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• » 31 Jul 1944

• Tirpitz conducted exercises at sea with five destroyers. ww2dbase [Tirpitz | CPC]
• USS Tang departed for her fourth war patrol off Honshu, Japan. ww2dbase [Tang | CPC]
• British VIII Corps launched Operation Bluecoat towards Vire River in Normandy, France. Meanwhile, US 4th Armored Division captured Avranches and 20,000 prisoners of war in 6 days. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 2 | TH]
• USS Kete was commissioned into service with Commander R. L. Rutter in command. ww2dbase [Kete | CPC]
• The British 9th Armoured Division (Major General John D'Arcy) was disbanded. ww2dbase [AC]
• USS Parche attacked a Japanese convoy off Taiwan and sank cargo ship Manko Maru and tanker Koei Maru; she also shared the credit with USS Steelhead for sinking another transport. She expended 19 torpedoes during this attack. Parche's commanding officer, Commander Lawson Ramage would later be awarded the Medal of Honor for this attack while the crew received the Presidental Unit Citation. ww2dbase [Parche | CPC]

• TBM Avengers from escort carrier USS Card dropped sonobuoys on an oil slick in the mid-Atlantic and detected propeller cavitation noises. Two Mark 24 FIDO homing torpedoes were dropped with one confirmed underwater explosion. No confirmation of a submarine was obtained. ww2dbase [Card | Mark XXIV | Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | TBF Avenger | DS]

• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against railroad yards in Munich, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Munich, Bavaria | DS]

• Nachi departed Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Nachi | Mutsu, Aomori | CPC]
• Landing ship No. 108 was completed and was transferred to the Japanese Army as SB No. 125. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) left the area of the Mariana Islands headed United States. ww2dbase [Yorktown (Essex-class) | DS]

• Patrol Boat No. 102 completed her repairs at Cavite, Philippines and took on ammunition and provisions. ww2dbase [Stewart | Cavite | CPC]

• Togo arrived at Gotenhafen, Germany (occupied Gdynia, Poland). ww2dbase [Togo / Coronel | Gdynia, Pomorskie | CPC]

• 91 Squadron RAF lost a veteran pilot when Flying Officer Paddy Schade's Spitfire XIV fighter was hit by a Tempest fighter flown by Flight Sergeant Archie Wilson RNZAF of 486 Squadron when Wilson emerged from cloud whilst chasing a V-1 flying bomb. The wing of the Tempest fighter tore off the Spitfire fighter's cockpit; both pilots were killed. Flight Sergeant Stan Rudowski of 306 Squadron (Polish) RAF was vectored onto a V-1 flying bomb approaching the town of Rye, Kent in southern England, United Kingdom, two miles west of the coastal town he attacked from below, the flying bomb slowed, looped and exploded in the sea just off the beach. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | Vergeltungswaffe 1 | England | HM]

31 Jul 1944 Interactive Map