24 September 1939

1932 (SATURDAY)

SWEDEN: Per A. Hansson became the new Prime Minister of Sweden as a new Socialist government came to power. This ministry undertook a rearmament program in response to deteriorating relations between Germany and the Soviet Union.

1937 (FRIDAY)

CHINA: The Japanese capture Baoding (Paoting) in northern China.

1938 (SATURDAY)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Rejecting the German demands, the Czechoslovak government mobilized the army in preparation for war. This marked the most serious crisis to European peace since the outbreak of World War I.

September 24th, 1939 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The US freighter SS Black Condor, detained by the British for the past week, is released.

GERMANY: France fires guns on the eastern border and bombs the German Zeppelin base at Friedrichshafen.

The Zeppelin works were at Fredrichshafen as they still are today. LZ-127 GRAF ZEPPELIN and LZ-130 GRAF ZEPPELIN II survived to the outbreak of war but were destroyed on Göring's orders in early 1940. (Marc Small)

Two aircraft of 10 Squadron RAF based at Dishforth, Yorkshire, carry out a successful leaflet drop over Hamburg and Bremen despite severe weather.

POLAND: Warsaw: The City Hall lies in ruins, the sewers are destroyed, the city's few remaining wells besieged by long queues who brave death by shellfire for water. Pestilence and hunger are new enemies; still quivering flesh is stripped from a horses bones as soon as the animal is hit by shellfire. Morale breaks: "Today for the first time, we heard women scoffing at our army....'Perhaps we are going to fight tanks with bows and arrows like the Abyssinians', one remarked bitterly.

ROMANIA: Poland's President Moscicki and its armed forces chief, Marshal Smigly-Rydz are interned. Smigly-Rydz returned to Poland to join the resistance, and is believed to have been in killed in 1943 by the Germans. Moscicki went to Switzerland and died there in 1946.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet Union proposes military alliance to Estonia. The alliance would give Red Army bases in Estonian territory. The Estonian leadership, convinced that all resistance would be futile, hastily send plenipotentiaries to Moscow.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-13 sank SS Phryné.
U-31 sank SS Hazelside.
U-33 sank SS Caldew.
U-34 captured SS Hanonia.
U-4 sank SS Gertrud Bratt.

24 September 1940

September 24th, 1940 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

RAF Fighter Command: In the early morning, there is fog in northern France. The English Channel is cloudy with haze in the Straits and Thames Estuary. During the morning, the Luftwaffe made two major attacks over Kent and the Thames Estuary. In the afternoon, two smaller attacks are carried out against objectives in the Southampton district.

By day attacks take place on Tilbury Docks, and the Supermarine Spitfire factory at Woolston, Southampton, by fighter-bombers. At night London and Merseyside are raided.

At 0830 hours, the leading formations of nine raids totalling about 200 aircraft, crossed the coast between Dover and Dungeness. The main body flew across Kent to attack objectives at Tilbury Docks and Gravesend, while a diversion of fighters crossed East Kent to the Isle of Sheppey. Weather conditions are very hazy. The proportion of German fighters to bombers is approximately two to one. At 1115 hours, a primary wave of about 100 aircraft flew in over the Dover Area. A secondary wave of 80 aircraft came in over the Estuary and turned South into Kent. Objectives are towns on the South East Coast and in the middle of Kent. The first attack on Southampton began at 1320 hours when 50 German aircraft of which about half are bombers, approached the Isle of Wight and attacked the Supermarine Spitfire factory at Woolston in the Southampton area. At 1610 hours 50 aircraft (half of which are again bombers) flew in over the Isle of Wight and penetrated inland to the borders of Oxfordshire. During the day, hostile reconnaissances are plotted over East Anglia (four), Kent, Biggin Hill, and the RAF Station at Rye and along the coast from Beachy Head to Shoreham. In the West of Scotland, a target at Oban is attacked.

Two groups of bombers operated today over the Medway area - one entering over Dover and the other by way of the River Crouch. They were challenged by 18 fighter squadrons. Soon after 13:00 from the Cherbourg direction came 18 Bf110s of Erpro 210 with ZG 76 providing top cover and making direct for Supermarine's Woolston works, upon which each dived delivering a 250-kg bomb. Five scored hits on the factory area without causing serious damage. One bomb, however, killed and wounded skilled and senior staff in a shelter, and for the loss south of the Isle of Wight of only one bomber. Higher level raiders also tried unsuccessfully for Woolston.

London was under Red Alert from 20:10 to 05:30. At 1930 hours, raids started coming out of Le Havre, France, making for Shoreham and London. These are followed by a sequence of other raids on the same course which are not, however, as numerous as usual. At about the same time, raids from the direction of Holland crossed the North Norfolk coast and for the most part remained in East Anglia except for two which penetrated more deeply Westwards. None of these raids appeared to proceed to the London area. At about 2230 hours, there is a temporary lull and after 2300 hours owing to returning friendly bombers, it became difficult to distinguish hostile tracks. However, German activity in the London area continued and appeared to increase after 0300 hours. Some raiders over the IAZ trying to fire the colours of the day. That did not discourage the gunners from firing another 5,480 rounds. Very heavy bombing commenced at midnight causing incidents at Camberwell, Chelsea, Islington, Kensington, St. Mary's Hospital, Chancery Lane, Queen's Hall, University College, Lambeth, Marylebone Road, St. Pancras, Waterloo Station, Wormwood Scrubs, Earl's Court Station, Kew Bridge and The Times building in Queen Victoria Street.

The approach is mainly from the South Coast but a few raids flew in from East Anglia. Early in the evening, several raids proceeded up the Irish Sea in the direction of Liverpool but turned away southeast across Wales. One raid remained in the Anglesey area for a considerable time. Later in the night, Liverpool is visited by several raids and there is also some activity in the Dundee area, the Midlands and South Midlands. In the London area, activity further increased after 0400 hours and only at 0538 hours had the last raid recrossed the coast.

Losses: Luftwaffe, 11; RAF, 4.

The 7,528 tons Blue Funnel Line merchant vessel SS Automedon of the A & R Holt Shipping Line prepares to leave Liverpool on a routine voyage to Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Onboard is a general cargo consisting of crated aircraft, machinery, vehicles, foodstuffs and 120 mail bags, including the latest merchant navy code deciphering tables 7, 8 and 9. In addition to this is a slender green bag, placed aboard on the orders of Air Chief Marshall, Sir Cyril Newall of the Chiefs of Staff (COS). Inside of which is a full copy of the August 1940 COS Far Eastern Appreciation. This is destined for the attention of the Commander-in-Chief Far East, Air Chief Marshall Sir Robert Brooke Popham. Precisely why a copy of this report was sent to the colony in such an insecure manner is a question that, in all probability, will never receive a satisfactory answer. Explanation. Though whilst offering consideration to this point, another issue warrants far deeper consideration. This being, why was an Appreciation dealing mainly with the defence of Singapore and Malaya despatched to its Commanders at such a late date, particularly as the document had now been in restricted circulation for more than a month? (Denis Peck)

GERMANY: The Luftwaffe ace Adolf Galland commander of Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26 or Single-Engined Fighter Group 26) receives the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross; Hitler agrees with his admiration for the RAF.

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. 10 Sqn. Whitley P5055 Damaged by Flak, Plt Off Steyn and crew unhurt. 10 Sqn. T4130 force landed out of fuel. Damaged attempting to take-off after refuelling. Sgt V. Snell and crew unhurt. 58 Sqn. N1470 crashed on take-off. Sgt H. Cornish, Plt Off A.I. Waterson and Sgt L.H.Taylor killed, Sgts Fowlie and Chamberlain injured. aircraft burnt.

Bombing - industrial targets at Berlin and Finkenheerd.

10 Sqn. Twelve aircraft to Finkenheerd. Primary obscured, alternatives bombed. Two aircraft damaged.

58 Sqn. Seven aircraft to Berlin. One crashed on take-off with three killed. Primary obscured, alternatives bombed.

77 Sqn. Two aircraft to Berlin. Both bombed with good results.

After dark Berlin was bombed and a Wellington delivered 91,500 propaganda leaflets to residents there and at Hanover and Hamburg.

U-106 commissioned.
U-508 laid down.

GIBRALTAR: The Rock of Gibraltar has been hit by bombs for the first time in the war - dropped by a former ally. It was inevitable, after the British operation in Dakar, that the Vichy government would have to make some reprisal. Six bomber groups of the former Armee de l'Air and 4 escadrilles of the French naval air arm took part. The bombers were all stationed at the bases of Oran and Tafaroui in Algeria and Merknes, Mediouna and Port Lyautey in Morocco. The operation was approved by the German and Italian cease-fire commissions, and directed by Air Force Brigadier General Tarnier, commander of the French Air Force in Morocco. Just after 12:20 pm the first LeO 45 bomber groups (I/23 and II/23) took off from Merknes airfield and headed for Gibraltar. They reached their target at 1:00pm and bombed from 19,500 feet. No RAF fighter cover was detected. Between 1:30 and 2:15 pm a number of French fighter planes were deployed over Gibraltar to provide protection for the bombers. They included 12 Dewoitine 520s of GC II/3 based on Mediouna, 12 Curtiss Hawks of GC II/5 based on Casablanca and 12 Hawks of GC I/5 based on Rabat. Two escadrilles (2B and 3B) of Glenn Martin bombers from Port Lyautey concluded operations at 4:15 pm. The 64-bomber raid should have wrecked the port, 41 metric tons of bombs being dropped, but a large number of the French pilots appear to have deliberately dropped their loads into the sea, and a larger number of the fuses of the bombs that did land had apparently been tampered with so that they would not explode. The authorities are now strenuously applying themselves to retrieving the unexploded bombs, but these are the least of their problems. It is the diplomatic efforts of Hitler to bring Spain into the Axis, and of President Roosevelt to browbeat Spain back into neutrality, that are most concentrating their minds. If Spain does come in then Gibraltar's anti-aircraft gun toll of three planes last night is not a good sign. Gibraltar remains Britain's most vital strategic outpost; a key base for convoy escorts. Now, with Mussolini's fleet menacing the Mediterranean, any threat to the Rock must be viewed seriously.

FRENCH WEST AFRICA: Dakar: Dakar is bombarded by the RN warships of "Force M", and 'Richilieu' is attacked by HMS Ark Royal's aircraft. Vichy submarine Ajax is sunk by destroyer HMS Fortune. Battleship HMS BARHAM is hit by the coast batteries but suffers little damage.

CANADA: The third group of 6 overage USN destroyers exchanged for bases in the Western Hemisphere are turned over to the RCN at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

USS Bancroft (DD-256), commissioned as HMCS St Francis (I-93) USS McCook (DD-252), commissioned as HMCS St Croix (I-81), and USS Haraden (DD-183), commissioned as HMCS Columbia (I-49), part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. (Ron Babuka)

Minelayer HMCS Sankaty commissioned Halifax, Nova Scotia. Built Quincy Massachusetts, 459/11, 195x38x9.75ft, 8kts, crew 3/39, 1-.303mg. ex-Staford, Oyster Bay Massachusetts, Staten Island ferry, employed minelaying, loop laying, maintenance vessel. Pendant's (FY61)>(Z29)>(M01) Post WW.II, sold 1947, renamed Charles A Dunning, Prince Edward Island ferry.

Destroyers HMCS St Francis, St Croix, Niagara, Columbia, St Clair and Annapolis commissioned at Halifax.

U.S.A.: C-46A-5-CU, AAF s/n 41-12302, msn 26429 ordered on Contract AC-15999. First C46 to be ordered by the USAAF.

24 September 1941

September 24th, 1941 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: In London, an announcement is made that the Free French National Council, i.e., a government in exile, was formed yesterday.

Corvette HMS Godetia launched.

U.S.S.R.: The German Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd) begins an offensive against the vital land bridge to the Crimea at Perekop, this is a heavily fortified natural Soviet defensive barrier at the great 'tartar Ditch' ('Tartarengrab') stretching across the narrow 5-7 km wide isthmus of Perekop which seperates the Crimean Peninsula from the Ukraine. The attack is made by elements of Gen. d. Inf. von Manstein's 11. Armee. (John Nicholas, Russ Folsom and Jack McKillop)

A bomb explodes in German headquarter in the Hotel Continental in Kiev.

YUGOSLAVIA: Josip Broz Tito, Commander of the Yugoslav Liberation Army, leading a poorly armed and equipped band of 70,000 partisans, attacks and takes the town of Uzice with it’s rifle factory capable of making 400 weapons a day. Tito and his troops would hold the city for two months.

GIBRALTAR: The first German U-Boat passes Gibraltar today. Over the next two weeks 6 more U-Boats will pass into the Mediterranean during the next two weeks. The German Submarine Force will later have about 50% of its active submarine force engaged in the Mediterranean.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Operation Halberd begins today and lasts through the 30th. A major effort to move supplies from Gibraltar to Malta. The 9 transports are covered by a naval force including 3 battleships, HMS Nelson, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Rodney, one aircraft carrier (HMS Ark Royal), 5 cruisers and 18 destroyers. This convoy, bringing 50,000 tons of supplies mostly food, will reach Malta loosing only 1 transport. The British will sink one Italian submarine and sustain minor damage on HMS Nelson from a torpedo plane. Pantellaria will also be shelled. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The following message is sent to the Japanese consulate in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii: "Henceforth, we would like to have you make reports concerning vessels along the following lines
insofar as possible:
1. The waters (of Pearl Harbor) are to be divided roughly into five sub-areas. (We have no objections to your abbreviating as much as you like.)
   Area A. Waters between Ford Island and the Arsenal.
   Area B. Waters adjacent to the Island south and west of Ford Island. (This area is on the opposite side of the Island from Area A.)
   Area C. East Loch.
   Area D. Middle Loch.
   Area E. West Loch and the communicating water routes.
2. With regard to warships and aircraft carriers, we would like to have you report on those at anchor, (these are not so important) tied up at wharves, buoys and in locks. (Designate types and classes briefly. If possible we would like to have you make mention of the fact when there are two or more vessels along side the same wharf.)"

U.S.A.: London and Washington: 15 countries adhere to the Atlantic Charter formulated by US President Franklin D Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland in August. The countries are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, USSR and Yugoslavia.
With Anthony Eden in the chair, the meeting began in the ornate Picture Gallery of St James's Palace, with a statement by Ivan Maisky, the Soviet ambassador, denouncing the "gang of Hitlerite marauders, armed to the teeth and proclaiming itself to be the master race." By contrast he spoke of the Soviet Union "guided by the principle of self-determination of nations" and committed to defending the territorial integrity of every country and the "right to establish such a social order and a form of government as it deems opportune and desirable."

The Atlantic Charter commits the signatories to a postwar world of mutual co-operation and of freedom for countries under Nazi occupation, with no annexations or frontier changes without the freely expressed wishes of the people concerned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-67 sank SS St Clair II in Convoy SL-87.
U-107 sank SS Dixcove, John Holt and Lafian in Convoy SL-87.

HMS Lulworth picks up 5 survivors from SS St. Clair II.

Top of Page

Yesterday Tomorrow

Home

24 September 1942

Yesterday Tomorrow

September 24th, 1942 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Submarine HMS P-36 commissioned.

Submarine HMS Usurper launched.
Sloop HMS Chanticleer launched.
Frigate HMS Mourne launched.
Destroyer HMS Savage launched.
Submarine HMS Sea Dog commissioned.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 24/25 September, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in two areas: 18 aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands and four off Texel Island.

GERMANY: Berlin: Hitler today sacked his army chief of staff, General Franz Halder, who had dared to point out to the Fuhrer that Stalin had a million and a half fresh troops, which were about to be thrown into battle on the eastern front. Germany, said Halder, did not possess the strength to hold the Russians at Stalingrad and also pursue an offensive against the Caucasus oil fields.

Hitler was furious. "We need National Socialist ardour," he told Halder, "not professional ability. I cannot expect it of an officer of the old school like you." Halder told friends later. "So spoke, not a responsible war lord, but a political fanatic." General Kurt Zietzler is appointed in his place with responsibility for the Russian front.

During the night of 24/25 September, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in six areas: five aircraft lay mines in the Heligoland Bight, three off Danzig, two each off Pillau and Swinemunde and individual aircraft off the Fehmarn Channel and Sassnitz.

U-190 commissioned.
U-641 commissioned.
U-421 and U-713 launched.

POLAND: During the night of 24/25 September, two RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Gdynia.

U.S.S.R.: Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: Submarine "M-60" - mined and sunk in Odessa Gulf, close to Bolshoi Fontan. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

Stalingrad: Olga Yamschchikova becomes the first women fighter pilot to "kill" an enemy aircraft when she shoots down a German Junkers Ju88 dive-bomber.

600 Soviet partisans, some dressed in German uniforms and using heavy artillery, destroy the German supply station at Ryabchichi and burn down the town, between Bryansk and Smolensk on the Smolensk-Bryansk highway.

Units of Heeresgruppe A (List) launch an attack against the Black Sea port of Tuapse.

Portugese Timor: A Japanese Zero fighter on reconnaissance appears over the grounded HMAS Voyager. The plane is shot down by the ship's gunners but not before reporting the sighting. (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)

NEW GUINEA: The Japanese receive an order from headquarters on Rabaul to withdraw the troops on the Kokoda Track to the Buna-Gona area. This order results from a Japanese High Command decision to give Guadalcanal priority at the expense of the campaign in New Guinea. The Japanese 144th Regiment is chosen to perform a rearguard action at Ioribaiwa with two battalions while its other battalion and the 41st Regiment withdraws.
Fifth Air Force P-40s and A-20s hit Mubo while B-17s bomb wrecked vessel at Gona; P-40s hit the airfield at Kokoda and targets along the Kokoda-Wairopi trail, including a bridge at Wairopi.

GILBERT ISLANDS: Japanese troops land on Maiana Island, 26 nautical miles (30 miles or 48 kilometres) south of Tarawa Atoll.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17s bomb shipping at Rabaul on New Britain Island.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines is searching the west bank of the Matanikau River, for straggling remnants of the Bloody Ridge Battle. The have found several small groups of Japanese as they move from the foothills of Mt. Austen towards the sea. The battalion suffers 7 dead and 25 WIA of which 18 are stretcher cases. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines begins preparations to join them. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
Four USAAF B-17s staging through Henderson Field on Guadalcanal attack Japanese cargo vessels near the Shortland Islands. One B-17 is shot down over Buin.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24s bomb the Main Camp, storage dumps, and dock areas on Kiska Island, starting several fires.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Fort William arrived Halifax from builder Port Arthur, Ontario
Corvette HMCS North Bay laid down Collingwood, Ontario.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Tales of Manhattan" is released. Directed by Julien Duvivier, this comedy drama stars Charles Boyer, Rita Hayworth, Henry Fonda, Ginger Rogers, Charles Laughton, Edward G. Robinson, Ethel Waters, Paul Robeson, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Thomas Mitchell, Cesar Romero and George Sanders.

Band leader Glenn Miller makes his last radio broadcast on the 15-minute "Chesterfield Time" which is heard on CBS Radio three times a week. He has appeared on this show since 27 December 1939. Miller has volunteered for service in the U.S. Army and is replaced by Harry James.

Destroyer USS Brownson launched.

The auxiliary aircraft carrier (ACV) USS Suwanee (ACV-27, ex SS Markay, ex-Maritime Commission Hull 5, ex AO-33) is commissioned at Newport News, Virginia. She is the 11th ACV in commission.
Destroyer USS Charles J Badger laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-175 sank SS West Chetac in Convoy TRIN-14.
U-432 sank SS Penmar in Convoy SC-100.
U-512 sank SS Antinous.
U-561 sank SS Sphinx.
U-617 sank SS Roumanie in Convoy SC-100.
U-619 sank SS John Winthrop in Convoy ON-131.
This was indeed a black day for U-755. At 0549 hrs she was attacked by a convoy escort with gunfire; two hours later the boat unsuccessfully attacked convoy SC-100 with four torpedoes. She was attacked again at 1615 by an aircraft. Finally the boat was attacked by an escort at 1700, during which the boat was so heavily damaged that she had to return to base.

24 September 1943

September 24th, 1943 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Westminster: Britain has run out of manpower. Another 750,000 workers are needed next year, despite the mobilization of 22,750,000 already, said Ernest Bevin, the minister of labour, today. The recruiting of women into the services will virtually stop and they will be diverted into industry. Boys and girls aged 16 and 17 will be placed in aircraft factories. Surface coal workers are being sent below, and cotton operatives of up to 55 will return to work in the mills.

Destroyer HMS Urchin commissioned.
Frigates HMS Mounsey, Moorsom, Manners and Hoste launched.

FRANCE: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command flies Missions 69 and 70 against 2 airfields without loss.
(1) 71 B-26B Marauders hit Fauville Airfield at Evreux at 1150 hours; they claim 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft.
(2) 66 B-26Bs hit Tille Airfield at Beauvais at 1602-1603 hours; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft.

GERMANY: Berlin announces evacuation of Smolensk and Roslavl in the Soviet Union.

During the night of 24/25 September, four RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Duisburg.

U-370 launched.

U.S.S.R..: Heavy fighting is in progress in the vicinity of Smolensk and Roslavl. The Soviet Army captures Borispol, east of Kiev. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

Vilna: The Nazis have had plenty of practice in destroying Jewish ghettoes. In the second of two "special actions", the Jews here have been robbed, beaten and sent either to Majdanek for gassing or to Estonian labour camps for a slow death. The elderly were simply shot in the nearby Ponary woods. Of Vilna's pre-war population of 60,000 Jews, just two thousand Jews are left, living in prison camps, working for German fur factories.

ITALY: In the British Eighth Army's 5 Corps area, 78th Division patrols reach the Ofanto River.
In the air, the USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s hit roads, railways, bridges, and junctions at Grottaminarda, Maddaloni, Benevento, Avellino, Capua, Cancello Arnone, Amorosi, Ponte, and Mignano, and attack a destroyer between Corsica and Elba Island; B-24s on detached service from the Eighth Air Force bomb the marshalling yard at Pisa; US and RAF planes attack vehicles, roads, troop concentrations, and gun positions around Santa Lucia di Serino, Serino, Caserta, Benevento, Camarella, Baronissi, Nocera, Montemarano, and San Severo.

During the night of 24/25 September, 80 RAF aircraft of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb North Basin at Leghorn.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the 20th Brigade, Australian 9th Division, forces the Bumi River, north of Finschhafen, against heavy opposition, capturing Finschhafen Airfield. In the Markham River Valley, the 2/14th Battalion, with a battery from the 2/4th Field Regiment, lands at Kaiapit.   (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
     In the air, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24s fly a small strike against Sorong and Manokwari.
     In the air, 9 Japanese bombers with a fighter escort bomb and strafe Finschhafen Airdrome. A USAAF Fifth Air Force P-38 pilot shoots down one of the escorting “Zekes” (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters).

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Barakoma Field on Vella Lavella Island becomes operational and the first Allied plane lands.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: ALAMO Scouts begin reconnaissance of the Cape Gloucester area on New Britain Island in preparation for the upcoming invasion. ALAMO is the code for the U.S. Sixth Army while operating as a special ground task force headquarters directly under General Headquarters, South West Pacific Area.

ARCTIC OCEAN: U-387 put a weather reporting unit ashore on Spitsbergen in the Arctic Sea.

U-711 used its deck gun to attack the Soviet radio station Blagopolucya on the island of Nova Zemlja in the Barents Sea.

TERRITORY OF HAWAII: Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance recommends to Admiral Chester Nimitz that an amphibious operation against Makin Island be substituted for projected invasion of Nauru. This plan is subsequently accepted.

CANADA: Tug HMCS Norton launched Montreal, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Sabotage Agent" is released. This war drama, directed by Harold S. Bucquet, stars Robert Donat, Valerie Hobson and Glynis Johns. The plot has a British soldier (Donat) sent to Czechoslovakia to blow up a German poison gas factory.
In baseball, the Chicago Cubs play the Philadelphia Phillies before 314 fans in a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Andy Pafko, who played in the major leagues for 17-years, makes his debut and drives in 4 runs with a double and a single. The games is called in the 5th inning due to rain.

24 September 1944

BELGIUM: In the Canadian First Army's British I Corps area, the Canadian 2d Division establishes a bridgehead across the Antwerp-Turnhout Canal south of St Leonard. Elements of the 49th Division reach Turnhout.

NETHERLANDS: The British XXX Corps reaches the south bank of the Rhine west of Arnhem.
Other XXX Corps units enter Germany southwest of Nijmegen. The paratroopers that have held out are still hanging on. They have suffered severe casualties, shortages of food and ammunition, and resisted fierce German attacks. The inadequate and misinterpreted intelligence has required these paratroops to hold out much longer than planned.

In the British Second Army's I Airborne Corps area, 2 companies of the 43d Division cross the Neder Rijn in assault boats during the night of 24/25 September but are unable to reach the British-held perimeter at Hartestein. Polish forces on the south bank lack assault boats for crossing. Lieutenant General B. G. Horrocks, Commanding General 30 Corps, issues and within a few hours revokes an order for the 43d Division to prepare to cross at Renkum. In the 30 Corps area, other elements of the 43d Division continue to fight for Elst and Bemmel. Continuing attacks toward Veghel, the Germans cut the highway northeast of the village of Koevering, between St Oedenrode and Veghel. In the 8 Corps area, Deurne falls to the 11th Armoured Division.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army area, General George S Patton, in accordance with an order from General Dwight D Eisenhower, halts offensive operations for an aggressive defence, calling for limited actions, as supplies permit, to improve defensive positions. In the XX Corps area, 5th Infantry Division begins the relief of the 7th Armored Infantry in line. In the XII Corps area, the 80th Infantry Division prepares to attack to the Seille River line on 26 September. Combat Command B, 4th Armored Division, holds its perimeter between Chateau-Salins and Fresnes-en-Saulnois against determined tank-infantry attacks that P-47s help repulse. Heavy enemy fire continues from Foret de Chateau-Salins, however. The Germans lose about 300 dead and 11 tanks in this action.
     In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division, seizes Girmont; the 180th Infantry continues clearing Epinal. The 36th Infantry Division is pushing northeast toward St Die; the 141st Infantry takes St Ame, east of Remiremont. The 3d Infantry Division clears Rupt of snipers and expands its bridgehead to include La Roche and Maxonchamp.
     In the air, 47 USAAF Eighth Air B-24s fly a TRUCKIN' mission delivering fuel to France.
     Weather grounds USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers. The XIX Tactical Air Command supports the 7th Armored Division of the US Third Army in eastern France and flies armed reconnaissance over eastern France and western Germany. The IX Air defence Command flies night patrols from Paris to Aachen, Germany.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 188 aircraft, 101 Lancasters, 62 Halifaxes and 25 Mosquitos, to bomb German tactical positions at Calais; 127 bomb the target. The German positions are completely covered by cloud at 2,000 feet (610 meters) and most of the 127 bombed Oboe-aimed skymarkers, but some aircraft came below cloud to bomb visually. Seven Lancasters and a Halifax are shot down by light flak, which is very accurate at such a height.

GREECE: RAF personnel arrive at Araxos by sea and together with the Special Boat Squadron move on to Patras. Commander of Land Forces, Adriatic, controls this operation.
In the air, 362 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24s, with fighter escort, bomb Eleusis, Kalamaki, and Tatoi Airfields, the marshalling yard at Salonika, and harbor at Skaramanga.

U-565 (Type VIIC) is scuttled by three depth charges in Salamis. U-565 had been badly damaged on 19 Sept, 1944 in the Mediterranean near Skaramanga, at position 37.57N, 23.40E, by US bombs. 5 dead.

U-596 (Type VIIC) is scuttled in the Mediterranean in Skaramanga Bay, near Salamis at position 37.59N, 23.34E, after being damaged by US bombs. 1 dead. Wreck blown up 30 Sept 1944 (?). (Alex Gordon)

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the IV Corps releases additional elements of the U.S. 1st Armored Division for use on the II Corps front, retaining only Combat Command B. The South African 6th Armoured Division, protecting the left flank of the II Corps, replaces the armoured brigade in line with the 12th Motorized Brigade; the 11lth Armored Brigade then pushes north along Highway 6620 to St Ippolito while the rest of the division pursues the enemy up Highways 64 and 66. In the II Corps area, the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, driving toward Mt Bastione with the 168th and 135th Infantry, gains the crest of Mt Coroncina and holds it against counterattack; and overruns Roncobilaccio. The U.S. 91st Infantry Division, attacking with the 362d and 361st Infantry toward Mt Oggioli, reaches a line from Covigliano westward; during the night 24/25 September, the 363d Infantry replaces the 362d Infantry in the line. While the 337th Infantry, 85th Infantry Division, consolidates positions on Mt la Fine and patrols, the 338th Infantry, to the left, continues slowly toward Mt Canda and gets into position for an assault on it. The U.S. 88th Infantry Division runs into strong resistance at Mt Acuto and undergoes vigorous counterattacks as it continues toward Imola. In the British 13 Corps area, the 1st Division takes Palazzuolo and Marradi, but the enemy is holding out on Mt Gamberaldi. The Indian 8th Division reaches the Marradi-St Benedetto Road. The 6th Armoured Division advances to St Benedetto in Alpe, on Highway 67.
In the British Eighth Army area, 5 Corps secures the heights north of the Marecchia River from Montebello to Poggio Berni to St Arcangelo, and the 46th Division, in the center, establishes a bridgehead across the Uso River, taking Camerano on the far bank.
In the air, weather cancels USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bomber and A-20 operations; fighter-bombers support ground forces, bombing and strafing strongpoints, troop concentrations, and frontline communications targets.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: The Red Army penetrates 20 miles over the Polish border.

GERMANY: U-3521 laid down.
U-1110 commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: U-739 sank Soviet minesweeper T-120 (ex USS Assail).

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command area, the British 36th Division encounters the enemy in strength while probing southward from Namma and they suspend forward movement until mid-October.
In the air, USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47s fly 20 attack sorties against targets in the Mawhun area, including Pinlon; other P-47s fly 13 sorties against targets in the Bhamo area, demolishing a bridge at Manyut and hitting enemy positions at Chayuhkwang.

THAILAND: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25s knock out the Dara bridge.

CHINA: 26 US Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb Mangshih, Taohsien, and Kuanyang, attack White Cloud Airfield at Canton, and knock out the Dara bridge; 3 others hit targets of opportunity near Changtuikuan and along the Lingling-Siangtan road; 70+ P-51s and P-40s on armed reconnaissance over southwestern and southeastern China pound numerous targets of opportunity, especially the town areas and river shipping at Takhing and Sinshih.

Eleven USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators haul fuel from India to Liuchow.

MARIANA ISLANDS: 16 USAAF Seventh Air Force P-47s strafe AA positions on Rota Island.

BONIN ISLANDS: 18 USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan hit harbor facilities in the Bonin Islands, mostly at Chichi Jima Island.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Regimental Combat Team 323, 81st Infantry Division, secures the rest of Ulithi Atoll without opposition. The atoll will become an excellent base for the USN’s Pacific Fleet during operations against the Philippines.
In the air, 26 USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24s from Kwajalein Atoll bomb Truk Island while 11 B-25s, based in the Gilbert Islands, hit Ponape Island.

PALAU ISLANDS: On Peleliu, the 321st Infantry attacks after air, naval, and artillery bombardment, driving through Garekoru to the fourth phase line on the left. Company E, on the right, starts along east-west trail, soon called 321st Infantry Trail, through the central ridge system running from West Road south of Garekoru to the East Road in an effort to pocket strong enemy forces in the Umurbrogol Mountains, the southern part of the ridge system. A Japanese counterattack at the fourth phase line causes 321st Infantry to fall back a little, but positions are largely restored. A gap develops between the infantry and the 7th Marines, since the latter, to the right rear, has to clear ground that 321st Infantry should have taken.
On Angaur, when appeal to enemy to surrender produces only 2 prisoners, artillery fire is placed on the pocket throughout rest of day and ensuing night.

NORTH PACIFIC: Two USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24s on an armed reconnaissance mission bomb Marcus Island.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24s and B-25s bomb Amahai Airfield and Boela on Ceram Island, Namlea Airfield on Buru Island, and Haroekoe Airfield on Haroekoe Island and B-24s hit Lautem on Timor Island.

NEW GUINEA: USAAF Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers attack Babo, Urarom, and Manokwari Airfields while B-25s bomb Sorong.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: For the third day, USN carrier-based aircraft from the 12 aircraft carriers of Task Groups 38.1, 38.2 and 38.3 continue their attacks on Japanese shipping in Visayas. The toll for today is 15 ships sunk and 7 damaged. The three task groups will retire tonight to several anchorages for replenishment.

JAPAN: 8 US Eleventh Air Force B-24s striking Kurabu Cape Airfield on Paramushiru Island are challenged by 12 Japanese fighters and 1 of 2 damaged B-24s force lands in the USSR; one fighter is downed; and 4 B-25s fly a negative shipping search.

U.S.A.: Washington: The US treasury plan for post-war Germany (the "Morgenthau Plan") is published; it proposes a Germany stripped of its industry and converted to a wholly agricultural economy.

24 September 1945

September 24th, 1945 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Submarine HMS Ambush launched.

JAPAN: Tokyo: Hirohito says that he did not want war, and blames Tojo for Pearl Harbor.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The commander of the US 86th Infantry Division Artillery is directed to dispatch two field artillery battalions to Manila for the purpose of military police and guard duties. The division moves to Canluban. (Drew Philip Halévy)

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Port Colborne completed tropicalization refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Minesweepers HMCS Canso and Bayfield paid off and returned to the Royal Navy at Sheerness.

U.S.A.: Chuck Baisden is discharged from the USAAF as a MSGT. (Chuck Baisden)

1948: (FRIDAY)

UNITED STATES: Mildred Gillars, accused of being Nazi wartime radio propagandist ''Axis Sally,'' pleads innocent in Washington, D.C., to charges of treason. Gillars, born in Portland, Maine in 1900, was an aspiring actress who ended up in Greenwich Village, New York City, in the late 1920s, hoping to crash the stage. When she failed to do so, she picked up again and moved to Europe to pursue a political attache with whom she'd had a casual affair. By 1934, she had settled in Berlin, where she eked out a living as a translator and dabbled at bit parts in German films. In 1940, she landed a job at the "Bremensender," a German radio station, where she worked as a staff announcer. She became increasingly embittered during these years -- and refused to return to the United States when the government began urging civilian US citizens to leave Germany in 1941. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, she swore an oath of loyalty to the Third Reich. It was at this time that she crossed paths with a fellow broadcaster and another American expatriate. Max Otto Koischwitz who had taught at Hunter College in New York City but resigned in 1940 and moved to Germany. Koischwitz and Gillars became lovers and before long, Koischwitz was working her into his political broadcasts. They began a joint series, the "Home Sweet Home Hour," beamed to Allied troops in North Africa. Gillars was known in these programs as "Midge," and it was under that name that she did all of her propaganda programming. There was never an actual German broadcaster who used the "Axis Sally" name: this was a slang name given Gillars by GI listeners. She is taken into custody after the war and is convicted of treason, but is considered a something of a small fry by the prosecution and is sentenced to only 12-years imprisonment. She is released in 1961, and quietly lived out her remaining years as a language teacher at a Catholic girls school in Ohio. She died in 1988.

Top of Page

Yesterday Tomorrow

Home