×
Home Intro People Events Equipment Places Maps Books Photos Videos Other Reference FAQ About
     

World War II Database

13 May 1943
  • B-17 bomber "Hell's Angels" of US 303rd Bomb Group became the first aircraft to complete 25 combat missions. ww2dbase [B-17 Flying Fortress | CPC]
Australia British Western Pacific Territories
  • Shortly after midnight, cruisers USS Honolulu, USS Nashville, and USS Helena, with destroyers USS Nicholas, USS O’Bannon, USS Taylor, USS Strong, and USS Chevalier entered Kula Gulf, Solomon Islands where they conducted a shore bombardment of Japanese positions along both sides of the gulf. Cruiser USS Nashville suffered an explosion inside her No. 3 turret that killed 18 men and injured 17. USS Nicholas and USS Chevalier both suffered gun casualties in their 5-inch gun mounts where, in each case, a hang-fire caused an explosion and fire causing no casualties. ww2dbase [Nicholas | Nashville | Honolulu | Helena (St. Louis-class) | Walden Ainsworth | Solomon Islands Campaign | Kula Gulf, Solomon Islands | DS]
  • Shortly after midnight, cruiser USS St. Louis with destroyers USS Fletcher and USS Jenkins formed a bombardment line offshore of the Japanese airstrip at Munda, New Georgia, Solomon Islands and shelled the airstrip. ww2dbase [St. Louis | Solomon Islands Campaign | New Georgia, Solomon Islands | DS]
Denmark France Italy Japan Libya
  • 26 B-24s of USAAF 44th Bomb Group launched from Benina Airfield in Libya at 0400 hours. 20 of them reached their target, the Wiener Neustadter Air Frame Works in occupied Austria. They encountered 40% cloud coverage. They dropped 159 500-pound bombs between 8,000 to 15,000 feet in altitude. The rear flight observed flame and smoke in the target area, with large buildings on fire accompanied by large explosions. The Germans had 16 anti-aircraft guns at the target area, and the firing was reported to be inaccurate. 5 to 10 Fw 190 fighters and 10 to 15 Me 109 fighters attempted to intercept during the bombers' flight back to Libya, to little effect. The bombers experienced anti-aircraft fire at Bokaloloraska in Yugoslavia and at the west end of Lake Balaton in Hungary. 1 B-24 bomber became missing, and the Germans lost 1 Me 109 and 1 Fw 190 aircraft from this action. 21 of the surviving US bombers landed at Tunis in Tunisia, and 5 landed in Sicily, Italy, all without damage. B-24 "Wing and a Prayer" piloted by 1st Lieutenant Robert J. Lehnhausen of US 68th Squadron ran out of fuel and successfully landed his B-24 on a small landing strip with many craters in Sicily, causing only minor damage to his aircraft. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Benghazi | HM]
Pacific Ocean
  • USS Snook sank a Japanese freighter with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired about 90 miles southeast of Jeju island, Korea in the East China Sea. ww2dbase [Snook | East China Sea | CPC]
  • USS Wahoo damaged a Japanese transport east of Japan, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes. ww2dbase [Wahoo | CPC]
Spain
  • The false documents found on the body of Glyndwr Michael/William Martin was returned by the Spanish to the British, ostensibly unopened but actually shared with and photographed by the Germans. ww2dbase [Operation Mincemeat | CPC]
Tunisia
  • The remaining Axis troops surrendered in Tunisia. For the first time in the war, the British claimed more German prisoners than the number of British captives in Germany. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Desert War | TH]
Ukraine
  • Italian torpedo boats stationed at Yalta, Ukraine conducted their last sortie from this base. ww2dbase [Yalta, Krym | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • Squadron X of the No. 5 Group of the British Royal Air Force, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, received water-skipping "Upkeep" bombs for the upcoming mission against German dams in the Ruhr region. ww2dbase [Dambuster Raid | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 13 May 1943
American soldiers unloading landing craft on the beach at Massacre Bay, Attu, Aleutian Islands, 13 May 1943USS Helena performing night time bombardment of Japanese positions in the Munda-Vila area, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, 13 May 1943; photo taken from USS HonoluluSailors cleaning a 5-inch gun barrel aboard USS Nicholas following action on 13 May 1943.Destroyer USS Nicholas leading five destroyers and four cruisers in the Solomon Islands, 13 May 1943.
See all photos dated 13 May 1943

13 May 1943 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds

Change View
Desktop View

Search WW2DB
Famous WW2 Quote
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

Winston Churchill, on the RAF


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!