October 21st, 1943 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Admiral Pound is dead. He had resigned as British First Sea Lord on October 4. Admiral Sir John Cunningham succeeds Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in command of Royal Navy units in the Mediterranean.
FRANCE: Bad weather causes 72 B-26 USAAF Ninth Air Force Marauders sent to bomb Fauville Airfield at Evreux to abort the mission.
GERMANY: U-999, U-1194 commissioned.
U-101 stricken at Neustadt. Scuttled there on 3 May 1945. Wreck broken up,
During the night of 21/22 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 11 Mosquitos: five bomb Emden, three bomb the Bruderich steelworks at Düsseldorf and one each bomb Aachen and Dortmund. There are no loses.
YUGOSLAVIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-38 Lightnings bomb the marshalling yard at Skoplje and vessels along Dalmatian coast are attacked by Northwest African Tactical Air Force bombers.
ITALY: USAAF Twelfth Air Force bombers attack three marshalling yards (M/Ys): 39 B-24 Liberators bomb the M/Y at Orvieto, 32 B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the M/Y at Terni, and 28 B-17s attack the M/Y at Albini; B-26 Marauders and B-25 Mitchells bomb bridges at Montalto di Castro and northwest of Acquapendente and the railroad at Orbetello; P-38 Lightnings bomb a radar station at; RAF and US Northwest African Tactical Air Force light and medium bombers concentrate on Cassino, hitting the town, a bivouac area nearby, and railroad to the south; and XII Air Support Command fighters and fighter-bombers patrol the Naples area and attack numerous roads, railroads, bridges, junctions, trucks, gun emplacements, and other targets in the battle area.
During the night of 21/22 October, 39 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the Furbara Airfield without loss.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-431 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the Mediterranean off the coast of Algiers at position 37.23N, 00.35E, by depth charges from a British Wellington aircraft (Sqdn. 179/Z) 52 dead (all crew lost). (Alex Gordon)
CHINA: Six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s attack the barracks area at Kunlong.
BURMA: Six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Nawlang; the barracks area is blasted by at least three direct hits.
D’ENTRECASTEAUX ISLANDS: Headquarters of the ALAMO Force (the code for the U.S. Sixth Army while operating as a special ground task force directly under GHQ, Southwest Pacific Area) moves from Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, to Goodenough 1sland.
NEW GUINEA: In the Finschhafen area of Northeast New Guinea, the Japanese again attack Australian troops but the intensity of the assault is diminished and by the end of the day it appears that the Australians are winning.
In Northeast New Guinea, 50+ B-24 Liberators bomb positions at Sattelberg and 19 B-25 Mitchells follow with a low-level strike while other B-25s carry out a sweep along the Bogadjim road.
PACIFIC OCEAN: Aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17): "We got underway today from Pearl Harbor as a unit of Task Group 53.3 heading for Espiritu Santo." (Glen Boren)
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s bomb Gasmata Airfield on New Britain Island and attack two light cruisers off New Ireland Island, damaging one of them.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Twelve USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, with an escort of 36 fighters, and three USN PV-1 Venturas attack Kara Airfield in southern Bougainville Island. The runway and several buildings suffer direct hits.
CANADA:
Minesweeper
HMCS Chedabucta (J 168) collides with the cable ship SS Lord Kelvin in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at 48 14N 69
16W, about 32 nautical miles (59 kilometres) west-southwest of Rimouski, Quebec.
This collision is due to an officers' lack of skills and a moment's
confusion on the part of the crew; one crewmen is lost. The U.S. Coast Guard
buoy tender USCGC Buttonwood (WAGL-306) tows Chedabucto towards Ile du Bic,
Quebec. She survives the collision. but after survey is declared to be a
constructive total loss. (Alex Gordon)(108)
Frigate HMCS Prince Rupert arrived Halifax from Esquimalt, British Columbia.
U.S.A.:
Submarines USS Bugara and Bullhead laid down.
Destroyer escorts USS Rinehart and Roche laid down.
Destroyer USS Stephen Potter commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: While serving as a Flak boat U-271 was attacked by two Avengers from USS Core and one man from its crew died.
U-68 sank ASW trawler HMS Orfasy.
Standing out of New York Harbor, the USN destroyer USS Murphy (DD-603) is struck on the portside between the bridge and forward stack by U.S. tanker SS Bulkoil 265 miles (491 kilometers) east-southeast of Ambrose Lightship, New York. The forward half of the ship sheared off and slowly sank, taking 38 officers and men with it. The after section is kept afloat and is towed into New York Navy Yard where, following a seven--month repair job and replacement of the entire bow, the veteran warship rejoins the fleet.