October 26th, 1942 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: USAAF 31st Fighter Group personnel board ship to travel to Gibraltar.
ASW trawler HMS Lancer launched.
Submarine HMS Templar launched.
Submarine HMS Thurough laid down.
HMC ML 086 commissioned.
NETHERLANDS: During the night of 26/27 October, two RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.
FRANCE: During the night of 26/27 October, 39 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off French ports: 12 in the Gironde Estuary, six each off Brest and Lorient and St. Nazaire, five off Bayonne, and four off St. Jean de Luz.
BALTIC SEA:
Submarines Vesihiisi and Iku-Turso are ordered to hunt Iku-Turso shoots torpedo against Soviet submarine Shtsh 320 at 23.58 and the enemy sub sinks at 00.01 at Marhällan.
U.S.S.R.: Nalchik, south of Pyatigorsk, in the Caucasus falls to the Germans of Army Group A.
Again, the Romanian 2nd Mountain Division played a central role in these operations, taking 3,000 Soviet prisoners (and helping the Germans to trap an even larger Soviet force) while suffering 820 casualties. The 2nd Mountain Division also fought off a rather understrength Soviet offensive in the Nalchik area in January '43. (John Nicholas and Mike Yaklich)
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Over 30 U.S. Army Middle East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators attack shipping off the coast of Libya.
NORTH AFRICA: General Montgomery halts most of his forces to regroup, after making little headway during the second day of his offensive at El Alamein. XXX Corps takes Kidney Ridge. Most of the action has revolved around Rommel's reactions and German counterattacks, as Rommel moves his forces north.
Capt. Thomas W. Clark, a P-40 pilot with the 65th FS/57th FG, USAAF, becomes the first USAAF fighter pilot in the ETO or North Africato score a double victory, when he downs two Italian Mc.202s, to score a double victory. (Skip Guidry)
Allied aircraft continue strong support to ground forces and disperse enemy concentrations preparing for an attack. U.S. Army Middle East Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit transport, troop concentrations, and tanks while P-40s fly sweeps over the El Daba area and attack motor transport and other targets. German air action increases and considerable aerial combat ensues and USAAF fighters claim four airplanes shot down.
INDIA: The Japanese again hit airfields in Assam connected with the India-China air transport route, concentrating on Sookerating. A freight depot, containing food and medical supplies for China, is destroyed but no U.S. aircraft are lost. Due to a lack of warning, no fighters intercept the attacking force.
CHINA: USAAF bombers raid Hong Kong and Canton. B-25 Mitchells of the USAAF Tenth Air Force's China Air Task Force move to western China to carry out the neutralization of Lashio, Burma, where the Japanese have aircraft they are using against the Dinjan, India area; P-40s continue to hit the Hong Kong-Canton area, using dive-bombing tactics for first time in the area.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack Salamaua and Lae Aerodromes. In Papua New Guinea, an A-20 Havoc, escorted by P-40s, bomb and strafe trails in the Missima-Kaile-Deniki area.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: Shortly after midnight, the main attack against the Lunga Perimeter begins again. The front manned by the 3rd Btn, 164th Regiment is under heavy attack by the Japanese 16th Infantry Reg. 37mm canister fire from two guns of Weapons Co. 7th Marines stops the attack cold. Some survivors succeed in infiltrating the defence lines and are hunted down. This attack, like last night, is short the right wing which is still lost in the jungle. It has turned to the east (right) due to reports of US forces and is not in position. The reports are false.
Near the coast, just east of the mouth of the Matinakau River, Col. Oka finally reaches a position to attack. This attack falls on the 2nd Btn, 7th Marines. The Japanese are heard approached late last night. At 3:00 am the attack begins. The mortar fire of the Battalion and machine gun fire from Sgt. Mitchell Paige (MOH) the 2-7 hold off the Japanese regimental sized attack until 5:00 am. IJA 3rd Btn, 4th Inf. finally scales the steep slope and replaces Co F from the crest of the ridge. 17 men under Maj. Conoley attacked at 5:40 am. They eject the Japanese from the hill. This unit is drawn from communication specialists, cooks, bandsmen, and several riflemen.
They receive assistance from Sgt Paige, Co. G 7th Marines and Co. C 5th Marines. At 8:00 am General Hyakutake stops the attack.
Losses for the past five days: US 86 KIA, 192 WIA; Japanese 1553 south of Henderson Field, 800 near the Matinakau River.
All through the night the Japanese and US Naval forces dodged each other waiting on daybreak and reports from scout planes. Japanese scouts launched between 4:15 am and 4:45 am. US scouts launch at 4:50 am. Sunrise is 5:28am. Both sides mishandled spotting reports and the Japanese launch their strike first at 7:25am, their second strike flies off at 8:10 am; 110 aircraft. The US strikes launch between 7:50 am and 8:10 am; 75 aircraft. Sixty miles from the US fleet the two strikes pass each other.
Battle of Santa Cruz Islands occurs as Task Force 16 (Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid) and TF 17 (Rear Admiral George D. Murray) engage a numerically superior Japanese force (Vice Admiral NAGUMO Chuichi). Although the Japanese achieve a tactical victory, the failure of their simultaneous land offensive on Guadalcanal means that they cannot exploit it to its fullest. The dwindling number of Japanese carrier planes cannot eliminate Henderson Field, while fuel shortages compel the Combined Fleet to retire on Truk Island in the Caroline Islands. Americans control the skies above the sea routes to Guadalcanal. The victory, however, does not come cheaply in this, the fourth major carrier battle of 1942, for the USN aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) is damaged by planes from Japanese aircraft carriers HIJMS Junyo and Shokaku; aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) is damaged by planes from HIJMS Junyo, Shokaku, and Zuikaku; battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57) and light cruiser USS San Juan (CL-54) are damaged by planes from HIJMS Junyo; destroyer USS Smith (DD-378) is damaged by a crashing carrier attack plane; during the operation of fighting the fires on USS Hornet and taking off her survivors, destroyer USS Hughes (DD-410) is damaged in a collision with the doomed carrier (as well as by friendly fire earlier in the action). The attempt to scuttle the irreparably damaged USS Hornet, by gunfire and torpedoes from destroyers USS Mustin (DD-413) and Anderson (DD-411) fails; destroyer Porter (DD-356) is accidentally torpedoed by a battle-damaged and ditched TBF Avenger of Torpedo Squadron Ten (VT 10), and, deemed beyond salvage, is scuttled by destroyer USS Shaw (DD-373). SBD Dauntlesses of Scouting Squadron Ten (VS 10) in USS Enterprise damage aircraft carrier HIJMS Zuiho; SBDs of Bombing Squadron Eight (VB 8) and VS 8 in USS Hornet damage carrier HIJMS Shokaku and destroyer HIJMS Terutsuki; TBF Avengers of VT 6 in USS Hornet damage heavy cruiser HIJMS Chikuma.
USS Hornet struck by 3 550 pound bombs and one Val (dive bomber), then 2 torpedoes and another Val, between 9:12 am and 9:25 am. 11 SBDs from Hornet strike Shokaku with 4 500 pound bombs. Hornet's 2nd strike hits cruiser Chikuma with 2 bombs and 1 torpedo. The 2nd Japanese strike hits Enterprise with 2 bombs and 1 near miss; their torpedo planes missed the coordinated attack that hit Hornet but launch 5 torpedoes which miss Enterprise. Cruisers Portland and San Juan report dud torpedo hits or near misses afterwards. A 3rd wave attacks Enterprise about 11:30 am and scores damage from 1 near miss, 1 hit for minor damage on San Juan and several near misses and 1 hit on South Dakota. Damaged Enterprise withdrew after recovering aircraft. Hornet is abandoned at 4:27 pm. US attempts to scuttle her fail (9 US torpedoes and 300 US 5" shells) and at 9:00 pm two Japanese torpedoes finish Hornet. Aircraft Losses: 27 Zeros, 40 Vals, 29 Kates, 1 Judy for 97 of 199 aircraft. 32 Wildcats, 31 SBDs, 18 TBFs for 81 of 136 aircraft.
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands is over. Hornet is sunk and Enterprise damaged. There are no US carriers operational in the South Pacific.
The USS ENTERPRISE's carrier air group is also thus disbanded with the sinking.
Destroyer USS Porter was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-21. The crew abandoned her, and she was scuttled by gunfire from USS Shaw. USS Porter received 1 Battle Star for her services before her loss.
On the island, US forces now have just 29 aircraft left in operation.
NEW HEBRIDES ISLANDS: The 21,936 ton U.S. liner SS President Coolidge, chartered for use as a troop transport, blunders into a U.S. minefield off Espiritu Santo at 0930 hours and strikes two mines; the ship is beached to facilitate salvage, but slips into deep water and sinks. Four of the 5,050 Army troops are lost in the accident, as is one of the 290-man merchant complement. There are no casualties among the 51-man Armed Guard.
PACIFIC OCEAN: 0900 hours: S-31 sinks an armed transport at 50-10 N, 155-44 E. (Skip Guidry)
CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt commissioned.
U.S.A.: Minesweeper USS Lance laid down.
Light fleet carrier USS San Jacinto laid down.
Light cruiser USS Vicksburg laid down.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Merchantmen Betty H. is sunk from convoy by submarine torpedo.
SS Anne Hutchinson is torpedoed. Constructive total loss.
U-509 damaged SS Anglo Mærsk in Convoy SL-125.
In the North Atlantic, U-552 transferred an ill crewmember to U-87, which then returned to base.