This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Hugh Spencer]

5th August 1943
299 Lancasters, 195 Halifaxes and 111 Stirlings raided Mannheim/Ludwigshafen, 34 aircraft lost.
The target area for this double attack was clear of cloud and the Pathfinder marking plan worked perfectly. Ground markers were placed on the eastern side of Mannheim so that the bombing of the Main Force, approaching from the west, could move back across Mannheim and then into Ludwigshaven on the western bank of the Rhine. The creepback did not become excessive and severe destruction was caused in both targets. Mannheim's normally detailed air-raid report did not give any specific details of property damage or casualties. It is probable that the raid was so severe that the normal report gathering and recording process broke down. The Mannheim records speak only of 'a catastrophe' and give general comments on the activities of the air-raid services and the behaviour of the population which are both described as 'vorbildlich' (exemplary). More detail was available from Ludwigshaven where the central and southern parts of the town were devastated. The fire department recorded 1,993 separate fires including 3 classed as 'fire areas' and 986 as large fires. 139 of the fires were in industrial areas. 1,080 houses, 6 military and 4 industrial buildings were destroyed and 8 more industrial buildings were seriously damaged including the I.G.Farben works. 127 peope were killed and 568 were injured. 10 of the dead were Flak troops. A further 1,605 people were described as suffering from eye injuries. The relatively small number of deaths may be an indication that many of the German cities were evacuating parts of their population after the recent firestorm disaster at Hamburg and other heavy raids.
4 Mosquitoes went to Dusseldorf. 25 aircraft went minelaying in the German Bight, near Texel and off Brest and Lorient, all without loss.

[Hugh Spencer]

6th September 1943
257 Lancasters and 147 Halifaxes attacked Munich, 16 aircraft lost. The Pathfinders found that Munich was mostly covered by cloud and neither their ground-markers nor their sky-markers were very effective. Most of the Main Force crews could do no more than bomb on a timed run from the Ammersee, a lake situated 21 miles south-west of the target. The bombing was mostly scattered over the southern and western parts of the city. No report was available from Munich.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: US VIII Air Support Command Mission 48: 3 marshalling yards were targeted. 72 B-26B Marauders were dispatched to 2 marshalling yards at Ghent, Belgium; 31 bombed one yard and 32 bombed the second yard. The 36 B-26s dispatched to the marshalling yard at Courtrai, France were recalled due to weather.
....The United States 101st Airborne Division troops leave New York by ship for Britain.

EASTERN FRONT: The sectors of Bryansk and Donets find the Red Army making excellent advances against the defending Germans. Red army forces continued their attacks, liberating Artemovsk, Kuhtov and Mikhailovsky.
....Another experte was lost over Russia. Hptm. Heinz Schmidt of 6./JG 52 (173 kills) went missing in action near Marker. There was a belief that he was possibly shot down by mistake by a Hungarian fighter.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation Baywood Day 3: Montgomery's Eighth Army was taking its time liberating the peninsula's toe. In three days with no opposition, the British have crawled 15 miles (24 kilometres) to Bagnara on Calabria's north coast.
....The Allies' main Italian invasion force sailed from North African ports and headed for Salerno, 25 miles (40 kilometres) south of Naples. More than 450 ships were carrying 69,000 American and British troops commanded by General Mark Clark, Commanding General U.S. Fifth Army. The Allies would land at Salerno on 9 September, and Clark confidently expected to take Naples five days later.
....In the air, 130+ USAAF XII Bomber Command B-17s bombed the airfield at Viterbo and the town of Civitavecchia; 200+ B-25 Mitchells and B-26s hit landing grounds at Grazzanise. Weather hampered operations of the fighters and medium and light bombers of the Twelfth Air Force and RAF, and only a few targets (guns, roads, railroads, and troops) were attacked during missions over the toe of Italy. In Sardinia USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers and fighters hit the Pula radar station and town of Pabillonis.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: US VIII Air Support Command flew Missions 50 and 51 without loss. 144 B-26B Marauders were dispatched to the marshalling yards at Ghent, Belgium and Rouen, France. The Ghent mission was recalled when bad weather prevented the fighter escort from taking off. 66 B-26s hit Rouen and 126 B-26s bombed the marshalling yards at Amiens and Serqueux, France.
....Squadron Leader Johnny Checketts, RAF No. 485(NZ) Sqn. (Biggin Hill) flying a Spitfire IX, was shot down during a dogfight over France involving some 20 Focke-Wulf 190s. With no ammunition left, Checketts had no chance and his Spitfire was soon belching flames through the cockpit. Badly burned, he parachuted to safety and was looked after and hidden by the French for several weeks until he and 12 other escaping servicemen were crammed into a small fishing boat and smuggled across the channel back to England. He had burns to his face, legs and arms and was wounded in both legs, knees and arms.
....During the Ameins raid, twelve aircraft of RAF No. 317 Sqdrn (Polish) led by S/LDR. KORNICKI took to the air to play the part of escort cover to the first “box” of two “boxes” of 36 Marauders in each. It was whilst whirling left that F/O. J. Walawski on the right hand wing, was left behind while weaving. He saw a Spitfire VII go diving past him and also six FW 190s at 8,000 feet above him at 25,000 feet. He dived down and came up again with a diving Bf109 and a pursued Spitfire Vb as he was giving emergency boost. He went in getting the Bf 109 into his sight at 200 yards and let him have it. The enemy aircraft pulled up and F/O. J. Walawski was able to give him another burst, using all his cannon shells and 400 rounds of .303 ammunition. This manoeuvre brought on a stall and spin and when he looked again he saw the Bf 109 crash on the ground and burst into flames. F/O. J. Walawski claimed it as destroyed
....Unternehmen Sizilien. 'Scharnhorst' together with the battleship 'Tirpitz', and the destroyers Z-27, Z-29, Z-30, Z-31, Z-33, 'Erich Steinbrinck', 'Karl Galster', 'Hans Lody' and 'Theodor Riedel', left Altenfiord under the command of Admiral Kummetz, to attack the allied installations in the island of Spitzbergen.
....Luftwaffenpersonalamt issued an order for Jagdfliegerfuhrer 4 to be renamed Jafu Bretagne and for the creation of a new Jafu 4 and for a Jafu 5, although there was evidence that Jafu 4 may have been using Jafu Bretagne as early as July 1943. The headquarters of Jafu Bretagne was initially located in a monastery in Rennes. Obstlt. Dr. Erich Mix gave up his position as Jagdfliegerfuhrer of Jafu 4.

GERMANY: US VIII Bomber Command flew Mission 91: Aircraft and bearing factories in and around Stuttgart, Germany were targeted but extensive clouds prevented all but a few B-17s from attacking the primary targets; 45 B-17s and a P-47 Thunderbolt were lost. Formations became separated and disorganized and attacked targets of opportunity in a wide area. Fighters from JG 50 shot down 4 B-17s during the raid. Credit for one bomber went to Major Graf and another to Oblt. Grislawski for the loss of 3 of the specially-equipped Bf 109s. One pilot was killed. Major Graf was shot down but survived a crash landing. Oblt. Walther Dahl of III./JG 3 brought down 2 of the bombers to bring his score to 53 kills.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet forces continued their drive through the Donets Basin in the Ukraine capturing the steel centers at Makeyevka and Kromatorsk, and chemical works at Slavyansk. In central Russia, the Soviets took the rail hub at Konotop and pushed toward Kiev and the Dnieper. The capture of these cities resulted in the separation of the German Heeresgruppe Mitte (von Kluge) and Heeresgruppe Sud (von Manstein).
....A Bf 110G-2 from 13.(Z)/JG 5 collided with a P-39 in combat near Havningsberg. Crewmen Ofw. Hans Kolodziej and Uffz. Willi Schipper were both killed.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation Baywood Day 4: The British 8th Army continued creeping through southern Italy, taking Gioia Tauro on Calabria's northern coast. German demolitions caused more resistance than actual German troops. Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, Commander in Chief South, ordered his 16.Panzerdivision to occupy hills surrounding Salerno, the site of the Allies' upcoming invasion.
....In the air, the USAAF's Twelfth Air Force dispatches B-17s to hit Capodichino Airfield, Villa Literno marshalling yard, Gaeta harbor, and Minturno railroad facilities; weather prevented a B-17 attack on Pomigliano airfield. B-25 Mitchells and B-26s hit Capua airfield and landing grounds at Grazzanise. US and RAF planes operated on a reduced scale, flying patrols and hitting railroads and targets of opportunity on the Italian toe.
....HMS 'Puckeridge' was escorting convoy NSM-1 from Gibraltar to Oran and was attacked by 'U-617' with a spread of 4 torpedoes of which 2 hit the ship, causing her to sink about 40 miles east of Gibraltar. 129 men were rescued.

ENGLAND: 10 Me 410s of V./KG 2 along with 12 Fw 190s from other units, including SKG 10, were tasked to attack Cambridge during the night. One of the Fw 190s, flown by Helmut Breier was chased by S/L Howitt of RAF No. 85 Sqdrn and shot down south of Felixstowe. Another Fw 190 was chased by F/L Houghton of RAf No. 85 Sqdrn but was lost due to searchlight interference. However a Fw 190 flown by Hptm. Kurt Geisler of 3./SKG 10 crashed at Filey's Farm at Hawstead near Bury St. Edmunds. Hptm. Geisler was a former transport pilot and holder of the Ritterkreuz before becoming Gruppenkommandeur of 1./SKG 10 in March 1943 and had flown over 300 missions.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: US VIII Air Support Command flew Mission 52: In France, marshalling yards at Lille and St Pol were targeted but confusion at the rendezvous point caused one group and half of another to abort the mission. St Pol was hit by 81 B-26B Marauders. US VIII Bomber Command flew Mission 92 in 3 forces: 105 B-17 Flying Fortresses bombed Evere Airfield at Brussels, Belgium, 3 B-24s bombed Alkmaar Airfield at Bergen, the Netherlands and 19 hit a convoy off Texel Island and 147 B-17s were dispatched to attack V-weapon site at Watton, France, but weather was a problem and 3 groups aborted the mission but 58 hit the target. Strikes 1 and 2 were escorted by 178 P-47 Thunderbolt that claimed 3-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; a P-47 was lost. The attacks greatly disrupted the German plan for this new “Blitz” against England.
....'U-596' shelled the 'Hamidieh' in the Atlantic for seven minutes. The sailing vessel caught fire and the stern sank after 20 minutes, but the fore part burned for about eight hours.
....'U-402' shot down RAF Wellington aircraft, Squadron 172/D. Another two Wellingtons were also involved in the attack, one of them had to crash land.
....'U-669' was sunk in the Bay of Biscay northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain, by depth charges from a Canadian aircraft (RCAF-Sqn. 407).
....One Section of Spitfires from RAF No. 306 Sqdrn (Polish) took off from Friston, and sighted a boat with one person in it 10 miles off Fecamp. The position was given and a Walrus arrived on the scene and picked him up. The person turned out to be a German sailor.

EASTERN FRONT: The German 17.Armee began the evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead across the Strait of Kerch to the Crimea. The Soviet Army captured Baturin, east of Konotop, and Zvenkov in the Kharkov sector. The Germans began evacuations at Stalino.
....Hitler visited the HQ of Heeresgruppe Sud (von Manstein) were he was briefed on the disasters on that front. That afternoon, he flew back to Germany. It was the last time he would set foot on Soviet territory.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation Baywood Day 5: The British 8th Army tried to trap the German rearguard in the toe of the Italian boot. Commandos and infantry landed at Pizzo on Calabria's northern coast, but the Germans sidestepped them. Montgomery's army has advanced only 60 miles (97 kilometres) in five days.
....U.S. Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor began a spy mission to see whether a surprise parachute drop by the 82d Airborne Division could capture Rome. Posing as a downed Allied airman, Taylor -- the 82d's artillery commander -- went to Rome and found it crawling with Germans. After meeting with Italian Prime Minister Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio, Taylor realized the 82d would be cut to pieces. He sent a secret signal to cancel the drop. Taylor then escaped.
....In the air, USAAF XII Bomber Command B-17s bombed 2 satellite airfields at Foggia while B-25s and B-26s hit road and rail bridges at Saptri and Trebisacce and roads at Lauria. A-20s of the Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force supported British landing on 7/8 September near Pizzo in an unsuccessful attempt to cut off enemy retreat up west coast of the Italian toe. Medium and light bombers, in an afternoon raids, bombed Crotone airfield and roadblock and gun batteries north of Catanzaro. USAAF P-40s hit the landing ground at Pabillonis and barges off Portoscuso.
....HQ US Army Air Forces decided to transfer Lieutenant General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General Ninth Air Force, and his HQ staff from Africa to the United Kingdom and to reform the Ninth Air Force as a tactical air force in the European Theater of Operations by absorbing the VIII Air Support Command.

ENGLAND: At 12.00 a Halifax bomber operating from Riccall airfield in Yorkshire was on a training flight when it went into a steep bank to starboard with smoke coming from the starboard outer engine, the pilot recovered at 9,000' but the plane then spun-in and exploded two miles S of the airfield. Ten were killed.
....At 17.05 at the same airfield a Halifax bomber had just landed when its undercarriage collapsed. The aircraft was a write off.

[Hugh Spencer]

8th September 1943
119 Wellingtons, 112 Stirlings, 16 Mosquitoes and 10 Halifaxes attacked Boulogne gun positions. 5 B-17's also flew the first American night bombing sorties of the war with RAF Bomber Command. Nos 4 and 5 Groups did not take part in the raid. There were no losses.
The target was the site of a German long-range gun battery and the marking was mainly provided by Oboe Mosquitoes, some of whom were experimenting with a new technique. But the raid was not successful. The marking and the bombing were not accurate and the battery did not appear to have been damaged.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command in England flew Missions 53 and 54 against targets in France. 68 B-26B bombed Nord Airfield at Lille and 68 B-26s bombed Vendeville Airfield at Lille. 1 B-26 was lost. 68 B-26s attacked Boulogne coastal defenses.
....The fighters of JG 26 lost another pilot when Fw. Edgar Dorre of 9./JG 26 (9 kills) was killed in combat.
....Unternehmen Sizilien:The German battleship 'Tirpitz' plus the 'Scharnhorst' and a destroyer flotilla shelled Barentsburg, Spitsbergen, Norway and then landed troops that destroy facilities at Gronfjord and Advent Bay. All of the German forces then returned to their bases in Norway.
....'U-760' was sailing on the surface alongside 'U-262' when they were attacked by an RAF Wellington Mk XIV of No. 179 Squadron based at Gibraltar about 150 miles (241 km) out of Cape of Finisterre. The 'U-760' arrived at Vigo harbor and was put under the supervision of the Spanish Navy cruiser 'Navarra'. After 24 hours the boat had not left the harbour (the neutrality laws allowed this time frame for emergency repairs) and it was interned. The boat was taken to El Ferrol where she remained until the end of the war. On July 23, 1945 'U-760' was taken to England for Operation Deadlight.
....'U-662' was listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay, cause unknown. All hands, 52-men were lost.
.... 'U-669' (Type VIIC) was listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay with all 52 crew on 8 Sept. There is no explanation for its loss.

MEDITERRANEAN: Italian Prime Minister Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio sent a message to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force Mediterranean, repudiating the surrender terms with the Allies. The Italian government was beginning to feel apprehensive of letting Allies freely into Rome. Italy was still capable of fighting for the Allies. Eisenhower, upset over the lack of progress in the surrender talks, broadcast Italy's surrender over the radio at 1830 hours local. Italy was now placed in a tough situation, to either confirm the surrender, or face warring both the Allies and Germany. At 1945 hours local, Badoglio informed his country of the Italian surrender. Italians cheered and the Germans became infuriated. The main body of the Italian Fleet sailed from La Spezia and Genoa with 3 battleships, 6 cruisers, and 9 destroyers to surrender to the Allies.
....The Germans decided to bolster the air units of Luftwaffenkommando Sud-Ost and rushed new units to the area. Units transferring were mainly III. and IV./JG 27 with Bf 109Gs, I. and II./StG 3 with Ju 87Ds, 11./ZG 26 with Ju 88Cs and elements of LG 1 and SAGr 126.
....The British 8th Army liberated Locri.
....US Ninth Air Force B-24s bombed the landing ground at Foggia, as convoys approached Salerno to begin the Allied invasion of Italy (Operation AVALANCHE).
....In Italy, the US Twelfth Air Force sent about 130 B-17s to bomb Frascati; 160+ medium bombers hit a highway at Lauria and bridges at Trebisacce and Saptri; fighters hit Pabillonis, Sardinia, covered Allied forces near Pizzo, and bombed and strafed roads and vehicles in the Lamezia-Vibo Valentia-Pizzo-Catanzaro areas; and bombers hit roads and junctions in the Naples area during the night.

EASTERN FRONT: Stalino, the vital industrial centre of the Donets basin, Krasnoarmeisk and Yasinovataya were liberated by the Soviets.
....Soviet submarine Shch-203 of the Black Sea Fleet was sunk by mines off Cape Tarkhankutskiy, Sevastopol.
....'U-983' was sunk north of Loba, after a collision with 'U-988'. 38 of the 43 crewmen survived.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: Operation 'Starkey' (a rehearsal for the invasion of France), the US Eighth Air Force in England dispatched a record number of 330 heavy bombers against various targets in France. 20 B-17s bombed the industrial area at Paris and 48 others hit the secondary target, the Beaumont Suroise Airfield. They claimed 16-2-9 Luftwaffe aircraft. 2 B-17s were lost. 59 B-17s bombed Tille Airfield at Beauvais, 37 B-17s attacked Nord Airfield at Lille, 52 B-17s bombed Vendeville Airfield at Lille, 51 B-17s hit Vitry-en-Artois Airfield, 28 B-24s bombed Ft Rouge and Longuenesse Airfields at St Omer and 35 B-24s attacked Drucat Airfield at Abbeville. All missions except the Drucat Airfield mission were escorted by 215 P-47 Thunderbolts that claimed 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft. 2 P-47's were lost. The US VIII Air Support Command flew Mission 55 against coastal defenses around Boulogne, France. 202 B-26Bs hit the targets and 3 B-26s were lost. Operation 'Starkey' was a disappointment as the Luftwaffe refused to commit fighter defenses on a large scale, thus preventing possible destruction of many of their aircraft, which Allied air forces hoped to accomplish.
....The Lockheed Ventura made its last operation with RAF Bomber Command.
....Midget submarine "Welman 10" which was being operated by SOE sank alongside the depot ship HMS 'Forth'. The commander (Lt B Pedersen of the Norwegian Army) made an unaided escape to the surface. There were no casualties.
....The pride of the German fleet battered the shore installations and succeeded in putting the radio station out of action when troops of the German 349th Grenadier Regiment landed and blew up the Allied installations. The attacking force comprised two battleships, 'Tirpitz' and the 'Scharnhorst', and ten destroyers. The 'Tirpitz' was Germany's most powerful battleship, yet today's action was the first time that her heavy guns have been in action since she was built two years ago.
....Major Johannes Seifert returned toJG 26 as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 26. Exiled to Bulgaria on a request from his mother (after his brother died), Major Seifert had appealed to General Galland for his return to combat duty. Galland agreed and returned him to his old unit at Lille.

MEDITERRANEAN: The Italian mainland is invaded in Operations 'Avalanche' and 'Slapstick'. Under protection of the USN's Task Force 80 (Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), the Allied Fifth Army (Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, USA) landed on the assault beaches in the Gulf of Salerno in Operation 'Avalanche' . Salerno had been chosen as the site for the invasion because it was the northern-most point to which the Allies could provide air cover from bases in Sicily. On the left flank, British Commandos and U.S. Rangers landed at Vietri and Maiori respectively with orders to advance northward and capture passes through the hills. The British 46 and 56 Divisions landed south of Salerno meeting strong German resistance but managed to get ashore. The U.S. 36th Infantry Division landed north and south of Paestum and took heavy casualties because of strong German resistance. Once ashore, the Americans met less resistance.
....On the right flank of the British X Corps the 56th British Infantry Division met no opposition as it disembarked on empty beaches, but has come under fierce counter-attacks from tanks as it advances on Montocorvino airfield. Others from the division reached the village of Battipaglia, but - despite the aid of naval gunfire - could not dislodge the Germans. Troops from the 46th Division were driving northwards along the coast road to Salerno itself.
....To the south of the Sele river - which divided the two Allied beach-heads - two regiments of the US 36th "Texas" Division were wading ashore when flares lit the entire scene. The Americans - many facing their first battle - came under withering fire from unseen German defenders and threatened to panic. Weeks of careful planning and rehearsal were forgotten as soldiers dived for cover and landing craft turned back towards the transports out at sea. While the Texas Division sorted itself out - making its way eventually to its first objective, one-and-a-half miles inland - three battalions of US Rangers succeeded in taking Chiunzi Mount during the night. By dawn they had taken the twin peaks overlooking the pass and the main highway to Naples.
....Meanwhile, the British launched Operation 'Slapstick'. The British 1 Airborne Division made an amphibious landing at Taranto and then captured the airfield at Foggia. In the hastily-improvised Operation 'Slapstick', six British warships entered port to land 3,600 British paratroopers on Italian soil. No Germans were to be seen, and the Italian garrison cheered as the British came ashore. Taranto was beyond the range of air fighter cover from Sicily, but the Allies wanted to secure a port to supply advances up Italy's eastern flank. They also wanted to ensure that Italian warships did not fall into German hands; but the Italian fleet is already under way to surrender at Malta.
....German troops tried to occupy Bari harbor. Major General Nicola Bellomo, commander Commander in Chief IX Territorial Defence Command, formed a group of about 100 men and counter-attacked the German position, with himself personally leading the action. After two hours of fighting, the Germans were ousted out of Bari.
....The Germans unleashed a new weapon of warfare which claimed as its first victim one of the Italian ships heading to surrender. The battleship 'Roma' was hit by a "glider bomb" in the Gulf of Asinara off Sardinia and blew up soon after firing her first and last shots in battle. The ship was en route to Malta from the Italian naval base at La Spezia. The Germans have two types of glider bomb - the Ruhrstahl SD-1400 and the Henschel HS-293 - which were released from the air to hit targets on the ground. In effect, they were unmanned missiles which could be used against targets on land as well as at sea. Amongst the 1,523 dead on the 'Roma' was Admiral Carlo Bergamini, commander of the Italian combined battle fleet (hence senior naval commander afloat in the Italian forces.)
....One of the clauses of the armistice between the Allies and Italy specified that the ships of the Italian Navy, bearing black circular panels in sign of surrender, would sail to Malta to await their final destiny. The Italian ships sailed but did not bear the black circular panels. At 0300 hours local, three battleships, the 'Roma', the 'Vittorio Veneto' and 'Littorio', left La Spezia along with 3 cruisers and 8 destroyers. Instead of sailing for Malta, they headed for the naval port of La Maddelena on Sardinia and were sighted by Allied aircraft at dawn. At 1340 hours, the Italians learned that the port had been occupied by the Germans and they turned south and headed for Malta. German aircraft sighted the fleet and attacked but miss. At the same time, 6 Dornier Do 217K-2s of II/KG 100 tookoff from Istres, France, armed with Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-1 (Fritz X) remote control bombs with a 320 kilogram warhead. The first attack came while the ships were about 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) southwest of Cape Testa, Sardinia. The first Fritz X was directed toward the 'Littorio' and it fell near the battleship temporarily blocking the rudder; the crew went to auxiliary rudder and continued. At 1545 hours, a Fritz X struck 'Roma' on the starboard side, goes through the hull and explodes in the water reducing the ship's speed to 10 knots. A second Fritz X hit 'Roma' and exploded in the forward superstructure starting a fire. The ship listed to starboard and sank with 88 officers and 1,264 sailors. Other Italian ships lost were the cruiser 'Taranto', destroyers 'Maestrale', 'Corazziere', 'Nicole Zeno' and FR 21 (Former French destroyer Lion) and Torpedo Boats 'Antonio Cascino' and 'Procione', all of which were scuttled in various ports to prevent German capture. The destroyer 'Antonio Da Noli' sank off Corsica after hitting a mine.
....In the air, USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s hit the satellite airfield at Foggia in support of British airborne landings. The USAAF Twelfth Air Force sent 100+ B-17s to bomb bridges at Capua and Cancello Arnone, and 240+ B-25s and B-26s to hit railroad-bridges at Potenza and landing ground at Scanzano.
....German forces entered Rome, brushing aside the Italian garrison and forcing the government to flee.
....Iran declared war on Germany.

EASTERN FRONT: The Russians took Bakhmach after an advance west from Konotop. The German 17.Armee began to pull out of its forward position in the Kuban. The Red Army had set out with a powerful thrust towards Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, which the Germans have turned into a major base. This followed the storming of the railway junction at Bakhmach after two days of fighting. Red Star, the army's newspaper, said "we feel the beginning of the end."
....Lt. Wilhelm 'Willi' Batz of JG 52 scored his 20th victory while Oblt. Walter Nowotny of JG 54 finally reached the 200 kill mark.

GERMANY: Oberst Dr. Ernst Kupfer, Geschwaderkommodore of StG 2 was appointed the first Waffengeneral der Schlachtflieger with 5 Schlachtgeschwader under his command. They comprised 5 Gruppen equipped with Ju 87s, Hs 129s and Fw 190s. Oblt. Hans-Karl Stepp took his place as Geschwaderkommodore of StG 2.

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: The US front at Salerno was quiet and the front was pushed inland. Most of the German reserves concentrated in the British sector and local counterattacks recaptured positions lost that morning. Other German forces retreated north, intending to form a defensive line across Italy.
....Although now firmly established at Salerno, the Allies did not have enough room between the coast and the Germans to allow use of the ports at Salerno and Vietri. The U.S. 36th Infantry Division, set about capturing high ground from Ogliastro to Albanella. Meanwhile, the British X Corps pushed on at Battipaglia to capture Montecorvino airfield while 46 Division was to clear Salerno and the corridors through the Sorrento peninsula. However, at first light the Germans struck first, driving 56 Division out of Battipaglia but Montecorvino airfield was captured by 3 Coldstream Guards and 2/6th Queen's Regiment, 169 Brigade and Faiano fell without a fight. On X Corps' left, 46 Division troops ended the day in a stalemate with German forces at Cava di Tirreni. At the Gulf's southern end, the U.S. 45th Infantry Division went ashore virtually unmolested to supported the 36th Infantry Division - most defenders having been moved to the north against X Corps.
....The British Eighth Army reached the Catanzaro 'neck' after an advance of about 100 miles (161 km). General Montgomery wished to pause here but was reluctantly persuaded to push forward to relieve pressure on the landings at Salerno. 1 Airborne Division's patrol from Taranto reached Monopoli on the Adriatic Coast and found it clear of Germans, but at Castellanata 10 Parachute Battalion had a sharp engagement in which the Divisional commander, Major-General G. F. Hopkinson, was mortally wounded. V Corps troops were now being shipped into Taranto from where they were intended eventually to come under Montgomery's command.
....German reaction to the Italian surrender was predictably swift. Within hours of Eisenhower's announcement of the Italian surrender, General von Vietinghoff, the commander of the Tenth Army, moved paratroopers and a Panzer division to occupy Rome. Five Italian divisions stationed around Rome appeared ready to defend the city, but capitulated quickly as the German commanders put Unternehmen 'Achse' (Axis) into force. Ironically, the Americans had been preparing a division-strong airborne landing in the city - but cancelled the operation when Marshal Badoglio protested.
....US Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators bombed a satellite airfield at Foggia. US Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command medium bombers hit railroad and road junctions and road net in the Castelnuovo-Pescopagano-Cassino-Capua-Formia areas; B-17 Flying Fortresses attacked the Ariano intersection and highway bridge (and bridges and roads in the area), bridges near Botena and over the Tiber River southwest of Rome, and roads, buildings, and railroad facilities at Isernia; XII Air Support Command and RAF airplanes of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force blasted heavy road movement north from Lauria and covered beachheads in the Salerno area as the British Eighth Army increased pressure on its front in an effort to prevent the Germans from concentrating against the US Fifth Army's Salerno beachhead. During the night, B-25 Mitchells hit communications centers at Corleto, Perticara, Auletta and Saptri.
....A heavy response from the Luftwaffe reached a peak at night when long-range bomber forces of the Luftwaffe flew about 100 sorties over the Allied bridgehead, the strongest reaction by the Kampfgeschwadern since the attacks on Malta in 1942. Units engaged were IV./JG 3, I., II. and III./JG 53, I./JG 77, III./JG 77, II. and III./SKG 10, II./SchG 2, II./LG 1, I. and II./KG 1, III./KG 54, I. and II./KG 76 and II./KG 77. Also involved flying from southern France were 3 Gruppen of KG 30, I. and II./KG 26 using Hs 293 glider bombs and II. and III./KG 100 using Fritz-X bombs.
....Minelayer HMS 'Abdiel' which was bringing in supplies and a holding force after the announcement of the Italian armistice, was sunk in the port of Taranto by German GS type magnetic mines laid the previous evening by MFP478 and S54 and S61. There were 48 casualties amongst the crew plus 120 soldiers.
...."Be pleased to inform Their Lordships that the Italian Fleet lies at anchor under the guns of the Fortress of Malta." With these words Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, the commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, signalled to the admiralty the total surrender of the Italian navy. Flying black flags of surrender and escorted by ships of the Royal Navy, units of the Italian fleet were anchored off Valetta's Grand Harbour. More ships were heading for Gibraltar and other Allied ports, removing the naval threat in the Mediterranean.
....The Allies occuppied the Dodecanese island of Castelrosso.

EASTERN FRONT: Red Army forces try their hand at amphibious landings hitting the Black Sea coast near Novorossiysk. The makeshift nature of the attack created a great deal of confusion among the Soviet units and unexpectedly heavy resistance and quick reaction from the Germans led to heavy losses. A similar assault in the sea of Azoz was conducted at Mariupol. It too was met by heavy resistance from Rumanian artillery units which caused heavy losses. Other Red Army forces took Barvenkovo, Volnovakha and Chaplino.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command flew Mission 56 against 2 locations without loss. 19 B-26Bs bombed the shipyard at Le Trait when the primary target was obscured by clouds and 32 B-26Bs attacked Beaumont le Roger Airfield.
....A Ju 88A-12 from Blindflugschule 4 collided with a Ju 86 and crashed into the water of København southern harbour near the locks about 200 metre from the shore. The crew of four all died and were all laid to rest in København Bispebjerg Cemetery. The Ju 86 was damaged less than 10% and pilot Ofw. Rudolf Rowalowsky landed it safely at Fliegerhorst Kastrup.
....In the late afternoon, in bad weather, W/O Grondowski of RAF No. 315 (Polish) Sqdrn was leading a section consisting of himself and two pilots, Sgt Zygmund and Sgt Kolek, in a local formation flight. Unfortunately, he led them away from the prescribed area, and lost them in the hills beyond Belfast. All three crashed within a short time of each other, W/O Grondowski and Sgt Kolek being killed. Sgt Zygmund had a lucky escape, for he was knocked out when his aircraft crashed, soon came round and was able to climb out of the wreckage and walk to the nearest road.

MEDITERRANEAN: The fighting at Salerno became more chaotic and piecemeal. Typical was the fight on the British 56 Division's front, where 167 Brigade and 201 Guards Brigade were subjected to sudden sharp attacks by infiltrating German units at the 'Tobacco Factory' between Battipaglia and Bellizzi. These attacks were beaten off, but neither British nor German troops were really sure of the situation. In 46 Division's sector, the fighting was also scrappy and disjointed. 139 Brigade was able to gradually relieve the Commando forces at Vietri sul Mare and on the left the US Rangers were reinforced and continued to hold their positions. A three-pronged push in the US VI Corps' sector by the 36th and 45th Infantry Divisions was held up in the left and center as troops of the 29th Panzer Grenadier Division filtered into the fighting on the plain.
....In southern Italy, British 1 Airborne Division entered Bari and then Brindisi. General Bernard Montgomery, Commanding General Eighth Army, pushed forward units of the British 5 Division towards Castrovillari and Belvedere and the Canadian 1 Division towards Crotone. General Harold Alexander's Chief-of-Staff, Major General Alexander Richardson, arrived at Montgomery's headquarters to explain the crisis at Salerno and to offer men and equipment to threaten the South flank of the Germans facing Fifth Army.
....The Italian’s on Rhodes surrender to the Germans.
....In the air, the USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command sent B-17s to bomb the Benevento marshalling yard and bridge and highway junction nearby; B-25s and B-26s hit highways and junctions at Castelnuovo, Ariano, Mignano, and Isernia; P-40s flew an uneventful sweep over southern Sardinia and USAAF and RAF aircraft of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force continued to provide beachhead cover in the Salerno area, hit road communications throughout the day, and attack road and rail bridges, junctions, airfield, and town areas at Saptri, Corleto, Perticara, Auletta, and Gioia del Colle.
.... German E-boats attacked the USN destroyer USS 'Rowan' (DD-405) in the Gulf of Salerno. 'Rowan' pursued and fired on the enemy, then, as her quarry pulled away, ceased firing and changed course to rejoin the convoy she was escorting back to Oran, French Morocco. Within 5 minutes a new contact was made, range less than 3,000 yards (2.7 kilometres). Again she changed course, to avoid torpedoes and bring her guns into position. As the range decreased to 2,000 yards (1.8 kilometres), 'Rowan' was hit by a torpedo. She sank in less than a minute, taking 202 of her 273 officers and men with her.
....Off the coast of Salerno in the morning, the USN light cruiser USS 'Savannah' (CL-42) was struck by a remote controlled Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-1 (Fritz X) glide bomb launched by a Do-217K-2 of III/KG 100. It pierced through the armored turret roof of the Number 3 Gun Turret, passing through three decks into the lower handling room where it exploded causing a gaping hole in the bottom, and tore open a seam in the ship's port side. For 30-minutes, secondary explosions in the gun room hampered firefighting efforts; 197 crewmen were killed and 15 seriously wounded. The ship arrived at Malta on 12 September and then departed for the U.S. in December.

EASTERN FRONT: German officers captured by the Red Army formed an anti-Hitler association, the "Bund deutscher Offiziere".

[Hugh Spencer]

13th September 1943
5 Oboe Mosquitoes went to Cologne and 5 to Duisburg without loss.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Stary Kermenchik, in the Donets basin, was liberated by Russian units.

MEDITERRANEAN: Hand-picked paratroopers crash-landed by glider on an Italian mountainside and snatched Mussolini to freedom. In a brilliant operation involving a hair-raising take-off down a rocky slope in a tiny aircraft, Il Duce was delivered safely to an airfield at Pratica di Mare. Hitler's order for the rescue of the former dictator was given to SS-SturmbannFührer Otto Skorzeny. He first had to locate Mussolini, whom the Italians had moved about since his arrest and fall of the 25th of July, to avoid a rescue attempt. Mussolini had been held under guard in a seaside boarding house and later in a villa on a Sardinian island. News of Italy's surrender, including the condition that he would be handed over to the Allies, was kept from him.
....Two weeks ago il Duce was moved to the Albergo di Campo Imperatore hotel, 7,000 feet up the Gran Sasso mountain in the Apennines, where he was guarded by carabinieri. The hotel is about 93 miles east-northeast of Rome at an altitude of 6,652 feet. The Italian Military Intelligence (SIM) attempting to hide the former leader from the German Intelligence agents. The only access was by cable car. An intercepted radio message gave Skorzeny the answer to his quest. But how was he to reach the hotel, normally only accessible by cable car? During a reconnaissance flight, Skorzeny saw a small lawn just behind the hotel and this was the spot on which he decided to land. A paratroop drop was out because of the altitude leaving only gliders to get the German troops into the hotel. At Practica di Mare Aerodrome Skorzeny, his Luftwaffe paratroopers from Fallsirmjager-Lehr-Battalion under the command of Major Mors and fifty SS men belonging to Skorzeny's unit, prepared for the operation which included occupying the railway terminal to prevent reinforcement by Italian troops. The raiding force were equipped with amongst other things explosives, laughing gas and forged British bank notes. The twelve DFS 230C-1 gliders, capable of carrying eight fully equipped soldiers, begin lifting off at 1230 hours local and shortly after, four of the twelve dropped out on the way for various reasons with the lead two disappearing. The "small lawn" Skorzeny had seen on his flight was in fact a small piece of very steep ground with a sheer drop at the end meaning that the gliders would have to crash land near the hotel. All gliders landed but one crash landed and injured all on board; Skorzeny's glider stopped short only a few yards from the hotel doors. He raced up to the hotel doors and kicked them in and preceded to put an Italian radio operator and his radio out of action. He made contact with Mussolini and declared "Duce, I have come to rescue you!" In four minutes the Italian dictator was outside the hotel and boarding a Fiesler Fi 156 Storch light aircraft ready to fly back to the aerodrome. Although the Fi 156 had only two seats, Skorzeny insisted that he wanted to fly back to base with Mussolini. This made the plane overloaded and 12 men held the plane on his place as the pilot ran up the engine. Finally he raised his arm and the men let go of the plane, the plane sped ahead, almost hitting a large rock, and finally disappeared over the edge. The plane landed in Rome and Mussolini and Skorzeny were flown to Vienna. The propaganda value of this mission was immense and Skorzeny and his SS men were featured in most of the media broadcasts. The truth is that the entire Gran Sasso mission was planned by Luftwaffe General Student and the Fallschirmjäger Lehr Battalion under the command of Major Mors. Only two gliders contained Skorzeny and his men from the Jagdverbande with the rest from the Fallschirmjäger Lehr Battalion. Skorzeny was responsible for Mussolini's safety and his delivery to Hitler but the mission itself was in overall command of the paratroops. Not surprisingly, they were somewhat annoyed when Skorzeny and the SS received all the kudos. Gen. Student even had the Luftwaffe make a film showing the paratroops version of events.
....British Eighth Army forces on the toe of Italy captured Crotone and pushed north, and on the Taranto front occuppied territory up to north of Castelaneta. Fighting at Salerno was marked by the effective use of the Hermann Göring Panzer Division. In the Salerno beachhead, the Germans began their first major counterattack late in the day and the German 29th Panzergrenadier Division and 16th Panzer Division drove the British out of Battipaglia once more. The British unit in the Molina Pass was under heavy pressure from the Hermann Goering Panzer Division.
....The US Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command sent B-17s to bomb the Mignano road defiles, the Benevento road bridge, and the Frosinone airfield; medium bombers hit Ariano (and trucks and road nearby), Isernia, and Castelnuovo and Formia road junctions; US and RAF aircraft of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force attacked motor transport movement, roads, and bridges in the Potenza-Auletta areas.
....The German submarine 'U-617' ran aground under British aerial attack by RAF Hudsons of No 48 and No 233 Squadrons and FAA Swordfish Mk IIs of No 833 and No. 886 Squadrons, all four based at Gibraltar, in the Mediterranean near Melilla. The wreck was destroyed by gunfire from the RN corvette HMS 'Hyacinth' and the RAN minesweeper HMAS 'Woollongong'. All 49 crewmen on the U-boat survived.

WESTERN FRONT: A Ju 88 belonging to IV./NJG 3 was on a training flight when it hit the ground at Tværmose about two kilometres west of Fliegerhorst Grove. The Ju 88 disintegrated upon impact, a fire erupted and the wreckage was engulfed in flames. The aircraft was a 100% loss and the crew of three died.

[Hugh Spencer]

14th September 1943
8 Lanasters of 617 Sqdn set out with a new 12,000 lb bomb (not the 12,000 lb Tallboy 'earthquake' bomb developed later) to attack the banks of the Dortmund-Ems Canal near Ladbergen. While the force was over the North Sea, however, a weather reconnaissance Mosquito reported that there was fog in the target area and the Lancasters were recalled. The aircraft of Flight Lieutenant D.J.H. Maltby, one of the original members of the squadron that had attacked the Ruhr dams, crashed into the sea and the crew were all killed. Maltby's body was washed ashore and is buried at Wickhambreux near Canterbury in Kent. The names of the other 6 crew members are on the Runnymede Memorial for the Missing.
8 Mosquitoes made a nuisance raid on Berlin, 1 aircraft lost.

[Njaco]

ENGLAND: The US Eighth Air Force activated the 1st, 2d, and 3d Bombardment Divisions at Brampton Grange, Horsham St Faith and Camp Blainey respectively. They were formed from complements of VIII Bomber Command's 4 bombardment wings which were redesignated Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) effective this date; each bombardment division was organized into combat bombardment wings. Commanding Officers of the Bombardment Divisions were Major General Robert B Williams (1st), Brigadier General James P Hodges (2d), and Major General Curtis E LeMay (3d).

MEDITERRANEAN: At Salerno the Germans rapidly reinforced the battle area, and the Allied situation continued to deteriorate. German General Heinrich von Vietinghoff launched a major counter-attack against the Allied beachhead, albeit with divisions which were not yet fully reconstituted after the fighting in Sicily. The Hermann Goering and 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions attacked the British X Corps, while elements of the 26th and 29th Panzer Grenadier and the 16th Panzer Divisions drove against the U.S. VI Corps and the lightly defended area along the Sele River. The Germans penetrated the American lines during the afternoon, overrunning a battalion of the 36th Infantry Division and threatening the rear of the Allied position.
....For a time, the situation was so precarious that Lieutenant General Mark Clark, Commanding General U.S. Fifth Army, directed his staff to begin planning to evacuate one of the two beachheads and land its forces on the other. American resistance stiffened along the Calore River as artillery, tank, and tank destroyer units held their ground, pouring shot after shot directly into the attacking Germans. By nightfall the German attacks faltered, and the Allies began to regroup.
.... Seaborne reinforcements from Sicily could not arrive in time, and British Eighth Army advances were being slowed by heavily damaged roads and logistic problems. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force Mediterranean, had earlier made the 82d Airborne Division available to Fifth Army, and Clark requested its use. The airborne unit represented the only force that could move to the area rapidly enough to make a difference. During the night of 13-14 September, 80+ USAAF Twelfth Air Force C-47 Skytrains dropped 1,300 soldiers of the 504th PIR into the beachhead ; these troops immediately moved into defensive positions bolstering the 36th Infantry Division.
....In southern Italy, the British Eighth Army continued to advance and took Cosenza.
....In the air, RAF heavy bombers, under the operational control of the USAAF Ninth Air Force's IX Bomber Command, hit Potenza. B-17s of the USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command bombed roads in the Torre del Greco area, a highway at Sala Consilina, and a road junction, railway and bridge at Atena Lucana; B-25s attacked a viaduct, rail and road junctions, and rail lines in the Pompeii-Castellammare di Stabia-Torre Annuziata areas; XII Air Support Command A-36 Apaches destroyed 25 to 30 vehicles near Potenza, and fighters maintained convoy patrol. USAAF and RAF light and medium bombers of the Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force hit town areas, road junctions, and vehicles in the Auletta-Pompeii-Sala Consilina-San Severino Rota areas.
....In Greece, fighting was reported between the Italian Acqui division and German units at Cephalonia. 1646 Italians would be killed in the fighting before they would surrender a week later.
....A German Fritz X guided aerial bomb crippled British carrier HMS 'Uganda' off Salerno, Italy.

EASTERN FRONT: Hptm. Gunther Rall, Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 52 was awarded the Schwerter.

WESTERN FRONT: General Josef Kammhuber was appointed commander of all the Luftwaffe night-fighting units. But he was on shaky ground. Goering felt slighted by Kammhuber when he disagreed with the "Einsitzer" nachtjagd concept then taking root and also by not attending a crisis meeting held by Goering following the Hamburg raids.
....20 year old Uffz. Herbert Schopel of 1./SAGr 128 was killed at Brest-Sud when his Fw 190A-5 suffered engine failure.
....While flying over the sea the right hand engine of a Ju 88C-6 from 10./NJG 3 caught fire and Pilot Lt. Helmut Alberti turned back towards land. Engineer Gefreiter Otto Kramm however bailed out before the Ju 88 reached the coast and landed in the sea and died. The Ju 88 crashed at Vester Hjulskov in a field belonging to Farmer A. Thøgersen. Lt. Alberti had bailed out too late at too low an altitude as his body was found near the wreckage.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command in England flew Mission 57: 108 B-26B Marauders were dispatched to the Woenisdrecht Airfield in the Netherlands and Nord Airfield at Lille, France; they were recalled due to weather.

EASTERN FRONT: Hitler ordered his armies to withdraw to the Panther Line, between Kiev and Vitebsk. The Germans announced they were evacuating Bryansk. The Russians were still up against a heavy rearguard action. Novorossiysk, in the Kuban, was also heavily contested.
....Lt. Wilmans, wingman to the Geschwaderkommodore of JG 52, flying a Bf 109, failed to return after combat near Turkenovka.
....Oblt. Walter Nowotny of I./JG 54, scored his 204th victory, becoming the highest scoring Experte at this time. Also at JG 54, the Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 54, Hptm. Erich Rudorffer shot down 5 Russian planes.
....In Norway, Ofw. Erich Beulich of 7./JG 5 (10 kills) went missing in action. Fw. Franz Dorr was appointed Staffelkapitaen of 7./JG 5.

MEDITERRANEAN: At Salerno, the Germans attacked the entire Allied front throughout the daylight hours, searching for weaknesses. Their efforts were unsuccessful. The British 7 Armoured Division began landing in the British X Corps sector, and the U.S. 180th Infantry Regiment, the remaining regiment of the 45th Infantry Division, landed behind VI Corps to become the Fifth Army reserve. During the night, C-47 Skytrains dropped the 2,105 men of the 505th Regimental Combat Team (505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 456th Parachute Field Artillery and Company A, 307th Engineers) south of the Sele River to strengthen the beachhead.
....By the evening, with more supplies ashore and reinforcements arriving, the crisis had passed. Although the two night airborne drops into the Salerno beachhead had been executed flawlessly, another airborne operation was less successful. The 640 men of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment jumped some 20 miles (32 kilometres) north of the British X Corps at Avellino during the evening to disrupt German resupply and communications lines. The paratroopers had been ordered to harass the Germans for about five days and then either to infiltrate to the beachhead or to link up with advancing forces. Of the 40 planes involved in the operation, only 15 dropped their cargo within 4 miles (6 kilometres) of the drop zone; 23 planes scattered paratroopers between 8 and 25 miles (13 and 40 kilometres) from the intended target, and the drop site of the remaining two planes was unknown. Of the 640 men who jumped, 400 made it safely back to Allied hands several days later after launching small raids in the German rear.
....In the air, Allied heavy bombers, diverted from attacks on strategic targets in Germany, interdicted German units and supplies flowing toward the beachhead and struck German units in assembly areas and attacked positions. USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s hit a marshalling yard at Pescara while RAF heavy bombers, under operational control of the IX Bomber Command, hit Potenza. The USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Bomber Command sent B-17s, B-25 Mitchells, and B-26s to attack highways, road junctions and defiles, bridges, town areas, railroads, marshalling yard, barracks, and numerous targets of opportunity, including several gun positions, in or near Avellino, Pompeii, Torre Annunziata, Auletta, Baronissi, San Severino Rota, Battipaglia, and Eboli; USAAF and RAF fighter-bombers and light and medium bombers of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force flew well over 500 sorties, mainly against bridges, and towns in the battle area or around Battipaglia, Eboli, Potenza Torre Annunziata, Benevento, Auletta, and Avellino.
....In southern Italy, elements of the British Eighth Army entered Bari in the east and Belvedere in the west.
....Free French commandos were landed on Corsica to form resistance groups to harass the Germans occupying the island.
....The elite British Boat Service, a watery cousin to the SAS, landed on the Aegean island of Kos.
....German Lieutenant General Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin received orders from Adolf Hitler to execute some 200 captured Italian officers. He refused.
....Off Salerno, U.S. freighter SS 'Bushrod Washington' was set afire by a Hs-293 rocket propelled glidebomb hit and was abandoned. Tug 'Hopi' (AT-71) assisted boats with the latter's survivors. One Armed Guard sailor, four merchant seamen and ten stevedores perished in the explosion and fires. Fire-fighting efforts, however, ultimately proved unavailing for 'Bushrod Washington' sank off Salerno, Italy.