April 13th, 1943 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: USAAF, 78th Fighter Group equipped with P-47-Cs flies its first combat mission.
Imber, Wiltshire: An RAF pilot, demonstrating new tactics for attacking ground targets, kills 25 when he mistakenly fires on spectators rather than the practice target.
ENGLISH CHANNEL: German ships tonight sink the Norwegian destroyer ESKDALE, which was manned by a joint British/Norwegian crew, in a night attack.
GERMANY: German radio announces the finding of mass graves in Katyn, Poland, filled with the bodies of thousands of Polish officers.
ITALY: SARDINIA: Northwest African Air Force P-38s bomb a cruiser at La Maddalena and other shipping at Porto Torres.
SICILY: Ninth Air Force B-24s are dispatched against the harbour at Catania. Total cloud cover prevents visual contact with the target. One drops bombs in the target area, but others jettison their load or return to base without bombing.
Northwest African Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the airfields at Castelvetrano and Milo.
TUNISIA: The British Eight Army's 10 Corps, continuing north reaches an anti-tank ditch guarding new enemy positions at Enfidaville and unsuccessfully attempts, on a limited scale, to force a retreat before the line can be strengthened.
Northwest African Air Force B-25s bomb Oudna Airfield. Fighters maintain sweeps and armoured reconnaissance over northeastern Tunisia and the Straits of Sicily. During the night of 12/13 April, RAF aircraft bomb Megrine landing ground.
BURMA: 9 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Myitnge bridge without inflicting further damage to the structure; 9 others hit Monywa Airfield. Six P-40s knock out a bridge at Shaduzup.
NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs bomb and strafe the Labiabi area while a single B-17 bombs the runway at Finschhafen.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force P-38s and Navy aircraft bomb the airfield at Munda Airfield on New Georgia Island and strafe barges.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 15 B-24 Liberators, 15 B-25s, 28 P-38 Lightnings and 20 P-40s to fly 11 attacks to Kiska Island; 43 tons of bombs are dropped on the Main Camp, North Head, and runway.
Fighters attack the Main Camp causing large fires, and also strafe aircraft on the beach. Heavy AA fire damages 2 P-38s, 1 of which later crashes into the sea, and a B-25.
U.S.A.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial. (Tony)