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• Weather data for 15 Feb 1943

• American forces in Tunisia launched a counterattack at Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. Though achieving some results, the Americans suffered heavy casualties and lost 46 medium tanks. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The US military established Commander, Aircraft, Solomons in the Solomon Islands with Rear Admiral Charles Mason as its head. It was to oversee all air operations in the region across Army, Navy, and Marine ground-based aircraft. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Lieutenant Colonel M. Z. Kiani took command of the Indian National Army. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Starting at 0340 hours, a total of 34 US B-17 bombers in four waves attacked Rabaul, New Britain, dropping 98,000 pounds of various bombs including flares, 300-pound demolition bombs, 100-pound daisy cutter bombs, 20-pound fragmentation bombs, and incendiary bombs, damaging aircraft and destroying food stores, oil drums, and ammunition dumps; three bombs were lost on this mission. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Repair ship Akashi began repairing transport Nankai Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• More than 500 Japanese troops entered the French treaty port of Kouang-Tchéou-Wan (Chinese: Guangzhouwan) in southern China. This territory was forcibly leased from Qing Dynasty China via the Sino-French Treaty of 15 Nov 1899 and was administered by French Indochina. The Japanese kept the Vichy French governor in charge as a puppet. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Oberst Edgar Gläsche was relieved from his position as the commandant of the Oflag IV-C prisoners of war camp at Colditz Castle, Germany as he was transferred to Ukraine. He was to be replaced by Oberstleutnant Gerhard Prawitt. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• British prisoner of war Lieutenant Michael Alexander, who had conjured up a relationship with General Harold Alexander, was transferred to the Oflag IV-C camp at Colditz Castle in Germany; he was placed in the same cell with Giles Romilly, Winston Churchill's nephew. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Wahoo completed her scheduled overhaul at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Fighting Squadron 11 (VF-11; Model F4F) arrived. Departed 18 Feb 1943. ww2dbase [Main Article | DS]

• Allied convoy JW-53 departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Yolande Unternahrer joined the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

15 Feb 1943 Interactive Map