July 1, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SUNDAY, 1 JULY 1945

China: Chinese forces liberate Liuchow.

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): Two B-24s from Guam bomb the building concentration on Marcus. 33 B-25s, operating in two flights from Okinawa bomb Chiran Airfield. 2 others hit Yaku-shima Island in the Osumi Islands. During Jul, HQ VII Bomber Command moves from Saipan Island, Mariana Island to Okinawa. The 9th Troop Carrier Squadron, Seventh AF, moves from Saipan Island to Guam Island with C-47s.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): During the night of 1/2 Jul, 1 mining and 4 incendiary missions are flown: Mission 240: 152 B-29s attack the Kure urban area destroying 1.3 square miles (3.4 square km), 40% of the city. auxiliary minelayer Himetaka Maru is damaged at Kure.; 2 other B-29s hit alternate targets. Mission 241: 154 B-29s hit the Kumamato urban area destroying 1.0 square mile (2.6 square km), 20% of the city; 1 other B-29 hits an alternate target; 1 B-29 is lost. Mission 242: 100 B-29s bomb the Ube urban area destroying 0.42 square miles (1.1 square km), 23% of the city. Mission 243: 126 B-29s attack the Shimonoseki urban area destroying 0.51 square miles (1.32 square km), 36% of the city; 5 other B-29s hit alternate targets; 1 B-29 is lost. Mission 244: 24 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and the waters at Nanao and Fushiki. 148 Iwo Jima based P-51s are dispatched to hit airfields in the Nagoya area including Kasumigaura Airfield, Itami Airfield, Hamamatsu Airfield and Nagano Airfield; they claim 2-0-0 aircraft in the air and 3-7 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.

Fourteenth Air Force: In China, a few B-25s bomb a bridge and ferry terminal at Chungmow and near Kaifeng and 4 escorting P-47s strafe Kaifeng Airfield and locomotives in the area; 4 other P-47s bomb the railroad yards at Yuhsiang and 4 P-51s knock out a bridge E of Kiehsiu; on this date Chinese forces capture Liuchow.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s pound defenses at Balikpapan in support of the landings by the Australian Army; and B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s hit Oelin Airfield, Tabanio Airfield, and Trombol Airfield, and bomb the Tawau area. B-24s bomb Limboeng Airfield and Mandai Airfield. Fighter-bombers hit troops and gun positions in the Kayan-Tadian area on Luzon. 5th Air Force planes sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Shinneisho Maru at mouth of Yangtze River, 31°21'N, 121°38'E.

U.S. Navy: The final phase of the naval war against Japan begins as the Third Fleet sorties from Leyte to strike the home islands of Japan.

Task Group 78.4 commanded by Rear Admiral W. D. Sample including carrier aircraft from Navy and Marine Corps squadrons provided close air support, local combat air patrol, and strikes on military installations against Balikpapan in support of landings by the Australian Army after a final, intense 2-hour bombardment.

TG 78.2 under Rear Admiral Albert G. Noble lands Australian Army 7th Division (Reinforced) less one brigade] at Balikpapan unapposed. The landing is covered by Allied naval gunfire and aircraft.

General J. W. Stilwell, Tenth Army commander, established Headquarters, Ryukyus Area and assumed responsibility as a Joint task force commander directly under CinCPOA for the defense and development of all captured islands and the waters within 25 miles. CinCPac dissolved Task Force 31 and Vice Admiral H. W. Hill, USN, and his staff departed for Pearl Harbor; Rear Admiral Calvin H. Cobb, USN, took over as Commander, Naval Forces, Ryukyus, under General Stilwell. Tactical Air Force, Tenth Army, became Tactical Air Force, Ryukyus.

PB4Y-2s (VPB 118) flying from Okinawa, conclude aerial mining of waters of Korean archipelago, sowing mines in fields off Chin-To. VPB 118 wraps up its mining operations this date having sown 195 mines. The aircrew notice an absence of shipping in the areas mined, leading to the conclusion that the effort "has effectively stopped the movement of enemy ships in theinner channels around the southwest coast of Korea.

Mine laid by B-29s sink Japanese merchant cargo ships Tenyu Maru at entrance of Niigata harbor, and Naoshima Maru three miles north of Shodo Jima, and damage merchant cargo ships Yamaji Maru at 34°28'N, 135°08'E, and Eijun Maru off Moji, Japan.

Submarine Haddo (SS-255) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.72 and merchant cargo ships Konri Maru and 1 Taiun Maru and No.2 Taiun Maru in Yellow Sea off west coast of Korea, 38°08'N, 124°38'E.

Japanese minesweeper depot ship Chohei Maru and merchant cargo ship Koa Maru are damaged by U.S. aircraft, Woosung, China.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Mitakesan Maru is damaged by aircraft, 34°20'N, 129°24'E.

USMC: General J. W. Stilwell, Tenth Army commander, established Headquarters, Ryukyus Area and assumed responsibility as a Joint task force commander directly under CinCPOA for the defense and development of all captured islands and the waters within 25 miles. CinCPac dissolved Task Force 31 and Vice Admiral H. W. Hill, USN, and his staff departed for Pearl Harbor; Rear Admiral Calvin H. Cobb, USN, took over as Commander, Naval Forces, Ryukyus, under General Stilwell. Tactical Air Force, Tenth Army, became Tactical Air Force, Ryukyus.

Australian Army: Operation Oboe Two, 7th Division, composed of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigade, with support troops, made an amphibious landing a few miles north of Balikpapan. Japanese resistance is light at first but increases as Australians drive inland.