15 March 1939

March 15th, 1939 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS Bedouin commissioned.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: An exultant Führer was received with cheers, tears and boos as he rode into Prague this afternoon to fulfil what he had proclaimed to be Germany's historic destiny. Czechoslovakia, the first democratic state to arise in central Europe, lies in ruins, Himmler's Gestapo is taking over and Field Marshal Göring is raiding the Czechoslovak National Bank of millions of gold crowns to bail out the near bankrupt Reichsbank.

Some 12 hours earlier, at five minutes to four in the morning, the broken Czechoslovak president, Dr Emil Hacha, had signed away his country's independence after a night of bullying by Hitler, Göring and von Ribbentrop. At one point, when they were chasing him round the room in the Berlin chancellery waving papers for him to sign, Hacha fell unconscious to the floor and Hitler's quack physician, Theodor Morrell, was called to administer injections, which sufficiently revived the president to enable him to put pen to paper and telephone Prague with orders to surrender. Hacha is considered weak and possibly even senile. Hitler has threatened a bombing raid against Prague unless he obtained from Hacha free passage for German troops across Czech borders.

Hitler raced through the chancellery shouting: "This is the greatest day of my life! I shall go down in history as the greatest German!" He claimed that his annexation of the Czech lands, Bohemia and Moravia, and, in effect, Slovakia was perfectly legal, since Germany had been invited to place them under its protection. In fact, Hitler had been planning the takeover even as he was signing the Munich agreement with Chamberlain and Daladier in September last year.

He had said then that he only wanted those parts of Czechoslovakia occupied by Sudeten Germans, and promised to respect the independence of what remained of the country. But secretly he was giving orders to his armed forces to prepare for invasion. He brushed aside the possibility of Anglo-French action, referring to Chamberlain and his ministers as "little worms". Last September Chamberlain told the British people that it was "horrible and fantastic" to think of going to war over a "a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing." Now, less than six months later, the country seems not so far away after all - thanks to the German dictator who is tonight sleeping in Hradzin Castle, the ancient palace of the Bohemian kings.

Another Czech province, Carpatho-Ukraine, declares its independence.

15 March 1940

March 15th, 1940 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Leaflets and Reconnaissance - Vienna and Warsaw. 77 Sqn. Two aircraft from Villeneuve sent to Warsaw. 6 million leaflets dropped. One landed in Germany but escaped. [N1387 flown by Flt. Lt. B.S. Tomlin, after successfully dropping the leaflets, set off on the return flight to Villeneuve. As dawn approached their fuel stocks were getting low and they were lost - or in navigation parlance uncertain of their position. Thinking they were over France, Tomlin landed the aircraft in a large field. After stopping the engines and getting out of the Whitley the crew discovered to their horror when attempting to converse with some civilians who had appeared on the scene, that they were in Germany. This fact was confirmed by the approach of a number of German troops on bicycles.

Dashing back to the aircraft they piled aboard, fortunately managed to get both engines started, and hauled the Whitley back into the air as the enemy troops fired their rifles. Once airborne they established their position and crossed the German/French border. When they arrived back at Villeneuve to tell their story, the newspapers had a field day.

In Nazi Germany however, the repercussions were more serious. The day after the incident a Hauptmann and three German soldiers from the local Wehrmacht unit arrived at Niedersalbach, the village near to which the Whitley had landed. They apprehended Albert Kartes, a 17 year old who had, unfortunately for him, conversed with Sergeant Ron Charlton, the Whitley's air observer. He was carted off to the headquarters of a military unit where he was interrogated and then incarcerated in the remand prison at Volklingen, some six miles away. A week later he and another eye-witness of the incident were brought to trial, accused of 'giving support to the enemy'. They were found guilty and sentenced to two years imprisonment, the judges commenting that the 'leniency' was due to Kartes youth. However, thanks to the village pastor and some influential members of the local community there was a re-trial, during the course of which the defending counsel was able to convince the judges that those responsible for the escape of the Whitley and its crew were the fully armed German soldiers who had appeared on the scene and done nothing. The outcome was that the sentence was quashed and Albert Kartes and his co-defendant were released six weeks later. During a renewed hunt for scapegoats, they even tried to nail the village policeman for not being on the scene quick enough."]

Leaflets and Reconnaissance - Ruhr and Rhine. 51 Sqn. Six aircraft from Villeneuve. Some opposition. Weather bad.

78 Sqn N1350 damaged landing at Linton-on-Ouse. Flg Off F.Aikens and crew safe.

Submarines HMS Trusty and Turbulent laid down.

ENGLISH CHANNEL: ASW trawler HMS Peridot mined and sunk off Dover.

FINLAND: Helsinki: The Finnish Diet, meeting in secret session, tonight ratified the Moscow peace agreement by 145 votes to 3. (Note: 45MPs were absent and nine cast a blank ballot Speaking before the vote was taken, Prime Minister Ryti said: "Finland, as well as the whole of western civilization, is still in the greatest danger, and no one can say what tomorrow may bring. We believe that by choosing peace we have acted in the best way for the moment." There is some bitterness here towards Sweden, thought by the Finns to have let them down by not allowing Allied troops passage across its territory. The immediate problem for Finland though is how to evacuate and care for the 470,000 displaced persons from the territories now occupied by Russia, one-eighth of the population.

ROMANIA:800 imprisoned members of the pro-Nazi Iron Guard are granted an amnesty after swearing an oath of allegiance to King Carol.

U.S.A.: Two films are released in the U.S. today; the first is "The Grapes of Wrath." This drama, based on the John Steinbeck novel, is directed by John Ford and stars Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Eddie Quillan, and Ward Bond. The story concerns a group of people leaving the Oklahoma dust bowl for California during the Great Depression. This film, ranked Number 21 on the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies, is nominated for seven Academy Awards; the film wins two, Best Director (Ford) and Best Supporting Actress (Darwell). It also wins the Best Picture Award from both the National Board of Revue and the New York Film Critics Circle and John Ford is also awarded the Best Director Award by the latter organization.

The second film is "Young Tom Edison" which premiered last month in Michigan. This drama, directed by Norman Taurog, stars Mickey Rooney, Fay Bainter and George Bancroft and depicts the early life of the famous inventor.

“Broadcasting” magazine reports that the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) has cut the price of television sets and is starting a sales drive intended to put a minimum of 25,000 TV sets in homes in the service area of the National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC's) New York City experimental TV station, W2XBS. RCA owns NBC.

The US Navy comes up with a preliminary design for the 'Montana' 72,000 ton Battleship class. (Picture)

15 March 1941

March 15th, 1941 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

London: Winston Churchill to the Admiralty controller:

Give me a report on the progress of the ships to carry and disgorge tanks. How many are there? What is their tonnage? How many tanks can they take in a flight? When will each one be ready? Where are they being built? What marks of tank can they carry?

Minesweeper HMS Sidmouth launched.

ASW trawler HMS Quadrille launched.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Rysa launched.

Minesweepers HMS Alarm and Algerine laid down.

Submarine HMS Umbra launched.

Corvette HMS Bryony launched.

BELGIUM: Liege: Belgian politicians of all parties form the "Independent front" resistance movement.

FRANCE:

Paris: The city's art collectors have had the honour of receiving a Reichsmarschall Herman Göring . He is here to pick for himself the best of the privately owned works of art which Hitler has ordered to be considered as war booty - to be used as a bargaining weapon in future peace negotiations with France.

He has already chosen works by Rembrandt, Rubens and Goya from the stock of stolen art work stored at the Louvre and the Jeu de Paume. They will be taken to Karinhall, his mansion near Berlin.

Soon after the German occupation Alfred Rosenberg, the Nazi Reichsleiter for home affairs, set up a special organisation to bring works back to Germany. By the autumn, Rosenberg estimated that some 22,000 objects of value had been "collected", including 5,281 paintings and 2,477 pieces of furniture. Special care has been taken to seize Jewish-owned works of art. The assets of the Rothschild banking family, whose members fled the country when the Nazis came, have been rushed to Germany in special trains.

GERMANY:

U-82, U-433, U-434 launched.

U-371 commissioned.

U-168, U-181, U-210 laid down.

ALBANIA: Very heavy Italian artillery fire against the Greek positions conceals the fact that only a few limited initiatives are being made on the ground. Over the following two days, there will be artillery fire only, and no ground attacks. (Mike Yaklich)

PORTUGAL: Lisbon: the Portuguese capital has become a haven for refugees from all over Europe fleeing from Nazi persecution. Many spend weeks in miserable accommodation here waiting in terror for a passage on a ship to Australia or the Americas, as far as possible from the Third Reich. There are now so many refugees in the Atlantic port that the American Export Line, the only US shipping line with a regular European service, has stopped taking bookings until existing ones are cleared.

ERITREA: British 4th and Indian 5th divisions launch a series of attacks towards Keren. The first attacks by the 4th Division go fairly well but not all the gains can be held.

Blenheims and Wellesleys dropped 38,800 pounds of bombs on the Italian defences. (Mike Yared)(284)

CHINA: Japanese forces take Fengxin, in Kiangsi province, in a major new assault on Shanggao.

AUSTRALIA: Two transports sail from Brisbane, Queensland, with troops bound for Thursday Island off the north coast of Queensland; Port Moresby, New Guinea; and Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago.

CANADA: Tug HMCS Hodgeville assigned to St John's.

U.S.A.: Washington: Roosevelt said here tonight that there is no longer the slightest doubt that the American people have demanded a policy of all-out, unqualified aid for Britain, Greece, China and the governments of the democracies in exile.

Prussian autocracy was bad enough, the President told the White House correspondent's dinner in a key address, but "Nazism is far worse."

Mr Roosevelt spoke of the "vital bridge across the ocean, the bridge of ships" carrying good and arms to "those who are fighting the good fight."

He promised that the US will supply Britain and the Allies "aide until victory" and that there will be an "end of compromise with tyranny."

"Song Of The Volga Boatmen" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. This song, which debuted on the charts on 22 February 1941, was charted for 8 weeks, was Number 1 for 1 week and was ranked Number 10 for the year 1941.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Today and tomorrow, German ships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sink or capture 16 unescorted ships in the Newfoundland area.

Today Gneisenau captures the Norwegian tanker BIANCA (5688 tons), POLYKARB (6400 tons), the British SAN CASIMIRO (8000 tons), putting prize crews onto these vessels to sail them to Bordeaux. BIANCA and SAN CASIMIRO encounter HMS Renown and 46 British prisoners are released and the German sailors taken captive, although not before they had scuttled the tankers. (Alex Gordon)

15 March 1942

March 15th, 1942 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Whilst escorting convoy FS.749, destroyer HMS Vortigern is attacked by S-boats in the North Sea off Cromer at 55 06N 01 22E. She takes hits from two torpedoes, believed fired by S-104 and sinks. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Destroyer HMS Vortigen lost.

ENGLISH CHANNEL: Six RAF Bomber Command Bostons fly uneventful shipping sweeps off Brittany during the day.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of the 15th/16th, three RAF Bomber Command Blenheims are dispatched on Intruder flights to Dutch airfields. Schiphol Airfield is attacked by one aircraft.

GERMANY: At a staff meeting in Berlin, Chancellor Adolf Hitler and his generals study the situation in the Soviet Union. Moscow has not fallen, and will not fall. German casualties from Soviet firepower and frostbite have been immense, but the Soviet counterattack at Moscow, Staraya Russa, and the Crimea is petering out as the Soviets run out of supplies. The initiative is going back to the Germans, and Hitler forecasts the annihilation of the Soviet Army in summer. That evening, at the Sportspalast Hitler announces that the Soviet Union will be "annihilatingly defeated" in the next summer offensive.

U.S.S.R.: Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: Submarine "Sch-210" is mined and sunk, close to cape Jeleznii Rog. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The British cruisers HMS DIDO and HMS EURYALUS bombard Rhodes.

BURMA: Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India, is notified that British General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief India, is responsible for operations In Burma.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Japan launches an artillery attack on Manila Bay. In the Manila Bay area the Japanese, having emplaced additional artillery along the southern shore of Manila Bay southwest of Ternate, renew intensive bombardment of fortified islands in the bay. The shelling is conducted daily and in great force through 21 March, despite U.S. counterbattery fire. Forts Frank and Drum are particularly hard hit.
At Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao, General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General U.S. Army Forces, Far East, and his party wait for B-17 Flying Fortresses to take them to Australia. Officers in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, are trying to scrape together the necessary aircraft. While MacArthur waits, his aide, Sid Huff, takes Jean MacArthur's mattress off motor torpedo (PT) boat PT-41 which leads to a wild story that the mattress is supposedly full of gold bars. In fact, it's full of feathers.

NEW CALEDONIA: The 67th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor), the first USAAF tactical unit in the theater, arrives from the U.S. with 45 crated P-400 Airacobras.

NEW ZEALAND: Car and bicycle tire shortages become apparent.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: The XI Interceptor Command is activated at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage. Its operational components are the 11th and the 18th Pursuit Squadrons (Interceptor).

CANADA:

Corvette HMCS Moose Jaw arrived Saint John, New Brunswick for repairs

Submarine HMS P-512 assigned to ASW training Pictou and Halifax , Nova Scotia.

Submarine HMS P-514 assigned to ASW training Halifax , Nova Scotia.

U.S.A.: Corvette USS Restless commissioned.

CARIBBEAN SEA: Canadian bulk carrier SS Sarniadoc (1,940 GRT) torpedoed and sunk in the Caribbean Sea in position 15.45N, 065.00 W, by U-161, Kptlt Albrecht Achilles, Knights Cross, CO. There were no survivors.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-503 (Type IXC) is sunk in the North Atlantic south-east of Newfoundland, position 45.50N, 48.50W, by depth charges from a US PBO-1 Hudson aircraft (Sqdn VP-82, based at NAS Argentia). 51 dead (all hands lost). The Hudson PBO-1 aircraft was from a US Navy patrol squadron (VP-82) that was flying support for convoy ON.72. The Hudson PBO-1 was one of 20 Lend-Lease Hudson IIIA's used by the USN to equip one squadron. These aircraft sank the first 2 U-boats sunk by the USN, U-656 on 1 March, 1942 and U-503 on 15 March. (Alex Gordon)

U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse tender USCGC Acacia (WAGL-200) is shelled and sunk by U-161 south of Haiti. This was the only Lighthouse Service vessel lost during the war. Built as minefield tender General John P. Story; 14 Apr 1927 acquired by the Lighthouse Service of the US Coast Guard, rebuilt as lighthouse tender and renamed Acacia.

At 0722 hours on 15 Mar, 1942, the unescorted and unarmed tanker Ario was 11 miles SW of the Cape Lookout Buoy about 89 miles (143 kilometres) east of Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.A. and had to change her course, because a small vessel crossed the port bow. So the tanker was not steering a zigzag course, when a torpedo struck her three minutes later from U-158 on the starboard side at #9 tank. The radio operator sent a distress signal and received an answer. The master ordered the ship abandoned, but before any of the boats could be launched the U-boat opened fire at the vessel. For 30 minutes the ship was shelled with 40 rounds, while the crew of eight officers and 26 crewmen cleared the ship. The #3 boat containing 12 men was struck by a shell before it reached the water, killing five men, while two others were picked up by another lifeboat but died of injuries and one man died later in hospital. U-158 closed in to view the vessel and almost collided with a lifeboat before leaving the area. Later the master, the chief mate, the second mate, the chief engineer and an able seaman reboarded the Ario to check for possible salvage, but the vessel was in sinking condition. After seven hours the survivors were picked up by destroyer USS Du Pont and landed at Charleston. One officer and seven men died in the attack. Ario was still afloat when last seen at 18.30 hours on 15 March. She finally sank in shallow water about 10 miles east of Cape Lookout in 34°14N/76°27W.

At 0604, the unescorted Olean was hit by one torpedo from U-158 about 15 miles south of Cape Lookout about 95 miles (153 kilometres) east of Wilmington, North Carolina.. The torpedo struck the port quarter in the machinery space, causing the vessel to veer out of control. The gun crew spotted the U-boat but could not depress the gun enough to fire. The eight officers, 30 crewmen and four armed guards began abandon ship, but the first lifeboat capsized because the ship had still headway. These men transferred to another boat, which was destroyed when a coup de grâce hit on the starboard side in the engine room at 06.18 hours, killing one officer and five crewmen. The survivors escaped in one boat or swam to three rafts. The Cape Lookout and Fort Macon Lifeboat Stations each sent a motor lifeboat, which arrived nine hours after the attack, picked up the survivors and landed them at Morehead City, North Carolina. Olean was later towed to Hampton Roads and dry-docked. First she was declared a total loss, but on 13 June requisitioned by the US War Shipping Administration (WSA), reconstructed as Sweep and returned to service. On 12 Jul, 1944, the Sweep was acquired on a bare-boat basis by the US Navy as mobile floating storage tanker USS Silver Cloud (IX 143) at Eniwetok, Marshall Islands. The tanker was stationed in the Marshall Islands until 17 August when she sailed for Manus Island, Admiralty Islands. On 28 August, Silver Cloud dropped anchor in Seeadler Harbor and fuelled almost 200 ships before leaving on 28 December for San Pedro Bay, Leyte via Hollandia, New Guinea. On 15 Jan 1945, she arrived at Leyte and remained in the Philippine Islands until 30 December when she sailed via Panama for New Orleans for disposal, arriving on 10 Mar 1946. The next day the tanker sailed for Mobile, arriving one day later, where she was decommissioned and delivered to the US War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 29 March. Struck from the US Navy list on 17 Apr 1946 and sold to Pinto Island Metals Co on 21 Jan 1947. (Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)

15 March 1943

March 15th, 1943 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Royal Navy launches its first X-craft, or midget submarine; it is just 50 ft long and five feet nine inches broad.

Submarine HMS Muskallonge commissioned.

Frigate HMS Essington laid down.

ASW trawler HMS Bombardier commissioned.

GERMANY: Berlin: Finland and Germany sign a trade agreement.

Rastenburg: The Germans have recaptured the city of Kharkov after bitter street fighting. A special communiqué from Hitler's headquarters last night claimed that three picked divisions of Waffen-SS, the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, the Totenkopf and the Das Reich, strongly supported by the Luftwaffe, have retaken the city in an encircling attack from the north and west.

The Red Army high command has not yet confirmed the loss of Kharkov, saying that only "heavy fighting continues in the area", but it has uttered Stalingrad-style orders to the defenders, and the newspapers have issued a rallying call: "We can and must hurl back the onslaught at Kharkov and on the Donets no matter what the cost."

North of Kharkov, a new German attack is developing against Bielgorod, the fortress town on the railway to Kursk, and there is every indication that the Germans intend to try to recapture Kursk.

The German successes stem from the counter-offensive launched by von Manstein on 22 February when he caught the Russians by surprise while they were over-extended in their great advance to the west following their great victory at Stalingrad.

One of the first actions of the German troops on entering Kharkov was the murder of 200 people in a hospital. Afterwards they set light to the building.

U-1230 laid down.

GREECE: Athens: The Nazis began by allocating 20 trains for the deportation of Jews from Greece. These carried off only 11,000 and more trains had to be found for the more than 50,000 that remained. They are being rounded up in repeated sweeps that extend to the Aegean Islands. No Jewish community, no matter how small is safe: the three Jews among the 2,000 people on the island of Samothrace have shared the fate of their brethren on the mainland.

Jews from Salonika arriving at Auschwitz are to be used for experiments conducted by Professor Karl Clauberg, a prominent German gynaecologist, who claims that he can sterilize a thousand women a day with the use of X-rays. The experiments are backed by Himmler, who says that everybody involved must be pledged to secrecy. Clauberg's associate, the surgeon Dr Johann Kremer, writing of life at Auschwitz, has noted in his diary: "Excellent food. We had sour duck livers, with stuffed tomatoes, tomato salad etc."
But some Greek Jews are believed to have escaped, fleeing to the hills to join the partisans or being smuggled across the Aegean to Turkey in the hope of reaching Palestine.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: At 1845, Ocean Seaman in Convoy ET-14 was torpedoed and badly damaged by U-380 about 60 miles west of Algiers. The ship was taken in tow by destroyer USS Paul Jones and beached the next day near Algiers, where she was declared a total loss. The master, 48 crewmembers and ten gunners were picked up by minesweeper HM MMS-133 and the British SS Eildon and landed at Gibraltar and Oran.

BURMA: Irrawaddy: Two Chindit columns under Major Mike Calvert and Major Bernard Fergusson, have crossed the Irrawaddy river and plan to destroy the Gokteik Gorge railway viaduct. Soon they will be joined by the main Chindit force.

Since 13 February, when the Chindit commander, Brigadier Orde Wingate, issued a biblical "we stand on the threshold of battle" order of the day, the 3,000 Chindits have been "stirring up a hornet's nest" in Japanese -occupied northern Burma, marching with pack mules and supplied from the air. So far they have been remarkably successful in spite of the well-known difficulties of their controversial commander, a gunner by training, a guerrilla by experience and a manic-depressive by inclination. Numerous vital railway bridges have been destroyed, and thousands of Japanese troops have been diverted from moves against India and China to find the Chindits.

But the terrain on the east bank of the Irrawaddy is very different from the jungle of the west bank: treeless hills and coverless lowland, hemmed in on three sides by rivers. It is here that three Japanese divisions are now gathering to attack the Chindits.

PACIFIC OCEAN: US submarine Triton (SS-201), commanded by George K. Mackenzie, Jr., is sunk by a Japanese destroyer north of Admiralty Island. All hands are lost. (Joe Sauder)

Admiral Carpender commands the US 7th Fleet as it becomes operational. It is formed to control naval operations around New Guinea.

CANADA: Castle-class corvettes ordered from Canadian yards (all later cancelled) - HMS Bodiam Castle, Bolton Castle, Bramber Castle, Bridgenorth Castle, Brough Castle, Chepstow Castle, Clare Castle, Clavering Castle, Clitheroe Castle, Dhyfe Castle, Cornet Castle, Cowes Castle, Cowling Castle, Cromer Castle, Dunster Castle, Canterbury Castle, Christchurch Castle, Colchester Castle, Clun Castle, Aydon Castle, Barnell Castle, Beeston Castle, Bowes Castle, Divizes Castle, Egremont Castle, Criccieth Castle, Fotheringay Castle, Helmsley Castle, Malling Castle, Malmesbury Castle, Raby Castle, Trematon Castle, Tutbury Castle.

Algerine-class minesweepers ordered in Canada - HMS Jaseur, Laertes, Maened, Magicienne, Mameluke, Mandate, Marvel, Michael, Minstrel, Myrmidon, Mystic, Nerissa, Niger (cancelled), Nicator (cancelled), Nonpareil (cancelled), Nox (cancelled), Odin (cancelled), Orcadia, Ossory, Pluto, Polaris, Pyrrhus, Romola, Rosamund, Styx (cancelled).

U.S.A.: During WW II, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) produced numerous documents, most commonly known are the Intelligence Bulletins. The Military Intelligence Special Series continues with "Morale-building activities in foreign armies." (William L. Howard)

Numbered fleet system established in US Navy.

Destroyer escort USS Andres commissioned.

Destroyer USS McCook commissioned.

Destroyer escort USS Kirkpatrick laid down.

Aircraft carriers USS Antietam and Lake Champlain laid down.

Submarines USS Picuda and Pampanito laid down.

Escort carrier USS Shamrock Bay laid down.

Three Japanese destroyers sink submarine USS Triton.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The Italian submarine LEONARDO DA VINCI sinks the Canadian Pacific line EMPRESS OF CANADA off Sierra Leone.

SS Wyoming sunk by U-524 40.18N, 28.56W.

15 March 1944

March 15th, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The first production Supermarine Spitfire F. 21 (LA 187) makes its first flight today. Unlike earlier marks, the F. 21 has lost the characteristic elliptical wing, the change in plan-form accompanying major structural alterations including higher tensile spar booms. The wing area is slightly increased and the tail unit re-designed. The undercarriage is strengthened and the range extended by fitting 18-gallon fuel tanks in the wings. (22)

GERMANY: Tonight Stuttgart is raided by 863 RAF bombers.

U-1104 commissioned.

ITALY: Another Allied attack on Cassino. Preliminary bombardment used 1400 tons of bombs and 190,000 shells. The New Zealand Division moves in with the 4th Indian Division ready to follow up. They meet a regiment of the German 1st Paratroop Division. Some slight gains are made. 140 civilians and 96 Allied soldiers are killed.

In four hours, 775 Allied bombers have flattened this pleasant valley town. The attack represented more than two aircraft for every one of the German defenders - five tons of bombs for each soldier - such is the Allied determination to break the deadlock.

The Allies reckoned that no one could have survived the bombing - let alone the 195,969 shells that followed. Yet the New Zealand 6th Infantry Brigade came under intense defensive fire when it clambered over the debris into the town.

A new assault is also being made on the Cassino monastery. Gurkhas have climbed to Point 435 on the army maps, known as "Hangman's Hill", 440 yards from the monastery.

EUROPE: German forces mass on the Hungarian border.

BURMA: Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 29 2:35 Flight time Hailakandi, Assam to Kawlin, Burma. Bombed supply dumps. No results noted. (Chuck Baisden)

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: Manus Island: US troops of the 7th and 8th Cavalry Regiments of 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, have landed at Lorengau on Manus Island, off the north coast of New Guinea. The force under Gen. MacArthur's South-West Pacific Area Command landed after a heavy preliminary air and sea barrage. The first wave of attackers has so far managed to destroy landmines, machine-gun nests and booby traps before advancing on Lorengau airfield, where the Japanese defenders are holding out.

Securing the Admiralties will safeguard the Allied rearguard, vital to MacArthur's plan to advance along New Guinea's north coast to the Vogelkop peninsula, the likely springboard for an eventual attack on the Philippines.

CANADA:

Minesweeper HMS Lioness launched Toronto, Ontario.

Tug HMCS Glenwood laid down Weymouth , Nova Scotia.

Frigate HMCS Cheboque departed Esquimalt BC for Halifax , Nova Scotia.

Tug HMCS Roseville assigned to Liverpool , Nova Scotia.

Escort carrier HMS Puncher arrived Lapointe Pier Vancouver for RN modifications.

U.S.A.:

Escort carrier USS Shamrock Bay commissioned.

Frigate USS Racine launched.

Destroyer escorts USS Fowler and Spangenberg commissioned.

Submarine USS Piper laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-653 (type VIIC) is sunk in position 53.46N, 24.35W, by depth charges from a Swordfish aircraft of the British escort carrier HMS Vindex, and by depth charges from the British sloops HMS Starling and Wild Goose. 51 dead (all hands lost). (Alex Gordon)

15 March 1945

March 15th, 1945 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Frigate HMS Carnarvon Bay launched.

Repair ship HMS Dungeness launched.

GERMANY: The defences of Festung-Frankfürt come under the control of the 9th Armee [Gen. Busse], as part of Heeresgruppe Weichsel, [Gen.Obst.Heinrici]. The 'Stadt-Kommandant' of 'Festung-Frankfurt' was Generalmajor Biehler, who reported to higher HQ of 5.SS-Gebirgs Armeekorps, which included elements of 32.SS-Frw.Gren.Div. '30 Januar' [SS-Staf.Hans Kempin], and elements of both 337.and 286.Infanterie Divisions.

The US 7th Army attack once more around Saarbrücken and Bitche.

Zossen: US bombers drop 25,000 incendiary and 6,000 HE bombs on the army general staff HQ.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: The fighting continues on Iwo Jima. The Japanese forces are mostly confined in a small area in the northwest of the island.

KURILE ISLANDS: Matsuwa is bombarded by the US.
Task Force 92 (TF 92) bombards Matsuwa Island in the Kurile Islands. TF 92 consists of the light cruisers USS Concord (CL-10), USS Richmond (CL-9) and USS Trenton (CL-11) plus Destroyer Squadrons 54 and 57 and Destroyer Escort Division 14.

During the attack on Matsuwa, 4,500 rounds of 5- and 6-inch (127- and 152.4-mm) shells are fired over a 20-minute period against barracks, warehouses, oil storage, shore defenses and coast guns. An ammunition dump is hit resulting in one tremendous explosion.

One Eleventh Air Force Consolided B-24 Liberator is able to find TF 92 and provide cover.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Lindsay departed Halifax for refit Saint John, New Brunswick

U.S.A.: The 1944 Academy Awards are presented at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California. "Going My Way" wins seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor (Bing Crosby), Best Supporting Actor (Barry Fitzgerald) and Best Director (Leo McCarey); "Gaslight" takes two Oscars including Best Actress (Ingrid Bergman); and Ether Barrymore wins the Best Supporting Actress Award for "None But the Lonely Heart."

During WW II, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) produced numerous documents, most commonly known are the Intelligence Bulletins. The Military Intelligence Special Series continues with "Japanese Mortars and Grenade Dischargers." (William L. Howard)

BAHAMAS: The Duke of Windsor resigns as Governor.

1949: U.K.: Clothes rationing ends, nearly 4 years after the end of WW II. (Mike Ballard)

Food rationing will continue until June 1954 in Britain. July 1948 Bread.

December 1948 Jam. October 1952 Tea. February 1953 Sweets. April 1953 Cream. March 1953 Eggs. September 1953 Sugar. May 1954 Butter, cheese, margarine and cooking fats. June 1954 Meat and bacon. (Andy Etherington)

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