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1931   (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED STATES: The USN, with U.S. Army observers present, tests a new bombsight invented by Carl J. Norden. In a bombing demonstration conducted from an altitude of 5,000 feet (1 524 meters) against the anchored target ship Pittsburgh (Armored Cruiser No. 4), 50 percent hits are obtained with the newly developed Norden Mark XV bombsight as compared to slightly over 20 percent hits with the earlier Mark XI model. Subsequently, the Navy provides the U.S. Army Air Corps with these Norden bombsights--the most advanced devices of their kind used by the USAAF in World War II.

1935   (MONDAY)

SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations Council declares that Italy is the aggressor nation in the Ethiopian affair and makes preparations to apply sanctions against the Italians.

1938   (FRIDAY)

 GERMANY: The government concludes an agreement for a loan to Turkey "to finance exploitation of natural resources and development of rail, motor road, and river transportation."

October 7th, 1939 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Deepdale. Football: Preston play Bolton in a friendly. The crowd is generally listless with practically no conversation about the war at all. (72)

The U.S. freighter SS Black Heron is detained by British authorities at Weymouth, England.

Hitler issues a decree ordering Poles to be evicted from Western Poland or killed.

FINLAND: Since the Soviet Union started to browbeat the Baltic republics into accepting Red Army bases in their territory, Finns have feared that Finland would soon receive similar treatment. Molotov's invitation two days ago to start negotiations on 'concrete political issues' seemed to confirm these fears. Unlike the Baltic republics, which all hastened to conclude unwanted pacts with the Soviets, Finns had decided to stay firm.

Today the Finnish government took two decisions to react to Molotov's invitation. First, Juho Kusti Paasikivi, the Finnish Ambassador at Stockholm, is nominated as the Finnish negotiator to go to Moscow. Second, it is decided to call part of the field army for extraordinary manouvers. In effect this is partial mobilization, but instead of using public proclamations, the reservists are sent personal orders by mail. 

U.S.S.R.: Pravda quotes Hitler saying that the Polish state had no right to exist and was built "on the bones and blood of Germans and Russians." (Mike Yared)

AUSTRALIA: The Australian War Cabinet offers No. 10 Squadron for active service in the UK

U.S.A.: Washington: The US will continue to recognise the exiled Polish government, the state department said today. Most of the Polish administration is interned in Romania, but General Sikorski has set up a government in exile in Angers, France.
Baseball.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The Graf Spee stops and sinks the British freighter ASHLEA (4222 BRT). (Navy News)

U-26 sinks SS Binnendijk.

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October 7th, 1940 (MONDAY)

Battle of Britain: There are occasional showers but the visibility is fair with variable clouds. Most of the Luftwaffe raids today come in formations of 50 and 100 aircraft, but in spite of these numbers comparatively few bombs are dropped. So far as London is concerned Dockland receives the most attention, and a fire is started at Rotherhithe, and there is also a certain amount of bombing done at Tidal Basin. During the afternoon a number of raiders appear in the West Country, and bombs are dropped in Yeovil. At night the raiding is fairly widespread over the country, with special attention being paid to the Firth of Forth in Scotland.

FRANCE: All Jews in occupied France are ordered by the Germans, to register immediately with authorities.

ALGERIA: Algerian Jews are deprived of their French citizenship.

ROMANIA: Bucharest: The Axis Powers have marched into Romania. Two divisions of German troops, totalling 30,000 men, along with token Italian units today passed through Hungary to take control of the oilfields and the harbours from which the oil is shipped. The German claim that their soldiers have been sent to Romania "in accordance with an agreement with the Romanian government for training and reorganising the Romanian army with all the equipment essential for modern warfare". In another announcement, however, the Germans claim that their action was taken to protect Romania from British plans to sabotage the oilfields. certainly the oilfields, developed largely by British capital, are the prime reason for the invasion.

Last week the government of the dictator Ion Antonescu arrested British officials on allegations that they were plotting to set fire to the oilfields. Some of these officials have been subject to ill-treatment. It is apparent that the entry of the Germans has been made with the consent and co-operation of the Antonescu regime. Barracks in the capital have been evacuated by the Romanian army to make way for the Germans. An expeditionary force GHQ has been set up and contact established with the Romanian General Staff.

The invasion is seen as resulting from the meeting between Hitler and Mussolini at the Brenner Pass last Friday, although Mussolini is reported to have been surprised by the move especially as it undercuts Italian attempts to purchase in interest in Romanian oil production facilities to shore up their own fuel supplies. The German coup undercuts these efforts and leaving Italy totally dependent upon Germany for oil supplies.  (Mike Yaklich)

JAPAN: Tokyo: Japan is to become a one-party state with the inauguration next week of the ultra-nationalistic Imperial Rule Assistance Association, which will replace all existing political parties. The two leading parties, Rikken Seiyukai and Rikken Minseito, which dominate Japan's parliament, will be voluntarily dissolved.

The new organisation, the brainchild of Prince Konoye, is intended to capitalise on the growing patriotic fervour among the Japanese and mobilise mass political support for land-hungry Japan's plans to expand its territorial borders in China and south-east Asia.

The IRAA, with offices in every prefecture, will mirror precisely Japan's current legislative structure. Discussions on the IRAA began in July, with moderate and nationalists battling over how closely it would imitate the totalitarian aspects of Europe's Nazi and Communist parties.

U.S.A.: Baseball!

Washington: The Japanese ambassador to the U.S., HORINOUCHI Kensuke, protests the refusal of export licenses for aviation gasoline (petrol) and machine tools, and impending prohibition of export of iron and steel scraps to Japan stating, "In view of the fact that Japan has been for some years the principal buyer of American iron and steel scrap, the announcement of the administrative policy, as well as the regulations establishing a license system in iron and steel scrap cannot fail to be regarded as directed against Japan, and, as suck, to be an unfriendly act." He also states that "The discriminatory feature of the announcement, that licenses will be issued to permit shipments to the countries of the Western Hemisphere and Great Britain only, has created a widespread impression in Japan that it was motivated by a desire to bring pressure upon her."

* Artie Shaw and his Orchestra record Hoagy Carmichael's classic song "Stardust" for Victor Records. This version of "Stardust" was voted the Number 1 all-time favorite record in "Billboard's" 1956 Disc Jockey poll. 

* On the radio, two new daily 15-minute soap operas debut today: - "Kate Hopkins, Angel of Mercy," sponsored by Maxwell House coffee, debuts on CBS at 1645 hours Eastern. Tom Hopkins, Kate's husband, was played by eventual "Beat the Clock" host Clayton 'Bud' Collyer; one of the writers was Gertrude Berg (writer and Emmy Award-winning actress of "The Goldbergs", a popular radio and TV series in the 1940s and 1950s); and the announcer was Ralph Edwards of future "This is Your Life" fame. The show remained on the air until April 1942.

- "Portia Faces Life," sponsored by Post Flakes and Post Bran, debuts on CBS at 1600 hours Eastern. The show centred around Portia Blake, a young woman attorney who battled corruption in the small town of Parkerstown. The show remained on the air until June 1951.

Destroyer USS Livermore is commissioned.

PANAMA: The first US Army operational radar, a lab-built SCR-270 goes on air atop Fort Sherman. (Will O'Neil) (157,158,159,160,161 and 162)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-59 sinks the SS Touraine.

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October 7th, 1941 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Medal citations in the London Gazette for SS TEWKESBURY:

Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire: Captain Theo Pryse George Medal: Second Engineer Gerard Llewellyn Turner and Second Officer Bernard Peter de Neumann And both George Medallists were also awarded Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea

Published Censored Citation: For brave conduct when their ship was attacked by enemy aircraft.

Unpublished Uncensored Citation: The ship was bombed by a German aircraft.
Her defence was so good that the enemy was last seen flying low, with smoke streaming from him. The air crew were picked up later, and the ship is credited with the kill.

After the attack, a large bomb of about 250 kilos was found unexploded on the second engine room grating. The vessel was rolling in a North-Easterly wind and sea, and Second Engineer Turner, who was on watch, sat on the bomb to prevent it being rolled off the grating. Second Officer de Neumann at once went to his help.

The Master, leaving the Commodore of the convoy on the bridge to attend to navigation, took charge of the disposal squad. The Second Officer and Second Engineer slung the bomb in a rope sling and guided it clear of obstructions, at one point standing on the cylinders to do so. Owing to the darkness and the deep and awkward position into which the bomb had lodged, the whole operation performed with ingenuity and skill without mishap, took over an hour to complete. A second sling was made by the Master and the two Officers and the bomb was dropped over the side. (Bernard de Neumann)

GERMANY: U-190 is laid down.

POLAND: Rovno: SS men take 17,000 Jews to pits outside the town, ordering them to strip before shooting them dead. Those who refuse to undress have their eyes gouged out.

FINLAND: Helsinki: Finland refuses to heed Allied pressure to stop the fighting in the USSR, saying it has no political axe to grind but is grateful it "need not fight alone this time." "Finland cannot understand how Great Britain, with whom Finland wished and wishes to retain peaceful relations, could regard herself, merely because Finland on this occasion is not alone in fighting the Soviet Union, as forced to treat her as an open enemy.".

U.S.S.R.: Last night the first snow fell in the Moscow front.

German forces capture Wjasma, Berdjansk and Mariupol on the central and southern fronts.

AUSTRALIA: John Curtin is duly sworn in as the prime minister. (Daniel Ross)

CANADA: Corvette HMCS departs St. John's for Convoy SC-48 and the Clyde.

Trawler HMS Ironbound is laid down at Kingston, Ontario.

Minesweeper HMCS Vegreville launched in Montreal, Province of Quebec.

UNITED STATES: In Seattle, Washington, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the largest labor organization in the U.S., the American Federation of Labor (AFL), stating, "The threat of Hitlerism is directed not only at labor, even though labor is among the very first that will suffer therefrom. It is aimed at all of us-every man, woman and child who believes in freedom. It menaces everything that we cherish as Americans and free men."

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-575 is attacked in the North Atlantic by an aircraft and suffers slight damage from two bombs.

U-502 damaged SS Svend Foyn in Convoy HX-152.

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October 7th, 1942 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Escort carrier HMS Emperor launched.

GERMANY: U-272 and U-469 are commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: The Tractor Factory at Stalingrad is the scene of fierce fighting.

CRETE: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24s score 7 direct hits on a tanker and 8 on fuel installations at Suda Bay. In Egypt, 66 P-40s escort bombers over the battle area west of El Alamein.

EGYPT: Sixty six US Army, Middle East Air Force P-40s escort bombers over the battle area west of El Alamein.

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: The British destroyer HMS ACTIVE sinks U-179 off Cape Town.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, the last of the Australian 21st Brigade’s 2/27th Battalion reaches Port Moresby from the Kokoda Track. Meanwhile, the U.S. 32d Infantry Division force (a platoon of Company E, 126th Infantry Regiment; the anti-tank and Cannon Companies; and native carriers) under Captain Alfred Medendorp begins the difficult march from Kalikodobu, 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Port Moresby, toward Jaure. The force is dependent upon airdrops for most of its supplies.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The 3rd Battalion 5th Marines advance west from the Lunga Perimeter on Guadalcanal. They meet the Japanese defenders on the east bank of the Matanikau River. Marine reinforcements arrive during the day and push the Japanese back against the river bank. Japanese commanders remain unaware, all day, of the actual situation and issue orders which are unrealistic.

The 1st Marine Division, with air and artillery support, opens an offensive to extend the perimeter westward beyond artillery range of Henderson Field, moving three columns forward toward the Matanikau River, the line of departure, from the Kukum area. While the 5th Marine Regiment (less a battalion) moves along the coast to conduct a holding action at the Matanikau River mouth, the 7th Marine Regiment (less a battalion), followed by the Whaling Group (3d Battalion of the 2d Marine Regiment and the division scout-sniper detachment under Colonel William J. Whaling), advances southwest with the mission of crossing the river and enveloping Point Cruz. The 5th Marine Regiment column soon meets opposition and drives the Japanese back almost to the Matanikau River mouth. The other two columns reach Hill 65, overlooking the Matanikau River, with little difficulty and halt for the night. After nightfall, attack preparations are simulated at the river mouth and the 5th Marine Regiment is reinforced by a company of the 1st Raider Battalion.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: 3 Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators taking off to bomb Kiska Island and patrol Near Island abort mission due to mechanical failure and instead fly reconnaissance over Agattu, Attu, and Semichi Islands with negative results.

U.S.A.: The British and US governments announce a United Nations Commission to investigate Axis war crimes. It will be a condition of any armistice that accused war criminals will be handed over for prosecution.
Washington: Roosevelt says that a commission will be set up after the war to judge those guilty of atrocities and mass murder.

Submarine USS Tinosa is launched.

Big Band leader Alton Glenn Miller reports for induction into the US Army. He is immediately assigned to the Army Specialist Corps.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Stormy weather in the North Atlantic made life difficult for those at sea. On U-507 one crewmember crushed his hand quite seriously. Some 1,000 miles to the north, one of the lookouts on U-621 broke his arm
U-507 crewmember died after illness at sea. [Obersteuermann Kurt Warkentin]

U-107 sank SS Andalucia Star.
U-159 sank SS Boringia.
U-172 sank SS Chickasaw City.
U-172 sank SS Firethorn.
U-202 damaged SS John Carter Rose.

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October 7th, 1943 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: England, the VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 110. During the night of 7/8 October, 4 B-17 Flying Fortresses drop 240,352 leaflets over Paris at 2257-2307 hours.

Frigate HMS Balfour is commissioned.

NETHERLANDS: Fifteen RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: During the night of 7/8 October, four USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses drop 240,352 leaflets over Paris at 2257-2307 hours. Meanwhile RAF Bomber Command lay mines off three U-boat bases in the Bay of Biscay: five lay mines off Brest, four off Lorient and three off St. Nazaire with the loss of one aircraft. In another mission, 13 RAF bombers drop leaflets over northern France.

GERMANY: An order is issued by the Luftwaffe for the establishment of a number of night ground-attack groups within the service. Thus a number of Störkampfstaffeln (Harassing Squadrons) already operating are put on a more organised footing. The main equipment of these units are the Arado 66 and Gotha 145 two seat trainers equipped to carry 2 and 4 kg anti-personnel bombs. (21)

During the night of 7/8 October, RAF Bomber Command sends 343 Lancasters to bomb Stuttgart; 314 actually bomb the target. The first aircraft to be equipped with ABC, (night-fighter communications jamming known by the crews as “Airborne Cigar”), from 101 Squadron is operated tonight. The German night-fighter controller is confused by the Mosquito diversion on Munich and only a few night fighters reach Stuttgart at the end of the attack; four Lancasters are lost, 1.2 per cent of the force. The target area is cloud-covered and the H2S radar Pathfinder marking developed in two areas. In another mission, 15 Lancasters carry out a diversionary raid without loss and claim hits on the Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen. Bomber Command Mosquitos are also active with ten bombing Munich, seven hitting Emden and five attacking Aachen.

U-248 and U-794 is launched.

U-350, U-862, U-998 and U-1193 are commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: Nevel, a rail center north of Vitebsk, and Taman fall to Soviet forces. A lull in fighting begins along the Dniepr River south of Kiev as the Soviet forces pause to bring up supplies and build bridges. German resistance is stiffening all along the line and the progress of Red Army is becoming less spectacular.

ITALY: The U.S. Fifth Army begins preparations for an assault across the Volturno River. The crossing date is set tentatively at the night of 9/10 October and later postponed to the night pf 12/13. The U.S. VI and British X Corps improve positions along the southern bank of the river. In the British Eighth Army’s XIII Corps area, another brigade of the 78th Division, the last to arrive in Italy, lands in the Biferno bridgehead as the Germans retire across Trigno River.

Bad weather cancels many operations. Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force medium and light bombers strike roads, railway, junction, and  town areas in the Capua and Guglionesi regions while RAF Desert Air Force fighter-bombers hit trucks in the Termoli-Vasto areas.

German forces withdraw around Termoli and fall back behind the Trigno River. Montgomery does not follow closely.

GREECE: USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack two targets: 24 bomb Kastelli Airfield while 11 bomb Maritza Airfield on Rhodes.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: A German convoy bound for Kos in the Aegean Sea is intercepted by 2 cruisers and 2 destroyers. The British Task Force sinks 7 transports and one destroyer.

Bad luck for U-81 in the Mediterranean. The boat attacked an Italian freighter with 6 torpedoes, but all missed. (Good luck for the Italian!)

CHINA: 4 Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack a 2,500-ton freighter 100 miles (160 km) S of Amoy, China scoring 3 direct hits; the vessel is left burning and listing.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: The Fourteenth Air Force dispatches 9 B-24s and 22 fighters to hit a cement plant at Haiphong causing heavy damage to the kiln building.

NEW GUINEA: In North East New Guinea, the Australian 2/17th Battalion continues battling the Japanese at Kumawa in the Finschhafen area.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Submarine USS R-44 sunk by the Japanese Shimushu class escort vessel Ishigaki. Two Survivors were picked up and ended up in captivity.

In the Formosa Strait, four USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack a 2,500-ton freighter 100 miles (160 km) south of Amoy, China scoring three direct hits; the vessel is left burning and listing.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Japanese complete evacuation of Vella Lavella Island.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: A Fifth Air Force B-24 on patrol bombs Umboi Island, scoring damaging hits on several buildings.

WAKE ISLAND IJN Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara, commander of the Japanese garrison on the island, orders the execution of 96 American civilian construction workers who have been held on the island since the American surrender in December 1941. The men are marched to the beach and machine gunned. This followed two days of attacks by a USN task force (see 5 October). I have heard two claims of why the men were executed, (1) the Japanese claimed the civilians were trying to make radio contact with the task force and (2) the Japanese were afraid that the U.S. was going to invade the island and the civilian prisoners would tell the invaders where the Japanese defensive positions were and how weak they were. After the war, the Sakaibara, and eleven of his officers, were sentenced to death by a US Naval Court at Kwajalein.

CANADA: Destroyer HMCS Cayuga laid down Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Destroyer escorts USS Thornhill and USS Wingfield are laid down.

Destroyer escorts USS Edward H Allen & Tweedy launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-703 picked up three survivors from Hope Island in the Arctic Sea (Grid AC 12). The three people (two men and a woman) were the last survivors from the Soviet steamer Dekabrist, which had been sunk on 5 Nov 1942 by a JU-88 aircraft. The entire crew had escaped to this island. In May 1943 they were detected by an He-111 aircraft and on 24 July, 1943, U-354 picked up the ship's master, leaving the remaining survivors behind but providing food and vitamin tablets. When U-703 reached the island in September, three of those stranded still lived. The U-boat crew enjoyed watching these people, with the help of lots of food and care, come slowly back to human civilization after living nearly a year on such an island.

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October 7th, 1944 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 669: 1,422 bombers and 900 fighters are dispatched to hit oil installations and armored vehicle plants in Germany; with one exception, bombing is visual; 40 bombers and 11 fighters are lost:

* 142 B-17s hit the oil refinery at Politz; 17 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 93 P-51 Mustangs; they claim 7-0-3 aircraft; a P-51 is lost. * 333 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil refinery at Ruhland (59); targets of opportunity hit are Zwickau Airfield (60), motor vehicle factory at Zwickau (58), Dresden (30), Freiburg (24) and other (87); 3 B-17s are lost. 

Escort is provided by 214 P-51s; they claim 12-0-0 aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost.

* 451 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil refineries at Merseburg/Leuna (129), Lutzendorf (88) and Bohlen (86); targets of opportunity are Bielefeld (51), Hameln (27) and Nordhausen Airfield (24); they claim 11-13-10 aircraft; 16 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 250+ P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s; they claim 10-0-1 aircraft; a P-47 and a P-51 are lost. 

* 489 B-24s are dispatched to hit an armored vehicle plant at Kassel/Henschel (122) and oil refineries at Kassel/Altenbauna (88), Magdeburg/Buckau (62) and Magdeburg/Rothensee (25); targets of opportunity are Clausthal (129), Bergen/Steinfort (10), Hengelo marshalling yard (4) and other (6); 4 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 214 P-38 Lightnings, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 8-0-0 aircraft on the ground; a P-47 and 3 P-51s are lost.

Frigate HMS Emporia commissioned.

BELGIUM: Canadian units cross the Leopold canal into two small bridgeheads.

NETHERLANDS: In the Canadian First Army"s II Corps area, the corps is now responsible for the first phase of operation to open Antwerp, Belgium, port, clearing Zuid Beveland as well as the Breskens Pocket south of the Schelde. The Canadian 3d Division gets reinforcements to north bank of Leopold Canal against strong resistance that prevents bridging.

     During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 121 Lancasters and two Mosquitos to continue the attack on Walcheren Island and the sea walls which were breached near Flushing; 122 aircraft hit the target without loss.

LUXEMBOURG: Patton's Third Army nearly completes the liberation of country when GIs of the 83rd "Thunderbolt" Infantry Division take Echternach near the German border. The Third Army also closes in on Metz, an ancient French border fortress, but suffers heavy casualties.

In the U.S. Third Army"s XX Corps area, Wormeldange is captured by the 331st Infantry Regiment, 83d Infantry Division, and the region west of the Moselle River area is cleared.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, the Germans strongly counterattack Company F of the 327th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Divsion, on the slag pile northwest of Maizières-les-Metz. While the Germans are thus engaged, Companies E and G bypass the slag pile and push into the town, clearing the northern half and gaining a foothold in the factory area. The Germans move up reinforcements at night. Task Force Warnock, employing the 1st Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, attacks to expand positions at Fort Driant, making limited progress at great cost; two platoons are cut off and destroyed.

     In the U.S. Seventh Army’s VI Corps area, Vagney falls to 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3d Infantry Division.

GERMANY: Rastenburg: Hitler orders German forces to evacuate Greece.

The U.S.30th Infantry Division threaten to isolate Aachen, an industrial city 6 miles (9.65 km) from the Belgian-German border.

In the U.S. First Army’s XIX Corps area, the 30th Infantry Division, assisted by Combat Command of the 2d Armored Divsion, makes substantial gains and takes about 1,000 prisoners: The 117th Infantry Regiment thrusts to Aldsdorf; Combat Command A reaches Baesweiler; the 119th Infantry Regiment, assisted by an air strike on Merkstein, reaches positions across the Wurm River from Kerkrade. This puts the 30th Infantry Division within about 3 miles (4,8 kilometers) of Wuerselen, where contact with the VII Corps is expected to be made. In the VII Corps area, the 9th Infantry Division continues their attack in the Huertgen Forest toward Schmidt. Forward elements reach the edge of woods near Aermeter and Richelskaul, but the main body is held up far behind. In the V Corps area, the 28th and 4th Infantry Divisions advance to the line of departure for the West Wall offensive.

     In U.S. Third Army"s XX Corps area, the 3d Battalion of the 329th Infantry Regiment, 83d Infantry Division, takes Echternach, on the west bank of the Sauer River, after nearly a week of fighting.

On this record-setting day, 8th AF heavy bombers mount 1,401 effective combat sorties over Germany. Forty bombers are lost as well as eleven of 521 escorting fighters. 8th AF fighter pilots down 38 GAF fighters over Germany.

1st Lt. Darrell S. Cramer, a P-51 pilot of the 338th FS/55th FG, USAAF, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf 109 (bringing his total to 5.5 destroyed) near Leipzig, Germany at 1215 hours. His victories are 0.5 Japanese and 6.5 German, for a total of 6 destroyed.

1st Lt. Urban L. Drew, a P-51 pilot of the 375th FS/351st FG, USAAF, achieves ace status when he downs two Me 262s (bringing his total to six) over Achmer Airdrome, Germany at 1345 hours. (Skip Guidry)

U-3523 laid down.
U-3505 commissioned.

     During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 351 aircraft, 251 Halifaxes, 90 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos, to bomb the small German town of Kleve which, together with Emmerich, stands on the approach routes by which German units could threaten the vulnerable Allied right flank near Nijmegen which had been left exposed by the failure of Operation Market Garden; 339 bomb the target with the loss of two Halifaxes. Visibility was clear and the center and north of the town were heavily bombed, although some crews bombed too early and their loads actually fell in the Netherlands near Nijmegen. A second mission consisting of 340 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos carries out an even more accurate attack on Emmerich; 341 aircraft hit the target with the loss of three Lancasters.

Another target was the Kembs Dam. This was another No 617 Squadron special operation. The Kembs Dam on the Rhine, just north of Basle, held back a vast quantity of water and it was feared that the Germans would release this to flood the Rhine valley near Mulhouse, a few miles north, should the American and French troops in that area attempt an advance. The Squadron was asked to destroy the lock gates of the dam. Thirteen Lancasters were dispatched. Seven aircraft were to bomb from 8,000 feet (2 438 meters) and draw the flak, while the other six would come in below 1,000 feet (305 meters) and attempt to place their Tallboys, with delayed fuses, alongside the gates. USAAF Eighth Air Force P-51 Mustangs would attempt to suppress flak positions during the attack. The operation went according to plan with 12 Lancasters attacking the target. The gates were destroyed but two Lancasters from the low force were shot down by flak.

     During the night of 7/8 October, 46 aircraft of RAF No 100 Group fly an operation in which various electronic devices and Window are used in an attempt to lure the German night-fighter force into the air to waste its fuel. The feint is made in the direction of Bremen, using the same route as had been used in the raid carried out the previous night. Radio listening stations in England hear the German controllers plotting the supposed force "vigorously," but few night fighters are scrambled. Mosquito Intruders and Serrate aircraft, which are part of the No 100 Group force, then fly on towards Bremen and claimed a Me 110 destroyed and a Ju 88 damaged.

WESTERN EUROPE: HQ Ninth Air Force cancels previous instructions against bombing bridges and opens an attack on all bridges on the US front, except those over the Rhine River. 300+ B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs strike bridges at Arnhem, the Netherlands, and in Germany, bridges at Bullay and Dillingen, a supply depot at Euskirchen, and marshalling yard and warehouse at Hengelo and Trier; and fighters fly bomber escort, sweeps and armed reconnaissance in the forward areas, hitting railroads, barges, and troop concentrations, and support ground forces in eastern France and western Germany.

AUSTRIA: 350+ Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb the Lobau and Schwechat oil refineries and Winterhafen oil depot in the Vienna area. 6 B-17s escorted by 54 P-51s, evacuate US airmen from Czechoslovakia to Italy.

HUNGARY: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators attack ten targets: 157 bomb the Ersekujvar marshalling yard at Nove Zamky, 104 hit the marshalling yard at Komarom, 66 attack Gyor Airfield, 19 bomb the marshalling yard at Szombathely, seven hit the marshalling yard at Zalaegerszeg, three attacked the marshalling yard at Kormend, two bombed the railroad at Celldomolk and six aircraft bomb five targets of opportunity.

NORWAY: U-994 was attacked in Norwegian waters by an aircraft, but the crew replied with anti-aircraft fire and claimed a hit on the plane.

POLAND: Auschwitz-Birkenau: A violent revolt, yet more violently crushed, broke out at noon today during roll-call. Men of the "privileged" Sonderkommando [special commando], whose task is to empty the gas chambers of their dead fellow Jews, incinerate them and then scatter the ashes around the camp, attacked the SS guards with smuggled hammers and pickaxes.

The revolt spread as the Sonderkommandos set fire to their barracks and to Crematorium IV. SS reinforcements arrived immediately wielding machine-guns and hand-grenades against the prisoners' crowbars.

The blazing gas chamber sparked off a mass breakout by Sonderkommandos loading the ovens in the next compound. Crematorium II. They killed three SS men and cut the wire, only to be machine-gunned dead or captured by patrolmen with dogs. The survivors can expect to be killed and burnt.

Northern FINLAND: The German 20.Gebirgsarmee (Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic) retreats in the face of strong Soviet attacks on the Karelian front. (Jack McKillop and Mikke Härmeinen)

Finnish Army starts an attack aimed to encircle and destroy the German troops in the town of Kemi, northern Finland.

ITALY: Weather again grounds the medium bombers but Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers hit guns and troop concentrations in the battle area, which extends over a wide front south of Bologna in the region of Monte Stanco, Monte Cauala, Monte Castellaro, and Monte Ceei, and communications to the north.

In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the South African 6th Armoured Division gets two companies of Frontier Force Rifles to the crest of Mt. Stanco, where they are out of communication with the main body and are forced back to Prada. In the IV Corps area, Task Force 92 tries in vain to reinforce troops driving on Mt. Cauala with tanks and tank destroyers, but the weapons are unable to cross swollen streams. In the II Corps area, the 133d Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division continues toward the Monterumici hill mass. An attack by 362d Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division, on Mt. Castellari fails. The 338th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, takes Castelnuovo di Bisano but is still short of La Villa; the 337th Infantry Regiment is unable to advance from Hill 566. The 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, continues to their attack on Hill 587 and seizes the ridge below Il Falchetto Hill. In the British XIII Corps area, the 3d Brigade of the 1st  Division maintains a weak hold on the slopes of Mt. Ceco. The 19th Brigade, Indian 8th Division, clears Mt. Cavallara.

In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps opens an attack across the Fiumicino River in the evening with a heavy volume of artillery support. The assault is preceded by light and fighter bomber strikes on German positions. The Indian 10th Division and the 46th Division make the attack while the 56th Division simulates an attack in the Savignano area. The 20th Brigade, Indian 10th Division, under heavy German pressure on Mt. Farneto, is unable to gain the initiative, but the 25th Brigade secures positions on the ridge between Roncofreddo and St. Lorenzo. The128th Brigade of the 46th Division seizes Montilgallo and pushes west toward Longiano and south toward St. Lorenzo.

YUGOSLAVIA; One USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bomber attacks the marshalling yard at Pec.

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the Chines 22d Division, which has been training for the fall offensive since the capture of Myitkyina, begins a movement to Kamaing.

5 Tenth Air Force P-47s bomb supplies and troops at Man Hpa. Large-scale transport operations continue to deliver men and supplies to various points in the CBI.

CHINA: 53 Fourteenth Air Force P-51s and P-40s on armed reconnaissance attack troop concentrations, bridges, river and rail traffic, town areas, and supply dumps around Tunghsiangchiao, Pingnam, Hsinganhsien, Chuanhsien, Lingling, Wuchou, Houmachen, Chiuchiang, and Paoching.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators over Mindanao Island bomb Zamboanga while a P-38 Lightning cover force hits seaplanes, shipping, and other targets of opportunity in the area.

MARCUS ISLAND: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Saipan Island, on armed reconnaissance, attack Marcus Island and nearby shipping.  

EAST INDIES: On Celebes Island, B-25s bomb Langoan, Tompaso, and Tondegesang. P-38s attack Kaoe on Halmahera Island, and hit oil tanks at Boela on Ceram Island. B-25s bomb a storage area at West Amboina, Ambon Island.

NEW GUINEA: Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Military Forces and Commander of Allied land forces in the South West Pacific, Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps and Major General J.H. Cannan, the Quartermaster General, arrive at Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea to plan for the movement of the I Corps from Australia to the Philippine Islands. Blamey then meets with American Lieutenant General Richard Sutherland, Chief of Staff, South West Pacific Area, who tells Blamey that it is not politically expedient for the Australian Imperial Force to be amongst the first troops to land in the Phillipines.

     In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-38 Lightnings and B-25 Mitchells strike Doom Island and Babo airfield.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: On Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, ground attacks are temporarily suspended after a futile attempt by the 3d Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, assisted by tanks, to compress the Umurbrogol Pocket.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarines sink two Japanese transports, an oiler and a cargo ship.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Area (CINCPOA), publishes a Joint Staff Study that is a basis for the preliminary planning for the invasion of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands.

CANADA: Repair ship HMS Flamborough Head launched Vancouver, British Columbia.

Destroyer USS Hanson laid down.
Destroyers USS Hawkins and Perkins launched. Destroyer escort USS Alvin C Cockrell commissioned.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-202 was commissioned at New Orleans with LT F. G. Markle, USCG, as first commanding officer. He was succeeded by LTJG Kenneth D. Killman, USCGR, who was in turn succeeded by LTJG Armand J.P. White on 2 October 1945. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area including Parang.

USN aircraft paint scheme is changed. A new directive states that all carrier based aircraft, seaplane transports and utility aircraft are to be painted glossy sea blue overall.

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October 7th, 1945 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Southampton: The first British PoWs from the Far East return.

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