Naval History and Heritage Command

While piloting the B-2 at 1,600 feet over the water near Annapolis, Md., Ensign William D. Billingsley is thrown from the plane and falls to his death. Billingsley is the first fatality of Naval Aviation.

Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, Rear Adm. Frank Upham reports to the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. William H. Standley, that based on the analyses of Japanese radio traffic, "any attack by (Japan) would be made without previous declaration of war or intentional warning."

USS O-9 (SS 70) sinks off Portsmouth, N.H., during a test dive. Salvage ships located her in more than 400 feet of water, but she had suffered crushing damage from the water pressure at that depth and all 33 men on board had been killed.

The coordinated submarine attack group, commanded by Cmdr. Earl T. Hydeman, continues operations against Japanese shipping in the Sea of Japan. USS Tinosa (SS 283) sinks army cargo ship Taito Maru and freighter Kaisei Maru. Also on this date, USS Kraken (SS 370) sinks Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel No.58 Tachibana Maru in Sunda Strait, off Merak.

USS Spiegel Grove (LSD 32) and LCU 1654 (a Landing Craft Utility vessel) evacuate 276 American and foreign national refugees from war-torn Beirut, Lebanon and transport them to Athens, Greece.