AUGUST 1942
  • Aug 1 . Battleships of TF-1 (7 BB, 10 DD) sail to guard Hawaii during Guadalcanal operation.
    Aug 1 . British make requested faint in Bay of Bengal.
    Aug 1 . U.S. fleet submarines transferred south from North Pacific
    Aug 1 . BuOrd compromise on dud torpedoes as running ten feet too deep.
  • Aug 2 . Long Island (AVG-1) departs Pearl to ferry planes to Solomons.
      Initially APV then changed to AVG on 31Mar41, which was changed to ACV on 20Aug42, and all changed to CVE on 15July43.
  • Aug 3 . With arrival of Pearl convoy, the invasion fleet is 82 ships.
  • Aug 4 . Task Force consists of Saratoga, Enterprise, Wasp , North Carolina (BB-52) , 5 CA and 16 DD.
    Aug 4 . Tucker (DD-374) and troop transport President Coolidge sunk in US minefield off Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides.
  • Aug 5 . Convoy Screen consists of 6 cruisers and 9 destroyers.
    Aug 5 . Superbattleship Musashi commissioned at Nagasaki - never fired her 18" guns - sunk Battle of Sibuyan Sea.
    Aug 5 . Japanese submarine I-30 arrives in France. Sunk leaving Singapore on way home.
  • Aug 6 . Fleet and Convoy arrive Solomons unseen under weather protection.
    Aug 6 . Three Japanese transports sunk by U.S. submarines in North Pacific.
  • Aug 7 . Marines land at Tulagi and Guadalcanal. Japanese surprised.
    Aug 7 . 7,000 Marines landing on Tulagi are resisted.
    Aug 7 . 11,000 Marines land Guadalcanal unopposed ; construction workers flee.
    Aug 7 . Japanese respond from the air with bombers from Rabaul, fighters from New Britain. Mugford (DD-389) and a transport were damaged.
    Aug 7 . Japanese cruiser force sails from Rabaul for Solomons.
    Aug 7 . U.S. cruisers bombard Kiska, Alaska.
  • Aug 8 . Marines take Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo islands, across from Guadalcanal.
    Aug 8 . Meiyo Maru, flagship of Japanese reinforcement convoy sunk by S-38 ; convoy recalled. (A key event of the war.)
    Aug 8 . Japanese air attacks torpedo troop transport Elliott (AP-13), beached, and destroyer Jarvis (DD-383) ; troop transport Barnett (AP-11) damaged.
  • Aug 8 . U-98 mines waters off Jacksonville, Florida.
  • Aug 9 . Battle of Savo Island. Allied screening force wiped out.
      More sailors die in defense of the beachhead that one night than Marines in the whole 6-month battle.
    Aug 9 . Hornet (CV-8) makes sweep around Hawaii.
    Aug 9 . Landings successful, Navy withdraws from air attacks at Guadalcanal -- not all material unloaded.
  • Aug 10. Artillery and defensive positions established by Marines.
  • Aug 11. Marines, using captured bulldozer, continue work on airfield.
  • Aug 12. Catalina PBY makes trial landing on Guadalcanal airfield.
    Aug 12. Marine party, expecting Japanese to surrender on Guadalcanal, are ambushed, wiped out.
    Aug 12. The new proximity fuse, 5" antiaircraft shell tested by Cleveland (CL-55) in Chesapeake Bay.
    Aug 12. Wolverine (IX-64) commissioned, - Great Lakes carrier trained thousands of pilots.
  • Aug 13. Japanese Army starts over mountains to Port Moresby, New Guinea.
  • Aug 14. VJ Day is three years in the future.
    • Aug 14. Japanese submarine operations in the Mozambique Channel.
  • Aug 15. First US resupply convoy to Guadalcanal by 4 destroyer transports.
  • Aug 16. Henderson Field named after Marine hero at Midway.
  • Aug 17. Carlson's Marine Raiders land from 2 submarines to raid Makin Island.
    Aug 17. Hornet (CV-8) departs Pearl Harbor for Coral Sea.
  • Aug 18. Two battleships ordered from East Coast to Pacific. Washington (BB-56) and Indiana (BB-58)
    Aug 18. Six Japanese destroyers land 916 troops on Guadalcanal.
  • Aug 19. Marines attack Japanese construction battalion on Guadalcanal.
    Aug 19. British raid on Dieppe - disaster teaches lessons for D-Day in 2-years.
  • Aug 20. Second resupply as US destroyer transports return to Guadalcanal.
    Aug 20. Long Island (ACV-1) flies off 31 Marine fighters and bombers to Henderson Field, Guadalcanal.
    Aug 20. R4D (C-47,DC3) air supply/hospital evacuation begins between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal.
  • Aug 21. "Tenaru River" : first Marine-Japanese battle on Guadalcanal, enemy force wiped out.
    Aug 21. Major Japanese fleet gathers to attack & reinforce Solomons.
    Aug 21. U.S. submarines start to damage or sink almost a ship a day somewhere in Pacific.
    Aug 21. Twelve Japanese flame throwers captured in combat with Ichiki Force on Guadalcanal.
  • Aug 22. First five AAF ground attack planes arrive at Henderson Field, "Cactus", Guadalcanal.
    Aug 22. Night resupply destroyers from each side meet, Blue (DD-387) torpedoed.
  • Aug 23. Long Island (ACV-1) arrives Efate, New Hebrides.
  • Aug 24. Marine fighters destroy 21 enemy planes with loss of 3 Wildcats. Coast Watchers.
    Aug 24. Battle of the Eastern Solomons - US outnumbered 2:1, Fletcher attacks : Jap fleet withdraws.
    Major Jap strike and invasion fleets turned back with massive loss of aircraft on both sides. Planes from Saratoga sink light carrier Ryujo. Enterprise damaged, returns to Pearl, her dive bombers augment Henderson Field.
    Aug 24. Santee (ACV-29) commissions, first of 4 carriers converted oilers. All used North Africa in Nov.
  • Aug 25. B-17's sink DD Mutsuki, stopped to aid transport; SBD's damage CL Jintsu and DD Uzuki off Guadalcanal.
    Aug 25. Japanese occupy Ocean & Nauru (Phosphate Islands) - thru end of war.
    Aug 25. Japanese occupy 3 islands, off SE New Guinea.
  • Aug 26. Japanese land at Milne Bay, New Guinea. Attacked on beaches.
  • Aug 27. Many aircraft arrive Henderson Field from now on ; attrition high.
  • Aug 28. Japanese fleets return to Truk.
    Aug 28. Japs start Tokyo Express (destroyer transports at night) to reinforce Guadalcanal; fight until Feb 7, 1943.
    Aug 28. SBD's sink DD Asagiri and damage 3 more, preventing reinforcements from landing on Guadalcanal.
  • Aug 29. Tokyo Express lands troops.
    Aug 29. Hornet CV-8 reaches South Pacific. Replaces damaged Enterprise.
      USN never has more than three carriers together. It will be Oct'43 before that happens.
  • Aug 30. US Army lands on Adak, Aleutians, to construct Navy seaplane base 250 miles from occupied Kiska.
    Aug 30. Tokyo Express lands troops.
    Aug 30. High speed transport Colhoun (APD-2) is bombed and sunk by Japanese planes.
  • Aug 31. Saratoga torpedoed by I-26 ; out of action for the next three months.
    Aug 31. Eight Japanese destroyers put ashore 1,000 troops on Guadalcanal.
    < July   September >
    Return to: WW2
    About this page: 42Aug - Seventy-five years ago World War 2 started. This a chronology of significant events in August 1942.
    Created July 4, 2009
    URL: http://www.ww2pacific.com/42Aug.html