Heavy Ice

TUE 20 MAR 1945
Mediterranean
Destroyer Parker (DD-604) shells German mortar positions, supply dumps, dugouts and buildings on the Franco-Italian border.

Pacific
TF 92 (Captain John M. Worthington) (six destroyers) sorties from Attu to proceed to Paramushiro to bombard Japanese installations in the Suribachi Wan area. Heavy ice, however, will cause a cancellation of the operation.

Off Japan, carrier Enterprise (CV-6) is damaged by friendly fire, 30°01'N, 134°30'E, and destroyer Halsey Powell (DD-686) is crashed by kamikaze at 30°27'N, 134°28'E. TF 38 planes sink Japanese guardboat No.1 Kochi Maru east of Honshu.

Submarine Blenny (SS-324) attacks Japanese convoy HI-88I off coast of French Indochina, sinking merchant tankers No.21 Nanshin Maru and Hosen Maru, and fishing boat Yamakuni Maru about 40 miles south of Cam Ranh Bay, 11°18'N, 108°57'E (see 21 March).

Submarine Devilfish (SS-292) is damaged by suicide plane off Volcano Islands, 25°36'N, 137°30'E, and is forced to terminate her patrol.

Submarine Perch (SS-313) lands men on east coast of Borneo.

Japanese army ship No.1 Genzan Maru is sunk by aircraft off coast of French Indochina.

USAAF B-25s attack Japanese convoy, sinking store ships Heishin Maru and Fukusei Maru, and damaging torpedo boat Hatsukari off Tungshan, China, 23°42'N, 137°15'E.

Japanese Gyoraitei No.219 is damaged by aircraft, Toba, 30°06'N, 122°22'E.

Arctic
German submarines attack convoy JW 65 off Kola Inlet; U-995 torpedoes U.S. freighter Horace Bushnell 24 miles east of Kilden Light, 69°23'N, 35°17'W. Heavy seas prevent British destroyer HMS Orwell from beaching the crippled ship, but the warship embarks the freighter's survivors (including the entire 27-man Armed Guard). Russian tugs later beach the merchantman, which is subsequently declared a total loss. U-968 torpedoes freighter Thomas Donaldson about five miles off Kilden Island 68°26'30"N, 33°44'20"W. British corvettes HMS Bamborough Castle, HMS Oxlip, and HMS Honeysuckle rescue survivors; attempt to tow the ship to safety fails and she sinks a half mile from Kilden Island.