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July 24th, 1939 (MONDAY)

USA: Thomas C Hart promoted to full Admiral and assumes command of the US Asiatic Fleet in Shanghai. (Marc Small)

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24 July 1940

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July 24th, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - naval and merchant shipping at Hamburg.
10 Sqn. Eight aircraft. Weather bad. Two bombed.
58 Sqn. Five aircraft. Two returned early, one bombed.

RAF Fighter Command: Weather cloudy, rain. Attacks on convoys in Channel. 8 enemy aircraft destroyed, 3 RAF aircraft lost.

[Losses quoted now for the Battle of Britain are as given in the official history, The Defence of the United Kingdom.]

Mersey Estuary: He 111s mining. Searchlight crews illuminate one which fires back upon their sites at New Brighton. That, or another He-111 was then illuminated again and held for three minutes. Coastguards at Hoylake and Formby Point independently claim that it crashed into the sea as a result of dazzle.

A low-flying single He-111 drops HE and incendiaries onto Glasgow’s Hillington Industrial Estate, damaging a printing works, a sugar and oil cake factory and injuring 18 people. Soon after Welsh-based 92 Sqn. Spitfires (K9998, N3167, N3297) engage a Ju88 of KG51 over Porthcawl. The Junkers is later shot down by 87 Sqn. Pilot Officer R.P. Beamont near Lynton, Devon.

Bombs fall for the first time on Renfrew, Samford, Waltham and Weybridge.

Later in the morning 18 Do17s escorted by JG52 attempt to bomb a convoy in the Thames Estuary. Thus ensuing what 54 Sqn called ‘The Battle of the Thames Estuary’. A ship is forced to run for shallow water and 54 Sqn while protecting have their ‘biggest fight since Dunkirk.’ So furious and confused is the fight over Margate that ‘54’ claim 16 ‘109s. Luftwaffe records suggest two, possibly three. Pilot Officer Allen (R6812) engages a 109 near Margate, the his engine stops. When it comes to life again he attempts to reach RAF Manston, but instead his aircraft spun in and crashed on an electricity sub-station in Omer Road, Cliftonville. Sergeant G.R. Collett (N3192) chases a Bf109 for a considerable distance, only to run out of fuel and crash at Sizewell, Suffolk. 1 Bf109 comes down in Dane Valley Road and another in Byron Avenue, Margate, where the pilot became a prize for the local AFS men. Nos. 65 and 610 Sqns had been vectored to Dover to engage the Bf109s when the latter were getting short of fuel and vulnerable. Unfortunately the plan misfired when a fresh formations of 109s arrived to deal with just such schemes. Fighter Command lost a pilot and two aircraft in the engagement and the Luftwaffe five Bf109s of JG26 and JG52.

ENGLISH CHANNEL:

Some 383 Frenchmen lost their lives tonight when their ship was sunk by a German motor torpedo boat off the coast of Brittany. The Meknes left Southampton early today carrying 1,277 French naval officers and ratings who were being repatriated to France.

She was showing all lights and had a searchlight trained on the French ensign when she was attacked at 10.30 pm. One officer said: "Why would they torpedo us when the war was over as far as we were concerned?"

FINLAND: The advance of Karelian Army is stopped north of Lake Ladoga after Col. Lagus' 5th Div. reaches Tuulos, about 20 miles east of pre-1939 border. After beating back Soviet counter-attacks the Finnish troops regroup into defence. More to north (in northern Karelia) the Finnish advance is slowed down by heavy Soviet resistance in well-prepared positions.

PALESTINE: Italian Planes bomb Jerusalem killing 46.

ROMANIA: The government seizes British oil interests.

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24 July 1941

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July 24th, 1941 (THURSDAY)

FRANCE: The Japanese government presented an ultimatum to the Vichy government, on the 19th, demanding bases in southern Indochina. Vichy has conceded today. The Japanese will begin to occupy these bases on the 28th. The ultimatum was decided in the Japanese Imperial Conference on July 2.

La Pallice: RAF Bomber Command sends 15 Halifaxes which score 5 hits and badly damage the Scharnhorst , 3,000 tons of water get on the ship. Heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen is also damaged. (Navy News)

POLAND: An Einsatzgruppe [action squad] commander reports back to Berlin that 4,435 Jews have been liquidated in the town of Lachowicze.

U.S.S.R.: After a long siege, the Soviet defenders of Brest-Litovsk are forced to surrender.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: (Andrew Galliano) Following Operation Substance a group of empty merchantmen leave Malta for Gibraltar. South of Sardinia they are attacked by SM79s torpedo bombers (280 Sqd), the tanker Hoegh Hood is sunk.

PORTUGAL: The transport USS West Point (AP-23) arrives at Lisbon, Portugal and disembarks German and Italian consular officials who left the U.S. because their offices were closed.

CANADA: Patrol vessel HMCS Andamara assigned to Vancouver, British Columbia.

U.S.A.: The government denounces the Japanese actions in Indochina.

FDR publicly questions the political logic of exporting to Japan while a gasoline shortage is expected on the US east coast following the loan of 50 US tankers to take Lend-Lease oil to New York for transfer to British ships. The 50 tankers comprise 20% of the Texas-to-east-coast fleet which deliver 96% of the east coast's oil. (Edward S. Miller)

30 P-40Cs and three Stearman PT-13 Kaydets of the 33rd Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) are loaded on the aircraft carrier USS Wasp at Naval Operating Base Norfolk, Virginia. The ship will sail for Iceland on 28 July and the aircraft are launched on the morning of 6 August 1941.

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24 July 1942

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July 24th, 1942 (FRIDAY)

U.S.S.R.: Rostov is captured by German troops.

NORTH AFRICA: In Libya during the night of 23/24 July, US Army, Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF) B-17 Flying Fortresses attack Tobruk harbor while B-24 Liberators hit the harbour at Benghazi.
RAF Beauforts stage attacks in the MEDITERRANEAN SEA:.

Auchinleck orders the attacks codenamed Operation Splendour, to be renewed. the GOC 9th Infantry Division (Australian), Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead questiond this order, explaining that his men had done enough attacking and have no faith that they will receive armoured support. Morshead insists on appealing to the Australian government before agreeing to the plan. (Jay Stone)(139)

NEW GUINEA: Allied Air Force B-26 Marauders, A-24 Dauntlesses, and fighters continue to pound AA positions and enemy troops at Gona as the Japanese continue to push inland toward Kokoda.

FIJI: US troops arrive on the island. (Denis Peck)

U.S.A.: The U.S. Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics issues a Planning Directive calling for the procurement of 4 Sikorsky helicopters for study and development by Navy and Coast Guard aviation forces.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) issue a statement that heavy and medium bomber groups will he shifted from Operation BOLERO assignments, i.e., the buildup of U.S. armed forces in the UK for an attack on Europe, to Africa for Operations TORCH, the plan for Allied landings in North and Northwest Africa in November 1942. BOLERO resources are further depleted by a decision to send 15 combat groups to the Pacific theater.

The British and Americans finally agree that an invasion of Europe, "Sledgehammer," is out of the question for 1942. But they do agree to action in North Africa, in the form of an American-led invasion of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, all controlled by the pro-Axis Vichy French. The Allies believe that an American-led invasion of French North Africa could shift wavering French generals towards the Allied side, thus putting powerful Vichy French holdings, if not the country, into the war on the Allied side, and trapping Rommel's Afrika Korps in Libya in a giant vice. (Denis Peck)

Alabama Gov. Frank Dixon refuses to accept a US prison work defence supply contract because it bars discrimination. Dixon fulminates against Federal agencies trying to "break down the principle of race segregation." Gov. Eugene Talmadge of Georgia, another fire-eater, writes that he will enforce Jim Crow laws and warns any blacks opposing segregation to "stay out of Georgia." (Denis Peck)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: While attacking convoy ON 113, German submarine U-90 (Type VIIC) is sunk by the destroyer HMCS  St. Croix at 48.12N, 40.56W; all 44 crewman are lost. (Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)

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24 July 1943

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July 24th, 1943 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The VIII Bomber Command flies Mission Number 75 attack 3 targets in Norway. This is Eighth Air Force's first mission to Norway and its longest (1,900 miles or 3,040 km round trip) to date.

- 167 B-17s hit the nitrate works at Heroya; 1 B-17 is lost. Work at the plant is disrupted for 3.5 months, and unfinished aluminium and magnesium plants are damaged and subsequently abandoned by the Germans.

- 41 B-17s bomb the port area at Trondheim without loss. One of the casualties is the German submarine U-622 which is sunk near Trondheim, in position 63.27N, 10.23E.

- 84 B-17's are dispatched against the port area at Bergen; they find 10/10 cloud cover and return to base with their bombs.

German submarine U-459 is scuttled after being attacked by an RAF Wellington Mk XII 'Q' of No. 172 Squadron and a Wellington Mk XI 'V' of No 547 Squadron near Cape Ortegal, Spain, at 45.53N, 10,38W. 41 of the 60 crewmen survive. U-459 was a "Milchkuh" operating a fuelling and replenishment service for 72 other U-boats. (Jack McKillop and Alex Gordon)

Bomber Command launched Operation Gomorrah against Hamburg tonight with a devastating raid in which 791 heavy bombers set fire to large areas of this important target. 12 planes did not return. Much of the success of the air raid was due to "Window", strips of metallic foil which so confused the radar-controlled defences that the German nightfighters were stumbling round the sky and the flak was being fired blind. Other attacks on Hamburg are planned.
In tonights raid 2,300 tons of incendiaries are dropped in a few hours equivalent to the explosive power of the five most destructive raids on London.

More than 1,500 German civilians are killed.

U.S.S.R.: German aircraft bomb Leningrad, killing 210 people.

ITALY, Rome: The Fascist Grand Council meets for the first time since 1939. The debate and votes go against Mussolini. The future is unclear at this time.
Rome: Mussolini's toadies turned on their wretched leader today and voted him down at the first meeting of the Fascist Grand Council since 1939. By 19 votes to eight a resolution called for Italy's return to a constitutional monarchy and a democratic parliament.

Il Duce, newly returned from a meeting with Hitler, appears to be ignoring the palace revolt. Until now, the council has existed only to rubber-stamp the dictator's decisions. The Fascist rebels are led by Dino Grandi, one of Mussolini's former close friends and admirers, Giuseppe Bottai and the Duce's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano. What the Duce does not realize is that he is the target of a far wider plot involving Crown Prince Umberto and leading generals.

Added to the low morale of Italy's constantly-defeated army and recent huge losses by the air force, recent Fascist moves by Carlo Scorza, the virtual dictator of Italy's home front, aimed at tightening the party's grip on all sections of society appear finally to have galvanized the opposition.

Vatican: As the stench of burning still hangs over the heavily-bombed suburbs of Rome, the Pope has appealed to all combatants to avoid further bombing of the Eternal City. The Vatican has denied that the Pope wrote to President Roosevelt condemning the raids - which have badly damaged one church in the city. Vatican radio said: "The Pope is impartial. He does not intend to increase the hatred between the opposing sides. However, Rome is unique and both sides should recognize this. The Pope knows that churches have been destroyed in England too."

The US Seventh Army continues to mop up the western part of Sicily. Further east, the US 45th Infantry Division takes Cefalu and Castelbuono while the US 1st Infantry Division seizes Gangi and heads toward Nicosia.

In the air, Ninth Air Force P-40s fly armored reconnaissance and fighter-bomber missions over the Adrano and Milazzo areas; the attacks are concentrated against motor transport targets. In Sicily, Northwest African Tactical Air Force fighter-bombers hit barges, warships, and docks in the Messina-Milazzo area and transport northeast of Mount Etna.

Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17s and B-25 Mitchells bomb the railroad yards at Bologna and B-26 Marauders hit the railroad yards at Paola.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On New Georgia Island, U.S. destroyers bombard Bairoko Harbor and Kolombangara Island. Later in the day, 48 Thirteenth Air Force fighters join US Navy and Marine SBD Dauntlesses and TBF Avengers in support of ground forces in the Bairoko area. Later in the day gun positions at Bibolo Hill near Munda are hit, along with other targets.

PACIFIC: In the Central Pacific, 8 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Midway Island attack Wake Island, bombing oil storage, barracks, and a gun emplacement. 20-30 A6M "Zekes" attack the formation; 9 "Zekes" are claimed destroyed; 1 B-24 is lost in a collision with a falling Japanese fighter.

The submarine USS Tinosa (SS-283) fires 15 torpedoes at the Japanese oiler SS No. 3 Tonan Maru west of Truk Atoll. Thirteen torpedoes hit the ship but only two explode. This problem involving the exploder in the Mk. XIV torpedo has exasperated USN submariners in the Pacific and an investigation is launched which eventually identifies the problem. After the attack, the Japanese vessel is towed to Truk and is used as a floating oil storage tank.

BOUGAINVILLE: The submarine USS Guardfish arrives to evacuate the Australian coastwatcher garrison under Jack Read. the Guardfish is commanded by Lt-Cmdr N. G. Ward who had been XO of the USS Gato. Today the submarine brings out 22 soldiers, two downed airmen, seven Chinese civilians, 24 native police and scouts plus four of their wives and children, one Fijian and two coastwatchers. (Michael Alexander)
 

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: 62 Eleventh Air Force P-40s fly 9 missions to Kiska Island, 2 of them with Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots, bombing the runway and scoring many hits. An Anti-Aircraft battery takes a direct hit and explodes and Anti-Aircraft guns are strafed on North Head and Little Kiska Island. Intense Anti-Aircraft fire downs 1 P-40.

U.S.A.: Ella Mae Morse's "Get On Board, Little Chillun" with Freddie Slack's Band is released.

"You'll Never Know" by Dick Haymes reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. The song is from the motion picture "Hello Frisco, Hello" starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Lynn Bari and June Havoc. This song, which debuted on the charts on 10 July 1943, was charted for 16 weeks, was Number 1 for 4 weeks and was ranked Number 5 for the year 1943.

The radio program "Foreign Assignment" makes its debut on the Mutual Radio Network. The title role of Brian Barry is played by Jan Jostyn, who also starred in another popular radio drama, "Mr. District Attorney." The plot has foreign correspondent Barry involved with wartime espionage, especially in occupied France. The show, broadcast on Saturday nights at 2030 hours Eastern time, remain on the air until January 1944.



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24 July 1944

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July 24th, 1944 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Captain Glenn Miller, the big band leader, is promoted to Major in recognition of his and his band's hard work. In one month they played at 35 different bases and during their 'spare time' did 40 broadcasts.

Frigate HMCS Ribble (ex HMS Ribble) commissioned in Scotland.

FRANCE: The US Cobra attack west of St Lo is postponed due to bad weather.

Whilst acting as HQ ship for troops ashore destroyer HMS Goathland is mined NNE of Courcelles. She is towed back to Portsmouth but not repaired. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Mission 492: Heavy bombers are scheduled to participate in a US First Army offensive (Operation COBRA) to penetrate the German defenses west of Saint-Lo and secure Coutances; 1,586 bombers and 671 fighters are dispatched but bad weather causes the ground forces to delay the attack until next day, and cloud conditions cause 1,102 bombers to abort. Escort for the bombers is provided by 478 P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; they claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 3 P-38s are lost. Targets hit are:

1. Of 909 B-17s dispatched, 343 hit the Periers/St Lo area and 35 hit the Granville railroad junction; a B-17 is lost.

2. 109 of 677 B-24s dispatched bomb targets of opportunity including road intersections and rail lines; 2 B-24s are lost.

143 P-51s fly a sweep over Lechfeld and Leipheim Airfields in Germany; they claim 3-0-0 aircraft in the air and 12-0-16 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.

Mission 493: 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night. Six B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

11 groups of Ninth Air Force bombers scheduled to participate in Operation COBRA have missions cancelled due to weather; 5 groups of B-26s hit rail bridges and 5 groups of B-26s and A-20 Havocs strike 3 fuel and ammunition dumps; fighters fly escort to the bombers, fly area cover, bomb installations in the Laval-Nantes-Le Mans-Chartres areas, and hit bridges and supply dumps in support of the US First Army.

The postponement order did not reach all crews in time. Friendly casualties occurred in three instances. When another plane in the formation was destroyed by flak, a bombardier accidentally toggled his bomb load on an Allied airstrip, damaging planes and equipment. A lead bombardier experienced "difficulty with the bomb release mechanism" and part of his load dropped, causing eleven other bombardiers to drop, thinking they were over the target. Finally, a formation of five medium bombers from the Ninth Air Force dropped seven miles north of the target, amid the 30th Infantry Division. This latter strike inflicted the heaviest casualties 25 killed and 131 wounded-on the first day that Cobra was attempted. 

ITALY: The Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 200+ bombers to attack targets in France and Italy; B-17s attack tank repair and ball bearing works in Turin, Italy; B-24s attack the harbor at Genoa, Italy, and airfields at Valence/La Tresorerie and Les Chanoines, France; fighters hit troop concentrations at Sjenica, Prijepolje, Pljevlja, and Andrijevica; fighters provide escort and strafe the Prizren, Yugoslavia area.

GERMANY: U-1164 (Type VIIC/41) Is stricken at Kiel after being damaged by British bombs. She is broken up. (Alex Gordon)

POLAND: Lublin falls to Rokossovsky. The First Ukraine Front captures the site of Majdanek Concentration Camp.
Lublin: Russian troops have discovered scenes of the utmost barbarity in the concentration camp of Majdanek on the outskirts of this Polish city. Hundreds of corpses hardly recognizable as human beings lie behind the barbed wire of the camp. The Russians also found seven sinister buildings in which people were gassed to death before being burnt in an incinerator. It seems that so great was the killing, the incinerator could not cope with all the bodies. Stories about the horrors of Hitler's death camps have been circulating in the west for some time, but this is the first time that one of the camps has been captured. The stories did not exaggerate.

EUROPE: German armed forces adopt the Nazi salute, as a gesture of solidarity.



FINLAND: Marshal Mannerheim informs the political leadership that the German help is not enough. He wants that measures are taken to free Finland from the obligations of the Ribbentrop-pact. In practice this would mean that the President of the Republic Risto Ryti should resign. There has already been a tacit agreement between the military and political leadeship that if and when the Ribbentrop-pact becomes a liability (i.e. when the time comes to make peace with Soviet Union) Ryti should resign (as he was *personally* bound by the pact) and he will be replaced by Mannerheim.

MARIANAS ISLANDS: General Schmidt's V Amphibious Corps, 15,600 Marines, lands on Tinian. TF 52, under Admiral Hill, is in direct support. Admiral's Ainsworth and Oldendorf provide fire support for these landings. The 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions are landed. Opposing them, Admiral Kakuta and Colonel Ogata with 6,200 soldiers. This landing marks the first use of Napalm in the Pacific.
This invasion is supported by Seventh Air Force P-47s based on Saipan and 52 carrier-based FM Wildcats and TBM Avengers.

During the bombardment, the USS Colorado is hit by 22 Japanese shells from their coastal batteries. She takes extensive superficial damage without any loss of combat power. (Tony DiGuilian)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Two B-25 Mitchells fly a negative shipping search.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Kokanee arrived Halifax from builder Esquimalt, British Columbia.

U.S.A.: The U.S. Navy's Court of Inquiry into the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor opens. The court is headed by Admiral Orin G. Murfin and Vice Admirals Edward C Kalbfus and Adolphus Andrews, all of whom are retired.

 

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24 July 1945

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July 24th, 1945 (TUESDAY)

FRANCE: Paris: Paul Reynaud and Edouard Daladier, both former premiers, and the former president, Albert Lebrun testify against Marshal Petain.

GERMANY: The Potsdam Declaration is agreed to by Churchill, Truman and Stalin; after Stalin is informed of the existence of the Atomic Bomb. Truman decides that it will be used, if the Japanese do not come to terms. The Potsdam agreement will be released on the 26th.

JAPAN:  Tokyo: Japan says that it is open to peace negotiations but not to threats.

15 US carriers and 4 British carriers begin a series of raids against the Japanese Home Islands. (See) Tonight the BBs will bombard Kushimoto and Shionomisaki. 
Amplifying the above, American and British carrier-based aircraft from Task Force 38 and Task Group 37.2 and begin attacks on targets in the Inland Sea, especially looking for warships hidden in coves at the Kobe and Kure naval bases. During this first day of operations, 1,747 sorties are flown and the Americans sink the battleship-carrier HIJMS Hyuga, the heavy cruiser HIJMS Tone, a training ship, a target ship and a guardboat; they also damage the aircraft carrier HIJMS Ryuho, the battleship-carrier HIJMS Ise, battleship HIJMS Haruna, heavy cruiser HIJMS Aoba, light cruiser HIJMS Oyodo, and 11 other ships. British aircraft damage the escort aircraft carrier HIJMS Kaiyo.

801 RN Sqn, Seafire a/c, S/Lt (A) Glenford "Glen" Emerson "Bid" Beddoe RNVR (Canadian) from HMS Implacable hit by flak and spun into sea during attack on Awa Shima, southern Honshu Island.

The Twentieth Air Force dispatches 625 B-29 Superfortresses in 7 missions against targets in the Nagoya and Osaka, Japan areas; 1 B-29 is lost.

- Mission 284: 82 B-29s attack the Sumitomo Light Metals Industries propeller factory at Osaka; most of the machine tools had been removed but the facility is completely wrecked; 4 others hit alternate targets; 1 B-29 is lost.

- Mission 285: 81 B-29s hit the Kawanishi Aircraft Plant at Takarazuka destroying 77% of the plant; 3 others hit alternate targets.

- Mission 286: 153 B-29s hit the Osaka Arsenal and Kuwana; the arsenal sustains additional damage amounting to 10% of the original roof area; 9 others hit alternate targets;

- Mission 287: 66 B-29s attack the Aichi aircraft plant at Eitoku; the plant sustains its heaviest damage of the war; 5 others hit alternate targets.

- Missions 288 and 289: 113 B-29s hit the urban are of the city of Tsu; 2 others hit alternate targets.

- Mission 290: 77 B-29s attack the Nakajima plant at Handa destroying the principal assembly buildings; 1 B-29 hit an alternate target.

- 91 P-51s, operating out of Iwo Jima, hit airfields and other tactical targets at Hamamatsu, Suruga Bay, and other points in the Nagoya, Japan area.

509BG perform another Pumpkin Raid.

Ops. Miss. Date Aircraft Cdr. Crew   Bombing Target Lat Long Result
24 7 24/07/45 44-27296 Price B-7 Primary Radar Ogaki urban     Unobserved
24 5 24/07/45 44-27297 Bock C-13 Primary Visual Sumitomo Aluminum, Niihama     Excellent
24 5 24/07/45 44-27298 Taylor A-1 Primary Visual Sumitomo Copper Ref. Niihama     Excellent
24 5 24/07/45 44-27299 Devore A-3 Secondary Visual Sumitomo Rayon, Niihama     Excellent
24 6 24/07/45 44-27300 Westover A-4 Primary Visual Mitsubishi Heavy Industries     Excellent
24 7 24/07/45 44-27301 Eatherly C-11 Secondary Visual Toyo Rayon Factory, Otsu     Excellent
24 7 24/07/45 44-27302 McKnight B-8 Secondary Visual Heavy Industry, Yokkaichi Harbour     Excellent
24 6 24/07/45 44-27353 Albury C-15 Primary Visual RR Yards, Kobe     Excellent
24 6 24/07/45 44-86291 Ray C-14 Primary Visual Kawasaki Factory, Kobe     Excellent
24 6 24/07/45 44-86292 Lewis B-9 Primary Visual Steel Works, Kobe     Unobserved

(David Hebditch)

Task Group 35.3 consisting of 4 light cruisers and 6 destroyers conducts a high-speed antishipping sweep off Japan.



CHINA: 100+ Fifth Air Force B-24s fly their first strike from Okinawa, bombing the Chiang Wan Airfield north of Shanghai; Seventh Air Force B-25s from Okinawa hit Wusung and Lunghua Airfields in the Shanghai area while A-26 Invaders and B-25s attack the Tachang and Tinghai Airfields; and fighter-bombers hit shipping and targets of opportunity throughout the general area attacked by the bombers.

BOUGAINVILLE: Private Frank John Partridge (1924-64) of the 8th Battalion of the Australian Military Forces, was awarded the VC for action on 24 July 1945, Frank was the first Militia man to be awarded the VC . He seized a bunker and rushed another before wounds forced him to halt.

MALAYA: Whilst engaged in preparatory clearing operations for the forthcoming landings in Malaya (Operation Zipper) minesweeper HMS Squirrel is mined and has to be scuttled by gunfire. There are 7 casualties. Location: off Phuket Island in the Gulf of Thailand. (Alex Gordon)(108)

CANADA: Corvettes HMCS The Pas and Rimouski paid off Sorel, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.: "If we enter into this treaty, we take the power away from the Congress, and the President can send troops all over the world to fight battles everywhere. If you say that is the policy of this country, I say the American people will never support any senator or representative who advocates that policy, and do not make any mistake about it."

-- Senator Burton Wheeler during Senate debate over U.S. entry into the United Nations (Mark Logsden)

President Truman approves the plans for the invasion of Kyushu.

Various items salvaged from the French passenger liner Normandie will be auctioned this week. The liner was undergoing converstion to a troop transport when a welders torch started a fire on February 9, 1942.

     Monsignor Mansour Stephen of Brooklyn's Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of Lebanon will acquire some items for their new church. The Bronze Doors ($1,025), ten bronze plaques ($975), a bronze railing ($155), a cloisonn
 enamel bas-relief of a Norman knight ($380), and a bronze statue ($690) entitled "La Paix" (Peace). Slightly remodeled, "La Paix" will be enshrined in the church's square tower. (John Nicholas and Will Rinaman)

1947:    U-190 is sunk in "Operation Scuttle". This Type IXC/40 U-boat, launched 3 June 1942 had surrendered on 8 May 1945 and been commissioned into the RCN. U-190 was finally paid off 24 July 1947 when it was sunk by rocket fire from RCN Firefly aircraft off Halifax on the site where U-190 sank HMCS Esquimalt in April 1945. (Alex Gordon and Dave Shirlaw)

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