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• The US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as "Merrill's Marauders", began their campaign in northern Burma. ww2dbase [TH]
• On Ambon Island in Eastern Indonesia, the Japanese beheaded 132 Australian and Dutch prisoners. ww2dbase [AC]
• Omar Bradley arrived in French Algeria. ww2dbase [Omar Bradley | CPC]
• USS Iowa began her shakedown cruise in Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States. ww2dbase [Iowa | CPC]

• The Madoera, a 9,283-ton Dutch steam merchant ship, was torpedoed and damaged by German submarine U-653. The crew immediately abandoned ship in several lifeboats but the master J. Lassche, decided at daylight to re-board the ship with fifteen of his crew and the chief to inspect the damaged bow of the ship. The bow was now deeper in the water, while one boiler had remained operational and they managed to reduce the list to the bow and the water in No. 2 hold and in the engine room levelled. The ship got underway at 4 knots for St. John's, Newfoundland, but after several days, she ran into an ice field about 200 miles off of the Newfoundland coast. Meanwhile, one lifeboat with three Lascar seamen came across a lifeboat with 23 survivors from the SS Jonathan Sturges, which had been sunk by German submarine U-707 shortly before Madoera was hit. The Dutch lifeboat had already picked up 12 survivors from the same ship from rafts and took over six others to equalize the number of survivors in each boat. Another lifeboat containing the second engineer G. van der Vuurst, two Dutch greasers and several natives was found by German submarine U-591; Vuurst was taken aboard and later transferred to U-758. ww2dbase [HM]
• USS Ranger launched 75 USAAF P-40L fighters off Casablanca, French Morocco to reinforce Allied forces fighting in North Africa. Ranger began withdrawing toward Norfolk, Virginia almost immediately. ww2dbase [Ranger | DS]
• Alpino Bagnolini detected an aircraft with her Metox radar detector in the Atlantic Ocean at 1425 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | CPC]
• Comandante Cappellini sighted a British Catalina aircraft of No. 202 Squadron (Flight Lieutenant C. J. Le Couteur) in the Atlantic Ocean at 1413 hours, and the British pilot had spotted the Italian submarine before the submarine submerged. At 1557 hours, Comandante Cappellini surfaced; seeing a Catalina aircraft overhead, commanding officer Marco Revedin ordered the machine guns to open fire, but the signal was misinterpreted, causing confusion; meanwhile, the aircraft straddled the submarine with six depth charges, and turned around to strafe with machine guns. Comandante Cappellini suffered damage, but was able to get away. At 2306 hours, she detected another aircraft with her Metox radar detector, and submerged to avoid detection; a leak developed and prevented the submarine from going deeper than 30 meters. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | CPC]

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Truk | CPC]

• USS Tunny arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Tunny | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Paving of the original land plane runways completed. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier USS Bogue departed Norfolk, Virginia bound for Argentia, Newfoundland. ww2dbase [Bogue | Norfolk Navy Yard | Norfolk, Virginia | DS]

24 Feb 1943 Interactive Map