World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » 17 Aug 1942

• Weather data for 17 Aug 1942

• USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese transport in the Dutch East Indies; both torpedo missed. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Destroyer Yuzuki departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands, escorting a troop convoy to Buna, New Guinea. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Ira Eaker personally participated in the first American B-17 bombing mission against a continental European target, Rouen, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-507 sank Brazilian ship Itagiba off Brazil at 1549 hours (36 were killed, 145 survived); later at 1803 hours, as Brazilian ship Arará approached to rescue survivors, U-507 sank her as well (20 were killed, 16 survived). Meanwhile, at 1756 hours, German submarine U-566 sank Norwegian merchant ship Triton 200 miles northeast of the Azores islands; all 43 aboard survived. At 2244 hours, after a 6-hour pursuit, German submarine U-108 sank US tanker Louisiana 200 miles off French Guiana; all 49 aboard were killed. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-658 attacked Allied convoy PG-6 between Cuba and Haiti at 0619 hours, sinking Egyptian ship Samir, sinking British ship Fort la Reine (3 were killed, 41 survived), and damaging British merchant ship Laguna (all aboard survived). ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• British submarine HMS Safari sank Italian sailing vessel Ausonia with her deck gun 10 miles south of Sardinia, Italy. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-83 sank Canadian troopship Princess Marguerite 50 miles north of Port Said, Egypt at 1408 hours; 49 were killed, 1,083 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-209 attacked a Soviet convoy with her deck gun off Matveev Island in northwestern Russia in Pechora Sea between 0526 and 0920 hours, sinking tug Komsomolec, tug Komiles, barge P-4 (305 were killed, 23 survived), and barge Sh-500. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Tenryu departed Rabaul, New Britain. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Repair ship Akashi departed Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Winston Churchill arrived at Cairo, Egypt. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The US Eighth Air Force launched its first "All-American" air raid over Europe with 12 B-17E Flying Fortress bombers escorted by four squadrons of Spitfire fighters attacking rail marshalling yards at Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France. Interruption by German fighters caused the damage to be minimal. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC, CPC]

• 139 British bombers attacked Osnabrück, Germany, destroying 77 houses and 4 military buildings, killing 7 people, and wounding 15 people; 5 bombers were lost on this mission. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• 211 men of the US 2nd Raider Battalion attacked Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands; it was the first amphibious assault ever launched from submarines (USS Nautilus and USS Argonaut). 9 of the raiders would be left behind by mistake; they were captured, were brought to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, and were executed. ww2dbase [TH, CPC]

• USS Hornet departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for the South Pacific. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• Yamato departed Kure, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands escorted by escort carrier Kasuga Maru (later renamed Taiyo), Akebono, Ushio, and Sazanami. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• In Operation Baritone, British carrier HMS Furious launched 32 Spitfire fighters for Malta; 2 of them were lost during takeoff. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• German submarine U-209 spotted Soviet ocean tug Komsomelets and ocean tug Nord at 0700 hours east of the Yugorsky Peninsula in northern Russia; the two tugs were towing barge P4, lighter Sh-500, and tug Komiles. U-209 immediately shelled Komsomelets and fired a torpedo at P4, which missed. At 0800 hours, U-209 shelled Komiles, forcing her crew to abandon ship. At 0810, U-209 shelled and sank Sh-500. Shortly after, U-209 fired another torpedo at P4; 305 were killed (most of whom were penal construction workers), 23 survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The Karenko Prisoners of War Camp in Karenko (now Hualien) in eastern Taiwan was opened. It would hold high-ranking prisoners of war such as Jonathan Wainwright and Arthur Percival. ww2dbase [CPC]

17 Aug 1942 Interactive Map