Today in World War II History—April 5, 1943
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 by Sarah Sundin
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Sigurdshof, Germany, August 1939 (German Federal Archives: Bild 146-1987-074-16)
Plaque commemorating the USS O’Bannon potato incident (US Navy photo)
80 Years Ago—Apr. 5, 1943: Germans arrest Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his brother-in-law, resistance member Hans von Dohnányi.
US Twelfth Air Force begins Operation Flax to destroy German air transport to Tunisia, will destroy about 200 planes in the air and on the ground in next three weeks.
Off Russell Island in the Pacific, destroyer USS O’Bannon sinks Japanese sub RO-34. Finding the sub too close to lower the destroyer’s guns, the sailors throw potatoes; the Japanese are so preoccupied with getting rid of the spuds that the O’Bannon is able to maneuver into range.
