WW2 War Diary for Saturday, July 31, 1943:
Sea War
North Sea: British carrier-based Martlet (US F-4 Wildcat) fighters shoot down 5 Bv 138 reconnaissance flying boats off Norway.
Merchant shipping losses in July 1943: 30 Allied ships with 187,877 tons in Atlantic, 31 Allied ships with 177,521 tons elsewhere.
19 Axis ships with 78,055 tons in Mediterranean, 25 Japanese ships with 84,361 tons in Pacific.
34 Axis submarines sunk in the Atlantic, Arctic or Baltic (worldwide total of 20 German U-boats losses), 28 new U-boats operational, 421 U-boats of all types total in service.
Eastern Front
Siege of Leningrad: 210 killed and 921 wounded by German shelling in July.
Home Fronts
Britain: Captain Hedley Verity, Yorkshire and England cricketer, dies in PoW camp in Italy; aged 38.
Air War
Germany: 228 RAF bombers attacking Remscheid and dropping 693t of bombs.