This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Hugh Spencer]

14th July 1943
8 Mosquitoes carried out a nuisance raid on Berlin. 1 aircraft crashed into the sea.

[Hugh Spencer]

15th July 1943
165 Halifaxes went to attack the Peugeot motor factory in the Montbeliard suburb of the French town of Sochaux, near the Swiss border, 5 aircraft were lost.
The outcome of this raid illustrates again the difficulties of hitting relatively small targets in the occupied countries and the danger to surrounding civilians. The night was clear, the target was only lightly defended and the attack altitude was 6,000 to 10,000 feet but the centre of the group of markers dropped by the Pathfinder crews of 35 Squadron was 700 yards beyond the factory. The local report said that approximately 30 bombs fell in the factory but 600 fell in the town. 123 civilianswere killed and 336 injured. The factory was classed as 5% damaged and the production was normal immediately after the raid.
617 Squadron carried out its first operation since the Dams Raid in May. It had been decided to keep the squadron in being and to use it for independent precision raids on small targets. It remained in 5 Group and most of its replacement crews came from the squadrons of that group.
The targets on this night were two electrical transformer stations in Northern Italy - one near Bologna and the other near Genoa. The intention was to disrupt the supply of electricity to the railways carrying German troops and supplies to the battle front in Sicily. 12 Lancasters of 617 Squadron were joined by 12 further 5 Group Lancasters for these attacks which were not successful. No flares or markers were carried and the targets were partially hidden by mist. After bombng the Lancasters flew on to North Africa. 2 Lancasters of the supporting force were lost.
6 Mosquitoes flew on a nuisance raid to Munich, only 2 aircraft reached the target but no aircraft were lost.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen 'Zitadel' Day 9: German offensive operations at Kursk come to an end as one last attempt was made to break the Soviet lines on the southern face of the bulge. It failed. The fighting continued around Prochorovka for several more days. 2nd SS 'Das Reich' continued to push slowly eastward in the area south of the town. Hitler decided to cancel Unternehmen 'Zitadel'. Manstein argued that he should be allowed to finish off the two Soviet tank armies. He had unused reserves, consisting of three experienced panzer divisions of XXIV Panzer Corps, in position for quick commitment. That corps could have been used to attack the Fifth Guards Tank Army in its flank, to break out from the Psel bridgehead or to cross the Psel east of Prochorovka. All of the available Soviet armor in the south was committed and could not be withdrawn without causing a collapse of the Soviet defenses. Manstein correctly realized that he had the opportunity to destroy the Soviet operational and strategic armor in the Prochorovka area. Hitler suspended operations and the vaunted Wehrmacht would never attempt a major strategic offensive on the Russian front again.
....4.Panzerarmee reported that the 2.SS Panzerkorps had 163 operational tanks, a net loss of only 48 tanks. The new tanks had turned out a very disappointing show with most of the Mk V Panthers breaking down on the first day due to problems with the complex electrical cooling systems (from a total of 200 only forty were in running order at the end of the first day). The Elefant tanks although a formidable machine with their 88mm gun had also proved a disappointment with Russian infantry simply attacking the 73 ton monsters with satchel charges and Molotov cocktails when they were separated from the infantry with relative ease due to the absence of a hull machine gun as a secondary defenses.
....Although German losses were quite high, Russian losses were higher with the 6th Guards Army (which had borne the brunt of the assault) suffering very high losses and by the 11th July the battle hung in the balance. Meanwhile, the Soviet offensive opposite Orel, north of Kursk continued to make good progress against dogged German resistance.
....The crews of III./JG 54 were on the move again when they left the airbase at Ugrin and settled at the airfield near Orel. But not before they lost Fw. Peter Bremer (40 victories) of 1./JG 54 who was shot down and taken prisoner by the Russians.
....JG 51 lost 2 pilots during the Kursk battle. Oblt. Albert Walter (37 kills) of the Stabstaffel JG 51 was listed as missing in action southeast of Uljanowo as was Oblt. Alfred Messerschmidt (8 kills).

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 4: British forces continued to advance in Sicily capturing Autusta and Raqusa. The 'Herman Goring' Division was beginning to shift position to face the advancing British 51st Infantry Division, 23rd Armored Brigade and Canadian 1st Infantry Division (Harpoon Force) near Vizzini, while the British 8th Corps opened attacks toward Catania and Lentini. The leading troops were held up by an enemy rearguard at Lentini. To speed up the advance, landings were made to capture the bridges to the north of the town. No 3 Commando landed at Agnone and prevented the destruction of the Ponte del Malati while the 1st Parachute Brigade and 151 Brigade captured the Primasole Bridge over the Simeto giving the British forces a route to the plain of Catania. These gains were made at considerable cost because of resistance from the Hermann Goring Division. Firmly established on the slopes of Mount Etna the Germans held up the British advance. The plain with the Gerbini airfields was in dispute for almost three weeks.
....Augusta, Sicily was captured by the British 5th Division.
....The Allied landings on Sicily forced all the Luftwaffe units except II./JG 51 to move to make-shift airfields in northeastern Sicily. Constant Allied bombings on the remaining airfields turned them into crater-filled fields and rendered them useless for the German fighters and bombers.
....In the air during the night, Northwest African Strategic Air Force Wellingtons hit Caltanissetta, Gerbini Airfield, and Enna. During the day, B-17 Flying Fortresses, B-25 Mitchells, B-26 Marauders, and fighters attacked Enna, Milo Airfield, Carcitella landing ground, Randazzo, and targets of opportunity while Ninth Air Force B-24s hit the airfield at Vibo Valentia. Northwest African Tactical Air Force aircraft hit truck convoys, trains, railway stations, troops, and numerous targets of opportunity over wide areas in Sicily. Ninth Air Force B-25s attacked the Leonforte road and harbor at Termini while P-40s patrol the Licata area.
....Because of the coastal terrain at Sicily, it was possible for enemy planes to sneak in over the surrounding hills and attack before anyone knew they were coming. In such an attack, two Stuka dive-bombers hit the Avola anchorage before the alarm could be given. The 'Will Rogers', which had just arrived, got in a few bursts of 20-millimeter fire,
as did some other ships, but the planes were gone within a minute. One plane put two bombs into a hold full of ammunition on the 'Timothy Pickering', a US Liberty ship which had arrived with the 'Will Rogers' and still had most of her troops aboard. The 'Pickering' vanished in a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke and fire that towered a thousand feet into the air. Some of the burning wreckage hit a nearby tanker, which also blew up, and bits of that ship killed several men on the 'O. Henry'. Of 192 men aboard the 'Pickering', the only survivors were 23 men blown overboard in the initial explosion.

WESTERN FRONT: 'U-487' was sunk in the central Atlantic by five Avenger and Wildcat aircraft of the American escort carrier USS 'Core' . 31 dead and 33 survivors. One Wildcat was shot down in the action. The milk cow was attacked by carrier aircraft (VC-13 USN) from USS 'Core' southwest of the Azores after a planned refuelling was reported by ULTRA. An Avenger/Wildcat team, piloted by Lt R.P. Williams and Lt(jg) E.H. Steiger, completely surprised 'U-487' as some crewmen were seen sun-bathing on deck and no AA fire was experienced during the first attack run. Four depth charges straddled the boat, which stopped in a large oil patch. The Wildcat attempted a second strafing run, but was hit by AA fire and crashed off the port bow, killing the pilot. Two other Wildcats, piloted by LtCdr C.W. Brewer and Lt J.R. Brownstein, arrived at the scene and their strafing attacks made it possible for a second Avenger (Lt(jg) J.F. Schoby) to place four depth charges direct on target. Its explosions lifted 'U-487' out of the water, broke her back and caused it to sink within a few seconds. 33 survivors were later rescued by USS 'Barker'.
....'U-607' was sunk in the Bay of Biscay NW of Cape Ortegal, Spain, by depth charges from an RAF 228 Sqn Sunderland.
....374 RAF aircraft - 214 Halifaxes, 76 Wellingtons, 55 Stirlings, 18 Lancasters, 11 Mosquitos were ordered to Aachen. A strong tail wind brought the first waves of the Main Force into the target area before Zero Hour with the result that, when the first Pathfinder markers were released, an unusually large number of aircraft bombed in the first minutes of the raid. The visibility was good and large areas of Aachen appeared to burst into flame at once. In a report from Aachen, 'A Terrorangriff [Terrorattack] of the most severe scale was delivered.' 20 aircraft - 15 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters, 2 Wellingtons, 1 Stirling - were lost.
....The Fw 190s of 1./SAGr 128 and 8./JG 2 were scrambled from their bases near Brest and soon they came across the British bombers. This was 1./SAGr 128's most successful day, as the Fw 190 pilots shot down 5 of the bombers. Oblt. Heinz Wurm made his first claim at 06:27 hours followed 3 minutes later by 8./JG 2's Ofw. Freidrich May for his 26th victory. Minutes later, bombers were claimed by Uffz. Schuler and Gefr. Hess from 8./JG 2 and Ofw. Hans Gryz and Ofw. Freidrich Jost of 1./SAGr 128 followed by Oblt. Wurm, who downed his 3d bomber of the morning.
....W/Cdr J. D. Nettleton VC was flying a Lancaster I with RAF No. 44 Sqdrn on this raid. The Augsburg Raid veteran was believed to have been shot down by a night-fighter off the Brest peninsula but possibly by the Fw 190s.

ENGLAND: 3 German aircraft were brought down during a night attack on Hull. A Dornier Do 217K crashed in flames into the sea after an attack by a Beaufighter of RAF No. 604 Squadron (15 miles E of Spurn Head). Two of the crew were listed as missing and two were taken prisoner. Next was a Dornier Do 217M also shot down into the sea off Spurn Head by a Beaufighter of RAF No. 604 Squadron, all of the crew were listed as missing, but the body of one of them was later, on the 26th, recovered from the sea and buried at Grimsby. The 3d was a Dornier Do 217E shot down by AA fire - it crashed at Long Riston, near Hull. The crew were all killed.
....A new German aircraft preceded the raid on Hull, it closely resembled the RAF's Mosquito and was called the Hornisse (Hornet) it was the Messerschmitt 410. Operating at altitudes between 10,000 and 20,000' enemy aircraft were attempting to bomb nearby nightfighter airfields but met with little success. However in the actual raid on Hull, fifty fires were started and twenty-six people were killed. F/L Bunting of RAF No. 85 Sqdrn, flying a Mosquito, shot down a Me 410 from V./KG 2. It was the first Me 410 to be destroyed over Britain.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen 'Zitadel' Day 10: The Soviet offensive on the Orel salient expanded as the Voronezh Front struck back at the German 4.Panzerarmee and Army Detachment Kempf south of Kursk. 2nd SS 'Das Reich' continued to push slowly eastward in the area south of Prochorovka. That advance enabled 2.SS Panzerkorps to link up with the SS divsion and encircle several Soviet rifle divisions south of Prochorovka. 3rd SS 'Totenkopf' eventually reached the Kartachevka/Prochorovka road and the division took several tactically important hills on the north edge of its perimeter as well.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 5: One of the most bizarre battles in the war was fought as German and British paratroops made several combat drops in the same area within hours of one anther near the Primrose Bridge in Sicily. The Primrose Bridge crossed a 400-foot gorge 7 miles south of Catania. It was the key to Montgomery's capture of the Catania plain. The German 3rd Parachute Regiment (which had dropped July 12) was reinforced by the drop of the 1st Para-MG battalion the previous day defended the area. In the early morning hours of 14th, the British 1st Parachute Brigade landed south of the bridge and secured it. The Germans struck the disorganized British at first light. The Brits were hard pressed until fire from the cruiser HMS 'Newfoundland' delivered quick and accurate 6lb gun rounds in support. The Germans launched heavier attacks, supported by artillery in the afternoon. Communications with the 'Newfoundland' broke down leaving the Brits without support. They were forced to abandon the bridge late in the day. Meanwhile, British armor had been fighting hard to reach the paratroops. By early evening they had made contact with the British paratroops well south of the bridge. The Germans withdrew to the north bank anticipating a British night attack, but it never developed. The Germans were reinforced during the night, by yet another airborne drop (the final drop into the area came on July 17th when the German 4th Parachute Regiment was landed) and could declare victory at the Primrose Bridge.
....In other fighting on Sicily, American forces secured the Biscari airfield and Niscemi while British forces captured Vizzini. The American capture of Biscari was marred by two incidents. In one, Captain John T. Compton was charged with killing 36 POWs in his charge. He claimed to be following orders. Both the investigating officer and the Judge Advocate declared that Comptons?s actions were unlawful but he was acquitted in a court-marshal. In the second incident, Sergeant West was charged with killing POWs under his charge. He was found guilty, stripped of rank and sentenced to life in prison. This led to charges of uneven justice for officers and NCOs. Ultimately, West was released from prison as a private. Compton was transferred to another regiment and died a year later fighting in Italy.
....In the air during the night, Northwest African Strategic Air Force Wellingtons bombed Palermo and Messina, and C-47 Skytrains dropped paratroops in advance of Allied troops to secure the bridge at Primosole. During the day, RAF heavy bombers and USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators hit railroad, marshalling yard, harbor, and oil storage facilities at Messina; B-25 Mitchells hit the Enna and Palermo areas; and P-40s patrol Licata and attack the Lentini area. Northwest African Tactical Air Force aircraft hit ammo dumps, trains, rail junctions, bridges, vehicle convoys, and other targets of opportunity in the Sicilian countryside; B-17 Flying Fortresses, B-26 Marauders, B-25s, and fighters hit Naples, Italy and Messina, Enna, Marsala, and Randazzo, and numerous targets of opportunity in Sicily.
....Ofw. Johann Pichler of 7./JG 77 was forced to bail out of his Bf 109G-6 "Weiss 3" after being shot down by Spitfires during strafing on Allied troops. He hit the rudder while jumping clear and laned hard on the ground. Evacuated from Sicily on a hospital ship under cover of darkness, Pichler's injuries were severe enough to keep him off operations until January 1944 when he rejoined III./JG 77 in Rumania defending the Ploesti oil refinery.

WESTERN FRONT: USAAF VIII Bomber Command flew Mission Number 73 attacking three targets in France: 111 B-17s and 5 YB-40s were dispatched against the aircraft works at Villacoublay, France; 101 hit the target at 0811-0815 hours and claimed 15-7-16 Luftwaffe aircraft; three B-17s were lost. 64 B-17s were dispatched against Glisy Airfield at Amiens; 53 hit the target at 0742 hours and claimed 9-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; a B-17 was lost. 84 B-17s were dispatched against LeBourget Airfield, Paris; 52 hit the target at 0750-0820 hours and claimed 41-27-32 Luftwaffe aircraft; four B-17s were lost. Escort was provided by the US 4th FG and 78th FG among others.
....Four bombers were destroyed over Le Bourget by III./JG 2 including one that was credited to the Gruppenkommandeur Obstlt. Egon Mayer. The Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26, Major 'Wutz' Galland, claimed 3 P-47s destroyed. Another victor was Oblt. George-Peter Eder, Staffelkapitaen of 7./JG 2 who reported; "We were doing about 450kmh now and were coming down slightly, aiming for the noses of the B-17s. There were about 200 of us attacking the 200 bombers but there was also fighter escort above them. We were going for the bombers. When we made our move, the P-47s began to dive on us and it was a race to get to the bombers before being intercepted. I was already close and about 600 ft above and coming straight on; I opened fire with the 20s at 500 yards. At 300 yards I opened fire with the 30s. It was a short burst, maybe 10 shells from each cannon, but I saw the bomber explode and begin to burn. I flashed over him at about 50 ft and then did a chandelle. When I had turned around I was about 1,000 ft above and behind them and was suddenly mixed in with American fighters.
....Straight in front was a Thunderbolt...as I completed the turn and I opened fire on him immediately and hit his propwash. My fire was so heavy his left wing came off almost at once and I watched him go down....We flew south for a few seconds, preparing for another strike at the bombers and then, coming from above, I saw them. I called a warning; 'Indianer uber uns!', and as they came in behind us we banked hard left. There were 10 P-47s and 4 of us and we were all turning as hrad as we could, as in a Lufbery. I was able to turn tighter and was gaining. I pulled within 80 yards of the P-47 ahead of me and opened fire. I hit him quickly and two of the others got one each. so that in a minute and a half 3 of the P-47s went down...."
....An Fw 190A-5 of 1./SAGr 128 was destroyed by bombs during the raid on Le Bourget airfield. The Luftwaffe lost Oblt. Gunther Behrendt (5 kills) from 11./JG 2.
....A wounded Duxford pilot, 2nd Lt. A V DeGenaro of the US 82nd, risked drowning rather than let his plane crash into a town and earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest US award for valour. While escorting bombers which attacked an airfield at Amiens, Lt. DeGenaro destroyed two FW190s and damaged another. During combat, however, he was severely injured in both hands, his right knee and both ankles. Because of his injuries, he had to fly his Thunderbolt with his forearms. His instruments were shot out, his right aileron was gone, his right wing was badly shot up, and his tail surfaces were damaged. Although barely able to manoeuvre the plane, he found the English Channel and headed across, ducking into low clouds to evade three pursuing FW190s which followed him almost to the British coast. He had planned on making a crash landing, but after crossing the coast he discovered his safety belt was unfastened (he had unhooked it in combat) and was unable to fasten it again because of his wounds. Realising that baling out over land would mean his aircraft would crash into a coastal town, he headed out to sea again, baling out in view of a fishing boat which then rescued him.

[Hugh Spencer]

16th July 1943
18 Lancasters of 5 Group attempted raids on two more transformer stations in Northern Italy. 7 aircraft bombed the Cislago station accurately but the second target was not located and an alternative target was bombed instead. 1 Lancaster was lost.
6 Mosquitoes bombed Munich without loss.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Heavy fighting continued on the Russian front as the Soviet Central Front (General Rokossovsky) joins in the offensive toward Orel, attacking from his positions north of Kursk. To the south 4.Panzerarmee relinquished all the ground it captured during the recent offensive and returned to their start line from two weeks ago.
....A pair of Soviet LaGG-5s destroyed brought 7./JG 52's Lt. Erich Hartmann's score to 36 kills.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 6: In Sicily, Patton's 7th Army, was relegated to a minor roll of protecting Montgomery's left flank. Stung by the Alexander's decision to give Bradley's 2nd Corps front to Montgomery, Patton decided to drive west to Polermo with half his army while 2nd Corps was stuck advancing north through the trackless mountains.
....The Bf 109s of 8./JG 27, led by their Staffelkapitaen Oblt. Wolf Ettel, flew to Brindisi in Italy to reinforce the fighters defending Sicily.
....In Sicily during the night NATAF light and medium bombers bombed Palermo, and flewarmored reconnaissance, attacking roads and convoys, over extensive areas of Sicily. During the day, Ninth Air Force B-25s bombed Palermo, Cape Gallo, Salina Island, and Cape Zifferano; and P-40s patroled over the Licata area while NASAF medium bombers bombed Vibo Valentia, and fighters flew numerous strafing and bombing missions against trains, road junctions, radar installations, truck convoys, railway stations, and targets of opportunity throughout Sicily. Northwest African Coastal Air Force airplanes flew sea patrols, reconnaissance, convoy escort, and hit shipping off the west coast of Corsica and east coast of Sardinia.
....During the night, Wellingtons of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) hit airfields and docks at Naples; during the day NASAF heavy bombers hit Villa San Giovanni and USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s struck the main airfield and two satellite fields at Foggia.
....The Italian (transport) submarine 'Remo' was torpedoed and sunk in the Gulf of Taranto by submarine HMS 'United'.

WESTERN FRONT: The SS 'Twickenham' was damaged by 'U-135'. 'U-135' was then sunk in the Atlantic, by sloop HMS 'Rochester' and corvettes HMS 'Mignonette' and 'Balsam' and a USN VP-92 Catalina.
....Two German submarines were sunk by US Navy aircraft. - 'U-759' was sunk in the Caribbean Sea, south of Haiti, by depth charges from a PBM-3C Mariner of Patrol Squadron Thirty Two (VP-32) based at NAS Guantanamo, Cuba. 'U-509' was sunk in the mid-Atlantic north-west of Madeira, Portugal, by aerial (Fido) torpedoes from a TBF Avenger of Composite Squadron Twenty Nine (VC-29) in the escort aircraft carrier USS 'Santee' (CVE-29).
....The unescorted 'Harmonic' was torpedoed by 'U-172' 620 miles east of Rio de Janeiro. The vessel was sunk by a coup de grâce at 2116. One crewmember was lost. The master, 38 crewmembers and six gunners were picked up on 22 July by the Portuguese merchantman 'Inhambane' and landed at Bahia, Brazil two days later.
....The unescorted 'Empire Lake' was torpedoed and sunk by 'U-181' about 240 miles east of Madagascar. The master, 24 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. Five crewmembers and two gunners landed at Farafangana, Madagascar.

UNITED STATES: The USN establishes new designations for aircraft carriers. The 10,000 ton class aircraft carriers built on light cruiser hulls, formerly designated aircraft carriers (CVs), are redesignated light aircraft carriers (CVLs); auxiliary aircraft carriers (ACVs), classified as auxiliary vessels, are redesignated escort aircraft carriers (CVEs) in the combatant category; and a new category, Aircraft Carriers, Large (CVB) is established for the Midway Class carriers.

ENGLAND: Another Me 410 from V./KG 2 was shot down by a Mosquito XII from RAF No. 85 Sqdrn flying a night interception patrol.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Manstien's panzers began to give ground on the southern edge of the Kursk bulge as the Soviet Voronezh Front counter-attacks developed into general offensive. The Soviet offensive was slowed by counterattacks of German armoured units. Farther south, the Soviet Southwest Front (Malinovsky) began attacks around Voroshilovgrad.
....Another pair of LaGG-5s fell under the guns of 7./JG 52's Lt. Erich Hartmann during 2 seperate missions.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 7: Allied forces continued to advance in Sicily. The US 3rd Infantry Division was engaged in heavy fighting at Agrigento and Porto Empedocle. The British 50th Infantry Division established a brigehead at the Primrose Bridge across the Simeto River and the Canadian 1st Infantry Division captured Caltagirone and moved on toward Piazza Armerina.
....During the night, Northwest African Strategic Air Force Wellingtons bombed the dock, marshalling yards, and airfields at Vibo Valentia, Sicily and Crotone, Reggio di Calabria, and Villa San Giovanni, while Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) light and medium bombers carried out numerous missions against Randazzo, Sicily and roads in Sicily.
....During the day, USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators attacked Bari Airfield. Axis fighters attacked persistently and three B-24s are shot down. They claim 11 fighters destroyed in combat. The newly arrived Bf 109s of 8./JG 27 joined with the fighters of II./JG 27 in attacking the B-24s in their first mission. 9 Allied bombers were claimed shot down by the Gruppe with credit for 2 aircraft each going to Oblt. Wolf Ettel and Hptm. Werner Schroer.
....B-25 Mitchells bombed Randazzo and Valguarnera, Sicily while RAF heavy bombers hit Reggio di Calabria Airfield.
....Northwest of Taranto, Oblt. Franz Daspelgruber (46 kills) of V./JG 3 was listed as missing in action in his Bf 109G-6.
....In a statement by Churchill and Roosevelt to the people of Italy, the two leaders said, "The sole hope for Italy's survival lies in honorable capitulation to the overwhelming, power of the military forces of the United Nations. If you continue to tolerate the Fascist regime, which serves the evil power of the Nazis, you must suffer the consequences of your own choice . . . we are determined to destroy the false leaders and their doctrines which have brought Italy to her present position."
....Major Heinz Schumann took over command of SKG 10 from acting Geschwaderkommodore Major Helmut Viedebannt. Hptm. Gotz Baumann was promoted Gruppenkommandeur of IV./SKG 10, replacing Major Schumann.
....Light cruiser HMS 'Cleopatra' was torpedoed and heavily damaged off Sicily by Italian submarine 'Dandolo'. She was patched up at Malta and left for the United States for permanent repairs in October 1943. Their repairs were completed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in November 1944.

WESTERN FRONT: USAAF's VIII Air Support Command flew Mission Number 1. Sixteen B-26B Marauders were dispatched against the marshalling yard at Abbeville, France; 14 hit the target at 2000 hours without loss. With this mission, the VIII Air Support Command began combat operations, having acquired the 332d, 323d, 386th and 387th Bombardment Groups (Medium).
....TBF Avengers of Composite Squadron Thirteen (VC-13) in the escort aircraft carrier USS 'Core' (CVE-13) sank German submarine 'U-67' in the Sargasso Sea, by depth charges. Only 3 of the 51 submariners survived.
....The unescorted 'Richard Caswell' was hit by one torpedo from 'U-513' about 150 miles SE of Florianopolis, Brazil. The torpedo struck on the starboard side at the after end of the engine room, destroying the engines and killing three men on watch below. Most survivors among the eight officers, 34 crewmen, 24 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4-in and nine 20-mm guns) and two passengers on board abandoned ship in three lifeboats and two rafts. The master and a small party stayed on board but ten minutes after the hit a second torpedo struck at the forward end of the engine room. The explosion blew a few men over the side and caused extensive damage to the amidships deck and the superstructure. Just as the ship broke in two and sank after about 15 minutes, the U-boat surfaced and questioned the survivors. The commander told the men that he had lived in Brooklyn for seven years and asked how the Dodgers were doing; the Germans gave them cigarettes and then left the area. In all, the master, two officers and six crewmen were lost. The 26 survivors in two of the boats were picked up on 19 July by the Argentine steam merchant 'Mexico' and landed two days later at Rio Grande, Brazil. On 22 July the 16 survivors in the third lifeboat made landfall at Barra Valha, Brazil. The 18 survivors on the rafts were picked up by seaplane tender USS 'Barnegat' on 22 July and landed three days later at Rio de Janeiro.
....'U-306' shadowed Convoy SL-133 and reported two days later four ships of 27,000 tons sunk and one other ship of 5,000 tons probably sunk. The U-boat attacked two times; the first attack was carried out at 0352, firing five single torpedoes. Trotha reported one ship sunk, one probably sunk and three torpedoes missed due to great distance. In fact, only the 'Kaipara' was torpedoed and damaged at this time. At 0801, the U-boat fired two spreads of two torpedoes and two minutes later the stern torpedo. 'U-306' observed three hits and could not see the targets anymore, but none of the reported hits were confirmed by Allied reports.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: On the night of July 17-18, the 2.SS Panzerkorps withdrew from its positions around Prochorovka to the partly prepared Hagen line at the base of the salient. Thus, the battle for Prochorovka ended, not because of German tank losses (Hausser had over 200 operational tanks on July 17) but because Hitler lacked the will to continue the offensive. South of Kursk, the German remnants of the 4.Panzerarmee continued their fighting withdrawl. The Soviet Southwest Front (commanded by General Malinovsky) joined the attacks hitting German positions around Voroshilovgrad. To the north, Central Front's attacks toward Orel were temporarily checked as German tanks counterattacked the spearheads.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 8: On Sicily, American forces capture Agrigento and Porto Empedocle. On the ground in Sicily, the US 45th and 1st Infantry Divisions crossed the Salso River south and east of Caltanissetta. The British 30 Corps expanded the Simeto River bridgehead and drove toward Catania in the coastal sector while 51 Division crossed the Simeto River and reached to within 10 miles (16 km) of Paterno.
....While the rough terrain and determined German resistance were slowing progress by both armies, a serious rift between the two generals was causing concern in the Allied camp. The fiery Patton had agreed only reluctantly that his army should act as a "shield" to Montgomery, who had planned a fast thrust along the east coast. When the Eighth Army found itself stalled as it neared Catania, a sudden switch of plans by Montgomery - aiming to attack on the west side of Mount Etna - found his men fighting in the same area as the Americans at Vizzini. It was then that Patton blew up. He flew to protest to General Sir Harold Alexander, the commander-in-chief. The urbane "Alex" was startled at Patton's fury - and gave the American his head.
....In the air during the night and the following day Northwest African Tactical Air Force fighters, light and medium bombers, hit Catania, Paterno, the Riposto railroad station, and targets of opportunity (vehicles, tanks, trains, guns). Also during the day, Ninth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit Catania and the rail yards and roads at Paterno and P-40s flew escort to Gela and Comiso. The Naples marshalling yard was hit by about 80 USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s and about 200+ Northwest African Air Force B-25s, B-26s, and B-17s. The B-24s faced fierce fighter opposition and a B-24 was shot down; B-24 gunners claimed 23 fighters destroyed. RAF heavy bombers also hit Reggio di Calabria.
....During a low-level attack near catania 4 Bf 109s of 8./JG 27 were shot down including the Staffelkapitaen Oblt. Wolf Ettel (124 kills) who was hit by AA fire and killed.
....A German Counterinsurgency action took place in the town of Trilofo on the outskirts of Katerini, Greece. Commandant Benjamin Locher of the GeheimFeldPolizei (Secret Field Police) has everyone gathered in the square and has captured Costas Papazoglou who was caught with papers in his home connecting him to ELAS (the resistance) the Germans break both of his arms until they hang limp at his sides, they beat him as well but he refuses to speak. They announce that he will be hung but then the mans father steps forward and volunteers to trade his life for his sons life. Locher brushes the father aside. They tie a noose and bring a chair, they stand Costas on the chair and bring his two brothers Mihalis and Yiannoulis, age 17 and 22, the latter of which has a pregnant wife present, and tells them to kick the chair from under their brother and that their lives will be spared if they do this. Both brothers start to cry and refuse to do it. Finally one of the soldiers kicks the chair and the man hangs. Then the Germans take the two brothers and a group of 11 others and line them up to be shot, the father is now begging that just one of his sons be freed and that he be shot instead. He falls to Lochers feet begging to exchange his life for just one of his two sons. At the same time the condemned were begging to know why they were being shot, begging to be interrogated instead. It was all to no avail as the 13 young men were executed in the village square of Trilofo.

GERMANY: B-17s of the VIII Bomber Command flew Mission Number 74. The two primary targets were the rail industry at Hannover, Germany and the aviation industry at Hamburg, Germany. 205 B-17s and 2 YB-40s were dispatched against Hannover and 125 B-17s were dispatched against Hamburg. Both missions were recalled due to weather but the bombers hit three targets; 33 hit targets of opportunity, 1 hit a convoy and 21 attempt to bomb the Fokker plant at Amsterdam, The Netherlands which was obscured by clouds. The target was missed and 150 civilians were killed. 2 B-17s were lost. B-26Bs of the VIII Air Support Command flew Mission Number 2, a diversion to the Cayeux, France area.
.... Five Bf 109T-2s of Jasta Helgoland joined JG 11 in mounting defensive sorties. Uffz. Erich Ulmschneider was one of the Jasta pilots airbourne that day; "We already had a hunch that things were going to get unpleasant from early that morning, having heard the radio announce, 'strong enemy concentrations forming up over southern England.' At around 10:40am cockpit readiness was ordered and we were scrambled at 11:00 am. Airbourne with 5 'Tonis'; one rotte of 2 machines led by Lt. Hondt with me as katschmareck and a kette of 3 led by Fw. Erich Carius, we headed out on course 320 degrees. The 'Amis' were flying a northern route from Helgoland to Wilhelmshaven. Having reached an altitude of 6000 meters, we spotted a group of 20 - 25 B-17s and headed towards them. We drew alongside them maintaining a distance of 1500 meters and then overtook them to be able to turn back into position for a frontal attack. As we could fly no faster than 420kmh, it took us a long time to pull some 3 km ahead of the bomber formation. After sweeping around in a banked curve to port, Lt. Hondt closed on the bombers head-on at full throttle, while Fw. Carius and 2 other machines were still trying to take a convienant position for an attack. So there were only 2 of us to lead an attack against 30 Boeings. They were able to concentrate their defensive fire on us beautifully. I was overcome with a sort of 'hunting fever' as I had already eased a B-17 into my gun sight and we were still 1000 meters away from each other. Time to open fire. I fired a burst from my MGs and was about to squeeze the firing button of my 2 wing-mounted cannon when something exploded very close to me. I felt enormous air pressure pinning me back into my seat; I could no longer see a thing. While running in for the attack I had pushed up my goggles, protection against schrapnel, to get a better view. The Amis had hit my reinforced windshield and numerous splinters of glass had lashed into my face and eyes. I was expecting to collide with the 4-engined bombers, but nothing happened. I managed to see out of the corner of one eye and concluded that the tracers had zipped past me from the rea - hence almost certainly saving me from colliding with the Amis! When my tears cleared my vision a little, I glanced all around - no sign of either Boeings or my comrades. So, I turned onto a southerly course, which would bring me over the North Sea coastline. The engine was running smoothly and I was able to calm myself down a little myself. This is how my first encounter with a Boeing ended....a life or death experience."

WESTERN FRONT: The unescorted 'City of Canton' was torpedoed and sunk by 'U-178' NE of Beira. Eight crewmembers were lost. The second officer was taken prisoner by 'U-178'. The master and 74 crewmembers were picked up by the Free French cruiser 'Suffren' and landed at Durban. 19 crewmembers were picked up by the Portuguese merchantman 'Luabo' and landed at Mozambique.
....The Swedish government decided to stop transporting German war material to Norway, effective August 15. Transport of troops would cease on August 20.
....Spain's Francisco Franco decided to bring his soldiers home from fighting on the Russian front.

ENGLAND: The first aircraft landed on runway cleared of fog by ‘FIDO’, Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation. Before the introduction of FIDO, fog had been responsible for losses of a number of aircraft returning from operations. FIDO simply burnt the fog of the airstrip to allow the aircraft to land, and whilst it did use a lot of fuel, it did allow aircraft to touch down, saving other precious resources in the production of replacement aircraft and the traiing of aircrew.

[Hugh Spencer]

18th July 1943
16 Wellingtons of 1 Group laid mines off Lorient and St Nazaire without loss.

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 9:Patton's free-wheeling armored columns continued their romp over western Sicily capturing Caltanisetta and cutting the Palermo-Enna road. Canadian forces captured Valguarnera in the interior while on the east coast, British were stopped by stubborn resistance north of the Simeto River, stopping Dempsey's 13 Corps advance on the east coast near Catania.
....In the air during the night, Northwest African Strategic Air Force Wellingtons bombed airfields at Montecorvino, Sicily and Pomigliano, Italy, while Northwest African Tactical Air Force (light bombers bombed Catania, Sicily and carried out reconnaissance of extensive areas of Sicily. During the day, NATAF A-36 Apaches hit Santa Caterina, Adrano, Lercara, and Termini Imerese, Sicily.

UNITED STATES: The USN airship K-74 assigned to Airship Patrol Squadron Twenty One (ZP-21) at Naval Air Station Richmond, Florida, lifts off on an antisubmarine patrol at 1909 hours local. At 2340 hours, radar detects a surface contact at 8 miles (12.9 km); the contact is the German submarine 'U-134'. At 2350 hours, the airship begins an attack on the unsuspecting U-boat; the airship was at 250 feet (76.2 m) with a ground speed of 53 knots (61 mph/98.2 km/h) when the sub crew sighted the blimp and opened fire with light AA. The blimp crew returned fire with a 50-calibre (12.7 mm) machine gun which silenced the AA gun but the sub fired three rounds with a heavier calibre gun, one as the blimp approached and two as it passed over the sub. Orders were given to drop depth charges but a crewman's error prevented this. The blimp's bag had been punctured and the airship descended and hit the water at 2355 hours, the only airship shot down during the war. The airship remained afloat until 0815 hours on 19 July and the crew was rescued shortly thereafter; one man had been killed in a shark attack. 'U-134' had suffered damage to her main ballast tank and a diving tank and after being sighted by a land-based aircraft, she was ordered home for repair. While en-route, she was sunk on 24 August in the North Atlantic near Vigo, Spain by six depth charges from an RAF Wellington.

WESTERN FRONT: The unescorted 'Incomati' was torpedoed and damaged by 'U-508' about 200 miles south of Lagos. At 0818, the U-boat began shelling the ship, setting her on fire and left the wreck in sinking condition. One crewmember was lost. The master, 101 crewmembers, eight gunners and 112 passengers were picked up by HMS 'Boadicea' and 'Bridgewater' and landed at Takoradi.

EASTERN FRONT: Uffz. Thomas Ametsbichler of 4./JG 3 was shot down by flak and crashed 12 km southeast of Prochorovka flying Bf 109G-6 "Weisse 12". He had taken off with his rottenflieger Lt. Hermann Schuster from Ugrim for a "freie Jagd an der Panterspitz."

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 10: Patton's armored columns continued to drive north and west toward Palermo. Montgomery's forces were still unable to move forward, and he shifted his spearheads inland aiming at Gerbini, Agira and Leonforte.
....American bombers hit Rome for the first time in the war, destroying the Basilica at San Lorenzo. Panic swept the Italian capital as Allied bombers dropped more than 500-tons of high-explosive bombs on "military targets" on the outskirts of the Eternal City. The bombing force was made up of 157 B-17s and 112 B-24s, of which only five did not return. As thousands of men, women and children fled the city in vehicles of every description, the Pope drove to the scene to comfort victims. He returned, his vestments bloodstained, to announce that Romans could take shelter within the neutral Vatican.
....During the night, RAF Wellingtons dropped over 800,000 leaflets on Rome. Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) light bombers attacked Catania, Sicily. During the following day, about 150 Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) B-17 Flying Fortresses bombed the Rome railroad yards while B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders hit nearby Ciampino Airfield. Over 100 Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators attacked the Littoria marshalling yards and nearby airfield and on the return flight, railroads at Orlando, Sicily and Anzio were bombed. US Ninth Air Force P-40s bombed rail facilities in the Alcamo, Sicily area; Northwest African Air Force B-25s hit Catania and Randazzo; P-40s escort C-47 Skytrains; and NATAF A-36 Apaches attacked trains and motor transport in western Sicily.
....Mussolini and Hitler met at Feltre in northern Italy. Hitler demanded more fighting from the Italians. For five hours, Adolf Hitler harangued a haggard and listless Mussolini, desperate to rekindle the flame of fanaticism in his partner. Hitler made his surprise visit after hearing reports that the Italian army was "in a state of collapse." He insisted to the Duce, Sicily could be saved if Mussolini put backbone into his army. Hitler talked of the "voice of history", and told Mussolini that their tasks could not be left to another generation. Hitler promised reinforcements and said that his new U-boats and terror weapons would turn Britain into a "Stalingrad". His tirade was to no avail. Il Duce said little and picked at his lunch while the Führer stormed; his despair was not helped by a note telling him that Rome was being bombed. Mussolini could not admit face to face to Hitler that the end was near.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviets continued to attack on both sides of the Kursk salient. The Red Army pushed forward, threatening German positions at Bolkhov, in the Orel salient.
....A Russian brigade blocked the Bryansk-Orel railway at Khotinez, threatening the reinforcement route for both armies. The aircraft of 1 Fleigerdivisionen struck. With Ju 87s flying from Karachev along with bombers, fighters and anti-tank planes, the Luftwaffe was able to attack for the first time in strength. All day long, the Luftwaffe assaulted the tanks and infantry of the Russians until finally they retreated. An armoured breakthrough threatening 2 armies in the rear had, for the second time, been repulsed from the air alone. It also became the last major operation of the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front, subsequent operations being understrength because of dispersal over wide areas reducing its potency.
....The Red Army entered Orel. I./ZG 1 ws involved in the heavy fighting over the Bolhov area, including many ground-attack missions. The Russians suffered heavy losses because of the Bf 110's low-level attacks. But the Gruppe also had heavy losses. Hptm. Max Franzisket (5 kills) and Fw. Harri Pittack of Stab./ZG 1, went missing in their Bf 110G-2 after recieving a direct hit from flak on a combat mission. After barely a week at their new airbase at Orel, the crews of III./JG 54 again moved, this time to Iwanowka.

WESTERN FRONT: There was mutiny onboard destroyer HMCS 'Iroquois' against commanding officer Cdr William Boyd Love Holms RCN. Reported that Cdr Holms, over a period of time insisted upon peacetime routines such as Bovril and sherry on the bridge and ordered men to work in their good uniforms; he also stopped leave arbitrarily and inflicted group punishments. In the rapid expansion which saw the RCN become the fourth largest navy in the world, only about 80 per cent of 'Iroquois' wartime crew had been to sea before. Mutiny simmered for months and was delayed only by a short visit by 'Iroquois' to Halifax. Matters came to a head in July 1943. Though 'Iroquois' later rescued 628 survivors from the troopship 'Duchess of York', Holms had withheld fire while three troopships, which were being escorting 300 miles west of Vigo, were attacked by German aircraft, and two were sunk. Then on arrival in Plymouth, after a German prisoner complained that he had been robbed of a uniform badge, Holms again stopped leave. The junior rates locked themselves on their messdecks while Holms fell down to knock himself unconscious in his bathroom. The mutiny ended when Holms was stretchered ashore.
....The US Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was authorized to develop the Gorgon, an aerial ram or air-to-air missile powered by a turbojet engine and equipped with radio controls and a homing device. The Gorgon was later expanded into a broad program embracing turbojet, ramjet, pulsejet and rocket power; straight wing, swept wing, and canard air frames; and visual, TV, heat-homing and 3 type of radar guidance for use as air-to-air, air-to-surface and surface-to-surface guided missiles and as target drones.
....The German submarine 'U-513' was sunk in the South Atlantic south-east of Sao Francisco do Sul, Brazil, by 6 depth charges from a PBM-3C Mariner of Patrol Squadron Seventy Four (VP-74) based at Naval Air Facility (NAF) Natal, Brazil. The submarine commander had elected to remain on the surface and use his AA guns against the PBM. Only 7 of the crew of 53 survived and they were rescued by the small seaplane tender USS 'Barnegat' (AVP-10).

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 11: On the ground in Sicily, the US Seventh Army and British Eighth Army continued to push northwest and north. The US 82d Airborne Division took Sciacca and Menfi; the US 9d Infantry Division cleared Santo Stefano Quisquina and the heights north of Mussomeli; the US 2d Armored Division, with British units, took Enna and drives on to Villapriolo. The Canadian 1 Division pushed to the Leonforte area; the British 51 Division attacked the German airfield near Sferro; 13 Corps was halted by strong opposition on the Catania Plain. Italian forces began to surrender en masse.
....During the night, Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) Wellingtons bombed Aquino, Sicily, and Capodichino, Italy, Airfields while Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) medium and light bombers attacked vehicles, roads, and town areas around and in Randazzo, Santo Stefano di Camastra, Orlando, and Nicosia, Sicily. During the day, NASAF fighter-bombers attacked targets of opportunity in western Sicily while NASAF medium bombers struck Montecorvino Airfield. Joining the attack were USAAF Ninth Air Force B-25s which attacked Randazzo and Taormina; and RAF heavy bombers which hit Vibo Valentia Airfield.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet offensive on the eastern front continued as the Bryansk Front (Popov) under heavy fire from the Luftwaffe, pushed the Germans out of Mtensk.
....The STAVKA issued an order to all partisans units declaring a "rail war" against the German railway system. From now on every effort would be made to prevent supplies and reinforcements reaching the front. The Germans have been forced to use armoured trains to fight off partisan attacks and many units have suffered severe casualties on the way to the front. Now, the railways were going to become even more hazardous.
....Walter Lehn of JG 51 (5 kills) went missing during combat and was presumed dead. Lt. Helmut Hanstein of 9./JG 3 (10 kills) also was listed as missing in action.

WESTERN FRONT: German submarine 'U-558' was sunk in the Bay of Biscay northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain, by depth charges from an RAF Halifax Mk II of No. 58 Squadron and a USAAF B-24 Liberator of the 19th Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy); both aircraft were based at St. Eval, Cornwall, England. Only 5 of the 50-man sub crew survived.
....One man was lost (Matrosenobergefreiter Arthur List) during an air attack on 'U-195' in the Bay of Biscay.

GERMANY: Oblt. Walther Dahl was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 3 and moved with the Gruppe to Munster to battle the Allied bombers.