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

FRIDAY, 27 JULY 1945

Potsdam Declaration calling for unconditional surrender is delivered to the Japanese government. The Japanese, ignore the ultimatum, prompting U.S. President Harry S. Truman to approve plans to drop atomic weapons on Japan.

China: Chinese Army reach Kweilin and by end of month clear rear-guard opposition. Other Chinese forces capture Tanchuk Airfield.

Twentieth Air Force: Mission 296: During the night of 27/28 July 24 B-29s drop mines in Shimonoseki Strait, at Fukuoka, Niigata, Maizuru, Miyazu, Maizuru, Senzaki, and in Fukawa Bay; 1 other mines an alternate target; 3 B-29s are lost to heavy flak, 2 ditching with 13 men rescued and 1 crash landing on Iwo Jima and subsequently scrapped.

Fourteenth Air Force: In China, 13 B-25s, some with P-51 support, hit a supply movement in the Siang Chiang Valley, bomb railroad yards at Siaokan and Sinyang, and hit coastal shipping in the Do Son, French Indochina area. 50+ P-51s and P-38s concentrate on attacking river shipping at numerous points of French Indochina and South China Sea and East China Sea also hitting road and rail traffic, coastal vessels, storage areas, and bridges.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: 60+ Fifth and Seventh AF B-24s pound a marshalling yard at Kagoshima on Kyushu and 50 escorting P-51s attack numerous nearby targets of opportunity; 150+ P-47s over Kyushu hit communications and industrial targets, including a tunnel S of Kurino, bridges at Okasa, Hitosuse-gawa, and Matsubase, and factories and a power plant at Yatsushiro. B-24s of the Thirteenth AF hit Pontianak Airfield. The 500th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 345th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Clark Field to Ie Shima with B-25s. 5th Air Force planes sink Japanese landing ship T.176 off southern Kyushu, 31°00'N, 130°33'E.

RAAF: Lost is B-24L Liberator A72-92 pilot F/Lt Kenneth John Hanson (POW / MIA) on a recon mission over the Celebes.

U.S. Navy: Cargo ship Ganymede (AK-104) is damaged in collision with Army barge BKP 42 (346th Harbor Craft Company), P.I., 11°11'N, 125°05'E.

U.S. freighter John A. Rawlins is damaged by Japanese aerial torpedo in Naha harbor, Okinawa; in addition to the 39-man merchant crew, 28 Armed Guards and 191 Construction Battalion men are on board at this time. Of those men, only three are injured; the ship, however, will ultimately be written off as a total loss.

U.S. freighter Pratt Victory is torpedoed by Japanese plane south of Ie Shima; the blast sinks tank landing craft LCT-1050 that lies moored alongside discharging cargo. There are no fatalities among the 27-man Armed Guard on board Pratt Victory, which offloads the remainder of her cargo without further incident.

Submarine Pargo (SS-264) is damaged by depth charges and aerial bombs off northern Celebes, 01°35'N, 125°20'E, but remains on patrol.

Submarine Pogy (SS-266) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Chikuzen Maru southwest of Kyogasaki, about 90 miles north of Tottori, Honshu, 37°00'N, 134°02'E.

Mines laid by B-29s sink Japanese army cargo ship Unten Maru off Suo Nada, 33°56'N, 131°11'E ; merchant cargo ships Meiko Maru off Kokushi, Yamaguchi prefecture, 34°10'N, 130°55'E, and No.55 Banshu Maru, Odo Strait, Shimonoseki; and damage merchant cargo ships Jinstugawa Maru off Fushiki and Tatsumaki Maru off Wakamatsu signal station.

Japanese transport Doshi Maru is sunk by aircraft off Nishitomari.

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.40 Giso Maru, is sunk by aircraft off Urajiri.

Aircraft sink/damage Japanese merchant cargo ships Rokuzan Maru off southeast coast of Korea, and Yushin Maru, 35°35'N, 129°33'E.

Aircraft damage Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.11 Shonan Maru inside Chefoo harbor, China; and damage merchant tanker No.2 Seiko Maru off Osaka.

Royal Navy: HMS Tudor sinks Japanese fishing vessel at 06°15'S, 108°08'E.