January 13 - Henry Ford obtains a patent for a plastic automobile body.
February 23 - A Japanese submarine attacks an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California.
March 30 - A directive from Washington, D.C. decrees that men's suits be manufactured without trouser cuffs, pleats and patch pockets for the duration of the war.
April 28 - Coffee rationing begins in the U.S.
May 15 - The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps is established.
June 17 - The first issue of the Army-sponsored paper, Yank is published.
June 21 - Japanese submarines shell the coast of Oregon.
June 25 - General Dwight Eisenhower is appointed commander of U.S. troops in Europe.
August 7 - U.S. Forces land on the west Pacific island of Guadalcanal.
August 19 - The first American pilot to shoot down a German fighter plane is S. F. Junkin.
November 8 - Under General Eisenhower, the Allied Forces land in French North Africa.
November 21 - The Alcan International Highway from Alberta, Canada to Alaska is opened.
November 28 - Coffee rationing goes into effect in the U.S.
December 1 - Gasoline rationing begins throughout the entire U.S.
December 2 - The first performance of a sustained atomic chain reaction is held on a squash court at the University of Chicago.
