September 26th, 1942 (SATURDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Scotland: 12 merchant ships reached the safety of Loch Ewe today after a week of battles with U-boats and German aircraft. They are the survivors of convoy QP-14 which left the Russian port of Archangel on 13 September. Three merchant ships were lost as were three escort vessels. Three ships were sunk in a matter of minutes on 22 September, after a U-boat penetrated the convoy's defensive screen at a time when it lacked air support.
Frigate HMS Barle launched.
NETHERLANDS: During the night of 26/27 September, 25 RAF Bomber Command aircraft laid mines in the Frisian Islands.
FRANCE: 75 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 36 P-38 Lightnings of the US Eighth Air Force are dispatched to attack Maupertus Airfield at Cherbourg and Porjeau Airfield at Morlaix; 16 execute diversionary missions but the remainder are recalled due to adverse weather.
GERMANY: During the night of 26/27 September, RAF Bomber Command sent 28 Halifaxes to bomb the U-boat yards at Flensburg. A recall is made but two aircraft went on to bomb the target area; one is lost. Two mining missions are also flown: six aircraft laid mines off Kattegat and two laid mines in Kiel Harbor; one aircraft is lost. .
U-417 and
U-711 commissioned
U-761 launched.
DENMARK: During the night of 26/27 September, two RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Little Belt, a strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula.
FINLAND: Major Max von Hellens, intelligence officer of the Finnish 11th Division, is arrested on charges of aiding an enemy of Finland, the United States.
Early in the Continuation War in 1941 Finnish Supreme HQ Intelligence Section began paying close attention to Major von Hellens. He was well known for his pro-US sympathies (three of his close relatives were US citizens and worked in the US embassy in Helsinki) -- and von Hellens was also known to be anti-German. In the 1930's von Hellens had been Finns' unofficial liaison with the US intelligence base located in Riga, Latvia.
US military attaché Georges
Huthsteiner and von Hellens met again
in June 1942. von Hellens told that Colonel Lars Melander, chief of Supreme HQ
Intelligence Section, had warned him that von Hellens had been seen too often
with Huthsteiner. At the end of that June von Hellens was transfered to become
chief of quartering at the Olonets Group HQ.
Despite the warnings, von Hellens and Huthsteiner met again in July 1942, and
von Hellens handed over German Eastern Front OOB he had acquired from the 163rd
Infantry Division's situation report. Finnish signals intelligence, which was
reading US diplomatic codes (more on that later), soon alerted Finnish
counter-intelligence to what had happened.
U.S.S.R.: The German 6th Army launches its final attack at Stalingrad with 100,000 fresh troops. After bitter fighting, they take the main ferry landing making it difficult for the Soviets to move reinforcements across the Volga River.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The US Army Middle East Air Force dispatches B-24 Liberators of 3 squadrons on shipping strikes but they fail to locate targets.
MADAGASCAR: British Lieutenant General Sir William Platt, Commander in Chief East Africa Command, moves his headquarters from Majunga to Tananarive.
CHINA: 4 B-25 Mitchells of the US Tenth Air Force's China Air Task Force devastate the village of Luchiangpa in southwestern China.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal,
Colonel Lewis "Chesty" Fuller leads the 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, and elements of the
1st Battalion, 7th Marines, as they reach the upper Matanikau River and push
north along east bank, encountering enemy fire from the vicinity of Matanikau
village. Artillery and aircraft are employed against the enemy position. The
1st Raider Battalion passes through 5th Regiment sector to join in attack.
(John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
In the air, 8 USAAF B-17s attack shipping in Tonolei harbor in the
Shortland Islands.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: The Japanese campaign to seize Port Moresby has been defeated, giving the Australian Army its second victory in New Guinea within a month. After weeks of retreat down the horrific Kokoda Track, the Australians have begun a counter-offensive which is rapidly pushing the Japanese back through the Owen Stanley Mountains.
The Japanese came within 26 miles of their objective. At night they could see the searchlights of Port Moresby criss-crossing the sky. That was as far as they got. MacArthur"> MacArthur feared that if the Japanese took New Guinea they could use this as a base to attack Australia. The continued retreat from Kokoda had alarmed him and he declared that he no longer had confidence in the Australians. He feared a military reverse. General Blamey, however, was not disturbed. After visiting New Guinea he informed the Australian advisory war council on 17 September of his confidence that the Japanese would not be able to take Port Moresby.
The same day MacArthur"> MacArthur telephoned the prime minister, John Curtin, to tell him of his concern. He considered that Blamey should be sent to New Guinea at once to "energize the situation". Curtin agreed. As it happened, on the day that Blamey arrived at Port Moresby the emaciated Japanese received their last rice rations and three days later were ordered to retreat.
On the Kokoda Track, the Australian 2/25 Battalion is holding the center with the 2/31st Battalion on the left and the 2/33rd Battalion on the right. The 2/14th and 2/16th Battalions are relieved by the 36th Battalion and leave for Port Moresby; when these two units had started out on the Track in August, they had approximately 550 men each; now the 2/14th is down to 101 men and the 2/16th has 143 men.
US Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs bomb and strafe forces north of Ioribaiwa and along the Efogi-Menari trail in support of the Australian counteroffensive in Papua; a B-17, along with RAAF aircraft, bomb Buna Airfield; and RAAF Beaufighters and a Hudson sink a Japanese weather observation ship off Woodlark Island.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17s strike shipping and airfield at Rabaul on New Britain Island.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: In the Bering Sea a destroyer and a freighter are bombed north of Atka Island at 53-30N 174-20E by USAAF Eleventh Air Force bombers; 2 near misses are scored on the freighter.
U.S.A.: Baseball, youngsters are admitted free to the Polo Grounds in New York City in a doubleheader between the Boston Braves and the New York Giants if they bring scrap metal to aid the war effort. During the 8th inning of the second game, with the Giants leading 5-2, the kids get restless and invade the field and umpire Ziggy Sears forfeits the game to the Braves, 9-0. Braves' pitcher Warren Spahn is not charged with a loss even though the Braves were losing but he is given credit for a complete game.
Destroyer escort USS Edgar G Chase launched.
The auxiliary aircraft carrier (ACV) USS Bogue (ex AVG-9, ex Maritime Commission
Hull 170) is commissioned at Tacoma, Washington. She is the 12th ACV in
commission. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0736 hours GMT whilst escorting unscheduled convoy RB.1, which consisted of 8 river steamers going from New York to Londonderry for the invasion of Europe, destroyer HMS Veteran (D 72) is attacked by three German wolf packs totalling 17 U-boats. She is torpedoed by U-404, while rescuing survivors of SS New York and lost with all hands together with 78 rescued survivors of SS Boston and SS Yorktown. Despite an intensive sea search, nothing more is seen of her. She sinks about 596 nautical miles west of Galway, County Galway, Éire in position 54.34N, 25.44W. (Alex Gordon)(108)
U-619 sank SS Yorktown in
Convoy RB-1.
U-91 sank SS New York in Convoy
RB-1.
Convoy attacked by three packs totalling 17 U-boats.
U-175
sank SS Tambour
On board U-181, an ill
crewmember underwent surgery with full anesthesia.