Posted on 08/30/2013 5:17:34 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/aug1943/f30aug43.htm
Red Army approaching Smolensk
Monday, August 30, 1943 www.onwar.com
Soviet soldiers approach a downed German aircraft [photo at link]
On the Eastern Front... The Soviets announce the capture of Sokolovsky and Yelna, on the approach to Smolensk. In the south, Taganrog is captured by Soviet forces.
http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/thismonth/30.htm
August 30th, 1943 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force’s VIII Air Support Command in England flies Mission 38: 33 B-26B Marauders bomb an ammunition dump at Foret d’Eperlecques near Saint-Omer, France at 1859 hours without loss.
Frigate HMS Cooke commissioned.
Sloop HMS Magpie commissioned.
Submarine HMS Viking commissioned. Frigate HMS Loring launched
Destroyer HMS Whirlwind launched.
Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan arrives at Devonport for a refit.
U.S.S.R.: The Soviet Army scores up two more victories as it takes the Black Sea port of Taganrog and Yelnya, a road centre on central Russia’s Desna river and moving to cut off the Germans in the Crimea. Since the defeat of German panzer divisions at Kursk, the Heer hasn’t been able to halt the Soviet tanks that repeatedly have gouged huge holes in its defences.
U-18 damaged Soviet patrol craft SKA-0132.
ITALY: The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW or High Command of the German Armed Forces) orders Field Marshal Albert Kesselring’s forces to occupy Italy if the Badoglio government surrenders.
During the day, 35 B-17 Flying Fortresses of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force bomb the airfield at Viterbo while B-25 Mitchells hit the Civitavecchia marshalling yard; B-26 Marauders, escorted by 44 P-38 Lightnings, bomb the Aversa marshalling yard. Northwest African Tactical Air Force medium and light bombers attack marshalling yards at Marina di Cantanzaro and Paola, and gun emplacements and bivouac south of Reggio di Calabria; and A-36 Apaches bomb marshalling yards at Sapri and Lamezia.
During the night of 30/31 August, 47 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group visually bomb the marshalling yard at Civitavecchia.
SARDINIA: During the day, Northwest African Strategic Air Force P40s strafe a radar station at Pula, Sardinia.
During the night of 30/31 August, two RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group visually drop leaflets over Sardinia; one aircraft is lost.
CHINA: Thirteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, some with P-40 support, attack Owchihkow and Shihshow, blasting fuel stores and several buildings; the P-40s strafe gun positions outside Shihshow; ten P-38 Lightnings and P-40s on armoured reconnaissance from Sinti to Yoyang to Sienning, strafe and bomb several targets of opportunity; three locomotives are exploded and another damaged, a water tank is knocked down, and several railroad stations are heavily damaged. Four other P-40s attack a convoy east of Hong Kong; a freighter is hit amidships, causing heavy damage; two other vessels are also effectively damaged.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators pound airstrips in the Wewak are, i.e., Dagua (But East) and But Airstrips (But West), and Tadji Airfield east of Aitape; and A-20 Havocs hit barges on the Bubui River.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Twenty four USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators, along with 20 P-40s and P-39 Airacobras and 20+ USMC F4U Corsairs, pound Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island. Allied airplanes claim more than 30 Japanese shot down; six US aircraft are lost.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, Fifth Air Force B-26s bomb Cape Gloucester Airfield while B-25s sweep along the northwest coast, bombing and strafing barges and enemy-occupied villages.
MARCUS ISLAND: The USN attacks Marcus Island, located about 900 nautical miles (1 667 kilometres) west-northwest of Wake Island in position 24.06N, 151.21E, for the second time. Task Force 15, built around the aircraft carriers USS Essex (CV-9), Yorktown (CV-10) and Independence (CVL-22) launch nine strike groups in a day-long attack on Japanese installations, the first strikes by Essex and Independence Class carriers, and the first combat use of the Grumman F6F Hellcat.
CANADA: HMCS Haida, a Tribal-class destroyer, was commissioned into service in the RCN, Cdr Harry “Harry” George DeWolf DSO, CO. “Happy Haida”, as she was known in the fleet, went on to a stellar career and, through the destruction of two German destroyers, a minesweeper, a submarine and 14 other ships, earned the title “The Fightingest Ship in the Royal Canadian Navy.“ Today, HAIDA is the sole surviving example of the Tribal-class in the world and is preserved at Ontario Place, Toronto. ‘Tribals’ served in every theatre of World War II and were engaged in many major actions. The original 16 class members in the Royal Navy were reduced to four (Ashanti, Eskimo, Nubian and Tartar) by 1943; most of which were lost to air attacks. In all, 27 Tribals were built: 16 for the Royal Navy, four for Canada in Britain (Athabaskan being sunk on 26 Apr 44), four for Canada in Halifax that did not see wartime service, and three in Australia. The Tribals were designed as flotilla leaders in response to the Japanese Fubuki-class, or Special Type destroyers. Although heavy in gun armament, the Tribal’s anti-aircraft capabilities were poor and their torpedo and depth charge armament was relatively light. After numerous changes in design, Admiralty opinion on the final product was not flattering: “We have only succeeded in building a weak light cruiser”. The heavy 4.7-inch twin low-angle mounting forward made them ‘wet’ ships and prone to weather damage in heavy seas. Several early members of the class developed serious structural cracks in their hull plating and framing that lead to all ships being reinforced in the area of the bridge. The design was not used as the basis for newer classes of British destroyers. When Admiral Nelles first saw the Tribal design he deliberately set his goal to acquire them as the premier warship for the RCN’s fleet. The standard British fleet destroyer that made up the bulk of the pre-war navy, known in the RCN as the River-class, was quite obviously obsolescent by the war’s start. Winston Churchill met with Mackenzie King and tried to dissuade him from building Tribals in Canadian shipyards, as they knew from pre-war surveys that such large and technically complex warships were beyond current national shipbuilding capabilities. Instead, he suggested going to the United States to investigate “the latest American designs”, which was the Benson-class destroyer. Although a staff comparison was undertaken, the British culture of the Canadian navy and the already evident preference of the CNS for the Tribal design made it inevitable that the American ship was found to be inferior in several categories. The analysis was obviously prejudiced by Nelle’s openly-stated desires as the Benson-class suffered from none of the Tribals’ weaknesses and was blessed with superior radar, sonar, fire control, and outstanding endurance. Although overshadowed by the later Fletcher-class, which did impress the Canadian delegation, the Bensons were probably the outstanding destroyer design of the interwar period.
Frigate HMCS Prince Rupert commissioned.
Corvette HMCS Forest Hill (ex-HMS Ceanothus) launched Port Glasgow, Scotland.
Corvette HMCS Humberstone (ex-HMS Norham Castle ex-HMS Totnes Castle) laid down Glasgow. Post WW.II, sold 1946, mercantile, renamed Taiwei (Chinese) 5 subsequent name changes, 1954 renamed South Ocean (Korean) broken up 1959, Hong Kong.
Minesweeper HMS Marmion (ex-HMCS Orangeville) laid down Port Arthur, Ontario.
U.S.A.: Destroyers USS Cooper and Taussig laid down.
Destroyer escort USS Daniel laid down. Minesweeper USS Bond commissioned.
Destroyer escorts USS Frost, Hurst, Huse and Lee Fox commissioned.
Submarines USS Bang and Pilotfish launched.
Destroyer USS Benham launched.
Destroyer escorts USS Bostwick and Haverfield launched.
Aircraft carrier USS Hornet launched.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-596 sinks SS Nagwa.
The German submarine U-634 is sunk in the North Atlantic east of the Azores, in position 40.13N, 19.24W, by depth charges from the RN sloop HMS Stork and the corvette HMS Stonecrop. All hands on the U-boat, 47-men, are lost.
Now that’s a headline!
Thanks for posting these articles, they’re always interesting.
59 Fortresses lost, perhaps time to rethink US bombing campaign?
Too bad there's no fighter escort with enough range to go the distance with the big bombers...
Which reminds me, there are going to be 5 P-51s at the local airport Fly In over the long weekend. I hope to stop by and maybe get some pictures.
This information is now out of date. Haida was purchased from the province by the federal government, refit, and made into a museum ship in Hamilton on Aug. 30, 2003, on the anniversary of her commissioning.
I did see her moored at Ontario Place as a child. They used to fire the guns at noon. It made quite the impression on me as a six-year-old.
Oh, you mean these babies?
Wonder where they're hanging out "these days"? 
Are the Japanese ever going to make an official statement on the progress of the war between now and “the war has not necessarily progressed in Japan’s favor?”
Oh yeah, I forgot about “mokusatsu.”
Watsonville.
Shortly after I read your post I went out my front door and saw a P-51 fly right over my head. So I drove over to the airport and found that Friday is a no admission fee day at the Fly In. So I strolled in and got the following pictures.
No drop tanks on this one.
There was also a Marine trainer on display.
A couple more P-51s landed while I was there but the pictures didn't come out very well. (Cheap camera.)
Of course, this was not apparent early in the campaign where we were mainly bombing coastal installations, but it is now becoming apparent in the deep penetration raids. The British knew this from the beginning, but figured why not let the cousins have a go at it if they're crazy enough to do it?
A perceptive observer, or just a reader of the New York Times, can see what is coming. The US is building a huge fleet around fast carriers and battleships - way bigger than is needed in the ETO. Baldwin's pieces have strongly hinted that the advance in the Southwest will soon be complemented by a new front in the Central Pacific, the ships for which are now being built. The Brits' appointment of Mountbatten means they will try again in S.E. Asia.
But for now the leadership can get away with mokusatsu.
American air strategists were groping for a coherent doctrine during 1943. And it’s hard to determine what yardstick you want to use to define “sucess.” We are causing some disruption to the German war machine. Speer’s economic policies are only beginning to take hold, and they are quite effective. The German economy was never near a “total war” footing in 1942, and only now is it being mobilized. Without the bombing campaign, he could have produced many more weapons, which would have been turned against the Soviet Union.
Also, the Soviet Union has finally gained air superiority in the skies over Ukraine. Before now, the Luftwaffe reigned supreme. World War 2 was very much won in the air, and if the Luftwaffe had maintained supremacy this summer, the Red Army might not have had the success they did. The reason the Germans lost air supremacy was the transfer of so many top-line fighter units to the aerial defense of the Reich. The Stormoviks can now come and go over the panzertruppen pretty much as they please.
So from a couple of standpoints, in terms of disrupting production, and to giving material aid to the Soviets by diverting the Luftwaffe, I cannot say it was a failure. It certainly was not an unqualified success. I will give you that.
In fact, the Eighth Air Force will not really develop its strategy until fairly late in the war. But Curtis LeMay will take all of these lessons with him when he transfers to the Pacific at the beginning of 1945. His strategic bombing campaign will will bring about the collapse of the Japanese economy in about five months. There is a really good account of all of this in Richard Frank’s “Downfall; The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire.”
“The US is building a huge fleet around fast carriers and battleships - way bigger than is needed in the ETO. Baldwin’s pieces have strongly hinted that the advance in the Southwest will soon be complemented by a new front in the Central Pacific, the ships for which are now being built.”
The Japanese knew this, too. Their intelligence at Midway was that we had at least 11 fleet carriers under construction. They knew we would be recieving them within the next 18 months (and they are starting to arrive in the fleet now). In the meantime, they will recieve only one.
They have to know that the war is turning out very badly, but they are playing “haragei,” which is like mokusatsu. Haragei is the “two faced game” where everyone privately knows the truth but publicly live a lie. Part of haragei is that everyone knows they are playing it.
It’s a pretty alien concept to conservative Americans, but has everything to do with saving face and form over substance. Liberals would understand.
It is interesting to me that Lemay's new approach in Japan went to nighttime bombing (at low altitude) versus the high altitude daylight bombing.
Still, these characteristics will really drag out the Pacific war and allow a lot of people to die needlessly.
P-38s had the range for many of the missions. Army Air Corps politics were the problem, as I recall.
It’s an amazing fact that more men were killed in the 8th Air Force during WW2 than in the entire Marine Corps, and by a large margin, 26,000 to 17,000.
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