World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » 21 Jan 1945

• In Burma, the Chinese Expeditionary Force supported by USAAF aircraft based in China captured Wangting. ww2dbase [AC]
• USS Sennet attacked a Japanese tanker off the Bonin Islands; all 8 torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Sennet | CPC]

• Norwegian 1,152-ton merchant freighter Galatea (Master Peder Brendsdal) was hit on the starboard side by a torpedo from German submarinew U-1051 and sank immediately off Bardsey Island in the St. Georges Channel. The master, 16 crew members and three gunners were lost. The sole survivor, stoker Harald Hvidtsten was picked up from a raft by the frigate HMS Tyler a few hours later. ww2dbase [St George's Channel | HM]

• Indian 26th Division landed on Ramree Island, Burma. ww2dbase [Third Battle of Arakan | Ramree | CPC]

• Tasked with making a precision attack on V-1 launch sites in northern France, "Mickey" Martin of No. 617 Squadron (The "Old Lags" squadron because it was made up of experienced and skilled veterans who had volunteered to continue flying missions beyond the end of their normal tours) used a four-engine Lancaster bomber to dive-bomb the target in order to accurately position marker flares for the following aircraft. Pulling out of his dive at a mere 400 feet Martin so accurately placed the markers that a reconnaissance on the following day showed the target to have been completely demolished. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | AC]

• Red Army units captured Tannenburg, East Prussia, Germany (now Stebark, Poland), but only after the Germans destroyed the monument memorializing the 1914 German victory over the Soviets. ww2dbase [East Prussian Offensive | Tannenburg, Ostpreußen | TH]
• Bauyrzhan Momyshuly was made the commanding officer of 9th Guards Rifle Division while fighting in Ostpreußen (East Prussia), Germany. ww2dbase [Bauyrzhan Momyshuly | Ostpreußen | CPC]

• Submarine I-369 departed Yokosuka, Japan with supplies for Minamitorishima (Marcus Island). ww2dbase [I-369 | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• USS Ticonderoga launched Air Group 80 aircraft for strikes on Taiwan; 1 man and 3 aircraft were lost. Later that day, Ticonderoga was struck by two special attack aircraft at about 120 miles southeast of Taiwan, killing 143 men and injuring 202 others. Commander Harmon Vedder Briner took temporary command of the carrier as Captain Dixie Kiefer was injured in the attacks. ww2dbase [Ticonderoga | DS]
• USS Boarfish attacked a Japanese convoy three times in the South China Sea in a period of three hours before dawn; all 16 torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Boarfish | South China Sea | CPC]
• USS Miami shot down a Japanese A6M fighter. ww2dbase [Miami | CPC]
• Dixie Kiefer sustained injuries aboard USS Ticonderoga during an attack by a Japanese special attack aircraft at about 120 miles southeast of Taiwan. ww2dbase [Dixie Kiefer | DS]
• West of Ulithi, Japanese submarine I-48 with its deck loaded with four Kaitens was spotted on the surface by US Navy Lt Frank Yourek flying a PBM-3D Mariner. The patrol aircraft released two depth charges and one Mark 24 FIDO acoustic homing torpedo that severely damaged I-48. Two days later north of Yap, destroyer escorts USS Conklin and Corbesier made a Hedgehog attack on I-48 and the submarine was sunk with all 118 hands plus the four Kaiten pilots. ww2dbase [PBM Mariner | Mark XXIV | Caroline Islands | DS]

• Raoul Wallenberg was transferred to the Lubyanka prison in Moscow, Russia. ww2dbase [Lubyanka Building | Raoul Wallenberg | Moscow | CPC]

• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on Formosa (Taiwan). ww2dbase [Philippines Campaign, Phase 2 | Yorktown (Essex-class) | DS]

• Allied convoy RA-63 arrived at Loch Ewe, Scotland, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Loch Ewe, Scotland | CPC]

• USS Monterey arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for an overhaul and repairs of battle and typhoon damage. ww2dbase [Puget Sound Navy Yard | Monterey | Bremerton, Washington | DS]
• USS Bunker Hill departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard after overhaul. ww2dbase [Puget Sound Navy Yard | Bunker Hill | Bremerton, Washington | DS]
• Escort carrier USS Card departed Quonset Point, Rhode Island bound for the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ww2dbase [Card | Quonset Point, Rhode Island | DS]
• Escort carrier USS Bogue arrived at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. ww2dbase [Bogue | Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island | DS]

21 Jan 1945 Interactive Map