Eighty Years Ago: Asia Pacific, June 25 – July 1, 1942

June 25, 1942: US military introduces sulfanilamide, an antibacterial drug which is used in powdered form on the battlefield and will reduce infection rates significantly for the remainder of the war, saving countless lives

June 26, 1942: First flight of Grumman F6F Hellcat

June 27, 1942: Filipino guerrillas led by US Lieutenant Alejandro Baldarian attack
Japanese patrol near Tibak bridge

June 28, 1942: China’s leader Chiang Kai-shek meets with the US Army’s chief representative in the theater, General Joseph Stilwell, demanding American assistance in the form of three divisions and 500 planes

June 29, 1942: US military considers general division of labor in South Pacific: Army is in charge of New Guinea, and Navy handles Solomon Islands

June 30, 1942: Off coast of Mozambique, Japanese submarine I-20 sinks American armed steamer SS Express, on a voyage from Bombay to Cape Town

July 1, 1942: US Army Air Force B-25s bomb Japanese installations in the Chinese city of Wuhan

Categories: War

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