15 Sep 1897
- Kurt Daluege was born.
» In-depth article
- Hairong was launched by AG Vulcan in Germany.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1914
- Creighton Abrams was born.
» In-depth article
- Lieutenant General Akira Nakamura succeeded Lieutenant General Yasumasa Fukushima as the Governor-General of Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China.
15 Sep 1916
- The French submarine Foucault was sunk by an Austrian Löhner flying-boat.
15 Sep 1919
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1919
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1919
15 Sep 1922
- Natori was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - With the capture of Izmir in western Anatolia by Turkish troops, the British and French forces stationed at Chanak further north up the coast, guarding the Dardanelles neutral zone, were threatened with being attacked. The British Cabinet made a decision to hold firm against any Turkish act of aggression.
15 Sep 1923
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1923
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1923
15 Sep 1928
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1928
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1928
15 Sep 1929
- Asama Maru was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1931
- The Invergordon Mutiny, a mutiny by men of the British Atlantic Fleet in protest against threatened pay cuts, began.
15 Sep 1932
China
China
- Ambassador Nobuyoshi Muto and Prime Minister Zheng Xiaoxu signed the Japan-Manchukuo Protocol at the puppet state's capital Xinjing (Changchun, Jilin Province, China).
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Japan-Manchukuo Protocol
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1935
- The passing of the Nürnberg Laws, National Citizens Law, and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor collectively stripped German Jews of rights.
- Adolf Hitler ordered the discontinued use of the black-white-red imperial tricolor; only the swastika flag of the Nazi Party was to be used as the national flag.
- Italian 1st Submarine Flotilla officially incorporated a unit trained in motored torpedo boat warfare; the new unit was based at La Spezia, Italy.
15 Sep 1936
- Franklin Roosevelt ordered the United States Post Office, employers, and labor unions to assist the United States Social Security Administration to distribution SS-4 employer and SS-5 employee application forms for establishing Social Security Numbers.
» In-depth article - Submarine Pollack was launched, sponsored by Miss Anne Carter Lauman.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1937
China
China
- Japanese troops took the town of Luodian near Shanghai after four days of attacks.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1938
- Neville Chamberlain visited Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden in southern Germany to discuss German demands on Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain expressed his personal approval for Germany's previous demands for Sudetenland, but would need to discuss further with his cabinet and the French. Hitler expressed his appreciation and promised that no military action would be taken.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1939
See all photos dated 15 Sep 1939
- Russia and Japan signed a cease-fire, ending the Soviet-Japanese Border War.
» In-depth article - The first Atlantic convoy set sail from Jamaica for England.
- German troops captured Gdynia, Poland. Meanwhile, Polish troops failed to break out of the Kutno Pocket. At Warsaw, with it surrounded by German troops, the Polish Army was ordered to the Romanian border to hold out until the Allies arrive; the Romanian government offered asylum to all Polish civilians who could make it across the border; Polish military personnel who crossed the border, however, would be interned. In Berlin, Germany, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop asked the Soviet Union for a definite date and time when Soviet forces would attack Poland.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 15 Sep 1939
15 Sep 1940
See all photos dated 15 Sep 1940
- German submarine U-99 attacked Canadian ship Kenordoc with the deck gun 200 miles northwest of Ireland just after midnight, killing 7 and wounding 13; heavily damaged, she would later be scuttled by Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Laurent and British destroyer HMS Amazon after the destroyers took the survivors aboard. German submarine U-48 sank British sloop HMS Dundee northwest of Ireland at 0025 hours; 12 were killed and 83 were rescued. At 0123 hours, U-48 attacked Greek ship Alexandros with a torpedo, killing 5; 23 survivors were rescued by destroyer HMS Wanderer. At 0300 hours, U-48 yet attacked again, sinking British ship Empire Volunteer; 6 were killed and 33 were rescued. 180 miles west of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom at 0605 hours, German submarine U-65 sank Norwegian ship Hird; the entire crew of 30 survived, rescued by Icelandic trawler Þórólfur.
» In-depth article - British Sergeant John Hannah, age 18, of RAF Scampton (today home to the Red Arrows display team) won the Victoria Cross for beating out flames with his bare hands to save his damaged Hampden bomber.
- British RAF attacked German launching points for the invasion of Britain.
- Douglas Bader shot down a German Do 17 aircraft and damaged a Do 17 aircraft and a Ju 88 aircraft over southern England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- Battleship Bismarck departed Hamburg, Germany for the first time. At 1658 hours, while steaming down the Elbe River, she collided with bow tug Atlantik without damage. At 1902, she anchored in Brunsbüttel roads. During the night, she fired 13 10.5cm, 136 3.7 cm, and 191 2cm shells during a British air raid, without any hits.
» In-depth article
- Hans-Joachim Marseille scored his fourth kill, a British Hurricane fighter, over southeastern London, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article - At 1130 hours, 250 German bombers with fighter escort crossed the English Channel, with 100 of them targeting London, England, United Kingdom. At 1430 hours, another 250 bombers arrived in 2 waves, with 70 of them reaching London. At 1600 and 1800 hours, the aircraft factory at Woolston in Southampton, building Spitfire fighters, was bombed, but with little damage. On this day, 56 German aircraft and 29 British aircraft were shot down; 136 German airmen were killed or captured and 12 British pilots were killed. Overnight, the German Luftwaffe conducted heavy bombing raids over Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Southampton.
» In-depth article - James Lacey shot down a German He 111 bomber and three Bf 109 fighters over Britain.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 15 Sep 1940
15 Sep 1941
- The 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment was established.
- Lieutenant Commander Hirota Tachibana was named the commanding officer of destroyer Yuzuki.
» In-depth article - Soviet 8th and 42nd Armies clashed with the German XXXXI Armeekorps (mot[orized]) southwest of Leningrad Russia on the coast of the Gulf of Finland.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-94 sank British ship Newbury at 0816 hours (all 45 aboard survived but were never seen again), Greek ship Pegasus at 2038 hours (16 killed after lifeboat capsized, 13 survived), and British ship Empire Eland at 2348 hours (all 38 survived but were never seen again) 800 miles west of Ireland; all three ships were members of Allied convoy ON-14.
- After sundown, British destroyers HMS Napier, HMS Nizam, and HMS Havock set sail from Alexandria, Egypt to the besieged city of Tobruk, Libya with supplies; they would all return to Alexandria in the morning of the next day.
» In-depth article - Soviet troops outside of Odessa, Ukraine withdrew southeast toward the city.
» In-depth article - Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was awarded the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe goblet.
» In-depth article
- Tatsuta Maru arrived at Shanghai, China.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- German soldiers were attacked by resistance fighters in Paris, France.
» In-depth article
- British bombers attacked the rail station at Hamburg, Germany.
» In-depth article
- Captain Jisaku Okada was named the commanding officer of Kaga.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
15 Sep 1942
- Japanese submarine I-19 sank USS Wasp (3 torpedo hits; 194 were killed, 1,969 survived) in the Coral Sea at 1444 hours; USS North Carolina and USS O'Brien were also damaged in the attack.
» In-depth article - Allied forces attacked Jalo, Libya after sun down; the Germans, who had learned of this attack, repulse the initial attack with ease.
» In-depth article - Japanese battleships bombarded American positions on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article - Pringle was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article - Soviet destroyers Gremyashchy, Sokrushitelny, Uritsky, and Kuibyshev joined Allied convoy PQ-18.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-68 sank Dutch ship Breedijk 450 miles northeast of Ascension Island at 0058 hours; 2 were killed, 37 survived. At 0714 hours, U-515 sank Norwegian merchant ship Sørholt 100 miles east of Trinidad; 7 were killed, 31 survived. At 1130 hours, U-506, U-507, and Italian submarine Cappellini arrived in waters 290 miles northeast of Ascension Island to help U-156 in the rescue of survivors of British troopship Laconia. At 1833 hours, U-517 attacked Allied convoy SQ-36 with 4 torpedoes at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, Canada, sinking Norwegian ship Inger Elisabeth (3 were killed, 23 survived) and Dutch ship Saturnus (1 was killed, 35 survived. German submarine U-261 was attacked and sunk by a British Whitley bomber 100 miles southwest of the Faroe Islands; all aboard were killed.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-514 sank British ship Kioto near the coast of Tobago island at 1517 hours; 20 were killed, 54 survived.
» In-depth article
- US bombers from the newly-completed airfield at Adak, Aleutian Islands attacked Japanese positions on Kiska.
- US B-17 Flying Fortress bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain, causing little damage.
- Both the Japanese and the Australians brought up reserve units in the engagement at Ioribaiwa Ridge along the Kokoda Track in Australian Papua, 25 miles north of Port Moresby.
» In-depth article
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down four P-40 fighters and three Hurricane fighters between 1651 and 1702 hours southwest of El Alamein, Egypt, bringing his score up to 151 kills.
» In-depth article
- 12 British Boston bombers attacked Cherbourg, France, sinking whaling factory ship Solglint in the harbor.
» In-depth article
- Italian frogmen entered Gibraltar harbor and attached limpet mines on British ship Ravens Point, causing her to sink in shallow water shortly after.
- USS Flying Fish arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- French submarine Junon landed 10 British commandos and 2 Norwegian soldiers at the village of Glomfjord, Norway at 2115 hours.
- German infantry made repeated assaults at the Mamayev Kurgan hill in Stalingrad, Russia without success; heavy fighting caused heavy casualties on both sides. Elsewhere in the city, German infantry advanced down the Tsaritsa River gorge toward the Volga River.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1943
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - USS S-28 suffered severe smoking and sparking from her port main motor, which took 14 hours to repair.
» In-depth article - Benito Mussolini arrived at Rastenburg, East Prussia, Germany after his rescue. While there, he announced the establishment of a new Italian republic to continue the fight against the Allies.
» In-depth article - Otto Skorzeny flew from Munich, Germany to East Prussia, Germany; on the same flight were Ambassador Dörnberg and Ernst Kaltenbrunner.
» In-depth article - Escort carrier Wake Island was launched, sponsored by the wife of Rear Admiral Frederick Sherman.
» In-depth article - Submarine Pintado was launched, sponsored by Mrs. Antonio Prince.
» In-depth article - The veteran pilots of the German Luftwaffe's JG 51 "Mölders" fighter unit record their 7,000th combat kill.
- To combat the growing strength of Allied bombing attacks the Luftwaffe reorganised its air defences into two territorial fighter commands; one in then Reich and the other in western occupied territories.
» In-depth article
- A new marine railway for handling destroyers and submarines at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii was completed.
- US airborne troops (325th Glider Infantry Regiment and 3rd Battalion of 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment) arrived near Paestum, Italy by sea. Elsewhere, the German occupation administration of Italy announced the death penalty for any Italians seen with firearms.
» In-depth article
- Naka arrived at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- The keel of Kanalku Bay was laid down by Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver, Washington, United States.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1944
See all photos dated 15 Sep 1944
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Manila, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Operation Paravane: 21 British Lancaster bombers based in Yagodnik, Russia attacked German battleship Tirpitz, scoring two hits on the forecastle and putting her out of action.
» In-depth article - US First Army engaged the Siegfried Line/Westwall east of Aachen, Germany and captured Nancy, France.
- Allied troops captured Maastricht and Eysden, the Netherlands.
- US Army troops landed on Morotai, Maluku Islands.
» In-depth article - US Marines landed on Peleliu in the Palau Islands.
» In-depth article - USS Hoe departed Fremantle, Australia for her sixth war patrol in the South China Sea.
» In-depth article - Vice Admiral Eiji Goto was named the commanding officer of the Japanese Navy 12th Air Fleet.
- Soviet 6th Guard Tank Brigade, 33rd Guard Tank Brigade, and 63rd Guard Tank Brigade were assigned T-44 prototype medium tanks for training purposes.
» In-depth article
- Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill signed a secret agreement, granting Joseph Stalin's demands for Sakhalin Island, Kurile Islands, and a portion of Korea in return for a Soviet declaration of war on Japan.
» In-depth article
- USS Marcus Island launched aircraft to provide cover for the Peleliu, Palau Islands invasion.
» In-depth article
- Indian 4th Division drove out German 98th Division and captured Gemmano, Italy. To the north, British 56th Division captured Corce.
» In-depth article
- The GUKR SMERSH completed a list of Japanese intelligence personnel and Russian émigré living in northeastern China for arrests when Soviet troops invaded the region.
- Allied convoy JW-60 departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
- Soviet 17th Air Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front began a six-day campaign attacking railroad bridges near Niš, Skopje, Kruševo and other towns in southern Yugoslavia of transportation importance to isolate German troops in southern Yugoslavia and nothern Greece.
» In-depth article
See all photos dated 15 Sep 1944
15 Sep 1945
- General Hatazo Adachi surrendered the remnants of his 18th Army to the Australians near Wewak in New Guinea. Of his original force of 100,000 men, only 13,000 survived, sick and half starved after being abandoned without supplies for months. Adachi was so weak that he had to be carried to the surrender table. Later sentenced to death for war crimes against prisoners of war and natives, he cheated the hangman by committing suicide in 1947.
» In-depth article - The British published a captured Gestapo "death list" of 2,300 British and Allied figures should Germany had won the war. It included Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Neville Chamberlain, Lady Astor, Lord Baden-Powell, Noel Coward, Sigmund Freud, Dame Sybil Thorndike, Jacob Epstein, most newspaper proprietors and editors and the leaders of the French, Polish and Czech governments in exile.
- Submarine I-369 was removed from the Japanese Navy List.
» In-depth article - HMS Activity departed Singapore for Trincomalee, Ceylon with former prisoners of war on board.
» In-depth article
- American Manhattan Project physicist Harry Daghlian, Jr., after receiving a fatal dose of radiation during an accident on 21 Aug, died from radiation poisoning in Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States.
» In-depth article - Joseph Rochefort requested sea duty, listing service aboard a cruiser as his preference.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1950
Korea
Korea
- USS Missouri bombarded communist positions at Samchok, Korea.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1955
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1955
Photo(s) dated 15 Sep 1955
15 Sep 1972
- USS Blackfin was decommissioned from service for the second and final time and was struck from the US Navy Naval Register on the same date.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1975
- Pavel Sukhoi passed away.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1981
- A diver penetrated the wreck of HMS Edinburgh in the Barents Sea for the first time and recovered a gold bar.
» In-depth article
15 Sep 1986
- Ceryan Botu was scrapped.
» In-depth article
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Search WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » British team to search for buried Spitfires in Myanmar (2013.01.08)
- » Japanese Prime Minister to send envoys to South Korea (2013.01.02)
- » WW2DB's Eighth Anniversary (2012.12.29)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Site Sponsors
Advertise on ww2db.com
Current Site Statistics
- » 725 biographies
- » 302 events
- » 26812 timeline entries
- » 663 ships
- » 300 aircraft models
- » 163 vehicle models
- » 254 weapon models
- » 64 historical documents
- » 282 book reviews
- » 209 maps
- » 16045 photos, 1464 in color
Famous WW2 Quote
"I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil."General Douglas MacArthur at Leyte, 17 Oct 1944