Wednesday, January 24, 2018

"... subsisting on raw fish, fowl, and rainwater"

SUN 24 JAN 1943
Pacific
Bombardment group of destroyers (Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth) bombards Japanese fuel and munitions dumps in the Stanmore area, Kolombangara, Solomons. Later that same day, TBFs, SBDs and F4Fs from carrier Saratoga (CV-3) air group (Rear Admiral DeWitt C. Ramsey) bomb the same objectives.

Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) damages Japanese destroyer Harusame eleven miles west of Wewak, New Guinea, 03°23'S, 143°34'E.

High speed minesweeper Zane (DMS-14) recovers one boatload of crewmen from torpedoed freighter Peter H. Burnett and then proceeds to aid the stricken merchantman. Zane then tows the freighter to Sydney, Australia, for repairs.

Japanese light cruiser Nagara is damaged by marine casualty off Anatahan Island.

Atlantic
Submarine chaser PC-576 rescues one Armed Guard sailor (Seaman First Class Basil D. Izzi, USNR) and two Dutch seamen from Dutch motorship Zaandam at 08°39'N, 58°46'W. Zaandam had been sunk by German submarine U-174 on 2 November 1942. The three survivors have spent 83 days on the small raft, subsisting on raw fish, fowl, and rainwater.

Survivors of U.S. tanker Brilliant, which had broken in two on 20 January, are rescued by Canadian minesweeper from the after portion of the ship. Of the 54 men on board, 31 merchant seamen are saved; 13 of the Armed Guard survive.

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