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• Proletarskaya was captured by German troops as they formed a bridgehead over the Manych River in the Caucasus in southern Russia. ww2dbase [Caucasus Campaign | TH]

• German submarine U-160 sank Canadian ship Prescodoc off the coast of British Guyana at 1019 hours; 16 were killed, 5 survived. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• Sunshine on this date dried the 39 survivors of Norwegian tanker Tankexpress, sunk by German submarine U-130 four days earlier. They were soaked by heavy rainfall that began two days prior. ww2dbase [HM]
• The 2,445-ton Norwegian merchant steamer Bill had left Ceara, Brazil on 22 Jul 1942 with general cargo including 500 tons of manganese ore, for Trinidad and New York. At 2000 hours she was hit by a torpedo from U-155 (Kapitänleutnant Adolf Piening), it struck her port side amidships in No. 3 hold and the vessel sank within ten minutes, 170 miles south-east of Barbados. The master, Christian Hartvig, was taken on board the submarine and kept as a prisoner. The Germans gave the survivors a course on which to steer for Barbados. The three lifeboats were separated but all survived. One boat of seven was found by the American merchant steamer West Durfee on 1 Aug, eight more made into land three days later and the remainder landed on Saint Vincent island in the Lesser Antilles. Christian Hartwig was taken to hospital after the submarine docked but died in Rennes, France from heart trouble. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC, HM]

• George Kenney met with George Brett (whom Kenney was replacing) and then with Douglas MacArthur in Brisbane, Australia. He spent the latter part of the day inspecting airfields in the region. ww2dbase [George Kenney | Brisbane, Queensland | CPC]

• 200 Japanese troops supported by a Type 92 light howitzer attacked Kokoda airfield in Australian Papua at 0230 hours; after suffering 7 killed, the remaining 70 Australian defenders fell back toward Deniki; the Japanese suffered 12 killed and 26 wounded in this engagement. To the north, a Japanese convoy landed troops at Buna; at 1445 hours, 8 US Dauntless dive bombers escorted by P-39 fighters from Port Moresby attacked the convoy at Buna, damaging troop ship Kotoku Maru. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | Kokoda | CPC]

• 291 British bombers attacked Saarbrücken, Germany, destroying 396 buildings, damaging 324 buildings, and killing 155 civilians; 9 bombers were lost on this attack. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Saarbrücken, Westmark | CPC]

• Gato-class submarine USS Silversides arrived in her patrol area off southern Japan in the shipping lanes to and from Kobe and Osaka. ww2dbase [Silversides | Kii Suido | DS]

• The Soviet Union established the Order of Suvorov for leading successful offensive campaigns, Order of Kutuzov for leading successful defensive campaigns, and Order of Nevsky for personal courage. ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS Columbia was commission into service with Captain William A. Heard in command. ww2dbase [Columbia | CPC]

29 Jul 1942 Interactive Map