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• American submarine USS Argonaut departed with 121 US Marines, "Carlson's Raiders", for Makin Island. ww2dbase [Argonaut (Argonaut-class) | CPC]
• American submarine USS Nautilus departed US Marines, "Carlson's Raiders", for Makin Island; she would remain there to provide gunfire support. ww2dbase [Nautilus | CPC]
• German troops reached the Kadar Gorge in southern Russia. ww2dbase [Caucasus Campaign | CPC]
• German submarine U-507 sank Brazilian passenger ship Baependy at 0012 hours (270 were killed, 36 survived), merchant ship Araraquara at 0203 hours (131 were killed, 11 survivied), and ship Annibal Benévolo at 0913 hours (150 were killed, 4 survived) off Aracaju, Brazil. At 0745 hours, 620 miles west of Ireland, German submarine U-596 stopped Swedish merchant ship Suecia, forced the crew of 35 and 12 passengers to abandon ship (1 would drown in the process and 1 lifeboat containing 8 men would never be found), and sank the ship along with its cargo of American steel bound for Britain with a torpedo. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• German submarine U-77 sank small Palestinian sailing vessel Daniel with her deck gun off Palestine at 2334 hours. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British submarine HMS Turbulent damaged Italian transport Nino Bixio 40 miles off the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece; unknown to the crew of HMS Turbulent, the Italian ship was carrying 3,200 Allied prisoners of war, which would make up most of the 336 killed during the attack. Nino Bixio would remain afloat and was towed to shore for repairs. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Three Japanese transports arrived at Buna, Australian Papua and landed reinforcements. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | Buna | CPC]

• The captured Japanese Lunga Point Airfield at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands was renamed Henderson Field by the Americans. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | Henderson Field | Lunga Point, Guadalcanal | CPC]

• In the Caroline Islands, Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki and 916 men departed Truk aboard 6 destroyers for Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. They were tasked to recapture the Lunga Point Airfield. The remainder of the 28th Infantry Regiment embarked on slower transports, aiming to arrive a few days later. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | Truk | CPC]

• U-132 arrived at La Pallice, France, completing her third war patrol. ww2dbase [U-132 | La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes | CPC]
• Uckermarck and Ermland arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France; they were escorted by torpedo boats T4 and T10. ww2dbase [Ermland | T10 | T4 | Altmark | Second Happy Time | La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes | CPC]

• British carrier HMS Furious departed Gibraltar with 32 Spitfire fighters on board for delivery to Malta; she was escorted by cruiser HMS Charybdis, destroyer HMS Antelope, destroyer HMS Bicester, destroyer HMS Derwent, destroyer HMS Eskimo, destroyer HMS Keppel, destroyer HMS Laforey, destroyer HMS Lookout, destroyer HMS destroyer HMS Lightning, destroyer HMS Malcolm, destroyer HMS Somali, destroyer HMS Venomous, and destroyer HMS Wishart. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | CPC]

• In India, Joseph Stilwell departed Delhi for Ramgarh, the Chinese troops training site. ww2dbase [Joseph Stilwell | Delhi | CPC]

• Benito Mussolini presented Hans-Joachim Marseille the Gold Medal of Military Valor (Medaglia d'oro al Valore Militare) in Rome, Italy. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | Rome | CPC]

• Shokaku was assigned to Main Body, Striking Force, 3rd Fleet, Carrier Division 1. She departed Kure, Japan for Phase 2 of the Eastern Solomons battle. ww2dbase [Shokaku | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]
• Nachi arrived at Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Nachi | Mutsu, Aomori | CPC]

• Admiral Scheer departed Ofotfjord near Narvik, Norway at 1500 hours, embarking on Operation Wunderland to raid Soviet merchant shipping. A Russian-speaking radio intelligence team was brought on board to help decipher intercepted messages. Admiral Scheer was escorted by destroyer Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt, destroyer Z15 Erich Steinbrink, and destroyer Z4 Richard Beitzen. ww2dbase [Admiral Scheer | Narvik | CPC]

• Soviet ocean tug Komsomelets, ocean tug Nord departed Chabarovo on the shore of Yugorsky peninsula in northern Russia, with barge P4 (328 people on board, most of whom were penal construction workers), lighter Sh-500, and tug Komiles in tow. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Chabarovo, Arkhangelsk | CPC]
• German Luftwaffe conducted its first major bombing raid on Stalingrad, Russia. ww2dbase [Battle of Stalingrad | Stalingrad | CPC]

• USS Alabama was commissioned into service with Captain George B. Wilson in command. ww2dbase [Alabama | CPC]
• The US 101st "Screaming Eagles" Airborne Division was activated at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, United States under the command of Major General William C. Lee. ww2dbase [Rapides Parish, Louisiana | AC]

16 Aug 1942 Interactive Map