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I don’t know how I am posting the ping list reply twice. I will be extra careful tomorrow.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm

November 8th, 1942

UNITED KINGDOM: Aircraft carrier HMS Ocean laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
FRANCE: Paris: Anti-semitic newspaper Au Pilori carries a headline from the paper’s political editor Maurice de Séré, “The Jewish question must be resolved immediately by the arrest and deportation of all Jews without exception.”

VICHY FRANCE: Ministers announce that the US, by “carrying the war to French territory, had by that very fact broken off diplomatic relations.”

GERMANY: Munich: In his traditional speech on the anniversary of the Beercellar Putsch, Hitler says that Stalingrad has fallen “apart from some very small parts” and victory is certain.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet forces have begun an attack on the Terek front in the Caucasus. This threatens to cut off some units in the German III Panzer Corps.

NORTH AFRICA: Operation Torch begins. There are three sectors for landings.

Casablanca is the Western Area, sailing from the United States there are 35,000 troops of the US 2nd Armoured, 4rd Infantry and part of the 9th Infantry Divisions. They will land on three beaches around Casablanca with a 200 mile front. General George Patton is in command of the Ground Forces. Admiral Hewitt commands the naval forces which include two battleships, one fleet carrier, five escort carriers and escorting cruisers and destroyers.

Oran is the Centre Area. General Gredendall commands 39,000 troops of the US 1st Infantry and 1st Armored Divisions. Commodore Troubridge commands the naval forces of two escort carriers and escorting cruisers and destroyers.

The Eastern Area is Algiers. General Ryder commands 33,000 troops of the US 34th Infantry and parts of the 9th Infantry and 1st Armored Divisions. The British 78 Division is part of this force. Admiral Burrough commands the naval forces of the Eastern Area. Force H at Gibraltar, under Admiral Syfret has 3 battleships, three fleet carriers and escorting cruisers and destroyers, is on guard against the still formidable Italian Fleet.

Algiers landings make good early progress capturing the town of Algiers and French Admiral Darlan. The Oran landings are not so successful, but by nightfall the landing is well established and the Tafaraiu Airfield is in Allied hands and operational following a military combat parachute jump by the US 509th PIB (Parachute Infantry Brigade) to seize the airfield. (Mike Yared) The French battleship Jean Bart, armed and anchored, fights a gunnery duel with the USS Massachusetts. She had some near misses but not hits. MASSACHUSETTS hit her five times in return and damaged her, then the JEAN BART was hit by American dive bombers. The JEAN BART is only 80% complete and has one four-gun forward turret installed. The French destroyers also put up a fight. The landings at Safi go well, those at Port Lyautey are resisted. Escort sloops HMS HARTLAND and HMS WALNEY (ex USCG SEBANGO) are lost attempting to storm Oran harbour. WALNEY is fired on by shore batteries and ships in the harbour as she attempts to come alongside the jetty. She drifts out of control and is later abandoned, before exploding. Ex-US coast guard cutter Hartland receives similar treatment as well as firing from the destroyer Typhoon and drifts out into the harbour where she is later abandoned.

V and W class destroyer HMS Broke manages to get alongside the Quai de Falaise at Algiers, lands her US Rangers but has to recall them when her position is made untenable by light field guns. Broke leaves harbour on fire, and is then taken in tow by Zetland until she founders in heavy weather on 9 November.

Flower class corvette HMS Gardenia collides with the trawler Fluellan and sinks in fog off Oran at 35 49N 01 05W. There are no casualties. (Charles R. Gregory and Alex Gordon(108))

There is some help from the French, most helpful is General Mast at Algiers. While the troops are mostly US, the shipping is mostly British; this is an effort to present Torch as a US operation to pacify the French. General de Gaulle makes a suitable approving broadcast at the last minute, since he was not told in advance of the landings.

The 70th tank battalion is split with B Company and the 47th Infantry Regiment landing at Safi, French Morocco, C Company and the 60th at Port Lyautey, French Morocco , and A Company and the 39th at Algiers, Algeria. Combat is over in a day except at Port Lyautey where it lasts three days. (Mike Yared)

The ground echelon of the USAAF 31st Fighter Group land at the Arzeu beach in Algeria, and the pilots fly their aircraft to Tafaraoui, Algeria, to join the 52nd Fighter Group. (Jack McKillop)

Light cruiser HMS Jamaica assisted in the invasion of North Africa. She was part of the Center Task Force (Oran area). (Dave Shirlaw)

Ships lost (by James Paterson).

EPERVIER, Vichy French Destroyer Leader, 5.45am Damaged off Oran by 6in Gunfire from the cruiser HMS Aurora and two destroyers, and beached

TRAMONTANE, Vichy French Destroyer, 5.40am, sunk off Oran (35-55N 01-05W) by 6in gunfire from the cruiser Aurora. The first broadside swept the bridge of TRAMONTANE and disabled half of her armament. She runs aground under the cliffs off Cape Aiguille.

TORNADE, Vichy French Destroyer, 5.40am, damaged by gunfire from Aurora sank at 7.30am.

TYPHON, Vichy French Destroyer, Scuttled in Oran harbour following damage from Aurora.

LA SURPRISE, Vichy French Aviso, sunk off Oran by 4.7in gunfire from HMS Brilliant

BROKE, HMS, RN Destroyer, 8.30am damaged by Vichy shore batteries, abandoned and scuttled at 7pm.

Submarine FS Argonaute sunk off Oran during the Allied landings in North Africa by destroyer HMS Achates.

Destroyers FS Boulonnais, Brestois, Fougeaux, Frondeur, sunk by gunfire from Allied warships off Casablanca.

Destroyer FS Milan ran aground at Casablanca after being damaged by American naval gunfire and American aircraft.

Submarines FS La Psyche and Oreade sunk in Casablanca by US aircraft during Allied landings. Raised 1944 and not repaired. (Dave Shirlaw)

OPERATION TORCH: The invasion of North Africa. F4F Wildcats of VF-41 from the USS RANGER down 13 Vichy French fighters over Cazes Aerodrome, French Morocco. Five other French warplanes are destroyed by pilots from other fighter squadrons in the area.

1700 hours: The 308th FS and 309 FS of the 31st FG arrive at Tafaraoui Airdrome, south of Oran, Algeria after staging through Gibraltar from England. One 309th FS Spitfire is shot down in the landing pattern by Vichy French fighters and its pilot is killed.

The survivors shoot down three of the four Dewoitine D.520 fighters.

(Skip Guidry)

ALGERIA: Oran: Capt. Frederick Thornton Peters (b.1889) took HMS WALNEY into Oran harbour under blistering fire; of 17 on the bridge, only he survived. He died in an air crash on 13 November. (Victoria Cross)

LIBYA: Rommel’s army retreats back across the border from Egypt.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: In the action east of the Lunga perimeter, on Guadalcanal, Col Puller suffers multiple wounds. During the day Admiral Halsey lands to observe conditions for himself. Halsey is treated to a demonstration of why the Marines referred to the waters north of the island as “Sleepless Lagoon” by a shelling from the Tokyo Express.

U.S.A.: Escort carrier USS Card launched. (Dave Shirlaw)

CARIBBEAN SEA: British patrol boat rescues 34 survivors of US freighter WEST KEBAR , sunk on October 29, and transports them to Barbados, British West Indies. (Rodney Sanders)(83)

ATLANTIC OCEAN:
U-128 sank SS Maloja.

U-154 sank SS D´Entrecasteaux.

U-161 damaged SS Benalder and sank SS West Humhaw.

U-181 sank SS Plaudit.

U-67 damaged SS Capo Olmo.

While refuelling U-454 on 8 Nov Leutnant zur See der Reserve Helmut Schwenzel from U-117 was washed overboard. (Dave Shirlaw)