June 15th, 1943 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Additional modifications of Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress escort bombers are completed in the United Kingdom. It is now hoped that these B-17s converted to heavily armoured aircraft with great firepower will solve the problem of long-range escort for bombers.
RAF Squadron 101, Radio Counter Measures (RCM), is based at Ludford Magna, near Louth in Lincolnshire, as part of No. 1 Group, Bomber Command. At Ludford a dangerous task is assigned the squadron. More details here.
Destroyer HMS Swift launched.
Minesweeping trawler HMS Probe commissioned.
Submarine HMS Stonehenge commissioned.
GERMANY: Munster: The Arado Ar-234, the world's first jet bomber aircraft, has its first test flight, piloted by Flugkapitän Selle. All went well with the flight but the five braking parachutes failed to open and the landing trolley was destroyed. (21)
POLAND: Janowska: Jewish forced labourers, supervised by SS Colonel Paul Blobel, start digging up the corpses of 1,200 Lwow Jews massacred in March. They extract gold teeth and rings from the bodies before cremating them.
U.S.S.R: Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: MS "T-411" - by U-boat, at Sukhumi area (Sergey Anisimov)(69)
At 1419, U-24 fired a spread of two torpedoes at the BTShCh-411 Zashchitnik (No 26), which had been spotted at 1354 and observed one hit in the stern after 1 minute 30 seconds. The vessel broke in two and sank about 20 miles west of Suchumi. The survivors were picked up by the Soviet patrol craft SKA-0101 and SKA-0138.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Submarine HMS Umbra torpedoed and sank the Italian heavy cruiser Trento. Trento was already damaged by a torpedo from an RAF 217 Sqn Beaufort from Malta).
Submarine HMS Ultor sinks the Italian auxiliary minesweeper Tullio/No.92 (137 BRT).
At 1430, the Athelmonarch, escorted by the Greek destroyer Aetos, was torpedoed and sunk by U-97 NW of Jaffa, Palestine. Four crewmembers were lost. The master, 35 crewmembers and eleven gunners were picked up by the destroyer and landed at Beirut.
TURKEY: The government makes an affirmation of continued neutrality. Reaffirming its separate friendship treaties with USSR and Germany. (Glenn Steinberg)
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, is
bombed by six Lockheed PV-1 Venturas of Patrol Wing Four (PatWing 4) based on Adak Island.
:
The resupply and evacuation of Japanese personnel from Kiska by submarine continues. HIJMS
I-156 lands three tons of weapons and ammunition and two tons of food and takes out 58
civilians and two sailors.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Owen Sound launched Collingwood Ontario.
U.S.A.: President Roosevelt">Roosevelt approves a ceiling of 31,447 useful aircraft for the USN.
Destroyer escorts USS Menges and Sederstrom launched.
Destroyer escort USS Gary laid down.
Destroyer USS Hale commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Submarine HM S/M P512 arrived Bermuda for ASW training.