World War II in real time

Day 931 of World War II, March 28th 1942

Air War over Europe

During the night of the 28th/29th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 234 aircraft, 146 Wellingtons, 41 Hampdens, 26 Stirlings and 21 Manchesters to attack Lubeck; 204 attack the city. This raid was the first major success for Bomber Command against a German target. The attack was carried out in good visibility, with the help of an almost full moon and, because of the light defenses of this target, from a low level, many crews coming down to 2,000 feet (610 meters). The force is split into three waves, the leading one being composed of experienced crews with Gee-fitted aircraft; although LŸbeck was beyond the range of Gee, the device helped with preliminary navigation. More than 400 tons (363 metric tonnes) of bombs are dropped; two thirds of this tonnage was incendiary; 191 crews claimed successful attacks. German sources show that 1,425 buildings in Lubeck are destroyed, 1,976 are seriously damaged and 8,411 are lightly damaged; these represented 62 per cent of all buildings in Lubeck. The casualties in Lubeck were 312 or 320 people killed (accounts conflict), 136 seriously and 648 slightly injured. The attacking force loses 12 aircraft, seven Wellingtons, three Stirlings, a Hampden and a Manchester. Other targets hit during the night include individual attacks on Emden, Heligoland, Husum and Sylt and two aircraft bomb Kiel.

Photo: Vertical aerial photograph taken during the major raid on Lubeck on the night of 28/29 March 1942, showing the glare of incendiary fires in the Altstadt (upper left), illuminating the Klughafen on which a number of barges can be seen moored



Photo: Lübeck cathedral with museum at the cathedral after the attack



During the night of the 28th/29th, 14 RAF Bomber Command aircraft fly leaflet missions, nine over Paris and five over Lens.

During the night of the 28th/29th, individual RAF Bomber Command Blenheims bomb Schipol and Soesterburg Airfields.

Germany

Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop asks Japanese Ambassador to Germany Count Oshima to secure a Japanese attack on Russia simultaneously with Germany's "crushing blow." The Japanese would attack at Vladivostok and Lake Baikal but the Japanese take no action.

United States

Units of the USAAF I Bomber Command engaged in anti-submarine warfare patrols off the East Coast are placed under operational control of Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, USN.

Battle of the Atlantic

German aircraft, submarines and destroyers search for the ships of Allied convoy PQ-13 (from Iceland to Murmansk, USSR), which was scattered by a storm 3 days ago 100 miles North of Norway. At 7.04 AM, U-209 unsuccessfully attacks Polish SS Tobruk but is chased off by depth charges from British anti-submarine trawler HMS Blackfly. In the afternoon, Junkers Ju88 bombers sink Panamanian SS Raceland and British SS Empire Ranger. In the evening, German destroyers Z24, Z25 and Z26 leave Kirkenes and, overnight, Z-26 sinks Panamanian SS Bateau.

St. Nazaire: OPERATION CHARIOT

At 1.22 AM British destroyer HMS Campbeltown enters the Loire estuary along with motor launches carrying Commandos plus 1 MTB and 1 MGB. They are illuminated with searchlights and fired on by German shore batteries, sinking many of the small vessels. Despite being hit a number of times, HMS Campbeltown rams the gates of the dry dock at 1.34 AM.

Map: The St Nazaire docks, 1942



Commandos on HMS Campbeltown and from the surviving launches go ashore to destroy pumping machinery and other dock installations. The MTB torpedoes the closed gate to the main marina (Basin de St Nazaire). Only 228 men return to England, 105 Royal Navy personnel & 64 Commandos are killed and another 106 sailors and 109 Commandos are taken prisoner by the Germans (5 VCs are awarded for the raid). A timer detonates the explosives on HMS Campbeltown at noon, killing 40 German officers and civilian administrators touring the ship plus 320 others nearby.

Photo: HMS Campbeltown wedged in the dock gates. Note the exposed forward gun position on Campbeltown and the German anti-aircraft gun position on the roof of the building at the rear



The dry dock is flooded and put out of service for the rest of the war.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Overnight, in the Ionian Sea 20 miles West of Greece, British submarine Proteus sinks Italian hospital ship SS Galilea, escorted by Italian destroyer Sebenico, auxiliary escort Città di Napoli and torpedo boats San Martino, Castelfidtardo, Mosto and Bassini. SS Galilea is carrying healthy troops of Italian Julia "Alpini" Division from Greece to Italy (on their way to fight the Soviets on the Eastern Front) as well as other Italian troops and some Greek POWs (991 killed, 284 survivors).

Pacific War

AUSTRALIA

P-40 pilots of the USAAF 9th Pursuit Squadron based at Darwin, Northern Territory, shoot down three Japanese twin-engine bombers over Darwin at 1310 hours.

The air echelon of the USAAF 28th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) transfers from Melbourne, Victoria, to Cloncurry, Queensland, with B-17 Flying Fortresses; a detachment begins operating from Perth, Western Australia; the ground echelon is in the Philippine Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(5th Air Force): HQ 43d BG and 63d and 65th Bombardment Squadrons arrive at Sydney, Australia from the US with B-17's; first mission is 14 Aug and 12 Nov respectively.

28th Bombardment Squadron, 19th BG (Heavy), transfers from Melbourne to Cloncurry with B-17's; a detachment begins operating from Perth; ground echelon is on Bataan on Mindanao.

80th Pursuit Squadron, 8th Pursuit Group, transfers from Brisbane to Lowood, Australia with P-39's; first mission is 22 Jul.

BURMA

General Harold Alexander, General Officer Commanding Burma Army, at the request of Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, agrees to attack on the Irrawaddy River front. Reconnaissance elements of the Burma I Corps clash with the Japanese at Paungde, southeast of Prome.

HAWAII

U. S. Navy codebreakers at Pearl Harbor decipher a message that reveals the Japanese plan a major offensive north of Australia in early May.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

The Japanese, moving into position for all-out offensive against Bataan, feint against I Corps and push in the outpost line of Sector D on the II Corps front. Increasingly heavy air and arty bombardment of Bataan is lowering efficiency of defense force as well as destroying badly needed materiel. Efforts to run the blockade and supply the garrison with necessary items have virtually failed, and supply situation is growing steadily worse.

Day 933 of World War II, March 30th 1942

Battle of the Atlantic

US Army engineers arrive on Ascension Island in mid-Atlantic (1145 miles South of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and 1400 miles East of Brazil) to build an airbase. Wideawake Field (due to a nearby colony of Sooty Terns or 'Wideawake birds').

500 miles Southwest of St Helena, German armed merchant cruiser Thor uses machinegun fire from her Arado seaplane and 6 inch shellfire to stop British freighter SS Wellpark (carrying aircraft parts and military vehicles from USA to British troops in Egypt). SS Wellpark is scuttled with demolition charges (7 killed, 41 survivors taken prisoner by Thor).

200 miles South of Monrovia, Liberia, U-68 sinks British MV Muncaster Castle carrying 265 passengers and 3000 tons of supplies and trucks from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Colombo, Sri Lanka (4 crew, 1 gunner and 19 passengers killed, 70 crew, 13 gunners & signalmen, 246 passengers picked up by British corvette HMS Aubretia and Greek steamer Ann Stathatos and taken back to Freetown).

Air War over Europe

During the night of the 30th/31st, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 34 Halifaxes to attack the German battleship 'Tirpitz' in a fjord near Trondheim but the ship is not located; five aircraft bomb flak positions. A total of six aircraft are lost.

Pacific War

BURMA

The Chinese 200th Division withdraws from Toungoo under pressure and fails to destroy the bridge over the Sittang River thus leaving the way to the Chinese border wide open for the Japanese. On the Irrawaddy River front, the Burma I Corps task force falls back to Prome from the Paungde area, leaving vehicles behind at Shwedaung. During the night 30th/31st, the Japanese attack the Indian 63d Brigade at Prome and soon breach their defenses, exposing the right flank of the Indian 17th Division.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Nine hundred Japanese troops land on the British controlled, 52 square mile Christmas Island located about 225 miles south of the western end of Java, Netherlands East Indies. The island is rich in phosphates.

Photo: Japanese troops capture the 6-inch gun position Christmas Island



NEW GUINEA

Reinforcements for the RAAF’s No. 75 Squadron operating from Seven Mile Aerodrome at Port Moresby arrive in the form of five Kittyhawk Mk. IAs (= USAAF P-40E).

PACIFIC

Submarine USS Sturgeon sinks a Japanese transport 33 miles southwest of Makassar City, Celebes, Netherland East Indies.

UNITED STATES

Directives are drafted designating General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), and Admiral Chester Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Area (CINCPOA), for submission to the Allied governments concerned. SWPA is to include Australia, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomons, and most of the Netherlands East Indies.

As Supreme Commander of SWPA, General MacArthur is to maintain positions in the Philippines and bases in Australia; guard approaches to SWPA; halt the Japanese advance on Australia; protect communications within the theater; support POA forces; and be prepared to take the offensive. POA comprises the North Pacific Area (north of 42N), Central Pacific Area (between 42N and the equator) and South Pacific Area (south of the equator between the eastern boundary of the SWPA and 110W), all under overall command of Admiral Nimitz, and the first two under his direct command. As CINCPOA, Admiral Nimitz, who also remains Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, is to maintain communications between the U.S. and SWPA; support operations in the SWPA; and be prepared to take offensive action. In addition to SWPA
and POA, Pacific Theater is to include the Southeast Pacific Area, i.e., the ocean stretches west of Central and South America.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces the creation of The Pacific War Council in Washington, D.C. The Council membership consists of the President, Rooseveltâs unofficial advisor on foreign affairs Harry Hopkins, and political representatives of the U.K., China, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Canada. Representatives of India and the Philippines are added later.

The Inter-American Defense Board holds its first meeting in Washington, D.C. The Board was created to study and recommend measures for the defense of the hemisphere.

The War Production Board bans the production of certain electric appliances, notably toasters, stoves and razors.

INDIAN OCEAN

Photo: The Japanese strike force advancing to the Indian Ocean, 30 March. Ships shown from left to right are: Akagi, Sōryū, Hiryū, Hiei, Kirishima, Haruna, and Kongō. Taken from Zuikaku

Day 935 of World War II, April 1st 1942

Eastern Front

A stalemate exists along the entire line. The Germans of Heeresgruppe Nord are largely concerned during the month with extricating 11 Corps of the 16.Armee from a pocket southeast of Staraya Russa.

Battle of the Atlantic

In the Barents Sea 8 miles North of Kirkenes, Norway, Soviet submarine SC-404 sinks German freighter Michel (seized from USSR in 1941). Kriegsmarine anti-submarine trawler UJ-1203 sinks on a mine in the Gulf of Finland.

Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) at Scapa Flow, Scotland (UK). The ships in the background are (r-l): the heavy cruiser USS Wichita (CA-45), the battleship USS Washington (BB-56), the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious (R38) and (probably) a King George V-class battleship



South of St Helena, German armed merchant cruiser Thor stops British freighter SS Willesden (carrying aircraft parts and military vehicles from USA to British troops in Egypt) with 128 shells 6 inch guns, setting the deck cargo of oil drums alight. SS Willesden is sunk with a torpedo (2 killed, survivors taken prisoner by Thor).

500 miles North of Bermuda U-71 sinks British SS Eastmoor at 4.03 AM (16 killed, 29 crew and 3 gunners picked up by British merchant SS Calgary) and U-202 sinks British SS Loch Don  (3 killed, 38 crew and 6 gunners picked up by sailing schooner Helen Forsey). At 6.18 AM 10 miles off Virginia Beach, Virginia, U-754 sinks US tanker SS Tiger (1 killed, 36 crew and 6 passengers escape in lifeboats).

60 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-160 sinks British SS Rio Blanco (19 killed, 21 survivors picked up by British anti-submarine trawler HMS Hertfordshire and Canadian destroyer HMCS Niagara).

Photo: Tanker Byron D. Benson on fire after being torpedoed by U-552



Battle of the Mediterranean

Italian cruiser Bande Nere leaves Messina, Sicily, heading North to La Spezia, escorted by destroyer Aviere and patrol boat Libra.

Photo: Giovanni delle Bande Nere in harbor



Just North of Sicily, Bande Nere is hit by 2 torpedoes from British submarine HMS Urge then breaks apart and sinks.

50 miles North of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, a British Swordfish bombs U-77, which is badly damaged and unable to dive. Italian bombers sink British submarines HMS P36 and HMS Pandora in Valetta Harbour, Malta.

Admiral Sir A.B. Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, is appointed to serve on the Combined Chiefs of Staff Committee in Washington, D.C. relinquishing his command in the Mediterranean.

Air War over Europe

During the night of the 1st/2nd, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 35 Wellingtons and 14 Hampdens to carry out low-level attacks on railway targets. Nine aircraft attack the marshalling yard at Hanau but 12 Wellingtons and a Hampden are lost en route. In other attacks, three aircraft attack the city of Darmstadt and one hits Frankfurt-am-Main. No 57 Squadron based at Feltwell, Norfolk, England, lost five of the 12 Wellingtons dispatched while No. 214 Squadron at Stradishall, Suffok, England, lost seven of 14 Wellingtons.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 12 Bostons to attack a "Q-ship" at Boulogne; clouds are encountered and the dock area is bombed instead. A Boston is lost. During the night, two targets are hit:
(1) 34 Wellingtons and 22 Hampdens are dispatched to attack the port area at Le Havre; 46 bomb and successful bombing is claimed. One Wellington is lost.

(2) Twenty four Whitleys and 17 Wellingtons are dispatched to bomb the Ford Motor Co. factory in the Paris suburb of Poissy; 34 aircraft attack and crews claim accurate bombing but this is not confirmed by a later photographic flight. A Wellington is lost. Other missions during the night are, 11 aircraft laying mines off Lorient and in the mouth of the River Gironde and 5 aircraft dropping leaflets.

United States

US government begins the relocation of Japanese-Americans to interment camps in the United States.

The USAAF's Air Corps Proving Ground is redesignated Proving Ground Command, with its main base at Eglin Field, Valpariso, Florida. The command performs operational tests and studies of aircraft and aircraft equipment.

Transport Squadron Two (VR-2), the first Naval Air Transportation Service (NATS) squadron for Pacific operations, is established at NAS Alameda, California.

Photo: The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Nashville (CL-43) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 1 April 1942. She is wearing Measure 12 (Modified) camouflage



Pacific War

BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS

In the Solomon Islands, Japanese forces occupy Buka Island off the north coast of Bougainville Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(5th Air Force): During Apr, HQ 16th, 17th and 91st Bombardment Squadrons, 27th BG, are established at Charters Towers, Australia; ground echelon remains on Bataan.

Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) operating in the Pacific, photographed from a Douglas TBD-1 torpedo plane that has just taken off from her deck. Other TBD and SBD aircraft are also ready to be launched. A F4F-3 "Wildcat" fighter is parked on the outrigger just forward of the island. The other ships in company include the fleet oiler USS Guadaloupe (AO-32), a destroyer and a heavy cruiser. This view has been retouched to censor the CXAM-radar antenna mounted atop Yorktown's foremast



BURMA

General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief India, visiting the front, agrees to the immediate withdrawal of Burma I Corps to the Allanmyo area, north of Prome. The Japanese continue to press in on Prome. Wavell sends a message to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stating that the Japanese command of the air is setting the Allied command in Burma an extremely difficult task. Lieutenant General William J Slim, General Officer Commanding Burma Corps, and Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, meet for the first time and are impressed with each other.

CHINA

After meeting with British General William J Slim in Burma, Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell flies to Chungking to meet with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek. The meeting is stormy. Stilwell tells Chiang he will resign because the Chinese generals won't obey his orders. "What a gag," Stilwell writes. "I have to tell Chiang Kai Shek with a straight face that his subordinates are not carrying out his orders, when in all probability they are doing just what he tells them. In justice to all of them, however, it is expecting a great deal to have them turn over a couple of armies in a vital area to a foreigner."

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

During the night of 31 March/1st, the Japanese land on Ceram Island, Netherlands East Indies. The 1st Detachment occupies the town of Fakfak and the small Dutch garrison surrenders without a fight. RAAF Hudsons of Nos. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor Island. The Australians destroy six and damage six aircraft on the ground.

JAPAN

Japanese Combined Fleet Headquarters submits a draft of an operational plan for the Second Phase of operations, in which the Aleutian Operation (AL-GO) will be followed by a Midway Operation.

NEW GUINEA

Japanese troops from the Netherlands East Indies land at a number of points on the Dutch New Guinea coast, from Sorong on the northwestern tip to Hollandia, during the period 1-20 April; the landings are virtually unopposed.

Six USAAF A-24 Dauntlesses based at Port Moresby attack the Japanese at Lae.

PACIFIC

Submarine USS Seawolf torpedoes Japanese light cruiser Naka 50 miles NW of Christmas Island south of Java. British submarine HMS Truant sinks two Japanese merchant cargo ships in Malacca Strait, 60 miles off the coast of Sumatra.

Photo: U.S. Navy Grumman F4F-4 Wildcats from Fighting Squadron 6 (VF-6) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6)



PHILIIPINE ISLANDS

The Japanese Army resumes major attacks against the US and Filipino forces on Bataan. The 24,000 men there are on ¼ rations.

PACIFIC WAR COUNCIL

The Pacific War Council holds its first meeting at Washington, D.C. Presided over by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and attended by representatives of Australia, Canada, China, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines and the U.K., this is the first of more than 30 meetings held during the war.

Day 937 of World War II, April 3rd 1942

YouTube (The Carpet Bombing of Germany begins)



Battle of the Atlantic

200 miles East of Virginia Beach, Virginia, U-754 sinks American SS Otho carrying 4400 tons of manganese ore, 1300 tons of palm oil and 750 tons of tin from Gold Coast, West Africa, to Philadelphia (32 dead and 21 survivors).

In the South Atlantic, German raider Thor stops Norwegian vessel Aust with shellfire and sinks her after taking off the crew.

200 miles off Ivory Coast, West Africa, U-505 American SS West Irmo (10 African stevedores killed, 35 crew and 55 stevedores rescued by British minesweeping trawler HMS Copinsay).

Black Sea campaign

Off Gelendzhik on the Caucasus (Eastern) shore of the Black Sea, Soviet destroyer Shaumian runs aground and is wrecked (later salvaged for scrap).

Arctic naval operations

German bombers sink Polish SS Tobruk and British steamers New Westminster City and Empire Starlight, from convoy PQ13, in harbor at Murmansk.

Pacific War

AUSTRALIA

The USAAF’s Air Transport Command activates two transport squadrons, one at Archerfield Aerodrome near Brisbane, Queensland, and the second at Essendon Aerodrome near Melbourne, Victoria. The squadrons are equipped with various transport aircraft.

BURMA

The Burma I Corps continues a northward withdrawal from the Allanmyo area although not under enemy pressure. In the Sittang Valley, Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, begins deploying the Chinese for a stand at Pyinmana. The Chinese 22nd Division is to fall back gradually on Pyinmana, where the Chinese 96th Division is to take over.

Japanese bombers attack Mandalay, killing 2000 and destroying much of the city.
Six 10th Air Force B-17's from Asansol Airdrome, India, bomb warehouses and docks at Rangoon starting three large fires; one B-17 fails to return.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

RAAF Hudsons of Nos. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor Island. The Australians destroy four and damage two aircraft on the ground.

HAWAII

Admiral Chester W Nimitz assumes command of Pacific Ocean Areas (POA). POA comprises North, Central, Southeast and South Pacific Areas, all under overall command of Admiral Nimitz as Commander-in-Chief POA.
The Southeast Pacific Area had been established on 8 December 1941 and is commanded by Rear Admiral John F Shafroth. The South Pacific Area is officially established on 20 April and North Pacific Area on 17 May.

Nimitz retains his position as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC).

Light minelayers USS Pruitt, Preble, Sicard, and Tracy mine French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiian Group, to prevent Japanese submarines from using the area as a refueling point for flying boat raids on Oahu.

Photo: 20mm guns fire at a target drone in a simulated torpedo attack during a gunnery practice aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) on 3 April 1942



PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

The Japanese open an all-out offensive against the Bataan line, which is by now under strength, undernourished, poorly clothed and equipped, and battle weary.

After air and artillery bombardment, lasting from 1000 until 1500 hours, the Japanese move forward, making their main effort against Sector D, the west flank of the II Corps, where the 41st and 21st Divisions, Philippine Army (PA), are thinly spread and dazed as result of the preliminary bombardment. The 41st, on the west, gives way and is rendered virtually ineffective as a fighting force, although a regiment on extreme west succeeds in withdrawing in an orderly fashion.

A battalion on the flank of the 21st Division is forced to pull back. An effort to re-establish the line of the 41st Division after dark is partially successful. The only corps reserve unit, the 33d Infantry (PA), less the 1st Battalion, is released to Sector D as is the Provisional Tank Group (-) of the Luzon Force reserve. In the I Corps sector to the west, the Japanese succeed in reaching the main line of resistance on the eastern flank but are unable to pierce it.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(5th Air Force) 21st and 22d Transport Squadrons, Air Transport Command, US Army Forces in Australia, are activated at Archerfield and Essendon Airdrome, Australia respectively with various transport aircraft. 39th Pursuit Squadron, 35th Pursuit Group, transfers from Mount Gambier to Williamstown, Australia with P-39's; first mission is 2 June.

Day 939 of World War II, April 5th 1942

Eastern Front

Having survived the Soviet onslaught over the Winter, Hitler issues Führer Directive No. 41 with instructions for a renewed offensive against USSR. "Case Blue" (Fall Blau) comprises a two-pronged attack against the oilfields in the Caucasus (between the Black Sea to the West and the Caspian Sea to the East) and an advance along the Volga River towards Stalingrad.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Italian bombing of Valetta Harbour damages beyond repair HMS Abingdon, the last British minesweeper on Malta (beached and recovered for scrap after the war) and finally wrecks British destroyer HMS Gallant (being rebuilt at Pinto's Wharf after losing her bow to a mine on January 10). Italian bombers also hit destroyer HMS Lance which is under repair after hitting a mine.

Battle of the Caribbean

Just off the Northeast coast of the Dominican Republic, U-154 sinks US tanker SS Catahoula carrying molasses (7 killed, 38 survivors on 1 lifeboat and a raft picked up by US destroyer USS Sturtevant).

Air war over Europe

During the night of the 5th/6th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 263 aircraft, 179 Wellingtons, 44 Hampdens, 29 Stirlings and 11 Manchesters, to bomb the Humboldt works in Cologne; 219 bomb the target claiming good results with the use of GEE but the nearest bombing photographs developed were 5 miles from the Humboldt works. The Cologne report lists just one industrial building hit, a mill in the Deutz area, with 90 houses destroyed or seriously damaged and other buildings, including a hospital, hit. Seven people were killed and nine injured in the bombing. There were further casualties among a crowd who were watching a burning bomber which had crashed in the middle of Cologne; the bomb load exploded killing 16 people and injuring 30more. The bomber's crew had been killed in the original crash. Two of the aircraft dispatched bombed Bonn and another bombed Koblenz.

During the night of the 5th/6th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 20 Whitleys to bomb the Gnome Rhone aircraft engine factory in the Paris suburb of Gennevilliers; 14 aircraft bomb but the main target is not hit. Local records show one house destroyed and four damaged, with no casualties. In a second mission, 14 aircraft bomb the port area at Le Havre.

During the night of the 5th/6th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches six Blenheim intruders to attack airfields; individual aircraft hit De Kooy, Leeuwarden, Schipol and Soesterberg Airfields.

United States

Persons of Japanese ancestry arrive at the Santa Anita Assembly Center from San Pedro. Evacuees lived at this center at the former Santa Anita race track before being moved inland to relocation centers. Clem Albers, Arcadia, CA, April 5, 1942



Pacific War

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS

Japanese forces occupy Lorengau on Manus Island without opposition. Several hundred Japanese troops of a Special Naval Landing Force are landed by a naval force consisting of the light cruiser Tatsuta, destroyer Mutsuki and a troop transport ship SS Mishima Maru. The island is defended by No. 4 Section, 'B' Platoon, First Independent Company, Australian Imperial Force. With little and limited resources the Australian Independent Company Section smartly withdraws to prepared positions in the jungle.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO

In their combat debut, nine B-26's attack Lakunai and Vunakanau Aerodromes at Rabaul on New Britain island.

BURMA

Pilots of the American Volunteer Group's 1st and 3d Fighter Squadron shoot down 12 Japanese fighters near Loiwing Airdrome during the afternoon.

CANADA

The port of Port Rupert, British Columbia, is opened to the U.S. for shipment of supplies to the Territory of Alaska, thus avoiding a logistics jam at Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

INDIAN OCEAN

The Japanese fleet that sailed from Kendari, Celebes, Netherlands East Indies, has reached a point about 200 miles south of Colombo and commences Operation C. The Japanese force under Vice Admiral KONDO Nobutake consists of the battleships Haruna, Hiei, Kirishima and Kongo; the aircraft carriers HIJMS Akagai, Hiryu, Shokaku, Soryu and Zuikaku; heavy cruisers HIJMS Chikuma and Tone; light cruiser HIJMS Abukuma; and nine destroyers. At dawn, the carriers launch 127 aircraft [53 "Kate"'s, 38 "Val"'s and 36 "Zero's] Of these, seven are lost (6 "Vals" and a "Zeke") and 15 damage (five "Kates", seven "Vals" and three "Zekes"). Two additional "Zekes" are damaged downing an RAF Catalina over the Japanese fleet.

In spite of the prior days warning of the approaching Japanese Task Force, the Royal Air Force fighter units are caught fairly unprepared. In the massive air battle that follows, the RAF and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) losses a total of 30 aircraft, six Swordfish, four Fulmars, 17 Hurricanes, a Catalina, an Albacore and a Walrus. The FAA's No. 788 Squadron, the Eastern Fleet Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Pool unit equipped with Swordfish Mks I and II and based at China Bay, Ceylon, is caught unaware in transit from the Trincomalee area and loses all six Swordfish and their pilots. FAA Nos. 803 and 806 Squadrons operating two sub-flights together while based at Ratmalana, Ceylon, each lose two of three Fulmar Mk. II fighters and four crewmen. RAF No. 258 Squadron operating from Colombo Racecourse had 9 Hurricanes Mk. IIBs forced down of the 14 that sortied with the loss of five pilots, while No. 30 Squadron based at Ratmalana, had 8 Hurricanes Mk. IIA and IIBs forced down although the actual number that sortied is unclear; four pilots were killed and one later died of his wounds. Meanwhile, a Catalina of the morning search found the Japanese fleet, but was shot down by the Japanese Combat Air Patrol (CAP) before getting off a report; all eight crewmen were killed. Also an FAA No. 700 Squadron Walrus operating from the light cruiser HMS Glasgow is dispatched on a search after the raid but on its return, it crashes while landing, killing the pilot. The Japanese also sink the destroyer HMS Tenedos and the armed merchant cruiser HMS Hector.

A Japanese scout plane from the heavy cruiser Tone sights two British cruisers southwest of Ceylon and the Japanese aircraft carriers launch 53 "Vals." The two heavy cruisers, HMS Dorsetshire and Cornwall, had sailed from Colombo, Ceylon, at 2200 hours yesterday and during the night orders were received from the commander in chief Eastern Fleet to join him at 1600 hours today. Starting at 1100 hours, aircraft, some friendly, were sighted but none attacked. At about 1340 hours, both ships were attacked by the Vals and both were severely damaged. HMS Dorsetshire sank at 1351 hours and HMS Cornwall at 1355 hours. Between the two ships, 424 crewmen were lost and 1,122 are rescued tomorrow after spending 30 hours in the water. No Japanese aircraft were lost in this attack.

Photo: British heavy cruisers HMS Dorsetshire and Cornwall under Japanese air attack and heavily damaged on 5 April 1942



Photo: HMS Cornwall burning and sinking on 5 April 1942



After the attack, the Japanese Second Expeditionary Fleet, Malay Force (Vice Admiral OZAWA Jisaburo) is divided into three groups to disrupt Allied shipping in the Bay of Bengal. The British also are active after the attack. RAF No. 11 Squadron, based at Colombo Race course, dispatches ten Blenheim Mk. IVs on a retaliatory strike but estimates of the Japanese position are off and, with no further reports being received, the target is not found. During the day, a pair of No. 827 Squadron Albacore Mk. Is from the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable, on a reconnaissance flight, run into the Japanese CAP and one is shot down with the loss of three crewmen. Later in the day another No. 827 Albacore is intercepted by the CAP, but escapes. Unfortunately, the lack of a proper sighting report from the later plane (its radio had been destroyed) left Admiral Somerville to assume no contact had been and thus he did not change course to close. By the time his scout returned two hours later, the Japanese Force had doubled back and further FAA search efforts failed to make the contact necessary for Somerville to execute his planned night aerial torpedo attack.

Photo: The remains of one of five of Zuikaku's D3A1s shot down over Ratmalana airfield during the raid on Colombo, Ceylon, April 5, 1942



PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

After air and artillery preparation, the Japanese resume their offensive in the II Corps area on Bataan, concentrating on the 21st Division, Philippine Army, which yields Mt Samat and is left virtually ineffective as a fighting force. The Corps prepares to counterattack tomorrow with all available forces.

A Japanese invasion force of 4,852 troops sails from Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, toward Cebu Island, in the Visayan Islands, east central Philippines.

Day 941 of World War II, April 7th 1942

Eastern Front

Soviet Army troops force a very narrow corridor to Leningrad, opening a tenuous rail link to the city. Trains run into the city with desperately needed supplies and came out with civilians and the wounded, all under heavy artillery fire from the Germans.

Battle of the Atlantic

10 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-552 sinks British MV British Splendour carrying 10,000 tons of benzene (11 crew and 1 gunner killed, 41 survivors picked up by escort vessel anti-submarine trawler HMS St. Zeno) and Norwegian whale factory ship SS Lancing (1 killed, 49 survivors in 4 lifeboats picked up by American tanker Pan Rhode Island).

370 miles Northwest of Bermuda, U-754 sinks Norwegian tanker MV Kollskegg carrying 14300 tons of crude and refined oil (4 killed). 38 survivors abandon ship in 3 lifeboats (1 is rescued quickly by Panamanian SS Bushranger but 2 lifeboats drift in severe gales until picked up on April 14 by a Canadian warship).

Battle of the Mediterranean

40 miles North of Sid Barrani, Egypt, U-453 hits British hospital ship HMHS Somersetshire with 3 torpedoes (2 killed, 114 crew, 64 medical staff and 2 stewardesses abandon ship in 13 lifeboats). The crew reboards and HMHS Somersetshire reaches Alexandria under her own steam.

British tugs HMS Emily and HMS Hellespont are sunk during air raids on Malta.

7 miles South of Petrovac, Croatia, British submarine HMS Turbulent sinks Italian freighter Rosa M. with 39 rounds from the deck gun.

Pacific War

ALASKA

By proclamation, the 263 Japanese-Americans living in the territory are notified that they may be relocated to the continental U.S.

HQ 22d Bombardment Group (Medium) and 2nd Bombardment Squadron transfers from Ipswich to Townsville with B-26's.

8th Photographic Squadron, Fifth Air Force (attached to Allied Air Forces) arrives at Melbourne, Australia from the US with F-4's; 2 flights remain at March Field, Riverside, California until 16 Jun. 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), transfers from Brisbane to Townsville, Australia with B-26's; first mission is 21 Apr. 33d Bombardment Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), transfers from Ipswich to Antil Plains with B-26's; first mission was 6 Apr.

BURMA

IJA 18th Division arrives in Rangoon, Burma from Singapore.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

On Bataan, the Japanese, attacking again in the II Corps area with air and artillery support, force the entire corps main line of resistance back to the Mamala River line; this line, too, becomes untenable, and Americans and Filipinos withdraw under cover of darkness, during the night of the 7th/8th, to the Alangan River. The 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts, released to the II Corps from the I Corps reserve, establishes a holding position while the line is formed along the Mamala River. Meanwhile, attempts by Philippine Division units to form a continuous line prove futile. Philippine Constabulary regiments defending the beaches are ordered into the battle line. The I Corps is directed to withdraw southward to the Binuangan River line.

The remaining USAAF P-40 fighters on Bataan are ordered flown to Mindanao Island. During the next three days, the P-40s will fly reconnaissance, cover heavy bombers sent to Mindanao from Australia operating against concentrations at Legaspi, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao, and carry out a strafing attack aircraft at Davao. After the heavy bombers return to Australia on 12 April, the fighters will continue to fly reconnaissance until Japanese forces envelop the troops on Mindanao on 1 May.

Day 943 of World War II, April 9th 1942

Battle of the Atlantic

14 miles off Brunswick, Georgia, U-123 sinks American SS Esparta (1 drowned, 39 survivors on 2 lifeboats and a raft picked up by US patrol boat USS Tyrer 7 hours later).

Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-160 sinks American SS Malchace (1 drowned, 28 survivors on 1 lifeboat and a raft picked up by Mexican tanker Faja de Oro 7 hours later) and U-552 sinks US tanker SS Atlas carrying 84,239 barrels of gasoline which ignites (all 38 crew abandon ship but 2 die when their lifeboat is engulfed by burning gasoline on the water; 36 survivors, many badly burned, are picked up next day by a US Coast Guard cutter).

Off the Northwest coast of Iceland, U-252 sinks Norwegian steamer Fanefjeld (all 24 hands lost).

Battle of the Mediterranean

British submarine HMS Thrasher sinks tiny Italian merchant ship Gala 20 miles Southwest of Benghazi, Libya, in the Gulf of Sirte. At Malta, Italian bombers again hit British destroyer HMS Lance which is under repair.

Black Sea campaign

Luftwaffe raids Soviet Caucasus ports of Novorossisk and Tuapse, which have been supplying troops to Sevastopol and the Kerch Peninsula, damaging Soviet cruiser Voroshilov and destroyers Nezamozhnik & Sposobny.

United States

The 8th Air Force HQ echelon is relocated to Bolling Field, Washington, DC, to prepare the 8th for a move overseas.

Photo: California newspapers, April 9, 1942



Pacific War

CEYLON - OPERATION C

At 7 AM, aircraft from the Japanese carriers bomb the harbor at Trincomalee, Ceylon.

At 9 AM, British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes (which has no aircraft on board) and Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire are discovered 90 miles South, returning to port.

At 10.35 AM, 91 Japanese bombers and dive bombers escorted by 38 fighters from carriers Akagi, Hiryu and Soryu sink HMS Hermes (307 killed) and Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire (9 killed).

Photo: Hermes sinking after Japanese air attack on 9 April 1942



Hospital ship Vita rescues survivors from both warships. Nearby at 12.07 PM, 20 Japanese dive bombers sink British oiler RFA Athelstane carrying 7,000 tons of admiralty fuel oil from Trincomalee to Colombo (all hands escape in 2 lifeboats) and corvette HMS Hollyhock (which receives a bomb down the funnel exploding the magazine, 48 killed, 17 rescued by the lifeboats from HMS Athelstane).

Photo: HMAS Vampire (left) and HMS Hermes, a British aircraft carrier en route to Australia, being attacked and sunk by a Japanese carrier fleet



PHILIPPINES

75,000 US and Filipino troops, remainder of the US II Corps under General Edward King on the Bataan peninsula at Luzon, Philippine Islands, surrendered to the Japanese at 1230 hours.

Photo: MG Edward King discusses terms of surrender with Japanese officers



Troops that surrender begin the 100 mile march to San Fernando which will be known is history as "The Bataan Death March".

Photo: Death March (starting point) marker at Km. 0, Mariveles, Bataan



USN facilities at Mariveles are demolished to prevent enemy use: Navy forces scuttle submarine tender USS Canopus, minesweeper USS Bittern, tug USS Napa, and drydock Dewey. Ferry launches San Felipe, Camia, and Dap Dap, and Canopus motor launches, evacuate men and equipment to Corregidor.

The submarine USS Snapper delivers food to Corregidor. Motor torpedo boats PT-34 and PT-41 engage the Japanese light cruiser Kuma and torpedo boat Kiji in a running fight off Cape Tanon, the southern tip of Cebu Island; Kuma is hit by a dud torpedo and machine gun fire. Later that same day, PT-34 is bombed and strafed by floatplanes from Japanese seaplane carrier Sanuki Maruand and is beached off Cauit Island. A second bombing and strafing attack by Sanuki Maru's planes destroys PT-34, which suffers two dead and three wounded from her six-man crew in the action.

Photo: American and Filipino troops surrendering at Bataan, Luzon, Philippines, 9 Apr 1942