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• 19 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Duisburg, Bristillerie, Dortmund, and Solingen in Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | CPC]
• The families of the men lost during the 1943 sinking of battleship Mutsu was finally notified; they were not informed that the ship had been destroyed in an accident. ww2dbase [Mutsu | CPC]
• HMS Wallasea was sunk by a German motor torpedo boat off Mount's Bay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [AC]

• P-38 and F4U aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain, many of which were turned back due to poor weather. 33 A6M fighters rose to defend. The Japanese lost 2 A6M fighters, while the Americans lost 2 P-38 fighters. Harry Johnson of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, flying a F4U Corsair fighter, scored one of the two victories; this would be the squadron's final victory of the war. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• USS Snook departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fifth war patrol. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Snook | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
• USS Seahorse departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Seahorse | Pearl Harbor, Oahu | CPC]

• Shokaku left drydock. ww2dbase [Shokaku | CPC]

• The Fast Carrier Task Force 50 was renumbered TF 58 and put under the command of Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, one of the US Navy's most skilled aviators. With new carriers coming forward in such numbers it was now possible to provide the Task Force with six fleet carriers and six light fleet carriers with over 700 aircraft. Screened by six battleships and six cruisers it was the most powerful fleet in the world. ww2dbase [Marc Mitscher | AC]

• Red Army units crossed the original 1939 Polish border, advancing nearly 200 miles in 2 weeks. ww2dbase [TH]

• James Doolittle, commanding officer of USAAF Eighth Air Force, ordered his fighter chief William Kepner to go on a fighter offensive, rather than focusing on bomber escort as he had instructed under the former commanding officer. ww2dbase [James Doolittle | England | CPC]

6 Jan 1944 Interactive Map