Today in World War II History—December 13, 1941

Japanese air attack on Nichols Field on Luzon, 10 December 1941 (US Army Center for Military History)
80 Years Ago—Dec. 13, 1941: Japanese air raid on airfields in the Philippines virtually destroys US air strength.
British attack German General Erwin Rommel’s Gazala line in Libya.
On Niihau, Hawaii, a Japanese pilot downed during the Pearl Harbor attack attempts to seize documents and is killed by islanders.
All Americans in Germany are ordered to report to the US Embassy in Berlin the next day; they will be interned.
New song in the Top Ten: “The White Cliffs of Dover.”

Wreckage of the Japanese Zero that crashed on Niihau during the attack on Pearl Harbor, at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Photo: Sarah Sundin, 7 Nov 2016)