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• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saipan, departing later on the same day. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
• 27 Allied ships were destroyed in the Atlantic Ocean on this date, 8 of which were of Allied convoy HX-229. ww2dbase [TH]
• Joseph Stalin demanded the western Allies to open a second front in Europe. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | CPC]
• Operational trials of the 37-mm Flak gun-armed German Ju 87G anti-tank aircraft began on the Eastern Front. ww2dbase [Ju 87 Stuka | AC]
• HMS Campobello was abandoned and scuttled after suffering irreparable leaks whilst engaged in escorting convoy SC-122. ww2dbase [AC]
• USS Permit completed her seventh war patrol. ww2dbase [Permit | CPC]

• Alpino Bagnolini sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 0410 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. At 0501 hours, she resurfaced. At 0510 hours, after finding herself illuminated by a searchlight, she crash dived. She returned to the surface at 0600 hours, only to be illuminated by multiple searchlights one minute later, and she crash dived again; a megaphone was stuck in the conning tower hatch, preventing it from closing properly, and twenty tons of water entered the submarine. Unable to submerge, she made a successful escape on the surface. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | CPC]

• Repair ship Akashi began repairing transport Noshiro Maru at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Akashi | Truk | CPC]

• Shortly after midnight, destroyers USS Nicholas, USS Taylor, USS Radford, and USS Strong formed a bombardment line in Kula Gulf offshore of the Japanese airstrip at Vila, Kolombangara, Solomon Islands and shelled the airstrip. The destroyers rejoined the cruiser group later that day. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | Nicholas | Kolombangara, Solomon Islands | DS]

16 Mar 1943 Interactive Map