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• » 7 Apr 1943

• British and American troops linked up on the El Guettar-Gabès road in Tunisia, ending the Battle of El Guettar. ww2dbase [Battle of El Guettar | CPC]
• The British government announced equal war compensation for men and women. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Bolivia declared war on the Axis powers. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German Luftwaffe assigned 148 fighters to Jagdfliegerführer Sizilien. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Desert War | CPC]
• Orde Wingate and his small group of Chindits began to march for the Irrawaddy River in Burma en route back to India. ww2dbase [Operation Longcloth | CPC]
• The keel of submarine Guitarro was laid down. ww2dbase [Guitarro | CPC]
• Claus von Stauffenberg was seriously injured when his car was strafed by Allied aircraft in North Africa. ww2dbase [Claus von Stauffenberg | CPC]
• Cruisers USS Honolulu, USS Nashville, USS Helena, and USS St. Louis with destroyers USS Nicholas, USS O’Bannon, USS Radford, USS Jenkins, USS Taylor, USS Strong, USS Fletcher, and USS Chevalier departed Tulagi, Solomon Islands bound for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. ww2dbase [Nicholas | Nashville | St. Louis | Honolulu | Helena (St. Louis-class) | Walden Ainsworth | DS]

• Alpino Bagnolini detected an aircraft with her Metox radar detector in the Atlantic Ocean at 0515 hours; she submerged to avoid detection. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | CPC]

• Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini began a four-day meeting near Salzburg, Austria trying to keep Italy in the war. This led off a month of meetings with Axis allies for pep talks to keep them active against the Allies. ww2dbase [Salzburg | TH]

• In the morning, at Lakunai field at Rabaul, New Britain, Isoroku Yamamoto personally observed the launch of some of the aircraft that was to form a large aerial offensive (to be consisted of 157 Zero fighters and 67 D3A dive bombers). At Tulagi in the Solomon Islands, this Japanese attack force sank 1 US destroyer, 1 New Zealand corvette, and 1 tanker, while also damaged the oiler that was fueling the New Zealand corvette at the time of the attack. The Japanese aircraft were engaged by US Marine Corps F4F fighters; during the combat, 12 Zero fighters, 9 D3A dive bombers, and 7 F4F fighters were shot down. 3 D3A dive bombers were lost en route back to their bases. Under the cover of the air attack, a reinforcement convoy arrived at Kolombangara, New Georgia. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | CPC]
• The 14,500-ton American tanker Kanawha, waiting for an escort in Tulagi harbour in the Solomon Islands, came under Japanese bomb attack. An oil tank under the bridge was hit which caused fires that spread rapidly along the deck. The crew were ordered to abandon the vessel but volunteers returned on board and extinguished the fires amidst exploding ammunition. 19 lives were lost int his incident. The tug Rail towed the Kanawha to the west side of Tulagi where she was beached shortly before midnight. ww2dbase [Tulagi | HM]
• Three Japanese aircraft attacked US destroyer Aaron Ward, tearing holes on the side of the ship and interrupting all electrical power. Having no rudder control, she steamed lazily to port as three more dive bombers attacked, with their near misses further damaging the ship. USS Aaron Ward suffered 20 killed, 59 wounded, and 7 missing. An attempt was made to tow her to beach near Tinete Point of Nggela Pile, but she would ultimately sink at 2135 hours. ww2dbase [Nggela Pile | HM]

• Konstantinos Logothetopoulos stepped down as the Prime Minister of the Hellenic State. ww2dbase [Konstantinos Logothetopoulos | Athens | CPC]

• Destroyer USS Shaw shifted from Berth B-22 to Drydock No. 3 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Shaw | Pearl Harbor, Oahu | DS]

• Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier USS Bogue departed Argentia, Newfoundland bound for Philadelphia Navy Yard for emergency repairs to her aircraft catapult. ww2dbase [Bogue | Argentia | DS]

• USS Tunny attacked transport Kosei Maru in the Pacific Ocean, hitting her with two torpedoes. An Akatsuki-class destroyer counterattacked with depth charges, causing no damage. ww2dbase [Tunny | CPC]

• USAAF 325th Fighter Group saw its first combat mission as 36 of its P-40 fighters escorted a group of B-25 bombers to attack Mateur in Tunisia; one P-40 fighter was lost during this mission. ww2dbase [Mateur | CPC]

• USS Whale departed Midway Atoll. ww2dbase [Whale | Midway Bases | Midway | CPC]
• USS Wahoo began a period of refitting at Midway Atoll. ww2dbase [Wahoo | Midway Bases | Midway | CPC]

7 Apr 1943 Interactive Map