This bombardment crushed Sevastopol's own big guns, but the defenders are fighting in the rubble and the Germans are using flamethrowers to burn them out. Fort Stalin fell to the Germans yesterday, but the fight goes on.

NEW ZEALAND: The leading elements of the U.S. First Marine Division arrive in Wellington.

The light cruiser HIJMS Abukuma and four destroyers that departed Kiska two days ago, arrive at Amchitka Island and begin reconnoitring with aircraft and landing parties. A B-17 discovers the operation and flies over the area. The Japanese report back that there are no suitable sites for an airfield.

In the Aleutians, the USAAF's 11th Air Force dispatches four B-17 Fortresses and three B-24 Liberators to bomb shipping in the harbour of Kiska Island from an altitude of 700-feet (213.4 m), the lowest altitude yet. The crews claim two cruisers are hit and one scout seaplane is shot down; two B-17s are heavily damaged but return to base.

A USN PBY Catalina bombs Japanese ships sailing southwest of Kiska just missing the light cruiser HIJMS Tama. The Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Abukuma and four destroyers arrive at Amchitka Island from Attu Island to reconnoitre and search for suitable airfield sites but none are found. The force is spotted by a B-17 and is shadowed.

Japanese bombers attack targets in the Nazan Bay area of Atka Island.

U.S.A.: Washington: Mexico and the Philippines sign treaties agreeing to join the "United Nations".

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that requiring students to salute the American flag is unconstitutional. [See 1943]

Destroyer USS Baldwin launched.

The first U.S. antitank rocket launcher, the M-1, the original "Bazooka", produced in Bridgeport, Connecticut. (Patrick Holscher)

CARIBBEAN SEA: U-161 sinks a freighter east of Nicaragua.

At 0854, U-172 fired one torpedo at the unescorted bulk carrier, Lebore, which proceeded on a nonevasive course at 10.4 knots about 200 (321.9 km) miles north of Cristobal. A lookout spotted the wake 400 feet from the ship, but the helmsman had no time to avoid the torpedo, which struck on the starboard side at the #6 hatch. The explosion caused a hole in the #3 wing tank and jammed the after 4in gun (the ship was also armed with two .50cal and two .30cal guns). The tank rapidly filled with water and caused the ship to list 45° to starboard. The U-boat hit the vessel with two coup de grâce at 0918 and 1039 and finally sunk the now capsized ship with 12 rounds from her deck gun. The seven officers, 32 crewmen, six armed guards and 49 survivors from the Crijnssen, which had been picked up on 11 June after their ship had been sunk by U-504 that day, abandoned ship in three lifeboats and four rafts. The first assistant engineer failed to leave the ship and drowned. 40 survivors were picked up by destroyer USS Tattnall after boats and rafts had been spotted by an aircraft on 16 June, another 25 survivors were picked up from a boat by USS Erie, which also rescued 28 survivors from St Andrews Island, after they landed there in a lifeboat about 18 hours after the attack. All survivors were landed at Cristobal on 17 June. (Dave Shirlaw and Jack McKillop)