On this day
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victory tax to become effective at midnight; pay checks after Dec 31 must have it deducted even on '42 income
grocers see rationing as only relief, NYC
USSR forces push deeper into area south of Stalingrad and seize 12 populated dist centers and stations; sweep deep into Kalmuck area; repulse Ger counter-attacks in drive toward Rostov; fighting continues in Stalingrad factory area; USSR forces rapid southern advance described; map; Ger version
OPA lacks method to make fuel oil priority plan work; new shortage in gasoline reserves reptd; A card holders face cut; NYC landlord, arraigned, promises to give enough heat if he gets sufficient fuel oil
Brit Air Ministry spokesman revs RAF achievements on Ger and Ger-occupied areas
1942USS Essex, first aircraft carrier of a 24-ship class, is commissioned.[†]
USS Essex (CV/CVA/CVS-9) was an aircraft carrier and the lead ship of the 24-ship Essex class built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in December 1942, Essex participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning the Presidential Unit Citation and 13 battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), eventually becoming an antisubmarine aircraft carrier (CVS). In her second career, she served mainly in the Atlantic, playing a role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. She also participated in the Korean War, earning four battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation. She was the primary recovery carrier for the Apollo 7 space mission.
1942World War II: The Royal Navy defeats the Kriegsmarine at the Battle of the Barents Sea. This leads to the resignation of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder a month later.[†]
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.