June 14, 1942: British Withdraw Toward Tobruk

Sunday 14 June 1942

Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun relaxing with their dogs at the Berghof, Berchtesgaden, 114 June 1942. Hitler is taking a break from the war before the beginning of "Case Blue," the summer offensive in the Soviet Union that he thinks will end the war. (Federal Archive B 145 Bild-F051673-0059).

Eastern Front: General Erich von Manstein's 11th Army troops have scored a deep penetration into Soviet lines on the northern front of the Sevastopol perimeter on 14 June 1942. Manstein's forces have captured Fort Stalin, opening a wedge into the Soviet lines. The German 24th, 50th, and Romanian 4th Mountain Division advance through the central valley. The first objective is the Maxim Gorky fortress, defended by the greatly weakened Soviet 95th Rifle Division and 7th Naval Brigade.

The German also make some progress in the south, where the German 72nd and 170th Infantry Divisions advance along north the coast. The Romanian 18th Mountain Division attacks the Soviet 386th Rifle Division to keep pressure off their flank. The Luftwaffe is flying from fields just behind the front, averaging 780 sorties a day, many against Sevastopol itself.

At Fuhrer headquarters in East Prussia, General Franz Halder receives an updated casualty list for Operation Barbarossa through 10 June 1942. It shows total Heer (army) losses of 1,268,434 soldiers (39.58% of the army's establishment strength of 3.2 million). There have been 9,915 offices and 256,302 of other ranks killed, 27,282 officers and 915,575 of other ranks wounded, and 38,084 officers and 230,350 of other ranks missing. While things appear to be going well on the battlefield, the Wehrmacht in the USSR is shrinking fast.

Halder also has a conference with supply chief General Wagner. He writes: "On the whole quite satisfactory. Situation difficult in fuel and tank and AT [antitank] ammunition." Ammunition shortages plagued the Wehrmacht throughout Operation Barbarossa.

 USS Wakefield arrives at King's Wharf in Wellington, New Zealand, carrying U.S. troops of the 1st Marine Division, on 14 June 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: Following its devastating losses at the Battle of Midway, the remaining Japanese fleet arrives at Hashirajima. This completes the events directly related to the battle and this date is sometimes given as the end of the Battle of Midway.

Wounded sailors are immediately taken to naval hospitals, placed in isolation, and classified as "secret patients" so word of the disaster will not get out. The men on the ships are quickly transferred to other postings, many in remote locations in the South Pacific, without being able to see their families or give accounts of the battle. The flag officers retain their positions and are not disciplined, with Admiral Nabumo given command of the new carrier force, as his old one was completely sunk, and he begins implementing new policies such as refueling aircraft on the flight deck and not taking the extra time to bring them down to the hangar.

On the American side, of course, it is quite different. They cannot talk enough about the battle. Admiral Chester Nimitz begins drawing up an offensive campaign in the southern Solomon Islands to protect supply lines to Australia.

The Japanese public is kept completely in the dark about the epic loss. Emperor Hirohito is one of the few people outside of the military who receives accurate information.

In the Aleutians, the USAAF 11th Air Force sends four B-17s and three B-24 Liberators to attack Japanese shipping in Kiska Harbor. To B-17s are heavily damaged, and a scout seaplane is shot down - the attackers claim hits on Japanese cruisers that are not verified. A long USN PBY Catalina attacks shipping southwest of Kiska, but only scores a near-miss on light cruiser HIJMS Tama. Japanese bombers bomb Nazan Bay on Atka Island, and the Japanese send the light cruiser Abukuma accompanied by four destroyers to investigate Amchitka Island.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Thor shells and sinks 6307-ton Dutch tanker Olivia midway between Madagascar and Perth, Australia (far south of India). There are 41 deaths, with one crewman taken captive and four crewmen making landfall in Madagascar.

The Society Section of the 14 June 1942 LA Times is full of bathing beauties.

European Air Operations: It is a quiet day on the Channel Front with no major operations.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 8289-ton U.S. bulk carrier Lebore 200 nautical miles (370 km) north of Cristóbal, Panama. There are one death and 93 survivors, rescued by USS Erie and Tattnall.

U-504 (KrvKpt. Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3280-ton Latvian freighter Regent 200 nautical miles (370 km) southwest of the Cayman Islands. There are 11 deaths and 14 survivors.

Norwegian 1942-ton freighter Gunvor hits a mine and sinks 25 nautical miles (46 km) north of Key West Lighthouse, Florida. There are two deaths and 20 survivors.

While forming up for Convoy HX 194 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Swedish 3386-ton freighter Kaaparen collides with Norwegian freighter Tungsha and sinks. All 36 crew survive.

The Arizona Daily Star of Tucson, Arizona, 14 June 1942. The Battle of Midway is still being celebrated. 

Battle of the Mediterranean: German General Erwin Rommel continues his breakout from "the Cauldron," sending his panzers north to the Libyan coast. The British command reacts quickly, with Auchinleck authorizing General Ritchie, 8th Army commander, to withdraw his forces from the Gazala line west of the German advance. The retreat is not easy, as the remnants of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division must break through Italian forces (27th "Brescia" and 17th "Pavia" Divisions) to the south to make their escape. Auchinleck, under pressure from London, orders Ritchie to hold a new line. The defensive position is to run to the west of Tobruk, running southeast from Acroma through El Adem to Bir El Gubi. 

It is a day of heavy and continuous Axis air and naval attacks against British convoys that are quite successful. Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers attack Operation Harpoon, heading east from Gibraltar (part of Operation Julius, a Malta resupply effort from both ends of the Mediterranean simultaneously). They torpedo the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Liverpool, which is part of Force W escorting convoy WS.19. The torpedo hits the starboard side at the engine room, reducing her speed to 4 knots. The Italian attacks then focus on Liverpool, and while it survives, it is further damaged by near-misses. There are 15 dead and 22 wounded

Liverpool must be towed to Gibraltar, then on to Rosyth, Scotland, for repairs and is out of service until October 945. This is despite the actual battle damage being repaired by July 1943 - there just are not enough crew available to staff her. Liverpool has had several instances of heavy battle damage, including a torpedoing on 14 October 1940 that also was done by an SM.79 and numerous bombings.

Also sunk during the SM.79 attacks is the 8169-ton Dutch freighter Tanimbar, which is part of the Gibraltar convoy, sunk south of Sardinia. In a separate action, A German motor torpedo boat (S-55) torpedoes the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Hasty off Sirte and damages her so badly that the ship must be scuttled on 15 June. Also destroyed by Luftwaffe air attacks is 6811-ton Dutch freighter Aagtekirk, which is hit after it develops engine trouble, runs aground, and burns out, with several freighters badly damaged. British 6104-ton freighter Bhutan also is sunk by the Luftwaffe. Near Malta, air attacks sink HM MTB 259 as it is being towed to Alexandria. The Italians only lose about five bombers.

The Axis attacks could have been worse, but the Luftwaffe in North Africa is grounded for most of the day by dust storms. In an illustration of the wide scope of operations, British land forces are hampered when the RAF must divert its Hawker Hurricanes and Kittyhawks to protect the convoys.

After dark, Admiral Harwood, after receiving an update from Admiral Vian sailing with the convoy, orders Operation Vigorous to be abandoned. The ships head back toward Alexandria but are harassed along the way by both Italian aircraft and the Italian surface fleet, with the battleship Littorio receiving a minor torpedo hit. Operation Harpoon, the convoy heading east from Gibraltar, continues on toward Malta, but the covering force retires to Gibraltar today, leaving the freighters on their own.

President Roosevelt, Manuel Quezon, and the Mexican Ambassador sign the United Nations Declaration. FDR Library Photograph Collection. NPx 48-22:3868(473).

Spy Stuff: German spy George John Dasch calls the New York Office of the FBI and gives details of his sabotage mission - how he and several others landed on a Long Island beach a couple of days ago and are saboteurs. He identifies himself as "Pastorius" (After the codename for his mission) and states that he will travel down to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., to turn himself in.

Allied Diplomacy: Mexico and the Philippines government in exile sign the "Declaration by United Nations," begun during the Arcadia Conference in January 1942. This binds them to employ all resources against the Axis powers and forbids a separate peace. President Quezon is particularly pleased because he interprets this as the U.S. recognizing the Philippines as a separate nation and no longer a U.S. colony.

U.S. Miltary: General Electric Corporation in Bridgeport, Connecticut, finalizes the development of the M1 bazooka anti-tank rocket launcher. This is the equivalent of the Wehrmacht Panzerschreck (but not the more famous Panzerfaust), which is apparently based on a captured bazooka in North Africa in November 1942.

The U.S. 1st Marine Division begins arriving at Wellington, New Zealand.

An M1A1 Bazooka replica at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. 

Holocaust: In Amsterdam, Anne Frank makes her first entry in the diary she received for her 13th birthday on 12 June.

Italian Homefront: Roma beats Modena 2-0 to become Scudetto champions of Italy (Serie A). Roma will not repeat the feat until 1983.

Japanese Homeland: There is a magnitude 7.0 earthquake at a depth of 15.0 km 231 km (144 miles) east southeast of Saipan. There are no reports of anyone noticing it.

American Homefront: Today is Flag Day, and President Roosevelt gives a national radio address to commemorate the occasion. He says that "The four freedoms of common humanity are as much elements of man's needs as air and sunlight, bread and salt. Deprive him of all these freedoms and he dies—deprive him of a part of them and a part of him withers."

Block Brothers Store in Kenosha, Wisconsin, southeast corner of Sixth Avenue and 58th Street, Sunday morning, 14 June 1942 (UW-Madison Libraries).

2022

June 7, 1942: Manstein Attacks Sevastopol in Crimea

Sunday 7 June 1942

"USS Portland (CA-33), at right, transfers USS Yorktown survivors to USS Fulton (AS-11) on 7 June 1942, following the battle of Midway. Fulton transported the men to Pearl Harbor." Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-312028.

Battle of the Pacific: US aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) sinks just after dawn on 7 June 1942, marking the definitive end of the Battle of Midway. Yorktown capsizes due to the combined effects of previous Japanese naval air strikes and torpedoes from I-168. The Battle of Midway has been a decisive American victory, with the Japanese losing four fleet aircraft carriers and a cruiser.

Continuing with their grand operational plan whose main component already has been thwarted at Midway, the Japanese occupy Attu Island in the Aleutians. There is no opposition to the 1143 men of the North Sea Detachment, and it is unclear if the US even knows about this latest invasion for a day or two. There are only 44 US civilians and 42 Aleut natives on Attu. One US civilian, Charles Jones, dies during the Attu invasion of unknown causes. The Japanese send everyone to camps in Japan, with only 25 of the 86 inhabitants surviving the war. The Japanese also capture nine of ten US Navy sailors manning a weather station on Kiska, with the tenth man (wearing a summer uniform) evading capture in the interior for 45 days.

The Japanese now occupy two islands at the extreme end of the Aleutian Island chain (Attu and Kiska). The Japanese high command anticipates that the US Navy will intervene and sends two light carriers to the vicinity in order to stage an ambush. In fact, Admiral Chester Nimitz does intend to send USS Enterprise and Hornet to the Aleutians, but he has not yet issued the necessary orders.

While Admiral Raymond A. Spruance has chosen not to pursue the retreating Japanese fleet - a decision for which he receives criticism - the US Army Air Force decides otherwise. Major General Clarence L. Tinker, Commander, 7th Air Force, personally leads a bomber strike from Hawaii. He perishes when his plane crashes near Midway.

"Located in the southeast room of the visitors building of Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. Map was designed by Margaret Bruton and fabricated by P. Grassi American Terrazzo Company of South Francisco." Naval History and Heritage Command NH 114452.

Admiral Frank Fletcher, who ceded command of US Task Force 18 around Midway Island due to the loss of his ship, the Yorktown, transfers his flag to aircraft carrier Saratoga, which has recently arrived from the US west coast. Saratoga departs Pearl Harbor today carrying replacement aircraft for the two remaining carriers involved in the battle. Fletcher thus is able to resume command of the task force on 8 June. He learns that Spruance has withdrawn to the east in order to refuel his ships and quickly orders search missions for the Japanese, who are heading back to Japan. However, the opportunity to continue the battle and "finish off the Japanese" has been lost.

While he has presided over the dramatic victory off Midway, Spruance manages to destroy much of the reputation he could have gained. This is due to his perceived lack of aggressiveness following the heat of the battle. Spruance's "discretion is the better part of valor" approach is controversial - then and now - and contrasts poorly with the aggressive tactics of Admiral "Bull" Halsey, who was unable to command the fleet at Midway due to health concerns. Now that Fletcher is back in command, Spruance is quickly reassigned from his field command to serve as Admiral Nimitz's chief of staff, though he does recover to have some important commands in 1943-1945.

Japanese submarine I-26 (Cdr Yokota) torpedoes and sinks 3545-ton US refrigerated freighter Coast Trader thirty miles off the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the US west coast. The ship is carrying refrigerated ammonia, which leaks due to the explosion and incapacitates some of the crew. There is one death. The remaining 56 men make it to a lifeboat, which local fishing vessel Virginia I tows to Neah Bay, and two rafts that Canadian corvette Edmunston (K-106) finds.

US submarine Grouper (SS-214) is mistakenly bombed by USAAF B-17 bombers looking for the Japanese fleet. It escapes undamaged, reflecting typical poor aim by level bombers against shipping in the Pacific.

"USS Yorktown (CV-5) sinking, just after dawn on 7 June 1942, as seen from an accompanying destroyer." Naval History and Heritage Command NH 106000.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Japanese submarine I-18 shells and sinks 2158-ton Norwegian freighter Wilford in the Indian Ocean off the Mozambique Coast. There are nine deaths and 34 survivors. All but two of the survivors, who are picked up by a Marinha Portuguesa gunboat, reach land in their lifeboats.

Eastern Front: In Crimea, German General Erich von Manstein begins Unternehmen Störfang (Operation Sturgeon Catch), the assault on Sevastopol. The port is well-defended, surrounded by rugged forests and bunkers that include 11 batteries and strong points north of Severnaya Bay.

The German 11th Army is weak, with many divisions seriously understrength. This is because Adolf Hitler is husbanding his fresh troops for the grand offensive, Case Blue, that he plans to launch in a few weeks. There are many fresh divisions and thousands of idle troops just north of the Crimea. It is an artificial manpower shortage, as opposed to the real one that are to come. Thus, Manstein must rely heavily on his artillery and airpower to make up for a weak thrust on land. Assisting the Germans are units of the Romanian Army, including the 1st Mountain Division and 18th Division, which are strong but lack their own artillery and air support.

Lahti L-39 anti-tank gun in use, 7 June 1942 (Martin Persson, SA-kuva).

Aiding the assault are the Germans' heavy artillery that includes an 800 mm gun (Schwere Gustav), three 600 mm guns (Karl-Gerät self-propelled mortars), two 280 mm railway guns, two 420 mm guns, two 355 mm howitzers, and four 305 mm mortars. These massive artillery pieces have been firing at the Soviet defenses for days and have destroyed some key Soviet bunkers. The Luftwaffe's 8th Air Corps already has flown 3,069 sorties against the port, dropping 2,264 tons of high explosives and 23,800 incendiary bombs.

Following the massive preparatory bombardment, German 30 Corps attacks in the south while LIV Corps does so in the north. The southern attack stalls, but the LIV Corps makes good progress (this is the sector where the heaviest artillery has is located). The 132nd Infantry Division heads down the river while the 22nd Infantry Division attacks further east. The Soviets have planted numerous minefields that slow the Axis troops down. 

For Manstein, it is a mixed picture, with some advances in the north, few gains in the south, and failed attacks by the German 24th and 50th Infantry Divisions. In LIV Corps' four divisions alone there are 2,357 casualties, including 340 men killed. In addition, some of the units are running low on ammunition. However, the Germans take the key Red Army defensive position at Belbek, and Red Army casualties also have been severe. With his attempt at a quick victory a failure, Manstein now is looking at a depressing battle of attrition against the numerous enemy forces unless he can get the attack moving in the coming days.

Focke-Wulf Fw-190A-2, 7./JG2, Theville, France, June 1942. The plane is still a bit of a mystery to Allied forces at this time.

European Air Operations: The weather is poor (10/10), with clouds down to 2000 feet. There are few operations during the day, typical during a relatively quiet spring 1942 on the Channel Front.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks the German port of Emden. On the way back to base at 00:47, Luftwaffe pilot Oblt. Ludwig Becker of 6./NJG 2 in a Bf 110 shoots down a Wellington III (X3279) into the Waddenzee. All six crewmen perish.

Hptm. Johannes Seifert of I./JG 26 (KIA 25 November 1943) is awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross) for 36 victories.

A US Navy Vought OS2U Kingfisher seaplane on the ramp at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, 7 June 1942 (US Navy). 

Battle of the Atlantic: U-653 (Kptlt. Gerhard Feiler), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks seaplane tender USS Gannet (AVP-8) northwest of Bermuda. The ship sinks within four minutes. PBM Mariner seaplanes of VP-74 rescue 22 men, while USS Hamilton picks up 40 more. There are 16 deaths. 

U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3382-ton US freighter Edith 200 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. The ship sinks within twelve minutes. Witte surfaces after the attack to question the survivors and give them direction. He also, in an unusual move, scavenges various supplies that are bobbing in the water such as food, clothing, and even toys. The ship's survivors make it to Black River, Jamaica, in a week.

Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci torpedoes and sinks 6956-ton British freighter Chile 350 miles southwest of Monrovia, Liberia. There are five deaths and 39 survivors.

U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3910-ton Honduran freighter Castilla near Jamaica. The ship sinks within minutes and no lifeboats can be launched. There are 24 dead and 35 survivors, who are picked up by USS Nike (WPC 112).

U-107 also torpedoes and sinks 3249-ton US freighter Sterling Steel Bridge (formerly Suwied) near Cozumel, Mexico. The ship sinks within three minutes, preventing any distress calls. There are six dead and 27 survivors. The survivors are picked up after 19 hours by USCGC Nemesis (WPC 111). This sinking, which occurs around midnight, is sometimes cited as occurring on 8 June.

U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5234-ton Panamanian freighter Hermis due west of Havana, Cuba and due north of the extreme western tip of Cuba. Despite being hit by two torpedoes, the ship remains afloat and steaming in a circle, so Rostin surfaces and shells the freighter, setting it on fire, but it remains afloat for 12 more hours. There are one death and 46 survivors, who are picked up by US Army transport Toloa and taken to Kingston, Jamaica.

German 2967-ton freighter Joao Pessoa strikes rocks and sinks two miles from San Sebastian, Spain. Casualties are unknown.

Launch of USS Taylor (DD-468) at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, on 7 June 1942. The ship is named after  Rear Admiral William Rogers Taylor (US Taylor Reunion Association).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Axis forces around Bir Hakeim continue small-scale attacks. The 90th Light Division has managed to send pioneers through one minefield and into an interior minefield within about 800 meters (900 yards) of the fortress. The Free French garrison, while low on supplies, continues to hold out. During the day, the British Desert Air Force (DAF) launches several attacks against the exposed pioneers, while Luftwaffe Stukas pound the fort.

Much of the fighting at this stage of the battle revolves around supply lines, which are of vital concern in the desert. The British launch minor attacks by the 7th Motor Brigade and 29th Indian Infantry Brigade against Axis supply lines without much success. One last convoy manages to get through to Bir Hakeim in heavy fog after dark. Meanwhile, German General Erwin Rommel use the fog to reposition his forces for a determined assault on Bir Hakeim from the north on the 8th.

Besieged within Bir Hakeim, Brigadier General Marie-Pierre Koenig requests permission to withdraw due to his supply problems. Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie, commanding the British Eighth Army, denies the request. Ritchie has his reasons - he anticipates the loss of Libya and needs to buy time while he builds a last-ditch defensive position at the little Egyptian town of El Alamein. Koenig, knowing that he can't hold out much longer, begins contemplating a breakout.

Italian submarine Sebastiano Veniero (Cdr Elio Zappetti) is lost due to two Catalina attacks of RAF No. 240 Squadron between the Balearic Islands and Sardinia around noontime. All 57-58 men on board perish.

USS Gannet, sunk by U-653 on 7 June 1942.

Special Operations: British Commandos execute Operation Albumen, another in a long sequence of overnight operations against Axis coastal targets. This one is on the Greek island of Crete, where Luftwaffe forces have been supporting the currently successful campaign of German General Erwin Rommel in Libya. Operation Albumen has several different coordinated sabotage operations.

Led by Captain G.I.A. Duncan of the Black Watch and assisted by local partisans, the Commandos destroy five aircraft and damage 29 others, along with several vehicles and stores, at Kastelli. At Heraklion, George Jellico leads members of the Free French Forces and Hellenic Army to plant Lewes bombs, destroying about 20 Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers. Similar attacks at Tympaki and Maleme do not accomplish anything because there were no aircraft at the former location and the latter was too well guarded. The Germans lose a dozen soldiers.

Aside from the damage caused directly by Operation Albumen, there are some lasting consequences. While the Commandos escape, the German authorities take and execute 50 local hostages. German Crete commander General Alexander Andrae ultimately is replaced by General Bruno Bräuer in November 1942 partly as a consequence of this raid.

Funeral procession of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague, 7 June 1942. Note his flag-draped coffin on a caisson on the left.

German Homefront: The German authorities in Prague hold a massive, ostentatious funeral for assassinated Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich. Afterward, the coffin is sent by train to Berlin for a second funeral to be held on 9 June. The second funeral is planned to be even more elaborate and ostentatious and is to be attended by the entire Reich leadership including Adolf Hitler. The Prague authorities continue to search for the assassins, who remain in the city moving between safe houses. Severe reprisals are in progress, with many more planned.

British Homefront: Scientist Alan Blumlein, the inventor of stereo sound recording among many other things, dies when a Halifax bomber in which he is testing H2S airborne radar crashes in Herefordshire. The crash apparently is due to improper aircraft maintenance. Due to Blumlein's importance to the war effect, the British government does not announce Blumlein's death until 1945. This delay leads to various conspiracy theories about the true cause of Blumlein's death. In 2017, the US Recording Academy posthumously awards Alan Blumlein a Technical Grammy for his contributions to the recording field.

The 7 June 1942 Chicago Sunday Tribune, featuring the article in the center "Navy Had Word of Japanese Plan to Strike at Sea" which almost got the reporter and newspaper in big trouble.

American Homefront: In a remarkable journalistic coup, the Chicago Tribune breaks the news of the codebreaking that contributed heavily to the US Navy victory in the Battle of Midway. Under the headline "Navy Had Word of Japanese Plan to Strike at Sea," the article describes how Naval Intelligence allowed Admiral Nimitz to pre-position his forces to ambush the Japanese fleet. While this article displays a clear breach of critical military security that might aid the Japanese, nothing comes of it. The Japanese military shows no signs of becoming aware that the Americans have broken their codes.

In Great Britain, Winston Churchill is known for having a short fuse with regard to sensitive press leaks like this. His government engages in many displays of censorship and attempted censorship. However, the US government ultimately lets the matter pass because events show that the disclosures do not interfere with the war effort.

Future History: Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi is born in Qasr Abu Hadi, Sirte, Italian Libya. From a poor tribal family, he joins the Libyan military in 1963. In 1964, Muammar Gaddafi forms the "Central Committee of the Free Officers Movement," a revolutionary group styled after the teachings of a former Egyptian leader. In mid-1969, while Libyan King Idris is on vacation in Turkey and Greece, Gaddafi leads a bloodless coup and established the Libyan Arab Republic. Self-styled as the "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya," Muammar Gaddafi thereafter rules Libya as a dictator. He develops a cult of personality and remains in power until 20 October 2011, when Muammar Gaddafi perishes while trying to flee from an insurrection.

The 7 June 1942 Cincinnati Enquirer headlines the Battle of Midway as "Avenging" Pearl Harbor. It even reprints its front page from the Pearl Harbor report on this front page to hammer home that point. Unusually for this stage of the war, the report actually underplays the American victory, claiming only "2 or 3" Japanese carriers sunk when actually four were sunk. Still, this is very accurate reporting this close to the actual battle.

2021

June 5, 1942: Last Moments of Admiral Yamaguchi

Friday 5 June 1942

"Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu ("Flying Dragon") burning shortly after sunrise on 5 June 1942, a few hours before she sank. Photographed by a plane from the carrier Hosho. 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." It is Admiral Yamaguchi's funeral pyre. (US Naval History and Heritage Command NH 73064).

Battle of the Pacific: Admiral Chester Nimitz takes the unusual step of announcing the results of the Battle of Midway to the press on 5 June 1942 even as the battle continues. It is clear to everyone that this has been a complete debacle for the Japanese. It can only get worse for them now that the U.S. Navy has an overwhelming advantage due to the sinking of the four Japanese aircraft carriers.

Following the 4 June destruction of the four Japanese fleet carriers, Midway Island's defenders receive a vague report at 04:15 from the submarine USS Tambor (Cdr John Murphy), first sent to Hawaii, that the remaining Japanese fleet is approaching. Murphy later makes a half-hearted attack run on the ships, but misses. Upon receiving the report from Pearl, the island's defenders quickly launch eight B-17 bombers from Eastern Island, but the crews cannot spot anything in the early morning haze.

At 06:30, another report comes in from a Midway-based PBY Catalina that it has sighted "2 battleships" heading away from the island. A follow-up message says "Ships damaged, streaming oil." Marine Aircraft Group 22 then sends up two flights VMSB-24, six Dauntlesses (Capt. Marshall A. Tyler) and six Vought SB2U Vindicators (Captain Richard E. Fleming). The "battleships" turn out to be heavy cruisers Mikuma and Mogami. They are streaming oil because they collided during the night. The planes spot the oil slick, which allows them to zero in on the cruisers.

"Last moments of Admiral Yamaguchi," war art painting by Kita Renzo. "Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, commander of the Japanese Carrier Striking Force's Carrier Division Two, elected to remain aboard his flagship Hiryu when she was abandoned during the early morning of 5 June 1942. He is depicted here in the middle of the scene as he bids farewell to his staff." Naval History and Heritage Command SC 301067. 

Tyler and his men attack Mogami but only score some near misses. Fleming then dives on Mikuma from out of the sun. Fleming does not survive - there is contradictory evidence whether his plane crashes into the Mikuma or the water nearby. The attack starts a fire that kills the men in Mikuma's engine room.

With the Mikuma crippled, eight B-17s (Lt. Col. Brooke Allen) then attack Mogami, but only score some near misses. Mikuma and Mogami ten head westward to escape, with Mikuma eventually sinking on the 6 June. Late in the day, Admiral Yamamoto orders all ships in the vicinity of Midway to retire. Japanese destroyers scuttle blazing carriers Hiryu and Akagi early in the day. The leader of the carrier force, Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, having lost his entire command, refuses to leave Hiryu and goes down with the ship.

For his heroism in leading the successful attack on Mikuma, U.S. Marine Richard Eugene Fleming will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military decoration. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives it to his mother on 24 November 1942.

To the northeast of Midway, Admiral Raymond Spruance, in charge of the combined task force 16 that includes aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and Hornet, seeks out but cannot find the Japanese surface fleet. Late in the day, he sends out scout planes, but they narrowly miss spotting Admiral Nagumo's main fleet. They do spot a destroyer and attack it, but miss. The planes return after dark, and the carrier crews must turn on their lights for the planes to land.

Spruance is extremely put out at the unacceptably vague report from submarine Tambor early in the day because it is vague and unhelpful. He also is upset at Commander Murphy for a lack of aggressiveness in not attacking the ships he spotted. He will have Murphy relieved of his command when Tambor returns to Pearl Harbor.

Map of the Battle of Midway 4-5 June 1942 (Onwar.com).

Rear Adm. Robert A. Theobald, in command of Task Force 8, which has been stationed uneventfully about 400 miles south of Kodiak Island in the Aleutians, receives a report of enemy warships in the Bering Sea. The report states that they are heading south toward Unalaska Island. Theobald sends his task force, which has no aircraft carriers, to investigate.

Intended U.S. air attacks using land-based bombers fail due to weather conditions. While six B-17 Flying Fortresses do report bombing enemy shipping, it turns out that in the hazy conditions they actually bomb some uninhabited islands (Pribilof Islands). While all these failed air attacks are going on, the Japanese order 1200 men of the Adak-Attu Occupation Force under Rear Admiral Omori Sentaro to proceed toward Attu for a landing on the 6th.

In reality, the Japanese force near the Aleutian Islands under the command of Vice Adm. Boshiro Hosogaya is moving south, but only to join Admiral Yamamoto's remaining fleet in the general vicinity of Midway Island. They are to join Yamamoto's forces in a desperate effort to lure the U.S. Navy carriers into surface combat. However, late in the day, Yamamoto decides that this plan will not work and sends Hosogaya back north to complete the landings in the western Aleutians. The Japanese high command in Tokyo dispatches two aircraft carriers from Japan to reinforce Hosogaya. Their hope is that the U.S. carriers might try to intervene in the Aleutian Island landings and be destroyed.

USS Yorktown remains afloat, though listing badly. At great hazard, a salvage party of 29 officers and 141 enlisted men board the sinking ship to see if anything can be done to save it. After the damage it has taken from multiple strikes, it is amazing that Yorktown still floats.

U.S. Navy submarine Pompano torpedoes and damages Japanese 131-ton guard ship Sumiyoshi Maru No. 8 off Truk Island. The entire crew survives by transferring to nearby ship Shoko Maru.

The Fifth Air Force sends B-17s to bomb a coal jetty, wharves, and a warehouse at Rabaul.

The 5 June 1942 Bombay Chronicle headlines "Poison Gas Attack on Chinese Troops."

Battle of the Indian Ocean: There is a lot of Japanese naval activity off the west African coast today. The Japanese high command has sent a large force of submarines and other vessels to the vicinity of Madagascar in an attempt to decimate the British Far Eastern Fleet, and today that concentration of power pays off for them.

Japanese armed merchant cruisers Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru, operating 350 nautical miles (650 km) northeast of Durban, shell and sink 6757-ton British freighter Elysia. There are 22 dead. Elysia takes four days to sink. Hokoku Maru and Aikoku are there primarily to resupply the large number of Japanese submarines in the area.

Off the coast of Mozambique in the Mozambique Channel, Japanese submarine I-10 gets two successes. It sinks 2639-ton Panamanian freighter Atlantic Gulf (2 dead), and also 4999-ton US armed freighter Melvin H. Baker. British freighter Twickenham rescues the crew of Melvin H. Baker.

Japanese submarine I-20 torpedoes and sinks 5086-ton Panamanian freighter Johnstown off Mozambique. There are two deaths.

A damaged U.S. ship at Dutch Harbor following Japanese air attacks, Alaska, on 5 June 1942.

Eastern Front: In the Crimean Peninsula, General Erich von Manstein prepares to launch his long-awaited attack on the Soviet holdouts at Sevastopol. His 11th Army has LIV Corps to the north, 30th Corps (General Maximilian Fretter-Pico) to the south, and Romanian Mountain Corps 3 (General de divizie Gheorghe Avramescu) to the east. 

The Luftwaffe (Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen) attacks throughout the day, as do 700 large German artillery pieces. Manstein's 203,800 men, including 65 Sturmgeschütz III self-propelled assault guns, oppose 118,000 Red Army troops holding the port. Today, the German bombardment, which has been rotating each day, shifts to the northern Red Army defensive line facing LIV Corps.

Fw. Anton "Toni" Hafner of 8./JG 51 claims 7 Soviet planes today to bring his score to 43 victories.

European Air Operations: It is a very hot day with some ground haze. The RAF engages in mostly convoy patrols with a few going along the French to Dutch coasts. RAF No. 141 Squadron pilot Warrant Officer Hamar shoots down a Dornier Do 217 E 20 km west of Leiden.

Yakovlev Yak-7B prototype no.22-03 during trials in June 1942. It will become a useful close support fighter that serves first with the 42nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP) at the North-Western front and then at Stalingrad and in the Caucasus.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-68 (KrvKpt. Karl-Friedrich Merten), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6693-ton U.S. tanker L.J. Drake in the Caribbean southeast of Santo Domingo. Merten uses three torpedoes, all of which hit and create a huge fireball. All 41 men aboard perish.

U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3480-ton US freighter Delfina 130 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Emmerman has to follow the freighter for seven hours, during which he misses the ship with three torpedoes (due to malfunctions, not poor aim). The ship sinks within 20 minutes. There are four dead and 27 survivors, some of whom make landfall at Montecristi, Dominican Republic, and others are quickly picked up by US patrol boat USS YP-67.

U-94 (Oblt. Otto Ites), on its ninth patrol out of St. Nazaire, uses its deck gun and sinks 320-ton Portugues three-masted sailing ship Maria da Glória in codfish fishing grounds off Greenland. Ites does not see any markings so assumes it is an enemy vessel. Once the ship raises the Portuguese flag, Ites stops shooting, but it is too late for the ship. Once the crew abandons the ship, Ites resumes firing and sinks it. There are 36 dead and 8 survivors.

U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, uses its deck gun against 265-ton Brazilian sailing ship Paracury southeast of Santo Domingo in roughly the same area as where U-68 sinks L.J. Drake. The seas are rough, so the U-boat uses its 20mm anti-aircraft gun to punch holes in the waterline, causing it to capsize. Casualties are unknown. The ship remains afloat long enough for someone to find it, salvage it, and return it to service.

U.S. freighter Velma Lykes, sunk on 5 June 1942 by U-158 in the Caribbean (Bowling Green State University).

U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2572-ton U.S. freighter Velma Lykes off Puerto Juarrez, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The ship sinks within one minute. There are 15 dead and 17 survivors, who cling to rafts and are picked up on the 6th by freighter Ardenvorhr after being spotted by a Catalina. The men of the Velma Lykes have further troubles when U-68 torpedoes and sinks their rescue ship, but they all survive that sinking, too.

British 1798-ton freighter Sonja Maersk runs aground and sinks off Ketch Harbor, Nova Scotia, due to heavy fog. There are no casualties.

Messerschmitt Bf 109F4 JG5 Black 1 and 5 escorting Ju 87 Stukas of SG5.1 in Russia, June 1942

Battle of the Mediterranean: The land battle in Libya has been deadlocked for a week, and today the British Eighth Army decides to do something about it. General Neil Ritchie's forces launch Operation Aberdeen, an attempt to encircle German General Erwin Rommel's forces in "the Cauldron." Rommel's forces, meanwhile, still encircle the Free French outpost at Bir Hakeim.

The Axis forces in the Cauldron, however, have had time to prepare killing zones with their tanks and anti-tank gun positions. The British make no progress with their early-morning attacks from the north and only slight progress by the 7th Armoured and 5th Indian divisions from the east. The British 32nd Army Tank Brigade in the north loses 50-70 tanks.

Rommel, fortified by the morning success against the British tanks, reacts quickly. In the afternoon, he splits his forces, counterattacking east toward Bir el Hatmat with Ariete and 21st Panzer divisions and to the north with elements of the 15th Panzer Division. The attack to the east has great success, forcing the headquarters of two British divisions, two brigades, and others to flee in a panic. This effectively decapitates the British response. The 15th Panzer attack to the north also has success, forcing the 22nd Armoured Brigade back with a loss of 60 of its 156 tanks. This turns into a wild retreat in which the British abandon three Indian infantry battalions, a reconnaissance regiment, and four artillery regiments to be captured. The front then settles down for the night.

At Bir Hakeim, the surrounded  Free French remain safe within their fortifications but are running out of supplies such as food and water. The Desert Air Force flies cover overhead to disperse Luftwaffe attacks, but Axis artillery continues to batter away at the fort. The German 90th Light Division prepares to attack the fort on 6 June using pioneers to clear the minefields around it.

Convoy WS-19Z, which carries Force X, sails from the Clyde for Gibraltar. This is the prelude to Operation Harpoon, or the Battle of Pantelleria, when an eastbound convoy sailing from Gibraltar will pass a westbound convoy out of Alexandria (Operation Vigorous) in mid-June. Unknown to the Allies, who have been reading German codes with Operation Ultra, the Italian military intelligence service (Servizio Informazioni Militare) has broken the U.S. code being used in the Mediterranean. The Axis thus has an early warning of these two joint operations due to communications made by the U.S. Military Attaché in Egypt, Colonel Bonner Fellers.

For once, the U.S. media actually downplays the real war news. The 5 June 1942 NY Times headlines that "Japanese Battleship and Carrier Damaged" when, in fact, the Japanese have lost four carriers. However, the truth comes out today as Admiral Nimitz lists the real successes at the Battle of Midway.

US/Axis Relations: The United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. Relations also now are strained with Finland due to its hosting Adolf Hitler to celebrate Marshal Mannerheim's 75th birthday on 4 June.

US Military: General Brehon B. Somervell, commander of the Army Service Forces, completes an inspection of US forces in Northern Island.

Two Douglas A-24 Dauntless dive bombers collide at Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia at 1000-1500 feet during a training flight. Three of the four men survive by parachuting out, but pilot 2nd Lt. Norman J. Davidson, whose plane was hit by the other plane's propeller from underneath, perishes.

Sloveč cabman Vaclav Novotny perishes in Auschwitz on 5 June 1942. Auschwitz Memorial (colorized).

Holocaust: Train Convoy No. 2 deporting people from France departs today for the East. The edict authorizing this train specifies that it should "deport Communists, Jews and anti-social elements to the East, in retaliation." Helmut Knochen (March 14, 1910 – April 4, 2003), the senior commander of the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police) and Sicherheitsdienst in Paris, oversees the operation. SS Captain (Hauptsturmführer) Theodor Dannecker, leader of the Judenreferat at the SD office in Paris, has composed the list of deportees. 

This batch is composed of about 1000 mostly Jewish men aged 18 to 54, primarily Poles who fled the occupation there. They were arrested at Drancy, Beaune-la-Rolande, and Pithiviers and then taken to Compiègne between 14 May and 20 August 1941. Many of these men have been found unfit for work. Of these men, roughly 800 are taken to Auschwitz and are dead within ten weeks.

A war map in the 5 June 1942 NY Times helpfully shows American readers where the sites of three recent battles in the Pacific, at Midway, Sydney, and the Aleutians, are.

British Homefront: King George VI publishes his 1942 Birthday Honours. This involves various awards, rewards, appointments, and bestowing of honors. Among many other announcements, the economist John Maynard Keynes is made a Baron, filmmaker Alexander Korda is made a Knight Bachelor, and RAF Air Chief Marshal Charles Portal is awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).

American Homefront: Former child actress Virginia Lee Corbin, known at the start of her career as Baby Virginia Corbin, passes away at the age of 31 in Chicago, Illinois from tuberculosis. She is one of many silent film actors unable to transition to the talkies and retired shortly before her death. 

This June 1942 edition of Amazing Stories features the short story "The Avengers" by William P. McGivern. Hey, whatever happened to them? Actually, these Avengers are different than the Stan Lee ones, which debuted in Avengers #1 issued September 1963.

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June 3, 1942: Start of Battle of Midway

Wednesday 3 June 1942

Fires burning at Dutch Harbor after the 3 June 1942 Japanese air raid (US Army).

Battle of the Pacific: At 09:04 on 3 June 1942, Ensign Charles R. Eaton, patrolling 470 miles from Midway Island, spots three Japanese ships. The Japanese quickly fire on him with anti-aircraft guns but he escapes and radios in his sighting. This is the first encounter of what will become the Battle of Midway.

At about the same time, another airman, Ensign Jack Reid, is patrolling 500 nautical miles (580 miles, 930 km) southwest of Midway in his PBY-SA when he also spots some ships in the distance. At 09:25, he radios in, "Sighted main body." He follows up with more details, ultimately reporting 11 ships at 11:00 before being ordered to return to base. Reid has not spotted the main Japanese force but rather transport ships commanded by Admiral Tanaka.

Lt. Col. Walter C. Sweeney leads a force of nine B-17 bombers stationed at Midway against the ships spotted by Reid at 12:30. Sweeney's force scores no hits and barely makes it back to Midway, landing at 21:45.

Another U.S. strike departs at 21:15, this time four PBY Catalinas bent on a night attack. Arriving over the target at 01:00 on 4 June, they score one hit on the Japanese force, a torpedo strike on the bows of tanker Akebono Maru that kills 13 sailors. Transport Kiosumi Maru also sustains some strafing damage that kills four crewmen. This attack features the only successful U.S. air-launched torpedo strike of the Battle of Midway.

"Battle of Midway, 3 June 1942" - "US Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and its escorts defend themselves from incoming Japanese aircraft, one of which has splashed down into the ocean" (Rodolfo Claudus ca. 1950) (Naval History and Heritage Command).

The second prong of the Japanese strategy (Operation AL) is an invasion of some of the Aleutian Islands. The Americans know about this from their codebreaking but have concentrated the bulk of their naval forces at Midway. Planes from two light Japanese aircraft carriers (Ryujo and Junyo) under the command of Vice-Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya take off in a dense fog and rough seas to raid the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears at Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island, Alaska. Only about half of the planes make it to the target. Despite some heavy anti-aircraft fire, the Japanese Nakajima B5N, Navy "Kate," Bombers drop 16 bombs on Fort Mears, then get clean away before P-40s stationed at Cold Bay arrive. There are 25 dead and many other casualties, while the Japanese lose only one plane.

The attack on Dutch Harbor is only a distraction from the main Japanese objective in the Aleutians, which is to occupy islands Kiska and Attu further down the chain. During this raid, the Japanese planes sink the 3497-ton U.S. passenger ship Northwestern (no casualties). Japanese cruisers launch four Nakajima E8N2 Navy Type 95 reconnaissance seaplanes, Allied Code Name "Dave," to fly over Umnak, losing one to U.S. ground fire. A PBY-5A Catalina of VP-42 locates the Japanese ships, while the Japanese shoot down another PBY and take three of its crew as prisoners aboard the cruiser Takao. A Japanese "Zeke" bomber crashlands in a bog on Akutan Island and U.S. forces later recover it and the dead pilot.

The five Japanese submarines waiting off the coast of Australia near Sydney to pick up the crews of the mini-submarines that attacked Sydney Harbour give up hope and disperse. The mini-sub crews are all dead, though two men nearly made it to the rendezvous point before being killed by troops. I-24, one of these five submarines, then torpedoes and sinks 4812-ton Australian ore carrier Iron Chieftain in the Tasman Sea 35 miles east of Manly (there is a monument to the 12 dead crewmen of Iron Chieftain outside Newcastle railway station). There are 27 survivors. The sinking of Iron Chieftain helps lead to the formation of convoys along the Australian coast between New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.

I-20 is the last of the five Japanese submarines to depart from the recovery area. During the afternoon, it surfaces and fires flares and sends radio signals, but nobody appears. Finally, at 18:00, it, too, departs.

U.S. Navy 115-ton patrol boat Vagabond collides with patrol craft PC-569 while patrolling west of the Golden Gate Bridge and sinks. There are no casualties.

U.S. 16-ton fishing trawler sinks in Sitka Sound in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska near Saint Lazaria Island off of Cape Edgecumbe in Kruzof Island. The cause of the sinking is unidentified, but it may be due to enemy action.

B-17 bombers of the 5th USAAF Air Force bomb Rabaul. They hit a wharf, a warehouse area, and a military camp.

"Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor, June 3, 1942. Group of Marines on the "alert" between attacks. Smoke from burning fuel tanks in the background had been set afire by a dive bomber the previous day. Alaska." (National Archives 80-G-12076).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The 10th USAAF Air Force sends 6 B-25s of the 11th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bomber Group, from Dinjan, India, to bomb Lashio, Burma. They then continue on to Kunming in perhaps the first example of "shuttle bombing." The mission turns into a disaster when three bombers crash into the Himalayas at 10,000 feet in heavy overcast conditions and a fourth runs out of fuel and crashes near Chan-i, China. Only two of the bombers actually reach Kunming, where they are fired upon by Chinese fighter planes that have not been informed of the operation and one radio operator is killed..

At Diego Suarez, the British complete emergency repairs to the 30x30-foot hole blown in battleship HMS Ramillies from a mini-sub attack and it departs for more permanent repairs at Durban.

Finnish Lahti L-39 anti-tank gun in use on 3 June 1942 (Military Museum of Finland (Kuva)).

Eastern Front: The German artillery fire and air assault on Sevastopol continue today as the Germans try to weaken the Soviet defenses for a full-scale assault. The target area today for the rolling bombardment is the defensive area facing the German 30th Army Corps south of the city.

General Franz Halder at Fuhrer Headquarters notes in his war diary: 

The enemy has reacted to our artillery attack on Sevastopol with counterbattery fire. Work on fortification in progress. Ship movements. No important changes on the other fronts.

General von Manstein, commander of 11th Army, plans to begin his attack on Sevastopol (Operation Sturgeon Catch (Störfang)) on 7 June. He is quickly redeploying troops from the eastern half of Crimea, where some Soviet holdouts in caves are causing trouble, to the west to participate in the Sevastopol assault. It is a very peculiar situation for the Germans on the Eastern Front where the hot spot is to the west and not the east.

Oblt. Siegfreid Freytag of 6./JG 77 claims his 50th victory. He soon will transfer to the Mediterranean Theater.

"Siems Drake warehouse afire, following the attack by Japanese carrier aircraft. Note fire fighting parties at work, and S. S. NORTHWESTERN burning at left." Dutch Harbor, 3 June 1942. (Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-12056).

European Air Operations: The weather over the Channel Front is clear and warm. There are no major attacks today. RAF No. 403 Squadron (RCAF) moves from Southend to Martlesham. At RAF Chelveston, a small Hotspur glider of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) 14th Operational Training Unit breaks up mid-air near Greetham Village, Ruland, and the crew bales out (one killed and one uninjured).

U.S. ore freighter City of Alma, sunk by U-172 on 3 June 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-404 (Kptlt. Otto von Bülow), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 1345-ton Swedish freighter Anna 210 miles northwest of Bermuda. Von Bülow begins his attack with two torpedoes at 03:09 and 04:50 but misses with both. Finally, at 05:10, he surfaces and uses his deck gun. The attack is a little controversial because von Bülow's crew clearly sees Swedish (neutral) markings, but he decides to attack anyway because the ship is acting suspiciously (zig-zagging and without navigational lights). There are no dead among the 32-man crew, though two men are wounded in the attack. The survivors take to the boats and are picked up within 13 hours by Swiss freighter Saentis, which also picks up survivors of freighter West Notus, sunk by the same U-boat on 1 June.

U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks the 5446-ton U.S. freighter City of Alma 400 miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ship is carrying manganese ore and sinks within three minutes. The radio operator remains on board to send a distress call but the ship sinks so quickly that he goes down with the ship without sending any messages. There are 29 dead and 10 survivors, who survive in a lifeboat and are picked up by U.S. patrol boat USS YP-67. Third Mate Hugh Parks Brown, Jr. the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for saving other crewmen.

U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, stops 80-ton British schooner Lillian near Grenada and Barbados (40 miles south of Barbados) after the ship first ignores a command to stop (warning shot through the rigging). A few crew remain aboard the ship and attempt to sail away while others take to the boats. The U-boat chases the fleeing ship after questioning the men in the boats and finally sinks it with gunfire. Hartenstein apparently uses the incident for target practice, or maybe he is just angry (and tired, as he already has sunk or damaged 11 ships on this patrol), as he uses an astounding 52 rounds of 37mm and 270 rounds of 20 mm) to sink the wooden ship. There are three dead and 22 survivors.

U-502 (Kptlt. Jürgen von Rosenstiel), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6940-ton U.S. freighter M.F. Elliott 150 miles northwest of Trinidad (west of St. George's Island). The ship, carrying just water ballast, sinks within six minutes. There are 13 dead and 32 survivors, who are picked up by Brazilian tanker Santa Maria after five days adrift.

Die Wehrmacht Magazine, 3 June 1942.

U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze), on its fifth patrol out of La Pallice, spots two fishing trawlers 170 miles east of Thatchers Island in the Bay of Fundy (northeast of Boston) and surfaces. After allowing the crewmen to leave their vessels, Schultze uses his deck gun on the trawlers. Sunk are 41-ton Aeolus and 102-ton Ben and Josephine. All of the fishermen (14 men total) survive, making landfall at Mount Desert Coast Guard Light Station after 36 hours.

U-126 (Kptlt. Ernst Bauer), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 10,990-ton Norwegian tanker Høegh Giant 400 miles east of Guiana. Bauer attacks at 11:24 and hits with one of three torpedoes, but the ship continues sailing. He then surfaces, but the tanker crew use the deck gun to fire at the U-boat, forcing Bauer to submerge and chase it. A long ordeal results, with Bauer finally getting into firing range at over 14 hours later 01:40 on 4 June. Two torpedoes hit, and the crew abandons the ship. The tanker finally sinks at 04:24 after Bauer has to fire a coup de grâce. Bauer clearly is furious about the entire incident. He surfaces and, when he does not get the answers he wants from the men in the lifeboats, he has his men fire over the boats, wounding one survivor with a stray bullet. The survivors spend at least ten days at sea, with most landing at Devil Island after ten days and the rest being picked up after 15 days. While the survivors are being transported to New Orleans aboard freighter Robert E. Lee, that ship also is sunk (by U-166), but all the survivors of Høegh Giant survive that sinking, too.

U.S. 5686-ton freighter Steel Worker hits a mine and sinks 3000 yards from Mishayampi, Murmansk. The ship has traveled all the way from Philadelphia with foodstuffs only to be sunk less than two miles from its destination. There are no casualties.

German Navy whaler V-1510 Unitas VI, being used as a patrol boat, strikes a wreck and sinks at the entrance of Dieppe, France. No known casualties. This incident is sometimes claimed to have occurred on 2 June 1942.

RAF Vickers Wellington bombers of No. 172 Squadron damage Italian submarine Luigi Torelli near Aviles, Spain. The ship is towed to Aviles and beached. After temporary repairs, it is refloated and taken to Spain for permanent repairs.

Freighter Orari having a temporary patch installed at Malta on 3 June 1942. © IWM A 10774.

Battle of the Mediterranean: German General Erwin Rommel and the bulk of the Afrika Korps remain bottled up in The Cauldron, a defensive position west of Tobruk. However, while no longer on the offensive, they now have cleared supply lanes to the west and are receiving reinforcements. The siege of Free French forces at the fortress of Bir Hakeim continues with little change in the situation today as the Axis forces bombard the entrenched French with artillery and Luftwaffe attacks.

The air war is going surprisingly poorly for the RAF. The pilots of III./JG 53 claim three victories over the British in the vicinity of El Alamein. One of the issues is that the Luftwaffe has brought elite units to North Africa.

Air activity over the front is ferocious. Oblt. Hans-Joachim Marseille of 3./JG 27 claims 6 Tomahawks of SAAF No. 5 Sqdn. and damage to two others in 12 minutes. Among his victims is an ace with five victories, Captain Botha, who himself had just shot down three Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers. Marseilles and the other planes clear the skies, opening them up for more Stuka attacks on Bir Hakeim. Joachim Marseilles now has 75 victories and will receive the Eichenlaub (oak leaves) to his Iron Cross on 6 June as a reward. He quickly is becoming a legend, and one of the men in his unit, Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt, writes in a letter home, "Marseille is able to shoot like a young God. Above all, he is able to do what only a few can - to shoot with perfection while turning."

U-331 (Kptlt. Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen), on its seventh patrol out of Messina, torpedoes and sinks Royal Navy trawler HMT Cocker off Bardia, Libya. There are 15 missing/dead, with one wounded man (Ty/Lt D M Engeler RANVR) surviving.

Battle of the Black Sea: German Navy ferry barge (Marinefahrprahm) F 145 hits a mine and sinks in the Black Sea southeast of Odesa. there are nine deaths.

Greek destroyer Pindos being commissioned at Swan Hunters, Wallsend on Tyne, 3 June 1942. © IWM A 8677.

Special Operations: British special forces (No. 6 Commando) stage an overnight raid on the German radar site at Plage-Ste-Cecile, France (between Le Touquet and Boulougne). This is Operation Bristle, one of a number of Commando missions during 1942 designed to give the special forces training and experience. The Germans, however, prevent the Commandos from achieving their objectives. Empty-handed, the Commandos depart and are still at sea at dawn when the Luftwaffe appears overhead and causes damage to two motor launches and a motor gunboat. One Commando and two naval personnel are killed and 19 others are wounded. The force manages to make it back to port only due to the fortuitous arrival of RAF forces to scatter the attacking Luftwaffe planes.

Reinhard Heydrich, shot by British/Czech Special Operations Executive agents on 27 May during Operation Anthropoid, appears to be recovering from the attack when he suddenly collapses while eating lunch around noon. He lapses into a coma from which he never recovers. One theory is that this relapse is caused by a systemic infection, another by a pulmonary embolism.

Chaskel Bittner, shown, is transferred from Montelupich prison in Cracow to Auschwitz on 3 June 1942. Bittner becomes No. 37249. He perishes at the camp on 26 June (Auschwitz Memorial).

British Homefront: The British government nationalizes the milk industry and coal mines.

American Homefront: The Rodgers & Hart (Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart) musical "By Jupiter" premieres at the Schubert Theater on Broadway. Starring Ray Bolger and Vera-Ellen, the play is set in the land of the Amazons, who do battle with a Greek army led by Theseus and Hercules and then engage in romantic complications. Nanette Fabray later joins the cast. The play is a big hit and runs for 427 performances until 12 June 1943. While little remembered, "By Jupiter" is Rodgers and Hart's longest-running Broadway hit and final original full-length work.

Future History: Curtis Lee Mayfield is born in Chicago, Illinois. He begins a musical career in a gospel choir, then joins the vocal group The Impressions in the mid-1950s. He also becomes a songwriter, including the hit "People Get Ready" in 1965. Mayfield turns solo in 1970 and engages in various projects, including creating the soundtrack to the film "Super Fly" in 1972. While performing in 1990, Mayfield is paralyzed during an accident involving lighting equipment, but he continues recording. Curtis Mayfield passes away on 26 December 1999.

Flak batteries shown in the 3 June 1942 Die Wehrmacht Magazine.

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