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• » 5 Jul 1944

• USS Gar ended her twelfth war patrol. ww2dbase [Gar | CPC]
• Oberon was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Oberon | CPC]
• Lieutenant Colonel Francis Gabreski of US 56th Fighter Group became the top scoring USAAF ace in Europe with 28 victories, matching the score of Richard Bong flying in the Pacific Theater of Operations. ww2dbase [Richard Bong | Francis Gabreski | AC, CPC]
• HMS Ganilly was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-390 off Utah beach, Normandy, France. ww2dbase [AC]
• Saburo Sakai led a special attack mission against US naval units, but returned to base after failing to locate any targets. ww2dbase [Saburo Sakai | CPC]

• After several days on station southeast of Newfoundland without being able to launch aircraft due to persistent fog, escort carrier USS Card and her escorts engaged the submerged German submarine U-233. Destroyer escorts USS Baker and Thomas attacked with depth charges that forced U-233 to the surface. As the crew began abandoning ship, U-233 started her diesels and began making her way out of the engagement. Thomas rammed the U-Boat just abaft the conning tower and U-233 sank quickly by the stern. 30 were rescued from the water and 31 were lost. The USS Card Task Group then began a withdrawal toward Boston. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | Card | DS]

• USS Flying Fish arrived at Brisbane, Australia, ending her tenth war patrol. ww2dbase [Flying Fish | Brisbane, Queensland | CPC]
• USS Flier arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Flier | Fremantle, Western Australia | CPC]

• 70 B-17s on an Operation Frantic shuttle mission (UK-USSR-Italy-UK) flew from bases in Italy and attacked the railway marshalling yard at Beziers, France (along with Fifteenth Air Force B-24s) while on the last leg from Italy to the United Kingdom. 42 P-51s returned to England with the B-17s (of the 11 P-51s remaining in Italy, 10 returned to England the following day and the last several days later). ww2dbase [Operation Frantic | P-51 Mustang | B-17 Flying Fortress | Beziers | DS]

• USS Wasp's aircraft attacked Japanese positions on Guam and Rota of the Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Wasp (Essex-class) | CPC]

• Destroyer Yukikaze was docked at Kure, Japan for repairs. ww2dbase [Yukikaze | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]
• While undergoing repairs at Yokosuka and Yokohama, Japan, Irako was assigned to the Southwest Area Fleet based at Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Irako | Yokosuka Naval Arsenal | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]
• The keel of landing ship No. 139 was laid down by Kawanami Kogyo. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]
• Japanese Navy landing ship No. 154 was completed and was transferred to the Army as a SB craft. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• USS Whale set sail for Midway Atoll. ww2dbase [Whale | CPC]
• USS Sunfish sank Japanese passenger-cargo ship Shanmai Maru off the Kurile Islands, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Sunfish (Gato-class) | CPC]
• Submarine USS Saury suffered a cracked cylinder liner in one engine and a leak in the salt water cooling system of another. Saury reversed course for Midway for repairs. ww2dbase [Saury | DS]

• Belgian pilot Flight Lieutenant Remy Van Lierde of No. 3 Squadron RAF, flying his Tempest V aircraft (JN862/JF-Z), shot down five V-1 flying bombs in two sorties. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | Remy Van Lierde | AC]
• 22 Heinkel bombers of German III/KG3 flew sorties during the night and launched V-1 flying bombs. The bomb all fell in the south London area in Britain, causing considerable damage to property and killing over fifteen residents. The British were seeing that more damage was caused by these flying bombs than by the bombs dropped by bombers. This was due to the fact that they often glided down in shallow dives and blew up on the ground, the blast of 1,870 pounds of Amatol or Trialen often destroyed over 20 houses and took the roofs off many more. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 1 | V-Weapons Campaign | London, England | HM]

5 Jul 1944 Interactive Map