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July 28th, 1939 (FRIDAY)

U.S.A.: The prototype Vultee Model 54a flies.

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28 July 1940

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July 28th, 1940 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - Dornier factory at Wismar.

77 Sqn. Ten aircraft, all bombed. Weather bad, opposition heavy. Flares dropped by enemy aircraft during bomb-runs.

78 Sqn. Four aircraft. One returned early, three bombed. Five fighters seen, but none attacked.

RAF Fighter Command: Weather Fine. Luftwaffe attack shipping off Dover and south-coast ports. All British destroyers are withdrawn from the English Channel between Dover and Portsmouth. This represents a significant achievement for the Luftwaffe.

18 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed, 5 RAF aircraft lost.

Bombs fall for the first time on Kidwelly (Carmarthen) and Runcorn (Cheshire).

Heavy raids on Aberdeenshire, Berwick, Calne and Newcastle.

Around 14:00 a large enemy bomber force advances on Dover. Dowding has placed eight squadrons on forward airfields in readiness. A dozen Spitfires of 74 Sqn led by the famous South African ‘Sailor’ Malan (thus known from his merchant navy days) waded in among 36 Bf109s of I/JG 51 over Dover, while Hawkinge’s Hurricane squadrons set about the bombers. Such clear division of effort meant that squadrons would whenever possible no longer split at the battle site. Maybe the enemy sensed a tactical change, for the bombers readily turned about, leaving the escort battling with RAF fighters.

A sharp fight ensued with 41, 74, 257 and 111 Squadrons combating I and II/JG 51 led by Major Werner Molders, who had to force-land his Bf109 in France after it was badly damaged by Sailor Malan. Malan, Plt. Off. Freeborn and Flt. Lt. Kelly, all of 74 Sqn., each destroyed a 109. Another three were damaged, for the loss of two Spitfires and Plt. Off. J.H.R. Young.

He59 seaplanes arrived to rescue German survivors only to find 111 Sqn, which destroyed one and seriously damaged another.

When darkness fell, He115 seaplanes along with He-111s and Ju88s mined British waters.

Night bombers attacked Newcastle, where a dozen HEs fell in a line parallel to and a mile from the Tyne, and Barry, Port Talbot, Colchester, Salford, Newcastle-under-Lyme (Staffs), Seaford (Sussex), Staplehurst, Ashford (Kent) and Edenbridge. Also targeted were the Cotswold Slaughters, Midlothian, Cheshire and the Otmoor bombing range.

If you want to read more about this days' RAF action there is a personal account by Harbourne Stephen  of 74 Sq.. on http://www.remembering.org/stephen.html and a whole lot more on Ernie Burton's Battle of Britain web site.

FRANCE: Germany bans all movement between the Vichy and occupied zones.

FINLAND: Finnish Foreign Minister Witting informs the British Ambassador Sir Gordon Vereker that Finland has to 'interrupt' her diplomatic relations with United Kingdom.

After Finland joined the war against Soviet Union, both Finland and UK were willing to keep the diplomatic relations intact. The German pressure upon Finland soon made this impossible, and thus Finland was reluctantly forced to sever the relations. The British Empire didn't declare war until 6 Dec 1941, apparently because Stalin insisted.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Off the coast of Brazil, German raider 'Thor' badly damages the less heavily armed armed merchant cruiser HMS Alcantara in a gun duel. Alcantara is forced to head for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

At 0557, the unescorted Auckland Star was torpedoed and sunk by U-99 80 miles WNW of Valentia Island, Co. Kerry. The master and 54 crewmembers landed at Dingle, Co. Kerry and 19 crewmembers landed at Slyne Head near Clifden, Co. Galway.

 

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28 July 1941

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July 28th, 1941 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Destroyer HMS Wensleydale laid down.

Minesweeping trawler HMS FOULA is laid down.

Corevette HMS TAMARISK is launched.

 

GERMANY: U-625 and U-626 are laid down.

FINLAND: Finnish Foreign Minister Witting informs the British Ambassador Sir
Gordon Vereker that Finland has to 'interrupt' her diplomatic
relations with United Kingdom.

Submarine Vesikko sinks 4100-ton ship Vyborg east from Suursaari.
 

U.S.S.R.: German forces start to liquidate Soviet troops trapped near the town of Smolensk.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Saigon:

The crisis in the Far East worsened today when 30,000 Japanese troops entered French Indochina. The build-up includes elements of the Japanese navy, which have sailed into Camranh Bay, and aircraft which are flying into Saigon. Japanese troops have also begun disembarking in Cambodia where 8,000 men will be within striking range of Siam.

The Japanese thrust has come soon after a conference in Tokyo on 2 July decided on a southward advance rather than the attack on Russia which the Germans wanted.

Malaya is now seriously threatened from Indochina, which is providing the Japanese with a naval base within 750-miles of Singapore and airfields within 300 miles of northern Malaya. The Japanese move has isolated the Philippines and menaces the oil-rich Dutch East Indies.

The Vichy regime has given the Japanese a free hand in Indochina on the pretext that it was threatened by British and Gaullist plots.

The US and Britain have reacted quickly. All Japanese assets in the United States have been frozen, with an embargo on the supply of oil, steel and other strategic materials to Japan. Britain and the Dutch East Indies followed suit and Japan, faced with economic strangulation, has either to yield to western demands or go to war.

JAPAN: The Japanese government freezes all U.S. assets in Japan.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Buctouche arrived St. John's and joined NEF.

U.S.A.: The aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) gets underway from Norfolk, Virginia, carrying the air echelon of the USAAF's 33d Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor). USS Wasp, escorted by the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) and two destroyers, is carrying 30 P-40Cs and three PT-17 trainers. She will join Task Force 16 enroute to Iceland where the USAAF aircraft will be flown off.

Destroyer USS Corry launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

Between 2127 and 2128, U-203 fired four torpedoes at Convoy OG-69 NW of Cape Finisterre and had to dive after the attack. U-203 interpreted the heard detonations and sinking noises and reported three ships sunk and a destroyer probably damaged. In fact, only the Norita and Lapland were hit and sunk. The master, 22 crewmembers and three gunners from the Lapland were picked up by HMS Rhododendron and landed at Gibraltar.

 

SS Wrotham sunk by U-561 at 43N, 17W.

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28 July 1942

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July 28th, 1942 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Submarines HMS Unsparing and Unruly launched.

Corvette HMS Comfrey launched.

Sloop HMS Cygnet launched.

Frigate HMS Lagan launched.

Destroyer HMS Mahratta launched.

GERMANY: U-360, U-530 launched.

U.S.S.R.: Stalin begins the implementation of measures to bolster the resistance of the Red Army. He grants higher status and authority to officers and strengthens disciplinary measures. This is order No. 227 (aka the "not one step back" order)

Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: Shipping loss: MS "TSch-405 "Vzrivatel"" - by field artillery, close to Eupatoria (later raised) (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Beaufort Ops.

NORTH AFRICA: US Army, Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF) B-17 Flying Fortresses hit Tobruk, Libya, during the night of 27/28 July, while B-24 Liberators attack a convoy in the Mediterranean, claiming hits on 2 merchant ships.

JAPAN: Imperial General Headquarters orders the IJA and IJN to mount an all-out offensive to conquer the remaining Allied bases in New Guinea.

NEW GUINEA: A USAAF B-26 Marauder bombs installations at Gona in support of Australian ground troops. In Tokyo, the Japanese Army and Navy are ordered to seize all remaining Allied bases in New Guinea.

SOUTH PACIFIC: The USN invasion fleet rendezvous in the Fiji Islands and holds amphibious landing rehearsals for the upcoming invasion of Guadalcanal.

AUSTRALIA: Major General George C Kenney, commander-designate of Allied Air Forces,
Southwest Pacific Area, arrives in Australia from the U.S.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The USAAF 11th Air Force flies an air coverage survey for Army ground operations to Adak and Tanaga Islands is flown. Weather cancels a bombing mission to Kiska Island.

U.S.A.:  Four million Americans are now doing military service.

Heavy cruiser USS Baltimore launched.

Corvette USS Action launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0715, U-155 torpedoed and sank the Barbacena, because she was armed with one 12-cm gun.

At 2230, the unescorted Piave was hit by one torpedo from U-155 about 100 miles off Barbados and sunk by gunfire. The master was the only casualty.

MS Weirbank sunk by U-66 at 11.29N, 58.51W.

At 0800, U-754 began shelling the unescorted and unarmed MFV Ebb about 45 miles SE of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia from about 50 yards off the starboard quarter steering parallel to the trawler. The U-boat sank her with fifty 88-mm rounds and 20-mm gunfire, as the crew of four officers and 13 men abandoned ship in one lifeboat. The master and four men died and seven others were wounded. The surviving three officers and nine men were picked up by destroyer HMS Witherington 14 hours later and were taken to Boston.

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28 July 1943

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July 28th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The USAAF's VIII Air Support Command and VIII Bomber Command based in England, both fly missions.
    VIII Air Support Command Mission Numbers 6 and 7: The primary targets are in Belgium and FRANCE:
       1. 18 B-26B Marauders are dispatched against the coke ovens at Zeebrugge, Belgium; 17 hit the target at 1105 hours.
       2. 18 B-26Bs are dispatched against Tricqueville Airfield, France but the mission is recalled when the accompanying fighters do not join up.

    VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 78: The aviation industry in Germany is targeted but bad weather hampers the raids. The targets are: 

1. 58 of 182 B-17 Flying Fortresses dispatched bomb the Fieseler Works at Kassel, Germany at 1027-1054 hours; they claim 27-15-22 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17s are lost.
       2. 37 of 120 B-17s dispatched bomb the Fw 190 plant at Oschersleben, Germany; they claim 56-19-41 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17s are lost. 
    This is the deepest US bomber penetration into Germany to date. The raid achieves good results however, 22 B-17s are lost as fighters score first effective results with rockets. 105 P-47 Thunderbolts, equipped with jettissonable belly tanks for the first time on a mission, escort the B-17s
into Germany; other P-47s, going more than 30 miles (48 km) deeper into Germany than they have penetrated before, meet the returning bombers. They surprise about 60 German fighters and destroy 9 of them; 1 P-47 is lost.

Frigate HMS Aire commissioned.

Minesweeper HMS Cato commissioned.

Corvette HMS Rosebay commissioned.

Frigate HMS Halstead laid down.

Sloop HMS Opossum laid down.


GERMANY: During the night of 28/29 July, RAF bombers drop 2,326 tons of bombs in 43 minutes on Hamburg, Germany which virtually sets the city on fire, killing 42,000 German civilians. Low humidity, a lack of fire-fighting resources (exhausted from battling blazes caused by the previous nights' raids), and hurricane-level winds at the core of the storm literally fanned the flames, scorching 8 square miles (20.7 sq km) of Hamburg.

U-1106 laid down.

U-476, U-550, U-990 commissioned.

ARCTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-647 is reported missing north of the Shetland Islands, U.K., position unknown, possibly mined. All 48 crewmen are lost.

ITALY: Allied surrender terms are broadcast to the Italians by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (Glenn Steinberg)

SICILY: On the ground in Sicily, the US Seventh Army takes Nicosia and pushes toward Santo Stefano di Camastra and the Canadians take Agira. Allied cargo vessels begin arriving at Palermo, and Lieutenant General Harold R Alexander, 15 Army Group Commanding General, moves his HQ to Sicily. 
    In the air, Northwest African Tactical Air Force light bombers hit Regalbuto, Milazzo, and Centuripe; A-36 Apaches and P-40s hit heavy traffic on the Troina-Randazzo road, bridges and roads north and west of Cesaro, the landing ground at Falcone, and buildings near Randazzo. Almost 100
Ninth Air Force P-40s hit shipping at Catania and Santa Teresa di Riva, fly patrol over the Straits of Messina, and bomb encampments.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and USN aircraft hit gun positions and other targets at Webster Cove on New Georgia Island.

US ground attacks on New Georgia continue. They are principally toward Horseshoe Hill.

NEW GUINEA: There is also an Australian division operating against Lae and Salamaua. This division includes US infantry and artillery. (Michael Alexander)

BOUGAINVILLE: The submarine USS Guardfish returns to the island to remove the remaining Australian coastwatchers, Read and Robinson, Sototo (a Fijian missionary) and his five scouts, and 14 others. (Michael Alexander)

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Japanese finish evacuating their remaining troops from Kiska.

U.S.A.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the end of coffee rationing.

Heavy cruisers USS Chicago and Los Angeles laid down.

Destroyer escorts USS Lowe and Manlove launched.

CARIBBEAN SEA: German submarine U-159 is sunk about 171 nautical miles (317 kilometres) south-southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (15.57N, 68.30W). The sub is sunk by depth charges from a PBM-3C Mariner of USN Patrol Squadron Thirty Two (VP-32) based at NAS Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. All 53 crewmen are lost.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-404 is sunk about 158 nautical miles (292 kilometers) north-northwest of La Caruna, Spain (45.53N, 9.25W) by depth charges from two B-24 Liberators of the USAAF's 4th Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) and an RAF Liberator of No. 224 Squadron, all based at St. Eval, Cornwall, England. All 51 crewmen are lost.

On 26 Jul 1943, the John A. Poor sailed from Boston to Halifax with 8500 tons of general cargo in station #14 of the Convoy BX-65, but lost contact in heavy fog. The ship streamed her anti-torpedo nets and continued alone at 8 knots, wandering into mines laid on 1 Jun by U-119 in 42°51N/64°55W. At 1030, a heavy concussion occurred off the starboard side; the ship suffered only minor damage and continued her voyage. One hour later another explosion occurred off the starboard side, and the master, thinking he saw a U-boat, turned the vessel. 15 minutes later a violent explosion damaged the steam lines, the boilers, the generators, cracked the spring bearings and stopped the vessel, but there was no hull damage. The armed guards fired the guns (the ship was armed with two 3in and eight 20mm guns) at a nonexistent enemy. The eight officers, 34 crewmen and 28 armed guards remained on board, one crewman was injured when he was blown off the generator platform into the bilges and had to be hospitalized at Halifax. At 1830, the patrol boat #123 came alongside and informed the master that tugs were en route, but the watch below got one boiler lit and the vessel proceeded under own power at 4,5 knots after the torpedo nets were retrieved. 30 minutes later, the tug North Star took her in tow, but the 300 HP towboat was not powerful enough for towing a ship of this size, so the vessel continued under her own power. At 1750, the tug Foundation Aramore took over the vessel 45 miles off Sambro Light and towed her to St George Island, Halifax, arriving on 31 July. The John A. Poor was repaired and eventually arrived in Avonmouth via St John's. She did not get back to the US until 12 Nov 1943 when the ship arrived at Philadelphia.

 

The unescorted Rosalia was hit by two torpedoes from U-615 and sank in flames about 10 miles south of Curaçao. Submarine chaser HNLMS H-8 and the rescue boat MBR-50 picked up the survivors.

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28 July 1944

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July 28th, 1944 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions:

- Mission 501: 1,057 bombers and 753 fighters are dispatched to bomb targets in Belgium, France and Germany; 7 bombers and 2 fighters are lost.
Col. Avelin Tacon (CO of 359th FG) sights an Me 163b Komet, but no combat occurs. (77)

291 B-24s in 2 forces are dispatched to hit signal depots, fuel dumps and V-weapon supply sites and a bridge in Belgium and France but the forces are recalled because of cloud cover over the targets; the first force of 180 B-24s is dispatched to northwest France V-weapon sites, fuel dumps and a railroad bridge; escort is provided by 235 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; the second force of 111 B-24s, escorted by 40 P-51s, is dispatched to hit Brussels and Vilvorde fuel and supply depots. 766 B-17s are dispatched to bomb the synthetic oil plant at Merseburg, Germany; 652 hit the primary while 36 hit Leipzig/Taucha oil refinery, 18 hit the Wiesbaden marshalling yards and 8 hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 386 P-38 Lightnings and P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost.

    Personal Memory: New crews that arrived a couple of weeks ago are now ready for their first mission. And I am the guy who is starting them out, taking their pilot as my copilot. FUN!! This is to be my 26th mission and our target is Mersberg, the most heavily defended city in Germany. I don't expect a milk run! I'm flying the "Betty Jane" today that I have flown several times before including the ill fated glide bomb raid on Cologne. The 303rd put up 37 B-17s that were all in the air in 29 minutes. We formed up over the Harrington Buncher at 9,000 feet with our ten, five hundred pound bombs. During the forming up phase I was approached by another B-17 and to avoid a collision I turned away and did a 360 degree turn. Pulling up or diving would have put too much strain on the wings and tail of this overloaded bomber. I was now not able to catch up with the 303rd so I latched onto the 379th which I knew was going to the same target. My new copilot for this mission was J.A. Dr  ewry with all his crew except for his copilot who was flying with another experienced crew. My regular group saw no enemy aircraft on this mission but my new group saw a few. Our top turret gunner, E. H. Koch fired at a FW190 that was trying to tow a bomb on a long wire through our formation. For some reason the bomb didn't explode. The 190 was about three thousand feet above us and the other German planes were hanging back, evidently waiting for the big explosion which never came. We encountered flak at seven different  locations and our "Betty Jane" suffered two minor wounds on this trip. It was overcast at the target and we had been discharging chaff which seemed to  work to our advantage as the flak always seemed to be behind us. Evidently we didn't do such a great job on the Luena synthetic oil plant as we soon learned that this would also be our target tomorrow. This target takes a flight time of eight hours and ten minutes with four hours and twenty minutes over enemy  territory. During my PIC training an attempt on Hitler's life occurred on July 20. Too bad it didn't succeed as hundreds, if not thousands of lives could have been saved by shortening the war. Score: Milk Runs 13, Others 13. (I did not consider this a milk run.) (Dick Johnson)

- Mission 502: 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

Hatfield, Hertfordshire: The de Havilland Hornet, long-range fighter makes its maiden flight. It has exceptional performance with a top speed of 485 mph and a range of 3,000 miles. (22)

Destroyer HMS CASSANDRA is commissioned.

FRANCE: The US 4th Armored Division enters Coutances, France. They have achieved the first objective of Operation Cobra.

The USAAF's IX Bomber Command operates in support of the US First Army, bombing rail bridges, supply dumps and ammunition dumps in the Foret de Conches, Dreux, and Le Mans areas; fighters escort bombers, fly armed reconnaissance in the Le Mans, Laval, and Dreux areas and furnish cover over assault areas and armed columns.

GERMANY: U-2515 is laid down.

ITALY: The US Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 345 B-17s and B-24s to attack 2 oil refineries at Ploesti, Romaniaand a marshalling yard at Florina, Greece; P-51s and P-38s provide support for the Ploesti raid.

EASTERN FRONT: Brest-Litovsk and Przemysl fall to the Russians.

BALTIC SEA: At 0318, Soviet ASW craft MO-107 was badly damaged by a torpedo from U-475 in Viborg Bay.

GUAM: US forces take Mount Chachao and Mount Alutom in their continuing fight to consolidate their beachheads. Most of Orote Peninsula has been captured.

KURILE ISLANDS: USN aircraft from the Aleutians fly an antishipping mission east of Paramushiru Islands. Participating are a PBY Catalina and 8 PV-1 Venturas. On the surface 6 USN destroyers sweep for enemy pick boats northeast of Shimushu Island.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Groups 58.2 and 58.3 again attack Japanese installations in the Palau Islands while aircraft of TG 58.1 attack targets Utlihi and Yap Atolls. Four B-24 squadrons of the USAAF's Far East Air Force attacks targets in Woleai Atoll; the airfield and supply area are well covered.

BIAK ISLAND: Charles Lindbergh flies with the 433d Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group. The 475th, known as Satan's Angels, was commanded by Colonel Charles H. MacDonald and two of the pilots were Major Richard I "Dick" Bong and Major Thomas B. "Tommy" McGuire, Jr. The 475th and it's three squadrons, the 431st, 432d and 433d Fighter Squadrons. 
The mission that day, Mission 3-407, consisted of a flight of eight Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and they were to bomb and strafe "targets of opportunity" on Amboina Island off the southwest coast of Ceram. 

As they approached the target, someone announced over the radio that Japanese aircraft had been spotted nearby. As Lindbergh, Colonel MacDonald and Captain Danforth Miller dove through a white cloud and AA fire, the three encountered a Mitsubishi Ki-51, Army Type 99 Assault Plane, Allied Code Name Sonia, flying towards the Americans head-on. Lindbergh opened fire with his 20mm cannon and 50-calibre (12.7 mm) machine guns and saw hits on the Sonia. Just before the two aircraft collided head-on, Lindbergh pulled back on the controls and pulled up; the Sonia entered a vertical dive and crashed into the sea. Lindbergh never bragged about this; when asked, he just said, "I shot in self-defence."

Meanwhile US forces destroy Japanese defences at Ibdi.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Lanark arrived Halifax from builder Montreal, Province of Quebec.
Corvette HMCS Alberni was narrowly missed an aircraft-laid mine when a depth charge laid over an asdic contact set off another mine 200 yards off Alberni's starboard beam without significant damage.
Frigate HMCS St Stephen commissioned.

U.S.A.: Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-391 was commissioned at Los Angeles with LTJG Ted C. Larsen, USCGR, assuming command, relieving LT Thomas A. Buddy, USCGR. He was succeeded by LTJG Henry P. Mistrey, USCGR, who in turn was succeeded on 10 October 10, 1945, by LTJG George W. Litchfield, USCGR. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area.
 

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28 July 1945

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July 28th, 1945 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Attlee, with Ernest Bevin, the new foreign secretary, flies out to rejoin the Potsdam conference.

Submarines HMS Aurochs and Alliance launched.

JAPAN: Premier Suzuki notes on the Japanese government's reaction to the Potsdam Declaration that they will "take no notice." There is concern among the members of the Japanese government that the diplomatic note was not delivered through a neutral government. There are also several other possible translations of the words used by the Premier.
He says that the Potsdam Declaration could only be ignored as it failed to answer several fundamental issues. The ultimatum had made no reference to the emperor or to the status of the throne after a surrender. Nor had Japan received any response to its request made to Moscow two weeks ago to mediate in peace negotiations and receive Prince Konoye as a special envoy. Hawks in the Japanese cabinet - identified as Korechika Anami, the war minister, Yoshijiro Umezu, the army chief of staff - argue that the deliberate absence of any reference to the emperor in the Potsdam declaration is certain evidence of Allied determination to topple the throne.

With Allied invasion forces building up they want the Ketsu-Go plan implemented to defeat US landings. The plan calls for a force of 2.35 million troops, backed by four million reservists and a newly-recruited civilian militia of 28 million.

During the day US bombers dropped thousands of leaflets on 12 Japanese cities warning civilians to "flee or perish."

Carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Force 38 attack the Inland Sea area between Nagoya and northern Kyushu, especially the Kure Naval Base. The aircraft sink a battleship HIJMS HARUNA, a battleship-carrier HIJMS HYUGA, heavy cruisers HIJMS AMAGI and KATSURAGI, a light carrier HIJMS RYUHO, 17 other vessels and the uncompleted carriers KASAGI, ASO and IBUKI. American and British pilots shot down or burned up 306 enemy planes and damaged 392. Heavy and accurate AA fire brings down 133 USN aircraft and 102 airmen.

1772 RN Sqn, Firefly a/c off HMS Indefatigable, Lt(A) Charles Peter Rodger "Steve" "CPR" Stevens RCNVR of Montreal, Province of Quebec. Lost in action - failed to return from strike, strafing enemy shipping at Hirara, near Shimo Islands, Japan.

    Carrier-based aircraft of the RN's Task Force 37 sink 3 ships off Yura.

Historians vary on the accounts of these strikes. Hammel for instance has strikes only occurring today. Reynolds shows these strikes occurring on both the 24th and today. Admiral Halsey with Bryan adds strikes on the 25th to those listed by Reynolds. In all three cases the US losses are listed with the same numbers. (Rich Leonard)


The USAAF's VII Fighter Command dispatches 140+ P-51s, based on Iwo Jima, to hit 9 objectives (airfields and military targets) in a wide area around Tokyo and attack a destroyer escort along the Chiba Peninsula, leaving it burning.

During the day, 137 Ie Shima-based P-47s of the US Far East Air Force rocket and strafe airfields, oil stores, railroad yards, warehouses, industry, gun positions, and other targets on Kyushu at or near Kanoya, Metatsubara, Tachiarai, Kurume, Saga, and Junicho; 21 more P-47s attack shipping at Yatsushiro and A-26 Invaders and B-25s pound airfields at Kanoya; P-51s and B-25s, sweeping over the Inland Sea, destroy 2 small cargo vessels and a patrol boat and 70+ B-24s bomb shipping at Kure, claiming direct hits on a battleship and an aircraft carrier. RN and USN carrier-based aircraft attack airfields and naval installations in the Inland Sea. The battleship-aircraft carrier HIJMS Hyuga is sunk but 133 USN aircraft are lost due to intense AA fire.

During the night of 28/29 July, 554 US Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortresses fly 6 incendiary raids on secondary cities and 1 bombing raid against Japan without loss.

- Mission 297: 76 B-29s attack the Tsu urban area destroying 0.84 sq mi (2.18 sq km), 57% of the city area.

- Mission 298: 61 B-29s hit the Aomori urban area destroying 1.06 sq mi (2.75 sq km), 64% of the city area; 3 others hit alternate targets.

- Mission 299: 122 B-29s attack the Ichinomiya urban area destroying 0.99 sq mi (2.56 sq km), 75% of the city area; 2 others attack alternate areas.

- Mission 300: 93 B-29s hit the Uji-Yamada urban area destroying 0.36 sq mi (0.93 sq km), 39% of the city area; 1 other hits an alternate target.

- Mission 301: 90 B-29s attack the Ogaki urban area destroying 0.48 sq mi (1.24 sq km), 40% of the city area.

- Mission 302: 29 B-29s hit the Uwajima urban area destroying 0.53 sq mi (1.37 sq km), 52% of the city area.

- Mission 303: 76 B-29s bomb the Shimotsu Oil Refinery; 75% of the tank capacity, 90% gasometer capacity and 69% of the roof area destroyed or damaged; 1 other B-29s hits an alternate target.

- 140+ P-51s, based on Iwo Jima, hit 9 objectives (airfields and military targets) in a wide area around Tokyo and attack a destroyer escort along the Chiba Peninsula, leaving it burning.

During the night of 27/28 July, the destroyer USS Callaghan (DD-792) is sunk by a kamikaze while on radar picket duty about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Okinawa. The Japanese biplane struck the ship on the starboard side, exploded and one of the plane's bombs penetrated the after engine room. The destroyer flooded, and the fires which ignited antiaircraft ammunition prevented nearby ships from rendering aid. She sank at 0235, 28 July 1945, with the loss of 47 members of her valiant crew. This is the last USN ship sunk by a kamikaze.

SINGAPORE: British frogmen sink the Japanese cuiser TAKAO with limpet mines.

CANADA: Minesweepers HMCS Oshawa and Rockcliffe paid off.
Destroyers HMCS Cayuga and Micmac launched Halifax, Nova Scotia.

U.S.A.: A USAAF North American B-25 Mitchell, "Old Feather", enroute from Bedford AAFld, Massachusetts, to Newark AAFld, New Jersey, hits the fog-shrouded Empire State Building in New York City directly on the 79th floor. There are three men aboard the B-25, the pilot, Lt. Col. William F. Smith, Jr., the flight engineer and a sailor hitching a ride home; all are killed. Also killed are 11 employees of the War Relief Services, a Roman Catholic charity; 23 others are injured. The aircraft's wings are sheared off and one engine tears across the 78th floor, through the opposite wall destroying a penthouse on the roof of a neighboring 12-story building. The other engine and the fuselage punch an 18 by 20-foot (5.49 by 6.10 m) hole in the building. Fortunately, it is a Saturday or the casualties would have been greater. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Senate ratifies the United Nations Charter.

Minesweeper USS Tanager commissioned.

Destroyer USS Corry launched.

Submarine USS Cusk launched.

The top pop tunes today are (1) "The More I See You" by Dick
Haymes; (2) "Dream" by The Pied Pipers; (3) "Sentimental Journey" by Les
Brown and his Orchestra with vocal by Doris Day which was ranked Number 3
for the year; and (4) "Oklahoma Hills" by Jack Guthrie.

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