June 16th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Minesweeper HMS Ararat commissioned.
Escort carrier HMS Trouncer launched.
GERMANY:
ITALY: SICILY: Wave after wave of Allied bombers flew unmolested over Sicily today, dropping thousands of tons of high explosive on ports, airfields and other military targets. The island is being "softened up" for an invasion - although Rome radio is still talking of Sardinia as a possible target. An announcer described the country's present situation as "the gravest in the whole of her modern history."
Four British battleships are on station in Gibraltar, and intensive training is under way both in North Africa and in Scotland, where a beach near Troon is being used for commando "rehearsals", although few know the actual destination. Two more Italian islands have surrendered. White flags fluttered over tiny Linosa on 13 June as soon as the British destroyer HMS NUBIAN appeared. Closer to Africa, Lampedusa was pounded heavily from the sea and air before surrendering on 12 June. A British fighter pilot, Sergeant Jack Cohen, force-landed on the island with engine trouble in the middle of the bombardment. Italians came running up to his aircraft waving white flags and shouting: "Can't you stop this?"
Cohen was forced to shelter from Allied bombs and shells for two hours. Italian engineers helped him to men his aircraft, and he flew off to tell the navy that Lampedusa was surrendering. The capture of Pantelleria and the other islands has virtually closed the Sicilian narrows to German and Italian shipping.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-97 (Type VIIC) is sunk in Mediterranean, west of Haifa at position 33.00N, 34.00W by depth charges from an Australian Hudson aircraft (Sqdn 459/T). 27 dead, 21 survivors. (Alex Gordon)
ALGERIA: King George invests
Generals Bernard Montgomery and Henry Maitland Wilson with knighthoods.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: The IJN launches its largest air raid
since 7 April 1943, by dispatching an estimated 50 Aichi D3A Navy Type 99
Carrier Bombers, Allied Code Name "Val," and 70 Mitsubishi A6M Navy
Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied Code Name "Zeke," against USN vessels
at Guadalcanal and Tulagi preparing for Operation TOENAILS, the invasion of New
Georgia Island in the central Solomon Islands.
A coastwatcher sights this force just after 1200 hours local and 104 Allied aircraft, RNZAF Kittyhawks; 12 P-38G Lightnings, 14 P-39D, K and N Airacobras and 21 P-40 F and Ms of the USAAF; USMC F4U Corsairs; and USN F4F Wildcats are scrambled to meet the raid.
Numerous dogfights ensue over Savo and Tulagi Islands, and Cape Esperance and Koli Point on Guadalcanal; Allied aircraft claim 79 aircraft shot down with the loss of six Allied fighters and five pilots; AA claims 17 more aircraft.
The Japanese succeed in damaging three ships [tank landing ship USS LST-340 and cargo ship USS Celeno (AK-76) are beached] and cause considerable destruction on Guadalcanal Island. This is the last daylight raid launched by the Japanese against Guadalcanal.
Also this day Jay Zeamer Jr., and Joseph Sarnoski of the USAAF with a volunteer crew fly a daylight solo B-17 reconnaissance mission that is considered to be suicidal. Fighting off attacks by twenty Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Fighters ("Zeros") they completed the mission. Sarnoski died in the mission and Zeamer lost a leg. (Lloyd Sunderland)
BOUGAINVILLE: A coastwatcher convalescent camp is betrayed and raided by 80 Japanese and 40 natives. Eight Australians are killed or executed later. (Michael Alexander)
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: : Operation KE, the Japanese resupply and evacuation of Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands continues. The submarine HIJMS I-156 lands three tons of weapons and ammunition and two tons of food and evacuates 70 civilians and two sailors.
CANADA: Frigate HMCS Magog laid down Montreal, Province of Quebec.
Frigate HMCS Waskesiu commissioned.
U.S.A.:
The first convoys for the Invasion of Sicily, Operation Husky, sail from the US.The motion picture "Coney Island" premieres in New York City. This musical comedy, directed by Walter Lang, and starring Betty Grable, George Montgomery, Cesar Romero and Phil Silvers, is set at the turn of the century and has con man Montgomery attempting to change brash singer Grable. The film is nominated by a Best Musical Scoring Academy Award.
Comedian Charles Chaplin, 54-years-old, marries his fourth wife, 18-year-old Oona O'Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, in Carpenteria, California. They have eight children and remain married until his death on 25 December 1977.
Destroyer Escort USS Sturtevant commissioned.
Destroyer USS Wickes commissioned.
Destroyer escort USS Fleming launched.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Corvette HMCS Arvida arrived Iceland for repair of depth charge damage.