UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Air Support Command in England flies Missions
53 and 54 against targets in France.
(1) 68 B-26B bomb Nord Airfield at Lille at
0922 hours.
2) 68 B-26s bomb Vendeville Airfield at Lille at 1011-1013 hours; 1
B-26 is lost. 68 B-26s attack Boulogne coastal defenses at 1756-1818 hours.
Destroyer HMS St Kitts laid down. Frigate HMS Foley commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
ITALY: The British 8th Army liberates Locri.
Italian Prime Minister Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio sends a
message to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander in Chief Allied Expeditionary
Force Mediterranean, repudiating the surrender terms with the Allies. The
Italian government is beginning to feel apprehensive of letting Allies freely
into Rome. The long term seem to be made by the victor for the defeated and
Italy is still capable of fighting for the Allies. Eisenhower, upset over the
lack of progress in the surrender talks, broadcasts Italy's surrender over the
radio at 1830 hours local. Italy is now placed in a tough situation, to either
confirm the surrender, or face warring both the Allies and Germany. At 1945
hours local, Badoglio informs his country of the Italian surrender. Italians
cheer and the Germans become infuriated. The main body of the Italian Fleet
sails from La Spezia and Genoa with 3 battleships, 6 cruisers, and 9 destroyers
to surrender to the Allies. (Jack McKillop)
US Ninth Air Force B-24s bomb the landing ground at
Foggia, as
convoys approach Salerno to begin the Allied invasion of Italy (Operation
AVALANCHE). (Jack McKillop)
In Italy, the US Twelfth Air Force sends about 130 B-17s to bomb Frascati; 160+ medium bombers hit a highway at Lauria and bridges at Trebisacce and Saptri; fighters hit Pabillonis, Sardinia, cover Allied forces near Pizzo, and bomb and strafe roads and vehicles in the Lamezia-Vibo Valentia-Pizzo-Catanzaro areas; and bombers hit roads and junctions in the Naples area during the night of 8/9 September. (Jack McKillop)
GERMANY: U-293, U-349 and U-478 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
BALTIC SEA: - U-983 is sunk north of Loba, in position 54.56N, 17.14E, after a collision with U-988. 38 of the 43 crewmen survive.
ARCTIC OCEAN: The German battleship Tirpitz plus the Scharnhorst and a destroyer flotilla shell Barentsburg, Spitsbergen, Norway and then land troops that destroy facilities at Gronfjord and Advent Bay (Operation SIZILIEN). All of the German forces then return to their bases in Norway.
U.S.S.R.: Stalino, the vital industrial centre of the Donets basin, Krasnoarmeisk and Yasinovataya are liberated by the Soviets.
Soviet submarine Shch-203 of the Black Sea Fleet is sunk by
mines off Cape Tarkhankutskiy, Sevastopol. (Mike Yared)(146
and 147)
NEW GUINEA: The Japanese begin to withdraw from
Salamaua under pressure from Australian and US forces.
Four US destroyers bombard Lae.
US Fifth Air Force B-17s, B-24s, B-25s and B-26s pound the Lae area, and A-20 Havocs hit Salamaua. The IJA at Salamaua are ordered to prepare to fall back to Lae in face of the approaching Australian 5 Division. Elements of the Australian 9 Division, moving west on Lae, reach the flooded Busu River where the Japanese hold the western bank. Other heavy and medium bombers carry out light raids on targets in western part of New Guinea and on islands of Netherlands East Indies.
BURMA:6 US Tenth Air Force B-24s mine the Rangoon River during the night of 8/9 September; and B-25 Mitchells hit Gokteik Viaduct for the second consecutive day, scoring 5 hits at the base of the structure, which remains usable.
USAAF OPERATIONS IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC AREA (Seventh Air Force): B-24s, operating from Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands, fire on a flying boat scoring hits hut causing no visible damage. (Jack McKillop)
PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS
Drum (SS-228) sinks a Japanese army cargo ship off Hollandia, New Guinea.
(Jack McKillop)
SOLOMON ISLANDS: 12 US Thirteenth Air Force B-25s hit the Vila Airfield area on Kolombangara Island.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Matapedia damaged in collision with SS Scorton in fog off Sambro Lightship in the Halifax Approaches. Matapedia was towed to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, for temporary repairs and in Oct 43, was moved to Lunenburg for permanent repairs and a refit. She did not return to service until Feb 44.
Marine accidents and weather damage removed as many warships and merchant ships from service as did enemy action. This was a factor that planners failed to anticipate and which caused major disruptions to plans at all levels of warfare. In 1942, about a fifth of all tanker tonnages plying to Britain were permanently under repairs. By May 1942, British fuel stocks were almost two million tons below minimum requirements. By November 1942, the shortage stood at 1.2 million tons but the initial requirements for Operation TORCH drew down another 400,000 tons. Sustaining requirements diverted thirty tankers from British to African service. By early 1943, the sustaining requirements for TORCH had grown alarmingly to 1.3 million tons for the year. The winter weather of 1942-43 in the North Atlantic was the worst on record and the number of damaged tankers rose to record heights. British fuel stocks continued to fall through Fall 1942 and reached new record lows by Jun 43. Plans to open a second theatre of operations in Europe were delayed, primarily due to fuel shortages. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: Baseball, the New York Giants pitcher Ace Adams pitches his 62nd game and sets a major-league baseball record for number of games worked by a pitcher in a single season. Adams pitches in 70 games this year and finishes the season with an 11-7 record and a 2.82 ERA for the last place Giants. (Jack McKillop)
Dale Harriman reports to the Army induction center in Columbus, Ohio. After passing the physical, he is given a choice of either the army or navy, and chooses the army mostly because he never learned to swim. He is given orders to report for active duty at Fort Hays, Columbus, Ohio on September 29th. (Glen Boren)
Minesweepers USS Champion and Dextrous commissioned.
Destroyer escorts USS Inch and Marchand commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Three German submarines are lost:
- U-662 is listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay, cause unknown. All hands, 52-men are lost.
- U-760 is sailing on the surface alongside U-262 when they were attacked by an RAF Wellington Mk XIV of No. 179 Squadron based at Gibraltar about 150 miles (241 km) out of Cape of Finisterre. The U-760 arrived at Vigo harbor and was put under the supervision of the Spanish Navy cruiser Navarra. After 24 hours the boat had not left the harbour (the neutrality laws allowed this time frame for emergency repairs) and it was interned. The boat was taken to El Ferrol where she remained until the end of the war. On July 23, 1945 U-760 was taken to England for Operation Deadlight.
U-669 (Type VIIC) is listed as missing in the Bay of Biscay with all 52 crew on 8 Sept. There is no explanation for its loss. (Alex Gordon)