3 November 1939

BELGIUM: King Leopold III of the Belgians, is born in Brussels. (Glenn Steinberg)

SYRIA: As a result of widespread disorder in Syria and the opposition of the Syrian parliament to the Treaty of 1933 with France, the Syrian parliament is discontinued indefinitely. Most Syrians object to continued French control over Syrian foreign relations, the army, and finances and oppose separate treatment of the Syrian states.

FRANCE: A number of socialist groups in France merge to form the Socialist and Republican Union. This organization soon establishes close ties with the Communists and Radical Socialists to form the Popular Front. The goal of the Popular Front is to combat the political unrest of reactionary groups, especially the Croix de Feu, a fascist veterans group.

SWITZERLAND: The Government takes new steps to repress Communism in Switzerland and several cantons make the Communist Party illegal.

UNITED STATES: Presidential and Congressional elections are held in the country:

- In the Presidential race, the Democratic Party candidates, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Gardner, defeat the Republican candidates, Alf Landon and Frank Knox. Landon carries only two states, Maine and Vermont; Roosevelt carries the other 46. Roosevelt wins 62.5 percent of the popular vote and 98.5 percent of the Electoral College vote (523 versus 8).

- In the Senate contests, the Democrats gain six seats, the Republicans lose eight and independents gain two. The Democrats control the Senate with 75 of 96 seats.

- In the House of Representatives contests, the Democrats gain 11 seats, the Republicans lose 14 and the independents gain three. The Democrats control the House with 333 of 435 seats.

BELGIUM: The U.S. participates with 18 other nations in a Conference held at Brussels to consider "peaceable means" for hastening the end of the conflict between China and Japan. This Conference was held in accordance with a provision of the Nine-Power Treaty of 1922.

JAPAN: The Government says that the establishment of a new order is the ultimate purpose of military campaign in China stating, "This new order has for its foundation a tripartite relationship of mutual aid and coordination between Japan, Manchukuo, and China in political, economic, cultural, and other fields. Its object is to secure international justice, to perfect the joint defense against Communism, and to create a new culture and realize a close economic cohesion throughout East Asia." Premier KONOYE Fumimaro says Japan is eager to see a new order established in East Asia because ". . . China heretofore has been a victim of the rivalry between the Powers, whose imperialistic ambitions have constantly imperiled her tranquility and independence. Japan realizes the need of fundamentally rectifying such a state of affairs . . ."

Corvette HMS Columbine laid down.

Aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable laid down.

Sloop HMS Flamingo commissioned.

NORWAY: U.S. freighter SS City of Flint is restored to U.S. control at Haugesund On 9 October, German armored ship Deutschland had seized the ship while it was en route from New York to the United Kingdom, as a "contraband carrier" and placed a prize crew on board. On 21 October, the ship put in to TromsÃ¸, Norway, for water. The Norwegian government, however, orders the ship to leave; she sails for Soviet waters and arrives at Murmansk on 23 October. Soviet authorities intern the German prize crew on 24 October but she is again placed under German naval prize crew on 27 October. On 28 October, the ships sails from Murmansk for Norwegian waters.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Russia and Finland continue talks on an exchange of territory. Finland again rejects new Russian demands and offers counterproposals stating, "The Government of Finland takes its stand on the integrity and neutrality of Finland. . . . The Government of Finland, acting in the name of a unanimous people, has thus given the U.S.S.R. positive proof of its desire to understand the considerations of security to which the U.S.S.R. attaches importance, and, similarly, in its efforts to reach a satisfactory settlement of political relations, it has gone as far as its independence, security, and neutrality permit. The concessions which Finland agrees to make to the U.S.S.R. in order to improve neighbourly relations and ensure peace represent, a very heavy sacrifice for the Finnish people, as they affect an area which has been inhabited by a Finnish population since very ancient date, and which for centuries has formed part of Finland's political territory."

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: The prime minister General Smuts promises to defend British colonies if required.

The U.S. Congress amends the Neutrality Act of May 1937, repealing the embargo on arms to belligerents, but also placing the sale of arms exports to belligerents on a cash-and-carry basis. This allows U.S. munitions manufacturers to sell arms to the Allies while avoiding the war debt problems which emerged during World War I and soured post-war American-Allied relations.

At 2140 U-99 torpedoed the unescorted Casanare west of Bloody Foreland. Her distress messages brought the armed merchant cruisers HMS Laurentic (Capt EP Vivian) and HMS Patroclus to the scene and the U-boat began a dramatic battle at 22.50 hours when the first torpedo struck the HMS Laurentic from a distance of 1500 meters. After 30 minutes, a second torpedo struck the vessel, but she remained afloat. A third torpedo was fired at 23.30 hours from a distance of 250 meters into the hole opened by the first torpedo, at this time the lookouts spotted the U-boat on the surface and Kretschmer had a hard time in evading the gunfire. In the meantime, HMS Patroclus began picking up survivors instead of participating in the fight against the U-boat and her lookouts did not see U-99 only 300 meters away. A first torpedo struck the ship at 0022, a second at 00.44 hours and a third at 0118, but then the lookouts spotted the U-boat and Kretschmer had again to evade the gunfire. After that, U-99 searched for the Casanare, but only found two lifeboats at her position, the vessel had foundered in the meantime. Suddenly, a Sunderland flying boat appeared over the U-boat, which had to dive, but no bombs were dropped. Kretschmer used the time and reloaded the torpedo tubes under water. At 0330, the U-boat surfaced, went back to the auxiliary cruisers and fired a at 0435 a coup de grâce from a distance of 250 meters at the HMS Laurentic. The torpedo struck the stern and ignited the depth charges stored there; this caused the ship to sink by the stern at 0453. Around this time a destroyer was spotted and Kretschmer had to sink the HMS Patroclus in a short time. A fifth torpedo at 0516 had no significant effect, but the sixth torpedo at 0525 caused the vessel to sink immediately. After that, U-99 was heavy attacked by the British destroyer HMS Hesperus with depth charges, but the destroyer soon left the U-boat to pick up the survivors. NOAVI's illustrious Maritime Affairs expert, the late Bill Kinsman, was serving in Hesperus at the time of the incident as an 'HO' Ordinary Seaman manning 'A' 4.7 inch mounting. He explained to me that the reason why Patroclus was so slow to sink was that she had been loaded with a cargo of empty oil drums to provide flotation in case she was torpedoed. In 1963, Bill attended the NATO Defense College then at Paris, and found himself in the same syndicate as Kretschmer, then a Captain in the West German Navy. Inevitably, they reminisced about this event and Kretschmer told Kinsman that before Hesperus had obtained a sonar contact on U-99, he had been tracking the slowly moving destroyer by periscope -- but had no torpedoes left!

U.S.S.R.: German attacks continue in the Leningrad sector. Their goal is Tikhvin, 100 miles east of Leningrad. The Soviet counterattacks will be aimed at some of the strongest German positions.
The port city of Feodosia is captured by the German 46th and 170th Infantry Divisions.

Units of Panzergruppe 2 (Guderian) of Heeresgruppe Mitte (von Bock) capture Kursk.

JAPAN: Tokyo: Japan has one good reason for expansion in the Far East: oil. The country has been starved of oil since the USA decided in July, following the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, to extend the licensing of exports to Japan. It was not intended to ban oil exports to Japan, but US officials refused all applications to export oil and gas.

Roosevelt felt that to reverse the refusals would be a sign of weakness; since then the USA has operated a de facto embargo. With virtually no oil supplies of its own, Japan's eyes are now firmly set on the oil-rich Dutch East Indies.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew warns the U.S. that Japan might "resort with dangerous and dramatic suddenness to measures which might make inevitable war with the United States." He says, ". . . underestimating Japan's obvious preparations to implement a program in the event the alternative peace program fails, would be short-sighted. Similarly it would be short-sighted for American policy to be based upon the belief that Japanese preparations are no more than saber rattling, merely intended to give moral support to the high pressure diplomacy of Japan."

The Combined Japanese Fleet receives Top-Secret Order No. 1: In 34 days time, Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, is to be bombed, along with Malaya, the Netherlands East Indies, and the Philippine Islands.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The evacuation of women and children from the U.S. Pacific islands of Guam, Midway and Wake begins.

Lt Latham Brereton ‘Yogi’ Jenson, RCN, was appointed to HMCS Ottawa, a River-class destroyer. ‘Yogi’ lived a charmed life during the Second World War: three times leaving ships, including the battlecruiser HMS Hood, just before their loss. He had many other harrowing combat experiences as well. His writing and drawings about life in the RCN during the inter-war and wartime eras are excellent descriptive works. His most recent work, Tin Hats, Oilskins, and Seaboots, was published in the summer of 2001.

U.S.A.: A Joint Board meeting is held in Washington. Marshall states that there would only be sufficient B-17's in the Philippines to “have a deterrent effect on Japanese operations.” The Joint Board concurred in opposing the State Department’s hard line towards Japan and advocated the US making minor concessions to buy time. (Marc Small)

Secretary of State Cordell Hull releases to the press the correspondence of June and September detailing the German refusal to pay reparations for sinking the U.S. freighter SS Robin Moor on 21 May.

WEST INDIES: HMS Indomitable (92) is accidentally damaged when she runs aground off Kingston while training. This carrier was scheduled to join HMS Prince of Wales (53) and HMS Repulse (34) as the British Far East Fleet but she must be repaired and misses the movement with these two ships.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: USN destroyer USS Upshur (DD-144), escorting convoy HX-157 (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to U.K.), depth charges a sound contact (later determined to be most likely a whale or blackfish) about 577 nautical miles (1 069 kilometers) north of St. John's, Newfoundland, in position 56.56N, 49.21W.

USN PBY-5 Catalinas of Patrol Squadron Seventy Three (VP-73) based at Skerja Fjord, near Reykjavik, Iceland, provide air coverage for convoy ON-31 (U.K. to North America).

UNITED KINGDOM: The Lockheed Ventura light bomber makes its RAF Bomber Command debut with a daylight raid by No. 21 Squadron. (22)

FRANCE: During the night of 3/4 November, RAF Bomber Command sends 29 Wellingtons to mine Biscay ports; one aircraft is lost. Nine aircraft lay mines off La Pallice and five each off Brest, Lorient and St. Nazaire.

NETHERLANDS: The Lockheed (PV-1) Ventura Mk. I flies its first mission with RAF Bomber Command. Three aircraft are unable to find their primary target, a factory at Hengelo, and bomb railways instead. No aircraft lost on this day.

GERMANY: U-198 commissioned. During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches three Stirlings to Lingen to bomb a factory.

U.S.S.R.: Premier Joseph Stalin describes U.S. military aid as of little effect.

EGYPT: German and Italian units begin to withdraw, until Hitler orders "no retreat." Rommel is astounded at the lack of pressure from the British, trapped as they are in their own confused traffic jams.

El Alamein: The Desert Fox is in retreat. The German general last night ordered his Afrika Korps to withdraw in the face of a new offensive launched by General Montgomery's revitalized Eighth Army. Today Hitler sent an order to hold the Alamein position, but it was too late. Rommel did halt his retreat for a while, but this may only reduce his chances of securing a new defensive line.

The decisive breakthrough came after concern had been voiced by Churchill about the slow progress of the attack. Montgomery switched to the less well-defended German lines inland. This attack codenamed "Supercharge", involved a westward attack by the infantry of XIII Corps under General Leese, with the armoured divisions of X Corps under General Lumsden to resist attacks from Rommel's Panzers. The 9th Australian Division maintained diversionary attacks nearer the coast.

The Allied attack began in the early hours yesterday - and the German counter-attack was fierce. More than 200 British tanks were put out of action. But at the end of the day the Allies still had over 600 serviceable tanks against barely 30 for the Germans. With fuel for even these tanks desperately short Rommel ordered a retreat, leaving the way open for the Eighth Army.

The 1st Armoured Division of X Corps, British Eighth Army, is unable to penetrate the Axis' antitank screen. Since the Axis is obviously withdrawing, General Bernard Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, orders an attack to outflank the screen. During the night of 3/4 November, the 51st Infantry Division and a brigade of the Indian 4th Division drive quickly to the Rahman track south of Tel ci Aqqaqir, breaking through the screen in the southern sector and forcing the Axis to turn it. Allied aircraft fly over 400 sorties against enemy retreating along coastal road.

Rejecting out of hand Field Marshal Rommel's proposal to withdraw the Afrikakorps, now down to about 40 tanks, to the Fuka line, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler orders him to stand and fight.

US Army, Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb tanks, motor transport, landing ground, ammunition dumps, mainly in the Rahman Track area and on the road between Fuka and El Daba, and also hit town of Fuka and Ghazal station; P-40s fly several escort and fighter-bomber missions, attacking ground targets in support of the British Eighth Army. Allied aircraft fly 400+ sorties against Axis troops retreating along the coastal road. During the night of 3/4 November, British and Indian troops outflank and break an Axis tank screen in the sector south of Tell el Aqqaqir.

LIBYA: Five US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the port area at Tobruk.

INDIA: Delhi: Chiang Kai-shek puts 15 Chinese divisions under the command of Lieutenant-General Stilwell for the Burmese campaign.

INDIAN OCEAN: U-181 came upon a lifeboat and provided drinking water to its occupants.

CHINA: Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek agrees conditionally to plans formulated during a recent conference in India, promising 15 divisions from Yunnan, provided the Allies furnish strong sea and air forces. Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commander in Chief US China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-Shek and Commander in Chief Northern Area Combat Command (NCAC) in Burma, is to command the Chinese Army in India (CAl) during Burma operations. Chiang's promise of the Yunnan divisions leads to accelerated planning for the reorganization of Yunnan force, called Y-Force.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the airfield and wharf at Lae.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Dili on Portugese Timor Island.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: The 2nd Battalion 7th US Marines begin a fire fight with Japanese units east of the Metapona River. Without radio contact, air or naval support, Colonel Hanneken conservatively pulls back. When he is finally able to contact Vandegrift in the afternoon, 1st Battalion 7th Marines, by boat, with 2nd and 3rd Battalions 164th are sent to reinforce. With initial assistance of the Cactus Airforce, and the artillery of 3rd Battalion 10th Marines, they turn the tide east of the Lunga Perimeter. In the closing moments 2-7 receive friendly fire from the Cactus Air Force.

General Hattori has arrived on Guadalcanal to observe and report the situation of the 17th Army to Tokyo. His initial accounts are of battalions crushed by shelling; the "actual situation is beyond imagination." He reports that no future contribution from the 2nd Division should be counted on.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Fore B-17 Flying Fortresses attack a ship south of Gasmata, New Britain Island.

PORTUGUESE TIMOR: A squadron of USAAF Martin B-26 Marauder bombers carry out a raid on the Japanese stronghold of Dili. This raid is watched by most of the Australians; at "Sparrow Force" HQ a signaller discovers that one of the radio sets netted into the same frequency as the bombers. Men clustered around the set listening to the flight leaders giving instructions and the replies from his pilots; as the last plane came in for it's bomb run the listeners heard the pilot say "bombs away" followed by "port engine hit by flack." The damaged plane fell out and the flight leader urged "come on Hitchcock, make formation." As his plane limped along Hitchcock was heard to call 'Zeros on my tail, Zeros on my tail'. The Australians watched as the dogfight took the planes south towards Darwin, and eventually out of their sight. (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)

U.S.A.: 78th Fighter Group and 82d, 83 and 84th Fighter Squadrons move to March Field, Riverside, California on 3 Nov 42 to prepare for overseas duty.

Congressional elections are held today for seats in the 78th Congress that will convene in January 1943:

- In the Senate, the Democrats lose nine seats, the Republicans gain ten and independents lose one; the Democrats still control the Senate with 57 of 96 seats.

- In the House of Representatives, the Democrats lose 45 seats, the Republicans gain 47 and independents lose two. The Democrats still control the House with 222 of the 435 seats.

CARIBBEAN SEA: CHR J. Kampmann, Canadian merchantman, ex-Danish registered freighter (2,260 GRT), was torpedoed and sunk in the Caribbean, north of Venezuela, in position 12.06N, 062.42W, by U-160, Kptlt Georg Lassen, Knight's Cross, Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, CO. There were 19 survivors from her crew of 27 men. CHR J. Kampmann was part of convoy TAG-18.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-boats sink another six freighters from convoy SC-107. (Henry Sirotin)

After being attacked and heavily damaged by an aircraft, U-431 was forced to return to base.

The flotilla doctor was able to give instructions via radio on treatment of a crewmember of U-436 who was suffering from appendicitis.

UNITED KINGDOM: London says that Finland is an Axis power and the principle of unconditional surrender applies also to Finland. (Gene Hanson)

BELGIUM: During the night of 3/4 November, USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 120: two B-17 Flying Fortresses drop 1.5+ million leaflets.

NETHERLANDS: Sixty five USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Schiphol Airfield 7 miles (11 kilometers) west of Amsterdam.

During the night of 3/4 November, 22 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands. H2S blind-bombing equipment is used for the first time to assist the minelaying force and is an indication that a start had been made in equipping Main Force squadrons with H2S.

FRANCE: Seventy one USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb the airfield at Saint-Andre-de-L'Eure while 71 others attack Triqueville Airfield.

GERMANY: The Largest Allied daylight air raid to date (on Wilhelmshaven). (Glenn Steinberg)
539 B-17 bombers of the USAAF, using the H2X blind-bombing device, are used. They devastate the Wilhelmshaven naval base.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 119:566 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators are dispatched to the Wilhemshaven port area hit the target at 1307-1335 hours; 539 bomb the target. They claim 21-3-24 Luftwaffe aircraft with the loss of seven B-17s. The mission includes 11 Pathfinders, nine using new H2X blind-bombing device (first time on a US mission) and two using H2S. This is the first Eighth Air Force blind-bombing mission in which the aiming point is completely destroyed and is also the Eighth's first 500-plane mission. Three hundred thirty three P-47 Thunderbolts and 45 P-38 Lightnings escort the bombers with the P-38s escorting the heavy bombers almost the entire trip and see their first real European Theater of Operations combat, claiming 3-5-5 Luftwaffe aircraft.

During the night of 3/4 November, RAF Bomber Command sends 589 aircraft, 344 Lancasters, 233 Halifaxes and 12 Mosquitos, to bomb DÃ¼sseldorf; 527 aircraft bomb the city with the loss of 15 aircraft. The main weight of the raid fell in the centre and south of the city with extensive damage both to housing and to industrial premises. Meanwhile, thirty eight Lancaster Mk. IIs make the first large-scale test of the G-H blind-bombing device and attempted to bomb the Mannesmann tubular-steel works on the northern outskirts of Düsseldorf while the main raid was taking place. Five had to return early and two more were lost; the equipment in 16 other aircraft failed to function leaving only 15 aircraft to bomb the factory on G-H. The device later became a most useful blind-bombing device when it was produced in sufficient numbers for a major part of Bomber Command to be fitted with it. In other raids, 58 Lancasters and Mosquitos carry out a diversionary raid on Cologne without l oss; ten Oboe Mosquitos bomb a Krupps foundry at Rheinhausen and two Mosquitos bomb Dortmund. Four other aircraft hit targets of opportunity.

Bernhard Lichtenberg, the Catholic priest imprisoned for saying public prayers for Jews, dies en-route to Dachau.

GERMANY: Flt-Lt William Reid (1921-2001), RAFVR, piloted a Lancaster bomber on a raid on Düsseldorf. The plane was attacked by a German fighter over the Netherlands and badly damaged. Reid was wounded in the head, shoulders and hands.

A second attack killed two of the crew, wounded Reid again, and knocked out the oxygen supply. He flew on to his target for 50 minutes, losing blood. His windshield was also shattered, and the bitter cold added to his troubles. He managed to fly home in a dizzy condition from bleeding. Two crew members assisted him on the flight home and the plane returned safely. (Victoria Cross)

This raid is also notable as the first by to use the radar device known as 'Gee H'.

POLAND: Five SS factories in the Lublin area are closed and the Jewish workers shot: over 17,000 are machine-gunned into prepared graves. This is "Bloody Wednesday" and marks the end of Operation Harvest Festival in which 50,000 Jews have died.

At the Majdanek concentration camp, located 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the center of Lubin, 18,000 men, women and children are shot in a single day in what the SS called the "Harvest Festival." The slaughter starts at 0700 hours when a never-ending line of naked Jews are force-marched into a huge trench dug within the Krempecki Forest near the precincts of the camp. They are ordered to lie down flat, layer upon layer, to be machine-gunned to death. At 1800 hours, petrol (gasoline) is poured over the bodies and set alight. Within the next few weeks a further 34,000 perished.

ITALY : In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps attacking near San Salvo, meets heavy resistance from the 16th Panzer Division. They finally breach the defensive positions.

US forces take Sessa Aurunca from the 16th Panzer Division, which is transferred to the eastern front.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's VI Corps area, the 4th Ranger Battalion crosses the Volturno River in the 45th Infantry Division zone at 1800 hours local to block Highway 6 northwest of Mignano, but is stopped short of objective. The 45th Infantry Division continues crossing the Volturno River. The rest of the 180th Infantry Regiment, upon crossing southeast of Presenzano at 2000 hours, drives northwest toward Rocca Pipirozzi. After strong artillery preparation, the 34th Infantry Division begins to cross the Volturno River during the night of 3/4 November.

The eight USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchell groups transferred to the Fifteenth Air Force on 1 November are transferred back to the Twelfth Air Force.

Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force aircraft hit a dump at Cupello, the railway station at Cesano, a road junction at Alfedena, the town areas of Ceprano and Palmoli, and numerous vehicles. USAAF XII Air Support Command and RAF Desert Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack gun positions at Cupello, landing grounds near Pescara and Ancona, the airfield at Cisterna di Latina, the Ceccano railroad yards, the town of Pozzilli, roads in the Venafro-Cassino area, and several bridges and junctions. Many of the days missions are flown in direct support of the British Eighth Army's advance.

GREECE: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force P-38 Lightnings escort USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells on a raid against Araxos Airfield, 1 mile (1,6 kilometers) south of Araxos. The target is well covered and several parked airplanes are destroyed.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA:U-340 (Type VIIC) is sunk at 0430hrs near Tangier, at position 35.33N, 06.37W, by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Fleetwood, the destroyers Active and Witherington and by depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (Sqdn. 179/R). 1 dead, 48 survivors. (Alex Gordon)

CHINA: Twenty one USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators, supported by 30 fighters, bomb the Kowloon Docks in Hong Kong; four Japanese fighters are claimed shot down. Nine B-25 Mitchells and 12 P-40s pound various targets in the Shihshow-Hwajung-Owchihkow area.

BURMA: Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s bomb runways and installations at Lashio.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Boela on the northeast coast of Ceram Island, Netherlands East Indies.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack barges between Alexishafen and Bogadjim.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The 2nd Marine Parachute Btn is withdrawn from Choiseul Island as Operation Blissful ends. The 3d Marine Division continues to improve beachhead positions on Bougainville. At 1800 hour local, the 3d Marine Regiment takes responsibility for the left flank and the 9th Marine Regiment for the right flank. A 3d Raider Battalion patrol moves to Torokina Island and makes a search for the Japanese, but finds none.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators fly light strikes against shipping (sinking one vessel) between Talasea and Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: In the Bismarck Sea, 19 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack a convoy about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of Mussau Island in the Bismarck Archipelago; the B-24 Liberators claim hits on three vessels.

GUADALCANAL: The 14th Antiaircraft Artillery Group arrive on the island. (Jean Beach)

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: The USN battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37), sunk at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, is refloated. The ship enters dry dock on 28 December and is decommissioned on 1 September 1944. Oklahoma is stripped of guns and superstructure, and sold 5 December 1946 for scrap. While being towed from Pearl Harbor to San Francisco, California, USA, on 17 May 1947, Oklahoma parts her tow line and sinks 540 nautical miles (1 000 kilometers) out bound from Pearl Harbor.

The Northern Attack Force (Task Force 52) completes rehearsal for Operation GALVANIC (plans for operations to capture, occupy, defend and develop bases in the Gilbert Islands and Nauru).

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Fort Erie (ex-La Tuque) laid down Levis, Province of Quebec.

In December 1917, two ships collided in Halifax, Nova Scotia, harbor. One was carrying munitions and she caught fire and exploded killing over 1,900 people immediately; within a year the figure had climbed well over 2,000. Around 9,000 more were injured, many permanently; 325 acres (132 hectares), almost all of north-end Halifax, were destroyed. The same almost happened today when a fire was accidently started aboard the U.S. freighter SS Volunteer about 0515 hours local; the ship was carrying more than 500 tons (454 metric tonnes) of light ammunition, some 2,000 drums of highly combustible magnesium, and 1,800 tons (1 633 metric tonnes) of heavy howitzer ammunition, plus depth charges and cases of dynamite, was at anchor in Bedford Basin. The ship's officers were drunk and the crew abandoned ship at 0650 hours. A Royal Canadian Navy commander and a lieutenant, an enlisted man and a fireman boarded the ship and recognizing that the fire was spreading to the holds with the munitions, worked below decks to slow down the fire and the buildup of dangerous fumes. Meanwhile, navy tugs are called and the ship is towed to a point off McNab's Island where she is scuttled on a sand bar, thus preventing another disaster. Navy firefighters contained the fire until the ship could be sunk some 12 hours after the fire first broke out. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)

U.S.A.: The second Consolidated XB-32 has had stability problems and in an attempt to resolve this problem a Consolidated-designed 19.5 foot (5.9 m) vertical tail is added and flown today on the third XB-32, s/n 41-18336.

The first "official" flight by the prototype Grumman (Model G-51) XF7F-1 Tigercat, BuNo 03549, is made at Bethpage, Long Island, New York.

Destroyer escorts USS Bivin, Lewis, Osberg, Raymond, Rizzi laid down.

Frigate USS Moberly laid down.

Battleship Oklahoma, sunk at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, is refloated. The refloating of Oklahoma, of 27,500 tons, was a major effort. A sister in the Nevada-class, she was laid down in 1912 and commissioned in 1916, served in WWI, was modernized during the interwar period, and finally sent to Pearl Harbor as part of the Pacific Fleet. Struck by three Japanese aerial torpedoes on 7 December 1941, she listed severely then nearly capsized, coming to rest with only her starboard hull and some of her keel above water level. Most crewmen escaped to continue fighting from aboard the USS Maryland, moored close by. Some men, however, were trapped inside the hull, leading to a determined and unique effort to escape. Realizing what had happened, in total darkness and downside up, the men very slowly and desperately worked their way along into the very bottom until they got through the double bottom and could touch the inside of the actual outer plating, where they began hammering as best they could. Meantime, a civilian yard worker, Julio De Castro, heard and traced the noise, hurriedly organized a rescue party on the hull itself, alerted the trapped men that help was at hand, and after considerable and very urgent effort, the outer hull was cut open and 32 men got out. Deemed impracticable to restore to duty, her main batteries and anything else recoverable was removed. She lay as a hull until September 1944, when she was formally decommissioned. Sold for scrap postwar, on 17 May 1947 she sank while on tow.

The USN escort aircraft carrier Estero (CVE-42) is transferred to the British Royal Navy under Lend-Lease and is commissioned as HMS Premier (D 23). This is the 28th U.S. escort aircraft carrier transferred to the Royal Navy. She will be returned to U.S. custody on 12 April 1946.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-593 sank SS Mont Viso in Convoy KMS-30.

NETHERLANDS: The Germans end their resistance in the "Breskens pocket", and the Canadians capture 12,500 for the loss of 314 dead.

In the Canadian First Army's II Corps area, the Canadian 3d Division finishes clearing the Breskens Pocket. Some 12,500 prisoners have been taken during the operation. Substantial progress is made by the British 52d Division, reinforced by the 4th Special Service Brigade, on Walcheren Island. The assault forces from Westkapelle join with those from Flushing. Positions in eastern Walcheren are extended. In the British I Corps area, German delaying line along the Mark River collapses as the 49th Division and the U.S. 104th Infantry Division expand bridgeheads, but many strongpoints remain. The Polish 1st Armored Division establishes a bridgehead near Zevenbergen on the right flank of corps; the Canadian 4th Armoured Division, on the left flank, improves positions in Steenbergen area.

In the British Second Army's VIII Corps area, Combat Command A of the U.S. 7th Armored Division continues to clear the northwest bank of Canal du Nord, overrunning the villages of Honk and Ospel.

In the U.S. Third Army area, XX and XII Corps issue orders for an offensive. XX Corps is to eliminate the Metz garrison, secure crossing of the Sarre River in the Saarburg area, and, upon order, continue an offensive toward the northeast. The XII Corps, attacking between 5 and 8 November, is to seize Faulquemont, secure a Rhine River bridgehead between Oppenheim and Mannheim, and, tentatively, push to the Darmstadt area. In the XX Corps zone, 3d Cavalry Group moves forward at night to eliminate a small German pocket west of the Moselle River at Berg-sur-Moselle.

In the French First Army's II Corps area, the 3d Algerian Division, in a limited attack toward Gerardmer, arouses strong opposition.

In the U.S. First Army's V Corps area, the 112th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division crosses the Kall River and takes Kommerscheidt and Schmidt, but the 110th and 109th Infantry Regiments make little or no progress on the flanks. Schmidt is on the main supply route of the Germans in the Lammersdorf Corridor.

Over 140 USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs hit a rail overpass at Kaiserslautern, and rail bridges at Neuwied-Irlich, Bad Munster am Stein, Morscheid and Konz-Karthaus while fighters fly armed reconnaissance, ground forces cover, attack railroads, bridge, and observation posts and escort 9th Bombardment Division aircraft.

During the night of 3/4 November, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 64 Mosquitos to hit two targets: 53 bomb Berlin and eight bomb Herford.

AUSTRIA: Forty six USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators, in an operation adapted to bad weather and flying without escort, bomb a number of targets: 17 bomb an aircraft factory at Klagenfurt; in Vienna, 15 hit the Schonbrunn ordnance depot while two bomb the Moosbierbaum benzine refinery; two attack the Main marshalling yard at Graz; and one each bombs the railroad at Feldbach and the Main marshalling yard at Innsbruck.

ITALY: Lieutenant General Sir Richard McCreery is appointed to command the British 8th Army.

In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, a local attack by 4th Division brings such sharp German reaction that it is decided to attack in strength when weather conditions improve. Positions across the Ronco River are gradually strengthened during the next few days in preparation for renewing the offensive.

Heavy clouds over most of northern Italy begin to disperse. USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers are still grounded but fighter-bombers manage to fly eight sorties against gun positions in the mountains south of Bologna.

FINLAND: The Civil Guard (Suojeluskunta) volunteer defence organization is disbanded as demanded by the Soviets. In the Soviet opinion the Suojeluskunta is one of the 'hitlerite' organizations that Finland has to disband as per the Peace Treaty.

The German 20.Gebirgsarmee evacuates the mineral-rich Petsamo region in northern Finland.

CHINA: Chinese troops retake Lungling, in Yunnan province and, in north Burma, reach the Irrawaddy river at Shegwu.

BURMA: On the Salween front, Chinese Hon 1st Division recovers Lung-ling, the scene of hard fighting for some months. In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the Chinese 22d Division reaches the Irrawaddy River in the vicinity of Shwegu without opposition and prepares to cross.

Twelve USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, supported by 18 P-47 Thunderbolts, hit Nawnghkio Airfield; a single B-25 attacks targets of opportunity between Myitkyina and Lashio; 90+ fighter-bombers attack bridges, enemy forces, town areas and numerous targets of opportunity at and Hinlong, China, and Kawngmu, Namhai, Tonlon, Ho-hko, Namhsum, Hkusan, Hkawngwa, Wingkang, Namhkam, and south of Mansi.

Forty nine B-29 Superfortresses of the USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XX Bomber Command based in the Calcutta, India area, bomb the Malagon railroad yards; almost as many others hit alternate targets.

SOUTHEAST ASIA: Sixty nine USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-38 Lightnings, P-40s and P-51 Mustangs, on armed reconnaissance over eastern Burma, southwest and southeast China, and northern French Indochina hit targets of opportunity in the Lungling, China area, damage a railroad bridge south of Lashio, Burma, hit the town of Mangshih, China and destroy a nearby warehouse. In China, the fighter-bombers hit the town areas and docks at Takhing and Tengyun, attack troops in the Mosun area, destroy two Japanese fighters near Amoy, hit trains at Hongay, French Indochina, and bomb areas on Hainan Island.

JAPAN: The first Japanese Fugo Balloon Bombs are launched against the United States. The balloons measure about 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter and 70 feet (21 meters) from the top of the balloon to the payload at the bottom. The payload consists of 36 sand-filled paper bags for use as ballast, four incendiary bombs and one 33-pound (15 kilogram) anti-personnel bomb. The balloons begin their three to five day journey from Japan at an altitude of about 35,000 feet (10 668 meters), usually traveling at speeds between 80 and 120 miles per hour (129 and 193 kilometers per hour). As gas slowly leaks from the balloon, they descend in altitude. When they fall to about 25,000 feet (7 620 meters), a barometric pressure switch causes one of the ballast sandbags to be dropped, and the balloons will rise again to 35,000 feet (10 668 meters). This up and down pattern continues as the balloons cross the Pacific Ocean. When the balloons reaches the West Coast of North America, they are desi gned to have exhausted their supply of ballast sandbags and the bombs will then be used as ballast, with one bomb being dropped with each descent to 25,000 feet (7 620 meters) as they travel across land. After the final bomb is dropped, a fuse is ignited and the balloon will destroy itself in a bright orange fireball. It is estimated that about 9,000 of the balloons are launched by the Japanese between November 1944 and April 1945, but it is believed that less than 500 of them actually reach North America, with most of the rest self-destructing over, or falling into the sea. Of those that did reach land, some are seen exploding in the air and others are found on the ground in remote areas, usually with the bomb loads missing but occasionally with some bombs still attached. The balloons reach Alaska, Canada, Mexico and 16 U.S. states, traveling as far east as Michigan and Texas. Most of the balloons are sighted or found in western provinces and states, i.e., British Columbia,

Washington, Oregon, California, and Montana. Several minor forest fires, in California and Oregon, are possibly caused by the balloons, but this is never completely verified.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Saipan continue armed reconnaissance and snooper missions over Iwo Jima.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: On Leyte, Japanese reinforcements moving up the Ormoc Valley are hit with good effect by aircraft. The U.S. Sixth Army: Issues an order for a converging drive on Ormoc by the X and XXIV Corps. In the X Corps area, 34th Infantry Regiment of 24th Infantry Division takes Capoocan with ease and continues toward Pinamopoan until held up by a Japanese strongpoint. In the XXIV Corps area, the 382d Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division, attacks west of Dagami toward ridge, later called Bloody Ridge, moving through a rice paddy, but is so heavily opposed that it withdraws after nightfall. One battalion column advances to Patok and another moves up to reinforce the 1st Battalion. The 1st Battalion withstands a strong counterattack, during the night of 3/4 November.

USAAF Far East Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Alicante Airfield on Negros Island and P-40s hit a highway and oil dump north of Ormoc on Leyte Island. During the night of 3/4 Nov harassing strikes are flown at airfields in the central Philippine Islands.

Japanese aircraft raid U.S. shipping and airfield facilities at Tacloban, Leyte Island; U.S. freighter SS Matthew P. Deady is crashed by a kamikaze that is engaged with intense antiaircraft fire from the Armed Guard; the explosion of the crashing suicide plane starts a fire in the cargo that threatens the ship. Although firefighting efforts are successful, two Armed Guard sailors (of the 27-man detachment) and 26 troops (of the 300 on board) perish in the attack.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies during the night of 3/4 November, harassing strikes are flown by USAAF Far East Air Forces aircraft to airfields on the northeast peninsula of Celebes Island, and on Halmahera Island.

NEW GUINEA: A group of American and Australian WACs arrive at Ora Bay on the southern coast of the island. They have been trained in cryptography, Hepburn Kana (an English syllabery to convert Japanese characters (Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji) into western phonetics), Japanese grammatical structure and Japanese vocabulary for military and shipping terms. They include Mary Blakemore of Virginia.

USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells bomb Babo Airfield in Dutch New Guinea. Meanwhile in Northeast New Guinea, nine Australian Beauforts bomb targets of opportunity between Niap and Wewak.

MARIANAS ISLANDS: Japanese planes raid USAAF airbases on Saipan and Tinian, as part of a series of strikes on this area from which B-29 Superfortress missions against the Japanese home islands are launched.

BONIN ISLANDS: Fourteen USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Guam bomb shipping at Chichi Jima and Haha Jima.

MARCUS ISLAND: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Saipan continue armed reconnaissance and snooper missions over Marcus. The island is located in the North Pacific about 768 nautical miles (1 422 kilometers) west-northwest of Wake Island and is used as a refueling point for Japanese aircraft en route to the Central Pacific.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS Pintado (SS-387) attacks a small detachment of Japanese warships and sinks destroyer HIJMS Akikaze about 243 nautical miles (449 kilometers) northwest of Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands, in position 16.50N, 117.29E.

A secret OSS report originating in Stockholm stated that U-boats armed with V-1s would shortly sail on a patrol against New York; this was the second such report in a week.

HUNGARY: The Hungarians hold general elections which result in an absolute majority for the anti-Communist Smallholders' Party, led by Zoltan Tildy. Prime Minister Tildy forms a coalition government but has to deal with an economic crisis, due to wartime destruction, serious food shortages, rampant inflation, and Soviet requisitions.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Dmitri Shostakovich premieres his Ninth Symphony. Unlike the triumphalist piece that the Soviet authorities were expecting, the work is a short, neo-classical symphony with grotesque motifs. It will lead to his disfavour with Stalin and his disgrace until Stalin's death.

JAPAN: Following General MacArthur's mandate that the wrestling should restart as soon as possible it is announced that the Tokyo Dojo is ready for play and that a tournament will be held in the middle of this month.