This day in the war in the Pacific 65 years ago.

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BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: A lone USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 strafes the airfield at Gasmata on New Britain Island.

CBI (Tenth Air Force) The 9th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Tenth Air Force with F-4s, moves from Chakulia to Pandaveswar, India. One flight is operating from Kweilin, China.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Army Forces in South Pacific Area) The 394th Bombardment Squadron, 5th BG (Heavy)with B-17s, based on Fiji, begins operating from Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s strafe troops in the waters off Buna as U.S. and Australian ground forces are mopping up in the nearby Buna Mission area. Allied forces report that they have retaken most of the lower areas of New Guinea, and the remaining Japanese resistance on the island is trapped in "hopeless" positions.
In Northeast New Guinea B-26s, along with a single B-24, bomb Madang and A-20s hit Salamaua.
Japanese supplies and reinforcements are landed at Lae, Papua New Guinea, under Allied air attacks. This convoy will provide the Allied Air Force planners valuable experience for future use. Over 100 sorties are delivered by the USAAF Fifth Air Force. Lieutenant General George C. Kenny, Commanding General Allied Air Force and Commanding General USAAF Fifth Air Force, had information from ULTRA as to when the convoy would leave Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, its destination and when it would arrive. Aircraft were ordered into the air as soon as they were ready. In some cases a medium or heavy bomber would attack singly, in other cases in twos or threes. Not surprisingly, with hindsight, the convoy handled them easily. One small transport is sunk by an Australian (PBY) Catalina attacking at night. After the convoy delivers its cargo, the Fifth Air Force sinks two more ships but by then the damage is done.

GUADALCANAL: The 1st Battalion, 132d Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, exerts pressure against the eastern part of the Gifu and establishes contact with 2d Battalion to the left.

 

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ALASKA: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander Pacific Ocean Areas and Commander Pacific Fleet, replaces Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald, Commander North Pacific Area and Task Force 8, with Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid. Rear Adm Charles H. McMorris relieves Rear Admmiral William W. Smith as commander of the strike group.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Six USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24s, three B-25s, three B-26s and ten P-40s en route to Kiska Island, are forced back near Segula Island by snow squalls and low ceiling. The weather aircraft flies unsuccessful reconnaissance over Kiska and photographic reconnaissance is flown over Amchitka Island. A USN PBY Catalina investigates flares reported near Kagalaska Strait east if Adak
Island.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Fifth Air Force B-24s attack schooners off Gasmata and Cape Kwoi, New Britain Island.

BURMA: USAAF Tenth Air Force heavy bombers from Gaya and Pandaveswar, India bomb the marshaling yard at Mandalay, halting the northbound flow of supplies. Tracks and cars in the southern half of the marshaling yard are heavily bombed, causing fires visible for 70 miles. Heavy bombers also damage a 15,000-ton transport at the mouth of the Rangoon River. Meanwhile, one B-25 and nine P-40s hit rail targets at Naba.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, the Japanese overrun an outpost near Tarakena, forcing a patrol there to swim for Siwori Village. With Tarakena spit in their possession, the Japanese are able to rescue some of the survivors of the Buna garrison. Australian Major General Edmund Herring, General Officer Commanding of the New Guinea Force and Australian I Corps, confers with commanding officers on plan for reduction of the Japanese west of the Girua River.
In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-26s attack the Sanananda Point area as preparations for an allied offensive in that sector get underway. A-20s and B-25s hit the airfield and antiaircraft positions and buildings at Lae. B-24s, on single-plane flights, bomb the Lae Airfield.

GUADALCANAL: The Japanese are ordered to withdraw from Guadalcanal to New Georgia Island. The final echelon of the 25th Infantry Division (Regimental Combat Team 161) arrives. The 2d Marine Division headquarters and the 6th Marine Regiment, reinforced, also land, bringing the 2d Marine Division nearly up to full strength.
The 132d Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, completes a semicircle about the part of the Gifu
between Hills 31 and 27 with patrol contact between the 1st and 3d Battalions; halts and prepares defenses while awaiting relief. In 22 days of fighting on Mt Austen, the 132d has killed 400-500 Japanese and suffered 383 casualties.

NEW GEORGIA: During the night of 4/5 January, USN Task Group 67.2 bombards Munda Airfield on New Georgia Island. TG 67.2 is comprised of four light cruisers, HMNZS Achilles and USS Helena, Nashville and St. Louis and three USN destroyers.

 

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ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Three B-25 Mitchells sink a 6,500-ton cargo vessel previously sighted by a USN PBY Catalina off Holtz Bay on the northeast side of Attu Island, where a weather and armed reconnaissance B-24 with a direct bomb hits and sinks another freighter shortly afterwards. A B-24 flies photo reconnaissance over Amchitka Island, concentrating on Constantine Harbor. A Kiska Island attack mission of six heavy bombers, six medium bombers and 12 fighters is cancelled due to weather.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Six Fifth Air Force B-17s and six B-24s bomb the harbor, shipping and the airfield at Rabaul, New Britain Island. Two B-17s are lost, B-17F 41-24538 and B-17F "San Antonio Rose" 41-24458 with Brigadier General Kenneth Walker, Commanding General V Bomber Command aboard.

CANADA: 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. "

CBI (Tenth Air Force) The 490th and 491st Bombardment Squadrons, 341st BG (Medium) with B-25s move from Karachi to Ondal, India. The units will enter combat on 10 Jan and 18 Feb 43 respectively.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, advance elements of the Australian 9th Division's 18th Brigade (2/9th Battalion and brigade headquarters) and four tanks of the 2/6th Armoured Regiment reach Soputa. Additional tanks and artillery are kept east of the river for some time because of poor road conditions.
As a preliminary to all out offensive against Sanananda, the U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, starts northwest along the coast toward Tarakena.
In Papua New Guinea, B-26s again bomb the Sanananda Point area and A-20s and B-25s hit the airfield at Lae.

PACIFIC OCEAN: After bombarding airfield and installations at Munda, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, Task Group 67.2 heads south and joins the rest of Task Force 67. TG 67.2 is comprised of four light cruisers, HMNZS Achilles and USS Helena, Nashville and St. Louis and three USN destroyers. Japanese planes attack the force, near-missing USS Honolulu and damaging HMNZS Achilles, 18 nautical miles (33 kilometers) south of Cape Hunter, Guadalcanal. In the action, USS Helena becomes the first USN ship to use Mk. 32 proximity-fuzed projectiles in combat, downing a "Val" dive bomber with her second salvo.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Japanese begin withdrawal of troops from Guadalcanal while the Gifu continues to hold out. On Guadalcanal, Major General Alexander Patch, Commanding General XIV Corps, in a letter of instructions to Major General J. Lawton Collins, Commanding General 25th Infantry Division, directs him to relieve the 132d Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, on Mt Austen and sets a line from the beach inland 3,500 yards (3 200 meters), which is 3,000 yards (2 743 meters) west of the U.S. lines as his first objective.
This area contains the Gifu, the Seahorse and the Galloping Horse as the well known geographical features and/or Japanese defensive positions.
The newly arrived 25th Infantry Division will lead this phase. The 2d Marine Division holding the coastal sector from Pt Cruz to Hill 66, is to maintain contact with the northern flank of the 25th Infantry Division.
In the movie The Thin Red Line, the Galloping Horse is known as the Dancing Elephant.

BOUGAINVILLE: B-17s with P-38 escort attack a cruiser at Buin on the southern coast. They are met by 25 Zero's and float biplanes; three Japanese aircraft are shot down for the loss of two P-38s.

UNITED STATES: 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.
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.

 

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ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force flies reconnaissance over Amchitka, the Semichis, Agattu and Attu Islands. Flotsam sighted outside of Holtz Bay on the northeast side of Attu Island confirms that the freighter bombed yesterday sank. Six B-24s, six B-25s and 12 P-38s take off to attack Kiska Island; the P-38s and one B-24 turn back due to weather. The B-25s find the target obscured and five Zero's waiting to intercept them, whereupon they turn back without attacking.
The five remaining B-24s circle Kiska without contacting Japanese aircraft; one of the B-24s, exploiting a break in the cloud cover, bombs the Kiska submarine base area which the others then bomb through the clouds.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: One B-24s bombs the airfield at Gasmata. Lost is B-24 piloted by Rose on a search mission. Force landed is B-26 "Shittenengitten" 40-1404.

BURMA: The Indian 14th Division, renewing their offensive on the Arakan front, finds the Japanese firmly entrenched at Donbaik and Rathedaung. Although fighting continues at these points for many weeks, positions remain about the same.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, B-26s bomb the forces in the Sanananda Point area; and A-20s bomb Lae Airfield.

SOLOMONS SEA: B-17s, B-24s, B-26s and P-38s attack a convoy headingsouthwest off the coast of New Britain heading for Lae. Ditched after the attack is B-24D "Cowtown's Revenge" 41-23750.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: B-17s with P-38 and P-40 escorts attack a transport near Shortland Island without loss.

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.

 

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ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Six B-25s and 12 P-38s dispatched to Kiska Island turn back due to cloud cover. Six B-24s circle over Kiska for two hours until four can bomb the submarine base. Antiaircraft fire damages three of the attackers.
Negative reconnaissance is flown over Amchitka, Kiska, Agattu and Attu Island. Photographs taken reveal use of smoke pots by the defenders and also suggest construction of a fighter strip along the ridge south of Salmon Lagoon on Kiska.

BURMA: USAAF Tenth Air Force's China Air Task Force aircraft begin a series of raids, lasting through 10 January, during which they destroy trucks along the Burma Road, barges on the Irrawaddy River and supplies in the Bhamo area.

PANAMA: In Panama, the 53d Fighter Squadron, 32d Fighter Group moves with its P-40s from France Field, Canal Zone to Chorrera, Panama.

CBI (Tenth Air Force) In China, P-40s blast fuel storage facilities at Mangshih. In Burma, China Air Task Force aircraft begin a series of raids, lasting through 10 Jan, during which they destroy trucks along the Burma Road, barges on the Irrawaddy River and stores in the Bhamo area. The 493d Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy) moves with its B-24s from Karachi to Pandaveswar, India. The squadron will fly its first combat mission on 26 Jan.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, the U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, continues toward Tarakena. Companies G and F, with fire support of Company E, reach positions about 500 yards from their objective. The Australian 18th Brigade, 7th Division, completes a movement to Soputa. The 2d Battalion, U.S. 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Regiment, arrives on the Sanananda front. The Japanese 102nd Regiment Group lands at Lae.
Fifth Air Force fighters attack Lae Airfield in Northeast New Guinea. One of the U.S. pilots is 2d Lt. Richard I. Bong, flying a P-38F. Bong shoots down two Oscar fighters, his third and fourth victories.


PACIFIC OCEAN: In the Solomon Sea off Finschhafen, the Japanese convoy bound for Lae, Northeast New Guinea, from New Britain is again attacked by B-17s, B-24s, B-25s and B-26s, supported by P-38s and P-40s, and RAAF or RNZAF Hudsons and RAAF Catalinas. During these attacks, an RAAF Catalina sinks an army cargo ship off Lae, and an army cargo ship is forced aground south of Arawe, Northeast New Guinea.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: In preparation for the offensive on 10 January, the 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, leaves the Lunga perimeter for Mt Austen. The 147th Infantry Regiment Task Force, embarks at Kukum in two landing craft tanks (LCTs) for Beaufort Bay to block the trail leading north toward Kokumbona. About 50,000 Allied air, ground, and naval forces are now in the Guadalcanal area.
USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Bougainville Island; they are met by twelve Zero fighters two are shot down without any U.S. losses. B-26s with P-39s escort attack Rekata Bay on Santa Isabel Island; two US aircraft are lost.

UNITED STATES: 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.

 

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ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: A B-24 flies photographic reconnaissance over Amchitka Island. Another B-24 aborts
a weather run over Kiska Island because of instrument trouble.

BURMA: Six Tenth Air Force P-40s bomb and strafe Watugyi and Nsopzup and strafe other targets. Six B-25s bomb the storage area at Bhamo.

CHINA: In a message to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek turns down a proposal for an offensive in the spring of 1943.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, Companies A, C, and F of the U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, overrun Tarakena. The 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, begins an offensive to clear the road to Sanananda: 1st Battalion attacks two Japanese perimeters located between Musket and Kano, making limited progress.
In Northeast New Guinea, Fifth Air Force heavy, medium and light bombers, with fighter cover, join RAAF aircraft in the continued attack of the Japanese convoy as it unloads about 4,000 reinforcements at Lae. Japanese fighter cover and Allied aircraft continue fierce aerial combat. During this action, 2d Lt. Richard I. Bong, flying a P-38F Lightning, shots down an "Oscar" fighter over the Huon Gulf, 5 miles
offshore. This is Bong's fifth victory making him an "Ace."

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Major General J. Lawton Collins, Commanding General 25th Infantry Division, issues Field Order 1 to the division concerning the upcoming offensive. The 35th Infantry Regiment moves secretly up Mt Austen toward the line of departure.

 

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ALASKA In the Aleutians, 50+ knot winds at Adak ground all missions.

BURMA: Five B-25s, with an escort of nine P-40s, bomb Bhamo; other fighters strafe targets of opportunity in the Wanling, Bhamo and Loiwing areas.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, US heavy, medium and light bombers and fighters, along with RAAF aircraft, continue to pound the convoy as it leaves Lae. Airfields, supply dumps and troop concentrations at Lae and at Salamaua are also hit. In four days of attacks on this convoy, two transport are sunk, several vessels are damaged and about 80 aircraft are destroyed.

JAPAN: Tokyo radio announces that the Nanking Government, the Japanese puppet government in China, has declared war on the U.K. and the U.S., and that a Sino-Japanese declaration had been signed for cooperation between the Chinese Government and Japan, the abolition of extraterritoriality , and the retrocession of concessions and settlements.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, Japanese fire prevents the U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, from establishing a bridgehead across Konombi Creek in the Tarakena area. Relief of
elements of the 126th Infantry Regiment, now greatly depleted in strength, is completed on the Sanananda front. While 1st Battalion, 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, continues efforts to reduce the Japanese pockets between Musket and Kano, the 2d Battalion establishes a position
astride the Killerton trail west of Musket, isolating the Japanese in the track junction.
In Northeast New Guinea, RAAF aircraft and Fifth Air Force heavy, medium and light bombers and fighters continue to attack the Japanese convoy as it leaves Lae in the early morning. Airfields, supply
dumps and troop concentrations at Lae and at Salamaua are also hit. In four days of attacks on this convoy, two transport are sunk, several vessels are damaged and about 80 aircraft are destroyed.
The Australian 17th Brigade, 5th Division, "Kanga Force", is airlifted to Wau, Northeast New Guinea, establishing a forward base for the next phase of the Allied offensive on New Guinea.

GUADALCANAL: On Guadalcanal Island, the XIV Corps completes preparations for their attack tomorrow. The 25th Infantry Division, which is to lead off, moves forward to the line of departure. The 27th Infantry Regiment, on the division right (north), takes up positions for an assault on the hill mass called Galloping Horse, between the northwest and southwest forks of the Matanikau River. The 35th Infantry Regiment, on the left, prepares to make their main effort against Hills 43 and 44, called Sea Horse, lying between the Gifu (Japanese strongpoint between Hills 31 and 27) and Galloping Horse, while exerting pressure against the Gifu. The 3d Battalion, followed by the 1st, completes a wide circling
movement about the southern flank of the Gifu to their line of departure for an attack on the Sea Horse. The 2d Battalion and Calvary Reconnaissance Troop take up positions about the eastern part of the Gifu, relieving the 132d Infantry Regiment, Americal Division. The Americal Division holds the perimeter defense. Captain Beach's 147th Infantry Regiment Task Force lands at Beaufort Bay and establishes beach defenses.
The 70th Bombardment Squadron, 38th BG (Medium) based in Fiji begins operating its B-26s from Guadalcanal , Solomons.

UNITED STATES: 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.

 

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BURMA: Six USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells jointly attack the Myitnge bridge, knocking out a span and causing considerable damage to the entire target.

EAST INDIES: The 282 troops of the Australian Lancer Force are evacuated from Portugese Timor by the destroyer HMAS Arunta along with 11 women and 20 Portugese.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, Companies A and C, U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, establishes a bridgehead across Konombi Creek in the Tarakena area. Action is then suspended temporarily. The 1st Battalion, 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, finds one of the two Japanese positions between Musket and Kano evacuated. Kano is renamed Fisk.
In Northeast New Guinea, RAAF and USAAF Fifth Air Force aircraft attack supply dumps and antiaircraft positions in the Lae area.
The 13th Bombardment Squadron, 3d Bombardment Group with B-25s transfers from Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia to Port Moresby, New Guinea.

SOLOMON SEA: The USN transport submarine USS Argonaut (APS-1) is the largest submarine ever built in the U.S. up to this time. At 3,128 tons she was designed primarily as a minelayer but later, in 1942, was converted to a troop carrying submarine and based at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Today, a five ship Japanese convoy is sailing in the Solomon Sea about 88 nautical miles S of Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, in position 05.40S, 152.02E. A Japanese plane belonging to the 582nd Naval Air Group, flying antisubmarine patrols spots a submerged sub approaching the convoy. The plane drops three bombs then contacts destroyer HIJMS Maikaze which peels off to pursue the contact, leaving the escort to sister ships HIJMS Isokaze and Hamakaze.
Maikaze's depth charge attack evidently is succesful, since a submarine's bow breaks the surface and is taken under fire by both Maikaze and Isokaze from short range. The sub sinks as a USAAF bomber
returning from a mission over New Guinea, therefore without bombs, is passing over the area. The pilot witnesses a sub forced to surface and is sunk by gunfire. There is no doubt this is USS Argonaut which was on her third patrol. There are no survivors from the 105 officers and men aboard.
RAAF and USAAF Fifth Air Force aircraft operating over the Solomon Sea south of New Britain Island continue to attack vessels of the Japanese convoy that departed Lae, Northeast New Guinea, yesterday.

JAPAN: USS Trigger torpedoes and sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS Okikaze about 45 nautical miles SSE of Tokyo, Honshu, Japan, in position 35.02N, 140.12E.

GUADALCANAL: The 25th Infantry Division, reinforced, begins the largest and final offensive to clear Guadalcanal, the immediate objectives being Galloping Horse, Sea Horse, and the Gifu strongpoint. After a 30-minute artillery preparation, the first divisional time on target concentration of the campaign, followed by twelve 500 pound bombs and thirty six 325 pound depth charges, courtesy of the Cactus Air Force, the attack steps off at 0730 hours. The 27th Infantry Regiment drives south through the 2d Marine Division against Galloping Horse and clears more than half of the objective. The 1st Battalion, on the west, attacks from Hill 66 to the objective, the northern part of Hill 57, and establishes patrol contact with the 3d Battalion to the east. From Hill 55, the 3d Battalion advances 1,600 yards toward Hill 53, but is halted by stubborn opposition on Hill 52, the intermediate position. The 35th Infantry Regiment's 3d Battalion begins the envelopment of the southern flank of Sea Horse, omitting preparatory fire, and takes the preliminary objective, a small hill a short distance south of the Sea Horse, against scattered opposition. Combat patrols of the 2d Battalion move against the Gifu after preparatory fire but are unable to make any headway.
P-39s and USMC SBDs support ground forces in the battle area. A strongpoint and an ammunition
dump are destroyed.

NEW GEORGIA: B-26s attack Munda, New Georgia Island with the loss of one aircraft.

 

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AUSTRALIA: U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief South West Pacific Area, sends a message to General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, in Washington, D.C., asking that Lieutenant General Walter Krueger be sent to Australia "to give the US Army the next ranking officer below (Australian) General (Thomas) Blamey (Commander in Chief Australian Military Force and Commander in Chief Allied Land Forces South West Pacific Area) in the Allied Land Forces which is now not the case and is most necessary." Soon after Krueger's arrival MacArthur forms "Alamo Force" to conduct the operations of the U.S. Sixth Army, despite the fact that there were no yet enough troops to constitute a U.S. Army in Australia. However, Krueger, who was also to command Alamo Force, "realized that this arrangement would obviate placing Sixth Army under the operational control of the Allied Land Forces."

BURMA: Fighters of the Tenth Air Force's India Air Task Force attack Bhamo, destroying barges, tugs, warehouses and other port facilities.

CHINA: Fighters of the Tenth Air Force's China Air Task Force strafe fuel drums along the road between Chefang and Mangshih and hit a truckful of soldiers near Ho-lu.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the 2/7th Independent Company, Kanga Force, begins a 3-day raid on Mubo, during which considerable damage is inflicted on the Japanese.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal, the 3d Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, continues their attack on "Galloping Horse" but is again unable to take Hill 53. Stiff opposition coupled with insufficient drinking water makes action on this front very difficult.
The 3d Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, completes a circle about "the Gifu" with the capture of "Sea Horse," where it is forced to rely on air supply until a boat line can be completed. The 3d Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, attached to the 35th Infantry Regiment, closes the gap between "Galloping Horse" and "Sea Horse." The 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, continues to meet heavy fire from "the Gifu" as it probes the position with combat patrols. Captain Beach's 147th Infantry Regiment force, less elements holding the beachhead, starts a march to Vurai, southwest of Kokumbona, to block this escape route from Kokumbona.
Nine USN motor torpedo boats operating from Tulagi, directed to the scene by a PBY Catalina, attack Japanese Reinforcement Unit (Captain Koyanagi Tomiji), eight destroyers strong, off Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal; destroyer HIJMS Hatsukaze is damaged. Motor torpedo boat PT-112 is sunk and PT-43 damaged by Japanese destroyer gunfire.

NEW GEORGIA: B-26s and P-39s attack the Munda, New Georgia area.

 

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ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Amchitka Island is occupied by the U.S. Amulet Force, consisting of 2,000 men under command of Brigadier General Lloyd E. Jones, Commanding General Cold Bay, Alaska. The invasion is covered by the USN's Task Group 8.6 (TG 8.6) consisting of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, light cruisers USS Detroit and Raleigh and four destroyers, which patrol off Amchitka and Kiska Islands.
The transport group consists of the transports USS Arthur Middleton, US Army Transport USAT Delarof, and SS Lakona; the cargo ship USS Vega; and four destroyers. There is no enemy opposition but a fierce storm hits and continues for two weeks. The transport USS Arthur Middleton, manned by a U.S. Coast Guard crew, runs aground as it rescues 175 sailors from the destroyer USS Worden. Worden is guarding USS Arthur Middleton as that transport put the preliminary Army security unit on the shores of Constantine Harbor Amchitka Island. The destroyer maneuvered into the rock-edged harbor and stayed there until the last men had landed and then turned to the ticklish business of clearing the harbor. A strong current, however, swept Worden onto a pinnacle that tears into her hull beneath her engine room and caused a complete loss of power.
Destroyer USS Dewey (DD-349) passes a towline to Worden and attempts to tow her free, but the cable parts, and the heavy seas begin moving Worden totally without power inexorably toward the rocky shore. The destroyer then broaches and begins breaking up in the surf.
The stricken destroyer's commanding officer, orders abandon ship, and, as he is directing that effort, is swept overboard into the wintry seas by a heavy wave that breaks over the ship. The captain is among the fortunate ones, however, because he is hauled, unconscious, out of the sea; 14 of the crew drown and the ship is a total loss.
Two B-24s cover the Amulet Force landing on Amchitka Island. Two B-25s and four P-38 escorts also on the cover mission turn back due to weather. Weather
reconnaissance is flown over Attu, Agatuu, Semichis Islands and, lastly, over Kiska Harbor, where four ships are observed.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USN submarine USS Guardfish, patrolling the waters of the Bismarck Archipelago on her third patrol, fires three torpedoes during a night underwater radar attack. One torpedo finds the mark and destroys the 1,215 ton ex-Japanese destroyer Shimakaze, now re-named patrol boat P1. She sinks about 67 nautical miles WSW of Kavieng, New Britain Island, in position 2.51S, 139.43E.

NEW GUINEA: After an artillery preparation, two battalions of the Australian 18th Brigade, 7th Division, with tank support, attack Japanese positions at the junction of the Kododa Trail in Papua New Guinea. The U.S. 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, supports the assault with feints from Musket and Rankin. Japanese antitank fire soon disables the tanks, but Australians continue the battle, progressing slowly at great cost. The Japanese begin withdrawing from the junction, during the night of 12/13 January. The Japanese withdrawal from the Kokoda trail enables the Allies to plan the encirclement of important Japanese positions in the Buna, Sanananda and Gona beachhead. Sanananda is the last of the three to fall to the Allies after weeks of heavy fighting.
In Northeast New Guinea, B-24s, in single-plane actions, bomb the Finschhafen and Madang areas.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal, the 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Inf. Div., continues their attack on "Galloping Horse," replacing the 3d Battalion with the 2d, and makes limited progress toward Hill 53. Company C, 35th Infantry Regiment, starts west toward the corps objective along the ridge southwest of "Sea Horse" but is soon halted by Japanese fire. The efforts of the 2d Battalion to break through the "Gifu" are frustrated by strong resistance.

NEW GEORGIA: B-26s, P-38s, P-39s and P-40s attack Munda with the loss of two B-26s. Other P-39s hit targets on Guadalcanal.

WAKE ISLAND: After the fall of Wake in December 1941, the 1,187 US Marines, were herded into the cargo holds of the 17,163 ton Japanese luxury liner Nitta Maru, for transportation to Yokohama and then to Shanghai. By 1 January 1943, there are still 98 civilian workers on the island but one is caught stealing food and is beheaded. Tonight, the Japanese accuse the civilians of being in secret radio communication with U.S. naval forces. The 97 civilians are marched to the beach and there lined up with their backs to the ocean and machined gunned. After the war, the Japanese commander on Wake, Rear Admiral Sakaibara, and
eleven of his officers, are sentenced to death by a US Naval Court at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Sakaibara is transported to Guam, Mariana Islands and he executed by June 1947.

 

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ALASKA: In the Aleutians, three bombers and four fighters are in the air. The weather reconnaissance aircraft returns west of Kiska due to high winds. Constantine Harbor is patrolled until weather forces aircraft to return. An attack on Kiska is cancelled.

NEW CALEDONIA AND NEW HEBRIDES ISLANDS: The USAAF Thirteenth Air Force and its subordinate XIII Bomber Command and XIII Fighter Command are activated to assume administrative control over all USAAF units in the South Pacific.
HQ Thirteenth Air Force (Major General Nathan F. Twinning) and HQ XIII Fighter Command (Brigadier General Dean C. Strother) are established at Noumea, New Caledonia Island; HQ XIII Bomber Command is established on Espirtu Santo Island, New Hebrides. Operational control of the Thirteenth's subordinate units is exercised by the USMC officer commanding USMC air units on Guadalcanal.

NEW GUINEA: U.S. Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger, Commanding General U.S. I Corps, assumes duties as Commander, Advance New Guinea
Force, and takes control of all Australian and U.S. troops. Australian Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Herring, General Officer Commanding Australian I Corps, now commands New Guinea Force.
In Papua New Guinea, the Australian 2/7th Independent Company, Kanga Force, observes 126 new Japanese troops approaching Mubo from Komiatum. Australian fire kills many of them.
In Papua New Guinea, Fifth Air Force A-20s bomb and strafe the Sanananda Point area and forces along the Sanananda track. In Northeast New Guinea, heavy and medium bombers hit dock facilities at Lae and airfields at Lae and Salamaua.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal, the XIV Corps offensive broadens as the 2d Marine Division begins a coastal attack from the line Point Cruz Hill 66, to the right of the 25th Infantry Division. The 8th Marine Regiment, on the right, attempts to advance westward from Hills 80 and 81 but is halted by Japanese fire. The 2d Marine Regiment advances 800 yards west from Hill 66. The attack of yesterday by the 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, is renewed, but held off by the Japanese on Guadalcanal. The Horse's Neck, Sims Ridge, is the holdup. Captain Davis, Battalion Executive Officer, leads four men, to within 10 yards of the Japanese position. When his rifle jams he waves the others on in full view of both Japanese and U.S. troops. This action is cited by Major General J. Lawton Collins, Commanding General 25th Infantry Division, as leading to the final capture of the Galloping Horse feature by noon.. The Americans now hold a 4,500-yard front extending south from Point Cruz over Hill 66 to Hills 57 and 55. Company C, 35th Infantry Regiment, is again halted by Japanese fire from the southwest as it endeavors to push west. The 2d Battalion makes negligible progress against pillboxes of the Gifu strongpoint.
Thirteenth Air Force P-39s strafe forces on the beach at Kokumbona and hit Visale (both on Guadalcanal) in support of the ground offensive. Also, B-26s with P-38 and P-39 escorts attack the Rekata Bay, Santa Isabel Island, area.

 

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BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Gasmata on New Britain Island.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, Major General George Vasey's Australian 7th Division, launches an offensive to intercept the Japanese withdrawal from the trail junction. While the U.S. 163d Infantry
Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, pushes south to block escape routes, the Australian 18th Brigade quickly clears Japanese remnants from the Junction and joins forces with the U.S. 163d Infantry Regiment on the Sanananda and Killerton trails.
Final mop up is left to the Australian 2/7th Cavalry Regiment and 39th and 49th Battalions. The 2/6th Battalion, 17th Brigade, "Kanga Force" begins an air movement from Port Moresby to Wau.
In Papua New Guinea, Fifth Air Force A-20s strafe the Labu area and small boats in Sachsen Bay. B-25s bomb the fuel dump and other supplies along the beach in the vicinity of Voco Point near Lae. In Northeast New Guinea, B-24s carry out single-plane attacks on Madang and Finschhafen.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the first submarine resupply mission, submarine USS Gudgeon lands six men and 2,000 pounds of equipment and supplies near Catmon Point, Negros, Philippines.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: In the costal sector, the 8th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, is still unable to advance because of fire from a ravine west of Hills 80 and 81. The 6th Marine Regiment replaces the 2d
Marine Regiment on the division's left flank. Company C, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, continues their vain efforts to advance west, but patrols discover a route around the Japanese right flank. The depleted 2d Battalion, reinforced by the antitank company, continues fruitless efforts to reduce the Gifu strongpoint. The 147th Regiment force reaches Vurai and moves forward to Tapananja, about 6 miles south of Sealark Channel, when patrols find the Vurai area free of the Japanese and they establish outposts on the upper Poha River.
Fresh Japanese troops land on Guadalcanal from destroyers to act as a rearguard unit to cover the evacuation. These 750 soldiers are from replacement troops for the 230th Regiment and are designated the Yano Battalion. Another 100 soldiers accompany a mountain gun battery.
Thirteenth Air Force P-39s, dropping improvised gasoline bombs in the Guadalcanal battle area around Mount Austen and Kokumbona, attack forces and supplies throught the day. Other fighters hit barges and launches at Kaimana Bay and Aruligo Point.

BOUGAINVILLE: B-17s bomb the airfield on Buka Island without loss.

UNITED STATES: The aircraft carrier USS Independence is commissioned; the USN now has six aircraft carriers in commission. This ship was laid down as a light cruiser but was ordered converted to an
aircraft carrier on 10 January 1942. She will be reclassified as a small aircraft carrier on 15 July 1943.

 

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ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Eight P-38s, three B-25s and a B-24 patrol Constantine Harbor on the northeast coast, of Amchitka Island, fly reconnaissance over Kiska Island, where one ship is sighted, and fly negative armed reconnaissance runs over Attu, the Semichis and Buldir Islands.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, B-24s hit the airfield at Gasmata and carry out single plane attacks on the runway at Cape Gloucester.

BURMA: Six Tenth Air Force P-40s bomb barges at Bhamo; six others bomb Nsopzup; three more hit footbridges and targets of opportunity at Taihpa Ga, Yupbang Ga, and other points in northern Burma.

INDIAN OCEAN: In the Andaman Sea, six Tenth Air Force B-24s hit shipping in a convoy in the Rangoon area. One ship, the Japanese Army cargo ship SS Nichimei Maru, is carrying Allied POWs. She is sunk about 211 nautical miles SSE of Rangoon, Burma, in position 13.30N, 97.30E. About 500 POWs are lost.
Another ship, SS Moji Maru. is damaged.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, preparations are made for an all-out offensive to clear the Sanananda area. The Urbana Force is to renew the drive west along the coast. The Australian 18th Brigade, 7th Division, moves north along the Killerton trail, passing through Rankin, in preparation for a drive to the coast. The Rankin Force (U.S. 2d Battalion, 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division) then follows the Australians northward and takes over the trail junction east of a coconut plantation about 1.5 miles north of the Rankin perimeter. In the Wau-Mubo area, the Australian 2/7th Independent
Company, Kanga Force, withdraws to prevent being surrounded by the Japanese. On the Soputa Sanananda road, the 1st Battalion, 163d Infantry Regiment, envelops a Japanese pocket remaining between Musket and Fisk, elements infiltrating to attack from inside the perimeter
In Papua New Guinea, A-20s strafe the Sanananda Point area as U.S. troops envelop Japanese pockets along the Soputa-Sanananda road. In Northeast New Guinea, B-25s bomb supply dumps at Lae and B-24s carry out single-plane attacks on bridge construction at Wewak.

GUADALCANAL: the 2d Marine Division continues to make slow progress in the coastal sector, despite use of tanks and a flame thrower. Company B, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, reinforced by platoon of Company D, takes over the westward attack from Company C. After a 30-minute artillery concentration followed by machine gun and mortar fire, Company B outflanks the Japanese position barring the advance and finds it to be a bivouac area held by a single platoon. Japanese positions in the Gifu remain practically intact.
The task of reducing the positions has been given to the 2nd Battalion 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Peters. His regimental commander, Colonel McClure and the division commander, Major General J. Lawton Collins, have decided that envelopment is not possible. He is directed to capture this position with a frontal assault. Since 10 January, they have been attempting to follow these orders. He is given incomplete maps (it was all they had) and an estimate of 100 Japanese and two "known" machineguns. After his first couple of patrols, he increases this estimate to 400 troops and 20 machineguns.
Peters mounts a general attack today. After a 15-minute mortar barrage the attack begins and manages to gain an average of 50 yards (46 meters). A second attack at 1400 hours also fails. Colonel McClure will replace Colonel Peters with Major Stanley Larsen tomorrow. A surrender request is broadcast to the Japanese in the Gifu.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: USN SBDs with F4F and P-39 Airacobra escort attack nine destroyers of the Tokyo Express and damage four of them. They are met by 12 Oscars; eight are shot down with the loss of one SBD and five US fighters.
Thirteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, P-38 Lightnings, P-39 Airacobras and P-40s attack five destroyers near Faisi Island; they are met by float biplanes and 13 are shot down with no loss of USAAF aircraft.
SBDs with F4F and P-39 escort bomb a cargo ship off Munda, New Georgia Island; they are met by 12 Zero's; seven are shot down with the loss of one US fighter. B-17s and USN PBYs bomb Kahili, Bougainville Island.

UNITED STATES: On the Virginia side of the Potomac River outside Washington, D.C., a new headquarters building for the Armed Forces of the U.S. is completed. Due to the five sided architectural design, it will become known as "The Pentagon." The massive structure covers 34 acres of land and has 17 miles of corridors.
The size of this building will allow the U.S. Army, Navy and Army Air Forces to move their command functions into one place. These have been located all over the greater Washington, D.C. area. Many of them are housed in temporary buildings, "on the Mall," between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. These temporary buildings were erected during WWI and were not expected to be in use much longer than the duration of that conflict. (Some were still there in the 1960s.)

 

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ALASKA: six B-24s off to hit Kiska return due to weather. A B-24 flies negative reconnaissance over Buldir, the Semichis, Attu and Agattu.

CBI (Tenth Air Force) In China, China Air Task Force P-40s intercept Japanese aircraft that attempt a strike on Yunnani and claim seven Zekes shot down in the air battle. Anticipating that the Japanese planes will land at Lashio Airfield, six B-25s and eleven fighters are sent to that field in the hope of catching the enemy on the ground; finding no aircraft there, the B-25s and fighters attack the town of Lashio. This is the last raid by the China Air Task Force before a fuel shortage grounds the fighters for the remainder of January and the B-25s for 33 days. In Burma, India Air Task Force B-25s hit Mandalay-Lashio and Sagaing-Ye-u branch railroad lines with three strikes on 16 and 17 Jan, knocking out two important rail hubs. Ten B-25s bomb the railroad yards at Maymyo.

GUADALCANAL: US loudspeaker appeals to the Japanese defenders in the "Gifu" on Guadalcanal yield 5 soldiers surrendering. They reveal that the defenders had voted to stay with the position because 80% of the defenders are too ill to walk and would there for be abandoned.
Despite being hampered by disease, US forces finally manage to subdue the Japanese resistance in Papua. Over 60% of the US forces was incapacitated by various illnesses, mainly malaria and dysentery.
B-26s from Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides join P-38s and P-39s in the Guadalcanal campaign, pounding the Japanese at Tassafaronga. The 17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Photographic Reconnaissance Group with P-38s and F-5s transfers from Noumea to Guadalcanal. The air echelon of C and D Flights remain in the US. The squadron will fly its first combat mission on 5 Feb 43 and will be redesgnated 17th Photographic Squadron on 6 Feb 43.

NEW GEORGIA/BOUGAINVILLE: Munda is also bombed. B-17s bomb the Buin-Faisi area, concentrating on Kahili Airfield and Ballale Airfield.

NEW GUINIE: A-20s pound the Soputa-Sanananda trail, the Kurenada area, and the area south of the Kumusi River, after which US and Australian ground forces open an assault on Sanananda which falls tomorrow. B-25s again bomb supplies at Lae. B-24s carry out single-plane attacks on airfields at Gasmata the town of Finschhafen, and a cruiser ESE of Cape Orford. Lost is B-17E "Tugboat Annie" 41-2599 between Lae and Buna.

SW PACIFIC OCEAN: Submarine U.S.S. Greenling, embarked upon her fourth patrol, comes upon XAP Kimposan Maru west of Kavieng, New Ireland. In a twilight periscope attack, Greenling unleashes three torpedoes, scoring two hits. The transport sinks in position 02° 47'S, 149°10'E. Submarine chaser Ch 17 rescues Kimposan Maru's survivors having unsuccessfully depth-charged Greenling in a counterattack.
Submarine U.S.S. Growler, moving through the waters around the Bismarcks during her fourth patrol, attacks a Japanese convoy by launching a daylight periscope attack. Growler downs A-APK Chifuku
Maru with both torpedoes fired in position 04°00'S, 151 55'E. Growler survives the escorts' counterattacks.

 

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GUADALCANAL: 37 105mm and 12 155mm artillery pound the Gifu with 1,700 shells between 1430 and 1600 into the "Gifu", an area of 1000 square yards, on Guadalcanal. An all out assault is precluded due to the hour, which wastes the effect of this barrage. US troops 300 yards from the pocket are dazed by the concussion.

CHINA: Chungking: In a move to strengthen the alliance with China and end a long-standing Chinese grievance, Britain and the US have surrendered their century-old neo-colonial territorial rights to the international settlements. The decision made by Britain and America, formally agreed last week, abrogates their citizens' rights to immunity from Chinese law and national rights to station troops under the so-called "unequal treaties", legacies of the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion. The deal was the result of pressure from the Chinese Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek, who said that the humiliation of a century had been wiped away.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force) P-39s pound mortar positions near Allied lines on Guadalcanal. Ground supply lines to the Mount Austen battle area reopen after three days of being closed because their extension outran the capacity of the native carriers. During the three days, B-17s from Henderson Field airlift rations, water, and ammunition to the troops, using what improvised cargo parachutes are available and in may cases wrapping the supplies in burlap or canvas and pushing them out.
The 31st Bombardment Squadron, 5th BG with B-17s transfers from Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides to Guadalcanal, Solomon .

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, A-20s strafe Mambare Delta and hit positions between Bakumbari and Salamaua. B-25s again pound supply stroes at Lae. B-24s, operating individually, attack Finschhafen and Madang wharf areas, Lahang Airfield and a vessel southeast of Rambutyo . In the Bismarck Archipelago, B-17s bomb landing grounds and shipping in Rabaul. B-24s, operating individually, attack the airfield on Gasmata. Lost on the ground at Gurney AIrfield to a Japanese air raid are: B-17F "Fire Ball Mail" 41-24551, B-17F 41-24540, B-24D 41-23824, P-39D 41-38499, P-39D at Gurney, Hudson A16-206, Hudson A16-239. Damaged was Hudson A16-185.

 

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ALASKA: A B-24 on reconnaissance reports two vessels in Kiska Harbor. Thereupon four B-24s, four B-26s, one B-25 and six P-38s fly out of Adak. Mechanical trouble forces two B-26s to return. The bomb run is negative. Meanwhile bad weather closes in on Kiska and Adak. Six aircraft are lost; one B-24 lands in a 20 mph downwind and crashes into two P-38s while three other B-24s are missing on the return flight, lost is B-24D 41-23908.

CBI (Tenth Air Force) In Burma, eight P-40s and a B-25 of the India Air Task Force attack Kamaing.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force) B-17s, P-38s and P-40s attack shipping at Shortland, bomb Ballale and attack a schooner south of Santa Isabel . Hits are scored on two vessels. The fighter escort shoots down two Rufes with the loss of one US fighter.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, B-25s bomb a motor pool and supply dumps at Lae. B-24s, operating individually, bomb Madang and Lahang Airfields and attack a cargo ship southeast of Rambutyo. Lost on an administrative flight is B-25C "Algernon IV" 41-12485.

BURMA:Indian troops attack Japanese positions at Donbaik

AUSTRALIA: MacDonald, Northern Territory: No. 18 Squadron RAAF (B-25 Mitchell) flies its first mission, a reconnaissance mission.

U.S.A.: US commercial bakers stopped selling sliced bread. Only whole loaves were sold until the end of the war.

 

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ALASKA: In the Aleutians, the crew of one of the three B-24s missing yesterday, which had crash landed at Great Sitkin , is picked up by a Navy tender. Weather prevents missions and searches. Attu Island is subjected to a naval bombardment, by a US fleet of two cruisers and four destroyers.

CBI (Tenth Air Force) Two flights of India Air Task Force B-24s depart Pandaveswar, India for raids on Burma and Thailand. In Burma, one flight of B-24s bombs Thazi, a railroad junction south of Mandalay while 14 P-40s and a B-25 pound Kamaing. In Thailand, the second flight of B-24s carries out photographic reconnaissance of Kanchanaburi and bombs the docks at Bassein during the return trip. This reconnaissance flight, the largest mission in the CBI Theater to date, reveals construction of a new railline from Thailand to Burma.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force) In the Solomons, B-17s, escorted by P-38s and P-40s, bomb the runway and revetments at Munda. The 394th Bombardment Squadron, 5th BG (H) that has been operating from Guadalcanal, Solomon with B-17s since 3 Jan returns to their base on Fiji.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, A-20s strafe troops in the Kurenada area; B-25s hit barracks area and supply dumps at Toeal and pound supply dumps at Lae. Heavy bombers carry out individual attacks on various targets at Lae, Madang, Cape Hollman, Cape Saint George, Finschhafen and Gasmata.

BURMA: Donbaik: Havildar Parkash Singh ( b.1913 ), 8th Punjab Regt., rescued three carriers and two wounded men; he had already, under heavy fire, rescued two carrier crews on 6 January. (Victoria Cross)

CANADA: Federal cabinet order-in-council grants Custodian of Enemy Alien Property the right to dispose of Japanese Canadians' property without owners' consent.

 

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ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) In the Aleutians, the weather aircraft aborts shortly after takeoff. A B-24 and a Navy PBY search without results for the two B-24s missing since Monday.

CENTRAL PACIFIC (Seventh Air Force) The 371st Bombardment Squadron, 307th BG with B-24s and based at Wheeler Field, Territory of Hawaii begins operating from Midway.

CBI (Tenth Air Force) The 75th Fighter Squadron, 23d FG with P-40s transfers from Chanyi to Yunnani, China.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force) B-26s claim a hit on a destroyer off southern Bougainville . B-17s with fighter escort attack ships near Shortland without scoring hits. They are met by Zekes and float biplanes; eight are shot down with the loss of one US fighter. The advance grund echelon of the 18th Photographic Mapping Squadron, 4th Photographic Group arrives at Dumbea, New Caledonia from the US. The bulk of the air echelon is still in the US.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force) In New Guinea, B-25s bomb supply dumps at Lae and targets on Aroe ; B-24s, operating singly, attack Madang and Finschhafen. B-24s, operating singly, attack Cape Gloucester and Gasmata. Lost is B-24D 41-24101 near Wewak. The 64th and 65th Bombardment Squadron, 43d BG (Heavy) with B-17s transfers from Mareeba to 7-Mile Drome.

 

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ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force) In the Aleutians, a weather reconnaissance aircraft flies. An attack run over Kiska and a patrol over Amchitka are call off due to weather. Air searches for the two B-24s missing since Monday continue.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force) In the Solomons, B-17s, B-26s and P-39s pound a bivouac and other targets in Munda, New Georgia . B-17s also attack shipping east of Kieta, Bougainville . HQ Thirteenth Air Force transfers from Noumea, New Caledonia to Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides .

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force) In the Bismarck Archipelago, B-17s bomb the airfield and shipping in Rabaul. In northeastern New Guinea, B-25s hit supply dumps and airfields. A single B-24 attacks a cruiser at Amboinea Harbor on Ambon. The 403d Bombardment Squadron, 43d BG with B-17s and B-24s transfers from Turnbull Field to Mareeba. The squadron will begin transitioning from B-17s to B-24s.