October 10th, 1943 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 114: 236 B-17s hit the railroads and waterways in and around Munster, Germany at 1503-1518 hours plus targets of opportunity at Coesfeld, Germany and Enschede Airfield in the Netherlands; they claim 183-21-51 Luftwaffe aircraft; 30 B-17s are lost. 39 B-24s fly a diversion without loss or casualties. The B-17s are escorted by 216 P-47 Thunderbolts; they claim 19-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; a P-47 is lost.
Frigate HMS Papua launched.
NETHERLANDS: As part of USAAF VIII Bomber Command Mission 114, 29 B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the industrial area at Enschede.
GERMANY: Maj. David C. Schilling, 56th FG's operations officer, USAAF, achives aces status when he downs an Fw 190 near Altenberg, Germany at 1515 hours. Maj. Schilling ends the war with 22.5 kills.
1st Lt. Robert S. Johnson 61st FS/56th FG, USAAF, achieves ace status by downing a Bf 110 and a Fw 190 near Munster, Germany at 1530 hours. He ends the war with 27 kills and was the second highest scoring US fighter ace in the ETO, sixth highest of all US fighter pilots.
Capt. Walter C. Beckham, 351th FS/353d FG, USAAF, achieves ace status when he downs an Me 210 and two Bf 110 near Munster, Germany between 1530 and 1550 hours. Beckham ends the war with 18 e/a destroyed. (Skip Guidry)
U.S.S.R.: Dobrush, east of Gomel, is liberated by Soviet forces.
ITALY: The Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force and RAF's Desert Air Force concentrate on gun positions on both the US Fifth and British Eighth Army battlefronts; vehicles, railroads, and town areas also are hit; the attacks take place northeast of Capua, at Guglionesi, at Cassino and Mondragone, between Rome and Terracina, and around the Termoli-Isernia-Pescara areas.
The U. S. 45th "Thunderbird" Infantry Division edges close to German defenses along the Volturno River by taking Pontelandolfo, a mountain town 11 miles (17.7 km) northeast of Benevento. (John Nicolas and Jack McKillop)
Naples: A time bomb kills 12 in the cathedral just before ranking U.S. officers arrive for Mass. Partisans attack German forces in Trieste, a large port near the Italian-Yugoslav frontier. The partisans penetrate into several of the city's suburbs and ignite a fierce battle.
YUGOSLAVIA: Partisans attack German forces in Trieste, a large port near the Italian-Yugoslav frontier. The partisans penetrate into several of the city's suburbs and ignite a fierce battle.
GREECE: Twelfth Air Force B-17s bomb 2 airfields at Athens, while B-24s hit Maritsa Airfield on Rhodes and Calato and Heraklion Airfields on Crete.
P-38s escort shipping off Rhodes, hit Antimachia Airfield in the Dodecanese Islands, and attack vessels in the harbors of Corfu, Greece, and Kotor, Yugoslavia, and off Tivat, Yugoslavia, and hit targets of opportunity in the Aegean Sea and along its eastern coastline.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Adolf Hitler's decision to fight for Rome dooms Churchill's plan to take the Dodecanese Islands in the eastern Mediterranean and open a supply route to Turkey and the Soviet Union. During a strategy conference, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his top commanders realize they don't have enough men and equipment for two Mediterranean campaigns; one in Italy, the other in the Dodecanese. Ike angers British Prime Minister Winston Churchill by refusing to send part of his forces to the islands.
Submarine HMS Trooper is not heard from after leaving Beirut for a patrol west of the Dodecanese on 26 September. She may have been mined, or the victim of an accident. There were no survivors, all 60 crew becoming casualties. (Alex Gordon)(108)
U-73 set an agent ashore on Cape Khanis in the Mediterranean.
BURMA: Seven Tenth Air Force B-24s pound the Meza railroad bridge destroying the 3 spans on the eastern end and dropping the end of a central span into the river.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: Twenty Fourteenth Air Force 20 B-24s and 18 P-40s attack docks at Haiphong.
CHINA: 8 P-40s bomb a match factory and ammunition dump at Tengchung and 8 others hit a supply dump and targets of opportunity in the Lungling area.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: 24 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s, 50+ P-38s, P-40s, and P-39s, and 50+USNfighters and dive bombers attack Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island and surrounding areas, hitting runways, a fuel dump, supply area, buildings, and Malabita Hill gun positions. US airplanes claim 15 interceptors shot down and B-24 sink a Japanese army cargo ship 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) southwest of Buka passage.
NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force A-20s and RAAF aircraft again attack the Sattelberg area. During the night of 10/11 October, B-25s hit Saumlakki on Tanimbar Island in the Moluccas Islands.
PACIFIC OCEAN: Two USN submarines sink an IJA cargo ship and a troopship while the submarine USS Kingfish (SS-234) lays mines off Cape Pepe, Makassar Strait, Celebes.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Chilliwack completed forecastle extension refit Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
U.S.A.: Baseball!
The motion picture "Lassie Come Home" is released. Directed by Fred M. Wilcox, this family drama from Eric Knight's novel stars Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Dame May Whitty, Edmund Gwenn, Nigel Bruce, Elsa Lanchester, Elizabeth Taylor, Arthur Shields and of course, the real star, Pal, who plays Lassie. The plot of this tearjerker is about a poor family forced to sell their beloved dog who then undertakes a long and dangerous journey to return to the family and their young son (McDowall). The film is nominated for a cinematography Academy Award.
Destroyer escorts USS Barber and Loeser commissioned.
Destroyer USS Barton launched.
Submarine USS Piranha launched.
PANAMA: The Atlantic entrance to PANAMA Canal mined by a German submarine. (Glenn Steinberg)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Destroyer HS Miaoulis rescued the crew of the destroyer HMS Panther.
One man was lost from U-584 in the North Atlantic. (Thus only 52 men were onboard when the boat was sunk 3 weeks later, instead of 53 like in most sources).