September 6th, 1942 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The Messerschmitt Me210 is first used over Britain; two are shot down by Hawker Typhoons over the North Yorkshire coast.
NETHERLANDS: Six RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.
FRANCE: USAAF OPERATIONS IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (8th
Air Force): The VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 10: 76 bombers and 37 fighters
in 3 forces attack targets in France; 2 B-17 Flying Fortresses are lost.
(1) 12 DB-7s attack Drucat Airfield at Abbeville at 1702 hours; escort is
provided by 37 Spitfires;
(2) 30 B-17s, 30 attack the Avions Potez aircraft plant at Meaulte at 1740-1748
hours; they claim 4-19-20 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17s are
lost (this is the VIII Bomber Command’s first loss of aircraft in combat);
and
(3) 11 B-17s, 11 hit Longuenesse Airfield at St Omer and 2 Ft Rouge
Airfield at St Omer without loss.
During the day, ten of 12 RAF Bomber Command Bostons bombed ships in Boulogne harbour but scored no hits.
GERMANY: During the day, five RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos flew to Germany but only Bremerhaven is bombed. One Mosquito is lost.
During the night of 6/7 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 207 aircraft of six types to bomb Duisburg; 187 actually bomb the city. Cloud and haze are present and the bombing is not concentrated. But Duisburg reports its heaviest raid to date, with 114 buildings destroyed and 316 seriously damaged; 86 people are killed. Eight aircraft, five Wellingtons, two Halifaxes and a Stirling are lost, 3.9 per cent of the force. A mining mission is flown by three aircraft off Heligoland Bight.
U.S.S.R.: In Stalingrad, heavy house-to-house fighting continues in the center of the city while both sides bring up reinforcements.
German 4.Mountain Division (Gebirgsdivision) of 17.Army captures the leading Black Sea port of Novorossisk.
EGYPT: The battle of Alam Halfa
ends with the Germans back in their original positions. The supply position of
the British 8th Army makes the difference in this battle.
British 8th Army commander Bernard Montgomery tells visiting
U. S. envoy Wendell Wilkie that 300 U. S.-built Sherman tanks have arrived in
Port Said and will be in the forefront of his attack on Field Marshal Erwin
Rommel's Afrika Korps. Montgomery says the climactic battle near El Alamein will
begin next month.
In the air, U.S. Army, Middle East Air Forces P-40s fly
an offensive sweep over the battle area near the Rayil Dayr Ar Depression,
claiming 3 Ju 87s shot down; P-40s also escort RAF bombers and fly 2 interceptor
missions.
NEW GUINEA: The Australian 2/14th and 2/16th Battalions withdraw 15 miles (24 kilometres) to Efogi Spur beyond Gap Mountain, where defensive positions are already established. Despite this retreat, the Japanese are suffering, savaged by Australian fire-discipline and Bren guns and by tropical diseases. Allied troops enjoy a medical superiority in sulfa drugs that the Japanese do not have.
In Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, the Australians skirmish with Japanese troops
who have not been evacuated last night. Three Australian ships, the destroyer
HMAS Arunta (I 30), the transport ship SS Anshun and the hospital ship HMAHS
Manunda enter the bay during the day. The destroyer departs at 1500 hours local.
During the evening, the Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Tenryu and destroyer HIJMS
Arashi arrive to pick up any stragglers who may be waiting to be evacuated. Just
after 2200 hours local, the Japanese ships spot and open fire on SS Anshun from
a range of 3 500 meters (2.2 miles) and sink her. The Japanese ships then turn
their lights on the hospital ship but do not open fire. At 0200 hours, 7
September, the Japanese ships leave the harbor.
In the air, USAAF 5th Air Force P-400 Airacobras, A-20
Havocs, and B-17s strafe and bomb positions, troops, and shipping at Myola, Mubo,
Kokoda, Myola Lake, Eora Creek, and Milne Bay.
TONGA ISLANDS: The U. S. Navy suffers a
serious setback when the fast, new battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57) strikes
an uncharted corral pinnacle in Lahai Passage, Tongatabu Island, and suffers
extensive damage to her hull. USS South Dakota is one of only three modern
battleships in the Pacific Fleet and its temporary loss is keenly felt. She will
return to Pearl Harbor for repairs on 12 September and will not return to the
fleet until 12 October.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: 11 SBD Dauntlesses attack Japanese installations on Gizo Island. Meanwhile, 12 SBDs of the Scouting Squadron Three (VS-3) in USS Saratoga (CV-3) arrive at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal for duty with the Cactus Air Force.
AUSTRALIA: U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander Southwest Pacific Area, sends a message to General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff U.S. Army, stating that “The Australians have proven themselves unable to match the enemy in jungle fighting. Aggressive leadership is lacking.”
USAAF OPERATIONS IN ALASKA (11th Air Force): In the Aleutians, a B-24 Liberator flying patrol and armed reconnaissance over Tanaga Island, attacks an IJN mine layer and strafes a tender as well as nearby tents and buildings.
CARIBBEAN SEA: The Canadian Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation Co. bulk laker John A Holloway (1,745 GRT) was sunk by a torpedo from U-164, KKpt. Otto Fechner, CO, in the Caribbean Sea, in position 14.10N, 071.30W. The ship was on route with a cargo comprised mainly of construction materials from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Trinidad, where she was to load bauxite. One crewmember was lost. U-164 surfaced after the attack and questioned the survivors, who had taken to two lifeboats and two rafts. The 23 survivors sailed in the lifeboats to Santa Marta, Columbia. The first boat arrived at 1900 on 12 Sep and the second arrived after midnight on the 13th. Although they were suffering from dehydration, there were no casualties while in the boats.
ATLANTIC OCEAN:
Armed yacht HMCS Raccoon (no survivors) and SS Aeas (29 survivors) sunk by U-165 in Convoy QS-33.
U-109 sank SS Tuscan Star.
U-375 sank SS Turkian.
U-514 sank SS Helen Forsey.