December 1942

The following events occurred in December 1942:

December 1, 1942 (Tuesday)

*Japanese aircraft sank the Australian corvette HMAS Armidale (J240), HMAS ''Armidale'' in the Timor Sea.
*German forces in Tunisia commanded by Albert Kesselring counterattacked at Tebourba and began pushing the Allies back.
*The Beveridge Report was published in the United Kingdom, providing the blueprint for a postwar welfare state that would provide citizens with social security insurance.
*Fuel rationing began in the United States.
*E. Raymond Sharp was named manager of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory (now the Glenn Research Center) in Cleveland, Ohio.
*Born: John Crowley (author), John Crowley, fantasy and science fiction writer, in Presque Isle, Maine
*Died: Leon Wachholz, 75, Polish scientist and medical examiner, in Kraków

December 2, 1942 (Wednesday)

*Manhattan Project: A team of scientists led by Enrico Fermi achieved the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction at Chicago Pile-1.
*Battle of Skerki Bank: British ships attacked an Italian troop convoy near the Skerki Banks between Sicily and Tunisia, sinking all four troop and cargo ships as well as the destroyer ''Folgore''. Over 2,000 Italians perished.
*Benito Mussolini addressed the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations for the first time in eighteen months, reporting on the present state of the war and insisting that "The last word has not yet been spoken." Mussolini advised the population to evacuate Italian cities, causing a panic as there was no planning or organisation to do it.
*British destroyer ''HMS Quentin (G78), Quentin'' was sunk by German aircraft off North Africa.

December 3, 1942 (Thursday)

*Adolf Hitler placed all Axis forces in Tunisia under the newly created Headquarters, 5th Panzer Army and gave the new command to Hans-Jürgen von Arnim.
*British destroyer ''HMS Penylan (L89), Penylan'' was sunk in the English channel by German U-boats.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-534, U-534'' was commissioned.
*Born:
**Pedro Rocha (Uruguayan footballer), Pedro Rocha, footballer, in Salto, Uruguay (d. 2013);
**Alice Schwarzer, feminist, in Wuppertal, Germany
*Died: Blanche Selva, 58, French pianist and composer

December 4, 1942 (Friday)

*Carlson's Patrol ended in Allied victory.
*American planes bombed Italy for the first time when 20 Consolidated B-24 Liberator, B-24s raided Naples.
*The Italian cruiser ''Italian cruiser Muzio Attendolo, Muzio Attendolo'' was bombed and sunk in Naples Harbour.
*Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King met with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington.
*President Roosevelt wrote a letter ordering the Works Progress Administration to be dissolved with an "honorable discharge".
*The swashbuckler film ''The Black Swan (film), The Black Swan'' starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara was released.
*Born: Gemma Jones, actress, in Marylebone, London, England

December 5, 1942 (Saturday)

*Almost exactly one year after attack on Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy, U.S. Navy publicly revealed the extent of losses suffered in the attack.
*Two pilots flew the new American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane a record 725 miles per hour.
*To solve America's manpower shortage, President Roosevelt suspended the induction of all men over age 38 into the armed forces. That same day, he transferred responsibility for all manpower issues and the Selective Service system over to the War Manpower Commission headed by Paul V. McNutt.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-734, U-734'' was commissioned.
*The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8–5 to win the 30th Grey Cup of Canadian football.

December 6, 1942 (Sunday)

*93 aircraft of the Royal Air Force conducted a Operation Oyster, bombing raid on Eindhoven targeting the Philips Radio Works. The building was heavily damaged but the RAF lost 13 planes in the attack.
*Stary Ciepielów and Rekówka massacre: 5 families in Occupied Poland were executed by the ''Ordnungspolizei'' as part of the German retribution against Poles who helped Jews.
*The horror film ''Cat People (1942 film), Cat People'' starring Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway and Jane Randolph was premiered in New York City.
*Born: Peter Handke, novelist, playwright and political activist, in Griffen, Austria
*Died: Amos Rusie, 71, American baseball player

December 7, 1942 (Monday)

*Operation Frankton: A small unit of Royal Marines began raiding shipping in the French port of Bordeaux.
*The British ocean liner ''SS Ceramic, Ceramic'' was torpedoed and sunk west of the Azores by German submarine ''German submarine U-515, U-515''. There was only one survivor of the 657 people aboard and he was taken aboard ''U-515'' as a prisoner of war.
*The Bell P-63 Kingcobra had its first flight.
*Born:
**Harry Chapin, folk rock singer-songwriter, in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York (killed 1981);
**Peter Tomarken, television personality, in Olean, New York (d. 2006)
*Died: Orland Steen Loomis, 49, American lawyer and governor-elect of Wisconsin (heart attack)

December 8, 1942 (Tuesday)

*German forces occupied the Tunisian city of Bizerte.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-254, U-254'' sank in the Atlantic Ocean after an accidental collision with ''German submarine U-221, U-221''.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-611, U-611'' was depth charged and sunk off Cape Farewell, Greenland by a British Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Liberator bomber.
*Born: Bob Love, basketball player, in Bastrop, Louisiana

December 9, 1942 (Wednesday)

*During the Battle of Buna–Gona, the Australians captured Gona, Papua New Guinea, Gona from the Japanese.
*The British destroyer ''HMS Porcupine (G93), Porcupine'' was torpedoed and damaged beyond repair northeast of Oran, Algeria by German submarine ''German submarine U-602, U-602''.
*The British corvette ''HMS Marigold (K87), Marigold'' was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean by Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 aircraft with the loss of 40 of her 85 crew.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-276, U-276'' was commissioned.
*Born:
**Dick Butkus, football player, in Chicago, Illinois;
**Joe McGinniss, author, in New York City (d. 2014)
*Died: Harry Trihey, 64, Canadian ice hockey player and executive

December 10, 1942 (Thursday)

*German tank infantry columns attacked Majaz al Bab in Tunisia but were repulsed.
*British and Canadian governments announced that they had given instructions that German prisoners of war were to be unshackled on December 12.
*The Bank of Thailand opened.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-952, U-952'' was commissioned.
*Born: Peter Sarstedt, Indian-born British folk and pop musician, in Delhi (d. 2017)

December 11, 1942 (Friday)

*The Battle of El Agheila began in North Africa.
*Italian Human torpedo, manned torpedoes and commando frogmen conducted the Raid on Algiers, sinking 2 Allied cargo ships and damaging 3 other vessels although 16 commandos were captured.
*British destroyer HMS Blean (L47), HMS ''Blean'' was torpedoed and sunk northwest of Oran by German submarine ''German submarine U-443, U-443''.
*Born:
**Derek Parfit, philosopher, in Chengdu, China (d. 2017);
**Ananda Shankar, musician, in Almora, British Raj, British India (d. 1999)

December 12, 1942 (Saturday)

*The Germans began Operation Winter Storm, an attempt to break the Soviet encirclement of the 6th Army (Wehrmacht), 6th Army at Stalingrad.
*The Soviets began a winter offensive codenamed Operation Little Saturn.
*Operation Frankton ended in British victory.
*99 civilians and military personnel perished in the Knights of Columbus Hostel fire in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Newfoundland. The fire was likely an incidence of enemy sabotage carried out by Nazi agents.
*The Royal Navy submarine ''HMS P222, P222'' was most likely sunk off Capri by an Italian torpedo boat.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-219, U-219'' was commissioned.
*Died: Helen Westley, 67, American character actress

December 13, 1942 (Sunday)

*Rommel withdrew from Tunisia despite Hitler's insistence that he make a stand at El Agheila.
*Jews in Britain observed a day of mourning for the victims of Nazi genocide.
*The Washington Redskins defeated the Chicago Bears 14–6 in the 1942 NFL Championship Game, NFL Championship Game played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.
*Born:
**Howard Brenton, playwright and screenwriter, in Portsmouth, England;
**Ferguson Jenkins, baseball player, in Chatham-Kent, Chatham, Ontario, Canada

December 14, 1942 (Monday)

*Ethiopia declared war on Germany, Italy and Japan.
*The British cruiser ''HMS Argonaut (61), Argonaut'' was torpedoed and heavily damaged in the Mediterranean by Italian submarine ''Mocenigo''. Repairs took until November 1943 to complete.

December 15, 1942 (Tuesday)

*The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse began on Guadalcanal.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-626, U-626'' was depth charged and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter ''USCGC Ingham (WHEC-35), Ingham''.
*Born:
**Kathleen Blanco, American politician, Governor of Louisiana, in New Orleans (d. 2019);
**Dave Clark (musician), Dave Clark, musician, songwriter, record producer and leader of The Dave Clark Five, in Tottenham, North London, England

December 16, 1942 (Wednesday)

*The Soviets began the Tatsinskaya Raid.
*Björn Þórðarson became the 9th Prime Minister of Iceland.
*German submarines ''German submarine U-420, U-420'' and ''German submarine U-669, U-669'' were commissioned.
*Died: Alex Campbell (golfer), Alex Campbell, 66, Scottish golfer and golf course architect

December 17, 1942 (Thursday)

*The Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations was issued, condemning the Holocaust in German-occupied Europe, Nazi-occupied Europe.
*The Volga River finally froze over, allowing Soviet forces in Stalingrad to be resupplied.
*While escorting the convoy Convoy ON 153, ON 153, the British destroyer ''HMS Firedrake (H79), Firedrake'' was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine ''German submarine U-211, U-211''.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-953, U-953'' was commissioned.
*The romantic drama film ''Random Harvest (film), Random Harvest'' starring Ronald Colman and Greer Garson was released.
*Born:
**Muhammadu Buhari, 7th and 15th President of Nigeria, in Daura, Nigeria;
**Paul Butterfield, blues singer and harmonica player, in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1987)

December 18, 1942 (Friday)

*The Battle of El Agheila ended in Allied victory.
*Benito Mussolini sent Galeazzo Ciano to meet with Hitler at the Wolf's Lair. Ciano carried Mussolini's message urging Hitler to seek a separate peace with the Soviets, but Hitler strongly rejected the idea.
*The Japanese light cruiser ''Japanese cruiser Tenryū, Tenryū'' was torpedoed and sunk off Madang, New Guinea by the American submarine ''USS Albacore (SS-218), Albacore''.
*The British O and P-class destroyer, P-class destroyer ''Partridge'' was torpedoed and sunk west of Oran by German submarine ''German submarine U-565, U-565''.
*The Allies began Operation Lilliput, a regular transportation service of troops, weapons and supplies between Milne Bay and Oro Bay in New Guinea.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-361, U-361'' was commissioned.

December 19, 1942 (Saturday)

*Erich von Manstein's forces reached a point 30 miles south of Stalingrad, which would be their farthest advance.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-235, U-235'' was commissioned.
*Born: Gene Okerlund, professional wrestling interviewer and announcer, in Robbinsdale, Minnesota (d. 2019)

December 20, 1942 (Sunday)

*Operation Mars ended in Soviet operational failure.
*Japanese planes attacked Kolkata, Calcutta overnight in the city's first raid of the war.
*Born: Bob Hayes, Olympic sprinter and football player, in Jacksonville, Florida (d. 2002)

December 21, 1942 (Monday)

*British troops crossed from India back into Myanmar, Burma and headed toward Sittwe, Akyab.
*German submarines ''German submarine U-277, U-277'' and ''German submarine U-487, U-487'' were commissioned.
*Born:
**Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 2002 to 2012, in Taizhou, Jiangsu, China;
**Carla Thomas, singer, in Memphis, Tennessee
*Died: Franz Boas, 84, German-born American anthropologist

December 22, 1942 (Tuesday)

*The Soviets retook Morozovsk.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-200, U-200'' was commissioned.
*Died:
**Arvid Harnack, 41, German jurist, economist and resistance fighter (executed);
**Harro Schulze-Boysen, 33, German officer and resistance fighter (executed);
**Libertas Schulze-Boysen, 29, German resistance fighter (executed)
**Elisabeth Schumacher, 38, German resistance, Red Orchestra (espionage), Red Orchestra member (executed)
**Kurt Schumacher (sculptor), Kurt Schumacher, 37, German resistance, Red Orchestra (espionage), Red Orchestra member (executed)

December 23, 1942 (Wednesday)

*Operation Winter Storm ended with the German 6th Army still trapped in the Stalingrad pocket.
*German submarines ''German submarine U-308, U-308'', ''German submarine U-535, U-535'' and ''German submarine U-954, U-954'' were commissioned.
*Born: Jerry Koosman, baseball player, in Appleton, Minnesota

December 24, 1942 (Thursday)

*Soviet tanks broke through German defenses at Tatsinskaya Airfield in Rostov Oblast, an important airfield flying supplies to Stalingrad. 124 Junkers Ju 52, Ju 52 transport planes were able to evacuate, but 46 other aircraft were damaged, destroyed or left behind.
*The Soviet 62nd Army (Soviet Union), 62nd Army retook the Krasny Oktyabr Closed Joint-Stock Company, Red October factory in Stalingrad.
*Died: François Darlan, 61, French Admiral of the Fleet (assassinated)

December 25, 1942 (Friday)

*Pope Pius XII delivered the Pope Pius XII's 1942 Christmas address, Christmas address over Vatican Radio denouncing the extermination of people based on race, though it was carefully worded in general terms rather than specifically condemning the Nazis.
*The British Eighth Army (United Kingdom), Eighth Army occupied Sirte.
*British submarine ''HMS P48 (1942), P48'' was sunk in the Gulf of Tunis by Italian torpedo boats.
*A French military tribunal sentenced Admiral Darlan's assassin Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle to death.
*The adventure film ''Arabian Nights (1942 film), Arabian Nights'' starring Sabu Dastagir, Sabu, Maria Montez and Jon Hall (actor), Jon Hall was released.

December 26, 1942 (Saturday)

*Rommel halted at Buerat, where he was ordered by Mussolini to make a stand.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-357, U-357'' was depth charged, rammed and sunk northwest of Ireland by British destroyers ''HMS Hesperus (H57), Hesperus'' and ''HMS Vanessa (D29), Vanessa''.
*Born: Gray Davis, 37th Governor of California, in the Bronx, New York (state), New York
*Died: Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, 20, French Resistance fighter and assassin of François Darlan (executed)

December 27, 1942 (Sunday)

*On Guadalcanal, an American attempt to take Mount Asten was repulsed by the Japanese.
*The 1942 National Football League All-Star Game (December), fifth National Football League All-Star Game was held at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. An all-star team defeated the Washington Redskins 17–14.
*The Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia was founded.

December 28, 1942 (Monday)

*The Tatsinskaya Raid ended in Soviet strategic victory.
*Hitler issued List of Adolf Hitler's directives, Directive No. 47, concerning command and defense measures in the southeast. The directive referred to the possibility of attacks in the region of Crete and the Balkans.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-735, U-735'' was commissioned.
*Born: Allan Schwartzberg, drummer and record producer, in New York City

December 29, 1942 (Tuesday)

*The Soviets retook Kotelnikovo, Volgograd Oblast, Kotelnikovo south of Stalingrad.
*German submarine ''German submarine U-713, U-713'' was commissioned.
*Born: Rajesh Khanna, actor, film producer and politician, in Amritsar, Punjab Province (British India), Punjab, British India (d. 2012)

December 30, 1942 (Wednesday)

*The Soviets retook Remontnoye in the Remontnensky District.
*Frank Sinatra performed his first solo concert at the Paramount Theatre (New York City), Paramount Theatre in New York City. Sinatra later recalled being "scared stiff" when the audience of 5,000 Bobby soxer (music), bobby soxers shrieked and screamed continuously for America's new teen idol.
*The musical film ''Star Spangled Rhythm'' featuring an all-star cast including Victor Moore, Betty Hutton, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby premiered in New York City.
*Born:
**Betty Aberlin, actress, poet and writer, in New York City;
**Allan Gotthelf, philosopher, in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York (d. 2013);
**Michael Nesmith, musician, actor, businessman and member of The Monkees, in Houston, Texas (d. 2021);
**Janko Prunk, historian, in Loka pri Zidanem Mostu, Slovenia
*Died: Nevile Henderson, 60, British diplomat and ambassador

December 31, 1942 (Thursday)

*The Battle of the Barents Sea was fought between the ''Kriegsmarine'' and British ships escorting convoy Convoy JW 51B, JW 51B to Kola Bay, Kola Inlet. The British destroyer ''HMS Achates (H12), Achates'' was sunk while the Germans lost the destroyer ''German destroyer Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt, Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt''. All 14 merchant ships reached their destination so the battle was a strategic British victory.
*Emperor Hirohito gave Japanese commanders permission to withdraw their forces from Guadalcanal.
*Hitler issued an Order of the Day to the German armed forces declaring, "The year 1943 will perhaps be hard but certainly not harder than the one just behind us."
*German submarine ''German submarine U-388, U-388'' was commissioned.
*Born: Andy Summers, guitarist (The Police), in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England

References

{{Events by month links

December, 1942
1942, *1942-12
Months in the 1940s, *1942-12