17 May 1943
  • The fifth Axis air offensive against Yugoslav partisans began. ww2dbase [TH]
  • Lieutenant Colonel Robert M. Stillman led the 322nd Bomb Group on a disastrous low level mission to Haalem and Ijmuiden in the Netherlands. Light flak and Messerchmitt Bf 109G fighters accounted for the loss of ten out of the eleven American B-26 bombers that had set out. The only survivors were one crew that had turned back to its base early because of technical difficulties. ww2dbase [AC]
Alaska
  • USS New Mexico arrived at Kuluk Bay, Adak, US Territory of Alaska. ww2dbase [New Mexico | Adak | CPC]
Australia
  • Destroyer USS Helm arrived at Sydney, Australia for a week-long tender overhaul alongside USS Dobbin at Wooloomooloo Wharf. ww2dbase [Helm | Sydney | DS]
China Egypt
  • René-Émile Godfroy successfully lobbied for the rearmament of the interned French warships at Alexandria, Egypt. ww2dbase [René-Émile Godfroy | Alexandria | CPC]
Germany Hawaii
  • With further repairs complete, Gato-class submarine USS Silversides departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on her fifth war patrol. ww2dbase [Silversides | Pearl Harbor, Oahu | DS]
Iceland
  • Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier USS Bogue arrived at Hvalfjörður, Iceland where she stayed just one night. ww2dbase [Bogue | Hvalfjörður | DS]
Pacific Ocean
  • USS Grayback sank freighter England Maru and damaged two others in the South Pacific with four torpedo hits; eight torpedoes were expended in this attack. ww2dbase [Grayback | CPC]
  • Submarine USS Tinosa arrived on station off the Bungo Channel, Japan on her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Tinosa | DS]
Photo(s) dated 17 May 1943
Josephine Baker singing the American national anthem before an African-American US Army band directed by Technical Sergeant Frank W. Weiss, Municipal Theater, Oran, Algeria, 17 May 1943German woman being awarded the Cross of Honor of the German Mother, 17 May 1943; note League of German Girls members presentB-17F “Mary Ruth - Memories of Mobile” and the 401st Bomb Squadron flying toward the German U-boat pens at Lorient, France, May 17 1943. This photo was taken from B-17 “Memphis Belle” on her last combat sortie.US Army anti-aircraft gun crew manning their 3-inch M3 AA gun at New Fighter Strip, Dobodura, New Guinea, 17 May 1943
See all photos dated 17 May 1943

17 May 1943 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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