May 25th, 1943 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: The London Gazette, today notifies that in the Arctic, Chief Officer James Arthur Reeves (1911-84) hauled two helpless men from the water and oil-filled engine-room of his torpedoed merchantman. (Albert Medal)
Avro York Ascalon (LV 633) flies the Prime Minister and Allied commanders to Algiers via Gibraltar. This aircraft is flown by No. 24 Squadron at Northolt and is furnished as a flying conference room. (22)
Frigate HMCS Teme (ex-HMS Teme) laid down South Bank-on-Tees.
GERMANY: Tonight RAF planes bomb Düsseldorf, but do little damage.
U.S.S.R.: Baltic Fleet and Ladoga Flotilla: (Sergey Anisimov)(69)Submarine loss. "Sch-408" - by aviation and surface ships gunfire of Ruotsinsalmi and Patrol Boat VMV, close to Vaindlo lighthouse at Keri.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-414 sunk in the western Mediterranean NW of Tenes, in position 36.31N, 00.40E, by depth charges from corvette HMS Vetch.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA:
On Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands, the Americans again attack Fishhook Ridge and manage to take control of the base of the snow covered ridge as well as isolated slopes.
The USAAF's Eleventh Air Force dispatches 12 B-25 Mitchells and 15 B-24 Liberators to fly air-ground support and four B-24s and 20 P-38 Lightnings to fly air cover over Attu. Eighteen P-40s fly a reconnaissance and two attack missions to Kiska and Little Kiska Islands.
U.S.A.: Washington: Churchill and Roosevelt have ended their Trident Conference talks on the next moves against the Axis powers with agreement on the date and place for a cross-channel invasion of German-occupied north-western Europe next year. They have also agreed to press Turkey to join the Allies.
In detail The two sides agree
(1) that the defeat of Germany is still the first priority;
(2) to step up the strategic bombing of Germany and occupied Europe as a
preliminary to an invasion of Europe scheduled for 1 May 1944;
(3) to bomb the Ploesti, Romaniaoil fields from bases in the Mediterranean;
and
(4) to increase aid to China. Both sides also approve of the U.S. plan for
operations in the Pacific.
The invasion should take place by 1 May, with 29 divisions. These details, which must remain a closely guarded secret, were worked out by British and American staff officers, who studied information gained from high-altitude reconnaissance photographs, hundreds of detailed maps and over ten million holiday snaps and picture postcards assembled after a BBC appeal to the public. During a press conference attended by 151 Allied correspondents, Churchill was asked why senior British officers from India had been brought to Washington. He said that the plan was to intensify the war against Japan. From now on, the war in both west and east would be waged with equal force.
Allied superiority over the enemy in munitions production was now beginning to tell, Churchill said Allied air power had become a decisive factor in the war, and the bombing campaign against Germany would be a 24-hours-a-day operation. War would continue until unconditional surrender was obtained "from all those who had molested us". Roosevelt then interrupted Churchill to say that "molested" was the best example of understatement he had heard.]
As well as this they agreed to step up the strategic bombing of Germany and occupied Europe as a preliminary to invasion; to bomb the Ploesti oilfields in Romania, from bases in the Mediterranean and to increase aid to China.
During WW II, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) produced numerous documents, most commonly known are the Intelligence Bulletins. The Military Intelligence Special Series continues with "German Infantry Weapons." (William L. Howard)
Destroyer escort USS Cannon launched.
Destroyer escort USS Crouter commissioned.
Destroyer USS Harding commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-467 sunk SE of Iceland, in position 62.25N, 14.52W, by a Fido homing torpedo from a USN VP 84 Catalina. 46 dead (all hands lost).