June 6, 1943
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SUNDAY, 6 JUNE 1943

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force) In China, five P-40s strafe trucks, barracks, and personnel at Tangyang; at least 15 trucks are burned and considerable damage is done to the barracks area. 11 P-40's hit the approaches to a bridge at Puchi; 2 locomotives in the area are destroyed. Ten other P-40's attack Shasi Airfield and hit river shipping at Shasi. 7 B-25's bomb Pailochi Airfield.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) P-38's, P-40's, and Navy and Marine fighters and dive bombers attack shipping off Buin scoring damaging hits on a destroyer and two smaller vessels; Fifteen Japanese airplanes are claimed shot down. Other P-38's and P-40's strafe the Luti Bay area of Choiseul. HQ 42d Bombardment Group (Medium) transfers from Fiji to Guadalcanal.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) B-24's hit Koepang town and Penfoei Airfield.

USN: S-30 (SS-135) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship No. 3 Nagashige Maru south of Kamchatka, 50°45'N, 156°56'E.

USS Tautog (SS-199) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Shinei Maru, 07°00'N, 123°37'E .

Japanese river gunboat Seta is damaged by Chinese planes, Yangtze River.

Indian Ocean: U.S. tanker William King is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-198 off the South African coast, 30°34'S, 33°56'E; while six of the 42-man merchant complement perish in the sinking, there are no casualties among the 23-man Armed Guard. U-198 surfaces and brings the lifeboats alongside, however, and takes ship's master Owen H. Reed prisoner before departing.

USN: USS Darter (SS-227) is launched by Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut