13 Aug 1942
- British submarine HMS Unbroken damaged cruisers Bolzano and Muzio Attendolo 21 miles north of Capo d'Orlando, Sicily, Italy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake of the Japanese Seventeenth Army based at Rabaul, New Britain was ordered to take command of ground forces on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- German submarine U-752 sank US ship Cripple Creek 400 miles southwest of Freetown, British West Africa at 0740 hours; 1 was killed, 51 survived. Also on this day, Italian submarine Reginaldo Giuliani sank US ship California 1,400 miles west of Freetown; 1 was killed, 35 survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- German submarine U-658 sank Dutch ship Medea of Allied convoy WAT-13 between Cuba and Haiti at 0507 hours; 5 were killed, 23 survived. German submarine U-171 sank US tanker R. M. Parker, Jr. with two torpedoes and her deck gun 25 miles off Louisiana, United States at 0750 hours; all 44 aboard survived. At 0948 hours, U-600 attacked Allied convoy TAW-12 between Cuba and Haiti, sinking Latvian ship Everlza (23 were killed, 14 survived) and US passenger-cargo ship Delmundo (8 were killed, 50 survived). ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Several attempts to tow F-class destroyer HMS Foresight (Lieutenant Commander Robert Augustus Fell RN), hit by an Italian aerial torpedo on the previous date, were made. When it was observed that an Axis attack might be likely, Tribal-class destroyer HMS Tartar (F43) took on the 181 survivors and scuttled Foresight with torpedoes at 0955 hours. ww2dbase [Main Article | HM]
- USS S-44 suffered some minor damage to bow planes due to rough seas in the New Britain-New Ireland region. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Japanese Army troops attacked Australian positions at Deniki, Australian Papua. Behind the front lines, Japanese transports landed additional troops at Buna after dark. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Bernard Law Montgomery officially took command of the British Eighth Army in North Africa after the original choice commander, William Gott, was killed. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH, CPC]
- Destroyer Yukikaze began a period of training in the Inland Sea in Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- In the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, 7 German and 8 Italian torpedo boats attacked the Allied Pedestal convoy, sinking freighters Wairangi, Glenorchy, Almeria Lykes, and Santa Elisa shortly after midnight. At 0100 hours, Italian torpedo boats MAS16 and MAS22 fatally damaged British cruiser HMS Manchester 4 miles off Kellibia, Tunisia, kiling 10. At dawn, German dive bombers sank freighters Waimarama (80 were killed) and Dorset. Later in the morning, already-damaged tanker Ohio was disabled by further bomb hits; she would be abandoned after nightfall. Finally, British fighters from Malta arrived, allowing three Pedestal convoy freighters to sail into Malta between 1730 and 1830 hours; the successful RAF fighter coverage which drove away German air attacks would also force the 6 Italian cruisers and 17 destroyers which had sailed from Messina, Sicily, Italy on the previous day to abandon their mission to intercept the Pedestal convoy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- USS Tuscaloosa, USS Rodman, USS Emmons, and HMS Onslaught departed Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom with ammunition, aircraft parts, and other war goods for the Soviet Union. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- US Marine Corps established the Marine Corps Air Station, Santa Barbara, California, United States; it was placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Livingston B. Stedman, Jr. ww2dbase [CPC]
13 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? 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
- » Japan and Russia to continue negotiations on the Kuriles territorial dispute (22 Nov 2019)
- » Wreck of Akagi Found (21 Oct 2019)
- » Wreck of Kaga Found (18 Oct 2019)
- » USMC corrected Iwo Jima flag raiser identification (18 Oct 2019)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,067 biographies
- » 331 events
- » 37,111 timeline entries
- » 1,055 ships
- » 333 aircraft models
- » 186 vehicle models
- » 346 weapon models
- » 104 historical documents
- » 201 facilities
- » 463 book reviews
- » 26,084 photos
- » 309 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."Winston Churchill