17 Oct 1942
  • Battleships Yamato and Mutsu transferred 4,500 tons of fuel oil to empty oiler Kenyo Maru to refuel other ships. ww2dbase [Yamato | CPC]
  • Joseph Stilwell arrived in Delhi, India. ww2dbase [Joseph Stilwell | CPC]
  • Oberst Ernst Kühl, commanding officer of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • USS Nicholas arrived at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]
Atlantic Ocean
  • Leonardo da Vinci sighted a tanker in the Atlantic Ocean at 0453 hours; after a brief chase, the tanker was identified as Spanish in origin, and the Italian submarine broke off the pursuit. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | CPC]
British Western Pacific Territories France Hawaii
  • USS Wahoo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Wahoo | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
Malta
  • All daylight air raids on Malta were abandoned by the Axis following heavy losses and bombing was now restricted to night-time operations only. The Axis had lost 270 aircraft this year over Malta. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | AC]
Pacific Ocean
  • USS Grayback fired four torpedoes at a Japanese transport off New Ireland; all torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Grayback | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 17 Oct 1942
Russian soldier laying dead near a trench, Stalingrad, Russia, 17 Oct 1942Aerial photo of Stalingrad Tractor Factory named for Dzerzhinsky after German capture, Stalingrad, Russia, 17 Oct 1942

17 Oct 1942 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
"I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil."

General Douglas MacArthur at Leyte, 17 Oct 1944


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