UNITED KINGDOM: An RAF Mosquito from No. 51 OTU, based at Cranfield in Bedfordshire.
The twin-engined aircraft had been on a routine training mission when mechanical failure forced the pilot to bring it down in a field in what was then Buckinghamshire and is now the outskirts of Milton Keynes.
It took off on its ill-fated cross country night flight at 1735hrs. Pilot Warrant Officer Gavin Harvie and navigator Sergeant Martin Sydney Card quickly discovered that some of the
Mosquito's equipment was malfunctioning and radioed a distress call just minutes into the flight.Changing course, they turned back towards
RAF Cranfield while talking to the ground controllers. The radio transmission suddenly went dead and a flash was seen from the crash site. (Heath Reidy, the John Lewis Distribution Chronicle)BELGIUM: At 0415 the 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment holding the village of Foy was attacked by an estimated 75 German infantry and six tanks. The attack was repulsed but at 0600 additional enemy forces were committed and they and succeeded in forcing the 3rd Battalion out of Foy. At 0900 artillery fire of the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion was directed at Foy and by 0900 Item Company was back in the village, the German tanks having withdrawn.
At 1220 the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry moved past Recogne, attacked and seized Cobru by 1800. Meanwhile 1st and 3rd Battalions moved around the left flank. 1st Battalion went forward about one and a half miles through the Fazone Woods to some high ground overlooking Cobru. The 3rd Battalion followed and took up a position to the south near a small lake in the Fazone Woods. Both battalions were in position by 1500. Casualties for the day totalled 37. (Jay Stone)
GERMANY: U-3521 is commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
POLAND: Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front began attacks, against German Army Group "A", from both the Magnuszew and Pulawy bridgheads north of Baranow. This is two days after Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front has attacked and broken through at Baranow.
The Soviet attacks at Magnuszew and Pulawy were even more devastating, and the progress from those bridgeheads was even greater than from the Sandomierz-Baranow bridgehead. Soon this whole front, from Warsaw south along the Vistula shattered into incohesive fragments in front of the Soviet's eyes. (Russ Fulsom)
GREECE: A cease fire between the British and the Communist ELAS is agreed to.
NORWAY: U-1208 sailed from Norway on her first and only patrol. (Dave Shirlaw)
PACIFIC OCEAN: Submarine U.S.S. Cobia (SS-245), making her third patrol, fires a salvo of five torpedoes in a daytime periscope attack against CMc Yurijima off the east coast of Malaya southeast of Kota Bharu. One torpedo explodes and sinks the coastal minelayer in position 05°51'N, 103°16'E. (Chris Sauder)
CANADA: HMC ML081 begins a refit. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: Submarine USS Chivo launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Corvette HMCS Trillium, while escorting the 47-ship Southend to New York City Convoy ON-278, suffered a collision with coaster, which sank. No record of either name of the vessel or loss of life, in this incident.
At 1035, U-1232 attacked Convoy BX-141 east of Halifax, sank SS British Freedom and badly damaged SS Martin Van Buren six minutes later. The U-boat then sank SS Athelviking and missed HMCS Ettrick. Later in the action, HMCS Ettrick, while conducting an attack, ran over the conning tower of U-1232, which was forced to depart for home badly damaged. Dobratz reported sinking four ships totalling 30.400 tons. The master and three crewmembers from SS Athelviking were lost. 39 crewmembers and eight gunners were picked up by HMC ML-102 and landed at Halifax. (Dave Shirlaw)