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• Weather data for 18 Jul 1945

• USS Cero was attacked by Japanese aircraft and suffered extensive damage; she set sail for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for repairs. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Hawkbill attacked a Japanese convoy; she only narrowly escaped the subsequent depth charge attack by the convoy escorts. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• In Germany, the second plenary session of the Potsdam Conference was conducted. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The headquarters of the US Army Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific was established on Guam, Mariana Islands under General Carl Spaatz. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang aircraft of US Far East Air Forces attacked various targets on Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, focusing largely on communications lines, bridges, shipping, and population centers. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• US Eleventh Air Force launched two routine search and weather missions in the Aleutian Islands. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada had a miraculous escape when the Bedford Naval magazine blew up. Thousands were evacuated as explosions rocked the town for 24 hours, but battling firemen managed to prevent the flames from reaching the main magazine. Fortunately there were only fifteen casualties of which only one proved fatal. ww2dbase [AC]
• In Canada, corvettes HMCS Battleford and HMCS Mimico were decommissioned at Sorel, Quebec while corvette HMCS Lindsay was decommissioned at Sydney, Nova Scotia. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Canadian frigate HMCS Runnymede arrived at Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ww2dbase [CPC]

• 214 US aircraft attacked the Japanese airfield at Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Men under the control of crime lord Tsang Hoc-tam, who had strong ties with the Japanese puppet government in Nanjing, China, took control of the French treaty port of Kouang-Tchéou-Wan (Chinese: Guangzhouwan) in southern China with implicit permission of Japan which had held the local French governor as a puppet since Mar 1945. Tsang's men rounded up all French adults in the Banque de l'Indochine building. ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS Wake Island departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii after taking on 187 passengers. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• Nagato was damaged in port at Yokosuka, Japan during an American carrier air raid. A destroyer, a sumarine, and three smaller vessels were sunk during the attack. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• Lieutenant William Bell Asbridge, Corsair fighter pilot stationed flying from HMS Formidable, was shot down and killed in action near Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on the Tokyo area. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | DS]
• American battleships USS North Carolina, USS Alabama, USS Iowa, USS Missouri, and USS Wisconsin and British battleship HMS King George V bombarded Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan with 2,000 shells; the Taga Works and Mito Works of Hitachi Manufacturing Company were moderately damaged, and the Yamate Plant and the copper refining plants of Hitachi Mine were lightly damaged. Civilian housing areas were also attacked, causing many deaths. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The air groups of submarines I-400 and I-401 held a farewell dinner in Maizuru, Japan before their planned suicide mission against Ulithi, Caroline Islands. Lieutenant Commander Nobukiyo Nambu, commanding officer of I-401, secretly invited some of the airmen's family members as a nice gesture. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Kamikaze counter attacked submarine USS Hawkbill, which had been attempting to attack vessels being escorted by Kamikaze, off Malaya. USS Hawkbill sustained heavy damage, but was able to escape. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• USS Spot arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands, ending her third war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• US B-24 bombers attacked Matsuyama Airfield in Taihoku (now Taipei), Taiwan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Wasp launched Carrier Air Group Eighty Six aircraft against Wake Island. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

18 Jul 1945 Interactive Map