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• Feldmarschal Günther von Kluge replaced Gerd von Rundstedt as the commanding officer of the German forces in the West (Oberbefehlshaber West). ww2dbase [Günther von Kluge | TH]
• Submarine Bugara was launched, sponsored by the wife of US Navy Captain Lyman S. Perry. ww2dbase [Bugara | CPC]
• General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson (Supreme Commander, Mediterranean) received orders from London, England, United Kingdom to organize the invasion of Provence, France. The name of this operation was changed by British Prime Minister Churchill to "Dragoon". ww2dbase [Invasion of Southern France | AC]
• The US coastal minesweeper YMS-350 struck a mine and sank off Utah Beach, Normandy, France. ww2dbase [AC]

• Acting on intelligence intercepts, escort carrier USS Wake Island attempted to intercept a German submarine making her way home from an unsuccessful patrol in the Gulf of Guinea. At 2145 hours local time, the TBM-1C Avenger aircraft flown by Ensign Frederick Moore sighted the surfaced U-543 off the coast of Africa between the Canary and the Cape Verde Islands. U-543 fired on the airplane and landed three hits from her 20mm guns. Ensign Moore attacked with two depth charges and one Mark 24 FIDO acoustic homing torpedo, sinking the submarine with all 58 hands. ww2dbase [TBF Avenger | Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | Wake Island | Mark XXIV | CPC]

• Soviet 63rd Division and Soviet 30th Armored Brigade were ordered to attack Ihantala, Finland (now Petrovka, Russia) on the following day. This message was intercepted by the Finns. ww2dbase [Battle of Tali-Ihantala and Battle of Vuosalmi | CPC]

• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a raid against rocket launching sites in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 2 | Vergeltungswaffe 1 | RAF Thurleigh | Pas-de-Calais | DS]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of CASU-43 departed. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• 41 P-51s, temporarily in Italy while en route from the USSR to the UK during an Operation Frantic shuttle mission, joined Fifteenth Air Force fighters in escorting Fifteenth Air Force bombers against targets in the Budapest, Hungary area, claiming 9 aircraft destroyed and suffering 4 losses. ww2dbase [Operation Frantic | P-51 Mustang | Budapest | DS]

• Germans evacuated Siena, Italy. ww2dbase [Advance to the Gothic Line | Siena, Toscana | TH]

• Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Kure, Japan. ww2dbase [Yukikaze | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]
• USS Archerfish fired nine torpedoes at a Japanese convoy 5 miles west of Ogasawara, Chichi Jima, Japan, scoring five hits, damaging two cargo ships. ww2dbase [Archerfish | CPC]

• The V-1 flying bomb assault on London, England and the south-eastern counties of the United Kingdom continued during the early hours with 30 deaths and much damaged property. The bombs continued to arrive throughout the morning, one bomb hitting a US Army camp. Sergeant Ed Bearefoot was trapped for over 3 days beneath the rubble, his two friends who had been in the room with him died shortly after the blast. Allied fighter aircraft were now getting to know how to dive onto the V-1 flying bombs in order to shoot them down. The speed of the bomb was faster than all but the latest Spitfire and Tempest fighters and the pilots had to dive from height in order to gain speed and get their shots in. New aircraft were being brought to the area and many anti-aircraft guns were taken to the coastal areas where the bombs passed overhead. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 1 | V-Weapons Campaign | London, England | HM]

2 Jul 1944 Interactive Map