Thursday, April 20, 2017

20 April In History

MON 20 APR 1942
Mediterranean
Operation CALENDAR: Carrier Wasp (CV-7), as part of the effort to reinforce fighter defenses of the embattled British island of Malta, launches 47 RAF Spitfires. Within four days, however, heavy German bombing raids on the besieged isle's airfields reduce the number of flyable Spitfires to six, necessitating a second ferry mission (see 9 May).

Atlantic
Unarmed U.S. freighter West Imboden, her presence advertised by an accidental fire in her stack, is torpedoed by German submarine U-752 about 200 miles off Nantucket lightship, 41°14'N, 65°54'W,
and abandoned as she is being shelled by the U-boat. U-752 nears one of the lifeboats and asks about casualties. "That's good," one German officer responds when told that the American merchant sailors have come through unharmed.

No comments:

Post a Comment

You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to have an attorney present while you are commenting. If you cannot afford an attorney, you are "Shit Outta Luck" (SOL). Anything you type here can & may be used against you in a court of law or in a personal "beat-down" administered by a staff member or "associate" of this "web log."

The publisher thanks Google/Bugger for denecessitating verification. (Not that we need explain anything to anyone.)