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• Battleships Yamato and Mutsu transferred 4,500 tons of fuel oil to empty oiler Kenyo Maru to refuel other ships. ww2dbase [Yamato | CPC]
• Joseph Stilwell arrived in Delhi, India. ww2dbase [Joseph Stilwell | CPC]
• Oberst Ernst Kühl, commanding officer of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS Nicholas arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]

• Leonardo da Vinci sighted a tanker in the Atlantic Ocean at 0453 hours; after a brief chase, the tanker was identified as Spanish in origin, and the Italian submarine broke off the pursuit. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | CPC]

• Japanese cruisers bombarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | Henderson Field | Lunga Point, Guadalcanal | CPC]
• Kaname Harada was shot down in combat over Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, but he would survive his injuries and the trek through the jungle to reach a Japanese submarine base on the coast. ww2dbase [Kaname Harada | Guadalcanal | CPC]

• Destroyer USS Saufley arrived at Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada. ww2dbase [Saufley | Aregentia, Newfoundland | DS]

• 94 British Lancaster bombers attacked the Schneider armament factory at Le Creusot in central France in daylight; 1 bomber was lost on this mission. ww2dbase [Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | Le Creusot, Bourgogne | CPC]
• Comandante Cappellini arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1457 hours, ending her tenth war patrol. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | Bordeaux, Aquitaine | CPC]

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

• All daylight air raids on Malta were abandoned by the Axis following heavy losses and bombing was now restricted to night-time operations only. The Axis had lost 270 aircraft this year over Malta. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | AC]

• USS Grayback fired four torpedoes at a Japanese transport off New Ireland; all torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Grayback | CPC]

• Charles McGee married Frances Nelson. ww2dbase [Charles McGee | CPC]

17 Oct 1942 Interactive Map