June 8th, 1943 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The first flight of the de Havilland Mosquito Mk XVIII (HJ 732) is made today. It is equipped with a 57mm Molins gun (equivalent to a 6-pounder field gun). More
POLAND: Auschwitz-Birkenau: With a casual wave of his gloved hand, the new camp doctor, SS Captain Josef Mengele, has just separated 880 Greek Jews from Salonika into two groups: those who will die now, and those who will live a little longer.
He takes a special interest in new arrivals, for they provide human guinea pigs for his gruesome medical experiments. His interests include the way identical twins react when exposed to disease or torture.
His colleague, Professor Carl Clauberg, has just completed his research into sterilization methods; he reported to Himmler">Himmler yesterday that, using X-Rays, he could sterilize up to a thousand half-Jews and gypsies every day.
GREECE: Some 880 Greek Jews from Salonika arrive in Auschwitz.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) Wellingtons pound the town and docks on Pantelleria Island in the Mediterranean during the night of 7/8 June. The air offensive against the island increases during the following day as fighters, light, medium and heavy bombers of the NASAF, Northwest Tactical Air Force (NATAF) and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force continue to bomb throughout the day. Naval forces bombard the harbour and shore batteries. Surrender requests, dropped by airplane, bring no response.
JAPAN: The Japanese Battleship Mutsu is sunk, by an internal explosion, in Hiroshima Bay.Tokyo: The Japanese High Command orders the Aleutian island of
Kiska to be abandoned.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Japanese submarines I-7 and I-34 reach
Kiska Island with supplies and evacuate personnel.
HIJMS I-7 lands 19 tons of weapons and ammunition and 15 tons of food and evacuates 42 Navy, 18 Army and 41 civilian personnel.
HIJMS I-34 lands nine tons of weapons and ammunition and five tons of food and evacuates nine ( Navy and 71 civilian personnel.
U.S.A.: Los Angeles declared off limits by military authorities in order to bring an end to the Zoot Suit riots. (Patrick Holscher)
Future late night TV star Johnny Carson enlists in the USN, as an apprentice seaman enrolled in the V-5 programme, which trains naval and US Marine pilots. (Military.com)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Fairmile HMC ML 053 following the minesweeper HMS BYMS 989 observed a floating mine at 1815. A towline 90 yards long was attached to the mine and was towed to Ketch Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada. At 1930 the towline was passed to a shore party of 8 men from ML 053. The mine was then hauled to the beach. At this point Lt George Henry Olaf Rundle RCNR assisted by OS John Gordon Lancien RCNVR removed the cover plate. The wiring was cut and the detonator removed at 2052. Once the mine was declared safe, the shore party returned and removed the mine and detonator.