World War II in real time

Day 993 of World War II, May 28th 1942

North African campaign

Libya - Italian Ariete Division expects the fort at Bir Hacheim, defended by the Free French, to be a pushover. Having lost 32 tanks yesterday, Italians pause to consider their options. RAF bombers attack abandoned Italian tanks uncomfortably close to the fort, forcing the French out into no-man’s land to demolish them. In the Cauldron, Rommel’s attack runs out of steam in the face of British 1st and 7th Armoured Divisions. In addition, Italian Trieste Motorized Division has failed to find a way through the British minefields to bring up badly-needed supplies for the Panzers. However, Rommel's feint along the coast still dominates British General Ritchie’s thinking and he fails to grasp the opportunity to send his tanks en masse to annihilate Panzer Army Afrika.

Photo: A German 20 mm anti-aircraft gun in the foreground and a Luftwaffe air raid on Bir Hakeim in the background



Photo: Curtiss Kittyhawk Mark I, AK772 'GA-Y' "London Pride", of No. 112 Squadron RAF is prepared for a sortie at Gambut Main, Libya. The ground crew can just be seen assisting the pilot to strap himself into the cockpit. The aircraft is carrying a 250-lb GP Bomb, fitted with a surface-burst impact fuse, under the fuselage. Note also the plugs placed in the exhaust stubs to keep the desert sand out



Battle of the Caribbean

U-103 sinks US tanker SS New Jersey 90 miles Southwest of Grand Cayman Island (26 survivors picked up after 33 hours by US destroyer USS Tattnall, 15 survivors picked up by US destroyer USS Biddle on June 1) and U-502 sinks American SS Alcoa Pilgrim (31 killed, 9 survivors picked up 6 days later by American SS Thomas Nelson).

Gulf of Mexico - U-106 sinks British SS Mentor (4 killed, 75 crew and 7 gunners picked up after 3 days by the British SS Antilochus). 150 miles East of Martinique, U-155 sinks Dutch SS Poseidon (all 32 hands lost). 525 miles East of Daytona Beach, Florida, U-506 sinks British SS Yorkmoor with 55 rounds from the deck gun, being out of torpedoes (all 45 hands in 2 lifeboats rescued on May 31 and June 4).

Arctic naval operations

In the Barents Sea, 3 Soviet destroyers and 4 minesweepers join convoy PQ-16 providing anti-aircraft firepower to drive off the Luftwaffe attacks.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS McCalla (DD-488) underway on her delivery voyage from the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company shipyard, at Kearny, New Jersey (USA), to the New York Naval Shipyard. Note the Federal SB & DD Co. flag flying just below her starboard yardarm



Pacific War

MIDWAY OPERATIONS

Japanese First Fleet, consisting of 7 battleships (Yamato, Mutsu, Nagato, Hyuga, Ise, Fuso and Yamashiro), light aircraft carrier Hosho, 3 cruisers, 21 destroyers and 4 oilers under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, sails from Japan for Midway, 24 hours and 600 miles behind their carrier force. The Japanese have 2 aims at Midway. First, troops will occupy the island covered as usual by dive bombers from the carriers; second, dive and torpedo bombers will sink, damage and scatter US warships (especially US carriers) for final annihilation by the battleships.

At 6.45 AM, US aircraft carrier USS Yorktown moves into Dry Dock No.1 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for a second day of repairs following the Battle of the Coral Sea. Yorktown’s engines and aircraft elevators are operation but 1 bomb penetrated the flightdeck and caused much damage below while 2 near-misses had caused exterior damage to the hull. Only essential repairs to the flighdeck and structural elements are performed. Around noon, Admiral Spruance’s Task Force 16 (aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Hornet, cruisers USS Atlanta, USS Minneapolis, USS New Orleans, USS Northampton, USS Pensacola and USS Vincennes, 9 destroyers and 4 oilers) leaves Pearl Harbor to intercept the Japanese carrier fleet heading to Midway.

Photo: Yorktown in drydock at Pearl Harbor



The Enterprise Air Group in USS Enterprise consists of Bombing Squadron Six with SBD Dauntless, Fighting Squadron Six with F4F Wildcats, Scouting Squadron Six with SBDs, and Torpedo Squadron Six with TBD Devastators.

Photo: U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Eugene E. Lindsey's Douglas TBD-1 Devastator (BuNo 0370) sinking astern of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) after a deck landing accident. The plane guard destroyer, USS Monaghan (DD-354) is in the left background. Enterprise was then en route to the Midway area. LCdr. Lindsey, Commanding Officer of Torpedo Squadron 6 (VT-6), was flying out with the rest of the air group to join the ship when the crash took place. He, and the other members of the plane's crew, were rescued by Monaghan



The Hornet Air Group in USS Hornet consists of VB-8 with SBDs, VF-8 with F4Fs, VS-8 with SBDs and VT-8 with TBDs.

ALASKA

(11th Air Force): A B-17 flies the first armed reconnaissance from the secretly constructed airfield at Unmak , Aleutian over the Aleutian Chain, but finds no sign of the enemy. XI Fighter Command elements are not deployed at Unmak (P-40's and P-38's), Cold Bay (P-40's), Kodiak (P-39's), and Elmendorf Field [P-38's and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Kittyhawks].

UNITED STATES

Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson warns Americans along the west coast to expect a Japanese attack as retaliation for the Dollittle raid on Tokyo.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(5th Air Force): B-26's attack the airfield at Lae, New Guinea.

NEW HEBRIDIES

U.S. forces arrive at Espiritu Santo.

SOUTH CHINA SEA

US submarine USS Salmon sinks Japanese passenger-cargo ship Ganges Maru in the South China Sea, 240 miles Southeast of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina.

Day 995 of World War II, May 30th 1942

YouTube (Rommel's Desert Dash - The Whole Bloody Afrika Korps! - Gazala)



Battle of the Atlantic

Despite continued Luftwaffe attacks, 21 ships from convoy PQ16 arrive at Murmansk, USSR (another 8 ships go to Archangelsk, arriving June 1).

Photo: The U.S. Navy small seaplane tender USS Barnegat (AVP-10) in Hvalfjörður, Iceland, circa 29 May to 2 June 1942 after covering Russian convoys. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified)



Air War over Europe - Operation MILLENNIUM

Overnight, RAF sends 1,047 aircraft (602 Wellingtons, 131 Halifaxes, 88 Stirlings, 79 Hampdens, 73 Lancasters, 46 Manchesters & 28 Whitleys) to attack Cologne, Germany, in the first 1,000 bomber raid (Operation Millennium). The goal is to overwhelm German night fighter and anti-aircraft defenses with sheer numbers. 868 bombers reach the target dropping 1,455 tons of explosives (2/3 incendiaries). 250 factories and 18,400 houses are destroyed or damaged mainly by fire (411 German civilians and 58 anti-aircraft gunners killed, 5,027 injured and 45,132 lose their homes). 41 RAF aircraft are lost.

Photo: vertical aerial photograph taken during Operation MILLENNIUM, the 'Thousand-bomber' raid on Cologne, Germany 30/31 May 1942. The tracks of a mass of concentrated searchlights and tracer bullets from anti-aircraft fire cover the larger area of the picture as the first bombs explode on the city (lower left)



Photo: Vertical photographic-reconnaissance aerial taken over Cologne, Germany after Operation MILLENNIUM, the first 'Thousand-bomber' raid by aircraft of Bomber Command on the night of 30/31 May 1942. This shows the partially-destroyed exhibition hall (Osthalle) and railway sidings in Koln-Deutz



Photo: Members of No. 106 Squadron RAF, including their Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Guy Gibson (standing middle, front row), celebrate on their return to Coningsby, Lincolnshire, from the 'Thousand Bomber' raid on Cologne, Germany. The Squadron's Avro Manchesters, in the course of replacement by Lancasters at this time, are parked off the perimeter track in the background



Battle of the Mediterranean

70 miles West of Bengasi, Libya, British submarine HMS Proteus sinks the Italian merchant Bravo.

Battle of the Caribbean

500 miles East of Barbados, U-155 sinks Norwegian MV Baghdad (9 dead, 21 survivors). At 10.24 AM 500 miles East of Cape Charles, Virginia, U-404 sinks US freighter SS Alcoa Shipper carrying 8340 tons of bauxite ore (7 killed 25 survivors on 3 rafts are questioned by the Germans and given several bottles of rum, cigarettes and a dungarees for a man with little clothing, then rescued 56 hours later by Norwegian steamer Margrethe Bakke).

United States 

Photo:  USS Amberjack (SS-219) off Groton, Connecticut, 30 May 1942



Pacific War

MADAGASCAR

Japanese submarine I-10 launches its floatplane over the harbor at Diego Suarez, Madagascar, spotting British battleship HMS Ramillies plus a tanker, a freighter and an ammunition ship. At 5.40 PM, I-16 and I-20 send midget submarines M-16b and M-20b into the harbor from 10 miles offshore (I-18’s midget M-18b cannot launch due to engine trouble). At 8.25, M-20b fires a 17.7-inch torpedo into HMS Ramillies, opening a 30-foot hole near the forward turret (15-inch guns) and flooding magazines and shell rooms (HMS Ramillies will be towed to Durban, South Africa, for temporary repairs, then sail to Plymouth, England, in August under her own steam and return to service in June 1943). At 9.20 PM, as corvettes HMS Genista and HMS Thyme drop depth charges, M-20b fires the 2nd torpedo and sinks British tanker British Loyalty. The 2-man crew of M-20b escape but are killed by Royal Marines 3 days later.

Illustration: attack on HMS Ramillies



ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

Japanese submarine I-25 prepares to launch her floatplane to reconnoiter Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands, when lookouts spot an American cruiser. I-25 cannot dive with her plane on deck, but the cruiser passes by without noticing her.

MIDWAY OPERATIONS

U.S. Navy Task Force 17, consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5), departs Pearl Harbor to join Task Force 16 northeast of Midway Island. The Yorktown Air Group consists of Bombing Squadron Three (VB-3) with Douglas SBD Dauntlesses, VB-5 with SBDs, Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3) with Grumman F4F Wildcats, and Torpedo Squadron Three (VT-3) with Douglas TBD Devastators.

The 7th Air Force in the Territory of Hawaii dispatches six B-17's to Midway Island to reinforce the fifteen that are already there.

A Japanese task force consisting of two light aircraft carriers and two troop transports departs northern Honshu Island for the Aleutian Islands.

ALASKA

(11th Air Force): 77th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 28th Composite Group, based at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Territory of Alaska, begins operating from Umnak, Aleutian with B-26's.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA

(10th Air Force): Myitkyina, Burma is again hit by B-17's. Again no activity is observed and the attacks are discontinued. HQ 7th Bombardment Group transfers from Karachi to Dum-Dum, India.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(7th Air Force): 7th Air Force begins flying B-17's from the Territory of Hawaii to Midway in the face of an expected attack on that. 394th Bombardment Squadron, 5th BG (Heavy), transfers from Hickam Field to Bellows Field, Territory of Hawaii with B-17's.

HAWAII

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Phelps (DD-360) at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, circa in late May 1942, following the Battle of Coral Sea and shortly before the Battle of Midway. Note that her heavy tripod masts and the reserve torpedoes were removed

Day 997 of World War II, June 1st 1942

Eastern Front

The seige of the Crimean fortress of Sevastopol by 11. Armee (von Manstein) continued with a round-the-clock bombardment by heavy artillery and Luftwaffe bombers.

Photo: German 11th Army soldiers approach burning Sevastopol in June 1942



Photo: Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photo of the battleship Sovetsky Soyuz and a Chapaev-class cruiser under construction in the Baltic Shipyard



Photo: Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photo of the sunken battleship Marat in Kronstadt harbor



Air War over Europe 

Newspaper: Daily Express and the New York Times editions, June 1st 1942



Battle of the Atlantic

8 merchant ships from convoy PQ-16 arrive at Archangelsk, USSR. German Ju-88 bombers attack the unloading freighters, sinking the SS Steel Worker and damaging Soviet submarine SC-404.

In the Atlantic 320 miles East of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-404 sinks American SS West Notus with gunfire (4 dead, 36 survivors). Another 360 miles East, U-566 sinks British SS Westmoreland (3 dead, 65 survivors).

North African campaign

German and Italian troops and tanks, with Rommel personally taking charge, break through the British perimeter and overrun 150th Brigade “box” at Sidi Muftah in bitter hand-to-hand fighting. A relief column sent by the British along the Trigh Capuzzo and Trigh el Abd desert tracks is stopped by Rommel's anti-tank screen. 3000 British troops surrender, after their commander Brigadier Clive Haydon is killed by shellfire. This allows Rommel to secure supply lines North and South of the British who have been harrying his trucks with artillery fire. Capture of this “box” also completes the encirclement of the French in the fort at Bir Hacheim.

Photo: The commander of a Stuart tank uses a knocked-out PzKpfw III tank as cover while observing the enemy, 1 June 1942



Photo: A knocked-out German PzKpfw III tank being searched by infantry 1 June 1942



Photo: Generalleutnant Ludwig Crüwell seen on the right, became commander of the Afrika Korps on 31 July 1941, under General Erwin Rommel who on the same day took command of Panzer Army Africa, Crüwell was inspecting operations by air in Libya. His pilot mistook British troops for Italian soldiers and landed, where Crüwell was taken prisoner, here he can be seen dining with British officers, 1 June 1942



Battle of the Caribbean

Off the Western end of Cuba, U-107 sinks Panamanian SS Bushranger at 3.54 AM (17 killed, 7 survivors on a raft picked up by a US Navy Catalina aircraft on June 7, another 19 survivors on 3 rafts that stayed together rescued by US Coast Guard cutter USS Nike on June 12). U-106 sinks American SS Hampton Roads at 11.40 AM (7 killed, 23 survivors picked up by American SS Alcoa Pathfinder). At 11.51 PM between St. Lucia and St. Vincent, U-156 sinks neutral Brazilian SS Alegrete (all 64 hands escape in 4 lifeboats).

Air War over Europe

Overnight, 956 RAF bombers attack Essen, Germany (545 Wellingtons, 127 Halifaxes, 77 Stirlings, 74 Lancasters, 71 Hampdens, 33 Manchesters and 29 Whitleys). Due to low cloud, bombing is very inaccurate and towns are hit all over the Ruhr valley. 15 Wellingtons, 8 Halifaxes, 4 Lancasters, 1 Hampden, 1 Manchester, 1 Stirling, 1 Whitley are lost.

Photo: A view from the cockpit of an Avro Lancaster, believed to be an aircraft of No 207 Squadron, Royal Air Force, as work is done on the starboard Merlin engines of the aircraft, near the technical site at Bottesford



United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52) off New York City (USA), 1 June 1942. A barge is alongside her starboard quarter. Her superstructure retains its original measure 12 "mottled pattern" camouflage scheme, but her hull has been repainted wave-style pattern



Pacific War

UNITED STATES, SAN DIEGO

USS Saratoga sails from San Diego after repair of the torpedo damage that occurred January 11, 1942.

MIDWAY OPERATIONS

In the U.S., fear of an attack on the west coast causes suspension of the movement of USAAF aircraft and crews from the U.S. to the U.K.

25 US subs are in position off Midway Island.

At 1300 hours local, the Japanese Kiska Invasion Force departs Kashiwabara on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands enroute to Kiska Island in the Aleutians. The U.S. Navy's Task Group 8.6 built around the light cruiser USS Nashville (CL-43) enters the Gulf of Alaska intending to position themselves about 400 miles (741 km) south of Kodiak Island to "exploit opportunities. " Unfortunately, they will be too far away for the upcoming action.

ALASKA

In Alaska, the USAAF's 11th Air Force has a B-17E Flying Fortress, six B-26 Marauders and 17 P-40s at Cold Bay on the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula and 12 P-40s, six B-26 and a B-17E at Otter Point on Umnak Island.

During June 1942, 11th Fighter Squadron, 28th Composite Group, moves from Elmendorf Field, Anchorage to Ft Glenn, Umnak with P-40s. During Jun, 406th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 41st Bombardment Group (Medium), sends detachments to operate in Alaska with B-18s.

INDIAN OCEAN

For the third straight day, the Japanese submarine I-10 launches a "Glen," to fly a reconnaissance mission over Diego Suarez,
Madagascar.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER OF OPERATIONS

(10th Air Force): 5 heavy bombers attack the Rangoon, Burma dock and harbor area, claiming 1 tanker sunk and another left listing. 436th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Karachi to Lahabad, India with B-17Es; first mission is 4 Jun.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(5th Air Force): B-17s attack Lae and Salamaua and Rabaul.

Day 999 of World War II, June 3rd 1942

Continuation War

Photo: Finnish Lahti L-39 anti-tank gun in use



Battle of the Atlantic

In the Atlantic 400 miles East of Guyana, U-126 attacks Norwegian tanker MV Høegh Giant all day, finally sinking her at 1.40 AM next morning (all 39 hands survive but have a long and harrowing return to safety).

40 miles off the Western end of Nova Scotia, U-432 sinks 2 tiny unarmed US fishing boats with shellfire, after allowing the crews to escape. At 9.56 PM 150 miles Northwest of Trinidad, U-502 sinks US tanker SS MF Elliott (13 killed; 27 survivors picked up at dawn next day by US destroyer USS Tarbell; 2 survivors are questioned on board U-502 for 3 hours, put on a raft with provisions and picked up 5 days later by Brazilian tanker SS Santa Maria).

Battle of the Caribbean

400 miles Northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, U-172 torpedoes American SS City of Alma which sinks immediately on her cargo of 7400 tons of manganese ore (29 killed, 10 survivors picked up 4 days later by American patrol boat USS YP-67). At 9.26 AM, U-156 sinks British schooner Lillian (running passengers and rum between Caribbean islands) with 322 rounds of gunfire (3 dead, 22 survivors). From 5 AM to 10 AM 245 miles Northwest of Bermuda, U-404 attacks and sinks neutral Swedish SS Anna (all 17 hands rescued).

Air War over Europe

Overnight, RAF 170 aircraft bombers attack Bremen, Germany, causing damage to housing, the harbour and German destroyer Z-25 (83 dead, 258 injured, 4 Wellingtons, 2 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings, 1 Manchester lost). Luftwaffe bombers attack Poole, England.

United States

Photo: USS North Carolina off Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, United States, 3 June 1942



Photo: The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS San Juan (CL-54) off Norfolk, Virginia (USA), 3 June 1942



Pacific War

MIDWAY OPERATIONS

In the morning, US Catalina PBY seaplanes from Midway spot elements of the Japanese fleet, providing crucial information on location, direction and speed. At 12.30 PM, 9 US B-17 bombers take off from Midway and bomb Japanese troop transport ships 660 miles West of Midway 3 hours later but score no hits n the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire from the escorts.

Diorama: depicting the sighting of the Japanese minesweepers Tama Maru No. 3 and Tama Maru No. 5 by a Midway-based Consolidated PBY Catalina flown by Ensign James P.O. Lyle, at 0904 hrs on 3 June 1942. These ships had left Wake on 31 May, and were the first units of the Japanese invasion force to be spotted enroute to Midway



ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN - BATTLE OF DUTCH HARBOR

Japanese occupy Kiska and Attu in the Aleutians.

Despite dense fog and rough seas, the Japanese light aircraft carriers Junyo and Ryujo, supported by the heavy cruisers Takao and Maya, three destroyers and an oiler, begin launching aircraft at 0325 hours local against Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island, Aleutian Islands.

This is part of the "AL" Operation. Only half of the aircraft reach the objective; the other half either crash into the sea or return to their ships. At 0545 hours, 15 aircraft appear and begin strafing targets at naval installations at Dutch Harbor and the Army's Fort Mears; at 0555 hours, the first of four waves of bombers in groups of three or four, Nakajima B5N, Navy "Kate," Bombers, Allied Code Name release 16 bombs on Fort Mears killing 25 and wounding many others. P-40s from Cold Bay trying to intercept them arrive 10 minutes after the last attack wave departs. Other P-40s at Otter Point Field on Umnak Island are notified too late due to communication failure.

Photo: Japanese bomb exploding in the water at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, 3 June 1942



Photo: U.S. Marines on alert at Dutch Harbor after the Japanese air attacks on June 3, 1942



The Japanese cruisers had catapulted four Nakajima E8N2 Navy Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplanes, Allied Code Name "Dave," to reconnoiter the area west of Dutch Harbor and two of them flew over Umnak and one was shot down and the other was damaged and retreated still unaware of the new airdrome. By 0745 hours local, the Japanese carriers had recovered their aircraft. Meanwhile, nine P-40s and six B-26's fly a patrol but cannot find the fleet, 180 miles south of Dutch Harbor.

Photo: Buildings burning after the first enemy attack on Dutch Harbor, 3 June 1942



However, a PBY-5A Catalina of the USN's Patrol Squadron VP-42 flies through a snow squall and locates the Japanese ships. The aircraft is attacked by Japanese fighters but the Americans linger in the area until the composition and position of the force can be determined. The PBY finally heads for home but runs out of fuel and makes an open sea landing where the crew is rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Nemaha.

Another PBY-5A of VP-41 searching for the Japanese are shot down and three are captured and taken aboard the cruiser Takao. The Japanese torture the three in an attempt to learn the location of the unknown USAAF base but the sailors reveal nothing. The three are taken to Japan and survive their internment. One "Zeke," is damaged by AA fire and the pilot makes an emergency landing on Akutan Island. However, he was fooled by the flat surface; it is actually a bog and the aircraft flips over killing the pilot. The recovery of this aircraft in July 1942 reveals many of its secrets.

Six B-17Es equipped with SCR-521 radar arrive at Kodiak and are immediately dispatched on search missions to locate the Japanese ships.

Additional losses in the Aleutians: 26 Army and 1 Navy were killed, and four quonset huts, one barracks building, and one radio tower were destroyed. All but one of the carrier-based air returned safely but two of four Pete float planes were shot down late in the day when they were ambushed by P-40's from Cold Bay.

Anti-aircraft fire from the few US Navy weapons was heavy but ineffective due to the siting of the weapons. The US Army's 206th CA (AA) was ashore and well-sited but the commander refused to allow it to open fire from concerns about revealing its location. Accurate fire was returned from the SS PRESIDENT FILLMORE, moored in the harbor, which had G/260th CA (AA) (often but inaccurately listed as G/503rd CA (AA) on board with its guns on deck through the foresight of then 1st Lt Perry Faust. The Port Captain later credited this unit for its performance and noted that he had thought the ship had exploded, so heavy was the fire being returned from the ship.

The Port Engineer had only recently completed the pier at Dutch Harbor, a example of really solid engineering due to the extreme depth of the harbor. He ran along the dock during the attack and continued to order all moored vessels to set sail lest the Japanese damage "his" pier. He was ignored by the ship's captains.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER OF OPERATIONS

(10th Air Force): A flight of 6 B-25s of the 11th Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG, earmarked for China, take off from Dinjan, India for China. They bomb Lashio, Burma en route to Kunming, but afterward 9 crash into an overcast-hidden mountain at 10,000 feet and another is abandoned when it runs out of fuel near Chan-i, China. The remaining 2 B-25's reach Kunming, China, 1 with its radio operator killed by a fighter.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(5th Air Force): B-17s hit the wharf, warehouse area, and military camp at Rabaul.

Day 1001 of World War II, June 5th 1942

YouTube (145a - Midway, pt.1 - Clash of the Titans - June 5, 1942)



Eastern Front

Sevastopol - Germans continue to soften up the Soviet defenders with artillery bombardment and Luftwaffe bombing. German 800mm railway gun Schwerer Gustav is brought up and fires 6 shells (weighing 4,800kg with an explosive load of 700kg capable of creating a crater 10m wide by 10 m deep) at Fort Stalin and another 8 shells Soviet coastal gun batteries at a range of 25km.

North African campaign

Libya - After interminable delay, General Ritchie finally sends massed armor of British 8th Army against Rommel in the Cauldron (Operation Aberdeen). At 3 AM a misdirected artillery barrage falls in empty desert and serves only warn the Germans of the impending attack. When Ritchie’s tanks move forward with British and Indian infantry, the German anti-tank guns are ready and quickly break up the attack. Rommel goes on the attack in the afternoon, overrunning the headquarters of 2 British Divisions as well as 9th and 10th Indian Infantry Brigades.

Battle of the Atlantic

Free French submarine Rubis lays mines in the Bay of Biscay which will sink French ship Quand Meme (on June 26) and Kriegsmarine minesweepers M-4212 (June 12) and M-4448 (July 10).

650 miles East of St. John’s, Newfoundland, U-94 sinks neutral Portuguese sailing ship Maria da Glória with the deck gun (2 killed immediately). 42 crew escape in 9 dories; 8 are rescued on July 15 by US Coast Guard yacht USCG Sea Cloud but 34 others are never found.

Battle of the Caribbean

15 miles off Cancun, Mexico, U-158 torpedoes American SS Velma Lykes which sinks within a minute (15 killed, 17 survivors). At 6.08 AM 120 miles North of Puerto Rico, U-172 sinks American SS Delfina (4 dead, 27 survivors). At 8.49 PM Dominican Republic, U-68 hits US tanker SS LJ Drake with 3 torpedoes causing the cargo of 72,961 barrels of gasoline to explode (all 40 hands killed immediately). U-159 shoots up 2 sailing boats with the 20mm anti-aircraft gun 85 miles South of Punta Cana (Brazilian schooner Paracury at 5.27 AM and Honduran vessel Sally at 8.10 PM).

Pacific War

HAWAII ISLAND CAMPAIGN - BATTLE OF MIDWAY

The aircraft carriers Akagi and Hiryu, which were damaged yesterday and left drifting, are scuttled by Japanese destroyers.

Photo: The burning Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu, photographed by a Yokosuka B4Y aircraft from the carrier Hosho shortly after sunrise on 5 June 1942. Hiryu sank a few hours later. Flight deck torn out by the bomb dropped during a dive-bombing attack performed by Norman Kleiss



Photo: The burning Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu, photographed by a Yokosuka B4Y aircraft from the carrier Hosho shortly after sunrise on 5 June 1942. Hiryu sank a few hours later. Note collapsed flight deck at right. Part of the forward elevator is standing upright just in front of the island, where it had been thrown by an explosion in the hangar



While turning to avoid the submarine USS Tambor, the heavy cruisers Mogami and Mikuma collide and are damaged. Later in the day, six SBD-2 Dauntlesses and six SB2U-3 Vindicators of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron Two Hundred Forty One attack Mikuma but do not score any hits.

Photo: Bridge view of Mogami's damaged bow, following her collision with Mikuma at Midway. The tanker Nichiei Maru is seen ahead



A salvage party of 29 officers and 141 enlisted men return to the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in an attempt to save her. Five destroyers form an antisubmarine screen while the salvage party boards the listing carrier.

At Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii: Admiral Chester Nimitz, USN announces the defeat of the Imperial Japanese Naval fleet at the Battle of Midway.

The Battle of Midway continues with the Japanese fleet retiring westward. In the morning 8 B-17s hit a force 130 miles from Midway, claiming hits on 2 large warships. During the afternoon 6 B-17's claim hits on a heavy cruiser 300 miles from Midway. The last strike by Seventh Air Force aircraft in the Battle of Midway is by 5 B-17's which bomb a heavy cruiser 425 miles from Midway. 1 B-17 is shot down and another lost due to fuel shortage. The battle ends with Midway's installations heavily damaged by bombs but still in US hands and with landing strips still intact. During the fighting (3-5 Jun) Seventh Air Force aircraft carried out 16 B-17 attacks (55 sorties) and 1 torpedo attack by 4 B-26's, claiming 22 hits on ships and 10 fighters shot down. 2 B-17's and 2 B-26's were lost. One of the decisive battles of naval history, Midway will cost Japan the initiative and will be a turning point in the Pacific war.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Japanese Naval Headquarters issues an order at 0920 hours local instructing the 2nd Mobile Fleet, the two light aircraft carriers that attacked Dutch Harbor, Alaska, yesterday, to join the 1st Mobile Fleet off Midway and the two carriers begin steaming south. This order is cancelled at 2355 hours.

The Japanese also order 1,200 troops of the Adak-Attu Occupation Force to steam towards Attu Island.

The USAAF's 11th Air Force dispatches ten B-17's, 18 B-26's and two LB-30's to search for the two aircraft carriers. One radar-equipped B-17E locates the "targets" on radar and bombs; the "targets" were actually the Pribilof Islands.

Photo: damaged ship at Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska, 5 June 1942



SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(5th Air Force): B-17s hit wharves, a warehouse, and coal jetty at Rabaul.

MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL

Japanese begin commerce raiding in the Mozambique Channel. 350 miles off Durban, South Africa, surface raiders Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru sink British liner SS Elysia (which suffered 5 torpedo attacks in WWI without sinking) en route from Glasgow to Bombay. Submarine I-20 sinks Panamanian merchant Johnstown, 100 miles off Pemba, Mozambique. 45 miles off Inhassoro, Mozambique, submarine I-10 sinks Panamanian Atlantic Gulf at 2.31 AM and American freighter Melvin H Baker at 10.44 AM.

Day 1003 of World War II, June 7th 1942

YouTube (145c - Midway pt.2 - A New War?)



Eastern Front

German 11th Army begins the ground assault, under an artillery and aerial barrage, on the heavily-defended Soviet port of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula. The main thrust is by German LIV Corps along the Belbek River, Northeast of the city. LIV Corps overruns several strongpoints on the main Soviet defensive line and captures the town of Belbek by 5.15 PM, threatening the nearby Soviet airfield (LIV Corps has 2,357 casualties, including 340 killed).

Battle of the Atlantic

700 miles Southwest of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Italian submarine Da Vinci sinks Danish MV Chile (5 killed, 39 rescued).

Overnight, a British aircraft in the Bay of Biscay bombs Italian submarine Torelli using radar, causing serious damage to the submarine. Torelli is run aground on the North coast of Spain to prevent sinking and make temporary repairs. Torelli sets off to return to Bordeaux but is bombed and strafed by 2 British Sunderland flying boats (1 killed, 2 wounded). Torelli is again run aground for further repairs, near Santander, until June 14 when she escapes to Bordeaux to avoid internment by the Spanish.

Battle of the Caribbean

75 miles South of Sandino, Cuba, U-107 sinks Honduran SS Castilla (24 killed, 35 survivors picked up 6 days later by US Coast Guard patrol vessel USCGC Nike). 50 miles North of Sandino, U-158 sinks Panamanian SS Hermis (1 dead; 46 survivors, including 12 wounded, picked up by US Army transport Toloa). At 10.24 PM 200 miles Southeast of Jamaica, U-159 sinks US SS Edith (2 killed, 29 survivors in 1 lifeboat and 2 rafts land in Jamaica 7 days later).

WWI-era minesweeper USS Gannet is acting as a seaplane tender to Patrol Squadron VP-74 at Hamilton, Bermuda. At 7.42 AM 240 miles North of Bermuda, U-653 sinks USS Gannet returning from a search for survivors from British SS Westmoreland sunk on June 1 by U-566 (14 killed; 62 survivors including many injured float on 2 rafts; 2 aircraft from VP-74 land daringly in heavy seas to rescue 22, 40 picked up by US minesweeper USS Hamilton).

North African campaign

Libya - overnight, German engineers penetrate the minefield at the fort at Bir Hacheim and attack the inner perimeter. They are held by fierce Free French resistance and RAF bombing of the exposed German positions.

United States

Photo: A U.S. Navy Vought OS2U-2 Kingfisher (BuNo 2244) sits on the sea plane ramp on 7 June 1942 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida (USA). The color scheme at this time was sky blue



1942 Tribune story implied Americans cracked Japanese code, Newspaper: Chicago Sunday Tribune, June 7th 1942



Pacific War

HAWAII ISLAND CAMPAIGN - BATTLE OF MIDWAY

Yesterday’s torpedo damage to USS Yorktown corrected her list from 26o to 17o, raising hopes she can be reboarded and taken in tow. At dawn, Yorktown’s list is seen to be increasing again and she is ceremonially surrounded by her destroyer escort (flags at half mast and crews standing to attention) as she rolls over and sinks at 4.58 AM.

Photo: USS Yorktown (CV-5) sinking, just after dawn, as seen from an accompanying destroyer. The ship has capsized to port, exposing the turn of her starboard bilge, with a large torpedo hole amidships severing the forward bilge keel. Yorktown's forefoot is at the extreme right. Her starboard forward 5-inch gun gallery can be seen further up her hull, with two 5"/38 gun barrels sticking out over its edge. The two larger thin objects sticking up, just aft of the 5-inch guns, are aircraft parking outriggers



Photo: The U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Portland (CA-33), right, transfers survivors of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) to the submarine tender USS Fulton (AS-11), left, on 7 June 1942, following the Battle of Midway. Fulton transported the men to Pearl Harbor



ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

The 1,143 man Japanese Army's North Sea Detachment, consisting of the 301st Independent Infantry Battalion, the 301st Independent Engineer Company and a service unit, invade Attu Island at 0300 hours local. There are 44 American civilians on the island, 42 Aleut Indians and two Caucasians, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Charles Jones dies during the invasion, either a suicide or killed by Japanese troops as he attempts to escape. The Aleuts and Mrs. Etta Jones are interned in Japan, the Aleuts at Otaru City on Hokkaido and Mrs. Jones with Australian nurses in Yokohama. Only 24 of the Aleuts and Mrs. Jones survive interment. The Japanese rename the island Atsuta.

Nine of the ten USN sailors manning a weather station on Kiska are captured by the Japanese who had discovered the emergency supply caches the sailors had hidden. The tenth man, who was wearing light clothing, evades the Japanese for 48-days surviving on plants and earthworms until forced to surrender after fainting from lack of food.

UNITED STATES

Photo: USS Hovey (DMS-11) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 7 June 1942. The ship retains her original four tall smokestacks, pre-war type pilothouse and tall foremast. She appears to carry twin 4/50 gun mounts fore and aft and eight .50 caliber anti-aircraft machine guns