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• HMS Polyanthus (Lieutenant J. G. Aitken) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-952, whilst on escort duties southwest of Iceland. ww2dbase [AC]
• The Japanese Navy formed the 13th Air Fleet on paper with Vice Admiral Shiro Takasu in command and Rear Admiral Takeo Tada as the chief of staff. ww2dbase [CPC]
• De Havilland Vampire jet fighter took its first flight. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Rudolf Höss' fifth child Annegret was born. ww2dbase [Rudolf Höss | CPC]

• USS Cisco departed Darwin, Australia for her first and only war patrol. ww2dbase [Cisco | Darwin, Northern Territory | CPC]

• Two Ki-49 aircraft of Japanese 7th Flying Regiment attacked Port Moresby, Australian Papua. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Port Moresby | CPC]

• Repair ship Akashi began repairing tanker Notoro at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Akashi | Truk | CPC]

• The Japanese Autumn Mop-up Operation began in Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Provinces in China; 30,000 men were deployed to wipe out Chinese Communist guerrilla forces. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Air operations at Naval Air Station Kahului on Maui, US Territory of Hawaii officially commenced with the arrival of Composite Squadron VC-23 and their SBD Dauntless scout bombers. ww2dbase [Kahului Naval Air Station | Kahului, Maui | DS]

• British Eighth Army captured Bari, Italy. Meanwhile, Venice was bombed by Allied planes. ww2dbase [Operation Avalanche | TH]

• Shokaku arrived at Eniwetok, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Shokaku | Eniwetok | CPC]
• Naka arrived at Mili Atoll, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Naka | Mili | CPC]

• USS Haddock fired 6 torpedoes on oiler Notoro in the Pacific Ocean, damaging her with 3 hits; Notoro, originally saililng for Japan, turned toward Truk, Caroline Islands for repairs. ww2dbase [Haddock | CPC]
• USS Haddock fired a total of 12 torpedoes across the span of the day in the Pacific Ocean, damaging transport Shinyubari Maru with 3 hits and damaging another with 4 hits. Haddock was counterattacked several times on this date. ww2dbase [Haddock | CPC]

• German Armeegruppe Süd began withdrawing to a new line running from Melitopol to Zaporozhe in Ukraine. ww2dbase [TH]

20 Sep 1943 Interactive Map