This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

24 December 1942

EASTERN FRONT: Von Manstein was forced to withdraw Battlegroup Hoth as new Soviet attacks from the Stalingrad Front broke through the 4th Rumanian Army, threatening the German forces from the south as well as from the north. Soviet offensives continued with new vigor on the Don Front as well with the apparent end of Operation "Wintergewitter".

As Christmas of 1942 approached, the situation of 6.Armee was becoming increasingly desperate. Von Manstein's relief column had been forced to retreat, supplies arriving by air were diminshing and starvation began to cull the ranks of the men inside the pocket. With no fodder available for the horses, the Germans had started slaughtering the animals for food shortly after the Red Army closed the ring around Stalingrad. On Christmas eve, von Paulus ordered that the last of the beasts be killed to provide a makeshift Christmas dinner for his men. But on the following day, he ordered another cut in the soldiers rations. The daily food allotment for each man was now a bowl of thin soup and 100 grams of bread per day. At Tatsinskaya airfield outside Stalingrad, Russian tanks began to bombard the field. With his Ju 52s waiting for liftoff with engines running, General Fiebig gave the order to leave the airbase. Several transports were hit and destroyed before Fiebig's order. At 05.30 hours, chaos ensued on the airfield. Flying laden with supplies for Stalingrad instead of vital ground crew and equipment, the Ju 52s took off in all directions through tank fire and ground fog that limited visibility to about 50 yards. Two Ju 52s taking off in different directions, collided at mid-field and exploded. As General Fiebig watched from the control tower - with a waiting Junkers nearby - Russian tanks entered the airfield. At 06.15 hours, the last transport took off with General Fiebig and his staff onboard and Fw. Ruppert at the controls. Only 108 Ju 52s and 16 Ju 86s managed to escape the destruction of 'Tazi'. One transport was flown to Novocherkassk airfield by Hptm. Lorenz of Signals Regiment 38, who was not a pilot and had never flown before. That night he was given an honorary pilot's badge by General von Richthofen. The loss of the airfield directly affected the outcome of 6.Armee in Stalingrad. At Morosovskaya - or 'Moro' - airfield, Colonel Ernst Kuhl recieved word that the weather would break, creating good flying conditions. He ordered the Stuka and bomber crews at Novocherkassk to return to 'Moro' and begin operations. Just after the fog lifted, the Luftwaffe attacked. Aircraft from Major Dr. Kupfer's StG 2, Oblt. Hitschold's anti-tank unit, Major Wilcke's JG 3 and bombers from KG 27, KG 55 and I./KG 100 struck the spearhead of the Russian tank attacks. The Russians, caught in the open, were decimated. Along with shortages of food and ammunition, doctors at Stalingrad were forced to cope with an increasing number of wounded men and diminishing stocks of medicine. Although the wounded were given priority for evacuation on the outbound transport planes, Wehrmacht doctors were now forced to give first choice to wounded soldiers who stood the best chance of recovering and being returned to battle. A triage was set up at the airport to sort out the hopless cases and to remove any cases of self-inflicted wounds, which were becoming more prevalent with each passing day. As the seige wore on, Army aid stations became overwhelmed with wounded soldiers who might have stood a chance of survival under normal conditions. But with the lack of supplies and the sheer weight of their numbers, many of these men died and manpower for proper disposal of the bodies was inadequate. As a result, many of these aid stations were swamped with corpses which remained in place for lack of enough able-bodied men to transfer them to graves registration units.

GERMANY: The first Fieseler Fi 103 (V1 "Buzz Bomb") is catapulted from Peenemunde West and makes a flight of 1,000 meters (3,281 feet).

During the night of 24/25 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches three Oboe Mosquitos to attack German targets. One bombs Dusseldorf and one each bomb steel factories at Essen and Meiderich. The Essen bombs fell on the northern parts of the Krupps factory.

MEDITERRANEAN : Pope Pius XII makes another of his many calls for the more humane conduct of hostilities during a lengthy Christmas message over Vatican Radio. Humanity, he says, owed the resolution of a better world to;

"the hundreds of thousands who, without personal guilt, sometimes for no other reason than their nationality or descent, were doomed to death or exposed to a progressive deterioration of their condition."

NORTH AFRICA: Fighting on Longstop Hill continued in Tunisia. The British occupied the position at the end of the day's fight. The British First Army regains positions on Djebel el Ahmera hill. Four Twelfth Air Force P-40s attack a bridge north of Gabes.

French Admiral Jean Darlan, High Commissioner for North Africa, is assassinated in his Algiers office by Bonnier de la Chappelle, a Charles de Gaulle follower who was training to be a British agent. Due to his ties with the Vichy French government, Admiral Darlan was not a popular appointment with the Free French and his death avoids political controversy in the Allied camp. "Darlan's murder, however criminal, relieved the Allies of their embarrassment at working with him," admitted British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The nature and background of this act will be debated over the years. de la Chapelle is tried by a secret military court and summarily executed.

A decision is made at conference between U.S. Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Force, and Lieutenant General Kenneth A. N. Anderson, General Officer Commanding British First Army, to abandon the attack on Tunis, Tunisia, until after the rainy season.

NORTH AMERICA: Canadian National Defence says there are now 681,615 volunteers and conscripts in the Canadian forces.

UNITED KINGDOM: The first P-47 Thunderbolts arrive in England for the USAAF Eighth Air Force however, because of VHF radio and engine difficulties, the P-47s are not sent into combat until April 1943.

 

[Njaco]

25 December 1942

EASTERN FRONT: Good weather over Stalingrad meant that the Luftwaffe attacks on the Russian tank columns could continue. Soviet troops around Stalingrad launched attacks against the German perimeter. The fighting was very heavy and casualties were high on both sides. 6.Armee slaughtered 12,000 horses in the pocket and distributed the horse-meat as regular rations began to run out.

NORTH AFRICA: The see-saw battle for Longstop Hill continued. This time, the Germans retook the position from the British along with Djebel el Ahmera. Captured by the Allies the day before yesterday, this spot continues to be fought over by both sides, despite the supply difficulties of each. Axis forces evacuate their outflanked garrison at Sirte. Fw 190 jabos of III./SKG 10 attacked the Allied airfield at Bone and destroyed 2 Hurricanes, a Spitfire, a Douglas C-47 and 4 other aircraft. Later Fw 190s from II./JG 2 attacked a B-17 bomber formation over Bizerte but didn't score a victory.

 

[Njaco]

26 December 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-357 is sunk about 308 nautical miles WNW of Londonderry, County Derry, Northern Ireland, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS 'Hesperus' and 'Vanessa'; six of the 42 crewmen survive.

USN submarine USS 'Barb' mistakenly torpedoes and damages the 6,276 ton neutral Spanish tanker MV 'Campomanes' off Cape Finisterre, Spain. Cape Finisterre is a rocky promontory in extreme northwestern Spain.

CENTRAL AFRICA: A Free French force from British Somaliland moves into French Somaliland to seize two rail bridges and thus insure the safety of the rail line from the port of Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The action is accomplished without bloodshed.

EASTERN FRONT: At the 'Moro' airfield, fog and ice storms returned, halting attacks on Russian armour. With this break, the Russians resumed their advance on the airfield. Lt. Schwientek of Jg 52 downed 2 IL-2s and a YaK near Rossosch.

The Soviets penetrated into Velikiye Luki and cut the German garrison in 2 halves - each so small that henceforth supplies to the surviving Germans could only be air-dropped. The Russians also continued their advance in the middle Don region. The spearheads were 100 miles from Rostov, threatening to surround the German forces in the Caucasus and claim 56,000 prisoners since the offensive began. German forces south of the Don River are in full retreat as the Soviet advance nears Kotelnikovo. The Soviets capture Radomyshl in the Kiev sector.

Fw. Josef Kaiser of 8./JG 5 was shot down by AA over the Murmansk frontline. He then voluteered as a Soviet agent for agent training.

NORTH AFRICA: In Tunisia, B-17s with fighter escort, hit the harbour and shipping at Bizerte. Heavy flak and fighter attacks accounted for 2 B-17s and 2 P-38s shot down. The Lightnings claimed 2 Fw 190s destroyed but the Luftwaffe actually lost 3 fighters to P-38s of the US 1st FG 94th FS. Lt. Crinius of I./JG 53 downed one of the four-engined bombers near Tunis. Other B-17s with P-40 escort, bombed the harbour and shipping at Sfax; 3 German vessels were claimed sunk. P-38s on recon, attacked locomotives and motor vehicles south of Tunis and west of Sousse.

During the night of 26/27 December, C-47 Skytrains drop a detachment of U.S. paratroopers at a bridge north of El Djem.

The French Imperial Council names General Henri-Honeré Giraud as French High Commissioner for North Africa after the assassination of Admiral Jean Darlan on 24 December. The assassin, Bonnier de la Chappelle, is executed today.

 

[syscom3]

27 December 1942

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-356 is sunk about 291 nautical miles NNE of Lagens Field, Azores Islands, by depth charges from the Canadian destroyer HMCS 'St. Laurent' and the Canadian corvettes HMCS 'Battleford', 'Chilliwack' and 'Napanee'; all 46 crewmen on the submarine are lost.

EASTERN FRONT: Hitler allowed Heeresgruppen Don to retreat to a line 150 miles west of Stalingrad. In addition to action in the Stalingrad sector, the Soviets begin attacks in the Caucasus. Six armies near Nalchik begin an attack. The Germans begin to withdraw as the advance of the Soviet armies in the Stalingrad sector reaches Rostov to his north.

The German military begins enlisting Soviet POWs in the battle against the Soviet Union. Soviet Lieutenant General Andrei Vlasov, former commander of the 2nd Shock Army, is made commander of the renegade Soviet troops. Vlasov had fought at Leningrad and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin would not allow him to withdraw his troops to more favorable positions. His army was battered, and he was taken prisoner by the Germans along with many of his men. Back in Germany, Vlasov became disillusioned with Stalin and communist ideology, which he had come to believe was a more sinister threat to the world than Nazism. He began broadcasting anti-Soviet propaganda and formed, with Nazi permission, of course, the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia. Its goal: to overthrow Joseph Stalin and defeat communism. The German "Smolensk Committee" began persuading more and more captured Russians, Ukrainians, Cossacks, and other Soviet anti-Stalinists to join the German war effort. These now-pro-German Soviets were finally formed into a 50,000-man army, the Russian Liberation division, and fought toward the end of the war, with Vlasov at their command. Tens of thousands ending up turning back against the Germans, then finally surrendering to the Americans-rather than the advancing Soviets-when the German cause was lost. The Americans, under secret terms of the Yalta Agreement signed in February 1945, repatriated all captured Soviet soldiers-even against their will. Vlasov was among those returned to Stalin. He was hanged, along with his comrades in arms.

MEDITERRANEAN : During the night of 27/28 December, one Ninth Air Force B-24 bombs the shipyard at Taranto.

NORTH AFRICA: British Eighth Army patrols cross Wadi Tamet. The British First Army repels an Axis attack in the Medjez el Bab area.

Thirty Twelfth Air Force B-17s, escorted by P-38s, bomb the shipping and dock facilities at Sousse, damaging docks and warehouses and claiming direct hits on four vessels while P-38s and P-40s fly several reconnaissance missions.

In Tunisia, B-17s escorted by P-38s, bombed the shipping and dock facilities at Sousse, damaging the docks and warehouses and claiming direct hits on 4 vessels.

NORTH AMERICA: The auxiliary aircraft carrier USS 'Santee', the first of 11 aircraft carriers assigned to Hunter-Killer duty, and the destroyer USS 'Eberle' sortie Norfolk, Virginia, with Escort Carrier Air Group Twenty Nine on board for free-roving antisubmarine and anti-raider operations in the South Atlantic. All auxiliary aircraft carriers (ACVs ) are redesignated escort aircraft carriers (CVEs ) on 15 July 1943.

A troop train with 13 coaches plows into the rear of a Canadian Pacific Railroad train near Almonte, Ontario, killing 36 and injuring 155 persons. The crash was caused by lack of automatic signals. Almonte is located about 27 miles (43 kilometers) west-southwest of Ottawa, Ontario.

UNITED KINGDOM: RAAF 466 Squadron relocated to Leconfield. Equipped with Vickers Wellington medium bombers, and forming part of 4 Group, Bomber Command, it flew its first operational mission on 13 January 1943. This mission involved laying mines along Germany's North Sea coast, an activity that would become one of the mainstays of the squadron's activities in ensuing months. The squadron's primary operational focus, however, was the strategic bombing of Germany. (Heinz)

 

[syscom3]

28 December 1942

CENTRAL AFRICA: General Dupont, the Vichy French Governor of French Somaliland, surrenders the colony to the Free French.

EASTERN FRONT: In the face of the continuing Soviet offensive toward Rostov-on-Don that threatens to cut it off, German Heeresgruppe A is ordered to withdraw its forces from the Caucasus.

MEDITERRANEAN: The British rescue tug HMS 'St. Issey' is torpedoed and sunk about 31 nautical miles NNE of Benghazi, Libya, by German submarine U-617.

NORTH AFRICA: British Eighth Army patrols reach positions overlooking Wadi el Chebir without German opposition.

Twenty two USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s, including RAF Liberators under USAAF IX Bomber Command operational control, bomb the harbor at Sousse, hitting vessels and dock installations.

Twelfth Air Force B-17s bomb the dock and harbor installations at Sousse. while P-38s fly escort; P-38s and P-40s on patrol and reconnaissance missions claim four Axis aircraft downed in combat and several vehicles destroyed at various points. F-4 Lightnings fly reconnaissance over the Tunis, Sousse and Sfax areas.

NORTH AMERICA: Concerned about sharing the secrets of atomic research, President Franklin D. Roosevelt confirms the policy of noncooperation with the British that his advisers have been recommending. He orders that no information should be given to the British unless it happens to be in an area in which British scientists are directly involved.

WESTERN FRONT: In a worldwide radio broadcast from France, Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain, Head of the Vichy French State, accuses the Free French leaders of having betrayed French Africa to the British and Americans.

During the night of 28/29 December, RAF Bomber Command sends five Wellingtons and a Stirling to lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

 

[syscom3]

29 December 1942

EASTERN FRONT: Two German Army divisions started a relief thrust to Velkiye Liki. Covering the advance, 9./JG 54's Ofw. Eugen-Lugwig Zweigart attained his 50th to 53rd victories by claiming 2 La-5s and 2 Yak-1s. The La-5s encountered probably belonged to 169 IAP, which claimed to have shot down 21 German aircraft - including 12 in a single combat - on 29 December. Leytenant Pavel Grazhdaninov reportedly destroyed 2 Ju 87s - of which he rammed one, surviving the feat with injuries. These IAP claims are 3x higher than the actual Luftwaffe losses in that area on that day.

Kotelnikov, southwest of Stalingrad, falls to the Red Army.

GERMANY: During the night of 29/30 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches three Oboe Mosquitos to attack steel plants at Essen and Meiderich in 10/10th cloud conditions. Two bomb Meiderich and one bombs Essen; in the latter case, the bombs fall 500 meters (547 yards) east of the Krupps factory.

NORTH AFRICA: Advance elements of the British Eighth Army (armoured cars of the 4th Light Armoured Brigade) come to a halt just west of the Germans's Buerat position. Buerat and Bu Ngern are found to be free of Germans. A lull follows as the British prepare to attack.

Eleven Ninth Air Force B-24s sent to bomb Tunis harbor during the night of 29/30 December find the target obscured by clouds and attack Sousse instead.

Eighteen Twelfth Air Force B-17s attack Sousse docks and harbor; P-38s provide escort. DB-7s and A-20s hit bridges at La Hencha while escorting P-40s strafe flatcars and a locomotive at Sainte-Juliette. P-38s attack a tank depot southeast of Pont-du-Fahs; DB-7s and A-20s follow with an attack on the same target. P-38s and P-40s fly reconnaissance missions and patrols over wide areas of Algeria and Tunisia.

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb three marshalling yards: two each bomb the M/Y at Amiens and Tergnier and one hits the M/Y at Laon.

During the night of 29/30 December, 14 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters lay mines in the River Gironde.

 

[Njaco]

30 December 1942

EASTERN FRONT: Remontnoe, 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Elista falls to the Red Army.

With clear skies, the Soviet Air Forces' 3 VA and 6 VA (operating immediately to the north and mainly responsible for air operations against Demyansk) made a combined all-out effort against German airfields and troop positions between Lake Ilmen and Vitebsk. This time JG 54 took the brunt of the air fighting on the German side. On this date, I./JG 54's 9-victory experte Fw. Heinrich Bruhn and his wingman, Uffz. Paul Grothoff were bounced by 5 Airacobras from 28 GIAP, south of Lake Ilmen. Kapitan Anatoliy Kislyakov, leading the Soviet formation, shot down the two Bf 109s in quick succession. Both pilots survived and were captured by the Russians. Meanwhile, 7./JG 54's Lt. Friedich Rupp attained his 48th through 50th victories.

Oblt. Hans-Ekkehard Bob's 9./JG 54 chalked up 6 victories - including 2 each by Oblt. Bob and Oblt. Franz Eisenach and the Staffel's 300th victory through Lt. Rudolf Klemm. But all of this was superceded by the Geschwader's I. and II. Gruppen, which fought against 6 VA formations. Hptm. Hans Philipp, Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 54 and the units leading ace, claimed 8 victories while II./JG 54's Lt. Max Stotz almost placed himself alongside Hptm. Philipp by shooting down 10 Russian aircraft, reaching a victory tally of 129. Major Hans 'Assi' Hahn, Lt. Stotz' Gruppenkommandeur, contributed with another 5 kills to JG 54's total score for the day of 45 victories. The Luftwaffe's own losses in the area between Lake Ilmen and Vitebsk were at least 10 planes.

NORTH AFRICA: Regimental Combat Team 18, U.S. 1st Infantry Division, moves to Medjez el Bab.

In Tunisia, B-17s with P-38 escort, attacked docks and the marshalling yard at Sfax. B-25s escorted by P-38s followed with an attack on the same marshaling yard. DB-7s hit a troop concentration near Gabes, this attack being followed by an A-20 raid on the airfield. A-20s hit a fuel dump at El Aouina; on the return flight, escorting P-38s strafed near El Guettar.

Six B-26s of the newly arrived US 17th MBG, with P-38 and P-40 escort, again attacked the airfield at Gabes in the afternoon. Defending Bf 109s destroyed 5 of the medium bombers but lost a Messerschmitt to an escort P-38. One of the P-38s shot down over Gabes was the aircraft of First Lt. Virgil Smith who had achieved ace status on 11 December 1942.

Eleven Fw 200s of KG 40 raided Casablanca.

WESTERN FRONT: During Mission #27, 77 US bombers were dispatched to the submarine base at Lorient, France. 40 aircraft attacked with the loss of 3 of the B-17s and a further 22 damaged. In an example of overclaiming, 10 B-17s were claimed destroyed by fighters from III./JG 2.

The submarine base was beginning to show the cumulative effect of repeated bombardment. A US 8th Bomber Command study of air attacks on submarine pens indicated that available US bombs were incapable of penetrating the roofs of the pens from any bombing level low enough to maintain accuracy.

 

[Njaco]

31 December 1942

EASTERN FRONT: The airlift to Stalingrad was able to deliver over 200 tons of supplies this day to the beseiged city. Operations were now being flown from Novocherkassk and Ssalsk airfields, some 60 miles further from Stalingrad. 3./SchG 1 lost its new Staffelkapitaen, Oblt. Josef Graf von und zu Hoensbrock, who was killed by ground fire.

 

[syscom3]

Well, its been a full year of posting the events of the war in Europe war. 365 of them.

And to think that I still have 2 years and 5 months to go!

If anything, I hope the readers of this thread appreciate the scale of events. Its easy to say "it took 11 months for a bomber unit to begin operations". But then when you think of it being 330 days... you begin to realize the time scale of it all.

Thanks Njaco ...... a thread like this needs all the help I can get.

"keep 'em coming!"

1943 will be a busy year with the upcoming allied invasions of Italy and the widening airwar over Germany.

 

[Njaco]

1 January 1943

ATLANTIC OCEAN: After an 8-hour search, an Australian Sunderland of No. 10 Squadron, RAAF, based in England, sights the 6,753 ton German blockade runner SS 'Rhakotis'. The aircraft crew guides the British light cruiser HMS 'Scylla' to the ship but when the cruiser opens fire, the Germans scuttle their ship NW of La Coruna, Comunidad Autonoma de Galicia, Spain.

EASTERN FRONT: The New Year opened badly for the Germans at Stalingrad. The encircled German 6.Armee on the Stalingrad front, now compressed into an area some 25 by 40 miles remains under attack from all sides. Efforts to supply it by air meet with little success and are costly in aircraft. Soviet troops of the Kalinin Front capture Velikie Luki, an important rail center, which has been under attack for some time. Elista, south of Stalingrad in the Kalmyk steppes, falls to other Red Army forces. Deteriorating weather conditions hampered German flight activities with Gefechtsverband Wilke lossing 7 He 111s - including 6 from KG 53 - during missions to Velikiye Luki on New Year's Day. Out of 45 air-dropped supply containers, only 7 reached the surrounded German garrison. By that time, these troops were;

"...so weak from losses that they could no longer be described as a unified combat formation",

in the words of historian Werner Haupt. German LIX Army Corps' "Gruppe Wohler" prepared a new relief operation. The airfields at 'Moro' and 'Tazi' were finally decided to be given up by the Luftwaffe to the approaching Russians. But airlift aircraft from Novocherkassk were able to again deliver over 200 tons of supplies to Stalingrad.

German troops of 1.Panzerarmee (von Kliest) in the Caucasus began withdrawing from the Terek front to avoid being cut-off by Soviet forces attacking from the northeast toward Rostov-On-Don.

In mid-January, the surviving personnel of II./SchG 1 left for Deblin-Irena in Poland to rest and convert to the Fw 190, except for 7./SchG 1 which continued to fly the Hs 123. A few Hs 129s and crews from other Staffeln were also left behind in southern Russia.

GERMANY: The Me 410A-1 high-altitude aircraft entered production at Augsburg.

The new II./JG 11 was based at Husum on the north German coast. 70km north of the harbor town, the tiny island of Heligoland juts out into the North Sea. A small Staffel-sized unit of Bf 109T 'Toni' fighters were stationed on the island's airstrip. Designated 'Jasta Helgoland', the 'Tonis' - a Bf 109 sub-type developed for the ill-fated aircraft carrier 'Graf Zeppelin' - were commanded by Oblt. Hermann Hentzen and subordinated to JG 11.

MEDITERRANEAN: Gruppenkommandeur Major Werner Klumper of I./KG 26 took a leave of absence and was replaced by Hptm. Herbert Vater. The unit then took its He 111s from Grosseto to Decimonanu in Sardinia. II./KG 26 also left Grosseto and moved to Villacidro in Sardinia.

Luftwaffenkommado Sudost was formed in Greece from parts of X. Fliegerkorps and placed under the control of GenFeldm. Albert kesselring's Luftflotte 2. General Otto Hoffmann von Waldau was appointed Befehlshaber of Luftwaffenkommando Sudost and GenLt. Alexander Holle was appointed Kommandierender General of X. Fliegerkorps. One of the units controlled by X. Fliegerkorps was 'Fliegerfuhrer Kreta'.

The 7,176 ton U.S. Liberty Ship SS 'Arthur Middleton' is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-73 NW of Oran, Algeria. The subsequent explosion sends steel plates, flame and smoke soaring 1,000 feet into the air and breaks the ship in two. Her sinking takes less than two minutes. Her complement consisted of 44 crew members, 27 Naval Armed Guards and 12 U.S. Army personnel. Three members of the Naval Armed Guards are the only survivors.

NORTH AFRICA: In Tunisia, 15 B-24s of the 98th HBG struck the harbor at Tunis hitting the turning basin, the area just southwest of the basin and a nearby railroad junction. A few of the aircraft bombed the south of Sicily. B-17s hit the harbor at Tunis while B-26s hit the narshaling yard. B-25s on a mission against shipping near La Goulette aborted due to weather. Fighters escorted the bomber missions and C-47 transport carried out routine patrols.

Fw 190A Jabos of III./SKG 10 along with JU 87s and Bf 109s attacked the harbor and airfield at Bone, hitting the light cruiser HMS ' Ajax'. The ship makes her way to a New York Navy Yard for repairs and is out of action until October 1943. Oblt. Wolfgang Tonne and Lt. Wilhelm Crinius of the escorting 3./JG 53 each destroyed a RAF Spitfire over Bone along with Ofw. Stefan Litjens of 4./Jg 53. It was Lt. Crinius' 108th kill, Oblt. Tonne's 104th victory and Ofw. Litjen's 30th victory. III./SKG 10 flew fighter-bomber missions throughout January without losing more than a single aircraft to Allied fighter interception. II./StG 3 and III./StG 3 flew successful operations against the Allied positions throughout January with no more than 2 Ju 87s being registered as lost to enemy fighters (another 4 Ju 87s were registered lost due to 'Feindbeschuss' or unknown reasons). Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Heinrich Heine then took his II./StG 3 from La Sebala to El Aouina. Gruppenkommandeur Major Bernhard Hamester moved his III./StG 3 from Bir Durfan to Gabes-West.

Again over the Bone area at 15.00 hours, Lt. Crinius and Oblt. Tonne destroyed 2 more RAF Spitfires to bring the number of enemy aircraft destroyed by Lt. Crinius to 109 and Oblt. Tonne's score to 105 kills. Hptm. Gerhard Michalski of the Geschwaderstab of II./JG 53 downed a Spitfire to bring his score to 50 enemy aircraft destroyed.

The fighters of JG 77 engaged Allied P-40s during the day and destroyed 3 of the American aircraft with victories going to Ofw. Kurt Niederhagen of the Geschwaderstab of II./JG 77 for his 2nd kill, Oblt. Siegfried Freytag of 1./JG 77 for his 84th kill and Ofw. Robert Helmer of 8./JG 77 for his 33rd victory. Out of 32 German fighters shot down and destroyed in the Med in January 1943, a total of 22 were from II./JG 51 and JG 77.

Lt.General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Force, places Major General Lloyd Fredendall in command of the U.S. II Corps, which is planning for Operation SATIN, the capture of Sfax, Tunisia, to prevent the junction of Axis armies. Task Force SATIN is to consist of the 1st Armored Division and Regimental Combat Team 26 of the 1st Infantry Division.

WESTERN FRONT: In January, the remnants of KG 50 returned to Brandenburg-Briest and were retrained in the anti-shipping role with Hs 293 missiles. The unit moved to Burg-Magdeburg later in the year. The new Gruppenkommandeur was Major Heinrich Schlosser, appointed in place of Major Kurt Scheede who was killed over Stalingrad in December 1942.

Hptm. Hans "Gockel" von Hahn was transferred from JG 5 to the staff of the General der Jagdflieger. At XII. Fliegerkorps, Generalleutnant Josef Kammhuber was promoted to General der Flieger. Hptm. Manfred Meuer of 9./NJG 1 was appointed Staffelkapitaen of 3./NJG 1. Hptm. Helmut Lent recieved promotion to the rank of Major.

IV./NJG 4 was formed at Mainz-Finthen with a new Stab and 10./NJG 4 from 8./NJG 4 and 11./NJG 4 from 6./NJG 4. Major Heinrich Wohlers was appointed Gruppenkommandeur. The Gruppe used Bf 110s for operations. 12./JG 2 was formed in Evreux. V./KG 40 with Major Alfred Hemm acting as Gruppenkommandeur, was formed at Kerlin-Bastard, joining 13./KG 40 which was formed in August 1942 at Nantes with JU 88C aircraft. The Gruppe remained at Kerlin-Bastard during its existance, with detachments at Bordeaux-Merignac and Cognac. A Nachtjagdstaffel./KG 40 also existed in 1943 at Bordeaux-Merignac ('Kommando Kunkel') and also used Ju 88C fighters.

Major Horst von Riesen's II./KG 1 was transferred ffrom Urasoff to Neuhausen. Hptm. Werner Kanther's II./KG 1 was transferred from Neuhausen to Dno. Major Paul Breu's IV./KG 3 was transferred from Chievres to Istres.

 

[Njaco]

2 January 1943

EASTERN FRONT: At Stalingrad, heavy fog completely stopped all flying operations but not transfers of units. Oberst Hans-Henning Frhr. von Beust moved his Stab./KG 27 from Novocherkassk to Stalino. Major Erich Theil's III./KG 27 followed the Stab to Stalino. Hptm. Joachim Petzold's I./KG 27 took the Stab's place at Novocherkassk, coming from Urasoff. Major Karl August Petersen replaced Hptm. Reinhard Gunzel as Gruppenkommandeur of II./KG 27 and also moved from Urasoff to Novocherkassk. 14.(Eis)/KG 27 was formed in Charkow-Woitschenko and used the He 111H for operations. Hptm. Siegfreid Jungklaus' III./KG 3 moved from Starobelsk to Tschugujew.

German Heeresgruppe A begins withdrawing the 1.Panzerarmee northward toward Rostov to prevent it from becoming encircled. (Syscom)

GERMANY: Romanian dictator Marshal Ion Antonescu meets with Chancellor Adolf Hitler and reconciles their differences concerning the Romanian failures and the disaster at Stalingrad. (Syscom)

MEDITERRANEAN: On Crete, B-25s of the US 12th MBG bombed the airfield at Heraklion while B-24s of the 376th HBG hit the airfield at Kasteli / Pediada. 20 Axis fighters and a few bombers were destroyed on the ground.

In Sicily, British frogmen sink the Italian light cruiser 'Ulpio Traiano', which is under construction in Palermo, with explosive charges. (Syscom)

NORTH AFRICA: In Tunisia, B-17s bombed the harbor and shipping at La Goulette. The 27th FS / 1st FG dispatched 8 P-38s to escort the B-17s but were bounced by 12 Bf 109s from II./JG 51 belonging to Kommando Roth. Capt. Glenn and Lt. H. K. Smith were 2 of 5 Lightnings claimed shot down - one for Fw. Anton Hafner and Ofw. Otto Schulz of 4./JG 51 and two by Oblt. Hans Heidrich of 6./JG 51 - without German losses.

US 12th AF A-20s and DB-7s, with fighter escorts, consecutively raided Sousse harbor. B-26s with fighter escort bombed the bridge north of El Djem.

III./SKG 10 continued its attacks in the morning and afternoon on the installations at Bone. The minesweeper HMS 'Alarm' was damaged beyond repair in the raid on Bone, then beached and abandoned. Her 4 in gun was given to the Army who used it to fire starshell for coastal defense purposes.

Fighters from II./JG 51 - again from Kommando Roth - bounced a flight of Hurricanes and Spitfires. Fw. Anton Hafner of 4./JG 51 was hit by Robert Oxspring of RAF No. 72 Sqdrn and was forced to bail out. But as he did, he hit the rudder of his Bf 109G and fractured his hand. Upon landing he spent 6 months in a German hospital, his score standing at 20 kills.

UNITED KINGDOM: RAAF 467 Heavy Bomber Squadron commenced operation when 5 aircraft took off for the squadron's first raid. (Heinz)

Headquarters 2d Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) with B-24s is established at St. Eval, Cornwall, England, upon arrival from the U.S. This unit is assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command (attached to VIII Bomber Command) and is tasked to assist the RAF in attacking German U-boats. (Syscom)

WESTERN FRONT: Four radar equipped B-24s of the US 329th BS 93rd BG flew a 'moling' or intruder mission aimed at harrassing the Luftwaffe in weather unsuitable for large missions by alerting air-raid crews in the area north of the Ruhr. The 329th had been training for these missions since 14 Dec. 1942. This mission and 2 subsequent missions in January were foiled by clear weather over the target area. 20 Spitfire Mk Vs of the 4th FG were dispatched on fighter patrols.

In the Bay of Biscay during the night of 2/3 January, RAF Bomber Command sends 42 Wellingtons and Lancasters to lay mines: ten off the Gironde Estuary, five each off La Pallice and St. Nazaire; four off Bayonne, three off Lorient and two each off Brest, Limoges and St. Jean de Laz. (Syscom)

 

[syscom3]

3 January 1943

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-337 (Type VIIC), with 47 crewmen, is listed as missing in the North Atlantic; there is no explanation for its loss. U-337 reported for the last time today when the boat was about 150 nautical miles WNW of the Faeroe Islands (63.00N, 12.00W).

EASTERN FRONT: Exploiting the German withdrawal in the Caucasus, the Red Army occupies Mozdok and Malgobek. Soviet forces from the 44th and 58th Armies captured Malgobek in the Caucasus as Heeresgruppe A began a general withdrawl from the region. Uffz. Kurt Hofrath of 2./JG 3 was shot down and killed. His final score was 21 aircraft destroyed. Heinz Obst, also from JG 3, went missing in action. Obstlt. Walter Lehwess-Litzmann replaced Major Jobst-Hinrich von Heydebreck as Geschwaderkommodore of KG 3.

Obstlt. Paul-Werner Hozzel's Stab./StG 2 - known as Gefechtsverband Hozzel - moved from Makejewka to Nikolayev. Gefechtsverband Hozzel controlled parts of StG 1, StG 2 and StG 77. Major Ernst Kupfer's II./StG 2 followed the Gefechtsverband to Nikolayev from Tachinskaya. (Njaco)

GERMANY: During the night of 3/4 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches three Pathfinder Mosquitos and 19 Lancasters to continue the Oboe-marking experimental raids on Essen. Three Lancasters are lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: RAF Baltimores operating under the USAAF IX Bomber Command, bomb Suda Bay and Timbakion Airfield on the southern coast of Cete. A few of the aircraft also bomb Kapistri in eastern Crete.

Ludwig Berger of JG 77, who was shot down and captured on 12 May 1942, died of his wounds while in Allied custody. He had 16 kills to his credit.(Njaco)

NORTH AFRICA: An Axis tank-infantry force, with artillery and air support, overruns the French 19th Corps troops at Fondouk. The British First Army's V Corps, employing the 36th Brigade of the 78th Division,begins limited attacks to improve positions on Djebel Azag and Djebel Ajred, west of Mateur. The British 6th Armoured Division conducts a reconnaissance in force on the Goubellat plain.
All USAAF XII Fighter Command units, i.e., fighters and light bombers (A-20s and DB-7s), attack Axis tanks at Fondouk el Aouareb. The fighters and light bombers attack the tanks as they move west from Fondouk; several tanks are reported destroyed or aflame and numerous other tanks and vehicles are damaged.

UNITED KINGDOM: A new Yugoslav Government is formed in London by former Prime Minister Yovanovitch. King Peter had been handed the resignation of the former government on 29 December 1942.

A Dornier Do 217E was hit by heavy AA fire and brought down to a safe forced landing at Skeffling near Hull at 21.30 hours. The aircraft was set on fire by its crew and destroyed before they were taken prisoner. (Njaco)

WESTERN FRONT: The USAAF's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 28: The primary target is the St Nazaire U-Boat base, the first attack on this installation since 23 November 1942 and the heaviest attack to date against U-Boat bases to date. The command dispatches 85 B-17s and 13 B-24s; 60 B-17s and eight B-24s hit the target dropping 171 tons of bombs between 1130 and 1140 hours local. Formation (instead of individual) precision bombing is used for the first time by the VIII Bomber Command, and considerable damage is done to the dock area. The mission to the St Nazaire U-Boat base was intercepted by fighters from III./JG 2 and 7 bombers were shot and another 47 badly damaged making for the highest losses for the American bomb groups in Europe thus far. The Allies claimed 14 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down, 18 probables and 4 damaged. 17 Bombers were claimed by pilots of JG 2 including 2 bombers for Oblt. Egon Mayer from Stab III./JG 2. Other notable pilots claiming kills were Lt. Georg-Peter Eder and Oblt. Erich Hohagen from 7./JG 2 and Oblt. Siegfreid Schnell of 9./JG 2.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 11 Bostons to Cherbourg but they are recalled. Three each Mosquitos attack railway targets in the Amiens and Tergnier areas. No aircraft are lost.

During the night of 3/4 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 45 Wellingtons and Lancasters to lay mines off the Bay of Biscay coast: 15 off the Gironde Estuary; 7 off Lorient, six off St. Nazaire, three each off Amiens, Bayonne and Tergnier, and two each off La Pallice, Limoges and St. Jean de Luz.

During the night of 3/4 January, three RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Texel Island. First Bomber Command 6 Group ops as (RCAF)427 Squadron Wellingtons laid mines in the Frisians. The various RCAF squadrons were almalgamated into their own group. (pbfoot)

Wilhelm-Ferdinand Galland was promoted to the rank of Hauptmann and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 26 in place of Hptm. Conny Meyer who had transferred out of the Geschwader. (Njaco)

Uffz. Kurt Landrock of IV./KG 30 attempted an emergency landing a couple of hundred meters north of the railway station at Stovring. As the Ju 88 skidded across the fields, it broke through a hedge and burst into flames. The crew of four was thrown clear of the wreck and were found lying dead in the field. Pilot Uffz. Landrock, Navigator Obgefr. Gerhard Schon, radio operator Uffz. Karl Piatz and gunner Uffz. Sonke Sonnichsen were all laid to rest in Fredrichshaven cemetary. (Njaco)

 

[syscom3]

4 January 1943

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the Bay of Biscay, USN submarine USS 'Shad' sinks German minesweeper M 4242 (ex-French trawler Odet II) about 45 nautical miles NNE of Bilbao, Spain. in position 43.55N, 02.42W.

EASTERN FRONT: Nalchik in the Caucasus and Chernyshkovskiy on the River Chir fall to the Soviet Army. However, the under strength Soviet frontal offensive at Nalchik is defeated in the course of the month, primarily by the efforts of the Romanian 2nd Mountain Division defending the area.

The Soviet Navy lists submarine M-36 Black Sea Fleet, Kobuleti area lost off Sevastopol.

The airlift at Stalingrad was again able to deliver 200 tons of supplies to the city.

Following a period of thick fog and low clouds, the weather forecast for 4 January looked promising and that date was chosen for the relief operation of Velikiye Luki. Due to thick snow that hampered the supply columns, the operational strength Gefechtsverband Wilke's fighter units - Stab, I. and III./JG 51 - had been radically reduced, so Oblt. Bob shifted part of his III./JG 54 from Smolensk to Izotscha, 20 miles southwest of Velikiye Luki. While the German He 111s and Ju 87s were dispatched against the Soviet troop positions, 3 VA sent in the entire 292 ShAD and 1 ShAK against 'Gruppe Wohler". III./JG 54's Izotscha detachment was scrambled just after noon and caught a formation of 292 ShAD Il-2s that attacked German positions southwest of Velikiye Luki. Six Il-2s were shot down, including 2 as Fw. Alfred Dettke's 31st and 32nd victories. In the middle of this combat, the Il-2 pilot B. Lopatin had his Il-2 severely hit by 20mm shells which killed his gunner. Lopatin prepared himself to recieve the Coup de Grace when suddenly a Bf 109 appeared in front of him. Lopatin immediately pressed the firing button to his guns and the German fighter caught the full burst and started burning. He saw the German pilot bail out and hit his plane's tailfin, where he became stuck, following the descending Bf 109 down to impact. Thus died 9./JG 54's Uffz. Alfred Bleck, victor in 5 air combats. Another III./JG 54 Bf 109 crashed upon return to Izotscha.

GERMANY: During the night of 4/5 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches four Pathfinder Mosquitos and 29 Lancasters to bomb Essen. Two Lancasters are lost. 'Skymarker' flares are dropped on Oboe and city records report concentrated bombing in the Borbeck suburb, north of the city center.

NORTH AFRICA: A severe 2-day storm begins, sharply decreasing the capacity of Benghazi port and forcing the British Eighth Army to make greater use of the more distant port of Tobruk. Because of this, General Bernard Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, alters the plan of attack, scheduled for 15 January, on the Buerat position, from which the Italians are already withdrawing. X Corps, which was to have advanced, is to remain in place while all its vehicles are used to move supplies forward from Tobruk. The size of the the assault force, drawn from XXX Corps, is reduced by one infantry division.

Twelfth Air Force B-17s sent, in two forces, to bomb Bizerte are forced to abort by heavy clouds over the target; one B-17 manages to bomb shipping at La Goulette. B-25s hit the railroad yards at Kairouan while A-20s attack Cherichera. Fighters provide escort for the bombers and for C-47 Skytrain transport runs, and fly reconnaissance and patrol missions. The Luftwaffe sends six Ju 88s with Bf 109 cover to attack Thelepte Airfield; they are intercepted by five P-40s which shoot down one Ju 88 and one Bf 109.

 

[syscom3]

5 January 1943

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet forces take Tsimlyansk and Morozovsk, the main airfield used by the Luftwaffe to supply Stalingrad. In the Caucasus, the Red Army is pushing down from Stalingrad towards Rostov-on-Don with the intention of trapping General Ewald von Kleist's Heeresgruppe A in the Caucasus. They have only 60 miles (97 kilometers) to go, while von Kleist's front is stuck in the Caucasus mountains some 400 miles (644 kilometers) away. That front has been bloodied in the past few days with the Soviets recapturing the important towns of Mozdok and Nalchik. Another Soviet drive is developing towards Elista, on the Kalmyk steppe, threatening Armavir, a key link in von Kleist's communications with Rostov. If the Soviets cut him off they will win a great victory, and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler at first seemed to make that possible by refusing to allow von Kleist to withdraw. Hitler has now changed his mind and von Kleist is conducting a fighting retreat while General Erich von Manstein, commander of Heeresgruppe Don, struggles to hold Rostov open for him to escape. It will not be easy. Der Montag reports:

"Russian tanks come on in solid masses. Between them go units of long-distance ski and snowshoe runners. They carry with them even in the deepest snow, mortar batteries and anti-tank rifles."

The air fighting became intensified on 5 January with Soviet 3 VA launching an increasing number of Il-2s against 'Gruppe Wohler'. III./JG 54 claimed nine and IV./JG 51 four Soviet aircraft shot down - all Il-2s. In return Soviet fighters shot down and killed 7./JG 54's ace Fw. Alfred Dettke, shortly after he had scored his 33rd and last victory.

NORTH AFRICA: In an organizational change, the Allied Air Force is activated to have operational control of Allied air units in Northwest Africa under the command of USAAF Major General Carl Spaatz. The new unit includes the USAAF Twelfth Air Force, the RAF Eastern Air Command and such French air units as might be assigned or attached to it. The command serves under the direction of Lt. General Dwight Eisenhower, Commander-in- Chief, Allied Forces.

The US Fifth Army is activated under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, with headquarters at Oujda.

The V Corps, British First Army, breaks off action on Djebel Azag and Djebel Ajred after hard fighting in heavy rain, withdrawing the assault force (36th Brigade, 78th Division) to their original positions.

Ten Ninth Air Force B-24s bomb Sousse harbor (clouds obscure the primary target at Tunis). Eighteen USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17s, with a large P-38 escort, attack the Sfax power station while fighter-escorted B-26s hit the Kairouan Airfield. One B-17 is lost. Other fighters fly patrols, reconnaissance and C-47 Skytrain escort.

During the night of 5/6 January, RAF Liberators of No. 160 Squadron hit the harbors at Tunis and Sousse.

III./SKG suffered the month's first Fw 190 casualty when Uffz. Egon Mareck failed to return from an attack on Allied batteries in the Mateur area. II./JG 53 transferred from Bizerte to El Aouina airfield and Major Anoton Mader's II./JG 77 moved from Zarzur to El Asabaa.

NORTH AMERICA: The Supreme Court of Canada upholds the War Measures Act, passed in 1914, which gives the federal Cabinet emergency powers to govern by decree when it perceives the existence of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended. "

The conviction of Gordon K. Hirabayashi, who violated Seattle, Washington's curfew and exclusion restrictions on 16 May 1942, is reaffirmed by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California.

The US Army forms the 122nd Infantry Battalion (Separate), composed of personnel of Greek ancestry, at Camp Carson, Colorado Springs, Colorado. In baseball, the teams agree to start the season later than usual and prepare to train in northern areas because of the war. Resorts, armories, and university facilities are chosen for training sites. The Brooklyn Dodgers will train at Bear Mountain, New York; the St. Louis Cardinals in Cape Girardeau, Missouri; and the New York Yankees at Atlantic City, New Jersey.

UNITED KINGDOM: It is announced that the Government, together with 16 other governments of the United Nations and the French National Committee have signed a formal declaration to combat and defeat Axis plundering of occupied Europe. A Foreign Office statement claims that the robberies have "taken every form from open looting to the most cunningly camouflaged financial penetration" and include works of art, bullion, banknotes, shares and commodities. Neutral countries used as hideaways by Axis agents will have to surrender all stolen property. The warning is issued jointly by Britain and its allies.

WESTERN FRONT: Lt. Walter Forst of 13 (Z)./JG 5 was killed in a crash of his Bf 110 west of Kemijarvi. Major Georg Michalek succeeded Major Jurgen Roth as Gruppenkommandeur of Jagdgruppe West based at Cazaux.

 

[syscom3]

6 January 1943

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-164 is sunk in the South Atlantic about 117 nautical miles NNW of Fortaleza, Brazil, by depth charges from a USN PBY-5A, aircraft "2" of VP-83 based at NAF Natal, Brazil; two of the 56 crewmen survive. U-164 is credited with sinking three ships totaling 8,133 tons.

EASTERN FRONT: Conflicting reports are filtering out from Bucharest speaking of arrests and executions following an attempted rising by the disbanded fascists, the Iron Guard, against the pro-Nazi regime of Marshal Ion Antonescu, which took place on the second anniversary of the "civil war" of January 1941. In Budapest, the Hungarian newspapers have been reporting telephone conversations with Romanians who state that 80 have been executed; others that 56 leaders of the Iron Guard are in prison. The coup was to have coincided with the return of the head of the Iron Guard, Horia Sima, who escaped from Germany but was arrested en route by the Italian police.

During furious air fighting, German fighter pilots claimed 34 victories in the Velikiye Luki area - including 4 each by IV./JG 54's Lt. Wolfgang Bowing-Treuding and Fw. Kurt Tanzer. In return Soviet 32 GIAP alone claimed 17 victories., one of them probably against 7./JG 54's 28-victory ace Fw. Josef Brechtl. Fw. Kurt Stober paid them back by shooting down 5 Soviet aircraft (his victories 29 through 33) on 3 sorties this day. With one of his victims, erroneously reported as a LaGG-3, he killed 32 GIAP's Eskadrilya commander Starshiy Leytenant Aleksandr Koshelev. Gruppenkommandeur Major Hans 'Assi' Hahn of II./JG 54 had his best day of the war when he downed 7 Russian fighters.

Oblt. Hans-Ekkehard Bob of 9./JG 54 spoke of the battle of Velikiye Luki;

"Our task was to keep German fighters airbourne over Velikiye Luki all the time. We took off in Rotten or Schwarm formations, one group overlapping the other. We got involved in many air combats and noticed that the Russian fighters had grown stronger. It was here during the battle of Velikiye Luki that we for the first time learned that our recon Stafflen had been equipped with Bf 109s and that they even needed escort. We regarded this as a sign of greater danger from Russian fighters."

The first Nahaufklarungsstaffel to bring the Bf 109 into service in the East, 2(H)./21 also lost a Bf 109F-2 during the operations.

GERMANY: Grand-Admiral Raeder resigns as Commander in Chief of the German Navy.

MEDITERRANEAN: One USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the port area at Piraeus.

1(F)./122 was now established at Elmas (Sardinia) under II. Fliegerkorps. From Elmas, 1(F)./122 flew daily maritime recon along the North African coast in search of convoy targets for torpedo attacks by II. Fliegerkorps units. Operating from Trapani, 2(F)./122 was engaged in shadowing Allied convoys off the North African coast with Ju 88s fitted with maritime search radar, after the convoys had been initially located by 1(F)./122. A few hours before the convoy would be attacked by aircraft from KG 26, KG 30 and I./KG 60, the shadow aircraft would begin transmitting a homing signal. Between January and April, 2(F)./122 flew a number of operational evaluation flight with the Me 210. (Njaco)

NORTH AFRICA: The Free French capture the Axis base at Oum-el-Araneb.

Twelfth Air Force A-20s, in two forces, hit a military camp south of Kairouan while B-25s hit the Kairouan railroad yards. Fighters escort bombers, carry out patrols and reconnaissance flights, and accompany C-47s on transport
missions.

UNITED KINGDOM: A House of Commons select committee today listened to the heads of the women's services and a Trades Union Congress official putting the case for women to receive war injury compensation on a par with that received by men. The women said that they had heard justifications for differences in pay, but none for the gap in compensation. At present a female officer received less than a male private for total disablement.

 

[syscom3]

7 January 1943

GERMANY: During the night of 7/8 January, three Pathfinder Mosquitos and 19 Lancasters are dispatched to bomb Essen; 17 bomb but it is an ineffective raid.

MEDITERRANEAN: A Ninth Air Force B-24 on a special mission bombs Maiouli Quay at Piraeus.

Twenty five USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s are dispatched to hit the shipping in Palermo, Sicily, harbor; weather reduces the force and only ten bomb the target through broken clouds.

Two steamboats of KMS 6 were sunk, the British SS 'Benalbanach' and the Norwegian 'Akabahara', and the American 'William Wirt' was damaged. The 7,152 ton British passenger/cargo ship SS 'Benalbanach' is sunk about 150 nautical miles NW of Algiers, Algeria, when the convoy she was part of was attacked by a single German aircraft. She is carrying 389 men of a motor transport unit and a crew of 74 and is en route from the U.K. to Bone, Algeria. The 'Benalbanach' is hit by two torpedoes launched from the aircraft. The ship catches fire, blows up and sinks almost immediately taking the lives of 57 crew members and 353 service personnel. Her captain, dies in the water just as he is about to be rescued.

Two British minesweeping trawlers are sunk in the western Mediterranean:
- HMS 'Jura' is torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-371 about 38 nautical miles ENE of Algiers, Algeria, in position 36.58N, 03.48E.
- HMS 'Horatio' is torpedoed and sunk by the German motor torpedo boat S-58 in the western Mediterranean.

Major Wilhelm von Friedeburg succeeded Oberst Ernst Bormann as Geschwaderkommodore of KG 76. (Njaco)

MIDDLE EAST: The Americans take exclusive jurisdiction over port of Khorramshahr, where the first U.S. troops arrived in December 1942.

NORTH AFRICA: An Allied Air Force General Order makes the USAAF Twelfth Air Force responsible for air support of U.S. ground forces in North Africa and the RAF Eastern Air Command responsible for support of the British First Army. However, units are to be placed under operational control of the other as the situation might dictate.

Twelfth Air Force B-26s bomb the airfield and barracks at Gabes while A-20s attack troop concentrations at Kairouan. Fighters escort both raids and also carry out several reconnaissance missions.

The Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 2, Hptm. Adolf Dickfeld, was severley injured in a take-off accident. His aircraft, Fw 190A-4 WN 0140750, somersaulted at Kairouan after colliding with an obstacle and Dickfeld's Tunisian campaign came to a premature end. Hptm. Dickfeld had 18 victories while flying in North Africa. Lt. Rudorffer took his place as acting Gruppenkommandeur. (Njaco)

After days of being declared unfit for flying due to malaria, Lt. Ludwig-Wilhelm Burckhardt, Staffelkapitaen of 4./JG 77, was cleared for operations. With his health recovered, he flew one mission and shot down a Spitfire. Just after he landed, he stepped on an explosive device and was injured. He would not return to front-line service until August 1943. (Njaco)

In the evening, 17 torpedo bombers of I./KG 26 attacked British convoys. In an attack on convoy KMS 5, between Bone and Alger, a German airplane scored a hit on the British minesweeper "Acute', damaging it seriously. (Njaco)

NORTH AMERICA: Development of the first USN aircraft to be equipped with a turbojet engine is initiated with the issuance of a Letter of Intent to McDonnell Aircraft Corporation for engineering, development, and tooling for two fighter aircraft. Two Westinghouse 19-B turbojet engines are later specified and the aircraft is designated XFD-1. It became the prototype for the FH-1 Phantom jet fighter. The XFD-1 makes its first flight on 26 January 1946.

 

[syscom3]

8 January 1943

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet General Konstantin Rokossovsky, Commander-in- Chief of the Don Front, issues a surrender ultimatum to the troops of German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus' Sixth Army in Stalingrad, guaranteeing;

"their lives and safety, and after the end of the war return to Germany", and promising that "...medical aid will be given to all wounded, sick and frost-bitten. .."

Since Paulus had been ordered by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler not to surrender or attempt to breakout of the city, the summons is ignored. Soviet forces seize Zimovniki, on the Stalingrad-Novorossisk railline.

Major Egbert von Frankenberg und Proschlitz succeeded Oberst Heinrich Conrady as Geschwaderkomodore of KG 51 based at Rostov. (Njaco)

GERMANY: During the night of 8/9 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches three Mosquitos and 38 Lancasters to attack Duisburg; 36 aircraft attack with the loss of three Lancasters.

INDIAN OCEAN: British General William Platt, Commander in Chief East Africa Command, turns over responsibility for the island of Madagascar, except for the Diego Suarez area, to Free French General Paul-Louis Legentilhomme, High Commissioner of the French possessions in the Indian Ocean, Governor-General of Madagascar and General Officer Commander in Chief Madagascar.

MEDITERRANEAN: British submarine HMS/M P 311 (P 311) is reported overdue today. The ship is lost while engaged in Operation PRINCIPLE, the Chariot attack on Italian cruisers at La Maddalena, Sardinia. HMS/M P 311 left Scotland in November 1942 with sister-boats HMS/M 'Thunderbolt' and 'Trooper' after addition of human torpedo deck-mounted watertight containers, direct for Malta. P 311 departed from Malta on 28 December 1942. She sent her last signal on 31 December when she was about 88 nautical miles west of Palermo, Sicily. After this signal she is not heard from again and she is presumed sunk by Italian mines in the approaches to La Maddalena on or around 2 January 1943. She is reported overdue today when she fails to return to base.

NORTH AFRICA: RAF B-24s, under operational control of the USAAF IX Bomber Command, attack a rail junction near Tripoli.

Eight Ninth Air Force B-24s hit Tunis after weather and engine trouble prevent a planned attack on Bizerte. Fifteen Twelfth Air Force B-17s hit the docks at Ferryville and the naval base at Bizerte. B-25s hit bridges and rail junctions at Graiba and at Kalaa Srira while P-47s hit Kairouan Airfield. The heavy and medium bombers are escorted by P-38s. A-20s, escorted by P-40s, bomb tank concentrations near Gabes. Other fighters fly numerous patrols and reconnaissance missions.

Eight P-38s of the 49th FS/14th FG along with some P-38s of the 97th FS / 82nd FG and P-40s of the 58th FS / 33rd FG clashed with fighters from II./JG 2. The 48th FS suffered 3 aircraft destroyed and 2 damaged. Oblt. Buhligen and Lt. Goltzsch of II./JG 2 each claimed a victory but the Gruppe suffered a loss when Ofw. Karl Pfeiffer of 6./JG 2 was killed by P-40s from the 33rd FG south of Kairouan. As if to celebrate his new promotion as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 2, Lt. Rudorffer downed an A-20 near Pichon and a Spitfire over Kairouan. (Njaco)

NORTH AMERICA: Prime Minister Mackenzie King announces the appointment of the first Canadian Minister to the Soviet Union.

WESTERN FRONT: General Junck of Jagddivision 3, who commanded German fighters in the West, ordered some of his units to new bases. Because of this, II./JG 26 moved from Abbeville-Drucat to Vitry-en-Artois. (Njaco)

 

[syscom3]

9 January 1943

EASTERN FRONT: This morning the weary men of 6.Armee could read the terms of the surrender offer themselves in leaflets scattered by Soviet aircraft. The Russians promised that everyone who surrendered would be fed and recieve medical attention, and that their lives and safety would be guaranteed. The leaflet also promised that they would "retain their uniforms, badges of rank and decorations, their personal belongings and valuables. Senior officers may retain their swords and bayonets." The leaflet pointed out that their position was hopeless, that the main German front was being pushed further back each day and that the worst of the Russian winter had not yet even begun. Rokossovsky, anxious to free his forces tied down around the city, left no doubt of his intentions if the offer was refused; the Red Army would embark upon the annihilation of the encircled German troops. A new sight greeted the defenders of the embattled city. At 09.30 hours the first of seven Fw 200 'Condor' aircraft landed in the snow at Pitomnik airfield. The 'Condors' were from a group of 18 recon bombers, taken from 1. and 3./KG 40 on the Atlantic coast and thrown into the Stalingrad airlift with the designation 'Kampfgruppe ZbV 200', led by Major Hans Jurgen Willers. Both Staffeln would later be united as the new 8./KG 40. The recon aircraft-turned transports were based at Stalino, some 300 miles away from the battle area. A new 1. and 3./KG 40 began forming in Fassberg with He 177 bombers. The seven Focke Wulf transports brought 4 1/2 tons of fuel, 9 tons of ammunition and 22 1/2 tons of provisions on their first flight. On the return flight they took out 156 wounded. But the 'Condors' suffered losses. One aircraft had to return with engine trouble and another was unable to take-off. Two more 'Condors' were hit by Russian AA fire and a fifth went missing with 21 wounded on board. (Njaco)

GERMANY: During the night of 9/10 January, RAF Bomber Command sends two Mosquitos and 50 Lancasters to attack Essen; three Lancasters are lost. Essen reports concentrated bombing in or near the center with 127 buildings destroyed or seriously damaged and 28 people killed. Conditions were hazy, but the RAF was using 'Oboe', a blind-bombing device that depended on radio pulses transmitted from 2 stations in England and recieved back in the aircraft. By measuring the time taken by the pulses to reach the plane and return, its exact position could be calculated, and a short signal was then transmitted to the aircraft to indidcate the bomb release point. Errors would normally be of less than 300 yards.

MEDITERRANEAN: Hptm. Anton Stadler succeeded Hptm. Heinrich Schweikhardt as Gruppenkommanduer of III./KG 76. (Njaco)

NORTH AFRICA: Twelfth Air Force B-26s with fighter escort, hit an airfield 10 miles south of Tripoli. Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack shipping off the northern Tunisian coast.

The Italian destroyer RN 'Corsaro' hits a mine northeast of Bizerta, Tunisia.

NORTH AMERICA: The Lockheed Constellation makes its first flight from Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, California. The aircraft, Lockheed Model 049-46-10, msn 049-1961, is painted in USAAF camouflage colors with military insignia but carries the civilian registration NX25600. Piloted by Eddie Allen and Milo Burcham, the aircraft flies for 58 minutes with the landing gear down and lands at Muroc Army Air Base (now Edwards AFB), Muroc, California; the Connie makes four landings and take-offs at Muroc and then flies back to Burbank. Lockheed continues to test the aircraft until it is turned over to the USAAF on 28 July 1943 as C-69-LO, USAAF serial number 43-10309. It is immediately loaned back to Lockheed, flown back to Burbank and used by for testing until March 1946.

The auxiliary aircraft carrier 'Block Island' ( ACV-8 ) is transferred to the British under Lend Lease as HMS 'Trailer'. She is renamed HMS 'Hunter' in 1943 and is returned to the USN in December 1945. The is the eighth ACV transferred to the Royal Navy.

WESTERN FRONT: Thirty seven RAF Bomber Command aircraft (all RCAF from 420,425,427,408 and 419 Sqns) lay mines in the Kattegat, the broad arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark; one aircraft is lost (Halifax Mk II w7957 coded VR-O). (pbfoot)

In a second mining mission, four bombers lay mines in the Heligoland Bight, the arm of the North Sea extending south and east of the island of Helgoland.

During the day, one RAF Bomber Command Mosquito bombs the marshalling yard at Mons. Five RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb the marshalling yard at Rouen; one aircraft is lost. Twelve Bostons are sent to attack the Abbeville airfields but are recalled before attacking. RAF Bomber Command dispatches 12 Venturas to attack the Ijmuiden steelworks; all attack without loss. During the night of 9/10 January, 56 bombers lay mines in the Frisian Islands; three aircraft are lost.

Shorts S-26 Flying Boat, msn S-873, registered G-AFCK and named 'Golden Horn' by the British airline British Overseas Airline Corporation (BOAC), crashes in the River Tagus in Lisbon, Spain. The aircraft was on a test flight after an engine overhaul when a piston seized causing a severe engine fire and setting the tail surfaces on fire. The captain was blinded by the smoke and the aircraft crashed into the river killing 12 of the 13 BOAC personnel aboard.

Six Spitfire Mk Vs of the US 4th FG were dispatched to patrol the coast line of Europe. Bounced by JG 26 fighters, 2 Spitfires were claimed by Hptm. Wilhelm F. Galland from Stab II./JG 26 and Lt. Heinz Hoppe of 6./JG 26. (Njaco)

Major Bernhard von Dobschutz succeeded Major Ersnt-Gunther von Schelia as Gruppenkommandeur of I./KG 6 based at Beauvais. (Njaco)

 

[syscom3]

10 January 1943

EASTERN FRONT: After a 55-minute bombardment by thousands of guns and rocket-launchers, and employing seven armies, the Red Army begins Operation RING, the final annihilation of the tattered remnants of the German 6.Armee defending themselves desperately against all odds in the ruins of Stalingrad. The main effort is by the Soviet 65th and 21st Army to the west of Stalingrad. With the beginning of Operation 'Ring', the Germans were soon in retreat. Some progress was made in the north and south, but determined German resistance limited gains.

In a desperate gamble to increase the airlift to Stalingrad, Major Willers of the new KGzbV 200 made use of 2 Ju 290 heavy bombers. The first flight into the city was made by Hptm. Hanig who returned successfully. These large aircraft were able to bring 10 tons of supplies and took out about 80 wounded men. (Njaco)

GERMANY: The second version of the Heinkel He 219V-2 'Uhu' was flown. (Njaco)

MEDITERRANEAN: Stab I, 3. and 4./JG 4 were formed at Mizil (Rumania) and the Gruppe was now complete. 4./JG 4 was the Rumanian staffel Escadrilla 53. With the formation of the whole Gruppe completed, Hptm. Franz Hahn was appointed Gruppenkommandeur. (Njaco)

NORTH AFRICA: The USAAF Twelfth Air Force's 308th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, with Spitfire Mk Vs, begins operating from Casablanca instead of Tafaraoui, Algeria, to provide protection for the Casablanca Conference between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

General Bernard Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, briefs the assault forces of the army on a projected drive through the Buerat line to Tripoli, which must be accomplished within ten days, beginning on 15 January, to avoid supply difficulties.

During the night of 10/11 January, RAF B-24s under operational control of the USAAF IX Bomber Command, Ninth Air Force, bomb a road junction at Tripoli.

The Italian Arditi Regiment, in teams of nine to ten men, parachute in various places in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia for covert warfare duties. Although not as successful as they had hoped to be, they managed to destroy or damage bridges in Algeria.

Twelve Ninth Air Force B-24s forced by an overcast to divert from the primary target of Bizerte, strike La Goulette, the seaport of the city of Tunis. One aircraft is lost. Twelfth Air Force B-26s, with P-38 escort, attack the marshaling yard and oil tanks at Gabes. B-26s, sent against Sousse, abort due to bad weather. A-20s with P-40 cover, hit the military camp at Kebili. Fighters escort C-47 missions and fly reconnaissance and patrols. One P-40, flown by Major Philip Cochran, Commanding Officer, 58th Fighter Squadron, 33d FG, bombs and demolishes the Hotel Splendida, the German headquarters in Kairouan.

Seven Luftwaffe Bf 109s bomb and strafe Thelepte Airfield.

The Luftwaffe created a new command, Fliegerfuhrer Tunisien, commanded by Generalmajor Harlinghausen. Luftwaffe units under his command consisted of 2(H)./14, II./JG 2, Stab, I. and II./JG 53, III./SKG 10 and one staffel of II./StG 3. No Kampfgruppen were committed to the area due to a shortage of airfields and the new command would be a close-support and tactical organization instead of a strategic bombing group. (Njaco)

1(F)./122 lost a Ju 88A-4 that failed to return from its mission with Hptm. Karstinat (observer) and 3 others missing. The aircraft may have been borrowed from I./KG 60, which was also based at Elmas. S/L Leonard Harold Bartlett, CO of RAF No. 253 Sqdrn, spotted a German aircraft formation near a convoy northwest of Bougie. He shot down one Ju 88 and watched as it crashed into the sea. Luftflotte 2 recorded 1(F)./122 operating from Elmas with Ju 88s and Fw 200s and had 15 on strength with 4 servicable. (Njaco)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Fairey Barracuda Mk. II enters service with No. 827 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, based at Stretton, Cheshire, England.

WESTERN FRONT: Major Gerhard Schopfel gave up his position as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26 to become Operations Officer at Jagdfliegerfuhrer 4 in northern France for Luftflotte 3. The Stab was initially located at Rennes. The unit wasn't officially formed for several months. (Njaco)

 

[syscom3]

11 January 1943

EASTERN FRONT: As the Germans continue a withdrawal from the Caucasus, Soviet forces occupy Pyatigorsk, Georgievsk and Mineralnye Vody.

After his demand for surrender had been rebuffed, Rokkosovsky stepped up the pressure on the Stalingrad pocket. By mid-January, the remnant of von Paulus' command had shrunk to an area roughly 10 miles square. (Njaco)

In the darkness before dawn, with the temperature at -23C, the Red Army opened Operation 'Iskra' (Spark) to break the German seige of Leningrad. 2000 guns and mortars smashed the frozen silence as white-clad soldiers of the 2nd Shock Army advanced round the southern shore of Lake Ladoga towards the lakeside town of Schlusselburg. At the same time, units of the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front, supported by warships of the Baltic Fleet, struck at the beseigers across the frozen river Neva. The plan, made by General Zhukov, newly arrived from Stalingrad, called for the Leningrad army and the relieving force to meet at a worker's housing development south of Schlusselburg. This would enable a supply route to be opened round the lake to bring food to the long suffering citizens of Leningrad. One daring part of Zhukov's plan had already succeeded. The 12th Infantry Brigade, all expert skiers, swooped through the freezing mist over Lake Ladoga to take the Germans in the rear. The Russians were only 10 miles apart at some points, but they faced a well prepared German army which included the Spanish Blue Division (Azul), "volunteers" sent by General Franco. It would be a bitter struggle. (Njaco)

At II./JG 54, the Staffelkapitaen of 4./JG 54, Oblt. Gerhard Barkhorn gained his 120th destruction of an enemy aircraft and was immediately awarded the Eichenlaub to his Ritterkreuz. But 10./JG 54 lost an ace when Lt. Wolfgang Bowing-Treuding, with 46 victories to his score, went missing during combat. (Njaco)

GERMANY: During the night of 11/12 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches four Pathfinder Mosquitos and 72 Lancasters to continue trials (tests) with Oboe on the Krupps works at Essen; 51 aircraft bomb the target with the loss of one Lancaster.

MEDITERRANEAN: Eight Ninth Air Force B-24s bomb the harbor at Naples; two B-24s are lost.

NORTH AFRICA: Twelfth Air Force B-17s bomb the fort and town of Gadames. Escorting P-38 Lightnings engage in a 25-minute combat with attacking fighters, shooting down one and severely damaging another; two P-38s are lost.

The 6th Armoured Division, V Corps, British First Army, improves their positions in a local attack north of Bou Arada.

Twelfth Air Force B-17s attack the rail bridge and highway bridge across the Oued el Akarit, NNW of Gabes. B-25 Mitchells bomb shipping along the northeastern Tunisian coast; escorting P-38s claim three aircraft shot down.

Six Bf 109s, with additional overhead cover, strafe Thelepte Airfield.

Ten P-38s of the US 1st FG, escorting B-17s again, came across II./JG 51 and engaged in a 25 minute combat the attacking German fighters. The US fighter group lost 2 more P-38s - one of them to Ofw. Otto Schulz - without German losses although the Lightning pilots claimed shooting down 1 and severley danaging another. Other escorting P-38s claimed 3 Axis aircraft shot down. Uffz. Alfred Sonntag of II./JG 2 was wounded following trouble during take-off, bailing out of his Fw 190 just before crashing. (Njaco)

WESTERN FRONT: Hptm. Josef "Pips" Priller of III./JG 26 was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26, replacing Major Gerhard Schopfel, who had left to become Operations Officer at Jagdfliegerfuhrer 4. Hptm. Priller's position as Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe was taken by Hptm. Fritz Geisshardt from I./JG 77. (Njaco)

Rumors of JG 26 transferring to the Eastern Front came true and I./JG 26 was ordered to trade places with III./JG 54. The move was to take place in pieces so as to keep continuity of defense on the frontlines. The Gruppe moved from St. Omer-Wizernes, arriving by train at Heiligenbeil in East Prussia to collect new Fw 190A-5s. 7./JG 26 was to follow later, replacing 4./JG 54 (Njaco)