Monday, 6 July 1942

US NAVY

ARCTIC—Ordeal of dispersed USSR-bound convoy PQ 17 to German submarines and planes continues: U.S. freighter John Witherspoon, having emerged unscathed from the German aerial attacks the previous several days, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-255 approximately 20 miles off Novaya Zemlya, 72°05'N, 48°30'E, and abandoned with the loss of one merchant seaman. Survivors (38 merchant seamen and 11 Armed Guard sailors) gather in three lifeboats and a raft; U-255 surfaces and conducts a brief interrogation of some of the survivors before clearing the area (see 8 and 9 July 1942). Freighter Pan Atlantic, hastily painted white to camouflage her against the ice floes through which she is fleeing to Archangel, is bombed and sunk with the loss of 18 (of 37) merchant seamen and 7 (of 11) Armed Guard sailors. German submarines U-88 and U-703 salvage provisions from the freighter's flotsam; one of the enemy submarines conducts brief interrogation of survivors before departing. British corvette HMS Lotus rescues Pan Atlantic’s surviving merchant and naval complement and transports them to Archangel (see 22 September).

US ARMY AIR FORCE

EIGHTH AF—RAF invites Eighth to share membership in important RAF operational committees dealing with targets, operational research, interception, and bomber operations. VIII AFSC sets up HQ at Bushy Park with General Frank as CG. 6 B‑17’s arrive in UK via N Atlantic ferry route.

TENTH AF—CATF B‑25’s bomb waterfront at Canton, marking their initial action against coastal facilities of Japanese-held Chinese ports.

ELEVENTH AF—4 B‑24’s and 1 LB-30 fly bombing and weather missions to Kiska. Results are not observed.

SIXTH AF—German sub, U-153, is damaged in attack by aircraft of 59th Bomb Squadron off Panama, 12-50N 72-21W. The sub is sunk a week later by US destroyer Landsdowne.

US ARMY

CHINA BURMA INDIA—General Stilwell issues letter of instructions setting up command structure of a theater in CBI, with “Headquarters, American Army Forces, China, Burma, and India” at Chungking and branch office at New Delhi. A few days later another branch office is established at Kunming. China Air Task Force (CATF) is activated.

USSR—Voronezh falls to German Army Group South after it has been evacuated by Red Army forces.

US MARINE CORPS

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