Token Resistance On Iloilo; Sub Sighted, Sunk

SUN 18 MAR 1945
Pacific
TF 58 (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) planes bomb airfields on southern Kyushu and shipping, attacking convoy KATA-504, escorted by Coast Defense Vessel No.29 and submarine chaser Ch 58, damaging cargo vessel Kiyo Maru and sinking transport Kenyo Maru and tanker No.1 Nansei Maru, and Okinawa-bound auxiliary sailing vessels Kamo Maru and Tenjin Maru off Noma Misaki, 31°24'N, 130°07'E. Off Kyushu, Japanese planes bomb carriers Enterprise (CV-6), 30°50'N, 133°42'E, and Yorktown (CV-10), 30°40'N, 133°49'E, damaging both. Intrepid (CV-11) is crashed by kamikaze and hit by friendly fire, 30°47'N, 133°50'E.

TG 78.3 (Rear Admiral Arthur D. Struble) lands Army troops (40th Division, less one RCT) at Iloilo, on the southeast coast of Panay, under covering fire of light cruiser Cleveland (CL-55) and three destroyers (TU 74.2.2); the troops encounter only token resistance.

PV-1s (VPB 128), on the basis of reports from Filipino guerillas, bomb two Japanese midget submarines in Davao Gulf.

Tank landing ship LST-635 is damaged by grounding, P.I., 11°05'N, 125°05'E.

Submarine Balao (SS-285) sinks Japanese merchant trawler No.2 Daito Maru 35°00'N, 123°51'E.

Submarine Springer (SS-414), attacking Japanese convoy, sinks fast transport T.18 and damages minesweeper W 17 near Mutsure Jima, Ryukyus, 26°38'N, 127°12'E.

Submarine Trigger (SS-237) sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.3 Tsukushi Maru northwest of Okinawa, 28°05'N, 126°44'E.

TF 58 planes sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.43 Yusen Maru 45 miles southwest of Satamisaki Light; planes from carrier Hornet (CV-12) sink merchant vessel No.1 Nansei Maru and damage Tokuho Maru and Asahi Maru in Yamakawa harbor.

Japanese landing ship T.137 is damaged by aircraft, Yaene, Hachijo Jima.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Taiju Maru is sunk by aircraft, off Hime Jima.

Japanese ship Koichi Maru is damaged by aircraft, Amachi harbor, Kochi-Ken.

Atlantic
Destroyer escorts Menges (DE-320), Mosley (DE-321), Pride (DE-323), and Lowe (DE-325) sink German submarine U-866, northwest Atlantic, 43°18'N, 61°08'W.