August 12th, 1943 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force in England dispatches both the VIII Air Support Command and VIII Bomber Command on missions.
- The VIII Air Support Command sends 71 B-26B Marauders to the Nord Airfield at Poix, France on Missions 17 and 18; 34 hit the target at 1052 hours.
- The Ruhr is targeted by 2 forces with the bombers concentrating on manufacturing installations and synthetic oil during VIII Bomber Command Mission 81. (1) 183 B-17s are dispatched to attack synthetic oil installations at Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Recklinghausen; some B-17s become separated on the bomb run and bomb various targets of opportunity;
133 B-17s hit the targets at 0845-0925 hours; 23 B-17's are lost. (2) 147 B-17s are dispatched to manufacturing installations at Bonn; 110 hit the target at 0850-0858 hours; 2 B-17s are lost.
Captain Clark Gable of the USAAF today flies on a raid on the Ruhr.
Corvette HMCS Bowmanville (ex HMS Nunney Castle) laid down Sunderland.
GERMANY: U-860 commissioned.
U-864 launched.
U-1278 launched.
ITALY: 656 RAF bombers devastate Milan, dropping 1,252 tons of incendiary bombs; secret negotiations for an armistice are opened.
Turin: Flt-Sgt. Arthur Louis Aaron (b.1922), No. 218 Squadron RAFVR, suffered terrible injuries in a fighter attack, in spite of which he brought his Short Stirling in to land in Algeria. He died nine hours later. (Victoria Cross)
U.S.S.R.:
Chuguyev in the Kharkov sector falls to the Soviets. The
advance on Poltava threatens to cut off the German units at Kharkov and further south.
Therefore the III Panzer Corps is brought north from Taganrog. The use of Panzer forces as
a mobile reserve is indicative of the weakness of the German Army on the Eastern Front.
CHINA: Shantung: An isolated Chinese Nationalist division in
Shantung is in danger of being destroyed as it comes under attack from both the Chinese
Communists and the Japanese. Members of the Kuomintang's 51st Corps which operates in the
Yi-meng Shan area have been acting as a guerrilla force for the last three months following
Japanese attacks. Now the diehard Nationalists have lost their HQ and their commander,
following an attack by the rival Chinese Communists Eighth Route Army.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: The US
Thirteenth Air Force dispatches 25 B-24s, with 8 P-40s and 22 US Marine F4U Corsairs, to
bomb Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island, causing considerable damage in the dispersal
and runway areas. The Allied airplanes claim 11 A6M "Zekes" shot down; 1 P-40
and 1 F4U are lost. During the night, a US Army detachment lands at Barakoma on Vella
Lavella Island.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: The
USN Task Unit 16.6.1 consisting of the heavy cruisers USS Indianapolis (CA-35) and USS
Salt Lake City (CA-25), the light cruisers USS Detroit (CL-8), USS Raleigh (CL-7) and USS
Richmond (CL-9), and 5 destroyers bombard Kiska Island between 0712 and 0733 hours local
with 85 rounds of 8-inch (203.2 mm), 450 rounds of 6-inch (152.4 mm) and 1,072 rounds of
5-inch (127 mm) shells. Scouting aircraft are launched by the cruisers to spot the
shellfire but damage is difficult to assess because of the excellent camouflage the
departed Japanese had used. Later in the day, US Eleventh Air Force B-24s and B-25
Mitchells fly 26 bombing, strafing, and radar and photo reconnaissance sorties over Kiska
Island targets from bases on Adak Island. From Amchitka Island P-40s, P-38 Lightnings,
B-24s, B-25s, and A-24 Dauntlesses fly 70 bombing sorties over the island and are joined
by B-24s, P-40s, and F-5A Lightnings flying 6 reconnaissance and photo sorties. Targets
include the runway, harbour and shipping installations, army barracks, and the Rose Hill
area.
U.S.A.: The HQ USAFISPA, Air Information Bulletin No. 23, reproduces information found in HQ AAF, SWPA Intelligence Summary No. 126 on the Nakajima Ki-43. (Mike Yared)
Destroyer escorts USS Stern and Swearer laid down.
Destroyer escort USS Bull commissioned.
Submarine USS Boarfish laid down.
Frigate USS Woonsocket laid down.
Frigate USS Pouhgkeepsie launched.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: During an air attack on U-760 in the North Atlantic one man was lost. [Matrosenenobergefreiter Günter Werner].
U-181 sinks SS Clan MacArthur in Convoy DN-55.