17 December 1939

UNITED STATES: Orville and Wilbur Wright pilot a powered heavier-than-air aircraft for the first time at Kill Devil Hill, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Controlling the aircraft for pitch, yaw, and roll, Orville completes the first of four flights, soaring 120 feet (37 meters) in 12 seconds or 6.8 miles per hour (10,9 kilometers per hour). Wilbur completes the longest flight of the day: 852 feet (260 meters) in 59 seconds or 9.8 miles per hour (15,8 kilometers per hour). The brothers launch the airplane from a monorail track against a wind blowing slightly more than 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour).

UNITED STATES: After a seven-week trial, the Army convicts Colonel William "Billy" Mitchell of violating the 96th article of war by having made "insubordinate" statements. When the Navy rigid airship USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) crashed in a storm on 3 September 1925 killing 14 of the crew, Mitchell issued his famous statement accusing senior leaders in the Army and Navy of incompetence and "almost treasonable administration of the national defense" leading to his court martial. Sentenced to five yearsâ€™ suspension of rank, pay, and command, he resigned from the Army shortly thereafter. Mitchell died of a variety of ailments including a bad heart and influenza in a hospital in New York City on 19 February 1936 at age 57. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman posthumously bestowed a special medal on Mitchell in recognition of his foresight in aviation and in 1955, the U.S. Air Force voided Mitchell's court martial. In 1957, his son petitioned to have the court martial verdict set aside , which the Air Force denied while expressing regret about the circumstances under which Mitchell's military career ended.

UNITED STATES: The Douglas DST-114 (msn 1494, civil registration NX14988) makes its first flight at Clover Field, Santa Monica, California. The DST (Douglas Sleeper Transport), the first version of the famed Douglas Commercial Model 3 (DC-3), is a stretched and widened Douglas Commercial Model 2 (DC-2). The aircraft has fourteen 36-inch (91,4 centimeter) wide double seats which can be converted to seven lower berths and seven 30-inch (76,2 centimeter) upper berths which fold up into the ceiling when not in use. The aircraft can accommodate 14 passengers in a sleeper configuration and 28 passengers during the day. The most significant identifying feature of the DST is the four small upper windows on each side of the fuselage above the first, third, fifth and seventh main windows.

ITALY: The Government sends a diplomatic note to the French indicating that the Franco-Italian Agreement of 7 January 1935 is invalid because the two states had not exchanged ratifications. The French government rejects this position. In this treaty, Italy agrees to support French opposition to German rearmament in exchange for French concessions in Africa. It is signed before Italy invaded Ethiopia on 3 October 1935.

The first Canadian troops to reach Britain, 7,400 men of the First Division, landed at Liverpool. Three months ago Canada was a country with a permanent army of 4,500 men, five mortars and 16 tanks. The Canadians are under the command of Major-General McNaughton and they arrived in five liners. Officers slept in suites and men in first class cabins.

Five ocean liners carrying 7,450 men of the 1st Canadian Division under the command of Major General Andrew McNaughton, arrives at Liverpool. Officers slept in suites and men in first class cabins. Unknown to them, they had narrowly escaped what could have been a major sea disaster. The passenger liner SS Samaria, showing no lights, had passed right through the convoy unaware of the its position! It struck the radio antenna of the escorting aircraft carrier HMS Furious (47) on her port side, struck a glancing blow on the port side of the next ship astern, the liner SS Aquitania, then passed close down the starboard side of the third and fourth ships sailing in line ahead. If the SS Samaria had collided head on with HMS Furious, the ships following would have all crashed into her. Three months ago Canada was a country with a permanent army of 4,500 men, five mortars and 16 tanks..

VICHY FRANCE: Otto Abetz, the German ambassador, is believed to have warned Petain that German co-operation would be withdrawn if Laval were not freed from arrest.
The political situation in Vichy France is confused. Pierre Laval, who was arrested in what is being called a "palace revolution" on 13 December, has been released, but is still out of political favour.
The new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pierre Flandin, holds similar views to Laval, and it is hard to discover any significant differences of policy achieved by the fall of Laval.
Darlan is interested in collaborating with Germany, not so much because of ideological affinity for Nazism, but because he hopes to negotiate German protection for the French fleet and the French colonial empire.
Admiral Darlan is to meet Hitler next week, and hopes to persuade Hitler that France will be a more powerful ally in the Mediterranean than either Italy or Spain.
Hitler has just met General Franco and failed to persuade him to join in the war. He knows that Mussolini is in difficulties both in Africa and in Greece. Yet he still refuses to make and political concessions to Vichy. The crucial test for Hitler will be whether Petain will be willing to fight against Britain, his ally in 1914-18.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Another series of convoy and offensive operations are carried out by the Mediterranean Fleet with battleships HMS Warspite and HMS Valiant and carrier HMS Illustrious. Today the carrier's aircraft attack Rhodes.

NORTH AFRICA: British troops capture the Italian held town of Sollum on the Egyptian border with Libya.

CANADA:

Fairmile B-type patrol craft HMC ML 050,051, 052, 053, 054, 055, 057, 058, 060, 061, 064, 065 ordered.

Corvette HMCS Wetaskiwin (ex-HMCS Banff) commissioned.

Minesweepers HMCS Melville and Granby laid down Levis, Province of Quebec.

Corvette HMCS Moncton laid down Saint John, New Brunswick.

Corvette HMCS Algoma launched Port Arthur, Ontario.

HMC MTB-1 arrived Halifax, Nova Scotia for duty as training vessel.

U.S.A.: Washington: Roosevelt outlines the Lend-Lease scheme to supply Britain with arms and equipment, telling pressmen: "We should do everything to help the British Empire defend itself."

Rear Admiral Ernest J. King relieves Rear Admiral Hayne Ellis as Commander Patrol Force, U.S. Fleet, on board the battleship USS Texas (BB-35). King is subsequently designated Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet on 7 December 1941, Commander-in-Chief U.S. Fleet on 30 December 1941 and Chief of Naval Operations on 26 March 1942.

UNITED KINGDOM: Major General James E Chaney, Chief Special Observer Group, U.S. Army (SPOBS), writes to the Adjutant General, U.S. Army on the "Construction Program of U.S. Forces in UK," which indicates a shortage of accommodations for proposed U.S. forces in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

U.S.S.R.: In the Crimea, German attacks by 54th Corps of the German Army Group South begin against the city of Sevastopol despite continuing Soviet offensives in other areas.

HONG KONG: The Japanese control the north side of Hong Kong harbour, the British Hong Kong island. After a week of air bombardment, Japanese General Saito sends a captured British civilian woman (and her two dogs) across the harbour to demand surrender from British Governor Sir Mark Young. Sir Mark himself "declines absolutely to enter into negotiations for the surrender of Hong Kong."

MALAYA: Hard fighting continues on the Grik road. A weak defence detachment is reinforced but falls back under pressure of the superior enemy forces. The Indian 12th Brig Group is ordered to Kuala Kangsar. Lieutenant General Sir Arthur E. Percival gives the Indian 3 Corps permission to withdraw to the Perak River line if necessary. The Perak Flotilla is formed to prevent the enemy from landing on the west coast between Knan and Bernam Rivers.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: The Australian “Gull Force” lands on Ambon Island. This force is comprised of the 2/21st Battalion of the 23rd Brigade, “C” Troop of the 18th Antitank Battery, a section of 2/11th Field Company and various other support units. The force had been transported from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, to Ambon in three Dutch merchant ships escorted by an RAN light cruiser and corvette.

BORNEO: Dutch reconnaissance aircraft from Singkawang, Borneo, fly reconnaissance flights over the Japanese invasion fleet. They attack the ships but do not damage any.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The Japanese Legaspi force, advancing northwest on Luzon along Route 1 toward Naga, makes its first contact with Filipino forces near Ragay.

AUSTRALIA: A plan is drawn up for using Australia as an Allied supply base under command of Major General George H. Brett, USA.
B-17 Flying Fortresses, evacuating the Philippine Islands, begin arriving at Batchelor Field near Darwin, Northern Territory. Captain Floyd J Pell arrives in Australia to begin arrangements for the use of Australian facilities by the Far East Air Force.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Japanese submarine HIJMS I-15 surfaces to charge batteries near the Farallon Islands about 29 nautical miles (54 kilometers) west of San Francisco, California. Seeing the lights of the city, Captain IMAZATO Hiroshi jokes to the crew that it was a good time to visit the famous city of San Francisco.

Japanese submarine HIJMS I-175 torpedoes and sinks a 3,283 ton unarmed U.S. freighter about 222 nautical miles (411 kilometers) south-southeast of Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. The survivors are rescued on 27 and 28 December.

In the South China Sea, the Japanese destroyer HIJMS Shinonome, part of a convoy of troop transports, heading towards the Malayan Peninsula, is sunk near Seria, 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Miri, Sarawak, by two bombs from a Dutch three engine Dornier Do-24K flying boat of the Dutch Naval Air Group based on the island of Tarakan. The crew of the Dornier drop three bombs, two making direct hits, the third a near miss. The destroyer blows apart in an enormous explosion causing fires to break out on the vessel. It takes only a few minutes for the destroyer to roll over and sink. There are no survivors; all 229 crewmen are lost.

TERRITORY OF HAWAII: In a command shake up, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel is replaced by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Commander-in Chief, Pacific Fleet; Lieutenant General Walter C. Short, Commanding General Hawaiian Department, is replaced by Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons; and Major General Frederick L. Martin, Commanding General Hawaiian Air Force, is replaced by Brigadier General Clarence L. Tinker. Admiral William Pye becomes acting commander until Nimitz's arrival. Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel was relieved of his command of the US Pacific Fleet as part of a shake-up of officers in the wake of the Pearl Harbor disaster. Admiral Kimmel had enjoyed a successful military career, beginning in 1915 as an aide to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He served admirably on battleships in World War I, winning command of several in the interwar period. At the outbreak of World War II, Kimmel had already attained the rank of rear admiral and was commanding the cruiser forces at Pearl Harbor. In January 1941, he was promoted to commander of the Pacific Fleet, replacing James Richardson, who FDR relieved of duty after Richardson objected to basing the fleet at Pearl Harbor. (Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)
A Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane (later assigned the code name GLEN by the Allies) makes it operational debut when the submarine HIJMS I-7 launches its aircraft for a dawn reconnaissance over Pearl Harbor to determine the damage caused by the attack of 7 December.

MIDWAY ISLAND: Seventeen SB2U-3 Vindicators of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron Two Hundred Thirty One (VMSB-231) complete a record 9 hour and 45 minute flight from Hawaii to Midway, bolstering U.S. positions there. The aircraft were led by a plane-guarding PBY-4 Catalina of Patrol Squadron Twenty One (VP 21) (no ships are available to plane-guard the flight) on this longest over-water massed flight (1,137 miles or 1,830 kilometres) by single-engine aircraft. VMSB-231 was the same squadron that was en route to Midway on 7 December aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) when reports of the attack on Pearl Harbor forced the carrier to turn back short of her goal.

Large cruiser USS Alaska laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: USS McCalla (DD-253), was commissioned as HMS Stanley (I-73) on 23 Oct. 1940, as part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. Today she is part of the escort to convoy HG76 from Gibraltar. Stanley and accompanying vessels escort destroyers HMS EXMOOR and HMS BLANKNEY, the corvette HMS PENTSTEMON and the sloop HMS STORK (commanded by Lt-Cdr F. J. (Johnnie) Walker) sink U-131 northeast of Madeira. They will sink U-434 tomorrow. (Ron Babuka and Alex Gordon)

U-131 is sunk 191 nautical miles (353 kilometres) east-northeast of Madeira in position 34.12N, 13.35W, by depth charges and gunfire from escort destroyers HMS Exmoor (L 08) and Blankney (L 30), destroyer HMS Stanley (I 73), corvette HMS Pentstemon (K 61) and sloop HMS Stork (L 81) and by machine-gun fire from a Martlet aircraft (802 Sqn) of the British escort carrier HMS Audacity (D 10). 47 survivors (No casualties). U-131 had shot down a Martlet aircraft at the start of the action; the first aircraft shot down by a U-boat in the war. Known as the "Martlet" in the RN, this was then the USN's top-of-the-line carrier fighter, the Grumman F4F, in American service called the "Wildcat". Prior to actual US entry into WWII, many F4Fs rolled out of the "Iron Works", as Grumman's plant was known to happy USN aviators, with RN roundels already painted on prior to test flights and shipment. (Dave Shirlaw, Ron Babuka and Alex Gordon)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: In the House of Commons today Anthony Eden, the British foreign secretary, read a lengthy declaration by the Allied governments condemning the Nazis' systematic extermination of the Europe's Jews and giving warning that those responsible for the atrocities will face retribution after the war. The declaration is being broadcast simultaneously from London, Washington and Moscow, personally approved by Roosevelt and Churchill. It is carried on the BBC and other Allied radio stations.

The declaration speaks of "the appalling horror and brutality" of the Nazis' actions. Poland , it says, "has been made the principal Nazi slaughterhouse", where "the able bodied are slowly worked to death, the infirm are left to die of exposure and starvation or are deliberately massacred". Sidney Silverman, the Jewish Labour MP for Nelson and Colne, asked whether the Allied governments would consider what measures of immediate relief could be given to Europe's Jews. "We shall do what we can," Eden said, "though I fear that what we can do may inevitably be slight."

In the House of Lords, where Viscount Samuel, speaking as a Jew, expressed the gratitude of British Jews for the action they were taking. He hoped that something could be done, to save at least the children. Other speakers suggested that neutral nations should be offered Allied help for the maintenance of Jews to whom they gave sanctuary." It also described "the systematic mass murder of millions of Jews", which it called "this bestial policy of cold-blooded extermination". Churchill is also vigilant in trying to help Jewish refugees from Nazidom. When he learns of the rescue of 4,500 Jewish children from the Balkans, via a plan he had himself approved, Mr Churchill says simply, "Bravo." (Sidney Allinson)

In the North Sea during the night of 17/18 December, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in two locations: four aircraft lay mines in the Heligoland Bight, the arm of the North Sea extending south and east of the island of Helgoland, Germany; and three lay mines in the Kattegat, the broad arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark.

Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, in a written reply in the House of Commons, states that the British Government wishes to see Albania freed from the Italian yoke and restored to her independence.

BELGIUM: During the day, RAF Bomber Command aircraft hit two marshalling yards (M/Ys): two hit a M/y at Ghent and one bombs a M/Y at Courtrai.

NETHERLANDS: During the day, five RAF Bomber Command aircraft attack the marshalling yard at Roosendaal and one hits a target of opportunity at Vlieland. During the night of 17/18 December, five RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: During the night of 17/18 December, five RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Bayonne and three others lay mines off St. Jean de Luz. In a separate mission, five aircraft drop leaflets over the country.

GERMANY: During the night of 17/18 December, small numbers of RAF Bomber Command aircraft fly minor missions. Sixteen Stirlings and six Wellingtons are sent to bomb the Opel factory at Fallersleben but only 13 bomb the target at eight are lost. Twenty seven Lancasters are sent on raids to eight small German towns with the loss of six aircraft.

BALTIC SEA: During the night of 17/18 December, three RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Cadet Channel, the strait between Storstrom Island, Denmark, and Germany.

U.S.S.R.: The logistics for the Soviet supply forces in the Stalingrad battle becomes much easier as the Volga freezes. The German relieve column continues to advance.

Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: Submarine "M-31" - by surface ASW ships and Uj80, at Jerbiyanskaya Harbor, close to Sulina. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The British submarine HMS/M SPLENDID (P 228) torpedoes and sinks the Italian destroyer R.N. GENIERE AVIERE about 45 nautical miles north-northeast off Bizerta, Tunisia, in position 38.00N, 10.05E. Geniere Aviere and her sister ship Camica Nera are escorting the German transport SS Ankara.

LIBYA: Rommel leaves a rearguard to cover his retreat to Buerat. Tunis and Gabes in Tunisia are targets of US air strikes.

ALGERIA: Algiers: Admiral Darlan orders French ships in North African ports to join the Allies, saying: "French Africa ... must make the maximum military effort for the defeat of Germany and Italy."

TUNISIA: A lull continues on the British First Army front. The 2d Battalion, U.S. 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and 3d Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 26, U.S. 1st Infantry Division, raid Maknassy, 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of TÃ©bessa.

Twelve USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the harbor and docks at Tunis and six others bomb the port area at La Goulette, claiming damage to both targets and the destruction of one vessel and three aircraft at Tunis. DB-7 Bostons and A-20 Havocs hit military installations north and west of Gabes Airfield and the landing ground near Sidi Tabet; B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders sent on a shipping raid in the Gulf of Tunis fail to find the target; and P-38 Lightnings and USAAF Spitfires escort all bombing missions. Other P-38s on a sea mission off the northern Tunisia coast engage German aircraft in combat, claiming one destroyed; other P-38s and F-4 Lightnings fly reconnaissance missions.

BURMA: Continuing drive toward Akyab, the Indian 14th Division seizes Buthidaung without opposition.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS Drum (SS-228) mines the Bungo Strait in the Japanese home islands. The Bungo Strait separates Kyushu and Shikoku Islands.

NEW GUINEA: On the Urbana front in Papua New Guinea, Companies G and E of the U.S. 128th Infantry Regiment make a fruitless and costly attack on the Triangle, which they dub "Bloody Triangle." In this action, Company G loses ten of its 27 effectives. Orders are issued for the capture of Musita Island., between Buna Village and Mission, tomorrow and the Triangle on 19 December to pave the way for an assault on the main objective, Buna Mission. Australian Brigadier George Wootten takes command of the Warren Force and prepares for an attack tomorrow. U.S. M3 "Stuart" tanks of "X" Squadron, Australian 2/6th Armored Regiment, start toward the line of departure at 1800 hours local, the noise of their engines covered by mortar fire.

In Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Buna Mission while U.S. ground forces make fruitless attacks on the Triangle now dubbed "Bloody Triangle."

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: The 1st and 3rd Battalions of the US 132nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, begin their advance from the Lunga perimeter toward Mt Austen and the Japanese position that will become known as the Gifu.

The Mount Austen area overlooks Henderson Field and the Japanese offer bitter resistance. Advance elements of 25th Infantry Division (Regimental Combat Team 35) arrive on the island. USAAF aircraft, especially P-39 Airacobras, and USMC SBD Dauntlesses, provide support and continue to do so as the offensive progresses from coastal supply points, hitting reinforcements moving through the jungle, and destroying ammunition dumps.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: A reconnaissance team lands on Amchitka Island and discovers test holes dug by the Japanese for a possible airfield.

The USAAF Eleventh Air Force flies a reconnaissance sortie over Attu, Agattu, Kiska, Amchitka and the Semichis Islands. Two attacks by five B-24 Liberators, two B-25 Mitchells and four B-26 Marauders, the second attack escorted by eight P-38 Lightnings, take off for Kiska Island. On the first mission, four B-24s, get through and hit the submarine base area, marine railway, buildings, and communication facilities. The second mission aborts due to weather. P-38s and B-24s also fly offshore patrol between Vega Point on the southern tip of Kiska and Little Kiska Island.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Random Harvest" premieres at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City; it plays for a record 11 weeks breaking the record set by "Mrs Miniver." Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, this romantic drama based on a James Hilton novel stars Ronald Colman, Greer Garson, Susan Peters and Reginald Owen.

Submarine USS Bluegill laid down.

Escort carrier USS Corregidor laid down.

USCGC Natsek disappears in Belle Isle Strait. There were no survivors. It was thought that she capsized due to sever icing.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Whilst escorting 43-ship convoy ON.153 (U.K. to Canada), destroyer HMS Firedrake (H 79) is torpedoed and sunk by U-211 (Kapitanleutnant Karl Hause) 631 nautical miles west of Galway, County Galway, Eire, south of Iceland at 50 50N 25 15W. The bow section, including the bridge, sinks immediately leaving 35 crew members clinging to the stern section and fire star shells to attract the attention of HMS Sunflower. She ploughs through 60 foot (18 metre) waves to rescue 27 survivors. One died later. In all, 168 of the Firedrake's crew are lost, plus three survivors who had been picked up earlier from another ship sunk that same night. (Alex Gordon & Jack McKillop)(108)

The U.S. Coast Guard district patrol vessel USCGC Natsek (WYP-170), part of the Greenland Patrol, disappears in Belle Isle Strait, the 90 mile (145 kilometer) long, 10 to 17 miles (16 to 27 kilometers) wide, strait lying between Newfoundland on the east and Labrador on the west. All 24 crewmen are lost without a trace. The most probable cause is that she capsized due to severe icing.

UNITED KINGDOM: The USAAF Ninth Air Force planning group joins the 21st Army Group, Allied Expeditionary Air Force and the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force in preparation of the air section of the initial joint plan (Operation NEPTUNE) for Operation OVERLORD (the invasion of Normandy). This begins planning which later results in a massive Ninth Air Force plan for moving the Ninth into battle on the continent of Europe.

EIRE: A USAAF C-47 Skytrain crashes at McGilliguddy Reeks, County Kerry. All five aboard are killed.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's II Corps area units capture Monte Sammucro and the 36th Infantry Division pursues the Germans beyond St. Pietro. In the U.S. VI Corps area, the Germans are making a limited withdrawal in the center of the corps front. After nightfall, the 180th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 45th Infantry Division takes Mt. la Posta without opposition. The Germans begin a withdrawal from Mt. Pantano positions, leaving a small number of rear-guard forces to delay pursuit.

San Pietro: It needed tanks, artillery, mortars, phosphorous grenades and outright guts to take San Pietro. Tonight, as the townsfolk emerge from their cellars to view their shattered town, the stiffening bodies of young American infantrymen are being placed in white cotton bags, with their identification discs tied to their combat boots. Their exhausted comrades look on. Some weep for fallen comrades; others stare vacantly ahead. No more than 100 Panzergrenadiers caused 1,500 American casualties here. There are hundreds more San Pietros to come.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force A-20 Havocs strike an artillery concentration near Sant' Elia Fiumerapido; All B-25 Mitchell missions are abortive; A-36 Apache and P-40 fighter-bombers bomb positions at Monte Trocchio, Cervaro, and Cardito, and the marshalling yard, barracks, warehouses, and docks at Nettuno and Anzio.

YUGOSLAVIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs, with South Africa escort, strafe a vessel near Trpanj.

CHINA: Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, in another message to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, again calls for financial aid and increased air strength.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s bomb and strafe targets of opportunity in Hanoi.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb the Sio area and P-39 Airacobras sink two barges during a sweep along the Huon Peninsula.

AUSTRALIA: General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific, orders Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, Commanding General U.S. Sixth Army, to prepare plans for the next phase of Operation DEXTERITY, the seizure of Saidor, Northeast New Guinea, as an advanced air and naval base. To perform this task, General Krueger forms Task Force MICHAELMAS under Brigadier General Clarence A. Martin, 32d Infantry Division assistant division commander, consisting of Regimental Combat Team 126, reinforced, 32d Infantry Division. The task force is largely that originally scheduled to invade Gasmata, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Ten USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators are dispatched from Nanumea Island in the Ellice Islands to bomb Maloelap Atoll; nine are recalled because of weather and one bombs the alternate target of Mili Atoll.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts intercept 35-40 Japanese aircraft attacking Allied forces on the Arawe Peninsula; at least nine are shot down. Cape Gloucester and nearby shipping are attacked by B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells. Thirty one USMC F4U Corsairs, 22 USN F6F Hellcats and 23 New Zealand (P-40) Kittyhawks attack Rabaul on New Britain Island after refueling on Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands. The New Zealanders shoot down five Japanese fighters and the Marines down three. Three New Zealand aircraft are lost.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, Torokina Airfield, located on the western coast of Bougainville on Empress Augusta Bay, is put into use as a staging base for Rabaul (New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago)-bound fighters.

On Bougainville, 18 B-25 Mitchells strike Malai; six others join USN SBD Daunltesses in bombing the Mutupina Point Area while five New Zealand (PV-1) Venturas hit Poroporo and Tarekekori.

U.S.A.: Washington: President Roosevelt today signed legislation permitting an annual quota for Chinese immigration to the United States. This is, in effect, a repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and of subsequent anti-Chinese legislation passed early in the century as a result of the "Yellow Peril" agitation against Chinese coolie labour. The president has pushed the state department, and now Congress, into reversing the Exclusion Acts because of his appreciation of the value of China as an ally in the war against Japan.

"The Chinese people, I am sure, will take pleasure in knowing that this represents a manifestation on the part of the American people of their affection and regard. An unfortunate barrier between allies has been removed. The war effort in the Far East can now be carried on with a greater vigor and a larger understanding of our common purpose. "

Frigate USS Van Buren commissioned.

Destroyer escort USS Jordan commissioned.

Minesweeper USS Intrigue laid down.

Destroyer escorts USS Edmonds, Oswald A Powers and Sheehan launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-515 sank SS Kingswood.

WESTERN EUROPE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 753: three B-17 Flying Fortresses and seven B-24 Liberators are dispatched to drop leaflets on France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

FRANCE: The US 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division refitting near Rheims, after more than two months combat in Holland, are alerted for movement to the Ardennes. Their mission is to reinforce the Allied troops that were attacked during the start of the German offensive yesterday. (Jay Stone)

Elements of the US 100th Infantry Division mount an attack on Fort Schiesseck, one of the Maginot forts attacked by the Germans in 1940, from the same direction, the south. In 1940, the German 257th Infantry Division failed to take Schiesseck, whose French garrison only surrendered a week after the rest of the French army. (William L. Howard)

Other elements of US Seventh Army, XV Corps are stalled by opposition from Fort Simershof. The VI Corps is virtually halted at the outer defences of the West Wall.

Mormelon. Members of Battery B, 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion continue to hear reports of the German attack in the Ardennes. Late in the day they are alerted for movement and told to pick up their unpainted helmets from the supply room.

The 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions refitting near Rheims, after more than two months combat in the Netherlands, are alerted for movement to the Ardennes. Their mission is to reinforce the Allied troops that were attacked during the start of the German offensive yesterday. (William Jay Stone)

BELGIUM: A US field-artillery observation battery of 125 men (Battery B of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, from the 7th Armored Division) found itself under enemy fire when its trucks came to a crossroads near Malmedy early this afternoon. Panzers of SS Lt-Col Jochim Peiper's Task Force rumbled into view and the Americans, who had no heavy weapons or tank support, surrendered. (Joachim Peiper is CO of SS-Pz. Rgt1. and holds the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. The commander of I. /SS-Pz.Rgt1 is SS-Stuf. Werner Pötschke)

After being searched, they were taken into a nearby field under guard to await an escort to the rear. The SS troops move on except for two Mark IV tanks Nos. 731 and 732, left behind to guard the GIs. An order was given to fire and SS Private Georg Fleps of tank 731 drew his pistol and fired at Lary's driver who fell dead in the snow. The machine guns of both tanks then opened fire on the prisoners. Many of the GIs took to their heels and fled to the nearest woods.

Incredibly, 43 GIs survived, but 86 of their comrades lay dead in the field, being slowly covered with a blanket of snow. The U.S. troops in the area are issued with an order that for the next week no SS prisoners were to be taken. At the end of the war, Peiper, and 73 other suspects (arrested for other atrocities committed during the offensive) are brought to trial. When the trial ends on 16 July 1946, 43 of the defendants are sentenced to death, 22 to life imprisonment, two to twenty years, one for fifteen years and five to ten years. Peiper and Fleps are among those sentenced to death, but after a series of reviews the sentences are reduced to terms in prison. On 22 December 1956, SS Sturmbannührer (Major) Peiper is released. He settles in the small village of Traves in northern France in 1972 and four years later, on the eve of Bastille Day, he is murdered and his house burned down by a French communist group. His charred body is recovered from the ruins and transferred to the family grave in Schondorf, near Landsberg in Bavaria. Most of the remains of the murdered GIs are eventually shipped back to the U.S. for private burial but 21 still lie buried in the American Military Cemetery at Henri-Chappelle, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Malmedy.

Further away in the little hamlet of Wereth, eleven black American soldiers of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion (Negro) are killed in cold blood by a reconn party of the 9th SS Division (KG Knittel or KG Hansen). More... (W. Jay Stone and Norm Lichtenfield)

The commander of the German XLVII Corps, General der Panzertruppen Heinrich Freiherr von Luettwitz had expected that his two lead divisions in the attack to the west, 26th Volks Grenadier and 2nd Panzer would have crossed the Clerf River by 16 December the first day of the attack. This is a distance of 4.5 miles. The attacking divisions of the corps had advanced approximately one-half of that. Once across, 2nd Panzer would advance on Bastogne using the hard surface road west out of Clerf but swing to the northwest at Chilfontaine and go north of Bastogne through Noville. It's mission remained seizing crossings over the Meuse. 26th VG would advance to the west in zone and take Bastogne. Once the 26th VG had crossed the Clerf, Panzer Lehr would move south of Bastogne to the Meuse

Seeking to stop, or at least delay XLVII Corps was the 110th Infantry of the 28th Infantry Division with the 109th Field Artillery in direct support and the 707th Tank Battalion attached. The 1st Battalion of the 110th defended the northern half of the regiment's sector while the 3rd Battalion defended the southern portion. The 2nd Battalion was in division reserve at Donnange 2.5 miles northwest of Clerf in the zone of the 1st Battalion.

On the morning of 17 December elements of the 1st Battalion barely held Marnach but had been by-passed by elements of 2nd Panzer moving on the crossing over the Clerf at Clervaux. Company K, 3rd Battalion held Hosingen.

The village was astride the Main Supply Route (MSR) for the 26th. In addition, units which had just crossed the Our River had to pass through Hosingen in order to move forward and enter the battle. American strongpoints at Munshausen, Bockholz, Holzthum, Hosingen, and Hoscheid were under heavy attack.

Major General Troy Middleton, commander of US VIII Corps had moved his corps reserve, CCR, 9th Armored Division to a position closer to Bastogne and attached it to the 28th with the proviso that it not be committed without his approval.

Colonel Hurley Fuller, commander of the 110th asked for and received his 2nd Battalion, less G Company, from the division reserve. He planned to use it in an attack on Marnach so as to restore the position there and stop the movement of the 2nd Panzer toward the Clerf. This was to part of a three pronged attack on Marnach. The light tank company of the 707th also was ordered to attack south out of the zone of the 112th Infantry toward Marnach. The third part of the attack was to be undertaken by the medium tank platoon then located at Munshausen approximately one mile south of Marnarch. The 109th Field Artillery had been over run or forced to displace by the Germans. Only one battery was firing during the morning and it was low on ammunition. It was driven from Buchholz with the loss of half its howitzers.

The two companies of the 2nd Battalion attacked at 0730. Within a few minutes they ran into strong German positions supported by tanks and self-propelled guns. By noon, the battalion without Field Artillery support was stopped along a ridge running southwest from Urspelt to the Clerf road.

The medium tank platoon did reach Marnach but reported that there were no US troops there. Colonel Fuller ordered it to return to its original position at Munshausen and then directed that it fight its way to Clervaux to assist in the defence of the river crossing there.These two attacks from the south and west had made no headway but were not too costly. The attack by the light tank company of the 707th was disastrous. As it emerged from the village of Heinerscheid, three miles north of Marnach in a column of tanks eight of the tanks were knocked out by hidden high velocity guns while three were lost to bazooka fire. The action lasted only ten minutes. Two of the American tanks returned to Heinerscheid, only to be lost later in the day when the Germans took the town. The company commander withdrew the remaining three tanks down a side road to Urspelt where he joined the CP of the 2nd Battalion.

Since the 110th Infantry had failed to stop the German advance at Marnach the fight would have to be made at Clervaux through which the Clerf River passes. The approach to the town from Marnach is by means of a road which makes a twisted and tortuous descent to the valley floor, finally crossing the river at the south-eastern edge of the town. The road proceeds through narrow street emerging at the northern end of the town. Clervaux was the headquarters for the 110th Infantry and it was here that the fight to hold back the 2nd Panzer would be made.

The CP was in a hotel near the bridge while Headquarters Company was in a chateau across town. German infantry entered the town and engaged Headquarters Company in the chateau. Then two platoons of Mark IV tanks and 30 half tracks loaded with grenadiers approached Clervaux. A platoon of the 707th Tank battalion climbed up the serpentine road to engage the enemy tanks. The lead enemy tank was hit blocking the road from Marnach. Shortly after noon the left flank of the 2nd Battalion moved on an assembly area northeast of Ruler. Both of these events caused German pressure on Clervaux to relax. In addition, while he had been ordered not to commit CCR without approval of General Middleton, Colonel Fuller ordered B Company, 2nd Tank Battalion of that command to send a platoon to clear out the German infantry in the vicinity of the chateau, another to Reuler to help his 2nd Battalion, and a third to Heinerscheid where the light tanks had been roughly handled.

The advance guard of the 2nd Panzer Division had taken a bloody nose but help was on the way. More tanks and infantry were arriving and manoeuver was possible: It was not necessary to stay on the roads. During the afternoon the Germans pressed the 2nd Battalion back through Reuler. The soldiers aided by the dwindling tank force of CCR and towed tank destroyers of Company B, 630th Tank Destroyer Battalion fought stubbornly. Shortly before dusk under a hail of German shells, the two infantry companies of the 2nd Battalion and attached units dug in on a ridge north of Reuler. On their left German tanks were reducing the last positions of the 1st Battalion. By mid-afternoon Company A had been overrun, leaving open an avenue into the left flank of the 2nd Battalion. Late in the day German tanks knocked out the last 57mm anti tank gun protecting the crossing over the Clerf and the way into the town was open. For the rest of the day and into the night the Germans cleared all American opposition in Clervaux.

At Hosingen Company K with some Shermans held out even though the Germans set the town on fire during the morning. The Shermans held the enemy at bay all day. Other remnants of the 3rd Battalion had assembled at Consthum and established a defence there.

At the end of the second day of the German offensive, elements of the 110th Infantry were still causing delay to the enemy advance but its resistance was rapidly crumbling. Colonel Fuller had reacted to the German advance by moving the relatively few forces at his command. His soldiers, most of them recent replacements fought fiercely but his regiment was attacked by a German corps and his options were few.

A race for Bastogne had begun in earnest. While the 110th Infantry was delaying XLVII Corps, the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division were moving east toward the sound of the guns from bases in the vicinity of Rheims, France. The 101st would go to Bastogne while the 82nd would go to Webormont.

At 1600 on the 18th Colonel William Roberts, commander of CCB, 10th Armored Division, reported to General Middleton at his headquarters in Bastogne. Middleton ordered Roberts to establish three blocking positions to the east and north of Bastogne. Team Desorby went to Noville in the north, Team Cherry Neffe and Longvilly and Team O'Hara to Wardin. XLVII Corps was advancing on Bastogne but because of the fierce delay of the 110th Infantry it would loose the race as Middleton began to establish a solid defence in front of the town.

Jose M. Lopez is awarded the Medal of Honor for killing more than 100 German soldiers today. Lopez is a sergeant serving with the Second Infantry Division in Belgium. When a superior force of German infantry and armour advances on his company's position he jumps into a shallow hole with his heavy machine gun and kills 10 German soldiers. In the face of German tank fire he held his position and shot 25 more German infantrymen trying to get around his flank. He later takes another position and continues firing to slow down enemy forces while member of his unit retreat.

The road that led to K Company, 23 Infantry's position. This picture is facing roughly northwest; the front-line was about 400 meters to the front, and once the Germans broke the line, they came right up this road toward Krinkelt-Rocherath. (Treb Courie)

Originally planned for the early hours of 16 December, Operation Stösser was delayed for a day because of bad weather and fuel shortages. The new drop time was set for 0300 hrs on December 17; their drop zone was 11 km north of Malmedy and their target was the "Baraque Michel" crossroads. Von der Heydte and his men were to take it and hold it for approximately twenty-four hours until being relieved by the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, thereby hampering the Allied flow of reinforcements and supplies into the area.

Just after midnight 16 December/17 December 112 Ju 52 transport planes with around 1,300 Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) on board took off amid a powerful snowstorm, with strong winds and extensive low cloud cover. As a result, many planes went off-course, and men were dropped as far as a dozen kilometres away from the intended drop zone, with only a fraction of the force landing near it. Strong winds also took off-target those paratroopers whose planes were relatively close to the intended drop zone and made their landings far rougher.

By noon a group of around 300 managed to assemble, but this force was too small and too weak to counter the Allies. Colonel von der Heydte abandoned plans to take the crossroads and instead ordered his men to harass the Allied troops in the vicinity with guerrilla-like actions. Because of the extensive dispersal of the jump, with Fallschirmjäger being reported all over the Ardennes, the Allies believed a major divisional-sized jump had taken place, resulting in much confusion and causing them to allocate men to secure their rear instead of sending them off to the front to face the main German thrust. (Nick Minecci)

LUXEMBOURG: In the U.S. First Army's VIII Corps area, the 4th Infantry Division halts the Germans south of Osweiler and Dickweiler, but units are isolated at a number of points. The 10th Armored Division arrives in vicinity of Luxembourg city.

GERMANY: 125th Armored Engineers and 62nd Armored Infantry, American 14th Armored Division sent patrols after dark to Siegfried Line near Bergzabern, Alsace. (Joe Brott)

In U.S. First Army VII Corps area, while rounding up paratroopers and guarding against possible airborne attack, continues to press its right flank toward the Roer River. 83d Infantry Division clears Roelsdorf and Lendersdorf. The 9th Infantry Division gains ground slowly just west of Dueren. The V Corps is fully occupied holding current positions north of the breakthrough and delaying the German offensive, which continues to gain ground slowly toward MalmÃ©dy, Belgium. The 1st and 30th Infantry Divisions are getting into position to counterattack. In the VIII Corps area, disorganized 14th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) continues to fall back on the northern flank of the corps. German columns isolate two regiments (422d and 423d) of the 106th Infantry Division in the Schnee Eifel salient and push on through Heuem toward St. Vith, Belgium. Elements of 7th and 9th Armored Divisions are committed to the defense of St Vith. In the 28th Infantry Division zone, the Germans drive a lmost to Wiltz. The Corps releases Combat Command R of the 9th Armored Division from reserve to block the Bastogne- Trois Vierges road.

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 5th Infantry Division continues to relieve the 95th Infantry Division in the Saarlautern bridgehead. Engineers complete a bridge in the Ensdorf area.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack three synthetic oil refineries: 277 bomb the Deschowitz refinery at Odertal, 155 hit the I.G. Farben North and 86 attack the I.G. Farben South refineries at Blechhammer while 39 aircraft bomb the East marshalling yard (M/Y at Salzburg and six hit the M/Y at Strelitz. P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs escort the bombers, fly reconnaissance, strafe the railroad running from Rosenheim, Germany into Austria, and escort photo reconnaissance operations. Luftwaffe fighters appear in force for the first time since August 1944; the USAAF claims 55 air victories.

During USAAF 15th Air Force mission to Odertal (now Kozle in Poland) a SAM defense is used. An after action report by 485th Bomb Group Commander, LTC. John E. Atkinson, recounts that six B-24s of his command were damaged by German SAMS (Surface to Air Missiles) on the return leg from a mission to Blechhammer South. Alleged attack happened at 1414hrs at 12,000 feet, at 46-33N 16-30E (southwestern Hungary--in the center of the Nagykanizsa Triangle, the last oil fields left to the Third Reich). (John D. Bybee)

Today's 15AF mission to Odertal (Kozle, Poland) is a blood bath for the B-24s of the 49th Bomb Wing. For the first time since summer, the 190s and 109s from JG300 bases at Lobnitz, Juterbog, Reinsdorf and Borheide, Germany were up in force. They slammed into the 461st BG and shot down 10 of 26 B-24s, 484th lost two B-24s, 451st lost two B-24s. (John D. Bybee)

A 415th NFS (Night Fighter Squadron) P-61 had a rocket/missile fired at it during the night, in the Karlsruhe-Mannheim area (1725-1920 hrs)

10/10 clouds at 7500 ft, visibility 1 mile. vectored onto bogie by Churchman at 1855 hours - head on
interception, assed each other and lost contact. Flak: Moderate, heavy at R-4980, R-3968, R-3146; scant, light at R-1363; 1 rocket at R-5699. No traffic sighted. (Sandy Bybee)

Weather prevents Ninth Air Force bomber operations but over 1,000 fighters fly armed reconnaissance, defensive patrols, and attacks on bridges and gun positions. The IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands also support ground forces (8th, 28th, 78th, 99th, and 106th Infantry Divisions, 5th Armored Division, and V, VII, VIII, XII, and XX Corps) against the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes and in a battle to hold the Saarlautern bridgehead.

During the night of 17/18 December, RAF Bomber Command hits several targets: 523 aircraft, 418 Halifaxes, eight Lancasters and 24 Mosquitos, are sent to Duisburg; 486 bomb the city causing heavy damage; three aircraft are lost. A second target is Ulm: 317 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos are dispatched; 316 bomb the city with the loss of two Lancasters. This is Bomber Command's first and only raid on Ulm, an old city but also the home of two large truck (lorry) factories, Magirius-Deutz and Kässbohrer, several other important industries and some military barracks and depots, and 1,449 tons (1 315 metric tonnes) of bombs are dropped during the 25-minute raid, starting in the centre and then creeping back to the west, across the industrial and railway areas and out into the country. The Gallwitz Barracks and several military hospitals are among 14 German Army establishments destroyed. A third target is Munich: 280 Lancasters and eight Mosquitos are dispatched and 266 bomb with the loss of four Lancasters. Bomber Command claims "severe and widespread damage" in the old centre of Munich and at railway targets. Mosquitos are also active: 39 fly a spoof (deception) raid to Hanau, 24 bomb Munster, three hit the Hermann Göring benzine facility at Hallendorf and three others hit targets of opportunity.

AUSTRIA: Fifty six USAAF Fifteenth Air Force aircraft bomb the Main marshalling yard (M/Y) at Wels while six bomb the M/Y at Villach and six other bomb the city of Saak. Two other aircraft hit targets of opportunity.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Eighteen USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack a synthetic oil plant at Ostrava Moravaska.

HUNGARY: Elements of the Soviet Second Ukrainian Front push to within 5 miles (8 kilometers) of Budapest.

POLAND: Four USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bomb four targets of opportunity at Rybnik.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's British XIII Corps area, the Indian 8th Division's sector is now so narrow, because of the Polish II Corps advance, that it is held by a single brigade, the 17th.

In the British Eighth Army's Polish II Corps area, the 5th Kresowa Division begins relieving the 3rd Carpathian Division along the Senio River. In the V Corps area, the Indian 43rd Brigade tries in vain to advance from Faenza. The Indian 10th Division secures small bridgeheads across the Senio River north and south of Tebano, but no strong effort can be made to expand them until the supply situation improves and environs, of Faenza are cleared.

Bad weather again cancels USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bomber operations. The XXII Tactical Air Command hits communications in the Po River Valley and attacks the Trento marshalling yard on the rail line running north to the Brenner Pass.

YUGOSLAVIA: Forty five RAF Bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) group bomb tactical targets near Matesevo.

BURMA: Eight USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts support ground forces in the Namhkam sector; eight other P-47s hit rail targets of opportunity between Kyaikthin and Kinu, then east to the Irrawaddy River and up the river to Tigyaing and four hit river craft at Tagaung. Over 50 fighter-bombers attack storage areas, vehicles, bivouacs, personnel areas, and general targets of opportunity at Pang-hsao, Kyaukme, Manai, Kutkai, Maugon, Hpa-ye, and Man Namman while 12 others strafe targets of opportunity during a Kyaukme-Nampyao railroad sweep.

Five USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb a road at Wan Pa-Hsa while 12 fighter-bombers hit a nearby railroad bridge, damaging it severely.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Twenty four USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Saipan and 26 from Guam bomb Iwo Jima. During the night of 17/18 December, B-24s from Saipan and Guam fly three single-plane harassment strikes against Iwo Jima.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Nine USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the Camranh Bay area.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area on Leyte, the 32d Infantry Division progresses slowly south of Limon. In the XXIV Corps area, the 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division attacks at 1415 hours local, after artillery and air preparation, toward Valencia and reaches the edge of the airfield. The 306th Infantry Regiment stops for the night 500 yards (457 meters) south of its objective, Cabulihan. The 305th Infantry Regiment gains positions along the Tambuco- Dolores road and clears Tambuco.

USAAF Major Richard I. "Dick" Bong shoots down a Japanese "Oscar" fighter (Nakajima Ki-43, Army Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa) over San Jose, Mindoro Island at 1625 hours local. This is his 40th victory and Lieutenant General George Kenney, Commanding General Far East Air Forces, orders him grounded and returned to the U.S. Bong is the most successful U.S. fighter pilot ever.

On Negros Islands, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb Bacolod while B-25 Mitchells hit Silay Airfield and U.S. Marine Corps fighter-bombers in attacking the Cananga area and P-38 Lightnings destroy several aircraft during sweeps. B-25 Mitchells bomb Likanan on Mindanao Island while B-24s with P-47 Thunderbolt support, hit the airfield on Jolo Island; and fighter-bombers hit positions at Valencia on Mindanao Island.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators and fighter-bombers attack Jesselton Airfield, British North Borneo, and Laha Airfield on Ambon Island, Netherlands East Indies.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Three USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Saipan, on armed reconnaissance, bomb Woleai and Eauripik Atolls.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Destroyer USS Spence foundered in a typhoon east of Samar. There were only 23 survivors.

U.S. Seventh Fleet Task Groups 77.3, 78.3, and 77.12 safely reach Leyte Gulf from Mindoro.

U.S.A.: Wendover, Utah: A top-secret bombing team, the 509th Composite Group, assembled here today on the salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. Its exact role is unknown to any of its members except for the commanding officer, Colonel Paul Tibbets, who had a distinguished flying record in Europe; but it is thought that the 509th is being trained to drop a new weapon, using atomic power on Japan.

Wendover Air Force Base was chosen because it enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine a year. The 509th is equipped with B-29 bombers. It will practise daylight bombing with large dummy bombs from 20,000 - 30,000 feet, using a special diving technique to gain speed in order to outrun blast waves expected to be greater than those of any existing bombs.

Two squadrons are assigned to the group, the 320th Troop Carrier Squadron, also activated today and initially equipped with C-47 Skytrains and later C-54 Skymasters, and the 393d Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) equipped with B-29 Superfortresses. The 393d had been activated on 11 March 1944 and has been training in Texas, Nebraska and Wendover.

Washington: Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations, is promoted to the (five star) rank of Fleet Admiral.

Submarines USS Entemedor launched.

Destroyers USS Harlan R Dickson and Hugh Purvis launched.

The US Army announces the end of its policy of excluding Japanese-Americans from the West Coast when Major General Henry C. Pratt, Commanding General Western Defense Command, issues Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring that, effective 2 January 1945, Japanese-American "evacuees" from the West Coast could return to their homes. Some individual exclusions continue under the new policy. On 19 February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas "as deemed necessary or desirable." The military in turn defined the entire West Coast, home to the majority of Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship, as a military area. By June 1942, more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans were relocated to remote internment camps built by the military in scattered locations around the country.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-400 sunk in the North Atlantic south of Cork, in position 51.16N, 08.05W, by depth charges from frigate HMS Nyasaland. 50 dead (all hands lost).

CANADA: The Government passes three orders-in-council providing for the deportation of five classes of Japanese-Canadians.

U.S.A.: Washington: The Senate votes to allow US help in establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine.