August 6th, 1944 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
The USAAF Eighth Air Force in England flies 2
missions.
- Mission 524: 1,186 bombers and 740 fighters, in 5 forces, are dispatched to attack oil
refineries, aircraft, ordnance and other factories in Germany and V-weapon sites in
France; 24 bombers and 8 fighters are lost.
(1) Of 414 B-17s, 126 hit Brandenburg assembly plants, 74 hit Genshagen, 69 hit
Brandenburg munitions industry, 12 hit Stendal Airfield and 8 hit targets of opportunity;
11 B-17s are lost. Escort is provided by 168 P-51 Mustangs; 2 P-51s are lost.
(2) Of 154 B-17s, 83 hit Berlin aircraft engine factories, 45 hit Berlin diesel factories,
7 hit targets of opportunity and 4 hit Nordholz Airfield; 5 B-17s are lost. Escort is
provided by 107 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost.
(3) In an Operation FRANTIC mission, 75 B-17s hit Rahmel aircraft factories at Gdynia,
Poland and proceeds to bases in the USSR. Escort is provided by 154 P-51s; 4 P-51s.
(4) Of 445 B-24s, 72 hit Hamburg/Schulau oil refinery, 62 hit Hamburg/Rhenania-Ossag oil
refinery, 61 hit Hamburg/Rhenania oil refinery, 58 hit Kiel naval installations, 54 hit
Hamburg/Deutsche oil refinery, 33 hit Hamburg/Eband oil refinery, 32 hit Hamburg/Schlieman
oil refinery, 23 hit Hemmingstedt and 4 hit targets of opportunity; 8 B-24s are lost.
Escort is provided by 196 P-38s and P-47 Thunderbolts.
(5) 24 B-24s hit 2 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area. Escort is provided by 24
P-47s.
- Mission 526: 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
- 36 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France; 1 B-24 is lost.
FRANCE:
Von Kluge launches a counter-attack towards Avranches, as Allied forces cut off the Breton Peninsula.Destroyer HMCS Haida sinks German minesweeper M486 off Ile d'Yeu. Haida suffered 2 Killed in the action detailed below:
On the night of 5-6 August 1944, four Tribal Class Destroyers were southbound in the bay of Biscay when they detected a small convoy, also on a southerly course, presumably headed for Spain. HMS Tartar, HMS Ashanti, HMCS Haida and HMCS Iroquois manoeuvred to a favourable position and attacked, sinking six of the seven ships, including the escort. Returning northward, ships were detected leaving St. Nazaire and the order was given: "All guns loaded". Able Seaman Michael KERWIN was a member of the crew of HMCS Haida's 'Y' Mounting, twin 4.7 inch, on the quarterdeck. Unknown to anyone, the right gun was still hot from the previous action. Before the breech was fully closed, the charge ignited, blew back the breech, which collapsed the tray and there was a cordite fire. As OOQ Torpedo Tubes, Lloyd I JONES thought the ship had been hit. The port side was impassable due to the fire but the starboard side was free. At 'Y' Mounting, two were killed and eight wounded. One of the wounded was AB KERWIN, who also suffered burns and temporary blindness. However, he heard the gun trainer, AB Jack (Guns) BURNETT, calling for help from the forward part of the gun shield and he plunged through dense smoke and flames, found his shipmate and hauled him to safety. In due course, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. It must be added that Chief Stoker Harold D. Richard RCN did a marvellous job with a fire hose, which he brought into operation almost immediately. With the spray nozzle going, he soaked everyone and had the cordite fire out in short order. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. The wounded were carried to the Sick Bay. The good ammunition was passed to the forward guns and the burnt cordite cartridges kicked overboard.
Normandy: Cpl Sidney Bates (b.1921), Royal Norfolk Regt., charged a group of Germans threatening his section. He forced them off, but was fatally wounded and died two days later. (Victoria Cross)
The USAAF Ninth Air Force dispatches A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders to hit
bridges, fuel and ammunition dumps, and a locomotive depot at Beauvais,
Beaumont-sur-Sarthe, Courtalain, Foret de Perseigne, and Blois; fighters escort IX Bomber
Command and furnish cover to ground troops in the Vire, Rennes, and Redon areas.
U-471 (Type VIIC) is bombed in dry dock in Toulon, at position 43.07N, 05.55E, by bombs from American B-24 Liberator aircraft. Raised in 1945 and returned to service as French Millé from 1946. Stricken 9 July, 1963 as Q339.
U-952 (Type VIIC) is sunk on 6 Aug 1944 in Toulon by US bombs.
U-969 (Type VIIC) is destroyed in Toulon, France by bombs from US B-24 aircraft.
U-736 (Type VIIC) is sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of St. Nazaire, at position 47.19N, 04.16W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Loch Killin. 28 dead, 20 survivors were taken into captivity. (Alex Gordon)
VICHY FRANCE: Pétain reacts to the execution yesterday of the
28 prisoners in the Santé. He writes to Laval: "For some months, many reports have
informed me of the Milice's sinister action. On separate occasions I have discussed this
with you in the hope that improvement would result in the many activities of this
political police. This has not been so. On the contrary .... Proofs of collusion between
the Milice and the German police are daily provided. I have learned, sometimes from the
highest departmental authorities, that French prisoners are denounced and handed over to
the German police. I must stress the deplorable effect on the population, which might
understand the arrests carried out by Germans themselves but can never condone the fact of
Frenchmen delivering their own compatriots to the Gestapo and working in co-operation with
them... I cannot pass over in silence torture inflicted upon often innocent victims in
places which, even in Vichy are less like prisons of the French state than Bolshevik
Chekas. Such is the tragic situation which it is my duty to point out to you."
Darnard replied to Pétain: "In the course of these four years I have received
compliments and congratulations from you. You encouraged me. And today, because the
Americans stand at the gates of Paris, you start to tell me that I shall be a stain
on the history of France? It is something which might have been though of earlier."
GERMANY: Hitler appoints Himmler as Special Commissioner for A-4 (rocket) affairs. This appears to have been due to Hitler's distrust of the army after July 20 assassination attempt. (Alex Gordon)
U-3510 laid down.
U-3002 commissioned.
POLAND: The German begin the
deportation of 70,000 Jews from Lodz to Auschwitz.
ITALY: Allied forces cross the Arno River into the
northern part of the city of Florence.
60 fighters of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force take off from Operation
FRANTIC bases in the USSR, attack Craiova marshalling yard and other railroad targets in
the Bucharest-Ploesti, Romania area, and land at Italian bases. Close to 700 B-17s and
B-24s, operating against targets in
south-eastern France, attack oil storage at Le Pouzi,
Le Pontet, and Lyon, railroad bridges at Le Pouzin, Avignon, Tarascon, Rambert, and
Givors, marshalling yards at Portes-les-Valences and Miramas, and submarine pens at Toulon
sinking the German submarines U-471,
U-952 and U-969; 43 P-38s dive-bomb airfields at
Orange/Plan de Dieu, and Valence; P-38s and P-51s fly about 200 sorties in support of
bombing missions.
INDIAN OCEAN: Empire City in Convoy DKA-21 was torpedoed and sunk by U-198 east of Mocimboa, Portuguese East Africa. Two crewmembers and ten gunners were lost. The master, 47 crewmembers and ten gunners landed at Pekawi, Portuguese East Africa.
GUAM: 1 regiment of the
US 77th Division takes heavy casualties repelling a Japanese counterattack on Guam.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: The Yap Island supply area is bombed by USAAF Far East Air Force B-24s.
With air support provided by USN carrier-based aircraft of Task Groups 58.1 and 58.3, USN cruisers bombard Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands and Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands.
U.S.A.: Submarine USS Bumper launched.
Destroyer escorts USS Heyliger, Joseph E Connolly, Milton Lewis and Sutton
launched.
Aircraft carrier USS Bennington commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German submarine U-736 is sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of St. Nazaire, in position 47.19N, 04.16W, by depth charges from the RN frigate HMS Loch Killin. 19 of the 47 crewmen survive.
Corvette HMCS Hawkesbury arrives Bermuda for workups.