December 1942

[December 1], 1942 (Tuesday)

• Japanese aircraft sank the Australian corvette HMAS Armidale in the Timor Sea.
• German forces in Tunisia commanded by Albert Kesselring counterattacked at Tebourba and began pushing the Allies back.
• The Beveridge Report was published in the United Kingdom, providing the blueprint for a postwar welfare state that would provide citizens with social security insurance.
• Fuel rationing began in the United States.
• E. Raymond Sharp was named manager of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Born: John Crowley, fantasy and science fiction writer, in Presque Isle, Maine
• Died: Leon Wachholz, 75, Polish scientist and medical examiner, in Kraków

  [December 2], 1942 (Wednesday)

• Manhattan Project: A team of scientists led by Enrico Fermi achieved the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction at Chicago Pile-1.
• Battle of Skerki Bank: British ships attacked an Italian troop convoy near the Skerki Banks between Sicily and Tunisia, sinking all four troop and cargo ships as well as the destroyer Folgore. Over 2,000 Italians perished.
• Benito Mussolini addressed the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations for the first time in eighteen months, reporting on the present state of the war and insisting that "The last word has not yet been spoken." Mussolini advised the population to evacuate Italian cities, causing a panic as there was no planning or organisation to do it.
• British destroyer Quentin was sunk by German aircraft off North Africa.

  [December 3], 1942 (Thursday)

• Adolf Hitler placed all Axis forces in Tunisia under the newly created Headquarters, 5th Panzer Army and gave the new command to Hans-Jürgen von Arnim.
• British destroyer Penylan was sunk in the English channel by German U-boats.
• German submarine U-534 was commissioned.
• Born:
• *Pedro Rocha, footballer, in Salto, Uruguay ;
• *Alice Schwarzer, feminist, in Wuppertal, Germany
• Died: Blanche Selva, 58, French pianist and composer

  [December 4], 1942 (Friday)

• Carlson's Patrol ended in Allied victory.
• American planes bombed Italy for the first time when 20 B-24s raided Naples.
• The Italian cruiser Muzio Attendolo was bombed and sunk in Naples Harbour.
• Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King met with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington.
• President Roosevelt wrote a letter ordering the Works Progress Administration to be dissolved with an "honorable discharge".
• The swashbuckler film The Black Swan starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara was released.
• Born: Gemma Jones, actress, in Marylebone, London, England

  [December 5], 1942 (Saturday)

• Almost exactly one year after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy publicly revealed the extent of losses suffered in the attack.
• Two pilots flew the new American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane a record 725 miles per hour.
• To solve America's manpower shortage, President Roosevelt suspended the induction of all men over age 38 into the armed forces. That same day, he transferred responsibility for all manpower issues and the Selective Service system over to the War Manpower Commission headed by Paul V. McNutt.
• German submarine U-734 was commissioned.
• The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8–5 to win the 30th Grey Cup of Canadian football.

  [December 6], 1942 (Sunday)

• 93 aircraft of the Royal Air Force conducted a bombing raid on Eindhoven targeting the Philips Radio Works. The building was heavily damaged but the RAF lost 13 planes in the attack.
• Stary Ciepielów and Rekówka massacre: 5 families in Occupied Poland were executed by the Ordnungspolizei as part of the German retribution against Poles who helped Jews.
• The horror film Cat People starring Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway and Jane Randolph was premiered in New York City.
• Born: Peter Handke, novelist, playwright and political activist, in Griffen, Austria
• Died: Amos Rusie, 71, American baseball player

  [December 7], 1942 (Monday)

• Operation Frankton: A small unit of Royal Marines began raiding shipping in the French port of Bordeaux.
• The British ocean liner Ceramic was torpedoed and sunk west of the Azores by German submarine U-515. There was only one survivor of the 657 people aboard and he was taken aboard U-515 as a prisoner of war.
• The Bell P-63 Kingcobra had its first flight.
• Born:
• *Harry Chapin, folk rock singer-songwriter, in Brooklyn, New York ;
• *Peter Tomarken, television personality, in Olean, New York
• Died: Orland Steen Loomis, 49, American lawyer and governor-elect of Wisconsin

  [December 8], 1942 (Tuesday)

• German forces occupied the Tunisian city of Bizerte.
• German submarine U-254 sank in the Atlantic Ocean after an accidental collision with U-221.
• German submarine U-611 was depth charged and sunk off Cape Farewell, Greenland by a British Liberator bomber.
• Born: Bob Love, basketball player, in Bastrop, Louisiana

  [December 9], 1942 (Wednesday)

• During the Battle of Buna–Gona, the Australians captured Gona from the Japanese.
• The British destroyer Porcupine was torpedoed and damaged beyond repair northeast of Oran, Algeria by German submarine U-602.
• The British corvette Marigold was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean by Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 aircraft with the loss of 40 of her 85 crew.
• German submarine U-276 was commissioned.
• Born:
• *Dick Butkus, football player, in Chicago, Illinois
• *Joe McGinniss, author, in New York City
• Died: Harry Trihey, 64, Canadian ice hockey player and executive

  [December 10], 1942 (Thursday)

• German tank infantry columns attacked Majaz al Bab in Tunisia but were repulsed.
• British and Canadian governments announced that they had given instructions that German prisoners of war were to be unshackled on December 12.
• The Bank of Thailand opened.
• German submarine U-952 was commissioned.
• Born: Peter Sarstedt, Indian-born British folk and pop musician, in Delhi

  [December 11], 1942 (Friday)

• The Battle of El Agheila began in North Africa.
• Italian manned torpedoes and commando frogmen conducted the Raid on Algiers, sinking 2 Allied cargo ships and damaging 3 other vessels although 16 commandos were captured.
• British destroyer HMS Blean was torpedoed and sunk northwest of Oran by German submarine U-443.
• Born:
• *Derek Parfit, philosopher, in Chengdu, China ;
• *Ananda Shankar, musician, in Almora, British India

  [December 12], 1942 (Saturday)

• The Germans began Operation Winter Storm, an attempt to break the Soviet encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad.
• The Soviets began a winter offensive codenamed Operation Little Saturn.
• Operation Frankton ended in British victory.
• 99 civilians and military personnel perished in the Knights of Columbus Hostel fire in St. John's, Newfoundland. The fire was likely an incidence of enemy sabotage carried out by Nazi agents.
• The Royal Navy submarine P222 was most likely sunk off Capri by an Italian torpedo boat.
• German submarine U-219 was commissioned.
• Died: Helen Westley, 67, American character actress

  [December 13], 1942 (Sunday)

• Rommel withdrew from El Agheila to Buerat, despite Hitler's insistence that he must not retreat.
• Jews in Britain observed a day of mourning for the victims of Nazi genocide.
• The Washington Redskins defeated the Chicago Bears 14–6 in the NFL Championship Game played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.
• Born:
• *Howard Brenton, playwright and screenwriter, in Portsmouth, England;
• *Ferguson Jenkins, baseball player, in Chatham, Ontario, Canada

  [December 14], 1942 (Monday)

• Ethiopia declared war on Germany, Italy and Japan.
• The British cruiser Argonaut was torpedoed and heavily damaged in the Mediterranean by Italian submarine Mocenigo. Repairs took until November 1943 to complete.

  [December 15], 1942 (Tuesday)

• The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse began on Guadalcanal.
• German submarine U-626 was depth charged and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Ingham.
• Born:
• *Kathleen Blanco, American politician, Governor of Louisiana, in New Orleans ;
• *Dave Clark, musician, songwriter, record producer and leader of The Dave Clark Five, in Tottenham, North London, England

  [December 16], 1942 (Wednesday)

• The Soviets began the Tatsinskaya Raid.
• Björn Þórðarson became the 9th Prime Minister of Iceland.
• German submarines U-420 and U-669 were commissioned.
• Died: Alex Campbell, 66, Scottish golfer and golf course architect

  [December 17], 1942 (Thursday)

• The Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations was issued, condemning the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Europe.
• The Volga River finally froze over, allowing Soviet forces in Stalingrad to be resupplied.
• While escorting the convoy ON 153, the British destroyer Firedrake was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-211.
• German submarine U-953 was commissioned.
• The romantic drama film Random Harvest starring Ronald Colman and Greer Garson was released.
• Born:
• *Muhammadu Buhari, 7th and 15th President of Nigeria, in Daura, Nigeria
• *Paul Butterfield, blues singer and harmonica player, in Chicago, Illinois