Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 183
April 19, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 19, 1944
US poster about food rationing, WWII
75 Years Ago—April 19, 1944: Japanese launch Ichi-Go offensive in China to open a corridor to Indochina (Vietnam) and to capture US airbases.
British Eastern Fleet & US Task Group 38.5 aircraft hit Sabang, Sumatra as diversion from upcoming Hollandia operation, the first joint UK/US action in the Indian Ocean.
In the US, shortening, salad & cooking oils are removed from rationing, but butter & margarine are still rationed. Read more: “Make It Do—Rationing of Butter, Fats & Oils in World War II.”
Japanese ships and harbor facilities after Allied carrier strike on Sabang, Sumatra, 19 Apr 1944 (Imperial War Museum: 4700-01 A 23249)
April 18, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 18, 1944
Scraggy Hill at Imphal, India, April 1944 (Imperial War Museum)
75 Years Ago—April 18, 1944: Last air raid on London, the end of the “Little Blitz”; in the Little Blitz, on the eve of D-day, the German Luftwaffe lost over 500 aircraft, while the RAF lost only 8 aircraft.
Allies begin air supply to besieged British and Indian troops at Imphal, India.
Jerome Robbins’s ballet Fancy Free debuts at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the inspiration for the musical On the Town.
April 17, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 17, 1944
Lockheed C-69 Constellation, 9 January 1943 (US Navy photo)
75 Years Ago—April 17, 1944: Countdown to D-day: Royal Navy & RAF Bomber Command begin laying mines in the English Channel in preparation for D-day.
Howard Hughes and Jack Frye fly a Lockheed Constellation from Burbank, CA to Washington, DC by in 6 hours and 57 minutes, a new cross-country record.
April 16, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 16, 1944
US Fifth Air Force bombing of Hollandia, New Guinea, April 1944 (USAF Photo)
75 Years Ago—April 16, 1944: In the Crimea, Soviets drive Germans back to Sevastopol and take Yalta.
“Black Sunday” for US Fifth Air Force—after successful bombing of Hollandia, New Guinea, 26 planes are lost in heavy weather, the unit’s highest non-combat losses in the war.
Battleship USS Wisconsin is commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard, PA.
April 15, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 15, 1944
Brig. Gen. Jesse Auton, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Lt. Gen. Carl Spaatz (commander US Strategic Air Forces in Europe), Maj. Gen. James Doolittle (commander US Eighth Air Force), Maj. Gen. William Kepner (commander US VIII Fighter Command), Col. Donald Blakeslee, at presentation of Distinguished Service Cross to Blakeslee, Debden Airfield, England, 11 April 1944 (US National Archives)
75 Years Ago—April 15, 1944: Countdown to D-day: Allied Expeditionary Air Force issues Operation Neptune Overall Air Plan for D-day, temporarily suspends attacks on oil and industrial targets in favor of transportation targets.
Marshal Nikolai Vatutin, commander of Soviet Voronezh Front, dies after being wounded in ambush by Ukrainian insurgents on February 28.
April 14, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 14, 1944
Damage at Victoria Dock after Fort Stikine explosion, Bombay, India, 14 April 1944 (public domain via WW2 Database)
75 Years Ago—April 14, 1944: Countdown to D-day: RAF and US Eighth and Ninth Air Forces in England come under Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s command for Operation Overlord.
At Bombay, India, British ammunition ship Fort Stikine explodes, killing 1300, and destroying 27 ships.
Chinese troops launch offensive across border into Burma.
April 13, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 13, 1944
B-17 Memphis Belle and her crew, May 1943 (USAF Photo)
75 Years Ago—April 13, 1944: Countdown to D-day: RAF and US Ninth Air Force begin bombing campaign against gun emplacements at Normandy and elsewhere on coast to conceal invasion site.
Martial law lifted in US Territory of Hawaii, which had been in place since the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.
Hollywood movie premiere of the documentary Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, directed by William Wyler, about the famous B-17’s 25th mission.
Longues-sur-Mer gun battery, Longues-sur-Mer, France, September 2017 (Photo: Sarah Sundin)
April 12, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 12, 1944
Prince Umberto of Italy, 1944 (United Kingdom government photo)
75 Years Ago—April 12, 1944: German troops begin evacuating the Crimea by sea.
King Vittorio Emanuele of Italy transfers most powers to his son Prince Umberto but retains the throne.
April 11, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 11, 1944
Allied map showing German gun emplacements and defenses at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, dated 21 April 1944 and used in preparations for D-day (Imperial War Museum MH 24806)
75 Years Ago—April 11, 1944: Due to increasing instances of sabotage in factories by the French, the German SS orders public execution as the penalty for sabotage.
Countdown to D-day: Lt. Col. James Rudder submits plan for US 2nd Ranger Battalion’s assault on Pointe du Hoc on D-day.
Soviets take Kerch in the Ukraine.
April 10, 2019
Today in World War II History—April 10, 1944
A copy of Operation Neptune orders and a weather map, on display at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, England, September 2017 (Photo: Sarah Sundin)
75 Years Ago—April 10, 1944: Countdown to D-day: Adm. Sir Bertram Ramsay (Allied Naval Commander, Expeditionary Force) issues 700-page Naval Orders, Operation Neptune (naval plan for D-day).
Soviets & partisans take Odessa, Ukraine.
