More Conferring & Establishing

FRI 3 DEC 1943
Second Cairo Conference begins, attended by President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.

Pacific
Submarine Guardfish (SS-217) is damaged in collision with unidentified tanker.

Submarine Tinosa (SS-283) sinks Palau-bound Japanese fleet tanker Azuma Maru northwest of Sonserol, 06°34'N, 131°35'E.

USAAF B-24s bomb Japanese fishing boats off Garove, sinking No.13 Sansei Maru.

USAAF B-25s sink Japanese paddle steamer Assam, immobilized the day before by RAAF Beaufighters in Irrawaddy River. [Two separate air forces to sink one paddle wheeler? In a river? Again, lucky "we" won.]

Adriatic
Abandoned U.S. freighter Samuel J. Tilden, damaged in the German air raid on Bari, Italy, the night before, is scuttled by two torpedoes from British warships.

Atlantic
U.S. tanker Touchet is torpedoed twice (the second torpedo is a dud) by German submarine U-193 at 25°15'N, 86°15'W, and abandoned by most of the 50-man merchant complement and 30-man Armed Guard. The latter's commander and nine men, however, stay with the ship, manning the 5-inch gun aft. U-193's third torpedo finishes off the tanker, though, and she sinks, taking nine of the ten Armed Guards who manage to reach a raft (they are swept off as the ship goes under), as well as the detachment commander, down with her (see 5 and 6 December 1943).

Naval Air Facility, Sao Luiz, Brazil is established.