August 12th, 1945 (SUNDAY)
FAR EAST: Soviet forces advance towards northern Korea and land on Sakhalin Island.
KURILE ISLANDS: The USN light cruiser USS Concord (CL-10) and three destroyers bombard Suribachi Airfield on Paramushiru Island for 20 minutes beginning at 0046 hours local. The last shot fired by a USN vessel is fired by the USS Concord. Four US Eleventh Air Force B-24s make a combined visual and radar bomb run over Kataoka on Shimushu Island; three more bomb Suribachi Airfield on Paramushiru Island, hitting runways and buildings; one B-24 flies a radar-ferret mission; all of these missions are in support of the naval bombardment. USN PB4Y-2 Privateers of Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Twenty (VPB-120) based on Attu attack Kurabu Airfield on Paramushiru Island.
JAPAN: US Far East Air Force B-25s and A-26 Invaders hit Chiran and Kanoya Airfields while other A-26s and A-20s and P-47s hit the towns of Kushikino, Akune, and Miyazaki; more B-25s and fighter-bombers hit shipping and communications targets on Kyushu, the northern Ryukyu Islands, and between Japan and Korea; the aircraft claim several small merchant ships sunk and damaged, and numerous bridges, railroads, factories, and other targets of opportunity hit.
On this quiet Sunday, junior Army officers meet with War Minister Anami at his house, attempting to enlist his assistance in their plans for a coup.
Okinawa: A Japanese submarine sinks the destroyer USS THOMAS F NICKEL and the landing craft USS OAK HILL.
The battleship USS Pennsylvania is torpedoed and damaged by a Japanese plane in Buckner Bay while lying at anchor. Hit well aft, PENNSYLVANIA suffered extensive damage. Twenty men are killed and ten injured. Many compartments are flooded and PENNSYLVANIA settles heavily by the stern. The flooding is brought under control by efforts of Pennsylvania's repair parties and the prompt assistance of two salvage tugs. Tomorrow she will be towed to more shallow water where salvage operations will continue. (Randall Steigner) (military.com)
PACIFIC OCEAN: Aboard destroyer escort USS Levy, Capt. H.D. Grow negotiated and accepted the surrender of Mille Atoll.
CANADA: Destroyer HMCS Algonquin departed Halifax for Far East.
Destroyer HMCS Chaudiere paid off Sydney, Nova Scotia.
MEXICO: Douglas DC-2-243 (ex USAAF C-39, USAAF serial number 38-518), msn 2075, registered XA-DOT by the Mexican airline Cia Mexicana de Aviacion SA, crashes in poor weather near Ixtaccihuati. All four crew and 12 passengers are killed.