 strike sorties were flown and 425 CAP. 450 tons of bombs and 1648 HVAR were expended on strikes. Combat losses in aircraft were 7 VF/VBF and 6 VT. Operational losses were 4 VF and 2 VT. There were no VB losses. Crew losses were 4 VF/VBF pilots, 3 VT pilots, and 6 VT crewmen.

PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, P-38s and P-51s support ground action in the N Cagayan Valley and hit enemy pockets E of Manila.

NEI: B-24s hit the town of Muarakaman and airfield at Tabanio, Borneo while P-38s strafe numerous targets of opportunity in SE Borneo. B-24s bomb the warehouse area at Donggala on Celebes Island.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (Eleventh Air Force): 4 B-24s fly a search down the W coasts of Paramushiru and Shimushu and then radar-bomb Minami Zaki on Shimushu. 1 B-24 flies a radar-ferret mission over the N Kurile Islands.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): During the night of 10/11 Jul, 1 B-24 from Okinawa bombs Karasehara Airfield, Japan; 43 other Okinawa-based B-24s bomb Wan and Sateku Airfields on Kikaiga-shima, Amami Islands; 50+ B-25s bomb Wan Airfield and Saha-Saki on Nakano Shima, Ryukyu Islands, and Kurume, Kyushu, Japan.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 102 P-51s, based on Iwo Jima attack Hashin, Nishinomiya, Sano, and Tokushima, Japan mostly hitting airfields; 3 P-51s are lost.

Fourteenth Air Force: 14 B-25s bomb the town of Dong Anh and the railroad shops at Phu Lang Thuong, French Indochina, and truck convoys moving through the Siang Chiang Valley, China. In China, 22 P-51s and P-38s bomb warehouses at Wuchang, hit railroad targets of opportunity near Yoyang, strafe 3 railroad stations N of Chuanhsien, bomb buildings N of Kanchou, knock out a bridge approach S of Chuting, damage a bridge near Hengyang, and hit targets of opportunity at Weichow Island, Laohokow, China, and Tourane, French Indochina. The 71st Liaison Squadron, Fourteenth AF, begins a movement from Piardoba, India to Kunming, China with UC-64s, L-1s, L-4s and L-5s.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s bomb Tainan Airfield, destroying several planes, and bomb warehouses at Takao. Bad weather again prevents fighter sweep from Okinawa over Kyushu, Japan. HQ 58th FG moves from Porac to Okinawa.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1941
US President Roosevelt asks Congress for appropriations of $3,300 million for the US Navy.
That US$3.3 billion in 1941 is now equal to US$40.74 billion in year 2000 dollars.

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): 4 B-24s taking off for weather, bombing and photo missions to Kiska are attack by seaplane fighters; no losses. A cruiser is bombed with unobserved results.

1943
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) In the Aleutian Islands, 5 B-24's take off to attack Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands and fly a shipping search but are turned back by bad weather. A shipping search by 5 B-25's finds nothing. 6 B-25's and 6 B-24's in 3 missions (one by radar) attack North Head and Main Camp on Kiska Island sighting new excavations near Sredni Point, strafe a tent near Haycock Rock, and also fly over Segula Island.

CENTRAL PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Seventh Air Force) 3 B-24's from Funafuti Island in the Ellice Islands fly a photo reconnaissance mission to Makin; 2 of the B-24's bomb the island.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) A few B-24's hit the port of Haiphong, French Indochina.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force) In French Indochina, 3 B-24's bomb the Haiphong harbor area, 3 bomb shipping in the Campha Port area, and 8 pound positions and barracks area at Kunlong, China; and P-40's strafe traffic between Lao Kay and Cha Pa, and hit oil storage area SW of Lao Kay.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) B-24's and B-17's attack Kahili Airfield, hitting revetments E and W of the strip. In the Solomon Islands during the day, USAAF and USMC pilots shoot down eleven Zero's and a Betty bomber.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) A-20's and B-25's blast positions in the battle zone from Nassau Bay inland to the Mubo area, hitting the trail ketween Logui and Kennedy's Crossing, the Bobdubi and Bobdubi Ridge areas, Salamaua, Kela Point and villages scattered through the area. Other B-25's bomb Penfoei on Timor. B-17's and B-24's pound airfields in the Rabaul area. B-17F "Black Jack" 41-24521 ditches near Boga Boga. Lost is P-38G piloted by Neater.
The 19th Bombardment Squadron, 22d BG (Medium) transfers with B-26's from Woodstock to Dobodura. The 19th, which has been in combat in the SWPA since Apr 42, was pulled out of combat in Jan 43 for R&R. The squadron will fly it's first combat mission on this tour on 27 Jul 43.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 70+ fighter-bombers pound barracks at Myitkyina, bridges at Namkwin and Mohnyin, the airfield at Lashio, and targets of opportunity at several other locations, including Nanyinbya, Indaw, Katha, Bhamo, and the Anisakan-Shwebo area; and 11 B-25s hit bridges at Hsenwi.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 28 B-24s bomb a storage base at Sinshih; 24 P-40s hit river traffic at Hengyang and E of Siangsiang; 22 other P-40s attack the town of Hengyang, hitting Japanese-occupied buildings and a bridge; 33 more P-40s attack villages, road traffic, and targets of opportunity at Leiyang and from Chuchou to Hengyang to Yungfengshih; 3 B-25s bomb Liling and Yuhsien; 14 P-51s bomb the town of Pakmoi Hu and hit gun positions at Lupao; 8 B-25s pound railroad yards at Sinyang; 12 B-25s and 14 fighter-bombers bomb Mangshih on the Burma Road and support Chinese ground forces between Tengchung and Lungling; and the 93d Fighter Squadron, 81st Fighter Group, moves from Karachi, India to Kwanghan with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s pound forces on Tinian and Pagan. The 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Seventh Air Force (attached to VII Fighter Command), based at Kipapa Airfield, Territory of Hawaii, sends a detachment to operate on Saipan Island with F-5s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In New Guinea, B-24s pound airfield at Babo while A-20s hit supply dumps at Kokas; B-25s bomb airfields at Manokwari, Waren, and Moemi during the night; A-20s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers support ground forces in the Sarmi-Sawar area and bomb airfields, shipping, and various occupied areas and installations on Halmahera Island, in the Schouten Islands, on Boeroe Island, and the Palau and in Woleai; and the 65th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 43d BG (Heavy), moves from Nadzab to Owi, Schouten Islands with B-24s.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 78, JULY 11, 1944
Mopping up operations continued on Saipan on July 9 (West Longitude Date). Small segments of enemy troops continued to make futile attacks against our forces and were killed or driven into temporary refuge to be hunted down later. Many of the enemy survivors who had been driven into the sea on the night of July 8 were found in the hulks of ships wrecked offshore and killed or captured. A number of the enemy found swimming in the sea were made prisoners.
Light surface units of the Pacific Fleet shelled Guam Island on July 9.
Our shore‑based fighters attacked Pagan Island in the Marianas on July 7. Antiaircraft fire was intense. The enemy made no attempt to intercept our force.
Paramushiru and Shimushu Islands in the Kuriles were bombed by Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four before dawn on July 10. Several fires were started. Antiaircraft fire was light, and all of our planes re*turned without damage.
Truk Atoll was bombed by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators before dawn on July 10. Antiaircraft positions on Moen Island were bombed. Antiaircraft fire was meager and no interception was attempted. Mitchell bombers of the Seventh Army Air Force, Dauntless dive bombers of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing, conducted further neutralization raids against enemy positions in the Marshall Islands on July 9.

1945
USA: In the U.S., Admiral H. Kent Hewitt concludes his "investigation of facts pertinent to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor." The report, consisting of 1,342 pages, is forwarded to the Secretary of the Navy. Admiral Kimmel is still faulted for the attack.

NEI: B-25s and P-38s pound highway targets in the Balikpapan area.

PHILLIPINES: B-25s and fighter-bombers pound troop concentrations and defenses in the Cagayan Valley on Luzon Island and B-24s pound troop concentrations on Negros Island

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (Eleventh Air Force): 5 B-24s radar-bomb Kataoka on Shimushu and 4 B-25s fly a shipping sweep and bomb a Otomae Wan fishery, scoring hits among the buildings.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA: During the night of 11/12 Jul, 2 B-24s from Okinawa attack Byu and Miyazaki Airfields, Kyushu, Japan. P-51s sweep Kyushu, Japan. B-24s bomb Shinchiku Airfield.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 262: During the night of 11/12 Jul, 25 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and waters at Miyazu, Maizuru, Obama Island and, in the first B-29 operation to Korea, 2 mine Pusan and Najin.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: In China, 25 P-51s and P-40s attack bridges, troops, gun positions, rail traffic, rivercraft, coastal shipping, and various scattered targets at or near Nanchang, Kweiyi, Puchi, Tanchuk, and the Luichow Peninsula.

ZONE OF INTERIOR (Second Air Force): The 4th Reconnaissance Squadron (Long Range, Photographic), 311th Photographic Wing (attached to 6th Reconnaissance Group), moves from Hollandia, New Guinea to Tacloban, Leyte with F-7s (the squadron is mapping areas of the SW and W Pacific).

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
ALASKA: A USN salvage party is transported to Akutan Island to begin salvaging the "Zeke" fighter discovered there on 10 July.

In the Aleutians, three 11th Air Force B-24 Liberators dispatched on weather, photo and bombing missions to Kiska Island abort due to weather.

1943
CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force) In French Indochina, 7 B-24's attack docks and shipping at Campha Port, shipping at Ha Long Bay, and railroad yards, power plant, and warehouses at Hongay. The B-24's claim critical damage to 2 freighters; and P-40's strafe trucks S of Ha Giang. The flight of the 9th Photographic Squadron (Light), Tenth Air Force operating from Kunming, China and it's detachment operating from Kweilin,
China with F-4's return to their base at Pandaveswar, India. The 21st Photographic Squadron, 5th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group dispatches a flight with F-5's from Bishnupur, India to Kunming and Kweilin, China.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) 10 B-25's attack Vila Airfield, which is hit later in the day by B-24's on armed reconnaissance. 17 B-24's pound the airfield on Ballale. Several fighters join US Navy dive bombers in strikes on AA and bivouacs in the Munda area.
In the Solomons, USAAF and USMC pilots shoot down six Zero's over New Georgia and Rendova during the day. A USAAF P-38 Lightning pilot shoots down a Betty bomber at 2000 hours.

USN - Lost is PBY Catalina 08246

RAAF - Lost is Beaufort A9-225 off Bougainville.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) 13 B-24's bomb airfields and the town area in Rabaul, New Britain Island and vicinity. In the Moluccas Islands, 2 B-25's hit Lingat Airfield and Selaroe Island villages. A lone B-17 bombs Garove Island in the Bismarck Archipelago.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 44 P-40s support ground forces in the Myitkyina area; 28 P-51s and P-47s hit bridge and other targets in Hopin, bomb a Maingna pagoda, and hit the Alanbo and Tagwin areas; and 13 B-25s bomb bridges at Mongyin and hit targets of opportunity in the Myitkyina area. In India, the 9th Combat Cargo Squadron, 3d Combat Cargo Group, moves from Sylhet to Moran with C-47s.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 60+ P-40s hit the towns of Liling and Yuhsien, river shipping at Hengyang, troop concentrations at Leiyang and near Yuhsien, the airfield at Siangtan, and fuel dumps NW of Changsha; 34 P-51s bomb Tsingyun and pound Japanese concentrations at Lienchiangkou; 11 P-40s bomb railroad yards at Yuncheng and hit a radio station N of Tungkuan with rocket fire; 12 B-25s bomb Tengchung and 15 P-40s bomb and strafe storage areas, villages, troop areas, and general targets of opportunity in the Lungling and Mangshih areas.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): During the night of 11/12 Jul B-24s stage through Eniwetok Atoll to bomb Truk Atoll; during the day B-24s hit Truk Atoll again. P-47s on Saipan Island continue to hit Tinian Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s hit Manokwari Airfield; weather curtails further operations in the Geelvink Bay area; A-20s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers again hit troop concentrations and barges in the Wewak area; the 386th Bombardment Squadron, 312th Bombardment Group, moves from Nadzab to Hollandia with A-20s; and the 432d Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, moves from Hollandia to Biak Island with P 38s. Smaller strikes by B-24s and B-25s are flown against the airfield at Laha on Amboina Island, Celebes Islands; Dili; and on Koer Island, New Guinea. B-24s pound Yap.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 79, JULY 12, 1944
Mopping up operations and elimination of snipers continued on Saipan Island during July 10 and 11 (West Longitude Dates). One Marine regiment killed 711 enemy troops on July 10. Our forces have now captured more than 1,000 enemy troops who have been made prisoners of war, and have interned more than 8,000 civilians.

Guam and Rota Islands were attacked by carrier aircraft of a fast carrier task group on July 10. Military installations at Agana, Umatac, and Agat Towns on the western shore of Guam Island were bombed and subjected to rocket fire. Buildings near Orote Point were also hit. At Rota Island runways and defense installations were bombed. One twin‑engine enemy bomber was shot down. There was no attempt at fighter interception. Anti*aircraft fire was moderate.

Fifty tons of bombs were dropped by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators on July 10 at the Dublon Island Naval Base in Truk Atoll. No interception was attempted and antiaircraft fire was meager. Neutralization raids against enemy positions In the Marshalls were carried out by the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing and Fleet Air Wing Two on July 10.

1945
PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, fighter-bombers hit pillboxes E of Iguig, attack concentrations in the Bontoc-Kiangan area, and support ground forces E of Manila (the town of Kiangan falls to the 6th Infantry Division, but resistance in the area continues). B-24s over Negros Island in support of ground forces bomb a concentration NE of Mount Mandalagan.

NEI: B-24s destroy a barrack area at Tandjung, Borneo and others hit warehouses at Donggala, Celebes Island. Australian troops invade near Andus, Borneo.

JAPAN: Japanese Emperor Hirohito directs Prince Konoye to head a mission to the USSR for peace negotiations.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (Eleventh Air Force): 4 B-25s on a shipping sweep bomb and strafe a freighter; 1 B-25 is lost killing the crew.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): HQ Seventh AF on Okinawa is declared open by a General Order on this date. 47 B-24s from Okinawa, failing to bomb the primary target, Tsuiki, Japan because of clouds, attack the airfield on Kikaiga-shima, Amami Islands. 2 Okinawa-based B-24s bomb Byu and Miyazaki Airfields, Kyushu during the night. 50+ B-25s bomb Kanoya Airfield and the town of Aburatsu on Kyushu and Tokuno airfield on Tokuno Shima, Amami Islands. Chiran Airfield is pounded by 70 B-25s and A-26s (this is the first strike against Japan by Seventh AF A-26s); 2 more A-26s hit the Ibusuki seaplane station.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): During the night of 12/13 Jul, 1 bombing and 4 incendiary missions are flown; 3 B-29s are lost.
Mission 263: 115 B-29s attack the Utsunomiya urban area destroying 0.94 sq mi, 34.2% of the city; 5 others hit alternate targets; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 264: 123 B-29s hit the Ichinomiya urban area destroying 0.01 sq mi, 0.8% of the city area; 2 others hit alternate targets. Mission 265: 92 B-29s attack the Tsuruga urban area destroying 0.77 sq mi (2 sq km), 68% of the city; 2 others hit alternate targets.
Mission 266: 123 B-29s hit the Uwajima urban area destroying 0.14 sq mi,14% of the city; 1 other hits an alternate target.
Mission 267: 53 B-29s attack the Kawasaki Petroleum Center destroying about 25% of the target; 2 B-29s are lost, 1 between Guam and Tinian.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: In China, 3 B-25s blast supply convoys moving through the Siang Chiang Valley; 43 P-51s and P-38s attack bridges, rivercraft, barracks road traffic, and coastal shipping around Changsha, Hsinching, the Luichow Peninsula and Nanchang and in French Indochina, Hamrong, the Tonkin area, and Cao Bang. 2 bridges are knocked out and others damaged, airfields are strafed at Vinh, French Indochina and Kiungshan, China.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: P-51s sweep Kyushu, Japan. B-24s bomb Canton, China. On Formosa, B-24s bomb Toshien while A-26s hit numerous targets at Tamazato and P-51s hit targets along the W coast. The 341st, 342d and 460th Fighter Squadrons, 348th FG, move from Floridablanca to Ie Shima with P-51s.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
SOLOMONS: In the Solomon Islands, PBY-5 Catalinas of USN Patrol Squadron Seventy One (VP-71) attempt a daylight bombing of Japanese installations on Tulagi and Gavutu Islands. Bad weather forces cancellation of the mission.

PACIFIC: Major General George C. Kenney, Commanding General 4th Air Force in the western U.S., is ordered to Australia to replace Lieutenant General George H. Brett as Commanding General, Allied Air Forces, Southwest Pacific Area.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th AF): Lost off Horn Island is B-17E 41-2636.

1943
NEW GEORGIA: USN Task Group 36.1 under Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth engages IJN forces under Rear Admiral Izaki Shunji during the Battle of Kolombangara. The Allied forces consist of the light cruisers HMNZS Leander, USS Honolulu and USS St. Louis and ten destroyers; the Japanese force consists of the light cruiser HIJMS Jintsu and five destroyers.
The battle began at 0110 hours local when the Allied ships opened fire; HIJMS Jintsu is sunk by gunfire and torpedoes and the destroyer HIJMS Yukikaze is damaged. But four Japanese destroyers, waiting for the Allied ships to turn, launch 31 torpedoes at the formation. USS Honolulu, USS St. Louis and the destroyer USS Gwin, maneuvering to bring their main batteries to bear on the enemy, turn right into the path of the deadly "long lance" torpedoes. USS Honolulu is struck by a torpedo on the starboard side at 0211 hours causing hull damage; USS St. Louis took a torpedo which hit well forward and twisted her bow, but caused no serious casualties; and USS Gwin received a torpedo hit amidships in her engine room. USS Gwin is scuttled by another destroyer; 61 men perish on the ship.
Interesting note to this action: It should also be noted that light cruiser HMNZS LEANDER was torpedoed and seriously damaged. Her Commander (second-in-command) was Commander Stephen W. Roskill RN, who later wrote the official history of the Royal Navy in the war, "The War at Sea."

In the first mission of its kind in the South Pacific theater, 12 USMC SBD Dauntlesses attack Japanese positions within 1,000 yards (914 m) of U.S. Army infantry positions on New Georgia Island.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) 16 B-25's lay mines in the Irrawaddy River, Burma.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, B-17's and B-24's, operating individually, bomb the airfield, town area, harbor, and other targets in the Lae area; B-25's blast positions in the Salamaua area, along the road between Kela and MacDonald's Junction, and hit AA guns at Salamaua and MacDonald's Junction; and ground forces clear the Mubo area and Lababia Ridge of the enemy. HQ 375th Troop Carrier Group arrives at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from the US.

1944
MARIANA'S: In the Marianas, the USN's Task Groups 58.3 and 58.4 arrive from Eniwetok and commence attacks on Guam. Task Force 58 now consists of seven aircraft carriers and four light aircraft carriers.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 44 P-40s and P-51s support ground forces in the Myitkyina area; 40 more A-36s, P-51s, and P-47s hit bridges at Nyaunggon, Mohnyin, Myothit, Mawlu, and Henu, and attack the Hopin, Lashio, and Indawgyi Lake areas; and the 315th Troop Carrier Squadron, 443d Troop Carrier Group, based at Moran, India, sends a detachment to operate from Shingbwiyang with C-47s.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 16 B-25s bomb Pailochi Airfield, causing large fires and considerable damage; 45 P-40s attack trucks, compounds, river shipping, and troop concentrations between Hengyang and Siangtan, pound the town of Liling and Siangtan Airfield, and strafe shipping from Changsha S along the Siang Chiang River; 8 B-25s bomb Chenghsfen railroad yards and storage area; and 12 B-25s bomb Tengchung and Mangshih.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s continue to hit Tinian Island. Kwajalein-based B-24s bomb Truk Atoll. B-25s from Makin pound Nauru Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s again bomb Yap and Sorol Atoll. In New Guinea, B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s bomb gun positions and the airfield at Babo and in the Manokwari area and hit a supply depot at Kokas; fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces in the Aitape area while A-20s and fighter-bombers pound occupied areas and gun positions in the Wewak area and on Mushu Island. Lost is Beafighter A9-120.
The 498th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 345th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Nadzab to Biak Island with B-25s. B-24s also hit Amahai Airfield. Force landed is P-38H 42-66738, pilot rescued. Lost is P-47D 42-27993.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 81, JULY 13, 1944
Elements of the Second Marine Division landed on Maniagassa Island ap*proximately two miles north of Mutcho Point on Saipan Island on July 12 (West Longitude Date). Light resistance encountered was quickly over*come. Elimination of the remnants of Japanese resistance continues on Saipan island, and additional prisoners have been taken. Enemy dead which have been buried, by our troops now number nearly 16,000 with a good many yet to be buried. Artillery bombardment and Naval gunfire intended to neutralize enemy defenses is being directed against Tinian Island.

It was learned on Saipan that July 7 (West Longitude Date) Vice Ad*miral Chuichi Nagumo, Commander in Chief of the Central Pacific Area for the Imperial Japanese Navy, was among those who met their deaths on Saipan Island. On the same day one Rear Admiral Yano lost his life. Vice Admiral Nagumo was in command of the Japanese forces which attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; and was in command of the Japanese carrier task force that was destroyed in the Battle of Midway. Prior to his present duty he was commandant of the Sasebo naval base.
It is now clear that Saipan Island was built up by the Japanese as the principal fortress guarding the southern approaches to Japan and as a major supply base for Japan's temporary holdings in the South Seas area. Saipan was long the seat of the Japanese government for the mandated Marianas, and Garapan Town was the headquarters of the Commander in Chief, Central Pacific Area. The topography of the island lent itself well to defense, and elaborate fortifications manned by picked Japanese troops testify to the im*portance which the enemy attached to the island. The seizure of Saipan con*stitutes a major breach in the Japanese line of inner defenses, and it is our intention to capitalize upon this breach with all means available.

CINCPAC COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 80, JULY 13, 1944
Guam Island was shelled by cruisers and destroyers of the Pacific Fleet on July 10 and 11 (West Longitude Dates). Gun emplacements, blockhouses, and warehouses were hit. Five barges were sunk. There was no damage to our surface ships.

Guam and Rota Islands were attacked by carrier aircraft of a fast car*rier task group on July 11 and 12. Rockets and bombs were employed against defense installations and runways at Rota Island on July 11. Many fires were started. At Guam military objectives near Piti were hit, and gun em*placements were strafed. Antiaircraft fire was moderate. We lost one plane.

Truk Atoll was bombed by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators at night on July 11. Antiaircraft positions were principal targets. Several enemy planes were in the air but did not attempt to intercept our force.

1945
PACIFIC: Italy declares war on Japan.

ALEUTIONS: In the Aleutian Islands, the USN's Task Force 93 under Rear Admiral John H. Brown, Jr., composed of the light cruisers USS Concord and USS Richmond and five destroyers, commences an antishipping sweep off the Kurile Islands.

PHILLIPINES: B-24s bomb concentrations NE of Mount Mandalagan on Negros Island. On Luzon, B-25s and fighter-bombers hit the Kiangan area, attack Japanese pockets E of Iguig and N of Tuguegarao, pound pillboxes, ammunition dumps, and vehicles in the Cervantes sector, and blast hostile areas near Siniloan, NE of Laguna de Bay.
In the Philippines, the USN's Task Force 95 under Rear Admiral Francis S. Low, composed of the large cruiser USS Alaska and USS Guam, four light cruisers and nine destroyers, sorties from Leyte Gulf to conduct an antishipping sweep in the East China Sea.

NEI: P-38s attack gun entrenchments in the Miri area of Borneo. P-38s on a sweep over SW Celebes Island hit vehicles and communications targets.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 268: During the night of 13/14 Jul, 30 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and waters at Fukuoka, and ports at Seishin, Masan, and Reisui.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: 14 B-25s and 12 P-51s attack bridges, railroad yards, AA guns, and targets of opportunity at Anyang and Puchi, China, and Do Cam, French Indochina. 33 P-51s and P-38s attack river shipping, buildings, road traffic, rail targets, and general targets of opportunity around Trung Khanh Phu, Tonkin, the Delta area, Cao Bang and Thanh Hoa, French Indochina and Wangypan, the Luichow Peninsula, Pinglo, Changsha, and Wuchou, China. The 449th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, moves from Chengkung to Mengtsz, China with P-38s.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb storage areas at Canton, China. On Formosa, B-24s bomb boatyards and buildings at Suo while A-26s hit the Karenko railroad yards.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
ALASKA: The unarmed U.S. freighter SS Arcata is torpedoed and sunk by IJN submarine HIJMS I-7 east of Dutch Harbor, Territory of Alaska, while enroute from Bethel to Seattle, Washington. The submarine surfaces and the crew machine guns the life rafts; 25 survivors are rescued.

1943
SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) In the Solomon Islands, B-25's and P-40's strike small craft in Hunda Cove and Beagle Channel off New Georgia Island; 2 barges and a small vessel are claimed destroyed. B-24's and B-17's pound airfields on Ballale and Buka Island, and at Kahili.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, A-20's bomb and strafe the Orodubi area; and a single B-17 hits Lae. B-24's bomb Koepang on Timor Island. P-39 piloted by Dannacher force lands.

1944
IWO JIMA: Iwo Jima is bombed for the first time by land-based aircraft when PB4Y-1 Liberators of the USN's Bombing Squadron One Hundred Nine (VB-109) based on Saipan attack Japanese installations.
In the U.S., General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General USAAF, recommends that Iwo Jima be invaded to provide advance emergency air bases for the B-29 Superfortresses that will be attacking Japan from the Mariana Islands.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 49 P-40s pound enemy forces in the Myitkyina vicinity; 38 P-51s and P-47s hit bridges at Mohnyin, Kadu, Henu, and Mawlu, bomb supplies at Nyaungbintba, support ground forces near Myitkyina, bomb a rice mill at Mohnyin, and hit several buildings at Hopin. In India, the detachment of the 11th Combat Cargo Squadron, 3d Combat Cargo Group (attached to 443d Troop Carrier Group), operating from Sookerating with C-47s returns to base at Dinjan; and the 315th Troop Carrier Squadron, 443d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Moran to Sookerating with C-47s, the squadron also sends a detachment to operate from Ledo.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, fighter-bombers and B-25s hit a fighter strip N of Changsha, artillery positions at Leiyang, the town of Sungpai, and road and river traffic from Hengyang to Yuhsien and from Sienning to Tungshan; also attacked are various targets of opportunity around the towns of Hengyang, Changsha, and Chaling; during the night fighter- bombers blast Pailochi Airfield, destroying 20+ enemy aircraft; B-25s bomb roads in the Tengchung area; and B-25s and P-40s pound railroad yards at Siangsiang.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s again hit Tinian Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s continue to blast Yap Island. Oil reservoirs and wells at Boela are bombed and strafed by A-20s and B-24s. Lost is A-20G- 43-9624. B-25s attack barge facilities and gun positions at Lautem, Timor Island. On the Vogelkop Peninsula, P-61s hit airfields while B-25s bomb a barge terminal at Kokas; A-20s hit Japanese forces at Sauri and bomb the But Airfield; fighter-bombers support ground forces in the Aitape area along the Driniumor River and Koronal Creek and blast troop concentrations near Afua; and HQ 475th Fighter Group and 433d Fighter Squadron move from Hollandia to Mokmer Drome with P-38s.

1945
PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, fighter-bombers support ground forces in the Mankayan and Kiangan areas and hit enemy positions in the Ipo-Infanta sector. B-24s support ground forces on Negros Island, bombing the area NE of Mount Mandalagan.

JAPAN: In Japan, carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Force 38 against airfields in northern Honshu and Hokkaido are cancelled after 1300 hours due to poor visibility. The earlier strikes hit shipping, rail lines and ground installations in those areas.
Japanese aircraft losses are: 1 A/C shot down; 1 damaged in air combat; 24 a/c destroyed on the ground; 62 a/c damaged on the ground.
Japanese shipping losses are:
Sunk: 1 Escort Destroyer, 3 Corvettes, 1 Submarine Chaser, 1 Minesweeper, 4 Auxiliary Minesweepers, 5 Guaddboats, 1 Gunboat, 1 Transport, 1 Army Vessel, 12 Merchant Cargo Vessels, 7 Train Ferries, and 8 luggers.
Damaged: 1 Destroyer, 2 Corvettes, 1 Frigate, 2 Submarne Chasers, 1 Ausiliary Submarine Chaser, 2 Ausiliary Minesweepers, 1 Guardboat, 3 Army Vessels, 3 Train Ferries, 15 Merchant Cargo Vessels, 2 Merchant ankers, 1 Dredger, and 2 luggers.
US A/C losses: Combat: VF/VBF - 6; VT = 4; VB=6; Total = 16
Operational: VF/VBF = 6; VT = 2; VB = 3; Total = 11; Aircrew: VF/VBF = 4 Pilots, VT = 2 Pilots 4 Crew; VB = 4 Pilots, 4 Crew.
The USN's Task Unit 34.8.1 under Rear Admiral John F. Shafroth, composed of three battleships, two heavy cruisers and nine destroyers, bombard Kamaishi on the Home Island of Honshu. This is the first naval bombardment of the Japanese home islands.

NEI: On Celebes Island, B-24s bomb airstrips at Boeloedowang, Limboeng, Mapanget, and Tanamon and Japanese HQ at Sindjai.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): HQ Seventh AF moves from Saipan Island to Okinawa and is reassigned from AAF Pacific Ocean Area and overall operational control by the US Navy to FEAF. Seventh AF units in the Ryukyu Islands, operating under Tactical AF, Ryukyus (Tenth Army Tactical AF) since Apr 45 when the first element of the Seventh AF arrived, are now under operational control of HQ Seventh AF. The move from Saipan takes place between 18 Jun and 28 Jul.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): P-51s from Iwo Jima sent on a strike against Meiji and Kagamigahara in the Nagoya, Japan area abort because of weather.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: 25 P-51s and P-38s bomb or strafe ammunition and supply dumps, river, road, and rail traffic, and coastal shipping around Laohokow, Tinpak, Koyiu and Yutze, China and Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Hongay, Mon Cay and Vinh, French Indochina. On Formosa, A-26s hit the Taiharo refinery and warehouse area and P-51s over the W coast blast railroad targets. P-47s sweep the N China coast and attack coastal cargo vessels NW of Tinghai.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On this date HQ Seventh AF officially joins the Fifth and Thirteenth AFs as part of FEAF. The air echelon of the 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Group, moves from Clark Field, Luzon to Okinawa with F-5s (ground echelon arrived on Okinawa on 9 Jul).

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm] 198/1078

1942
CBI: The first supplys from India reach China by flying over the "Hump"

ALASKA (11th AF): 3 B-24s on a bombing mission to Kiska turn back due to weather.

WESTERN DEFENSE COMMAND (4th AF): 392d Bombardment Squadron, 30th BG (Heavy), moves from Hammer Field to March Field, California and continues flying ASW patrols with LB-30s.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) (10th AF): India-China Ferrying Command is activated to replace the Assam-Burma-China Command.

1943
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) In the Aleutian Islands, 1 B-24 and 2 P-39's fly reconnaissance over Kiska and Segula Islands. 9 B-24's and 14 B-25's bomb Kiska Island targets including AA batteries at North Head, Jeff Cove and Gertrude Cove. Fires are started. 1 bomber turns back with 3 engines and jettisons bombs, another crashes on return. AA fire damages a B-25.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) The 71st Liaison Squadron is activated at Ondal, India, assigned to the Tenth Air Force. The squadron will be equipped with L-4's and L-5's and enter combat in Oct 43.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) In the Solomon Islands, B-25's, P-40's, and P-38's strafe 2 barges NE of Ganongga Island, leaving them sinking. A large enemy force, estimated at 27 bombers and 40-50 Zekes, is intercepted over Vella Lavella Island by USAAF and other Allied fighters, which claim 15 bombers and 30 Zekes destroyed, against 3 losses.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, A-20's hit positions along the Orodubi-Komiatum Track.

NEW GEORGIA: US General Griswold replaces General Hester on New Georgia, in the Solomon Islands.
40 Japanese aircraft are lost in a battle of Rendova in the Solomon Islands while the US forces lose only 3.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
In the last Japanese attempt to mount an air attack against Allied forces in the central Solomon Islands, the IJN dispatches an estimated 27 Bettys and 40-50 Zero's fighters to attack shipping and ground targets between 1430 and 1530 hours; they are met over Rendova Island by USAAF P-40s, USMC Corsairs and USN Wildcats. The U.S. forces shoot down 15 "Bettys" and 30 "Zekes" with the loss of just three U.S. aircraft.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 38 P-40s continue support of ground forces in the Myitkyina area; 60+ P-47s and P-51s attack bridges at Manla, Henu, and Mawlu, sweep the Lashio, Katha, and Talawgyi areas, and hit a motor pool at Kadu and targets of opportunity around Sangin and Mohnyin; and 20 B-25s attack the Myitkyina area and hit bridges and a supply area at Mawhun.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 100+ B-25s, P-40s, and P-51s blast the towns of Sinshih, Chuchou, Siangtan, Siangsiang, Sungpai, and Chaling, concentrating on military and railroad installations and river shipping; villages, troop concentrations, and river craft are attacked N and W of Hengyang and from Chaling to Yuhsien; in the Salween area 26 P-40s support Chinese forces and 12 B-25s bomb Mangshih and Lungling; and 12 B-25s and P-40s bomb railroad yards at Hsuchang, causing considerable damage.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s bomb and strafe Tinian Island and B-24s, staging through Eniwetok Atoll, hit Truk Atoll.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s blast Yap, scoring numerous hits in the town area and on a radio station and barracks area. Lost is B-24J 42-73119 and B-24J 44-40555. B-24s, penetrating a heavy weather front bomb Efman Airfield while B-25s hit enemy forces along Korrido Anchorage, and A-20s blast gun emplacements on an island off Manokwari; B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers again pound troop concentrations over a wide area around Wewak; and the 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, moves from Hollandia to Biak Island with P-38s.

CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 475, JULY 15, 1944
Guam Island was shelled by units of the Pacific Fleet and bombed by carrier aircraft on July 14 (West Longitude Date). Gun emplacements and the airfield at Orote were principal targets. Four enemy aircraft were de*stroyed on the ground. Moderate antiaircraft fire was encountered.
Mitchell medium bombers of the Seventh Army Air Force and Liberator search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two, bombed Nauru Island on July 13. Orro Town was hit and several fires started. Moderate antiaircraft fire was en*countered. Truk Atoll was bombed on July 13 by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators. Antiaircraft positions on Dublon and Moen Islands were hit. Several enemy fighters were in the air but failed to press home their attacks. On the same day Seventh Army Air Force Liberators bombed Ponape Island, and remaining enemy positions in the Marshalls were attacked by Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing.

CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 474, JULY 15, 1944
Guam and Rota Islands were attacked by carrier aircraft of a fast carrier task group on July 13 (West Longitude Date). Bombs and rockets set fire to buildings and ammunition dumps, and damaged storage facilities, gun positions, and other defense installations. We lost no aircraft. One of our destroyers sank a small enemy coastal transport near Guam during the night of July 10‑11.
Liberator bombers of the Seventh Army Air Force attacked Truk Atoll on July 12. Defense installations at Eten and Dublon Islands were the princi*pal targets. Sixteen to 19 enemy fighters attempted to intercept our force. Four fighters were shot down, four were probably shot down, and five were damaged. Four of our aircraft received minor damage. Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing bombed and strafed enemy positions in the Marshall Islands on July 11 and 12.

1945
PHILLIPINES: On Luzon, P-38s and P-51s support ground forces in the N Cayagan Valley, in the Kiangan sector, and in the Cervantes area and B-25s and P-51s bomb defensive positions in the Infanta sector.

JAPAN:
1. The USN's Task Unit 34.8.2 under Rear Admiral Oscar C. Badger and composed of three battleships, two light cruisers and eight destroyers bombards steel and iron works at Muroran on the south coast of Hokkaido.
2. Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Force 38 attack IJN and merchant vessels off Honshu sinking 12 vessels and damaging 12 others.
3. 104 Iwo Jima-based P-51s of the XXI Bomber Command attack airfields and other tactical targets at Meiji, Kagamigahara, Kowa, Akenogahara, Nagoya, and Suzuko, claiming 13-4-20 aircraft in the air and on the ground; three P-51s are lost.
4. 58 Far East Air Forces B-24s hit airfields at Tomitaka and Usa. 25 B-24s pound Kikaiga-shima, Amami Islands, Miranoura on Yaku-shima, Osumi Islands, and an airfield on Tamega Island.
5. During the night of 15/16 July, the USAAF's XXI Bomber Command flies a mining and a bombing mission are flown without loss.
a. Mission 269: 26 B-29 Superfortresses mine waters at Naoetsu and Niigata, and Najin, Pusan, and Wonsan, Korea; one other mines an alternate target.
b. Mission 270: 59 B-29s bomb the Nippon Oil Company at Kudamatsu and the facility is almost completely destroyed; three others hit alternate targets.

CENTRAL PACIFIC (Twentieth Air Force): During the night of 15/16 Jul, 1 mining and 1 bombing mission are flown without loss. Mission 269: 26 B-29s mine waters at Naoetsu and Niigata, Japan and Najin, Pusan, and Wonsan, Korea; 1 other mines an alternate target. Mission 270: 59 B-29s bomb the Nippon Oil Company at Kudamatsu and the facility is almost completely destroyed; 3 others hit alternate targets. 104 Iwo Jima based P-51s attack airfields and other tactical targets at Meiji, Kagamigahara, Kowa, Akenogahara, Nagoya, and Suzuko, Japan claiming 13-4-20 aircraft in the air and on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: 3 B-25s blast truck convoys moving through the Siang Chiang Valley of China. 39 P-51s and P-47s attack rivercraft, troops, coastal shipping, bridges, railroad yards, gun positions, trains, and other targets around the Luichow Peninsula, Anyang, Yutze, Sinsiang, Fentingtukou, Paoching, Tanchuk and Kweiyi, China, and Pac Muong and Haiphong, French Indochina. B-24s bomb an arms plant at Canton, China. On Formosa, P-51s sweep the W coast, blasting a warehouse and other buildings S of Takao and targets of opportunity on Hoko Island.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: The 65th Troop Carrier Squadron, 403d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Morotai to Dulag with C-46s and C-47s.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1941
Prince Konoye resigns as Japanese Prime Minister. Foreign Minister Matsuoka has advocated joining Germany in the attack against the USSR. He will not be in the cabinet when it is reformed on the 18th.

1942
SOLOMONS: In New Zealand, Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, USN, issues Operation Plan 1-42 identifying the command structure for the upcoming operations in the Solomon Islands. Vice Admiral Frank J. Fletcher commands the Solomons Expeditionary Force; Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes command the Air Support Force consisting of three carrier air groups; Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner commands the Amphibious Force; and Rear Admiral John S. McCain will command the land-based Allied air units as Commander, Air Solomons.

CHINA AIR TASK FORCE (CATF): In China, 4 B-25s from Kweilin, with P-40 escort, bomb a storage area at Hankow, starting a fire that is later reported to have burned 3 days. The B-25s land at Hengyang during the return flight to refuel, but are attacked by Japanese aircraft and have to take off immediately. Amidst the confusion a P-40 pilot mistakes a B-25 for a Japanese aircraft and shoots it down, the first bomber lost since the CATF began operations in China; the crew is saved.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th AF): B-17s of the 11th Bombardment Group begin leaving Hickam Field, Hawaii for the S Pacific.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th AF): 1 B-17 bombs Salamaua. Lost on a landing at Horn Island is B-17E 41-2421.

1943
SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) 30+ B-24's and B-17's pound Kahili Airfield. In the Buin, Bougainville-Faisi area, 7 B-24's join 70+ US Navy dive bombers and 100+ USAAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), US Navy, and US Marine Corps fighters in an attack on shipping. Allied airplanes claim 40+ aircraft destroyed or damaged; 7 vessels, including a destroyer, are sunk.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) A single B-24 bombs forces at MacDonald's Junction, New Guinea. Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airplanes hit positions to the SW.

1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 27 P-40s continue to hit forces in the Myitkyina area; 20+ P-51s and P-47s attack railroad bridges at Namkwin, Manla, and Hopin, and hit general targets of opportunity in the Hopin area; 12 B-25s bomb the town of Maingna and bridges at Mohnyin. In India, HQ 12th Bombardment Group (Medium) moves from Pandaveswar to Fenny.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 23 B-24s pound Changsha, causing heavy damage; 40 P-51s and P-40s hit river shipping at Changsha, attack targets of opportunity S of Hengyang, and bomb the building area at Ikiawan; and the 449th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, moves from Kweilin to Chengkung with P-38s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s continue to pound Tinian Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s continue bombing Yap and also hit Atamboea Airfield on Timor Island. B-24s pound AA positions at Manokwari; fighter-bombers bomb supply dumps N of Moemi and attack shipping in the Kokas-Babo area; bombers and fighters again hit troop and supply concentrations in the Wewak sector; troop carrier missions to forward bases, especially Biak, increase; and the 82d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Owi to Biak with P-39s.

CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 476, JULY 16, 1944
Guam Island was attacked on July 15 (West Longitude Date) by aircraft of a fast carrier task group. Bombs and rockets destroyed or damaged buildings and caused fires among bivouac areas. A dive bomber was shot down but landed in the water two miles off Guam where the crew was picked up by one of our destroyers.
On July 15 rocket‑firing carrier planes attacked ground installations on Rota Island. Fires were started and a direct hit scored on a concentration of automotive and railroad equipment.
Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands was attacked July 13 by low flying Liberators of Group One, Fleet Air Wing Two. A Japanese destroyer was hit squarely by a 500‑pound bomb. Explosions and fires resulted after one 6,000‑ton and one 3,000‑ton cargo ship were strafed. A destroyer escort, a coastal ship and 12 smaller craft were heavily strafed. An oil dump was set afire and five other fires were started. Three Japanese airplanes on the ground at the time of the attack on the south field were believed destroyed and 10 damaged by strafing. There was no enemy airborne interception. Intense antiaircraft fire slightly damaged one of our planes.
Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing Corsair fighters and Dauntless dive bombers bombed Japanese antiaircraft and coastal gun positions in the Marshall Islands on July 14. Gun emplacements were strafed. Meager antiaircraft fire damaged one of our planes.

1945
RUSSIA: Soviet, U.K. and U.S. leaders meet at Potsdam, Germany, to discuss the war with Japan and post-war issues.

USA - At 5:29:45 a.m. Mountain War Time on July 16, 1945 the first Atomic Bomb was exploded at the 'Trinity Site', New Mexico, USA.
"Fat Boy", the experimental plutonium bomb, explodes at 0530 hours local in the first U.S. test of an atomic bomb. The mushroom-shaped cloud rose to a height of 41,000 feet above the New Mexico desert at Alamogordo Air Base. All life in a 1 mile radius had ceased to exist. The bomb was called the "Gadget" and the experiment was called Trinity from a poem by John Donne. The test, conducted in a part of the desert called Jornada del Muerto (Dead Man's Trail), measured the equivalent of 18,600 tons of TNT.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (Eleventh Air Force): 2 B-24s fly a negative shipping search mission to Shimushiru Island. 4 B-25s on an enemy shipping sweep deck-level bomb and strafe an enemy freighter; 3 of the bombers then bomb and strafe Torishima Retto, the secondary target.

CENTRAL PACIFIC (Twentieth Air Force): HQ Twentieth AF is officially moved from Washington, DC to Harmon Field, Guam Island; HQ XX Bomber Command is inactivated, effective 18 Jul, and HQ and HQ Squadron XXI Bomber Command is redesignated HQ Squadron, Twentieth AF; thus the Bomber Commands are brought to an end as actual establishments and their wings pass to direct control of HQ Twentieth AF of which Major General Curtis Emerson LeMay takes command on this date. During the night of 16/17 Jul, 469 B-29s fly 4 incendiary raids against Japanese cities without loss.
Mission 271: 119 B-29s attack the Namazu urban area destroying 1.4 sq mi, 89.5% of the city.
Mission 272: 124 B-29s hit the Oita urban area destroying 0.555 sq mi, 25.2% of the city.
Mission 273: 94 B-29s attack the Kuwana urban area destroying 0.63 sq mi, 77% of the city; 2 other B-29s hit alternate targets.
Mission 274: 129 B-29s hit the Hiratsuka urban area destroying 1.04 sq mi, 44.2% of the city; 1 other hits an alternate target. During the day, 5 P-47s hit Yanagawa and 96 Iwo Jima based P-51s hit targets (mainly airfields) at Kameyama, Kiyosu, Komaki, Okazaki, Suzuko, and Akenogahara; 22 air victories are claimed; 1 P-51 is lost. HQ 21st Fighter Group moves from Central Field to South Field on Iwo Jima.

PACIFIC: The Royal Navy's Task Force 37 under Vice Admiral Henry B. Rawlings, RN, and composed of a battleship, four aircraft carriers (HMS Formidable, HMS Indefatigable, HMS Implacable and HMS Victorious), eight light cruisers and 18 destroyers, joins the USN's Third Fleet.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: In China, 5 B-25s pound enemy truck convoys moving supplies through the Siang-Chiang Valley and S of Kweilin; 60+ P-51s, P-38s, and P-47s continue to hit river, road, and rail traffic, bridges, troops, supplies, and other targets at many points in French Indochina and S and E China.

INDIA-BURMA THEATER (AAF, India-Burma Theater) Major General Thomas J Hanley, Jr assumes command of AAF, India-Burma Theater.

JAPAN (FEAF): On Kyushu Island, Japan, B-24s, A-26s, B-25s, P-51s and P-47s from Okinawa and Ie Shima pound targets; P-51s hit several E coast targets, concentrating in the Kagoshima Bay area; 27 A-26s, 1 B-24, and 39 P-47s hit the airfield and bridge at Miyazaki; 33 B-24s bomb bridges at Nobeoka; 36 B-25s, a B-24 and an A-26 pound Sadohara bridge; 6 B-24s bomb harbor and town of Aburatsu; and 5 P-47s hit Yanagawa.
FORMOSA (FEAF): On Formosa, P-51s on a sweep attack communications targets, hitting a railroad station and a locomotive shed at Byoritsu and scoring a direct hit on bridge SW of Koryu.

NEI: B-24s bomb warehouses at Watampone on Celebes Island. On Luzon, P-51s and B-25s support ground forces in the Kiangan-Baguio sector and an area E of Manila.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: The 64th Troop Carrier Squadron, 403d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Biak to Dulag with C-47s.

 

[If you have anything too add, send me a pm]

1942
ALASKA (11th AF): 3 B-17s and 7 B-24s fly weather, bombing and photo missions; shipping is bombed and North and South Heads of Kiska are photographed; fighters down 1 B-17.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th AF): B-17s bomb Simpson Harbor .

1943
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force) The 71st Liaison Squadron, Tenth Air Force, transfers from Ondal, India to Ramgarh, India and begins training with L-4's and L-5's.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: (USN) Five PB4Ys that took off from Guadalcanal on a predawn attack on Kahilli. Two from VB-102 and three from VB-101 dropped cluster bombs from 12,000' over Kahilli. On the return leg, two from VB-102 were jumped by a J1N1 Irving night fighter, likely from 251st Kokutai (from Ballale?). One fighter was seen to crash and burn. PB4Y-1 31952 was observed to going down. Lost on Espiritu Santo is TBF 6240
(Thirteenth Air Force) 7 B-24's and 70+ US Navy and Marine Corps airplanes, escorted by 100+ USAAF and Allied fighters, attack shipping off Buin. The B-24's claim hits on 2 cargo vessels, and the dive bombers claim serious damage of 3 destroyers, a patrol ship, an oiler, a merchant ship, and the 2 cargo vessels. In the air battle, Allied aircraft claim 40+ Zekes and at least 4 float planes shot down; 5 Allied airplanes are lost. Sunk is Hatsuyuki.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
In the Northern Solomons during the morning, seven USAAF B-24s, 36 USMC and USN SBD Devastators and 35 USN TBF's escorted by 114 Allied fighter (RNZAF P-40s, USAAF P-38's and USMC F4U's) attack Japanese shipping at Buin, Bougainville. The Allies sink a destroyer and damage three other vessels. There is heavy fighter opposition and 49 Japanese aircraft are shot down; the Allies lose one F4U, two P-38s, an SBD and a TBF.
The 75th Bombardment Squadron, 42d BG , which has been operating from New Caledonia Island with B-25's, returns to it's base on Guadalcanal Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) During the night of 17/l8 Jul, B-25's bomb Lautem on Timor while B-24's bomb Adaoet Island in the Moluccas Islands. In New Guinea during the day, B-25's pound the airfield, Army HQ and defensive positions, and the general area in and around Salamaua as Allied forces from the Nassau Bay-Mubo area begin a drive on Salamaua; the drive is a secondary effort designed to divert enemy attention from a subsequent Allied campaign to secure the Markham River Valley and Huon Peninsula and thus gain control of Vitiaz Strait and Dampier Strait.

NG: Units of the Australian 3rd and US 41st Divisions move toward Salamaua, New Guinea.

1944
JAPAN: Admiral Nomura replaces Navy Minister Shimada in the Japanese Cabinet.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 60+ P-40s, P-47s, and P-51s continue to hit forces in the Myitkyina area, pound Tagwin, and bomb a marshalling yard at Mohnyin. The 81st Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 12th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Madhaiganj Airfield to Fenny, India with B-25s.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 22 B-24s bomb Changsha; 7 B-25s and 21 P-40s pound railroad yards at Kaifeng; and 6 B-25s and 12 P-40s hit Tengchung.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): P-47s bomb and strafe Tinian Island. 48 B-25s from Makin stage through Engebi to bomb Ponape Island; 47 of the B-25s (1 aborts) attack airfield facilities, AA positions, and other targets throughout the atoll.

GUAM: In the Mariana Islands, USN underwater demolition teams (UDTs) begin destroying natural and manmade obstacles on the landing beaches on Guam.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Operations against the Caroline Islands are restricted to snooper missions against Yap and Woleai and Fuiloro, Timor Island is bombed by B-25s. B-24s bomb gun positions around Manokwari and airfield at Moemi; B-25s sink a large lugger in Kaiboes Bay; A-20s, B-25s, and P-39s hit troop concentrations and supplies between Aitape and Wewak at Abau, Parakaviu, Nyaparake, and E of Tadji and bomb Boram airfield and Cape Moem.

USA: In the U.S., the freighter SS E.A. Bryan carrying ammunition explodes at the ammunition depot in Port Chicago, California; the freighter SS Quinalt Victory, which is adjacent, also explodes. A total of 322 people, including 250 black seaman loading ammunition, are killed in the explosions. Survivors refuse to go back to work loading ships and 50 black sailors are charged with mutiny and convicted by court martial.

CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 477, JULY 17, 1944
Gun emplacements and other defense installations on Guam Island were heavily shelled by battleships, cruisers, and destroyers of the Pacific Fleet on July 15 (West Longitude Date). Enemy shore batteries returned sporadic fire but did no damage to our surface ships.
On July 16 aircraft of a fast carrier task group obtained direct hits on an airfield at Rota Island, bombed barracks, and destroyed a bridge. On the same day Guam was subjected to further carrier aircraft attacks, resulting in damage to antiaircraft positions, barracks, and a radio station. Several fires were started by incendiary bombs and rockets. We lost one dive bomber in these operations.
Param Island in Truk Atoll was attacked by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators on July 15. Hits were obtained on antiaircraft positions. Approximately 10 enemy fighters attempted interception, dropping bombs from above our formation. These bombs were ineffective, but one Liberator received minor damage from machine gun fire. One Zero fighter was probably shot down, and three were damaged. Corsair fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing attacked Wotje and Mille Atolls on July 15. Enemy antiaircraft positions were hit.

1945
RUSSIA: Churchill, Stalin and Truman meet at Potsdam. Under discussion will be plans for dealing with Germany; the war against Japan.

NEI: B-24s bomb Limboeng, Celebes Island barracks and strafe a schooner off SW Celebes. B-25s attack Jesselton Airfield.

JAPAN (FEAF): P-51s over Kyushu and the N Ryukyu Islands attack shipping, severely damaging a 10,000-ton cargo vessel in the harbor on Amami- O-Shima Island and P-47s dive-bomb railroad tunnels NW and SW of Kagoshima, Kyushu.

JAPAN: Carrier-based aircraft of the RN's Task Force 37 and the USN's Task Force 38 attack airfields in the Tokyo area in the morning. Weather forces the cancellation of missions in the afternoon.
The RN battleship HMS King George V and two destroyers are attached to the USN's Task Unit 34.8.2 and the force bombards the Mito-Hitachi area on Honshu.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (Eleventh Air Force): The 77th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 28th BG (Composite), flies it's last mission of the war when 4 B-25s make an unsuccessful shipping sweep between Kurabu Zaki and Tomari Zaki; 2 of the B-25s land in the USSR and 11 of the 12 airmen become the last American aircrew interned in the USSR during the war (one airman is KIA). An unsuccessful shipping sweep is flown by 2 B-24s over Shimushiru Island.

Twentieth Air Force: Mission 275: During the night of 17/18 Jul, 27 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and waters in the Nanao-Fushiki area, at Henashi Cape, Iwase and at Seishin; 1 other B-29 mines an alternate target.

CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: In China, a single B-25 attacks 3 truck convoys in the Siang Chiang Valley and bombs the area along the river at Hengyang; 70+ P-51s and P-47s continue to disrupt enemy movement in French Indochina and S and E China, attacking bridges, railroad yards, rail, road, and river traffic, airfields, gun positions, and many other targets at various locations, especially around Suichwan, Linfen, and Sinsiang, China.

CHINA (FEAF): In China, nearly 150 B-24s, B-25s, and A-26s pound Chiang Wan Airfield, P-47s attack shipping and warehouses in the Taishan Island area while others hit Tinghai Airfield and B-25s hit Itu Aba Island.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: The 13th Troop Carrier Squadron, 403d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Espiritu Santo to Dulag with C-47s.