September 28, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

MONDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 1942

ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Two bombing missions are flown to Kiska and Attu by 7 B-24s, 1 B-17, and 1 LB-30, escorted by 17 fighters; installations on Kiska and a freighter nearby are bombed; A B-24 and LB-30 bomb the village and Chichagof Harbor on Attu and on returning silence AA guns on a freighter; 5 floatplanes are shot down, and Japanese submarine RO-65 sustains minor damage; 1 P-39 is shot down.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA The 394th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Hickam Field to Bellows Field with B-17s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): P-40s and P-400s bomb and strafe Wairopi bridge, Kagi, Myola Lake area, and targets of opportunity along the Buna-Kokoda Trail; One B-17 bombs Lae Airfield.

U.S. Army: The main body of the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division reaches Port Moresby and is assigned to New Guinea Force to assist in advance on Wairopi.

U.S. Navy: Submarine USS Nautilus (SS-168) torpedoes and sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship No.6 Tamon Maru east of Japan, 40°35'N, 141°50'N.

Submarine USS Sculpin (SS-191) claims to torpedo Japanese seaplane carrier Nisshin. The submarine is damaged by depth charges off New Britain, 03°47'S, 151°36'E but continues her patrol. If the Nisshin was the target damaged, she received one or two torpedo hits on the port side at 0826 hours. One on the port quarter, one just abaft the bridge island. However, examination of Sculpin's patrol report shows that she sighted two targets this morning. The first, a Chiyoda-type tender spotted at 0640 with no escort but the submarine was unable to attack her. Then at 0738 sighted a second ship, which was identified as an Omurosan-type tanker escorted by one subchaser. This was the target actually attacked by four torpedoes at 0826. Reportedly it was left damaged and screws stopped. Their first sighting at 0740 was likely Nisshin. Since Sculpin expressed surprise at being attacked by depth-charge dropped by an aircraft after the attack, the possibility does exist that the second target was the same as the first, a Chiyoda-class (Nisshin). If so, any damage sustained was minimal.

Submarine USS Trout (SS-202) torpedoes Japanese escort carrier Taiyo east of Truk, 06°59'N, 151°45'E.

RAAF: Lost is Beaufort A9-89 pilot S/Ldr Clifford Sidney Bernard (MIA / KIA, two survived) crashed near Kepple Point on the southern coast of New Guinea.