October 21st, 1942 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Trawler HMS Campobello completed and loaned to RCN.
FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 15 against two targets; three B-17 Flying Fortresses are lost: 66 B-17s and 24 B-24 Liberators are dispatched to hit the U-boat pens at Lorient but clouds prevent all but 15 B-17s from bombing from 17,500 feet (5 334 meters), 5,000 to 10,000 feet (1 524 to 3 048 meters) lower than usual; 36 Luftwaffe Fw 190s intercept and shoot down three B-17s. The second mission consisting of eight of 17 B-17s bomb Cherbourg Airfield; they claim 10-4-3 aircraft without loss.
NETHERLANDS: During the day, three RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos are dispatched to Germany but only two are able to bomb targets, the Stork diesel engine factory at Hengelo and the airfield at Leeuwarden. No losses.
During the night of 21/22 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches seven Stirlings and seven Wellingtons to lay mines off Denmark and in the Frisian Islands of the Netherlands but the Wellingtons are recalled. Six of the seven Stirlings lay their mines in the Frisian Islands with the loss of one aircraft.
GERMANY:
U-273, U-306, U-418, U-667 commissioned.
POLAND: After a seven-day action, 20,000 Jews have been sent from the Piotrkow ghetto to Treblinka for gassing. Treblinka, established in 1941 as a forced labor camp for those accused of crimes by the occupation authorities, is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Warsaw, Poland.
U.S.S.R.: Baltic Fleet, Ladoga and Onega Flotillas, submarines. "S-7" torpedoed and sunk by Finnish submarine Vesihiisi (kapteeniluutnantti Olavi Aittola), close to Sederarm lighthouse, at Aland Sea. The Russian surfaces in the open sea at 1926 hours and is located by the Finn. only 8000 meters away. A single torpedo is fired from 2,000 meters hitting the Soviet boat in the stern sinking it. Only the four men standing on the bridge, including the captain survive and made PoW. (Sergey Anisimov and Mikko Härmeinen)(69)
A combined German, Finnish and Italian force launches an unsuccessful attack on Suho Island on Lake Ladoga to break the Soviet supply route to Leningrad.
German street fighters make gains in the Red October area of Stalingrad and over the next two days more than half of the Barrikady Factory and housing project in the north are taken in a series of vicious attacks.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: German submarine U-431 is sunk about 75 nautical miles (139 kilometers) east of Cartagena, Spain, by depth charges from an RAF Wellington Mk. XIV, aircraft of No. 179 Squadron based at Gibraltar; all 53 crewmen are lost.
ALGERIA: In advance of the Allied North African landings, U.S. Major General Mark W. Clark, Deputy Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force; Brigadier General Lyman M. Lemnitzer, Assistant Chief of Staff to Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean; two additional Army officers; and Navy Captain Jerauld Wright are landed at Cherchel, about 49 miles (79 kilometers) west of Algiers, from British submarine HMS/M Seraph (P 219) to meet with a French military delegation to ascertain French attitudes toward impending Allied operations. Among issues discussed is the French request for an American submarine to evacuate General Henri-Honeré Giraud, a POW in occupied France. Since none is available for that mission, a British submarine under temporary U.S. command will be substituted. The meeting comes to an abrupt halt after a servant tips off police who happen to belong to the resistance. Clark€'s party gets a good soaking when their boat capsizes on return to HMS/M Seraph. (Jack McKillop & Dave Shirlaw)
LIBYA: US Army, Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberators dispatched against shipping at Bengasi fail to locate target because of bad weather; during the return flight, several B-24s bomb tent areas along the coast and also hit landing grounds; B-25 Mitchells, cooperating with the RAF, bomb a landing ground and tent area.
CHINA: B-24 Liberators of the USAAF">USAAF Tenth Air Force's India Air Task Force (IATF) stage through Chengtu to bomb coal mines at Lin-hsi; the plan is to blast nearby power stations and pumping facilities and flood the mines; the attack fails to flood the mines but inflicts considerable damage to the target area; this marks the first use of heavy bombers in China and the first USAAF">USAAF strike north of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.
NEW GUINEA: Along the Kokoda Track a slow Australian advance encounters strong Japanese positions at Templetons Crossing. Seven days of attacks follow. (William L. Howard)
A 50-man patrol of Cannon Company, 126th Infantry, U.S. 32d Infantry Division, sets out from Jaure for the Kumusi River Valley, where it subsequently establishes a defence line and is joined by Captain Alfred Medendorp’s main group (Company E, 126th Infantry Regiment, Antitank and Cannon Companies and native carriers), the entire force being called the Wairopi Patrol.
The Australians maintain pressure on the Japanese along the Kokoda Track, slowly gaining ground in flanking attacks. The 16th Brigade advances and finds that the Japanese have abandoned the positions they held yesterday.
Australian General Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Allied Land Forces Southwest Pacific Area and Commander in Chief Australian Military Force, sends a message to Major General Arthur Allen, General Officer Commanding 7th Australian Division, stating, "You should consider acting with greater boldness...General MacArthur (considers) that progress on the trail is not repeat not satisfactory. The tactical handling of our troops in my opinion is faulty." General Allen responds, "I feel that the difficulty of operations in this country are still not fully realised....the track between Alola and Myola is the roughest and most precipitous throughout the complete route."
SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Japanese 11th Air Fleet at Rabaul begins its attacks on Guadalcanal in support of the upcoming offensive. Nine "Betty" bombers (Mitsubishi G4M, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers), escorted by 25 "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) strike Henderson Field. USMC and USN F4F Wildcat pilots shoot down six "Zekes;" two F4Fs are lost.
The Japanese army is supported by four battleships and four aircraft carriers, and numbers 20,000 soldiers. The Japanese coastal force are supported by tanks and heavy artillery, but fail to cross the Mataniku river. They pull back after losing a tank to U.S. fire.
On Guadalcanal, the IJA 2nd Division is advancing towards the point south of Henderson Field for their attack. They have been marching for 6 days and are heavily engaged by the jungle. Due to their lack of progress, the attack scheduled for tomorrow night is postponed one day.
The 8th US Marines land.
PACIFIC OCEAN:
Submarine USS Gudgeon (SS-211) sinks an armed transport at 03-30 S, 150-30 E, south of Kavieng.
0000 hours: Submarine USS Greenling (SS-213) sinks a sampan at 39-37 N, 142-45 E.
1400 hours: Submarine USS Guardfish (SS-217) sinks a cargo ship at 27-25 N, 123-05 E.
1400 hours: USS Guardfish (SS-217) sinks a cargo ship at 27-20 N,123-42 E. (Skip Guidry)
The Japanese aircraft carrier HIJMS Hiyo is damaged by an engine room fire after departing Truk in the Caroline Islands and thus cannot participate in the Battle of Santa Cruz on 26 October.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit Luscan Harbor on the south coast of New Britain Island.
CANADA:
Naval college HMCS Royal Roads commissioned Esquimalt, British Columbia.
Corvette HMCS Weyburn Oerlikon fitting completed, to Mediterranean escort duty.
U.S.A.: Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief United States Fleet, informs Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Ocean Area and Commander of the Pacific Fleet, that the Joint Chiefs of Staff have agreed to strengthen air forces in South Pacific by 1 January 1943.
The motion picture "For Me and My Gal" opens at the Astor Theater in New York City. Directed by Busby Berkeley, this romantic musical stars Judy Garland, George Murphy, Gene Kelly, Ben Blue, Horace (Stephan) McNally and Keenan Wynn.
Minesweeper USS Bond launched.
Destroyer escort USS Edward C Daly launched.
Minesweeper USS Seer commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the Bay of Biscay, the British submarine HMS Graph (the former German U-boat U-570) fired a four-torpedo fan at U-333, but all torpedoes missed.
In the North Sea, the 3,974 ton cargo/passenger ship SS Palatia departs Kristiansand, Norway, today. On board are 999 Russian POWs and 135 ships crew and guards, a total of 1,134 men. About an hour after sailing, the ship is torpedoed by a Hampden Mk. I torpedo bomber from No. 489 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force, based at Wick, Caithness, Scotland. The Palatia sink near the Sangnvaar Lighthouse, with the loss of 954 men.