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• Japanese Navy Captain Nobuei Morishita, commanding officer of Yamato, was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. ww2dbase [Yamato | CPC]
• Prinz Eugen collided with light cruiser Leipzig by accident north of Hela (Hel, Poland) in the Baltic Sea, causing light damage. ww2dbase [Prinz Eugen | CPC]
• Damaged German battleship Tirpitz set sail for Tromsø, Norway at the speed of 10 knots. ww2dbase [Tirpitz | CPC]
• USS Franklin was attacked by Japanese aircraft off of Luzon, Philippine Islands; 1 bomb hit and 2 near misses caused damage. ww2dbase [Franklin | CPC]
• Shortly after announcing that Hungary would withdraw from the war, Admiral Miklós Horthy's son Miklós Horthy, Jr. was abducted by Sturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny's commandos. In Horthy's place, the new head of state, Fenenc Szalasi promised to maintain the alliance with Germany. Among the first pro-German policies implemented was the resumption of the deportation of Hungarian Jews. ww2dbase [Miklós Horthy | TH]
• Rear Admiral Masafumi Arima of the Japanese 26th Air Flotilla in the Philippine Islands attempted a special attack with a D4Y Suisei aircraft against an American carrier; it was said that "This act of self-sacrifice by a high flag officer spurred the flying units in forward combat areas and provided the spark that touched off the organized use of suicide attacks in the battle for Leyte." ww2dbase [Philippines Campaign, Phase 1, the Leyte Campaign | CPC]
• Submarine Carbonero was launched, sponsored by Mrs. S. S. Murray. ww2dbase [Carbonero | CPC]
• 1st Lieutenant Hugh Foster, flying a P-47 fighter, damaged a Me 262 jet fighter. His fellow USAAF 78th Fighter Group pilot 2nd Lieutenant Huie Lamb, Jr., also flying a P-47 fighter, shot down a Me 262 jet fighter, flown by Feldwebel Edgar Junghans, during the same mission. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Raizo Tanaka was promoted to the rank of vice admiral. ww2dbase [Raizo Tanaka | CPC]
• USS Bailey arrived at Majuro, Marshall Islands where she refueled and departed bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ww2dbase [Bailey | DS]

• Four TDR drones were launched against Matupi Bridge, Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, New Britain as part of coordinated attack by conventional bombers against Simpson Harbor. Poor picture reception and pilot error resulted in none of the TDRs hitting their targets. ww2dbase [TDR | Rabaul, New Britain | DS]

• Two BQ-7 drones successfully reached the Helgoland archipelago, but missed the German submarine base due to poor weather conditions. ww2dbase [Operation Aphrodite and Operation Anvil | Schleswig-Holstein | CPC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against rail facilities at Cologne, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Köln, Köln-Aachen | DS]

• USS Kete arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Kete | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Aircraft storage area of 150 acres near Iroquois Point opened. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Kamoi was attacked by American fighters at Hong Kong at 1705 hours, but received no damage. ww2dbase [Kamoi | CPC]

• Miklós Horthy announced that Hungary and Soviet Union had signed an armistice and asked the Hungary troops to lay down their arms; the order was rejected by the Hungarian generals, and the troops continued to fight against the invading Soviets. ww2dbase [Budapest Strategic Offensive Operation | CPC]

• Landing ship No. 113 was completed and was transferred to the Japanese Army. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]
• Patrol Boat No. 102 departed Omuta, Fukuoka, Japan at 1316 hours and arrived at Tachibana Bay, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan at 1912 hours. ww2dbase [Stewart | Omuta, Fukuoka | CPC]

• Z35 and Z36 completed the escorting of heavy cruisers Lützow and Prinz Eugen as the cruiser shelled Soviet targets in the areas of Klaipėda (German: Memel) and Liepāja (German: Libau), Latvia. ww2dbase [Prinz Eugen | Lützow | Z35 | Z36 | Klaipėda | CPC]

• On or about this date, Masafumi Arima personally led a flight of special attack aircraft out of Clark Airfield, Luzon, Philippine Islands and never returned; it was unknown whether his flight was able to hit any targets. ww2dbase [Masafumi Arima | Pampanga | CPC]

• A B-29 bomber of USAAF 468th Bombardment Group conducted a reconnaissance flight over Taichu Airfield ("Toyohara") in central Taiwan. It was discovered that a satellite airfield was being constructed to the west. ww2dbase [Taichu West Airfield | Taichu | CPC]

• German V-2 rocket hit Rettendon, Essex, England, United Kingdom. The village pub was damaged and two were slightly injured. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 2 | V-Weapons Campaign | Rettendon, England | CPC]
• A total of 9 V-1 flying bombs were air launched over the East Anglian coast of Britain. One got through the defensive cordon and came down in the London Borough of Southwark at the junction of Athenlay Road and Fernholm Road killing 8 residents. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 1 | V-Weapons Campaign | London, England | HM]

15 Oct 1944 Interactive Map