16 August 1939

August 16th, 1939 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The British Deputy Chiefs of Staff report that 'it is perfectly clear that without early and effective Russian assistance, the Poles cannot hope to stand up to a German attack on land or in the air for more than a limited time'.

GERMANY: Ribbentrop cables von der Schulenberg, telling him that all Molotov's conditions can be met. Kommodore Dönitz arrives at Kiel, the main U-boat base, and begins to implement plans for Fall Weiss, [Case White], the projected attack on Poland.

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16 August 1940

Yesterday Tomorrow

August 16th, 1940 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Battle of Britain: Two Ju88s attack the aerodrome at Brize Norton and destroy 46 training aircraft.

Ju87s of St.G 2 bomb Tangmere but suffer heavy losses. Challenged by Hurricanes of 1, 43 and 601 Squadrons along with 602 Sqn. Spitfires tackling the escort, 17 Stukas were claimed by the RAF, the Luftwaffe admitting to losing 9. In the midst of the attack Pilot Officer W. Fiske force-landed Hurricane P3358, which was then strafed and burnt.

Around noon a two-pronged attack by KG 2 over Dover and the North Foreland resulted in 80 bombs falling on West Malling airfield, 66 of them exploding in surrounding farmland.

Four No. 266 Squadron Spitfires are shot down in a bitter struggle with II/JG 26 over Deal.

RAF Bomber Command attacks targets in Holland and GERMANY:
4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - Zeiss works at Jena, Dornier aircraft factory at Augsburg and power station at Bohlen.
10 Sqn. Nine aircraft to Jena. All bombed primary, one claimed at Bf110 destroyed and one FTR.
51 Sqn. Fourteen aircraft to Bohlen. Two returned early, twelve bombed primary. One force landed at Nuneaton and one TR.
58 Sqn. Eleven aircraft to Jena and Augsburg. Two returned early (one hit by own AA), four bombed Jena and five bombed Augsburg.
77 Sqn. Five aircraft to Augsburg. One bombed primary, three bombed alternative targets. Weather bad.
78 Sqn. Five aircraft to Bohlen. Four bombed primary, one bombed an alternative target.

Southampton: Flt-Lt Eric James Brindley Nicolson (1917-45) stayed, wounded and badly burnt, in his blazing Hurricane long enough to down a German fighter. Nicolson had been fired on by a Messerschmitt 110, injuring him in one eye and one foot. His engine was also damaged and the petrol tank set alight. As he struggled to leave the blazing machine he saw another Messerschmitt, and managed to get back into the bucket seat, pressed the firing button, continuing firing until the enemy plane dived away to destruction. Not until then did he bale out, and when he landed in a field, he was unable to bale out owing to his badly burned hands. (VC: the only Battle of Britain VC and only fighter pilot to win the VC in the war.) (Chuck Smith)

Submarine HMS Seraph laid down. Minesweeping trawler HMS Liberia is commissioned.

The first American to join the RAF is killed today. William M. Fiske, III will become the only American buried at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Flying with RAF 601 squadron based at Tangmere, he died in a belly landing after being shot up defending England during the Battle of Britain. The inscription reads: "An American citizen who died that England might live." (John Nicholas)

GERMANY: The German News Bureau reported:
An authoritative source has informed us that in the course of this afternoon's aerial hostilities, one German aerial formation took off on a special mission. This combat group was deployed against all military and war-related targets immediately surrounding the British capital. The German Luftwaffe will offer proof that no power in the world can prevent it from dropping its bombs anywhere in England that it chooses - even, if it should be necessary over the City of London.

FINLAND: The US Army transport AMERICAN LEGION departs Petsamo. Passengers include Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Martha of Norway and her 3 children; President Roosevelt has invited her to come to the U.S. American Legion is the last neutral ship to leave Petsamo. In addition to her passengers, she carries a crated twin-mount 40 mm Bofors gun "with standard sights, spare parts and 3,000 rounds of ammunition."

SOMALILAND: British forces pull out of Tug Argan.

CANADA: LCdr Henry "Harry" George Dewolf, RCN, was posted ashore to HMCS Stadacona for reassignment to NSHQ, Ottawa, after a tour of duty as the Commanding Officer of HMCS St Laurent, a River-class destroyer, which he had held since 1937. In Ottawa he served as the Director of Plans and Secretary to the Chiefs of Staff Committee.

U.S.A.: Washington: The United States is to "swap" 50 ageing destroyers for 99-year, rent-free leases on British naval and air bases in the western hemisphere.

The draft agreement was made public two days ago, and was re-affirmed by President Roosevelt in a press conference today stressing the advantages of the deal to the USA. The destroyers in question are obsolescent, but still serviceable, "four-stackers" dating from the Great War, which Churchill told Roosevelt are desperately needed to escort convoys under attack from U-boat "wolf-packs".

The bases involved stretch all the way from Newfoundland by way of Bermuda to the Bahamas and across the Caribbean to British Guinea.

It is understood that the deal had its origins in a personal appeal from Churchill to Roosevelt on 15 May. He explained that the Germans' overrunning of the whole coastline of western Europe from the north of Norway to the Pyrenees, the entry of the Italian fleet, with 100 new submarines, into the war, and the loss of almost half Britain's submarines in actions to protect convoys had seriously weakened Britain's ability to defeat an invasion and keep the Atlantic sea lanes open for imports of wheat, oil and munitions from the United States and elsewhere. It was, Mr Churchill said, "a matter of life and death", and King George added a personal message saying that the need for destroyers was "greater
every day."

It is known that he President first felt that the legal and political difficulties of helping Britain were insuperable. On 1 August, however, the Century Group - which lobbies for US aid to Britain - came up with the idea of exchanging the ships for British bases.

The President was concerned about potential reactions from the isolationists in Congress, many of then Republicans, Mr Churchill was reluctant to let the exchange seem too hard a bargain, and preferred it to be seen as "two friends in danger helping each other."
Still the President persevered: hence today's press conference. One senator who supports the deal reminded his colleagues: "If you jump on the destroyer transfer you're jumping on the acquisition of defence bases."
Mr. Roosevelt has said he believes the swap will be the "most important action in national defence since the Louisiana Purchase."

The first official US Army parachute jump occurred today. Due to the success of this first jump, the War Department recognized the potential of the airborne units and subsequently expanded their role in combat. (Gene Hanson)

In the U.S., two motion pictures are released today:

- "Foreign Correspondent" a thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, stars Joel McCrea, Larraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Bassermann, Robert Benchley, Edmund Gwenn and Eduardo Ciannelli. Uncredited Alfred Hitchcock appears as a man walking down the street while Joan Leslie has an uncredited bit part. The plot has a young reporter for a U.S. newspaper (McCrea) working in London on the eve of World War II where he encounters enemy agents and enlists the aid of a woman (Day) to help him. The film is nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Bassermann).

- "Stranger on the Third Floor," a film-noir drama directed by Boris Ingster, stars Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook, Jr. Cook is convicted of murder based on circumstantial evidence and on the testimony of a up-and-coming reporter. The reporter and his girlfriend have second thoughts and begin to investigate the case to determine his guilt.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-100 sinks SS Empire Merchant in Convoy OA-198.
U-30 sinks SS Clan Macphee in Convoy OB-197.
U-48 sinks SS Hedrun in Convoy OB-197.

At 1302, U-46 fired three torpedoes on three ships (two passenger ships and one freighter) which partially overlapped in convoy OB-197 (150 miles SW of Rockall) and observed a hit on the freighter, which was clearly damaged, as the bow was deeper in the water. The Dutch merchant ship Alcinous (6,189 tons) was hit on the port side by one torpedo and caught fire, which could be extinguished after long work. The British sloop HMS Rochester supported the damaged ship, which was later towed to Gourock by a British tug. Endrass could not identify his victim, but U-30 heard the SOS-signals from the Alcinous.

16 August 1941

August 16th, 1941 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS Lamerton commissioned.

GERMANY: An appeal to housewives to donate unwanted rags and cloth for recycling is to end next week. They have been asked to bring their "textile scrap" to collection points so that it can be used to make reprocessed wool and cotton wool - both of which are used in the production of synthetic fibre and artificial silk.

Nazi propaganda explains that the money saved by recycling will be used for the armaments industry. But the people have been unenthusiastic, many fearing that a bottleneck in textile supplies will result in more rationing.

U-135 commissioned.
U-667 laid down.
U-88 and U-407 launched.

ROMANIA: While defending the Ploesti oilfields from Soviet air attack a Royal Romanian Air Force Heinkel He 112 succeeds in shooting down a Red Air Force bomber. (Greg Kelley)

U.S.S.R.: The German I ArmeeKorps (von Both) of 16 Armee (Busch) takes Novgorod on the road to Leningrad. German and Rumanian forces of Heeresgruppe Süd (von Rundstedt) capture Nikolaev, an important Soviet naval base on the Black Sea. LVI. Panzerkorps is attacking near Dno, 75 miles SW of Novgorod. (Jack McKillop & Jeff Chrisman)

Moscow: An Anglo-Soviet trade pact signed here today was hailed as a landmark in financial relations between the two countries. Britain is granting Russia a £10 million credit at 3% interest. Whitehall stressed that this low rate shows that Russia is seen as a dependable customer. Considerable two-way trade is promised. The credit covers only the balance by which British exports to Russia exceed Soviet ones to Britain, and there will be similar credits when these are needed. Russia expects to pay cash for some imports.

The many thousands of Russian prisoners of war swept up in the great German encircling movements are being abominably treated. To some this is because the Panzer forces simply do not have the resources to cope with large numbers of prisoners.

They are often left to their own devices, without food, water or shelter. Many of them, having been forced to surrender, disappear into the woods and join the partisans.

Like the Jews, however, the Russians are regarded as Untermenschen [sub-humans] by the Germans and are treated as such. As far as the Germans are concerned, the Geneva Convention's rules on the treatment of PoWs does not apply to the Russians.

Reports from the occupied territories speak of them being brutally beaten and shot if they show any signs of resisting their tormentors. Anyone thought of being a member of the Communist Party is shot out of hand. Partisans are hanged without trial whether they are in uniform or not. The ordinary German soldier has been given a dispensation from normal military law to deal with prisoners as he wishes. Disciplinary action for ill-treating or killing prisoners is only taken by unit commanders "for the preservation of discipline". This reign of terror is not, however, having its intended effect. Even some Russians who greeted the Germans as liberators have turned against them.

Soviet submarines S-36 and S-37 are blown up at Nikolayev. (Mike Yared)(146 and 147)

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Geraldton is launched. Boom defence vessel HMAS Karangi is launched.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The US heavy cruisers USS Northampton (CA-26) and USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) arrive at Rabaul on New Britain Island for a good-will visit.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS The Pas launched Collingwood, Ontario.

U.S.A.: The presidential yacht USS Potomac (AG-25) with US President Franklin D Roosevelt aboard, arrives at Rockland, Maine. Roosevelt and his party disembark and board a train for Washington. Thus ends Roosevelt's trip to Newfoundland to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

The Japanese Ambassador in Washington (Nomura) sends the following message to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo: "As I have successively reported to you, Japanese-American relations have today reached a stage in which anything might happen at any moment, and they are likely to grow worse suddenly as soon as Japan makes her next move. That this sudden change will take place with Japan's occupation of Thailand is a view upon which both Japanese and Americans agree."

16 August 1942

August 16th, 1942 (SUNDAY)

GERMANY: German railways have been running a large-scale campaign this summer designed to restrict private travel. "Will your journey help us to victory?" ask posters pasted up at railway stations. "Must you steal carriage space from the front?" demand newspaper advertisements in which soldiers in full kit glare menacingly at their compatriots. The campaign began in June and is continuing through the holiday season. Leisure or holiday trips, however, are the prime target of the "Wheels must roll for victory" campaign.

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

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. envoy Averell Harriman leave Moscow after a five-day conference with Soviet Premier Josef Stalin. Despite recent retreats, Stalin says, the Soviet Union will not be defeated. He asks the British and Americans to send all the trucks they can to increase the Red Army's mobility.

EGYPT: US Army Air Force planes go into action for the first time, attacking German positions.

NEW GUINEA: Japanese reinforcements are landed near Buna. They will supplement the Japanese offensive towards Port Moresby through Kokoda over the Owen Stanley Mountains.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: In the Aleutians, a US 11th Air Force B-24 Liberator aborts a photo reconnaissance flight over Adak Island because of mechanical failure. The IJA 32nd Independent Field Anti-aircraft Battery arrives on Attu Island.

U.S.A.: The unmanned USN non-rigid airship L-8, assigned to Airship Patrol Squadron Thirty Two (ZP-32) based at NAS Moffett Field, California, is involved in a bizarre incident that has never been completely solved to this day. The L-8 left Treasure Island, California at 0600 hours local on a routine patrol off the coast of San Francisco with a crew of 2, Lieutenant (jg) Cody and Ensign Adams. At 0738 hours, the crew radioed that they were 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the Farallon Islands and were investigating an oil slick.
Approximately 2 hours later the airship crashed in Dale City, California. The engines were not running even though there was adequate fuel; the radio equipment was operative but there was no one on board. No trace was ever found of either man and there was no indication of what happened to them. The airship had apparently drifted with the wind toward land, exceeded her pressure height and deflated, settling to earth on power lines at Dale City. The door was locked open with the safety bar down and the only items missing from the blimp were two life-preservers. The L-8 was salvaged and completely repaired.

The 35,000-ton South Dakota Class battleship USS Alabama (BB-60) is commissioned at the U.S. Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia. Alabama is the last of four battleships to be completed this year; the others are South Dakota (BB-57), Indiana (BB-58) and Massachusetts (BB-59).

Destroyers USS Conway and Murray launched.
Minesweeper USS Portent launched.
Submarine USS Sibyl commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-507 sinks SS Araraquara, SS Annibal Benévolo and SS Baependy.
U-596 sinks SS Suecia in Convoy SC-95.

16 August 1943

August 16th, 1943 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: In England, the US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command VIII Bomber Command fly missions.

- The VIII Air Support Command flies Missions 21, 22A and 22B against airfields in France without loss.
(1) 31 B-26B Marauders bomb Bernay St Martin Airfield at 1117 hours.
(2) 29 B-26Bs attack Beaumont Le Roger Airfield at 1700 hours and 3 hit Conches Airfield at 1703 hours.
(3) A third B-26 group flies a diversion.

- The VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 83 against Luftwaffe facilities in France.
(1) 171 B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Le Bourget air depot in the Paris area at 0929-0937 hours; they claim 29-3-11 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17's are lost; this mission is escorted all the way to the target by P-47 Thunderbolts using drop tanks.
(2) 66 B-17s attack Poix and Abbeville Airfields at 0911-0923 hours without loss.

Frigates HMS Torridge and Wye launched. Frigate HMS Capel commissioned. Frigate FS La Surprise is laucnhed. Corvettes HMS Shrewsbury Castle and Tunsberg Castle are launched.

NORWAY: A state of siege is declared throughout the country.

GERMANY: U-828 laid down.

U.S.S.R.: Baltic Fleet and Ladoga Flotilla: (Sergey Anisimov)(69)Submarine loss "S-12" - by depth charges of surface ships, close to Bolshoi Tuters Is.

The Soviet Army begins an offensive against the Mius line toward Stalino.

Bialystock: Germans enter the Jewish ghetto and start deporting its 25,000 inhabitants.

Soviet forces take Zhidra, north-east of Bryansk.

ITALY: The British make an amphibious flanking movement on the east coast of Sicily. They miss the retreating Germans. US forward units reach the edge of Messina.

86 US Ninth Air Force B-24s bomb the city area and 100+ P-40's hit shipping at Messina and in the Straits of Messina, as the enemy continues the withdrawal of rear guard troop to mainland Italy. Before midnight, US patrols enter Messina, which is under fire from the Italian coast.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The armed U.S. freighter SS Benjamin Contee is hit by an aerial torpedo 16 miles (25.7 km) north of Bone, Algeria. The ship is carrying 1,800 Italian POWS, 26 British guards and 7 US Army security men. the explosion kills 264 POWS and injures another 142. The ship is in no danger of sinking.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Oil tanks at Balikpapan, Borneo are hit by 2 US Fifth Air Force B-24s.

NEW GUINEA: A Japanese raiding company get behind allied lines near Salamaua. Early today they attack a troop of 2/6 Field Regiment (Arty) Australian army. The gunners defend the gun position with small-arms. They took casualties (3 KIA and 7 WIA) without inflicting any on the Japanese, but held their position. Therefore, the raiders were unable to capture any of the guns.

The Japanese commander was dissatisfied with the lack of progress of his men. He drew his sword and stood up to urge his men forward. A nearby Australian gunner was an ex-infantryman with an Owen gun who riddled the Japanese officer with a full magazine. The Japanese raiding party withdrew, their only casualties two officers KIA. The guns were in action by 9.30am. (102 and 103) (Michael Mitchell)

TIME

Vol. XLII No. 7

Aug. 16, 1943

World Battlefronts: The Bloody Story of Lieut. Kliebert

Lieut. Nicholas Kliebert, with 37 men, had gone to protect some wounded on the Munda trail. While they were holding a bridge against a frontal attack their three Browning automatics became overheated, could no longer be used. Later, in the presence of his commanding officer, Lieut. Kliebert told correspondents what happened next: "The Japs who got through to one of our litter cases propped the man against a tree and five Japs took turns bayoneting him. I got three of them. . . . We saw Japs pull blankets off litter cases and line them up. ... They cut one of the poor lads from the top of his head to his feet, meanwhile laughing deliriously. Then they shot him through the head."

The battle lasted for seven hours. When the Japs finally withdrew, Kliebert had lost three of the handful of brave men who had fought beside him while others were evacuating the wounded, had killed 175 Japs. He estimated that the Japs killed at least 20 of the wounded, most of whom could not walk. (Skip Guidry)

Wewak: The US 5th Air Force begins seven days of attacks today. The Japanese airfields around Wewak are on the targets.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 9 US Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Papatura Fa Island while 12 B-25 Mitchells, 5 B-17s, and 30+ USMC aircraft attack Vila Airfield on Kolombangara Island. On New Georgia Island, Munda airfield is bombarded by IJN artillery on Baanga Island.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: In the Aleutian Islands, a US Eleventh Air Force B-24 reconnaissance flight reconnoitres North Head, Main Camp, and northern Kiska Island, and observes friendly forces' unopposed advance into Main Camp.

CANADA: Tug HMCS Glenlea commissioned.
Tug HMCS Glendon laid down Vancouver, British Columbia.

U.S.A.: Destroyer escort USS Major laid down.
Minesweeper USS Shelter laid down. Destroyer escort USS Calacaterra launched.
Minesweepers USS Signet and Skirmish launched. Destroyer escorts USS Hill, JRY Blakeley, Sloat and Welles commissioned.
Aircraft carrier USS Intrepid commissioned. Corvette USS Prudent is commissioned.

16 August 1944

August 16th, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)

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

- Mission 556: 1,090 bombers and 692 fighters, in 4 forces, are dispatched to make visual attacks on oil refineries and aircraft plants in central Germany; 23 bombers and 3 fighters are lost (number in parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking).
(1) B-17s hit Delitzsch air depot (102), the aviation industry at Schkeuditz (92) and Halle (60) and the oil industry at Bohlen (88); other targets are Naumburg (15), Halberstadt Airfield (13) and targets of opportunity (9); they claim 6-4-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 10 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 246 P-47s and P-51 Mustang; they claim 15-1-6 Luftwaffe.
(2) B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil industry at Rositz (105) and Zeitz (101); 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 6 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 166 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47s are lost.
(3) B-24s are dispatched to Halberstadt Airfield (51); 10 others hit Quedlinburg Airfield and 1 hits a targets of opportunity; escort is provided by 42 of 46 P-38 Lightnings.
(4) B-24s are dispatched to hit the aviation industry at Dessau (99), Kothen (71) and Magdeburg/Neustadt (67) and the oil industry at Magdeburg/Rothensee; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 156 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 12-0-0 aircraft; 1P-51 is lost.

- Mission 557: 8 of 8 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

Minesweeper HMS Squirrel commissioned.

FRANCE: Canadian troops from II Corps enter Falaise. Polish units of the British I Corps advance west over the River Dives. The US XX Corps liberates Chartres, France.

The French II Corps lands and passes forward through the US lines in the South of France.

The US Ninth Air Force dispatches about 130 B-26s and A-20 Havocs, with fighter escort, to hit a Foret de Roumare ammunition dump and rail bridges at Pont-Audemer, Thibouville, Brionne, Nassandres, and Le Bourg; fighters give air cover to an armored division and infantry forces, and fly patrol and armed reconnaissance over northern and western France.

Normandy: Lt. Tasker Watkins (b.1918), Welch regt., led a successful charge against superior numbers and later silenced a machine-gun post, saving his men. (Victoria Cross)

Savoy: The Resistance launched a general rebellion to coincide with the Allied landings in the south.

Adolf Hitler orders the withdrawal of all German forces in southern France.

The German Me-163 rocket-powered fighter sees action for the first time against a formation of B-17s.

GERMANY: U-2518 laid down.

EASTERN FRONT: POLAND: The Russian attacks reach Ossow, 7 miles NE of Warsaw where they are pushed back by a German counterattack.

Moscow: The Soviet government describes the Warsaw rising as a "reckless, appalling adventure."

ITALY: The US Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bombs targets in Germany and France.

- In Germany, 89 B-24s, with fighter escort, bomb a chemical works at Friedrichshafen.

- In France, 108 B-17s, supporting Operation DRAGOON, attack railroad bridges at Saint-Vallier,

Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny, Grenoble, and Isere-Valence.

In support of the landings in Southern France (Operation DRAGOON):

- US Twelfth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers continue to blast enemy defenses and communications on the beaches and in the invasion area of southern France; A-20s hit lights and vehicles during the night of 15/16 August from north of the beachhead to the Rhone River and during the day raid ammunition stores; medium bombers pound Rhone River bridges and gun positions throughout the general area.

- 42 US Fifteenth Air Force P-51s escort MATAF C-47 Skytrains on a supply dropping mission to the beachheads.

INDIA: The last IJA troops retreat to Burma.

BONIN ISLANDS: US Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan Island hit Chichi Jima Island and Pagan Island while Marshall Island-based B-24s bomb Truk Atoll.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Thetford Mines arrived Halifax from workups in Bermuda.
Corvette HMCS Whitby arrived Halifax from refit Shelburne, Nova Scotia.

U.S.A.: Destroyer escort USS Mack commissioned.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-525 was commissioned with LTJG George C. Steinemann, USCGR, as commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific, and Western Pacific areas, including Milne Bay, Hollandia, etc.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-263 was commissioned at New York LTJG W. G. Hill, USCGR, was her first commanding officer. On 6 September 1944, she departed New York for the Southwest Pacific where she operated during the war. On 1 August 1945, the FS-263 anchored in Serida Lagoon, Biak, New Guinea, without cargo awaiting orders to proceed to the Philippine area, and departed on the 2nd for Finschhafen, New Guinea. Arriving on the 6th, after an uneventful voyage, she loaded mail and commissary supplies for Oro Bay, New Guinea and Milne Bay, New Guinea. On the 7th she entered drydock at Finschhafen, where she remained until the 9th having her bottom scraped and repainted. On the 11th she departed Finschhafen to search for a man lost overboard on the 10th, but returned to port when the man was located on Scarlet Beach having swum ashore during the night. On the 15th she departed Finschhafen for Oro Bay, New Guinea, and moored there on the 16th. Here the #3 cylinder liner of her starboard engine was found to be cracked and it was deemed inadvisable to proceed to sea with only one engine. She was, therefore, docked at Oro Bay for the remainder of August 1945 with cargo for Oro Bay discharged but cargo for Milne Bay still on board. While the engine was being repaired, the crew was engaged in routine cleaning and upkeep work aboard the vessel. On 12 October 1945, Coast Guard crew was removed from the FS-263 and she was decommissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-862 sinks SS Empire Lancer.

16 August 1942

August 16th, 1945 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: An "iron curtain" has come down across Europe, according to Winston Churchill. Now leader of the opposition, he told the House of Commons today of his fears that "tragedy on a prodigious scale is imposing itself behind the iron curtain which at present divides Europe in twain."

He was referring especially to the expulsion of millions of Germans from territory allotted to Poland in the west to compensate for that taken by Russia in the east. Many are unaccounted for. "Where have they gone? What is their fate?"

Going on to speak of what was happening in the newly communist-dominated countries, he said: "A family might be gathered round the fireside and enjoying the fruits of their toil when suddenly there is a knock at the door and heavily-armed policemen appear.

"It may be that a father or a son or a friend sitting in the cottage is called out and taken away into the dark and no one knows what is his fate. All they know is that they had better not inquire ...

"President Roosevelt laid down the Four Freedoms, and these are extant in the Atlantic Charter. Freedom from fear, but this has been interpreted as if it were only freedom from fear of invasion by a foreign country. That is the least of the fears of the common man. His patriotism arms him to withstand invasion. That is not the fear of the ordinary families in Europe tonight. Their fear is of the policeman knocking at the door."

U.S.S.R.: Pacific Fleet ship loss - HS "GOK-2" - mined at Rasin port (Korea) (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

Moscow: Poland and the USSR sign a treaty which fixes the new Russo-Polish frontier.

MANCHURIA: Soviet forces free Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright, USA, from a POW camp. Wainwright had been captured on Corregidor Island in Manila Bay on 6 May 1942 and spent the next three and a half years as a POW in Luzon, Formosa, and Manchuria. The years of captivity took its toll on the general. The man who had been nicknamed "Skinny" was now emaciated, his hair had turned white, and his skin was cracked and fragile. He was also depressed, believing he would be blamed for the loss of the Philippines to the Japanese. When Wainwright arrived in Yokohama, Japan, to attend the formal surrender ceremony, General of the Army MacArthur, his former commander, was stunned at his appearance-literally unable to eat and sleep for a day. Wainwright was given a hero's welcome upon returning to the U.S.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050905/41306298.html

Mukden: A six-man team from the American Office of Strategic Services parachutes into the Mukden PoW camp. The Japanese commandant had not heard of the surrender so had not implemented the long-standing instructions to Japanese camp commandants to dispose of all PoWs prior to surrendering their position. (151)(152)(Linda Goetz Holmes)

JAPAN: The Japanese Cabinet under PM Suzuki resigned after the Emperor's radio broadcast yesterday. They resign because they were unable to make a decision without consulting the Emperor. They also realize their job is done and a new cabinet will assist their country in making the transition to peace. In their last final act the open up military warehouses of food and other supplies for the civilian population.

Prince Higashikuni, with Prince Konoye as advisor, is appointed as Prime Minister and asked to form a new cabinet.

PACIFIC OCEAN: While 100 miles (161 km) east of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, the US destroyer USS Healy (DD-672) establishes sonar contact with an underwater object and carriers out a depth charge attack.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: In the Aleutians, US aircraft are ordered not to approach closer than 50 miles (80.5 km) near Japanese or Soviet-held territory.

U.S.A.: Minesweeper USS Waxwing commissioned.

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