The British Admiralty announced the loss of the submarine
HMS Traveller was reported overdue on
12
December 1942 and is presumed lost on Italian mines in
her patrol area..
The British Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers carried out a raid
on Lorient and West Germany by night.
In Libya. The British Eighth Army entered Tripoli.
Russian Front. Armavir, on main Caucasus rly to Rostov, captured
by Soviet troops against extremely stiff opposition from the
Wehrmacht ground forces.
In Australasia. United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and Naval
forces bombarded Kolombangara Island, New Georgia. Japanese
air force aircraft raided Port Moresby.
Eighth Air Force. 19 heavy bombers bomb port facilities and
U-boat base at Brest while 35 attack the sub pens and supply
shed at Lorient-Keroman. At Lorient, enemy fighters use new
tactics of coordinated attacks in groups of 6 aircraft. 5
bombers are shot down.
Twelfth Air Force. United States Army Air Force (USAAF) B-17
Flying Fortress heavy bombers, in 2 forces, hit Bizerte naval
base and shipping in the immediate area. Much damage is done
to base facilities and 1 motor vessel is sunk. 75 to 100 fighters
attack formations, and heavy bombers and escorting P-38 Lightning
fighters claim 20 destroyed. B-26 Marauder medium bombers
hit shipping off Northeast Tunisia, attacking several vessels
and claiming 1 destroyed. Escorting fighters hit trucks and
tanks near Enfidaville during return flight. A-20 Havoc light
bombers, and escorting P-40 fighters, attack heavy gun battery,
machine-gun nests, and 2 infantry company while supporting
ground forces in battle area South of Ousseltia. Fighters
of XII A Support Command destroy over 20 vehicles on Gabes-Ben
Gardane highway.
Ninth Air Force. During 23-
24
January 1943, B-24 Liberator heavy bombers bomb Palermo harbour.
P-40 fighters fly cover and fighter-bomber missions during
the day as Tripoli falls to General Montgomery's Eighth Army.
Fifth Air Force. United States Army Air Force (USAAF) B-17
Flying Fortress heavy bombers attack airfields at Rabaul and
shipping off Cape Gazelle. B-25 Mitchell medium bombers pound
supply dumps in terrace area of Lae. B-24 Liberator heavy
bombers, operating individually, hit Madang and Finschhafen,
and attack transports North of Rabaul and at Simpson Harbour.
Thirteenth Air Force. United States ground forces, aided by
P-39 fighters and United States Marine Corps (USMC) fighter-bombers,
have by this date pushed up Guadalcanal coast and taken Kokumbona
and Poha River Valley. The enemy has now lost control of good
landing beach West of the airfields. Captured with the beach
are the artillery pieces that have menaced Henderson Field
and ground forces in Mount Austen area. The enemy's supply
routes, command systems, and ammunition dumps are also lost.
Seventh Air Force. 24 United States Army Air Force (USAAF)
P-40 fighters of 78th Fighter Squadron fly from Barking Sands,
Kauai, in the Hawaiian Islands to Midway (where they carry
out patrols until
23
April 1943). This flight of about 1,100 nautical miles
is the longest over-water massed flight of single-engine planes
made as of this date. The 78th replaces the P-40 fighters
of the 73d Fighter Squadron on Midway.
Eleventh Air Force. Weather reconnaissance over Kiska and
search mission for missing B-24 Liberator heavy bombers reveal
nothing. Enemy aeroplanes appear over Amchitka twice but inflict
no damage. During
18-23
January 1943, a period of continuous storm and sudden changes
to extreme foul weather, non-combat losses were exceptionally
high as 13 aircraft were lost. No losses resulted from enemy
action.
R44
R-boat
Sunk 23 January 1943
Go To: 24th
January
Articles:
The Second Great War.
Edited by Sir John Hamilton
The War Illustrated.
Edited by Sir John Hamilton
2194 Days Of War.
ISBN-10: 086136614X
For a complete list of
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