Today in the History of the Pacific Theater

July 22, 1942
-USAAF planes (B-17s, B-25s and B-26s are utilized in the attacks) attack Japanese shipping off Buna, New Guinea, damaging destroyer Uzuki and sinking army cargo ship Ayatosan Maru.
-U.S. freighter William Dawes is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-24 off the coast of Australia; four of the 15-man Armed Guard, and one (of five) Army passengers are killed in the attack, but there are no casualties among the 40 merchant seamen who make up the ship's complement. Survivors row toward the coast, where fishing boats tow them the remainder of the way. The burning William Dawes sinks the next day.

July 22, 1943
-TG 16.21 (Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen) and TG 16.22 (Rear Admiral Robert M. Griffin), consisting of two battleships, three heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and nine destroyers, bombard Kiska, Aleutians. Enemy return fire proves ineffective. USAAF B-25s, P-38s and P-40s and F5As (P-38s modified for photo reconnaissance) also bomb the Japanese positions.
Three waves of Navy and USAAF planes, including B-17s and B-24s, attack Japanese resupply convoy off Cape Friendship; SBDs and TBFs sink seaplane carrier Nisshin.
-USAAF B-24s raid Surabaya, Java, targeting refineries, dock areas, and railroad yards; auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 111 is damaged in the attack on harbor facilities.
-Submarine Sawfish (SS-276) damages Japanese ammunition ship Seia Maru.

July 22, 1944
-President Roosevelt sails for Hawaii in heavy cruiser Baltimore (CA-68) to confer with Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur and focus attention on the Pacific campaign and encourage American armed forces that the President is devoting his personal attention to that theater of war--at a time when the European war appears to be attracting the most headlines.

July 22, 1945
-TF 93 (Rear Admiral John H. Brown, Jr.) consisting of light cruisers Richmond (CL-9) and Concord (CL-10) and five destroyers, conducts unopposed bombardment of installations at Suribachi, Paramushiro, Kurils.
-DesRon 61, on anti-shipping sweep in vicinity of Sagami Bay, picks up on its radar screens a four-ship Japanese convoy about five miles west of Nojima Zaki and engages it.
-Twenty-six USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Najin, Pusan and Masan, Korea.
-Japanese auxiliary minesweeper No.7 Toshi Maru is wrecked off Sata-Misaki, Japan.
-Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Katori Maru off Niigata; unnamed merchant motor sailer, 1.5 kilometers off Cape Motoyama; and damage auxiliary submarinechaser Cha 20 off Kobe, Japan; and merchant cargo ships Kojo Maru, off Niigata; Choyo Maru, off Najin; and Daikoku Maru, Hagi harbor; and merchant tanker Yuyo Maru, 1.6 kilometers off Mushima light.
-Japanese merchant ship Hokko Go is sunk by aircraft.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.3 Manei Maru is sunk by USAAF mine laid by B-29 (20th Air Force) ten kilometers west of Funagawa, Honshu.
-Japanese merchant fishing boat No.58 Nanshin Maru is damaged by aircraft.

 

July 23, 1943
-In the Indian Ocean, a fourth group of survivors of freighter Sebastian Cermeno, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-511 on 27 June 1943, reaches Durban, South Africa, on board a British corvette.

July 23, 1944
-Destroyer Bush (DD-529) is damaged by premature detonation of 5-inch shell during shore bombardment exercises off Kahoolawe, T.H.
-High speed minesweeper Chandler (DMS-9) is damaged by fire, Marianas.
-British submarine HMS Storm sinks Japanese cargo ship Kiso Maru and fishing vessel Taiho Maru near Port Owen.
-Japanese guardboat Wakayoshi Maru is sunk by mine, Hayatomo Seto, Inland Sea.
-Japanese cargo vessel Takazan Maru is damaged by RAAF mine in Tiore Strait, Celebes. Later (indeterminate date) inflicted by what are most likely USAAF planes result in her ultimate sinking by 5 October.

July 23, 1945
-DesRon 61 concludes its engagement with a Japanese convoy off Sagami Bay, sinking No.3 Hakutetsu Maru off Mora, Chiba prefecture.
-Submarine Barb (SS-220) lands an eight-man commando party which blows up a Japanese train on east coast of Karafuto.
-Submarine Hardhead (SS-365) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 117 off Java, N.E.I.
-Submarine Sea Poacher (SS-406) sinks Japanese guardboat No.2 Kiri Maru between Onoosaki and Shoyasaki, Japan.
-Mines sink Japanese guardboat No.2 Taisho Maru off Chinhae, Korea; merchant tug Kaiko Maru and cargo ship Shoko Maru off Niigata; merchant cargo ships No.1 Taiha Maru and No.2 Taishin Maru off Moji; No.6 Nissho Maru, Kammon Strait; Yamadori Maru outside Wakamatsu harbor, and merchant cargo ship No.2 Tsurukawa Maru off Wakamatsu, and merchant vessel Kocho Maru off Mutsure; and damage merchant cargo ship Gizan Maru near Moji.
-USAAF B-24s (5th Air Force) on antishipping sweep off south coast of Korea sink Japanese merchant tanker No.15 Horai Maru off Hokko.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.5 Adaka Maru is damaged by aircraft.

 

21 July 1943 – F4Fs from VF-26 are credited with 3 A6M over Rendova
21 July 1944 – A VB-115 PB4Y accounts for a G4M while on patrol east of the Philippines.

22 July 1943 – VF-21 F4Fs bring down 5 A6M northeast of Fauro Island near Bougainville.
22 July 1945 – A PB4Y from VPB-111 shoot down a Ki-46 5 miles north of Kota Baru, Malaya.

23 July 1945 – PB4Ys from VPB-118 shoot down a Ki-57 between Tsushima Island and Okino-Shima in the Sea of Japan; and from VPB-123, a Ki-44 about 25 miles east of the mouth of the Geum River, Korea.

24 July 1943 – A PB4Y-1P from VD-1 shoots down an intercepting A6M about 40 miles northwest of Woodlark Island.
24 July 1945 – F4Us from VBF-1 are credited with 2 Ki-84 over the Bungo Suido; from VF-83 with a C6N2 about 150 miles south-southeast of Muroto, Shikoku; and from VF-85, 1 Ki-43 near Kobe. F6Fs scores were, from VBF-87, 1 Ki-43 near Tokushima; from VF-6, 1 Ki-84 near Kure; from VF-16, 1 Ki-43 and 1 C6N2 about 145 miles south of Muroto; from VF-47, 1 A6M over the Bungo Suido; from VF-49, 3 Ki-84 over the Bungo Suido and 1 D3A about 2 miles south of Saeki Airfield; from VF-50 1 Ki-43 over Kure; from VF-88, 2 J2M over the Bungo Suido. Two PB4Ys from VPB-124 share a Ki-43 north of Cheju Do.

 

I never realized how many Japanese aircraft the PB4Y/B-24's shot down until I started reading your posts. They are really under publized as how good they were. I guess the B-29's got all the press along with the carrier fighters.
Must have been a big loss of face for the Japanese fighter pilots to get shot down by a bomber !

 

Depending on the source, USN VP, VD, VH and VBP squadrons and USMC VMF(N) (operating Lockheed PVs) and VMD squadrons shot down between 359 and 383 Japanese aircraft. The US Naval Aviation Combat Statistics – World War II (1946) compilation credits 359, but does not account for all Japanese types encountered. Jim Sawruk has gone though the squadron ACA reports and compiled a listing of all Japanese types credited as shot down which gives the higher number. Summarizing Sawruk’s work:

VP, VPB, VD, VH, VMF(N), and VMD credited shoot-downs:
Mitsubishi A6M series (Zeke) = 74
Mitsubishi G4M series (Betty) = 56
Aichi E1A3 (Jake) = 44
Nakajima Ki-43 (Oscar) = 20
Mitsubishi F1M (Pete) = 15
Mitsubishi Ki-57 (Topsy) = 14
Aichi D3A (Val) = 13
Douglas DC-2 (Tess) = 13
Mitsubishi G3M series (Nell) = 11
Nakajima B5N (Kate) = 11
Kawanishi H8K (Emily) = 10
Nakajima Ki-44 (Tojo) = 10
Kawanishi N1K1-JN1K5-J (George) = 9
Kawanishi H6K (Mavis) = 8
Nakajima A6M2-N (Rufe) = 7
Nakajima B6N (Jill) = 7
Nakajima L2D (Tabby) = 6
Kawasaki Ki-61 (Tony) = 6
Mitsubishi Ki-46 (Dinah) = 5
Kawanishi N1K (Rex) = 5
Mitsubishi A6M3 (Hamp) = 4
Mitsubishi J2M (Jack) = 3
Nakajima Ki-27 (Nate) = 3
Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Sonia) = 3
Aichi E1A6 (Paul) = 2
Kawasaki Ki-45 (Nick) = 2
Mitsubishi Ki-21 (Sally) = 2
Nakajima E8N (Dave) = 2
Nakajima J1N series (Irving) = 2
Nakajima Ki-84 (Frank) = 3
U/I Biplane (Japanese) = 2
Kokusai Ki-76 (Stella) = 1
Kyushu K11W (Willow) = 1
Kyushu Q1W (Lorna) = 1
Mitsubishi C5M or Ki-15 (Babs) = 1
Mitsubishi Ki-30 (Ann) = 1
Nakajima Ki-49 (Helen) = 1
Yokosuka D4Y series (Judy) = 1
Yokosuka P1Y series (Frances) = 1
U/I TE aircraft (Japanese) = 1
U/I SE aircraft (Japanese) = 1
U/I Glider (Japanese) = 1

By US Type:
PB2Y (Total = 7):
G4M series = 5
E1A3 = 1
H6K = 1

PB4Y (Total = 320):
A6M2/5 = 65
G4M = 46
E13A = 33
Ki-43 = 17
Ki-57 = 14
DC2 = 13
F1M = 12
D3A = 11
G3M = 11
H8K = 10
Ki-44 = 9
B5N = 7
H6K = 6
L2D = 6
A6M2-N = 5
B6N = 5
Ki-46 = 5
Ki-61 = 5
N1K (George) = 4
N1K1 (Rex) = 5
A6M3 = 3
J2M = 3
Ki-51 = 3
Ki-84 = 3
E1A6 = 2
Ki-45 = 2
J1N = 2
Ki-21 = 2
U/I Biplane = 2
D4Y = 1
K10W = 1
Ki-27 = 1
Ki-30 = 1
Ki-49 = 1
Ki-76 = 1
P1Y = 1
Q1W = 1
U/I Glider = 1

PBY (total = 17):
A6M2/5 = 9
A6M2-N = 2
E1A3 = 2
F1M = 2
C5M = 1
H6K = 1

PV (Total = 21)
E1A3 = 6
G4M = 5
B5N = 2
Ki-43 = 2
A6M3 = 1
F1M = 1
Ki-44 = 1
Ki-61 = 1
U/I 2/E aircraft = 1
U/I S/E aircraft = 1

PBM (total = 18):
N1K (George) = 5
B5N = 2
B6N = 2
D3A = 2
E1A3 = 2
E8N = 2
Ki-27 = 2
Ki-43 = 1

Regards,

Rich

 

Thanks Rich ! I printed that one out for my airplane library. The glider shoot down looked the most interesting.
I did wonder how the gunners were able to tell a Hamp from a Zeke but still an impressive list, thanks again for the information.

 

July 24, 1941
-Japanese forces occupy northern French Indochina .

July 24, 1942
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) sinks Japanese guardboat No.83 Shinsei Maru, Utasutsu Bay, Hokkaido, merchant cargo ships Nissho Maru off Etorofu, and Kofuji Maru off Oito.

July 24, 1943
-Destroyers bombard Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia, Solomons.
-Submarine Tinosa (SS-283) torpedoes Japanese oiler No. 3 Tonan Maru; towed to Truk, the oiler is utilized as a floating oil tank. Tinosa, however, fires 15 torpedoes; 13 hit but only two explode! The incident highlights torpedo exploder problems that have plagued the submarine force since the beginning of the war.
-Japanese army cargo ship Mie Maru is sunk by mine, Babo harbor.

July 24, 1944
-TF 52 (Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill) lands 4th Marine Division (Major General Harry Schmidt, USMC) on Tinian. Landing, which initially encounters light opposition, is supported by naval gunfire, carrier aircraft, and land-based aircraft from Saipan. Shore batteries on Tinian damage battleship Colorado (BB-45), destroyer Norman Scott (DD-690); and tank landing ship LST-481.
-USAAF B-24s (5th Air Force) sink Japanese transport Asahisan Maru in Kau Bay, Halmahera.

July 24, 1945
-Aircraft from TF 38 launch two-day attack on the Inland Sea area, Japan, striking Kure Naval Base and airfields at Nagoya, Osaka, and Miho. TF 38 planes sink battleship-carrier Hyuga in Hiro Bay, Kure; heavy cruiser Tone (she is pushed aground to facilitate salvage) and training ship (ex-coast defense ship) Iwate off Eta Jima; target ship (ex-battleship) Settsu at Kure; guardboat Kaiwa Maru north of Himejima, Kyushu; and damage carrier Ryuho and battleship-carrier Ise at Kure; battleship Haruna and light cruiser Oyodo off Eta Jima; heavy cruiser Aoba at Kure Navy Yard; escort destroyer Hagi and fast transport T.19 at Kure; torpedo cruiser Kitakami and destroyers Yoizuki and Hari, near Kure; escort destroyer Kaba, Osaka; escort destroyer Tsubaki near Okayama; Coast Defense Vessel No.190, Tanabe harbor; Coast Defense Vessel No.4, Toba; transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Kiyokawa Maru, beached at Shida, Shimonoseki Straits. Carrier Amagi is hit by only one rocket off Kurahashi Jima, Kure, but its passage close by the commanding officer so unnerves the captain that he unhesitatingly orders the ship abandoned.
Japanese escort carrier Kaiyo is damaged by planes from British carriers HMS Formidable, HMS Indefatigable, and HMS Victorious. Kaiyo's travails, however, do not end there. She is damaged by USAAF mine (laid by a 20th Air Force B-29) off Beppu; destroyer Yukaze takes the wounded warship in tow.
-Guardboats No.3 Seisho Maru and Taiko Maru are sunk by U.S. aircraft at Kobe, Japan.
-Auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 98 is sunk by aircraft, Moji, Japan.
-Japanese transport No.11 Kaishin Maru is sunk by aircraft.
-TG 35.3 (Rear Admiral J. Cary Jones, Jr.) consisting of four light cruisers (from TG 38.3) and six destroyers (from TG 38.4) conducts high-speed anti-shipping sweep across Kii Suido. Destroyer Colahan (DD-658) fires upon only surface contact, which proves to be submarine Toro (SS-422), on lifeguard station south of Shikoku. Fortunately, Toro is not damaged in this case of mistaken identity.
-Escort carrier Vella Gulf (CVE-111), as TU 19.6.1, carries out air strikes on Pagan, one of the two remaining bases in the Marianas. She carries out strikes against Rota (the other) two days later.
-Destroyer escort Underhill (DE-682), damaged by kaitens from Japanese submarine I-53 off Luzon, is scuttled by submarine chasers PC-803 and PC-804, and escort patrol vessel PCE-872.
-Submarine Chub (SS-329) sinks Japanese tug (ex-Dutch Ginah).
-Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Wa.3 is sunk by aircraft , Surabaya, Java, N.E.I.
-Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ships Koichi Maru, Wonsan harbor, Korea, and Himekawa Maru, four kilometers off Himejima; and damage auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 226, off Moji; and merchant tanker Tatsukusu Maru, Hagi.
-Japanese merchant tanker No.6 Nanki Maru is damaged by marine casualty.

 

25 July 1943 – F4Fs from VF-21 are credited with 8 A6M north of Munda.
25 July 1944 - In action around the Palau’s, F6Fs from VF-1 are credited with 1 B5N; from VF-8, with 1 Ki-45; from VF-13, with 2 A6M and 1 Ki-45; from VF-14, with 1 A6M2-N; and from VF-51, with 1 E13A.
25 July 1945 – In wide spread actions over central Japan, F4Us from VBF-6 are credited with 1 C6N and 1 D4Y; from VBF-83, with 1 B6N and 2 N1K; and from VF-85, with 1 each Ki-21, Ki-57, and Ki-84. F6Fs from VBF-87 are credited with 1 B6N; from VF-16, with 1 C6N, 1 N1K, and 3 P1Y; from VF-31, with 1 Ki-61 and 7 Ki-84; and from VF(N)-91, with 1 B7A and 1 K5Y1.

26 July 1943 – A PB4Y from VB-102 is credited with downing 2 A6M off the north tip of Buka in the north Solomons.
26 July 1945 - A PB4Y from VPB-123 is credited with downing 2 Ki-44 off the east coast of Tsushima Island.

27 July 1944 – A VB-148 PV shoots down a Ki-61 over Satawan Island lagoon in the Carolines.

28 July 1945 – As TF-38 continues strikes on the remaining capital ships of the Japanese Navy, primarily in the Kure area, F6Fs from VF-16 are credited with 4 Ki-84; from VF-31, with 4 F1M; from VF-83 with 3 Ki-61; and from VF-86, with 1 Ki-84. Several published sources claim USN aircraft losses to AA fire on this date to be between 128 and 133, however, actual reports from TF-38 show losses of 10 VBF/VF, 6 VT, and 13 VB (total 29) in combat and 3 VBF/VF, 2 VT, and 3 VB in operational accidents. Personnel losses 7 VBF/VF pilots, 5 VT pilots and 8 crewmen, and 9 VB pilots and 9 crewmen. There were, in fact, only 173 TF-38 aircraft lost in combat on 14 strike days from 10 July 1945 to 15 August 1945, 165 to AA fire and 8 to enemy aircraft.

 

July 25, 1943
-Destroyers and aircraft strike enemy position at Munda, Solomons.
-Submarine Pompon (SS-267) damages Japanese transport Kinsen Maru and sinks army cargo ship Thames Maru.
In the Indian Ocean,a second group of survivors from U.S. freighter Alice F. Palmer, torpedoed, shelled and sunk by German submarine U-177 on 10 July 1943, reaches safety at Mozambique.

July 25, 1944
-Aircraft from TF 58 (Vice Adm Marc A. Mitscher) attack Japanese installations and shipping in the western Carolines, at Yap, Ulithi, Fais, Ngulu, Sorol, and Palau; strikes continue until 28 July. F6Fs from small carrier San Jacinto (CVL-30) damage destroyer Samidare 30 miles north of Babelthuap, Palau. F6Fs from carrier Bunker Hill (CV-17) sink guardboat Ryojin Maru.
-USAAF B-25s sink Japanese salvage vessel Hoshin Maru 70 nautical miles east of Hong Kong.

July 25, 1945
-PB4Y-2s (VPB 118), flying from Okinawa, continue aerial mining of waters of Korean archipelago, sowing mines in waters north of Chin-To. Upon completion of the mining operation, the Privateers strafe targets of opportunity that include lighthouses and Japanese shipping.
-Twenty-six USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Tsuruga and Ohama, Japan. Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ships Anri Go off Mutsure, and Kozan Maru off Wakamatsu; and damage escort destroyer Kuga in Fukagawa Bay.
-Underwater demolition teams, covered by aircraft, begin operations on the beaches at Balikpapan, Borneo, in advance of landings slated to begin there.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Katori Maru is sunk by aircraft.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.5 Ise Maru is sunk by aircraft, outside Sakito harbor.

 

July 26, 1940
-President Roosevelt invokes Export Control Act and prohibits exportation, without license, of aviation gasoline and certain classes of iron and steel scrap; this legislation halts flow of those important commodities to Japan.

July 26, 1941
-In response to the Japanese occupation of northern French Indochina on 24 July, President Roosevelt freezes Japanese and Chinese assets in United States and cuts off the export of oil to Japan.
-U.S. Army Forces, Far East (Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur) is organized; Philippine military forces are called into service with U.S. Army.

July 26, 1942
-Destroyer Worden (DD-352) and oiler Platte (AO-24) rescue survivors of Dutch motorship Tjinegara, which had been sunk by Japanese submarine I-169 about 75 miles southeast of Nouméa, New Caledonia.

July 26, 1943
-TG 16.7 (Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen) and TG 16.17 (Rear Admiral Robert M. Griffin) engage radar targets 90 miles southwest of Kiska. The contacts, however, prove to be phantom echoes on the U.S. radar screens, and the engagement becomes known as the "Battle of the Pips."
-In the Indian Ocean, a third group of survivors from U.S. freighter Alice F. Palmer, torpedoed, shelled and sunk by German submarine U-177 on 10 July 1943, reaches safety at Mozambique.

July 26, 1944
-Heavy cruiser Baltimore (CA-68), with President Roosevelt embarked, arrives at Pearl Harbor, T.H.; the President will meet with Admiral Nimitz, Admiral Leahy, and General MacArthur to discuss Pacific strategy.
-TF 58 strikes against Japanese installations and shipping in western Carolines continue; planes from carrier Bunker Hill (CV-17) damage landing ship T.150; planes from Lexington (CV-16) damage minelayer Sokuten, which is then finished off by planes from Bunker Hill.
-U.S. submarines carry out succession of attacks on Japanese convoy in South China Sea. Angler (SS-240) damages transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Kiyokawa Maru; Flasher (SS-249) sinks merchant tanker Otoriyama Maru, and teams with Crevalle (SS-291) to sink army cargo ship Tosan Maru; Crevalle sinks transport Aki Maru.
-Submarine Robalo (SS-273) is sunk by mine off western Palawan, Balabac Strait, P.I. Among those lost with Robalo is her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Manning M. Kimmel, one of the sons of Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, who had been Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet on 7 December 1941.
-Submarine Sawfish (SS-276) sinks Japanese submarine I-29 in Balintang Channel, Luzon Strait.

July 26, 1945
-Destroyer Lowry (DD-770) is damaged by on-board tetrachlorethane (chemical) explosion, Philippine Sea.
-U.S. aircraft sink Japanese auxiliary minesweepers No.18 Hinode Maru and Rikuzen Maru off Haeju-Won, Korea.
-Aircraft [service unspecified] sink Japanese merchant tanker Seria Maru near Aioi; merchant cargo ship Mishima Maru near Hizen, Oshima; and merchant fishing vessel No.40 Misago Maru off Uketo.
-Japanese target ship (ex-battleship) Settsu is damaged by marine casualty, Eta Jima harbor.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Annette Fritzen Go is damaged by mine, off Pusan, Korea.
-Cargo ship Spica (AK-16) and U.S. freighters Jonathan Harrington and Enos A. Mills depart Dutch Harbor, Alaska, for Point Barrow, transporting men and supplies for Navy Petroleum Reserve 4.

 

Sorry about the delays everyone, been having major computer problems here but I believe I have them all resolved now.

July 27, 1942
-Army-Navy Petroleum Board is established.
Pacific
-TF 8 approaches Kiska to bombard Japanese positions but limited surface visibility results in the operation being postponed. During the retirement, however, high speed minesweeper Lamberton (DMS-2) accidentally rams high speed minesweeper Chandler (DMS-9). While investigating that collision, destroyer Monaghan (DD-354) and high speed minesweeper Lamberton (DMS-12) collide; both of those ships suffer damage as well.
-Light cruiser Boise (CL-47) departs Pearl Harbor to proceed, via Midway, toward the Japanese home islands to emit enough radio traffic to create the impression of an approaching American task force, as well as to locate and destroy small patrol vessels operating off Honshu.
-USAAF B-26s damage Japanese transport Kotoku Maru off Buna, New Guinea.
-Submarine Spearfish (SS-190) damages Japanese submarine depot ship Rio de Janeiro Maru 95 miles east of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina.
-Dutch submarine O-23 damages Japanese coaster No.2 Shofuku Maru south of Penang, Malaya.

July 27, 1943
-Submarine Sawfish (SS-276) damages Japanese minelayer Hirashima off Kyushu, Japan.
-Submarine Scamp (SS-277) sinks Japanese submarine I-168 and damages oiler Kazahaya.
-Submarine Seadragon (SS-194) inflicts further damage on the previously damaged Japanese transport Suwa Maru off Wake Island.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Teikin Maru is sunk by mine (laid by submarine Tambor (SS-198) on 2 November 1942) off Hainan Island.
-In the Indian Ocean, the last group of survivors of freighter Sebastian Cermeno, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-511 on 27 June 1943, reaches Durban, South Africa, on board a British destroyer. From the 42-man merchant complement, five passengers and 27-man Armed Guard, five of the crew perish in either the initial attack, die of their wounds or from exposure in the lifeboats.
-Second and third groups of survivors from U.S. freighter Robert Bacon, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-178 on 14 July 1943 off Mozambique Light, are rescued from their boats, one by British steamship English Prince the other by British tanker Steaua Romana. Three rafts with survivors are still at sea.

July 27, 1944
-As TF 58 strikes against Japanese installations and shipping in the western Carolines continue, Navy carrier planes sink fast transport T.1 off Palau; planes from carrier Bunker Hill (CV-17) sink landing ship T.150.
-Submarine Dace (SS-247) attacks Japanese convoy and sinks fleet tanker No.2 Ky_ei Maru about 90 miles south of Zamboanga.
-USAAF B-24s, B-25s and P-38s work over Japanese shipping near Halmahera Island, damaging motor sailboat Genjo Maru.
-Japanese escort destroyer Kunashiri is damaged (cause unspecified) west of Paramushiro, Kurils.

July 27, 1945
-Potsdam Declaration calling for unconditional surrender is delivered to the Japanese government. The Japanese, however, ignore the ultimatum, prompting President Truman to approve plans to drop atomic weapons on Japan.
-Twenty-five USAAF B-29s (20th Air Force) mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Niigata, Miyazu, Maizuru and Senzaki, Japan. Mines laid by USAAF B-29s sink Japanese army cargo ship Unten Maru off Suo Nada; merchant cargo ships Meiko Maru off Kokushi, Yamaguchi prefecture and No.55 Banshu Maru, Odo Strait, Shimonoseki; and damage merchant cargo ships Jinstugawa Maru off Fushiki and Tatsumaki Maru off Wakamatsu signal station.
-Cargo ship Ganymede (AK-104) is damaged in collision with Army barge BKP 42 (346th Harbor Craft Company), P.I.
-U.S. freighter John A. Rawlins is damaged by Japanese aerial torpedo in Naha harbor, Okinawa; in addition to the 39-man merchant crew, 28 Armed Guards and 191 Construction Battalion men are on board at this time. Of those men, only three are injured; the ship, however, will ultimately be written off as a total loss.
-U.S. freighter Pratt Victory is torpedoed by Japanese plane south of Ie Shima; the blast sinks tank landing craft LCT-1050 that lies moored alongside discharging cargo. There are no fatalities among the 27-man Armed Guard on board Pratt Victory, which offloads the remainder of her cargo without further incident.
-Submarine Pargo (SS-264) is damaged by depth charges and aerial bombs off northern Celebes, but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Chikuzen Maru southwest of Kyogasaki, about 90 miles north of Tottori, Honshu.
-British submarine HMS Tudor sinks Japanese fishing vessel.
-USAAF planes (5th Air Force) sink Japanese landing ship T.176 off southern Kyushu.
-Japanese transport Doshi Maru is sunk by aircraft off Nishitomari.
-Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.40 Giso Maru, is sunk by aircraft off Urajiri.
-Aircraft sink/damage Japanese merchant cargo ships Rokuzan Maru off southeast coast of Korea, and Yushin Maru.
-Aircraft damage Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.11 Shonan Maru inside Chefoo harbor, China; and damage merchant tanker No.2 Seiko Maru off Osaka.

 

July 28, 1941
-Japan freezes U.S. assets.

July 28, 1943
-Japanese complete evacuation of Kiska Island, Aleutians (Vice Admiral Kawase Shiro), undetected by U.S. forces; among the materiel wrecked by the evacuating enemy are three midget submarines.
-Destroyer Farragut (DD-348) on Kiska blockade patrol sinks an empty Japanese landing craft (perhaps cast adrift by the evacuating enemy garrison) four miles east of Sobaka Rock, off the south coast of Kiska.
-Japanese submarine RO-103 is last reported on this date; subsequent attempts to contact her are unsuccessful and she never returns to her base at Rabaul. Her fate is uncertain; she may have been mined.
-USAAF B-25s sink Japanese destroyers Ariake and Mikazuki off Cape Gloucester, New Britain.
-USAAF B-24s sink Japanese army cargo vessel Tamishima Maru off Tavoy Island.
-In the Indian Ocean, a fourth group of survivors from U.S. freighter Robert Bacon, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-178 on 14 July 1943 off Mozambique Light, reaches safety after two weeks at sea.

July 28, 1944
-President Roosevelt, Admiral Nimitz, Admiral Leahy and General MacArthur meet in Honolulu to discuss Pacific strategy. Ultimately, General MacArthur prevails upon the President and Admiral Nimitz to accord priority to the liberation of the Philippines.
-Destroyer escorts Wyman (DE-38) and Reynolds (DE-42) sink Japanese submarine I-55, 400 miles east of Tinian.
-Submarine Aspro (SS-309) damages previously damaged Japanese gunboat Peking Maru aground off Vigan Point, Luzon; Peking Maru remains aground, a total loss, gutted and abandoned.
-Submarine Crevalle (SS-291) attacks Japanese convoy off northwestern Luzon, sinking merchant cargo ship Hakubasan Maru off Piedra Point.

July 28, 1945
-Aircraft from TF 38 of the Third Fleet (Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.) strike Inland Sea area, between Nagoya, and Northern Kyushu; principally targeting the Kure Naval Base. TF 38 planes sink battleship Haruna off Eta Jima, eight miles northwest of Kure; battleship-carrier Ise, five miles northwest of Kure; training ship ex-coast defense vessel Izumo off Eta Jima; heavy cruiser Aoba, Kure Navy Yard, light cruiser Oyodo; submarine I 404, Kure; escort destroyer Nashi, Mitajirizaki, Kure; guardboat No.5 Fukuju Maru at Kujukurihama, Chiba prefecture; guardboats No.2 Fukusei Maru and No.2 Inari Maru, Kobe; submarine depot ship Komahashi, victualling stores ship Kosho Maru, and auxiliary minesweeper No.18 Banshu Maru, Owase; guardboat No.2 Han'ei Maru, Aomori; naval auxiliary Koryu Maru, Innoshima dockyard; in addition to merchant cargo ships Kinzan Maru four miles east of Ogashima, and Kiyotada Maru in Ube harbor; merchant cargo ships No.11 Kyowa Maru in Kobe harbor and No.3 Mikage Maru off Otaru; and merchant tankers No.4 Kinyu Maru and No.6 Kinyu Maru. British carrier planes (TF 37) sink Coast Defense Vessel No.4 in Ise Bay Yokosuka; Coast Defense Vessel No.30 off Yura.
-TF 38 planes also damage carrier Katsuragi and training carrier Hosho, Kure; torpedo cruiser (ex-light cruiser) Kitakami in Hiroshima Bay; submarine I-205 (repaired after damage inflicted by TF 58 aircraft on 19 March) in drydock, Kure; destroyer Asagao west of Bisan-Seto; Coast Defense Vessel No.45 and submarine chaser Ch 14 near Yokosuka; escort destroyer Habushi and Coast Defense Vessel No.44, Sasebo; Coast Defense Vessel No.190 in Yura Straits; guardboats No.2 Kainan Maru and No.2 Inari Maru, Kobe harbor; motor torpedo boat Gyoraitei No.823, Yokosuka; and auxiliary minesweepers No.10 Showa Maru and No.1 Kyojin Maru off Owase, Japan, as well as merchant passenger ship Tenzan Maru; merchant cargo ships No.8 Shinto Maru, and Nagasaki Maru off south side of Osagi Jima; merchant tankers No.18 Nissho Maru and No.2 Seiko Maru, Osaka; and Shingi Maru, Kobe; merchant cargo ship Taigen Maru, in dock at Innoshima.
-The four escort carriers in TF 32 (Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf) providing cover for the ongoing minesweeping operations in the East China Sea (Rear Admiral Alexander Sharp) launch planes to conduct strikes on shipping off the mouth of the Yangtze River. No targets, however, are found.
-Destroyer Callaghan (DD-792) is sunk by kamikaze, on radar picket station approximately 50 miles southwest of Okinawa; she is the last Allied vessel to be lost to that weapon.
-Destroyer Prichett (DD-561) is damaged by near-miss of suicide plane as she assists the mortally damaged Callaghan. Reflecting the depth of desperation reached by the Japanese kamikaze forces, Callaghan's assailant is a bomb-carrying Yokosuka K5Y (Allied codename; WILLOW, primary training biplane)!
-Submarine Hardhead (SS-365) damages Japanese No.165 Shuttle Boat.
-Submarine Sennet (SS-408), attacking Japanese convoy off western Honshu, sinks merchant cargo ships Hagikawa Maru, eight miles west of Noshiro harbor and No.15 Unkai Maru and Hakuei Maru off Sakata.
-Japanese auxiliary minesweeper No.1 Keijin Maru sinks after running aground off Owase, Japan.
-Japanese army cargo ship Hitora Maru is damaged by marine casualty, Innoshima Dockyard.
-Japanese transport Teiritsu Maru, damaged by mine sown by USAAF B-29s (20th Air Force); she is run aground .2 kilometers southwest of Bakuchizaki.

 

On several of your posts you talk about Dutch submarines in the Pacific. Do you happen to know who resupplied these subs during the war and where they got their orders ect.? I know they had Dutch people in exile in England but would Royal Navy or US Navy torpedoes fit in Dutch subs ?

Just answer if you know off hand, don't do any research. I was just curious.

Hope you got your computer repaired. I had a lighting strike close to my house and it fried my modum and keyboard two Sundays ago.

 

What little I do know about the Dutch K-XIV class in particular started the war using a 21" torpedo that was a British design but after 1943 started to be supplied with the US Mk 14 torpedo. Early in the war (late Nov 41-?) the Dutch subs in the Pacific were under the operational control of the British CinC Eastern Fleet based in Singapore. By February-March 42 they were operating out of the fleet base at Surabaya on Java. After the fall of Java most of the remaining Dutch subs made their way to the Indian Ocean where they operated out of Colombo. One sub the K-XV was sent to the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the States where she underwent an overhaul that had a sonar installed in the bow, removal of the Bofors 40mm mount, and one forward hatch removed (reason unknown). In late Dec 43, this boat returned to Colombo so it would be resonable to assume that the British were providing supplies and maintained operational control.
As for the computer the problems, they have been resolved. I got hit by a new version of a particularly nasty desktop hijacker virus. Turns out I got it the day that most of the anti-virus companies started to find out about it and I didn't want to reconnect the computer till I was able to find a way to get rid of it. Turns out my version of Norton's wasn't up to the task. Fortunately McAfee Internet Security Suite seems to be doing a real nice job for now.

 

July 29, 1941
-Japanese occupy southern French Indochina with French permission.

July 29, 1942
-PBYs (VP 23) bomb Japanese bases in Tulagi-Gavutu area.
-Survivors (47 in number, two merchant seamen having died during the 32-day ordeal in the 25-foot lifeboat) from U.S. freighter Potlatch, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-153 on 27 June, reach Great Inagua Island, Bahamas group; their search for water will take them thence to Little Inagua, and thence to Aklins Island. Ultimately picked up by steamship Vergermere, they reach Nassau on 1 August.

July 29, 1943
-Submarine Tuna (SS-203) is mistakenly damaged by RAAF Catalina off Woodlark Island and is forced to terminate her patrol.
-USAAF B-25s and P-38s bomb the already damaged Japanese destroyer Mikazuki aground off Cape Gloucester.
-USAAF B-24s damage Japanese guardboat No.1 Kyo Maru off Ross Island, Andamans.

July 29, 1944
-Heavy cruiser Baltimore (CA-68), with President Roosevelt embarked, departs Pearl Harbor for Adak, Aleutians.
-Tank landing ship LST-340 is damaged by grounding, Marianas.
-Submarine Drum (SS-228) sinks Japanese sampan Asahi Maru 100 miles off Palau.
-Submarine Perch (SS-313) sinks Japanese guardboat Kannon Maru I-Go in Philippine Sea, east of Dinagat Island.

July 29, 1945
-Three battleships, four heavy cruisers, and ten destroyers of TU 34.8.1 (Rear Admiral John F. Shafroth) begins bombardment of shops, aircraft factory, and other facilities at Hamamatsu, Honshu. British battleship HMS King George V and three destroyers operates independently but joins in the bombardment. Carrier Bon Homme Richard (CV-31) supplies precautionary night combat air patrols and spotter aircraft.
-Twenty-six USAAF B-29s (20th Air Force) mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Najin, Korea, and Fukuoka, Japan. Merchant cargo ship Tatsukashi Maru, damaged by mine, is beached off Pusan, Korea.
-Heavy cruiser Indianapolis (CA-35) is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-58 northeast of Leyte. Ultimately 880 crewmen perish in the sinking and during their 4 days in the water due to injuries, exposure and sharks.
-Destroyer Cassin Young (DD-793) and high speed transport Horace A. Bass (APD-124) are damaged by suicide planes off Okinawa.
-USAAF P-47s (7th Air Force) on sweep for targets of opportunity in the Nagasaki, Japan, area, sink auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 207.
-USAAF B-25s (5th Air Force) damage Japanese escort carrier Kaiyo in Hiji harbor, Beppu Wan.
-Aircraft sink Japanese army cargo ship No.18 Ono Maru and merchant cargo ship Tangetsu Maru off Ulsan, Korea, and merchant passenger ship Tenzan Maru.
-USAAF B-25s and P-51s on antishipping sweep off southeast coast of Korea sink Japanese army cargo ship Hokusei Maru off Kuryungpo; merchant cargo ship Seishin Maru; tanker Yushin Maru, and cargo vessel Shoryu Maru.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.12 Reisui Maru is sunk/damaged by aircraft.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Kokyu Maru is damaged by aircraft near Pusan, Korea.
-USAAF A-26s damage Japanese merchant tanker No.5 Yamamizu Maru off Nagasaki.
-Marine casualties sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Sumioyoshi Maru outside Kamaishi harbor, and damage merchant cargo ships Miesan Maru near Shira Jima, and No.2 Mitsu Maru south of Cape Wakamiya, Iki Island and also result in the loss of guardboats Asahi Maru east of Pusan, Korea, and No.6 Kaiyo Maru off Cape Wakamiya, Korean Strait.

[ 01. August 2005, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: Bill Murray ]

 

July 30, 1941
-During Japanese bombing raid on Chungking, China, one bomb falls eight yards astern of river gunboat Tutuila (PR-4). While the bomb causes no damage to the ship, Tutuila's motor boats are badly damaged and the motor sampan cut loose from its moorings. There are no casualties.

July 30, 1942
-Women's Naval Reserve (WAVES) (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) is established.
-Submarine Grenadier (SS-210) torpedoes Japanese tanker San Clemente Maru off Truk.

July 30, 1943
-Destroyers Farragut (DD-348) and Hull (DD-350), unaware that the Japanese garrison has been evacuated, bombard the Gertrude Cove and main camp areas on Kiska Island.
-In the Indian Ocean, a U.S. freighter William Ellery, en route from Basra, Iraq, to Durban, South Africa, is torpedoed by German submarine U-197 some 300 miles from her destination but reaches it under her own power; there are no casualties among the 39-man merchant complement and the 27-man Armed Guard.
-Also the fourth and final group of survivors from U.S. freighter Alice F. Palmer, torpedoed, shelled and sunk by German submarine U-177 on 10 July 1943, reaches safety at Mozambique. All hands survive the ordeal of the loss of the ship and the ensuing open boat voyages.

July 30, 1944
-TF 77 (Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler) lands Army 6th Infantry Division (Major General Franklin C.Sibert, USA) near Cape Opmari, northwest New Guinea, and on islands of Amsterdam and Middleburg, in the first phase of Operation GLOBETROTTER.
-Cargo ship Adhara (AK-71) and U.S. merchant vessel Peter White are damaged when the latter accidentally rams the Navy ship off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal.
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) sinks Japanese fleet tanker Kokuyo Maru about 75 miles northeast of Borneo.
-USAAF B-25s attack Japanese installations and shipping at Tobele, Halmahera, sinking small cargo vessel Mansei Maru.

July 30 ,1945
-Aircraft from TF 38 (Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.) bomb airfields and industrial targets in central Honshu, and fly sweeps against Japanese shipping in Maizuru Bay. TF 38 planes sink escort vessel Okinawa six miles north-northwest of Maizuru; submarine chaser Ch 26 in Korea Strait; minelayer Toshima off Maizuru; auxiliary submarine chasers Keisho Maru and Chikuzen Maru, and guardboat No.12 Kogyo Maru at Imaura; auxiliary submarine chasers No.2 Nippon Maru in Usami Bay and No.53 Banshu Maru off Obama; guardboat No.10 Sumiyoshi Maru eight miles north of Kohi Jima; merchant cargo ships Kashi Maru off Tsuruga and Taruyasu Maru off Maizuru; merchant ship Kamogawa Maru off Ullung Island; and damage escort destroyer Takane near Maizuru; submarine depot ship Chogei, submarines I-153 and I-202, and Coast Defense Vessel No.2 and minelayer Tatsumiya Maru off Maizuru; Coast Defense Vessel No.27 in Korea Strait; auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 182 off Ito; guardboat No.18 Sumiyoshi Maru, damaged by TF 38 aircraft, is run aground north of Kohi Jima. TF 38 planes also damage merchant cargo ship Shotai Maru and merchant vessel Fukuan Maru off Maizuru. British carrier planes from TF 37 complete the destruction of transport Teiritsu Maru, aground off Maizuru.
-Three battleships, four heavy cruisers, and ten destroyers of TU 34.8.1 (Rear Admiral John F. Shafroth) completes bombardment of shops, aircraft factory, and other facilities at Hamamatsu, Honshu, Japan. One British battleship and three destroyers take part in this effort as well.
-Task force (Rear Admiral Alexander Sharp) completes minesweeping operations in the East China Sea; his ships sweep approximately 7,300 square miles and destroy 404 mines without casualty.
-British midget submarines XE 1 (towed to the area by submarine HMS Spark) and XE 3 (towed by HMS Stygian) penetrate into Singapore Harbor to attack Japanese heavy cruisers Myoko and Takao, respectively.
-Submarine Sennet (SS-408) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Yuzan Maru near Mutsuta Mizaki, western Hokkaido.
-Mines laid by USAAF B-29s (20th Air Force) sink destroyer Hatsushimo inside Miyazu Bay, 12 miles west-northwest of Maizuru, Japan and passenger/cargo vessel Shokei Maru, and damage destroyer Yukikaze near Miyazu.
-Aircraft sink Japanese army cargo ship Gessan Maru off Ulsan, Korea; merchant passenger ship Shokei Maru in Miyazu Bay; merchant cargo ships No.2 Shozan Maru off Ulgi, and Koshin Maru off Pang-O-Jin; and merchant cargo ship Shinko Maru off Choshi; and damage merchant cargo ships Choko Maru off Himo; Shoko Maru, Wakasa Bay; and No.5 Kenkon Maru; merchant tug Hokusan Maru, Pusan, Korea; and merchant cargo ship Nissho Maru off Tsuruga.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Matsuura Maru is damaged by marine casualty, beached, at mouth of Yujin harbor.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.15 Yamabishi Maru is lost to marine casualty, Wakasa Bay.

 

July 31, 1941
-Economic Defense Board is created.
-Japanese government assures U.S. government that the previous day's bombing of river gunboat Tutuila (PR-4) at Chungking, China, is "an accident 'pure and simple'."

July 31, 1942
-Submarine Grunion (SS-216) torpedoes Japanese transport Kashima Maru off Kiska, Aleutians, but is sunk by gunfire from her quarry, 10 miles north of Segula Island.
-PBYs attempt to bomb Japanese bases in Tulagi-Gavutu area is aborted because of bad weather.

July 31, 1943
-Submarine Finback (SS-230) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Ryuzan Maru.
-Submarine Grayling (SS-209) lands supplies and equipment at Pucio Point, Panay.
-Submarine Guardfish (SS-217) lands survey party on west coast of Bougainville, Solomons.
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266) sinks Japanese aircraft transport Mogamigawa Maru northwest of Truk.
-Submarine Saury (SS-189), at periscope depth, is rammed by Japanese destroyer and damaged, Philippine Sea consequently, Saury terminates her patrol.

July 31, 1944
-TF 77 (Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler) lands Army troops on Cape Sansapor, New Guinea, in second phase of Operation GLOBETROTTER, thus concluding the New Guinea campaign.
-Coordinated submarine attack group TG 17.15 (Commander Lewis S. Parks) carries out succession of attacks on Japanese convoy near the Bashi Channel. Submarine Parche (SS-384) (flagship) sinks transport Mank_ Maru, and merchant tanker K_ei Maru, and damages merchant cargo ship No.1 Ogura Maru, and army cargo ship Fuso Maru, and teams with Steelhead (SS-280) to sink army cargo ship Yoshino Maru. Steelhead sinks Fuso Maru, and damages army cargo ship Dakar Maru, which is towed to San Fernando and abandoned. For the heroism he displays in pressing home a daring surface attack, Parche's captain, Commander Lawson P. Ramage, will be awarded the Medal of Honor.
-Submarine Dace (SS-247) sinks small Japanese cargo vessel Shinju Maru 20 miles west of Palimban Point.
-Submarine Lapon (SS-260) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant tanker Tenshin Maru off the southwest tip of Palawan and damages weather ship Hijun Maru.

July 31, 1945
-Destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 25, conducting anti-shipping sweep in Suguru Gulf, bombard railroad yards and industrial area of Shimuzu, Japan.
-PB4Ys (FAW 1) operating from Yontan Field, Okinawa, destroy a span of the Seisen River bridge, severing the main north-south double track railroad line in Korea.
-Destroyer Bancroft (DD-598) is damaged in collision with miscellaneous auxiliary Carondelet (IX-136) off Luzon.
-Submarine Thornback (SS-418) damages Japanese submarine chaser Ch 42 five miles off Osaki, Japan.
-Japanese heavy cruiser Takao is damaged by charges placed by British midget submarines XE 3 and XE 1 the night before, at Singapore. XE 1 had been earmarked to attack Japanese heavy cruiser Myoko, also at Singapore, but could not find her, and ended up joining XE 3 in attacking Takao.
-Mines sink Japanese guardboat No.5 Teru Maru off Wonsan, Korea; and naval auxiliary No.5 Matsumae Maru off Pusan, Korea.
-Auxiliary submarine chaser No.9 Kamoi Maru is damaged by grounding, Ukushima.
-Japanese naval vessels sunk during July 1945 (exact date unspecified): guardboats No.51 Tama Maru, by U.S. aircraft, at mouth of Yangtze River; No.3 Kaigyo Maru, by mine, east of the mouth of Kammon Strait; and No.5 Shinshu Maru, by U.S. aircraft, off Japan [exact location unspecified]; auxiliary minesweeper No.2 Keijin Maru, by aircraft, four kilometers north of Shiriya.
-Japanese merchant vessels damaged during July 1945 (exact date unspecified): cargo ships Shojun Maru, agent unknown, near Masan, Korea; Imazugawa Maru, by aircraft, location unspecified; No.8 Hino Maru, agent unknown, at northern entrance of Kammon Strait; and No.1 Shinyo Maru, agent and location of loss/damage unspecified; tanker No.11 Yoshitomo Maru, agent and location of loss/damage unspecified.

 

Thank you for the Dutch sub information.

 

Aug 1, 1940
-Navy establishes Alaskan Sector as a military command within the Thirteenth Naval District.

Aug 1, 1941
-Naval Air Station, Midway Island is established, Commander Cyril T. Simard in command.

Aug 1, 1942
-Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, Commander South Pacific Force, establishes his headquarters afloat on board auxiliary Argonne (AG-31) at Nouméa, New Caledonia.
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167), attacking Japanese shipping south of Shiraya Zaki, off northeast tip of Honshu, sinks merchant cargo ship Meiwa Maru and oiler Koan Maru.
-Naval Base, Galapagos Islands; Naval Station, Taboga Island, Canal Zone; Naval Auxiliary Air Facility and Motor Torpedo Boat Base, Salinas, Ecuador, are established.

Aug 1, 1943
-Rendova-based motor torpedo boats patrolling off Vanga Vanga and Gatere, Solomons, encounter Japanese destroyers in Blackett Strait off Kolombongara.
-Motor torpedo boat PT-117, damaged by dive bomber, Rendova Harbor, Lumbari Island, Solomons is beached and abandoned; PT-164 is sunk by horizontal bomber, Rendova Harbor.
-Submarine Finback (SS-230) damages Japanese transport Atlas Maru.
-Submarine Mingo (SS-261) bombards Sorol Island, Carolines. USAAF planes initiate daily bombings of Kiska, Aleutians.
-Submarine Steelhead (SS-280) attacks same Japanese convoy harassed by Pogy (SS-266) the previous day and damages auxiliary vessel Seiko Maru as she tries to reach Truk.

Aug 1, 1944
-Seventh Amphibious Force (Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey) is formed. Group One is to be commanded by Rear Admiral Arthur D. Struble; Group Two by Rear Admiral Charles P. Cecil. Cecil, however, is killed in crash of Naval Air Transport Service PB2Y, Funafuti.
-Organized Japanese resistance ends on Tinian.
-Naval Air Base, Tinian, is established.
-Destroyer escort England (DE-635) is damaged when she runs aground in Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands.
-Submarine Puffer (SS-268) damages Japanese oiler Sunosaki northeast of Borneo.
-Navy PBY attacks Japanese convoy, sinking ammunition ship Seia Maru in Taliaboe Bay, Soela Island, N.E.I.
-U.S. freighter Extavia is damaged by explosion while en route from New Georgia to the Treasury Islands, but reaches her destination unaided; there are no casualties among the 73-man merchant complement or 81-man Armed Guard, or the 845 embarked troops.

Aug 1, 1945
-TG 12.3 attacks Wake Island. Planes from small carrier Cabot (CVL-28) bomb installations. Battleship Pennsylvania (BB-38) bombards the atoll but is damaged by shore battery.
-TG 95.2 (Rear Admiral Francis S. Low), a fast striking group consisting of large cruisers Alaska (CB-1) and Guam (CB-2), four light cruisers and nine destroyers, departs Okinawa and proceeds into the East China Sea to conduct anti-shipping sweeps off Shanghai, China.
-TG 95.3 (Vice Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf), consisting of three battleships, a heavy cruiser, a light cruiser, three escort carriers, six destroyers and three destroyers escorts, accompanies TG 95.2 to furnish covering support.
-Heaviest USAAF B-29 raid to date: 774 planes drop 6,632 tons of bombs on five different targets in Japan. Additionally, in what will be the largest operation of its kind, 42 USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Najin and Chongjin, Korea, and Hamada, Japan. Japanese escort vessel Ikura is damaged by mine in Oguchi Channel.
-USAAF B-24s (Far East Air Force) bomb Nagasaki dockyard area, damaging motor torpedo boat Gyoraitei No.102; USAAF B-25s and fighter-bomber aircraft (Far East Air Force) bomb Japanese shipping in Nagasaki harbor, damaging merchant cargo ship Kinko Maru and tanker Tada Maru. Other USAAF (Fifth Air Force) planes sink merchant cargo ship Hayabusa Maru near Eboshi light.
-Japanese merchant tanker Chokai Maru is damaged by marine casualty.
-British submarines HMS Thorough and HMS Taciturn attack Japanese shipping in Bulelong Roads; while Taciturn engages shore batteries, Thorough sinks cargo vessels Hino Maru and Shoei Maru and shells warehouses.
-Submarine chaser PC-784 collides with Army tug LT 666 in a dense fog off entrance to Amchitka, Alaska, harbor; both vessels suffer damage but there are no injuries to either crew.

 

Aug 2, 1942
-Lieutenant Commander Mildred H. McAfee, who received the first WAVES commission, becomes the first WAVES commandant.
-Dutch submarine O 23 sinks Japanese army cargo ship Zenyo Maru off Penang, Malaya.

Aug 2, 1943
-TG 16.6 (Rear Admiral Wilder D. Baker) and TG 16.17 (Rear Admiral Howard F. Kingman), consisting of two battleships, two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers and nine destroyers, bombard Kiska, Aleutians. Kiska is bombarded ten times between 2 and 15 August 1943.
-Motor torpedo boats continue to engage Japanese destroyers off Kolombongara; motor torpedo boat PT-109 is rammed and sunk by Japanese destroyer Amagiri, Blackett Strait, Solomons. Amagiri is damaged in the collision.
-USAAF B-25s and P-38s sink Japanese motor torpedo boats Gyoraitei No.112 and Gyoraitei No.113 at Lae, New Guinea.
-RAAF Catalinas damage Japanese destroyer Akikaze south of Rabaul.

Aug 2, 1944
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking army cargo ship Konei Maru (ex-Italian Furiere Consolini) off Miki Saki, Honshu.

Aug 2, 1945
-PV (FAW-18), flown by a relief crew from VPB-28, en route from Saipan to Jinamoc, Philippine Islands, makes initial sighting of survivors from sunken heavy cruiser Indianapolis (CA-35). Ironically, the patrol plane commander who makes the sighting, Lieutenant (j.g.) S.M. Worthington, USNR, is himself forced down at sea while making his first patrol with VPB-28 on 5 August 1945. He and his crew are rescued by destroyer escort Leslie L.B. Knox (DE-580).
-Destroyers Conner (DD-582) and Charrette (DD-581) intercept and search Japanese hospital ship Tachibana Maru, which is found to be carrying arms and ammunition in boxes marked with red crosses; the destroyers place prize crew of 80 marines and sailors on board. Tachibana Maru is then taken to Morotai for examination.
-Submarine Bugara (SS-331) operating against Japanese coastal shipping off the Malay peninsula, sinks schooner with gunfire and takes on board crew. One lifeboat, however, sinks and fouls the submarine's port screw, damaging it. Later, Bugara happens across Malay pirates attacking Chinese-manned Japanese schooner en route to Singapore. The brigands flee upon Bugara's approach. After taking off the Chinese crew (who are grateful for the submarine's timely arrival, the Malayan cutthroats having already killed two crewmen) and sinking the schooner, Bugara then pursues the pirates and destroys them. Later, Bugara's divers, working in the dark, repair the screw damaged earlier in the day.
-Army tender TP 122 grounds off East Cape, Amchitka, near Irakin Point; rescue tug ATR-32 is sent to the scene to assist.
-USAAF mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Santo Maru off Niigata, Japan and damage minesweeper W.17 south of Chinhae, Korea.