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• Anne Frank and her family were arrested in Amsterdam, the Netherlands by the Gestapo. ww2dbase [TH]
• Allies captured Rennes, France. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 2 | TH]
• Harold Alexander met with Oliver Leese, who convinced Alexander to attack the Gothic Line in Italy by a thrust along the coast of the Adriatic Sea. ww2dbase [Gothic Line Offensive | CPC]
• Joseph Stilwell named Frank Merrill, who he considered as a yes man, as the new commanding officer of US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), relieving Charles Hunter. Hunter was returned to the United States by ship. Morale among the US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), most of whom were recovering from their ordeal in hospital beds, collapsed completely as a consequence, and soon after the entire force was despicably disbanded. Back in the United States, the obnoxious Joseph Stilwell's treatment of Hunter's "Marauders" had become a public scandal eventually leading to a full inquiry. ww2dbase [Joseph Stilwell | Frank Merrill | Charles Hunter | AC]
• An extensively modified Thunderbolt fighter (XP-47J) became the first airscrew driven aircraft to exceed 500 mph in level flight with a recorded speed of 504 mph. However the P-47J did not go into production as the Republic development team chose to concentrate on the more advanced XP-72 project. ww2dbase [P-47 Thunderbolt | AC]
• HMS Gairsay was sunk by a German explosive motor boat off the coast of Normandy, France. ww2dbase [AC]
• Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks assumed command of the British XXX Corps in France. ww2dbase [AC]
• USS Ray sank Japanese cargo ship Koshu Maru at the southern opening of the Makassar Strait between Borneo and Celebes in the Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 3 of 4 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Ray | CPC]
• The USAAF launched two "babies" against V-1 sites. Both missions ended in failure. One went out off control and into a spin; the crew baled out but the pilot was killed. The second made it across the English Channel, but was lost during the descent and crashed some distance short of the target. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | AC]
• Four bomb laden BQ-7 drones were flown out of Britain to attack German targets in France. All failed to reach their targets. ww2dbase [Operation Aphrodite and Operation Anvil | CPC]
• USS Bailey departed Eniwetok bound for Purvis Bay, Florida Island, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Bailey | DS]
• USS Nicholas arrived at Tulagi, Solomon Islands and moored alongside tender USS Dixie. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]

• USS Pollack served on lifeguard station off Yap, Caroline Islands in support of air strikes in the region. ww2dbase [Pollack | Yap | CPC]

• German aircraft attempted to bomb the vital bridges at Pontaubault, Basse-Normandie, France. The railway bridge was damaged by a conventional bomb, but the V-1 flying bombs failed to hit their intended targets. One of the bombers was brought down by a Mosquito aircraft from 604 Squadron RAF. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 2 | Pontaubault, Basse-Normandie | HM]

• US Eighth Air Force attacked Peenemünde Army Research Center in Germany to counter suspected hydrogen peroxide production. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Peenemünde Army Research Center | Peenemünde, Pommern | CPC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against Anklam, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Anklam | DS]

• USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her seventh war patrol with the wolfpack "Ed's Eradicators". ww2dbase [Tunny | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Parts of Night Air Group 102 on board. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Germans evacuated Florence, Italy. ww2dbase [Advance to the Gothic Line | Florence, Toscana | TH]

• Landing ship No. 152 was sunk by US aircraft at Iwo Jima, Japan. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | Iwo Jima | CPC]

• Dutch schoolgirl, Anne Frank, wrote her final diary entry, a few days before her arrest. Anne's diary is still teaching generations about war and her remarkable honesty and optimism. ww2dbase [Amsterdam | AC]

• USS Sterlet fired four torpedoes at a Japanese convoy in the Pacific Ocean, sinking a transport with three hits. ww2dbase [Sterlet | CPC]
• Landing ship No. 132 was sunk by US aircraft in the Pacific Ocean off Iwo Jima, Japan. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• Soviet forces gained another bridgehead over the Vistula River in Poland near Baranov. ww2dbase [Operation Bagration | Baranov | TH]
• After sundown, the Allies launched their first airdrop to aid resistance fighters in Warsaw, Poland. Four crews of the No. 148 (Special Duties) Squadron RAF were lost. ww2dbase [Warsaw Uprising | Warsaw | CPC]

• In an attempt to comply with the first direct Soviet request for USAAF air strikes, over 70 P-38s and P-51s left Italy, attacked the airfield and town of Focşani, Romania, and landed at Operation Frantic bases in Ukraine. ww2dbase [P-38 Lightning | P-51 Mustang | Operation Frantic | Focşani | DS]

• During the early hours of the morning the Tempest aircraft of the Fighter Interception Unit based at RAF Manson in Kent, England, United Kingdom brought down 11 V-1 flying bombs. The bombs all fell in the area around East Sutton and Thurnham. A church was badly damaged, and houses lost their roof tiles but only 8 people were treated for injury from the explosions. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 1 | V-Weapons Campaign | England | HM]
• From London, England, United Kingdom, Winston Churchill sent Joseph Stalin a message, requesting him to provide material aid to the resistance fighters in Warsaw, Poland. Stalin rejected the request. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | Joseph Stalin | Warsaw Uprising | London, England | CPC]

• Destroyer escort USS Tabberer arrived at the Boston Navy Yard for a post-shakedown refit. ww2dbase [Henry Plage | Tabberer | Boston, Massachusetts | DS]

4 Aug 1944 Interactive Map