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• » 8 Jun 1942

• Tatsuta Maru departed Saipan, Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Tatsuta Maru | CPC]
• USS Gar arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Gar | CPC]
• Douglas MacArthur proposed to the Army Chief of Staff a limited offensive to regain positions in the Bismarck Archipelago. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | CPC]
• USS Astoria was relieved of her duty as Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher's flagship. ww2dbase [Astoria (New Orleans-class) | CPC]
• German submarine U-107 sank US ship Suwied 100 miles east of Cozumel, Mexico at 0119 hours; 6 were killed, 27 survived. At 0500 hours, U-172 sank US ship Sicilien 10 miles south of Cape Beata, Dominican Republic; 44 were killed, 31 survived. At 0700 hours, U-504 sank Huondran ship Tela with two torpedoes 100 miles southeast of Cozumel; 11 were killed, 43 survived. At 1800 hours, U-504 struck again, sinking British ship Rosenborg with her deck gun; 4 were killed, 23 survived. ww2dbase [Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns | CPC]
• German submarine U-135 sank Norwegian ship Pleasantville 225 miles northwest of Bermuda at 0316 hours; 2 were killed, 45 survived. German submarine U-128 sank Norwegian tanker South Africa 400 miles east of Trinidad at 1419 hours; 6 were killed, 36 survived. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• German submarine U-83 sank Egyptian ship Said with her deck gun 15 miles southwest of Jaffa, British Palestine at 0511 hours; 5 were killed, 9 survived. At 2330 hours, U-83 struck again, sinking Palestinian sail boat Esther with her deck gun 10 miles off Sidon, Syria-Lebanon. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Italian submarine Alagi sank Italian destroyer Antoniotto Usodimare with a torpedo 100 miles north of Cape Bon, Tunisia in a case of mis-identification. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Lucien Lippert was promoted to the rank of Hauptmann. ww2dbase [Lucien Lippert | CPC]

• Leonardo da Vinci fired two torpedoes at Danish freighter Chile, which she had been pursuing since the previous date, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0005 hours. Both torpedoes hit the freighter on the port side, sinking her. 5 of the 44 aboard were killed, while the 39 survivors would later be picked up by British Royal Navy trawler HMT Spaniard. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | Second Happy Time | CPC]
• Alpino Bagnolini gave up the chase of a freighter that she had sighted on the previous date due to poor visibility at 0100 hours. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | CPC]

• Japanese submarine I-24 fired 10 shells at the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Sydney, Australia shortly after 0000 hours, scoring no hits on the bridge but destroyed one house nearby. At 0215 hours, I-21 surfaced near Newcastle, Australia and fired 34 shells, damaging a house near the BHP steelworks; as the coastal guns at Fort Scratchley fired at I-21 (which caused no damage), this became the only time where Australian land-based guns would fire at a Japanese ship in the war. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Men of the Japanese Kure No. 3 Special Naval Landing Force raided Simberi, New Ireland in search of coast watcher Cornelius Page; Page went into hiding. ww2dbase [Simberi, New Ireland | CPC]

• 170 British bombers (92 Wellington, 42 Halifax, 14 Stirling, 13 Lancaster, 9 Hampden) attacked Essen, Germany, killing 13 and wounding 42; 19 bombers were lost on this mission. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Essen | CPC]

• Japanese submarine I-10 sank British ship King Lud in the Mozambique Channel at 0953 hours with torpedoes, killing all aboard. In the same area, I-16 sank Greek ship Aghios Georgios IV with her deck gun and I-18 sank Norwegian ship Wilford with her deck gun. In the middle of the Indian Ocean, I-20 sank Greek ship Christos Markettos. ww2dbase [Raids into the Indian Ocean | Mozambique Channel | CPC]

• Thick fog allowed an Allied supply convoy to supply French troops at Bir Hakeim, Libya; meanwhile, the same fog also allowed the Axis build-up to be completed without being detected, which led to the start of what would be the final assault on the fort; this final assault would be personally led by Erwin Rommel. In the evening, French General Pierre Kœnig decided the fort would be abandoned on 11 Jun 1942. ww2dbase [Battle of Gazala | Bir Hakeim | CPC]
• Hans-Joachim Marseille became the permanent commanding officer of the squadron 3 Staffel I./JG-27. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | CPC]

• 2 battleships, 1 escort carrier, and 2 heavy cruisers broke off from the retiring Japanese Navy Midway invasion fleet to reinforce the Aleutian Islands. ww2dbase [Battle of Midway and the Aleutian Islands | CPC]
• Portland joined with Saratoga for sortie to the Aleutian Islands. Task Force recalled two days later without reaching the Aleutians ww2dbase [Portland | DS]
• Yugure was transferred to the Northern Naval Force. ww2dbase [Battle of Midway and the Aleutian Islands | Yugure | CPC]

• Naka arrived at Mako, Pescaore islands. ww2dbase [Mako Guard District | Naka | Mako, Hoko | CPC]

8 Jun 1942 Interactive Map