Sunday, August 20, 2017

Friendly Fire

THU 20 AUG 1942
Pacific
First USMC planes arrive at Henderson Field: aircraft escort vessel Long Island (AVG-1) ferries 19 F4Fs (VMF 223) and 12 SBDs (VMSB 232) to Guadalcanal. Although Japanese flying boat from the Shortlands sights Long Island, screened by light cruiser Helena (CL-50) and destroyers Aylwin (DD-355) and Dale (DD-353), the U.S. ships prove to be out of range of enemy land-based air and retire from the area without incident.

MARINE CORPS ACTIVITY AT HENDERSON FIELD, GUADALCANAL

Small seaplane tender Mackinac (AVP-13) is damaged when mistakenly bombed by SBDs (VS 71) from carrier Wasp (CV-7) off Ndeni Island.

Atlantic
PBY-5A (VP 73) sinks German submarine U-464, North Atlantic Area, 61°25'N, 14°40'W.

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