25 May 1085
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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Alfonso VI of Castile captured Toledo, Spain, and brought the Moorish center of science into Christian hands.
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25 May 1521
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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Holy Roman Emperor Charles V pronounced Martin Luther an outlaw and heretic for refusing to recant his teachings while at the Diet of Worms (held the previous month).
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25 May 1793
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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Stephen T. Badin, 25, was ordained in Baltimore, MD
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25 May 1824
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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The American Sunday School Union was established in Philadelphia. It pledged itself: (1) to circulate appropriate literature in every part of the land; (2) to secure a unity of evangelistic effort; and (3) to plant a Sunday School wherever there was a population.
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25 May 1876
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history
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RELIGIOUS
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The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland (org. 1743) united with the Free Church of Scotland (org. 1843) to form the new Free Church of Scotland. (In 1929 the Free Church merged with the Mother Church, afterward retaining the name Church of Scotland.)
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25 May 1915
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history
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WW2
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The Ottoman Minister of the Interior, Mehmed Talât, announced that Armenians living near the war zones would be deported to Syria and Mosul.
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25 May 1916
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history
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WW2
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Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class medal.
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25 May 1917
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history
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WW2
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Robert Greim achieved his first kill as a fighter pilot over France.
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25 May 1917
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history
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WW2
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Crown Prince Yi Un graduated from the Japanese Army Academy.
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25 May 1917
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history
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WW2
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A fleet of 23 German Gotha G.IV bombers commanded by Hauptmann Ernst Brandenburg set out to bomb London, England, United Kingdom, but on reaching the Thames River ran into bad weather and diverted to find an alternative target. The English coastal town of Folkestone was thronged with shoppers when the German aircraft struck. Ninety-five civilians were killed and the air raid cause widespread panic among a populace who now believed that Germany could rain death from the skies over Britain unopposed. The Germans lost two aircraft.
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25 May 1918
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history
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WW2
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Leon Trotsky repeated his order that the Czech Legion in Russia was to be disarmed and added that any Czech soldier found armed on the Trans-Siberian Railway was to be shot on the spot, and that any trains containing even one armed man were to be arrested and interned. To the Czechs this was nothing short of a declaration of war and that the only course open to them was to fight their way through to Vladivostok in eastern Russia. Before nightfall that day the Czechs had captured Marinsk and Marinova and disarmed two trainloads of Red Guards.
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25 May 1920
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history
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WW2
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The Bolsheviks launched a general offensive all along the front in Ukraine. The treaty with Ukrainian leader Petlyura quickly proved worthless and the Poles, outflanked by the Red Armies, were forced to retreat.
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25 May 1932
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history
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WW2
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Yun Bong-gil was convicted of murder for the death of Yoshinori Shirakawa and Kawabata Sadaji in Shanghai, China.
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25 May 1933
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history
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WW2
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The B-534 biplane fighter took its maiden flight.
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25 May 1934
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history
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WW2
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Concentration camps in Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany were placed under the jurisdiction of the German justice department; the SA provided guards for the camps.
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25 May 1934
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history
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WW2
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Captain Toru Izawa was named the commanding officer of Tenryu.
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25 May 1935
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history
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WW2
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"The Tentative Landing Operations Manual, 1935" was approved by US Navy's Chief of Naval Operations, containing theories on amphibious landings.
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25 May 1935
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history
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WW2
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Captain Tadashige Daigo was named the commanding officer of Naka.
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25 May 1937
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history
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WW2
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British Royal Air Force took ownership over prototype Hurricane fighter K5083 at Martelesham Heath airfield in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom.
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25 May 1939
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history
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WW2
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26 Japanese bombers attacked Chongqing, China in the evening; six Chinese fighters intercepted them over the junction of Jialing River and Yangtze River and claimed two bombers shot down.
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25 May 1939
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history
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WW2
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USS Skipjack transited the Panama Canal.
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25 May 1940
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history
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WW2
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British trade union executives accepted Aneurin Bevan's proposal for the Labour Supply Board and Production Council.
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25 May 1940
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history
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WW2
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The first transport of prisoners arrived at the Mauthausen-Gusen Concentration Camp in occupied Austria region of southern Germany.
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25 May 1940
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history
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WW2
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Illustrious was commissioned into service.
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25 May 1940
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history
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WW2
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Béarn made rendezvous with light cruisers Jeanne d'Arc and Émile Bertin in the Atlantic Ocean and transferred French central bank gold bullions to the light cruisers, which would carry them to Canada.
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25 May 1940
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history
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WW2
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Crown Prince Yi Un was made the commanding officer of the Japanese 4th Division.
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25 May 1940
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history
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WW2
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Captain Richard F. J. Onslow was named the commanding officer of HMS Hermes, relieving Captain F. E. P. Hutton.
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25 May 1940
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history
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WW2
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Adolf Hitler continued to hold off his tanks from engaging on an offensive even though those armored division were merely 10 miles from Dunkerque, France. At Calais, France, Heinz Guderian obediently, albeit frustratingly, ordered his tanks to halt per Hitler's orders, but the field commanders continued to push back the British and French troops. In the evening, British Expeditionary Force commanding general Lord Gort began to fall back to Dunkerque. On the same day, the French Army relieved 15 generals of their commands.
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25 May 1940
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history
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WW2
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A unit of the newly formed US Marine Corps Defense Battalions began the Minor Landing and Base Defense Exercise at San Clemente Island, California, United States.
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25 May 1941
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history
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WW2
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After being reinforced through Maleme airfield on Crete, Greece, German Stuka dive bombers attacked Allied lines at 1600 hours, softening defenses for a ground assault toward Galatas on the northern coast. Elsewhere on the island, German aircraft bombed Heraklion.
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25 May 1941
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history
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WW2
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Battleship Bismarck sailed for Saint-Nazaire, closely monitored by Allied aircraft and warships.
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25 May 1941
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history
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WW2
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British cruisers HMS Suffolk and HMS Norfolk lost radar contact with German battleship Bismarck at 0306 hours as the German ship unexpectedly turned west. Several hours later, the British learned of Bismarck's general area after intercepting a radio message sent by Admiral Lütjens. All British attempts to locate Bismarck on this date, however, failed.
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25 May 1941
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history
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WW2
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German submarine U-103 sank Egyptian ship Radames off Monrovia, Liberia at 1631 hours, killing 1. At 2213 hours, U-103 struck again, sinking Dutch ship Wangi Wangi, killing 1.
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25 May 1941
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history
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WW2
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Luftwaffe Lieutenant-General Kurt Student arrived at Maleme in Crete, Greece.
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25 May 1941
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history
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WW2
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HMS Eagle arrived at Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa and refueled.
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25 May 1941
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history
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WW2
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Pierre Laval criticized the Vichy French government during an interview with American journalist Ralph Heinzen in Paris, France.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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USS S-28 arrived at Port Angeles, Washington, United States.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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German He 111 torpedo bombers and Ju 88 bombers attacked Allied convoy PQ-16 475 miles northeast of Iceland; one He 111 was shot down by a British Hurricane fighter. To the east, German Fw 200, Bv 138, and two Ju 88 aircraft successively shadowed QP-12 starting at 1400 hours; British catapult aircraft merchantman Empire Moon launched her Hurricane fighter which shot down a Ju 88 aircraft but Flying Officer John Kendal would die when his parachute failed to open in time after he bailed out. At 1910 hours, 6 German Ju 88 and 7 He 111 aircraft attacked QP-12, damaging US freighter City of Joliet.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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USS Drum sank Japanese merchant ship Kitakata Maru 125 miles southwest of Tokyo, Japan.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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USS Pompano sank Japanese tanker Tokyo Maru 50 miles west of Okinawa, Japan.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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USS Tautog sank Japanese merchant ship Shoka Maru 440 miles southwest of Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Japanese submarine I-9 launched her floatplane for a reconnaissance mission over Adak and Kanaga islands in the Aleutian Islands; on the same day, the Japanese Northern Area Fleet under Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya departed Japan for the conquest of nearby Attu and Kiska islands. On the US side, the Japanese radio message intercepted on 20 May 1942 was partially decrypted, giving the Americans a good idea of the scale of the Midway attack; the Americans missed one critical component, however, as the part regarding the battleship fleet, with Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's personal participation aboard battleship Yamato, was not decrypted.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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1942-05-25 German submarine-558 sank US ship Beatrice 50 miles southwest of Kingston, Jamaica at 0134 hours; 1 was killed, 30 survived. At 1552 hours, U-156 damaged destroyer USS Blakeley off Martinique, blowing away 60 feet of bow with a torpedo (6 were killed, 116 survived); Blakeley would be able to make it to Port de France, Martinique for temporary repairs.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Engineers and staff officers of the Japanese 25th Air Flotilla and 8th Base Force departed Rabaul, New Britain by flying boat to inspect prospective airfield building sites on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Destroyer Yuzuki arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. She was assigned to Destroyer Division 29 of Destroyer Squadron 6 of the Fourth Fleet.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Chinese 38th Infantry Division began to cross the border from Burma into India.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Captain Jojima was relieved by Captain Masafumi Arima as the commanding officer of Shokaku.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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USS Permit fired four torpedoes at a Japanese transport in the Makassar Strait; all four torpedoes missed.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Soviet troops trapped at Izium, Ukraine made a major attempt to break the encirclement in failure, and the continued German pressured reduced the Soviet pocket to an area roughly 10 miles wide and 2 miles deep.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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German submarine U-593 sank Panamanian tanker Persephone 10 miles off New Jersey, United States at 2053 hours; 9 were killed, 28 survived.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Andrew Higgins' landing craft competed with US Navy's standard landing craft in choppy waters at Norfolk, Virginia, United States; Higgins' boat defeated the US Navy boat in all categories.
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25 May 1942
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history
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WW2
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Companies C and D of the 2nd Raider Battalion and the 37mm battery of the 3rd Defense Battalion of the United States Marine Corps arrived at Midway via USS St. Louis.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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Chinese 86th Corps, having held the Japanese 39th Division attack at the shore of the Yangtze River since the previous day, fell back toward Pianyan, Hubei Province, China. Earlier in the afternoon, Chiang Kaishek had personally telephoned area commander Wu Qiwei, stressing the importance of holding Pianyan.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary that the industrial and residential districts in Dortmund, Germany were heavily damaged by Allied bombing.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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In a conference in Berlin, Germany, Albert Speer recommended that the funding for military research be focused on the V-2 rocket program rather than being spread around a wide range of projects that included jets, heat-seeking missiles, sound-seeking torpedoes, and others. Ultimately this recommendation would be ignored.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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USS Tunny departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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USS Permit arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her eighth war patrol.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Bachelor Officer Quarters (BOQ) "C" turned over to station.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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507 men and 528 women of the Gypsy camp in Birkenau of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp system, most of whom were from Poland and Austria, were gassed. At least several hundred of them were sick, many of whom with typhus, thus giving the camp authorities to write off their deaths as natural.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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A Victoria Cross award was gazetted for John Linton, who had recently been lost when the submarine HMS Turbulent which he commanded became missing in action in mid-Mar 1943, for the sustained period of leadership during the war.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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USS Whale arrived off Apra, Guam, Mariana Islands and observed Japanese activities inside the harbor.
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25 May 1943
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history
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WW2
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The first British mission to coordinate with local partisans parachuted into Yugoslavia.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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Germans launched combined ground-airborne assault on Tito's headquarters in Drvar, Bosnia, Yugoslavia.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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Submarine Sea Robin was launched, sponsored by the wife of US Navy Captain Homer Ambrose, the production superintendent at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, United States where the submarine was built.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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USS Pollack fired four torpedoes at a Japanese destroyer in the Pacific Ocean; all torpedoes missed.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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Chindit forces abandoned the Blackpool site in Burma.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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USS Flying Fish sank a Japanese transport and damaged another transport at dawn off the Philippine Islands, hitting them with 4 of 4 torpedoes fired.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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William Halsey gave a farewell speech to SOPAC personnel at Emirau, Bismarck Islands.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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Japanese troops captured Luoyang, China.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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US 3rd Division captured Cisterna, Italy after house-to-house fighting, nearly wiping out 362nd Infantry Division in the process; nearby, US 1st Armored Division engaged German Herman Göring Division at Valmontone while US Fifth Army troops linked up with the Anzio contingent. At the end of the day, Mark Clark ordered Lucian Truscott to turn north toward Rome without informing Harold Alexander.
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25 May 1944
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history
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WW2
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Polish troops captured Piedimonte, Italy.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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USS Blenny reported sinking a small Japanese craft with torpedoes.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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Operation Olympic, the invasion of Japan, was approved by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, setting the date at 1 Nov 1945.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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Japanese special attack aircraft sank destroyer USS Bates and damaged several other ships off Okinawa, Japan. Part of these attacks included an Ohka combat sortie by 11 G4M bombers, most of which were turned back due to poor weather while the few that launched their Ohka weapons reported no hits.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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Australian Private Leslie Starcevitch won the Victoria Cross during the capture of Beaufort, North Borneo by destroying a series of Japanese bunkers that had been holding up the Australian advance.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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Submarine I-369 was taken out of commission for conversion into an aviation gasoline submarine-transport.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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Bataan (Tribal-class) was commissioned into service.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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The destroyer escort USS Bates was sunk by a Japanese special attack aircraft off Okinawa, Japan.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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The Japanese Navy reorganized the 3rd Air Fleet (now with 13th, 25th, and 27th Air Flotillas) and the 5th Air Fleet (now with 12th and 72nd Air Flotillas and 13 air groups).
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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USS Iowa arrived off Kyushu, Japan.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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USS Ray sank 2 small Japanese vessels west of Japan with her deck gun.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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USS Parche began her sixth war patrol, the first half of which would be on lifeguard station south of Japan.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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464 American B-29 bombers conducted a raid on Tokyo, Japan. 26 aircraft were lost, which was the highest one-day loss.
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25 May 1945
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history
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WW2
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Yukio Araki and the 72nd Shinbu Squadron was relocated to Bansei Airfield, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
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25 May 1946
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history
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WW2
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Rudolf Höss was handed over to Polish authorities.
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25 May 1946
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history
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WW2
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Allied repatriation ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Bali, Dutch East Indies and embarked Japanese personnel. She departed later on the same day.
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25 May 1948
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history
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WW2
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Submarine Gür was commissioned into service.
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