November 7, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SATURDAY, 7 NOVEMBER 1942

ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Six B-24s and two B-26s attack the submarine base at Kiska Harbor, slightly damaging float fighters and a seaplane beached by storm; a B-17 flies reconnaissance over the airfield west of Holtz Bay and bombs the submarine base and bomb the previously damaged Borneo Maru in Gertrude Cove off Kiska.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): A-20s bomb and strafe forces at Kakandeta in the Owen Stanley Range; B-25s attack seaplanes at Lasonga and shipping at Maklo in the Bismarck Archipelago. The 65th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group moves from Iron Range to Mareeba with B-17s, first mission is November 12, 1942. The first plane to land at Pongani Airfield is C-47 "Swamp Rat" 41-38601.

IJN: Japanese submarine I-20 launches HA-11 Type A Midget Submarine off Guadalcanal and damages the USS Majaba (AG-43), forcing it to beach to prevent sinking. Responding, USS Lansdowne DD-486 and USS Lardner DD-487 search for the submarine, but fail to damage it. Afterwards, the midget submarine is run aground at Marovovo on Guadalcanal.

A formation of USN, USMC and USAAF planes took off from Guadalcanal on a mission against a "Tokyo Express" convoy of eleven destroyers. The formation includes twenty-one F4F Wildcats from VMF-121 escorting a formation of SBD Dauntless from VMSB-132, TBF Avengers from VT-8 and P-39 Airacobras from 67th Fighter Squadron (67th FS) armed with bombs. Approaching the convoy, the Wildcats engage the air cover including six A6M2-N Rufes from 802 Kōkūtai (802 Air Group) and four F1M2 Petes from Kamikawa Maru and are joined by the P-39s after they jettison their bombs. In total, the U.S. fighters claim ten Petes shot down (five by the Wildcats and five by the P-39s). In fact, only one Pete is lost.

USMC: Brigadier General Louis E. Wood is relieved on Guadalcanal. The organization of a women's reserve was approved by Major General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the Marine Corps