This day in the war in the Pacific 65 years ago. (2 Viewers)

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SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): 27 B-24's, 20+ P-40's and P-39's, and several USN fighters pound the Kahili area. P-39's over Choiseul Island strafe (and explode) 3 barges off Wogai Point, and strafe 2 others off Bambatana, leaving 1 ablaze.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): 117 B-24's and B-25's, escorted by 129 P-38's and P-40's, attack airfields and shipping in the Wewak area; about 40 aircraft are destroyed on the ground and 8 are claimed shot down in combat; the bombers claim 10 ships (totaling about 28,000 tons), 11 luggers, and a launch sunk; Finschhafen is bombed twice during the day.

CHINA: Mao Tse-min (Mao Tse-tung's brother) and the Communist party founder Chen Tan-chi are executed by order of Chiang Kai-shek.

MALAYSIA: In Singapore harbor, the limpet mines attached to seven Japanese ships by the Australian SOA (Special Operations Australia) Unit yesterday (Operation JAYWICK) begin exploding at 0515 hours local. Two freighters are sunk and five others are badly damaged.

 

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SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): 5 B-24 snoopers attack a convoy in N Solomons waters and claim several damaging hits. The convoy reverses its course.During the night, the Japanese garrison on Kolombangara Island begins withdrawing. Five USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberator snoopers attack a convoy in northern Solomon waters and claim several damaging hits causing the convoy to reverse its course.

UNITED STATES: Loaded up on the USS BUNKER HILL and we left San Diego, underway for Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): The Wewak area is again hit, the 40 attacking B-24's being escorted by 29 P-38's which claim 8 fighters shot down; A-20's and RAAF Vengeances attack the Finschhafen and Lae area; B-24's and P-39's hit a road near Bogadjim. The 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, transfers from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Archerfield, Queensland, Australia with C-47's. The 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group, transfers from Archerfield to Port Moresby with C-47's.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The USN submarine USS Cisco (SS-290) is sunk in the Sulu Sea about 74 nautical miles SW of Iloilo, Panay Island, the Philippines, by the gunboat HIJMS Karatsu [ex-river gunboat USS Panay (PR-7)] and a "Pete" seaplane (Mitsubishi F1M, Navy Type 0 Observation Seaplane) in position 9.47N, 121.44E.

 

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CBI (Fourteenth Air Force): In Burma, 9 B-24's bomb Myitkyina and Sadon during routine ferry trips over the Hump.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): On Choiseul P-40's, P-38's, and P-39's join USN fighters in supporting a strike by USN dive bombers on a barge depot at Kakasa; other P-40's strafe and set afire a barge off Sambi Point.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, Australian troops encounter strong resistance around the town of Finschhafen while the 2/2nd Independent Company ambushes the Japanese near Kesawai in the Ramu River Valley inflicting heavy casualties.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): B-24's on armed reconnaissance attack scattered shipping in the Netherlands East Indies and Solomon and Bismarck Seas. Lost on a training flight is B-25D "Axis Fate" 41-30053.

CHINA: Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, commander of the U.S. China-Burma-India Theater, Chief of Staff to Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, commander of the Northern Area Combat Command and deputy commander of the South-East Asia Command, issues "A" Program for China, which he recommends that 60 Chinese Nationalist divisions be reformed.

 

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ANTISUBMARINE WARFARE (First Air Force): The 10th Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy), 26th Antisubmarine Wing, ceases flying ASW patrols from Galveston, Texas with B-25's. The squadron will be redesignated 867th Bombardment Squadron and will transfer to the Central Pacific with B-24's in Jun 44.

SINGAPORE: A canoe-borne Australian Special Forces group has penetrated the heavily protected harbour at Singapore and blown up between 37,000 and 38,000 tons of Japanese shipping in Operation Jaywick.
The operation began on the night of 26-27 September. Led by Major Ivan Lyon of the Gordon Highlanders, six "Z" Special men entered the harbour in three canoes and attached limpet mines to seven ships, all of which were sunk or badly damaged. All three canoes were clear of Singapore when the first mines exploded at 5.15am on 27 September. The "Z" Special group was a mix of army and navy men. Its canoes, limpet mines and equipment were conveyed to a point near Singapore in the 68-ton ketch KRAIT.
The ketch left Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, on 1 September and on entering enemy waters posed as an Indonesian trading vessel. The KRAIT is a former Japanese fishing vessel, the KOKUFU MARU, seized from the Japanese in the early part of the Pacific War.
Sailing to Singapore without incident the group sighted the lights of the city on 18 September. While attaching a limpet mine to a tanker two of the crewmen became aware of a sailor watching them intently through a porthole. The froze in their task, but fortunately the sailor did not raise the alarm.

CBI (Tenth Air Force): The 311th BGroup is redesignated 311th Fighter-Bomber Group. The 385th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) is disbanded at Nawadih, India; the 382d, 383d and 384th Bombardment Squadrons (Dive) are redesignated 528th, 529th and 530th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 2 B-25's and 4 P-40's claim heavy damage to a gunboat at Ft Bayard, China.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): 16 B-24's, covered by 20+ P-38's and P-40's and a few US Navy F4U's, pound the Kahili Airfield area, hitting a supply and bivouac area NE of the strip. 6 B-25's bomb Kakasa on Choiseul Island.

USN - (VMF-214) Four F4Us on a mission against Kolombangara spot three ships. The ships were actually PT-126, PT 124 and PT 116 and fired a recognition flare. The F4U piloted by Alexander opened fire and was shot down. Several crew on PT-126 were wounded in the friendly fire accident.

 

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BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): During Oct, HQ 80th Fighter Group and it's 88th Fighter Squadron transfer from Karachi to Nagaghuli and Mokelbari, India respectively with P-40's.

AUSTRALIA: The government discontinues recruiting for the Royal Australian Navy because of a severe manpower shortage.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: B-25s strafe a power boat near Gasmata, New Britain Island.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 21 US Fourteenth Air Force B-24s, supported by 21 P-38s and P-40s, bomb a power plant, the warehouse and dock area at Haiphong. 40-65 Japanese Army fighters intercept, shooting down two US aircraft; 30 fighters are claimed destroyed by the Fourteenth in the air battle.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 9th Division commits another battalion to the assault on Finschhafen, making three in all.
In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20s and ten RAAF A-31 Vengeances and eight A-20s bomb and strafe the Finschhafen area as the Australian 9th Division pours more troops into the assault on the town.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., commander of the South Pacific Area and commander of the Third Fleet, informs General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander South West Pacific Area (SWPA) in Australia, of his decision to invade Bougainville Island at Empress Augusta Bay on 1 November and is promised maximum air assistance from SWPA.
Twenty four USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb a supply and bivouac area north of Vila airfield on Kolombangara Island. B-25s and P-38s join USN SBDs in a strike on a barge depot at Kakasa on Choiseul Island.
Eight USN destroyers make a sweep near Kolombangara Island and sink 20 or 35 Japanese barges. The destroyers are shadowed by Japanese aircraft that constantly harrass the ships; one destroyer is damaged by a near-miss.

UNITED STATES: The authorized complement of fighters in USN Essex Class carrier air groups is raised, increasing the total aircraft normally on board to 36 fighter, 36 scout bombers and 18 torpedo bombers. The authorized complement for small aircraft carrier (CVLs) air groups is established at the same time as 12 fighters, nine scout bombers and nine torpedo bombers and revised in November 1943 to 24 fighters and nine torpedo bombers and remained at that level through the war.

 

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BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: The USAAF Fifth Air Force attacks various targets on New Britain Island: B-25s strafe villages in the Talasea area and barges off Gasmata while B-26s bomb Hoskins (Cape Hoskins or Gabubu) Airfield; and a B-24 bombs Cape Gloucester Airfield.

CHINA: Five USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s dive-bomb and strafe Yangtze River shipping in the Chiuchiang area. Strafing damages several small craft.
HQ 51st Fighter Group transfers from Dinjan, India to Kunming, China and is reassigned from the Tenth to Fourteenth Air Force.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, troops of the Australian 2/17th Battalion, 20th Brigade, 9th Division, seize the village and harbor of Finschhafen and make contact with the Australian 22d Brigade, which has moved forward from Lae. The Japanese retain Sattelberg and Wareo, both of which command the Finschhafen area and must be cleared.
B-25's strafe villages in the Talasea area and barges off Gasmata; B-26's bomb Hoskins Airfield; and a B-24 bombs Cape Gloucester Airfield. Other B-24's bomb Amboina in the Moluccas.
The 6th Troop Carrier Squadron transfers from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Garbutt Field, Townsville, Queensland, Australia with C-47's.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: During the day, six USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25s join USN SBDs in attacking the Hamberi Cove barge hideout near Vila on Kolombangara Island.
During the night of 2/3 October, the Japanese completed their withdrawal from Kolombangara Island. Efforts of U.S. naval forces to interfere are largely ineffective and some 9,400 Japanese escape safely.

 

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 7 P-40's damage a 250-ft vessel on the Yangtze River near Chiuchiang; 4 P-38's bomb Chiuchiang docks; 6 B-24's damage a 100-ft coastal freighter off Tonkon Point on Hainan. A detachment of the 76th Fighter Squadron, 23d Fighter Group, based at Hengyang, China begins operating from Suichwan, China with P-40's.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): P-39's strafe several barges W of Choiseul.

USN - USS Henley DD-391 is sunk by Japanese submarine RO-108 off Cape Cretin.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): B-25's continue to hit barges along the W coast of New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago. The 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, ceases operating from Port Moresby and returns to it's base at Dobodura with P-38's.

NEW GUINEA: In North East New Guinea, Australian troops north of Finschhafen are attacked by the Japanese.

 

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 17 Japanese bombers and 25 Zekes attack Kweilin Airfield, China. The bombs, dropped from 20,000 feet, fail to hit the target. AAF fighters fail to make effective contact with the force.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): 23 B-24's, covered by 16 P-38's and several USN F4U's, bomb Kahili Airfield; 20-30 fighters intercept, and a running battle occurs between Bougainville and Vella Lavella; US fighters and bombers claim 9 fighters downed; no American losses are suffered. 4 P-39's and 4 F4U's sink 18 barges in a strike along the W coast of Choiseul. The P-39's are especially effective because of their nose cannon.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): B-25's bomb and strafe barges, small craft, and villages on Vitu in the Bismarck Archipelago. The 22d Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, transfers from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Garbutt Field, Townsville, Queensland, Australia with C-47's.
In North East New Guinea, Dumpu is captured by Australian troops as they advance into the Ramu River Valley from the Markham Valley. Meanwhile, the Australian 20th Brigade continues fighting towards Sattelberg.

 

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, a few B-25's and P-40's attack a foundry at Shihhweiyao; damaging hits are scored on a barrack, on AA positions, blast furnaces, hoppers, and a steam plant. 10 USAAF fighters intercept a force of about 50 Zekes W of Kweilin, shoot down 1 enemy fighter; the enemy force turns back.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): Lost is B-25D "Flying Ginny / Bette" 41-30017.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Ocean Area, issues a plan for an offensive in the Central Pacific. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance Commander of the Fifth Fleet, is to seize Makin, Tarawa, and Abamama in the Gilbert Islands, cover amphibious landings on each with air and naval surface forces, and deny the Japanese the use of land bases in the Marshall Islands and at Nauru during the operation. D-Day for landings is set for 19 November and later postponed to 20 November.

NEW GUINEA: In North East New Guinea, Japanese documents captured near Finschhafen reveal that the Japanese are not in full retreat but intend some offensive operation. Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Herring, Commander of I Australian Corps, issues an operations order to the Australian 9th Division stating that Finschhafen is to be defended and developed and the troops are to gain control of the east coast of the Huon Peninsula up to and including Sio.
In the air, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25s carry out a coastal sweep west to Madang, bombing and strafing villages and barges; B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the Bogadjim Road and jetties at Erima; and B-24 Liberators bomb the Babo area.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The USN submarine USS Wahoo sinks the Japanese army transport Konron Maru (formally of the Shimonoseki-to-Fusan Ferry Line) in Tsushima Straits, about 126 nautical miles south of Pusan, Korea, at 34.00N, 129.00E. (The Tsushima Strait is a channel between Tsushima Island and northwest Kyushu, Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan with the East China Sea.) The ship is ferrying troops across the Tsushima Strait. Only 72 of the 616 soldiers and crewmen aboard the vessel survive because of heavy seas. This loss prompts the cancellation of night ferry trips across Tsushima Straits.

WAKE ISLAND: The USN's Task Force 14 (Rear Admiral Alfred E Montgomery) bombs and shells the island. TF 14 consists of the aircraft carriers USS Essex with Carrier Air Group Nine, USS Yorktown with Carrier Air Group Five and USS Lexington with Carrier Air Group Sixteen; the light aircraft carriers USS Cowpens with Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Five, USS Independence with Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Two and USS Belleau Wood with Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Four; three heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, 24 destroyers and two oilers. A predawn strike consisting of 48 F6Fs and 24 TBF Avenger torpedo bombers attacks the airfield and other installations while F6F pilots shoot down 30 Zero fighters.

 

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 7 P-40's from Suichwan intercept an attacking force of 27 bombers and 21 Zekes; 1 bomber and 1 fighter are shot down, and the attackers retire in the direction of Canton without dropping their bombs.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): In the Solomon, 8 P-39's and 8 USN F4U's strafe barges off the W coast of Choiseul. 24 B-25's of the 42nd BG and 14 P-38's carry out a low-level strike against Kahili Airfield at dusk dropping parafrag bombs, damaging or destroying several parked aircraft. Lost is B-25D 41-30567.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: ALAMO (U.S. Sixth Army) Scouts land at Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island, for reconnaissance.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): B-25's sweep along coastal areas of New Britain and through to the N and W, bombing and strafing targets of opportunity.

NEW GUINEA: In North East New Guinea, the Australian 2/17th Battalion is fighting at Kumawa, between Finschhafen and Sattleberg. Elements of the Australian 7th Division take Dumpu with unexpected ease and it will become a staging field for fighters.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The Japanese evacuate 600 men from Vella Lavella Island during the night of 6/7 October but they are met by USN destroyers resulting in the Battle of Vella Lavella. Three USN destroyers intercept and attack six Japanese destroyers, three destroyer transports and small armed craft some 12 nautical miles off Marquana Bay; this proves to be the last surface engagement in the central Solomon Islands.
The three USN destroyers are damaged: USS O'Bannon in a collision with destroyer USS Chevalier; USS Selfridge by torpedo fired from either of Japanese destroyers HIJMS Shigure or HIJMS Samidare; and USS Chevalier by torpedo from Japanese destroyer HIJMS Yugumo. USS Chevalier is scuttled by destroyer USS LaVallette tomorrow. Torpedoes from USS Chevalier and Selfridge sink Japanese destroyer HIJMS Yugumo.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Action in the central Solomons comes to a close. Elements of the 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, make an unopposed landing on Kolombangara Island during the morning. U.S. casualties during the central Solomons campaign total 1,094 killed and
3,873 wounded. The counted Japanese dead, except on Vella Lavella Island, total 2,483. The campaign yields Allied forces four airfields (Munda, Ondonga and Segi on New Georgia Island and Barakoma on Vella Lavella Island) within range of Bougainville Island, the next objective.
In the air, eight USAAF Thirteenth Air Force P-39 Airacobras and eight USN F4Us strafe barges off the west coast of Choiseul Island while 24 B-25s and 14 P-38s carry out a low-level strike against Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island, damaging or destroying several parked aircraft.

 

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 4 B-25's attack a 2,500-ton freighter 100 miles S of Amoy, China scoring 3 direct hits; the vessel is left burning and listing. 9 B-24's and 22 fighters hit a cement plant at Haiphong, French Indochina causing heavy damage to the kiln building. The 26th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, transfers from Dinjan, India to Kunming, China with P-40's.

WAKE ISLAND: Imperial Japanese Navy Rear Admiral Sakaibara Shigematsu, commander of the Japanese garrison on the island, orders the execution of 96 American civilian construction workers who have been held on the island since the American surrender in December 1941. The men are marched to the beach and machine gunned. This followed two days of attacks by a USN task force (see 5 October). I have heard two claims of why the men are executed,
(1) the Japanese claimed the civilians were trying to make radio contact with the task force and
(2) the Japanese were afraid that the U.S. was going to invade the island and the civilian prisoners would tell the invaders where the Japanese defensive positions were and how weak they were.
After the war, Sakaibara and eleven of his officers are sentenced to death by a USN Court at Kwajalein

PACIFIC OCEAN: In the Formosa Strait, four USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25s attack a 2,500-ton freighter 100 miles south of Amoy, China scoring three direct hits; the vessel is left burning and listing.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): The 72nd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 5th BG, based on Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides with B-24's, begins operating from Guadalcanal.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): In the Bismarck Archipelago, a B-24 on patrol bombs Umboi scoring damaging hits on several buildings. HQ 374th Troop Carrier Group transfers from Port Moresby to Towns.

NEW GUINEA: In North East New Guinea, the Australian 2/17th Battalion continues battling the Japanese at Kumawa in the Finschhafen area.

 

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 9 B-24's, supported by 20 P-40's, bomb Gia Lam Airfield in French Indochina. While on ferry mission over the Hump, 3 B-24's bomb Tengchung, China scoring hits on warehouses, barracks, and a HQ area.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): B-25's and P-40's sink a barge off the W coast of Choiseul in the Solomon

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): A single B-24 on armed reconnaissance bombs Cape Gloucester Airfield. Lost is P-38H 42-66904.

 

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ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 12 Kuril-based Japanese bombers attack Attu.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 4 B-25's on a shipping sweep off the SE China coast in the Amoy-Quemoy area sink a 150-ft (45.7 m) tanker and damage a patrol vessel, and a freighter. 1 B-25 crashes into a hill and explodes. 10 P-40's bomb fuel storage and barracks at Mangshih, China; 1 P-40 is downed by ground fire.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): B-25's and P-40's hit barges and concentrations on W Choiseul. P-39's and USN F4U's strafe buildings, a radar station, and gun positions at Poporang.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): A-20's and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airplanes bomb and strafe defensive positions in the Sattelberg and Finschhafen areas. B-24's bomb Makassar on Celebes.
The 2d Bombardment Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), transfers from Reid River, Australia to Dobodura with B-26's. They re-entered combat on 5 Oct after R&R in Australia since Jan 43.
The 65th Troop Carrier Squadron, 54th Troop Carrier Wing, transfers from Port Moresby to Nadzab. The squadron is operating from Tsili Tsili with C-47's.

ELLICE ISLANDS: Nukufetau Airstrip on Motulalo Island is ready for use.

RAAF - Written off after suffering bomb damage at Vivigani is Beaufort A9-226.

 

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BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): 7 B-24's pound the Meza railroad bridge in Burma, destroying the 3 spans on the E end and dropping the end of a central span into the river.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 20 B-24's and 18 P-40's pound docks at Haiphong, French Indochina. In China, 8 P-40's bomb a match factory and ammunition dump at Tengchung; 8 others hit a supply dump and targets of opportunity in the Lungling area.
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek takes the oath of office as president of China.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): 24 B-24's, 50+ P-38's (seporated from the formation near Kolombangara) soon after rendevous. P-40's, and P-39's, and 50+ USN fighters and dive bombers participated, including eight F4Us from VMF-214 'The Black Sheep', but two aborted due to mechanical failures. The remaining aircraft hit Kahili Airfield and surrounding areas, hitting runways, a fuel dump, supply area, buildings, the Navy dive bombers hit Malabita Hill gun positions. The bombing was not accurate with about half the load falling into the water off Bougainville 'killing many small fish'. Jumped by 10-15 Zeros, and fired on by accurate anti-aircraft guns at Kahili and Ballale. Two B-24s are damaged. Lost is B-24D 42-40210. US airplanes claim 15 interceptors shot down, but Japanese records only show the loss of two Zeros from the 201th Kokutai.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea, A-20's, along with RAAF airplanes, again pound the Sattelberg area. HQ 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group arrives at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from the US.
The ground echelon of the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron, 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), arrives at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from the US. The squadron is attached to the 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group and will be reassigned to the 6th on 5 Dec 43. The air echelon, with B-24's and F-7's, will remain in the US until 26 Jan 44. The 70th Troop Carrier Squadron, 433d Troop Carrier Group, transfers from Port Moresby to Nadzab, New Guinea with C-47's.

EAST INDIES: During the night of 10/11 October, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25s hit Saumlaki on Yamdena Island in the Netherlands East Indies.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The USN submarine USS Kingfish lays mines off Cape Pepe, Makassar Strait, Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies.

 

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BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): HQ 311th Fighter-Bomber Group transfers from Nawadih to Dinjan, India.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 8 B-24's bomb the town areas of Tengchung, China, and Sadon and Myitkyina, Burma. The 75th Fighter Squadron, 23d Fighter Group, transfers from Kunming to Kweilin, China with P-40's.

JAPAN: The submarine USS Wahoo is sunk in La Perouse Strait off the coast of Hokkaido with its ace skipper, Commander Dudley "Mush the Magnificent" Morton. During five patrols, Morton and Wahoo sank 19 ships. Japanese records report that, on 11 October, the date USS Wahoo is due to exit through La Perouse Strait, an antisubmarine aircraft found a surfaced submarine and attacks, dropping three depth charges sinking the sub.
Also on 11 October 1943, the commander of a Japanese shore battery overlooking Soya Strait reports sighting and firing on a surfaced submarine. A number of hits are claimed before the submarine dives and an aircraft from Ominato is sent to the spot. At 0920 hours, the plane detects an oil patch and the shadow of a conning tower and bombs are dropped on this shape. The aircraft radios for assistance and circles until other planes arrive.
A submarine is positively identified and more bombs are dropped until surface ships, including HIJMS Submarine Chasers 15 and 43 arrive. These, and other ships, drop depth charges. HIJMS Submarine Chaser 15 reports part of a ship's propeller thrown to the surface by an underwater explosion. More aircraft and HIJMS Auxiliary Minesweeper 18 arrive, but nothing more of the submarine is seen.] USS Wahoo is announced overdue on 2 December 1943 and stricken from the Navy list on 6 December 1943.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) 22 B-24's join 30+ USN dive bombers in pounding Kahili Airfield and the nearby area. Hits are scored on the airstrip, fuel dumps, supply areas, gun positions, bridges between Rangu and Jakohina, barges at the mouth of the Uguima River, and several other targets. The B-24's and the USN and AAF fighters covering the attack claim 12 Japanese airplanes downed.
Japanese aircraft attack U.S. shipping off Koli Point, Guadalcanal, torpedoing two merchant freighters.

NEW GUINEA: Over Northeast New Guinea, Colonel Neal Kearby, Commanding Officer 348th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force, shoots down six Japanese fighters, four Zeros and two "Tonys" near Wewak, Northeast New Guina. He is awarded the Medal of Honor for this action.
In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24s attack Manokwari, Bira, and Fakfak and score hits on a small vessel at Fakfak.

EAST INDIES: During the night of 11/12 October, 5th AF B-25s bomb Cape Chater and Lautem Airfields on Dutch Timor Island in the Netherlands East Indies.

 

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 5 B-24's bomb the warehouse area and railroad yards at Myitkyina, Burma

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): 2 B-25's skip-bomb 2 small vessels in Matchin Bay on Bougainville. Lost is B-25C 42-64571.

NEW BRITAIN: Rabaul is the target of the US 5th Air Force and receives 350 tons of bombs.
The Fifth Air Force and RAAF open an aerial campaign to neutralize or cripple the four Japanese airfields and naval base at Rabaul on New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, in support of the upcoming invasion of Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands.
The first mission today is flown by 349 aircraft, 87 B-24s, 114 B-25s, 125 P-38s, 12 RAAF Beaufighters and 11 weather and reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft attack the airfields, the town, the harbour and ships in the harbour and sink 2 transports, 2 cargo lighters and a guard boat and damage 3 destroyers, 3 submarines, a special service ship, an oiler and 2 auxiliary sailing vessels. 50+ Japanese aircraft are destroyed on the ground; 4 B-24s and a B-25 are lost.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: B-25s fly small strikes against targets on Timor Island and other areas of the Netherlands East Indies.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 2 Thirteenth Air Force B-25s skip-bomb 2 small vessels in Matchin Bay on Bougainville Island.

WESTERN PACIFIC: Submarine USS Halibut torpedoes and sinks the Japanese cargo ship Ehime Maru (4,500 tons), a medium freighter.

NEI: B-25's fly small strikes against targets on Timor and other areas of the Netherlands East Indies.

 

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ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 11 P-40's unsuccessfully intercept 8 Japanese medium bombers attacking Massacre Bay and the nearby airfield on Attu.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): Japanese fighters appear in strength over Sumprabum, Burma to attack over-the-Hump flights. The enemy evades US patrols and shoots down 3 transports. A fighter-bomber offensive against airfields in Burma from which fighters might operate against Hump transports opens with an attack by P-40's on Myitkyina.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 3 B-25's on a sea sweep off SE China hit shipping in Amoy harbor, claiming 1 freighter sunk and another damaged.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): In the Solomon, a detachment of the 17th Photographic Squadron, 4th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group, based on Guadalcanal with F-5's, begins operating from Munda, New Georgia . The air echelons of "C" and "D" Flights are still in the US.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): 100+ B-24's and B-25's are sent against Rabaul; bad weather forces the bombers to turn back, but 40+ B-24's hit targets including Hoskins, Lindenhafen, Cape Gloucester and Gasmata. Lost is B-24D 42-40934 ditching.

PACIFIC: A U.S. submarine sinks a Japanese cargo ship.
USS Barbel sinks a destroyer at 29-38 N, 127-27 E at about 0600.
USS Begall sinks an attack transport at 11-53 N, 109-17 E (Japanese give location as 11-53 N, 109-17 E) at about 0900.
USS Permit sinks a patrol vessel at 07-15 N, 151-45 E at about 1500.

 

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 4 B-25's attack shipping in the Amoy area, damaging 2 freighters, and also bomb Amoy Airfield.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): A single B-24 on armed reconnaissance bombs 4 barges W of Taiof, leaving 1 sinking. The 371st Bombardment Squadron, 307th BG, ceases operating from Guadalcanal and returns to it's base on Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides with B-24's.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): 60+ medium bombers pound Cape Gloucester on New Britain and Alexishafen. 3 others fly harassing strikes against Dili and Lautem on Timor.

PACIFIC OCEAN: 1700 hours: USS Grayback sinks an attack transport at 27-35 N, 127-30 E. 1800 hours: USS Bonefish sinks a schooner at 00-10 N, 119-15 E.

 

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BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): The 89th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group, transfers from Karachi to Gushkara, India with P-40's. A detachment will operate from Sadiya, India during Oct.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): 21 B-24's, 12 P-38's, and 17 USN F4U's pound Kahili Airfield supply and personnel areas. 6 Zeros are claimed shot down. During the late evening B-25's bomb the airfield on Buka .

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): 50+ P-38's and P-40's intercept around 100 Japanese aircraft attacking Allied shipping at Oro Bay; the US fighters claim 40+ shot down; 4 other P-40's, encountering 20+ Japanese airplanes E of Finschhafen, claim 5 destroyed; and 70+ medium bombers hit positions and villages from Sio to Saidor.
HQ 22d Bombardment Group and it's 33d and 408th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) transfer from Australia to Dobodura with B-25's; the 22d and 33d transfer from Woodstock and the 408th from Reid River.

NEI: 6 B-24's bomb Boela on Ceram in the Moluccas.

PACIFIC OCEAN: 0100 hours: USS Tullibee sinks a transport at 24-30 N, 120-26 E.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Admiral Halsey issues orders for the invasion of Northern Solomons by Task Force 31.

 

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CENTRAL PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Seventh Air Force): HQ 41st BG (Medium) arrives at Hickam Field, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii from the US.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): Fighter patrols are increased from 4 to 8 aircraft with little effect on enemy marauders over the Hump. 3 A-36's fail to return from a mission over Sumprabum, Burma.

CHINA: British Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command (SEAC), arrives in Chungking.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): B-24's bomb Kara Airfield. 6 B-25's hit the airfield on Ballale.
N. SOLOMONS (USMC) Five Black Sheep divisions (20 planes) took off in the morning, three to escort some SBD's on a strike against Kara Airfield, the other two on a fighter sweep. Bolt flew with the fighter sweep, which Boyington was leading. As they flew over Kahili at Tonolei Harbor, they saw that it was filled with Japanese barges. "Nobody shoot" ordered the normally aggressive Boyington, who led the eight Corsairs on a long, erratic route. While Boyington proceeded back to Munda, Bolt and the rest could only make Vella Lavella. At Vella, Bolt decided to fly back to Tonolei Harbor himself, to shoot up those barges. "The skipper will be pissed," a pilot warned. Bolt went anyway, and at Tonolei, he blasted one barge full of troops, an empty barge, a tug, and another small cargo vessel. Most of the vessels, he left burning and sinking. Back at Munda, Boyington was indeed "pissed", and the incident became know as 'Bolts War'. But Admiral Halsey was more supportive writing a cable: "That one man war... conducted by Lieut. Bolt against Jap stuff in Tonolei Harbor, Warm Heart (Stop) Halsey"

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea, 60+ B-25's attack the Alexishafen area, hit coastal targets between Reiss Point and Sio, and bomb the airfield at Wewak. A-20's bomb and strafe Gasmata. A lone B-24 destroys a patrol craft between Hoskins and Rabaul. Lost on a search and rescue mission is OA-10 Catalina 43-3262.
All four squadrons of the 345th BG B-25 participated in a morning strike on Boram Airfield, anti-aircraft defenses and Wewak Airfield, protected by three squadrons of P-38 escort fighters. About 20 Japanese Ki-43 and Ki-61 fighters took off to intercept with only a few minutes warning. They dropped 100 lbs 'daisy cutter' bombs and straffed the area. Many parked aircraft were destroyed or damaged. Lost was B-25D 41-30561.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 9th Division uses captured documents to repel the first of a series of sharp counterattacks from Sattelberg.

NEW HEBRIDES ISLANDS: The U.S. 3d Marine Division, having trained at Guadalcanal for operations against Bougainville, conducts rehearsals in the New Hebrides, concluding them on 20 October.