23 November 1942

Frigates HMS Berry and Blackwood launched.

Destroyer HMS Stevenstone launched.

Submarine HMS Vandal launched.

NETHERLANDS: During the night of 23/24 November, 15 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 23: 50 B-17 Flying Fortresses and eight B-24 Liberators are dispatched to hit the St Nazaire submarine base for the fifth time in two weeks; the cumulative effect of the operation on the base is large though the sub shelter shows little permanent damage. Twenty eight B-17 and eight B-24s hit the target with the loss of four B-17 Flying Fortresses; the USAAF crews report a change in fighter tactics from rear to head-on attack as the Luftwaffe learns that the B-17 and B-24 are weak in forward firepower. .

During the night of 23/24 November, RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off five Bay of Biscay ports: four lay mines in the River Gironde Estuary; three each lay mines off Bayonne, Lorient and St. Nazaire; and two lay mines off St. Jean de Luz.

GERMANY: Rastenburg: Hitler orders Germans at Stalingrad to "dig in and await relief", refusing to yield any ground.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet forces capture the bridge over the Don River at Kalach, in a surprise attack. Linking up with the tank forces of the Soviet 51st Army the encirclement of Stalingrad begins. The priority is to methodically destroy the Germans at Stalingrad. They believe there are 85,000 that will be cut off. The German forces actually number some 300,000.

ITALY: SARDINIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, with P-38 Lightning escort, sent to bomb the airfield at Elmas abort due to bad weather.

LIBYA: The Axis forces withdraw from Agedabia to the El Agheila position where they halt to reorganize. Montgomery halts to reorganize after an advance of over 600 miles in 14 days. German mines and booby traps have been one cause of delay for the British leading to some speculation that the advance was too cautious.

ALGERIA: Algiers: Admiral Darlan announces that the French colony of Senegal in west Africa now accepts his authority and joins the Allies. This includes the important port of Dakar.

TUNISIA: The Germans take the first step against the Jews here, when they arrest four leaders of the Jewish community, among them its president, Moise Borgel. (118)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The frontline companies, west of the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal, withdraw about 300 yards this morning. 3 Btns of artillery pounded the Japanese lines for 30 minutes. The counterattack is held up, because it is too narrow and is halted. The Cactus AF also provided support and wounded General Hyakutake and his Chief of Staff for the 17th Army. Japanese mortar fire wounds Lt. Col. Hall of the 3rd Btn, 164th Regiment. This halt will result in a stalemate for the next 6 weeks.

AUSTRALIA: Japanese bombers attack targets in the Northern Territory. At around midnight on the night of 22/23 November, a formation of high-flying bombers attack RAAF Coomalie Creek Airfield. All the bombs fall in the scrub and do no damage to the airfield. At least two Japanese bombers are shot down. Between 0300 and 0439 hours, the bombers attack the Darwin town area and RAAF Darwin.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: USAAF Eleventh Air Force aircraft fly a reconnaissance mission over Japanese-held Kiska and Attu Islands and Agattu, and Amchitka Islands.

U.S.A.: Secretary of State Hull announced that a satisfactory agreement had been reached between the American negotiators and local authorities in Martinique. He stated that it would be unnecessary for American troops to occupy Martinique or other French possessions in the West Indies, and that the new agreement covered all French Caribbean possessions and French Guyana.

Destroyer USS Hale laid down.

Minesweeper USS Saunter laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

German submarine U-172 torpedoes and sinks the 6,630 ton British freighter SS Benlomond about 254 nautical miles (470 kilometers) north of Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, in position 00.30N, 38.45W. The ship is en route from Port Said, Egypt, via Cape Town, South Africa, to Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana. The only survivor of the 47-man crew is Poon Lim, the 49-year-old chief steward, who climbs into an empty raft and spends the next 133 days floating in the Atlantic Keeping alive with fish he catches with a crude fishing line and hook, he eventually is rescued by a Brazilian fishing boat which takes him to Belim Para, Brazil, 595 nautical miles (1 101 kilometers) west of where the ship sank. There, the British consul arranges for him to return to the U.K. where he is awarded the British Empire Medal and the Ben Line Shipping Company presents him with a gold watch. Poon Lim now holds the world's record as the longest lifeboat survivor.

U-518 sank SS Caddo.

U-601 sank SS Kusnec Lesov in Convoy QP-15.

U-625 sank SS Goolistan in Convoy QP-15.

U-552 encountered an enemy submarine that fired a torpedo at her without success.