http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/apr1943/f28apr43.htm
Panzers counterattack in Tunisia
Wednesday, April 28, 1943 www.onwar.com
German troops sleeping in the desert at night [photo at link].
In Tunisia... The German 8th Panzer Regiment counterattacks the British forces that have occupied Djebel Bou Aoukaz. American forces make some gains in “Mousetrap Valley.”
In the Atlantic... Convoy ONS-5 is attacked by 51 U-boats over the course of a following week (April 28-May6th). It loses 13 ships (out of 42) but 7 U-boats are sunk, 5 are seriously damaged and 12 are slightly damaged. This is considered a successful rate of exchange for the Allied convoys.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm
April 28th, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: HMC ML 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120 and 121 ordered.
Frigate HMS Tweed commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY:
U-1019, U-1202 laid down.
U-549, U-719 launched. (DS()
FINLAND: Finnish Parliament passes a law decreeing that all recipients of the Mannerheim Cross (the Finnish equivalent of the VC or MOH) would additionally receive the sum of 50 000 Finnish marks. It is a considerable sum, equivalent to a lieutenant’s yearly pay. (Mikko Härmeinen)
Stockholm: SWEDEN protests against the mining of its territorial water by Germany.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The British submarine HMS UNSHAKEN sinks an Italian torpedo boat, Climene.
TUNISIA: L/Cpl John Patrick Kenneally (b.1921), Irish Guards, stormed a body of enemy troops preparing to attack, who broke up in surprise. He repeated the exploit two days later. (Victoria Cross)
BOUGAINVILLE: A US submarine lands two coastwatchers and 14 commandos on this Japanese-occupied island. It evacuates Lt. Mackie and the 12 commandos who have been on the island for the last two years. It also evacuates Bishop Wade and Father Lebel. (Michael Alexander)
U.S.A.: Destroyer escorts USS Borum, Snyder and Witter laid down.
Destroyer escort USS Pettit launched.
Destroyer USS Stephen Potter launched.
Destroyer escort USS Griswold commissioned.
(Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: A series of running battles, between German U-Boats and Convoy ONS-5, begin. These battles will last until May 6th. The convoy will lose 13 transports. 7 U-Boats are sunk with damage to others. The ratio of 2 transports to 1 U-boat is unacceptable.
This convoy is being protected by British escorts and Consolidated PBY-5A Catalinas of the US Navy’s Patrol Squadron Eighty Four (VP-84) based at Naval Air Facility (NAF) Reykjavik, Iceland. (Jack McKillop)
The effective air escort during the main battle was RCAF No. 5 Squadron from Newfoundland which sank U-630 on 4th May. Earlier in the voyage, on 24th April, U-710 was sunk by RAF 206 Squadron. The surface escort accounted for the remainder of the U-boat losses. The weather from 28th May onwards was atrocious. (Peter Beeston)
US Navy hunter-killer group comprised of the auxiliary aircraft carrier USS Bogue (ACV-9) and four destroyers drives off five German U-boats deploying against convoy HX 235. (Jack McKillop)