USA: The Bonus Army March begins, a gathering of World War One veterans in Washington DC demanding the benefits that were promised to them for having fought in Europe. President Hoover orders General Douglas MacArthur to clear the area and one vet is killed, turning this protest into a public relations disaster for Hoover and the US Army.
[+] show related dates
Douglas MacArthur related dates...
28 Jul 32: Ordered by Hoover to clear DC of WWI veterans' Bonus Army
24 Aug 36: Granted title of Field Marshal in the Philippine Army
26 Jul 41: Recalled into active service as commander of units in Far East
22 Feb 42: Ordered by FDR to leave the Philippines
USA: The B-17 is born when Boeing's company-funded Model 299 prototype aircraft makes its maiden flight from Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington. When it is rolled out bristling with multiple machine gun installations a local reporter coins the name "Flying Fortress" for the heavy bomber, which will stick throughout and following its illustrious career.
Spotlight...
A Boeing B-17E in flight
Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 heavy bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both competitors and well exceeded the Air Corps' expectations. Although Boeing lost the contract because the prototype crashed (due to the failure to manually disengage all of the gust locks), the Air Corps was so impressed with Boeing's design that they ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation.
The Model 299 was a potent, high-flying, long-range bomber that was able to defend itself remarkably well, and to return home despite extensive battle damage. Its reputation quickly took on mythic proportions. Richard Williams, a reporter for the Seattle Times is credited with coining the name "Flying Fortress" when the Model 299 was rolled out bristling with multiple machine gun installations for its maiden flight.
The B-17 was primarily employed by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of WWII against German industrial and military targets. The US Eighth Air Force, based at many airfields in southern England, and the Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, complemented RAF Bomber Command's nighttime area bombing in the Combined Bomber Offensive to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for the invasion of France in 1944.
The B-17 also participated to a lesser extent in the War in the Pacific, where, early in WWII, it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields. With the development of the much-improved B-24 Liberator in 1939, all B-17s in the PTO would eventually be replaced with B-24s by mid-1943.
However, the B-17 Flying Fortress would never lose it place in the public eye throughout the war. It maintained its fame and glory as the US bomber, even after the advent of the vastly superior B-29 Superfortress.
US Bomber Production in WWII
B-24
(H)
Liberator
18,256
B-17
(H)
Flying Fortress
12,692
B-25
(M)
Mitchell
9,816
A-20
(L)
Havoc
7,385
B-26
(M)
Marauder
5,157
B-29
(VH)
Superfortress
3,970
A-26
(L)
Invader
2,449
*
*Part of 9,831 Douglas bombers of similar design built
CBI - China: Day 22 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 22 of 33 of the 2nd Battle of Hebei.
Day 15 of 22 of the Battle of Tainjin-Beijing. Japanese troops launch an attack on Beijing. At Tianjin, the Chinese begin withdrawing from the city.
1938 — , July 28
Spain: Day 742 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
Germany: A new law revokes medical certifications of Jewish doctors, effective 30 Sep 1938. Thereafter Jewish doctors can only serve as nurses for Jewish patients.
CBI - China: Day 387 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 48 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , July 28
CBI - China: Day 752 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 45 of 68 of the Battle of Tianjin.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 79 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a border dispute between the Soviet Union and Japan.
1940 — , July 28
Atlantic: German sub U-99 sinks the British merchant ship AUCKLAND STAR 80 miles west of Ireland.
Atlantic: 740 miles off Brazil, near the island of Trinidad, the British HMS ALCANTARA and German armed merchant ship THOR slug it out, hitting each other with shells, killing and wounding men on both ships.
ETO - UK: Day 19 of 114 of the Battle of Britain. During the day, the Luftwaffe attacking shipping in the Channel are engaged in dogfights with the RAF. During the night, the Luftwaffe bombs several coastal cities.
ETO - France: All railroads between Occupied France and Vichy France are cut by the Germans.
Germany: Jozef Tiso, Slovak Roman Catholic priest and President of the Nazi satellite Slovak State, and Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka meet with Hitler and von Ribbentrop at Berchtesgaden.
East Africa: Day 49 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
PTO - Japan: Japanese police arrest 9 British nationals residing in Japan.
CBI - China: Day 1,118 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 257 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , July 28
South America: Day 24 of 27 of the Ecuadorian-Peruvian War, a territorial dispute between Peru and Ecuador.
Germany: A special commission arrives at Auschwitz Concentration Camp to select prisoners within the framework of the "Euthanasia Program" for the incurably ill. The 575 selected are told that they are being transferred to other camps for easier work due to their health. They are sent to Sonnenstein Castle and killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in a gas chamber disguised as a shower room.
Russian Front - Finland: Finland ends their diplomatic relations with Great Britain.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 30 of 142 of Operation SILVER FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign to capture the Russian port of Murmansk in the Arctic.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 28 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 37 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko.
Russian Front: Day 37 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA, the invasion of the USSR.
Russian Front - Center: Day 23 of 31 of the 1st Battle of Smolensk, Russia. German troops begin crushing the Smolensk pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 5 of 38 of the Battle of Gomel, Belarus.
Russian Front - South: Day 14 of 25 of the Battle of Uman, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: German and Romanian troops keep pushing toward Vinnitsa and the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine.
MTO - Libya: Day 110 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
East Africa: Day 414 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,483 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Indochina: 40,000 Japanese troops land in French Indochina.
PTO - Japan: Japan freezes all US and UK assets in retaliation for a similar action committed by them two days ago.
1942 — , July 28
USA: Spike Jones records the iconic slapstick song "Der Fuehrer's Face" which becomes a huge hit.
Spotlight...
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones
The lyrics to "Der Fuehrer's Face" were appropriately punctuated with a strong razzberry, or Bronx Cheer...
♩ When der fuehrer says we is de master race, ♩ We heil (razzberry), heil (razzberry), right in der fuehrer's face! ♩ Not to love der fuehrer is a great disgrace, ♩ So we heil (razzberry), heil (razzberry), right in der fuehrer's face!
The song was originally written for Walt Disney's 1943 Oscar-winning propaganda cartoon, first titled "Donald Duck in Nutzi Land" but the success of the Spike Jones record prompted Disney to re-title the animated cartoon after the song.
Spike Jones was a popular American musician and bandleader specializing in performing satirical arrangements of popular songs. Ballads and classical works receiving the Jones treatment would be punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells, and outlandish vocals. Through the 1940s and early 1950s, the band recorded under the name "Spike Jones and his City Slickers" and toured the United States and Canada under the title "The Musical Depreciation Revue."
Related dates (Der Fuehrer's Face)...
28 Jul 42: Spike Jones records iconic song "Der Fuehrer's Face"
01 Jan 43: Disney releases "Der Fuehrer's Face" animated short
Hitler's Airwaves: The Inside Story of Nazi Radio Broadcasting and Propaganda Swing
Germany: Himmler receives a report from the railroad industry saying that since 22 Jul 1942, the Treblinka Concentration Camp receives 5,000 Jews per day while the Belzec Concentration Camp gets 5,000 per week. On this day, Auschwitz gets 1,010 Jews of which 222 are immediately killed in the gas chambers.
Russian Front - North: Day 324 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 85 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - South: Day 31 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
Russian Front - South: Day 6 of 20 of Germany's Operation EDELWEISS. The Soviets begin reorganizing to counter German Army Group South's advance to the Caucasus region.
MTO: US B-24s attack a convoy in the Mediterranean, claiming hits on two merchant ships.
East Africa: Day 85 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,848 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 75 of 124 of Japan's Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign, launched to punish anyone suspected of aiding the Doolittle raiders in China. Roughly 250,000 Chinese will be killed.
PTO - Alaska: Day 52 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - Malaya: Day 160 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 8 of 119 of the Battle of the Kokoda Track. 5th Air Force provides air support. The Australians continue evacuating from Kokoda.
1943 — , July 28
USA: Coffee rationing, imposed on 01 Dec 42, is lifted.
ETO: US 8th Air Force: B-17s bomb aviation industrial targets in Germany. B-26s attack targets in Belgium and France. B-24s of the 4th Antisubmarine Squadron sink the German sub U-404 in the Bay of Biscay off Spain.
Russian Front - North: Day 689 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 450 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
Russian Front - Center: Day 24 of 50 of the Battle of Kursk, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 17 of 38 of the Battle of Orel, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 6 of 23 of the Battle of Belgorod, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 16 of 48 of the USSR's Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive. Soviet troops head off toward Sandomierz.
MTO - Italy: Day 20 of 40 of the Battle of Sicily. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support. US 7th Army takes Nicosia and pushes toward Santo Stefano di Camastra while the British 8th Army takes Agira.
CBI - China: Day 2,213 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
US 14th Air Force bombs the Taikoo Docks at Hong Kong.
PTO - Alaska: Day 417 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. The Japanese garrison of 6,000 troops are secretly evacuated from Kiska.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 98 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 39 of 67 of the Battle of New Georgia. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
1944 — , July 28
PTO - Indonesia: Civilian adviser and famed aviator Charles Lindbergh shoots down an observation plane during a P-38 bomber escort mission with the 433rd FS, 475th FG, 5th AF, in the Seram area.
Spotlight...
Charles Lindbergh in the cockpit of a "J" model P-38 Lockheed Lightning at Hollandia, July 1944
Charles Lindbergh's life includes several chapters:
1)
his historic trans-atlantic flight;
2)
the tragic "crime of the century" kidnapping of his 20-month old son;
3)
his staunch anti-war "America First" involvement; and
4)
his tremendous contributions to the war effort after Pearl Harbor.
Lindbergh was not just a good pilot, he was a great pilot. His knowledge of every nut and bolt in an aircraft extended to every nuance of aerodynamics and hands on experience at increasing power and performance like few others.
After Pearl Harbor, he sought to be recommissioned in the USAAF, but was denied on instructions from FDR. So, he became a civilian technical adviser, first for Ford Motor Company, troubleshooting their B-24 bomber production line.
As a civilian technical adviser, United Aircraft sent him to the Pacific Theater to study aircraft performance in combat conditions, where he showed Marine Corsair pilots how to take off with twice the bomb load than the fighter-bomber was rated for.
In his six months in the Pacific in 1944, Lindbergh took part in fighter bomber raids on Japanese positions, flying 50 combat missions, as a civilian.
Lindbergh introduced engine-leaning techniques to P-38 pilots, greatly improving fuel consumption at cruise speeds, enabling the long-range fighter aircraft to fly longer range missions.
During a P-38 bomber escort mission with the 433rd Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force, in the Seram (Ceram) area of eastern Indonesia, Lindbergh shot down a Mitsubishi 51 Sonia observation plane piloted by the Commanding Officer of the 73rd Independent Chuta.
Major Dick Bong, America's "Ace of Aces," told the United Press that "Lindbergh was as hot a pilot as any of us. He would have been out there knocking off Japs every day if General Kenney had let him."
Related dates...
17 Sep 39: Lindbergh makes his first anti-intervention radio speech
24 Jan 41: Lindbergh testifies that aid to Britain was a mistake
23 Apr 41: Lindbergh again calls for the US to stay out of the war
Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941
ETO - UK: Day 46 of 86 of the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" offensive on Britain.
ETO - France: Day 4 of 29 of the Breakout Battle of Normandy. Day 4 of 7 of Operation COBRA. US troops capture Coutances. German troops continue retreating from Normandy toward the Seine River.
ETO - France: Day 53 of 62 of the Battle of Caen. Canadian troops continue attacking south of Caen.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 3 of 19 of the Battle of Ilomantsi, North Karelia.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 38 of 50 of the Battle of Karelia. Soviet troops continue their offensive against the Finns in eastern Karelia between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in northern Russia.
Russian Front - North: Day 178 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Day 4 of 19 of the Battle of Tannenberg Line, Estonia. The Germans continue defending the Sinimaed Hills west of Narva.
Russian Front - Center: Day 24 of 27 of the Battle of Siauliai, Lithuania.
Russian Front - Center: Day 1 of 32 of the Battle of Kaunas, Lithuania.
Russian Front - Center: Day 11 of 16 of the Battle of Lublin, Poland.
Russian Front - Center: Day 1 of 2 of the Battle of Sandomierz, Poland. The Soviets capture Brest and Litovsk, Byelorussia. Soviets troops pour across the Vistula River near Magnuszew, Poland.
MTO - Romania: US 15th Air Force attacks the oil refineries at Ploesti.
CBI - Burma: Day 146 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 141 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 119 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,579 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 103 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
Day 37 of 48 of the Battle of Hengyang. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Dutch New Guinea: Day 27 of 61 of the Battle of Noemfoor. Although the island has been declared secured, bitter fighting from Japanese continues.
PTO - Mariana Islands: Day 5 of 9 of the Battle of Tinian. US 7th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Mariana Islands: Day 8 of 21 of the 2nd Battle of Guam. US 7th Air Force provides air support. Although this battle is declared as completed, it'll be a while before it's really over. US Marines capture the old parade ground.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 63 of 83 of the Battle of Biak. There are still 3,000 Japanese soldiers on the island who won't give up.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 227 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 98 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 45 of 80 of the Battle of Lone Tree Hill.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 19 of 47 of the Battle of Driniumor River, a failed Japanese offense on US troops near Aitape.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 271 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , July 28
USA: In New York City, a B-25 bomber flying in thick fog crashes into the north side of the Empire State Building between the 79th and 80th floors. The 3-man air crew is killed, along with 11 people in the building.
Spotlight...
The Empire State Building
At 9:40 am, the B-25 Mitchell crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building, between the 78th and 80th floors, carving an 18 ft x 20 ft hole in the building where the offices of the National Catholic Welfare Council were located.
Lt Col William Franklin Smith Jr was piloting the twin-engine bomber on a routine personnel transport mission from Bedford Army Air Field to Newark Airport. Smith asked for clearance to land, but was advised of zero visibility. Proceeding anyway, he became disoriented by the thick fog, and started turning right instead of left after passing the Chrysler Building.
The accident did not compromise the building's structural integrity.
The hole carved between floors
One engine shot through the side opposite the impact and flew as far as the next block, landing on the roof of a nearby building and starting a fire that destroyed a penthouse. The other engine and part of the landing gear plummeted down an elevator shaft.
The resulting fire was extinguished in 40 minutes. It is still the only fire at such a height that has ever been successfully controlled.
Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver was injured. Rescuers decided to transport her on an elevator which they did not know had weakened cables. She survived a plunge of 75 stories, which still stands as the Guinness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall.
CBI - Burma: Over 13,000 of the 27,000 Japanese troops trying to break out of Burma into Thailand are slaughtered by British troops, local tribal guerrilla fighters and the US Army Air Force.
CBI: The USS BUGARA sinks 4 small enemy vessels in the Gulf of Siam and South China Sea area during the day and sinks one more during the night.
CBI - China: Day 2,944 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
US 14th Air Force attacks a supply movement through the Siang Chiang Valley.
PTO - Borneo: Day 49 of 67 of the Battle of North Borneo. US 5th and 13th Air Forces provide air support.
PTO - Japan: The remnants of the Japanese battle fleet is destroyed in three days of attacks over the Japanese Inland Sea, as the US deploys 2,000 carrier-planes and bombers into action.
PTO - Japan: A Japanese kamikaze plane sinks the USS CALLAGHAN off Okinawa, which will become the last victim of such tactics.
PTO - Japan: The USS SENNET attacks a Japanese convoy in the Sea of Japan, sinking three ships.
PTO - Japan: US 20th Air Force B-29s fire bomb the urban areas of Tsu, Aomori, Ichinomiya, Uji-Yamada, Ogaki, Uwajima and the Shimotsu Oil Refinery.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 579 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 463 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 281 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 226 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting until the end of the war.
PTO - Philippines: Day 141 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting until the end of the war.
PTO - Philippines: Day 133 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. The battle is said to over but hold-outs will continue fighting for several weeks.
1948 — , July 28
Germany: War criminal Otto Skorzeny escapes from captivity with the help of three former SS officers dressed in US Military Police uniforms who enter the camp and claim that they have been ordered to take Skorzeny to Nuremberg for a legal hearing.
Day-By-Day listings for July 28 were last modified on Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Spotlight...
