This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 14: Patton's attack continued as his spearheads turned toward Messina along the northern coastal road. His forces reached Termini Imerese. Other 7th Army forces captured Trapani and Marsala and mopped up in the western part of the island. The British Eighth Army's 30 Corps met firm opposition as it moved east from Leonforte.
....In the air, RAF heavy bombers hit Reggio di Calabria Airfield in Italy while Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, B-25 Mitchells, and B-26 Marauders bombed Leverano and Crotone, Italy, and Aquino Airfield, Sicily. In Sicily, Northwest African Tactical Air Force medium bombers and fighters bombed and strafed Misterbianco, transport in the Nicosia-Troina-Randazzo areas, and bridges and landing craft in the coastal area around Santo Stefano di Camastra and Orlando.
....The British destroyers HMS 'Eclipse' and HMS 'Laforey' sank the Italian submarine 'Ascianghi' after she torpedoed the cruiser HMS 'Newfoundland'. 'U-407' fired a spread of two torpedoes at the Support Force East during the invasion of Sicily and heard one detonation. HMS 'Newfoundland' was hit in the stern and lost her rudder, but managed to reach Malta, steering only by propellers. After emergency repairs, she went to the Boston Navy Yard where she was repaired from August 1943 to April 1944. The ship then crossed the Atlantic to the Clyde for a long refit until November 1944.

WESTERN FRONT: Three German U-boats were sunk. 'U-613' was sunk in the mid-Atlantic south of the Azores, by depth charges from the US destroyer USS 'George E. Badger' (DD-196). 'U-527' was sunk in the mid-Atlantic south of the Azores during support of 'U-648', by depth charges from a TBF Avenger of Composite Squadron Nine (VC-9) in USS 'Bogue' (CVE-9); 13 of the 53 crewman survived and 'U-648' escaped.
....'U-598' was sunk in the South Atlantic near Natal, Brazil, by depth charges when Lieutenant (jg) Waugh, flying PB4Y-1 Liberator 107-B-6 of Bombing Squadron One Hundred Seven (VB-107) based at Natal, attacked a surfaced U-boat in conjunction with Lieutenant Ford, sinking the submarine. Waugh’s aircraft apparently sustained damage during the attack, plunging into the sea after his bombing pass, all hands were lost. The submarine was 'U-598', Kapitänleutnant Gottfried Holtorf commanding. Only one of the 44-men aboard the U-boat were saved.
....Oblt. Heinz Wurm of 1./SAGr 128 recieved a well-deserved Deutsches Kreuz in Gold.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet forces advanced in the region of Orel and finished mopping up German troops from the southern sector of the Kursk salient. The Germans have been pushed back to their original positions at Kursk. Fw. Uwe Krais of 10./JG 3 (17 kills) was killed in combat.

[Hugh Spencer]

24th July 1943
347 Lancasters, 246 Halifaxes, 125 Stirlings and 73 Wellingtons attacked Hamburg, 12 aircraft lost.
Window was used for the first time on this night. Conditions over Hamburg were clear with only a gentle wind. The marking, a mixture of H2S and visual, was a little scattered but most of the target indicators fell near enough to the centre of Hamburg for a concentrated raid to develop quickly. 728 aircraft dropped 2,284 tons of bombs in 50 minutes. Bombing photographs showed that less than half of the force bombed within 3 miles of the centre of Hamburg and a creepback 6 miles long developed. But, because Hamburg was such a large city, severe damage was caused in the central and north western districts, particularly in Altona, Eimsbuttel and Hoheluft. The Rathaus, the Nikolaikirche, the main police station, the main telephone exchange and the Hagenbeck Zoo (where 140 animals died) were among the wellknown Hamburg landmarks to be hit. Approximately 1,500 people were killed. This was the greatest number of people killed so far in a raid outside the area in which Oboe could be used.
33 Lancasters of 5 Group returning from North Africa bombed Leghorn docks but the target was covered by haze and bombing was scattered. No losses.
13 Mosquitoes carried out diversionary and nuisance raids to Bremen, Kiel, Lubeck and Duisburg.
6 Wellingtons laid mines in the River Elbe while the Hamburg raid was in progress. No losses.

[Njaco]

GERMANY: Operation "Gomorrah" / The Hamburg Raids / Blitz Week: RAF Bomber Command continued its bombing campaign against German cities, hitting Hamburg with 780 bombers carrying 2300 tons of bombs, equivalent to the explosive power of the 5 most destructive raids on London.
....The RAF used a new tactic, causing the Luftwaffe its largets defeat of the night-fighter war to date. The lead RAF aircraft used the Laminetta method of disrupting German defenses by dropping thousands of tinfoil cut to the wavelength of German radar. The tinfoil or 'Window' ('Duppel') created massive echoes on the German recievers and chaos in German ground stations. Without the controllers, the night-fighters could only fumble about in the dark.
....The bombers attacked on a narrow front, known as a 'stream' instead of spread out. Wave after wave of British bombers broke through the German night defenses and left the Luftwaffe helpless to stop it. The bombs produced a firestorm, the first in history, in which the flames were visible for 200 miles. Temperatures in the centre reached 1400 degress F and as the inferno sucked in more oxygen, winds reached an incredible 150 mph. The firestorms that engulfed Hamburg were the worst in its 750 year history.
....Goring ordered Major Hermann and his experimental unit to take-off from Bonn-Hangelar airfield and attack the bombers. All 12 fighters took off to defend the city and they were able to destroy 12 of the bombers. Goring soon ordered all night-fighters to adopt the "Wilde Sau" tactics until German technical experts could defeat the effects of "Window".

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 15: In Sicily, the drive of the 45th Infantry Division on the northern coast continues as Cefalu was captured while the US 1st Infantry Division seized Gangi and headed toward Nicosia.
....In the air, Ninth Air Force P-40s flew armored reconnaissance and fighter-bomber missions over the Adrano and Milazzo area. The attacks were concentrated against motor transport targets. In Sicily, Northwest African Tactical Air Force fighter-bombers hit barges, warships, and docks in the Messina-Milazzo area and transport northeast of Mount Etna. Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17s and B-25 Mitchells bombed the railroad yards at Bologna and B-26 Marauders hit the railroad yards at Paola.
....The Italian Fascist Grand Council met for the first time since December 1939. The topic of debate was the continued leadership of Mussolini. In the end, the council voted 19-7 to remove el Duce from command of all Italian forces. The Fascist rebels were led by Dino Grandi, one of Mussolini's former close friends and admirers, Giuseppe Bottai and the Duce's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano. What the Duce did not realize was that he was the target of a far wider plot involving Crown Prince Umberto and leading generals.
....As the stench of burning still hung over the heavily-bombed suburbs of Rome, the Pope appealed to all combatants to avoid further bombing of the Eternal City. The Vatican denied that the Pope wrote to President Roosevelt condemning the raids - which badly damaged one church in the city. Vatican radio said: "The Pope is impartial. He does not intend to increase the hatred between the opposing sides. However, Rome is unique and both sides should recognize this. The Pope knows that churches have been destroyed in England too."

WESTERN FRONT: The VIII Bomber Command flew Mission Number 75 to attack 3 targets in Norway. This was the Eighth Air Force's first mission to Norway and its longest (1,900 miles or 3,040 km round trip) to date. 167 B-17s hit the nitrate works at Heroya; 1 B-17 was lost. Work at the plant was disrupted for 3.5 months, and unfinished aluminum and magnesium plants were damaged and subsequently abandoned by the Germans. 41 B-17s bombed the port area at Trondheim without loss. One of the casualties was the German submarine 'U-622' which was sunk near Trondheim. 84 B-17s were dispatched against the port area at Bergen but found heavy cloud cover and returned to base with their bombs.
....A number of Fw 190s belonging to 1./JG 11 attacked the formation of B-17s as they returned to England after having bombed the Trondheim harbour and Porsgrun. The Focke-Wulfs did not claim any bombers but lost 2 aircraft over the North sea south of Lister. One was piloted by Staffelkapitaen Hptm. Erwin Linkiewicz who was found washed ashore on the beach east of Skiveren on 12 August. Another fighter belly landed in a field south of Lild Strand. The landing was watched by a local boy, and when he came to the landing site he found the pilot sitting on the tail smoking a cigarette. The one lost battle-damaged USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress crash-landed in Sweden. Its ten-man crew became the first of nearly 1,000 American and other Allied airmen to be granted refuge in neutral Sweden during World War 2.
....German submarine 'U-459' was scuttled after being attacked by an RAF Wellington Mk XII 'Q' of No. 172 Squadron and a Wellington Mk XI 'V' of No 547 Squadron near Cape Ortegal, Spain. 41 of the 60 crewmen survived. 'U-459' was a "Milchkuh" operating a fuelling and replenishment service for 72 other U-boats.

EASTERN FRONT: German aircraft bombed Leningrad, killing 210 people.

[Hugh Spencer]

25th July 1943
294 Lancasters, 221 Halifaxes, 104 Stirlings, 67 Wellingtons and 19 Mosquitoes attacked Essen, 26 aircraft lost.
The commander of the American VIII Bomber Command, Brigadier General Fred Anderson, observed this raid as a passenger in an 83 Squadron Lancaster.
This was an attempt to achieve a good raid on this major target while the effects of Window were still fresh. The raid was successful, with particular damage being recorded in Essen's industrial areas in the eastern half of the city. The Krupps works suffered what was probably its most damaging raid of the war. The next morning, Doktor Gustav Krupp had a stroke from which he never recovered. This saved him from being charged with war crimes after the war. 51 other industrial buildings were destroyed and 83 seriously damaged. 2,852 houses were destroyed, 500 people were killed, 12 were missing and 1,208 were injured. The 500 dead were recorded as follows: 165 civilian men, 118 women, 22 children, 22 servicemen, 131 foreign workers and 42 prisoners of war.
6 Mosquitoes went to Hamburg, 3 each to Cologne and Gelsenkirchen and 17 aircraft minelaying in the Frisians, no losses.

[Njaco]

GERMANY: Operation "Gomorrah" Day 2: VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 76: Three locations in Germany were targeted. The three targets were:123 B-17s were dispatched against the diesel engine works at Hamburg but due to cloud cover, 100 hit the shipyard. They claimed 38-6-27 Luftwaffe aircraft and 15 B-17s were lost. 59 B-17s were dispatched against the Kiel Shipyard but returned because of cloud cover. 141 B-17s were dispatched against the aviation industry at Warnemunde. 118 hit the Kiel Shipyard and claimed 6-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft. 4 B-17s were lost. A total of 19 heavy bombers were lost, mostly to effective formation attacks by German fighters. The raid on Hamburg was part of six Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) missions against that port city and followed a raid of the previous night during which nearly 750 Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers did tremendous damage to the target.
....The Hamburg formation was intercepted by III./JG 26. 3 bombers were shot down including one for Oblt. Mietusch of III./JG 26, who downed his first B-17. On the return flight, fighters from JG 11 bounced the formations and over the North Sea fighters from II. and III./JG 1 attacked the stragglers. Both Gruppen from JG 1 accounted for 3 more bombers but at a cost. The Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 1, Major Karl-Heinz Lessmann died crashing into the sea after an attack on the bombers. He dies with a final total of 37 kills.
....Numerous B-17s fell into the North Sea. A B 17F of the 94 BG, 410 BS, named ”Happy Daze” had crossed the Danish coast line on the return flight and was attacked by three FW 190 who damaged the B 17F. It ditch it in the sea and came apart just behind the radio cabin and sank in 15 seconds. The whole crew apart from Right Waist Gunner Sgt Thomas M. Brown managed to get out of the aircraft. He went down with the aircraft. For the next 19 hours they drifted around. During the night they could watch as well as hear the sounds of an attack on Hamburg. They sent up a balloon and radio signals were sent to England. They were found by two Lancasters that dropped a Lindholme dinghy. One hour later they received one more and at 18:00 another one which they then tied together. When the Lancasters disappeared a JU 88 showed up and circled the dinghies and then left without further action. On 27 July at 07:30 the Danish fishing boat FN 41 “Betty” rescued the crewmen.
.... A B 17F of the 100 BG, 350 BS from the Kiel raid named “Duration Plus Six” was hit. They ditched about 75 miles southwest of Esbjerg. Skipper Svend L. Petersen of fishing vessel E 475 of Esbjerg had only just set his trawl when he saw the aircraft ditch. He left the trawl and set course for the plane. Upon reaching the place where the B 17F had ditched they could take the four survivors onboard. Carey and Styles were unharmed while Lepper and Parson were badly injured, one of whom had broken both legs and both wrists. The fishermen dressed the wounds to the best of their ability, picked up the trawl and set course for Esbjerg where they arrived on 26 July.
....At a situation conference, Hitler unleashed his fury on his Luftwaffe adjutant, Major Christian with the words; "Terror can only be broken by terror! Everything else is nonsense. The British will only be halted when their own cities are destroyed. I can only win the war by dealing out more destruction to the enemy than he does to us....In all epochs that has been the case, and it is just the same in the air. Otherwise our people will turn mad, and in the course of time lose all confidence in the Luftwaffe. Even now it is not fully doing its job..." He then ordered mass production of rockets for attacks on London to avenge Hamburg's bombing.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 16: Patton's headlong advance came to a screeching halt as the forces driving along the northern coast met stiff resistance. The US 9th Divison and the British 78th Division were landed to reinforce Sicily. The US Seventh Army made slow progress along the northern coastal road, while the British Eighth Army's 30 Corps took part in hard fighting in the Agira area. In an attempt to break the deadlock on his front, Montgomery launched a set piece attack by British and Canadian forces on Agira.
....In the air, Ninth Air Force B-25s bombed docks and shipping at Milazzo and almost 100 P-40s strafed and bombed Milazzo, Taormina, and Catania harbor. Meanwhile, Northwest African Tactical Air Force medium and light bombers, and fighters during night and day raids, attacked shipping and docks at Milazzo and in the Santo Stefano di Camastra-Orlando area, and hit roads and motor transport, bridges and armor concentration in the Orlando-Adrano-Troina-Nicosia areas.
....A formation of Ju 52s were sent to the battle front to resupply German troops on Sicily. They attempted to land reinforcements on a coastal airstrip at Milazzo in the north of the island. In an effort to protect the Junkers, the Bf 109s of JG 27 and JG 77 engaged RAF Spitfires attacking the slow transports. But they couldn't prevent destruction. 21 Ju 52s and 4 Bf 109s were shot down. Among the losses was Ritterkreuztrager Lt. Heinz-Edgar Berres of I./JG 77 (53 kills) who was killed. Also killed was Ofw. Fritz Meikstat of 5./JG 27 after combat with a Spitfire near Reggio.
....Benito Mussolini, the Fascist who led his country into a disastrous war, was stripped of his office by King Vittorio Emmanuel III after being outvoted by his former supporters on the Fascist Grand Council, following a two-day meeting. The king took command of the armed forces and appointed an anti-Fascist, Marshal Pietro Badoglio, as prime minister. The heavy-jowled Mussolini arrived back from his meeting with Hitler to find Rome bombed and rebellion in the air. He did not expect to be placed under armed guard after making a courtesy visit to the palace. The king was part of a far larger conspiracy to depose the dictator. Mussolini was content to ignore his rubber-stamp council; but he dared not ignore the king. Before the palace guard took him away in an ambulance, the king told him: "My dear Duce ... my soldiers don't want to fight anymore ... at this moment, you are the most hated man in Italy."
....Marshal Badoglio, a national war hero from the First World War, was declared Prime Minister and his first acts were to declare martial law, outlaw the Fascist Party, and incorporate the Fascist militias into the regular armed forces thus removing Mussolini's muscle from the political equation. Hitler, knowing this was in the works, ordered his pre-positioned forces into southern Italy to disarm the renegade Italians and secure the situation for his ends.

EASTERN FRONT: The Eastern Front night-fighters lost Lt. Erberhard Gardiewski of 6./NJG 2 (5 kills) when he was shot down and captured by the Russians.

ENGLAND: German aircraft penetrated the York/Catterick/Church Fenton areas. Bombing was scattered and there were no casualties.

WESTERN FRONT: A Ju 88D-5 from 5(F)./122 was shot down by an Allied fighter. Oblt. Edwin Burgmeier and 3 others were all killed..

[Hugh Spencer]

26th July 1943
6 Mosquitoes went to Hamburg, no losses.

[Hugh Spencer]

27th July 1943
353 Lancasters, 244 Halifaxes, 116 Stirlings and 74 Wellingtons attacked Hamburg, 17 aircraft lost.
The American commander, Brigadier-General Anderson, again flew in a Lancaster and watched this raid.
The centre of the Pathfinder marking, all carried out by H2S on this night, was about 2 miles east of the planned aiming point in the centre of the city but the marking was particularly concentrated and the Main Force bombing 'crept back' only slightly. 729 aircraft dropped 2,326 tons of bombs.
This was the night of the firestorm which started through an unexpected chain of events. The temperature was particularly high (30 centigrade at 6 o'clock in the evening) and the humidity was only 30%, compared with an average of 40-50% for this time of the year. There had been no rain for some time and everything was very dry. The concentrated bombing cause a large number of fires in the densely built up working class districts of Hammerbrook, Hamm and Borgfeld. Most of Hamburg's firs vehicles had been in the western parts of the city, damping down the fires still smoudering there from the raid of 3 nights earlier and only a few units were able to pass through roads which were blocked by the rubble of buildings destroyed by high explosive bombs early in this raid. About half way through the raid the fires in Hammerbrook started joining together and competing with each other for the oxygen in the surrounding air. Suddenly the whole area became one big fire with air being drawn inti it with the force of a storm. The bombing continued for another half hour, spreading the firestorm area gradually eastwards. It is estimated that 550-600 bomb loads fell into an area measuring only 2 miles by 1 mile. The firestorm raged for about 3 hours and only subsided when all burnable material was consumed. The burnt-out area was almost entirely residential. Approximately 16,000 multi-storeyed apartment buildings were destroyed. There were few survivors from the firestorm area and approximately 40,000 people died, most of them by carbon monoxide poisoning when all the air was drawn out of their basement shelters. In the period immediately following this raid, approximately 1,200,000 people - two thirds of Hamburg's population- fled the city in fear of further raids.
3 Mosquitoes went to Duisburg and 6 Wellingtons were minelaying in the River Elbe. 1 Mosquito was lost.

[Njaco]

GERMANY: Operation "Gomorrah" Day 3: During US VIII Bomber Command's Mission Number 77, two targets in Germany and a convoy were hit. 24 B-17s were lost mostly to Luftwaffe fighters. In the first raid, 96 B-17s bombed rubber factories at Hannover losing 16 B-17s. 54 of 121 B-17s dispatched against Hannover bombed the U-boat yards at Hamburg. 119 B-17 and 2 YB-40 Flying Fortresses were dispatched against rubber factories at Hannover and 49 of 61 B-17s dispatched against Hannover hit a convoy and other targets of opportunity losing 6 aircraft.
....The fighters of JG 1 and JG 11 again intercepted the formations and shot down several bombers with II./JG 1 claiming 7 shot down by the Gruppe's pilots for the loss of 2 fighters. Shortly after mid-day, a group of B-17s heading for home came under attack from the fighters of II./JG 11 and Jasta Helgoland. The Germans managed to shoot down 5 bombers. The 5th Fortress was added to the victory tally of Uffz. Doelling of Jasta Helgoland. Jasta Helgoland's Uffz. Erich Ulmschneider recalled; "Suddenly we heard the droning of engines coming from the northeast and then, plowing through the sky at an altitude of 4,000 meters we spotted a silhouette of an aircraft. It was a lone B-17 on iys way back to England. The bomber has probably been damaged and forced from its formation. It was unlucky enough to find itself flying right past our base on Helgoland. Technicians lept up onto the wing of my kite and cranked the inertia starter for all they were worth while I had never climbed into my cockpit so quickly - the last 'Toni' left the airfield at full throttle. I was coaxing and cursing my kite in the same breath. 'You lame duck, you beauty, you good 109, faster, faster!' As I closed to within 1,000 meters and prepared for an attack, I realized that the enemy had yet to make any defensive maneuvers, far less open with defensive fire. Something was up with that bomber, perhaps there were wounded crew aboard, since they would have surely noticed me by now. I got even closer to the Boeing. 400 - 500 meters more and I unleashed a burst of machine gun fire, stopped firing briefly and then let him have it from all barrels. Cease firing! Whats happening now! I couls see very clearly black spots tumbling away from the Boeing and first parachutes popped open. The Boeing's capitain must have realized the futility of this unequal fight and given the order to leave the plane. I sighed with relief, as I was ready for a fierce fight. Having counted 8 chutes and observed the Boeing plunge into the sea, I dove away back to Helgoland with an unbelievable feeling of relief and joy in my heart; 'You will not have them on your conscience!"
....Hitler ordered defensive preparations in Greece, which he assumed would be the Allies' next landing site.
....After a heavy raid on the Krupp armaments works last night, Dr. Gustav Krupp von Bohlen suffered a stroke when he saw the burning ruins.

EASTERN FRONT: The Germans were pulling out of the great bastion at Orel. Having failed at great cost to cut off the Russian salient at Kursk, the Wehrmacht was having to withdraw from its own salient, 200 miles south of Moscow, in the face of a massive Soviet counter-offensive. Hitler reluctantly gave permission for Field Marshal von Kluge to withdraw his armies from the salient two days ago after it became apparent that they were in danger of suffering another defeat on the scale of Stalingrad. The Red Army has broken through the German's fortified lines east of Orel on a front 20 miles long and has defeated five German divisions.
....Both sides are also weighing the lessons, as well as counting the cost, of the great tank battle at Kursk. Each deployed tank-busting aircraft fitted with large-calibre cannon. On the German side, the Stuka, fitted with two 37mm flak cannon, and the Henschel Hs-129 with its 30mm cannon performed with great effect. The Russians replied with Sturmovik Il-2s fitted with deadly 37mm cannon which on one occasion reduced 70 tanks of the 9th Panzer Division to burning wrecks within 20 minutes.
....Hitler ordered a number of Waffen-SS divisions sent from Russia to Italy, but only the 1st SS 'Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler' (Adolf Hitler’s bodyguard), Panzerdivision was actually transfered. 2nd SS 'Das Reich' and 3rd SS 'Totenkopf' remained in the East. Those two divisions and the 3.Panzerdivision, which replaced Leibstandarte, were transferred to the 6.Armee area, where they conducted a counterattack from July 31 to August 2 that eliminated a strong Soviet bridgehead at the Mius River.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 17: Heavy fighting was reported in Sicily as attacks at Agira and Nicosia occurred. The German theater commander, General Kesselring, ordered preparations to begin for the evacuation of the island.
....In Sicily during the night, Northwest African Tactical Air Force medium bombers attacked Milazzo, Adrano, and Paterno; throughout the day light bombers hit Regalbuto at intervals, and fighter-bombers harassed shipping, rail, and road movements. Ninth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bombed Milazzo, Paterno, and Adrano while P-40s strafed and bombed Catania and shipping at Riposto harbor. Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-26s bombed the Marina di Paola marshalling yard.
....Marshal Badoglio was appointed head of Italy by the Italian King after the arrest of Benito Mussolini. The Marshal immediately excludes all Fascists from his new cabinet and dissolves the Fascist Party.

WESTERN FRONT: German submarine 'U-359' (Type VIIC) was sunk in the Caribbean south of Santo Domingo, by depth charges from a PBM-3C Mariner of Patrol Squadron Thirty Two (VP-32) based at NAS Coco Solo, Canal Zone. All 47 crewman of the U-boat perished.

[Njaco]

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 18: On the ground in Sicily, the US Seventh Army reached Tusa and San Mauro and pushed toward Nicosia. The fighting at Agira and Nicosia is heavy and inconclusive. In the air, USAAF Ninth Air Force P-40s attacked tactical targets in battle area in northeastern Sicily, and others hit shipping at Catania. Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders bombed the landing ground at Scalea while Northwest African Tactical Air Force fighters and light bombers continued bombing and strafing of ports, shipping, bridges, landing grounds, and motor transport. In Italy, Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the airfield at Capua and the railroad at Lioni. British PM Churchill stated that if Italy does not surrender, it will be "scarred and blackened from one end to the other."
....Hitler ordered Mussolini's liberation and his restoration as puppet leader in a German-occupied Italy. Mussolini was moved from Rome to Ponza under heavy guard.

WESTERN FRONT: The US VIII Air Support Command flew Mission Number 5; 17 B-26Bs bombed Tricqueville Airfield, France.
....A Halifax II belonging to RAF No. 138 Sqn. Bomber Command, was tasked to drop supplies and two agents in Denmark. Near Madum Lake 13 kilometres north west of Hadsund and 13 kilometres south south east of Volsted there would be resistance people from Aalborg waiting to receive four containers and a parcel plus two SOE agents Jens Peter Petersen (Code named Tripe) and Aage Møller Christensen (Code named Margarine). The Halifax dropped its load at 01:16 according to plan except that the first agent to go (Petersen) jumped 3 seconds prematurely. The containers were received all right but the parcel which contained a radio ended up in the middle of the lake. Also Christensen landed in the lake 60 feet from the shore.
....At 01:23 Lt. Hermann Stock of 12./NJG 3 and his crew took off from Fliegerhorst Grove flying JU 88C-6 coded D5+FX. Flying at 3000 metres Stock spotted the Halifax in the light of the full moon but when it suddenly turned, he lost sight of it. He caught sight of it again at 300 metres about 800 metres away. The Halifax was still flying defensive but this time Stock kept it in sight. The Halifax, flown by W/C Richard Douglas (Dickie) Speares, flew very low and Stock who tried to get even lower noticed that his altimeter indicated that he was flying below zero due to being adjusted to Fliegerhorst Grove which was at 50 metres. The Halifax was still twisting and turning and since Stock was not able to get below it.
....Suddenly Stock heard a loud bang and thought that he had collided with the Halifax. The JU 88 was shaking violently and the engines were fluctuating between 800 and 2600 rpm while still flying at zero metres altitude. They were approximately 90 kilometres out to sea and were not very happy with the possibility of having to bail out. When they reached the coastline the funker tried to make radio contact with Grove but without success. They managed to find Grove and landed at 03:56 hours. When the crew got out of the JU 88 they saw the reason for their problems. The tips of the propeller blades were missing. After the combat W/Cdr ”Dickie” Speare continued towards England and landed at Tempsford at 05:22 hours.

EASTERN FRONT: The Polish government in exile received word of a new wave of mass murder in eastern Poland, as German forces cleared the area to set up new lines of defence. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the Germans were expelling and murdering Poles from a belt 60 miles wide, settling ethnic Germans there in order to boost defences. Lublin, Cracow and Radom were understood to be the centre of the killings, in which the Germans were accused of massacring the entire population, mainly peasants. Whole towns and villages have been emptied in the terror, and up to 100,000 people have fled to the forests for sanctuary, abandoning their farms and livestock. It was said that the SS were rounding up Polish civilians by cordoning off areas and using artillery and tanks to flush them out.
....Joseph Stalin, the premier and dictator, issued Order Number 227 to motivate both the military and civilians in and around Leningrad; the order becomes known as the "Not one step backward" order. The order states that "panic makers and cowards must be liquidated on the spot. Not one step backward without orders from higher headquarters! Commanders…who abandon a position without an order from higher headquarters are traitors to the Fatherland."

UNITED STATES: It all started as a barroom dare, when two Army Air Corps pilots challenged each other to fly through a tropical storm. So, Maj. Joe Duckworth flew a propeller-driven, single-engine North American AT-6 "Texan" trainer into the eye of a tropical storm. Duckworth flew into the eye of that storm twice that day, once with a navigator and again with a weather officer. These were generally considered to be the first airborne attempts to obtain data for use in plotting the position of a tropical cyclone as it approached land. Duckworth's pioneering efforts paved the way for further flights into tropical cyclones.

[Hugh Spencer]

28th July 1943
4 Mosquitoes attacked Hamburg and 3 Dusseldorf. 17 aircraft laid mines in the Frisian Islands. No losses.

[Njaco]

GERMANY: US VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 78: The aviation industry in Germany was targeted but bad weather hampered the raids. The targets were: 58 of 182 B-17 Flying Fortresses dispatched bombed the Fieseler Works at Kassel, Germany. They claimed 27-15-22 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17s were lost. 37 of 120 B-17s dispatched bombed the Fw 190 plant at Oschersleben, Germany. They claimed 56-19-41 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17s were lost. This was the deepest US bomber penetration into Germany to date. The raid achieved good results however, 22 B-17s were lost as fighters scored first effective results with rockets. 105 P-47 Thunderbolts, equipped with jettissonable belly tanks for the first time on a mission, escorted the B-17s into Germany. Other P-47s, going more than 30 miles (48 km) deeper into Germany than they have ever penetrated before, met the returning bombers. They surprised about 60 German fighters and destroyed 9 of them; 1 P-47 was lost.
....Bf 109s from II./JG 11 and I./JG 1 intercepted the bombers. But 11 Messerschmitts of 5./JG 11, led by Hptm. Heinz Knocke, hung back away from the attack. Each of these fighters was carrying a 55lb bomb underneath the fuselage with timed fuses. The fighter-bombers set themselves at 3,000 ft above the bombers and after setting dircetion and range, released the bombs. One bomb exloded in the middle of a dormation and 3 B-17s crashed together, destroyed. Free of the bombs, the fighters attacked. The fighters of II./JG 11, under Gunther Sprecht, scored 11 kills while JG 1 pilots claimed 8 bomber kills. The remaining B-17s were then attacked by I./Jg 26 who claimed 2 more bombers. The escorting P-47s of the US 4th FG then entered the melee over Holland, attacking abpout 45 Luftwaffe fighters. One P-47 was shot down by Hptm. Hermichen of I./JG 26 but fighter losses for the Germans was heavy. JG 1 and JG 11 lost 20 Fw 190s and Bf 109s shot down with 3 pilots killed while the fighters of I./JG 26 lost 3 Fw 190s.
....Goring gave orders to Milch that the aircraft industry would forthwith concentrate of defensive production. Milch then ordered the electronics industry to accelerate the production of radar units impervious to 'Window'. The objective was to be: "To inflict losses on enemy night bombers in the shortest time amounting to at least 20 to 25%."

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 19: On the ground in Sicily, the US Seventh Army took Nicosia and pushed toward Santo Stefano di Camastra and the Canadians took Agira. Allied cargo vessels began arriving at Palermo, and Lieutenant General Harold R Alexander, 15 Army Group Commanding General, moved his HQ to Sicily. Allied surrender terms were broadcast to the Italians by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
....In the air, Northwest African Tactical Air Force light bombers hit Regalbuto, Milazzo, and Centuripe; A-36 Apaches and P-40s hit heavy traffic on the Troina-Randazzo road, bridges and roads north and west of Cesaro, the landing ground at Falcone, and buildings near Randazzo. Almost 100 Ninth Air Force P-40s hit shipping at Catania and Santa Teresa di Riva, fly patrol over the Straits of Messina, and bomb encampments.

WESTERN FRONT: US VIII Air Support Command Mission Numbers 6 and 7: The primary targets were in Belgium and France. 18 B-26B Marauders were dispatched against the coke ovens at Zeebrugge, Belgium and 18 B-26Bs were dispatched against Tricqueville Airfield, France but the mission was recalled when the accompanying fighters did not join up.

ENGLAND: A Hurricane fighter operating from Milfield airfield, near Wooler, crashed at East Fenton, also near Wooler at 10.40. The plane took fire whilst in the air. The pilot baled out and was uninjured.

[Hugh Spencer]

29th July 1943
340 Lancasters, 244 Halifaxes, 119 Stirlings, 70 Wellingtons and 4 Mosquitoes attacked Hamburg, 28 airraft lost. Lancaster ED782 from 61 Sqdn was one of them with its crew - P/O E. Harbour, P/O J. Phillips, W/O C. Morrow, F/Sgt D. Hunter, Sgt C.D. Brown, Sgt R. Foster and Sgt A.E. White.
The marking for this raid was again all by H2S. The intention was to approach Hamburg from almost due north and bomb those northern and north-eastern distrcts which had so far not been bombed. The pathfinders actually came in more than 2 miles too far to the east and marked an area just south of the devastated firestorm area. The Main Force bombing crept back about 4 miles, through the devastated area, but then produced very heavy bombing in the Wandsbek and Barmbek districts and parts of the Uhlenhorst and Winterhude districts. Thes were all residential areas. 707 aircraft dropped 2,318 tons of bombs. There was a widespread fire area - though no firestorm - which the exhausted Hamburg fire units could do little to check. The worst inident was in the shelter of a large departmentstore in Wandsbek. The building collapsed and blocked the exits from the shelter which was in the basement of the store. 370 people died, poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes from a burning coke store nearby.
4 Mosqutoes went to Dusseldorf, 6 Wellingtons minelaying in the River Elbe and 9 Lancasters of 617 Sqdn dropped leaflets over Italian cities, no losses.

[Hugh Spencer]

29th July 1943
340 Lancasters,244 Halifaxes, 119 Stirlings, 70 Wellingtons and 4 Mosquitoes attacked Hamburg, 28 aircraft lost. Lancaster ED782 of 61 Sqdn was one of them, with its crew - P/O E. Harbour, P/O J. Phillips, W/O C. Morrow, F/Sgt D. Hunter, Sgt C.D. Brown, Sgt R. Foster and Sgt A.E. White.
The marking for this raid was again all by H2S. The intention was to approach Hamburg from almost due north and bomb those northern and north-eastern districts which had so far not been bombed. The Pathfinders actually came in more than 2 miles too far to the east and marked an area just south of the devastated firestorm area. The Main Force bombing crept back about 4 miles, through the devastated area, but then produced very heavy bombing in the Wandsbek and Barmbek districts and parts of the Uhlenhorst and Winterhude districts. These were all residential areas. 707 aircraft dropped 2,318 tons of bombs. There was a widespread fire area, though no firestorm, which the ehausted Hamburg fire units could do little to check. The worst incident was in the shelter o a large department store in Wandsbek. The building collapsed and blocked the exits from the shelter which was in the basement of the store. 370 people died, poisoned by carbon monoxide from a burning coke store nearby.
4 Mosquitoes went to Dusseldorf, 6 Wellingtons laid mines in the River Elbe and 9 Lancasters of 617 Sqdn dropped leaflets over Italian cities. No losses.

[Njaco]

GERMANY: Operation "Gomorrah": On the 3d night attack on Hamburg in a week, the Luftwaffe night-fighters, including Obstlt. Herrmann's special unit, again attacked the raiding bombers. 28 bombers were shot down with 10 victories going to the pilots of Nachtjagdversuchskommando Herrmann. Creditted with victories were Obstlt. Herrmann himself, Ofw. Lonnecker, Lt. F. Rubsam, Fw. W. Rullkotter, Uffz. H. Lovenich, Major von Buchwald and Uffz. Brinkmann - all from JG Herrmann. But the special unit also lost pilots. Hptm. Friedrich Angermann was killed in his Fw 190 by return fire from a RAF No. 467 Sqdrn Lancaster over Hamburg. Uffz. Helmut Fritz was killed when his Bf 109G-6 crashed near Oldenburg.
....With Hamburg in utter ruin, the evacuation of the city of 1,000,000 is ordered.
....US VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 79 targeted 2 locations in Germany. 91 B-17s bombed the shipyards at Kiel at 0901 hours while 48 attacked targets of opportunity; 6 B-17s were lost. 54 B-17s hit the Heinkel Works at Warnemunde at 0922-0924 hours. 4 B-17s were lost.

WESTERN FRONT: US VIII Air Support Command Missions 8 and 9 targeted 2 airfields; 18 B-26B Marauders were dispatched against Schipol Airfield at Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The mission was aborted due to a navigational error while 19 B-26Bs attacked Ft. Rouge Airfield, France.
....Ofw. Hans Gryz of 1./SAGr 128 claimed a Liberator in the late afternoon. The big 4 engined aircraft was shot down into the sea from a height of only 10 meters. Ofw. Gryz' vistim was probably from RAF No. 224 Sqdrn.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation 'Husky' Day 20: On the ground the US Seventh Army almost completes the mop up of western Sicily, approaches Santo Stefano Quisquina, advances on Mistretta, and takes three islands off Trapani. The British Eighth Army opens an assault during the night of 29/30 July along an axis of Catenanuova-Adrano. The British 78th Division arrives at the front and attacks toward Paterno.
....In the air, 200+ Ninth Air Force P-40's, the largest number of fighters operating in a day during the Sicilian campaign to date, attack Messina Riposto, shipping at Catania, Santa Teresa di Riva, Taormina, Milazzo, and in the Straits of Messina. Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-26 Marauders hit Aquino Airfield while In Sicily, Northwest African Tactical Air Force fighters and light bombers hit Regalbuto, Milazzo, shipping off Messina, and gun positions and motor transport in northeastern Sicily. Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17s bomb Viterbo Airfield.
....A Me 410 of 2(F)./122 failed to return from a sortie to the western Sicilian harbours. The crew, of Lt Martin Schwarz (F)and Uffz. Franz Prandstötter (Bf) were recorded as missing.

ENGLAND: A third Me 410 from V./KG 2 fell to the guns of a Mosquito from RAF No. 256 Sqdrn.

EASTERN FRONT: In an attempt to relieve the pressure on German units between Kharkov and Orel, the Germans open an offensive by the 3.Panzerkorps (Heeresgruppe A ) along the Mius River north of Taganrog. The attack fails to make any impression on the Red Army forces in the area.