World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » 18 Aug 1942

• The US Navy ordered the transfer of two battleships from the Atlantic Fleet to the Pacific Fleet. ww2dbase [CPC]
• 31 bombers of the British Path Finder Force conducted their first combat operation since the unit's formation on 15 Aug, dropping flares over Flensburg in Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein in Germany for the 87 bombers following behind them; most of the bombers targeting Flensburg missed and hit the towns of Sønderborg and Abenra to the north, destroying 26 houses, damaging 660 houses, and wounding 4 Danish civilians; 4 bombers were lost on this mission. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | AC, CPC]
• Adolf Hitler issued the Commando Order that all Allied commandos encountered by German forces in Europe and Africa should be killed immediately, even if in uniform or if they attempted to surrender. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | CPC]
• The keel of submarine Cabrilla was laid down. ww2dbase [Cabrilla | CPC]
• German submarine wolfpack Blücher consisted of U-214, U-333, U-406, U-566, U-590, U-594, and U-653 attacked Allied convoy SL-118 565 miles west of Portugal; at 1852 hours, a spread of torpedoes fired by U-214 sank Dutch merchant ship Balingkar (2 were killed, 91 survived), sank British merchant ship Hatarana (all 108 aboard survived), and damaged British armed merchant cruiser Cheshire (all aboard survived); U-653 was detected by a British Liberator aircraft of No. 120 Squadron RAF, and was forced to return to Brest, France after sustaining heavy damage. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• German submarine U-553 attacked Allied convoy TAW-13 close to the coast of southeastern Cuba, sinking British merchant ship Emipre Bede at 0559 hours (2 were killed, 43 survived), US merchant ship John Hancock at 0913 hours (all 49 aboard survived), and Swedish merchant ship Blankaholm at 0913 hours (5 were killed, 23 survived). ww2dbase [Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns | CPC]
• Soviet submarine L-3 attacked a convoy and sank Swedish ship C. F. Liljevalch off Västervik, Sweden; 33 were killed, 7 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British submarine HMS United attacked an Axis convoy 45 miles south of Pantellaria island, Italy and sank Italian transport Rosolino Pilo; the resulting explosion caused HMS United to become damaged. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British submarine Safari sank Italian freighter Perseo 10 miles south of Sardinia, Italy. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German cruiser Admiral Scheer, destroyer Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt, destroyer Z15 Erich Steinbrink, and destroyer Z4 Richard Beitzen entered Kara Sea. ww2dbase [Admiral Scheer | CPC]
• USS Bailey was designated as flagship for Destroyer Squadron 14 (DesRon14), Commander Ralph Riggs commanding. ww2dbase [Bailey | DS]
• USS Massachusetts, with USS Nicholas as an escort, arrived at Casco Bay, Maine. Nicholas continued to escort Massachusetts for several days as the battleship conducted training exercises in Casco Bay. ww2dbase [Nicholas | Massachusetts | DS]

• USS S-28 arrived at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, ending her second war patrol. ww2dbase [S-28 | Unalaska | CPC]

• 11 survivors in one of the three lifeboats from steam tanker Mirlo, lost to German submarine U-130 seven days prior, were picked up by HMS Banff (Y 43) in the Atlantic Ocean. Separately, 15 men in another boat were picked up by HMS Boreas (H 77) later on the same day. ww2dbase [HM]

• While at Brisbane, Australia, Lieutenant Henry Sturr was made the commanding officer of USS S-43, relieving Lieutenant Edward Hannon. ww2dbase [S-43 | Brisbane, Queensland | CPC]

• Tenryu arrived at Basabua, Australian New Guinea. ww2dbase [Tenryu | Basabua | CPC]

• Two Japanese transports arrived at Buna, Australian Papua and disembarked reinforcements. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | Buna | CPC]

• Six Japanese destroyers delivered 916 troops to Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; about 400 of them were of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Japanese Infantry Regiment who landed at Taivu Point, while the other about 500 were of the Yokosuka 5th Special Naval Landing Force who landed at Kokumbona; this was the first Japanese reinforcement of Guadalcanal by warships. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | Guadalcanal | CPC]
• The Americans declared that the construction of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands completed. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | Henderson Field | Lunga Point, Guadalcanal | CPC]

• USS Wahoo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Wahoo | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• Katori departed Yokosuka, Japan. ww2dbase [Katori | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• Yugure departed Truk, Caroline Islands for Jaluit, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Yugure | Jaluit | CPC]

• German troops assaulted Novorossiysk and Tuapse on the Black Sea coast in southern Russia. 100 kilometers to the northeast, German 1st Panzer Army captured Krasnodar. ww2dbase [Caucasus Campaign | Krasnodar Krai | CPC]

18 Aug 1942 Interactive Map