Monday, August 13, 2018

FRI 13 75 Yrs. Ago

FRI 13 AUG 1943
Pacific
Japanese bomber and torpedo planes raid shipping at Guadalcanal, sinking attack transport John Penn (APA-23), 09°23'S, 160°30'E.

Motor torpedo boat PT-181, operating out of Rendova, is damaged by near-miss of Japanese bomb off Hunda Cove.

Submarine Paddle (SS-263) damages Japanese transport Hidaka Maru 34°42'N, 136°13'E.

Submarine Sunfish (SS-281) sinks Japanese gunboat Edo Maru 180 miles from Chichi Jima, 24°04'N, 142°21'E.

U.S. freighter M.H. de Young is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-19 as the ship proceeds toward Espiritu Santo, 21°50'S, 175°10'E, but though damaged remains afloat due to barge pontoons stowed in each hold. The 25-man Armed Guard remains on board along with the master and two merchant marine officers while the crew and passengers remain nearby (see 14 August 1943).

U.S. aircraft sink Japanese guardboat No. 15 Dai Nippon Maru in Bismarck Archipelago.

Mediterranean
German planes attack convoy MKS 21 off the coast of Algeria, strafing and holing U.S. freighters Jonathan Elmer, 36°07'N, 03°07'E, and Anne Bradstreet, 36°19'N, 02°18'E; one man is wounded on board the latter.

Freighter Francis W. Pettygrove is torpedoed at 36°08'N, 02°14'E; partially abandoned, the survivors that clear the ship are taken on board British minesweeper HMS Hythe. The rest of the crew and Armed Guard remain on board to prepare the ship for tow (see 14 August 1943).

*Carrying barge pontoons is a lucky break. Also named after M.H. de Young: A museum.

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