World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » 17 Jun 1943

• In the last major air battle over Guadalcanal, Captain William D. Wells (US 8th Fighter Group) led his flight of P-39 Airacobra fighters into a formation of 30-35 Japanese Aichi Type 99 naval bombers and shot down four of them. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | AC]
• Monterey was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Monterey | CPC]
• In a letter written to Winston Churchill, President Franklin Roosevelt expressed his conviction that General Charles de Gaulle was injuring the Allied war efforts and was "a very dangerous threat to us". ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | AC]
• Destroyers USS Nicholas and USS Strong and oiler USS Monongahela departed Tulagi, Solomon Islands bound for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]

• USS S-35 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her sixth war patrol. ww2dbase [S-35 | Unalaska | CPC]

• The US Marine Corps 9th Defense Battalion was relieved of its responsibility in the defense of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands and was ordered to begin training for the upcoming New Georgia invasion. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | Guadalcanal | CPC]

• Noor Inayat Khan landed in France via a Lysander aircraft before dawn. ww2dbase [Noor Inayat Khan | CPC]

• Captain Teruhiko Miyoshi's body was recovered from the wreck of battleship Mutsu in the Hashirajima anchorage, Japan. ww2dbase [Mutsu | Hashirajima, Hiroshima | CPC]

• The Royal Navy battleships HMS Nelson (flying the flag of Vice-Admiral Algernon Willis) and HMS Rodney plus a large squadron sailed from Scapa Flow to join the largest invasion fleet yet mustered in World War II - 280 warships, 320 merchantmen, 2,125 landing craft and smaller vessels - for Operation Husky, the Sicilian landings. ww2dbase [Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender | Scapa Flow | Rodney | Scapa Flow, Scotland | AC]

• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) returned to Norfolk, Virginia, United States and began post-shakedown availability. ww2dbase [J. J. Clark | Yorktown (Essex-class) | Norfolk, Virginia | DS]
• USS S-44 departed Hampton Roads, Viginia, United States. ww2dbase [S-44 | Virginia | CPC]

• USS Whale arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her fourth war patrol. ww2dbase [Whale | Midway Bases | Midway | CPC]

17 Jun 1943 Interactive Map