Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 57

Today in World War II History—April 21, 1944

Gen. Hans-Valentin Hube with the 16th Panzer Division outside Stalingrad, 23 August 1942 (Public domain via Wikipedia)

80 Years Ago—April 21, 1944: German Gen. Hans-Valentin Hube is killed in a plane crash at Berchtesgaden; Gen. Erhard Raus replaces him over German First Panzer Army.

US Navy Task Forces 58 and 78, with 20 aircraft carriers, begin bombing and bombardment of Hollandia, Wakde, Sawar, and Sarmi areas of New Guinea in preparation for the next day’s landings.

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Today in World War II History—April 20, 1944

Hawker Hurricane of RAF No.42 Squadron piloted by Flying Officer “Chowringhee” Campbell, attacking a bridge in Burma on the Tiddim Road near Imphal (Imperial War Museum: CF 175)

80 Years Ago—April 20, 1944: British relieve siege at Kohima, India, but Japanese retain town of Kohima and maintain siege of the critical Imphal area.

W. Somerset Maugham’s best-selling novel The Razor’s Edge is published.

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Today in World War II History—April 19, 1944

US poster about food rationing, 1943 (US Office of Price Administration)

80 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)

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Today in World War II History—April 18, 1944

Scraggy Hill at Imphal, India, April 1944 (Imperial War Museum: IND 3714)

80 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.

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Today in World War II History—April 17, 1944

Prototype C-69 Constellation at Burbank, CA, 9 Jan 1943 (US Navy photo)

80 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, in 6 hours and 57 minutes, a new cross-country record.

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Today in World War II History—April 16, 1944

US Fifth Air Force bombing of Hollandia, New Guinea, April 1944 (USAF Photo)

80 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.

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Today in World War II History—April 15, 1944

US air commanders: 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)

80 Years Ago—April 15, 1944: Countdown to D-day: Allied Expeditionary Air Force issues Operation Neptune Overall Air Plan for D-day, temporarily suspending 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.

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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 Wikipedia)

80 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.

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Today in World War II History—April 13, 1944

B-17 Memphis Belle and her crew in England, 7 June 1943 (US Air Force photo 24147 AC)

80 Years Ago—April 13, 1944: Countdown to D-day: RAF and US Ninth Air Force begin bombing campaign against gun emplacements in Normandy and elsewhere on French 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)

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Today in World War II History—April 12, 1944

Prince Umberto of Italy, 1944 (Imperial War Museum: TR 1827)

80 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.

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