1 December 1939

GERMANY: The German cabinet passes a law "to ensure the unity of Party and State." Chancellor Adolf Hitler declares that the German state and the Nazi Party are one by law.

The German National Socialist party is constituted a statutory corporation "because of the overwhelming mandate of 12 November."

U.S.S.R.: Sergey Kirov, a leader of the Russian Revolution and a high-ranking member of the Politburo, is shot to death at his Leningrad office by Communist Party member Leonid Nikolayev, likely at the instigation of Soviet leader Josef Stalin. Whatever Stalin's precise role in the assassination of his political rival Kirov, he uses the murder as a pretext for eliminating many of his opponents in the Communist Party, the government, the armed forces, and the intelligentsia. Kirov's assassination serves as the basis for seven separate trials and the arrest and execution of hundreds of notable figures in Soviet political, military, and cultural life. Each trial contradicts the others in fundamental details, and different individuals are found guilty of organizing the murder of Kirov by different means and for varying political motives. The Kirov assassination trials mark the beginning of Stalin's massive four-year purge of Soviet society, in which millions of people are imprisoned, exiled, or killed.

GERMANY: Die Hitlerjugend, The Hitler Youth, are made an official agency of the state.

FRANCE: A French diplomatic mission begins a 17-day tour of eastern Europe in hopes of strengthening France's anti-Germany alliance system.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: The unity of Czechoslovak Republic is destroyed by a grant of autonomy to Slovaks, who form a separate government under Joseph Tiso, and a grant of autonomy to Ruthenia.

UNITED KINGDOM: The British government takes major steps in addressing the country's woeful state of military preparedness, by introducing a "national register" for war service. This program is voluntary, but the British government, in light of the Munich Crisis, begins a major effort to modernize the kingdom's military forces. This included the purchase of large numbers of American aircraft.

UNITED KINGDOM: The British government advises neutral shippers to obtain a "navicert," a certificate from British consular officials. These certificates permit neutral cargo ships to pass through Royal Navy and allied patrols. The Belgian, Dutch, Italian and Japanese governments issue formal protests against the British government for these blockade measures.

POLAND: Trainloads of deportees begin rolling into the newly created Government General in eastern Poland. The administration, which already has 1.4 million Jews under its jurisdiction, is overwhelmed by the numbers, an average of more than 3,000 per day. (These mass movements are designed to make room in the annexed area of Poland for ethnic Germans who are moving westward under special agreement with the Soviets, from the Baltic States and other regions now under Soviet control.)

Of course, both Kuusinen's government and its Army were both carefully planned in advance by Stalin and his cronies to act as the fig-leaf of the Soviet aggression.

A government has to have a military force. Thus was born the curious and short- lived footnote to the history of world's armed forces, the People's Army of Finland. On 1 Dec 1939 was founded what was called the '1st Finnish Army Corps', which was directly under the People's Commissar of Defence, Marshal of Soviet Union Kliment Voroshilov. Its mission was to "bring the flag of Democratic Republic of Finland [as the Kuusinen's government was to rename Finland] to the Finnish capital, for the joy of all workers and dread of all people's enemies".

The puppet regime also sets up the "1st Finnish Army Corps", which is directly under the People's Commissar of Defence, Marshal of Soviet Union Kliment Voroshilov. Its mission is to "bring the flag of Democratic Republic of Finland [as the Kuusinen's government was to rename Finland] to the Finnish capital, for the joy of all workers and dread of all people's enemies."

The commander of this corps was another emigrant Finn, kombrig (a rank used in the Red Army before the introduction of general-ranks in 1940, equivalent to brigadier) Akseli Anttila, who was also the Minister of Defence in the Kuusinen's government. It had 22 594 men in two divisions, tank regiment and a fighter squadron. However, this corps was not used in fighting in the early stages of the Winter War.

Anttila's corps was spared to be used in the expected victory parade at Helsinki, and it was strictly forbidden to use it in the front.

After the start of war further People's Army divisions were founded, but they didn't belong to the Anttila's corps. The 3rd Division was formed in northern Karelia, but it was and remained under-strength.

In far north was founded the 4th Division, but it never reached operational status.

It was originally intended that the People's Army of Finland would field some 80 000 men, but it never came even near. It was supposed to get its men from the Finns and Finnish-speaking peoples living in Soviet Union, and once the war started, it was expected that tens of thousands of Finnish soldiers would desert to join its ranks. But after the Stalinist purges of late 1930s there weren't that many Finnish-speakers left, and even the exile Finnish Communist Party was purged almost to extinction. Thus many purely Russian, Ukrainian and Byelorussian men found themselves impressed into the People's Army. Finally about half of the Army's manpower was non-Finnish, and it didn't help that in an ironic reversal of Stalin's national policy many of the non-Finns in the Army had their names changed into Finnish ones. And the Finnish deserters never materialized. It was especially hard to find Finnish officers for the Army, and the Gulags were scraped clean of any men that could pass themselves as Finnish officers. The CO of the 1st Division was a Russian Aleksei Gretshkin, as was the CO of the 2nd Division, Georgij Zverev. The CO of the under-strength 3rd Division was Finnish Toivo Tommola, as was the CO of the 4th Division Albert Saviranta (aka. Väinö Alanne), but this latter formation existed only on paper.

They consisted mostly of items that came from the captured Polish Army stocks, but the badges of rank and other insignia was the same as in the Red Army. Its other equipment, like weapons, was wholly of Soviet origin. People's Army units had also heavy weapons, like artillery and tanks.

The first aerial victory of the Winter War (and history of the Finnish Air Force) happened when Senior Sergeant Toivo Uuttu of Flying Squadron 26, flying a Bristol Bulldog fighter code BU-64, he downed an I-16 fighter from the Soviet 7th Fighter Aviation Regiment between 11:45 and 11:55 am. Above the Karelian Isthmus. Uuttu's aircraft was also hit, and he crash-landed on the ice of Lake Muolaanjärvi. (More here). Lieutenant Eino Luukkanen of the Finnish Air Force received the order to take off at 5.30 am and keep up a continuous fighter patrol over Vuoksenlaakso. Shortly after Captain Luukkanen sighted a formation of Soviet bombers and made the fourth air kill of the Winter War when he shot down a Tupolev SB-2.

On this day also the legal Finnish government at Helsinki experiences changes. Yesterday Cajander's cabinet resigned after a symbolic vote of confidence from the Parliament (which then departed for Kauhajoki in west-central Finland for the duration of the war), and today Director of the Bank of Finland Risto Ryti forms the new cabinet. Väinö Tanner is the new Foreign Minister, and Juho Paasikivi is included as Minister without portfolio.

Several Finnish cities are bombed again today, and Finns claim ten Soviet planes shot down over Karelian Isthmus. The Finnish navy also has a successful day. The Soviet cruiser KIROV together with destroyers SMETLINYI and STREMITELNYI bombard the coast artillery battery at Russarö on the southern Finnish coast. After a brief exchange of fire, Russarö's 234 mm guns score a hit on KIROV, and the Soviets withdraw. KIROV loses 17 KIA and some 30 WIA, while the Finns suffer no losses.

CANADA: The first Canadian troop convoy, TC1, sails from Halifax for Britain, heavily escorted and accompanied part of the way by Canadian destroyers. The 7,500 troops are aboard the transports SS Aquitania, SS Duchess of Bedford, SS Empress of Australia, SS Empress of Britain and SS Monarch of Bermuda. Escorting these ships are three Canadian destroyers, HMCS Ottawa (H 60), Restigouche (H 00) and St. Laurent (H 83).

London: Churchill to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The straits to which we are being reduced by Irish action [at denial of the Southern Irish ports] compel a reconsideration of the subsidies [to Ireland]. Surely we ought to use this money to build more ships or buy more from the US.
... let me know how these subsidies can be terminated, and what retaliatory measures the Irish may take.

The treaty granting Ireland its independence was signed in 1921. An Annex to the treaty allowed the British military to maintain three facilities in Ireland, i.e., (1) the Dockyard Port at Berehaven in Bantry Bay, County Cork, (2) Queenstown (renamed Cobh by the Irish) in County Cork, and (3) Lough Swilly in County Donegal. The British finally returned these ports to the Irish in 1938 but they wanted to reoccupy them after the war started. The Irish would have none of it for two important reasons; (1) it had taken the Irish 768 years to get the British out and there were no guarantees that they would leave again if they were permitted to come in again and use the ports, and (2) ceding the use of the ports was against neutrality laws and the Irish would be fair game for an attack by the Germans, i.e., they would be dragged into the war against their will.

Operation NORDSEETOUR begins with the departure of the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper on her first Atlantic mission.

ALBANIA: The Greek army reaches Pogradec on Lake Ohrida. Upon arriving there Dimitry Statharos notes the contrast between the war taking place on the Albanian side of the lake and the peace which the Serbs enjoy on the other side. He notes that he could see through his field glasses the Serbians living in peace on the other side. (Steven Statharos)

ROMANIA: Severe fighting is taking place in the Ploesti oilfields. The Fascist Iron Guards and the army are in conflict. A message from Budapest states that Premier Antonescu seems to have lost all authority and that Hitler may be forced to take control of the country to restore order.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Station A personnel evacuated from Shanghai to Corregidor. At least one battalion of the 4^th Marines was moved to Cavite at the same time, though one battalion may have remained in Shanghai.

Grunert advised he would receive 75 additional officers for training the Philippine Army but that it would not be Federalized. (Marc Small)

PACIFIC OCEAN: In the South West Pacific, 'Komet' and 'Orion' share in the sinking of five ships near the phosphate island of Nauru. Later in the month 'Komet' shells the installations.

U.S.A.: Washington: The US government has arranged to make another $100 million available to the government of China.

Polls report that 59% of Americans think that the US should go to war, 41% that she should stay out.

Joseph P Kennedy, the pessimistic US ambassador to London, has resigned. For many months there have been reports that President Roosevelt was displeased with his ambassador, who made no secret of his belief that Hitler should be appeased, or of his conviction that Britain would lose the war. He has great influence on Wall Street, however, and Roosevelt needed his endorsement.
There are reports that his resignation followed a painful scene at the president's home at Hyde Park in New York State.
The ex-ambassador has not gone home empty-handed. He has taken a London air-raid siren to install in his Cape Cod home.

The motion picture "The Philadelphia Story" is released in the U.S. This romantic comedy directed by George Cukor stars Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey. The film is nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Stewart), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Hepburn), Best Actress in a Supporting (Hussey), Best Director and Best Picture. Stewart wins along with the writer. In a vote, the members of the American Film Institute have rated this film as No. 51 on the list of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time, No. 44 on the list of the 100 Greatest American Love Stories and No. 15 on the list of the 100 Funniest American movies.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Armed merchant cruiser 'Carnarvon Castle' is badly damaged in action with raider 'Thor' off Brazil, her second and equally successful fight with an AMC.
'Kormoran' is the first of a second wave of raiders to leave for operations. She starts in the Atlantic and later moves to the Indian Ocean, where she is lost in November 1941.

Destroyer HMCS St Laurent (ex HMS Cygnet), a Crusader or C-class destroyer known in the RCN as a River-class destroyer, was dispatched to escort convoy HX-90 in the Western Approaches, which was under heavy attack by seven U-boats. The attacking U-boats were commanded by some of the most successful aces of the war including Kretschmer, Prien, and Schepke. Between 01 Dec and 03 Dec, they sank ten ships for a total of over 69,000 tons.

HMCS St Laurent rescued survivors from the merchant ship SS Conch. Later the same day, St Laurent, along with the destroyer HMS Viscount, rescued survivors from the armed merchant cruiser HMS Forfar. St Laurent gained contact on the submarine that sank Forfar and called in Viscount for support. Under the direction of Lt. Rayner, the two ships hunted the submarine for hours and, after a final depth-charge attack, a large volume of oil seemed to indicate that a kill had been scored. For his part in the efficient direction of this action, Lt. Rayner was awarded the first of his two Distinguished Service Crosses. It was only after the war that record reconstruction showed that the German submarine had escaped. The submarine in question was U-99, commanded by the greatest U-boat ace, Kptlt. ‘Silent’ Otto Kretschmer.

U-101 sank SS Appalachee and damaged SS Loch Ranza in Convoy HX-90.

U-37 sank SS Palmella.

Destroyer HMCS Saguenay badly damaged by Italian submarine Argo while escorting Convoy HG-47 300 miles west of Ireland. 21 crewmembers killed. First Canadian warship to be torpedoed by an enemy submarine.

FRANCE: Marshal Petain and General Göring reaffirmed Franco-German collaboration at St. Florentin. France gave Germany naval and air bases in North Africa for release of war prisoners and reduction of occupation costs.

LITHUANIA: Colonel Karl Jäger of the SS Einsatzkommando reports that his force has killed 230,000 Baltic Jews since June.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: During the day, the Italian destroyer Alvise Da Mosto is rescuing survivors of an Italian tanker that had been sunk in an air attack. The Malta-based British Force K encounters the destroyer. Da Mosto attacks unsuccessfully with torpedoes before she is sunk by the light cruisers HMS Aurora (12) and Penelope (97) and destroyer HMS Lively (F 40).

LIBYA: The New Zealand forces at Sidi Rezegh withdraw under pressure from Rommel's forces. Despite the mauling taken by the British 8th Army, it is still in the fight and unlike the Germans receiving supplies and replacement tanks.

As British, German and Italian tank formations clash from all directions in the brutal fight to relieve Tobruk, any resemblance between this battle and traditional warfare has long since disappeared. "This is sea warfare," said one general. "Our tanks are ships that appear and disappear at such speed that often no one knows where their lines are."

JAPAN: The Imperial Privy Council meets and after discussing a war with the Allies, the ministers sign the documents declaring war, and give them to Emperor HIROHITO, who signs them a few hours later, telling his aides that he does not feel that a constitutional monarch can overturn his ministers on such a momentous decision.

The Chief of the Naval General Staff, Admiral NAGANO Osami, sends Navy Order No. 9 to the Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet, Admiral YAMAMOTO Isoroku: (1) Japan has decided to open hostilities against the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands early in December, (2) the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet will smash the enemy fleets and air forces in the Orient and at the same time will intercept and annihilate enemy fleets should they come to attack us, (3) the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined fleet will occupy immediately the key bases of the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands in East Asia in close cooperation with the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Army and will capture and secure the key areas of the southern regions, (4) the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined fleet will cooperate with the operations of the China Area Fleet, if necessary, (5) the time of the start of operations based on the aforementioned items will be made known

later, and (6) the Chief of the Naval General Staff will issue instructions concerning particulars.

The Midway Destruction Unit of the Pearl Harbor Strike Force, consisting of two destroyers and an oiler, departs Tatyama Bay, Honshu, Japan, today. The two destroyers arrive off Midway at 2100 hours on 7 December.

MALAYA: Reacting to reports of Japanese preparations, the British authorities declare a State of emergency.

SINGAPORE: All British, Indian and Australian forces in Malaya are at battle stations following the declaration of a state of emergency as fear of Japanese invasion grows. Reservists and volunteers have been called up, forcing many offices to close. The decision was taken by the governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Shenton Thomas, after consultation with the Commander-in-Chief Far East, Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham. They emphasise that the state of emergency does not signify a deterioration in the diplomatic situation. Singapore will also be reinforced by the warships HMS PRINCE OF WALES and battle cruiser HMS Repulse.

PACIFIC OCEAN: As river gunboats USS Luzon (PR-7) and Oahu (PR-6), submarine rescue vessel USS Pigeon (ASR-6) and minesweeper USS Finch (AM-9) proceed through the South China Sea toward Manila, Philippine Islands, they become the object of curiosity by Japanese forces in the vicinity; first a floatplane circles the formation, then seven Japanese warships of various types.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Olongapo: 4th Marine Regiment arrives from Shanghai aboard USS President Coolidge and disembarks. President Coolidge then sails in convoy with remaining US dependents aboard; other ships include the USAT Scott, with the 15th Infantry Regiment, and an escort of the cruiser Louisville and two destroyers.

Arnold orders all B-17's in Hawaii transferred to the Philippines. Never implemented.

Marshall advises MacArthur that 100,000 tons of supplies were to be shipped during December and that several million more tons were on the West Coast awaiting shipping.

Hart ordered directly by Roosevelt to form “Defensive Information Patrol” of three ships to be placed in harm’s way.

Communication Intelligence Summary for 1 December: "General.-All service radio calls of (Japanese) forces afloat changed promptly at 0000, 1 December. Previously, service calls changed after a period of six months or more. Calls were last changed on 1 November, 1941. The fact that service calls lasted only one month indicate an additional progressive step in preparing for active operations on a large scale. For a period of two to three days prior to the change of calls, the bulk of the radio traffic consisted of dispatches from one to four or five days old. It appears that the Japanese Navy is adopting more and more security provisions. A study of traffic prior to 0000, 1 December indicates that an effort was made to deliver all dispatches using old calls so that promptly with the change of calls, there would be a minimum of undelivered dispatches and consequent confusion and compromises. Either that or the large number of old messages may have been used to pa

First Fleet.-Nothing to indicate that this fleet as a fleet is operating outside of Empire waters. It is believed that such a large percentage of the First Fleet is operating with the Second Fleet Task Force that this fleet has ceased to operate in a prominent role.

Second Fleet.-This fleet is believed proceeding from the Kure-Sasebo area in the direction of South China and Indo-China. Takao does not appear to play an important role in today's traffic; consequently, the assumption is made that his fleet is passing up Takao. Certain units of the Second Fleet Task Force are definitely in the Indo-China area (Cruiser Division Seven and Destroyer Squadron Three most prominent).

Third Fleet.-Nothing to report except that the same association of Second, Third Fleets, and Combined Air Force with South China and Indo- China Forces continues.

Submarines.-Large number of the Submarine Force believed to be in the area to the eastward of Yokosuka-Chichijima and Saipan Flagship somewhere in this general area.

U.S.A.: Roosevelt meets with British Ambassador, Lord Halifax, and indicates the US would enter the war on the British side the British if they were attacked by Japan, but did not explicitly promise this. (Marc Small)

In a meeting between Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Japanese Ambassador NOMURA Kichisaburo and special envoy KURUSU Saburo said "the Japanese people believe that the United States wants to keep Japan fighting with China and to keep Japan strangled."

Civil Air Patrol created in the US as an auxiliary to the Army Air Corps. The Director of Civilian Defense, former New York City Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, signs a formal order to create the patrol. Today the CAP has a youth cadet branch and an adult branch that is involved in search and rescue with private aircraft. During W.W.II, however, it's principal duty was patrolling the coast for submarines using the members private aircraft. (P. T. Holscher)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders a "defensive information patrol" of "three small ships" established off the coast of French Indochina; he specifically designates yacht USS Isabel (PY-10) as one of the trio of vessels. Schooner Lanikai is chartered and fitted out, but the start of the war results in her planned mission being cancelled. The third vessel, schooner Molly Moore, is selected for the mission but is never taken over. Lanikai's civilian career had seen her used as a "prop" in the filming of motion picture "Hurricane" that starred Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall.

TIME magazine declares the German "official announcement" of the death of Ernst Udet was sort of a cover-up, but in a rather (unintentionally) darkly humorous vein: "Colonel General Ernst Udet, Quartermaster of the German Air Force, was killed 'yesterday', (Nov. 17) while testing a new type of firearm."

TIME also reported that Berlin radio said he died in an "airplane accident on Monday, the eleventh," and "reports from Vichy said he was a suicide." (William Rinaman"

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German supply ship Python is sunk by HMS DORSETSHIRE a British cruiser off the west coast of Africa. She had aboard survivors of the raider ATLANTIS. She was refuelling the submarines UA and U-68. UA fired five torpedoes at DORSETSHIRE which missed due to underestimation of her speed. PYTHON's survivors were stashed into the submarines and open boats and were later transferred to other submarines which brought them home. The recent British success against German raiders and replenishment vessels in this area end Doenitz's plans to concentrate off the coasts of west and South Africa. (Ric Pelvin)

German submarine U-575 encounters and tracks unarmed U.S. tanker Astral, the latter en route from Aruba, Netherlands West Indies, to Lisbon, Portugal, with a cargo of 78,200 barrels of gasoline (petrol) and kerosene. After seeing that Astral is unarmed and bears prominent neutrality markings, however, the U-boat's commanding officer allows the American ship to pass unmolested. Subsequently, another submarine in the vicinity, U-43, encounters Astral and attacks her, but her torpedoes miss their mark.

UNITED KINGDOM: Goxhill, Lincolnshire: The USAAF 78th Fighter Group arrive. They are assigned to VIII Fighter Command, Eighth Air Force.

Westminster: Britain will become one of the world's first "welfare states" if proposals published today for post-war social security are implemented when peace returns. Under a comprehensive scheme prepared by Sir William Beveridge, the Liberal economist, the entire adult population would be brought into a compulsory insurance scheme covering sickness, unemployment, old age and benefit for families.

It was said in Whitehall tonight that the coalition government sees the scheme as a key element in post-war reconstruction and will give it earnest consideration. The Beveridge report envisages state provision effectively from the cradle to the grave - including free medical care for everybody.

Its proposals are based on the poll-tax principle of flat-rate weekly contributions of 4/3 for men workers and 3/6 for women, with an employer's contribution of 3/3 for men and 2/6 for women. Benefits would include a national health service, £2 a week retirement pensions and unemployment pay, and £20 death grants.

London: Sydney Silverman, a Labour MP, reports that over two million Polish Jews have been exterminated by the Nazis.

NORTH AFRICA: General Spaatz becomes the commanding general of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force in North Africa.

ALGERIA: With the support of the American and British governments, Admiral Jean-Francois Darlan assumes authority as the Chief of State in French North Africa.

TUNISIA: The Axis forces forestall an offensive, intended for 2 December, counterattacking strongly toward Tebourba with tanks and infantry supported by aircraft. Blade Force falls back with heavy tank losses. Combat Command B, U.S. 1st Armored Division, is attached to the British 78th Division to help hold the Tebourba area and moves forward to the vicinity of Tebourba. The concentration of the 78th Division, the first full division of the V Corps, British First Army, on the Tunisian front, is now complete.

The USAAF Twelfth Air Force begins a regular pattern of attacks against El Aouina Airfield, 3.5 miles (5,5 kilometres) north of Tunis. Six DB-7 Bostons and later 13 B-17 Flying Fortresses, bomb the airfield with P-38 Lightnings escorting both forces. Later, nine DB-7s and six RAF Bisley light bombers bomb the airfield. In the afternoon, 15 B-26 Marauders destroy about 15 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground. In the Djedeida area, P-38s on a sweep attack tanks northwest of the town.

INDIA: The airlift from India to China is removed from the authority of Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commander-in-Chief U.S .China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, Chief of Staff to Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, and Commander-in-Chief Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC), and made part of the USAAF Air Transport Command's India-China Wing. .

BURMA: The Japanese, having rested and refitted, start back into the battle line Tengchung-Myitkyina- Kamaing-Kalewa-Akyab.

Portuguese Timor: Whilst on a routine mission to take relief personnel to the Timor garrison, minesweeper HMAS Armidale is attacked and sunk by IJ aircraft at 10S 128E. 30 survivors on two boats are recovered by HMAS Kilgourlie and an RAAF flying boat. HMS (Alex Gordon)(108)

Commodore Pope, the naval C-in-C in Darwin has not understood what has happened to the three ships he sent to Timor yesterday. He orders HMAS Kalgoorlie to sail out in support of her two sister ships. Kuru finds the other two ships in the morning and transfers her passengers to HMAS Castlemaine; Castlemaine is then ordered to a position some 120 miles south of Betano Bay to look for two RAAF Beaufighter aircrew who were in the water after crash landing. Kuru and HMAS Armidale set course for Betano Bay. At around midday both ships reported air attack and requested fighter cover; at this stage the ships were not in company and had lost sight of each other. Over the next six hours Kuru reported attacks by up to 44 enemy aircraft, and that she was the target of up to 200 bombs. She suffers some engine damage and reports to Pope her intention to return to Darwin: Pope insists that the operation go ahead. At around 8pm however, he received reports of two Japanese cruisers in the area and orders the abandonment of the operation. At 8.30 these ships are attacked by Hudson aircraft of the RAAF. But by this time Armidale presents no target for anyone. She had been lying on the bed of the Timor Sea for five hours.

Lieu-Commander Richards commander of Armidale, knew he was in trouble, alone and less than 30 minutes from a major enemy air base with 10 hours of daylight left. He sent a signal to pope at around 3pm ""Enemy bombing. No fighters arrived", then followed up with another signal "Nine bombers, four fighters. Absolutely no fighter support" Pope sent back the signal "Air attack is to be accepted as ordinary, routine secondary warfare". This signal so puzzled his superiors, when the loss of the ship was latter investigated, that is was classified and not shown to the board of inquiry or the prime-minster; in fact the whole matter was covered up which is a shame because it prevented a brave man from receiving the Victoria Cross he deserved.

HMAS Armidale had been hit by two air launched Torpedoes and was listing heavily and sinking; the captain had given the order to abandon ship. Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean, from Latrobe Tasmania, a youngster still 27 day short of his 19th birthday had abandoned his action station as a loader number on the after Oerlikon and was helping to get the ship's motor-boat into the water when Japanese planes streaked in at sea level, machine-gunning the ship and the survivors in the water. He was himself unwounded and could have taken cover, or gone over the side in an attempt to save himself. He did none of these things instead he scrambled back to the Oerlikon gun abaft the funnel and strapped himself in. The ship was sinking fast by this stage - He poured a stream of 20mm into the enemy plane and sent one cart wheeling into the sea. A zero targeted him with machine-gun fire and tore his chest and back wide open, still he continued to fire sending another Zero off trailing smoke, and forcing the others away from his shipmates in the water. As the water rose up around him; the men in the water saw the desperate youngster wheel his gun from target to target. Then the ship plunged down and the sea rose up past his shattered chest but still he kept firing, then he disappeared from sight but the barrel of the gun remained firing before it to disappeared. For a moment the sea was silent then as a Japanese plane dove in, incredibly tracer fire from Sheean's gun arced up at it from beneath the sea to meet the incoming plane.

Two officers and 38 Ratings were lost or missing along with the two Dutch officers and 59 troops. Some survivors were not picked up until eight days later. (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)

NEW GUINEA: U.S. Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger, Commanding General I Corps, flies to Dobodura, Papua New Guinea, and takes command of all troops in Buna area. The Australian 21st Brigade, 7th Division, after turning back from Giruwa three barge loads of Japanese attempting to reinforce Gona, attacks and captures Gona, forcing the Japanese back to Gona Mission for a final stand. Elsewhere, the Japanese show no signs of weakening and they exert heavy pressure against a roadblock (called "Huggins" after Capt Meredith M. Huggins) on the Soputa-Sanananda trail and withstands frontal and flanking attacks toward it. The Urbana Force (two battalions of the U.S. 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments, 32d Infantry Division) makes another futile attempt to reach Buna Village after artillery and mortar preparation with all available weapons. The Warren Force (based on U.S. 128th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division) continues attacks toward Cape Endaiadere on the right and New

Strip on the left with little success; the 1st Battalion of the 126th Infantry Regiment gets elements to the northeastern edge of New Strip. In the air, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs, B-25 Mitchells, B-26 Marauders and P-400 Airacobras attack the Buna area damaging a destroyer.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The 8th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, is withdrawn from forward positions west of Matanikau River, leaving Americal Division units to hold the western sector.

PACIFIC OCEAN: As a result of damage received in the Battle of Tassafaronga, heavy cruiser USS Northampton (CA-26) sinks about 35 nautical miles (66 kilometres) north-northwest of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, in position 09.12S, 159.50E. Japanese destroyer HIJMS Takanami goes down off the north coast of Guadalcanal about 28 nautical miles (52 kilometres) north-northwest of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, in position 09.18S, 159.56E.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: A USAAF Eleventh Air Forces B-24 Liberator flies reconnaissance over the Semichis and Attu Islands. Weather prevents any other flights.

U.S.A.: The U.S. government imposes gasoline quotas to conserve fuel. The armed forces overseas have fuel aplenty, but in the U.S., gasoline becomes costly and hard to get. People start using bicycles and their own two feet to get around.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the English Channel, the British antisubmarine warfare trawler HMS Jasper (T 14) is torpedoed and sunk by the German motor torpedo boat S-81.

UNITED KINGDOM: Westminster: The House of Commons today endorsed the home secretaries decision to release the former fascist leader Oswald Mosley, by a large majority. There was some criticism by Labour speakers of Herbert Morrison, and an anti-Mosley demonstration was held outside parliament. This was led away by Willie Gallagher the Communist MP, to Caxton Hall. One Labour MP compared Mosley's release to freeing Hitler by the Weimar government.

Mr Morrison in a long and emotional speech, said that Mosley had been transferred from one kind of detention to another - "house arrest" in the country. He suffered from phlebitis, and outside doctors who had examined him, including Lord Dawson of Penn, believed that imprisonment would risk permanent damage to his health.

One MP objected that his condition was shared by thousands of charwomen with varicose veins. Mr Morrison said that he had been attacked and abused, particularly by his own party and in the newspapers, and he did not like it. "I have had a very rough time. If anyone thinks I enjoyed putting my name to this order, they make a mistake. I had to make this decision and I made it, rightly or wrongly, knowing it would be unpopular. I would sooner go through all the misery I have gone through than make a decision which was dishonest."

Arthur Greenwood, the acting leader of the Labour Party, said that if Sir Oswald Mosley saw that he had provoked such strength of feeling for a whole day in Parliament, it would be his most joyful day for a long time.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 1/2 December, 11 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Epinoy and Niergnies Airfields at Cambrai and Yendeville Airfield at Lille while 28 P-51 Mustangs execute a sweep over north-western France, marking the first Ninth Air Force fighter operation from the U.K.

The USAAF Eighth Air Forces VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 145: The industrial area at Solingen is the target and 261 aircraft bomb with the loss of 23 aircraft. Seventeen other aircraft bomb the industrial area at Siegburg with the loss of one and three other bomb targets of opportunity. The mission is escorted by 42 P-38 Lightnings and 374 P-47 Thunderbolts; the P-47s claim 20-4-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; two P-38 Lightnings and five P-47s are lost.

ITALY: The US 5th Army is the target of additional air and ground harassment by the Germans. These attacks occur as the 5th Army is preparing to take the offensive.

In the U. S. Fifth Army area, air operations are sharply increased in preparation for the main assault against the Winter Line. The British X Corps begins a diversionary attack toward Calabritto at dusk, employing the 139th Brigade, 46th Division. Numerous obstacles and strong opposition slow the advance. In the VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division continues to meet firm resistance that prevents the 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, from scaling La Bandita and the 2d Battalion from clearing the crest and reverse slope of Hill 769 to the south. In the 34th Infantry Division sector, the 1st Battalion of the 168th Infantry Regiment remains on the first knob of Mt. Pantano but is isolated from the main body; no further progress is made by the 133d Infantry Regiment.

In the British Eighth Army area, the Canadian 1st Division starts to take control of the bridgehead on the Sangro River will reach the Moro River by 4 December. The Eighth Army is making one last attempt to break through into the Lombardy Plain before winter.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb gun positions in the ant' Ambrogio area; fighter-bombers, including some RAF and RAAF and South African Air Force (SAAF) aircraft, hit trucks, gun positions, and other military targets east of Casoli, at Lanciano, near Guardiagrele, west of Mignano, west of Minturno, and near Chieti. Several of these missions are in support of the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth Armies.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-26 Marauders, with fighter escort, attack bridges and railroad facilities at Aulla, Cecina, and Sestri Levante.

One hundred fifteen USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the Turin ball bearing works and marshalling yard. Escorting P-38 Lightnings battle German fighters without either losses or victories but the B-17 Flying Fortresses claim two enemy fighters shot down. B-24 Liberators and other P-38s dispatched to bomb the marshalling yard at Bolzano are recalled because of weather.

During the night of 1/2 December, 48 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Pontessieve. Two other aircraft drop leaflets over the battlefield.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet troops cross the river Ingulets, and drive to within six miles of Znamenka.

Moscow claims that Byelorussian partisans have killed 282,000 German soldiers since war broke out.

IRAN: The Tehran Conference between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin, and their staffs, concludes. The three Allies are in substantial agreement on the division of post-war Germany and the westward movement of the Polish eastern and western frontiers. The Soviets have also put forth the notion of the summary execution of 50,000 German officers, but this was rejected by the Allies. A declaration pledging economic aid to Iran during and after the war and divide occupation duties is issued. Soviet troops guard the region north of Teheran, British forces occupy southern Iran, and U.S. units patrol supply routes. Finland is discussed today; Soviet Premier Stalin says that although Finland has committed as cruel acts against the Russians as the Germans, she deserves to be taken into account, since she had fought so bravely for it's independence.

CHINA: Sixteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s sink about 30 boats in the area around Changte.

HONG KONG: Nineteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, 24 P-40s, and ten P-51 Mustangs attack the Kowloon shipyards and two B-25s hit nearby Taikoo Docks.

BURMA: USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the locomotive repair shop at Insein. The B-24s and escorting P-38 Lightnings encounter a large number of Japanese fighters over the targets and P-51 Mustangs which failed to make rendezvous with the B-24s before the attack join the formations on the return trip. USAAF losses are high: six B-24s and a P-51 are shot down and five more B-24 Liberators are seriously damaged. B-25 Mitchells hit the newly repaired bridge at Myitnge rendering it temporarily unserviceable.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s bomb Bac Ninh and vicinity.

In Northeast New Guinea, over 40 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Wewak with the loss of three aircraft.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Four USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators, flying out of the Ellice Islands, bomb Mili Atoll.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Thirty five USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders hit Borgen Bay south of Cape Gloucester on New Ireland Island while 16 A-20 Havocs bomb the Cape Gloucester area.

GILBERT ISLANDS: The Marine 2d Tank Battalion scouts find Maiana Atoll free of the Japanese, concluding their mission.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, 18 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and eight P-38 Lightnings attack Malai. P-39 Airacobras strafe Tonolai and support USN SBD Dauntlesses in an attack on the Jaba River area near Empress Augusta Bay. Other USAAF and USN fighters cover SBD strikes on Kara and Ballale Island supply areas and strafe targets at Tenekow, Chabai, and Mutupina Point while six B-25 Mitchells bomb Sarime Pantation.

Frigate HMCS St Pierre launched Lauzon, Province of Quebec

Corvette HMCS Trentonian commissioned.

Corvette HMCS Forest Hill (ex-HMS Ceanothus) commissioned.

AMC HMCS Prince Henry completed conversion to landing ship.

U.S.A.:

Destroyer escorts USS Daniel A Joy and Charles J Kimmel laid down.

Aircraft carrier USS Franklin D Roosevelt laid down.

Minesweeper USS Reproof laid down.

Destroyer escorts USS Bostwick, Donaldson, Stern, Svenning commissioned.

Destroyer USS Twinning commissioned.

Minesweeper USS Lucid commissioned.

Frigate USS El Paso commissioned.

Frigate USS Orlando launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the Straits of Dover, the British minesweeping trawler HMS Avanturine (FY 1886) is sunk by the German motor torpedo boat S-142 off Beachy Head , Essex, England.

During the night of 1 /2 December, 12 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Kattegat, the arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark. One aircraft is lost.

UNITED KINGDOM: Shakespeare is stirring patriotic spirits - and attracting cinema queues - in London's West End, thanks to Lawrence Olivier's rousing version of Henry V which has just opened. Olivier has produced and directed the film as well as starring in it; at £475,000 it is the costliest British picture yet.

"In overbright Technicolor and half an hour too long, at its worst it is vulgar and obscure," said the News Chronicle. The People called it the "most ambitious, difficult, annoying, boring, beautiful, exciting, baffling picture yet made." C A Lejeune told the Observer's readers that the French cavalry charge to William Walton's music is "the most exciting sequence I can remember". The parallel between Agincourt in 1415 and Europe in 1944 is not lost on audiences.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 733: seven B-17 Flying Fortresses and seven B-24 Liberators drop leaflet in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, Task Force Fickett, consisting of the 6th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) and the 5th Ranger Battalion, assembles near St Avoid to screen the southern flank of the corps, relieving Task Force Bell, components of which revert to 5th Infantry Division. The 5th Infantry Division, still containing forts in the Metz area, is assigned a narrow front to the right of the 95th Infantry Division in preparation for a drive to the Sarre across the Warndt salient. The 6th Cavalry Task Force is to protect the right of the 5th Infantry Division. In the XII Corps area, Combat Command B of the 4th Armored Division and the 101st Infantry Regiment of the 26th Infantry Division open a co-ordinated drive on Sarre-Union against lively opposition: the 3d Battalion of the 101st Infantry Regiment clears Sarre-Union but, since it cannot take the hill north of the town, pulls back for the night; 1st Battalion clears the Bannholtz woods; Combat Command B secures Hill 318, north of Mackwilier. The 80th and 35th Infantry Divisions and 6th Armored Division are ordered to make a limited attack on 4 December to straighten the left and centre of corps line.

In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the 44th Infantry Division is meeting strong resistance in the vicinity of Tieffenbach. The 45th Infantry Division is likewise opposed in the Zinswiller-Meitesheim area. The 79th Infantry Division, reinforced by 94th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron of the 14th Armored Division, clears Schweighausen. In the VI Corps area, the French 2d Armored Division continues southward along the Rhine River. The 103d and 36th Infantry Divisions are converging on SC)lestat.

In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIII Corps area, Linnich falls to the 406th Infantry Regiment, 102d Infantry Division; the 405th Infantry Regiment gains the objective heights along the Lindern-Linnich highway by a double envelopment. In the XIX Corps area, the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division begins an attack to reduce the two enemy positions the west of the Roer River opposite Juelich--one a group of buildings called Hasenfeld Gut and the other the Juelich sportplatz, an athletic field; both are protected by German fire from the commanding ground east of the Roer River and accessible only through open terrain; the assault forces are soon pinned down by German fire.

In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the weather is clear and the USAAF IX Tactical Air Command supports attacks of the 104th and 1st Infantry Divisions with fighter bombers. The 104th Infantry Division's house to house fighting in Inden continues. The 1st Infantry Division makes gains in the forest south of Jungersdorf, but is unable to relieve the two 26th Infantry Regiment companies isolated in Merode. The 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, still trying in vain to get out of the Huertgen Forest, has gained less than 1,000 yards (914 meters) during three days of hard fighting; the 22d Infantry Regiment, committing its reserves, finally emerges to establish a thin line along the woods overlooking Gey. Lieutenant General Joseph Collins, Commanding General VII Corps, orders the attack halted. Since 16 November, the 4th Infantry Division has made a maximum gain of a little more than 3 miles (4,8 kilometres) at exceedingly high cost. In the V Corps area, elements of 28th and 121st Infantry Regiments of the 8th Infantry Division have cleared a portion of Tiefen Creek bottom land on the right flank and of Britishandenberger Wald on the left flank, to provide a measure of safety for an armoured drive along the Kleinhau-Britishandenberg highway, which follows ridge line. (Robert Rush)

In the U.S. Third Army area, XX Corps continues to clear German positions west of the Saar River in preparation for an assault across the river. The 10th Armored Division is overcoming relatively weak opposition in the Merzig sector. The 9oth Infantry Division is rapidly cleaning out its sector south of Merzig. Air preparation precedes the 95th Infantry Divisions attempt to reach arid cross the Saar: medium bombers attack Saarlautern, Ensdorf, and Fraulautern; fighter bombers interdict movement east of the river. Resistance continues stiff, however, as the 95th Infantry Division attacks, making its main effort with the fresh 379th Infantry Regiment: the 377th takes Felsberg and begins clearing Ste Barbara; the 378th gains a hill near Berus but is unable to reach Bisten; the 379th attacks through 377th toward Saarlautern.

One hundred thirty four USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs strike defended areas at Fraulautern, Ensdorf, and Saarlautern. Fighters fly sweeps, armed reconnaissance, and bombing missions over western Germany and support US VII Corps elements at Inden and the Huertgen Forest and the 8th Infantry Division of the V Corps at Tieffenbach Creek and Brandenberger Forest.

During the night of 1 /2 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 81 Mosquitos to bomb three targets: 69 bombed Karlsruhe, six hit the Hermann Göring steel works at Hallendorf and four attack a coking plant at Hamborn.

The first division of the Russian Liberation Army is formed. It is comprised of Soviet Prisoners of War and will serve with the German army. The division is under the command of General Sergei Buniachenko and the army is under the overall command of General Andrei Vlasov.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Soviet troops cross to the west bank of the Ondava River in the vicinity of Humenne and Trebisov.

HUNGARY: South of Budapest the Russian 57th Army continues to advance. The 4th Ukraine Front attacks positions held by the German 1st Panzer Army, northeast of Budapest.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the British XIII Corps alters their plan of attack because of German withdrawals. The first phase calls for the capture of Mt. Penzola by the 6th Armoured Division.

The British Eighth Army continues preparation for an offensive on 3 December. In the V Corps area, the Indian 10th Division secures the Casa Bettini bridge over the Montone River and is relieved on the right flank by the Canadian I Corps troops. The Canadian I Corps moves assault forces across the Montone River via a bridge at Casa Bettini.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack four railroad ridges in the western Po Valley, damaging the bridges at Voghera and Torre Beretti. The XXII Tactical Air Command hits motor transport and train cars at several points in northern Italy and hits rail lines over a widespread area north of the Apennines Mountains, including the Brenner Pass where lines are cut at three points.

During the night of 1/2 December, USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-20 Havocs hit Ghedi Airfield and targets of opportunity in the north central Po Valley and trains on the Brenner line.

CHINA: Major General Albert Wedemeyer, Commanding General U.S. China Theater of Operations and Chief of Staff to Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek directs Major General Claire Chennault, Commanding General USAAF Fourteenth Air Force, to make the main effort of the Fourteenth Air Force in defense of the air line to China and Service of Supply; in addition to providing logistical support of U.S. military activities, to support certain Chinese forces in the China Theater.

USAAF Fourteenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit trucks, locomotives, and villages in the Chefang area and at Kunlong.

BURMA: Major General George Stratemeyer, Commanding General Army Air Forces, China Theater and Commanding General Eastern Air Command (EAC), issues a general order, effective December, reorganizing EAC.

On the Northern Combat Area Command front, the Chinese 30th Division, with the 90th Regiment in the lead, is moving southward from the Bhamo area toward Namhkam over rough terrain.

Over 30 USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts continue support for ground forces in the Bhamo area; town areas. Troops, warehouses, and supply dumps at Myitson, Mingon, Alezeik, Lenaung, and Old Lashioare are attacked by 30+ P-47 Thunderbolts while 17 more hit bridges in northern Burma and eight strafe the Hsenwi landing ground.

Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells destroy three storage buildings and damage six others at Wanling; nine fighter-bombers hit troop positions in the area and destroy or damage several trucks. Several other fighter-bombers hit targets between Lashio and Hsenwi.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: On Leyte, the Japanese food supply is exhausted by this time. In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area, after preparatory fire, Company E, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, attacks through Company C of the 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, to clear the knolls on the south-eastern end of Kilay Ridge, taking the first. The 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, is ordered to withdraw from the ridge but is unable to do so for several days. The 112th Cavalry Regiment (Special) attempts in vain to clear the ridge southeast of Limon. In the XXIV Corps area, a warning order for an assault on Ormoc is issued.

Major USAAF Far East Air Forces strikes in the Philippine Islands include B-24 Liberator raids on Bacalod Airstrip and Fabrica Aerodrome on Negros Island; a B-25 Mitchell attack, with P-47 Thunderbolt support, on Lahug Airfield on Cebu Island; and B-25 Mitchells attack Cagayan Airfield on Mindanao Island. Other FEAF aircraft maintain armed reconnaissance and sweeps over a wide area of the Philippine Islands.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, The Australians take over from U.S. troops at Aitape.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells and fighter-bombers hit several airfields and numerous targets of opportunity on Halmahera Island, Moluccas Islands, during a series of raids. Other FEAF aircraft maintain armed reconnaissance and sweeps over a wide area of the Netherland East Indies.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: In the Palau Islands, elements of the 81st Infantry Division complete the occupation of Kayangel Atoll in the northern Palaus.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Twenty six USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators based on Guam, Mariana Islands, bomb the airfield on Iwo Jima. Islands. During the night of 1/2 December, a B-24 bombs Iwo Jima during a snooper mission.

PACIFIC OCEAN: U-196 reported missing near the Sunda Straits south of Java, exact position unknown, possibly because of a diving accident. 65 dead (all hands lost).

In the South China Sea, six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack targets of opportunity.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: A small amount of material believed to be from a Japanese bFu-Go Weapon (balloon bomb) lands on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. The island is located about 143 nautical miles (267 kilometres) southwest of Nome. The exact date the balloon landed is unknown.

Office of Air-Sea Rescue set up in the Coast Guard. The Secretary of the Navy at the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff early in 1944 established the Air-Sea Rescue Agency, an inter-department and inter-agency body, for study and improvement of rescue work with the Commandant of Coast Guard as head.

Destroyer USS Richard B Anderson laid down Seattle, Washington.

Submarine USS Diablo launched.

Douglas DC-3-209, msn 1968, registered NC17322 by the U.S. airline Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA), crashes and burns in Van Nuys, California, 6.5 miles (10,5 kilometres) northwest of Burbank Airport in dense fog at 0054 hours local. This was TWA Flight 13 from San Francisco, California, to New York City via Burbank. Six of the 14 passengers and all three crew are killed. The accident is blamed on the pilot for his deviation from the standard instrument approach procedure and descent below the established safe minimum altitude. A contributing factor is TWA's failure to enforce adherence to company procedures.

MARIANAS ISLANDS, SAIPAN: Captain Oba and 46 members of his force surrender to US forces. These are the final elements of organised Japanese resistance on the island.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Springhill paid off Halifax , Nova Scotia and laid up Bedford Basin.

U.S.A.: (American Football) With the Commander-in-Chief in attendance, two Army juniors sack Navy. Mr. Inside (Doc Blanchard) and Mr. Outside (Glenn Davis) score all five Cadet touchdowns in a 32-13 rout at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia.

This is the first time an event in one city is televised any greater distance than, say, between New York and Newark, N.J. (Rodney Sanders)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Operation Deadlight: U-826 is sunk by unknown causes. U-1004, U-1061 and U-1104 are sunk by the Royal Navy.