This day in the war in the Pacific 65 years ago.

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 8 B-25's and 8 P-40's attack railroad yards and warehouses at Chiuchiang, China, causing considerable destruction.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): In the Solomon Islands, 20+ B-24's bomb the runway and revetment area at the airfield on Buka Island. About 20 Japanese fighters intercept; 2 Zekes are shot down.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Arundel Island, the 27th Infantry Regiment, upon renewing their assault, finds that the Japanese have withdrawn from the mainland of Arundel as well as islands nearby. The Japanese are estimated to have lost 600 dead on Arundel. By this time Japanese have decided to abandon the central Solomons entirely and want only to escape northward.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): A-20's, B-26's, and RAAF aircraft hit Tami Island and pound Finschhafen in preparation for the Allied amphibious assault on the following day; B-25's bomb and strafe the Bogadjim area and Langgoer. B-24's hit Cape Gloucester and a freighter near Talasea; A-20's and RAAF aircraft bomb Gasmata. Lost is P-40N 42-104984. The 70th Troop Carrier Squadron, 433d Troop Carrier Group, transfers from Townsville, Queensland, Australia to Attu, New Guinea with C-47's.

NEW GUINEA: The amphibious assault force (the Australian 20th Brigade Group, Australian 9th Division) sails from Lae for Finschhafen while the Australian 22d Brigade starts an overland drive from Lae toward Langemak Bay. The 21st and 25th Brigades, Australian 7th Division, are flown to Kaiapit from Nadzab to pursue the Japanese up the Markham Valley to Dumpu.

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CBI (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, B-25's attack the Ye-u branch line railroad bridge over the Mu River between Ywataung and Monywa. Negligible damage is done to the target.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24's and B-25's bomb Gasmata Airfield on New Britain Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): After a preparatory naval bombardment, elements of the Australian 9 Division land at the mouth of the Song River N of Finschhafen and push to the S; B-25's pound defenses in the Finschhafen area; almost 90 fighters battle Japanese aircraft attacking the convoy; 38 enemy aircraft are claimed shot down. Lost is G4M1 Betty piloted by Uchibaba.

AUSTRALIA: General Headquarters South West Pacific Area issues orders for Operation DEXTERITY, the landing on Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago. The ALAMO Force (U.S. Sixth Army) is to make an airborne and amphibious assault on Cape Gloucester; neutralize Gasmata Island and then take it in a shore-to-shore operation. D-Day, at first set for 20 November, is finally postponed to 26 December.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, 5th AF B-24's bomb Ambon Island in the Moluccas Islands.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: Admiral William F Halsey Commander Third Fleet, issues a warning order for the invasion of the Northern Solomon Islands and directs Rear Admiral Theodore S Wilkinson, Commander Amphibious Force, Third Fleet, who is to head landing forces, to make detailed plans.
It is later decided to invade the Treasury Islands and the Empress Augusta
Bay area of Bougainville.

NEW GUINEA: After a preparatory naval bombardment by the USN's Task Force 76 (Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey), the Australian 2/13th, 2/15th and 2/17th Battalions, 20th Brigade Group, 9th Division, land on Scarlet Beach at the mouth of the Song River, 6 miles north of Finschhafen, Northeast New Guinea, early in morning. The brigade establishes a beachhead with little difficulty and pushes south toward Finschhafen. The landing is opposed by 300-400 Japanese troops of the 80th and 238th Regiments; the Australians suffered 20 killed, 9 missing and 65 wounded.
On the Huon Peninsula, the Australian 22nd Battalion lands on Blue Beach near Hopoi on the southern coast. The battalion’s objective is to advance east and then north to Finschhafen. The rest of the 2/16th Battalion and HQ 21st Brigade are flown into Kaiapit and the battalion moves west and crosses the Maniang River.
Captured Japanese documents reveal that the Japanese force destroyed by 2/6th Independent Company at Kaiapit on 20 September was not an isolated patrol but the vanguard of 3,500 Imperial Japanese Army troops.
In the air, the 5th AF provides air support and intercepts Japanese aircraft making ineffective attacks on the convoy.
B-25's hit defenses in the Finschhafen area; almost 90 fighters battle Japanese aircraft attacking the convoy; 38 Japanese aircraft are claimed shot down. A-20's and B-25's hit the Lae area.

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ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Admiral Thomas C Kinkaid issues Operations Plan (Op Plan) 9-43 which reorganizes the Alaskan Army and Navy air strength. The Commanding General Eleventh Air Force becomes Commander of Task Force 90 (TF 90), composed of Task Group 90.1 (TG 90.1), designated the Air Striking Unit (comprising 16 medium bombers, 12 heavy bombers, 100 fighters) and of TG 90.2, designated the Air Search Group, a Navy air arm. For operations, the Eleventh Air Force is now under the jurisdiction of Commander Northern Pacific (COMNORPAC) Forces. There is no administrative change.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): 23 B-24's, 16 P-38's, and 60+ USN dive bombers, covered by AAF, USMC, USN, and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) fighters, attack Kahili; Allied aircraft claim at least 9 fighters shot down. 21 B-24's bomb area from Stanmore Plantation to the mouth of the Vila River. P-39's strafe 2 barges, at Sasamunga and Malanono, leaving both aflame.

SOUTHWEST (Fifth Air Force): B-25's bomb and strafe villages in the upper Markham River Valley. P-40's bomb Gasmata.

NEW GUINEA: Australian Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay arrives in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea to take command of the New Guinea Force.
Continuing south toward Finschhafen, Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 20th Brigade, 9th Division takes the airfield and reaches the Bumi River, where the Japanese are firmly established.

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SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): B-24's fly a small strike against Sorong and Manokwari.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: ALAMO Scouts begin reconnaissance of the Cape Gloucester area on New Britain Island in preparation for the upcoming invasion. ALAMO is the code for the U.S. Sixth Army while operating as a special ground task force headquarters directly under General Headquarters, South West Pacific Area.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commander of the Central Pacific Force, recommends to Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet and commander of the Pacific Ocean Area, that an amphibious operation against Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands be substituted for projected invasion of Nauru. [Nauru Island is a 21 square kilometer (8 square mile) island in the South Pacific Ocean, located about halfway between the Gilbert and Solomon Islands. The island is rich in phosphate deposits and was occupied by the Japanese on 25 August 1942.] This plan is subsequently accepted.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the 20th Brigade, Australian 9th Division, forces the Bumi River, north of Finschhafen, against heavy opposition, capturing Finschhafen Airdrome. In the Markham River Valley, the 2/14th Battalion, with a battery from the 2/4th Field Regiment, lands at Kaiapit.
In the air over Northeast New Guinea, nine Japanese bombers with a fighter escort bomb and strafe Finschhafen Airdrome. A USAAF Fifth Air Force P-38 Lightning pilot shoots down one of the escorting Zero's


SOLOMON ISLANDS: Barakoma Field on Vella Lavella Island becomes operational and the first Allied plane lands.

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CBI (Tenth Air Force): The 436th Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy), transfers from Bishnupur, India to Panagarh, India with B-24's.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): B-25's join USN TBF's and SBD's in pounding gun positions in the areas around Vila Airfield and Disappointment Cove on New Georgia.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Japanese begin to evacuate Kolombangara Island. The garrison has been isolated by the island hopping campaign of the U.S.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): Nearly 40 B-17's, B-24's, and B-25's bomb installations and supply lines from Bogadjim to villages on the Ramu and Markham Rivers; A-20's and RAAF airplanes pound positions near Finschhafen as the Australian 9 Division, having crossed the Buni River the previous day, pushes S toward the town. B-25's bomb and strafe AA positions at Rein Bay on New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago. The 66th Troop Carrier Squadron, 54th Troop Carrier Wing, transfers from Port Moresby to Nadzab, New Guinea with C-47's.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 20th Brigade, 9th Division, continues the battle for Finschhafen and consolidates its bridgehead across the Bumi River. In the Markham River Valley, the Australian 2/14th Battalion, with part of a battery of the 2/4th Field Regiment, lands at Kaiapit.

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SOLOMON ISLANDS: 21 B-24's, covered by 14 P-38's, bomb a bivouac near Kahili; 30 P-40's and P-39's and 15 USN F4U's support 50+ USN dive bombers in a strike on the hangar area of the airfield at Kahili and gun positions at Kangu Hill and Jakohina.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea, B-24's bomb But and Dagua Airfields; P-38's claim 9 enemy fighters shot down in the But-Dagua-Wewak areas; other B-24's hit Nubia and Potsdam Plantation.

MALAYSIA: During Operation JAYWICK, six members of the Australian SOA (Special Operations Australia) Unit in three canoes, attach limpet mines to seven ships Singapore Harbour. The six men then retire safely.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Japanese try in vain to destroy the Australian beachhead in the Finschhafen area but the 20th Brigade repels their attacks. Two companies of the Australian 2/17th Battalion moving towards Sattelberg in the hills 6 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of Finschhafen, stop the advance of Japanese reinforcements heading for the town.

UNITED STATES: The USN aircraft carrier USS BUNKER HILL is moored main dock, N.A.S. San Diego, California. She had just finished her shake-down cruise and with Carrier Air Group Seventeen (CVG-17), had qualified all pilots. They told me she is a tight fit in the Panama Canal. We, Fighting Squadron Eighteen (VF-18 ) are told to board the carrier for transport to Pearl Harbor for further training. We are 45 percent through our training program. Things got a little tight with an additional 36 fighters aboard. IIRC, a lot of Marine Regiment are also loaded FFT to Pearl.

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SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): 27 B-24's, 20+ P-40's and P-39's, and several USN fighters pound the Kahili area. P-39's over Choiseul Island strafe (and explode) 3 barges off Wogai Point, and strafe 2 others off Bambatana, leaving 1 ablaze.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): 117 B-24's and B-25's, escorted by 129 P-38's and P-40's, attack airfields and shipping in the Wewak area; about 40 aircraft are destroyed on the ground and 8 are claimed shot down in combat; the bombers claim 10 ships (totaling about 28,000 tons), 11 luggers, and a launch sunk; Finschhafen is bombed twice during the day.

CHINA: Mao Tse-min (Mao Tse-tung's brother) and the Communist party founder Chen Tan-chi are executed by order of Chiang Kai-shek.

MALAYSIA: In Singapore harbor, the limpet mines attached to seven Japanese ships by the Australian SOA (Special Operations Australia) Unit yesterday (Operation JAYWICK) begin exploding at 0515 hours local. Two freighters are sunk and five others are badly damaged.

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SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): 5 B-24 snoopers attack a convoy in N Solomons waters and claim several damaging hits. The convoy reverses its course.During the night, the Japanese garrison on Kolombangara Island begins withdrawing. Five USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberator snoopers attack a convoy in northern Solomon waters and claim several damaging hits causing the convoy to reverse its course.

UNITED STATES: Loaded up on the USS BUNKER HILL and we left San Diego, underway for Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): The Wewak area is again hit, the 40 attacking B-24's being escorted by 29 P-38's which claim 8 fighters shot down; A-20's and RAAF Vengeances attack the Finschhafen and Lae area; B-24's and P-39's hit a road near Bogadjim. The 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, transfers from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Archerfield, Queensland, Australia with C-47's. The 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group, transfers from Archerfield to Port Moresby with C-47's.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The USN submarine USS Cisco (SS-290) is sunk in the Sulu Sea about 74 nautical miles (137 kilometers) southwest of Iloilo, Panay Island, the Philippines, by the gunboat HIJMS Karatsu [ex-river gunboat USS Panay (PR-7)] and a "Pete" seaplane (Mitsubishi F1M, Navy Type 0 Observation Seaplane) in position 9.47N, 121.44E.

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CBI (Fourteenth Air Force): In Burma, 9 B-24's bomb Myitkyina and Sadon during routine ferry trips over the Hump.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): On Choiseul P-40's, P-38's, and P-39's join USN fighters in supporting a strike by USN dive bombers on a barge depot at Kakasa; other P-40's strafe and set afire a barge off Sambi Point.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, Australian troops encounter strong resistance around the town of Finschhafen while the 2/2nd Independent Company ambushes the Japanese near Kesawai in the Ramu River Valley inflicting heavy casualties.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC (Fifth Air Force): B-24's on armed reconnaissance attack scattered shipping in the Netherlands East Indies and Solomon and Bismarck Seas. Lost on a training flight is B-25D "Axis Fate" 41-30053.

CHINA: Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, commander of the U.S. China-Burma-India Theater, Chief of Staff to Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, commander of the Northern Area Combat Command and deputy commander of the South-East Asia Command, issues “A Program for China, which he recommends that 60 Chinese Nationalist divisions be re-formed.

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ANTISUBMARINE WARFARE (First Air Force): The 10th Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy), 26th Antisubmarine Wing, ceases flying ASW patrols from Galveston, Texas with B-25's. The squadron will be redesignated 867th Bombardment Squadron and will transfer to the Central Pacific with B-24's in Jun 44.

SINGAPORE: A canoe-borne Australian Special Forces group has penetrated the heavily protected harbour at Singapore and blown up between 37,000 and 38,000 tons of Japanese shipping in Operation Jaywick.
The operation began on the night of 26-27 September. Led by Major Ivan Lyon of the Gordon Highlanders, six "Z" Special men entered the harbour in three canoes and attached limpet mines to seven ships, all of which were sunk or badly damaged. All three canoes were clear of Singapore when the first mines exploded at 5.15am on 27 September. The "Z" Special group was a mix of army and navy men. Its canoes, limpet mines and equipment were conveyed to a point near Singapore in the 68-ton ketch KRAIT.
The ketch left Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, on 1 September and on entering enemy waters posed as an Indonesian trading vessel. The KRAIT is a former Japanese fishing vessel, the KOKUFU MARU, seized from the Japanese in the early part of the Pacific War.
Sailing to Singapore without incident the group sighted the lights of the city on 18 September. While attaching a limpet mine to a tanker two of the crewmen became aware of a sailor watching them intently through a porthole. The froze in their task, but fortunately the sailor did not raise the alarm.

CBI (Tenth Air Force): The 311th BGroup is redesignated 311th Fighter-Bomber Group. The 385th Bombardment Squadron (Dive) is disbanded at Nawadih, India; the 382d, 383d and 384th Bombardment Squadrons (Dive) are redesignated 528th, 529th and 530th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 2 B-25's and 4 P-40's claim heavy damage to a gunboat at Ft Bayard, China.

SOUTH PACIFIC (Thirteenth Air Force): 16 B-24's, covered by 20+ P-38's and P-40's and a few US Navy F4U's, pound the Kahili Airfield area, hitting a supply and bivouac area NE of the strip. 6 B-25's bomb Kakasa on Choiseul Island.

USN - (VMF-214) Four F4Us on a mission against Kolombangara spot three ships. The ships were actually PT-126, PT 124 and PT 116 and fired a recognition flare. The F4U piloted by Alexander opened fire and was shot down. Several crew on PT-126 were wounded in the friendly fire accident.

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BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): During Oct, HQ 80th Fighter Group and it's 88th Fighter Squadron transfer from Karachi to Nagaghuli and Mokelbari, India respectively with P-40's.

AUSTRALIA: The government discontinues recruiting for the Royal Australian Navy because of a severe manpower shortage.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: B-25s strafe a power boat near Gasmata, New Britain Island.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 21 US Fourteenth Air Force B-24s, supported by 21 P-38s and P-40s, bomb a power plant, the warehouse and dock area at Haiphong. 40-65 Japanese Army fighters intercept, shooting down two US aircraft; 30 fighters are claimed destroyed by the Fourteenth in the air battle.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 9th Division commits another battalion to the assault on Finschhafen, making three in all.
In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20s and ten RAAF A-31 Vengeances and eight A-20s bomb and strafe the Finschhafen area as the Australian 9th Division pours more troops into the assault on the town.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., commander of the South Pacific Area and commander of the Third Fleet, informs General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander South West Pacific Area (SWPA) in Australia, of his decision to invade Bougainville Island at Empress Augusta Bay on 1 November and is promised maximum air assistance from SWPA.
Twenty four USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb a supply and bivouac area north of Vila airfield on Kolombangara Island. B-25s and P-38s join USN SBDs in a strike on a barge depot at Kakasa on Choiseul Island.
Eight USN destroyers make a sweep near Kolombangara Island and sink 20 or 35 Japanese barges. The destroyers are shadowed by Japanese aircraft that constantly harrass the ships; one destroyer is damaged by a near-miss.

UNITED STATES: The authorized complement of fighters in USN Essex Class carrier air groups is raised, increasing the total aircraft normally on board to 36 fighter, 36 scout bombers and 18 torpedo bombers. The authorized complement for small aircraft carrier (CVLs) air groups is established at the same time as 12 fighters, nine scout bombers and nine torpedo bombers and revised in November 1943 to 24 fighters and nine torpedo bombers and remained at that level through the war.

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BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: The USAAF Fifth Air Force attacks various targets
on New Britain Island: B-25s strafe villages in the Talasea area and barges off Gasmata while B-26s bomb Hoskins (Cape Hoskins or Gabubu) Airfield; and a B-24 bombs Cape Gloucester Airfield.

CHINA: Five USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s dive-bomb and strafe
Yangtze River shipping in the Chiuchiang area. Strafing damages several
small craft.
HQ 51st Fighter Group transfers from Dinjan, India to Kunming, China and is reassigned from the Tenth to Fourteenth Air Force.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, troops of the Australian 2/17th
Battalion, 20th Brigade, 9th Division, seize the village and harbor of
Finschhafen and make contact with the Australian 22d Brigade, which has
moved forward from Lae. The Japanese retain Sattelberg and Wareo, both
of which command the Finschhafen area and must be cleared.
B-25's strafe villages in the Talasea area and barges off Gasmata; B-26's bomb Hoskins Airfield; and a B-24 bombs Cape Gloucester Airfield. Other B-24's bomb Amboina in the Moluccas.
The 6th Troop Carrier Squadron transfers from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Garbutt Field, Townsville, Queensland, Australia with C-47's.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: During the day, six USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25s join USN SBDs in attacking the Hamberi Cove barge hideout near Vila on Kolombangara Island.
During the night of 2/3 October, the Japanese completed their withdrawal from Kolombangara Island. Efforts of U.S. naval forces to interfere are largely ineffective and some 9,400 Japanese escape safely.

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 7 P-40's damage a 250-ft vessel on the Yangtze River near Chiuchiang; 4 P-38's bomb Chiuchiang docks; 6 B-24's damage a 100-ft coastal freighter off Tonkon Point on Hainan. A detachment of the 76th Fighter Squadron, 23d Fighter Group, based at Hengyang, China begins operating from Suichwan, China with P-40's.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): P-39's strafe several barges W of Choiseul.

USN - USS Henley DD-391 is sunk by Japanese submarine RO-108 off Cape Cretin.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): B-25's continue to hit barges along the W coast of New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago. The 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, ceases operating from Port Moresby and returns to it's base at Dobodura with P-38's.

NEW GUINEA: In North East New Guinea, Australian troops north of Finschhafen are attacked by the Japanese.

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 17 Japanese bombers and 25 Zekes attack Kweilin Airfield, China. The bombs, dropped from 20,000 feet, fail to hit the target. AAF fighters fail to make effective contact with the force.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): 23 B-24's, covered by 16 P-38's and several USN F4U's, bomb Kahili Airfield; 20-30 fighters intercept, and a running battle occurs between Bougainville and Vella Lavella; US fighters and bombers claim 9 fighters downed; no American losses are suffered. 4 P-39's and 4 F4U's sink 18 barges in a strike along the W coast of Choiseul. The P-39's are especially effective because of their nose cannon.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): B-25's bomb and strafe barges, small craft, and villages on Vitu in the Bismarck Archipelago. The 22d Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, transfers from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Garbutt Field, Townsville, Queensland, Australia with C-47's.
In North East New Guinea, Dumpu is captured by Australian troops as they advance into the Ramu River Valley from the Markham Valley. Meanwhile, the Australian 20th Brigade continues fighting towards Sattelberg.

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CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, a few B-25's and P-40's attack a foundry at Shihhweiyao; damaging hits are scored on a barrack, on AA positions, blast furnaces, hoppers, and a steam plant. 10 USAAF fighters intercept a force of about 50 Zekes W of Kweilin, shoot down 1 enemy fighter; the enemy force turns back.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): Lost is B-25D "Flying Ginny / Bette" 41-30017.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Ocean Area, issues a plan for an offensive in the Central Pacific. Admiral Raymond A. Spruance Commander of the Fifth Fleet, is to seize Makin, Tarawa, and Abamama in the Gilbert Islands, cover amphibious landings on each with air and naval surface forces, and deny the Japanese the use of land bases in the Marshall Islands and at Nauru during the operation. D-Day for landings is set for 19 November and later postponed to 20
November.

NEW GUINEA: In North East New Guinea, Japanese documents captured near Finschhafen reveal that the Japanese are not in full retreat but intend some offensive operation. Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Herring, Commander of I Australian Corps, issues an operations order to the Australian 9th Division stating that Finschhafen is to be defended and developed and the troops are to gain control of the east coast of the Huon Peninsula up to and including Sio.
In the air, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25s carry out a coastal sweep west to Madang, bombing and strafing villages and barges; B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the Bogadjim Road and jetties at Erima; and B-24 Liberators bomb the Babo area.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The USN submarine USS Wahoo sinks the Japanese army transport Konron Maru (formally of the Shimonoseki-to-Fusan Ferry Line) in Tsushima Straits, about 126 nautical miles south of Pusan, Korea, at 34.00N, 129.00E. (The Tsushima Strait is a channel between Tsushima Island and northwest Kyushu, Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan with the East China Sea.) The ship is ferrying troops across the Tsushima Strait. Only 72 of the 616 soldiers and crewmen aboard the vessel survive because of heavy seas. This loss prompts the cancellation of night ferry trips across Tsushima Straits.

WAKE ISLAND: The USN's Task Force 14 (Rear Admiral Alfred E Montgomery) bombs and shells the island. TF 14 consists of the aircraft carriers USS Essex with Carrier Air Group Nine, USS Yorktown with Carrier Air Group Five and USS Lexington with Carrier Air Group Sixteen; the light aircraft carriers USS Cowpens with Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Five, USS Independence with Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Two and USS Belleau Wood with Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Four; three heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, 24 destroyers and two oilers. A predawn strike consisting of 48 F6F Hellcat fighters and 24 TBF Avenger torpedo bombers attacks the airfield and other installations while F6F pilots shoot down 30 Zero fighters.