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• The German Luftwaffe mounted the heaviest raid on Plymouth, England, United Kingdom in two years with 91 aircraft. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | TH]
• Louis Mountbatten met with Winston Churchill; to Mountbatten's surprise, Churchill rejected his request for a sea-going command, and instead appointed him the Allied supreme commander of Southeast Asia. Mountbatten was promoted to the rank of acting admiral to serve in this position. ww2dbase [Louis Mountbatten | CPC]
• The 151st Airborne Tank Company was established by the US Army with the responsibility to operate M22 Locust air-portable tanks. The US Staff, however, saw little purpose in air-lifting tanks to the battlefield and the unit would remain in the United States for the duration. ww2dbase [AC]
• Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was named the commanding officer of the 2nd Group of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3. ww2dbase [Heinrich | CPC]
• Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria visited Adolf Hitler; during the visit, Boris refused to change Bulgaria's neutral stance toward the Soviet Union. ww2dbase [Boris III | CPC]
• The Swedish government rescinded the previously given permission for German transports to cross Sweden. ww2dbase [TH]

• Supported by a massive bombardment from three battleships, cruisers and destroyers and under a protective umbrella of 170 aircraft, 35,000 American and Canadian troops stormed ashore on Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands only to discover that the Japanese had fled nearly three weeks earlier. ww2dbase [Aleutian Islands Campaign | Kiska | AC]

• Before dawn, German seaplane tender Richthofen, torpedo boat T24, minesweeper M275, minesweeper M385, and Sperrbrecher 157 were caught by British cruiser Mauritius, destroyer HMS Ursa, and destroyer Iroquois in the Bay of Biscay off Les Sables d'Olonne, France. T24 laid a smoke screen and fired torpedoes at Iroquois, but all of them missed. British ships fired, sinking Sperrbrecher 157, and damaging all other ships; M385 was forced to beach to prevent sinking. HMS Iroquois suffered light damage in the engagement. ww2dbase [M385 | M275 | Richthofen | T24 | Mauritius | Bay of Biscay | CPC]

• 7 Ki-48 bombers and 34 Ki-43 fighters attacked the new US airfield at Tsili-Tsili, Australian Papua; the Americans did not detect the incoming aircraft until 0700 hours when the Japanese were only one mile away. A Japanese bomb hit the base chapel, killing the chaplain and 6 or 7 worshipers. The Japanese lost all 7 bombers while the Americans lost 4 P-39 fighters (1 killed) and 2 C-47 transport aircraft (17 killed). The Japanese failed to damage the airstrips. ww2dbase [Tsili-Tsili | CPC]

• 8 Corsair fighters of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 strafed Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island in the Solomon Islands just before sunset. The Americans claimed 3 Japanese aircraft shot down and several more damaged on the ground. ww2dbase [Kahili Airfield | Buin, Bougainville | CPC]
• Masaichi Kondo was escorting dive bombers heading to Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands when he shot down an American fighter, but he also suffered a leg wound during the dogfight. ww2dbase [Masaichi Kondo | CPC]
• The US Northern Landing Force attacked Japanese positions on Vella Lavella island in the Barakoma airfield region near New Georgia, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | CPC]

• USS Wahoo attacked a freighter in the Sea of Japan; all four torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Wahoo | CPC]

• WAAF recruit training operations resumed at RAF Wilmslow in Cheshire, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [WAAF: Women in the WW2 Royal Air Force | Wilmslow, England | AC]

• Submarine Ling was launched at the Cramp Shipbuilding Company facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by Mrs. E. J. Foy. ww2dbase [Ling | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | CPC]
• SS Antoine Saugrain was launched at Yard No. 2, Kaiser Richmond Shipyards, Richmond, California, United States. ww2dbase [Antoine Saugrain | Kaiser Richmond Shipyards | Richmond, California | CPC]
• USS Ray completed its training in Lake Michigan in northern United States. ww2dbase [Ray | CPC]

15 Aug 1943 Interactive Map