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• The US Liberty ship, SS Richard Montgomery, with a cargo of explosives, ran aground and broke her back on a sandbank off Sheerness, Kent, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [AC]
• French resistance fighters liberated Toulouse, France. ww2dbase [The French Resistance | AC]
• At Falaise, France, Major David Currie became the only Canadian to win the Victoria Cross during the Normandy campaign. In three days of non-stop action, his little force of tanks, self-propelled anti-tank guns and infantry had destroyed seven Panzers, 12 heavy guns and 40 other vehicles, killing more than 1,000 of the enemy and taking 11,000 prisoners. ww2dbase [AC]
• Remy Van Lierde became the commanding officer of No. 164 Squadron RAF. ww2dbase [Remy Van Lierde | CPC]
• Destroyer Yuzuki was assigned to Destroyer Division 30 of Escort Squadron 31 of the Combined Fleet as the division's flagship under Captain Seiji Sawamura. ww2dbase [Yuzuki | CPC]
• USS Segundo completed taking on ammunition and supplies for a war patrol. ww2dbase [Segundo | CPC]

• 300 miles south of Newfoundland, aircraft flying from escort carrier USS Bogue spotted the German submarine U-1229 running on the surface in broad daylight. In a coordinated attack by 5 Avengers and 2 Wildcats using depth charges, FFAR rockets, and strafing, the submarine was sunk. 18 were killed and 41 were rescued. Among the survivors was Oskar Mantel, an intelligence officer who was to be landed in the Gulf of Maine had U-1229 not been sunk. This contact gave the US Navy their first detailed photographs of a German submarine equipped with a schnorkel device. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | Bogue | DS]

• USS Cero arrived at Brisbane, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol. ww2dbase [Cero | Brisbane, Queensland | CPC]

• Pierre Laval stepped down as the Prime Minister of France. ww2dbase [Pierre Laval | Vichy | CPC]
• Blockship Foch was hit by two aerial bombs at the mouth of the Toulon harbor, France. ww2dbase [Toulon Military Port | Foch | Toulon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | CPC]
• The Falaise pocket in France began to close around German troops; the Allies captured over 4,000 prisoners of war. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 2 | Falaise, Basse-Normandie | TH]
• Charles De Gaulle landed at Cherbourg, France. Meeting Dwight Eisenhower later in the day, he convinced the Allied commander that the French capital of Paris should be a priority objective that should not be bypassed. ww2dbase [Charles de Gaulle | Cherbourg, Basse-Normandie | AC, CPC]
• US 79th Division reached Seine River above Paris, France. ww2dbase [Liberation of Paris | TH]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Thirteen men of D-1, Unit 5, arrived on board. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Captain Enpei Kanoka was named the commanding officer of Nachi while the ship was at Kure Naval Arsenal, Japan. ww2dbase [Kure Naval Arsenal | Nachi | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]
• Landing ship No. 114 was launched. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]
• Landing ship No. 136 was completed. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]
• The keel of landing ship No. 144 was laid down by Kawanami Kogyo. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• Z35 and Z36 completed the escorting of heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen off the Latvian coast. Z35 damaged her propellers on a rock, thus requiring her to sail to Gotenhafen, Germany (occupied Gdynia, Poland) for repairs. ww2dbase [Prinz Eugen | Z35 | Z36 | CPC]

• USS Gunnel attacked a Japanese transport in the South China Sea; all 9 torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Gunnel | South China Sea | CPC]

• After sundown, aircraft of No. 1586 (Polish Special Duties) Flight RAF successfully made one supply drop in Warsaw, Poland and two drops in nearby Kampinos Forest. ww2dbase [Warsaw Uprising | Warsaw | CPC]
• After sundown, aircraft of No. 1586 (Polish Special Duties) Flight RAF failed to deliver supplies to resistance fighters in Warsaw, Poland. ww2dbase [Warsaw Uprising | CPC]
• Members of the Armia Krajowa attacked the State Telephone Exchange high-rise building in Warsaw, Poland. ww2dbase [Warsaw Uprising | Warsaw | CPC]

• 2nd Ukrainian Front and 3rd Ukrainian Front launched the Second Jassy-Kishinev Offensive into northeastern Romania. The Romanian 3rd Army was broken, while Axis shipping was attacked by Soviet aircraft on the Romanian coast. ww2dbase [Jassy-Kishinev Offensive and Romania's Surrender | AC, CPC]

• Three V-1 flying bombs caused 16 deaths in the area around Twickenham Road, Feltham and Studeley Road in Stockwell, both of London, England, United Kingdom. Pilot Officer John Bilodeau RCAF (129 Squadron) flying Mustang III FB395/DV-Y fighter appeared to spin out of low cloud and crash into the sea, this was the squadron's first loss of a pilot whilst combatting the flying bombs. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 1 | V-Weapons Campaign | London, England | HM]

• USS Kete departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States. ww2dbase [Kete | Manitowoc, Wisconsin | CPC]

20 Aug 1944 Interactive Map