29 May 1943

May 29th, 1943 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: A damaged Sunderland flying boat of No. 461 Sqdn., RAAF, is successfully landed on an airfield in South Wales. This is one of the first occasions on which a flying-boat has been put down safely on land. (22)

327th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 92d Bombardment Group (Heavy), based at Alconbury, flies its first mission with the YB-40 to St. Nazaire, France.

The USAAF's VIII Bomber Command in England flies Mission Number 61: 169 B-17 Flying Fortresses are dispatched against the submarine pens and locks at Saint-Nazaire, France; 147 aircraft hit the target at 1706-1711 hours local and claim 6-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; eight B-17s are lost. Seven YB-40s, heavily armoured B-17s with increased firepower for escorting bombers, fly their first mission. YB-40s show an inability to keep up with B-17s after they drop their bombs and the need for modification of waist and tail gun feeds and ammunition supplies. In two other raids, 72 B-17s are dispatched against the Rennes, France naval depot; 57 hit the target at 1601-1605 hours and claim 19-5-14 Luftwaffe aircraft; six B-17s are lost. In the third raid, 38 B-24 Liberators are dispatched against the U-boat yards at La Pallice, France; 34 hit the target without any casualties on either side.

Sloop HMS Woodcock commissioned.

GERMANY:

U-392, U-846 commissioned.

U-315, U-766, U-1162 launched.

INDIAN OCEAN: At 1937, the unescorted Hopetarn was torpedoed and sunk by U-198 about 450 miles east of Durban. Six crewmembers and one gunner were lost. The second officer was taken prisoner by the U-boat, landed at Bordeaux on 24 September and taken to the POW camp Milag Nord. The master, 28 crewmembers and seven gunners were picked up two days later by the British merchantman Nirvana and landed at Durban on 3 June.

CHINA: Chinese troops halt the Japanese advance on Chungking and recapture Yuyangkwan, east of Ichang.

JAPAN: The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters abandons its plan to evacuate Attu.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The final Japanese counterattack on Attu is carried out with fanatical determination.
This final suicide charge of a little over 1,000 Japanese soldiers was led by their commander, Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki. Their aim is to penetrate the enemy's lines and seize the artillery positions and then destroy the US main base at Massacre Bay and force a general re-embarkation of US troops. Before the attack, all casualties in the Japanese hospital commit suicide. The charge is through American lines and against Engineer Hill manned by the 13th and 50th Engineers, 20th Field Headquarters, 7th Medical Battalion and some infantrymen of the 4th Infantry Regiment. They push aside a surprised infantry company, and sweep headlong toward Massacre-Sarana Pass. There engineers and service troops, with ten-minutes' warning, hastily organized defence lines and in desperate hand-to-hand combat broke the force of the attack. A few enemy detachments won through the pass but were brought up just short of a battery of 105mm howitzers.

Colonel Yamasaki is killed with his sword in hand.

After this charge, Attu is declared secured. American casualties are 549 killed in action, 1,148 wounded and approximately 2,100 suffering from frostbite and disease. Japanese casualties are 2,350 killed in action; 29 Japanese are taken prisoner. The capture of Attu is second only to Iwo Jima in terms of the number of Japanese casualties compared to American casualties.

US ground forces are landed on Shemya, the same day Attu was declared secured. [This was a shore-to-shore operation from Attu. Original plans for the invasion of Attu had called for occupation of Shemya first and construction of a fighter strip by Seabees in three weeks, but shipping and other problems ruled this out. - ESM] (Edward S. Miller) These troops were from the 4th Infantry Regiment and they had to endure a six hour voyage over heavy seas to get to Shemya. As far as Attu being secured, since the Japanese banzai charge occurred during the night of 29/30 May, the island was not declared secured until 30 May.

CANADA:

Frigate HMCS Matane launched Montreal, Province of Quebec.

Corvette HMCS Guelph (ex-Sea Cliff) laid down Collingwood, Ontario.

U.S.A.: Rosie the Riveter appears on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. (Pat Holscher)

Destroyers USS Albert W Grant and Bryant launched.

Destroyer escorts USS Solar, Lee Fox, J Douglas Blackwood, Enright, Darby, Coolbaugh and Bunch launched.

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