TUESDAY, 24 JULY 1945
Twentieth Air Force: 7 missions of 625 B-29s are flown against targets in the
Nagoya and Osaka areas; 1 B-29 is lost. Mission 284: 82 B-29s attack the Sumitomo
Light Metals Industries propeller factory at Osaka; most of the machine tools
had been removed but the facility is completely wrecked; 4 others hit alternate
targets; 1 B-29 is lost. Mission 285: 81 B-29s hit the Kawanishi Aircraft Plant
at Takarazuka destroying 77% of the plant; 3 others hit alternate targets. Mission
286: 153 B-29s hit the Osaka Arsenal and Kuwana; the arsenal sustains additional
damage amounting to 10% of the original roof area; 9 others hit alternate targets; Mission 287: 66 B-29s attack the Aichi aircraft plant at Eitoku; the plant sustains
its heaviest damage of the war; 5 others hit alternate targets. Missions 288
and 289: 113 B-29s hit the urban are of the city of Tsu; 2 others hit alternate targets. Mission 290: 77 B-29s attack the Nakajima plant
at Handa destroying the principal assembly buildings; 1 B-29 hit an alternate
target. 91 P-51s from Iwo Jima, hit airfields and other tactical
targets at Hamamatsu, Suruga Bay, and other points in the Nagoya area.
USN: Task
Force 38 (TF-38) under the command of Vice Admiral John S. McCain carrier aircraft attack Inland Sea shipping in the Kure area and airfields on
northern Kyushu. Lost is F4U Corsair 81319 pilot Lt. Ralph E. Boggs (KIA, BR).
IJN: Carrier planes from USS Monterey drop bombs that hit and sink Tone
off Nishinomi Shima to the west of Kure Harbor. Lost is FG-1D Corsair 88062 pilot Lt. Rodney C. Tabler (MIA) on a mission over Kure.
USMC: Marine aircraft from USS Vella
Gulf (CVE-111) attack positions on Pagan over the next three days.
CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: Eight B-25s and
six P-51s pound truck convoys in the Hengyang area, hit river shipping near Pakonghow,
and damage a bridge and storage area and knock out AA positions at Puchi and
15 P-51s blast the Changsha area, destroying an estimated 28 warehouses and
8 fuel storage buildings. 80+ P-51s, P-38s, and P-47s over French Indochina and S and E China continue to disrupt the Japanese withdrawal, pounding dozens
of targets of opportunity at numerous locations.
WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: 100+ Fifth AF B-24s fly
their first strike from Okinawa, bombing the Chiang Wan Airfield N of Shanghai;
Seventh AF B-25s from Okinawa hit Wusung and Lunghua Airfields in the Shanghai area while A-26s and B-25s attack the Tachang and Tinghai Airfields; and fighter-bombers
hit shipping and targets of opportunity throughout the general area attacked
by the bombers. In Borneo, Thirteenth AF B-25s pound Jesselton Airfield and B-24s hit Oelin Airfield and Tabanio Airfield. Other B-25s hit Itu Aba Island, China.
Fifth AF fighter-bombers support ground forces in the Infanta and Leyban areas
of Luzon. Unit moves: 65th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group
(Heavy), from Clark
Field to Ie Shima with B-24s; detachment of the 419th
Night Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command, operating from Sanga Sanga, to base at Puerto Princesa with P-61s; 421st Night Fighter
Squadron, V Fighter Command from Clark
Field to Ie Shima with P-61s;
822d Bombardment Squadron and 823d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 38th Bombardment Group (Medium)
from Lingayen Airfield to Okinawa with B-25s.
USN: Carrier planes from Task Force 38 (TF 38) launch two-day attack on the Inland Sea area, Japan, striking Kure Naval Base and airfields at Nagoya, Osaka, and Miho. TF 38 planes sink battleship-carrier Hyuga in Hiro Bay, Kure, 34°10'N, 132°33'E; heavy cruiser Tone, 34°14'N, 132°27'E (she is pushed aground to facilitate salvage) and training ship (ex-coast defense ship) Iwate off Eta Jima, 34°14'N, 132°30'E; target ship (ex-battleship) Settsu at Kure; guardboat Kaiwa Maru north of Himejima, Kyushu; and damage carrier Ryuho and battleship-carrier Ise at Kure; battleship Haruna and light cruiser Oyodo off Eta Jima; heavy cruiser Aoba at Kure Navy Yard; escort destroyer Hagi and fast transport T.19 at Kure; torpedo cruiser Kitakami and destroyers Yoizuki and Hari, near Kure; escort destroyer Kaba, Osaka; escort destroyer Tsubaki near Okayama, 34°38'N, 133°50'E; Coast Defense Vessel No.190, Tanabe harbor; Coast Defense Vessel No.4, Toba; transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Kiyokawa Maru, beached at Shida, Shimonoseki Straits. Carrier Amagi is hit by only one rocket off Kurahashi Jima, Kure, 34°11'N, 132°30'E, but its passage close by the commanding officer so unnerves the captain that he unhesitatingly orders the ship abandoned.
Lost on an anti-shipping sweep
along the west coast of Korea are PB4Y-2 "Gear Down (and Locked)" 59519 (MIA) and PB4Y-2 59747 (MIA).
Aircraft sink Japanese merchant cargo ships Ito Maru off Kominase light; Inari Maru, Moji harbor; Komyo Maru off Okinoshima light; No.2 Ise Maru off Mihogasaki; Kinokawa Maru, off Yoshiura; merchant tankers No.9 Kinyu Maru off Tsurushima; Sabang Maru, Okurokami Island; Kanatsu Maru, Awashima anchorage; merchant tug Mutsurejima Maru off Kagaji, Oita prefecture; merchant vessels [types unspecified] Sugamada Maru, Jinzai harbor, and Sen Maru off Hakodate.
Aircraft sink/damage Japanese merchant cargo ships Kagetsu Maru off Uwajima, and Shokai Maru outside Shimotsu Harbor.
Aircraft damage Japanese merchant cargo ship Kurogane Maru, Kobe, Japan; and merchant tanker Gyokuei Maru, by aircraft, 33°55'N, 131°45'E.
Guardboats No.3 Seisho Maru and Taiko Maru are sunk by U.S. aircraft at Kobe, Japan.
Auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 98 is sunk by aircraft, Moji, Japan.
Japanese transport No.11 Kaishin Maru is sunk by aircraft, 33°31'N, 129°47'E.
TG 35.3 (Rear Admiral J. Cary Jones, Jr.) consisting of four light cruisers (from TG 38.3) and six destroyers (from TG 38.4) conducts high-speed anti-shipping sweep across Kii Suido. Destroyer Colahan (DD-658) fires upon only surface contact, which proves to be submarine Toro (SS-422), on lifeguard station south of Shikoku. Fortyunately, Toro is not damaged in this case of mistaken identity (see 25 July).
Escort carrier Vella Gulf (CVE-111), as TU 19.6.1, carries out air strikes on Pagan, one of the two remaining bases in the Marianas. She carries out strikes against Rota (the other) two days later.
Destroyer escort Underhill (DE-682), damaged by kaitens from Japanese submarine I 53 off Luzon, 19°20'N, 126°42'E, is scuttled by submarine chasers PC-803 and PC-804, and escort patrol vessel PCE- 872.
Submarine Chub (SS-329) sinks Japanese tug (ex-Dutch Ginah), 07°46'S, 114°24'E.
Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Wa.3 is sunk by aircraft off Surabaya.
Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ships Koichi Maru, Wonsan harbor, Korea, and Himekawa Maru, four kilometers off Himejima; and damage auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 226, off Moji; and merchant tanker Tatsukusu Maru, Hagi.
Japanese merchant tanker No.6 Nanki Maru is damaged by marine casualty, 38°18'N, 141°25'E.
Royal Navy: Japanese escort carrier Kaiyo is damaged by planes from British carriers HMS Formidable, HMS Indefatigable, and HMS Victorious. Kaiyo's travails, however, do not end there. She is damaged by a mine laid by B-29s off Beppu; destroyer Yukaze takes the damaged carrier under tow.
Australian Army:
The 8th Infantry Battalion attack "Base 5" a series of Japanese bunkers and positions on the southern edge of Buoi Plantation in northern Bougainville. During the action, Private Frank J. Partridge single handedly attacked and neutralized a bunker and later earned the Victoria Cross (VC) for outstanding heroism and fortitude.
