August 24, 1943
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

TUESDAY, 24 AUGUST 1943

POTUS: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on her South Pacific Tour lands at Nadi Airfield and tours Viti Levu Island and departs the next day.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): Seven B-24s and six B-25s, escorted by 22 P-40s and P-38s, bomb Hankow Airfield and Wuchang Airfield; four B-24s are lost; they claim 24 enemy interceptors shot down.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): Twenty-five B-24's with fighter escort, bomb Papatura Fa and attack the eastern shore of Ringa Cove on New Georgia. P-39's strafe barges at Kakasa on Choiseul. The 23d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy) operating from Guadalcanal with B-17s returns to Espiritu Santo for R&R.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): B-24s bomb Salamaua; and B-25s bomb Larat and barges east of Wotap. B-24s from 43rd Bombardment Group bomb Wewak. Over the target they are intercepted by Ki-43-II Oscars from 24th Sentai and 59th Sentai plus Ki-61 Tonys from 68th Sentai. Ditched returning from the mission is P-38H 42-66745 pilot 1st Lt. Stanley C. Northrup (survived).

RNZAF: Lost is Lockheed Hudson NZ2034 (MIA).

USN: Lost is SBD-3 Dauntless 4563 pilot Chief Aviation Pilot William Rozelle Parks, Jr. (missing) on a training mission to tow target sleeves for gunnery training and crashed three miles off Pacific Beach in San Diego.