20 Jan 1943
  • USS S-28 set a course for the Aleutian Islands. ww2dbase [S-28 | CPC]
  • Remy Van Lierde scored his first kill, a German Bf 109G fighter, over the southern coast of England, United Kingdom while flying a Typhoon Ib fighter. ww2dbase [Remy Van Lierde | CPC]
  • The US Army 25th Division began an offensive toward Kokumbona, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | CPC]
  • Chile broke off relationships with Germany, Italy and Japan. ww2dbase [AC]
  • German Inspector of Concentration Camps advised camp commandants to reduce rate of death for camp prisoners; however, camp doctors were given orders to kill the sick and the debilitated. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]
  • USS Nicholas bombarded Japanese positions on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands at the direction of United States Army ground forces. Destroyers USS Nicholas, USS O’Bannon, USS DeHaven, and USS Radford departed Tulagi, Solomon Islands bound for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. ww2dbase [Nicholas | Guadalcanal Campaign | DS]
Australian New Guinea
  • A US B-24 bomber on a routine reconnaissance mission over Wewak on the island of New Guinea surprisingly found a large concentration of Japanese shipping and a newly arrived contingent of Zero fighters. Six of the fighters arose and shot down the bomber, killing 2; 6 of the crew survived. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | Wewak | CPC]
British Western Pacific Territories
  • US 44th Fighter Squadron arrived at Fighter 2 airfield at Kukum, Guadalcanal; this squadron would later become the most successful P-40 squadron to operate on this island. ww2dbase [Kukum, Guadalcanal | CPC]
Czechoslovakia Pacific Ocean
  • Gato-class submarine USS Silversides intercepted a convoy of four troop transports bound from Truk to the Solomon Islands with reinforcements, hitting with five out of six torpedoes. Two of the four ships were sunk (Meiu Maru and Surabaya Maru) and possibly a third (Somedomo Maru). ww2dbase [Silversides | CPC]
Tunisia
  • Captured French submarine Requin departed Bizerte, Tunisia with an Italian crew. ww2dbase [Bizerte | CPC]
  • Captured French submarine Espadon departed Bizerte, Tunisia with an Italian crew. ww2dbase [Bizerte | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • German fighter-bombers made a surprise daylight attack on London, England, United Kingdom during which bombs were dropped on a school in Lewisham killing 39 children and five teachers. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | London, England | AC]
  • The German Luftwaffe was forced to abandon any further hit-and-run fighter-bomber raids on London, England, United Kingdom after five Fw 190 aircraft were lost within half an hour to the RAF Manston based Typhoon fighters of Wing Commander Roland Beamont's No. 609 Squadron. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | London, England | AC]
United States Photo(s) dated 20 Jan 1943
British Valentine II or IV infantry tanks lined up in Tripoli, Libya after they helped capturing the city, circa mid to late Jan 1943Mousetrap anti-submarine rocket launchers aboard a United States Navy Landing Craft Support boat, 20 Jan 1943, location unknown.Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Hastings Ismay, and Louis Mountbatten at ChurchillAerial view of Ewa Field (near) and Barbers Point Naval Air Station (beyond) on Oahu, Hawaii, 20 Jan 1943.
See all photos dated 20 Jan 1943

20 Jan 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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