4 Aug 1942


- The first P-38 Lightning kill in the Pacific Theatre occurred when a pair of Kawanishi flying-boats were shot down off the Aleutian Islands. ww2dbase [P-38 Lightning | AC]
- Destroyer USS Tucker, damaged from hitting a mine on the previous day, sank while under tow near Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. ww2dbase [CPC]
- German submarine U-160 sank Norwegian tanker Havsten 200 miles east of Trinidad at 0159 hours; 2 were killed, 31 survived but 2 were captured by U-160. At 0229 hours, German submarine U-607 sank already-damaged Belgian ship Belgian Soldier of Allied convoy ON-115 330 miles east of St. John's, Newfoundland; 21 were killed, 39 survived. At 1558 hours, U-176 sank British ship Richmond Castle 1,100 miles southeast of Newfoundland; 14 were killed, 50 survived. At 1615 hours, U-155 sank British ship Empire Arnold 600 miles east of Trinidad; 9 were killed, 48 survived but the captain was captured by U-155. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
- Deportation of Belgian Jews to Auschwitz Concentration Camp began. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]
- German submarine U-372 was detected by a British Wellington bomber 50 miles southwest of Haifa, Palestine; while British destroyers HMS Sikh, HMS Zulu, HMS Croome, and HMS Tetcott closed in on the location, the bomber's depth charges forced U-372 to surface, and the crew abandoned the submarine before the destroyers arrived; the entire crew of 48 survived and were captured by the destroyers. ww2dbase [CPC]
- George Brett departed Australia for the United States aboard B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft "Swoose". ww2dbase [George Brett | CPC]
- General George C. Kenney assumed command of Southwest Pacific Air Force in Australia. ww2dbase [George Kenney | AC]
- Winston Churchill arrived at Cairo, Egypt. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | Cairo | CPC]
- The first infantry training course began at Ramgarh Training Center, India. ww2dbase [Ramgarh Training Center | Ramgarh, Bihar | CPC]
- USS S-38 arrived in New Britain-New Ireland waters. ww2dbase [S-38 | CPC]
- Elements of German 4.Panzerarmee crossed the Aksay River en route to Stalingrad, Russia. ww2dbase [Battle of Stalingrad | Stalingrad | TH]
- Soviet 20th Army and 31st Army attacked Rzhev, Russia from the south while 29th Army and 30th Army attacked from the north. ww2dbase [Rzhev, Tver | CPC]
- At the Department of Justice Building in Washington DC, United States, a special military commission sentenced the 8 German saboteurs captured during the failed Operation Pastorius to death by electric chair, including George Dasch, the defector who contributed to the capture of the 7 others. ww2dbase [Washington | CPC]
- USS Whale departed San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [Whale | San Francisco, California | CPC]



4 Aug 1942 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: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Change View
Desktop ViewSearch WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » Joseph Eskenazi honored at US National World War II Museum (16 Jan 2023)
- » Beethoven Original Manuscript to be Returned to Heirs of its Pre-WW2 Owner (13 Jan 2023)
- » WW2DB's 18th Anniversary (29 Dec 2022)
- » Two WW2-era Aircraft Crashed During Dallas Air Show (14 Nov 2022)
- » Wreck of Samuel B. Roberts Found (27 Jun 2022)
- » See all news
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,124 biographies
- » 334 events
- » 40,949 timeline entries
- » 1,200 ships
- » 346 aircraft models
- » 205 vehicle models
- » 368 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 248 facilities
- » 468 book reviews
- » 28,775 photos
- » 399 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years."James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 Feb 1945