April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan

Thursday 9 April 1942

HMS Hermes sinks on 9 April 1942 in this photo taken by Japanese aircrew, perhaps Mitsuo Fuchida.

Battle of the Pacific: The senior US commander on Bataan, the Philippines, Major General Edward P. King, meets with Japanese commander Major General Kameichiro Nagano on the morning of 9 April 1942 to surrender. As negotiations proceed, the US Navy destroyer its facilities at Mariveles and scuttle (or the Japanese destroy with shelling) any remaining ships there, including submarine tender USS Canopus, minesweeper Bittern, and tugs Napa, Yu Sang, and Henry Keswick (later refloated and repaired by the Japanese). A few ships manage to get away with a small number of evacuees to Corregidor, including three ferry launches (San Felipe, Camia, and Dap Dap) and some motor launches.  

The surrender begins a horrifying ordeal for the roughly 75,000 captured Allied (American and Filipino) soldiers, who from the beginning are mistreated and brutalized by their Japanese captors. Many of them do not survive the war. About 10-12,000 Allied troops either avoid capture or escape from the Japanese during the infamous Bataan Death March, which actually begins on 10 April.

The 9 April 1942 Sweetwater, Texas, Reporters paints the US surrender in Bataan as an "epic." This is the same tactic used by the German after the defeat at Stalingrad.

There remains one pocket of Allied resistance in the vicinity. Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright leads a small number of US forces in Malinta Tunnel on the island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay. Wainright makes a public broadcast from the tunnel during the evening of 9 April 1942, saying in part:

Bataan has fallen. The Philippine-American troops on this war-ravaged and bloodstained peninsula have laid down their arms. With heads bloody but unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers of the enemy.

The Japanese quickly bring their artillery forward to bombard Corregidor. Fortunately for the island's defenders, it is heavily fortified. Malinta Tunnel includes 13 lateral tunnels branching off from the main shaft on the north side and 11 lateral tunnels on the south side. This provides shelter from the artillery and air pounding that the island soon receives. Ironically, the cement used to build the tunnels was purchased from the Japanese. US Navy submarine USS Snapper delivers some supplies to Corregidor, which is subject to a Japanese blockade.

HMS Hermes sinks off the coast of Ceylon, 9 April 1942.

There are some naval skirmishes offshore. Two US torpedo boats, PT-34 and PT-41, harass Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Kuma and torpedo boat Kiji without causing much damage off Cape Tanon, Cebu Island. The Japanese retaliate later in the day by using floatplanes flying from Japanese seaplane carrier HIJMS Sanuki Maruand to bomb and strafe PT-34, which is beached off Cauit Island (two dead and four survivors, with two or three wounded).

The events of April 9, 1942, deeply permeate the Philippines psyche. April 9th becomes a national holiday, the "Day of Valor" (Araw ng Kagitingan). A "Shrine of Valor" (Dambana ng Kagitingan) and memorial cross are built atop Mount Samat in Pilar, Bataan, the point of the Japanese breakthrough that led to the fall of Bataan.

Far to the east, half of the US Navy's carrier force in the Pacific is sailing almost due west toward Japan. Admiral Bull Halsey leads Task Force 16 in a sprint to catch up with a smaller group led by the aircraft carrier USS Hornet that is carrying B-25s that normally do not fly from carriers. The Japanese remain completely unaware of this approaching menace for the time being. The two groups plan to rendezvous at sea on 13 April.

HMAS Vampire under attack prior to sinking, 9 April 1942. This photo appears to show the bomb striking that breaks it in half.

Battle of the Indian Ocean:  The Japanese Indian Ocean Raid reaches its climax with renewed attacks against Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and British naval forces. At dawn, Admiral Nagumo sends over 100 planes to attack the port of Trincomalee. They are met by 22 defending RAF fighters that are brushed aside. The Japanese wreak devastation on the harbor facilities, including badly damaging/sinking 7953-ton British freighter Sagaing (3 deaths), but do not succeed in locating their real target, the Royal Navy Eastern Fleet. Incidentally, the Sagaing was raised and moved to a different location by the Sri Lanka navy in 2018 to open up the harbor.

However, the Japanese get lucky. Hearing about the Japanese raid, Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes (Captain R.F.J. Onslow), which had left Trincomalee to avoid the raid, turns around to help out. This turns out to be a big mistake. Japanese scout planes quickly locate Hermes and vector in bombers from aircraft carriers Hiryū, Shōkaku, and Zuikaku. They arrive over Hermes quickly before the dwindling shore-based RAF fighters can arrive, and hit it with over 40 bombs in about ten minutes, sinking it. There are about 600 survivors of Hermes and over 307 deaths. The accompanying destroyer HMAS Vampire (nine dead) also is hit, breaks in half, and sinks. Not far away, Royal Navy corvette Hollyhock (49 dead) and tankers Athelstane (5571 tons) and British Sergeant (5868 tons) also are sunk, with Hollyhock sinking in less than a minute. Japanese bombers from Akagi sink 2924-ton Norwegian freighter Norviken (four dead, 42 survivors).

B5N2 "Kate" coded EII-330 of the Zuikaku carrier during the Indian Ocean Raid on Trincomalee, April 9, 1942.

The British retaliate by sending nine Bristol Blenheim bombers of RAF No. 11 Squadron to attack Nagumo's fleet. Somehow, the bombers evade the fleet's combat air patrol, perhaps misidentified as fellow Japanese planes. The bombers make it intact over Nagumo's carriers and drop their bombs from 11,000 feet (3353 m), but achieve no hits. The defending Japanese fighters then shoot down four of the bombers at the cost of two Zeros (the planes returning from sinking the Hermes account for one of the bombers and one of the lost Zeros).

Overall, the raid on Trincomalee is another Japanese victory and caps off a very successful raid in the Indian Ocean. The British have lost a carrier, two cruisers, 23 merchant ships of 112,312 tons, and numerous planes. Royal Navy port facilities at Colombo and Trincomalee have been devastated. However, Nagumo has failed at his real goal of engaging and destroying the greatly inferior British Eastern Fleet. Sinking the Hermes is a feather in Nagumo's cap, but it was an old World War I carrier that had been converted into a training ship between the wars and not a true modern carrier. This is not meant to denigrate the Japanese victory, but assembling a five-carrier fleet and sending it on such a long mission consumed a lot of resources. The returns for the Indian Ocean raid were good, but insufficient to wrest control of the region from the British as hoped. In a way, it becomes a tactical victory but a strategic defeat for the Japanese.

Two B5N2 "Kate" bombers from aircraft carrier Zuikaku depart from Trincomalee Habor, which can be seen blazing in the background, on 9 April 1942.

Eastern Front: Soviet General Kozlov, commander of all forces in the Crimea, launches his fourth offensive against General Manstein's forces defending the Parpach Narrows. Stavka representative Lev Mekhlis, who reflects Stalin's thinking, changes the strategy from previous attacks to mass tanks for a breakthrough rather than distributing them throughout infantry formations. Manstein's 11th Army, however, has received many Luftwaffe reinforcements and the 28th Light Infantry Division. Kozlov also has received reinforcements, but not the best new Soviet tanks such as the T-34.

Kozlov's men already have suffered heavy losses in his previous three offenses and one launched by Manstein. However, Kozlov still commands half a dozen rifle divisions, which could be considered arguably adequate for the job. Massing the tanks also is an effective strategy under the right circumstances, but these turn out not to be the right circumstances.

This Soviet offensive fares no better than earlier offensives and only gains undefendable (marshy, barren) ground. The German 28th Light Division has the new 2.8 cm sPzB 41 light anti-tank gun, and this proves perfect for taking on the advancing Soviet tanks. One Wehrmacht soldier, Obergefreiter Emanuel Czernik, knocks out seven T26 and one BT tank on the first day. The Soviet attack achieves nothing except piling up more Soviet casualties and depleting Kozlov's reserves. The offensive quickly peters out.

The 9 April 1942 NY Times goes to press before news of the fall of Bataan. The big news otherwise is the arrival of US envoys in London to discuss the arrival of masses of US troops.

European Air Operations: It is a cloudy day, so not much happens on the Channel Front. Seven Wellington bombers attempt to raid Essen, but six turn back and the seventh bombs a village north of the city. There are no losses.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-123 (Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen), on its eighth patrol out of Lorient, continues very successful operations off the east coast of the United States. It torpedoes and sinks 3365-ton US refrigerated freighter Esparta about 14 miles south of Brunswick, Georgia. The torpedo hit releases ammonia gas used in the refrigeration system, causing men to quickly leap overboard (one dies). It takes two hours for the ship to sink completely in the shallow water. There are 39 survivors and only one death.

U-160 (Oblt. Georg Lassen), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, is operating slightly north of U-123 and also scores a success. It torpedoes and sinks 3516-ton US freighter Malchace about 25-50 miles off Cape Lookout. The U-boat then surfaces, circles the slowly sinking ship, and allows most of the crew to abandon ship in good order before finishing the ship off with another torpedo. There is one dead and 28 survivors.

USS California entering No. 2 Dry Dock at Pearl Harbor on 9 April 1942. The battleship was hit by two torpedoes and one bomb during the 7 December 1942 Pearl Harbor raid, sank, and was raised from the mud on the harbor bottom on 4 April 1942. Source: U.S.S. California Torpedo and Bomb Damage confidential report.

U-552 (Kptlt. Erich Topp),  on its eighth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 7137-ton US tanker Atlas near where U-160 sank the Malchace. The Atlas crew abandoned ship in good order before the U-boat fired a second torpedo that ignited the fuel cargo. However, the flames spread across the water as fuel spilled out of the tanker, engulfing a lifeboat and killing two crewmen. There are two dead and 32 survivors.

U-252 (Kptlt. Kai Lerchen), on its first and only patrol of the war out of Helgoland, torpedoes and sinks 1355-ton Norwegian freighter Fanefjeld off the northwest tip of Iceland. All 24 crewmen perish, though some debris and a body are found. The U-boat is in this unusual location because it has just landed espionage agent Ib Arnason Riis in northern Iceland on 6 April 1942.

Retired baseball star Babe Ruth signs a baseball for starlet Jane Withers in the 9 April 1942 The Sporting News. Jane Withers is still alive in 2020. You may remember her as "Josephine the Plumber" in television commercials for Comet cleanser. It is reported elsewhere on this day that the Babe is critically ill but responding to treatment.

Soviet submarine ShCh 421 (Lt. Cdr Vidyaev) hits a mine in German Minefield Ursula and is badly damaged off Svaerholthavet (Porsanger Fjord) in northern Norway. The crew abandons ship to another Soviet submarine, K-22, which torpedoes and sinks it. Another Soviet submarine, M-174, attacks a German convoy off Varangerfjord, Norway, without success.

US Navy torpedo boat PT-59 accidentally torpedoes freighter USS Capella (AK-13) in upper Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, while on maneuvers. The freighter is only damaged and does not sink.

It is a bad night for collisions. The US Coast Guard is trying to implement a convoy system off the east coast, but in blackout conditions, the situation remains chaotic. Norwegian 3931-ton freighter Benwood collides with tanker Robert C. Tuttle northeast of Molasses Reef, Florida. The Benwood is beached on Alligator Reef but later sinks in shallow water, where it becomes a destination for sport divers. In another collision, 2349-ton Argentinian steel freighter Brazil hits the Smith Point Light in the Chesapeake Bay and sinks.

This 500-kg Luftwaffe bomb penetrated through the rotunda of the 1833 Mosta, Malta, church on 9 April 1942. The bomb did not explode and was immediately carted away.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Thrasher torpedoes and sinks Italian freighter Gala off Benghazi, Libya. At Malta, the Axis air offensive continues and sinks Royal Navy destroyer Lance.

Royal Navy submarine Torbay uses its deck gun to sink Italian auxiliary patrol boat/schooner R-113 (Avanguardista) about nine miles off the Greek island of Antipaxos.

US Military: The US Army Air Force 8th Air Force is destined to head to the United Kingdom, but it remains in the United States. Today, it transfers its headquarters to Bolling Field in southern Washington, D.C.

The Onion satirical newspaper published this send-up of homefront news. Purporting to be from April 9, 1942, the page notes that internment camps have been set up for 32 million German-Americans, "including FDR himself."

American Homefront: The national New York Times Best Sellers List begins in the New York Times Book Review (Sundays). The national list debuts a supplement to regular New York City lists published by the paper and is derived from "reports from leading booksellers in 22 cities." The city lists eventually disappear, leaving only the national list.

Future History: President Donald J. Trump designates 9 April 2017 as National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day. The proclamation states in part:

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bataan Death March. After the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines on April 9, 1942, Filipino and American soldiers were rounded up and forced to march 60 miles from Mariveles to San Fernando. An estimated 500 Americans died during the march, as they were starved, beaten, and tortured to death. Those who reached San Fernando were taken in cramped boxcars to POW camps, where thousands more Americans died of disease and starvation.

An annual Bataan Memorial Death March is held at White Sands Missle Range, New Mexico each April 9th. There as still survivors of the Bataan Death March as of 2020.

Brandon deWilde is born in Brooklyn, New York. He becomes a child actor and debuts on Broadway at the age of 7. He goes on to a stellar acting career, being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "Shane" (1953). However, as he leaves his teens, good film roles become scarce, so he turns more to television roles. Brandon deWilde perishes in a car crash on 7 July 1972 in Colorado. 

Hayward, California, newspapers of April 9, 1942, displayed at a newsstand at a corner drugstore in a Japanese-American neighborhood, recording Bataan's fall. 9 April 1942 (Library of Congress 96509399).

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse

Wednesday 8 April 1942

An MP watches local Japanese residents board trains at the Santa Fe Depot, San Diego, California, April 8, 1942. they are among 1150 Japanese-Americans boarding a train to the Santa Anita race track for processing. They are allowed no more than a single piece of luggage. (Clara Breed, San Diego Union-Tribune).

Battle of the Pacific:  The battle in Bataan turns decisively against the Allies on 9 April 1942 as the main defensive line cracks completely and the retreat becomes a rout. The two US Army corps lose contact with their units as everyone who can walks or rolls south. Major General Edward P. King bows to the inevitable and requests a parley with Japanese Major General Kameichiro Nagano. After dark, King orders equipment destroyed in preparation for surrender. The last US air units based in Bataan that can fly flee to Del Monte Field on Mindanao.

Only a very few lucky Allied soldiers evacuate aboard minesweeper/patrol boat YAG-4 from Mariveles Naval Base, where the navy scuttles massive floating drydock "Dewey." About 2000 men sail to fortified Corregidor Island in Manila Bay. Submarine USS Snapdragon delivers supplies to Corregidor and evacuated naval radio and communications intelligence experts.

San Francisco Chronicle, 8 April 1942. The headline "Bataan's Peril Grows" could not be more accurate.

Japanese troops supported by light cruiser Tatsua, destroyer Mutsuki, and carried aboard Mishima Maru land on Lorengau, Manus Province, New Guinea, in the Admiralty Islands. As the soldiers of the 8th Special Base Force land at Lorengau harbor, the small group of Australian soldiers from the No. 4 Section, B Platoon, 1st Independent Company withdraw into the jungle. The Japanese quickly begin building an airstrip. Other Japanese troops occupy the town of Djailolo on Halmahera Island in the East Indies.

US Navy Admiral William "Bull" Halsey leads his Task Force 16, led by the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, out of Pearl Harbor on 8 April 1942 on a top-secret mission. His orders are to rendezvous with the USS Hornet, already at sea, and support its mission to bomb Tokyo.

The San Diego Union of 8 April 1942 touts glorious US victories at sea while less prominently noting that "Nippon Hordes Gain in New Bataan Attacks."

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Japanese Admiral Nagumo leads his massive Kido Butai strike force north to a point east of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). A Catalina patrol plane spots the Japanese force during the afternoon and orders are sent to clear Trincomalee harbor, including Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes escorted by destroyer HMAS Vampire. The British fleet is far to the southwest and cannot intervene. Japanese submarine HIJMS I-3, operating about 300 miles west of Colombo, torpedoes and sinks 5051-ton British freighter Fultala. Dutch 2073-ton freighter Van der Capellen, hit during earlier raids, also sinks today.

Fighting in Burma has paused temporarily on the ground, but it remains ferocious in the air. The American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) sends its 1st and 3d Fighter Squadrons over Loiwing Aerodrome and they claim to shoot down a dozen Japanese fighters.

Undated photo of an unidentified US Army Air Force navigator who flies supplies to China across "The Hump" during World War II.

US Army Air Force 10 Air Force based in India sends its first supply flight over the Himalayas to China. This is the first of many dangerous flights (450+ planes lost) over the 22,000-foot peaks called "The Hump" during World War II. This route becomes an essential supply lifeline to the Chinese government that stretches the limits of aircraft of the day, primarily the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner.

Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photo of the Soviet pocket at Sevastopol, Crimea, 8 April 1942 (Federal Archive Image 168-278-030).

Eastern Front: In the Crimea, Soviet General Kozlov prepares his troops for his fourth offensive against the German line across the Parpach Narrow. The Soviets have about eight rifle divisions and 160 tanks. It is scheduled to start early on 9 April 1942.

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends four Boston bombers on a sweep off the Dutch coast. After dark, RAF Bomber Command mounts a major raid on Hamburg. It sends 272 bombers - 177 Wellingtons, 41 Hampdens, 22 Stirlings, 13 Manchesters, 12 Halifaxes, and 7 Lancasters - but the weather is poor, with icing and electrical storms. Only a small fraction of aircraft actually bomb Hamburg, causing 8 fires and killing 17 people and injuring 119. One of the bombers bombs Bremen by mistake and causes more militarily significant damage to the Vulkan shipyard there than by the main force over Hamburg. There also are minor raids by 13 Wellingtons to Le Havre, 3 Blenheims over Holland (Eindhoven, Haamstede, Leeuwarden and Schipol Airfields), 24 minelayers off Heligoland, and 16 leaflet-droppers over Belgium and France. The RAF loses four Wellingtons and a Manchester on the Hamburg raid and one of the leaflet planes for a 1.8% loss rate.

US floating dock "Dewey," scuttled on 8 April 1942 in Bataan, the Philipines to avoid capture by the Japanese.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle), on its eighth patrol out of Lorient, continues a very successful patrol off the east coast of the United States. It sinks two US tankers, 9264-ton Oklahoma (19 dead and 8 survivors) and 7989-ton Esso Baton Rouge (3 dead and 65 survivors), about ten miles off St. Simon's Island, Georgia. Both ships sink in shallow water and later are refloated and returned to service in late 1942.

U-84 (Oblt. Horst Uphoff), on its fourth patrol out of Brest, gets its first victory of the war about 180 miles southeast of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. It is 5226-ton Yugoslavian freighter Nemanja (13 dead and 34 survivors). This sinking occurs after a nine-hour chase during which U-84 missed with two torpedoes.

Italian submarine Pietro Calvi torpedoes and sinks US freighter Eugene V.R. Thayer off the coast of Brazil.

German 734-ton freighter Kurzesee hits a mine laid by Soviet submarine K-1(Captain 3rd class Avgustinovich) earlier in the day. It sinks off Kvaenangenfjord (Skjervøy), Norway. Swedish 2374-ton freighter Ara hits a mine and sinks off Terschelling, Friesland, the Netherlands.

Soviet submarine ShCh-421 hits a mine in the Barents Sea and is irreparably damaged. Everybody survives the sinking, which actually concludes on 9 April 1942.

The British Admiralty scuttles 3645-ton freighter Carolina Thornden as a blockship in Water sound, Scapa flow.

HMS Penelope, showing battle damage sustained at Malta.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Luftwaffe Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's air offensive against Malta reaches its climax. Royal Navy cruiser HMS Penelope (three dead), under heavy attack, heads out of Grand Harbor at 20:00 to avoid destruction and fights off repeated air attacks on its way to Gibraltar. Mooring vessel Moor (767 tons) hits a contact mine dropped by the Luftwaffe and sinks (28 deaths, one survivor). Today's attacks become the worst one-day attack on Malta of World War II.

The Italian Regia Aeronautica also attacks shipping at Alexandria. The planes sink Royal Navy whalers HMT Thorgrim (307 tons, refloated in 1950) and Svana (268 tons).

Anglo/US Relations: Harry L. Hopkins, a close crony of President Roosevelt, and Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall arrive in London, England. They are there to discuss the arrival of US troops, naval units, and air formations.

US Military: The US Army Air Force activates the 9th Air Force with its headquarters at New Orleans. This formerly was the V Air Support Command.

Army Nurse Betty Evans checks thermometers by the medication cabinet, 8 April 1942, Iceland. Female nurses are not allowed in active combat zones at this time. Notice that the cabinet is locked, and nurses were among the few allowed access (US Army Medical Department, Office of Medical History).

Canadian Government: The Canadian government creates the Park Steamship Company to build freighters specifically designed for wartime service. These become known as Park ships and sail alongside Liberty ships built in American shipyards and Fort ships built in Great Britain.

American Homefront: The War Production Board expands on earlier orders that have terminated the production of civilian automobiles and some other consumer goods. It orders a halt to all production deemed unnecessary to the war effort as of 31 May 1942. As workers shift to the military and war work, the unemployment rate begins edging down from a 14% rate in 1940.

Future History: Roger Maxwell Chapman is born in Leicester, England. He becomes the vocalist for the Farinas, who release their first single, "You'd Better Stop," in August 1964. He later fronts a succession of acts, most notably Family, as a distinctive singer and showman. Much of his career is in Germany, where he is awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. After giving a "farewell performance" in 2010, Chapman appears to be retired as of 2020.

Leon A. Huff is born in Camden, New Jersey. He becomes a top songwriter, helping to develop the Philadelphia soul music genre along with partner Kenneth Gamble. As Gamble and Huff, they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category in March 2008.

"Thrilling Wonder Stories," April 1942 (cover art by Earle K. Bergey).

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed

Tuesday 7 April 1942

Bomb damage from the 7 April 1942 Luftwaffe raid on Valletta. Shown is Kingsway with the opera house on the right (NWMA Malta).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Japanese Kido Butai strike force remains on the loose in the Indian Ocean on 7 April 1942. It spends the day steaming to the northeast for another raid on Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The British remain unaware of its location, and Royal Navy Vice Admiral James Somerville cautiously heads to Port T at Addu Atoll, 600 miles (970 km) southwest of Ceylon, to refuel. 

Battle activity in the Indian Ocean is light today. After a lengthy chase on the surface, Japanese submarine HIJMS I-6 torpedoes and sinks 5424-ton British freighter Bahadur 170 miles northwest of Bombay. Fellow submarine I-2 reports sinking an unidentified freighter southeast of Ceylon. 

The Japanese are now using a sea route to reinforce their troops in Burma. The 18th Division of the Japanese Army arrives aboard transports at Rangoon from Singapore.

As the Bergen Evening Record from Hackensack, New Jersey, points out correctly on 7 April 1942, the Japanese are gaining rapidly in a "wild head-on drive" in Bataan. However, it is a little less accurate about developments on the Eastern Front.

Battle of the Pacific: The battle along the Bataan front continues to go poorly for the Allies. Japanese attacks force the entire US Army II Corps (eastern half of the line) to retreat to the Mamala River. The I Corps (western half of the line), with its right flank now in the air, is ordered to withdraw south to the Binuangan River. Things are worse than they appear on paper, as the Allied defense is disintegrating and the roads south are full of refugees and fleeing troops. Commanders lose touch with their troops who have packed up their radio equipment and commandeered vehicles for the illusion of safety in the south. A few lucky men make it to Mariveles Naval Section Base, where they await evacuation by auxiliary patrol boat USS YAG-4 on 8 April.

The US Army Air Force has been keeping some planes in Bataan, but today the remaining P-40 fighters are ordered to fly to Mindanao Island. They are needed on Mindanao to cover incoming bombers from Australia which are to be used to attack Japanese troop concentrations. However,  this deprives the ground forces in Bataan of air cover just when they are needed the most during the Japanese offensive.

U-552 leaving St. Nazaire, France, on its second war patrol, 7 April 1942.

Eastern Front: Stavka representative Lev Mekhlis knows that Stalin wants success in the Crimea, so he orders General Dimitri Kozlov to try one more time to break into the German lines along the Parpach Narrows. However, General Manstein in command of the German 11th Army has been receiving reinforcements, including powerful air units for Luftlotte 4. Ordinarily, a Luftlotte would serve as air support for an entire Army Group, but due to weather circumstances, it is all available in the Crimea to help Manstein's men. These planes are wreaking havoc throughout the Black Sea region, particularly the Soviet supply base at Kerch. General Kozlov plans his fourth offensive for 9 April 1942.

The Stavka also has its eye on the Northern theater. It instructs General Leytenant V.A. Frolov, in command of the 550-mile sector running north from Lake Onega to the Arctic coast, to prepare an offensive. He is to attack along the Zapadnaya Litsa River to Kestenga. To accomplish this, the Stavka is sending a guards division and two ski brigades to reinforce the Soviet 14th Army. The Soviet 26th Army, meanwhile, takes command in the Kestenga area, bringing with it two more divisions. These troop movements show the great advantage the Soviets have in the far North by having the Murmansk railway. The Germans, meanwhile, cannot bring in troops easily over snow-covered forest roads and trails, nor easily supply them even if they do get there.

European Air Operations: There are no missions scheduled today after last night's unsuccessful mission against Essen. This is likely due to low cloud cover and generally poor weather over the Continent.

U-552 departs from St. Nazaire, 7 April 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: There is a major disconnect in the records for the U-boat campaign during April 1942. Several sources claim that U-552 scores a string of victories off the east coast of the United States during the first week of April 1942. However, other sources show U-552 as departing St. Nazaire on 7 April 1942. There even are photographs of U-552 leaving port that day. Given the impossibility of a U-boat being in two places at the same time, this suggests that the victories attributed to U-552 during this time belong to another boat. However, until I can figure out the truth, we'll just go with the "accepted" version of events and give U-552 credit for sinking it probably does not deserve.

U-552 (Oblt. Erich Topp), on its second patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 7866-ton Norwegian whale factory ship Lancing near Buxton, Dare County, Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Lancing is carrying 8,900 tons of fuel oil. There are one death and 49 survivors. The wreck of the Lancing remains of interest to the present because of the possibility of pollution from its load of oil. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) examined the ship in 2011-2013 for contamination, and in 2013, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

U-552 also torpedoes 7138-ton British freighter British Splendour in the same vicinity off North Carolina as the Lancing. There are 12 deaths and 41 survivors. British Splendour contains 10,000 tons of gasoline that catches fire quickly.

Soviet submarine M-173 attacks a german convoy off Varangerfjord, Norway, but scores no hits. Royal Navy light cruiser Liverpool arrives in Murmansk, Russia, accompanied by destroyers Punjab and Marne. They are there to escort Convoy QP-10 to the west.

British freighter Murrayfield runs aground off Mousa, Shetland Islands. It is badly damaged and ultimately sinks on 8 April.

Bomb damage from the 7 April 1942 raid. "All that is left of the famous opera house in Kingsway, Valletta." © IWM A 8378.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Luftwaffe General Albert Kesselring continues his air offensive against Malta that began on 20 March 1942, and today it produces what some consider its most devastating results. Beginning at 17:49, the planes, mostly Junkers Ju 88s and Ju 87 Stukas, drop 280 tons of high explosives on Valletta, which is located on a tiny peninsula. This is a deliberate attempt to destroy Valletta residential areas with heavy bombs and in that sense it is successful.

Destroyed or severely damaged are many cultural treasures that play little or no role in the war effort, including ancient palaces and the Governor's Palace. Also hit are non-military structures such as the King George V Hospital in Floriana, the Market, the Royal Opera House, and the Auberge d’Aragon and the Auberge d’Italie. The government estimates that 70% of buildings in Valletta and Floriana are destroyed or damaged. Most of the remaining portion of the opera house is cleared only in the 1950s. Ultimately, a new theatre (Pjazza Teatru Rjal) is built on the site and inaugurated on 8 August 2013.

Paddle-wheel tug Hellespont, sunk in Grand Harbour, Malta, on 7 April 1942.

While the damage around Valletta is the worst of the day, bombers also attack Luqa, Hal Far, and Ta Qali aerodromes. Bombs fall all across the island, including at Cospicua, Marsa, Hamrun, Gzira, Msida, Tal Qroqq, and St Julians. Royal Navy tugs HMS Emily and Hellespont (a paddle-wheel tug) are sunk in the harbor. There are dozens of military and civilian casualties, including a four- and six-year-old children. 

South of Cattaro, Royal Navy submarine Turbulent torpedoes and sinks Italian coaster Rosa M. All ten people aboard survive.

North of Marsa Matruh, Egypt, U-453 (Kptlt. Egon Reiner Freiherr von Schlippenbach), on its third patrol out of Pola, torpedoes and damages 9716-ton Royal Navy hospital ship HMHS Somersetshire. Three torpedoes hit the ship, which Captain von Schlippenbach does not realize is a hospital ship. Fortunately, the ship is carrying no patients. After abandoning the ship, most of the crew and medical staff reboard the damaged ship and make it to Alexandria on one engine and the assistance of tugs. There are 7 dead and 180 survivors.

Hospital ship Somersetshire in a floating dry dock in Alexandria, Egyp, following her torpedoing by U-453 on 7 April 1942. Egyptian workers are removing ballast from the ship.

Resistance: In Luebeck, recently destroyed by RAF bombs, the Gestapo arrests Evangelist minister Karl Friedrich Stellbrink (and later in April three Catholic priests (Johannes Prassek, Eduard Müller and Hermann Lange)) for seditious activities. These are known as the Lübeck martyrs. Stellbrink and the others are tried before the People's Court on 22-23 June 1942 and executed on 10 November 1943. Stellbrink's guilty verdict is overturned in November 1993.

Anglo/Indian Relations: The Indian National Congress Working Committee tells envoy Stafford Cripps that the British proposal for Dominion status after the war is insufficient. Even Cripps' private promise, apparently not authorized by his government, that India could have immediate Dominion status and full independence after the war, is insufficient. The Nationalists, led by Mahatma Gandhi, demand immediate independence in exchange for war support. As Gandhi says, the British promise is a "post-dated check drawn on a failing bank."

After this, negotiations between the British and Indian Nationalists break down. The rest of the war will be occupied with various plans for strikes, disobedience, and outright revolts that will prove a nuisance to the British authorities but not imperil their rule. One thing working in the British favor is that there is split opinion within India as to how to proceed and the Nationalists have very little international support. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is adamantly opposed to Indian independence and he has sufficient sway with the United States and other Allied powers to maintain the status quo while he is in office.

The public is gripped with events in the Indian Ocean and the Philippines, but the US military has more mundane things to worry about. Lowell (Massachusetts) Sun Newspaper, 7 April 1942.

US Military: The US War Department officially decides that the 8th Air Force will be based in the United Kingdom under the auspices of the US Army Forces in the British Isles (USAFBI). Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall informs USAFBI commander Major General James E. Chaney to expect the arrival of this new command. The Eighth Air Force already has an advanced unit of VIII Bomber Command at RAF Daws Hill, England. The first combat units will begin arriving on 9 June 1942, and the Eighth's first mission (to Rouen, France) will be on 17 August 1942.

The Fifth Air Force in Australia continues transferring units to Townsville. Today, the headquarters, 22nd Bombardment Group (Medium), 2nd Bombardment Squadron, and the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group (Medium) transfer there. The 8th Photographic Squadron arrives in Melbourne from the United States, while the 33rd Bombardment Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group (Medium) transfers from Ipswich to Antil Plains.

American Homefront: The military informs the 263 Japanese-Americans living in the Alaskan territory that they may be relocated to internment camps. This comes as the Japanese, unbeknownst to the Americans, are planning an attack and perhaps invasion of portions of Alaska.

Model Evelyn Frey poses with a sailboat on the cover of Look magazine, 7 April 1942.

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2020

April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan

Friday 3 April 1942

German General Erwin Rommel makes a surprise visit to the most advanced Afrika Korps base 89.6 km north of Tobruk on the North Africa front, 3 April 1942 (Koeth, Cord, Federal Archive Image 101I-441-1390-17).

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese of General Homma's 14th Imperial Army begins a massive preparatory bombardment of Allied forces along the Orion-Bagac Lineon defensive line on the Bataan Peninsula at 09:00 on 3 April 1942. The barrage is centered on Mount Samat, which is the center of the Allied line and the point where US Army I and II Corps meet. The Japanese 4th Division and 65th Brigade also attack in this area on the left flank of US II Corps, which is manned by two Filipino Divisions (21st and 41st). The Japanese quickly gain ground in a rough landscape and plan on capturing the entire peninsula in one week. Japanese attacks in the I Corps (western) portion of the line gain little ground. After dark, the US forces launch a counterattack that regains some ground.

Concerned about Japanese use of the French Frigate Shoals as staging areas for flying boat attacks on Hawaii (as were attempted twice in March), the US Navy mines the area. Light minelayers USS Pruitt, Preble, Sicard, and Tracy lay the mines. The US also will station a destroyer permanently there.

The Wilson (North Carolina) Daily News, 3 April 1942. The main headline is, "Grave Reverses Mark Allied Burma Defense."

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Japanese bombers attack Mandalay, Burma, with devastating results on 3 April 1942. While they have attacked the city previously, the Japanese are helped this time by weather conditions that create a firestorm (firestorms require certain meteorological factors and are not just the product of dropping a lot of bombs). Incendiary bombs destroy about 60% of the wooden structures in the city and kill about 2000 people. The effects are magnified by the "lucky" destruction of city firefighting equipment in the raid. Bodies lie in the street for days. Ironically, the fort which is a centerpiece of the city is largely untouched.

Admiral Nagumo, in command of the powerful Kido Butai Japanese naval force that attacked Pearl Harbor, continues sailing into the Indian Ocean in accordance with the plans for Operation C. This operation, better known as the Indian Ocean Raid, aims to draw out the British Eastern Fleet for destruction by threatening Ceylon (Sri Lanka). British Admiral Sir James Somerville knows roughly what he is facing due to naval intelligence and has divided his force into two groups, A and B, based on speed. As the inferior force, the British are avoiding combat by day and have withdrawn to a point 600 miles (970 km) southwest of Ceylon to refuel. Nagumo is sailing toward a point roughly halfway between Somerville's forces and Ceylon. Both sides are unaware of the other's position.

Japanese submarine HIJMS I-7 in 1937 (colorized by Irootoko Jr.).

Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-7 (lT. Cdr Koizumi) torpedoes and sinks 9415-ton British refrigerated freighter Glenshiel about 300 miles east of the Maldive Islands. The ship sinks slowly, so Koizumi must use a total of four torpedoes and also shells the ship with his twin 140-mm deck gun. Everyone survives and is rescued by destroyer HMS Fortune.

In Burma, British Burma I Corps continues a withdrawal northward from the Allanmyo region. In the Sittang Valley, the Chinese prepare to make a stand at Pyinmana. Chinese 22nd and 96th Divisions there are under the control of Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma, and India, though Chinese generals have not been following his orders.

The US Army Air Force sends six 10th Air Force B-17 bombers from Asansol Aerodrome, India, to Rangoon. They bomb warehouses and docks at the cost of one bomber.

Panzerschreck in action.

Eastern Front: A temporary lull in larger operations continues all along the Eastern Front, but there is still a lot of local fighting. General Seydlitz has regrouped his forces for the relief attempt to the Demyansk Pocket and is ready to resume his attacks on 4 April. Rather than attack through the mud and trees, he will focus on a road further north. On the other side, the Soviets also have regrouped and reinforced their own forces. The Red Air Force has begun harassing attacks of German troops using old biplanes, often manned by women aviators, who cruise slowly at very low altitudes over the German camps at night and drop small bombs. The Germans take to calling these pilots the "Night Witches."

The Wehrmacht in the Demyansk area has begun using a new weapon, the Panzerschrek, on an experimental basis. This weapon is similar to a US Army bazooka and fires a hollow-point grenade that, when on target, can destroy a T-34 tank (the Panzerschreck is similar to but different than the later Panzerfaust). Today, Seydlitz reports that using the weapon requires nerve "and a generous endowment of luck" because the weapon's range is only 50 yards. Secret German hollow-charge shells (Rotkopf), meanwhile, are proving ineffective in the heavily wooded region because the shells tend to explode when they hit a branch en route to their targets.

European Air Operations: There is little activity on the Channel Front today. This lull follows a heavy bombing schedule for RAF Bomber Command over the past couple of weeks.

US freighter David H. Atwater, sunk on 3 April 1942 (Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University).

Battle of the Atlantic: At 03:40, U-552 (Kptlt. Erich Topp), on its eighth patrol out of St. Nazaire, surfaces and begins firing with its deck gun at 2438-ton US freighter David H. Atwater about ten miles east of Chincoteague Inlet, Virginia. The U-boat fires 93 shots and hits the vessel with about 50 of them. This sets the ship on fire and the crew is unable to abandon ship in an orderly fashion, instead simply leaping into the water. There are 24 deaths and only 3 survivors who manage to swim to an empty lifeboat. The use of a deck gun alone to sink a freighter is not unheard of, but it is unusual and shows that Captain Topp is trying to be efficient and conserving his torpedoes to prolong his patrol. USCGC Legare (WPC 144) and USCGC CG-218 arrive on the scene quickly and pick up the survivors. Some accounts state that this incident occurred late on 2 April 1942.

U-754 (Kptlt. Hans Oestermann), on its second patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 4839-ton US freighter Otho about 200 miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia. There are 32 dead and 21 survivors. Some of the survivors are not picked up until 25 April after drifting to within 150 miles of Bermuda, and one man dies an hour after being rescued.

U-505 (Kptlt. Axel-Olaf Loewe), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5775-ton US freighter West Irmo about 300 miles southwest of Takoradi (Sekondi-Takoradi), Ghana. There are 10 dead and 99 survivors. All of the dead are African stevedores who were sitting on a hatch that blew up when the torpedo hit. An attempt is made to tow the sinking West Irmo on 4 April, but this is unsuccessful and the ship is then intentionally sunk.

U-155 (Kptlt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its first patrol out of Kiel, hits 6882-ton US tanker Gulfstate with two torpedoes about 50 miles southeast of Marathon Key, Florida. The tanker immediately bursts into flame and sinks in four minutes, and the crew is unable to launch lifeboats. There are 43 dead and 18 survivors, with the survivors being picked up within hours by a Coast Guard seaplane and USS YP-351.

U-702 (Kptlt. Wolf-Rüdiger von Rabenau), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, is lost to a mine on or about this date. There are no survivors. U-702 finishes its career with no victories.

German raider Thor (HSK 4), as it would have been seen by the crew of one of its victims such as Norwegian freighter Aust on 3 April 1942.

German raider Thor, operating in the South Atlantic, uses its floatplane and deck gun to stop 5630-ton Norwegian freighter Aust. The ship is sunk with placed charges after the Germans take the entire crew as prisoners.

Luftwaffe aircraft bomb and damage/sink 6854-ton British freighter Empire Starlight at its dock in Murmansk (the date of its "sinking" is disputed). The Empire Starlight was part of Convoy PQ 13. The Soviets later raise the Empire Starlight in 1945 and rename it Murmansk.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks British freighter New Westminster City from Convoy PQ-13 at Murmansk. This vessel also is later raised. In the same attack, the Luftwaffe severely damages Polish freighter Tobruk. It is later repaired and returned to service in September 1942.

British freighter Gypsum Prince sinks after colliding with fellow British freighter Voco about four miles off Lewes, Delaware. There are 20 survivors and five dead.

"George Thomas the 16-year-old anti-aircraft gunner." Onboard freighter SS Empire Airman, Liverpool, England, 3 April 1942 (© IWM A 8110).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian coaster Antonio Landi hits a mine and sinks off Punta Platamoni, near Kotor, Montenegro. There is one death.

Perpetual air raids continue all across Malta on 3 April 1942 as Luftwaffe General Kesselring attempts to subdue the island. Unexploded bombs are becoming a major problem for Malta. It is very hazardous work and many officers lose their lives doing it. 

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet destroyer Shaumian sinks of unknown causes at Rybachka-Gelendshik in the Black Sea. The vessel is later scrapped.

US Military: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz officially takes command of Pacific Ocean Areas (POA). The Southeast Pacific Area, currently a backwater used mainly as a supply route to Australia, remains under the command of Rear Admiral John F Shafroth. General Douglas MacArthur is the commander of the South West Pacific Area (SWPA).

The 21st and 22d Transport Squadrons, Air Transport Command, 5th Air Force, are activated at Archerfield (near Brisbane)) and Essendon (near Melbourne) Airdromes, Australia, respectively. The 39th Pursuit Group of 39th Pursuit Squadron transfers from Mount Gambier to Williamstown, Australia.

A "Short Snorter" dated 3 April 1942. This is a banknote signed by fellow travelers on an airplane. Each of the men signing it would have had their own bill. These were considered a good luck practice and memorialized a temporary bond (Collectors Weekly).

American Homefront: "The Jungle Book," an independent production largely created by the Korda family (Zoltan, Alexander, and Vincent) based on the book by Rudyard Kipling, is released by United Artists. Starring Sabu as Mowgli, the film earns the studio $1.3 million in rentals and becomes a big hit for UA. After the war, "The Jungle Book" is released or released in European countries such as France and the United Kingdom and becomes a hit once again. 

Future History: Carson Wayne Newton is born in Norfolk, Virginia. Carson learns to play the piano, guitar, and steel guitar at an early age and begins singing in supper clubs with his older brother, Jerry. The act begins getting bookings on local television shows and in 1958 it is spotted on one of them by a Las Vegas booking agent. The agent signs the brother act and they wind up performing six shows daily in Vegas for the next five years. This leads to television show appearances and other opportunities. In 1963, billed as Wayne Newton, Carson is signed by Capitol Records as a solo act and has a Top 40 hit with 'Danke Schoen." This leads to a spectacular career in showbusiness for the man who becomes known as "Mr. Las Vegas." As of 2020, Wayne Newton remains active in show business.

Marsha Mason is born in St. Louis, Missouri. She becomes an accomplished actress who is nominated for four Academy Awards in the 1970s and 1980s. She also is well-known for marrying playwright Neil Simon, who gives her some of her best roles and writes three of her Oscar-nominated parts. As of 2020, Marsha Mason remains active on television.

A page of apparently random news photos from the Munster, Indiana, Times, 3 April 1942.

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021