August 13th, 1944 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 4 missions.
- Mission 548: 1,264 bombers and 131 fighters are dispatched in 2 forces to make visual
attacks in support of ground forces on coastal batteries and transportation choke points
between Le Havre and Paris; 12 bombers are lost.
(1) 634 B-17s hit battle area targets, 69 hit Le Manoir Bridge and 54 hit targets of
opportunity; 7 B-17s are lost.
(2) 347 B-24s hit battle area targets, 69 hit Ile de Cezembre and 34 hit St Malo; 5 B-24s
are lost.
The 2 forces above are escorted by 131 P-51 Mustangs.
- Mission 549: 1 APHRODITE B-17 with 2,000-pounds (907 kg) of bombs is launched against Le Havre; B-17, P-38 Lightning and Mosquito support aircraft assist; the target is missed and the Mosquito is destroyed by the exploding bombs.
- Mission 550: 2 B-17s fly a Micro H test mission to La Chenaie rail junction.
- Mission 551: 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Belgium during the night.
- 36 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.
- 844 P-38s, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51s fly fighter-bomber missions against transportation targets in the Seine River area; they claim 0-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 4 P-47s and 9 P-51s are lost.
The shuttle-bombing mission flown by US Eighth Air Force from UK-USSR-Italy-UK is completed; of the 72 B-17s taking off from Fifteenth Air Force bases in Italy, 3 have various problems; the others bomb Francazal Airfield, Toulouse, France and then proceed to the UK; 62 P-51 Mustangs (part of the shuttle-mission force) and 43 from the UK provide escort; no aircraft are lost; 70 B-17s and 58 P-51s land in the UK; 5 B-17s and 6 P-51s, either left in Italy or returning there during this mission, subsequently return to the UK. The Eighth Air Force also flies two missions:
- Mission 545: 577 bombers and 436 fighters, in 2 forces, are dispatched to make visual attacks on the Metz marshalling yard and airfield in central and eastern France; 3 bombers and 3 fighters are lost (number in parenthesis are the number of bombers attacking the target). (1) 276 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Mourmelon (75), Laon/Athies (63), Laon/Couvron (61) and Juvincourt (52); 3 B-24s are lost. (2) 301 B-17s are dispatched to hit airfields at Chaumont (72), Buc (67), La Perthe (58) and Etampes/Mondesir (12);and 69 hit the Metz marshalling yard. The 2 forces above are escorted by 386 P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost.
- Mission 546: 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
- 486 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s attack transportation targets in the Paris and Brussels areas; they claim 18-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-38s, 5 P-47s and 7 P-51s are lost.
- 220 P-47s and P-51s attack transportation targets in northeastern France; 2 P-51s are lost.
FRANCE: Paris: Parisians attending the Sunday race meetings catch
the sound of distant gunfire. The Americans are rumoured to be about to arrive. Partly
camouflaged German convoys return from the front. Exhausted soldiers are seen resting or
camping in squares and parks.
Argentan is cleared by the US XV Corps. Bradley orders a halt, rather push north
to join the Canadians and thereby seal the "Falaise pocket". The US XII and XX Corps
advance on Orleans and Chartres from the area of Le Mans.
Around 575 US Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-20 Havocs with fighter escort bomb fuel storage
at Les Buissons, points along highways around Lisieux and southeast to Rugles with the aim
of containing the enemy in the Falaise pocket, railroad targets at Peronne, Doullens, and
Corbeil-Essonnes; fighters cover ground forces, and fly armed reconnaissance in the
Alencon, Le Mans, Domfront, and Chartres areas; about 125 C-47 Skytrains fly ferry and
evacuation missions; during the night of 13/14 August, 28 B-26s bomb the Foret de Halouze
ammunition dump and bivouac area.
US Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26s attack the Oissel rail bridge, Corbeil-Essonnes refuelling siding, and numerous points along highways in the Argentan area with the aim of bottling up enemy troops; fighters fly ground forces cover and armed reconnaissance over wide areas of western and northern France, also escort IX Bomber Command aircraft.
U-547 (Type IXC/40) is damaged by mines in the Gironde near Pauillac 13 Aug 1944 and taken out of service at Stettin, 31 Dec 1944. (Alex Gordon)
ITALY: Almost 500 US Fifteenth Air
Force B-17s and B-24s attack gun positions around Genoa, Italy and Toulon, and Sete,
France, and strike at bridges at Pont-Saint-Esprit, Avignon, Orange, and Crest, France; 31
P-38s dive-bomb Montelimar Airfield; other fighters fly 180+ sorties in support of the
bombers; and 28 bombers hit military installations at Pec, Yugoslavia.
US Fifteenth Air Force dispatches almost 550 fighter-escorted B-17s and B-24s to attack targets in France and Italy; the B-17s bomb gun positions in the Savona, Italy area; B-24s attack gun positions in the Genoa, Italy and the Marseille, Toulon, and Sete areas of France; 100+ P-51s strafe radar installations and other coast-watching facilities along the southern French coast; these strikes are preparatory to Operation DRAGOON, the invasion of southern France.
The 8th Indian Division enters north Florence to help the Italian resistance to extend its hold on the city.
INDIAN OCEAN: U-198 is sunk near the Seychelles, in position 03.35S, 52.49E, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Findhorn and the Indian sloop HMIS Godavari. All hands, 66 men, are lost.
PACIFIC OCEAN: In the Kurile Islands, of 3 US Eleventh Air Force B-24s departing Shemya Island, Aleutian Islands during the night of 12/13 August, 1 aborts while the other 2 bomb the Kashiwabara staging area on Paramushiru Island; later 6 B-25s fly a shipping sweep east of the northern Kuriles during which a fighter is downed.
In the Kurile Islands, 4 B-24s and 2 F-7A Liberators of the US Eleventh Air Force over Paramushiru and Shimushu Islands, hit targets which include shipping in Higashi Banjo Strait and buildings and runway on Suribachi; enemy fighters give battle; the B-24s score 3 kills and 13 probables and damaged; 6 more B-25s fly an uneventful shipping sweep and take photos over Shimushiru Island.
US Seventh Air Force B-24s based on Saipan Island hit shipping, a seaplane base, and the airfield on Chichi Jima Island, Bonin Islands.
USS Flier hit a mine in the Balabac Strait, 13 men escaped the boat but only 8 managed to reach shore 15 hours later at Mantangula Island. Redfin (SS-272) then rescued them with the assistance of friendly locals on 30 August.
CANADA: Frigate HMCS Stone Town arrived Halifax from builder in Montreal.
U.S.A.: President Franklin D Roosevelt concludes his inspection of naval facilities in the Pacific and departs Puget Sound, Washington for Washington, DC.
Heavy cruiser USS Fall River launched.
Submarine USS Loggerhead launched.
Destroyer minelayer USS Tolman launched. Post-war Tolman served for many years as
a target hulk at Nanoose Bay BC until eventually being expended as a target off
Point Mugu CA.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-270 is sunk at 0010 hours local in the Bay of Biscay west of La Rochelle, in position 46.19N, 02.56W, by depth charges from an RAAF Sunderland Mk III of No. 461 Squadron based at Pembroke Dock, Wales. All 71 crewmen on the U-boat survived.
U-862 sank SS Radbury.
U-981 is sunk in the Bay of Biscay at La Rochelle, in position 45.41N, 01.25W, by an air-laid mine (field "Cinnamon") and depth charges from an RAF Halifax Mk II of No. 502 Squadron based at St David's, Pembrokeshire. 40 of the 52 U-boat crewmen survive.