Today in World War II History—July 31, 1942

Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service members with signal flags, ca 1944 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4950813)

Patch of the US Fifth Air Force, WWII
80 Years Ago—July 31, 1942: Germans cross River Don in Ukraine.
US Fifth Air Force B-17s begin 7-day bombardment of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in preparation for the US invasion.
Off Halifax, Nova Scotia, an RCAF Hudson bomber sinks U-754, the first German U-boat sunk by Canadian aircraft.
Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service is established; 7000 will serve in the WRCNS as Wrens.