World War II in real time

Day 896 of World War II, February 12th 1942

Battle of the Atlantic

Unternehmen Cerberus (Channel Dash) - At 10.42 AM in the English Channel off Dieppe, France, 2 RAF Spitfires on patrol spot German battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau and cruiser Prinz Eugen, escorted by 6 destroyers, 13 torpedo boats, 26 Schnellboot (motor torpedo boats) and heavily guarded by dozens of Luftwaffe fighters. British are taken completely by surprise (as they expect an overnight run through the Channel, under cover of darkness). Coastal 9-inch guns at South Foreland fire 33 rounds, scoring no hits as the German ships are too close to the French coast to spot the falling shells. Uncoordinated attacks by Fleet Air Arm Swordfish torpedo bombers, RAF medium bombers, Royal Navy motor torpedo boats and destroyers are all unsuccessful. 37 British aircraft are shot down (23 killed including FAA Lieutenant Commander Esmonde who wins the VC for leading the suicidal Swordfish attack). Destroyer HMS Worcester is pounded by Gneisenau’s 8-inch and 11-inch guns but does not sink (27 killed, 45 wounded, under repair until August). Scharnhorst hits 2 mines & Gneisenau hits 1 mine but the damage is repaired and all German ships reach their home ports safely.

War over Europe

RAF Bomber Command dispatches 12 Hampdens and nine Manchesters to lay further mines in the Frisian Islands, although weather conditions were still unfavorable. Only eight aircraft laid their mines but all returned without loss, but one Hampden crashes in England.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Three Allied supply ships leave Alexandria, Egypt, for Malta, but all are lost to enemy before reaching destination. The destroyer HMS 'MAORI' is sunk while moored in the Grand Harbour at Malta.

United States

The Air Force Combat Command activates the 10th Air Force at Patterson Field, Dayton, Ohio. This unit is intended to serve in India and control all USAAF units in China, Burma and India.

The USAAF places a second production order for 410 Northrop P-61s.

Pacific War

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

Three 5th Air Force B-17's on an antishipping damage a transport and a merchant cargo vessel. Ten 5th Air Force A-24 Dauntlesses arrive at a new auxiliary airstrip at Modjokjerto, Java.

FIJI ISLANDS

The Anzac Squadron is formed at Suva on Viti Levu Island. This naval force is composed of heavy cruisers HMAS Australia and USS Chicago, the light cruisers HMNZS Achilles and HMNZS Leander, and the destroyers USS Lamson and USS Perkins.

HAWAII

The battleship USS Nevada is refloated in Pearl Harbor. Even though struck by a torpedo and possible up to three bombs, she got underway on 7 December 1941, the only battleship that did. While attempting to leave the harbor, she was hit again and fearing she might sink in the channel and block it, she was beached at Hospital Point. Nevada receives temporary repairs at Pearl Harbor and then sails for Puget Sound, Washington, for complete repairs.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

On Bataan, the I Corps regains an important trail junction unopposed. In the South Sector, the Japanese try desperately to escape from Silaiim Point; they break through the Philippine line, but are overtaken as they push north toward the Silaiim River and are forced steadily toward the sea.

SINGAPORE

The Japanese attack strongly at several points and make further gains. During the night of the12-13th, beach defense forces on the eastern and southeastern coasts are withdrawn to strengthen the defense perimeter around the town of Singapore. The Allied supply situation is deteriorating rapidly. Singapore is in chaos, covered with smoke, full of 500,000 refugees, with military deserters wrecking liquor shops, stealing cars from showrooms, and attacking food shops. Many civilians and deserters board ships of all sorts pulling out of Singapore in a desperate evacuation, which in turn are attacked by Japanese aircraft.

Day 898 of World War II, February 14th 1942

Battle of the Atlantic

At 3.37 AM Southeast of Nova Scotia, U-576 sinks British catapult armed merchant ship Empire Spring (all 53 hands lost).

Air War over Europe

During the night of the 14/15th, 98 aircraft of RAF Bomber Command attack Mannheim; a Hampden and a Whitley are lost. Sixty seven aircraft claimed to have bombed the city in difficult conditions however, the Germans report only a light raid, with two buildings destroyed, 15 damaged, some railway damage and with one man wounded and 23 people bombed out.

During the night of 14/15th, 15 RAF Bomber Command aircraft attack Le Havre while one Manchester flies a leaflet mission. There are no losses.

The Area Bombing Directive is issued to the RAF Bomber Command. It states that raids "should now be focused on the morale of the enemy civil population and, in particular, of the industrial workers." This represents a substantial shift in policy and targets civilian residential areas rather than factories.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Overnight, British submarine P38 sinks Italian steamer Ariosto which is carrying 410 men including 294 Allied POWs from Tripoli, Libya, to Palermo, Italy (252 survivors rescued by Italian destroyer Premuda and torpedo boat Polluce).

Pacific War

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

The Japanese invade Sumatra. At 0800 hours, Japanese bombers attack Palembang I airdrome followed by fighters which strafe the airfield and provide cover for by 34 Kawasaki Ki-56, Army Type 1 Freight Transports (export version of the Lockheed Model 14 later given the Allied Code Name "Thalia") carrying paratroopers. The first drop of 260 paratroopers was over the airdrome and the second drop of 100 paratroopers was over an oil refinery nearby. The airfield was defended by about 150 British AA troops, 110 Dutch soldiers and 60 RAF ground crew. The Japanese attack the airdrome all day, suffering 80 percent casualties, but are unable to capture it.

The Japanese capture the refinery but it is later taken by Dutch troops from Palembang II airdrome which the Japanese did not know existed. The Allied troops attempt to destroy the oil refinery but only the oil storage tanks are set ablaze. During ensuing Allied air attacks on the Japanese invasion convoy, RAF Blenheims bomb and sink a merchant ship off Palembang.

On Java, Vice Admiral Conrad E. L. Helfrich of the Royal Netherlands Navy succeeds Admiral Thomas C. Hart USN as commander of the ABDA Combined Naval Striking Force.

ABDAFloat orders a task force (Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, RNN) to proceed and attack the Japanese Palembang-bound expeditionary force. As Doorman's ships, heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, light cruisers HMAS Hobart, HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java and HNLMS Tromp and ten destroyers heads toward its objective, destroyer HNLMS Van Ghent runs aground on a reef north of Banka Island; irreparably damaged, she is scuttled and sister ship HNLMS Banckert takes off the crew.

The small vessel SS Vyner Brooke, carrying about 300 civilians escaping from Singapore, is bombed and sunk off Banka Island. Passengers include 65 nurses of the 2/13th Australian General Hospital; 22 of them survive as a group and reached Radjik Beach in a boat.

Photo: An MkV1B light tank of the 3rd Hussars disembarks at Sumatra on 14 February 1942



PACIFIC

Japanese submarine I-23 is last reported south of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. She is not heard from again, and her fate is unknown.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

On Bataan, the I Corps further reduces the Japanese salient in the main line of resistance, which is now about half its original size.

On Mindanao, submarine USS Sargo delivers one million rounds of 30-caliber ammunition to Polloc Harbor and evacuates 24 USAAF ground crewmen of the 14th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy).
Meanwhile, submarine USS Swordfish torpedoes and sinks a Japanese transport off Davao.

SINGAPORE

The city is surrounded by the Japanese 18th Division in the west, the 5th Division in the northwest and the Guards Division to the north and northeast. The Japanese burst into Alexandra Hospital and bayonet a number of the staff and patients, including one patient lying on the operating table. They then herd 150 into a bungalow and execute them tomorrow.

General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, signals Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, to fight on in Singapore, but adds it would "be wrong to enforce needless slaughter." If it is no longer possible to resist, "I give you discretion to cease resistance.. .Whatever happens I thank you for gallant efforts of last few days." Brigadier Ivan Simson tells Percival that there's only enough water for 48 hours. "While there's water," Percival says, "We fight on." Supplies of food and ammunition are also dwindling rapidly.

WAKE ISLAND

A B-17 of the 7th Air Force based in Hawaii flies a photo reconnaissance mission over the island.

Photo: The Aerial mosaic photo of Wake Island made by U.S. Navy Commander Air Unit, Battle Force, Photo Unit, 14 February 1942

Day 891 of World War II, February 16th 1942

Battle of the Atlantic

Following the success of Operation Drumbeat raiding shipping off the East coast of USA, U-67, U-129, U-156, U-161 and U-502 start coordinated attacks on Dutch and Venezuelan oil ports in the Southern Caribbean (Operation Neuland). U-156 torpedoes 3 tankers laying at anchor off the Dutch island of Aruba (sinking 2) and also shells the Lago oil refinery at San Nicolas, Aruba. The deck gun explodes because the gun crew forgets to remove the water plug (Matrosengefreiter Heinrich Büssinger is killed while gunnery officer Leutnant zur See Dietrich von dem Borne loses his right foot and will be dropped off at the French island of Martinique on February 21). U-502 sinks 3 small tankers in the Gulf of Venezuela.

10 miles off the coast of Virginia in the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, US tanker E.H. Blum hits a US mine and breaks in two (all 40 hands picked up from 4 lifeboats by Coast Guard cutter Woodbury). Both halves of the ship remain afloat and will be towed to Philadelphia and rejoined, allowing E.H. Blum to return to service.

Air War over Europe

During the night of the 16-17th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 37 Hampdens and 12 Manchesters to the Frisian Islands; one Hampden and one Manchester are lost. Eighteen Wellingtons fly roving commissions over Northern Germany, eight aircraft bomb Bremen, seven bomb Aurich, two hit Oldenburg, one hit Wilhemshaven.

During the night of the16-17th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 11 aircraft to drop leaflets in France.

During the night of the 16-17th, two RAF Bomber Command bombers hit Schipol Airfield in Amsterdam and Sosterberg Airfield.

Eight RAF Bostons, of No. 88 and 226 Squadrons, commenced the first regular operations with this new type the of day bomber. They searched for German shipping off the Dutch coast without success or loss.

United States

The US Navy launches a new battleship, the USS 'Alabama'.

Photo: Launching, at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 16 February 1942



Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Tojo speaks to the Japanese Diet. He speaks of "a new order of co-existance and co-prosperity on ethical principles in Greater East Asia."

Pacific War

AUSTRALIA

After reviewing all of the recommendations and cables, the Australian Chiefs of Staff recommend that "if possible, all Australian forces now under order to transfer to the Far East from the Middle East should be diverted to Australia."

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

The withdrawal of British personnel and operational aircraft from Sumatra to Java is completed; much equipment is left behind at Oesthaven.

At sunrise on Radjik Beach on Banka Island, there are nearly 100 people, including children and wounded, survivors of the sinking of the small freighter SS Vyner Brooke on 14 February. An officer from the ship explains that since there is no food, no help for the injured and no chance of escape, they should give themselves up to the Japanese. He agrees to walk to Muntok, a town on the northwest of the island, and contact the Japanese. While he is away Matron Irene Drummond, the most senior of 22 Australian nurses on the beach, suggests that the civilian women and children should start off walking towards Muntok. At mid-morning the ship's officer returns with about 20 Japanese soldiers. Having separated the men from the women prisoners, the Japanese divide the men into two groups, and march them along the beach and behind a headland.

The nurses hear a quick succession of shots before the Japanese soldiers return, sit down in front of the women and clean their bayonets and rifles. A Japanese officer, smaller and more "nattily" dressed than his men, instructs the nurses to walk from the palm-fringed beach into the sea until they are waist deep in the waves. A couple of soldiers shove those who are slow to respond. Twenty-two nurses and one civilian woman walk into the waves, leaving ten or twelve stretcher cases on the beach. Fully aware of their fate, the nurses put on a brave face. Their matron, Irene Drummond, calls out: "Chin up, girls. I'm proud of you and I love you all." At that point the Japanese fire.

One of the nurses, Vivian Bullwinkel, later describes what happens next: they "started firing up and down the line with a machine gun. ... They just swept up and down the line and the girls fell one after the other. I was towards the end of the line and a bullet got me in the left loin and went straight through and came out towards the front. The force of it knocked me over into the water and there I lay. I did not lose consciousness. The waves brought me back on to the edge of the water. I lay there ten minutes and everything seemed quiet. I sat up and looked around and there was no sign of anybody. Then I got up and went up in the jungle and lay down and either slept or was unconscious for a couple of days."

After shooting the nurses, the Japanese bayonet the wounded; over 80 people are killed on the beach that day. Of the 65 Australian nurses aboard the SS Vyner Brooke, 12 are presumed drowned, 21 are shot and killed, 31 had landed on different parts of the island and survived and Nurse Bullwinkel, who survived the massacre, is captured ten days later and survives the war as a POW.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

On Bataan, the I Corps reduces the salient in the main line of resistance to an area 75 by 100 yards.

In the South Sector, Japanese remnants from Salaiim Point, attempting to escape northward, are detected about 7 miles from the point and destroyed in two-day fight. In the Manila Bay area, the Japanese destroy a section of pipeline on the Cavite shore through which Fort Frank on Carabao Island receives fresh water. A distillation plant is put into operation at Fort Frank.

SINGAPORE

The Japanese flag is hoisted above the former British governor's residence in Singapore.

Photo: Victorious Japanese troops march through Fullerton Square



TIMOR SEA

Japanese planes bomb the U.S. Timor bound convoy, escorted by heavy cruiser USS Houston and destroyer USS Peary; U.S. Army transport USAT Miegs and a U.S. freighter are damaged by near-misses. On board the latter, one crewman is killed; of the 500 troops embarked, one is killed and 18 wounded. USS Houston's heavy antiaircraft fire saves the convoy from destruction, but the imminent fall of Timor results in the recall of the convoy and its routing back to Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Day 893 of World War II, February 18th 1942

Battle of the Atlantic

A Brazilian tanker is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine 'U-432' about 78 miles (126 kilometers) northeast of Norfolk, Virginia.

The Free French submarine 'Surcouf', then the largest submarine in the world, is sunk in a collision with a U.S. merchant ship near the entrance to the Panama Canal. There are no survivors of the 130- man crew.

Drawing: 'Surcouf' 1940 configuration, with two-tone gray paint and 17P identification number on the conning tower



German bombers sink British minesweeping trawler HMT Botanic in the North Sea.

An armed U.S. freighter is torpedoed by German submarine 'U-161' while lying at anchor at Port of Spain, Trinidad; there are no casualties among the 36-man merchant crew and 9-man Armed Guard.

Air War over Europe

During the night of the 18-19th, six RAF Bomber Command aircraft drop leaflets over Paris and Lille.

During the night of the 18-19th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 25 Hampdens on a mining mission over the West Frisian Islands.

Pacific War

BALI

During the day a small Japanese Navy convoy under Rear-Admiral Kubo Kyuji flying his flag on the light cruiser Nagara, with seven destroyers (Hatsushimo, Nenohi, Wakaba, Asashio, Oshio, Arashio, and Michishio), escorted the transports Sasego Maru and Sagami Maru to Bali, where they landed one reinforced battalion of IJA troops to capture seize the airfield there.

Throughout the day Kubo's force was subjected to a large number of air attacks by US and Dutch aircraft. However, despite glowing reports of damage, only one hit was scored on Sagami Maru, temporarily disabling her engines. As dusk approached, Kubo began withdrawing his force in three elements. His flagship, with Hatsushimo, Nenohi, and Wakaba sortieed immediately. Sasego Maru, escorted by Arashio and Michishio followed some time later at a much slower speed, while Sagami Maru, under the protective eyes of Oshio and Asashio would leave as soon as temporary repairs were completed. When the Japanese convoy force had been sighted on 17 February by ABDA search planes, the sighting could not have come at a worse time.

The Allied warships of ABDA's Combined Striking Force had just returned from a sortie and had been forced to separate to several Dutch ports for fuel and maintenance. None the less, Eskadercommandant Karel Willem Frederick Marie Doorman, KM immediately issued orders for all of his available ships to sortie. His hastily worked out plan was to see a sustained attack in three waves. First, in would be Doorman's main force, consisting of the Dutch light cruisers De Ruyter and Java and three destroyers, the Dutch Piet Hein along with USS Pope and USS John D. Ford.

The second wave would be composed of four American Destroyers, USS Stewart, USS Parrott, USS John D. Edwards, and USS Pillsbury supported by the Dutch light cruiser Tromp.

The third wave was composed of seven Dutch motor torpedo boats, TM-4, TM-5, TM-7, TM-9, TM-10, TM-11, and TM-12. Doorman hoped for great things as, for the first time in the campaign, the Allied forces would be numerically and qualitatively superior to the Japanese. In the event, the Battle of Badung Strait could not have gone much worse. By 2220,when Doorman arrived, the only Japanese ships in the immediate area were the damaged Sagami Maru, and her two escorts. In a very confusing action, the Dutch cruisers steamed merrily through the strait seeing little, only Java engaging, albeit briefly. However, his trailing destroyers found themselves in a regular brawl form which only two emerged, Piet Hein being disabled by gunfire and then sunk by a torpedo from Asashio. meanwhile, the other Japanese forces turned about to offer support to their colleagues. Following in roughly two hours later the US destroyers, supported by Tromp, found themselves in an old fashioned gunfight, first with Asashio and Oshio, and then with Michishio and Arashio.

Again, the results did not favor the Allies. Tromp, battered by 18 shells by the time the action was over, would have to leave the campaign for Australian dockyard at Sydney. However, the US destroyers earned some measure of revenge, knocking about Oshio and plastering Michishio, which which went dead in the water with her entire powerplant "hors de combat". She had to suffer the indignity of being towed home and was not fully repaired until October.

The finishing touches on this less than spectacular affair were applied by the Dutch MTBs, which sailed straight through the center of the Strait without seeing a thing! Thus ended the Combined Striking Force's best opportunity to inflict some real damage on the Japanese Navy.

BURMA

Japanese forces cross the Bilin river, and Britain orders Rangoon, Burma to be evacuated.

AUSTRALIA

U.S. Major General George H. Brett, acting in his capacity as deputy commander of the ABDA Command, cables the U.S. War Department with his assessment that the only way to save Java is to mount an immediate ground and air offensive in Burma and China. Therefore, he orders Major General Lewis H. Brereton, Commanding General 5th Air Force, to travel to India to oversee the building of an air force there. Brett also advises that an American buildup in Australia should be implemented at once.

Photo: Houston departing Darwin, Australia, on 18 February for her final rendezvous with the ABDACOM striking force. Her dark camouflage is “Cavite blue,” typical of U.S. Asiatic Fleet units during this period



NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

A British volunteer party from Batavia, Java, sails to Oosthaven, Sumatra, retrieved valuable aircraft spares and technical stores and destroyed what was left, including the harbor facilities without interference from the Japanese.

The air echelon of the USAAF 5th Air Force' 91st Bombardment Squadron (Light), begins operating from Malang, Java, with A-24 Dauntlesses; the ground echelon is on Bataan, Luzon, Philippine Islands.

Against the wishes of Lieutenant General John Lavarack, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, orders the Australian Imperial Force troops on the fast passenger liner SS Orcades to disembark at Batavia, Java. The next day, Wavell informs Australian Prime Minister John Curtin that these troops are need for airfield defense and are being disembarked.
5th Air Force P-40 pilots attack nine Japanese bombers over Soerabaja, Java, shooting down six of the bombers for the loss of one P-40. Three Japanese fighters are also shot down in separate engagements over Soerabaja.

SINGAPORE

British and Australian POWs are forced to sweep the streets, while Japanese newsreel cameras roll, showing Western weakness. Singapore is re-named "Shonan," meaning "Bright South," and Japanese troops start removing British statues, signs, and memorials.

Day 895 of World War II, February 20th 1942

YouTube (Britain's Worst Defeat - Singapore Falls)



Battle of the Caribbean

U-boats start raiding shipping in the Lesser Antilles, following their success in the tanker lanes off Venezuela. At 4 AM 30 miles East of Trinidad, U-129 sinks Norwegian SS Nordvangen carrying bauxite from Paramaribo, Suriname, to USA (all 24 hands lost). At 11.31 AM 60 miles West of Martinique, U-156 damages American SS Delplata with 3 torpedoes (all 40 crew and 13 gunners abandon ship in 4 lifeboats & 3 rafts, picked up next day by WWI-era minesweeper converted to small seaplane tender USS Lapwing which also shells and sinks SS Delplata). U-156 then stops at Vichy French Martinique to put ashore Leutnant zur See von dem Borne wounded by the deck gun explosion 4 days ago (causing a minor diplomatic rift between USA and Vichy France). Italian submarine Torelli joins the Antilles cruise, sinking British SS Scottish Star (4 killed, 69 survivors) 770 miles East of Martinique.

Battle of the Atlantic

The German naval warships, 'Admiral Scheer' and 'Prinz Eugen' leave BrŸnsbuttel for Norway.

Photo: British light cruiser HMS ORION underway after completion of a refit at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, USA



Air War over Europe

Major General Ira C. Eaker, who is to command the USAAF VIII Bomber Command, 8th Air Force, arrives by air with six staff officers to select a headquarters site and prepare for the arrival of American troops; he reports to Major General James E. Chaney, Commanding General U.S. Army Forces, British Isles (USAFI).

Continuation War

Photo: Finnish Lahti L-39 anti-tank gun being fired at a Russian dugout in the Stalin canal. The Soviets are returning fire with machine guns



Pacific War

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(POA, 7th Air Force): 19th Pursuit Squadron, 18th Pursuit Group, transfers from Wheeler Field to Bellows Field, Territory of Hawaii wtih P-40's.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(SWPA, 5th Air Force): Air echelon of 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th BG, begins a movement from Brisbane to Batchelor with A-24s. Ground echelon is on Bataan. Detachment of the 22d Bombardment Squadron and air echelon of 88th Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy), arrive at Townsville from Fiji with B-17's. The detachment of the 22d is under control of the USN. Ground echelon of the 22d is at Jogjakarta, Java; ground echelon of 88th is enroute from Australia to India.

AUSTRALIA

A massive aerial onslaught by a Japanese naval task force yesterday shattered the northern Australian port of Darwin. Some of the 188 attacking aircraft were from four of the aircraft carriers that took part in the Pearl Harbor raid, plus land-based bombers operating from Celebes. The raid has temporarily wrecked Darwin's war potential and has sunk many ships, including the USS PEARY, and killed 243 people.

There was chaos and a little panic when the enemy action was interpreted as the prelude to an invasion. But this was clearly not the aim of the Japanese, whose apparent intention was to shatter the morale of Australia, which is fast becoming a rallying point against Japan's expansion. In the wake of the Japanese carrier strike the day before, Darwin, Northern Territory, is abandoned as an Allied naval base. RAF and USAAF air operations from the field outside the port, however, will continue.

YouTube (Bombing Of Darwin By Japanese, 1942)



BISMARK ISLANDS, NEW BRITAIN

The carrier, USS Lexington attacks Rabaul, New Britian.Note: While she tried to attack Rabaul, she encountered aerial resistance and abandoned the attempt.

Amplifying the above: Task Force 11 (TF 11) built around USS Lexington, with Carrier Air Group Three aboard, is attacked by Japanese Navy land-based aircraft as it approaches Rabaul on New Britain Island. Because of these attacks, the proposed mission against Rabaul is canceled and TF11 begins withdrawing. Fighting Squadron Three, equipped with Grumman F4F Wildcats, has a busy day:

Between 1112 and 1202 hours, VF-3 pilots shoot down two four-engined patrol bombers. At approximately 1700 hours, VF-3 pilots intercept nine "Betty" medium bombers approaching the Lexington and shoot down four of them. The remaining five miss the carrier and flee. As the F4Fs chase the "Bettys," another nine-plane element attacks the Lexington. Airborne at this time is Lt.(jg) Edward H. "Butch" O'Hare and he proceeds to shoot down five of the Bettys, and possibly a sixth, over Bougainville Island in the Solomons between 1705 and 1730 hours becoming the US's first ace-in-a-day. O'Hare is subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor for this action.

Photo: Lieutenant Butch O'Hare in the cockpit of his Grumman F4F Wildcat shortly after shooting down five Japanese bombers and becoming an ace-in-a-day on 20 February 1942. For his actions, O'Hare is promoted to lieutenant commander and receives the Medal of Honor



Other "Bettys" also attack and eight of nine are shot down by VF-3 pilots and the rear gunner in a Scouting Squadron Two SBD Dauntless. US casualties are two F4Fs and one pilot.
Although the US raid on Rabaul is canceled, the loss of so many Japanese aircraft forces them to postpone the seizure of several positions in New Guinea.

Photo: A Mitsubishi G4M1 Type 1 Model 11 bomber from the Imperial Japanese Navy's 4th Air Group based at Rabaul, New Britain, approaches the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) during an attack on the carrier off Bougainville on 20 February 1942. The Type 1, missing its port engine after being damaged by a Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat piloted by Butch O'Hare, was commanded by Hikotaicho (operations commander) Lieutenant Commander Takuzo Ito. The bomber crashed into the ocean about 1,400 meters from the carrier



BURMA

The Indian 17th Division begins withdrawal behind the Sittang River, the 48th Brigade leading.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

Early in the morning, Japanese aircraft of the Tainan Air Group land at the intact den Passar Airfield on Bali and begin operations. The Japanese land at Dili in Portugese (East) Timor during the night of the 18-19th. In December 1941, 155 Australian troops of the of the 2/2 Independent Company and 260 Dutch troops had landed at Dili. One Australian platoon was at Dili Airfield. By daylight, the Japanese had occupied part of the airfield and forced the Australians to retreat. In one incident four Australian prisoners had been forced to march some distance with their hands tied behind their backs, pushed into a drainage ditch beside the road and shot. Three were killed and when the survivor moved he was bayoneted. When he again regained conscientiousness, he found his hands free and wristwatch gone. He crawled away and was found by local natives who returned him to Australian lines.

The Japanese also landed at Koepang in Dutch (West Timor) in the early morning. The Australian Imperial Force 2/40th Battalion and a coast artillery battery had been deployed to West Timor in December to defend the Bay of Koepang and Penfoie Airdrome. Japanese aircraft attacked Penfui Airfield and then dropped paratroopers of the Yokosuka 3rd Special Naval Landing Force to capture it. Again, the Japanese outnumbered the Allied forces and overwhelmed them.

On Java, three Australian battalions, designated "Blackforce, " are tasked with defending five airfields. The destroyer USS Stewart, damaged by shellfire in the Battle of Badoeng Strait the previous night, suffers further damage when, improperly shored and placed on blocks, she rolls on her port side in a Dutch floating drydock at
Surabaya.

During the morning, 5th Air Force aircraft based in Java attack the Japanese transports landing troops on Bali. B-17's attack in three waves and 17 A-24 Dauntlesses, escorted by 16 P-40s, attack six ships in Lombok Strait; they claim five hits on a cruiser (there were none) with the loss of two A-24s. Two P-40s are also shot down and three others are lost when they run out of fuel or crashing on landing. Late in the morning, five Japanese fighters based on den Pasar Airdrome on Bali attack Singosari Airdrome on Java and destroy three of five B-17s waiting to takeoff.

Off Bali, contact was made with two Japanese destroyers and a transport just past midnight on 19-20 by ABDA naval forces including the destroyers USS Parrott and the Piet Hein. The ensuing fight, left the Dutch destroyer Piet Hein at the bottom of the sea and the Japanese destroyer Michishio dead in the water. The USS Parrott struck ground in the treacherous shoal water, but was able to churn herself free and retire with the rest of the force to Surabaya.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

In the Manila Bay area, the Japanese artillery bombardment of fortified islands reaches peak intensity.

The submarine USS Swordfish embarks Philippine President Manuel Quezon, his wife and two children, Vice President Sergio Osmea, and other Philippine government officials off Mariveles. Quezon was carried to Mindanao and attempted to remain in the Philippines. MacArthur quietly arranged for him to be kept under close escort as he did not trust Quezon not to try to cut a deal for neutralization of the Philippines with the Japanese. Quezon and Osmea were eventually carried to Australia and thence to the US. Quezon died in the US but Osmea went ashore at Leyte and resumed his duties as Philippine President as the US cleared the Archipelago. Quezon's reluctance in 1942 to leave the Philippines might have resulted from the knowledge that he was dying from tuberculosis and that he would have preferred to die in the Philippines.

Day 897 of World War II, February 22nd 1942

Battle of the Atlantic

Overnight 675 miles East of Newfoundland, U-155 locates convoy ONS-67, sinking British tanker MV Adellen (36 killed, 12 survivors) and Norwegian MV Sama (19 dead, 20 survivors) at 7.03 AM.

U-boats feast on unescorted shipping off the US East coast and in the Caribbean. 20 miles South of Halifax, Nova Scotia, U-96 sinks Norwegian SS Torungen (all 19 hands lost) and British tanker MV Kars (50 killed, 2 picked up by Canadian minesweeper HMCS Melville). Off the East coast of Florida, U-504 sinks US tanker SS Republic (5 dead, 29 survivors many badly burned) and U-128 sinks US tanker SS Cities Service Empire (14 dead, 36 survivors). In the Caribbean 225 miles West of Aruba, U-67 sinks US tanker SS J.N. Pew (33 killed, 2 survivors in a lifeboat make land in Colombia 3 days later and 1 man out of 10 in another lifeboat survives 20 days at sea until found 500 miles West near the coast of Panama on March 14).

In the morning, German battleship Admiral Scheer, cruiser Prinz Eugen and 5 destroyers arrive at Bergen, Norway. They are located by RAF reconnaissance but attacks by 17 Fairey Albacore (FAA 817 & 832 Squadrons) from aircraft carrier HMS Victorious are unsuccessful (3 Albacore shot down). The German warships leave for Trondheim, Norway, overnight before bombers from RAF coastal command can find them.

Air War over Europe

During the night of the 22-23d, 36 RAF Bomber Command aircraft attempt to bomb the floating dock at Wilhelmshaven which the Germans might be using to repair the battleships 'Scharnhorst' or 'Gneisenau'. The area was cloud-covered and bombs were mostly released on the estimated position of the city. Three other aircraft bomb the city of Emden.

During the night of the 22-23d, three RAF Bomber Command aircraft bomb the port area of Ostend.

HQ of U.S. Army Bomber Command, U.S. Army Forces, British Isles (USAFBI), is established under Major General Ira C. Eaker. Hugh Dalton is appointed president of the British board of trade. Air Marshall Arthur Harris is appointed Head of Bomber Command for the RAF. Amplifying the above: He first went to war against the Germans with the 1st Rhodesian Regiment in South-west Africa in 1915. He has 20 years experience of bombing. He learnt the hard way - flying worn-out Bristol Fighters on punitive raids against the tribesmen of the North-West Frontier, and Vickers Vernon transports fitted with bomb racks against Iraqi rebels. He has since commanded No. 4 Bomber Group and, for a year of the war, No 5 Bomber Group.Known to his friends as "Bert", he is a prickly individual and no respecter of authority. It is possibly for this reason that he has caught the eye of Churchill. He believes in strategic bombing and can be relied on to carry out Bomber Command's new orders to attack German civilian morale. He faces opposition, however, from those who regard his command as a costly diversion of resources.

Pacific War

AUSTRALIA

Five Allied ships leave Fremantle, Western Australia, with 69 USAAF P-40s, motor vehicles and U.S. Army troops destined for India. Two ships of the convoy are the seaplane tender USS Langley, carrying 32 assembled P-40s, and the merchant ship SS Sea Witch, carrying 27 crated fighters; these two ships are destined for Tjilatjap, Java.

The Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, blocks Churchill's plan to send Australian troops to Burma.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(5th Air Force): Air echelon of 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th BG, arrives at Batchelor from Brisbane, Australia with A-24s. Ground echelon is on Bataan.

BURMA

The Japanese open a strong attacks against two brigades of the Indian 17th Division east of the Sittang River in the Mokpalin area before a withdrawal through the Sittang bridge bottleneck can be accomplished. In a murderous, daylong fight, the Gurkhas hold the bridge, allowing other Allied units to escape to the river's west bank. The Sitting River is the last barrier before Rangoon.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

On Java, Japanese aircraft destroy five 5th Air Force bombers on the ground, four B-17's at Pasirian Airdrome and an LB-30 Liberator at Jogjakarta Airdrome.

On Bali, 5th Air Force bombers attack de Pasar Airdrome and destroy Japanese aircraft on the ground.

Photo: "Army's new dive bombers see action at Bali," says the caption to this photo in the 22 February 1942 Philadelphia Inquirer



MALAYSIA

Parit Sulong - About 145 Australian troops, trapped by a Japanese roadblock trying to break through swamp and jungle to reach British lines. Before setting off, they leave their wounded at the roadside, "lying huddled around trees, smoking calmly, unafraid."The Japanese capture the men and shoot them. More and more still...."

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

Submarine USS Swordfish disembarks Philippine President Manuel Quezon and his party at San Jose, Panay, to continue their journey out of the archipelago.

UNITED STATES

President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General U.S. Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE), to leave the Philippines.