24 Aug 1890
- Jorge Vargas was born.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1912
- Hazel Lee was born in Portland, Oregon, United States.
» In-depth article
- The United States' District of Alaska was renamed the Territory of Alaska.
24 Aug 1914
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1914
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1914
24 Aug 1915
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1915
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1915
24 Aug 1918
- Submarine R-1 was launched, sponsored by Mrs. George W. Dashiell.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1927
- Oberon was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1936
- Philippine President Manuel Quezon granted Douglas MacArthur the title of field marshal in the Philippine Army.
» In-depth article - The new Soviet Ambassador, Marcel Rosenberg, arrived in Republican Spain. He was accompanied by a large number of Soviet "advisers".
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1937
- Spanish General Sebastián Pozas’ Republican Army of the East commenced an offensive into Aragon from Catalonia with the object of capturing Saragossa. The Spanish Nationalist forces of General Miguel Ponte were pushed back in the north and south of the River Ebro over the course of the next month, but the Republicans were unable to dislodge them from the area around Saragossa, nor to capture Huesca (in the north) or Tereul (in the south). By the end of Sep 1937 the offensive had ceased to have any impetus and effectively grounded to a halt.
» In-depth article
- Mutsu provided naval gunfire support off Shanghai, China.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Three Chinese transports and eight captured Japanese transports were sunk at the mouth of the Yangtze River at Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China, adding more obstacles to prevent Japanese navigation.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1938
- Japanese troops captured Ruichang, Jiangxi, China.
» In-depth article - Adolf Hitler asked his generals to evaluate the possibility of the conquest and occupation of Belgium and the Netherlands.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1939
- The British and the French delegation in Soviet Union requested further meetings with Kliment Voroshilov, who was slow to respond.
» In-depth article - German warship Deutschland departed Germany on a raiding mission against British shipping.
» In-depth article - The United Kingdom enacted emergency powers and partially mobilized the British military in preparation of war with Germany. Among the forces mobilized was the troops of General Pile's Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB). In Berlin, Germany, journalist William Shirer noted in his diary "it looks like war" based on his observations throughout the day.
» In-depth article - The French Army called up its reserves.
- Historical document written: No. 125 & 126: Messages between Roosevelt and Moscicki
» In-depth article - Historical document written: No. 52-55: Messages from Kennard to Halifax on German Provocation
» In-depth article - Historical document written: No. 63, 66, 67, 70-73, 84-86, 90, 93-97, 100, 101, 112, 113, 115: Messages between Kennard and Halifax on Potential War
» In-depth article - Historical document written: No. 64: Speech by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons
» In-depth article - Historical document written: No. 65. Speech by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the House of Lords
» In-depth article - Historical document written: No. 139-142: Appeal for Peace by Pope Pius XII
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1940
See all photos dated 24 Aug 1940
- German submarine U-57 attacked Allied convoy OB-202 2 miles north of Ireland just after midnight; British ships Saint Dunstan and Cumberland were sunk, killing 14 and 4, respectively; British ship Havildar was damaged. German submarine U-48 sank British tanker La Brea, carrying 9,410 tons of fuel oil, 130 miles west of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom at 1414 hours, killing 2; 31 survived and made it to the Outer Hebrides on lifeboats. 500 miles west of Ireland, German submarine U-37 sank British ship Brookwood at 0314 hours, killing 1; 35 crew and 1 gunner would remain adrift for 5 days before being picked up by British merchant ship Clan Macbean. At 2038 hours, U-37 struck again, sinking British sloop HMS Penzance escorting Allied convoy SC-1, killing 90; 7 survivors were rescued by British ship Blairmore.
» In-depth article - German armed merchant cruiser Atlantis sank British ship King City, carrying 7,300 tons of coal and coke for Singapore, 900 miles east of Madagascar, killing 6. Atlantis remained in the area, in very rough seas, to pick up the survivors.
- Bismarck was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Before dawn, the London Blitz began as a misguided group of German bombers of KG1 unloaded their bombs London's Thames Haven oil terminal, which also damaged the church of St. Gile in East End; Göring demanded to know the crews that did this so to punish them. Clear weather allowed the German attacks to restart in size. German bombers arrived in waves against RAF Hornchurch, RAF North Weald, and RAF Manston in southern England; the Germans lost 22 fighters and 18 bombers, while the British lost 20 fighters. At 1600 hours, 50 German aircraft bombed Portsmouth in southern England, killing 100 civilians and wounding a further 300, while damaging HMS Acheron (killing 2, wounding 3) and HMS Bulldog (killing the commanding officer) in the harbor. Overnight, deliberate bombing of London, England, United Kingdom began, hitting north, east, and west of the city.
» In-depth article - James Lacey shot down a German Ju 88 aircraft and a Do 17 bomber over Britain.
» In-depth article - Hans-Joachim Marseille scored his first kill, a British Hurricane Mk I fighter, over Kent, England, United Kingdom. While he was congratulated by his commanding officer, he was also reprimanded because he achieved the kill after abandoning his wingman to pursue the target. Later that evening, in his diary, he noted great sadness when he thought about the enemy pilot's mother not being able to see his son again.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 24 Aug 1940
24 Aug 1941
- Romanian forces suffered heavy losses during the Soviet counter attack near Odessa, Ukraine.
» In-depth article - Vichy France passed anti-terrorist laws, punishable with death sentences, to deal with the resistance movement.
» In-depth article - Adolf Hitler ordered the end of the euthanasia program that had already killed 70,273 mentally-ill people. Some doctors would continue to kill the mentally-ill through the end of the European War.
- Oberleutnant Hans Philipp became the 33rd member recipient of the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.
- Historical document written: Churchill's 'English-Speaking Peoples' Radio Address
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1942
- Soviet Volkhov Front launched an offensive near Leningrad in northern Russia.
» In-depth article - Marshal Georgy Zhukov was sent to Stalingrad, Russia to take over the defense.
» In-depth article - US Marine Corps Major John L. Smith's VMF-223 Squadron based on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands accompanied by five USAAF P-39 fighters intercepted twenty-seven Japanese aircraft, shooting down ten bombers and fighters. Captain Marion E. Carl, who was to become the first USMC ace of the war, scored three of the kills. His Commanding Officer Major Smith would become the third Wildcat pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honour. Three Wildcat fighters were lost in the engagement. On the same day, 11 US Navy dive bombers arrived at Henderson Field as reinforcements.
» In-depth article - The US Army assumed command of the Amphibious Corps of the Atlantic Fleet, which was previously under the command of the US Marine Corps. The previous commanding officer, USMC Major General Holland Smith, was named the chief of the Amphibious Training Staff of the Fleet Marine Force and was relocated to Quantico, Virginia, United States.
» In-depth article - 809 Japanese Special Naval Landing Force troops departed Rabaul, New Britain at 0700 hours aboard transports Nankai Maru and Kinai Maru, sailing for Milne Bay, Australian Papua. At about the same time, 450 Japanese Army troops departed Buna, Australian Papua aboard 7 barges, sailing for Goodenough Bay to support the Milne Bay invasion. The latter convoy was attacked by 12 Australian Kittyhawk fighters while stopped at Goodenough Island and all barges were destroyed.
» In-depth article - USS Guardfish sank Japanese passenger-cargo ship Seikai Maru off Sendai, Japan.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-162 sank Dutch ship Moena 100 miles east of Barbados at 1113 hours; 4 were killed, 83 survived.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-601 sank Soviet ship Kujbyshev in the Kara Sea 55 miles west of Dikson Island in northern Russia at 1409 hours; at 1442 hours, U-601 struck again, sinking tug Medvezhonok; all aboard both ships were killed.
- Soviet torpedo boat Burya and minesweeper T-204 struck mines and sank in the Gulf of Finland while attempting to sweep a German minefield.
- Shokaku suffered light damage from bomb fragments during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - A Japanese force centered around carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku sailed down into the Solomon Islands with light carrier Ryujo near the spearhead as bait to draw out US carriers known to be in the general area. In the ensuing Battle of the Eastern Solomons, Ryujo was promptly discovered and fatally damaged by several 1,000-pound bombs, but this in turn allowed aircraft from Shokaku and Zuikaku to locate USS Saratoga and USS Enterprise. Enterprise would suffer heavy damage by three bomb hits (70 were killed, 70 were injured). Japanese warships attempted to engage the US fleet after dark, but the force failed to locate the American fleet, and discontinued the search at 2330 hours.
» In-depth article - Mutsu escorted carriers during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Repair ship Akashi began repairing destroyer Hagikaze at Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 226 British bombers (104 Wellington, 61 Lancaster, 53 Stirling, and 8 Halifax) attacked Frankfurt, Germany; most bombs missed their targets and fell on the villages of Schwalbach and Eschborn; 16 bombers were lost on this mission.
» In-depth article
- Hans-Joachim Marseille met South African prisoner of war Corporal Mathew Letulu, whom the Germans called Mathias. Letulu would soon grow close to Marseille as his servant and friend.
» In-depth article
- USS Tuscaloosa, USS Rodman, USS Emmons, and HMS Onslaught departed Murmansk, Russia. HMS Marne, HMS Martin, HMS Middleton, and HMS Blankney departed Arkhangelsk, Russia. Both groups of Allied warships were sailing for Iceland; some of them carried Soviet diplomats and survivors of various sunken or damaged merchant ships. At 2002 hours, German minelayer Ulm, which had departed Narvik, Norway at 0400 hours earlier on the same day, was attacked by HMS Onslaught, HMS Marne, and HMS Martin; Marne was hit twice in the engagement (4 were killed), but the British ships were able to sink Ulm at 2235 hours; 132 were killed, 54 survived (30 to 40 of whom were captured by the British).
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Cero was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1943
- Wilhelm Frick was named Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.
» In-depth article - Heinrich Himmler was appointed as Minister of the Interior of Germany.
» In-depth article - 1,260 Polish Jewish children from the liquidated Bialystok ghetto arrived at Theresienstadt Concentration Camp.
» In-depth article - In Denmark, bomb incidents and strikes marked growing resistance.
- USS Tunny detected a 6-ship Japanese convoy near the Toagel Mlungui Pass in the Palau Islands early in the morning and stalked the convoy for the remainder of the day.
» In-depth article
- US Marine Corps Colonel William Brice moved the headquarters of his Fighter Command to the Munda Point airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. On this date, the responsibility of Commander, Aircraft, New Georgia was also merged under his command.
» In-depth article
- The keel of submarine Spot was laid down at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1944
- Operation Goodwood III: British carrier aircraft (33 Barracuda dive bombers, 10 Hellcat fighters, 5 Corsair fighters, 29 other fighters) from HMS Indefatigable, Furious, and Formidable attacked German battleship Tirpitz, scoring 2 hits.
» In-depth article - Aircraft of No. 466 Squadron RAAF conducted minelaying operations off of Helgoland, Germany.
- Germans evacuated Bordeaux, France and took up fortified positions on the Gironde River outside the city.
- Six members of a Liberator bomber crew shot down near Hanover, Germany were beaten to death by a mob of German civilians led by sisters Margarethe Witzler and Kathe Reinhardt. One of the victims, left for dead in the pile of battered bodies, survived to tell the tale. In Aug 1945, seven of the mob, including the sisters, were sentenced to hang by a US military commission.
- Allied forces liberated Cannes in southern France.
» In-depth article - Distrustful of the Army, Adolf Hitler ordered construction of a new Westwall under Nazi Party supervision.
- Soviet troops captured Kishinev, Moldova.
- USS Pollack attacked a Japanese freighter with three torpedoes in the Pacific Ocean; all torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article - The US submarine Harder was depth charged and sunk by Japanese warships off Dasol Bay, Luzon, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article - Louis Mountbatten arrived in Colombo, Ceylon.
» In-depth article
- USS Marcus Island arrived at Tulagi, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- The Romanian Royal Guards blocked the German attempt to occupy Bucharest as Romania declared war on Germany. German Luftwaffe responded by bombing the Royal Palace.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1945
- Shizuichi Tanaka passed away.
» In-depth article - Japan agreed that the first Allied troops on the homeland would be paratroopers.
» In-depth article - USS Segundo was ordered to sail for Tokyo Bay, Japan.
» In-depth article
- The Kukutsu Prisoners of War Camp in northern Taiwan was closed.
24 Aug 1948
- USS Bugara arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1949
United States
United States
- USS Segundo completed her overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1950
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1950
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1950
24 Aug 1956
United States
United States
- Commander Harold Crenshaw Miller was named the commanding officer of USS Ticonderoga.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1960
United States
United States
- Captain Robert Faulkner Farrington was named the commanding officer of USS Ticonderoga.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1961
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1961
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 1961
24 Aug 1963
- Belfast was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1966
- Tadeusz Komorowski passed away.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1972
- Jinichi Kusaka passed away.
» In-depth article - USS Caiman arrived at Gölcük, Turkey and was commissioned into Turkish service as the submarine Dumlupinar.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1979
- Hanna Reitsch passed away from a heart attack.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 1997
- John Chatterton dove the wreck of U-869 and penetrated into the electric motor room; he was briefly trapped by a fallen steel beam but was lucky enough to push off the steel beam and escape death.
» In-depth article
24 Aug 2006
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 2006
Photo(s) dated 24 Aug 2006
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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