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• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Singapore. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
• Italian Jews from Rome began to be deported to concentration camps. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]
• Louis Mountbatten met with Chiang Kaishek for the first time. Chiang was 15 minutes late to the meeting; in retaliation, Mountbatten purposefully spent a long time shifting through his attaché case for various documents during the meeting. ww2dbase [Louis Mountbatten | CPC]
• USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese escort carrier in the Western Pacific, hitting her with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Flying Fish | CPC]
• Lieutenant Commander Hitoshi Kasuga was made the commanding officer of Kamikaze, relieving Lieutenant Commander Shohei Matsumoto. ww2dbase [Kamikaze | CPC]
• Rudolf Lück was made the commanding officer of Togo. ww2dbase [Togo / Coronel | CPC]

• 77 B-24 bombers from Port Moresby, Australian Papua made rendezvous with 55 P-38 fighters over Kiriwina, Trobriand Islands for a raid on Rabaul, New Britain; a separate group of 54 B-25 bombers, modified for strafing, flew for Rabaul separately. Poor weather would force the first group to cancel its mission, but the B-25 bombers proceeded without fighter escort. They heavily damaged Japanese submarine chaser CH-23, lightly damaged transport Johore Maru, and shot down 8 Japanese fighters (3 additional fighters were lost on landings); the Japanese shot down many B-25 bombers. Subsequent investigation on why the B-25 bombers proceeded despite having no escorts would find no faults. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• 3 divisions of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214, led by Gregory Boyington, attacked Ballale Airfield in the Shortland Islands. Later in the day, the same 3 divisions joined VMF-221 in the attack of Kahili Airfield on Bougainville island. 22 Japanese fighters rose to defend Kahili. US airmen claimed 14 Japanese aircraft shot down with 6 probables. Japanese records later revealed the loss of 4 aircraft in combat, 1 heavily damaged and written off, and 3 lightly damaged. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Kahili Airfield | Buin, Bougainville | CPC]

• USAAF B-29 bombers attacked Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Truk | TH]

• Naka arrived at Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Naka | Shanghai | CPC]

• Patrol Boat No. 102 departed Surabaya, Dutch East Indies to escort oilers Kenyo Maru and Nichiei Maru. ww2dbase [Stewart | Surabaya, Java | CPC]

• Escort carrier USS Card and her task group arrived at Casablanca, French Morocco. ww2dbase [Card | Casablanca | DS]

• USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Hoe | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• Destroyer USS Shaw arrived at Nouméa, New Caledonia. ww2dbase [Shaw | Nouméa | DS]

• Submarines USS Balao and USS Silversides attacked Convoy SO-406 bound from Palau to Rabaul. Balao fired six torpedoes but the convoy zigged just after the torpedoes were fired so they all missed. While the escorts chased Balao, Silversides sailed through the center of the convoy before firing six torpedoes of her own. One torpedo exploded prematurely but two others struck cargo ship Tairin Maru which sank. ww2dbase [Silversides | Balao | DS]

• USS Flier was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander John D. Crowley in command. ww2dbase [Flier | CPC]

18 Oct 1943 Interactive Map