June 27, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

WEDNESDAY, 27 JUNE 1945

INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): HQ 308th Bombardment Group and 374th Bombardment Squadron, 375th Bombardment Squadron and 425th Bombardment Squadron move from Hsinching and Kwanghan to Rupsi with B-24s.

AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): In an early morning raid, three B-24s from Guam bomb the underground storage area and fortifications on Marcus. At midday, 18 B-24s bomb Moen Airfield.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 233: During the night of 27/28 Jun, 29 B-29s mine the harbors of Hagi, Kobe, and Niigata. Very Long Range fighter mission 25: 148 P-51s are dispatched from Iwo Jima, against Kasumigaura Airfield, Imba Airfield, and Tsukuba Airfield in the Tokyo area but abort because of weather. Twenty P-47s from Ie Shima hit shipping and a village on Kikai; AA from vessels downs 2 P-47s; 1 vessel is left aflame; 12 other P-47s hit shipping off Kakeroma Island, while 20 more attack vessels and targets of opportunity throughout the Sakishima Archipelago. During the night of 27/28 Jun, five P-61s fly intruder attacks, hitting vessels off Amami Gunto and Wan Airfield.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: During the night of 26/27 Jun, B-24s over the Soerabaja Strait area bomb Tandjoeng-perak Airfield, Java. In Borneo, for the 15th consecutive day, B-24s pound Balikpapan destroying oil facilities and shore defenses, B-25s hit warehouses, other buildings, and the general waterfront area. Other B-24s bomb Mandai Airfield and Limboeng Airfield. On Luzon Island, fighter-bombers hit the Kiangan area, a troop concentration NW of Bolog, the Pagong area, and the Bontoc-Sabangan area, provide ground support near Montalban, and hit targets in the Infanta sector.

Cpl John R. Nelson who bailed out of B-24J 44-40924 was rescued after being hidden for seven months by local people on Borneo.

U.S. Army: In U.S. Sixth Army's I Corps area, 129th Inf of 37th Div reach Aparri ending their drive in the Cagayan Valley. This virtually concludes the campaign on Luzon.

U.S. Navy: PB4Y-2s (VPB 118), flying from Okinawa, continue aerial mining of waters of Korean archipelago, sowing mines in fields off Chin-To and northwest of Roka-To.

Destroyer Caldwell (DD-605) is damaged by mine in Brunei Bay, Borneo, 05°07'N, 115°06'E.

Submarine Blueback (SS-326) sinks Japanese submarine chaser Ch 2 north of Lombok, Java Sea, 07°25'S, 116°00'E.

Japanese submarine I-165 is sunk by naval land-based aircraft (VPB 142), 450 miles east of Saipan, Marianas, 15°28'N, 153°39'E.

Japanese auxiliary minelayer Kyushu Maru is sunk by U.S. aircraft east of Otsu, Japan.

Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ships Mifuku Maru outside Nanao harbor, 37°06'N, 137°02'E, and No.7 Kaishin Maru off Mutsure, Japan, and damage escort destroyer Sakito, 34°13'N, 126°36'E, army cargo ship Maoka Maru, .3 kilometers off Niigata light, and merchant cargo ships Yuzuki Maru off Moji, and Mifunesan Maru off Harima-Nada.

Japanese army cargo ship Hozu Maru is sunk by aircraft, near Rabaul, New Britain.

Japanese submarine chaser Ch 19 is damaged by aircraft, south of Korea; merchant cargo ship Keisei Maru is damaged by aircraft, near Mokpo, Korea.

Navy land-based aircraft damage Japanese cargo vessel Keijo Maru, 34°19'N, 126°27'E.

Japanese merchant cargo ship No.7 Nichiyu Maru is damaged by marine casualty, 36°53'N, 129°26'E.

USS Block Island supports the Okinawa operation as a component of Task Unit 52.1.3.