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• The British government announced a limited recruitment for women for the Home Guard. ww2dbase [TH]
• World Jewish Congress representative in Geneva Gerhart Riegner outlined a plan to borrow local currency in Romania and France for efforts to rescue Jews in those countries. The loans were to be backed by US Dollars in Swiss bank accounts. This scheme was devised to provide funding in those countries without actually sending dollars into Axis-held territories, which would risk the funding being captured by the enemy, which would place the World Jewish Congress in a legal bind per United States wartime law. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British troops captured the Enfidaville Airfield in Tunisia. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Desert War | CPC]
• USAAF aircraft attacked Japanese positions at Nauru. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Company Sergeant Major Chhelu Ram was wounded rescuing his commanding officer in Tunisia. Taking command he then led a successful hand-to-hand assault in which he was wounded again, this time mortally. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. ww2dbase [AC]
• Yekaterina Budanova was featured on the cover of the young adult political publication Ogonek. ww2dbase [Yekaterina Budanova | CPC]
• USS Scorpion sank the Japanese converted gunboat Meiji Maru No. 1, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Scorpion | CPC]
• US Army B-24 bombers based at Funafuti, Ellice Islands attacked Tarawa, Gilbert Islands. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Japanese troops under Koga attacked the British Maungdaw-Buthidaung line in Burma. ww2dbase [First Battle of Arakan | CPC]
• Joseph Stilwell was invited to join in on the meeting already arranged between Franklin Roosevelt and Claire Chennault. ww2dbase [Joseph Stilwell | CPC]
• A medical examination was conducted on Isoroku Yamamoto's remains. ww2dbase [Isoroku Yamamoto | CPC]
• Karl Burk was awarded the War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords. ww2dbase [Karl Burk | CPC]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 222 (VMF-222) departed. Part of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) departed. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", claimed a Hurricane fighter and a P-36 fighter over Imphal, India, but only the P-36 downing was confirmed, increasing his score to 32. ww2dbase [Satoru Anabuki | Imphal, Manipur | CPC]

• Naka departed Hashirajima, Japan. ww2dbase [Naka | Hashirajima, Yamaguchi | CPC]

• The most famous of all Lancaster bombers, ED888, was delivered to No. 103 Squadron RAF at RAF Elsham Wolds in Elsham, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom. ED888, which served as M-Mother (later adapted to Mother-of them-all) would, by the time it was retired early in 1945, have set a record of 140 completed operations to its credit. ww2dbase [Lancaster | Elsham, England | AC]

20 Apr 1943 Interactive Map