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• The 3,204-ton Norwegian freighter Novasli had arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States from England, United Kingdom on 17 Jan 1945, where she had taken on board 1,123 standards of lumber, before leaving for Boston and Halifax on 4 Feb 1945, arriving at Halifax on 13 Feb. She left Halifax again on 16 Feb for Swansea Bay and London in Convoy SC 167, station 31. The ship reached St. Georges Channel on 2 Mar and was just off Milford Haven when she was torpedoed in the stern by German submarine U-1302 (Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Herwartz). The rudder and propeller were blown away, and she had a crack behind midships on both sides from the gunwale and as far down as they could see, with an opening of about 1-foot wide from the rail and down, and water gushed into the engine room. Three lifeboats were sent away from the ship while the captain, the first mate, the radio operator, steward and mess boy remained on board, and that afternoon she was taken in tow. However, the water kept rising in and the aft section sank deeper, until the sea was washing over the midships deck when they left the ship. The survivors were picked up by the trawler HMS Helier II (FY-312), which shelled, and depth charged the wreck, and by midnight she was gone. Novasli's crew were landed in Milford Haven. ww2dbase [HM]

• USS S-43 departed Australia. ww2dbase [S-43 | CPC]

• Anglo-Indian troops attacked Meiktila, Burma. ww2dbase [Battle of Meiktila-Mandalay | Meiktila | CPC]
• In Burma, Corporal Fazal Din was attacked by six sword wielding Japanese after taking an enemy bunker and was run through the chest by one of them. As the officer pulled the sword out, Din wrestled it from him and killed him with his own weapon. Din took down another man and, waving the sword in the air, urged his men on to victory before collapsing. He died shortly afterwards and was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. ww2dbase [AC]
• At Kamye, Burma, Corporal Gian Singh took out a series of foxholes and an anti-tank gun with Thompson submachine gun and grenades despite serious wounds. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. ww2dbase [Kamye | AC]

• Elements of US Ninth Army reached the Rhine River at Neuss, Germany. To the north US Third Army captures Trier, Germany. ww2dbase [Advance to the Rhine | TH]
• The RAF conducted its last major raid on Köln (Cologne), Germany with 858 aircraft; also on this date, one USAAF B-17 bomber attacked Köln as a target of opportunity. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Köln, Köln-Aachen | CPC]
• Colonel General Walter Weiß reported that his forces in the Danzig-Westpreußen region of Germany (occupied Danzig and Poland) were surrounded by Soviet troops. ww2dbase [East Pomeranian Offensive | Danzig-Westpreußen | CPC]
• German General of the Infantry Hermann Niehoff was named the commanding officer of the Fortress City of Breslau. ww2dbase [Silesian Offensive and the Siege of Breslau | Breslau, Niederschlesien | CPC]
• 1st Lieutenant Theodore Sedvert, flying a P-51 fighter, shot down Oberfaehrich Horst Netzeband, flying a Me 262 jet fighter. Netzeband was wounded in the hip, causing him to be unable to bail out and to be killed when the aircraft crashed near Dillingen, Germany at 0935 hours. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against the synthetic oil facility at Böhlen, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Böhlen | DS]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Air Group 85 departed. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• USS Bailey arrived at Mindoro, Philippines. ww2dbase [Bailey | Mangarin Bay, Mindoro | DS]

• US B-24, B-25, and A-20 aircraft attacked Matsuyama Airfield in Taihoku (now Taipei), Taiwan. ww2dbase [Matsuyama Airfield | Taihoku | CPC]
• US Far East Air Force B-24, B-25, A-20, and fighter-bomber aircraft attacked Kagi Airfield in Kagi (now Chiayi), Taiwan. ww2dbase [Kagi Airfield | Kagi, Tainan | CPC]

• Escort carriers USS Card and Bogue departed Liverpool bound for New York. ww2dbase [Card | Bogue | Liverpool, England | DS]

2 Mar 1945 Interactive Map