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• » 24 Mar 1942

• Admiral Chester Nimitz was appointed the Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Theater. ww2dbase [Chester Nimitz | TH]
• Minesweeper HMS Sharpshooter, escorting Allied convoy QP-9, spotted German submarine U-655 in a distance; she forced the submarine to surface by depth charges, rammed, and sank her; all 47 aboard U-655 were killed. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | CPC]
• German submarine U-123 sank British tanker Empire Steel with torpedoes and the deck gun 365 miles north of Bermuda at 0300 hours; 39 were killed, 8 survived. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• British minesweeping whaler HMS Sulla was lost to heavy seas in the Norwegian Sea. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-585 was damaged by depth charges from 3 Allied warships in the Barents Sea, but was able to escape. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British minesweeper HMS Sharpshooter spotted German submarine U-655 on the surface in the Barents Sea and proceeded to ram and sink her; the entire crew of U-655, 45 men, were killed. ww2dbase [CPC]
• HMS Indomitable joined the British Eastern Fleet. ww2dbase [Indomitable | CPC]
• The British House of Commons began a two-day debate on the conduct of the war in Germany; bombing of German cities was to be a focal point. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | CPC]
• Japanese Navy aircraft began daily bombings of Corregidor in the Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | CPC]
• Deportation of Slovakian Jews to Auschwitz Concentration Camp began. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]

• Japanese 112th Regiment attacked Taungoo, Burma, overcoming the disorganized Chinese outer defenses. Meanwhile, Japanese 143rd Regiment flanked the Chinese defenses and captured the airfield and rail station 6 miles north of the city. Taungoo would be surrounded on three sides by the end of the day. ww2dbase [Invasion of Burma | Taungoo | CPC]

• Shokaku arrived at Staring Bay at Celebes, Dutch East Indies, joining Zuikaku. ww2dbase [Shokaku | Staring Bay, Celebes | CPC]

• 18 RAF Boston light bombers attacked targets in northern France, targeting power stations, rail marshaling yards, and other targets of military importance. ww2dbase [Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | CPC]

• German bombers attacked Malta, damaging British destroyer HMS Legion with near misses. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | CPC]

• USS Marblehead arrived at Simon's Town, South Africa to repair damages sustained during the Battle of Makassar Strait. ww2dbase [Marblehead | Simon's Town | CPC]

24 Mar 1942 Interactive Map