GERMANY: An RAF "1,000 plane Raid" targets Bremen, last night. Since the RAF must return its training squadrons to normal duty, this will be the last of these large raids at this time.

The RAF's third 1,000-bomber raid caused widespread devastation in Bremen last night. The Focke-Wulf aircraft works were badly hit and 27 acres of the business district were destroyed.

It was also the most costly of these raids so far for the RAF. A total of 48 aircraft out of 1,067 despatched failed to return. This 5% loss, combined with damage to many other machines, leads some observers to conclude that the price of saturation bombing is too high. That view is not shared by Bomber Command's freshly-knighted boss, Air Marshal Arthur Harris. On earlier raids (Cologne 1,047 aircraft and Essen 956) training and conversion units were needed to make up numbers, while Coastal Command was absent, thanks to naval opposition. Tonight, because Bremen is a submarine base, Coastal Command gave 102 bombers.

Dense cloud over the target area hindered accurate identification after a 500-mile flight, although the "Gee" blind-bombing equipment had its first major success and lead crews started accurate guiding fires. Moonlight reflecting off the clouds offered ideal conditions for enemy fighters, however.

Tonight's raid was also the last operation of the Avro Manchester. (Ric Pelvin)

The German government announces unrestricted submarine warfare off the U.S. east coast.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: In the Aleutian Islands, five Eleventh Air Force B-24s drop incendiaries bombs on Kiska Harbor installations.

CANADA: Port operations craft ordered for RCN: HMC HC 140, HMC HC 141, HMC HC 182, HMC HC 203, HMC HC 184.

U.S.A.: The first Grumman XF6F-1 Hellcat prototype, BuNo 02981, makes its first flight at Bethpage, Long Island, New York.

Three 7th Air Force Consolidated LB-30 Liberators based at Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii bomb installations on Wake Island. The raid takes place during the night of 26/27 June and is staged through Midway Island.

The Army Chief of Staff G-2 Section recommends the formation of a Board of Military Utilization of U.S. Citizens of Japanese Ancestry, to determine whether a Japanese American unit ought to be sent to fight in Europe. (Gene Hanson)

The Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) Vice-Admiral Frederick J. Horne does not completely agree with CINCPAC's March recommendations (SEE) in a letter today he says that a joint programme will hinder expedient implementation. He further states that because of this, the centre should exist "primarily [as] a naval center." (Mike Yared)(184, 185 and 186)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0913, the unescorted Jagersfontein was hit by one of two torpedoes fired by U-107 about 500 miles west of Bermuda. The torpedo struck on the port side between #4 and #5 hold and destroyed the bulkhead. The cargo of cotton weakened the explosion. Distress signals were immediately sent and the master tried to reach Bermuda. The U-boat chased the ship on the surface but was forced to submerge by the after 105-mm gun of the vessel. But later her rudder jammed as the ship sank slowly by the stern and the engines broke down at 1215 hours. So the ship was abandoned by the 108 crewmembers, 14 gunners and 98 passengers (86 US Army officers and 12 civilians, among them women and children) in four lifeboats. At 1459, the U-boat fired a coup de grâce in 32°02N/54°53W (grid DE 1797) and sank the ship within minutes. In the lifeboats, they later saw a U-boat surfacing and searching for traces between the debris and they could heard them speaking German. Shortly afterward, the U-boat disappeared on a westerly course. One of the boats had a transmitter, which led the Swiss steam merchant St Cergue to them on 27 June. The same day, an American destroyer took the 86 officers and 14 gunners off the Swiss ship, which continued with the remaining survivors to Gibraltar, arriving on 7 July. An interesting story exists about this rescue: It is said that some days after the rescue, a German U-boat surfaced near the Swiss ship and passed before the bow. When passing the Germans shouted from the conning tower: Hallo Jagersfontein, Hallo Jagersfontein! and the U-boat disappeared.

At 2317, the unescorted Pedrinhas was hit by one torpedo from U-203 about 300 miles NE of Puerto Rico and sank after being shelled by the U-boat with 22 rounds from the deck gun. The neutral ship was attacked because it was armed with a 120-mm gun on the after deck.

At 0544, the unescorted Putney Hill was hit by one torpedo from U-203 about 450 miles ENE of Puerto Rico. The U-boat then sunk the ship with 53 rounds from the deck gun. Two crewmembers and one gunner were lost. The master, 29 crewmembers and five gunners were picked up after ten days by HMS Saxifrage and landed at San Juan, Puerto Rico.