Category Archives: 1940s

British troop ship RMS Laconia torpedoed by German U-boat off West African coast 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 12 1942)


Video: 'The Laconia Incident'

(Saturday, September 12, 1942, 10:07 p.m. Central European Time; during the Laconia incident, part of the Atlantic Campaign of World War II) — The RMS Laconia, a British troop ship which was carrying Italian prisoners of war, British soldiers and civilians, was torpedoed by U-156, a German submarine, tonight off the West Africa coast, killing more than 1,600 people. Continue reading British troop ship RMS Laconia torpedoed by German U-boat off West African coast 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 12 1942)

‘(I’ve Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo’ by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 12 1942)

(Saturday, September 12, 1942) — “(I’ve Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo” by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra (vocal refrain by Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, and The Modernaires) peaked at #1 on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for the first of seven consecutive weeks (Sept. 12/19/26, Oct. 3/10/17/24, 1942). Continue reading ‘(I’ve Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo’ by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 12 1942)

Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on Oregon forest in first air attack on U.S. mainland during World War II 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 9 1942)


Video: 'Almanac: The day Japan bombed Oregon'

(Wednesday, September 9, 1942, lookout reported a plume of smoke at 12:20 p.m. PWT; during the Lookout Air Raids, part of the American theater and Pacific theater of World War II) — In the first air attack on the U.S. mainland during World War II, a Japanese floatplane dropped incendiary bombs today in the Siskiyou National Forest, some ten miles east of Brookings, on the southern Oregon coast. Continue reading Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on Oregon forest in first air attack on U.S. mainland during World War II 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 9 1942)

Six Nazi saboteurs who recently landed on U.S. shores are executed in Washington, D.C. 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 8 1942)


Video: 'Operation Pastorius - Hitler's Dream to See New York in Flames'

(Saturday, August 8, 1942, executions started at about noon EDT; the result of Operation Pastorius, part of the American Theater of World War II) — Six of the eight Nazi saboteurs who were captured after landing on U.S. soil two months ago were executed in the electric chair today at the District of Columbia Jail, while the two others were sentenced to serve hard labor for life and for thirty years, respectively. Continue reading Six Nazi saboteurs who recently landed on U.S. shores are executed in Washington, D.C. 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 8 1942)

U.S. Marines land at southern Solomon Islands, launching Guadalcanal Campaign against Japan 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 7 1942)


Video: '154 - Guadalcanal - Allies Take the Initiative - WW2 - August 7, 1942' (Americans land at Guadalcanal at 6:19)

(Friday, August 7, 1942, 8:00 a.m. Solomon Islands Time, launching the Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo and the Guadalcanal Campaign, part of the Solomon Islands campaign of the Pacific Theater of World War II) — Allied forces, predominantly United States Marines, landed this morning on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands, with the objective of using Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases in supporting a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. Continue reading U.S. Marines land at southern Solomon Islands, launching Guadalcanal Campaign against Japan 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 7 1942)

First Battle of El Alamein in British-occupied Egypt ends in stalemate 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 27 1942)


Video: '153 - Not a Step Back! - Wehrmacht Closes in on Stalingrad - WW2 - July 31, 1942' (First Battle of El Alamein at 13:50)

(Monday, July 27, 1942, part of Western Desert Campaign of World War II) — The First Battle of El Alamein, fought in Egypt between Axis and Allied forces, ended in stalemate today, when attacks by the British Army’s XXX Corps failed to gain ground in Operation Manhood. Continue reading First Battle of El Alamein in British-occupied Egypt ends in stalemate 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 27 1942)

Nazis begin transporting Jews from Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka death camp 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 22 1942)


Video: 'The 100 Deadliest Days of the Holocaust Begin... - WAH 039 - July 1942, Pt .2' (July 22, 1942, at 4:18)

(Wednesday, July 22, 1942, “resettlement” ordered to begin at 11:00 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka death camp began today as the German SS, headed by the “Resettlement Commissioner” Sturmbannführer Hermann Höfle, called a meeting of the Ghetto Jewish Council Judenrat and informed its leader Adam Czerniaków about the “resettlement to the East.” Continue reading Nazis begin transporting Jews from Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka death camp 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 22 1942)

‘Jingle Jangle Jingle’ by Kay Kyser peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 18 1942)

(Saturday, July 18, 1942) — “Jingle Jangle Jingle” by Kay Kyser and His Orchestra (vocal chorus by Harry Babbitt, Julie Conway and The Group) peaked at #1 on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for the first of eight consecutive weeks (July 18/25, Aug. 1/8/15/22/29, Sept. 5, 1942). Continue reading ‘Jingle Jangle Jingle’ by Kay Kyser peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 18 1942)

Top Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler begins two-day visit at Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 17 1942)


Video: 'The 100 Deadliest Days of the Holocaust Begin... - WAH 039 - July 1942, Pt .2' (Himmler at Auschwitz, July 17-18, 1942, at 2:28)

(Friday, July 17, 1942, late afternoon Central European Summer Time; part of The Holocaust, during World War II)Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, Germany’s Minister of the Interior, began a two-day visit to the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp today in Nazi-occupied Poland, his second and final visit to the facility that would witness the murders of 1.3 million people, about 90 percent of them Jewish, through 1945. Continue reading Top Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler begins two-day visit at Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 17 1942)

Nazis liquidate Rovno Ghetto in Ukraine, 5,000 Jews taken to nearby forest and shot 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 13 1942)


Video: 'Return to Rivne'

(Monday, July 13, 1942, 10:00 p.m. Central European Summer Time; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — The Rovno Ghetto, a World War II Nazi ghetto established in December 1941 in the city of Rovno, western Ukraine, in the territory of German-administered Reichskommissariat Ukraine, was liquidated tonight when a “shared” division of the SS and Ukrainian police units surrounded the ghetto, positioned spotlights around it and turned them on. Continue reading Nazis liquidate Rovno Ghetto in Ukraine, 5,000 Jews taken to nearby forest and shot 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 13 1942)