SprueStack Zero Hour: WW2 day by day

17 December 1943

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 sourced entries for this date.

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Entries

SWPA

Gen MacArthur orders Gen Krueger to prepare plans for next phase of DEXTERITY-seizure of Saidor, New Guinea, as advanced air and naval base.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
Bougainville

Torokina strip is put into use as staging base for Rabaul-bound fighters.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
CBI

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, in another message to President Roosevelt, again calls for financial aid and increased air strength.

Source US Army CMH chronology (opens external site)
Excerpt from the London Gazette, Issue 36290, page 5495, published 1943-12-17: "sioners of the Admiralty are to give the necessarydirections herein accordingly.E. C. E. Leadbitter.

Source The London Gazette (opens external site)
China-Burma-India Theater

THOR mission records show at least 68 Allied sorties (7 recorded unit missions) in the China-Burma-India Theater on 1943-12-17, flown by USAAF 10th Air Force, RAF, USAAF 14th Air Force. Targets included BURMA.

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 177 Allied sorties (13 recorded unit missions) in the Mediterranean Theater on 1943-12-17, flown by USAAF 12th Air Force. Targets included ITALY.

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 75 Allied sorties (13 recorded unit missions) in the Pacific Theater on 1943-12-17, flown by USAAF 7th Air Force, USAAF 13th Air Force, USAAF 5th Air Force, USAAF 14th Air Force.

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.

17 December in other years 1939 1940 1941 1942 1944

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17 December 1943

Entries

Gen MacArthur orders Gen Krueger to prepare plans for next phase of DEXTERITY-seizure of Saidor, New Guinea, as advanced air and naval base.

Torokina strip is put into use as staging base for Rabaul-bound fighters.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, in another message to President Roosevelt, again calls for financial aid and increased air strength.

Excerpt from the London Gazette, Issue 36290, page 5495, published 1943-12-17: "sioners of the Admiralty are to give the necessarydirections herein accordingly.E. C. E. Leadbitter.

THOR mission records show at least 68 Allied sorties (7 recorded unit missions) in the China-Burma-India Theater on 1943-12-17, flown by USAAF 10th Air Force, RAF, USAAF 14th Air Force. Targets included BURMA.

THOR mission records show at least 177 Allied sorties (13 recorded unit missions) in the Mediterranean Theater on 1943-12-17, flown by USAAF 12th Air Force. Targets included ITALY.

THOR mission records show at least 75 Allied sorties (13 recorded unit missions) in the Pacific Theater on 1943-12-17, flown by USAAF 7th Air Force, USAAF 13th Air Force, USAAF 5th Air Force, USAAF 14th Air Force.

Talk about it