May 1, 1942: Japanese Take Mandalay

Friday 1 May 1942

Soviet KV-1 tanks on parade at the Palace Square in Leningrad, Russia, 1 May 1942 (Boris Kudoyarov, Russian International News Agency).

Battle of the Pacific: A cataclysmic clash is brewing in the South West Pacific Theater on 1 May 1942, with both sides moving large forces into position to contest the seas around Port Moresby, New Guinea. In Operation Mo, the Japanese plan to occupy Port Moresby and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. Allied naval intelligence staffers in Melbourne, Australia, have a good idea of Japanese plans from radio intercepts and are putting this knowledge to good use. The Allies hope to take the Japanese invasion forces by surprise based on their radio intercepts and thereby stop the landings despite being numerically inferior.

Today, both sides take major steps in arranging their forces for the confrontation. Two US Navy task forces, TF 11 (USS Lexington) and TF 17 (Yorktown) rendezvous about 300 nautical miles (350 miles, 560 km) northwest of New Caledonia. Vice Admiral Jack Fletcher, in overall command aboard the Yorktown, knows he has some time and, having refueled his own ships, detaches TF 11 to refuel. Meanwhile, the Japanese send the Carrier Strike Force, including aircraft carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku, from the fleet base at Truk. They are under the command of Vice-Admiral Takeo Takagi.

Tanker USS Neosho refuels fleet carrier USS Yorktown, 1 May 1942 (Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-464653).

The Carrier Strike Force plans to sail down the eastern side of the Solomon Islands. The Japanese Tulagi Invasion Force under Rear Admiral Shima, which today pauses briefly at the Shortland Islands, Bougainville, to set up a seaplane base, will take Tulagi along the way. The Carrier Strike Force then will pass Guadalcanal and enter the Coral Sea. From there, it will cover the landings at Port Moresby. Vice-Admiral Takagi, of course, has no idea that Fletcher's two fleet carriers are waiting for him.

To soften Tulagi up, the Japanese today raid it and nearby Gavutu Islander, where Australian forces maintain a seaplane base. They badly damage a Catalina flying boat. This attack induces the Australians to evacuate the remaining serviceable Catalinas during the day.

US Navy submarine USS Grenadier (SS-210, LtCdr Willis Lent), on her second patrol out of Pearl Harbor, torpedoes and sinks 5761-ton Soviet freighter SS Angarstroi about 90 miles (145 km) southwest of Nagasaki, Japan. The Soviet commander, en route from Vladivostok to San Francisco, had decided to take a shortcut through the war zone to save coal. Along the way, the ship had been inspected for contraband in Kushimoto, but it was only carrying 7555 tons of sugar. All 60 people on board survive the sinking. Japanese merchant ship Koya Maru picks up the survivors about five hours later. While Commander Lent of the Grenadier does not take credit for this (mistaken) sinking (of an ally's ship), a postwar examination of documents during the Tokyo trials in 1946 points to the Grenadier as the likely culprit. The captain of the ship also writes a detailed account of the sinking for a Russian publication ca. 1990.

US Navy submarine Drum torpedoes and sinks 10,929-ton Japanese seaplane tender Mizuho 40 miles off Omae Zaki (Omaezaki), Japan. There are 101 deaths and 472 survivors, including her commanding officer, who are rescued by cruiser Takao. The tender actually sinks just after midnight on the 2nd.

US Navy submarine Triton torpedoes and sinks 5338-ton Japanese freighter Calcutta Maru off Wenchow, China, in the East China Sea. There are 54 dead, with an unknown number of survivors rescued by Japanese freighters Boko Maru and Kaisoku Maru.

Lieutenant Commander “Butch” O’Hare and F4F-4 at Norfolk, Virginia, May 1, 1942 (US Navy).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The British have withdrawn their troops north of Mandalay, the second-largest city in Burma, so Japanese troops of the 18th Infantry Division have little difficulty occupying it on 1 May 1942. Mandalay, the last royal capital of the Konbaung Dynasty, has great symbolic importance in the country despite being eclipsed in size and economic importance by Rangoon. Japanese troops are already to the west of Mandalay, where they block the road at Monywa on the Chindwin River from units of the 1st Burma Division. This traps some British troops to their south.

Meanwhile, Japanese troops advancing from the recently-captured Lashio clash at Hsenwi with rearguard troops from the Lashio battle. The Northern Shan States Battalion, Burma Frontier Force (with elements of a detachment of the Chin Hills Battalion), holds a bridge over the Shweli River at Manwing. The Japanese need it in order to drive north to the regional center of Bhamo, so a fierce battle breaks out. The defenders hold their ground throughout the day.

This cartoon in the 1 May 1942 Daily Mirror suggests that Hitler, busy with plans in the Soviet Union, has to look over his shoulder at the possibility of a Second Front. 

Eastern Front: While both the Germans and the Red Army are preparing offensives against each other along the Parpach Narrows on the Crimea, another battle to the German rear continues. General Erich von Manstein's 11th Army continues to try to breach the Soviet defenses around Sevastopol. The Wehrmacht has brought its heaviest artillery, including the 800mm Dora cannon, up to pound the fortresses guarding the port's perimeter. Luftflotte 7, under the command of General Wolfram von Richthofen, has been enlarged to the size of an air fleet (which usually accompanies an entire army group) and is sending up to 1000 sorties a day against the same targets. These planes will be turned around against the Red Army line on the Parpach Narrows when Manstein is ready to launch his offensive in about a week.

Soviet attacks against the perimeters at Kholm and Demyansk continue despite the German success in forming a supply corridor through Ramushevo to the latter town. The Kholm pocket is in crisis and has shrunk to a tiny size. However, knowing that relief is at hand props up German morale and the Soviet attacks are repelled with great difficulty.

General Franz Halder, having spent his time on leave since 26 April, leaves by train in the evening to return to the Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia.

European Air Operations: It is a relatively quiet day on the Channel Front, perhaps due to poor weather. The only major activity by either side is an attack by a dozen Boston bombers during the day against a parachute factory at Calais and the railway station at St. Omer. All planes return safely.

HMS Punjabi, sunk on 1 May 1942 (© IWM FL 25824).

Battle of the Atlantic: The battle over two Allied convoys passing north of Norway in the Barents Sea heats up on 1 May 1942. The Luftwaffe sends six Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers against PQ 15 sailing east toward Murmansk. The attack fails and only five of the planes make it back to base.

However, all is not well for the Allies despite the failed Luftwaffe raid. Royal Navy battleship HMS King George V, leading Distaff Force east of Iceland, collides with 1891-ton destroyer Punjabi in heavy fog, sinking the destroyer and damaging the battleship. There are 49 deaths and 209 survivors on the Punjabi. Also damaged is the battleship USS Washington, which blunders into the wreckage site in the fog. As Punjabi sinks, its depth charges explode, damaging Washington's fire control systems. The damage to King George V forces the Admiralty to send the battleship Duke of York up from Scapa Flow as a replacement.

The Kriegsmarine also gets into the act when three of its destroyers dispatched from port on 30 April - Zerstörergruppe "Arktis" (Z7 Hermann Schoemann, Z24 and Z25) under the command of Kapitän zur See Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs - reach convoy QP 11 sailing west from Murmansk. A classic naval battle develops between the German destroyers and the Allied convoy escorts, which form up between the attackers and the convoy. 

A German Narvik-class destroyer, similar to Z-24 and Z-25 (National Museum of the U.S. Navy - Lot-2275-44).

The German destroyers open fire at 14:05 and get the better of the engagement, They badly damage 2847-ton Soviet freighter Tsiolkolvsy using torpedoes (27 dead and 14 survivors rescued by HMT Lord Middleton). The crippled freighter eventually is sunk later in the day by U-589 (some accounts have this the other way around and claim it was damaged by the U-boat and finished off by the destroyers, but either way it sinks). During the engagement, the Germans also badly damage the old destroyer HMS Amazon with two hits. However, the Allied escorts do their job by protecting (most of) the convoy. The German destroyers depart as darkness closes in at 17:50 to look for badly damaged Royal Navy cruiser Edinburgh, which had its stern blown off on 30 April and is limping back to Murmansk at only two knots.

U-162 (FrgKpt. Jürgen Wattenberg), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes, shells, and sinks 6692-ton Brazilian freighter Parnahyba off Trinidad in the Caribbean. There are seven dead and 65 survivors who are rescued by Canadian freighter Turret Cape.

U-109 (Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6548-ton British freighter La Paz off Cape Canaveral, Florida. The ship is later salvaged, repaired, and returned to service in the US Maritime Commission.

U-69 (Oblt. Ulrich Gräf), on its eighth patrol out of St. Nazaire, spots 671-ton Canadian schooner James E. Newsom about 370 nautical miles (690 km) northeast of Bermuda. The U-boat uses its deck gun to sink the ship. All nine crewmen survive.

Adolf Hitler, likely at the instigation of Eva Braun, right, poses for pictures with Uschi Schneider in the Berghof great hall on 1 May 1942. Uschi is the daughter of Eva's childhood friend Herta Schneider and he takes many photos with her.

Battle of the Mediterranean: A Lockheed Hudson (RAF No. 233 Squadron) spots U-573 (Kptlt. Heinrich Heinsohn), on its fourth patrol out of Pola, sailing on the surface north of El Marsa, Algeria. It drops depth charges and damages the submarine, with one crewman killed. The crippled U-boat puts into the neutral Spanish port of Cartagena and is interned. In August 1942, the Kriegsmarine sells it to the Spanish Navy (Armada Espanola), where it serves until 1970. U-573 ends its wartime career having sunk one ship of 5289 tons (Norwegian freighter Hellen on 21 December 1941).

At Malta, Axis bombers focus on Luqa Airfield. They attack work crews constructing pens to shelter fighters and drop delayed-action bombs to hinder later work efforts. Throughout the day, Italian Cant and Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 bombers attack many points on the island with a clear priority of bombing airfields. Governor Dobbie congratulates the anti-aircraft crews for claiming 110 Axis planes during the month of April 1942.

US/Vichy France Relations: The last US ambassador to Vichy France, Admiral William D. Leahy, departs on his journey home via Lisbon. The embassy will remain open under a chargé d'affaires until the US/British/Free French invasion of North Africa in November 1942.

HMCS Woodstock, a Flower-class corvette, is commissioned at Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. in Collingwood, Ontario, on 1 May 1942.

US Military: Pursuant to an agreement with the British government, the US Navy establishes the Naval Base and Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Great Exuma, Bahama Islands, and Naval Base, Grand Cayman, British West Indies. Also established around this time is a company of the Jamaican Home Guard recruited from the Cayman Islands. The Home Guard maintains 24-hour coastal patrols for U-boats.

Soviet Government: It is May Day, so Joseph Stalin issues an Order of the Day celebrating it. He notes that:

It is beyond doubt, first, that in this period fascist Germany and its army have become weaker than they were 10 months ago. The war has brought grave disillusionments, millions of human sacrifices, starvation and poverty to the German people. The end of the war is not in sight, and reserves of manpower are coming to an end, oil is coming to an end, raw materials are coming to an end. The realization that Germany's defeat is inevitable is growing on the German people.

Stalin further notes that "our country has become stronger than it was at the beginning of the war." Notably, he praises the United States and Great Britain for taking "First place" among peoples of the world who "have joined forces against German imperialism." Such effusive praise will notably diminish as the war goes on.

American Homefront: A United Airlines Mainliner DC-3 crashes near Salt Lake City, Utah, within seven miles of Municipal Airport while en route from San Francisco to New York. The crash puzzles investigators because an eyewitness observed it heading straight into Ensign Peak of the Wasatch Mountains while circling for a landing. Poor weather may have been a factor, along with engine trouble. All 17 people on board, including a 1-year-old baby, perish.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer releases "Tarzan's New York Adventures." It stars Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen Sullivan. This is Maureen Sullivan's last film until 1948 as she raises her seven children, including future actress Mia Farrow.

A peek inside the Der Adler magazine of 1 May 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!

May 1942

May 1, 1942: Japanese Take Mandalay

May 2, 1942: Cruiser Edinburgh Sunk

May 3, 1942: Japanese Take Tulagi

May 4, 1942: Fletcher Attacks at Tulagi

May 5, 1942: British Invade Madagascar

May 6, 1942: Corregidor Falls to Japan

May 7, 1942: Scratch One Flattop!

May 8, 1942: Lexington Sunk in the Coral Sea

May 9, 1942: Manstein on the Attack in Crimea

May 10, 1942: Spitfires Rule Over Malta

May 11, 1942: First Japanese Retreat at Deboyne

May 12, 1942: Soviets Attack At Kharkov

May 13, 1942: Crisis at Kharkov

May 14, 1942: Where in the World is AF

May 15, 1942: Germans Take Kerch

May 16, 1942: Sobibor Begins Operation

May 17, 1942: Germans Counterattack at Kharkov

May 18, 1942: Soviet Command Confusion 

May 19, 1942: Soviet Panic at Kharkov

May 20, 1942: Churchill and Molotov Negotiate

May 21, 1942: U-106 Sinks the Wrong Tanker

May 22, 1942: AF is Midway!

May 23, 1942: German Forces Surround Soviet Armies at Kharkov

May 24, 1942: German Anti-Partisan Operations in Full Swing

May 25, 1942: Soviet Breakout at Kharkov Fails

May 26, 1942: Rommel Pounces in North Africa

May 27, 1942: Heydrich Fatally Wounded in Prague

May 28, 1942: German Victory At Kharkov

May 29, 1942: Japanese at Madagascar

May 30, 1942: First RAF Thousand-Plane Raid

May 31, 1942: The Attack on Sydney Harbour

2021

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

Wednesday 29 April 1942

Hitler and Mussolini at Schloss Klessheim, 29 April 1942 (National Digital Archives, Poland).

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese are preparing Operation Mo, an invasion of Port Moresby, New Guinea, on 29 April 1942. With a large invasion force at their forward base at Truk, they also intend to occupy and install a seaplane base at Tulagi in the Solomons north of Guadalcanal (the Australians currently operate a seaplane base at nearby Gavutu-Tanambogo). Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto places Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, a strong proponent of these aggressive moves, in charge of the naval portion of Operation Mo. General Douglas MacArthur, Allied area commander, is kept abreast of all these developments as the intelligence flows into his headquarters in Melbourne, Australia.

Japanese forces occupy Parang and Cotabato, Mindanao.

"Groundcrew refuelling a Short Stirling Mk I of No. 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, 29 April 1942." the truck is an AEC 6x6 petrol tanker known as a "Matador." © IWM COL 201.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: After fierce fighting by Chinese rearguard units, the Japanese 22nd Infantry Division, Thirteenth Army, takes the key position of Lashio. The Chinese commander there, General Chang, orders all stores blown up before ordering a retreat to Hsenwi. There are quite a lot of them, as Lashio is a key stop on the Allied supply route to China.

Chang also blocks the road to Kutkai, though the Japanese seem more interested in heading west toward India than northeast to invade China. The Chinese 200th Division, which has had some success to the south at Loilem, loses its escape route by the Japanese occupation of Lashio and is forced to turn southwest before taking a roundabout route around Lashio to reach China. The entire Chinese position in Burma, which recently looked quite promising, is now completely adrift.

This Japanese success cuts communications between China and Mandalay, virtually ensuring its loss to the Allies. The British already assume that Mandalay will fall and have pulled their units north of the city. General Chang has little hope of holding out for long and is preparing to withdraw his entire force into China through Kutkai and Wanting. All Allied supplies to China, particularly US lend-lease shipments, now must be made by air. These flights must be made over the "Hump," or Himalayas, by the USAAF 10th Air Force.

The 10th Air Force also has some offensive capability. Today, it sends its B-17s to bomb Rangoon. The planes cause major damage to the dock area.

Portland, Oregon, officials posting evacuation orders from the United States War Relocation Authority. Printed in The Oregonian of 29 April 1942.

Eastern Front: The Germans have solidified their contact with the isolated Demyansk garrison sufficiently for engineers to string a telephone line across the Lovat River. The two overall commanders, Generals Georg von Kuechler, Oberbefehlshaber der Heeresgruppe Nord ("commander-in-chief of Army Group North"), and Walter von Brockdorff, commander of II. Armeekorps (2 Corps) in the former pocket, finally can discuss the situation without fear of being overheard. The pocket at Kholm remains in peril, but a relief force under Generalmajor Werner Huehner is approaching. Hitler is following events there closely and is prepared to send more forces to help relieve the pocket if necessary.

The Soviets are preparing an attack to sever this tenuous German connection through Ramushevo to Demyansk. However, in part due to the spring thaw ("Rasputitsa"), they are having difficulty getting troops in place to mount this operation and it will not be ready until May.

Damage in York after a Luftwaffe attack, 29 April 1942. Shown is a steam locomotive in the York North locomotive depot (National Railway Museum).

European Air Operations: On 29 April 1942, York recovers from an overnight Baedeker Blitz raid by the Luftwaffe. As with many other such raids, it causes only moderate damage but an inordinate number of casualties. Buildings destroyed or damaged include the Guildhall and minster. There are 79 deaths and many injured.

Tonight, 29/30 April, the  Luftwaffe attacks Norwich again. This raid destroys many buildings in the center of the city. The planes drop more than 110 high-explosive bombs despite encountering heavier anti-aircraft fire than previously. The attack is 45 minutes shorter than the previous attack on the night of 27 April but still claims an additional 69 lives.

During the day, a Luftwaffe Bf-109F-3 of 3(F)/123 succeeds in getting aerial reconnaissance of Bath, Avonmouth, and the Nailsea munitions dump. 

RAF Bomber Command, however, is not taking a break. The RAF sends half a dozen Bostons against the Dunkirk docks during the day without loss.

The RAF hits Paris/Ennevilliers in the evening, sending 88 aircraft (73 Wellington bombers, 6 Stirlings, and 9 Hampdens) against the city in bright moonlight. They run into heavy flak and fighter defenses, however. The bombing results are mediocre, with no hits made on the main target, the Gnome & Rhone aero-engine factory. There are 15 deaths and 74 injured. The RAF loses three Wellingtons.

Subsidiary raids are made to Ostend (20 bombers), minelaying (5 Manchesters off the Danish coast), and six independent intruder missions. The raid on Ostend is the first of the war, and two bombers are lost there and one on the minelaying mission.

Hauptman Joachim Muncheberg, Stab II./JG 26, shoots down a Spitfire near Le Tourquet. It is his 74th victory. The victim is likely Polish ace Major Marian Pisarek, commander of I Polish Fighter Wing.

Michigan State Troopers guarding the Sojourner Truth housing project as African-Americans move into them, 29 April 1942. Many local residents objected to the location of the projects and violent clashes led to arrests (The Faces of Detroit).

Battle of the Atlantic: Both sides have sent heavy forces to the Arctic as the Allies struggle to keep the Soviet Union supplied via the Arctic convoy route around northern Norway. The Allies have two convoys converging in the area, PQ-15 from Iceland heading east and QP-11 from Murmansk heading west. Today, a German Ju 88 reconnaissance bomber and U-boats spot QP-11 a day after it left port. The U-boats prepare to attack on the 30th. The British, meanwhile, dispatch light cruiser HMS Edinburgh (CS 18) from Murmansk to beef up QP-11's escort force.

The Soviets, however, get in the first blow. Submarine M-171 (Lt. Cdr Stanikov) torpedoes and sinks 4969-ton German freighter Curityba off Vardø, Varangerfjord, Norway. The Curityba is carrying a Norwegian fishing trawler, F-14-V, and two auxiliary minesweepers, M-5403 and M-5407 (it is unclear if the trawler is one of these), which go down with the ship. There are 34 survivors and 22 deaths.

U-66 (KrvKpt. Richard Zapp), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 10,354-ton Panamanian tanker Harry G. Seidel west of Trinidad. There are 48 survivors and two deaths.

U-108 (KrvKpt. Klaus Scholtz), on its seventh patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 9925-ton US tanker Mobiloil about 350 miles northeast of Turks Island in the Caribbean. This happens after an excruciating 13-hour chase which includes one torpedo miss. The U-boat finally gets into position and hits the tanker at 08:57, then surfaces and begins shelling the ship. The tanker crew, meanwhile, returns fire with their own 4-inch stern gun. A long battle ensues into the late afternoon. Finally, Scholtz fires more torpedoes (for a total of six, a large number for a commercial shipping target) that break the tanker in half. All 52 men on board survive, picked up by USS PC-490 on 2 May 1942. The tanker's master, Ernest V. Farrow, is later convicted for failing to follow orders to wait for a convoy off Norfolk.

The US is finally organizing coastal convoys on the East Coast. Today, the first coastal convoy departs from New York to the Delaware River, and other convoys also begin.

The surviving 27-man crew of US freighter Steel Maker, sunk by U-136 on 19 April, is rescued today by British freighter Pacific Exporter near Frying Pan Shoals.

Construction of the Allis Chalmers Supercharger Plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 29 April 1942 (Milwaukee Public Library).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Urge sinks on 29 April 1942 while en route from Malta to Alexandria after hitting a mine while sailing on the surface. The incident happens not long after Urge leaves Grand Harbour, Malta. The submarine is torn in two by the violent explosion and sinks rapidly with no survivors There are 39 deaths, including war correspondent Bernard Gray. The wreck is discovered in October 2019 lying in 130 meters (430 feet) of water two miles (3.2 km) off the Malta coast.

Royal Navy 81-ton tug Alliance hits a mine and sinks off Famagusta, Cyprus. There are three deaths and seven survivors. British 157-ton schooner Terpsithea also hits a mine and sinks at the same location. Everyone on the schooner survives.

Malta's military governor, Lt. General Sir W. Dobbie, reports that 333 people have been killed there over the previous month. This includes 139 men, 117 women, and 77 children). Property damage "has been exceedingly heavy." He concludes, though, that "the bearing and morale of the public has remained admirable."  

Battle of the Black Sea: German 155-ton naval ferry barge (Marinefährprahm) F 130 hits a mine and is beached. Later, it is refloated, repaired, and put back in service.

Luftwaffe aircraft sink 950-ton Soviet auxiliary minesweeper T-494. There are nineteen survivors and twenty dead.

Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Hermann Goering, Karl Doenitz, Kurt Zeitzler, and other officials at the map table in Schloss Klessheim, 29 April 1942 (ONB).

Axis Relations: Following his successful (final) speech to the Reichstag on the 26th, Adolf Hitler takes his personal train down to Salzburg, near his home at Berchtesgaden, to meet Mussolini. The two dictators meet at Schloss Klessheim for a two-day meeting to review the war situation in front of Hitler's customary 1:1000 maps. Hermann Goering, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, Field Marshal Keitel, General Jodl, and other top Axis officials are there as well, signifying the importance of the meeting.

As usual, Hitler does most of the talking. These sessions invariably default to Hitler engaging in extended monologues as Mussolini listens in silence. Hitler tells Mussolini that his sole foreign policy dream was "annulling Bolshevism as a military power." The summer's offensive in the USSR would accomplish this. After that, Hitler says he would be able to shift his main forces west for a showdown with the western Allies. He hints that Stalin might be ready to negotiate terms due to supposed frustration with the failure of the British and Americans to open up a second front in France. 

The two men agree that, now that the Wehrmacht had survived the winter intact, nothing could save the Red Army. Privately, however, Mussolini is not so sure. To his son-in-law and Foreign Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano, he reveals resentment over his utter reliance on Hitler and the Wehrmacht. Mussolini, now privy to Hitler's plans for another grand offensive in the East ("Case Blue"), notes that the war's outcome would be decided by the end of the summer in the steppes of Russia.

Nothing is really decided today. The dictators will meet again on the morning of the 30th to discuss military plans.

The massive crater at Tessenderlo, Belgium, resulting from the explosion of 29 April 1942 (Tessenderlo Group).

US Military: General Harold Huston George, 49, is mortally wounded in a ground accident at Batchelor Field near Darwin, Australia. A Curtiss P-40 loses control while taking off and slams into George's Lockheed C-40. Victorville Air Force Base in California is renamed George Air Force Base in his honor in June 1950.

Holocaust: A date is set for all Dutch Jews to wear a Yellow Star of David badge: 3 May 1942.

Belgian Homefront: An explosion caused by ammonium nitrate rocks a chemical factory (Produits Chimiques de Tessenderloo (PCT)) in Tessenderlo, Belgium. Ammonium nitrate is often used as fertilizer but also as an ingredient in explosives. The shockwaves are felt in Antwerp and Brussels and the explosion creates a crate 70 meters wide and 23 meters deep. Accidental explosions during its manufacture and transport cause many tragedies over the years, such are in Beirut in 2020, so the incident is not necessarily military sabotage. There are 189 deaths.

Internees on the mess line at the Tanforan Assembly Center in California, 29 April 1942 (Dorothy Lange, National Archives 537677).

American Homefront: Top Hollywood entertainers visit the White House to kick off a 30-city tour promoting the sale of war bonds. Among the celebrities in attendance are Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Desi Arnaz, Groucho Marx, Laurel and Hardy, Charles Boyer, Charlotte Greenwood, Claudette Colbert, Olivia de Havilland, Spencer Tracy. and Betty Grable. Actress Carole Lombard, of course, perished during a tour selling war bonds on 16 January 1942.

In a sign of the times, just as the top Hollywood stars are in Washington dining with the President, civil defense authorities order all theater marquees in Times Square to be blacked out.

The San Francisco News reports that the local FBI office has made searches and raids in 24 cities and towns of Northern California for aliens and contraband articles. The Wartime Civil Control Administration, meanwhile, reports that it is having difficulty finding farmers to work all the fields being abandoned (unwillingly, of course) by the evacuating Japanese-Americans. A columnist in the same newspaper, Arthur Caylor, meanwhile, reports that many of the areas in San Francisco being vacated by the Japanese-American residents are being condemned. There is a "sub-surface meeting-of-minds," he says, that "the Japanese shall never come back."

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 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

Tuesday 28 April 1942

General Erwin Rommel, leader of the Afrika Korps, receives an Italian military decoration (Italian Colonial Order of the Star, Grand Officer's Cross) on 28 April 1942 (Federal Archive Image 101I-784-0212-34).

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese 22nd Infantry Division, Thirteenth Army, continues advancing in the Shanghai sector on 28 April 1942. Yesterday it captured Lungyu, today it takes Chinlan (Quinlan). while the island invasions across the Pacific Ocean are important to Imperial Japan, its top priority remains the eternal conflict in China.

Air battles continue over Port Moresby, New Guinea. The Japanese send eight bombers escorted by Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters over the port. During the fighting, death claims the commander of RAF No. 75 Squadron, John Francis Jackson, 34, when his P-40E is shot down and it crashes into a mountainside. The Australians also lose another P-40, while the Japanese lose a Zero piloted by Yoshimitsu Maeda, who is taken as a prisoner.

Jackson has been a stalwart in the aerial defense of the area. His body is identified only by his boots and his personal pistol. John Francis Jackson winds up with 8 aerial victories and he is interred at Moresby's Bomana War Cemetery. Moresby's airport is named Jacksons International Airport in his honor, and there is a monument honoring him and another RAAF pilot, Len Waters.

US Navy submarine USS Seal torpedoes and sinks Japanese freighter Tatsufuku Maru in the South China Sea.

"Daimler scout car of 5th Royal Tank Regiment, 4th Armoured Brigade in the Western Desert, 28 April 1942." © IWM E 11092.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Japanese troops, temporarily scared off by an unexpected encounter with the Chinese 28th Division, Sixty-Sixth Army, on the 27th, resume their drive north to the Chinese stronghold of Lashio. They run into Chinese defenders of the 28th Division and others. Fierce fighting breaks out. The Sixty-Sixth commander, General Chang, however, already is sending everything that can move back toward China through Kutkai and Wanting.

Eastern Front: Things are so quiet on the Eastern Front that General Franz Halder has given himself leave in Berlin to attend War Academy lectures and, among other things, visit the dentist. Among other things, he attends a lecture by General Walther Wenck and has lunch with the Commandant of the Hungarian War Academy, General Laszlo.

Polish naval officer Zenon Waczyński, executed at Auschwitz on 28 April 1942 after arriving on 5 April.

European Air Operations: After dark, the Luftwaffe switches targets again. After bombing Exeter, Bath, and Norwich, now it bombs York. While the attack causes limited damage, 79 people perish. There has been an unusually high death toll during these "Baedeker Raids" despite the relatively small number of planes involved, perhaps because residents of Great Britain have developed a false sense of complacency after many months without air attacks. They thus are not taking proper precautions such as sleeping in shelters. This is the last of these raids until the night of 3 May 1942.

RAF Bomber Command continues its heavy raids as well. During the day, six Boston bombers attack the St. Omer railway yards without loss. After dark, the main target is Kiel. The RAF sends 88 bombers (62 Wellingtons, 15 Stirlings, 10 Hampdens, and a Halifax), with five Wellingtons and a Hampden failing to return. The attack produces mediocre results, with damage to the city's shipyards and the Naval Academy hospital. There are 15 deaths and 74 injured.

The RAF also sends yet another raid to Trondheim, Norway, in an attempt to sink the Tirpitz. This ties in with mounting Allied fears, discussed below, of danger on the Arctic Convoy route. The attack by 23 Halifax and 11 Lancaster bombers fails to hit the battleship, though the pilots claim some successes.

There also are subsidiary operations by six Blenheim bombers to the Langenbrugge, Germany (northeast of Hanover), power station, four Blenheim Intruders, and six minelayers off the north German coast. The only aircraft lost is one Blenheim from the Langenbrugge raid.

The Germans are furious about the recent raids on Rostock. They admit that the raids caused great damage but deny that the Baltic port was a legitimate military target. The Börsen Zeitung newspaper states:

Probably British agitators will again assert that the airmen attacked only military targets; but that the real purpose is to terrify the German population is too clear to be denied.

Of course, terror raids are have been common in World War II since 1939. They can have quite unintended effects on enemy morale.

Corvette HMS Columbine in port at Tilbury on 28 April 1942. © IWM A 8422.

Battle of the Atlantic: A potential major naval conflict is brewing in the Arctic off the Norwegian coast. If all the units from both sides are brought to bear, it could be a cataclysm of destruction. However, in the Arctic, the weather usually has the last word on such matters, especially during this time of year.

Adolf Hitler has ordered a huge buildup in air and naval units in the north of Norway. This includes a large force of Heinkel torpedo bombers and large surface ships. Battleship Tirpitz also is available for duty at Trondhem. Hitler's goal is to interrupt the Arctic convoys that have been passing mostly unmolested near North Cape, Norway, on their way to and from Murmansk. In addition to planes and surface ships, the Germans have seven U-boats (U-88, U-251, U-405, U-456, U-589, and U-703) in a patrol line waiting for the next convoy.

With these forces now in position, an opportunity to use them arises when German aircraft spot Allied Convoy PQ-15 about 250 nautical miles (463 km) southwest of Bear Island. The German forces prepare to attack in the coming days.

Hitler is not the only one with his thoughts on the Arctic Lend-Lease route, however. A joint Royal Navy-United States Navy task force, code name "Force Distaff," sails today from Scapa Flow in the Orkneys. Force Distaff will provide escort protection to PQ-15 northeast of Iceland. This force includes battleships HMS King George V and USS Washington, aircraft carrier Victorious, and heavy cruisers Wichita and Tuscaloosa. U.S. Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen is in overall command.

In addition to Force Distaff, British submarines Truant, Unison, Free French submarine Minerve, Norwegian submarine Uredd, and Polish submarine Jastrzab are patrolling off the Norwegian coast. Both sides are prepped and ready to rock and roll at any time.

HMS Lance, hit by Luftwaffe Ju 87 Stuka bombers on 5 and 9 April, shown at the Malta jetty where she was sunk. Attempts were made to salvage Lance but they failed and she was written off. 28 April 1942. © IWM A 9516.

The Russian North Fleet understands the potential for a disaster in the Arctic and makes a diversionary attack in Titovka Bay. The Soviets want to convince the Germans that the threat is not out at sea, but an invasion. Soviet destroyers Remyashchi, Gromki, and Sokrushitelny lead a force of nineteen TSCH auxiliary minesweepers, 32 SKA boats, and two patrol boats (Rubin and Smerch) in the deception.

Unknown yet to the Germans, Convoy QP-11 departs from the Kola Inlet today. Its thirteen ships are escorted by two Soviet destroyers (Sokrushitelny and Kuibyshev) and four minesweepers, with additional escorts waiting to join en route. Thus, the sea north of North Cape could get very crowded very soon with all these ships and naval units in play.

U-136 (Kptlt. Heinrich Zimmermann), on its second patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 5163-ton Dutch tanker Arundo about 15 nautical miles south of the Ambrose Lightship at the entrance to New York Harbor. The ship, traveling independently perhaps due to speed issues, is loaded with war supplies including 5000 crates of Canadian beer and sinks within five minutes. There are six deaths and 37 survivors, who are rescued by the destroyer USS Lea (DD-118). 

Yard patrol craft USS YP-77 (private yacht "Edmar" requisitioned for war duty) sinks in the Atlantic after a collision. The US Navy is still learning how to organize convoys and there are a number of mishaps (such as the sinking of USS Sturtevant on 26 April) as the navy officers sort things out.

British tank on display in North Africa. "An official photographer takes shots of a Stuart tank of 5th Royal Tank Regiment, 4th Armoured Brigade, 28 April 1942." © IWM E 11074.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Heavy Axis air attacks continue at Malta. They sink 161-ton Royal Navy tugboat HMS West Dean. People on the island lately have claimed that the Axis forces have been focusing on unexpected targets such as hospitals. Today, the area around St. Publius Parish Church in Floriana is devastated. Thirteen people taking shelter in the church's crypt are killed and another five seriously injured. This is known as the "blackest day for Floriana."

Axis Politics: The Axis leaders have been cultivating the support of Arab nations and ethnic groups. While that hasn't always worked out well, as in the abortive pro-Axis coup in Iraq, the Axis leaders still hope for a general uprising against the British. Also, there are hopes for large numbers of Arab troops within the Wehrmacht. Today, Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano extends another inducement by promising that Italy will give formal recognition to the independence of Arab States. Since Britain and France exert political control throughout the region, this is a subtle way of encouraging uprisings that would aid the Axis powers. 

The 28 April 1942 Brooklyn Eagle is full of news about President Roosevelt's fireside chat.

American Homefront: James M. Landis, national director of the U.S. Office of Civilian Defense, institutes nightly blackouts of the Atlantic coast in the New York City area. These cover a fifteen-mile strip of the coast. These are to counter U-boat activities in the area, as city lights make it easier for submarines to spot ships silhouetted against background lights.

President Roosevelt gives another of his famous "fireside chats." The title is "On Our National Economic Policy and Sacrifice," and it lasts for just under 33 minutes. He attacks the issue of rationing head-on:

As I told the Congress yesterday, ‘sacrifice’ is not exactly the proper word with which to describe this program of self-denial. When at the end of this great struggle we shall have saved our free way of life, we shall have made no ‘sacrifice.’…

The Office of Price Administration "freezes prices."

Paulette Goddard and John Wayne promoting "Reap the Wild Wind" on the cover of Motion Picture magazine, April 1942.

The FBI under special agent N.L.J. Pieper raids homes and businesses in the San Francisco Bay area and apprehends 24 enemy aliens. Among other contraband, short wave radios are discovered during the sweep. Meanwhile, "several hundred" internees depart from San Francisco today for processing at the Tanforan race Track assembly center. The San Francisco News reports that "It appeared more to be the start of an outing than on "ousting."" Area Commander Lieutenant General DeWitt orders the evacuation of Japanese-Americans from Portland and surrounding areas by May 5.

Some sources claim that the Gallup polling organization releases the results of a poll about the proper name of the current war on 28 April 1942. The preferred name, these sources claim, is "World War II." However, Gallup does not list such a poll anywhere, though it may exist anyway. In any event, what to call the current war varies from nation to nation. Americans have taken to calling it "World War II," but Russians call it "The Great Patriotic War," people in the UK prefer "The Second World War," and so on. 

Just to be clear, the United States does not formally adopt "World War II" as the proper name until after the war's conclusion. This is done at the recommendation in a 10 September 1945 letter from Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal to the President. This name, after approval by then-President Harry S. Truman, enters the Federal Register on 11 September 1945 (not 28 April 1942) as the official U.S. name of the conflict. This name has been used in many subsequent United States laws.

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!

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April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

Monday 27 April 1942

U-552 (Kptlt. Erich Topp) returns to its base in St. Nazaire, France, on 27 April 1942. Note all the victory pennants, the submarine's eighth patrol has been a successful one with seven enemy ships of 45,731 tons sent to the bottom. Clearly visible is the "Red Devil" (Roter Teufel) mascot image on the conning tower (Federal Archive Image 101II-MW-4837-25A).

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese 22nd Infantry Division of the 13th Army, based in Shanghai and Nanchang, takes the key rail and river junction of Lungyu in Chekiang Province. This is part of a back-and-forth between the two sides in this area that lasts throughout the war, with Lungyu frequently in contention. 

Battle of the Indian Ocean: General Chang, commander of the Sixty-Sixth Army headquartered in Lashio, sends the 28th South from Hsipaw to Namon. While driving south on the Loilem road, it runs into a Japanese motorized column. Both sides quickly retreat, with the Chinese commander heading back to Lashio. Meanwhile, Chang, knowing he can't hold out for long, is sending everything that can move back to China. The Japanese, taken by surprise by the appearance of the Chinese troops further south than expected, regroup for another assault on Lashio in a couple of days.

The USAAF 10th Air Force is building up its forces in India for the conflict in Burma and air supply missions to China. Today, the ground echelon of the 9th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bomber Group, transfers from Karachi (in modern Pakistan) to Allahabad, India (in the eastern section). Their B-17 bombers already are nearby in Bamrauli.

Internees being shipped off from Seattle, Washington, on 27 April 1942. Seattle Mayor Earl Millikin sends a telegram to Congressman John H. Tolan, Chairman, Committee Investigation National Defense Migration, Washington, D.C., today that begins "Disposition of Japanese property in Seattle going well." He also mentions that "Evacuation thus far very quiet and orderly." (Photograph by Tacoma News Tribune photographer, Howard Clifford. UW562, Special Collections and Preservation Division, University of Washington Libraries).

Eastern Front: The spring thaw ("Rasputitsa") is in full swing all across the Eastern Front, ending operations for the time being. The first area where the roads will dry up is in Crimea, where General Manstein is planning Operation Trapenjagd, a decisive offensive on the Parpach Narrows to eliminate the Soviet presence on the Kerch peninsula. The Soviets are still planning an attack of their own, but all of their previous attacks have failed and the Germans are growing in strength while they weaken due to the Luftwaffe's interdiction of their supplies across the Kerch Strait.

The Luftwaffe attacks Leningrad shipping and sinks training ship TS "Svir." Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, has billed this series of attacks on Leningrad as an "air offensive" but it is achieving meager results.

Spitfire Mk.Vb BM240/BP-E "Clifton Cinemas" crash landing after a sortie over Lille, Pilot Flt. Lt. R.H.C. Sly, 457 Squadron, Redhill, 27 April 1942 (via Mike Mirkovic).

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe continues its Baedeker raids on 27 April 1942, switching from Bath to Norwich. It is a clear night, and the Germans make the most of it. They drop over 90 tons of bombs and cause 67 deaths. It bears noting that, while the number of Luftwaffe bombers is smaller than those in the concurrent RAF raids, they typically fly two missions each night (refueling in France), which doubles their effectiveness. The Luftwaffe bombers are causing heavy damage and more casualties than the larger RAF raids, and for the moment at least are dropping their bombs more accurately.

Bomb damage in Norwich on 27 April 1942: St. Augustine's School on Waterloo Road (Swain).

The force of sheer numbers, though, is now on the RAF's side. On the other side of the English Channel, the north German port of Rostock is now a shambles after four nights of RAF bombing. It is estimated that 70% of the city has been destroyed and 100,000 people have been made homeless. However, key industries such as the Heinkel plant on the outskirts of town continue to function.

Tonight, after sending an 18-bomber daylight raid to Ostend and Lille (one bomber lost), RAF Bomber Command switches to Cologne. A total of 97 aircraft (76 Wellington bombers, 19 Stirlings, and 2 Halifaxes) inflict moderate damage on the city at the cost to themselves of six Wellingtons and a Halifax. There are 11 deaths, 52 injured, and 1683 people made homeless. The damage could have been greater, but many of the bombers overshoot the city and their bombs fall harmlessly to the east.

RAF Bomber Command sends another mission to Trondheim to sink the German battleship, Tirpitz. While the 43 bombers (31 Halifaxes and 12 Lancasters) locate the Tirpitz, they score no hits on it. This is one of many failed attempts by the RAF to sink the Tirpitz from 1941 until November 1944. Four Halifaxes and a Lancaster fail to return. Wing Commander D.C.T. Bennett is among the crewmen who are forced to bail out, but he eventually makes it to neutral Sweden and then back to rejoin the RAF within five weeks. Bennett is destined to become the commander of the Pathfinder force.

In other operations, the RAF sends a dozen aircraft to Dunkirk, 8 bombers on minelaying operations off the German coast, and 8 bombers (3 Lancasters and 5 Wellingtons) on leaflet flights. Two Halifaxes from the Dunkirk raid, two Wellingtons, and a Stirling fail to return. All told, 17 RAF aircraft are lost on 27 April for a poor and unsustainable 10.1% loss ratio.

A de Havilland Mosquito NF38 Night Fighter takes off on a mission.

The new de Havilland Mosquito bomber night fighter makes its first operational sortie. It can outfly many fighters at its maximum speed of 407 mph and has excellent handling qualities. The night fighters are equipped with four 20mm cannons. The Mosquito bomber, which has been conducting raids for months, remains a military secret with no announcement of its existence by the RAF.  The arrival of it as a night fighter gives the creaking RAF night defenses a welcome bit of relief as the Luftwaffe Baedeker Raids continue to cause devastation.

After tonight's raid on Dunkirk, which includes two Whitley bombers, they are withdrawn from bombing operations due to becoming obsolete. Henceforth, they will only fly occasional leaflet missions.

Erich Topp carrying the customary bouquet of flowers upon his return to St. Nazaire on 27 April 1942 after a successful war patrol (Federal Archive Fig. 101II-MW-3755-05).

Battle of the Atlantic: The RAF bombs and sinks Danish 1494-ton freighter Inga near the South Horns Reef located off the west coast of Denmark. There is one death. 

Hitler has ordered the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe to focus on the Arctic convoys that have been passing close to German bases in northern Norway without many losses. Pursuant to those orders, the Kriegsmarine now has heavy cruiser Hipper and pocket battleship Luetzow stationed there, along with 20 submarines (8 for defense and 12 for anti-convoy attacks). The Luftwaffe also has beefed up its presence, with a dozen Heinkel He-111 bombers converted to torpedo-bombers. This large force is waiting patiently for Convoy PQ 15, which sailed from Iceland yesterday.

Pierre Laval and his recent return to power in Vichy France is the cover story for the 27 April 1942 Time magazine (cover credit: Margaret Bourke-White).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian aircraft score a major success by sinking British submarine HMS Urge (LtCdr E.P. Tomkinson) off Ra's Al Hilal, Libya. All 32 crew and 11 Royal Navy passengers bound for Alexandria perish.

The Axis bombing raids on Malta begin around 11:15. The Grand Harbour area and nearby military installations are the main targets. The day's attacks are notable for the heavy participation by Italian Fiat Br.20 Cicogna bombers, a low-wing twin-engine medium bomber. The Cicogna bombers usually only operate at night, but Malta's defenses have been so weakened that the Italians feel emboldened to use it during the day, too. The Italians also use Cant Z. 1007 bombers.

For the British defenders, the highlight of the day is a sapper's (Richard Walters) use of a machine gun to down a Junkers Ju-87 Stuka at Floriana. It is a real morale boost for the troops there, whose barracks have been destroyed and who are now living in trenches and tents.

Luftwaffe pilot Ernst Düllberg and others stand before his Bf 109 F-4 of 5/JG 27 in North Africa, April 1942. Ernst Düllberg was credited with 45 victories, 36 over the Western Front. He survived the war and passed away on 27 July 1984.

Partisans: The Axis anti-partisan Operation Trio continues making progress in the Balkans. Today, a combined force of Germans, Italians, and Chetniks occupies Rogatica without any fighting on the way to the Drina River. The Chetniks increasingly are turning their backs on the main partisan force, which is heavily manned by communists. Many partisan units with large Chetnik components are "taken over" by the Chetniks, who execute the political commissars standard in such units. More and more, the fighting is becoming ideological as opposed to nationalistic, which is to the benefit of the Axis forces due to the communist/nationalist split in the partisan units.

US/Vichy France Relations: US Ambassador to France Admiral William Leahy meets with various highly placed individuals within the French government. Pre-war political leader Edouard Herriott tells Leahy that he believes that General de Gaulle is fighting for France's survival and ideals, which is a shocking statement in occupied Paris. Later, Pierre Laval has his one and only meeting with Leahy and tells him that France will enthusiastically collaborate with Germany and that he distrusts Great Britain. Admiral Darlan tells Leahy that he hoped that the two nations would remain friends and that Vichy forces would never fight Americans. Finally, Premier Pétain also promises to remain friendly to the United States. After these meetings, Leahy prepares to Washington.

Stanisława Drzewiecka, 23 or 24, arrives in Auschwitz on 27 April 1942 and has her picture taken, above. She is one of 127 women on the first transport of Polish women sent to Auschwitz. Previously, these women were held in prisons in Cracow and Tarnów. Stanislawa was convicted of smuggling weapons from the mountains to Cracow. She perishes in the camp on 25 October 1942.

Holocaust: All Jews in the Netherlands are required to wear a yellow star badge. This practice began in 1941 in the occupied territories of Poland and the Baltic States. It quickly has spread throughout the Reich and Occupied Europe, though the Vichy authorities have not implemented it.

About 1000 Jews in the Theresienstadt Ghetto are sent east to the death camps of Belzec and Sobibor. The German plan is to "cleanse" Czechoslovakia of Jews and eradicate the Czech culture in order to make its German inhabitants fit better into the Reich. Reinhard Heydrich, the chief architect of the "Final Solution" at the 20 January 1942 Wannsee Conference, has been made the Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia) in order to handle this matter expeditiously.

Canadian Homefront: Canadians vote 65.53% in favor of conscription. Quebec Province alone votes against it.

The Main Street of Pryor, Oklahoma, after the tornado of 27 April 1942.

American Homefront: In San Francisco, residents of Japanese descent complete their registration for evacuation to Tanforan Assembly Center. They are to board trains for the move over the next few days. A total of 1923 people have registered in San Francisco, while an additional 1187 have registered in portions of Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. The total registered to date number 12,028 people, though that figure is incomplete.

Protestant and Jewish clergymen have pledged to aid the Japanese upon their return to the area after the war. They state:

We pledge ourselves to do all in our power to preserve the right which is yours, so that when a day of healing and peace returns you may exercise freely your full rights as American citizens. We also hope that you will not only keep your faith in American ideals but do what you can to influence your friends and relatives in that direction.

The Wartime Civil Control Administration reports that 4200 farms totaling 160,000 acres have been abandoned by the departing internees. They are now being worked by other farmers from nearby localities and states.

A tornado destroys Pryor, Oklahoma. There are 52 dead.

Chiang Kai-Shek (left) and Mahatma Gandhi meet in Calcutta, 27 April 1942. Madame Chiang Kai-shek (not shown) translates Gandhi's English to Chinese for her husband, who is there to see if the Indian nationalist movement will aid the fight against the Japanese (Life). 

Future History: James Lee Keltner is born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As Jim Keltner, he becomes renowned as a session drummer from the 1960s onward. In particular, Keltner is famous for having worked with George Harrison, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr during the 1970s. He also joins Harrison's supergroup "The Traveling Wilburys" in the 1980s. Jim Keltner remains quite active in the music scene as of this writing in 2021.

Ruth Burtnick is born in Lexington, Kentucky. As Ruth Glick, and sometimes using pen names, she becomes a writer of many novels and cookbooks. Ruth Glick remains active as of this writing in 2021.

One of the Halifax bombers (W1048 of No. 35 Squadron) on the Trondheim raid makes a forced landing on a frozen lake. When the ice melts, it sinks gently to the lake floor. The bomber is raised in 1973, restored, and put on display in the RAF Museum at Herndon.

Nelson Rockefeller, Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (CIAA) in the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA), on the cover of the 27 April 1942 Life magazine. Rockefeller focused successfully on "cultural diplomacy" in order to form a united front against the Axis.

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