17 Aug 1937

China
  • Japanese light tanks halted a Chinese counter attack at Shanghai, China. Meanwhile, the first group of American evacuees departed from the international zone of Shanghai. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Shanghai | Shanghai | CPC]
  • Chinese Hawk III fighters flew 17 sorties against incoming Japanese bombers targeting Chinese airfields in the Shanghai-Nanjing area; 1 Japanese bomber and 2 Chinese fighters were lost. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Liu Cuigang engaged in aerial combat over Shanghai, China flying a Hawk III fighter, claiming the downing of a Japanese bomber at 1940 hours. ww2dbase [Liu Cuigang | Shanghai | CPC]
  • John Wong, flying a P-26 fighter, shot down Lieutenant Commander Nitta's G3M bomber northeast of Chuyung Airfield near Nanjing, China; Nitta was either killed during the crash, or, according to Japanese records, committed suicide after a crash landing. Shortly afterwards, Wong heavily damaged Lieutenant (jg) Watanabe's G3M bomber, followed by a joint victory over yet another G3M bomber (credit shared with Lieutenant Wong Tse-tsim). ww2dbase [John Wong | Nanjing | CPC]
Japan
  • The Japanese government officially abandoned its previous decision not to escalate the situation in China. ww2dbase [CPC]

17 Aug 1937 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Famous WW2 Quote
"Since peace is now beyond hope, we can but fight to the end."

Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937


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