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• US Navy Rear Admiral Richmond Turner took command of the Amphibious Forces South Pacific at Wellington, New Zealand. ww2dbase [Richmond Turner | CPC]
• Frank Fletcher was promoted to the rank of vice admiral. He broke his flag aboard USS Saratoga. ww2dbase [Saratoga | CPC]
• USS S-28 conducted a reconnaissance mission on the island of Semisopochnoi, Aleutian Islands. ww2dbase [S-28 | CPC]
• Rudolf Höss was promoted to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. ww2dbase [Rudolf Höss | CPC]
• Prince Alexander of Belgium was born in Brussels, Belgium. ww2dbase [AC]
• British vessel Barfoil was launched. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British escort carrier Pursuer was launched. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-384 was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-666 was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [CPC]
• A USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, with two US Marine Corps observers aboard, flew a reconnaissance mission over Gavutu, Guadalcanal, and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | CPC]
• Australian rescue tug Reserve was launched. ww2dbase [CPC]
• A B-17 Flying Fortress bomber of USAAF 11th Air Force crashed on Umnak, Aleutian Islands during a weather and photo reconnaissance mission in the Kiska Island region. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The keel of British escort carrier Ameer was laid down. ww2dbase [Ameer | CPC]
• The keel of American destroyer escort Pillsbury was laid down. ww2dbase [CPC]
• American destroyer Kalk was launched. ww2dbase [CPC]
• American destroyer Hall was launched. ww2dbase [CPC]
• American destroyer Conner was launched. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-575 damaged British tanker San Gaspar (12 were killed, 40 survived) 50 miles east of Trinidad at 0625 hours; several hours later, 100 miles further east, U-575 struck again, sinking sailing vessels Glacier and Comrade with her deck gun. German submarine U-160 attacked Panamanian transport Carmona with multiple torpedoes southeast of Trinidad between 1633 and about 1715 hours, sinking her; 4 were killed, 31 survived). ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]

• USS Skipjack departed Fremantle, Australia for her fourth war patrol. ww2dbase [Skipjack | Fremantle, Western Australia | CPC]

• USS S-43 disembarked RAAF Flight Officer Cecil John Trevelyan Mason on New Ireland for Mason to check in with coast watchers. She would embark Mason before the end of the day and set sail. ww2dbase [S-43 | New Ireland | CPC]

• USS Wasp arrived at Tongatapu, Tonga. ww2dbase [Wasp (Wasp-class) | Tongatabu, Tonga | CPC, DS]

• Three B-25 bombers of US 10th Air Force based in Guilin Airfield, Guangxi Province, China attacked Tianhe Airfield in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. ww2dbase [Tianhe Airfield | Guangzhou, Guangdong | CPC]

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Balikpapan, Borneo | CPC]

• Prototype jet fighter Me 262 V3 Schwalbe took its maiden flight with Fritz Wendel in the cockpit over Leipheim, Germany. ww2dbase [Me 262 Schwalbe | Leipheim | CPC]

• British submarine HMS Unbroken departed Gibraltar for Malta. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Wolfgang Falck departed Venice, Italy after advising the Italians on nightfighting tactics. In a subsequent report he filed for Erhard Milch, Falck noted that the Italian nightfighting organization was extremely poor. ww2dbase [Wolfgang Falck | Venezia, Veneto | CPC]

• German supply ship Regensburg arrived at Yokohama, Japan, disembarking prisoners captured by German merchant raiders that Regensburg supported. When inspecting captured mail that was also given to the Japanese, it was discovered that the Americans had broken the current Japanese Navy code, leading to a change in codes. ww2dbase [Yokohama, Kanagawa | CPC]

• Petre Dumitrescu was promoted to the rank of general. ww2dbase [Petre Dumitrescu | CPC]

• Soviet Pacific Fleet submarine Shch-138 suffered an accidental detonation of her own torpedoes at Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai, far eastern Russia and was lost with 17 men. Shch-118 was also damaged in this incident. ww2dbase [Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai | CPC]

• German troops captured Voroshilovgrad (now Luhansk) in eastern Ukraine. ww2dbase [Caucasus Campaign | Voroshilovgrad | CPC]

• Destroyer USS Shaw returned to San Francisco, California after a brief shakedown to San Diego and back. ww2dbase [Shaw | San Francisco, California | DS]

18 Jul 1942 Interactive Map