Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 213
July 28, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 28, 1943
US poster, WWII
75 Years Ago—July 28, 1943: In Sicily, Palermo Harbor opens for Allied shipping.
P-47 Thunderbolts become first US fighters to escort bombers over Germany, using 200-gallon auxiliary fuel tanks for the first time.
President Roosevelt announces end of coffee rationing. (Read more: Make It Do – Coffee Rationing in World War II)
July 27, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 27, 1943
Flight nurse 2nd Lt. Ruth Gardiner (US Air Force photo)
75 Years Ago—July 27, 1943: Hamburg Firestorm: 722 RAF bombers create firestorm in Hamburg that kills 42,000.
In the Aleutians, Japanese abandon Kiska without a fight; the final troops are evacuated 7/28 under cover of fog.
Flight nurse Lt. Ruth Gardiner (805th MAETS) is killed in a plane crash in Naknek, Alaska; the first US Army nurse to die in WWII; Army general hospital in Chicago named after her in July 1944.
RAF Lancaster bomber over Hamburg, Germany, January 30/31, 1943 (Imperial War Museum: C-3371)
July 26, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 26, 1943
Marshal Pietro Badoglio of Italy, WWII (public domain via Wikipedia)
75 Years Ago—July 26, 1943: Martial law is declared in Italy; Marshal Pietro Badoglio forms a new cabinet free of fascists and bans the Fascist Party.
July 25, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 25, 1943
Benito Mussolini inspecting German troops, Sicily, Italy, 25 Jun 1942 (German Federal Archive: Bild 146-2006-0101)
75 Years Ago—July 25, 1943: In Italy, King Victor Emmanuel has Mussolini imprisoned and appoints Pietro Badoglio as premier.
US opens final drive for Munda on New Georgia in the Solomons.
Troopship HMT Queen Mary departs New York with 15,740 troops & 943 crew (16,683 total), the largest number of passengers ever on a ship.
British troopship HMT Queen Mary returning US troops from Europe, New York, NY, 20 June 1945 (US National Archives)
July 24, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 24, 1943
US Eighth Air Force B-17s leaving contrails, 1943 (US Army Air Force photo)
75 Years Ago—July 24, 1943: Allies begin “Blitz Week”—heavy bombing of Nazi targets, as RAF bombs Hamburg and US Eighth Air Force bombs targets in Nazi-occupied Norway.
July 23, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 23, 1943
Patch of US Navy Squadron VP-63, the Mad Cats
75 Years Ago—July 23, 1943: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel assumes command of German Army Group E in Greece to defend against suspected Allied invasion.
First US naval air squadron to operate in the UK arrives in South Wales for antisubmarine duty over the Bay of Biscay—squadron VP-63 with PBY Catalinas, nicknamed the “Mad Cats” for their use of MAD (magnetic anomaly detection) gear to detect submarines.
July 22, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 22, 1943
US 2nd Armored Division enters Palermo, Sicily, 22 July 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)
75 Years Ago—July 22, 1943: US Seventh Army takes Palermo, Sicily without opposition.
In Russia, Battle of Kursk ends after Hitler withdraws troops to reinforce Sicily.
German tanks and armored vehicles at Kursk, Russia, 28 Jul 1943 (public domain via WW2 Database)
July 21, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 21, 1943
US Seventh Army Clears Western Sicily, 19-23 July 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)
75 Years Ago—July 21, 1943: On Sicily, US Seventh Army takes Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita, Corleone, Valledolmo, and Alimena.
Destroyers USS Monaghan and USS Aylwin bombard Kiska in the Aleutians unopposed.
Movie premiere of musical Stormy Weather, starring Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, and Cab Calloway.
July 20, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 20, 1943
US Army Signal Corps troops in Caltanissetta, Sicily, after 17 July 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)
75 Years Ago—July 20, 1943: As Americans drive north in Sicily toward Palermo, Italian forces surrender en masse.
Soviets order all partisans in Nazi-occupied Europe to attack rail lines.
July 19, 2018
Today in World War II History—July 19, 1943
Yekaterina Budanova (public domain via WW2 Database)
75 Years Ago—July 19, 1943: Soviet female ace Yekaterina Budanova (11 victories) is shot down and killed over Luhansk, Russia.
US bombs Rome for the first time: 500 bombers of the Twelfth Air Force strike Rome.
First US Army Air Force bombing of Rome, 19 July 1943 (US Army Air Force photo)
