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World War II Database

7 Dec 1942
  • Operation Frankton had Royal Navy submarines drop off commandos to raid German shipping up the River Gironde in Bordeaux Harbor, France. ww2dbase [TH]
  • American forces at Guadalcanal marked the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor by shelling Japanese positions from dawn to dusk in what they term a "Hate Shoot". ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | AC]
  • The British liner-turned-troopship, SS Ceramic, on her way to Australia with 378 mainly military and nursing passengers, a crew of 278, and 12 children, was torpedoed by U-515 off the Azores. Survivors took to the lifeboats but in heavy seas and a gale force wind, these soon capsize. The U-boat captain, Werner Henke, fished one man from the water for interrogation purposes and left the rest, 655 men, women, and children, to die. U-515 was eventually sunk by American warships in Apr 1944 and the crew captured. Two months later Henke, who had been responsible for sinking 26 Allied ships was shot dead in an attempt to scale the fence of his POW camp in Virginia in the United States. Refusing an order to stop demanded by alerted guards, Henke appeared to deliberately commit suicide rather than face being tried as a war criminal over the Ceramic incident. The one passenger rescued, Royal Engineer Eric Monday, survived the war. ww2dbase [AC]
  • USS Gunnel ended her first war patrol and departed North African waters. ww2dbase [Gunnel | CPC]
Australia Australian New Guinea
  • US B-24 bombers attacked Rabaul, New Britain, causing no damage due to poor weather. ww2dbase [Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]
Gibraltar
  • In Operation BG 5, Italian auxiliary ship Olterra launched three manned torpedoes against Gibraltar; they failed to cause any damage. ww2dbase [CPC]
Hawaii Marshall Islands
  • Kamoi arrived at Mili, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Mili | CPC]
Pacific Ocean
  • USS Wahoo departed waters off Buka, Solomon Islands for Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Wahoo | CPC]
United States
  • Balao-class submarine Bowfin was launched at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire ww2dbase [Bowfin | Portsmouth, New Hampshire | DS]
  • The keel was laid for fleet oiler Escambia at the Marinship yard. This was the first keel laid at Marinship for a tanker, the ship type Marinship was primarily intended to build. ww2dbase [Marinship Shipbuilding | Sausalito, California | DS]
Photo(s) dated 7 Dec 1942
Two submarines of US Navy Submarine Squadron 50 at Rosneath, Scotland, United Kingdom, circa 7 Dec 1942; sub possibilities were USS Barb, USS Blackfish, USS Herring, USS Shad, USS Gunnel, and USS GurnardChristening of battleship New Jersey by Carolyn Edison, wife of New Jersey Governor and former Secretary of the Navy Charles Edison, Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States, 7 Dec 1942Submarine Bowfin sponsor Mrs. Jane Gawne, Rear Admiral Thomas Withers, and Bowfin Maid of honor Miss Christine Gawne stand ready to christen the boat prior to her launch at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, 7 Dec 1942.Launching of submarine Bowfin, 7 Dec 1942, Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States.

7 Dec 1942 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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Famous WW2 Quote
"With Germany arming at breakneck speed, England lost in a pacifist dream, France corrupt and torn by dissension, America remote and indifferent... do you not tremble for your children?"

Winston Churchill, 1935


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