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• 130,000 to 150,000 Allied troops, roughly half American and half British and Commonwealth, invaded the beaches of Normandy, France; it was the largest amphibious operation. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | CPC]
• Allied bombers conducted a raid on Belgrade, Yugoslavia. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS Pintado ten torpedoes against a Japanese convoy in the Philippine Sea, sinking Havre Maru and Kashimasan Maru. ww2dbase [Pintado | CPC]
• Destroyers USS Nicholas, USS Hopewell, USS O'Bannon, and USS Taylor entered Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands and returned to join USS Hoggatt Bay. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]
• The first aircraft landings and take-offs aboard Casablanca-class escort carrier USS Sargent Bay took place off San Diego, California. ww2dbase [Sargent Bay | DS]

• Torpedo boats of the German 5th Flotilla (Jaguar, Falke, Möwe, and T28), attacking Allied shipping off Normandie, France, sank Norwegian destroyer Svenner about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) west of Le Havre, France. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Möwe | Falke | Jaguar | T28 | Le Havre, Haute-Normandie | CPC]

• British Company Sergeant-Major Stanley Hollis, using a PIAT launcher, took down several German pillboxes and a field gun during the Normandy invasion in France and was credited for saving the lives of many men. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the only awarded for actions on the initial day of the invasion. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | PIAT | Basse-Normandie | AC, CPC]
• Norwegian destroyer Stord shelled the town of Ouistreham in Normandy, France prior to the landing of British troops on Sword Beach. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Stord | Ouistreham, Basse-Normandie | DS]
• The first general officer killed on either side of the battle in Normandie, France was Brigadier General Don F. Pratt, the assistant divisional commander of the US 101st Airborne Division who was crushed to death when the Waco glider in which he was travelling crashed into a hedgerow whilst landing in France. He was also the highest ranking Allied officer to be killed on 6 June 1944. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Basse-Normandie | AC]
• HMS Warspite bombarded on the German Villerville Battery in Normandie, France at the range of 26,000 yards at 0500 hours, northeast of Sword Beach. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Warspite | Basse-Normandie | CPC]
• U-821 departed Brest, France for her second war patrol. ww2dbase [U-821 | Brest, Bretagne | CPC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against tactical shore targets near the Normandy landing beaches in France. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | RAF Thurleigh | Normandy | DS]

• USS Gabilan arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending first war patrol. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Gabilan | Pearl Harbor, Oahu | CPC]
• USS Franklin arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Franklin | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• French troops captured Tivoli, Italy. ww2dbase [Advance to the Gothic Line | Tivoli, Lazio | TH]

• UIT-24 arrived in Kobe, Japan and was drydocked for repairs. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | Kobe, Hyogo | CPC]

• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) stood out of Majuro, Marshall Islands with Task Force 58 bound for the Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Yorktown (Essex-class) | Majuro | DS]

• USS Harder attempted to attack a Japanese convoy in the Sibutu Passage between Tawi-Tawi of Philippine Islands and Borneo, but was in turn targeted by two destroyers. Submerging and sailing away from the convoy, Harder fired three torpedoes out of her stern torpedo tubes, hitting destroyer Minazuki twice, sinking her. She fired another spread of torpedoes at the second destroyer shortly after; all six torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Harder | Sibutu Passage, Celebes Sea | CPC]
• USS Wasp was assigned to US Navy Task Group 58.2. ww2dbase [Wasp (Essex-class) | CPC]

• The Davao Penal Colony on Mindanao, Philippine Islands was closed; the American and Filipino prisoners were transferred to Cebu island. ww2dbase [Davao | CPC]

• Operation Frantic shuttle bombing continued as 104 B-17s and 42 P-51s (having flown to the USSR from Italy on 2 Jun) attacked the airfield at GalaÈ›i, Romania and returned to Soviet shuttle bases; 8 German fighters were shot down and 2 P-51s were lost. ww2dbase [B-17 Flying Fortress | P-51 Mustang | Operation Frantic | GalaÈ›i | DS]

• The second mission for Violette Szabo was delayed due to an unexpected German patrol near the planned landing zone. ww2dbase [Violette Szabo | CPC]

• Submarine Sennet was launched at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, United States, sponsored by the wife of Roscoe W. Downs. ww2dbase [Sennet | Kittery, Maine | CPC]
• Robert Johnson returned to the United States. ww2dbase [Robert Johnson | CPC]
• The Statue of Liberty in New York, New York, United States, usually blacked out due to war, flashed dot-dot-dot-dash, Morse code for "V", in celebration of the successful landings in Normandie, France. ww2dbase [New York | CPC]

• Casablanca-class escort carrier USS Steamer Bay departed Pago Pago, American Samoa bound for San Diego, California. ww2dbase [Steamer Bay | Tutuila, American Samoa | DS]

6 Jun 1944 Interactive Map