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History on the 17th of July 1944

History
Date Text
17 Jul 1944 WW2 44 Barracuda dive bombers, 18 Hellcat fighters, and 30 other fighters from carriers HMS Formidable, HMS Indefatigable, and HMS Furious attacked the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway in Operation Mascot, scoring no hits. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Erwin Rommel was injured when his staff car was attacked by a British fighter in Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery, Calvados, France at 1830 hours. The aircraft was piloted by Squadron-Leader J. J. Le Roux of No. 602 Squadron RAF. Rommel was en route from Bourguébus Ridge to his headquarters at La Roche-Guyon. The unconscious Rommel would be sent to the hospital at Bernay for treatment. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 USS Caiman was commissioned into service with Commander J. B. Azer in command. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 The Royal Navy submarine HMS/m Telemachus (Commander William King) torpedoed and sank the large Japanese submarine I-166 in the Malacca Straits. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 An inspection of the Indian 111th Infantry Brigade, a Chindit formation, found that only 118 were completely fit for active service; many of the remaining about 2,200 men suffered from malaria, foot rot, septic sores, typhus, or other ailments related to the Burma jungles. Joseph Stilwell withheld the brigade to guard a Chinese artillery battery for two weeks until conditions improved. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 In the morning, 670 B-17 and B-24 bombers of the US Eighth Air Force, escorted by 433 fighters, attacked targets in France (1 B-17 bomber and 1 P-47 fighter were lost); in diversion, B-26B bombers of the US VIII Air Support Command attacked Cayeux, France to draw away German fighters. At Coutances, napalm was used for the first time. On the ground, American troops entered Saint-Lô. In the evening, 34 B-17 and 106 B-24 bombers, escorted by 209 P-51 fighters, attacked 12 German V-weapon launching sites in the Pas de Calais, France area. After sundown, 5 B-17 bombers dropped propagadan leaflets in France and the Netherlands while 16 B-24 bombers flew in support of French resistance activities. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Destroyer HMS Cambrian was commissioned into service. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Destroyer HMS Leamington was transferred to the Soviet Union and was renamed Zhguchi. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 In southern France, 162 B-24 bombers of the US Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy attacked targets in southern France, including the rail marshalling yard at Avignon and railroad bridges at Arles and Tarascon. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Soviet First Ukrainian Front encircled 40,000 German troops at Brody, Poland (now in Ukraine). Across the wider region, Soviet troops crossed the Bug River on a 40-mile front. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 57,600 German prisoners of war were paraded through the streets of Moscow, Russia. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 US Navy underwater demolition teams began destroying beach obstacles at Guam, Mariana Islands. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Task Group 17.16 (USS Guardfish, USS Piranha, and USS Thresher) sank a freighter and a cargo ship in the South China Sea. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Corvette HMCS Peterborough arrived at Bermuda. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Corvette HMCS Barrie completed refitting at Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 HMS/M Seawolf arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States for refitting. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Frigate HMCS Loch Morlich was commissioned into service. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 US President Roosevelt announced that he would allow the Democratic Convention to select a running mate for him rather than naming one himself. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Submarine USS Sea Owl was commissioned into service. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 A British Catalina aircraft of No. 210 Squadron RAF flown by Flying Officer John Alexander Cruickshank attacked German submarine U-742, which fought back with her deck gun. One crew member aboard the Catalina aircraft was killed and three others were wounded, including Cruickshank. Despite his wounds, he brought the aircraft around for a second attack run with depth charges, which successfully sank the submarine. He would later win the Victoria Cross for this action. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Off Narvik, Norway, a Liberator aircraft of No. 86 Squadron RAF sank German submarine U-347 (all 49 aboard were killed) and a Catalina aircraft of No. 210 Squadron RAF sank German submarine U-361 (all 52 aboard were killed). Off Bergen, No. 333 Squadron RAF (Norwegian pilots) damaged German submarine U-994 off Norway, wounding 5 men. U-994 would be able to sail to Bergen, Norway for repairs later on the same day. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 USS Cabrilla made a night time attack against a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, sinking an oiler and two transports, hitting them with 5 of 9 torpedoes fired. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 USS Gabilan sank a Japanese minesweeper south of Japan, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired; the victim was logged as a destroyer in a case of mis-identification. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Yamato arrived at Lingga, Dutch East Indies where she was to remain in the following three months for training. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 The Soviet offensive near Vuosalmi, Finland ground to a halt. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 Allied troops attacked toward Ancona, Italy, with Polish armored units capturing Monte della Crescia and Casenuove, and supporting British units capturing Montecchio and Croce di San Vincenzo. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 USS Preston arrived off Guam. 
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17 Jul 1944 WW2 The Liberty ship A. E. Bryan exploded whilst loading ammunition and explosives at Port Chicago, California, United States, taking with her the Victory ship Quinalt Victory berthed nearby. Ninety-seven men on the two ships were vapourised and even a 12 ton locomotive on the dockside vanished without trace. In total, 320 men were killed and 290 injured. More than 200 of the dead were black sailors being used as loaders. Later many sailors refused to work until safety was improved. Fifty were court martialled, convicted of mutiny and jailed. A public outcry led to their release but they were still deprived of all veteran's benefits for the rest of their lives. The last surviving "mutineer" Freddy Meeks was finally pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 1999. Four years later he died, aged 83. 
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16th July 1944 18th July 1944
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