Yesterday Tomorrow

June 24th, 1942 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

U.S.S.R.: Soviet marines land in the Crimea to aid Sevastopol.

Minesweeper HMS Gossamer is bombed by JU.87 bombers operating against shipping in the Kola Inlet, and sinks within 8 minutes of being hit. There are 23 casualties. Location Arctic 68 59N 33 03E. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Soviet submarine SC-405 is sunk by depth charges east of Pellinki by Tupolev SB-2 code SB-4 from 2/LeLv 6. (Mikki Härmeinen)

THAILAND: Ban Pong: Work begins today on the first phase of an ambitious plan by Japan to improve its lines of supply by extending the Singapore-to-Bangkok railway 294 miles north through the jungle to Rangoon. It proposes to build the line using the vast pool of Allied PoW labour now at its disposal.

600 British PoWs led by Major R. S. Sykes arrived here yesterday from Singapore after a four-day rail journey to begin building the Thai base camp. The first 34 miles of line are on the flat, but at Tha Makham, where the line crosses the fast-flowing Kawe Noi, the PoWs will have to build a 240-yard long wooden trestle bridge.

U.S.A.: Destroyers USS Bell and Stevens launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: A U.S. armed freighter is attacked by the German submarine U-404 in the Atlantic off North Carolina. The crew abandons ship and the freighter sinks tomorrow while being towed to shore.

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