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Monday, 26 October 1942 - Gotenhafen-Oxhöft
Work-up's and Trials with the U.A.K. (Kpt.z.S.R. BRÄUTIGAM), the 2nd Training Division (U.L.D.; Freg.Kpt.d.R. Ernst HASSHAGEN) and 22nd U-Flotilla (Korvkpt. Wilhelm Ambrosius):
Dry-Run Exercises with Machinery/Mechanics; Weapons; Torpedoes.
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Norwegian trawler Arthur, commanded by Norwegian Lieutenant Leif Larsen working for the British Special Operations Executive, enters Trondheimsfjord, Norway, with
two Chariot manned torpedoes (Chariot-class Midget Submarine) secreted beneath the vessel. The Chariots are torn off the hull when just 10 miles short of their target, the
Tirpitz, and the mission has to be abandoned.
U 260 (Oblt. Hubertus Purkhold) reported armed 2-funneller on course 70° and speed 13 knots in CD 6857 Route A. As some of our own ships lay in the vicinity and there was a possibility of 2-funnel camouflage, order was given to break off pursuit.
In BE 4929,
U 608 (Oblt. Rolf Struckmeier) sighted
American battleship with destroyer escort course 240°, medium speed. Contact was almost immediately lost apparently.
U 606 (Oblt. Hans-Heinrich Döhler) reports
English periscope in AK 4664 (boat operating on Convoy No. 61).
With short signal,
U 224 (Oblt. Hans-Carl Kosbadt) reported
enemy in sight in AK 3622, was probably forced to submerge at once, since no further message was received.
In BB 6396,
U 520 (Kptlt. Volkmar Schwartzkopff) came on
brightly illuminated ship sailing independently, course 80°, speed 8 knots. As it could only have been Irish ship boat ordered not to attack if ship could be distinguished as enemy in spite illumination.
In order to provide
wing protection for 3 returning ships, which are due to cross line of longitude 22° W. early on the 29th, at one day's distance, following positions are to be temporarily occupied: U 92 - BE 55, U 218 - BE 65, U 752 - BE 87; U 356 and 664 return passage on 44° N.
Allied
convoy UCF 1, containing troops and equipment for the invasion of French North Africa
(Operation Torch), is met by a covering force of battleships and cruisers, which had sailed from Casco Bay, Maine, U.S.A.
North Africa: In the morning,
Rommel committed much of his reserves to the
Point 29 region in Egypt. Meanwhile, noting that Rommel had taken the bait,
Montgomery planned to pin down Axis troops around Point 29 while launching a new offensive to the southwest.
Eastern Front: In light of the positive report from General Friedrich Paulus from
Stalingrad, Adolf Hitler, from his
Wehrwolf headquarters near of Vinnytsia in Ukraine, orders some of the German units in that region to prepare to move north, once Stalingrad is conquered.
The
Soviet 15th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment is formed in the Moscow Military District from the 137th Tank Brigade.
Equipped with Churchill III and IV tanks supplied by the British under Lend-Lease-Act, the Regiment is initially assigned to I Guards Mechanized Corps but will be removed from the Corps in July 1943, to serve as an independent infantry support regiment. It will be disbanded in Feb 1944, to provide manpower for the new heavy assault gun regiments.
Pacific: At the
Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, US forces achieve victory but see USS Enterprise, USS South Dakota, and USS San Juan damaged. Aircraft carrier USS Hornet (Yorktown-class) is badly damaged from aerial bombs and torpedoes and then finally hit by three Type 93 torpedoes launched from Japanese destroyers Akigumo and Makigumo, which cause her to sink 30 minutes later. On the Japanese side, carriers Shokaku and Zuiho are damaged by dive bombers from USS Hornet and USS Enterprise, respectively.
1st Battalion of US 164th Infantry Division, repulse a Japanese attack on the southern flank of the Lunga Perimeter at
Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Meanwhile, another attack against
Hill 67, initially penetrating into the American line, is eventually driven back by US Marines.
RST
KorvKpt.& Cmdr. U 115