Guadalcanal
SprueStack Zero Hour: WW2 day by day
20 August 1942
What happened on this day in the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945, with a source for every entry.
About this page
Each day we list events from the Second World War that happened on that date, from 1939 to 1945. Every entry names its source and links to it, so you can read further. Entries are sourced and machine-screened before they go up, a subset is human-reviewed, and we add more over time.
6 sourced entries for this date.
Join us on Discord (opens external site)
Entries
-
-
New Guinea
Japanese order amphibious assault on Milne Bay by about 1,500 men from Kavieng, New Ireland, and from Buna.
-
U.S.
Twelfth Air Force is activated at Bolling Field, Washington, D.C. NEW HEBRIDES-Advanced supply depots are established at Noumea and Espiritu Santo.
-
Henderson Field on Guadalcanal receives its first American fighter planes.
-
European Theater
THOR mission records show at least 0 Allied sorties (1 recorded unit missions) in the European Theater on 1942-08-20, flown by unidentified Allied air units. Targets included FRANCE.
Source US Air Force THOR (opens external site)
THOR is a secondary compilation with known gaps, not a complete record.
-
Pacific Theater
THOR mission records show at least 12 Allied sorties (2 recorded unit missions) in the Pacific Theater on 1942-08-20, flown by RAAF. Targets included TIMOR.
Source US Air Force THOR (opens external site)
THOR is a secondary compilation with known gaps, not a complete record.
Sources listed with each entry. Spotted an error? Tell us.
20 August in other years 19401941194319441945
Talk about it
Discuss each day's entries and suggest sources in the Zero Hour community.