http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/thismonth/11.htm
October 11th, 1943 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Corvette HMCS Mimico (ex-HMS Bullrush) launched Sunderland. Built by John Crown and Sons Ltd. Revised Flower Class (Increased Endurance) 970 tons, 208.3x33x11ft 16kts, crew 6/79,1-4in, 1-2pdr, 2-20mm, hedgehog. Renamed Sep 43. Post WW.II, sold 1950, renamed Olympic Victor, whale catcher, sold 1956, renamed Otori Maru No 12; 1962 renamed Kyo Maru No 25. Last noted 1977-78.
GERMANY: U-821 is commissioned.
POLAND: The last train of deportees to be gassed at Sobibor arrives at the camp.
U.S.S.R.: Novobelitsa on the outskirts of Gomel is liberated by the Soviets.
ITALY: The British V and XIII Corps are now in the line of the 8th Army. They pause while Montgomery finishes his reorganization plans.
In the British Eighth Army area, a gap is developing between the 78th Division on the Adriatic coast and the Canadian 1st Division, and General Bernard Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, regroups the units: Corps, with 78th Division and Indian 8th Division under command, is given responsibility for the right flank; XIII Corps is to advance on a two division front, employing the Canadian 1st and British 5th Divisions; the New Zealand 2nd Division, which is to concentrate in the Taranto area by mid-November, is to be held in army reserve.
USAAF XII Air Support Command and Northwest Tactical Bomber Force operations are cancelled or aborted due to weather, but RAF Desert Air Force fighters hit trains, trucks, and gun positions near Montesilvano and Vasto.
During the night of 11/12 October, 52 RAF Bomber of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group hit the Coast Road at Terricina.
GREECE: On the Greek island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea, USAAF XII Bomber Command B-25 Mitchells bomb Garitsa Airfield while P-38 Lightnings hit a vessel in Corfu harbor.
YUGOSLAVIA: Partisans battle to within 23 miles (37.0 km) of Belgrade and raid Zagreb, Croatia’s capital.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: XII Bomber Command B-25 Mitchells bomb Garitsa Airfield, Greece and P-38s hit a vessel in the Corfu harbor on Corfu Island. In Italy, XII Air Support Command and Northwest Tactical Bomber Force operations are cancelled or aborted due to weather, but RAF Desert Air Force fighters hit trains, trucks, and gun positions near Montesilvano and Vasto.
Minesweeper HMS Hythe (J 194) is torpedoed and sunk by U-371 off Bougie at 37 04N 05 00E. (Alex Gordon)(108)
Submarine HMS Usurper is believed to have been mined in the Gulf of Genoa. All hands lost.
CHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the town area of Tengchung.
BURMA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the town areas of Sadon and Myitkyina.
JAPAN: The submarine USS Wahoo (SS-238) is sunk in La Perouse Strait off the coast of Hokkaido with its ace skipper, Commander Dudley “Mush the Magnificent” Morton. During five patrols, Morton and Wahoo sank 19 ships.
Japanese records reported that, on 11 October, the date USS Wahoo was due to exit through La Perouse Strait, an antisubmarine aircraft found a surfaced submarine and attacked, dropping three depth charges sinking the sub. USS Wahoo was announced overdue on 2 December 1943 and stricken from the Navy list on 6 December 1943. [On 11 October 1943, the commander of a Japanese shore battery over looking Soya Strait reported sighting and firing on a surfaced submarine. A number of hits were claimed before the submarine dived and an aircraft from Ominato was sent to the spot. At 0920 hours, the plane detected an oil patch and the shadow of a conning tower and bombs were dropped on this shape. The aircraft radioed for assistance and circled until other planes arrived. A submarine was positively identified and more bombs were dropped until surface ships, including HIJMS Submarine Chasers 15 and 43 arrived. These, and other ships, dropped depth charges. HIJMS Submarine Chaser 15 reported part of a ship’s propeller thrown to the surface by an underwater explosion. More aircraft and HIJMS Auxiliary Minesweeper 18 arrived, but nothing more of the submarine was seen.]
EAST INDIES: During the night of 11/12 October, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Cape Chater and Lautem Airfields on Dutch Timor Island in the Netherlands East Indies.
NEW GUINEA: Over Northeast New Guinea, Colonel Neal Kearby, Commanding Officer 348th Fighter Group, Fifth Air Force, shoots down six Japanese fighters, four “Zekes” (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) and two “Tonys” (Kawasaki Army Type 3 Fighter Hien) near Wewak, Northeast New Guina. He is awarded the Medal of Honor for this action.
In Dutch New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack Manokwari, Bira, and Fakfak and score hits on a small vessel at Fakfak.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Twenty two Thirteenth Air Force B-24s join 30 SBD Dauntlesses and 22 TBF Avengers in bombing Kahili Airfield on Bougainville Island and the nearby area. Hits are scored on the airstrip, fuel dumps, supply areas, gun positions, bridges between Rangu and Jakohina, barges at the mouth of the Uguima River, and several other targets. USAAF P-40 and USMC F4U Corsair pilots claim 11 Japanese aircraft shot down during the day.
Japanese aircraft attack U.S. shipping off Koli Point, Guadalcanal, torpedoing two merchant freighters.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: Colonel Neal Kearby, a Fifth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolt fighter pilot, shoots down six Japanese fighters, 4 “Zekes” (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) and 2 “Tonys” (Kawasaki Army Type 3 Fighter Hien) near Wewak, New Guinea and is awarded the Medal of Honor for this action. The citation for the medal reads, “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy, Colonel Kearby volunteered to lead a flight of 4 fighters to reconnoiter the strongly defended enemy base at Wewak. Having observed enemy installations and reinforcements at 4 airfields, and secured important tactical information, he saw an enemy fighter below him, made a diving attack and shot it down in flames. The small formation then sighted approximately 12 enemy bombers accompanied by 36 fighters. Although his mission had been completed, his fuel was running low, and the numerical odds were 12 to 1, he gave the signal to attack. Diving into the midst of the enemy airplanes he shot down 3 in quick succession. Observing 1 of his comrades with 2 enemy fighters in pursuit, he destroyed both enemy aircraft. The enemy broke off in large numbers to make a multiple attack on his airplane but despite his peril he made one more pass before seeking cloud protection. Coming into the clear, he called his flight together and led them to a friendly base. Colonel Kearby brought down 6 enemy aircraft in this action, undertaken with superb daring after his mission was completed.” Kearby shoots down his 22nd Japanese aircraft on 5 March 1944 but dies of injuries sustained while bailing out of his crippled fighter.
Other Fifth Air Force activity in New Guinea has B-24s attacking the towns of Manokwari, Bira, and Fak Fak and score hits on a small vessel at Fak Fak. During the night of 11/12 October, B-25s bomb Cape Chater Airfield and Lautem on Timor Island.
CANADA: Frigate HMCS Buckingham (ex-Royalmount) is laid down in Lauzon, Province of Quebec.
U.S.A.: Baseball!
Destroyer USS Collett is laid down.
Destroyer escorts USS McAnn and USS Tisdale are commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-616 sinks HM LCT 553.
U-532 sinks SS Jalabala.
Navy says wreck found off Japan is legendary sub USS Wahoo
From Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs, 31 October 2006.
In July, the Russian dive team “Iskra” photographed wreckage lying in about 213 feet (65 meters) of water in the La Perouse (Soya) Strait between the Japanese island of Hokkaido and the Russian island of Sakhalin. The divers were working with The Wahoo Project Group, an international team of experts coordinated by Bryan MacKinnon, a relative of Wahoo’s famed skipper, Cmdr. Dudley W. “Mush” Morton.
“I am very pleased to be part of an effort where old adversaries have joined together as friends to find the Wahoo,” said MacKinnon.
Wahoo was last heard from Sept. 13, 1943, as the Gato-class submarine departed the island of Midway en route to the “dangerous, yet important,” Sea of Japan. Under strict radio silence, Morton and his crew proceeded as ordered. Radio contact was expected to be regained with Midway in late October upon Wahoo’s departure from the Sea of Japan through the Kurile Island chain. No such contact was made. Following an aerial search of the area, Wahoo was officially reported missing Nov. 9, 1943.
At the time, the loss of Wahoo was believed due to mines or a faulty torpedo. But Japanese reports later stated that one of its planes had spotted an American submarine in the La Perouse Strait on Oct. 11, 1943. These reports indicate a multi-hour combined sea and air attack involving depth charges and aerial bombs finally sunk Wahoo.
http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/wahoo-navy-release.htm