August 25th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force is assigned to the role of bombing important Luftwaffe targets in Operation STARKEY, designed to contain enemy forces in the west to prevent their transfer to the Eastern Front, and to serve as a dress rehearsal in the Pas de Calais, France area for the invasion of western Europe. The Allies hope to provoke the Luftwaffe into a prolonged air battle.
The VIII Air Support Command flies Missions 34A and 34B against two targets
in France.
(1) 21 B-26B Marauders bomb the power station at Rouen at 1832 hours and
(2) 31 B-26s attack Tricqueville Airfield at 1834 hours; they claim 1-8-5
Luftwaffe aircraft.
London: Lord Louis Mountbatten appointed supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia.
Corvette HMCS Kincardine (ex HMS Tamworth Castle) laid down South Bank, Stockton-on-Tees.
Minesweeper HMS Clinton commissioned.
Escort carrier HMS Khedive commissioned.
Destroyer escorts HMS Fessenden and Fiske commissioned.
Frigates HMS Rupert and Stockham laid down.
GERMANY: The Arado 234 V3 jet bomber makes its first flight. This aircraft has a pressurized cabin, an ejector seat and RATOG (Rocket Assisted Take-Off Gear). (21)
U-292, U-1061 and U-1161 commissioned.
U.S.S.R.: The Soviets capture Akhtyrka and Zenkov near Kharkov.
U-625 sank Soviet Shkval.
ITALY: During the day, 135 Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, escorted by 140 P-38 Lightnings, bomb airfields at Foggia with the loss of two bombers. During the night of 25/26 August, RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group attack two targets: 75 bomb the marshalling yard at Taranto with the loss of one aircraft while two bomb a target of opportunity at Scalea. Meanwhile, four RAF Liberators drop leaflets over Naples.
Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan damaged by HS93 radio guided bomb. 4 killed and 36 injured.
CHINA: 8 B-25s, with fighter escort, bomb Kowloon Docks at Hong Kong.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Allied offensive operations on New Georgia and its surrounding islands end after the move by Japanese forces to evacuate from Kolombangara and Vella Lavella. The decision follows recent Japanese air and surface defeats in the region, crippling Japan's ability to protect supplies to its garrisons.
Most significant has been the loss of Munda airstrip and, five days ago, the destruction of 170 Japanese planes as they stood wing-to-wing on the tarmac at Wewak, in New Guinea. Japanese losses in the New Georgia campaign are estimated at 2,500 dead and 17 warships, compared with Allied losses of 1,000 men and six ships.
13 US Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, along with 40+ USMC SBDs and an escort of fighter aircraft, pound barge centers at Webster and Ringa Coves on New Georgia Island. 6 B-24s, along with 24 USMC fighters, hit Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island. Other P-40s strafe large motor vessels and a barge in the northwestern part of the Slot.
CANADA: Quebec: Lord Louis Mountbatten, the 43-year-old head of Combined Operations, has been appointed supreme Allied commander in South-east Asia, it was revealed here today. He will be responsible for operations based on India and Ceylon. The appointment suggests that commando operations will play a major part as Britain strikes back at Japan from its form bases on the subcontinent and Ceylon, both of which have been under separate commands until now.
Frigate HMCS Kokanee laid down Esquimalt, British Columbia. Frigate HMCS Saint John launched Montreal Province of Quebec.
U.S.A.: The US Navy Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet is renamed to V Amphibious Corps. (Gordon Rottman)
The USAAF 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) is inactivated.
ATLANTIC OCEAN:German submarine U-523 is sunk west of Vigo, in position 42.03N, 18.02W, by depth charges from the RN destroyer HMS Wanderer and the corvette HMS Wallflower. 37 of the 54-man crew of the U-boat survive.
U-340 rescued 5 Luftwaffe airmen off Spain. Shortly afterwards the boat was attacked by an aircraft and a few men were wounded, the boat being damaged.
German HS 293 glider bombs are used unsuccessfully against an anti-submarine vessel hunting U-Boats in the Bay of Biscay. This is the first operational use of this weapon.