14 August 1939

August 14th, 1939 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Chamberlain and Halifax receive details of Ciano's meetings and consider the idea of sending a German-speaking Briton to negotiate directly with Hitler.

GERMANY: Hitler tells his senior officers that he intends to deal with Poland in a quick war.

Hitler also orders Ribbentrop to telegraph von der Schulenberg in Moscow, begging him to secure 'a speedy clarification of German-Russian relations.'
Ribbentrop says also that he is prepared to fly to Moscow and present Hitler's views to Stalin 'because only through such a direct discussion can a change be brought about, and it should not be impossible therefore to lay the foundation for a final settlement of German-Russian relations.'

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Ambassador von der Schulenberg receives instruction for a meeting with Molotov next day, and Marshal Klement Voroshilov, Commissioner for Defence, puts his central question to the Anglo-French delegates: If Russia were to fight on behalf of Great Britain or France, Russian troops will have to cross either Poland or Romania, so will the Red Army be allowed to march across Poland? Knowing it is almost impossible that the Poles or Rumanians will agree, Drax is unable to answer. The ideal offer from the Anglo-French point of view would have been a steady supply of hardware manufactured in the Soviet Union.

Soviet submarine K-21 launched.

U.S.A.: TIME magazine uses the term "World War II" while describing the likely future conflict in Europe. (Bill Rinaman)

14 August 1940

August 14th, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Battle of Britain:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing -oil targets at Bordeaux and St. Nazaire - Caproni aircraft factory at Milan.
51 Sqn. Four aircraft to Bordeaux. One returned early, three bombed primary. One hit by balloon barrage on return, crew killed.
77 Sqn. Twelve aircraft to St. Nazaire. Two returned early, ten bombed primary. One hit balloon barrage on return, crew killed.
78 Sqn. Six aircraft to Bordeaux. All bombed primary.
102 Sqn. Nine aircraft to Milan. All bombed primary.

RAF Fighter Command: German effort today amounts to almost 500 sorties.

Opening with a high-speed low-level attack on Manston by Bf110s of Erpro Gr 210. Only four bombs hit the airfield destroying a Puss Moth and damaging two Blenheims. Two of the attackers were shot down by ground defences.

At 12:20 the main Stuka force attacked Hawkinge and Dover, with a detachment sinking the Gate Light Vessel killing two crew.

A mid-afternoon raid by Do17s on Pevensey was thwarted and the attackers forced to jettison their load, but a later raid on Pevensey put four bombs in the radar station.

London: The Reuters News Agency reported:
The southeast of England has been the arena of heavy dogfights. This morning more than 300 German aircraft took part in the raids; but the RAF fighters foiled the intrusion of the enemy planes. Dozens of Messerschmitt fighter planes dived from a great altitude to protect their bombers, but the British air defence was so effective that in most cases the enemy wings had to veer off and change course.

London: Sir Henry Tizard leaves for the USA with various British scientific items and ideas for development including the magnetron.

U-59 sank SS Betty.

LUXEMBOURG: Germany suspends the constitution, henceforth the Duchy will be ruled by the German civil service.

GERMANY: The Wehrmacht High Command announced:
On August 13 German aerial formations made effective bombing raids on the harbour and dock installations in Wallsend, Hartlepool, Bournemouth and Plymouth, and munitions plants in Exeter and Bristol, as well as major fuel storage depots in North Killingham.
A large number of violent dogfights took place during the raids in the Channel and on England, in the course of which 74 enemy aircraft were destroyed.

Berlin: The American United Press Agency reported:
Tonight an air raid alert was sounded in Berlin at 1:35 A.M. and ended at 2:22 A.M. This was the third alert in the German capital since the outbreak of war. No explosions could be heard from the vantage point on the United Press offices, nor were any searchlights seen operating. The German Ministry of Propaganda has stated that no details may be released as yet.

U-207 laid down.

CANADA: Corvettes HMCS Baddeck and Buctouche laid down.

14 August 1941

August 14th, 1941 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: The German Josef Jakobs is executed by firing squad at the Tower of London.

Destroyer HMS Serapis (later transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy as the Piet Hein) is laid down.

GERMANY: U-252 is launched. U-583 is commissioned.

POLAND: Auschwitz. Ten Polish prisoners had been condemned to die after a prisoner had escaped. When the ten were selected, one begged and pleaded to be saved for his wife and children. Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan friar and fellow prisoner, had stepped forward and asked to take the place of the family man. The offer was accepted. The ten were marched off to a starvation bunker. As one by one they died, Fr. Maximilian comforted them. The last survivor of the ten, Fr. Maximilian was executed by lethal injection on August 14. The man he died to save was present in St. Peter's Square in 1982 when Fr. Maximilian was proclaimed St. Maximilian Kolbe. (Jim Gallen)

U.S.S.R.: Evacuation of the Russian Black Sea naval base at Nikolayev begins tonight. During the next three nights 13 ships under construction will be towed away. 11 remaining ships, including 1 battleship, will be blown up along with other supplies.

U.S.A.: While returning to the US from the Atlantic Charter Conference, US President Franklin D Roosevelt, in USS Augusta (CA-31), watches flight operations conducted by the F2A Buffaloes and SOC Seagulls of Scouting Squadron Two Hundred One (VS-201) in aircraft escort vessel USS Long Island (AVG-1), the first "jeep" aircraft carrier. During the afternoon, USS Augusta reaches Blue Hill Bay, Maine, where he re-embarks in the presidential yacht, USS Potomac (AG-25).

Washington: Roosevelt returns after five days of talks with Churchill on the USS Augusta and battleship HMS Prince of Wales in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.
British deputy Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, has broadcast the terms of a joint Anglo-American declaration of common principles.

The United States and Britain declare that they seek no territorial gains from the war. They say they hope that all nations will co-operate economically after the war, and they look forward to a lasting peace and the end of the use of force. Roosevelt feels that the entry of the USSR into the war makes it desirable that the western democracies should spell out their creeds. To British relief he did not insist on denouncing protectionism or empires.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-126 sinks SS Sud in Convoy HG-70.

14 August 1942

August 14th, 1942 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS Cambrian laid down.

Destroyer HMS Opportune commissioned.

Boom defence vessel HMS Barnard is laid down.

ASW trawler HMS Barnard is Mullet.

U.S.S.R.: The German 6th Army has almost finished clearing the elbow of the Don River in Russia. Because of a lack of mobile forces the Germans consider that too many potential prisoners have escaped to the east.

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

Italian Navy 12th Flotilla operating on Lake Ladoga: MAS 527 engages three Soviet gunboats, sinking an 800-ton Bira class gunboat. (Arturo Lorioli)

LIBYA: US Army Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF) B-24s bomb the harbour at Tobruk during the night of 14/15 August.

NEW GUINEA: USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses of the Allied Air Forces attack shipping off Gona.

The US submarine S-39 (SS-144), commanded by Francis E. Brown, ran aground on a reef off Rossel Island, S.E. of New Guinea No hands lost. (Joe Sauder)

AUSTRALIA: USS S-39 grounded on submerged rocks off Rossel Island, crew rescued by Australian minesweeper HMAS Katoomba and taken to Townsville.

Minesweeper HMAS Gawler commissioned.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: 3 IJN G4M "Betty" bombers from Rabaul circle and photograph Henderson Field just above the range of the Marines 90 mm AA guns.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: A US 11th Air Force B-24 Liberator trying to fly photo reconnaissance over Tanaga and Adak Islands aborts over Kiska Island due to weather.

CANADA: HMCS Halifax (K237), a Flower-class corvette, arrived with the Halifax to Aruba convoy HA-3. The HA (Halifax-Aruba) Canadian oil convoys were only run during 1942. The eastern Canadian wartime economy was critically dependent on Caribbean sources of oil and, in order to ensure its safe arrival, in Mid-May 1942, eight corvettes were diverted from the transatlantic convoy system to escort tankers to and from Venezuela. Between January and June 1942, the German U-boat campaign against US East Coast shipping was at its zenith and dozens of scare tankers were sunk. However, amidst this carnage, although the Canadian tanker convoys were attacked, they moved regularly and did not suffer any losses at all. Finally, once the US instituted a full convoy system, which encompassed Canadian tanker shipments, the Canadian oil convoys ceased and the RCN escort were reassigned to other duties.

U.S.A.: Lieutenant General Dwight D Eisenhower, Commanding General, European Theater of Operations US Army (ETOUSA), is appointed Commander in Chief, Allied Expeditionary Forces.

The 30-minute daily radio show, "The Show Without a Name," hosted by Garry Moore, debuts on the NBC Red radio network at 0900 hours Eastern. It is an effort to crack the morning show dominance of "Arthur Godfrey Time" on CBS radio and "The Breakfast Club" with Don McNeill on the NBC Blue network. A prize of $500 is offered to name the show and it is renamed "Everything Goes" ca. March 1943. The show remains on the air until November 1943.

Corvette USS Prudent is laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-598 attacked Convoy TAW-12J, sinking SS Empire Corporal and SS Michael Jebsen and damaging SS Standella.

ICELAND: US 2d Lieutenants Joseph D Shaffer (33d Fighter Squadron, P40) and Elza E Shahan (27th Fighter Squadron, P38) jointly shoot down an Fw 200 Condor off the coast of ICELAND. This is the first aerial victory of the USAAF in the European Theater of Operations (ETO).

14 August 1943

August 14th, 1943 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Frigates HMS Hoste, Manners, Moorsom, Mounsey laid down.

Frigate HMS Byron launched. Frigate HMS Lossie commissioned. Destroyer HMS Hardy commissioned.

FRANCE: VICHY FRANCE: The premier, Pierre Laval, refuses to cooperate with German demands to deport all French Jews.

GERMANY: U-479 and U-480 are launched. U-242 is commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: Ukraine: Russian forces pushing on in ever increasing strength following the recapture of Bielgorod, have taken the southern outposts of the great Ukrainian city of Kharkov. The Germans defending the city are now in great danger of being cut off as Russian tanks work their way behind their lines.

The continuing Russian offensive, part of their master strategy after the great victory at Kursk, involves 120 Russian divisions. Many of these divisions are absolutely fresh and have been thrown against Field Marshal von Manstein's battered army of only 42 divisions. The Russian commanders, General Konev and Vatutin, thrusting hard at the join in the German line between the 4th Panzer Army and the Kampfgruppe, have split them apart and are pouring men through the gap.

The apparently inexhaustible supply of Russian divisions is being supported by equally strong aerial formations. There are now 100 Russian air divisions, with 10,000 aircraft patrolling the battlefield.

Faced by swarms of Russian planes, the Luftwaffe, forced to withdraw squadrons to defend Germany from Allied bombers, is finding it increasingly difficult to support the Wehrmacht. The question for the German high command now is where to find the reserves to stop the teeming Russians.

ITALY: US and British units capture Randazzo, Sicily.

SICILY: On orders from General Eisenhower, Lt-Gen Patton apologizes to soldiers whom he had struck in a hospital.

SPAIN: Madrid: German agents watched with more than usual suspicion earlier this week as a senior Italian general flew here for secret talks with the British ambassador. The subject was the new Italian government's anxiety to declare Rome an open city after a second day of heavy bombing by Allied aircraft. Simultaneously, another Italian general was meeting Field Marshal Rommel on the Italian frontier, apparently with the same object in mind. Although the new prime minister, Marshal Pietro Badoglio, announced the news to delighted Romans tonight, Allied sources in Algiers said that they had received no official confirmation that Rome would be "open".

A spokesman said that a city could be regarded as "open" only when all ministries, government agencies, military organizations and war industries had gone. "As long as Rome continues to be a German military communications centre, it will constitute a legitimate objective of Allied bombings," he said. Many cynical observers believe that Badoglio's declaration should be interpreted as proof that Italy will continue to fight on and has no intention of seeking peace with the Allies.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The US Ninth Air Force dispatches 61 B-24s, on loan from the Eighth Air Force in England, to bomb the Bf 109 factory at Wiener-Neustadt, Austria.

Submarine HMS Saracen suffers flooding after heavy depth charge attacks by Italian torpedo boats Euterpe and Minerva off Bastia. Unable to control buoyancy, the crew assemble in the control room to make their escape at the surface, and Saracen sinks after being abandoned. (Alex Gordon)(108)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 9 US Thirteenth Air Force B-17s bomb the Rekata Bay area of Santa Isabel Island.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: In the Aleutian Islands, 2 US Eleventh Air Force B-24s fly a special radar ferret and reconnaissance mission; 1 B-25 Mitchell, 8 B-24s, and 10 P-38 Lightnings then fly 2 attack missions to Kiska Island, bombing with unobserved results. This is the last Eleventh Air Force mission against Kiska. The high-speed transport USS Kane (APD-18), lands elements of the US Army's 1st Special Service Force on Kiska.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Rossland launched North Vancouver, British Columbia.

HMC ML 108 commissioned.

U.S.A.: Washington: Revisions in the US draft become effective. A revised list of important occupations as well as dependents will be the deciding factor in selection. The war manpower commission, in a move intended to prevent a national service act, has changed the rules for the draft, the lottery system of conscription. The list of important occupations deferring call up has been revised to keep men with skills needed by war industry at work. Another change announced by Paul McNutt, the manpower commissioner, is that fatherhood is no longer a reason for deferment. "Fatherhood", said McNutt, "does not excuse any man from making his contribution to victory."

Clyde Atwood is executed by electrocution at Tennessee State Penitentiary for murder of a Federal employee. (Russell Folsom)

The motion picture "This Is the Army" is released. This musical, based on Irving Berlin's play, is directed by Michael Curtiz and stars George Murphy, Joan Leslie, George Tobias, Alan Hale, Una Merkel, Rosemary DeCamp, Frances Langford, Kate Smith, Ronald Reagan, Joe Louis and Ezra Stone. Appearing in an uncredited roles are Irving Berlin and Richard Farnsworth. In World War I, dancer Jerry Jones (Murphy) produced an all soldier show on Broadway called "Yip Yip Yaphank." It is now World War II and his son (Reagan) gets orders to produce another all soldier show called "This Is The Army." The film is nominated for three Academy Awards and wins one.

The field forces in the Pacific were very upset with the addition to the red outline for the same reason that the red "meatball" had been removed in 1942. So Army-Navy Aeronautical Specification AN-1-9b was issued on 14 August 1943 changing the red outline to blue.

Destroyer escort USS Borum launched.

Destroyer escort USS Emery commissioned.

14 August 1944

August 14th, 1944 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions.

- Mission 552: 1,183 bombers and 429 fighters, in 4 forces, are dispatched to attack 9 airfields, 2 aero engine factories, 1 oil plant, 2 bridges, 2 rail junctions and other secondary and targets of opportunity in southwestern Germany, eastern France, and the Bordeaux, France region; 2 bombers and 1 fighter are lost (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking the target).
(1) B-24s attack 3 airfields in France, Lyon/Bron (108), Dijon/Longvi (83) and Dole/Evaux (70); 2 bridges Anizy (46) and Fismes (34); and 12 B-24s hit Liart rail junction and 1 hits a target of opportunity; escort is provided by 92 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs.
(2) B-24s bomb French rail junctions at Saintes (38) and Angouleme (38); escort is provided by 40 P-51s.
(3) B-17s dispatched to Germany hit Ludwigshafen (144), Mannheim (110) and Sandhofen Airfield at Mannheim(72); 4 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 88 P-51s;
(4) B-17s dispatched to Germany hit airfields at Hagenau (92), Metz/Frascaty (72), Florennes (24), Chievres (9); Stuttgart/Echterdingen (72), Kaisereslautern (46), Sindelfingen (12), Trier (10) and targets of opportunity (16); escort is provided by 168 P-51s that claim 10-0-11 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost.

- Mission 553: 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft.

- 37 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France; 1 B-24 is lost.

- 136 P-38s and P-47s fly fighter-bomber missions in the Paris area; claiming 3-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-38 and 2 P-47s are lost.

Northern Ireland: Naval operating Base, Londonderry, is disestablished, except for the radio station.

FRANCE: The Canadians are about 5 miles north of Falaise. They launch Operation Tractable, a renewed assault towards the town; 13 are killed and 53 injured when they show yellow flares to show their position, unaware that these are also Bomber Command target indicators. Their advance is assisted by 400 heavy bombers of the RAF and RCAF with 3,700 tons of bombs.
The US XV Corps moves east from Argentan toward Dreux as other US units move into Argentan.

Except for the ancient citadel in the Port of St. Malo the city has been liberated.

The US Ninth Air Force sends A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders with fighter escort to hit several highway and rail bridges, junctions and sidings mostly beyond the battlelines to delay and complicate the German retreat; fighters fly armed reconnaissance over the Falaise, Broglie, and Chartres areas, and support ground forces, especially 7 armoured and infantry divisions, over wide areas of northern and western France; a XIX Tactical Air Command squadron uniquely effects the surrender of a number of German ground troops, Germans on roads being strafed by the squadron northeast of Carrouges wave white flags, whereupon the planes buzz the road and shepherd the enemy troops into a column which then proceeds to US lines to surrender.

Paris: The police agree to go on strike and join the resistance.

The Tribal-class destroyer HMCS Iroquois (G89) led by the Fiji-class light cruiser HMS Mauritius (80) and accompanied by the U-class fleet destroyer HMS Ursa (R22), were deployed for a 'KINETIC' patrol off of Les Sables and Ile d'Yeu, France. At 0305, they encountered two merchant ships escorted by the Elbing-class destroyer T-24. A wild gun and torpedo engagement ensued and, although shell hits were observed on all of the German ships, none were sunk. German coastal artillery and ship-laid smoke, plus a torpedo attack that narrowly missed Iroquois from the Elbing covered the withdrawal of the German formation. At 0620 the British-Canadian formation encountered a second German force of two merchant ships and two minesweepers. This time, despite heavy return fire, the German ships were all driven ashore and set on fire by gunfire. Once again, German coastal artillery intervened and drove off the allied warships. That the RN-RCN force was driven off by only one small destroyer is not a very complimentary observation on the conduct of the first engagement. The odds were overwhelmingly in favor of the Allied formation in both engagements and both should have had the same outcome. It seems that the force commander was more resolute when he was presented with a golden 'second chance'. Long-range fire from shore batteries was notoriously erratic. Normally, it was only regarded as harassing fire until the range closed to less than five miles, when it became significantly more deadly. That it was even mentioned in the first (night) engagement indicates that a defence against charges of lack of aggression during the attack was already being constructed.

U-445, (British Wellington aircraft, Squadron 172/K) Aircraft shot down on the Brest - La Pallice route.

U-766, (Canadian Wellington aircraft, Squadron 407/E) Aircraft shot down on the Brest - La Pallice route.

GERMANY: U-2507 launched.

U-3011 and U-3511 laid down.

POLAND: Majdanek: Reports of the German death camp here, liberated on 24 July by the advancing Red Army, were published by London newspapers today. Britons are appalled by the description of the huge barracks, with the "world's biggest crematorium" in the centre.

Over half a million people from all over Europe, mainly Jews, were gassed and incinerated here. With macabre efficiency, the charred bones and ashes were pulverised and tinned, then shipped to Germany. The German people are fertilizing their fields with the corpses of their victims.

ITALY: The US Fifteenth Air Force sends 540 B-24s and B-17s to bomb gun positions in the Toulon, France and Genoa, Italy areas as the Operation DRAGOON (the invasion of southern France) convoy heads for the French Mediterranean coast; 145 P-38s and P-51s strafe radar installations at several coastal points.

The US Twelfth Air Force dispatches medium bombers to hit coastal defenses while fighter-bombers pound various gun positions, tracks, enemy HQ, and targets of opportunity in the Toulon-Nice area; fighters strafe radar installations and targets of opportunity along the south coast as Operation DRAGOON forces approach.

CENTRAL PACIFIC: The US Seventh Air Force is reorganized as a "mobile tactical airforce" retaining only units that will function in the combat area; the VII Bomber Command includes the 11th, 30th and 494th Bombardment Groups (Heavy), and the 41st Bombardment Group (Medium); the VII Fighter Command includes the 15th, 21st (in Hawaii) and 318th Fighter Groups and the 6th Night Fighter Squadron; and the 9th Troop Carrier and 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadrons assigned directly to HQ Seventh Air Force.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: Aleutians: The USN's Task Force 94 sorties from Attu to sweep the Kurile Islands but weather forces the ships to return to port.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Smiths Falls launched.

U.S.A.: The top pop songs today are (1) "I'll Be Seeing You" by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra with vocal by Frank Sinatra; (2) "Amor" by Bing Crosby; (3) "Swinging on a Star" by Bing Crosby; and (4) "Is You is or is You Ain't (Ma' Baby)" by Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five.

Destroyer USS Myles C Fox laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German submarine U-618 is sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of St. Nazaire, in position 47.22N, 04.39W, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS Duckworth and HMS Essington and by depth charges from an RAF Liberator of No. 53 Squadron based at St Eval, Cornwall, England. All hands on the U-boat, 61 men, are lost.

U-1163, (Norwegian Mosquito aircraft, Squadron 333/E) No damage to U-boat. U-1163 and U-771 were being transferred from Stavanger to Kristiansand South, and were proceeding on the surface, accompanied by surface escorts. Mosquitoes E/333 and S/333 made the attack. The attack took place off Egero, Norway.

U-667 attacked Convoy EBC-72 sinking HMS LCI (L) 99 and damaged USS LST 921 beyond repair.

14 August 1945

August 14th, 1945 (TUESDAY)

U.S.S.R.: Pacific Fleet ship loss. MS "T-279" (ex AM.270 "Palisade") - mined at Rasin port (Korea) (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

MALAYA: Captain Mahmood Khan Durrani (b.1914), 1st Bahawalpur Infantry, was a PoW for three years. Despite torture he had refused all co-operation. (George Cross)

JAPAN: The Japanese army coup is scheduled for 10:00 am. At 9:00 am War Minister Anami addresses all senior section war ministry staff: "The army should act in unison, because Japan is now facing the critical situation.

Strengthen your unity. Beware of any undisciplined acts. Those who consider any arbitrary actions will have to carry them out over my dead body." This statement ends the hopes of the Junior Officers for an easy takeover.

At 10:30 the Imperial Conference with the cabinet and the Emperor begins.

After discussion the Emperor again gives his decision: "I have carefully studied the Allied reply and concluded that it virtually acknowledges our position in the note sent several days ago. In short, I believe the reply is acceptable. Though it is understandable that some should distrust the Allied intentions, I do not believe the reply was written with malice."

With this statement it is now a matter of trust.

Shortly after Noon, Professor Asada meets with the Navy. After hearing his report on the Hiroshima bombing, he reports their conclusion was: "to isolate all Japanese physicists in the caves in Nagano Prefecture to have them produce atomic bombs. They planned to drop them on America. The navy had no intention of surrendering."

At 1:00 pm the full cabinet meets and after much discussion reluctantly approves the Emperor's decision.

Representatives of the Radio Tokyo arrive at the palace at 3:00 to record the Emperor's statement. It is finished recording just before midnight. There are 3 copies. Members of the household ministry agree to hold the recording until they will be broadcast tomorrow.

In Japan, US Far East Air Force (FEAF) B-25s, P-47s, and P-51s attack shipping in Korea and Kyushu waters, claiming several vessels destroyed and damaged. P-47s over the Osaka-Nagoya, Japan area claim several Japanese aircraft shot down.

The US Twentieth Air Force sends 752 B-29 Superfortresses to fly 7 missions against Japan without loss. These are the last B-29 missions against Japan in WWII. The following 3 missions were flown during the day:

- Mission 325: 157 B-29s bomb the naval arsenal at Hikari; 4 others hit alternate targets.

- Mission 326: 145 B-29s bomb the Osaka Army Arsenal and 2 hit alternate targets; 160+ P-51 escort the B-29s and attack airfields in the Nagoya area; 1 P-51 is lost.

- Mission 327: 108 B-29s bomb the railroad yards at Marifu; 2 others hit alternate targets.

The following 4 missions were flown during the night of 14/15 August:

- Mission 328: In the longest nonstop, unstaged B-29 mission from the Mariana Islands, 3,650 miles (5,874 km), 132 B-29s bomb the Nippon Oil Company, Akita-Aradi refinery at Tsuchizakiminato.

- Mission 329: 81 B-29s drop incendiaries on the Kumagaya urban area destroying 0.27 sq mi (0.7 sq km), 45% of the city area.

- Mission 330: 86 B-29s drop incendiaries on the Isezaki urban area, north-west of Tokyo, destroying 0.166 sq mi (0.43 sq km), 17% of the city area.

- Mission 331: 39 B-29s mine the waters at Nanao, Shimonoseki, Miyazu, and Hamada.

509BG perform another Pumpkin Raid.

Ops.

Miss.

Date

Aircraft

Cdr.

Crew

Bombing

Target

Lat

Long

Result

44	17	14/08/45	44-27296	Price	B-7	Primary	Visual	Arsenal, Nagoya	Poor
44	18	14/08/45	44-27298	Bock	C-13	Primary	Visual	Toyota Auto Works, Koromo	Good
44	17	14/08/45	44-27299	Devore	A-3	Primary	Visual	Arsenal, Nagoya	Poor
44	17	14/08/45	44-27300	Westover	A-4	Opport.	Visual	Arsenal, Nagoya	Excellent
44	18	14/08/45	44-27301	Albury	C-15	Primary	Visual	Toyota Auto Works, Koromo	Poor
44	18	14/08/45	44-27302	McKnight	B-8	Primary	Visual	Toyota Auto Works, Koromo	Poor
44	17	14/08/45	44-27304	Hopkins	C-14	Primary	Visual	Arsenal, Nagoya	Poor

(David Hebditch)

Before the last B-29s return from the missions above, US President Harry S Truman announces the unconditional surrender of Japan. Immediately thereafter, the 11th Airborne Division leaves the Philippine Islands by air for Okinawa, where it goes on standby as the initial occupation force for Japan.

News of the surrender was announced simultaneously in London, Washington and Moscow.

The US in its first response has ordered Japan to end fighting by all its forces on all fronts immediately. Japan has been told "to send emissaries at once to the supreme commander of the Allies powers with information of the disposition of the Japanese forces."

Allied armed forces have been ordered to suspend hostilities immediately. General Douglas MacArthur has been appointed supreme Allied commander to accept the Japanese surrender. Outside the imperial palace in Tokyo, where the imperial decision was read out, an emotional crowd gathered. Thousands of weeping people bowed to the ground wailing: "Forgive us, O Emperor, our efforts are not enough."

Submarine USS Spikefish sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS I-373. The last Japanese submarine lost in WWII.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Hickory Lake completed and transferred to USSR.

Minesweeper HMCS Fir Lake laid down Sarnia, Ontario.

U.S.A.: The US War Production Board removes its controls over automobile manufacturing activity.

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