Today in the History of the Pacific Theater

Sept 24, 1939
-Seaplane tender Langley (AV-3) arrives at Manila, P.I., to serve as the flagship for Commander Aircraft Asiatic Fleet (Commander Arthur C. Davis).

Sept 24, 1940
-Defense Communication Board is established; membership includes Director of Naval Communications (Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes).

Sept 24, 1942
-Japanese land on Maiana, Gilberts.
-SBDs (VMSB 231, VS 3) from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, damage Japanese destroyer Umikaze while the ship engages in resupply operations.
-USAAF B-17 damages Japanese seaplane carrier Sanuki Maru off Shortlands Island, Solomons.
-In the Indian Ocean, the U.S. freighter Losmar is sunk by Japanese submarine I-165 about 250 miles west of Cape Comorin, India; of the ship's 9-man Armed Guard detachment, 3 are lost when she sinks. British ship Louise Moller will rescue 14 survivors on 5 October; seven survivors will reach the west coast of Ceylon by boat on 17 October 1942.

Sept 24, 1943
-Submarine Cabrilla (SS-288) attacks Japanese carrier Taiyo, escort carrier Chuyo, and destroyer Shimakaze northwest of Chichi Jima, torpedoing Taiyo. Chuyo tows the disabled carrier to Yokosuka. Taiyo is saved from worse damage because two of the three torpedo warheads that hit the ship (of the six fired by Cabrilla) detach upon impact.
-USAAF B-24 sinks small Japanese cargo vessel Shonan Maru off Mussau Island.
-In the Indian Ocean, the U.S. freighter Elias Howe is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-10 about 75 miles southeast of Aden. Subsequently, British seaplanes rescue one boatload of survivors and those on board two rafts; British trawler HMS Aiglon rescues the remainder. Two of the 42-man merchant complement are killed in the initial explosion; the 18-man Armed Guard survives intact.

Sept 24, 1944
-As Japanese shipping shifts south from Luzon in the wake of the heavy attacks there over the previous days, TF 38 follows, its planes hitting targets ranging from the Calamian group to the Visayas. Aircraft from three task groups (TG 38.1, TG 38.2, and TG 38.3) from TF 38 (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) participate. Off Calamian Island in Coron Bay, TF 38 planes sink flying boat support ship Akitsushima, cargo ship Kyokusan Maru and army cargo ship Taiei Maru, and damage ammunition ship Kogyo Maru, army cargo ship Olympia Maru, cargo ships Ekkai Maru and Kasagisan Maru, supply ship Irako, oiler Kamoi and small cargo ship No.11 Shonan Maru. South of Mindoro, other Navy carrier aircraft sink torpedo boat Hayabusa, minelayer Yaeyama and submarine chaser Ch 32. Off Masbate, they sink auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 39, auxiliary minesweeper Wa 7, merchant cargo ship Shinyo Maru, cargo ships No.17 Fukuei Maru and No.2 Koshu Maru, and transport Siberia Maru. In Visayan Sea, they sink army cargo ship Chuka Maru and tanker Kenwa Maru. In the South China Sea, they sink tanker Okigawa Maru.
-TF planes also damage supply ship Irako and oiler Kamoi, Coron Bay.
-Aircraft also sink Japanese army cargo ship Chuka Maru; army cargo ship Olympia Maru; and merchant cargo ship Shinyo Maru, Manila; cargo ship No.2 Koshu Maru is damaged by aircraft.
-Hospital ship Samaritan (AH-10) is damaged by grounding on Tauu Island Reef to the northeast of Bougainville.
-Submarine Barbero (SS-317) bombards Japanese radar installation on Batag Island off north coast of Samar.
-Motor minesweeper YMS-19 is sunk by mine off southeast coast of Angaur, Palaus.

 

Sept 25, 1939
-VP 21 arrives at Manila, P.I.; it will be tended by Langley (AV-3), which arrived the previous day.

Sept 25, 1940
-French port of Nouméa, New Caledonia, sides with Free France.

Sept 25, 1942
-Submarine Sargo (SS-188) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Teibo Maru (ex-Danish Nordbo) off coast of French Indochina, 180 miles east of Saigon.
-Japanese land on Beru, Gilberts.
-USAAF B-17s damage Japanese light cruiser Yura off Shortland Island, Solomons.
-Japanese submarine I-5 is damaged by gunfire off Guadalcanal.
-USAAF P-39 fighters damage Japanese submarine RO-67 off Kiska, Aleutians.

Sept 25, 1943
-Tank landing ships LST-167 is damaged by dive bomber off Vella Lavella, Solomons.
-Submarine Bluefish (SS-222) damages Japanese merchant cargo ship Akashi Maru, and escapes counterattack by escorting auxiliary minesweeper Wa 4.
-Submarines Bowfin (SS-287), Billfish (SS-286), and Bonefish (SS-223) attack Japanese convoy; Bowfin sinks tanker Kirishima Maru 220 nautical miles north of Nha Trang, French Indochina. None of the other attacks prove successful, and the enemy ships continue their passage to Manila.

Sept 25, 1944
-Submarine Barbel (SS-316) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Bushu Maru off Togara Gunto.
-Submarine Guardfish (SS-217) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship No.2 Miyakawa Maru in Yellow Sea off Chinnampo, Korea.
-Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) lands supplies on Cebu.
-Submarine Searaven (SS-196) attacks Japanese small craft off southwest tip of Etorofu, Kurils, sinking No.1 Hirota Maru.
-Submarine Thresher (SS-200) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Nissei Maru in Yellow Sea.

 

Sept 26, 1942
-Japanese submarine I-33 accidentally sinks while undergoing voyage repairs at Truk, Carolines.
-Japanese weather observation ship No.6 Kyoei Maru is damaged by aircraft (nationality unspecified) off Woodlark Island.

Sept 26, 1944
-Destroyer escort McCoy Reynolds (DE-440) sinks Japanese submarine I-175 northeast of Palaus.
-Submarine Pargo (SS-264) sinks Japanese minelayer Aotaka off Borneo.
-Submarine Thresher (SS-200) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Koetsu Maru in Yellow Sea.
-U.S. freighter Elihu Thompson is damaged by mines off Noumea, New Caledonia; fleet tug Apache (ATF-67) rescues survivors, and later beaches the ship to facilitate salvage. Of the 211 troops embarked as passengers, 32 perish in the explosions; there are no casualties among the 42-man merchant complement or the 33-man Armed Guard.
Japanese river gunboat Saga is damaged by mine, Hong Kong.

 

I hate to break the momentum of your posts Bill, but I just wanted to interrupt and thank you for posting this thread. It's interesting to drop in every now and then and read the daily goings on. Cheers!

Carry on...

Could the admins maybe make this an official feature for all theaters of operation?

 

Hey there Blaz, welocme to our happy little group. By all means interupt at any point if you have any questions. I started this thread about 8 or 9 months ago and limited it to the Pacific and Indian Ocean Areas because that is what I know the best. However, since starting I have come across sources for the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea areas as well so I have been considering starting a thread along that line when I complete this one in a couple of months. Again, welcome to the boards.

 

Sept 27, 1940
-Germany, Italy, and Japan sign Tripartite Pact at Berlin, thus establishing the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis.

Sept 27, 1942
-1st Battalion, 7th Marines (Lieutenant Colonel Lewis B. Puller) withdraws from Matanikau River, Guadalcanal, area in landing craft; extraction of marines is covered by gunfire from destroyer Monssen (DD-436) and SBD (1st Marine Air Wing). All available Higgins boats (24 in number) are sent to extract the marines, under Signalman 1st Class Douglas A. Munro, USCG. Munro, with a volunteer crew, interposes his boat so as to draw fire away from the five boats that are embarking marines. Munro is killed, two of his three-man crew are wounded (one mortally). He succeeds in his object, but at the cost of his own life. For his heroism, Munro is awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously.
-Japanese land on Kuria, Gilberts.

Sept 27, 1943
-Submarine Bluefish (SS-222) sinks Japanese torpedo boat Kasasagi 25 miles south of the Flores Sea, N.E.I.
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) sinks Japanese army transport Kashima Maru, and damages cago ship Chihaya Maru.
-USAAF B-24s and P-38s bomb Japanese shipping at Wewak, sinking merchant transport Taisei Maru and cargo vessels Sakihana Maru, Taisho Maru, Fuji Maru, and Kiri Maru.
-Malayan saboteurs, promised a livelihood after the British reoccupy Malaya, sink Japanese cargo ship Hakusan Maru and damage cargo ship Kizan Maru at Singapore. Efforts to salvage the latter are eventually abandoned and the ship written off as a total loss.

Sept 27, 1944
-Special Air Task Force (STAG 1) (Commander Robert F. Jones) commences operations with TDR-1 drones (controlled from converted TBM-1c aircraft) against Japanese targets in the southwest Pacific. Four TDRs are launched against beached Japanese freighter used as antiaircraft emplacement off Kahili airstrip, Bougainville. Two drones hit the ship, one crashes just short (bomb does not explode) and one is lost enroute.
-Submarine Apogon (SS-308) sinks Japanese cargo ship Hachirogata Maru in Sea of Okhotsk off Shimushir Island.
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) damages Japanese oiler Kamoi 240 miles southwest of Manila.
-Submarines Flasher (SS-249) and Lapon (SS-260) attack Japanese convoy in South China Sea west of Luzon; Flasher sinks army transport Ural Maru and damages merchant tanker Tachibana Maru; Lapon sinks merchant tanker Hokki Maru.
-Submarines Narwhal (SS-167) and Stingray (SS-186) land supplies on north coast of Mindanao and east coast of Luzon, respectively.
-Submarine Plaice (SS-390) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.10, 100 miles north-northwest of Amami-O-Shima.
-Submarine Searaven (SS-196) damages Japanese destroyer Momi off Etorofu, Kurils.
-British submarine HMS Thorough damages Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel No.9 Kashiwa Maru off north coast of Sumatra.
-PBY damages Japanese cargo ship Tateishi Maru off Jolo; the ship is beached to prevent sinking.
-Tank landing craft LCT-823 sinks after running aground off Palau.

 

Sept 28, 1939
-Hawaiian Detachment, U.S. Fleet, is established in response to Japan's continuing undeclared war against China that has been underway since 7 July 1937. The establishment of the Hawaiian Detachment, to be based at Pearl Harbor, necessitates changing the schedules of the supply ships and oilers needed to provide logistics support.

Sept 28, 1942
-Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) torpedoes and sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship No.6 Tamon Maru east of Japan.
-Submarine Sculpin (SS-191) torpedoes Japanese seaplane carrier Nisshin east of Kokoda Island; the submarine is damaged by depth charges off New Britain but continues her patrol.
-Submarine Trout (SS-202) torpedoes Japanese escort carrier Taiyo east of Truk.

Sept 28, 1943
-Submarine Cisco (SS-290) is sunk, probably by Japanese naval aircraft (954th Kokutai) and gunboat Karatsu (ex-U.S.-river gunboat Luzon (PR-7)) in Sulu Sea, off Panay Island.
-Submarine Grouper (SS-214) lands men and supplies on south coast of New Britain.
-Submarine Gudgeon (SS-212) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Taian Maru. Minelayer No.2 Fumi Maru (which Gudgeon had engaged on 16 September 1943), counterattacks, but does not damage the submarine as Gudgeon and No.2 Fumi Maru encounter each other for the second time.
-Japanese minelayer Hoko is sunk by aircraft off New Britain.

Sept 28, 1944
-Marines (3d Battalion, 5th Marines and Company "G" 2d Battalion, 5th Marines) occupy Ngesbus and Kongaruru Islands in the Palaus, covered by naval aircraft and gunfire.
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) sinks Japanese merchant tanker Anjo Maru in South China Sea.
-PBYs sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Tone Maru in Makassar Straits.
-USAAF B-25s sink small Japanese cargo vessel Keishin Maru off Ceram.

 

Sorry all, a combination of all night work on Thursday and an out of town trip for the weekend combined for a few misses here. Will spent the next few days trying to catch up.

Sept 29, 1939
-Battleship Arizona (BB-39) engineering plant is sabotaged, San Pedro, California. A thorough FBI investigation into the occurrence opines that the deed is done to embarrass certain ship's officers rather than cause serious damage.

Sept 29, 1940
-Midway Detachment, Third Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force (Major Harold C. Roberts, USMC) arrives on Midway Island to begin construction of defenses. The marines are transported by cargo ship Sirius (AK-15) and light minelayers Pruitt (DM-22), Sicard (DM-21), and Tracy (DM-19).

Sept 29, 1942
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-25 drops incendiary bombs on a forest in southern coastal Oregon--the second and last time a Japanese aircraft will bomb the continental United States during World War II in an attempt to ignite forest fires.
-Cargo ship Alhena (AK-26) is damaged by Japanese submarine I-4, 20 miles south of San Cristobal Island, Solomons.

Sept 29, 1943
-During a sweep to destroy Japanese barge traffic north of Kolombangara, destroyers Patterson (DD-392) and McCalla (DD-488) are damaged in collision.
-Submarine Bluefish (SS-222) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Akashi Maru.
-Submarine Gudgeon (SS-212) damages Japanese gunboat Santo Maru off Saipan. Transport Kenryu Maru tows the gunboat into Saipan.

Sept 29, 1944
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) evacuates 81 Allied POWs who had survived the loss of Japanese transport Shinyo Maru (sunk by submarine Paddle (SS-263) on 7 September) from Sindangan Bay, Mindanao.
-Submarine Skate (SS-305) sinks Japanese auxiliary minesweeper H_ei Maru and army cargo ship Ekisan Maru off Yoron Jima.
-Japanese guardboat Riki Maru is sunk by mine off Kota Bharu, Malaya.

 

Sept 30, 1939
-Vice Admiral Adolphus Andrews (Commander Scouting Force) assumes command of Hawaiian Detachment, breaking his flag in heavy cruiser Indianapolis (CA-35). Andrews will shift his flag to carrier Enterprise (CV-6) on 3 October prior to the detachment's move to its operating base.

Sept 30, 1941
-Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis, incapacitated by illness, is relieved as Commandant, Sixteenth Naval District and Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I., by Captain Herbert J. Ray.

Sept 30, 1942
-Heavy cruiser San Francisco (CA-38) and light minelayer Breese (DM-18) are damaged in collision, New Hebrides area.

Sept 30, 1943
-Motor torpedo boat PT-219 founders and sinks off Attu, Aleutians, sometime during September.
-In the Solomons area, tank landing ships LST-334 is damaged by dive bombers; motor torpedo boat PT-126 is damaged, accidentally, by USMC F4Us.
-Motor torpedo boat PT-68 is damaged by grounding off Vincke Point, Huon Peninsula, eastern New Guinea.
-Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) delivers supplies and evacuates people from Siquijor Island, P.I., and sinks small Japanese cargo ship Mitake Maru.
-Submarine Harder (SS-257) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.3 Shosei Maru.
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266) sinks Japanese army transport Maebashi Maru 300 miles east of Palau.
-USAAF B-25s and P-40s sink Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Chikushi Maru in Kwangchow Bay, China; the vessel is later salvaged, however, and resumes active service.

Sept 30, 1944
-Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) lands supplies and evacuates certain people from near Libertad, Panay, P.I.
-During Japanese air raid on U.S. shipping off Morotai, freighter Carl G. Barth is damaged by strafing; although 6 of the 118 passengers on board are injured, there are no casualties to either the 52-man merchant complement or the 26-man Armed Guard.

 

Oct 1, 1939
-As of this date, the U.S. Navy consists of 396 commissioned ships divided amongst the major U.S. Fleet commands afloat: Battle Force (Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, and Aircraft), Submarine Force, and Base Force; the Scouting Force (Cruisers and Aircraft); the Atlantic Squadron; the Asiatic Fleet; the Special Service Squadron and Squadron 40-T. There are 175 district craft in service in the following naval districts: First (headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts), Third (New York), Fourth (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Fifth (Norfolk, Virginia), Sixth, Seventh and Eighth (Charleston, South Carolina), Ninth (Great Lakes, Illinois), Eleventh (San Diego, California), Twelfth (San Francisco, California), Thirteenth (Seattle, Washington), Fourteenth (Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii), Fifteenth (Balboa, Canal Zone) and Sixteenth (Cavite, Philippine Islands); vessels not in commission (but includes those ordered recommissioned incident to the expansion of the fleet) number 151; 5 district craft are carried as not in service. Vessels listed as "in service" include some used for USNR or Naval Militia training. Vessels not in commission include those loaned to the states of Pennsylvania, California, New York and Massachusetts for use as maritime school ships, the Maritime Commission and the Sea Scouts; as well as "relics" like the Civil War vintage Hartford, the Spanish-American War prize Reina Mercedes, and Spanish-American War veterans Olympia and Oregon. Interestingly, the 1 October 1939 list contains the gunboat Panay (PR-5), bombed and sunk by Japanese naval aircraft in the Yangtze River on 12 December 1937.

Oct 1, 1941
-Secretary of the Navy Knox approves "popular" names for naval combat aircraft: "Avenger" (Grumman TBF), "Buccaneer" (Brewster SB2A), "Buffalo" (Brewster F2A), "Catalina" (Consolidated PBY), "Coronado" (Consolidated PB2Y), "Corsair" (Vought F4U), "Dauntless" (Douglas SBD), "Devastator" (Douglas TBD), "Helldiver" (Curtiss SB2C), "Kingfisher" (Vought OS2U/Naval Aircraft Factory OS2N), "Mariner" (Martin PBM), "Sea Ranger" (Boeing PBB patrol bomber), "Seagull" (Curtiss SO3C), and "Vindicator" (Vought SB2U). Names supplement the Navy's letter-number designations, which remain unchanged and continue to be used in correspondence. As can be seen, the name "Avenger" is assigned well before either Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941) or the slaughter of torpedo planes at the Battle of Midway (4-6 June 1942). These two events are commonly believed to have motivated the assignment of this particular nickname to the TBF/TBM series. The name "Seagull" is also applied unofficially to the Curtiss SOC series which is in use in cruiser-based observation squadrons. Ironically, the SO3C proves a failure in service, and the SOC it was designed to replace serves on.
-Sale of War Savings Bonds to naval personnel is inaugurated on this date; under the direction of a Coordinator for War Savings Bonds, Supply Corps officers are designated as issuing agents and assigned to 28 major shore activities. Actual sales of the bonds will amount to $61,000,000--over 50 in excess of the predicted sales.

Oct 1, 1942
-Submarine Grouper (SS-214) torpedoes and sinks Japanese army transport Lisbon Maru 20 miles north of Chushan Island.
-Submarine Kingfish (SS-234) torpedoes and sinks merchant cargo ship Yomei Maru off Ichiezaki, Japan.
-Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) sinks merchant cargo ship Tosei Maru east of Shiriyazaki, Japan.
-Submarine Sturgeon (SS-187) damages Japanese aircraft transport Katsuragi Maru off Cape St. George, New Ireland.

Oct 1, 1943
-Motor torpedo boat PT-68, damaged by grounding off Vincke Point, Huon Peninsula, eastern New Guinea, is scuttled by motor torpedo boat PT-191 to prevent capture.
-Destroyer Saufley (DD-465) is damaged by near-miss of bombs from Japanese horizontal bomber, Solomons.
-Tank landing ships LST-448 is damaged by horizontal bomber, Solomons.
-Mobile degaussing barge YDG-4 sinks nine miles southeast of Bulari Passage, after running aground off New Caledonia.
-Submarine Peto (SS-265) sinks Japanese transport Tonei Maru and Japanese army cargo ship Kinkasan Maru, Southern Carolines.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Masaki Maru in Sea of Japan.

Oct 1, 1944
-Office of Deputy Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Vice Admiral Richard S. Edwards) is established.
-Special Air Task Force (STAG 1) drone operations continue with two separate attacks on Japanese positions on Bougainville. In the first, four TDRs are launched against antiaircraft gun positions on Ballale and Poporang Islands; one lands in the midst of them, a second detonates within 100 feet of the southwest end of Ballale runway; two explode on Poporang in the general area of the target. In the second, four TDRs (two allocated to each target) are launched against antiaircraft positions on Kangu Hill, two miles south of Kahili airdrome, and the Pororeri River bridge north of Kangu Hill; the first two TDRs hit the lower slope of Kangu Hill but one does not explode; one TDR crashes (perhaps hit by antiaircraft fire) while the second cannot find the target, and explodes north of Kangu Hill.
-Destroyer Bailey (DD-492) is damaged by strafing off Palau.
-During minesweeping operations in Ulithi lagoon with TU 33.13.1, motor minesweeper YMS-385 is sunk by Japanese mine in Zowariyau Channel.
-Submarine Cabrilla (SS-288) sinks Japanese tanker Kyokuho Maru, and merchant tanker Zuiyo Maru in South China Sea, west of Luzon.
-Submarine Hammerhead (SS-364) sinks Japanese ore carriers Kokusei Maru and Hiyori Maru and cargo ship Higane Maru north of Borneo.
-Submarine Snapper (SS-185) sinks Japanese coastal minelayer Ajiro and transport Seian Maru northwest of the Bonins.
-Submarine Trepang (SS-412) sinks Japanese supply ship Takunan Maru north of Ogasawara-gunto.
-Auxiliary minesweeper Kaiyo Maru is sunk by mine off Tsingtao, China.

 

Oct 2, 1939
-Chief of Naval Operations instructs all planning agencies within the naval establishment to accord precedence to the preparation of ORANGE (Japan) war plans.
-River gunboat Tutuila (PR-4) is damaged when she is accidentally rammed by Chungking Ferry Boat Co. Ferry No. 2 at Chungking, China.

Oct 2, 1941
-President Roosevelt rejects Japanese Prime Minister Konoye's request to meet and discuss Pacific and Far Eastern questions.

Oct 2, 1942
-5th Defense Battalion, USMC, occupies Funafuti, Ellice Islands.
-Transport St. Mihiel (AP-32) is damaged when she strikes uncharted underwater object off Turn Island, Alaska.
-USAAF B-17s bomb Rabaul harbor, damaging Japanese light cruiser Tenryu.

Oct 2, 1943
-Submarine Kingfish (SS-234) lays mines off southern Celebes, N.E.I.
-Tank landing ships LST-203 is damaged by grounding near Nanumea, Ellice Islands.
-Japanese minesweeper W.28 is damaged by mine (laid by submarine Silversidess (SS-236) on 4 June 1943) off Kavieng.

Oct 2, 1944
-Tank landing ships LST-129, LST-278, and LST-661 are damaged by storm off Palau.
-Submarine Aspro (SS-309) sinks Japanese cargo ship Azuchisan Maru in South China Sea west of Luzon.
-Submarine Pomfret (SS-391) sinks Japanese army transports Tsuyama Maru and Makassar Maru south of Formosa.
-Japanese army vessel Ryochi Maru is sunk by aircraft off Bantayan Island, north of Cebu.

 

Oct 3, 1942
-SBDs (VS 71, VMSB 141, VMSB 231, VS 3) and TBFs (VT 8) from Henderson Field attack Japanese supply convoy en route to Guadalcanal, damaging seaplane carrier Nisshin.
-Submarine Greenling (SS-213) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kinkai Maru approx 20 miles east of Kesen'numa Japan.
-Submarine Trout (SS-202) is damaged by Japanese aerial bomb off Truk, forcing the submarine to end her patrol.

Oct 3, 1943
-Japanese complete evacuation of Kolombangara, Solomons.
-Destroyer Henley (DD-391) is sunk by Japanese submarine RO-108 off eastern New Guinea.
-Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru is damaged by mine, Surabaya, Java.

Oct 3, 1944
-Destroyer escort Shelton (DE-407) is sunk by Japanese submarine RO-41 off Morotai. During the ensuing antisubmarine operations, destroyer escort Richard M. Rowell (DE-403), unaware of the proximity of friendly submarines, accidentally sinks Seawolf (SS-197), which is transporting U.S. Army personnel to the east coast of Samar.
-Destroyer escort Samuel S. Miles (DE-183) sinks Japanese submarine I-177, 60 miles north-northeast of Angaur, Palaus.
-Submarine Thresher (SS-200) sinks Japanese guardboat No.28 Nanshin Maru north-northwest of Marcus Island.
-Tank landing craft LCT-1052 is sunk by tropical storm at Ulithi.
-USAAF aircraft sinks Japanese merchant tanker No.14 Nanshin Maru off Zamboanga.

 

Oct 4, 1942
-Destroyers Drayton (DD-366) and Flusser (DD-368) are damaged in collision during exercises in Hawaiian Operating Area.
-Submarine Greenling (SS-213) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Setsuyo Maru off Sanriku.
-U.S. tanker Camden is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-25 off the coast of Oregon and is abandoned. One crewman drowns as the men leave the ship. Swedish motorship Kookaburra rescues the 38 merchant seamen and the 9 Armed Guard sailors.

Oct 4, 1944
-Minelayer Salem (CM-11) is damaged by grounding off Tinian, Marianas.
-Tank landing craft LCT-579 is sunk by mine off Palau.
-Submarine Flasher (SS-249) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taibin Maru in South China Sea north of Luzon.
-British submarine HMS Rover damages Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel Mie Maru.
-PBYs sink Japanese cargo ship Tateishi Maru and auxiliary sailing vessels Kigen Maru and Kiku Maru, Jolo, Philippines.
-USAAF B-25s sink Japanese motor sailship Man Maru in Ambon bay.

 

Oct 5, 1939
-Hawaiian Detachment is formed and sent to its new operating base, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; carrier Enterprise (CV-6) (flagship), two heavy cruiser divisions, two destroyer squadrons and a light cruiser flagship, a destroyer tender and a proportionate number of small auxiliaries make up the force.

Oct 5, 1940
-Secretary of the Navy Knox places all Organized Reserve divisions and aviation squadrons of the Organized Reserve on short notice for call to active duty and grants authority to call fleet reservists as necessary. Before this date, Naval Reserve personnel had been ordered to active duty on a voluntary basis only.

Oct 5, 1942
-Planes from carrier Hornet (CV-8) (Rear Admiral George D. Murray) bomb Buin-Tonolei area and Faisi, Bougainville, Solomons.
-SBDs (VS 3, VS 71, VMSB 141) from Henderson Field attack Japanese convoy, damaging destroyers Minegumo and Murasame 150 miles from Guadalcanal.
-PBY (COMAIRSOPAC) sinks Japanese submarine I-22 near Indispensable Strait, Solomons.
-Submarine Trigger (SS-237) damages Japanese transport Shinkoku Maru approx 380 miles southeast of Shimoda, Japan.
-U.S. tanker Camden, torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-25 the previous day and abandoned, is taken in tow by tug Kenai.

Oct 5, 1943
-TF 14 (Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery), including 3 carriers, 3 small carriers, 3 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, 24 destroyers, and 2 oilers, bombs and shells Wake Island; attack is repeated on 6 October. Fearing that the strikes portend a landing and that an escaped POW could communicate the weakness of his garrison, the Japanese island commander (Rear Admiral Sakaibara Shigematsu) orders the execution of the 98 remaining civilians captured on 23 December 1941.
-Tank landing ships LST-448, damaged on 1 October 1943, sinks while in tow of tug Bobolink (AT-131), Solomons.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese army transport Konron Maru in Tsushima Straits. Loss of Konron Maru, of the Shimonoseki-to-Fusan ferry line, prompts the cancellation of night ferry trips across Tsushima Straits. Only 72 people, of the 616 on board, are rescued because of heavy seas.

Oct 5, 1944
-Special Air Task Force (STAG 1) operations continue in Southwest Pacific as four TDRs, each carrying a 2,000- pound bomb, are launched against Japanese supply caves in the Keravia Bay, Rabaul, area. One TDR hits in the vicinity of cave entrances; one misses the target area. Two are lost enroute due to interference from communications frequency used by motor gunboat (PGM) operating in the waters over which the drones fly.
-Submarine Cod (SS-224) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Tatsuhiro Maru in South China Sea west of Mindoro.

 

Oct 6, 1942
-U.S. tanker Larry Doheny is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-25 off the coast of Oregon, and abandoned. Two of the ship's 34-man merchant complement die in the attack, as do four of the 8-man Armed Guard. Small seaplane tender Coos Bay (AVP-25) rescues the survivors. Larry Doheny sinks the next morning.

Oct 6, 1943
-Battle of Vella Lavella takes place at night when three destroyers (Captain Frank R. Walker) intercept and attack nine Japanese destroyers (Vice Admiral Ijuin Masuji) evacuating troops from Vella Lavella, in what proves to be the last surface engagement in the central Solomons. Three U.S. destroyers are damaged: O'Bannon (DD-450) in collision with destroyer Chevalier (DD-451); Selfridge (DD-357) by torpedo fired from either of Japanese destroyers Shigure or Samidare; and Chevalier by torpedo from Japanese destroyer Yugumo. Chevalier is scuttled by destroyer LaVallette (DD-448). Torpedoes from Chevalier and Selfridge sink Japanese destroyer Yugumo.
-Submarine chaser PC-478 and tank landing ships LST-451 are damaged in collision while en route from Adak to Amchitka, Aleutians.
-Submarine Kingfish (SS-234) lands men and supplies on northeast coast of Borneo.
-Submarine Skate (SS-305), lifeguarding for the Wake Island strikes (see 5 October 1943), is strafed and damaged by Japanese aircraft off the atoll, but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Steelhead (SS-280) damages Japanese fast fleet tanker Kazuhaya; Tinosa (SS-283) later finishes off Kazuhaya 240 nautical miles northwest of Truk.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) probably sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kanko Maru.
-In the Indian Ocean, the last boatload (16 men) from U.S. freighter Cornelia P. Spencer, torpedoed by German submarine U-188 on 21 September 1943, reach safety on the coast of Somalia.

Oct 6, 1944
-Submarine Cabrilla (SS-288) damages Japanese transport Hokurei Maru and sinks tanker No.2 Yamamizu Maru off west coast of Luzon.
-Submarine Seahorse (SS-304) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No. 21, 140 miles northwest of Cape Bojeador, Luzon.
-Submarine Whale (SS-239) sinks Japanese transport Kinugasa Maru and merchant tanker Akane Maru west of Balintang Channel, north-northwest of Luzon.
-British submarine HMS Tally Ho sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 2, 110 nautical miles west of Penang, Malaya.
-Dutch submarine Zwaardvisch sinks German submarine U-168 in Java Sea.
-Japanese gunboat Saga is sunk by mine off Hong Kong.

[ 07. October 2005, 06:23 PM: Message edited by: Bill Murray ]

 

Oct 7, 1940
-Admiral James O. Richardson arrives in Washington for conferences with the President and Navy and State Department officials concerning the retention of the U.S. Fleet in Hawaiian waters as a deterrent to Japan. He will depart to return to the fleet on 11 October. Less than 5 months later he will be relieved of this post early as a result of his continuing disagreement over basing the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Oct 7, 1942
-Submarine Amberjack (SS-219) sinks Japanese supply ship Senkei Maru, southern Carolines.
-Submarine Sculpin (SS-191) sinks Japanese army transport Naminoue Maru off Rabaul.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Midori Maru founders and sinks above Woosung, China.

Oct 7, 1943
-Japanese complete evacuation of Vella Lavella, Solomons.
-Light cruiser Concord (CL-10) is damaged by on-board explosion (leaking gasoline tank) off Nukahiva Island, Marquesas.
-Submarine S-44 (SS-155) is sunk by Japanese escort destroyer Ishigaki north-northeast of Araito Island, east of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Kuriles.
-Japanese guardboat No.20 Inari Maru is destroyed by fire off Wake Island.
-Japanese transport Kikukawa Maru is destroyed by fire at Truk.

Oct 7, 1944
-Submarine Cabrilla (SS-288) sinks Japanese transport No.8 Shin'yo Maru off Vigan, Luzon.
-Submarine Cod (SS-224) damages Japanese oiler Shiretoko in South China Sea, west of Mindoro.
-Submarine Hawkbill (SS-366) damages Japanese cargo ship Kinugasa Maru; Baya (SS-318) then finishes off Kinugasa Maru subsequently.
-Submarine Hoe (SS-258) sinks Japanese army transport Makassar Maru in South China Sea west of Luzon.

 

Oct 8, 1940
-Legislation approved authorizes the appointment to commissioned rank in the Line of the Regular Navy of those Naval Reserve officers who receive their commissions upon graduation from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.
-United States advises American citizens to leave the Far East.
-Japan protests U.S. embargo on aviation gasoline and scrap metal.

Oct 8, 1942
-Japanese guardboat Toyohama Maru is wrecked (cause unspecified), Wotje Atoll.
-Submarine Drum (SS-228) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Hague Maru approx 10 miles off the coast of Owase, Japan.
-In the Indian Ocean, the U.S. tanker Swiftsure is torpedoed by German submarine U-68 approximately 25 miles southeast of the Cape of Good Hope and after firefighting efforts prove futile, is abandoned. There are no casualties among the 31-man crew, and all hands are rescued by a British minesweeper that comes out from Cape Town, South Africa.

Oct 8, 1943
-Submarine Gato (SS-212) damages Japanese cargo ship Amagisan Maru with dud torpedo approx 150 miles south of Truk, and survives ensuing hunter-killer operations by escorting torpedo boat Hiyodori.
-Submarine Guardfish (SS-217) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kashu Maru approx 200 miles north of Manus.
-Submarine Gurnard (SS-254) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taian Maru and transport Dainichi Maru off northern tip of Luzon.
-USAAF B-24 damages Japanese transport Heian Maru en route to Truk.

Oct 8, 1944
-Land-based aircraft from the Marianas increase tempo of air strikes on Iwo Jima.
-Submarine Becuna (SS-319) damages Japanese seaplane carrier Kimikawa Maru in South China Sea.
-Submarine Hoe (SS-258) sinks Japanese army transport Kohoku Maru and damages Coast Defense Vessel No.8 in South China Sea east of Hainan.

 

Oct 9, 1942
-U.S. troop convoy, consisting of transports McCawley (AP-10) and Zeilin (AP-9) and eight high speed transports (Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner) sails from Nouméa, New Caledonia, for Guadalcanal with the U.S. Army 164th Infantry Regiment embarked.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-7 reconnoiters Espiritu Santo.
-Submarine Drum (SS-228) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Yawatasan Maru appprox 20 miles east of Kushimoto, Japan.

Oct 9, 1943
-Submarine Guardfish (SS-217) unsuccessfully attacks Japanese stores ship Manko Maru, en route to Davao. Although Guardfish claims one hit out of four torpedoes fired, none actually hits Manko Maru.
-Submarine Kingfish (SS-234) torpedoes Japanese oiler Hayamoto in Sibitu Channel.
-Submarine Puffer (SS-268) torpedoes Japanese tanker Kumagawa Maru in Makassar Strait, but is damaged by depth charges (possibly dropped by auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 37 and Cha 41, summoned to the scene as escorts for Shoyo Maru which will tow Kumagawa Maru to Balikpapan) and is forced to terminate her patrol.
-Submarine Rasher (SS-269) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kogane Maru 28 miles from Ambon.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese cargo ship Hankow Maru off Oga Peninsula.

Oct 9, 1944
-In an operation timed to precede a fast carrier task force operations against Okinawa, three heavy cruisers and six destroyers of TG 30.2 (Rear Admiral Allan E. Smith) conduct a diversionary bombardment of Japanese installations on Marcus Island. Enemy return fire is intense and accurate at the outset, with Japanese gunners repeatedly straddling U.S. ships. In related operations, Saipan-based Navy PB4Ys, on interdiction patrols in the path of TF 58 as it approaches the Ryukyus, damage Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Sankyo Maru off Okinawa.
-Special Air Task Force (STAG 1) operations continue in Southwest Pacific as four TDRs are launched against Matupi Bridge, Simpson Harbor, Rabaul. Antiaircraft fire, however, downs three of the TDRs; one is lost enroute to the target.
-One company of the U.S. Army 321st Infantry is landed on Garekayo Island, north of Ngesebus, and quickly overruns the island.
-In wide-ranging U.S. submarine operations against Japanese shipping in the South China Sea, Becuna (SS-319) damages tanker San Luis Maru; and teams with Hawkbill (SS-366) to sink merchant tanker Tokuwa Maru; Croaker (SS-246) sinks merchant cargo ship Shinki Maru west of Kyushu; Sawfish (SS-276) sinks merchant tanker Tachibana Maru.

 

Oct 10, 1941
-Captain Lester J. Hudson relieves Captain Richard E. Cassidy as Commander, South China Patrol, on board river gunboat Mindanao (PR-8) at Hong Kong, B.C.C.

Oct 10, 1942
-Submarine Amberjack (SS-219) damages Japanese transport Tenryu Maru and auxiliary Tonan Maru off Kavieng.
-Submarine Seadragon (SS-194) sinks Japanese transport Shigure Maru off Samarinda, Borneo.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese collier Kamoi Maru off Bougainville, Solomons.
-Japanese submarine chaser Ch 14 is damaged by planes (USAAF B-24s and B-17s, accompanied by P-38s, bomb shipping in Trout Lagoon and off South Head) off Kiska, Aleutians.
-U.S. tanker Camden, torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-25 on 4 October 1942, catches fire and sinks off the mouth of the Columbia River.

Oct 10, 1943
-Japanese planes attack three Lambu Lambu-based U.S. motor torpedo boats north of Vella Lavella, damaging PT-168 and PT-179.
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Isuzugawa Maru and merchant transport Teibi Maru off Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina.
-Submarine Grayback (SS-208) attacks Japanese troopship Hakozaki Maru; although the submarine crew believes one of the four torpedoes fired hit the ship, in fact all four miss.
-Submarine Kingfish (SS-234) lays mines off Cape Pepe, Makassar Strait, Celebes.
-USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.5 Hino Maru 20 miles southwest of Buka passage.

Oct 10, 1944
-In the first occasion since the Marianas campaign in which all four carrier task groups operate together as one unit, TF 38 (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) pounds Japanese shipping and installations on Okinawa and other islands in the Ryukyus. TF 38 planes sink submarine depot ship Jingei, landing ship T.158, minelayer Takashima and auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 87, north-northwest of Okinawa. In or near Naha harbor, Navy carrier-based aircraft sink auxiliary minesweeper Shimpo Maru and No.6 Hakata Maru, guardboats No.26 Nansatsu Maru and No.5 Daisei Maru; guardboat Yuki Maru and motor torpedo boats Gyoraitei No.493, Gyoraitei No.496, Gyoraitei No.498, Gyoraitei No.500, Gyoraitei No.805, Gyoraitei No.806, Gyoraitei No.810, Gyoraitei No.812, Gyoraitei No.813, Gyoraitei No.814, Gyoraitei No.820 and Gyoraitei No.820; army cargo ship Horai Maru; merchant cargo ships Taikai Maru, Fukura Maru, Koryu Maru, and Tetsuzan Maru. Elswhere in the vicinity, Navy planes sink auxiliary minesweeper No.1 Takunan Maru off Okino Daito Jima, and army cargo ship Hirota Maru off Miyako Jima, and merchant cargo ship Nanyo Maru off Kume Jima. TF 38 planes damage Coast Defense Ship No.5 and submarine chaser Ch 58 off Okinawa; and guardboat No.6 Daisei Maru, cargo ship Toyosaka Maru, and merchant cargo ship No.7 Takashima Maru outside Koniya harbor.
-Motor torpedo boat PT-368 is damaged by grounding off western New Guinea.
-Submarine Barb (SS-220) sinks Japanese transport Gokuku Maru northwest of Hirado Jima, Kyushu.
-Submarine Lapon (SS-260) sinks Japanese army transport Ejiri Maru in South China Sea west of Luzon.
-Dutch submarine Zwaardvisch sinks Japanese guardboat Koei Maru southwest of Bawean Island, N.E.I.

 

Oct 11, 1939
-Submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6), driven aground at Tsingtao, China, by a severe hurricane on 31 August, is refloated.

Oct 11, 1942
-Japanese transport force (Rear Admiral Joshima Koji), formed around seaplane carriers Chitose and Nisshin and six destroyers, reaches Tassafaronga, Guadalcanal, to disembark elements of the Japanese Army's 2d Infantry Division. Three heavy cruisers and two destroyers (Rear Admiral Goto Aritomo, his flag in heavy cruiser Aoba) are to provide cover by shelling Henderson Field. Battle of Cape Esperance commences shortly before midnight, however, naval surface force TG 64.2 (Rear Admiral Norman Scott) bars Goto's way. Heavy cruiser Salt Lake City (CA-25) and light cruiser Boise (CL-47) are damaged, but combine to cripple Japanese heavy cruiser Furutaka; destroyers Duncan (DD-485) and Farenholt (DD-491) are also damaged by Japanese gunfire, the latter possibly by friendly fire from either Boise or Helena (CL-50). American cruiser and destroyer gunfire sinks Japanese destroyer Fubuki and damages heavy cruiser Aoba (Rear Admiral Goto is killed on board his flagship) and destroyer Hatsuyuki.
-Japanese submarine I-25, homeward bound from her deployment off the U.S. West Coast, torpedoes and sinks Russian submarine L-16 (bound from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to San Francisco, California).
-Submarine Searaven (SS-196) torpedoes German blockade runner Regensburg in Sunda Strait, N.E.I.
-British destroyer HMS Active rescues 23 survivors from No.2 lifeboat from U.S. freighter Coloradan, which had been torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-159 on 9 October 1942.

Oct 11, 1943
-Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) damages Japanese transport Matsutani Maru five miles off Kwajalein.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) is sunk by Japanese naval aircraft, submarine chasers Ch 15 and Ch 43, and minesweeper W.18, in La Perouse Strait.
-Japanese planes attack U.S. shipping off Koli Point, Guadalcanal, torpedoing freighters George H. Himes and John H. Couch; tug Menominee (AT-73) beaches George H. Himes (which suffers no casualties among the 41-man merchant complement, 27-man Armed Guard, and 20 CB stevedores) to save the ship's cargo of lumber, shells and bombs. Three men perish on board John H. Couch (a merchant seaman, one Armed Guard sailor and a CB stevedore), whose cargo of gasoline and diesel oil catches fire at the initial explosion. Firefighting efforts by two destroyer escorts prove as unsuccessful as the crew's in putting out the blaze and the ship is abandoned by the 42 merchant seamen, 25 Armed Guards, 28 troop passengers and 99 stevedores.
-USAAF B-25s attack small Japanese cargo vessels off Bougainville, sinking Sanwa Maru and damaging Muyo Maru with a near-miss.

Oct 11, 1944
-In preparation for operations against Formosa, TG 38.1 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) and TG 38.4 (Rear Admiral Ralph E. Davison) attack Japanese airfields and other facilities on the north coast of Luzon; task group planes damage escort destroyer Yashiro off San Vicente and cargo vessel No.6 Banei Maru off Aparri.
-Submarine Tang (SS-306) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ships Joshu Go and Oita Maru in Formosa Strait.
-Submarine Trepang (SS-412) sinks Japanese landing ship T.105 off Honshu.
-USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese motor sail ship Hash_ Maru of Tacloban, P.I.
-Japanese merchant vessel Sumiei Maru is damaged by aircraft, Takao, Formosa.