August 23rd, 1942 (SUNDAY)
ÉIRE: A Luftwaffe Ju 88 and an RAF Spitfire Mk. V crash after they shoot each other down. The Spitfire, assigned to No. 315 (Polish) Squadron based at Ballyhalbert, County Down, Ireland, crashes at Ratoath, County Meath; the pilot, Sergeant Sawiak, is taken to the hospital but dies of his injuries. The Ju 88 crashes at Touger, County Waterford; one of the four man crew is injured. The four Germans are interned for the rest of the war.
UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minster Winston Churchill accepts President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal that the U.S. operate Persian Gulf facilities for aid to USSR.
Destroyer HMS Blean commissioned.
U.S.S.R.:
After a year-long siege of the city, Hitler orders the final attack on Leningrad (Operation Nordlicht).Achieving a propaganda victory, German troops climb Bt Elbrus in the Caucasus.
A battle group of the 16th Panzer Division and the 3rd
and 60th Infantry Divisions rapidly advances from the Don River, reaching the
west bank of the Volga River between Rynak and Erzovka north of Stalingrad.
At Izbushensky in the bend of the River Don, the
Italian Savoia Cavalry, made up of 600 mounted men, counter attack Soviet Army
units comprised of 2,000 men with mortar and artillery support. One cavalry
squadron attacks head on, while the other, possessing only sabres, rides behind
the enemy lines on horseback. They completely catch the Soviets by surprise and
overrun the Soviet position. This last cavalry attack of World War II resulted
in the destruction of 2 Soviet battalions, another battalion forced to withdraw
and the capture of 500 POW's, 4 large artillery pieces, 10 Mortars, and 50
machine guns.
Six hundred Luftwaffe bombers attack Stalingrad as the
battle for the city begins. Incendiaries dropped by the German bombers burn
three-quarters of Stalingrad to the ground; 40,000 Russians are killed.
Soviet submarine SC-208 sunk by mines. All hands lost.
USN heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37), escorted by
destroyers USS Rodman (DD-456) and USS Emmons (DD-457) and British destroyer HMS
Onslaught, arrives at Murmansk, and disembarks men and unloads equipment from
two RAF Bomber Command squadrons that have been transferred to Northern Russia.
The ships depart the following day to return to the British fleet base at Scapa
Flow, Orkneys.
AUSTRALIA: USAAF P-40s of the Allied Air Forces shoot down 7 IJN bombers and 8 A6M
"Zekes" over Darwin, Northern Territory, between 1205 and 1245 hours.
The unit was the 49th Fighter Group which was tasked with the air defence of the Darwin
area. It was one helluva unit. During May 1942, the 49th shot down 38 Japanese aircraft
vs. the loss of 7 P-40s and 3 pilots. A lot of the credit for these victories belonged to
the ground crews and other service personnel which usually kept 60 P-40s in commission
which means the 49th was rarely outnumbered. After every combat, a critique was held with
the pilots to overcome the inferior speed, manoeuvrability, climb and ceiling of the P-40.
The 2-plane element was adopted, individual dog fighting was banned and they were only to
attack when they had an altitude advantage. Otherwise, everything that the AVG had learned
was adopted by the 49th.
GILBERT ISLANDS: Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Yubari, accompanied by four destroyers and supporting ships, shells Nauru Island in preparation for landings there.
PACIFIC OCEAN: US Admiral Fletcher with TF 61 and Japanese Admiral Nagumo with the units of the IJN begin skirmishes which will result in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. The US force is built around 3 fleet carriers and the IJN force is built around 2 fleet carriers and one escort carrier. These units of the IJN are charged with a mission of delivering additional troops and supplies in a convoy to Guadalcanal. This will develop into the 3rd carrier vs. carrier battle of the war.
Destroyer USS Blue scuttled after being torpedoed by the
Japanese destroyer Kawakaze in Savo Sound, Solomons the day before. 9
crewmembers lost their lives.
A lone USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress of the Allied Air Forces bombs
Buka Island.
Meanwhile, 5 IJN battle groups begin a complex plan to land IJA reinforcements on Guadalcanal. Included in the Japanese force are 2 fleet carriers, HIJMS Shokaku and HIJMS Zuikaku and the light aircraft carrier HIJMS Ryujo. US aircraft carriers in the area are USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Saratoga (CV-2) and USS Wasp (CV-7).
USN search planes find two IJN submarines at 0725 and 0815 hours and a PBY-5 Catalina of a detachment of Patrol Squadron Twenty Three (VP-23) operating from Santa Cruz Island, spots IJN transports at 0950 hours. A strike is launched by the USS Saratoga at 1410 hours consisting of 31 SBD Dauntlesses and 6 TBF Avengers but the Japanese had reversed course due to bad weather and the USN strike force, unable to find the transports, lands on Henderson Field for the night. At 1800 hours, USS Wasp, low on fuel, retires from the area to refuel.
U.S.A.: In baseball, former Washington Senators pitcher (1907-1927) Walter Johnson pitching to former New York Yankees star (1920-1934) Babe Ruth is the pregame attraction that draws 69,000 fans for the New York-Washington game at Yankee Stadium in New York City. The large turnout provides US$80,000 (US$889,000 in year 2002 dollars) for Army-Navy relief. Ruth hits the fifth pitch into the right-field stands, and then adds one more shot before circling the bases. Sixteen Army-Navy relief games contribute $523,000 (US$5.8 million in year 2002 dollars) during the season.
Escort carriers USS Croatan and Prince William launched.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-506 sank SS Hamla.