3 Oct in WW2 History | World War II Database

3 Oct 1892

Sentaro Omori was born.
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3 Oct 1910

WW2 RAF fighter ace Adolf Malan was born at Wellington, South Africa.

3 Oct 1924

Franklin Roosevelt visited Warm Springs, Georgia, United States for the first time; the warm waters there were said to have healing powers.
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3 Oct 1932

Japanese luxury ocean liner Hikawa Maru departed Kobe for Seattle, her 13th round trip across the Pacific.
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3 Oct 1935

100,000 Italian troops and Askari mercenaries headed by Emilio De Bono attacked from Eritrea into Abyssinia without declaration of war.
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3 Oct 1937

Light carrier Hosho arrived off Shanghai, China.
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3 Oct 1938

The German ambassador in Moscow, Russia began to discuss with Soviet representatives regarding a potential Soviet-German trade agreement.
Phoenix was commissioned into service.
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Historical document written: Meeting Minutes of International Commission on Sudetenland, 3 Oct 1938
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Photos dated 3 Oct 1938

3 Oct 1939

The Declaration of Panama, signed by the United States and several countries in the Americas, was established. It established a zone of neutrality within 300 to 1,000 nautical miles of the coast of the Americas.
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Hans Frank ordered a "ruthless exploitation" of occupied Poland.
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3 Oct 1940

Vichy France passed anti-Semitic laws that excluded Jews from positions in the army, government, commerce, industries, and the press. The law was signed by Philippe Pétain, Pierre Laval, Raphaël Alibert, Marcel Peyrouton, Paul Baudouin, Yves Bouthillier, Charles Huntzinger, and François Darlan.
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British politician Neville Chamberlain resigned as Lord President of the Council for health reasons.
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London, Worcester, Birmingham, and Wellingborough in England, United Kingdom were attacked by single-bomber raids. The British suffered damage at the De Havilland aircraft factory at Hatfield, while the Germans lost one Ju 88 bomber to ground-based anti-aircraft fire. Overnight, London was the target to several small German raids.
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3 Oct 1941

The official copy of the British Military Application of Uranium Detonation (MAUD) Committee Report, written by James Chadwick, reached Vannevar Bush.
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In Russia, Panzergruppe 2 of the German Armeeguppe Mitte captured Orel 220 miles south-southwest of the Soviet capital in Moscow. Elsewhere, German troops attempted to encircle the Soviet Bryansk Front.
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At the Berliner Sportpalast in the German capital, Adolf Hitler announced during a rally that the Germans had captured 2,500,000 Soviet prisoners of war, destroyed or captured 22,000 guns, destroyed or captured 18,000 tanks, destroyed 14,500 aircraft, and since 1939 had expanded Germany by an area four times as large as Britain. He stressed that the Soviet Union had been broken and would never rise again.
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The number of deaths in motor vehicle accidents in Britain during this second year of war had increased by 65% when compared to pre-war figures.
British submarine HMS Talisman sank the already beached German ship Yalova south of Naples, Italy.
At about 0001 hours, German submarine U-431 sank British ship Hatasu 650 miles east of Newfoundland; 40 were killed, 7 survived.
German bombers attacked and damaged British destroyer HMS Vivacious in the North Sea.
British motor torpedo boat MTB56 sank Norwegian tanker Borgny off Bergen, Norway.
A British Walrus reconnaissance aircraft from British cruiser HMS Kenya spotted German supply ship Klara 300 miles northeast of the Azores islands. HMS Kenya closed in and sank Klara, but did not stop to pick up survivors due to the presence of German submarine U-129.
Dutch submarine O.21 sank Vichy French ship Oued Yquem off Sardinia, Italy.
Photos dated 3 Oct 1941

3 Oct 1942

Heavy losses were incurred on both sides as the German 6.Armee pushed the Soviet 62nd Army back to the Volga River at Stalingrad, Russia.
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The US Army established the War Dog Reception and Training Center at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, United States.
Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his second Order of Lenin.
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American SBD and TBF aircraft from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands attacked and damaged seaplane carrier Nisshin.
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3 Oct 1943

Germans invaded Kos Island under a heavy air umbrella.
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Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Surabaya, Java. Upon arrival, she was damaged by a mine.
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Photos dated 3 Oct 1943

3 Oct 1944

The United Kingdom stood down the Home Guard.
A 60-hour truce began in Dunkirk, France between Allied and German troops to allow the evacuation of civilians. Elsewhere in France, US Third Army began a 10-day attack on Fort Driant, Metz.
A German V-2 rocket hit the Hellesdon Golf Course near Norwich, England, United Kingdom at 1950 hours, injuring 1 person and damaging a glasshouse, 5 farm buildings/barns, several haystacks, and 1 acre of sugar beet.
The first Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter unit was established at Achmer and Hesepe near Osnabrück, Germany under the command of Austrian-born ace Major Walter Nowotny. The unit had 30 aircraft distributed among two squadrons and was given the task of intercepting USAAF day bomber raids on the heart of Germany.
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Japanese troops evacuated Tiddim, Burma.
Katsuragi was commissioned into service.
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Sanborn was commissioned into service.
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The US submarine Seawolf was sunk by depth charges fired from the destroyer escort USS Richard M. Rowell off Morotai, Maluku Islands, Dutch East Indies.
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USS Astoria arrived at San Diego, California, United States.
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Photos dated 3 Oct 1944