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April 11th, 1939 (TUESDAY)

GERMANY: Hitler signs a directive to the Armed Forces that "Quarrels with Poland should be avoided. ....however....., 'a final settlement' will be necessary, notwithstanding the pact with Poland." More.....

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April 11th, 1940 (THURSDAY)

General Laake Commander in Chief of the Norwegian Army resigns and General Ruge is appointed.

Bombing - Shipping in the Kattegat.

10 Sqn. Six aircraft. One returned U/S, one bombed ship without result.

51 Sqn. Five aircraft. One bombed ship without result.

77 Sqn. Six aircraft. One returned U/S. No ships sighted. One FTR.

102 Sqn. Six aircraft. One bombed and destroyed an 8,000 ton ammunition ship.

RAF Bomber Command: 6 Wellingtons attack Stavanger airport, this is the first RAF bombing operation against a target in the interior.

Returning from the Oslo landings, pocket battleship Lutzow is torpedoed and badly damaged by submarine HMS Spearfish in the Skagerrak.

Cruiser HMS Penelope is damaged when she runs aground in Vestfjord on her way into Narvik.

Fleet Air Arm aircraft attack Trondheim. 
(Mark Horan adds): When the German invasion of Norway began, the Royal Navy was quick to respond, sending the Home Fleet to sea to support its other elements at sea and to, hopefully, crush the Kriegsmarine forces involved. One of the ships dispatched to join the gathering forces was the sole Royal Navy carrier in home waters, HMS Furious. Unfortunately for future operations Furious, which had been in the Clyde, had only had on hand her two Swordfish TSR Squadrons, 816 and 818. Her presence with the fleet being considered a necessity, the ship did not close the Orkneys to embark her Skua equipped fighter-dive bomber Squadron, 801, than at Evanton in Scotland. Thus, when she joined the fleet off Trondheim on 10 April, she embarked but 18 Swordfish.

RAF reconnaissance reports having placed KMS Admiral Hipper in Trondheim on 10 April, plans were drawn up for Furious's squadrons to make a dawn torpedo attack on Trondheim Harbour and sink the foe. This was to be the first aerial torpedo attack of the war to date. All 18 aircraft were to participate, 816 Squadron being led by Lt.Cdr. H. Gardner and 818 Squadron by Lt.Cdr. P. Sydney-Turner.

Takeoff commenced at 0400, with the entire force taking its departure at 0419, the squadrons proceeding independently to attack from different directions. Climbing to 8,000 feet en-route, the 816 Squadron sighted Trondheim Fjord at 0514, the roads being entirely obscured in cloud. Hoping to surprise the foe, the formation commenced a diving attack at 0519. Emerging from the clouds at 3,000 feet, the cruiser was nowhere to be seen, having "flown the coup" the prior evening. Flying towards Skjoren Fjord, the Squadron sighted a destroyer at anchor an opted for her, the attack commencing at 0522. All nine aircraft made good drops, but to their horror, about 500 yards from the target, all the torpedo tracks ended, four of the nine exploding. Not equipped with proper maps, the attackers had not realized the target was protected by shoals! 

Meanwhile, 818 Squadron sighted a Maas-class destroyer in Trondheim fjord heading towards the harbour. Opting for her, eight of the nine attackers were able to release their "kippers". Two exploded prematurely, the other six being avoided. It was a very disheartened band that returned to the ship at 0630.

Later that morning, Furious dispatched a two Swordfish of 816 Squadron on an armed reconnaissance over Trondheim harbour. After completing the main task, they opted to dive bomb the German destroyer still anchored in Skjoren Fjord at 1220. Unfortunately, all the six bombs dropped fell wide of the mark. Both aircraft returned safely at 1345..

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: HMS ARK ROYAL and HMS GLORIOUS arrive independently at Malta, and then depart for Gibraltar escorted by the destroyers HMAS STUART, HMS BULLDOG, HMS WESTCOTT and HMS WISHARD.

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April 11th, 1941 (FRIDAY)

RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: 105 Squadron makes a nuisance raid on Brest.

FRANCE: VICHY FRANCE: Under American pressure Darlan agrees not to move the battleship 'Dunkerque' from Oran to dry dock in Toulon lest it should fall into German hands.

GERMANY: Colditz: A French officer, Lieutenant Alain le Ray, is the first PoW to escape from the castle now serving as a prison camp.

BALKANS: General Ambrosio and the Italian 2nd Army advances from Trieste toward Ljubljana. Other Italian units advance south down the Dalmatian coast.

It is announced that the Germans have captured Monastir and its Pass.

GREECE: Florina gap: The Germans attack near Vevi and Kelli in front of Amynteion, with tanks supported by infantry. It is beaten off with considerable enemy casualties.

LIBYA: The Germans cut the Tobruk-Bardia road putting Tobruk in a state of siege. 
Australian Infantry and British Artillery prove too strong.

The President also cables Churchill to tell him that he proposes to extend the US Security Zone to 26 degrees west. He asks for details of British convoys to be relayed to the US Navy so that patrol units may meet them. In return the Americans will pass on intelligence of U-boats operating within the Security Zone.

US President Roosevelt issues an executive order creating the Office of Price Administration. Leon Henderson is appointed Director with the charge of controlling prices and profits while balancing civilian and defence needs. Later in the war, Director Henderson will ride a bicycle to his office as a way of promoting petrol rationing.

Most Americans complied with the OPA but the agency could not quell the spread of black markets for certain items, including meat, petrol and cigarettes.

The BuAer issues a requirement for a bomber capable of carrying a 5-ton bomb-load for 5,000 miles and return. This leads to the Northrop B-35 and the Convair B-36. (Marc James Small)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Destroyer USS Niblack (DD-424), while rescuing survivors of a Dutch freighter torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-52 the day before after the dispersal of convoy OB 306, depth charges what is believed to be a German U-boat off Iceland. The German Navy investigates and concludes that none of their submarines are in the vicinity at the time of Niblack's attack. The U.S. Navy's conclusion is that Niblack has depth-charged a false contact.

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April 11th, 1942 (SATURDAY)

U.S.S.R.: Russian landings begin at Eupatoriya, Crimea, but are blocked by the German 11th Army.

The Russians attack the Finnish positions in Aunus (Olonets) north of Lake Ladoga. The offensive is aimed at the dividing line between the Finnish 11th and 17th divisions (which is also the border of the V and VI Corps), and hits a stretch of thinly manned wilderness. After some initial difficulties, the Finnish troops are able to encircle the attacking Russian spearheads, and the last Russian pockets surrender on the 20th April. After the battle, Finns count some 10 000 Russian dead on the battlefield, the Finnish losses are 440 men.  (Note these figures are from Finnish sources, the actual numbers of Soviet dead may be somewhat lower.)

MALTA: Whilst in dry dock at Valetta, Malta, destroyer HMS Kingston is bombed in an air raid and damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties. (Alex Gordon)(108)

BURMA: Japan attacks British positions, pushing towards Migyaungye.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The submarine USS Trout (SS-202) torpedoes a Japanese fleet tanker west of Shionomisaki, Japan.

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April 11th, 1943 (SUNDAY)

GERMANY: Rastenburg: After long delays, Hitler approves Admiral Dönitz's request for more U-boats; tank and aircraft manufacture, however, still have priority for scarce steel supplies.

Hermann Göring, the man whose Luftwaffe was going to bring Britain to its knees, has decreed that air-raid patrol duty will be compulsory for every able-bodied German. Women will not be spared their place in the duty rotas which are now being organized in the wake of Göring's decree, issued on 2 April. Factory workers are also being drafted into civil defence or the emergency services as they battle to minimize the effect of the raids on production. The raids have caused particular damage to the rail and road networks, making travel difficult as well as dangerous. 

U.S.S.R.: German planning for an attack on the Kursk salient begins. A clear massive attack must be prepared to have any chance of success.

Baltic Fleet and Ladoga Flotilla: MS "N126" (ex-BP "N66") - unknown case, in Volkhovskaya mouth of Ladoga Lake (later raised and went into service) (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

ITALY: Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack Naples harbour. AA is intense and fighters attack the bombers from all sides, knocking 1 down. The B-24s claim destruction of 3 fighters.

SARDINIA: During the night of 10/11 April, Northwest African Air Force Wellingtons bomb airfields at Decimomannu and Monserrato.

SICILY: Northwest African Air Force B-17s strike the harbours of Marsala and Trapani.

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack motor transport and troop concentrations north of Sfax as Allied ground troops push toward Sousse. 

Northwest African Air Force P-38s carry out fighter sweeps and reconnaissance flights, claiming numerous aircraft shot down, including 21 transports destroyed between Cap Bon and Marsala. B-26 Marauders bomb Oudna Airfield, B-25s hit Sainte-Marie du Zit Airfield, and B-17s strike the harbour of Tunis. Fighter-bombers and A-20 Havocs attack trucks south of the Enfidaville road and east of Kairouan, the Sousse docks, and numerous other targets in the northeast quarter of Tunisia.

NEW GUINEA: Japanese raids at Oro Bay results in two freighters sunk.

Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Lae and Finschhafen while individual B-24s bomb Finschhafen 3 times and hit Madang once. After 1200 hours, 21 Aichi D3A, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers (Allied Code Name "Val") escorted by 72 Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters (Allied Code Name "Zeke"), attack Oro Bay and sink 2 merchant vessels and damage a RAN corvette; P-38s and P-40 intercept and down 7 "Vals" and 11 "Zekes."

HMAS Pirie, a minesweeper, and the British vessel "Hanyang" bound from Milne Bay to Oro Bay were attacked by a large force of enemy planes. Pirie fought back and brought down one of the attacking planes. She sustained a direct hit from a bomb, which tore through the bridge structure and exploded near the forward gun. Seven crew members were killed. The Hanyang was also damaged during the attack and had three fatal causalities. (Denis Peck)

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: RAAF No. 18 Squadron B-25s hit Vila Salazar and another village on Timor.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force P-38s and F4F Wildcats and F4U Corsairs strafe gun positions in the Rekata Bay area. B-17s bomb airfields at Kahili on Bougainville and on Ballale Island.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 4 B-25 Mitchells, 22 P-40s, and 8 P-38 Lightnings to hit Kiska 5 times. The last mission aborts due to weather. The other 4 missions bomb various targets starting large fires and some fighters strafe Little Kiska.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: USS Branch (DD-197), commissioned as HMS Beverley (H-64) on 8 Oct. 1940, part of the destroyers-for-bases deal, is sunk. She is escorting convoy ONS.176, and already damaged in a collision with merchant ship Cairnvalona. Beverley was torpedoed by U-188 was sunk with the loss of all but four of the ship's company of 152 SW of Iceland at 62 19N, 40 28W. (Ron Babuka and Alex Gordon (108))

Two US armed freighters are sunk by German submarines U-195 and U-615 in the North Atlantic.

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April 11th, 1944 (TUESDAY)

NETHERLANDS: The Hague: Six RAF Mosquitoes of No. 613 Squadron precision-bomb the Gestapo offices in the Kleizkamp Art Galleries, destroying files on the resistance and Dutch people earmarked for deportation. (22)

BELGIUM: 229 Ninth Air Force B-26s and 36 A-20s, including 3 dropping Window, attack Montignies Airfield at Charleroi, military installations on the coast, and Chievres Airfield.

FRANCE: During the Eighth Air Force's Mission 299: 5 B-17s drop 2 million leaflets on Paris, Rouen, Le Mans, Rennes, Vichy, Lyon, Limoges and Toulouse between 2301 and 0055 hours local without loss. 

90+ Ninth Air Force P-47s dive-bomb a military installation and Gael Airfield, France.

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 298: 917 bombers and 819 fighters are dispatched in 3 separate forces to bomb production centres (primarily fighter aircraft factories) and targets of opportunity in northern Germany; 64 bombers are lost, one of the heaviest single-day losses of World War II. The bombers also drop 2.4 million leaflets:

- 108 B-17s hit aviation industry targets at Sorau and 17 bomb Cottbus; 127 hit Stettin, 20 hit Trechel, 16 hit Dobberphel and 23 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 12-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 19 B-17s are lost.

- 172 B-17s hit Rostock, 52 hit Politz, 35 hit the industrial area at Arnimswalde and 15 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 34-20-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 33 B-17s are lost.

- 121 B-24s hit aviation industry targets at Oschersleben and 99 bomb Bernburg; 9 bomb aviation industry targets at Halberstadt, 9 bomb Eisleben and 5 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 27-2-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 B-24s are lost.

Escort is provided by 124 P-38s, 454 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts and 241 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs; the fighters claim 51-5-25 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 65-0-67 on the grounds: 7 P-47s and 9 P-51s are lost.

One of the B-24s lost was 42-7522, that crashed 2km north of Bernburg. There are three survivors of the crash. (Byron Blake)

U.S.S.R.: Kerda falls to the Soviets. They also take Kerch, in the Crimea, forcing a German retreat to Sevastopol.

ITALY: Increased German aerial mining activities are noted off Anzio.

Twelfth Air Force B-25s hit the Montalto di Castro railroad bridge, while B-26s hit marshalling yards at Ancona and Siena; fighter-bombers concentrate on attacks against railroad targets northeast of Rome and buildings inland from the east coast; tracks are hit hard in the Arezzo-Pontassieve area as are stations at Maccarese and Cesano; an overpass, bridges, railroad cars and dumps throughout central Italy are attacked, as is the town of Gaeta.

BURMA: Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 43 2:30 Flight Time Hailakandi, Assam to Naumgkan, Burma. Bombed ground troops and strafed village. (Chuck Baisden)

17 Tenth Air Force P-51s and B-25s fly ground support missions and bomb a road near Maungkan; Mogaung Valley targets are attacked by 50+ fighter-bombers and 2 B-25s; targets include HQ and stores at Sahmaw, HQ and ammunition dump southwest of Mogaung, troops at Myitkyina, and targets of opportunity to the south, a gun position south of Kamaing, and HQ at Waingmaw.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 3 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s hit railroad targets of opportunity north of Vinh and seriously damage a bridge south of Thanh Hoa.

JAPAN: Of 3 Eleventh Air Force B-24s attempting to fly a photographic and bombing run over Matsuwa Island, Kurile Islands installations, 2 must turn back; the third bombs the runway area.

NEW GUINEA: 80+ Fifth Air Force A-20s and B-25s, supported by 30 P-47s and P-40s, blast AA positions, stores, dumps and personnel areas at Hollandia; 50+ B-24s bomb barges, AA guns, and other targets along Hansa Bay which is also hit by 12 B-25s. 12 other B-25s bomb targets on Karkar Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Two Japanese warships are sunk:

- AUSNPB4Y-1 Liberator of Bombing Squadron One Hundred Eight (VB-108) based on Eniwetok attacks an enemy submarine while on patrol, claiming a sinking. This was undoubtedly HIJMS I-174, which departed on 3 April 1944 from the Inland Sea of Japan for the Marshall Islands. It failed to answer when called on 11 April 1944.

- The submarine USS Redfin (SS-272) sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS Akigumo in the eastern entrance to Basilan Strait in the Philippines.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville Island, 20+ Thirteenth Air Force fighter-bombers are dispatched against coastal gun positions but fail to locate their objective; 12 of the fighter-bombers bomb Aitara while 2 claim destruction of a bridge near Mawareka.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: About 40 Thirteenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit the eastern section of Rabaul on New Britain Island while 12 others strike Talili Bay ammunition dump; 24 B-25s blast supply areas at Ratawul.

CENTRAL PACIFIC: Seventh Air Force B-25s from the Gilbert Islands hit Ponape Island in the Caroline Islands, rearm at Majuro Atoll, and carry out a shuttle mission against Jaluit and Maloelap Atolls in the Marshall Islands.

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April 11th, 1945 (WEDNESDAY)

GERMANY: The US 9th Army reaches the River Elbe. The US 3rd Army takes Weimar.

Advancing close behind the US 6th Armoured Division, the 76th Division reaches the Butstaedt area. (Skip Guidry)

US troops find an intact V-weapon plant at Nordhausen, and remove as much material as possible to keep it from the Russians. The first troops arrive at 11.30am after being radioed in by Pvt. Galione who was calling them into neighbouring Mittelbau Dora camp. Instead they got lost and stumbled upon Nordhausen. (Mary Galione-Nahas)

Buchenwald concentration camp is liberated.

The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 941: 1,303 bombers and 913 fighters are dispatched to hit a variety of targets in Germany; 1 B-17 is lost:

- 300 B-17s bomb the Freiham oil depot and 133 attack the Kraiburg munitions plant; secondary targets hit are the munitions depot at Landshut and the marshalling yard at Treuchtlingen; 1 B-17 is lost. Escorting are 273 P-51s.

- 28 B-17s bomb the munitions depot and 82 hit the marshalling yard at Landshut; 131 attack the airfield and 79 hit the marshalling yard (79) at Ingolstadt; 70 bomb the marshalling yards at Treuchtlingen and 108 bomb the marshalling yards at Donauworth without loss. The escort is 281 P-51s.

- 79 B-24s bomb the Obertraubling Airfield, 31 hit a munitions depot while 80 attack an oil depot at Regensburg; 71 bomb the marshalling yards at Neumarkt and 73 hit the marshalling yards at Amberg. 211 P-47s and P-51s escort.

The Ninth Air Force dispatches 689 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s to strike marshalling yards at Bernburg, Oschersleben, Zwickau, and Kothen, the Naumburg ordnance depot, Bamberg motor transport plant, and several other targets; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, a leaflet mission, and armed reconnaissance (claiming 43 aircraft shot down), and support the US 3d and 9th Armored Divisions in the Nordhausen and Ringleben-Sachsenburg-Rothenberga areas, the 2d Armored Division as it reaches the Elbe River south of Magdeburg in a record drive of 57 miles (92 km), the XVI Corps along the Ruhr River at Witten, the XX Corps as it crosses the Saale River at Weimar and overruns the Buchenwald concentration camp and Allied prisoner camp nearby, the XII Corps in the Coburg-Rottenbach area, and the VIII Corps as it approaches the Saale River south of Weimar.

40 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s dive-bomb the Rosenheim railroad bridge. 

40 other P-38s and 29 P-51s strafe rail traffic in the Munich and Regensburg; Plzen, Czechoslovakia; and Linz and Salzburg, Austria areas.

An element of the US 6th ('Super Sixth') Armored Division's, 9th Armored Inf.Bn. [Task Force 9 - Combat Team Bennett]. entered the vast Thuringian camp at approx.1600 on April 11th, 1945. Driving in an M8 Armored recon vehicle, Capt. Frederic Keffer, Spokane, Wash., T/Sgt. Herbert Gottschalk, Bronx N.Y., Sgt. Harry Ward, Seattle, Wash., (driver), and Pfc.James Hoyt, Oxford, Iowa, radio-operator), were the first US Army troops to enter the infamous 'KL Buchenwald' eight (8) kilometres north of Weimar on the Ettersberg. There, an estimated 21,000 political and military prisoners, slave-labourers, and Jews, including ca.900 children, were found in various states of starvation and broken health after years of terror under the Nazi regime. Although it was not a site of planned Genocide such as Auschwitz or Treblinka, mass killings of prisoners (including military POWs) took place during the war years through selection, forced-labour, disease, starvation, and medical-experimentation imposed by the SS. More than 250,000 people were held captive in the camp between 1937 and 1945, and an estimated 50,000 prisoners perished during this period.

     Gedenkstaette Buchenwald:

http://www.buchenwald.de/index.html

[See also:

http://www.koch-athene.de/6th/weimar-buchenwald/bu-hot2.htm

and:

http://members.aol.com/super6th/ - 6th Armored Div. Vet website.] (Russ Folsom)

AUSTRIA: Tolbukhin reaches the Danube Canal in Vienna.

ITALY: Carrera falls to the US 92nd Division.

During the night of 10/11 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26s bomb bridges at Lavis, Ala, Rovereto, San Michele all'Adige, and San Ambrogio di Valpolicella, and hit vehicles, Po River crossings and targets of opportunity in the Po Valley; medium bombers continue to support British Eighth Army forces between Imola and Comacchio Lagoon, bomb guns south of La Spezia in front of the US Fifth Army advance, and bomb 4 bridges on the Brenner line; XXII Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers also fly support on the Eighth Army front, and hit communications (including the Brenner line) and fuel and ammunition dumps in the north.

544 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and B-17s hit communications in northern Italy, concentrating on the transportation system feeding into the Brenner area, in an effort to hamper the enemy's supply and escape routes; the bombers bomb bridges at Padua, Vipiteno, Campodazzo, Ponte Gardena, and Campo di Trens, marshalling yards at Bronzolo and Ora, a vehicle repair shop at Osoppo, and a fuel depot at Goito. 250+ fighters escort the bomber missions.

INDIAN OCEAN: Sabang is shelled by Admiral Walker's British Eastern Fleet. BB Queen Elizabeth and French BB Richelieu are part of this fleet.

BURMA: British troops capture Pyawbe, opening the route to Rangoon.

54 Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit troop and supply concentrations near Mong Kung and Mong Nim, attack trucks and targets of opportunity in other areas behind the battleline, and sweep several roads south of the bomb line; transports fly 424 sorties carrying men and supplies to forward areas.

CHINA: 7 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb Hsihhsiassuchi, 5 pound the Pinglo barracks and storage area, and a few others hit the Yanglowtung railroad yards and targets of opportunity east of Paoching; 150+ fighter-bombers attack troops, river, road and rail traffic, and a variety of targets of opportunity scattered throughout southern and eastern China and northern French Indochina.

FORMOSA: Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Okayama Airfield while B-25s hit several industrial targets including the Ts'eng Wen sugar refinery, Seiko, Sunbon-sha, and Shasekiryo.

JAPAN: Off Okinawa, US BB Missouri and CV Enterprise are damaged by Kamikaze attacks. 
Missouri opened fire on a low-flying suicide plane which penetrated the curtain of her shells to crash just below her main deck level. The starboard wing of the plane was thrown far forward, starting a gasoline fire at 5-inch Gunmount No. 3 (The one used by the Marine detachment on the ship). Yet the battleship suffered only superficial damage (a small dent in the side of the deck, still visible today), and the fire was brought quickly under control. The Missouri remained on station as part of Task Force 58.

RE: USS Enterprise (CV-6)

A single Kamikaze plummeted over her flight deck and glanced over the side and its engine damaged the ship at the waterline. The bomb the aircraft was carrying, exploded beneath the ship, lifting the hull about 3 feet (91 cm), rupturing eight fuel tanks and damaging some machinery. Enterprise retired to Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands for repairs.

Kamikazes also damage the destroyer USS Kidd (DD-661) [Note: The USS Kidd [DD-661] is now berthed on the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge. (Tom Hickox)] [The USS Kidd [DD-661] is also the only unaltered Fletcher class destroyer in the world. (Skip Guidry)], destroyer escort USS Samuel S. Miles (DE-183) and an LCS; the carrier USS Essex (CV-9) and destroyer USS Hale (DD-642) are damaged by bombs; and the destroyers USS Black (DD-666) and USS Hank (DD-702) are damaged by strafing.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES:  A battalion combat team of the US Army's 164th Regimental Team, Americal Division, makes an unopposed landing on Bohol Island (9.50N, 124.10E), Visayan Islands on a beach controlled by Filipino guerrillas.

24 Seventh Air Force 24 B-24s from Angaur Island, Palau Islands, hit the Cotabato supply and personnel areas on Mindanao.

Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Cotabato on Mindanao. On Negros Island, B-24s hit Japanese defences northwest of Guadalupe and A-20s hit a bivouac east of Negritos. On Luzon Island B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers bomb numerous targets including Fuga Island, the Cagayan Valley areas, Santa Fe, bridges and other communications in Iligan, Naguilian, Manga, and Tuguegarao, and troops and supply concentration north of Imugan; troop support strikes are flown in the Solvec Cove area and east of Manila; Baguio and a troop concentration in the Batangas area and on the Bicol peninsula are bombed; at Iriga, defences are hit with napalm.

BORNEO: Far East Air Forces P-38s attack gun positions at Tarakan.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: 18 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb positions on Eten Island in Truk Atoll.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: RAAF, USAAF"> USAAF 5th Air Force and USAAF 13th Air Force conduct preparation raids on targets throughout the East Indies (including Surabaya) before the landings by 1 Australian Corps in Borneo. (Mike Mitchell)

PACIFIC OCEAN: The Japanese lose 5 ships at sea:

- Submarine USS Parche (SS-384) sinks an auxiliary minesweeper off Todogasaki, Japan.

- Submarine USS Spadefish (SS-411) sinks an auxiliary minesweeper off Tokckok-Kundo, Japan.

- RAF Liberator G.R. Mk VIs of No. 203 Squadron based at Kankesanturai, Ceylon, sink a submarine chaser and an auxiliary netlayer in the Andaman Sea in the Bay of Bengal.

- A mine sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser off Futaoi-Jima, Shimonoseki, Japan.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Eleventh Air Force P-38s together with USN aircraft pick up bomb filled paper balloons over Attu and east of Adak; one balloon over Attu is shot down and portions of the gondola are recovered in Massacre Bay.

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