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August 27th, 1942 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force in England flies Mission 6: 7 B-17s bomb the shipyards at Rotterdam, the Netherlands at 1740 hours without loss.

Aircraft carrier HMS Glory laid down.

Frigate HMS Moyola launched.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: US Army Middle East Air Force B-24s bomb a convoy, hitting 1 merchant ship which is reported sinking.

GERMANY: Rastenburg: Hitler orders the release of 800 French PoWs as a reward for the "exemplary conduct" of the people of Dieppe during the Allied raid.

U-637 commissioned.

POLAND: Nine Lancasters of 106 Squadron, Bomber Command, were dispatched on a dangerous long-range raid against Gdynia in occupied Poland, where the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was being fitted out. The Lancasters were equipped with special Capital Ship bombs, designed to attack the target below the waterline. Seven of the Lancasters managed to find Gdynia after a 950-mile flight, but heavy haze prevented them from locating Graf Zeppelin, and they were forced to bomb targets of opportunity in the dockyard. All nine aircraft returned safely from an epic flight, notwithstanding the disappointing result.

U.S.S.R.: Germany Army Group B continues the battle for Stalingrad.

Army Group A attacks southward into the Caucasus. 3rd Panzerdivision (GM Hermann Breith) bypasses Prokhladny on August 20, moved east along the north bank of the Terek River and captured Mozdok on August 25. (Jeff Chrisman)

In Siberia, the Kriegsmarine attacks the Arctic Russian town and port of Dikson, named after the Swedish Baron Oscar Dickson. The German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer, accompanied by two U-boats, destroys Dikson and a large icebreaker by shelling. The attack is part of Operation WUNDERLAND, aiming to stop Soviet convoys sent from Asian ports to support the Soviet Northern Fleet. Dikson was a strategic link on this route. No Soviet attempts to retaliate are known but as a result of WUNDERLAND the Soviet High Command orders an initiative to reinforce the Arctic coast. Therefore the NKVD, in charge of traffic and exploitation in Siberia, starts to plan a railway along the coast to make army operations possible in the area.

NEW GUINEA: Six USAAF B-26s  of 22 Bomb Group and P-400 Airacobras of the Allied Air Forces bomb Buna Airfield while P-40Es of No. 75 Squadron RAAF strafe the beachhead and fuel dumps at Milne Bay. The air battle was co-ordinated by Wing Commander Bill Garing RAAF, later to be closely involved in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. The allied air attacks appear to have little effect, however, they also coincided with a Japanese air raid on the Allied positions and appear to have shot down one of the escorting Zekes - with at least two to go down to the Kittyhawks when they "jumped" them strafing the downed Zeke to destroy it. (Jack McKillop, Daniel Ross and Michael Mitchell)

The Australian 2/10th is led fighting the Japanese. Led by Col. Dobbs, the CO of 2/10 told his men not to drag the Boys guns with them because they were a very heavy weapon for an infantryman to carry through the bush. The Boys guns were anti-tank weapons that fired a 0.5 inch slug that would penetrate a light tank and shower the inside of the tank with metal splinters. 2/10 carried some "Stick Bombs" with them, and several men made heroic attempts to stick them to the sides of the Japanese tanks, but without success. (Jim Miller)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The "Tokyo Express" lands 128 IJA troops northwest of Taivu Point on Guadalcanal. 
     The rear echelon of the USAAF's 67th Fighter Squadron, fourteen P-400 Airacobras, arrives at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, from Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands. 

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The US 11th Air Force sends 4 B-17 Flying Fortresses, 6 B-24 Liberators, and 2 P-38 Lightnings to fly weather, reconnaissance and patrol missions over Kiska and Atka Islands.
The Japanese begin to transfer the Attu Island garrison to Kiska Island, which is completed on 16 September.

CANADA: The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service is established. 

Minesweeper HMCS Truro commissioned.

The Battle of the St. Lawrence begins. U-517, OLtzS Paul Hartwig, CO sighted the five-ship Sydney to Greenland convoy SG-6F while it transited the Gulf of St. Lawrence escorted by the USCG A-class 165-foot cutters Algonquin and Mohawk. U-517 attacked SS Chatham, a 5,649-ton troopship carrying 562 passengers and crew, and hit her with two torpedoes. Although Chatham sank in an hour, only 13 lives were lost. The next morning, the Wickes-class destroyer USS Bernadou rescued 16 fully loaded lifeboats. She was assisted by HMCS Trail, a Flower-class corvette, Lt. George Stanley HALL, RCNR, CO.

U.S.A.: The battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) is launched at the US Navy Yard, New York.

Albert Monmouth Jones is promoted to major general (permanent). (Greg Kelley)

The motion picture "The Talk of the Town" is released today. This romantic comedy, directed by George Stevens, stars Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, Edgar Buchanan and Glenda Farrell; Lloyd Bridges has an uncredited bit part. The plot has a political activist (Grant) accused of arson and murder hiding out in the home of his childhood sweetheart (Arthur) who has just rented a room to an unsuspecting law professor (Colman). Grant and Arthur try to convince Colman that there's a human side to the law. The film is nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Submarine USS Dorado laid down.

Submarine USS Sickle launched.

CUBA: The Cuban Navy and Air Force join the allied anti-submarine campaign. 

CARIBBEAN SEA: Corvette HMCS Oakville LCdr Clarence Aubrey King DSC, RCNR, CO, with Catalina a/c of VP-92 sank U-94 Kp/Lt Otto Ites CO, 17-40N 74-30W, West Indies. Sighted by the USN PBY which attacked with four 650lb depth charges and forced her to the surface, Oakville rammed and sank U-94, 2 officers including the CO, 9 senior and 15 junior ratings of 45 crew were rescued. LCdr Clarence Aubrey King a 56-year old veteran of WW I, during which he sank a U-boat while commanding a 'Q'-ship. The action between Oakville and U-94 was extremely hot and was directed by two able and experienced commanders. U-94 was making a night approach from ahead on the northbound 29-ship tanker convoy TAW-15. The convoy had already lost two ships on the evening of 25 Aug to two other U-boats. Ites was making a surfaced approach with his hull awash and had just eluded HMCS Snowberry, when he was detected and attacked by the patrol a/c at 0257. His after diving planes were smashed and worse, the a/c had dropped marker flares. Oakville was soon on the scene and after a depth charge attack that was probably errant, sighted U-94 at a distance of about 600 yards. Ites skilfully manoeuvred his boat and Oakville managed only two glancing blows in her first attempts to ram, one of which opened a large gash that caused flooding into her own engine room. The third attempt was successful and the intervals between the collisions were filled with exchanges of gunfire, depth charges from projectors, and even soda bottles thrown from the bridge. King ordered a boarding party onto the U-boat by jumping from the forecastle. As they prepared to jump, the captain of the 4-inch mounting cleared a misfire by shooting just past the assembled group, which stunned all but two of the party. Undeterred, S/Lt Harold 'Hal' Ernest Thomas Lawrence and SPO Arthur James Powell jumped onto the U-boat and a short-range gun battle ensued that resulted in two Germans being shot. After the German crew exited the U-boat, Lawrence entered in search of codes or encryption devices but the boat was sinking and he had to swim to the ladder in order to clamber out. The majority of the survivors, German and Canadian, were subsequently recovered by destroyer USS Lea. Otto Ites was wounded three times during the action but survived the ordeal. Oakville was seriously damaged and had to detach for temporary repairs in Guantanamo Bay. She made her way to Halifax, by way of New York City, for an extended refit. She returned to service in Dec 43 and had an extremely active career for the rest of the war. The weakened escort for the convoy was unable to counter further attacks made by U-511, which resulted in three more ships being sunk. LCdr King went on to participate in the sinking of three more U-boats during his command of the frigate Swansea. He was given command of an Escort Group and reached the rank of Captain. For the sinking of U-94, Cdr King was awarded the DSO and the United States Legion of Merit, S/Lt Lawrence was awarded the DSC, and Powell was awards the DSM. Part b. 

GREENLAND: The German ship "Sachsen" anchors in Hansa Bay, Sabine Island, Northeast Greenland, and a landing party sets up a weather station, code name "Holzauge." 

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-517 sank SS Chatham with two torpedoes in Sydney-Greenland Convoy SG-6F of 5 ships escorted by USCG Algonquin and Mohawk. The 5,649-ton Chatham was a troopship carrying 562 passengers and crew and sank within an hour. 13 lives were lost.

German U-Boat sinks two ships off Newfoundland.

U-516 damaged SS Port Jackson.

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