Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, July 31 – Aug 6, 1941

July 31, 1941: US gunboat Tutuila is damaged by Japanese bombs during air raid of China’s wartime capital Chongqing

Aug 1, 1941: 20th Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force is set up in Port Moresby, New Guinea, as a reconnaissance unit

Aug 2, 1941: The new Nakajima Ki-43-I Hayabusa single-engine fighter begins arriving at Japanese airbases on the China front

Aug 3, 1941: Japan’s ambassador to Berlin, Ōshima Hiroshi, reports to Tokyo that Germany’s offensive against the Soviet Union encounters bigger problems than expected, especially from partisans

Aug 4, 1941: Nomura Kichisaburo, Japan’s ambassador to Washington, reports growing anti-Japanese sentiment in the American public

Aug 5, 1941: General Iven Giffard Mackay is appointed commander of Australian Home Forces, essentially with the task of preparing for a Japanese invasion

Aug 6, 1941: Japan proposes compromise to defuse growing tension with the United States, promising eventual withdrawal from Indochina in return for a series of American actions, including restoration of normal trade relations

Categories: War

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