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• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Buin, Bougainville. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
• French submarine Le Tonnant attacked USS Ranger off French Morocco at 1000 hours; all four torpedoes missed, and the American counterattack was equally ineffective. On land, American troops captured the French fort of Kasbah, which led to the fall of Port Lyautey. At Casablanca, American ships sortied to respond to an attack by French sloops only to be surprised by an operational Jean Bart; aircraft from USS Ranger were launched to sink Jean Bart in shallow water by bombing. ww2dbase [Operation Torch | Jean Bart | Ranger | CPC]
• Allied forces in French Algeria pushed into Tunisia. In response, Axis transport aircraft were being prepared to bring in reinforcements. ww2dbase [Advance into Tunisia | CPC]
• British Prime Minister Churchill said, in a speech, "[n]ow this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | CPC]
• The US Marine Corps established the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point, North Carolina, United States under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Calvin Freeman. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The US 2nd Marine Regiment, US 8th Marine Regiment, and the US Army 164th Regiment attacked unsuccessfully westward from Point Cruz toward Kokumbona on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | CPC]
• As Pierre Laval visited Adolf Hitler in Germany, Hitler told the French Prime Minister that Germany intended on moving its forces into Vichy France and Tunisia; Hitler did not share the timetable and gave no indication that it was to happen soon. Laval did not protest. At 2030 hours, Hitler gave the order to launch the occupation on the following day. ww2dbase [Scuttling of the French Fleet | CPC]
• Admiral Soemu Toyoda stepped down as the commanding officer of Kure Naval District, Japan. ww2dbase [Soemu Toyoda | CPC]

• At around 1300 hours, off Algiers, Algeria, Marcello-class Italian submarine Emo was attacked and hit by ASW Trawler HMS Lord Nuffield (FY 221) just off the coast. The captain took the boat to the surface and engaged the Lord Nuffield with the deck gun. With both diesel engines out of service, the boat was ordered scuttled. Fourteen of the crewmembers were lost in the action, while the remaining crewmembers were rescued and captured by the Allies., ww2dbase [Algiers | HM]

• German Type IXC U-Boat U-505 was surprised on the surface by a Lockheed Hudson maritime patrol bomber from the Royal Air Force No. 53 Squadron. During the low-level attack off the coast of Trinidad, a 250 lb. bomb hit directly on the deck from just above the water line. The explosion killed one watch officer and wounded another in the conning tower. It also tore the anti-aircraft gun off its mounting and severely damaged the ship’s pressure hull. The aircraft was hit by fragmentation from the bomb’s explosion and crashed into the ocean near U-505, killing RAAF pilot Flight Sergeant Ronald Sillcock and his entire crew. ww2dbase [U-505 | DS]
• Leonardo da Vinci fired two stern torpedoes at American freighter Marcus Whitman, which she had been pursuing since the previous date, in the Atlantic Ocean at 0014 hours, scoring one hit in the No. 5 hold. At 0017 hours, the American freighter sent a distress signal. At 0030 hours, the American master gave orders to abandon ship. At 0116 hours, the Italian submarine fired a stern torpedo at the distance of 1,000 meters, scoring another hit. Closing in, Leonardo da Vinci began attacking with gunfire, scoring about 20 hits, while the Americans fired back with their 4-inch gun, though unable to score any hits. At 0219 hours, Leonardo da Vinci fired a stern torpedo at the distance of 400 meters, which detonated prematurely. Nevertheless, Marcus Whitman sank around this time. All 52 aboard survived the sinking and their four lifeboats all reached Brazil two days later. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | CPC]

• 77th P-40F fighters of USAAF 33rd Fighter Group launched from USS Chenango and proceeded to the French airfield at Port Lyantey, French Morocco. ww2dbase [Port Lyantey | CPC]

• USS Whale began a period of repair at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Whale | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Mail service (guard) by plane established between Kaneohe, Pearl Harbor, and Barber's Point ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• USAAF 12th Bombardment Squadron ceased anti-submarine operations from St. Croix Airfield in the US Virgin Islands. ww2dbase [St. Croix Airfield | St. Croix | CPC]

10 Nov 1942 Interactive Map