One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

1943
January 13: The Army Air Forces activated Thirteenth Air Force in New
Caledonia for fighter and bomber operations against the Japanese in
the Southwest Pacific theater.
January 21: At the Casablanca Conference in Morocco, where U.S. and
British leaders discussed war policy, Lt. Gen. Ira C. Eaker successfully
presented his case for daytime bombing of Germany to Winston S.
Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain.
January 27: For the first time, Eighth Air Force bombed a target in Germany.
More than 50 B–17s and B–24s of the 1st Bombardment Wing
attacked submarine construction facilities at Wilhelmshaven.
January 30–31: In a night raid on Hamburg, Germany, the Royal Air Force
first used H2S, an airborne radar navigation system for finding ground
targets not visible because of clouds or darkness.
February 1: Navy crews in PBY–5 Catalina aircraft rescued Thirteenth Air
Force commander Maj. Gen. Nathan F. Twining and 14 others near
the New Hebrides Islands after they were forced to ditch their aircraft
and spend six days in life rafts.
February 17: Allied Force Headquarters constituted and activated Mediterranean
Air Command under Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder of
Great Britain. It included three commands: Northwest African Air
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Lt. Gen. Ira C. Eaker, commander of
Eighth Air Force in 1943, directed
early U.S. heavy bomber raids over
Europe.