26 October 1939

1922 (MONDAY)

UNITED STATES: Lieutenant Commander Godfrey deC. Chevalier, USN, flying an Aeromarine 39-B, makes the first aircraft landing aboard the USN aircraft Carrier USS Langley (CV-1) while underway off Cape Henry, Virginia. (Robert Wear)

1931 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The prototype of the de Havilland D.H. 82A Tiger Moth makes its first flight. The single-engine, open-cockpit Tiger Moth biplane is the aircraft used to train pilots of the RAF and Commonwealth Air Force. A total of 3,433 are built in the U.K. and another 2,949 are built in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. This aircraft remained in service with the RAF until 1951.

1936 (MONDAY)

GERMANY: Due to growing tensions with the British and French over military intervention in the Spanish Civil War, the Italians sign an alliance with Germany which serves as the foundation for Italian-German cooperation. This agreement marks the beginning of the Rome-Berlin Axis. The Italians extend a free hand to the Germans regarding the future of Austria and the German government recognizes Italy's conquest of Ethiopia.

October 26th, 1939 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps is formed as a fully combatant corps for light engineering tasks. In November 1940 it's title is changed to the Pioneer Corps.

U-24 laid a field of 9 mines in Hartlepool Bay, resulting in one ship sunk on 9 November.

Destroyer HMS Kashmir commissioned.

Corvettes HMS Anemone, Campanula, Crocus and Honeysuckle laid down.

U.S. freighter SS Black Eagle is detained by British authorities.

GERMANY: U-355, U-356, U-357, U-358 ordered.

POLAND: Hans Frank takes up his post as governor-general of the General government region of Poland. The General Government (in full General government for the occupied Polish areas), is the name given by Germany to the governing authority in Poland after its occupation by the Wehrmacht in September and October 1939. The term is also applied, though not strictly correctly, to the territory administered by the General Government. He issues his first proclamation: all Jewish men between 14 and 60 are to be "obliged to work" on official labour projects. Some organised into "work brigades", will travel each day to work in projects near the cities. Others are to be sent to special labour camps. As none of these camps exist the Jews will have to build themselves shelter in the harshest of conditions. It is not only the Jews who suffer, the Polish citizens of Torun have been told that they must "leave the pavement free" for Germans because "the street belongs to the conquerors not the conquered." They were also warned: "Whoever annoys or speaks to German women and girls will receive exemplary punishment. Polish women who speak to or annoy German nationals will be sent to brothels." Frank has set out his policy: "The Poles will become the slaves of the greater German Reich."

FINLAND: The second round of Fenno-Soviet negotiations has ended without result, and the Finnish negotiators Juho Paasikivi and Finance Minister Väinö Tanner return home to get new instructions. Finns offered to straighten the border in Karelian Isthmus in exchange for territory in Soviet northern Karelia. Even after the Soviets made certain concessions in their demands, it was still far more than the Finns were ready to consider.

GIBRALTAR: U.S. Consul at Gibraltar William E. Chapman confers informally with British naval authorities there concerning protracted delays in detention of American merchantmen.

26 October 1940

October 26th, 1940 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Battle of Britain: It is cloudy with local showers chiefly in the north and east. During the day German aircraft again make continuous attacks on the country, London and South East England being the objectives. Night activity commenced at about 1800 hours, London again receiving most attention, and Birmingham suffers its third night in succession of heavy attack beginning at 2010 hours. A large number of heavy calibre high explosive and many incendiary bombs are dropped and widespread fires are started, four of which are major, but most of these are under control by about 0300 hours on 27 October. The Bristol Channel area and the Midlands as far North as Liverpool and Manchester are also visited. RAF Fighter Command claims 4-4-8 aircraft with another aircraft and a He 111 crashes at RAF Lossiemouth, Morayshire, Scotland, due to the explosion of its own bombs.; RAF losses are two aircraft and two pilots.

RAF Fighter Command: Losses: Luftwaffe, 10; RAF, 4.

London: Britain and the USA have concluded a secret arms deal which should boost the British effort to turn the tide against Hitler, probably in 1942. Under the deal, signed two days ago and described by Churchill as "splendid", the USA promises to equip and maintain ten British divisions with weapons currently under production. Churchill received more good news today when he was told that US military supplied destined for Britain include 250 aircraft engines, 2.5 million tons of explosives, 78 million cartridges for the Thompson machine gun and 78 million rounds of rifle ammunition.

London: Transport has taken a hammering as the Luftwaffe keeps up its nightly attacks on the capital. Railways in particular have been hard hit, not just at the docks but with main-line stations regularly bombed. This week it was the turn of St Pancras station, but the forecourt of Victoria station has also been badly damaged.

For travellers train services, especially on the Southern Railway, often terminate in the suburbs, and commuters face new puzzles every day in finding "passable" routes to the office. Unexploded bombs closing many streets add to the frustration by diverting bus routes. So many buses and tramcars have been bombed that Londoners see the unfamiliar colours of buses borrowed from as far away as Aberdeen and Exeter on their streets.

The Underground has also been interrupted by bombs. Four stations have been hit, the worst being Ballam, where 600 people sheltering were deluged with a river of sludge when the road and water mains above caved in, suffocating 64 of them.

Submarine HMS Thunderbolt (ex-Thetis) commissioned.

VICHY FRANCE: It is announced that Petain and Hitler have agreed on principles of co-operation.

GERMANY: U-409, U-457 laid down.

ITALY: Rome: With 162,000 Italian troops massed on the Albanian border, Italy accuses Greece of attacking Albania.

U.S.A.: Secretary of State Cordell Hull urges America to prepare to discourage and repel any assault on her security stating, "To have peace, we must have security. To have security, we must be strong. . . . Essential to effective national defense are constant and skillful use of political and economic measures, possession of' military weapons, and continuous exercise of wisdom and of high moral qualities. We must have planes and tanks and ships and guns. We must have trained men. We must hold to the ideal of a world in which the rights of all nations are respected and each respects the rights of all; in which principles of law and order and justice and fair-dealing prevail. Above all, we must be a united people–united in purpose, and in effort to create impregnable defense. Thus can we maintain our inheritance."

The North-American NA-73, the prototype P-51 (Mustang), makes its maiden flight at Inglewood, California, USA . This was the NA Model NA-73X, NA serial number 73-3097 registered NX19998. The Allison V-1710-39 engine had been received in October and after installation, the aircraft began taxi runs on 15 October and two brief flights were made today.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: A Luftwaffe FW Kondor piloted by Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope ranging 181 nautical miles off Ireland (northwest of Galway in position 55.37N, 12.19W) damages the 42,348 ton liner 'HMT Empress of Britain' by strafing and dropping two 551 pound bombs. The flagship of the Canadian Pacific fleet, she is sailing alone to Glasgow from Suez via South Africa. The ship is set on fire by incendiary bombs and the captain orders "Abandon Ship;" of a total of 643 persons on board, 598 are rescued by naval vessels. The Polish destroyer ORP Burza (H 37) and the two rescue tugs HMS Marauder (W 98) and Thames manage to take the burning vessel in tow, and head for the U.K. The ship was later sunk by a U-boat.
This was an Fw 200C-1 of I. Gruppe, Kampfgeschwader 40 (I/KG40) based at Merignac Airfield in Bordeaux, France. This unit was reequipped with the Fw 200C-1 in June 1940 and then transferred to Bordeaux. Between 1 August 1940 and 9 February 1941, this unit claimed 363,000 tons of Allied shipping.

U-28 damages SS Matina.

26 October 1941

October 26th, 1941 (SUNDAY)

GERMANY: Tonight the RAF attacks Hamburg with 115 bombers.

YUGOSLAVIA: Belgrade: They seek him here in the ruined capital of Yugoslavia; they seek him out there in the rugged, mountainous countryside so ideal for guerrilla fighting; the Germans seek him everywhere and bring in more and more troops daily to search for this man whose name they do not know and his partisan bands who grow in numbers daily. Josip Broz, a former sergeant in the Austro-Hungarian army, became a dedicated communist while a prisoner of the Russians and spent years in Yugoslav prisons for his beliefs. While he organized his partisan bands from a luxury villa here - with an escape hatch behind the wash-basin - he used more than 20 aliases until he settled on "Tito". Until today, Tito's partisans have maintained a guarded alliance against the Germans with the Chetnik fighters who are led by an army colonel, Drazha Mihailovich. The two men met today soon after the Germans started killing 100 Yugoslavs for every German soldier killed. Tito wants a joint command, but Mihailovich is opposed to sharing leadership in this way.

NORTH AFRICA: Tobruk: The operation to relieve the Australian garrison with the British 70th Infantry Division; begun on 12 October, ends; at least one ship, the minelayer HMS LATONA, has been lost to Stuka dive-bombers.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Sudbury arrived Halifax from builder Montreal, Province of Quebec.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: During the battle against convoy HG-75, U-71 attacked an escort with a four-torpedo fan, but all missed. The escort fought back with depth charges, damaging the boat so severely that she was forced to return to base.

U-83 damaged AMC HMS Ariguani in Convoy HG-75.

26 October 1942

October 26th, 1942 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: USAAF 31st Fighter Group personnel board ship to travel to Gibraltar.

ASW trawler HMS Lancer launched.

Submarine HMS Templar launched.

Submarine HMS Thurough laid down.

HMC ML 086 commissioned.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 26/27 October, two RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: During the night of 26/27 October, 39 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off French ports: 12 in the Gironde Estuary, six each off Brest and Lorient and St. Nazaire, five off Bayonne, and four off St. Jean de Luz.

BALTIC SEA:

Submarines Vesihiisi and Iku-Turso are ordered to hunt Iku-Turso shoots torpedo against Soviet submarine Shtsh 320 at 23.58 and the enemy sub sinks at 00.01 at Marhällan.

U.S.S.R.: Nalchik, south of Pyatigorsk, in the Caucasus falls to the Germans of Army Group A.

Again, the Romanian 2nd Mountain Division played a central role in these operations, taking 3,000 Soviet prisoners (and helping the Germans to trap an even larger Soviet force) while suffering 820 casualties. The 2nd Mountain Division also fought off a rather understrength Soviet offensive in the Nalchik area in January '43. (John Nicholas and Mike Yaklich)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Over 30 U.S. Army Middle East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators attack shipping off the coast of Libya.

NORTH AFRICA: General Montgomery halts most of his forces to regroup, after making little headway during the second day of his offensive at El Alamein. XXX Corps takes Kidney Ridge. Most of the action has revolved around Rommel's reactions and German counterattacks, as Rommel moves his forces north.

Capt. Thomas W. Clark, a P-40 pilot with the 65th FS/57th FG, USAAF, becomes the first USAAF fighter pilot in the ETO or North Africato score a double victory, when he downs two Italian Mc.202s, to score a double victory. (Skip Guidry)

Allied aircraft continue strong support to ground forces and disperse enemy concentrations preparing for an attack. U.S. Army Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit transport, troop concentrations, and tanks while P-40s fly sweeps over the El Daba area and attack motor transport and other targets. German air action increases and considerable aerial combat ensues and USAAF fighters claim four airplanes shot down.

INDIA: The Japanese again hit airfields in Assam connected with the India-China air transport route, concentrating on Sookerating. A freight depot, containing food and medical supplies for China, is destroyed but no U.S. aircraft are lost. Due to a lack of warning, no fighters intercept the attacking force.

CHINA: USAAF bombers raid Hong Kong and Canton. B-25 Mitchells of the USAAF Tenth Air Force's China Air Task Force move to western China to carry out the neutralization of Lashio, Burma, where the Japanese have aircraft they are using against the Dinjan, India area; P-40s continue to hit the Hong Kong-Canton area, using dive-bombing tactics for first time in the area.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack Salamaua and Lae Aerodromes. In Papua New Guinea, an A-20 Havoc, escorted by P-40s, bomb and strafe trails in the Missima-Kaile-Deniki area.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: Shortly after midnight, the main attack against the Lunga Perimeter begins again. The front manned by the 3rd Btn, 164th Regiment is under heavy attack by the Japanese 16th Infantry Reg. 37mm canister fire from two guns of Weapons Co. 7th Marines stops the attack cold. Some survivors succeed in infiltrating the defence lines and are hunted down. This attack, like last night, is short the right wing which is still lost in the jungle. It has turned to the east (right) due to reports of US forces and is not in position. The reports are false.

Near the coast, just east of the mouth of the Matinakau River, Col. Oka finally reaches a position to attack. This attack falls on the 2nd Btn, 7th Marines. The Japanese are heard approached late last night. At 3:00 am the attack begins. The mortar fire of the Battalion and machine gun fire from Sgt. Mitchell Paige (MOH) the 2-7 hold off the Japanese regimental sized attack until 5:00 am. IJA 3rd Btn, 4th Inf. finally scales the steep slope and replaces Co F from the crest of the ridge. 17 men under Maj. Conoley attacked at 5:40 am. They eject the Japanese from the hill. This unit is drawn from communication specialists, cooks, bandsmen, and several riflemen.

They receive assistance from Sgt Paige, Co. G 7th Marines and Co. C 5th Marines. At 8:00 am General Hyakutake stops the attack.

Losses for the past five days: US 86 KIA, 192 WIA; Japanese 1553 south of Henderson Field, 800 near the Matinakau River.

All through the night the Japanese and US Naval forces dodged each other waiting on daybreak and reports from scout planes. Japanese scouts launched between 4:15 am and 4:45 am. US scouts launch at 4:50 am. Sunrise is 5:28am. Both sides mishandled spotting reports and the Japanese launch their strike first at 7:25am, their second strike flies off at 8:10 am; 110 aircraft. The US strikes launch between 7:50 am and 8:10 am; 75 aircraft. Sixty miles from the US fleet the two strikes pass each other.

Battle of Santa Cruz Islands occurs as Task Force 16 (Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid) and TF 17 (Rear Admiral George D. Murray) engage a numerically superior Japanese force (Vice Admiral NAGUMO Chuichi). Although the Japanese achieve a tactical victory, the failure of their simultaneous land offensive on Guadalcanal means that they cannot exploit it to its fullest. The dwindling number of Japanese carrier planes cannot eliminate Henderson Field, while fuel shortages compel the Combined Fleet to retire on Truk Island in the Caroline Islands. Americans control the skies above the sea routes to Guadalcanal. The victory, however, does not come cheaply in this, the fourth major carrier battle of 1942, for the USN aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) is damaged by planes from Japanese aircraft carriers HIJMS Junyo and Shokaku; aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) is damaged by planes from HIJMS Junyo, Shokaku, and Zuikaku; battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57) and light cruiser USS San Juan (CL-54) are damaged by planes from HIJMS Junyo; destroyer USS Smith (DD-378) is damaged by a crashing carrier attack plane; during the operation of fighting the fires on USS Hornet and taking off her survivors, destroyer USS Hughes (DD-410) is damaged in a collision with the doomed carrier (as well as by friendly fire earlier in the action). The attempt to scuttle the irreparably damaged USS Hornet, by gunfire and torpedoes from destroyers USS Mustin (DD-413) and Anderson (DD-411) fails; destroyer Porter (DD-356) is accidentally torpedoed by a battle-damaged and ditched TBF Avenger of Torpedo Squadron Ten (VT 10), and, deemed beyond salvage, is scuttled by destroyer USS Shaw (DD-373). SBD Dauntlesses of Scouting Squadron Ten (VS 10) in USS Enterprise damage aircraft carrier HIJMS Zuiho; SBDs of Bombing Squadron Eight (VB 8) and VS 8 in USS Hornet damage carrier HIJMS Shokaku and destroyer HIJMS Terutsuki; TBF Avengers of VT 6 in USS Hornet damage heavy cruiser HIJMS Chikuma.

USS Hornet struck by 3 550 pound bombs and one Val (dive bomber), then 2 torpedoes and another Val, between 9:12 am and 9:25 am. 11 SBDs from Hornet strike Shokaku with 4 500 pound bombs. Hornet's 2nd strike hits cruiser Chikuma with 2 bombs and 1 torpedo. The 2nd Japanese strike hits Enterprise with 2 bombs and 1 near miss; their torpedo planes missed the coordinated attack that hit Hornet but launch 5 torpedoes which miss Enterprise. Cruisers Portland and San Juan report dud torpedo hits or near misses afterwards. A 3rd wave attacks Enterprise about 11:30 am and scores damage from 1 near miss, 1 hit for minor damage on San Juan and several near misses and 1 hit on South Dakota. Damaged Enterprise withdrew after recovering aircraft. Hornet is abandoned at 4:27 pm. US attempts to scuttle her fail (9 US torpedoes and 300 US 5" shells) and at 9:00 pm two Japanese torpedoes finish Hornet. Aircraft Losses: 27 Zeros, 40 Vals, 29 Kates, 1 Judy for 97 of 199 aircraft. 32 Wildcats, 31 SBDs, 18 TBFs for 81 of 136 aircraft.

The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands is over. Hornet is sunk and Enterprise damaged. There are no US carriers operational in the South Pacific.

The USS ENTERPRISE's carrier air group is also thus disbanded with the sinking.

Destroyer USS Porter was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-21. The crew abandoned her, and she was scuttled by gunfire from USS Shaw. USS Porter received 1 Battle Star for her services before her loss.

On the island, US forces now have just 29 aircraft left in operation.

NEW HEBRIDES ISLANDS: The 21,936 ton U.S. liner SS President Coolidge, chartered for use as a troop transport, blunders into a U.S. minefield off Espiritu Santo at 0930 hours and strikes two mines; the ship is beached to facilitate salvage, but slips into deep water and sinks. Four of the 5,050 Army troops are lost in the accident, as is one of the 290-man merchant complement. There are no casualties among the 51-man Armed Guard.

PACIFIC OCEAN: 0900 hours: S-31 sinks an armed transport at 50-10 N, 155-44 E. (Skip Guidry)

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt commissioned.

U.S.A.: Minesweeper USS Lance laid down.

Light fleet carrier USS San Jacinto laid down.

Light cruiser USS Vicksburg laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Merchantmen Betty H. is sunk from convoy by submarine torpedo.

SS Anne Hutchinson is torpedoed. Constructive total loss.

U-509 damaged SS Anglo Mærsk in Convoy SL-125.

In the North Atlantic, U-552 transferred an ill crewmember to U-87, which then returned to base.

26 October 1943

October 26th, 1943 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Submarine HMS Thermopylae laid down.

FRANCE: Paris: Diarist Charles Braibant sitting outside a café, "I am counting vehicles crossing the square between 12:20 and 12:30; three cars, one motorbike, a fiacre. On the Place de la Bourse, at an hour when normally Paris would have been bustling..." On Sundays only Germans are allowed to drive cars.

GREECE: Kos: After a week of living on locust beans and jam, British survivors of the ill-fated Kos invasion climbed aboard a caique tonight and made their way to the Turkish coast. They had fought hard, but constant attacks by Stukas, German artillery and 4,000 German infantrymen forced men of the 1st Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry, to disperse. The SS have shot 90 Italian officers for collaboration.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force XII Bomber Command B-25 Mitchells and P-38 Lightnings attack the airfields of Sedhes Airfield at Salonika Mikra Airfield at Megalo.

ITALY: USAAF XII Air Support Command and RAF Desert Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack gun emplacements and road junctions in the battle area along the east coast and in the center of Italy, also destroying many vehicles and parked aircraft in the Ancona area, where railroad facilities are also hit; a schooner at Porto Civitanova is left smoking; medium bombers of the Northwest Africa Tactical Bomber Force bomb Terracina and an ammunition dump.

CHINA: Two USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack several vessels at Kiungshan, claiming four sunk or badly damaged and the airfield at Kiungshan is strafed by one of the B-25s.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Thirteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators and 15 P-40s attack railroad yards at Haiphong, Vietnam.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators fly a small raid against Pombelaa Island off Celebes Island with the loss of two aircraft; USAAF gunners claim 11 Japanese fighters. B-25 Mitchells hit targets in Tanimbar Island about 300 nautical miles (556 kilometers) north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

NEW GUINEA: The Japanese begin withdrawing units around Finschhafen towards Sattelberg.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Kahili Airfield in southern Bougainville is hit twice during the day by USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, P-38 Lightnings, P-39 Airacobras, P-40s and USN fighters and dive bombers. Buka Airfield on Buka Island north of Bougainville is strafed by P-38s and then bombed and strafed by B-25s and P-38s. P-39s and P-40s join USN fighters and dive bombers in a strike on Kara Airfield in southern Bougainville.

PACIFIC OCEAN: In the South China Sea, two USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells sink a Japanese transport, two army cargo vessels, and a merchant cargo ship about 15 nautical miles (28 kilometers) west of Haikou, Hainan Island, China in position 20.05N, 110.05E. Meanwhile, six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25s sink a Japanese transport about 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers) east of Haikou, Hainan Island, in position 20.05N, 11.25E.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Frontenac commissioned.

U.S.A.:

Minesweeper USS Inflict laid down.

Submarine USS Rock commissioned.

Destroyer escort USS Menges commissioned.

Minesweeper USS Recruit launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1205 an RCAF 10 Sqn Canso patrol a/c attacked U-91 Kptlt. Heinz Hungershausen, CO, inflicting no damage.

U-420, OLtzS. Hans-Jürgen Reese, CO, went missing in the North Atlantic. All of her 49 crewmembers were lost. The exact cause of her loss remains a mystery.

26 October 1944

October 26th, 1944 (THURSDAY)

WESTERN EUROPE: There are no USAAF bomber operations as bad weather prevails; fighters sweep areas of eastern France and western Germany from Metz, France to Cologne, Germany, attacking rail and road traffic, rail bridges, and marshalling yards.

NETHERLANDS: In the Canadian First Army's II Corps area, the British 52d Division makes an amphibious assault on Beveland from Terneuzen landing on the south coast near Baarland and establishing a bridgehead. The Canadian 2d Division continues to push west along the Beveland Isthmus. The Canadian 3d Division is steadily reducing the Breskens Pocket. .

In the British Second Army's XII Corps area, the 53 Division overruns Hertogenbosch.

FRANCE: Vosges Mountains: 100th/442nd RCT rescues the “Lost Battalion,” which was cut off and surrounded by the enemy. There are 800 Nisei casualties in order to save 211 lives. (Gene Hanson)

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, action at Maizieres-lès-Metz centers about the strongly held Hotel de Ville. The 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division, reaches the hotel but is driven back.

In U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, the 3d Infantry Division continues toward St Die under exceptionally heavy artillery fire, the 7th Infantry Regiment, in the center, overrunning Les Rouges Eaux. On the left flank of corps, the 45th Infantry Division is clearing Fort d'Housseras and working toward Raon-l'Etape. The 36th Infantry Division, on the southern flank, is relieving its isolated 141st Infantry Regiment force, which begins a drive to the west in an effort to break out.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 689: 1,225 bombers and 674 fighters make PFF attacks on industrial and communications targets in western Germany; one fighter is lost. Targets are: 375 bombers bomb the Hannomag armored forces vehicle factory at Hannover, 242 bomb the Minden Aquaduct, 192 attack the marshalling yard at Munster, 191 bomb an ordnance depot at Bielefeld, 65 hit the Welheim synthetic oil refinery at Bottrop, 36 bomb the Munster area, 35 attack the gas works at Bielefeld, 23 hit the marshalling yard at Gutersloh and two bomb targets of opportunity.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 105 Lancasters to carry out a G-H raid on Leverkusen, with the chemical works as the centre of the intended bombing area; 102 aircraft bomb the target. The raid appeared to proceed well but cloud prevented any observation of the results. No aircraft lost.

During the night of 26/27 October, nine RAF Bomber Command Lancaster lay mines off the Heligoland Bight with the loss of one aircraft.

U-3028, U-3528 laid down.

AUSTRIA: Weather curtails operations of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force but four B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the Main marshalling yard at Innsbruck.

POLAND: Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler issues orders to destroy the crematoriums at Auschwitz-Birkenau in an attempt to eliminate the evidence of Nazi mass murder.

HUNGARY: Soviet forces of the Fourth and Second Ukrainian Fronts link up near Mukacevo in eastern Hungary.

ROMANIA: Mukachevo in the southern Carpathian Mountains is the site of a link up between the Second and Fourth Ukraine Fronts in a pincer movement.

ITALY: Heavy rains and flooding slow operations all along the line. In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the South African 6th Division halts efforts to take Mt. Sole; elements on Hill 501 are virtually isolated. In the II Corps area, a flash flood prevents commitment of 362d Infantry Regiment across the Sillaro River as planned. The 88th and 85th Infantry Divisions are given verbal orders to break off offensive and organize defensive positions on more tenable ground. In the British XIII Corps area, the 17th Brigade of the Indian 8th Division pushes to Lutirano and Tredozio. The 61st Brigade, 6th Armourd Division, after repelling an attack against Orsara and making another futile attempt to take Mt. Taverna, confines its activities to patrolling.

In the British Eighth Army's Polish II Corps area, the 5th Kresowa Division, having cleared the Mt. Mirabcllo-Mt. Colombo ridge, sends elements into Predappio Nuovo, on the Rabbi River, but is forced back. In the V Corps area, the Indian 10th Division consolidates bridgeheads across the Ronco River, but the 4th Division is unable to hold on without tank support and suffers heavy losses while withdrawing. Since the river is now in flood, corps operations temporarily come to a standstill. The Canadian I Corps makes little progress because of flooding.

Weather suspends all USAAF Twelfth Air Force operations.

CHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells attack shipping off the east Luichow Peninsula; B-25 Mitchells also hit river shipping from Dosing to Takhing and a Yellow River bridge; fighters attack the town of Menghsu, hit targets of opportunity around Menghsu and Kweiping, and B-25 Mitchells and fighters bomb railroad yards at Hsuchang.

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the Chinese 22d Division, attacking in the center of the NCAC front, reaches the old Chindit airstrip, BROADWAY, 27 miles (43 kilometers) southeast of Hopin, where it remains for a few days to recover from an arduous march over the hills.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force make an armed reconnaissance attack on Hongay, Vietnam.

JAPAN: Of six USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators which abort a naval task force cover mission after failing to find the ships, two bomb installations on Onnekotan Island, Kurile Islands.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: US attack Japanese positions on Catmon Hill, north of Dulag, Leyte. Despite initial setbacks, the US forces gain the position in the wake a Japanese withdrawal. Japanese reinforce Leyte from Ormoc.

On Leyte, the U.S. Sixth Army;s X Corps area, the 24th Infantry Division, having cleared the northern approaches to Leyte Valley, attacks inland. The 34th Infantry Regiment, drives steadily along Highway 2 to Santa Fe. From Castilla, the 19th Infantry Regiment continues to the outskirts of Pastrana, where the entrance into the town is barred by a strong fortress. In the XXIV Corps area, 382d Infantry Regiment of 96th Infantry Division attempts to take Tabontabon, a Japanese supply center, but after reaching the edge of the barrio, they are forced back to the Guinarona River. Division artillery shells the barrio through the night of 26/27 October. The 383d Infantry Regiment conducts a reconnaissance in force against San Vicente Hill, the northern tip of Catmon Hill, but is forced to withdraw. The Japanese withdraw the main body of troops from Catmon Hill. The 32d Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, continue the battle for Buri Airfield through fortifications to positions around edge of the field. The 17th Infantry Regiment attacks with 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions toward Dagami, reaching positions about 600 yards (549 meters) south of Guinarona.

On Mindanao Island, USAAF Far East Air Forces P-38 Lightnings hit vehicles in the Davao area and B-25 Mitchells bomb Iligan.

Japanese Admiral Nishamura's Southern Force and Admiral Shima's force are attacked by PT Boats and then destroyers during their transit of Surigao Strait. PTs sink 1 cruiser, the destroyers sind battleship Fuso and 3 destroyers. US Admiral Oldendorff's 6 battleships and 8 cruisers sink battleship Yamashiro and almost wreck Mogami.

Admiral Kurita's Northern Force, 4 BBs, 8 CA, 11 DDs, transit San Bernardino Strait and find US TG 77.4.3 (6 CVE, 8 DD) off Samar. Between 7:00 am and 9:00 am the Japanese gradually close despite repeated air strikes from the escort carriers and determined torpedo attacks from the escorting destroyers. After loosing 3 cruisers and facing the determined defence of the carriers, Admiral Kurita begins to retire. Some tactical errors of ship handling contribute to his situation. He misses his chance at the invasion ships off Leyte and believes he has sunk several fleet carriers, in fact 3 destroyers and 1 escort carrier are sunk, others damaged.

A Japanese air strike against the 3 escort carrier groups sinking 4 escort carriers and damaging 3. These are the first significant, premeditated suicide attacks that will become known as Kamikaze attacks.

US Admiral Halsey has TF 38, fast fleet carriers, and TF 34, fast battleships, north to intercept Japanese Admiral Ozawa's decoy force of carriers. Hearing the news of the Battle off Samar, Halsey returns, too late to assist. He leaves 2 carrier groups to strike the Japanese carriers, sinking Zuiho and Zuikaku with 2 destroyers and a cruiser. 3 other cruisers of various retiring Japanese forces are sunk by air strikes during the day.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf is over, including the Battle off Samar and the Battle of Cape Engano.

The US ships sunk on 25 October during the Battle of Leyte Gulf are:
ESCORT AIRCRAFT CARRIERS (CVE)
USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73)

USS St Lo (CVE-63)

DESTROYERS (DD)

USS Hoel (DD-533)

USS Johnston (DD-557)

DESTROYER ESCORTS (DE)

USS Eversole (DE-404)

USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413)

The light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23) was sunk off Luzon on 24 October.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Eighteen Australian Beauforsts attack Rabaul on New Britain Island. The targets are supply dumps near Tobera Airfield and antiaircraft positions.

NEW GUINEA: USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells bomb Utarom (Kaimana) Aerodrome in Dutch New Guinea.

EAST INDIES: On Halmahera Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s attack targets of opportunity in the Dodinga-Kaoe Bay area, Djailolo (Djailolo No. 1, No. 2) Aerodrome, a supply area south of Galela, and guns south of Doro.

NAURU ISLAND: Fifteen USAAF Seventh Air Force Mitchells based in the Gilbert Islands, bomb the airfield area on Nauru Island. Nauru Island is a 21 square kilometer (8 square mile) island in the South Pacific Ocean, located about halfway between the Gilbert and Solomon Islands. The island is rich in phosphate deposits and was occupied by the Japanese on 25 August 1942.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: At Stirling Airfield (Coronus Strip) on Stirling Island in the Treasury Islands, In the Russell Islands, the last attack in a month long demonstration of the Interstate TDR-1 assault drone is made by Special Task Air Group (STAG-1), thereby concluding the first use of the guided missile in the Pacific. During the demonstration a total of 46 drones are expended, of which 29 reach the target areas: two attack a lighthouse on Cape St. George, New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago, making one hit which demolishes the structure; nine attack anti-aircraft emplacements on beached ships achieving six direct hits and two near misses; and 18 attacked other targets in the Shortland Islands and Rabaul areas making 11 hits.

PACIFIC OCEAN:

0200 hours: USS Sea Fox (SS-402) sinks a cargo ship at 29-05 N, 127-40 E.

0400 hours: USS Drum (SS-228) sinks a passenger-cargo ship and a cargo ship at 19-30 N, 120-44 E and 19-97 N, 120-42 E.

0700 hours: USS Drum (SS-228) sinks an armed transport at 19-07 N, 120-42 E.

0700 hours: USS Icefish (SS-367) sinks a cargo ship at 19-07 N, 120-42 E. (Skip Guidry)

Special Task Air Group One makes last attack in month long demonstration of TDR drone missile against Japanese shipping and islands in the Pacific. Of 46 missiles fired, 29 reached their target areas.

CANADA:

Corvette HMCS La Malbaie departed Londonderry for refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

Corvette HMCS Lachute commissioned.

U.S.A.: Submarine USS Brill commissioned.

A secret OSS report originating in Stockholm stated that a U-boat carrying a V-1 was about to sail on a mission to attack New York.

26 October 1945

October 26th, 1945 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: No. 10 Sqn. RAAF (Sunderland) is disbanded. Plans to transfer the squadron to the Pacific were shelved after VJ day.

GERMANY: Robert Ley, leader of the German Labour Front, commits suicide in Nürnberg gaol.

U.S.S.R.: Engineer, ship-builder, mathematician and mechanic, member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Hero of Socialist Labor Aleksey Krylov (B 15.08.1863) died.

CANADA: Destroyer HMCS Kootenay paid off.

U.S.A.: Destroyer USS Richard B Anderson commissioned.

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