September 8th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command in England flies Missions
53 and 54 against targets in France.
(1) 68 B-26B bomb Nord Airfield at Lille at
0922 hours.
2) 68 B-26s bomb Vendeville Airfield at Lille at 1011-1013 hours; 1
B-26 is lost. 68 B-26s attack Boulogne coastal defenses at 1756-1818 hours.
Destroyer HMS St Kitts laid down. Frigate HMS Foley commissioned.
FRANCE: During the night of 8/9 September, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 257 aircraft, 119 Wellingtons, 112 Stirlings, 16 Mosquitos, ten Halifaxes and five USAAF VIII Bomber Command B-17 Flying Fortresses to bomb gun positions at Boulogue; this is the first American night-bombing sorties of the war with Bomber Command. One hundred twenty five aircraft bombed the Cap D'Alprech, 119 bombed Le Portal sites and the B-17s bombed the Boulogue industrial area. The target is the site of a German long-range gun battery and the marking is mainly provided by Oboe Mosquitos, some of whom are experimenting with a new technique. But the raid is not successful; the marking and the bombing are not accurate and the battery does not appear to have been damaged. No aircraft lost.
GERMANY: U-293, U-349 and U-478 commissioned.
BALTIC SEA: - U-983 is sunk north of Loba, in position 54.56N, 17.14E, after a collision with U-988. 38 of the 43 crewmen survive.
NORWAY: The German launch Operation SIZILIEN. The German battleship Tirpitz, accompanied by a destroyer flotilla, shells Barentsburg and Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Islands, and then the battleship Scharnhorst and two destroyer flotillas land troops (349th Grenadier Regiment) that destroy facilities at Grönfjord and Advent Bay before re embarking. The German force returns to its Norwegian bases unhindered.
U.S.S.R.: Stalino, the vital industrial centre of the Donets basin, Krasnoarmeisk and Yasinovataya are liberated by the Soviets.
Soviet submarine Shch-203 of the Black Sea Fleet is sunk by
mines off Cape Tarkhankutskiy, Sevastopol. (Mike Yared)(146
and 147)
ITALY: The British 8th Army liberates Locri.
Italian Prime Minister Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio sends a message to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary Force Mediterranean, repudiating the surrender terms with the Allies. The Italian government is beginning to feel apprehensive of letting Allies freely into Rome. The long term seem to be made by the victor for the defeated and Italy is still capable of fighting for the Allies. Eisenhower, upset over the lack of progress in the surrender talks, broadcasts Italy's surrender over the radio at 1830 hours local. Italy is now placed in a tough situation, to either confirm the surrender, or face warring both the Allies and Germany. At 1945 hours local, Badoglio informs his country of the Italian surrender. Italians cheer and the Germans become infuriated. The main body of the Italian Fleet sails from La Spezia and Genoa with 3 battleships, 6 cruisers, and 9 destroyers to surrender to the Allies.
Learning that German troops are in the Rome area in considerable numbers and that the Italians cannot assist operations as planned, General Eisenhower cancels the scheduled drop of elements of the U.S. 82d Airborne Division there. It is too late to give them another assignment.
29 US Ninth Air Force B-24s bomb the landing ground at Foggia, as convoys approach Salerno to begin the Allied invasion of Italy (Operation AVALANCHE).
About 130 USAAF 12th Air Force B-17s visually bomb Frascati with the loss of one aircraft; 160+ medium bombers hit a highway at Lauria and bridges at Trebisacce and Saptri; fighters cover Allied forces near Pizzo, and bomb and strafe roads and vehicles in the Lamezia-Vibo Valentia-Pizzo-Catanzaro areas; and bombers hit roads and junctions in the Naples area during the night of 8/9 September.
SARDINIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighters attack Pabillonis.
BURMA:6 US Tenth Air Force B-24s mine the Rangoon River during the night of 8/9 September; and B-25 Mitchells hit Gokteik Viaduct for the second consecutive day, scoring 5 hits at the base of the structure, which remains usable.
USAAF OPERATIONS IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC AREA (Seventh Air Force): B-24s, operating from Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands, fire on a flying boat scoring hits hut causing no visible damage.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Japanese 51st Division begins to withdraw from Salamaua to Lae under pressure from both Australian and U.S. forces. Elements of the Australian 9th Division, moving west on Lae, reach the flooded Busu River where the Japanese hold the west bank.
Four US destroyers bombard Lae.
US Fifth Air Force B-17s, B-24s, B-25s and B-26s pound the Lae area, and A-20 Havocs hit Salamaua. The IJA at Salamaua are ordered to prepare to fall back to Lae in face of the approaching Australian 5 Division. Elements of the Australian 9 Division, moving west on Lae, reach the flooded Busu River where the Japanese hold the western bank. Other heavy and medium bombers carry out light raids on targets in western part of New Guinea and on islands of Netherlands East Indies.
ELLICE ISLANDS: Japanese “Betty” bombers (Mitsubishi G4M, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers) of the 755th Kokutai (Naval Air Corps) bomb Nanomea Island. .
PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS
Drum (SS-228) sinks a Japanese army cargo ship off Hollandia, New Guinea.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: 12 US Thirteenth Air Force B-25s hit the Vila Airfield area on Kolombangara Island.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Matapedia damaged in collision with SS Scorton in fog off Sambro Lightship in the Halifax Approaches. Matapedia was towed to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, for temporary repairs and in Oct 43, was moved to Lunenburg for permanent repairs and a refit. She did not return to service until Feb 44.
Marine accidents and weather damage removed as many warships and merchant ships from service as did enemy action. This was a factor that planners failed to anticipate and which caused major disruptions to plans at all levels of warfare. In 1942, about a fifth of all tanker tonnages plying to Britain were permanently under repairs. By May 1942, British fuel stocks were almost two million tons below minimum requirements. By November 1942, the shortage stood at 1.2 million tons but the initial requirements for Operation TORCH drew down another 400,000 tons. Sustaining requirements diverted thirty tankers from British to African service. By early 1943, the sustaining requirements for TORCH had grown alarmingly to 1.3 million tons for the year. The winter weather of 1942-43 in the North Atlantic was the worst on record and the number of damaged tankers rose to record heights. British fuel stocks continued to fall through Fall 1942 and reached new record lows by Jun 43. Plans to open a second theatre of operations in Europe were delayed, primarily due to fuel shortages.
U.S.A.: Baseball, the New York Giants pitcher Ace Adams pitches his 62nd game and sets a major-league baseball record for number of games worked by a pitcher in a single season. Adams pitches in 70 games this year and finishes the season with an 11-7 record and a 2.82 ERA for the last place Giants.
Dale Harriman reports to the Army induction center in Columbus, Ohio. After passing the physical, he is given a choice of either the army or navy, and chooses the army mostly because he never learned to swim. He is given orders to report for active duty at Fort Hays, Columbus, Ohio on September 29th. (Glen Boren)
Minesweepers USS Champion and Dextrous commissioned.
Destroyer escorts USS Inch and Marchand commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Three German submarines are lost:
- U-662 is listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay, cause unknown. All hands, 52-men are lost.
- U-760 is sailing on the surface alongside U-262 when they were attacked by an RAF Wellington Mk XIV of No. 179 Squadron based at Gibraltar about 150 miles (241 km) out of Cape of Finisterre. The U-760 arrived at Vigo harbor and was put under the supervision of the Spanish Navy cruiser Navarra. After 24 hours the boat had not left the harbour (the neutrality laws allowed this time frame for emergency repairs) and it was interned. The boat was taken to El Ferrol where she remained until the end of the war. On July 23, 1945 U-760 was taken to England for Operation Deadlight.
U-669 (Type VIIC) is listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay with all 52 crew on 8 Sept. There is no explanation for its loss. (Alex Gordon)