July 16, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology
THURSDAY, 16 JULY 1942
CHINA AIR TASK FORCE (CATF): Four B-25s from Kweilin, with P-40 escort,
bomb a storage area at Hankow, starting a fire that is later reported to have
burned 3 days. The B-25s land at Hengyang during the return flight to refuel,
but are attacked by Japanese aircraft and have to take off immediately. Amidst
the confusion a P-40 pilot mistakes a B-25 for a Japanese aircraft and shoots
it down, the first bomber lost since the CATF began operations in China; the
crew is saved.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th AF): B-17s of the 11th Bombardment Group
(11th BG) begin leaving Hickam Field for the South Pacific.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th AF): A single B-17 bombs Salamaua. Crashed while landing at Horn Island Airfield is B-17E 41-2421 (KIA).
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