Today in the History of the Pacific Theater

Nov 1, 1940
-Submarine Force, Scouting Force, ceases to exist; in its stead are two type commands: Submarines Scouting Force, Pacific Fleet, and Submarines, Atlantic Fleet. Rear Admiral Wilhelm L. Friedell becomes Commander Submarines, Scouting Force.
-Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, is established, Captain Frank R. McCrary in command.

Nov 1, 1941
-Executive order places Coast Guard under jurisdiction of Department of the Navy for duration of national emergency.
-Pacific Escort Force is formed at Pearl Harbor to protect transports and certain merchant vessels carrying troops and valuable military cargoes between Hawaii and the Far East.

Nov 1, 1942
-Patrol Wings are redesignated Fleet Air Wings.
-District patrol craft YP-205 is lost after grounding off Saba Island.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Biwa Maru is lost to unknown cause off the coast of Song Cau, French Indochina.

Nov 1, 1943
-Third Amphibious Force, TF 31 (Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson), lands 1st Marine Amphibious Corps (Lieutenant General Alexander A. Vandegrift) at Cape Torokina, Bougainville, Solomons; assault is covered by TBF aircraft and destroyer gunfire. During Japanese retaliatory air strikes, destroyer Wadsworth (DD-516) is damaged by near-miss of bomb.
-Cruiser and destroyer force TF 39 (Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill) and carrier task force TF 38 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) shell and bomb Japanese airfields and installations in Buka-Bonis area, Solomons. Rear Admiral Merrill's force later bombards enemy airfields on Shortland Island, Solomons. Japanese return fire damages destroyer Dyson (DD-572).
-Destroyer Fullam (DD-474) is damaged by grounding, Solomons area.
-Submarine Haddock (SS-231) attacks Japanese cable-layer Tateishi and trawler Kitagami Maru off Rokutei Island. Although Haddock claims damage to both ships, neither is actually damaged.
-U.S. aircraft sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 13 west of Shortland Island, Solomons.

Nov 1, 1944
-In Leyte Gulf, kamikazes sink destroyer Abner Read (DD- 526); and damage destroyers Anderson (DD-411), Claxton (DD-571) and Ammen (DD-527). Destroyers Bush (DD- 529) and Killen (DD-593) are damaged by horizontal bombers.
-Submarine Atule (SS-403) attacks Japanese convoy, and sinks transport Asama Maru in Luzon Strait.
-Submarine Blackfin (SS-322) attacks Japanese convoy, and sinks auxiliary vessel Caroline Maru and transport No.12 Unkai Maru in Mindoro Strait.
Submarine Ray (SS-271) may have torpedoed Caroline Maru as well.
Submarine Ray (SS-271) sinks Japanese merchant tanker No.7 Horai Maru and lands men and supplies on west coast of Mindoro.
-British submarine HMS Storm sinks Japanese schooner No.3 Goenong Perak off the coast of Pandang.

 

Nov 2, 1942
-Fleet Air Wing 6 (Captain Douglass P. Johnson) is established at Seattle, Washington, for multi-engine aircraft training.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I class sub reconnoiters Efate Island, New Hebrides.
-Destroyer Conyngham (DD-371) and transport Fuller (AP-14) are damaged in collision in Sealark Channel, Guadalcanal.
-Submarine Seawolf (SS-197) sinks Japanese water tender Gifu Maru west-southwest of Cape San Augustin, Mindoro, P.I.
-Submarine Tambor (SS-198) lays mines in Hainan Strait, Tonkin Gulf.
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) sows mines south of Cape Padaran, French Indochina.
-USAAF B-17s sink Japanese army cargo ship Yasukawa Maru off Buna, New Guinea.

Nov 2, 1943
-Battle of Empress Augusta Bay is fought during darkness as TF 39, comprising four light cruisers and eight destroyers (Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill), intercepts and turns back a Japanese force of two heavy and two light cruisers and six destroyers (Rear Admiral Omori Sentaro) steaming to attack transports off Bougainville, Solomons. Light cruiser Denver (CL-58) is damaged by 8-inch gunfire; destroyer Foote (DD-511) by torpedo; and destroyer Spence (DD-512) by gunfire and collision with destroyer Thatcher (DD-514). Destroyers Charles Ausburne (DD-570), Spence (DD-512), Dyson (DD-572), Claxton (DD-571), and Stanly (DD-478) sink Japanese destroyer Hatsukaze (already damaged in collision with heavy cruiser Myoko); U.S. gunfire sinks light cruiser Sendai and damages heavy cruisers Myoko and Haguro. Destroyers Shiratsuyu and Samidare are damaged in collision during this night surface action. Japanese planes attack TF 39 during its retirement from the scene of battle, damaging light cruiser Montpelier (CL-57).
-Carrier task force TF 38 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) attacks enemy airfields in Buka area, Solomons.
-Submarine Haddock (SS-231) engages Japanese submarine chaser Ch 28 off the Caroline Islands but neither side damages the other.
-Submarines Seahorse (SS-304), Halibut (SS-232), and Trigger (SS-237), each operating independently of the other, attack Japanese convoy south of Honshu; Seahorse sinks transport Chihaya Maru and army cargo ship Yawata Maru; Halibut sinks army cargo ship Ehime Maru; Trigger sinks army transport Delagoa Maru; Seahorse or Trigger sinks army cargo ship Ume Maru.
-USAAF B-25s, escorted by P-38s, raid airfields and harbor at Rabaul, sinking Japanese stores ship Manko Maru and damaging heavy cruisers Haguro and Myoko, destroyer Shiratsuyu, stores ship Hayasaki, and minesweeper W.26.

Nov 2, 1944
-Japanese aircraft bomb U.S. airstrip and planes on the ground at Tacloban, Leyte.
-USAAF B-24s and P-38s (13th Air Force) attack Japanese reinforcement convoy (TA Operation, Second Phase) unloading reinforcements at Ormoc Bay, sinking army cargo ship Noto Maru. The rest of the convoy, however, returns safely to Manila.
-Submarine Barbero (SS-317), despite presence of escort vessel, sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kuramazan Maru in Makassar Strait.
-Submarine Pomfret (SS-391) attacks Japanese convoy between Formosa and Luzon, sinking transport Hamburg Maru damaging transport Atlas Maru in Luzon Channel.
-British submarine HMS Tantalus attacks Japanese Singapore-to-Manila convoy SIMA-04 one day after its departure, sinking cargo ship Hachijin Maru and damaging submarine chaser Ch 1 about 225 miles east of Singapore.
-British submarine HMS Terrapin sinks netlayer Kumano Maru in Strait of Malacca.
-Japanese army cargo ship No.2 Tateyama Maru is sunk by aircraft off the coast of Thailand.
-In the Indian Ocean, the U.S. tanker Fort Lee is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-181; of the 26-man Armed Guard, at least ten perish in the loss of the ship.

 

I was reading about the Seawolf and it appears that it was later sunk in a friendly fire sinking. I always wondered how they kept track of who was where and it appears they did not always get it right.

Also noticed the mention in your post of the Japanese ship carrying water. It never would have crossed my mind that troops and sailors would need water ! Maybe I could get a job with FEMA.

http://www.csp.navy.mil/ww2boats/seawolf.htm

 

Nov 3, 1940
-Typhoon devastates Guam, M.I., rendering the U.S. Navy Yard at Piti a shambles, damaging the Marine Barracks, blowing away dwellings and poultry, destroying crops and completely disrupting the lives of the native farmers; it also reduces the Pan American Airways hotel to "kindling wood." In addition, one of the recently arrived district patrol craft (YP-16 or YP-17) is sunk; dredge YM-13, being used to dredge a channel near Sumay, Guam, is blown ashore. Greek freighter Axios, in the harbor for repairs, parts her moorings at the height of the typhoon, and despite the fact that she possesses neither harbor chart nor pilot miraculously escapes foundering on nearby reefs. Governor of Guam (Captain George J. McMillin) later praises the people of the island for their "cheerful willingness and unremitting effort...to repair or replace their homes that reflected "character of which any group...might be proud."

Nov 3, 1942
-Submarine Haddock (SS-231) sinks merchant cargo ship Tekkai Maru in the East China Sea between Shanghai and Korea.
-Submarine Seawolf (SS-197) sinks Japanese transport Sagami Maru off Davao.
-Submarine Tambor (SS-198) sinks merchant cargo ship Chikugo Maru in Tonkin Gulf, northwest of Hainan Island.

Nov 3, 1943
-After months of arduous effort, battleship Oklahoma (BB-37), sunk on 7 December 1941 by Japanese aircraft, is refloated at Pearl Harbor.
-U.S. Navy PB4Ys sink Japanese stores ship Minato Maru 19 miles off Ocean Island.
-USAAF B-24s bomb Japanese light cruiser Naka (near-miss) and transport (ex-armed merchant cruiser) Kiyozumi Maru off central New Ireland; light cruiser Isuzu takes the damaged auxiliary in tow.
-USAAF B-24s bomb Japanese ships en route to Rabaul, but score no damage upon their targets, transport (ex-armed merchant cruiser) Gokoku Maru and destroyer Urakaze.

Nov 3, 1944
-Japanese aircraft attack air facilities on Saipan and Tinian as part of a series of strikes on this area from which heavy bombing missions against their home islands are launched.
Japanese planes raid U.S. shipping and airfield facilities at Tacloban, Leyte; U.S. freighter Matthew P. Deady is crashed by kamikaze that is engaged with intense antiaircraft fire from the Armed Guard; the explosion of the crashing suicide plane starts a fire in the cargo that threatens the ship. Although firefighting efforts are successful, two Armed Guard sailors (of the 27-man detachment) and 26 troops (of the 300 on board) perish in the attack.
-Light cruiser Reno (CL-96) is damaged by Japanese submarine I-41 off Leyte. Not since 1942 has a Japanese submarine successfully attacked a ship operating with a fast carrier task force. High winds and heavy seas from a nearby typhoon complicate the task of saving Reno, but "skillful seamanship, courage, and the unremitting effort of all of those remaining on board" allow her to reach Ulithi on 11 November.
-Submarine Cero (SS-225) lands men and supplies on east coast of Luzon.
-Submarine Gurnard (SS-254) attacks Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, and sinks merchant cargo ship Taimei Maru about 275 miles west of Labuan, Borneo.
-Submarine Pintado (SS-387) attacks small detachment of Japanese warships and sinks destroyer Akikaze 160 miles west of Lingayen Gulf.
-Submarine Pomfret (SS-391) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Hamburg Maru in Bashi Channel. Transport Atlas Maru, torpedoed by Pomfret the previous day, is beached, a total loss, off Sabtang Island.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Shino Maru is sunk by aircraft off Palau.

 

TA, after looking back on my entries for Oct 3, I see that I indeed overlooked the demise of the USS Seawolf (SS-197). So here is the story,

Seawolf stood out of Brisbane on 21 September to begin her 15th war patrol. She reached Manus on the 29th, refueled, and sailed the same day carrying stores and Army personnel to the east coast of Samar. Seawolf and submarine Narwhal (SS-167) exchanged radar recognition signals at 0756 on 3 October in the Morotai area. Shortly thereafter, a 7th Fleet task group was attacked by a Japanese submarine. Destroyer escort Shelton (DE-407) was torpedoed, and sister ship Richard M. Rowell (DE-403) stood by to search for the enemy. Two planes were sent from the escort carrier Midway (CVE-63) to assist in
the search. One of the planes sighted a submarine submerging and dropped two bombs on it even though it was in a safety zone for American submarines. The site was marked by dye and Richard M. Rowell steamed to the area, made sound contact and attacked with "hedgehogs." The second attack was followed by underwater explosions, and debris rose to the surface.
No further contact was made with Seawolf, and her position would have placed her in the area where the plane and Richard M. Rowell made their attacks. On 28 December
1944, Seawolf was announced overdue from patrol and presumed lost. She was struck from the Navy list on 20 January 1945 and had been awarded 13 Battle Stars for her service in World War II.

 

Nov 4, 1942
-TG 65.4 cruisers and destroyers bombard Japanese positions near Koli Point, Guadalcanal.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-31 reconnoiters Suva, Fiji Islands; small reconnaissance seaplane from I-9 reconnoiters Nouméa, New Caledonia.
-Japanese submarine RO-65 is sunk when she accidentally dives into a reef while seeking to avoid attack, Kiska harbor.

Nov 4, 1943
-Submarine Seawolf (SS-197) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kaifuku Maru 90 miles south-southwest of Hong Kong.
-Submarine Silversides (SS-236) lays minefield off New Ireland; Japanese surveying ship Tsukushi and transport Ryosan Maru are sunk; light cruiser Isuzu and destroyer Isokaze, damaged.
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) unsuccessfully attacks Japanese convoy.
-Navy fighter aircraft damage Japanese cargo vessel Giyu Maru, Matchin Bay, Bougainville.
-USAAF B-25s sink Japanese cargo ship Chinko Maru, Swatow harbor, China; Chinko Maru carries down with her 100,000,000 Yuan in Central Reserve Bank notes.
-USAAF B-24s damage Japanese cargo vessel Nissho Maru, in company with destroyer Amatsukaze.
-Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 30 is sunk by aircraft off Palau Islands.

Nov 4, 1944
-Submarines Bream (SS-243), Guitarro (SS-363) and Ray (SS-271) attack Japanese convoy off western Luzon, all three team up to sink transport Kagu Maru off Dasol Bay. Guitarro torpedoes landing ship T.111.
-Submarine Sailfish (SS-192) damages Japanese destroyer Harukaze and landing ship T.111 in Luzon Strait. Although damaged by aerial bombs, the submarine remains on patrol; Patrol Boat No.38 takes the damaged Harukaze in tow and brings her into port.
-British submarine HMS Terrapin attacks Japanese convoy in Malacca Strait, and sinks minesweeper W.5.
-U.S. freighter Frank J. Cuhel is damaged by friendly fire while anchored off Tacloban, Leyte; the explosion of a shell wounds one of the 500 troops being transported by the ship, and 2 of the 28-man Armed Guard. During Japanese air attack shortly thereafter, freighter Cape Constance is damaged when a kamikaze, having been hit by the heavy fire being put up by the Armed Guard gunners, explodes over the ship and scatters wreckage. Only the Armed Guard officer is wounded during the attack; there are no other casualties among the 41-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard.

 

Nov 5, 1940
-President Roosevelt, in his bid for a third term, defeats Republican challenger Wendell Willkie for the presidency.

Nov 5, 1941
-Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell relieves Captain Herbert J. Ray as Commandant, Sixteenth Naval District and Commander, Philippine Naval Coastal Frontier. Ray had been acting in that capacity due to the illness of Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis.

Nov 5, 1943
-TF 38 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) aircraft attack Rabaul. Planes from carrier Saratoga (CV-3) and small carrier Princeton (CVL 23) bomb Japanese warships (Rear Admiral Takagi Takeo) damage heavy cruisers Atago, Takao, Maya, Chikuma, and Mogami; light cruisers Noshiro and Agano; and destroyers Fujinami and Amagiri.
-Open cargo lighter YCK-2 is lost, cause unspecified.
-Submarine Halibut (SS-232) damages Japanese carrier Junyo, Bungo Channel; heavy cruiser Tone tows the damaged ship to Kure.
-USAAF B-24s sink Japanese fishing vessel No.1 Kanto Maru seven miles north of Kieta.

Nov 5, 1944
-TF 38 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) begins two days of carrier strikes on Luzon, targeting Japanese aircraft, airfields, and shipping. TG 38.3 attacks warships and auxiliaries in Manila Bay, where planes from carriers Lexington (CV-16) and Essex (CV-9), and small carrier Langley (CVL-27) sink heavy cruiser Nachi five nautical miles west of Corregidor. F6Fs from TG 38.3 sink Patrol Boat No.107 [ex-U.S. tug Genessee (AT-55)] off Lubang Island. Navy carrier-based planes (TG 38.3 hitting targets in Manila Bay, TG 38.1 targets off Santa Cruz) damage destroyer Akebono and escort destroyer Okinawa, landing ship T.111, motor sailship Tanoguchi Maru and cargo ships Toyo Maru and Showa Maru. During Japanese retaliatory air strikes, kamikaze damages carrier Lexington (CV-16).
-Motor torpedo boat PT-320 is damaged by aerial bomb off Leyte.
-USAAF B-29s bomb Singapore, damaging Japanese fleet tanker Notoro while she lies in drydock at Selatar.
-Japanese landing ship T.112 runs aground off southwest Mindoro.
-Japanese merchant ship No.11 Bakshu Maru is sunk by mine off Penang.

 

Nov 6, 1942
-Submarine Grayling (SS-209) is damaged by Japanese aerial bombs off Truk.
-Submarine Haddock (SS-231) damages Japanese army cargo ship France Maru in the East China Sea just south of Korea.

Nov 6, 1943
-Japanese torpedo planes attack infantry landing craft(gunboat) LCI(G)-70 and motor torpedo boat PT-167 as the U.S. ships retire from Cape Torokina to the Treasury Islands. Dud torpedoes damage both LCI(G)-70 and PT-167.
-Japanese troops, transported by destroyers, land near Cape Torokina, Bougainville, Solomons.
-Submarine Haddock (SS-231) attacks Japanese Truk-to-Singapore convoy consisting of fleet tankers Gen'yo Maru and Hoyo Maru and escorting destroyer Yakaze. Haddock torpedoes Hoyo Maru, and during evasive maneuvers Yakaze is damaged when she accidentally rams Gen'yo Maru. Despite the damage, Yakaze counterattacks Haddock.
-Submarine Scorpion (SS-278) torpedoes fleet tanker Hoyo Maru off of Truk.
-USAAF B-25s hit Japanese shipping west of Buka, sinking submarine chaser Ch 11, auxiliary submarine chaser No.9 Asahi Maru, and cargo vessel Asayama Maru. Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 30 and small cargo vessel No. 3 Nissen Maru are sunk in the same general area.
-U.S. aircraft sink submarine chaser Ch 11 and water tanker Chozan Maru west of Buka, Solomons.

Nov 6, 1944
-TF 38 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) resumes strikes against Luzon; TG 38.3 planes sink Japanese transport T.139, in Silanguin Bay. Planes from carrier Ticonderoga (CV-14), in TG 38.3, sink tanker Marifu Maru, previously damaged by submarine Flier (SS-250) on 13 June 1944, in Mariveles harbor.
-Submarines Guitarro (SS-363), Bream (SS-243), and Raton (SS-270) each torpedo Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano west of Lingayen. Kumano is towed to Santa Cruz, Luzon. Guitarro is damaged by depth charges but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Gurnard (SS-254) lays mines off western Borneo.
-The blockading of the Nanpo Shoto region, by mining, begins as PROJECT MIKE commences. USAAF B-24s (42d Bomb Squadron), fly from Guam and stage through Isely Field, Saipan, where the mines are loaded and fuel tanks topped off. The B-24s lay 10 mines off Chichi Jima.
-RAAF Mitchells sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 118 off Soemba Island, N.E.I.

 

Nov 7, 1940
-British freighter Cambridge is sunk by mine (laid by German auxiliary minelayer Passat on 31 October-1 November) off Wilson's Promontory, Australia.

Nov 7, 1942
-SBDs (VMSB 132), TBFs (VT 8), Marine F4Fs, and USAAF P-39s from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, attack Japanese convoy, damaging destroyers Naganami and Takanami.
-Off Guadalcanal, miscellaneous auxiliary Majaba (AG-43) is torpedoed by Japanese midget submarine Ha.11 (launched from submarine I-20) off Lunga Point. Destroyers Lansdowne (DD-486) and Lardner (DD-487) depth charge I-20, but the submarine escapes destruction. Ha.11, her mission completed, is scuttled.

Nov 7, 1943
-USAAF aircraft (14th Air Force) bomb Japanese shipping in Amoy, China, harbor, sinking army cargo ships No.28 Nagata Maru and No.6 Inushima Maru, and auxiliary sailing vessel Kanlu.

Nov 7, 1944
-President Roosevelt wins an unprecedented fourth term in the White House, defeating Republican challenger Wendell Willkie for the second time.
-Motor torpedo boat PT-301 is damaged by accidental explosion off western New Guinea.
-Submarine Albacore (SS-218) is sunk by mine off the northern tip of Honshu.
-Submarine Greenling (SS-213) sinks Japanese transport No.8 Kiri Maru and merchant tanker K_tai Maru.
In the Indian Ocean, the British motor vessel Ernebank rescues 16 survivors of U.S. tanker Fort Lee, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-181 on 2 November 1944.

 

Nov 8, 1940
-Admiral Nomura Kichasaburo is appointed Japanese Ambassador to the United States.
-U.S. freighter City of Rayville is sunk by mine (laid by German auxiliary minelayer Passat on 31 October-1 November) east of Cape Otway, Bass Strait, Australia; City of Rayville is first U.S. merchant ship sunk in World War II. Third Engineer Mack B. Bryan, who drowns during the abandonment, is the first merchant marine casualty of World War II. The other 37 crewmen (one of whom is injured) reach safety at Apollo Bay.

Nov 8, 1942
-Motor torpedo boats PT-61, PT-39, and PT-37 engage two Japanese destroyers south of Savo Island, Guadalcanal; PT-61 and PT-39 and Mochizuki are damaged in the encounter.
-Submarine Seawolf sinks Japanese gunboat Keiko Maru off Cape San Augustin, Mindanao, P.I.
-U.S. freighter Edgar Allen Poe is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-21 in a spirited fight 56 miles southeast of Amadee Light, Nouméa, New Caledonia during which two crewmen are killed. A part of the crew (including the 14-man Armed Guard) remains on board while New Zealand minesweeper HMNZS Matai and corvette HMNZS Kiwi tow the vessel to Nouméa, where she will be declared a total loss.

Nov 9, 1943
-Japanese dive bombers attack U.S. ships off Cape Torokina, Bougainville, damaging light cruiser Birmingham (CL-62) and attack transports Fuller (APA-7) and President Jackson (APA-18).
-Destroyers Anthony (DD-515) and Hudson (DD-475) accidentally engage motor torpedo boats PT-163, PT-169, and PT-170; fortunately, neither side suffers any damage in the mistaken encounter.
-Submarine Bluefish (SS-222) sinks Japanese army tanker Kyokuei Maru. Although Bluefish claims to destroy five more ships, none are damaged; escort vessel Tsushima counterattacks unsuccessfully.
-Submarine Rasher (SS-269) sinks Japanese merchant tanker Tango Maru and escapes attacks by auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 41.

Nov 8, 1944
-Japanese party, armed with automatic weapons and light mortars, lands on Ngeregong Island five miles northeast of Peleliu, under cover of typhoon, and forces evacuation (without loss) of men from medium infantry landing craft LCI(M)-740 that had been landed there three days before to provide protection for ships utilizing Denges passage.
-Submarine Growler (SS-215) is sunk, probably by Japanese destroyer Shigure, patrol-escort vessel Chiburi, and Coast Defense Vessel No.19 off Mindoro.
-Submarine Gunnel (SS-253) attacks Japanese convoy off west coast of Luzon, and sinks torpedo boat Sagi about 60 miles west of Lingayen Gulf.
-Submarine Hardhead (SS-365), despite proximity of two escorts, sinks Japanese tanker Manei Maru about 90 miles southwest of Manila.
-Submarine Queenfish (SS-393) attacks Japanese convoy off southern Kyushu, and sinks cargo ship Hakko Maru and auxiliary submarine chaser Ryusei Maru near Uji Gunto.
-Submarine Redfin (SS-272) attacks Japanese convoy in South China Sea, and sinks merchant tanker No.2 Nichinan Maru.
-Submarine Sea Fox (SS-402) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Keijo Maru.

 

Nov 9, 1942
-Destroyer Russell (DD-414) rescues that portion of the crew of U.S. freighter Edgar Allen Poe who abandoned ship after she was torpedoed by I-21 the night before.
-In the Indian Ocean, the U.S. freighter Marcus Whitman, proceeding independently to Dutch Guiana from Cape Town, South Africa, is torpedoed by Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci, and abandoned without loss. Leonardo da Vinci then finishes off the merchantman with gunfire.

Nov 9, 1943
-Submarine Rasher (SS-269) unsuccessfully attacks Balikpapan-bound Japanese fleet oiler Toa Maru.
-Submarine Sargo (SS-188) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taga Maru.
-Submarine Seawolf (SS-197) unsuccessfully attacks Japanese cargo vessel Hokuriku Maru.

Nov 9, 1944
-Marine fighter aircraft based on Peleliu commence air strikes on Japanese on Ngeregong Island. These strikes, together with bombardment by vessels of LCI(L)-Flotilla 13, will continue on 10 November, rendering it untenable for the invaders.
-PROJECT MIKE continues as USAAF B-24s (42d Bomb Squadron) lay 10 mines in Futami Ko, Chichi Jima.
-Submarine Barbero (SS-317) attacks Japanese convoy and sinks merchant tanker Shimotsu Maru about 250 miles west of Manila.
-Submarine Haddo (SS-255) sinks Japanese fleet tanker No.2 Hishi Maru in Mindoro Straits.
-Submarine Queenfish (SS-393) attacks Japanese convoy TAMA-28 in East China Sea, and sinks gunboat Chojusan Maru about 50 miles west of Kyushu.
-Japanese cruiser Kumano, damaged by U.S. submarines on 6 November 1944, breaks her anchor and drifts aground off Santa Cruz, Luzon.
-Japanese TA Operation (fourth phase) convoy reaches Ormoc Bay and unloads men and materiel brought from Manila.
-USAAF B-25s and P-38s (13th Air Force) and motor torpedo boats PT-492, PT-497, PT-524, and PT-525 begin attacks against Japanese convoy in Ormoc Bay, the former damaging escort vessels Okinawa and Shimushu.
-In the Indian Ocean, the U.S. tanker Tumacacori rescues 17 survivors of U.S. tanker Fort Lee, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-181 on 2 November 1944.

 

Nov 10, 1941
-Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet (Admiral Thomas C. Hart) receives permission to withdraw river gunboats from the Yangtze and USMC forces from China.

Nov 10, 1942
-Light cruiser Raleigh (CL-9), patrolling along the 175th meridian, encounters no Japanese patrol activity estimated to be in those waters west of the Ellice Islands.
-High speed minesweeper Southard (DMS-10) sinks Japanese submarine I-15 five miles off Hada Bay, the northwest point of San Cristobal Island, Solomons.
-Japanese army cargo ship Chiyo Maru is sunk, agent unspecified, off Akyab, Burma.

Nov 10, 1943
-Submarine Albacore (SS-218) is accidentally damaged by U.S. four-engine bomber off New Ireland but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Barb (SS-220) engages Japanese Keelung-to-Sasebo convoy, unsuccessfully attacking cargo ships Yamahagi Maru and damaging Nishi Maru. Escorting auxiliary minesweeper No.7 Toshi Maru counterattacks, but does not damage, Barb.
-Submarine Scamp (SS-277) torpedoes Japanese transport Tokyo Maru; transport Mitakesan Maru takes the crippled ship in tow.
-British submarine HMS Tally Ho sinks Japanese water carrier Kisogawa Maru.
-Japanese cargo vessel Giyu Maru, damaged on 4 November 1943, sinks in Matchin Bay.

Nov 10, 1944
-Ammunition ship Mount Hood (AE-11) is destroyed by accidental ammunition explosion in Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands. The cataclysmic blast damages nearby escort carriers Petrof Bay (CVE-80) and Saginaw Bay (CVE-82); destroyer Young (DD-580); destroyer escorts Kyne (DE-744), Lyman (DE-302), Walter C. Wann (DE-412), and Oberrender (DE-344); high speed transport Talbot (APD-7); destroyer tender Piedmont (AD-17); miscellaneous auxiliary Argonne (AG-31); cargo ship Aries (AK-51); attack cargo ship Alhena (AKA-9); oiler Cacapon (AO-52); internal combustion engine repair ships Cebu (ARG-6) and Mindanao (ARG-3); repair ship Preserver; fleet tug Potawatomi (ATF-109); motor minesweepers YMS-1, YMS-39, YMS-49, YMS-52, YMS-71, YMS-81, YMS-140, YMS-238, YMS-243, YMS-286, YMS-293, YMS-319, YMS-335, YMS-340, YMS-341, and YMS-342; unclassified auxiliary Abarenda (IX-131), covered lighter YF-681, and fuel oil barge YO-77. Mount Hood has an estimated 3,000 tons of explosives on board, and except for a working party from the ship that is ashore at the time, her entire ship's company perishes. The force of the explosion blasts a trough in the harbor floor longer than the length of a football field and 50 feet wide and 30 to 40 feet deep; some fragments land more than 2,000 yards from where Mount Hood lies. Investigators find no fragment of the ship on the ocean floor larger than 16 by 10 feet. In terms of the extent of damage, it ranges from an estimated 48,000 man-hours to repair Mindanao (which suffers 23 dead and 174 injured) to "superficial" or "insignificant." In addition to the ships listed above, nine medium landing craft (LCM) and a pontoon barge moored to Mount Hood are also destroyed; 13 small boats or landing craft are sunk or damaged beyond repair, 33 are damaged but repairable.
Motor torpedo boat PT-321, damaged by grounding off Leyte is scuttled.
-Submarine Barb (SS-220) sinks Japanese transport Gokoku Maru seven miles off Koshiki Jima, eastern Kyushu.
-Submarine Flounder (SS-251) sinks German submarine U-537 in Java Sea.
-Submarine Greenling (SS-213) sinks Japanese Patrol Boat No.46 (ex-destroyer Fuji) southeast of Honshu.
-Submarine Steelhead (SS-280) sinks Japanese repair ship Yamabiko Maru south-southwest of Yokosuka.
-USAAF B-25s, P-47s, and P-38s (13th Air Force) attack Japanese convoy (TA Operation, third phase) in Ormoc Bay hit the previous day, sinking army cargo ships Kashii Maru and Takatsu Maru; and damaging destroyer Akishimo, Coast Defense Vessel No.13 and army cargo ship Kinka Maru. B-25 attacks drive Coast Defense Vessel No.11 aground in Matlang Bay, where she is scuttled and abandoned. Nearby fast transports T.6, T.9, and T.10, however, escorted by destroyers Take and Kasumi, are unmolested, and rescue survivors from Kashii Maru and Takatsu Maru. On their return voyage to Manila, the convoy rescues men from Celebes Maru, which has run aground off Bondoc Point, Luzon, earlier that day (see 15 November 1944).
-USAAF B-24s attack Surabaya-bound Japanese ships off Soembawa, sinking No.21 Tachibana Maru, Fuji Maru, and Tsukushi Maru and damaging Benten Maru.

 

Nov 11, 1942
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-7 reconnoiters Vanikoro, Solomons; small reconnaissance seaplane from I-21 reconnoiters Nouméa, New Caledonia; and small reconnaissance seaplane from I-9 reconnoiters Espiritu Santo.
-Transport Zeilin (AP-9) is damaged by dive bombers off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal.
-Submarine Haddock (SS-231) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Venice Maru in center of Yellow Sea, between China and Korea.
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) is damaged by depth charges in Makassar Strait and is forced to terminate her patrol.
-Japanese transport Kobe Maru is sunk in collision with army cargo ship Tenzan Maru 87 miles off the Yangtze River estuary; Tenzan Maru then founders and sinks, too.
-In the Indian Ocean, the first survivors from U.S. freighter Marcus Whitman, sunk by Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci on 9 November, reach coast of Natal, South Africa, in the merchantman's motor lifeboat; the remainder will arrive within the next few hours. All hands (41-man merchant complement and the 11-man Armed Guard) reach safety.
-Also in the Indian Ocean, the Japanese armed merchant cruiser Hokoku Maru is sunk by Indian Navy minesweeper RINS Bengal and Dutch merchant tanker Ondina south-southwest of Cocos Islands.

Nov 11, 1943
-Aircraft from TF 38 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) and TG 50.3 (Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery), which include three carriers and two small carriers, attack Japanese ships at Rabaul, sinking destroyer Suzunami and damaging light cruisers Yubari and Agano, and destroyers Naganami, Urakaze, and Wakatsuki.
-Submarine Capelin (SS-289) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kunitama Maru northwest of Ambon.
-Submarine Drum (SS-228) engages Japanese Truk-to-Rabaul convoy, unsuccessfully attacking submarine depot ship Hie Maru. Later that day, a USAAF B-24 bombs the same convoy, damaging Hie Maru. Despite those attacks, the enemy ships reach Rabaul the following day.
-Submarine Sargo (SS-188) sinks Japanese transport Kosei Maru east of the Nansei Shoto.
-U.S. freighter Cape San Juan, bound for Townsville, Australia, is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-21; 16 of the 1,348 embarked troop passengers are killed in the initial explosion and a further 114 drown during the abandonment. Liberty ship Edwin T. Meredith begins picking up survivors, joined later by Allied planes, destroyer McCalla (DD-488), destroyer escort Dempsey (DE-26) and motor minesweeper YMS-241. Edwin T. Meredith attempts to scuttle Cape San Juan with gunfire but the ship will remain afloat for another two days.

Nov 11, 1944
-Aircraft from TG 38.1 (Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery), TG 38.3 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman), TG 38.4 (Rear Admiral Ralph E. Davison) set upon Japanese convoy (fourth phase of TA Operation) as it enters Ormoc Bay, sinking destroyers Hamanami, Naganami, Shimakaze, and Wakatsuki; minesweeper W.30; army cargo ships Mikasa Maru, Seiho Maru, and Tensho Maru; and merchant cargo ship Taizan Maru (ex-St. Quentin).
-TG 30.2 (Rear Admiral Allan E. Smith) (three heavy cruisers and five destroyers) bombards airfields and other Japanese shore installations on Iwo Jima; shelling commences shortly before midnight and continues into 12 November. PB4Ys screen the group's approach, spot gunfire, and cover the retirement.
-U.S. submarines begin series of attacks on Japanese convoy MOMA-07; Queenfish (SS-393) damages transport Miho Maru off Miike harbor.
-Submarine Scamp (SS-277) is sunk, probably by Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.4 and naval aircraft off Tokyo Bay.
-Japanese minesweeper W.22 is sunk by mine off Babelthuap, Palau.

 

Nov 12, 1942
-Naval Battle of Guadalcanal opens: TF 67 (Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner) unloading troops in Lunga Roads, Guadalcanal, under the protection of air and surface forces, is attacked by Japanese land attack planes. Heavy cruiser San Francisco (CA-38) is damaged when hit by a crashing bomber; destroyer Buchanan (DD-484) is hit by friendly fire.
-Submarine Grenadier (SS-210) damages Japanese army cargo vessel Hokkai Maru off the south coast of French Indochina.
-Japanese oiler Naruto is damaged by aircraft (nationality unspecified) off Shortland Island.

Nov 12, 1943
-Submarine Harder (SS-257) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking auxiliary minesweeper No.11 Misago Maru and damaging motor sailing vessel Hei Maru.
-Submarine Scamp (SS-277) torpedoes Truk-bound Japanese light cruiser Agano (damaged the previous day by TF 38's strike).
-Submarine Thresher (SS-200) torpedoes and sinks Japanese transport Muko Maru north of Truk but is damaged by depth charges and terminates her patrol.
-Japanese transport Tokyo Maru, damaged by Scamp (SS-277) on 10 November, sinks. Destroyer Suzutsuki rescues survivors.
-Transport Tokyo Maru, damaged by submarine Scamp (SS-277), sinks while under tow between Kavieng and Truk.
-USAAF B-24s bomb Japanese naval base at Surabaya, Java, damaging submarine chasers Ch 6 and Ch 10.

Nov 12, 1944
-Landing craft repair ships Egeria (ARL-8) and Achilles (ARL-41) are damaged by kamikazes off Leyte. U.S. freighters off Leyte come under attack from Japanese planes as well. Leonidas Merritt is crashed by two suiciders off Dulag, Leyte, but her crew controls the fires; 1 of the 28-man Armed Guard is killed, as are a merchant seaman and one of the embarked stevedores.
Thomas Nelson is hit by a kamikaze, but despite ultimately successful firefighting efforts, 133 of the 578 embarked troops are killed, as are 3 of the 28-man Armed Guard; 88 men are injured. Jeremiah M. Daily is struck by a suicide plane, and the explosion and fires account for the deaths of 100 of the 557 troops on board, in addition to 2 of the 29-man Armed Guard and 4 of the 39-man merchant complement; 43 more men are injured and 50 troops jump overboard to escape the flames (they are rescued by nearby boats and craft). William A. Coulter is struck by two kamikazes, but there are no fatalities among the 41-man merchant complement, 27-man Armed Guard and four passengers. Morrison R. Waite is strafed and then crashed by a Japanese plane, and the resultant fires kill 21 troops and wound 41 (of the 600 embarked at the time); 2 of the 29-man Armed Guard are wounded in action. Alexander Majors's Armed Guard gunners deflect a kamikaze with a well-placed 5-inch round, but the plane strikes the mainmast and, along with its bomb, explodes and showers the forward part of the ship with burning gasoline that compels the Armed Guards at the forward guns to leap overboard to save themselves. Two of the merchant crew are killed and 16 injured, but there are no fatalities among the Armed Guard sailors and the Army passengers. All six of the freighters ultimately return to the west coast of the United States under their own power for repairs.
-Destroyer Nicholas (DD-449) sinks Japanese submarine I-37 south of Yap Island.
-Submarines Barb (SS-220) and Peto (SS-265) continue attacks against Japanese convoy MOMA-07 in the East China Sea. Barb sinks army cargo ship Naruo Maru and damages merchant cargo ship Gyokuyo Maru; Peto sinks army cargo ship Tatsuraku Maru.
-Submarine Redfin (SS-272) damages Japanese ship Asogawa Maru.
-PROJECT MIKE continues as USAAF B-24s (42d Bomb Squadron), finding cloudy weather at the primary objective, Chichi Jima, opt for the alternate, Haha Jima, and lay 15 mines in effective locations.
-Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 84 is sunk by aircraft off Banggi, North Borneo.
-PB4Y attacks Japanese convoy SIMA-04 and sinks merchant cargo ship Atsuta Maru off Malampaya Sound.
-USAAF P-51s damage Japanese auxiliary-powered sailing vessel Namikiri Maru at entrance to Haiphong River, French Indochina.

 

Nov 13, 1939
-British steamship Sirdhana, bound for Hong Kong, blunders into British minefield off Singapore; 10 U.S. citizens (a troupe of magicians) are among the survivors. There are no casualties.

Nov 13, 1942
-Naval Battle of Guadalcanal continues: TG 67.4, comprising two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers (Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan) encounters Japanese Bombardment Force (Rear Admiral Abe Hiroaki) that includes two battleships, steaming to bombard Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, shortly after midnight on 12 November; a savage nocturnal naval action ensues. Abe's force inflicts heavy damage on TG 67.4 before it retires northward; Rear Admirals Callaghan and Norman Scott are killed on board their respective flagships, heavy cruiser San Francisco (CA-38) and Atlanta (CL-51). Both Callaghan and Scott are awarded Medals of Honor (posthumously). On board San Francisco, Lieutenant Commanders Herbert E. Schonland and Bruce McCandless prove instrumental in saving their ship, and Boatswain's Mate First Class Reinhardt J. Keppler performs a succession of heroic acts in fighting fires and removing wounded during the thick of the battle. Those three men (Keppler posthumously) also earn the nation's highest award for bravery. TF 16 (Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid), formed around carrier Enterprise (CV-6), the last operational fleet carrier in the Pacific, nears the battle area and launches air search and attacks against the enemy.
-Light cruiser Atlanta (CL-51), irreparably damaged by Japanese naval gunfire and torpedo as well as by friendly fire from heavy cruiser San Francisco, is scuttled by demolition charges three miles off Lunga Point; light cruiser Juneau (CL-52), damaged by gunfire, is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-26 as Juneau retires toward Espiritu Santo. Loss of life is heavy. Also sunk are destroyers Cushing (DD-376) and Monssen (DD-435) to gunfire, Laffey (DD-459) to gunfire and torpedo, and Barton (DD-599) to two torpedoes. Heavy cruiser Portland (CA-33) suffers torpedo damage; San Francisco, light cruiser Helena (CL-50), and destroyer Aaron Ward (DD-483) are damaged by gunfire; friendly fire damages destroyer O'Bannon (DD-450).
-The Japanese, however, do not emerge from the brutal nocturnal slugfest unscathed: battleship Hiei, damaged by gunfire from heavy cruisers Portland and San Francisco and destroyers Cushing, Laffey, and O'Bannon, is sunk by TBFs (VT 8) from carrier Enterprise and USMC SBDs (VMSB 142) and TBFs (VMSB 131) from Henderson Field. Destroyer Akatsuki is sunk by San Francisco and Atlanta gunfire near Savo Island. Destroyer Yudachi, damaged by gunfire, is sunk by Portland southeast of Savo Island. Japanese destroyers Murasame, Ikazuchi, and Amatsukaze are damaged by gunfire; destroyer Yukikaze is damaged by aircraft, off Guadalcanal. Destroyer Michisio is also damaged by aircraft off Shortland Island, Solomons.
-On the night of 13 November, heavy cruisers Suzuya and Maya approach Guadalcanal to shell Henderson Field, intending to render it inoperable the following morning.
-In the Indian Ocean the U.S. freighter Excello, proceeding independently from Port Said, Egypt, to Cape Town, South Africa, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-181; one Armed Guard sailor and one merchant seaman perish in the attack (see 14, 15, and 20 November).

Nov 13, 1943
-Carrier and land-based aircraft begin daily bombings of Japanese positions in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands.
-Japanese aircraft attack TF 39 (Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill) off Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomons; light cruiser Denver (CL-58) is damaged by aerial torpedo.
-British submarine HMS Taurus sinks Japanese submarine I-34 30 miles south of Panang, Malaya.
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) lands men and supplies at Paluan Bay, Mindoro, P.I.
-Submarine Scorpion (SS-278) damages Japanese oiler Shiretoko northwest of the Marianas -Submarine Trigger (SS-237) sinks Japanese transport Nachizan Maru in East China Sea; although damaged by depth charges, she remains on patrol.

Nov 13, 1944
-Aircraft from three carrier task groups (TG 38.1, TG 38.3, and TG 38.4) of TF 38 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman, in the temporary absence of Vice Admiral John S. McCain) pound Japanese shipping and port facilities at Manila and in central Luzon. At the former place, TF 38 planes sink light cruiser Kiso, destroyers Hatsuharu and Okinami, and auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 116 and army cargo ships Eiwa Maru, Kinka Maru, Kakogawa Maru, Sekiho Maru, and Teiyu Maru, as well as merchant cargo ships Taitoku Maru, Hatsu Maru, Seiwa Maru and Shinkoku Maru, and damage destroyer Ushio. At Cavite, Navy carrier planes sink destroyers Akebono and Akishimo, fleet tanker Ondo, and guardboat Daito Maru. TF 38 planes also sink army cargo ship Heian Maru at Cabcaben, and auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 116 some 20 nautical miles west of Cavite.
-Minesweeper Ardent (AM-340) and frigate Rockford (PF-48) sink Japanese submarine I-12 (that had sunk freighter John A. Johnson on 29 October 1944) 100 miles west-southwest of Los Angeles, California.
-Submarine Seal (SS-183) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Gassan Maru north-northwest of Etorofu, Kurils.
-Japanese submarine I-53 is damaged, cause unspecified, off Marcus Island.

 

Nov 14, 1941
-Marines are ordered withdrawn from Shanghai, Peiping, and Tientsin, China.

Nov 14, 1942
-Naval Battle of Guadalcanal continues as bombardment of Henderson Field by heavy cruisers Suzuya and Maya fails to achieve the desired effect, prompting the postponement of the landing of troops from the 11 transports poised to proceed down the "Slot" toward Guadalcanal.
Japanese heavy cruisers Chokai and Kinugasa, light cruiser Isuzu and two destroyers (Vice Admiral Mikawa Gunichi) and heavy cruisers Maya and Suzuya, light cruiser Tenryu and four destroyers (Rear Admiral Nishimura Shoji), come under attack by planes from carrier Enterprise (CV-6) and from Henderson Field: Kinugasa is sunk by USMC SBDs (VMSB 132), 15 nautical miles northwest of Rendova Island. Maya (crashed by a crippled VB 10 SBD) and Isuzu are damaged south of New Georgia Island; Chokai, Tenryu, and destroyer Ayanami are also damaged.
-That afternoon, USMC and Navy land-based SBDs and TBFs bomb Japanese convoy off Guadalcanal, sinking transports/cargo ships Arizona Maru and Canberra Maru and merchant transport/cargo ships Brisbane Maru (VS 10, VMSB 141); Kumagawa Maru (VMSB 130), Nagara Maru (VT 10), Nako Maru; and Shinano Maru (CVG 41). Cargo ship Sado Maru is damaged.
-Beginning shortly before midnight, TF 64 (Rear Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr.), comprising battleships Washington (BB-56) and South Dakota (BB-57) and four destroyers, engages a Japanese naval force comprising a battleship, a light cruiser, and six destroyers (Vice Admiral Kondo Nobutake) in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Japanese gunfire sinks destroyers Preston (DD-379) (by light cruiser Nagara) and Walke (DD-416) (see 15 November).
-In the Indian Ocean, the first boatload of survivors from U.S. freighter Excello, sunk by German submarine U-181 the previous day, make landfall at Port St. John, South Africa.

Nov 14, 1943
-Submarine Apogon (SS-308) attacks Japanese Truk-bound convoy consisting of transports Akibasan Maru and Okitsu Maru, escorted by destroyers Asanagi and Inadzuma; although she claims one damaging hit on a transport, she is unsuccessful.

Nov 14, 1944
-TF 38 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) air strikes against Japanese shipping in Philippines continue. At Manila, Navy carrier-based planes sink transport Tatsura Maru, merchant tanker No.5 Horai Maru, merchant cargo ships Hatsu Maru and Aoki Maru, and damage transport Tottori Maru and army cargo ship Myogi Maru; cargo ship Yukihisa Maru is sunk just outside Manila Bay. Off Mindoro, F6Fs from carrier Yorktown (CV-10) attack Japanese convoy SIMA-04, sinking merchant tanker Ayagiri Maru and damaging army cargo ship Yutaka Maru as well as escorting submarine chasers Ch 1, Ch 19, Ch 26, and Ch 36.
-Submarine Halibut (SS-232) is damaged by depth charges and aerial bombs, Luzon Strait but returns from patrol with no difficulty.
-Submarine Jack (SS-259) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant cargo ship Hinaga Maru and damaging merchant tanker No.2 Yuzan Maru.
-Submarines Batfish (SS-310), Raton (SS-270) and Ray (SS-271) attack Japanese convoy off the northwest coast of Luzon; Raton damages supply ship Kurasaki north-northwest of Cape Bolinao and sinks merchant tanker No.5 Unkai Maru; Ray sinks Coast Defense Vessel No.7 65 miles northwest of Cape Bolinao.
-Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) damages Japanese motor sailship No.6 Tatsu Maru off Shimushiru, Kurils. Strong currents then drive the damaged vessel upon a reef; she is declared a total loss.
-Submarine Spadefish (SS-411) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Gyokuyo Maru, previously damaged by Barb (SS-220) on 12 November 1944 while in convoy MOMA-07.
-PROJECT MIKE continues as USAAF B-24s (42d Bomb Squadron) lay 6 mines in effective locations off Ani Jima and Haha Jima.
-During Japanese air raid on U.S. shipping off Leyte, freighter Floyd B. Olson is damaged by bomb; there are, however, no casualties among the 43-man merchant complement, the 28-man Armed Guard, and the 409 stevedores embarked to work cargo.
-USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese lugger Kiho Maru off Sandakan harbor.
Japanese ship Heiyo is sunk by mine, Adang Bay.

 

Nov 15, 1942
-Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ends as TF 64 repulses Vice Admiral Kondo's force. Battleship South Dakota (BB-57) is damaged by gunfire of Japanese battleship Kirishima and heavy cruisers Atago and Takao; destroyer Benham (DD-397), damaged by torpedo, is scuttled by destroyer Gwin (DD-433) in Savo Sound, Solomons; Gwin is damaged by gunfire. Gunfire from Admiral Lee's flagship, battleship Washington (BB-56), sinks Kirishima and destroyer Ayanami southeast of Savo Island.
-Navy SBDs (VS 10) and TBFs (VT 10), USMC SBDs (VMSB 132), Marine and Army coast artillery, and gunfire from destroyer Meade (DD-602) sink four Japanese merchant transport/cargo ships off the northern coast of Guadalcanal: Kinugasa Maru, Hirokawa Maru, Yamazuki Maru, and Yamura Maru. Meade also rescues survivors from sunken destroyers Walke (DD-416) and Preston (DD-379).
-Although the United States suffers the greater loss in warships in the savagely fought series of engagements on 12-15 November, the Japanese withdraw and never again send large naval forces into the waters around Guadalcanal; the ultimate outcome of the struggle for that island is decided.
-USAAF B-17s bomb Japanese shipping at Rabaul, sinking supply ship No.3 Unkai Maru and damaging transport Azuma Maru.

Nov 15, 1943
-U.S. Advanced Naval Base and Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Funafuti, Ellice Islands, are established.
-Submarine Crevalle (SS-291) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kyokko Maru off San Antonio, Zambales province.
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) lands supplies at Nasipit, Mindanao, and evacuates people.

Nov 15, 1944
-TG 78.14 (Captain Lord Ashbourne, RN) lands Army troops (31st Division) on Mapia Island, 160 nautical miles northeast of Sansapor.
-Marines reoccupy Ngeregong Island, finding that the Japanese have abandoned it after being pounded by Marine aircraft and LCI(L)-bombardment.
-Submarine Barbel (SS-316) attacks Japanese convoy in the South China Sea about 250 miles east of Tourane, French Indochina, sinking transports Misaki Maru and Sugiyama Maru.
-Submarine Guavina (SS-362) sinks abandoned Japanese army cargo ship Yutaka Maru, damaged the day before by Navy carrier-based aircraft, off Mindoro.
-Submarine Jack (SS-259), operating in the South China Sea, sinks Japanese transports Nichiei Maru and No.2 Yuzan Maru.
-Submarine Queenfish (SS-393) attacks Japanese convoy HI-81, and sinks army cargo ship/aircraft transport Akitsu Maru at southern entrance of Tsushima Strait, about 60 miles east of Saishu Island.
-Japanese supply ship Kurasaki sinks as the result of damage inflicted by submarine Raton (SS-270) the previous day, north-northwest of Cape Bolinao, Luzon.
-Submarine Saury (SS-189) damages Japanese guardboat Kojo Maru, northwest of the Bonins.
-Submarines Sterlet (SS-392) and Silversides (SS-236) damage Japanese guardboat No.12 Hachiryu Maru northwest of Ogasawara-Gunto. No.12 Hachiryu Maru reaches port, but apparently performs no more service.
-PB4Y completes destruction of Japanese ship Celebes Maru, aground since 10 November 1944 off Bondoc Point, Luzon.
-Navy land-based aircraft sink Japanese ship Harufuji Maru off Borneo.
-USAAF P-38s damage Japanese gunboat Man-Yo Maru off Balikpapan.
-RAF Liberators bomb Japanese shipping at Mergui, sinking No.3 Tanshin Maru and communications boat Kasumi.

 

Nov 16, 1942
-U.S. Army 32nd Division and Australian 7th Division land south of Buna, New Guinea.
Submarine Haddock (SS-231) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Nichinan Maru.
-Submarine Seal (SS-183) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Boston Maru off Palaus. Just 12 seconds after firing her torpedoes at the cargo ship, Seal is rammed by another enemy vessel; the damage leads to the termination of her patrol.
-Japanese destroyer Harukaze is damaged by mine off Surabaya, Java.

Nov 16, 1943
-Submarine Corvina (SS-216) is sunk by Japanese submarine I-176, south of Truk.
-PBYs attack Japanese shipping off New Guinea, sinking cargo vessel Kyoritsu Maru.
-USAAF B-24 aircraft bomb Japanese shipping at Jaluit and Imidj atolls.
-Japanese minelayer Ukishima is lost to unknown cause, 11 miles off Hatsushima, Japan.

Nov 16, 1944
-Submarine Scabbardfish (SS-397) sinks Japanese transport Kisaragi Maru north by west of Chichi Jima.
-Submarine Tambor (SS-198) sinks Japanese guardboat Takashiro Maru southwest of Torishima.
-Japanese guardboat Kojo Maru, damaged the previous day by submarine Saury (SS-189), sinks northwest of the Bonins.
-Other Japanese losses include heavy cruiser Haguro, light cruiser Oyodo, and destroyer Yukikaze damaged by aircraft off Brunei, North Borneo; merchant tanker Asokawa Maru damaged by unspecified cause off Brunei; and fleet tanker Kyoei Maru sunk by USAAF B-24 and P-38 aircraft; and Man-yo Maru damaged off Tarakan, Borneo.
-In the Indian Ocean, the U.S. freighter Mary Ball rescues 17 survivors of U.S. tanker Fort Lee, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-181 on 2 November 1944, but not before she has fired on the lifeboat until identifying it as friendly. Fortunately, there are no casualties.

 

Nov 17, 1941
-Congress amends the Neutrality Act of 1939 by Joint Resolution; U.S. merchant ships can now be armed and can enter war zones.
-Bureau of Navigation directs that naval district personnel who received Armed Guard training be assigned to Little Creek, Virginia, or San Diego, California, for further instruction. They will be transferred to Armed Guard centers at New York, New York, and Treasure Island, California, for assignment to merchant ships.
-Special Japanese envoy Kurusu Saburo arrives in Washington and confers with Secretary of State Cordell Hull.

Nov 17, 1942
-Submarine Searaven (SS-196) sinks Japanese transport Nissei Maru in Flying Fish Cove, off Christmas Island.
-Submarine Salmon (SS-182), attacking Japanese convoy off west coast of Luzon, sinks repair ship Oregon Maru about 65 miles northwest of Manila.

Nov 17, 1943
-Destroyers bombard Japanese airfield at Buka, Bougainville, Solomons.
-Japanese planes attack convoy carrying Marine reinforcements to Bougainville, Solomons. High speed transport McKean (APD-5) is sunk by aerial torpedo 19 miles southwest of Cape Torokina.
-Submarine Capelin (SS-289) departs Darwin, Australia for Molucca and Celebes Seas. She is never heard from again.
-Submarine Drum (SS-228) sinks Japanese submarine depot ship Hie Maru (which had eluded Drum on 11 November) north-northwest of New Ireland.

Nov 17, 1944
-Attack transport Alpine (APA-92) is damaged by kamikaze off Leyte. Elsewhere, during a Japanese air raid on shipping off Red Beach, Leyte, freighter Benjamin Ide Wheeler is damaged by bombs; there are no casualties.
-TBM (VC 82) from escort carrier Anzio (CVE-57) and destroyer escort Lawrence C. Taylor (DE-415) sink Japanese submarine I-26 in Philippine Sea.
-Submarine Bluegill (SS-242) is damaged by depth charges in Makassar Strait but remains on patrol.
-Submarines Burrfish (SS-312) and Ronquil (SS-396) battle Japanese guardboat Fusa Maru in a spirited surface gunnery action fought in heavy weather south of Hachiro Jima, central Honshu; American gunfire damages the enemy patrol craft, but not before she in turn damages Burrfish. Ronquil is damaged by own gunfire (premature explosion of 40-millimeter shell or contact with lifeline stanchion) and is forced to terminate her patrol. Fusa Maru is written off as a total loss and performs no more active service.
-Submarine Gunnel (SS-253) attacks Japanese convoy and sinks torpedo boat Hiyodori and merchant tanker Shunten Maru 130 miles east of Tourane, French Indochina. Destroyer Shiokaze and submarine chaser Ch 21's hunter-killer operations are ineffective.
-Submarine Picuda (SS-382) sinks Japanese landing ship Mayasan Maru and damages merchant tanker Awagawa Maru.
-Submarine Spadefish (SS-411) sinks Japanese escort carrier Shinyo 140 miles northeast of Shanghai, China, in Yellow Sea and damages landing ship Shinshu Maru.
-Submarine Sunfish (SS-281) damages Japanese army transport Edogawa Maru west of Quelpart Island; although Coast Defense Ship No.61 claims her destruction, Sunfish escapes. Edogawa Maru sinks the next day.
-PROJECT MIKE continues as USAAF B-24s (42d Bomb Squadron) lay 8 mines in effective locations in Futami Ko, Chichi Jima.
-USAAF P-38s sink Japanese ships Jinko Maru and No.3 Yawata Maru off Merida.
-Japanese merchant tanker Seian Maru runs aground off entrance to Subic Bay.

 

Nov 18, 1942
-USAAF B-17s damage Japanese destroyers Umikaze and Kawakaze off Buna, New Guinea.
-British submarine HMS Trusty sinks Japanese army cargo ship Columbia Maru off Penang, Malaya.
-USAAF B-17s (5th Air Force) sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Havana Maru off Kahili airfield, Bougainville.

Nov 18, 1943
-Carrier force TG 50.4 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) attacks Nauru in support of the unfolding operations to capture the Gilberts.
Submarine Bluefish (SS-222) sinks Japanese destroyer Sanae and damages oiler Ondo 90 miles south of Basilan Island. In return Ondo engages the submarine with gunfire.
-Submarine Crevalle (SS-291) attacks Japanese landing ship/aircraft transport Akitsu Maru, escorted by torpedo boat Tomodzuru; although Crevalle claims destruction of her quarry, Akitsu Maru survives unscathed.

Nov 18, 1944
-Destroyer escort Lawrence C. Taylor (DE-415) and TBM (VC 82) from escort carrier Anzio (CVE-57) sink Japanese submarine I-41 in Philippine Sea.
-Submarine Pampanito (SS-383) sinks Japanese depot ship No.17 Banshu Maru and merchant cargo ship No.1 Shinko Maru.
-Submarines Peto (SS-265), Spadefish (SS-411) and Sunfish (SS-281) operate against the same Japanese convoy attacked the previous day in the East China Sea west of Saishu Island, Peto sinks army cargo ships Aisakasan Maru and Chinkai Maru; Spadefish sinks auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 156; Sunfish sinks army transport Seisho Maru.
-Submarine Saury (SS-189) damages Japanese merchant cargo ship No.11 Asahi Maru.
-Japanese planes raid U.S. shipping off Leyte; freighter Nicholas J. Sinnott is near-missed by a kamikaze. There are no casualties among the 40-man merchant complement, the 80 Army passengers or the 26-man Armed Guard. Off Tacloban, Armed Guard gunners on board freighter Gilbert Stuart shoot the tail off a kamikaze which nevertheless crashes their ship, triggering fires that are ultimately brought under control with the help of fleet tug Chickasaw (ATF-83). While 5 of the 39-man merchant complement perish in the attack, only 1 of the 29-man Armed Guard is killed in action. Freighter Cape Romano is damaged by near-miss of bomb.
-PROJECT MIKE continues as USAAF B-24s (42d Bomb Squadron) lay 12 mines in effective locations in Futami Ko, Chichi Jima. B-24s sink auxiliary sailing vessel Sumiei Maru off Haha Jima.
-Off Borneo, aircraft damage Japanese escort destroyer Okinawa off Labuan. Guardboats No.6 Kompira Maru, Benten Maru, and Eikoku Maru are sunk by U.S. aircraft off Tarakan.