SprueStack Zero Hour: WW2 day by day

26 October 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.

7 of 9 sourced entries for this date, chosen by the editor.

Join us on Discord (opens external site)

Entries

Battle Of Santa Cruz IS.

Adm Kinkaid’s naval force, upon learning of presence of Japanese naval units near Santa Cruz Is., moves forward and engages in naval air battle. 3 Japanese carriers and 2 DD’s are damaged and 100 planes are destroyed.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
Guadalcanal

Operational aircraft on Henderson Field now total 29. EGYPT-El ‘Alamein battle continues but with decreasing momentum.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
New Hebrides

172d Regt of U.S. 43d Div arrives at Espiritu Santo, but vessel bringing it, President Coolidge, is sunk off coast by U.S. mines.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
The naval Battle of Santa Cruz. The Japanese lose many aircraft and have two aircraft carriers severely damaged. is sunk and is damaged.

Source Wikipedia (opens external site)
China-Burma-India Theater

THOR mission records show at least 6 Allied sorties (1 recorded unit missions) in the China-Burma-India Theater on 1942-10-26, flown by USAAF 10th Air Force. Targets included CHINA.

Source US Air Force THOR (opens external site)

THOR is a secondary compilation with known gaps, not a complete record.
Mediterranean Theater

THOR mission records show at least 36 Allied sorties (8 recorded unit missions) in the Mediterranean Theater on 1942-10-26, flown by USAAF 9th Air Force. Targets included LIBYA, EGYPT.

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 10 Allied sorties (5 recorded unit missions) in the Pacific Theater on 1942-10-26, flown by RAAF, USAAF 5th Air Force. Targets included NEW GUINEA, TIMOR.

Source US Air Force THOR (opens external site)

THOR is a secondary compilation with known gaps, not a complete record.

The full list for this date is being cleaned and will return soon.

Sources listed with each entry. Spotted an error? Tell us.

26 October in other years 1939 1940 1941 1943 1944

Talk about it

Discuss each day's entries and suggest sources in the Zero Hour community.

Join us on Discord

26 October 1942

Entries

Adm Kinkaid’s naval force, upon learning of presence of Japanese naval units near Santa Cruz Is., moves forward and engages in naval air battle. 3 Japanese carriers and 2 DD’s are damaged and 100 planes are destroyed.

Operational aircraft on Henderson Field now total 29. EGYPT-El ‘Alamein battle continues but with decreasing momentum.

172d Regt of U.S. 43d Div arrives at Espiritu Santo, but vessel bringing it, President Coolidge, is sunk off coast by U.S. mines.

The naval Battle of Santa Cruz. The Japanese lose many aircraft and have two aircraft carriers severely damaged. is sunk and is damaged.

THOR mission records show at least 6 Allied sorties (1 recorded unit missions) in the China-Burma-India Theater on 1942-10-26, flown by USAAF 10th Air Force. Targets included CHINA.

THOR mission records show at least 36 Allied sorties (8 recorded unit missions) in the Mediterranean Theater on 1942-10-26, flown by USAAF 9th Air Force. Targets included LIBYA, EGYPT.

THOR mission records show at least 10 Allied sorties (5 recorded unit missions) in the Pacific Theater on 1942-10-26, flown by RAAF, USAAF 5th Air Force. Targets included NEW GUINEA, TIMOR.

Talk about it