October 23, 1944
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

MONDAY, 23 OCTOBER 1944

AMERICAN ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Three B-24s hit Kashiwabara; three more B-24s bomb Otomari and fly a photo mission over Onnekotan and five B-25s bomb the Asahi Bay area.

(CBI) BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 20 P-47s hit Japanese concentrations at Nanhlaing and Kyungyi; sixteen P-47s support ground forces at Mawlu and Henu and in nearby areas; a bivouac area south of Indaw is pounded by 4 fighter-bombers while 7 knock out a bypass bridge at Panghkam; 3 B-25s blast train cars and sidings at Kyaukme, 3 hit a nearby motor pool, 2 hit a motor pool at Namhsim, and 1 blasts a rail line at Nawngpeng. Transports fly 270+ sorties in the CBI.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 3 B-25s knock out a bridge at Lobochai while 7 P-40s hit trucks and locomotives nearby; 6 B-25s and 11 P-51s pound the town area of Menghsu; 50+ P-40s and P-51s hit small towns and other targets of opportunity in the Menghsu area; 40+ others attack shipping, bridges, and general targets of opportunity around Anfu, Kweiping, Shepchung, Kuanyang, Ssuwangshu, Mangshih, Chefang, Panghkam, Takhing, Tanchuk, Dosing, Wuchou, and Tengyun and Wanling, Burma.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA) AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): Eight B-24s from Guam bomb Yap, 2 from Saipan hit Pagan. During the night of 23/24 Oct, one B-24 bombs Iwo Jima.

U.S. Army: General McArthur reinstalls the legitimate government of the Philippines on Leyte.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s and P-38s maintain shipping sweeps in the Makassar area. B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit oil storage at Boela, Amboina town, two airfields and other targets in the Amboina Ceram-Boeroe area. Fighter-bombers hit Sagan while A-20s support ground forces further E in the Sawar River-Orai River area. In the Philippines, vehicles and small vessels in the Mindanao area are attacked by fighter-bombers while B-25s attack small shipping in the Sulu Archipelago. Fighter-bombers over Halmahera hit scattered bivouacs. The detachment of the 17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), ceases operating from Noemfoor with F-5s (the ground echelon is enroute from Guadalcanal, Solomons to Morotai and other detachment are operating from Bougainville, Solomon and Sansapor. The 39th Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, moves from Owi to Morotai with P-47s.

USN: The Battle for Leyte Gulf begins with USS Darter (SS-227) continues to trail Japanese warships detected the previous day. In the first engagement, The Battle of the Palawan Passage submarines USS Darter (SS-227) and USS Dace (SS-247) attack Force "A" (Center Force) under the command of Vice Admiral Kurita Takeo, one of the three main bodies of the Japanese fleet moving toward Leyte. At 5:33 USS Darter (SS-227) fires a spread of torpedoed and four hit and sink heavy cruiser Atago. At 6:00am USS Dace (SS-247) fires a spread of six torpedoes with four hitting and sinking Maya at 09°28'N, 117°20'E. At 6:34am USS Darter (SS-227) fires a spread of torpedoes with two hitting and damaging damages Takao at 09°24'N, 117°11'E.

USS Bream (SS-243) torpedoes heavy cruiser Aoba off Manila Bay, 14°06'N, 119°37'E.

Destroyer escort USS Gilligan (DE-508) bombards Emidj Island, Jaluit Atoll.

USS Croaker (SS-246) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Hakuran Maru in Yellow Sea, off west coast of Korea, 35°29'N, 126°05'E.

USS Nautilus (SS-168) lands men and supplies on east coast of Luzon; she will repeat the operation on 24 and 25 October 1944.

USS Sawfish (SS-276) sinks Japanese seaplane carrier Kimikawa Maru west of Luzon, 18°58'N, 118°31'E.

USS Snook (SS-279) damages Japanese merchant tanker Kikusui Maru in South China Sea, west of Luzon Strait, 19°44'N, 118°25'E.

USS Tang (SS-306) sinks Japanese cargo ships Toun Maru and Tatsuju Maru and transport Wakatake Maru, 24°49'N, 120°26'E, and merchant cargo ship Kori Go, 24°42'N, 120°21'E in Formosa Strait.

Special Task Air Group One (STAG-1) two missions of three TDR-1 Assault Drones each are flown against beached Japanese ships in Moisuru Bay and off the southern end of the Kahili Airfield on southern Bougainville. In the first mission, one TDR scores a direct hit on "Kahili Maru"; in the second mission, one TDR scores a direct hit on "Kahili Maru" while another hits a beached merchant ship in Moisuru Bay.

Lost is PB4Y-1 32277 pilot Lt. Harold H. Lewis Jr. (MIA) on a patrol mission and was attacked by enemy fighters and fails to return.