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• USS S-28 detected an unidentified target which was presumed to be Japanese. As she prepared for an attack, a ground in her fire control circuits caused an accidental firing from the No. 1 tube, thus prematurely ending the attack. She arrived in Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska that afternoon and then departed for San Diego, California, United States. ww2dbase [S-28 | Unalaska | CPC]

• British submarine HMS Unique (Lieutenant Robert Evelyn Boddington) disappeared while on patrol in the Bay of Biscay west of France. British submarine HMS Ursula reported hearing underwater explosions which led her commander to believe that HMS Unique was under attack although there are no German reports of attacks within the bay of Biscay area. HMS Unique's loss would be officially announced by the Admiralty on 6 Dec 1942. ww2dbase [AC, HM]

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Rabaul, New Britain. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]
• 7 Australian PBY Catalina aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain at 0330 hours. At 0400 hours, 18 US B-17 Flying Fortress bombers attacked Rabaul's Simpson harbor while 3 B-17 bombers attacked nearby Lakunai airfield. ww2dbase [Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

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

• Submarine USS Thresher departed her patrol area off French Indochina (now Vietnam) to continue on with her assignment. ww2dbase [Thresher | DS]

• From Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany, Sigmund Rascher reported his findings from experiments involving putting concentration camp prisoners in full flight suits and placing them in freezing conditions, concluding that the warming of the subjects' heads and necks were vital for the subjects' survival. ww2dbase [Dachau Concentration Camp | Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Dachau, München-Oberbayern | CPC]
• German government increased rations by 10% for all foreign workers. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]

• USS S-38 reconnoitered Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. ww2dbase [S-38 | Makin | CPC]

• USS Pollack departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Pollack | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• The major Axis air offensive against Malta began. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | TH]

• The Soviet Neva Operational Group was reorganized into the Soviet 67th Army; Mikhail Dukhanov remained its commanding officer. ww2dbase [Mikhail Dukhanov | CPC]

• Japanese submarine I-25 departed the US coast bound for Japan. This was the last Japanese submarine to visit the US coast during World War II. ww2dbase [Japanese Attacks on the Continental United States | Oregon | DS]

10 Oct 1942 Interactive Map