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• » 5 Aug 1943

• In Sicily, Italy, German forces withdrew from Troina, while British Eighth Army captured Catania. ww2dbase [Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender | TH]
• British trawler Gulland was launched. ww2dbase [Gulland | CPC]
• The Japanese Navy transferred the 12th Air Fleet from the Combined Fleet to the Northeast Area Fleet; it now had three air flotillas, one communication unit, and one weather observation unit. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Minesweeper USS Alarm was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease act. ww2dbase [AC]
• US Navy Admiral Raymond Spruance, formerly the chief of staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Ocean Area, was named the commanding officer of the Central Pacific Area and the commanding officer of the Fifth Fleet. ww2dbase [Raymond Spruance | CPC]
• Gusztáv Jány stepped down as the commanding officer of Hungarian 2nd Army. ww2dbase [Gusztáv Jány | CPC]
• Francis Tuker was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. ww2dbase [Francis Tuker | CPC]

• US Navy squadrons VF-26, VF-27, and VF-28, all equipped with F4F fighters, were transferred out of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Henderson Field | Lunga Point, Guadalcanal | CPC]

• Escort carrier USS Bogue and her task group departed Casablanca, French Morocco and resumed their Central Atlantic patrol. ww2dbase [Bogue | Casablanca | DS]

• USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her fourth war patrol. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Tunny | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• Kamikaze departed Otaru, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Kamikaze | Otaru, Hokkaido | CPC]

• Gato-class submarine USS Silversides fired four torpedoes at the Japanese mine layer Tsugaru between Rabaul and Truk. One and possibly two of the torpedoes exploded prematurely and Silversides endured a meager depth charge attack. ww2dbase [Silversides | DS]

• The USAAF 23rd Antisubmarine Squadron, operation A-29 Hudson aircraft, arrived at Edinburgh Field in Trinidad. ww2dbase [Carlsen Field | Chaguanas | CPC]

• Soviet troops nearly the German garrison at Belgorod, Russia; German troops began evacuating the city after sundown. ww2dbase [Battle of Belgorod | Belgorod | CPC]
• Konstantin Rokossovsky's Central Front liberated Orel, Russia and the Germans withdrew to the partly prepared Hagen line position at the base of the salient. ww2dbase [Konstantin Rokossovsky | Bryansk | AC]

• USS Ranger departed the Boston Navy Yard bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. ww2dbase [Boston Navy Yard | Ranger | Boston, Massachusetts | DS]

5 Aug 1943 Interactive Map