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• Weather data for 20 Jan 1944

• Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Singapore. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Gar sank Japanese cargo ship Koyu Maru off Palau Islands in daylight with two of three torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Soviet forces captured Novgorod, Russia. ww2dbase [TH]

• US aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Japanese shot down 2 B-25, 2 P-38, and 3 F4U aircraft. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Irako departed Truk, Caroline Islands. She was attacked by submarine USS Seadragon and suffered one torpedo hit to her bow on the starboard side. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• The heaviest RAF raid on Berlin to date was launched, with 769 aircraft (495 Lancaster, 264 Halifax, 10 Mosquito) dropping over 2,300 tons of explosives on the German capital. 13 Lancaster and 22 Halifax bombers were lost. Damage on Berlin was thought to be extensive, but this could not be confirmed due to bad weather on the next day. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down three British aircraft near Berlin, Germany, increasing his victories to 78. His Ju 88 aircraft was damaged by the propeller of the third aircraft he shot down, a Lancaster bomber, and only barely made it back to the airfield and had to crash land. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Ten quonset huts for officers' quarters, 10 quonset huts for enlisted men's barracks, turned over to station. More of ARGUS-15 on board. Part of GROPAC-2 departed. Part of Task Group 19.19 departed. Part of ACORN-20 departed. Part of CASU-20 departed. Part of ARGUS-18 departed. ww2dbase [Main Article | DS]

• After sundown, US 141st Regiment and 143rd Regiment attacked across the Rapido River in Italy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The keel of landing ship No. 130 was laid down by Kawanami Kogyo. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Japanese cargo ships Akibasan Maru was sunk at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Air Chief Marshal Sir William Sholto Douglas was appointed Commander-in-Chief of RAF Coastal Command. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

20 Jan 1944 Interactive Map