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• American submarine USS Gar detected Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru and allowed her to pass. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
• In southern Russia, German troops captured Bataysk, while the 6th Army attempted to destroy the Soviet bridgehead near Kalach. ww2dbase [Caucasus Campaign | TH]
• USS Boise departed Pearl Harbor for Japan; it was to generate radio traffic to deceive the Japanese of a large invasion force. ww2dbase [Boise | CPC]
• Destroyer Yuzuki escorted a troop convoy from Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands to Buna, New Guinea. ww2dbase [Yuzuki | CPC]
• German submarine U-582 sank US ship Stella Lykes 820 miles west of Freetown, British West Africa at 0847 hours; 1 was killed, 49 survived, 2 of whom were captured. At 1414 hours, U-752 sank Norwegian ship Leikanger 450 miles southwest of Freetown; 18 were killed, 13 survived. At 1740 hours, U-130 sank British ship Elmwood 670 miles west of Freetown; all 51 aboard survived. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]

• The 39 survivors of Norwegian tanker Tankexpress, sunk by German submarine U-130 two days earlier, stopped their convoy of one motorboat and two lifeboats in order to repair the motor on the motorboat that had ceased. Succeeding in the repairs but wishing to save the little petrol they had left in case the wind should die down, all three boats opened their sails to continue their journey. The port boat proved to sail better than the others, followed by the starboard boat, then the motorboat, and they sailed on in that order, with the 2nd mate in the foremost boat and the captain, 3rd mate and 1st mate in the motorboat, from which the navigation took place. A heavy rainfall that evening and throughout the night meant that rationing of water was not necessary, but they all got thoroughly soaked that night (rationing of provisions had been set according to an estimated stay of 20 days in the lifeboats). ww2dbase [HM]
• Giuseppe Finzi made rendezvous with fellow Italian submarine Morosini in the Atlantic Ocean at 1050 hours and transferred 25 tons of fuel and 1 ton of oil. ww2dbase [Giuseppe Finzi | Morosini | CPC]

• Australian troops began preparing defenses at the Kokoda airfield in Australian Papua. Two transport aircraft carrying reinforcements for the airfield circled the airfield and headed back to Port Moresby without landing the troops, fearing that the airfield was about to be captured. Meanwhile, Australian Captain Sam Templeton, the commanding officer of the Papuan Infantry Battalion who had been captured on the previous day at Oivi, Australian Papua, was executed by sword. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | Kokoda | CPC]

• Submarine S-7 damaged German transport Ellen Larsen south of Venspils, Latvia with her deck gun after a failed torpedo attack. ww2dbase [S-7 | CPC]

• The initial hours of the Allies Operation Manhood offensive in Egypt near El Alamein was successful, but British tanks failed to follow up, thus the subsequent Axis counterattack at dawn inflicted heavy casualties on the exposed forward positions at Deir el Dhib and at Ruin Ridge. This marked the end of the First Battle of El Alamein, which saw 13,250 casualties on the Allied side and 17,000 on the Axis side. ww2dbase [First Battle of El Alamein | El Alamein | CPC]

• The French youth group Compagnons celebrated its second anniversary in Randan, Auvergne, Vichy France. Out of the 30,000 total members, 7,000 attended the event. Philippe Pétain, wearing a gray suit rather than the usual military uniform, attended the event as a civilian. ww2dbase [Philippe Pétain | Randan, Auvergne | CPC]

• Scirè departed Italy for Operation SL 1 against British shipping in the harbor of Haifa, Palestine. ww2dbase [Scirè | CPC]
• The Italian plan to land at Malta (Operation C3) was canceled. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Nobuo Fujita was summoned to the Navy Ministry at Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, Japan, where he would be personally ordered by Prince Nobuhito of Takamatsu to bomb a major target in the United States using a submarine-borne attack aircraft. ww2dbase [Nobuo Fujita | Tokyo | CPC]
• The Japanese General Staff issued orders for Japanese submarines to make incendiary attacks against the dense forests in the United States Pacific Northwest. It was thought that a large forest fire may cause the US Navy to move its Pacific Fleet to defend the mainland. LtCdr Meiji Tagami in I-25 was assigned to execute the operation. ww2dbase [Japanese Attacks on the Continental United States | DS]

• German submarine U-601 bombarded the Soviet polar station Malye Karmakuly near Belushya Bay in the Novaya Zemlya islands, Russia. Several buildings and one seaplane were destroyed. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Malye Karmakuly, Arkhangelsk | CPC]

• Before dawn, German bombers attacked Birmingham, England, United Kingdom. After daybreak, a single German bomber attacked Manchester, England, killing 3 and wounding 7 in the Palmerston Street-Hillkirk Street-Russell Street area. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | England | CPC]

• The keel of destroyer Kimberly was laid down by Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Kimberly | Staten Island, New York | CPC]

27 Jul 1942 Interactive Map