3 Jul in WW2 History | World War II Database

3 Jul 1886

Raymond Spruance was born.
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3 Jul 1889

Danish Army adopted the Norwegian Krag-Jørgensen rifle as its standard infantry rifle.
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3 Jul 1918

The British War Cabinet recommended that an additional 5,000 troops be sent to northern Russia to reinforce General Poole's command; this force was to advance from Archangel southwards to the rail junction at Vologda to link up with Czech corps to form a rallying point for the Russian attempting to stop the Germans. The Supreme War Council gave its approval to the plan. Britain agreed to send 1,200 troops, the French government consented to provide a battalion of Colonial Infantry and the US government agreed to send troops to guard military stores (although a suggestion that the US should provide an Infantry Brigade was refused).

3 Jul 1929

During "Parasite" experiments Lieutenant A. W. Gordon successfully hooked his Vought VO-2 observation biplane onto the airship USS Los Angeles.

3 Jul 1934

At a German cabinet meeting a law was agreed that murder without trial was lawful if done for the defence of the state.
German Minister of War Werner von Blomberg expressed appreciation for Adolf Hitler's decisiveness in executing the measures to put down the putsch by the Nazi Party SA organization before it took shape.
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3 Jul 1940

Destroyer USS Dickerson departed Bilbao, Spain.
Due to such heavy losses from the Luftwaffe the British suspended all traffic through the English Channel. Meanwhile, the British decided that harbors on the Channel coast and German shipping should be the primary targets of bombing.
Battle of Mers-el-Kébir: At 0545 hours, Vice Admiral James Somerville and his British Royal Navy Force H arrived off of Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria where a power fleet under French Admiral Marcel Gensoul resided. At 1756 hours, after Gensoul refused to surrender, the British fleet opened fire for 10 minutes. The magazine of French battleship Bretagne was hit, sinking her, taking down 977 French sailors. Battleship Provence, battleship Dunkerque, and destroyer Mogador were damaged. In total, 1,297 French sailors were killed and 350 were wounded. After the battle, French battleship Strasbourg, carrier Commandant Teste, and four destroyers were able to escape from Mers-el-Kébir.
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General Franz Halder, the German Army Chief of Staff, asked his staff to consider a "military blow" in the east, to keep the Soviet armed forces at arm's length.
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At dawn, the British Royal Navy boarded two French battleships, nine destroyers, and a number of other smaller warships that were docked at Plymouth and Portsmouth, England; 3 British and 1 French sailors were killed.
Upon hearing the news of British attacks on French warships, six French cruisers and 4 destroyers left various ports in Algiers for Toulon, France. They were attacked by British Swordfish carrier aircraft from HMS Ark Royal en route, but they would arrive at Toulon on 4 Jul 1940.
British Navy Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Cunnigham demanded the French warships under French Admiral René-Emile Godfroy, docked at Alexandria in Egypt, to surrender. Negotiations would continue until 7 Jul 1940.
German Luftwaffe aircraft bombed Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
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The British founded the Long Range Desert Group under the command of Acting Brigadier Ralph Bagnold with purpose of long range reconnaissance patrols behind the Italian lines, into Libya, to gather intelligence.
USS Dickerson departed Bilbao, Spain, for Lisbon, Portugal.
USS Tautog was commissioned into service.
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USS Wichita and USS Quincy departed Montevideo, Uruguay for Brazilian waters.
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USS Phoenix arrived at Balboa, Panama Canal Zone.
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USS O'Brien departed Santos, Brazil, for Pará, Brazil.
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Photos dated 3 Jul 1940

3 Jul 1941

In his first public speech of the new war, Stalin ordered a scorched earth policy to be put into effect as German troops were pushed back; meanwhile, the Bialystok pocket in Poland was eliminated by German troops, taking 300,000 prisoners.
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Werner Mölders was presented Swords to his Knight's Cross by Adolf Hitler.
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British bombers attacked Essen, Germany.
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The only daylight bombing on Britain during the week of 2 Jul to 9 Jul occurred on this date at Land's End in southwestern England, United Kingdom; the German aircraft dropped bombs but they failed to explode.
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Soviet Naval Air unit 402 IAL, based at Idritsa in Russia and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel P. Stefanovsky, went into action with its new MiG-3 fighters and destroyed six enemy aircraft, followed by a similar number on the next day. The unit's primary task was close support and low level fighter reconnaissance, and its pilots had orders to avoid combat if possible. The unit's adjutant, Major K. A. Gruzdev however was an aerobatic champion and soon devised a tactic to bring the enemy to battle. This involved making a steep spiral climb to between 15,000 and 18,000 feet where the MiG-3 fighters enjoyed a performance advantage over the German fighters. The German pilots almost always followed the climb, believing they were chasing a novice pilot, only to realise their mistake when Gruzdev suddenly stall-turned and shot them down. By the end of the year this talented pilot had no less than nineteen confirmed victories top, his credit.
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Biscayne was commissioned into service.
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3 Jul 1942

British armed anti-submarine warfare trawler HMS Le Tiger sank German submarine U-215 with depth charges 150 kilometers east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States.
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German troops captured Sevastopol, Ukraine.
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Japanese leadership officially canceled the invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea.
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Japanese reinforced Kiska of the Aleutian Islands with 1,200 men, 24 aircraft, and 6 mini-submarines. Meanwhile, American B-24 aircraft bombed and damaged two Japanese seaplane carriers and a transport off Attu, and American submarines attacked four Japanese destroyers in the area, sinking three of them with torpedoes.
Italian tanks attacked Ruweisat Ridge near El Alamein, Egypt, making little progress. British aircraft flew 780 sorties on this day against the Axis offensive.
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USAAF B-24 bombers damaged Japanese seaplane carriers Kamikawa Maru and Kimikawa Maru off Agattu Island in the Aleutian Islands.
Robert Johnson was commissioned a second lieutenant at Kelly Field, Texas, United States.
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Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Davao, Philippine Islands.
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USS Gar began her third war patrol.
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USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese destroyer off Taiwan, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired.
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Photos dated 3 Jul 1942

3 Jul 1943

Germans launched Operation Citadel, aimed at encircling and destroying Soviet forces in the Orel-Belgorod salient in Russia. Soviet air activity had delayed the launch by one day.
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Köln, Germany suffered a heavy air raid.
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Ann Baumgartner graduated from the Women Airforce Service Pilots training program.
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The prototype aircraft XP-47K was completed. This aircraft incorporated the all-round-vision bubble-type canopy of a Hawker Typhoon, which was soon adopted as standard on all later production models of the P-47D.
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Japanese bombers attacked supply dumps on Rendova, Solomon Islands, but failed to cause significant damage. To the north, on New Georgia, troops of the 172nd Infantry Regiment of the US Army 43rd Division were landed on Zanana beach.
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USS Snook began stalking a Japanese convoy off the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
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USS Scorpion fired six torpedoes at a 5-ship Japanese convoy, sinking cargo ships Anzan Maru and Kokuryu Maru with five hits; she suffered serious damage during the subsequent depth charging.
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Photos dated 3 Jul 1943

3 Jul 1944

Soviet forces recaptured Minsk, Byelorussia, trapping over 100,000 Germans in the pocket.
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French troops captured Sienna, Italy.
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US VIII Corps advanced toward Coutances, France.
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John Basilone re-enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.
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After sundown, Japanese commandos raided a British airfield near Imphal, India and destroyed eight parked aircraft.
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USS Franklin launched strikes against Bonin Islands.
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USS S-28 began anti-submarine warfare exercises with United States Coast Guard cutter Reliance off Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii.
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USS Cod departed Fremantle, Australia for her fourth war patrol.
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Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Kure, Japan.
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Photos dated 3 Jul 1944

3 Jul 1945

Australian troops captured oil fields at Balikpapan, Borneo.
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USS Ticonderoga arrived at Guam, Mariana Islands for repairs on damaged reduction gear.
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Photos dated 3 Jul 1945

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