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17 Aug 1943
  • Allied artillery began shelling Italian mainland from Messina, Sicily. ww2dbase [Invasion of Sicily and Italy's Surrender | TH]
  • The Germans made the first operational use of the Hs 293A-1 radio controlled bomb. It was launched from a Do 217E5s of II/KG100 against British shipping in the Bay of Biscay. Ten days later, an Hs 293 would claim the corvette HMS Egret. ww2dbase [AC]
  • Minesweeper USS Apex was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act. ww2dbase [AC]
  • USS Bailey arrived at San Francisco, California. ww2dbase [Bailey | DS]
  • Destroyers USS Nicholas, USS Chevalier, USS O’Bannon, and USS Taylor departed Tulagi, Solomon Islands for a nighttime patrol to the northern reaches of the New Georgia Sound (The “Slotâ€) to interdict Japanese shipping. ww2dbase [Nicholas | Solomon Islands Campaign | DS]
Australian New Guinea
  • As a build up to the landings at Lae, Australian Papua the US 5th Air Force commenced a two-week blitz on the Japanese airfield in the Wewak area in Australian New Guinea. 12 B-17 and 26 B-24 bombers from Jackson Field and Ward's Strip at Port Moresby, Australian Papua hit the two Japanese airfields at Wewak starting at about 0000 hours; the Americans lost 3 B-24 bombers while the Japanese suffered 13 aircraft destroyed, 20 heavily damaged, 34 slightly damaged, and 70 men killed. At 0600 hours, 61 modified B-25 bombers, with fighter escort, were launched from Port Moresby; although 21 aircraft turned back due to poor weather, the remainder hit Wewak between 0750 and 0845 hours, destroying about 30 aircraft that were parked in rows in preparation of the arrival of a high ranking Japanese officer. The series of blitz paved the way for the autumn invasion that resulted in the capture of the western flank of Rabaul, New Britain. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Wewak | AC, CPC]
Canada Germany Japan Pacific Ocean
  • USS Wahoo attacked a freighter in the Sea of Japan at 0200 hours; the torpedo missed. At 2200 hours, she attacked another ship, again missing with one torpedo. ww2dbase [Wahoo | Sea of Japan | CPC]
United States Photo(s) dated 17 Aug 1943
Mackenzie King and Franklin Roosevelt, Quadrant Conference, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, 17-24 Aug 1943B-17F Flying Fortress bombers in flight over Schweinfurt, Germany, 17 Aug 1943Launching party of Tang, Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, United States, 17 Aug 1943Mrs Cecily Olsen and Mrs A S Pitre at the launching of Tang, Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, United States, 17 Aug 1943, as printed in 20 Aug 1943 edition of shipyard newspaper Grapevine
See all photos dated 17 Aug 1943

17 Aug 1943 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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"Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!"

Captain Henry P. Jim Crowe, Guadalcanal, 13 Jan 1943


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