August 30th, 1943 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command in England flies Mission 38: 33 B-26B Marauders bomb an ammunition dump at Foret d'Eperlecques near Saint-Omer, France at 1859 hours without loss.
Frigate HMS Cooke commissioned.
Sloop HMS Magpie commissioned.
Submarine HMS Viking commissioned. Frigate HMS Loring launched
Destroyer HMS Whirlwind launched.
Destroyer HMCS
Athabaskan arrives at Devonport for a refit.
U.S.S.R.: The Soviet Army scores up two more victories as it takes the Black Sea port of Taganrog and Yelnya, a road centre on central Russia's Desna river and moving to cut off the Germans in the Crimea. Since the defeat of German panzer divisions at Kursk, the Heer hasn't been able to halt the Soviet tanks that repeatedly have gouged huge holes in its defences.
U-18 damaged Soviet patrol craft SKA-0132.
ITALY: The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW or
High Command of the German Armed Forces) orders Field Marshal Albert
Kesselring's forces to occupy Italy if the Badoglio government surrenders.
During the day, 35 B-17 Flying Fortresses of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force bomb the airfield at Viterbo while B-25 Mitchells hit the Civitavecchia marshalling yard; B-26 Marauders, escorted by 44 P-38 Lightnings, bomb the Aversa marshalling yard. Northwest African Tactical Air Force medium and light bombers attack marshalling yards at Marina di Cantanzaro and Paola, and gun emplacements and bivouac south of Reggio di Calabria; and A-36 Apaches bomb marshalling yards at Sapri and Lamezia.
During the night of 30/31 August, 47 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group visually bomb the marshalling yard at Civitavecchia.
SARDINIA: During the day, Northwest African Strategic Air Force P40s strafe a radar station at Pula, Sardinia.
During the night of 30/31 August, two RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group visually drop leaflets over Sardinia; one aircraft is lost.
CHINA: Thirteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25
Mitchells, some with P-40 support,
attack Owchihkow and Shihshow, blasting fuel stores and several buildings; the
P-40s strafe gun positions outside Shihshow; ten P-38
Lightnings and P-40s on armoured
reconnaissance from Sinti to Yoyang to Sienning, strafe and bomb several targets
of opportunity; three locomotives are exploded and another damaged, a water tank
is knocked down, and several railroad stations are heavily damaged. Four other P-40s
attack a convoy east of Hong Kong; a freighter is hit amidships, causing heavy
damage; two other vessels are also effectively damaged.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators pound airstrips in the Wewak are, i.e., Dagua (But East) and But Airstrips (But West), and Tadji Airfield east of Aitape; and A-20 Havocs hit barges on the Bubui River.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Twenty four USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators, along with 20 P-40s and P-39 Airacobras and 20+ USMC F4U Corsairs, pound Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island. Allied airplanes claim more than 30 Japanese shot down; six US aircraft are lost.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, Fifth Air Force B-26s bomb Cape Gloucester Airfield while B-25s sweep along the northwest coast, bombing and strafing barges and enemy-occupied villages.
MARCUS ISLAND: The USN attacks Marcus Island, located about 900 nautical miles (1 667 kilometres) west-northwest of Wake Island in position 24.06N, 151.21E, for the second time. Task Force 15, built around the aircraft carriers USS Essex (CV-9), Yorktown (CV-10) and Independence (CVL-22) launch nine strike groups in a day-long attack on Japanese installations, the first strikes by Essex and Independence Class carriers, and the first combat use of the Grumman F6F Hellcat.
CANADA: HMCS Haida, a Tribal-class destroyer, was commissioned into service in the RCN, Cdr Harry "Harry" George DeWolf DSO, CO. “Happy Haida”, as she was known in the fleet, went on to a stellar career and, through the destruction of two German destroyers, a minesweeper, a submarine and 14 other ships, earned the title "The Fightingest Ship in the Royal Canadian Navy.“ Today, HAIDA is the sole surviving example of the Tribal-class in the world and is preserved at Ontario Place, Toronto. ‘Tribals’ served in every theatre of World War II and were engaged in many major actions. The original 16 class members in the Royal Navy were reduced to four (Ashanti, Eskimo, Nubian and Tartar) by 1943; most of which were lost to air attacks. In all, 27 Tribals were built: 16 for the Royal Navy, four for Canada in Britain (Athabaskan being sunk on 26 Apr 44), four for Canada in Halifax that did not see wartime service, and three in Australia. The Tribals were designed as flotilla leaders in response to the Japanese Fubuki-class, or Special Type destroyers. Although heavy in gun armament, the Tribal's anti-aircraft capabilities were poor and their torpedo and depth charge armament was relatively light. After numerous changes in design, Admiralty opinion on the final product was not flattering: “We have only succeeded in building a weak light cruiser”. The heavy 4.7-inch twin low-angle mounting forward made them ‘wet’ ships and prone to weather damage in heavy seas. Several early members of the class developed serious structural cracks in their hull plating and framing that lead to all ships being reinforced in the area of the bridge. The design was not used as the basis for newer classes of British destroyers. When Admiral Nelles first saw the Tribal design he deliberately set his goal to acquire them as the premier warship for the RCN’s fleet. The standard British fleet destroyer that made up the bulk of the pre-war navy, known in the RCN as the River-class, was quite obviously obsolescent by the war’s start. Winston Churchill met with Mackenzie King and tried to dissuade him from building Tribals in Canadian shipyards, as they knew from pre-war surveys that such large and technically complex warships were beyond current national shipbuilding capabilities. Instead, he suggested going to the United States to investigate “the latest American designs”, which was the Benson-class destroyer. Although a staff comparison was undertaken, the British culture of the Canadian navy and the already evident preference of the CNS for the Tribal design made it inevitable that the American ship was found to be inferior in several categories. The analysis was obviously prejudiced by Nelle’s openly-stated desires as the Benson-class suffered from none of the Tribals’ weaknesses and was blessed with superior radar, sonar, fire control, and outstanding endurance. Although overshadowed by the later Fletcher-class, which did impress the Canadian delegation, the Bensons were probably the outstanding destroyer design of the interwar period.
Frigate HMCS Prince Rupert commissioned.
Corvette HMCS Forest Hill (ex-HMS
Ceanothus) launched Port Glasgow, Scotland.
Corvette HMCS Humberstone (ex-HMS Norham
Castle ex-HMS Totnes Castle) laid down Glasgow. Post WW.II, sold 1946,
mercantile, renamed Taiwei (Chinese) 5 subsequent name changes, 1954 renamed
South Ocean (Korean) broken up 1959, Hong Kong.
Minesweeper HMS Marmion (ex-HMCS
Orangeville) laid down Port Arthur, Ontario.
U.S.A.: Destroyers USS Cooper and
Taussig laid down.
Destroyer escort USS Daniel laid down. Minesweeper USS Bond commissioned.
Destroyer escorts USS Frost, Hurst, Huse and Lee Fox commissioned.
Submarines USS Bang and Pilotfish launched.
Destroyer USS Benham launched.
Destroyer escorts USS Bostwick and Haverfield launched.
Aircraft carrier USS Hornet launched.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-596 sinks SS Nagwa.
The German submarine U-634 is sunk in the North Atlantic east of the Azores, in position 40.13N, 19.24W, by depth charges from the RN sloop HMS Stork and the corvette HMS Stonecrop. All hands on the U-boat, 47-men, are lost.