Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 85

Today in World War II History—July 29, 1943

US Eighth Air Force B-17s in formation, 1943 (US Army Air Force photo)

80 Years Ago—July 29, 1943: As Blitz Week continues, US Eighth Air Force bombs Kiel and Warnemünde in Germany, while RAF returns to battered Hamburg.

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Today in World War II History—July 28, 1943

US poster, 1943

80 Years Ago—July 28, 1943: In Sicily, Palermo Harbor opens for Allied shipping.

P-47 Thunderbolts become the first US fighters to escort bombers over Germany, using 200-gallon auxiliary fuel tanks for the first time.

In Odense, Denmark, Danish resistance sabotages a German minelayer, and strikes & riots break out.

In a Fireside Chat radio broadcast, President Franklin Roosevelt announces the end of coffee rationing (Read more: “Make It Do—Coffee Rationing in World War II”).

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Today in World War II History—July 27, 1943

RAF aerial photo showing ruined residential and commercial buildings in Hamburg, Germany, destroyed by the firestorm on the night of 27/28 July 1943 (Imperial War Museum: CL 3400)

80 Years Ago—July 27, 1943: Hamburg Firestorm: 722 RAF bomb Hamburg, Germany, creating a firestorm that kills 60,000.

In the Aleutians, Japanese abandon Kiska without a fight; the final troops are evacuated July 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; an Army general hospital in Chicago will be named after her in July 1944 (Read more: “Medical Air Evacuation in World War II—The Flight Nurse”).

Flight nurse 2nd Lt. Ruth Gardiner, 1943 (US Air Force photo 25735)

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Today in World War II History—July 26, 1943

Marshal Pietro Badoglio of Italy, WWII (public domain via Wikipedia)

80 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.

The post Today in World War II History—July 26, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

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)

80 Years Ago—July 25, 1943: In Italy, King Victor Emmanuel has Mussolini imprisoned and appoints Pietro Badoglio as prime minister.

US XIV Corps opens final drive for Munda on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands.

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 (Read more about the Queen Mary in World War II and see pictures: “Tour of the Queen Mary”).

British troopship HMT Queen Mary returning US troops from Europe, New York, NY, 20 June 1945 (US Navy photo 80-GK-5645)

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Today in World War II History—July 24, 1943

US Eighth Air Force B-17s leaving contrails, 1943 (US Army Air Force photo)

80 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.

The post Today in World War II History—July 24, 1943 first appeared on Sarah Sundin.

Today in World War II History—July 23, 1943

Patch of US Navy Squadron VP-63, the Mad Cats

80 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 Britain 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.

Premiere of neoclassical ballet Suite en Blanc by Serge Lifar at the Paris Opéra Ballet.

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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)

80 Years Ago—July 22, 1943: US Seventh Army takes Palermo, Sicily, without opposition.

In Russia, the Battle of Kursk ends after Hitler withdraws troops to reinforce Sicily.

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Today in World War II History—July 21, 1943

Theatrical poster for the American release of the 1943 musical film Stormy Weather (Twentieth Century–Fox Film Corp., public domain via Wikipedia)

80 Years Ago—July 21, 1943: On Sicily, US Seventh Army takes Castelvetrano, Santa Margherita, Corleone, Valledolmo, and Alimena.

Movie premiere of musical Stormy Weather, starring Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, and Cab Calloway.

US Seventh Army Clears Western Sicily, 19-23 July 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)

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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)

80 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.

Germans arrest French resistance member Geneviève de Gaulle, niece of Gen. Charles de Gaulle; she will survive the war in Ravensbrück concentration camp.

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