June 6, 1942: Japanese Invade Aleutian Islands

Saturday 6 June 1942

"SBD Dauntless dive bombers from USS Hornet (CV-8) approaching the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma to make the third set of attacks on her, during the early afternoon of 6 June 1942. Mikuma had been hit earlier by strikes from Hornet and USS Enterprise (CV-6), leaving her dead in the water and fatally damaged." Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-17054.

Battle of the Pacific: Despite having suffered staggering losses off Midway Island on 4 June, the Japanese follow through on their subsidiary campaign in the Aleutian Islands on 6 June 1942. The Japanese Northern Area Fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya, lands 500 troops of the elite Maizura 3rd Special Landing Force and 700 laborers on Kiska Island at 10:27. 

This is the first invasion of the continental United States since the War of 1812, though Alaska is not yet a state. The local Unangax (Aleuts) offer virtually no resistance and no U.S. military forces intervene at this time despite some fruitless bombers searching for the Japanese. There are U.S. soldiers of the U.S. Navy meteorological service on Kiska, but they disappear into the rugged interior. The Japanese rename the island Narukami.

Eight P-38s do spot and attack a ship, but it turns out to be a Soviet freighter. The Americans, though, are quite concerned about both a Japanese land invasion south toward Washington State through Canada and Japanese bombing raids from the Aleutians (neither of which the Japanese plan) and begin preparing a response.

Off Midway Island, things just keep getting worse for the Japanese. Having lost four irreplaceable aircraft carriers to the U.S. Navy's one, they now lose another important ship. Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers attack and sink cruiser Mikuma, already damaged in previous days' raids. Mikuma and fellow cruiser Mogami are heading for refuge at Wake Island when 31 SBDs from USS Enterprise and Hornet attack and hit Mikuma with five bombs and Mogami with six.

"Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma, photographed from a USS Enterprise (CV-6) SBD aircraft during the afternoon of 6 June 1942, after she had been bombed by planes from Enterprise and USS Hornet (CV-8). Note her shattered midships structure, torpedo dangling from the after port side tubes and wreckage atop her number four eight-inch gun turret." Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-414422.

While the Mikuma may theoretically have survived that many bomb hits, one of them sets off the torpedoes it is carrying and they destroy the ship. There are 650 deaths and 240 survivors, who are picked up by destroyers Asashio and Arashio (both also hit by one bomb each. U.S. Navy submarine Trout investigates the scene on 9 June and picks up an additional two Japanese crewmen and makes them POWs.

An example of the "fog of war" almost causes a tragedy for the U.S. forces. A late-morning B-17 raid by 26 bombers based on Midway (led by Lt. Col. Brooke Allen) against the fleeing Japanese cruisers fails to find them. However, they do spot a target and six B-17s drop their loads on it thinking it is one of the cruisers. In fact, it is U.S. submarine Grayling. Fortunately for the Americans, level-bombing accuracy at sea lives down to its terrible reputation, no harm is done, and Grayling quickly dives before any bombs come close. 

The Japanese do "get one back" when submarine I-168, which previously shelled Midway Island, spots crippled USS Yorktown and attacks. In addition to pumping one more torpedo into the badly listing aircraft carrier, the submarine torpedoes and sinks the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412) around noon. Hammann has been providing auxiliary power to USS Yorktown as a damage control party desperately tries to keep it from sinking. Only one of four torpedoes hits the destroyer, but it is enough to break the ship in half. The destroyer sinks in just four minutes, and after it slips under, its armed depth charges explode, causing a violent underwater explosion and killing many men in the water. There are 80 deaths from the 192-man crew. I-168, despite being surrounded by U.S. Navy screening destroyers, escapes with minor damage.

"USS Hammann (DD-412) sinking with stern high, after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-168 in the afternoon of 6 June 1942. Photographed from the starboard forecastle deck of USS Yorktown (CV-5) by Photographer 2nd Class William G. Roy. Angular structure in right foreground is the front of Yorktown's forward starboard 5-inch gun gallery. Note knotted lines hanging down from the carrier's flight deck, remaining from her initial abandonment on 4 June." Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-32320.

With ships on both sides still sinking (such as Yorktown) and already sunk, there are hundreds of men struggling to survive in the waters around Midway. The island's PT-boats and PBY Catalinas spend this and surrounding days picking up 27 men.

U.S. fleet carrier Saratoga, which missed the Battle of Midway due to repairs and upgrades being performed on the West Coast, arrives in Honolulu today. It quickly prepares to depart on the 7th to ferry replacement aircraft and crew to Enterprise and Hornet still stationed northeast of Midway. While most histories record 7 June 1942 as the final day of the Battle of Midway, today effectively marks the end of major hostilities.

The state-controlled Tokyo press quickly informs the public of the "great victory" in the Aleutian Islands. However, no mention is made of the catastrophic events for the Japanese Navy off of Midway Island until the war is over.

"I-168. (Japanese Submarine, 1933-1943) Underway in March 1934, probably during her trials. This submarine was renamed I-168 in May 1942. She torpedoed USS Yorktown (CV-5) on 6 June 1942, causing damage that led to the carrier's sinking the following morning." Naval History and Heritage Command NH 73054 I-68.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Japanese submarine I-16 torpedoes, shells, and sinks 3839-ton Yugoslav freighter Susak in the Mozambique Channel. There are seven deaths.

I-10 torpedoes and sinks U.S. freighter Melvin H. Baker 45 miles off the mainland coast. All 48 men aboard survive and are picked up by British freighter Twickenham.

Eastern Front: German General Erich von Manstein makes his final preparations for Operation Stoerfang ("Sturgeon Catch"), the land assault against Sevastopol.  Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe continues an overpowering assault against the port, facing virtually no opposition from airports almost within sight of the defenders. Between 3 and 6 June, the Luftwaffe has flown 2355 sorties, dropping 1800 tons of high explosives 23,800 1.1kg incendiary bombs. In the two weeks from 24 May to 6 June, the Luftwaffe also has dropped 638,000 propaganda leaflets (50,000 per day) with instructions on how to surrender.

The massive artillery barrage that includes the biggest guns in military history, including the Karl and Gustav guns, shifts its targeting today to the defenses south of the city that face the German 30th Army Corps.

Rather than evacuating the port, the Soviets actually make every effort to reinforce it, slipping flotilla leader Tashkent, the destroyer Bezuprechnyi, and transport Abkhaziya through the blockade to deliver 2,785 more Red Army defenders.

The Illustrated London News of 6 June 1942 features photos of German General Erwin Rommel, left, and recently deceased General Reinhard Heydrich, right (with Heinrich Himmler). Rommel is shown pushing his command car out of some trouble.

European Air Operations: The weather is warm, with plenty of ground haze below 1500 feet. The RAF focuses mainly on convoy protection.

R.A.A.F. Catalinas of RAF No. 10 Squadron, using Leigh Lights, bomb and damage Italian submarine Luigi Torelli in the Bay of Biscay. The submarine's crew manages to beach it at Santander, Spain, to prevent sinking. There is one death and one wounded crewman. The ship is temporarily repaired and sailed to France on 14 July for permanent repairs.

Hptm. Helmut Lent, Gruppenkommanduer of II./NJG 2, is awarded the Eichenlaub (No. Ninety-eight) after 34 night victories and 8 by day.

"A close-up of USS Atlanta (CL 51) with USS Hornet (CV 8) and USS Phelps (DD 360), all of Task Force 16, in background. Picture was made during the third day of the battle as Atlanta came up to offer assistance to the destroyer, which had broken down temporarily because of fuel shortage." 6 June 1942. Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-88908

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a busy day for two German raiders operating in the South Atlantic east of Brazil. The 1940-41 glory days of the raiders are over and now they have to operate in remote areas to avoid detection. That doesn't mean they don't get the occasional moment of excitement. This happens during the Action of 6 June 1942.

In one incident, German raider Michel (Schiffe 28) spots disabled and drifting 7176-ton U.S. freighter George Clymer midway between Brazil and Africa. The Michel launches its motor torpedo boat Esan, which torpedoes and badly damages the freighter. One man perishes in the attack. The crew abandons the ship but reboards it on the 8th when it does not sink. however, the situation is hopeless and the crew is picked up by the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Alcantara. That is the last anyone sees of George Clymer, which remains stubbornly afloat. Exactly when and where the George Clymer sinks is unknown.

German raider Stier (Schiffe 23) has been quietly operating in the South Atlantic with limited success since leaving Royan, France in late May 1942. Today, Stier is cruising 500 miles (800 km) east of Pernambuco, Brazil, in overcast weather when it spots 10,170-ton U.S. tanker Stanvac Calcutta. Appearing suddenly out of a squall, Stier fires a warning shot and signals the tanker's crew to prepare to be boarded.

The Stanvac Calcutta, however, is heavily armed for a tanker. It has one 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber naval gun salvaged from World War I and a 5 inch (127 mm)/25-caliber anti-aircraft gun. Stier, meanwhile, has six 150-millimeter (6 in) guns, one 37 mm (1.5 in) gun, two 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons, and two torpedo tubes. So, there's a lot of firepower on both sides, though Stier outguns the tanker by a substantial margin.

The tanker's crew, led by Captain Gustav O. Karlsson, decides to not comply with the Stier's order to stop and opens fire. Led by Ensign Edward L. Anderson, the tanker's gunners get off several shots with both guns (the larger gun in the gun, smaller in the bow). Despite missing with most of their shots, the gunners do hit and disable one of Stier's 150mm guns. The Stier's crew then returns fire with 148 shells.

The battle lasts for 15 minutes, during which the Germans score a hit on the tanker's bridge, killing Captain Karlsson and several others. The Americans continue firing until their ammunition is exhausted. At this point, Stier Captain Horst Gerlach fires a torpedo that strikes Stanvac Calcutta on the port side. This kills several sailors and causes damage that leads to a sharp list and eventual sinking. The tanker's crew then abandons ship. Gerlach's men lower their own boats and rescue the Americans struggling in the water.

The Action of 6 June 1942 shows several hard truths about the Battle of the Atlantic. One is that merchant ships armed with a few guns stand little chance against raiders like Stier that are designed for combat even if they aren't true warships. Another is that these surface combats kill a lot of crewmen, as Stanvac Calcutta has 16 men killed in action, one dying later onboard Stier, fourteen men wounded, and 37 prisoners taken (the Stier only suffers two wounded men).

Actions like that of 6 June 1942 call into question the whole concept of arming merchant ships, which requires a lot of effort and dedicated gunners on hundreds of ships. However, later events involving Stier will redeem this idea somewhat. For their pains, the Stanvac Calcutta's crew later are awarded the Merchant Marine Gallant Ship Citation and Ensign Anderson is promoted (while a POW) to the rank of lieutenant commander. The tanker crew winds up in a Japanese POW camp.

Coal-burning freighter Hermis is shown at left while still called "Ada O." Hermis was an Italian vessel anchored in New Orleans when seized in 1941 and pressed into U.S. service. Sunk on 6 June 1942.

There are also the usual U-boat sinkings, these days confined to the Caribbean.

U-68 (KrvKpt. Karl-Friedrich Merten), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 13,006-ton Panamanian tanker C.O. Stillman 60 miles southwest of Puerto Rico. There are three deaths and 55 survivors,  most of whom are picked up by US Coast Guard patrol boat #83310 while 30 sail their lifeboats to Puerto Rico.

U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3910-ton Honduran freighter Castilla east of Cancun and south of western Cuba. One torpedo hits and causes the ship to sink quickly stern-first. The crew can't launch lifeboats and take to three rafts. There are 24 deaths (including one who dies on a raft) 35 survivors, who are picked up by USS Nike (WPC-112) after six days. Some sources place this sinking on 7 June 1942.

U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5234-ton Panamanian freighter Hermis west of Havana and northeast of Cancun. Two torpedoes strike the ship on the port side but the engines continue running due to an inability to stop them due to damage. Rostin surfaces and uses his deck gun to finish off the freighter, setting it on fire. There is one death and 46 survivors, who are picked up by US Army transport Toloa. The ship does not sink for at least 12 hours and this sinking is sometimes listed as occurring on 7 June 1942.

Dutch 197-ton freighter Antares hits a mine and sinks off the Dutch coast.

"The Battle of Knightsbridge, 6th June 1942," by Terence Cuneo (1907-1996). Shown are the 426th Battery of the 107th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery and the South Nottinghamshire Hussars, panzer of the Afrika Korps attacking. The 426th ultimately was forced to surrender.

Battle of the Mediterranean: After a wild day of attack and counter-attack between German and British troops on 5 June, the front settles down again today. However, German General Erwin Rommel retains command of the battlefield after his forces destroyed dozens of Allied tanks. He sends out armed reconnaissance to test the British lines and maintains pressure on the surrounded Free French garrison at Bir Hakeim. For their part, the British engage in harassing attacks against the German supply lines using the 7th Motor Brigade and 29th Indian Infantry Brigade.

The main action of the day is an attack at 11:00 by the German 90th Light Division against Bir Hakeim. This involves a determined effort by troops and pioneers to clear a way through the minefields surrounding the fortress, which are divided into two perimeters. By nightfall, the Germans manage to get through the outer minefield and into the inner minefield to within 800 meters (900 yards) of the fortress. The advance, while threatening to the Free French, also leaves the German troops exposed to Desert Air Force attacks on the 7th.

The Battle of Knightsbridge proceeds as the 15th Panzer Division attacks northward. The British 22nd Armoured Brigade continues to give ground after having lost dozens of its tanks. The German objective is El Adem, but the 201st Guard Brigade is ferociously defending the approaches to Tobruk.

Operation Aberdeen, the Eighth Army's counterattack begun on 4/5 June against the German Afrika Korps panzers, ends today after having accomplished nothing but the loss of numerous British troops and tanks. British Eighth Army commander General Neil Ritchie and Middle East Commander-in-Chief Claude Auchinleck now face the prospect of not only losing the battle but also all of Libya and much of Egypt unless they can find some way to stop Rommel's attacks. Among the desperate options considered are withdrawing the Free French from Bir Hakeim to free up the 7th Motor Brigade. However, this is rejected as the French seem to be in a good defensive situation.

Oblt. Hans-Joachim Marseille of 3./JG 27, currently operating in North Africa, receives the Eichenlaub for achieving 75 victories. Marseille once was considered a disciplinary problem but now is revered by his colleagues as a legend.

A map showing the military situation in Libya ca. 6 June 1942. The 15th Panzer Division thrust through the British Knightsbridge defensive position is shown by the upward arrow in the center, with a separate thrust to the south of Tobruk at the upper right. The map makes clear the extreme jeopardy of the Allied position at Tobruk, though nobody on either side is thinking about it just yet.

American Homefront: At the Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of the Triple Crown, the chestnut stallion Shut Out is the winner. Having also won the Kentucky Derby, Shut Out just misses immortality by having lost the Preakness Stakes to Alsab. Shut Out continues racing until 1944, when it is retired and put out to stud until passing away in 1964.

Future History: Klaus Bednarz is born in  Falkensee, Province of Brandenburg, Germany. Bednarz becomes a popular West German correspondent, author, and television host, particularly of the TV show Monitor. Klaus Bednarz passes away on 14 April 2015.

L'Illustration, 6 June 1942.

2021

June 4, 1942: Japanese Lose Four Carriers to One U.S. Carrier

Thursday 4 June 1942

"The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) lists heavily after she was abandoned during the afternoon of 4 June 1942. Note that two Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters of Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3) are still parked on her flight deck, aft of the island." Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-21666.

Battle of the Pacific: Japan loses three aircraft carriers on 4 June 1942 during one of the pivotal days of World War II.

The day begins with the Japanese Fleet approaching Midway Island and three U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, unknown to the Japanese, waiting for them to the northeast of the island. Reveille on Midway sounds a 03:00, with battle stations ordered. At 04:00, six F4F Wildcats of VMF-221 (Major Floyd B. “Red” Parks) take off, followed by 11 PBY Catalinas of VP-44. In addition, 16 B-17 bombers get in the air, ready to bomb the Japanese.

Initial Japanese Carrier and Midway Island Aircraft Attacks

On the Japanese side, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo’s First Striking Force, composed of fleet carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu, begin launching their aircraft at 04:30. By 04:45, 36 Nakajima B5N2 Kate torpedo bombers, 36 Aichi D3A1 Val dive bombers, and 36 Mitsubishi A6M2Zero fighters were on their way to Midway.

A U.S. pilot, Lieutenant Howard P. Ady, spots the approaching Japanese planes at 05:30 and gets off a detailed radio report. Radar on Midway picks up the Japanese planes at 05:53. This alerts the defenders, who rush to man their positions. Twenty-one Buffalo fighters, six Wildcats, six TBFs, and four B-26 bombers follow suit, along with all available dive bombers. Every one of the 66 planes based at Midway is in the air by 06:16.

The Buffaloes and Wildcats intercept the approaching Japanese bombers. The Japanese Zeros make quick work of the first six Buffaloes, destroying all but one that barely limps back to Midway. The Zeroes then begin picking off the remaining Buffaloes, opening a path for their bombers, losing three Kate bombers in the process.

Oil tanks burning on Midway Atoll after the Japanese attack, 4 June 1942. Note the birds in the foreground. (US National Archives).

At 06:31, the Japanese are over Midway Island and the anti-aircraft guns on the island open fire. The Kate bombers destroy three oil tanks and set fire to a seaplane hanger while losing two of their number. Val dive bombers attack the airfield, killing four mechanics and setting off eight 100-lb bombs and some .50-caliber ammunition. The island's electricity goes out when a Val bombs Eastern Island's powerhouse. This causes a real interruption of the island's water supplies, as opposed to the fake problem radioed by Midway Island in May that enabled U.S. Navy cryptographers to pinpoint Midway as the Japanese objective.

The attack is over by 06:48, and the all-clear sounds at 07:15. Only six Buffalo fighters make it back to the island and only 20 of the original force of U.S. fighter planes. They are almost all badly damaged, with one Buffalo and one Wildcat still serviceable. Casualties on the ground are 11 dead and 18 wounded.

Meanwhile, Midway's own bombers find the Japanese carriers and launch their own attack at 07:10. Six TBFs attempt a torpedo run but five are shot down by defending Zero fighters. Only one TBF launches its torpedo at a cruiser and then barely makes it back to the island.

Four B-26 Marauder bombers then attack. Two get within 850 yards and 450 yards, respectively, of carrier Akagi and launch their torpedoes.  Only two of the Marauders survive the defending fighters. The torpedo attacks have done one thing extremely well, however, in that they have drawn the defending fighter cover down to sea level.

At 07:48,  sixteen Dauntless and Vindicator dive bombers of VMSB-241 (Major Lofton Henderson) arrive at the scene and begin their attacks. The fighters quickly get up to 4000 feet and begin shooting down the arriving planes, but there is enough cloud cover for the U.S. planes to evade most of the attacks. The Zeros shoot down Henderson's Dauntless, but ten get through to drop their bombs at low altitude. The planes then return to Midway, losing eight SBDs in total and with only six making it back to base.

Next, 15 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers led by Lt. Col. Walter C. Sweeney arrive at 08:10, just as the Dauntlesses are completing their attacks. These bombers have no success, finishing their attack by 08:20 and returning to Midway.

Just as the B-17s are completing their bomb runs, 11 Vindicators (Major Benjamin Norris) arrive and are immediately swarmed by Zero fighters. They attack battleship Haruna, losing two planes to anti-aircraft fire and three others on the way back to Midway. These attacks also completely fail.

A battle-damaged SBD from carrier USS Enterprise on the flight deck of carrier USS Yorktown after having to land there due to fuel exhaustion, 4 June 1942 (US Naval History and Heritage Command).

At this point, in mid-morning, the U.S. attacks have achieved no hits on the Japanese ships despite a wave of attacks. They have lost 19 planes, and only six Dauntlesses, seven Vindicators, one Buffalo, and a single Wildcat remain usable on Midway. The Japanese essentially have beaten the defenders of Midway Island and it is ripe for invasion.

However, the presence of three U.S. Navy aircraft carriers (USS Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet) remains unknown both to the island's defenders and to the Japanese. Admiral Nagumo is convinced that he has defeated the Americans, so he throws caution to the winds and has his reserve force armed with contact bombs for use against land targets to soften the island's defenders up for his invasion.

However, midway through this process, at 07:40, a scout plane from cruiser Tone reports that it has sighted a U.S. fleet to the east. Critically, the pilot does not mention that there are any aircraft carriers, and the report does not reach Nagumo until 08:00. He immediately orders the bombs changed to general-purpose bombs. 

 

Massive confusion now overcomes the Japanese commanders. Nagumo knows he has must recover his planes from the morning strike against Midway Island before launching any attacks on the U.S. ships, which he thinks are almost all non-carriers (the Tone pilot eventually reports seeing only one carrier). Bringing up his reserve planes from the hangar to the flight deck and launching them would take 30-40 minutes, and the strikes still would go off in a ragged fashion. Torn between sending an immediate strike or recovering his planes from the Midway raid, Nagumo ultimately decides on the latter. This also would give his crew time to arm the reserve planes with torpedoes.

"U.S. Navy LCdr Maxwell F. Leslie, commanding officer of Bombing Squadron 3 (VB-3), ditches his Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless next to the heavy cruiser USS Astoria (CA-34) after successfully attacking the Japanese carrier Soryu during the Battle of Midway, 13:48 hrs, 4 June 1942." Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-32307.

U.S. Navy Carrier Attacks

Meanwhile, on the U.S. Navy side, there is no indecision at all. Admiral Frank Fletcher launches his planes beginning at 07:00 and completes this by 07:55 for Enterprise and Hornet and by 09:08 for Yorktown. The planes are well on their way toward the Japanese ships while Nagumo is making up his mind.

The U.S. carriers are roughly 155 nautical miles (287 km, 178 miles) from the Japanese carriers at launch. The planes from Enterprise and Hornet do not form up, but instead, fly piecemeal toward the targets. Some of the planes follow an incorrect heading and miss the carriers, having to ditch, but one formation of TBD Devastator torpedo bombers (Torpedo Squadron 8, or VT-8 (Lt Cdr John C. Waldron) heads on the correct heading.

Waldron's planes arrive over the Japanese carriers at 09:20 and immediately attack. Unfortunately, they have no fighter escort and the defending Japanese Zeros shoot down all 15 Devastators before they can make any hits (one ensign survives after launching a torpedo that misses carrier Sōryū).

At 09:40, VT-6 from Enterprise, composed of 14 Devastators, arrives and attacks. It fares only a little better, losing nine planes without any hits. At 10:10, another wave of Devastators (VT-3 from Yorktown) arrives and 10 of these 12 planes also are shot down. So far, the defending Japanese combat air patrol is having a field day and the Japanese fleet remains unscathed despite all the attacks. Zero fighters clearly outclass the obsolete U.S. Navy torpedo bombers. Another problem for the attackers is that their torpedoes seem surprisingly ineffective given how close some of the planes get to the carriers.

However, everything is not as it seems. As in the earlier attacks, the torpedo attacks have drawn the defending Zeros down to sea level. The carriers, meanwhile, have had to execute extreme maneuvers to evade the torpedo attacks and are out of position. Furthermore, the defending fighters are low on fuel and ammunition.

Lt. (jg) William Leonard’s F4F-4 Wildcat taking off from carrier USS Yorktown during Battle of Midway, 4 June 1942 (US National Archives).

The stage is now set for one of the epic attacks in naval history.

Air Group Commander C. Wade McClusky, Jr. from Yorktown commands three dive-bomber squadrons from U.S. carriers (VB-6, VS-6, and VB-3). McClusky knows his SBD dive bombers are running low on fuel due to heading on the incorrect course. However, he does not give up looking and by chance spots a lone Japanese destroyer sailing toward the Japanese fleet and pointing at it like an arrow. The planes are so low on fuel that some have to ditch before they make it to the Japanese carriers.

However, fortune smiles on McClusky. He splits his planes up to attack carriers Kaga and Akagi. Despite some confusion and miscommunication, the dive bombers attack both carriers within minutes of each other. Basically, Kaga is attacked by two squadrons of dive bombers while Akagi is attacked by one.

It is at this point that the Japanese luck runs out. Their defensive aircraft are out of position, the carriers are full of planes being fueled and armed, and the carriers themselves are poorly protected by their accompanying ships because of the evasive maneuvers they have been forced to make to evade torpedo attacks.

Three to five 500-lb bombs hit their mark on Kaga, starting fires and hitting the bridge, killing Captain Jisaku Okada and most of Kaga's senior officers. This leaves the ship leaderless and out of control. The carrier deck tears and bends into the air, exposing the hangar deck and its fueling aircraft to more bombs.

"The End of Akagi." Painting by John Hamilton (1919-1993), original is displayed in The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

Due to miscommunication, only three dive-bombers led by Lieutenant Richard H. Best, who has decided not to attack Kaga because it is blowing up, attack Akagi. The bombers have unbelievable luck, as there is almost no defensive fire. One of the bombs hits the edge of the mid-ship elevator and penetrates to the hangar deck, where it explodes. The armed and fueled aircraft there detonate in a fireball, creating an explosion that rips the interior of the carrier apart. The crew has no hope of bringing the raging inferno under control.

VB-3 (Max Leslie) sees Kaga and Akagi blowing up and, still armed, now turns its attention toward a third carrier, Sōryū. They achieve at least three hits, igniting the gasoline being used to fuel the planes and detonating ammunition as with the other two carriers. VT-3 attacks the fourth carrier, Hiryū, but has no luck.

The fires on Akagi, Sōryū, and Kaga seal their fates. The fires expand and cause more bombs and fuel to explode and burn. Admiral Nagumo leaves Akagi and transfers his flag to light cruiser Nagara. The Japanese give up on all three carriers and scuttle them.

USS Yorktown listing and about to sink, 4 June 1942 (US Navy).

Japanese Counterattack

With three of his four carriers gone, Nagumo orders Hiryū to launch its own immediate attack on the U.S. carriers with whatever is available. It sends 18 D3A Vals and six fighter escorts, a relatively small attack considering the forces battling earlier but the most the Japanese fleet can now muster. The planes follow the retreating U.S. planes back to their carriers and immediately attack when within range. The dive bombers sight Yorktown first and attack it, hitting it with three bombs. The Japanese lose 13 dive bombers and three fighters in this attack.

The damage does not seem too bad at first, with all but one boiler put out of operation and a hole in the flight deck. However, it is bad enough for Fletcher to transfer his own flag to heavy cruiser Astoria.

Yorktown's crew works quickly. They patch the flight deck and get several boilers back in operation within an hour. Soon, Yorktown is steaming at 19 knots (22 mph, 35 km/h) and everything seems under control. It resumes air operations and Captain Buckmaster gets a little cocky, hoisting a huge American flag from the foremast and returning operations to normal.

An hour later, the second wave of Hiryū planes arrives. This is composed of ten Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and six escorting Zeros. Again, this is not much of an attacking force, but the U.S. defense are strained from the earlier attacks and they hit Yorktown with two torpedoes. The Japanese lose five more bombers and two Zeroes in this attack. Yorktown is left afloat but in very poor condition.

The few Japanese planes that make it back to Hiryū report having sunk two U.S. carriers. They mistakenly believe that the first and second waves attacked different carriers, when, in fact, both hit Yorktown. Nagumo believes that if he can launch one more coordinated attack, he can sink the third and last U.S. carrier, leaving him with the sole remaining carrier near Midway and able to complete the invasion of the island.

The general outline of the Battle of Midway. Source: United States Military Academy, Department of History.

The Final U.S. Counterattack

Fletcher and Admiral Spruance, in tactical command of Enterprise and Hornet, are ready to launch their own attack on Hiryū, but first they have to know where it is. Fortuitously, a Yorktown scout plane sights it late in the afternoon and the Enterprise immediately gets a strike force in the air. It is composed of 24 dive bombers (six SBDs from VS-6, four from VB-6, and 14 of VB-3 recovered from Yorktown.

The 24 dive bombers finish the day's work by blowing through the defending 12 Zero fighters and hitting Hiryū with four or five bombs. The same pattern as earlier repeats, with the bombs setting the Japanese carrier ablaze and the fires quickly getting out of control. The damage is so obviously bad that a later raid by Hornet's aircraft decides to skip Hiryū and attack other ships, though with no success.

All four Japanese carriers are now flaming wrecks and must be scuttled (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu) or sink unaided (Hiryū). On the U.S. side, the only carrier that has been hit is Yorktown, but, following the two torpedo strikes, it now is a total loss. The crew abandons ship and it, too sinks. That leaves the score at one U.S. Navy carrier lost to all four Japanese carriers sunk. The U.S. still has two carriers completely undamaged and incorporating planes recovered from Yorktown in addition to their own.

As night falls, the Japanese ships attempt to find the U.S. ships and bring them to battle. Spruance, now in command of operations because Fletcher cannot command from a cruiser, decides the better part of valor is a hasty retreat to the east. The day ends with Yamamoto's heavy ships chasing the U.S. carriers to the east but never spotting them.

"The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) steaming at high speed at about 0725 hrs, 4 June 1942, seen from USS Pensacola (CA-24). The carrier had launched Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) and Bombing Squadron Six (VB-6) and was striking unlaunched SBD aircraft below in preparation for respotting the flight deck with torpedo planes and escorting fighters. USS Northampton (CA-26) is in the right distance, with SBDs orbiting overhead, awaiting the launch of the rest of the attack group." Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-32225.

Aleutians Campaign

Things go much better for the Japanese further north.

Following a successful raid on Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands on 3 June, Japanese Vice Adm. Boshiro Hosogaya sends off a second raid from his carriers Junyō and Ryūjō. The attacking planes get through again, destroying oil storage tanks and damaging a hospital and a beached barracks ship. U.S. Navy Task Force 8, under the command of Rear-Admiral Robert A. Theobald, is nearby but does not intervene. Only late in the day do U.S. forces locate the two light Japanese carriers, but their attempts to sink them fail due to poor weather. The weather does help the Americans, though, because it causes the Japanese to cancel plans to invade Adak Island. Instead, they now plan only to land troops at Attu and Kiska. U.S. 3094-ton passenger/barracks ship Northwestern, bombed and damaged during the 3 June raid, is declared a total loss.

U.S. 15-ton halibut schooner King Fisher sinks from unknown causes five nautical miles (9.3 km, 5.8 miles) off Lazaroff Island and Pilot Point, Alaska. There are one survivor and three dead, the survivor rescued by a U.S. Navy patrol boat.

I-27 torpedoes and sinks 3353-ton Australian iron-ore carrier Iron Crown in the Bass Strait. There are 37 deaths. This sinking, combined with one on 3 June by I-24, convinces the Australian authorities to restrict shipping north of Melbourne until they can institute a convoy system on the east coast.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: HMS Trusty (Lt. Cdr. E. F Balston) torpedoes and sinks the 7031-ton Japanese merchant cargo ship Toyohashi Maru in the Strait of Malacca. Casualties are not recorded.

The Tenth Air Force sends two heavy bombers to attack Rangoon, Burma. The ten defending Japanese fighters shoot down one of the bombers and badly damage the other. This is the last raid on Rangoon for some time, as the monsoon rains ground the heavy bombers on their dirt runways.

The 11th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy) is established with B-25 bombers at Kunming, China.

Field Marshal Carl Mannerheim, Adolf Hitler, and Finnish President Ryti walk to Mannerheim's command train parked in a forest, 4 June 1942 (Finnish Military Museum SA-Kuva).

Eastern Front: At Sevastopol, the Wehrmacht bombardment continues unabated. The rolling barrage shifts today to the line facing the Romanian troops in the east. the Luftwaffe remains very active, flying hundreds of sorties.

Overall, it is a quiet day on the Eastern Front. With Hitler away and nothing going on, General Franz Halder doesn't even bother listing a daily summary in his war diary, simply noting that he is flying to Berlin. When the Fuhrer's away, the mice will play.

Of much greater importance is what Adolf Hitler is doing. While seemingly an informal visit to a friend, it actually is a calculated attempt to shore up the Reich's fraying "co-belligerency" with Finland. The Finns are fighting the same enemy, the Soviet Union, but increasingly are refusing to engage in battles desired by the German high command. Hitler decides a little personal diplomacy is in order.

Adolf Hitler, followed by Field Marshal Keitel, "walks the plank" to Finnish Field Marshal Carl Mannerheim's command train. Mannerheim can be seen smirking in the background (SA-Kuva).

Hitler, seemingly on a whim and with only one day's notice, flies to Finland to wish Field Marshal Carl Mannerheim a happy birthday on 4 June 1942. It is Mannerheim's 75th birthday. The visit is a very rare journey outside the Reich for Hitler, who almost never leaves areas of German control. While Hitler does eventually establish a headquarters in the occupied Soviet Union and visited Vichy France in 1940, German troops are always nearby. Finland is a co-belligerent but by no stretch of the imagination is under German control except in isolated areas such as the far north.

Hitler is greeted warmly by Mannerheim and treated properly, but the visit causes the Finns a great deal of anxiety. For one thing, it complicates Finland's diplomatic relations with the United States, with whom Finland is not at war. Mannerheim purposefully does not greet Hitler at his headquarters, but rather says that he is "in the field" and that Hitler should visit him where his command train is parked, at Imatra in Southern Finland.

Hitler's Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Kondor flies across the Gulf of Finland in great secrecy. When it lands at the small Immola Airfield (about 9 kilometers (6 mi) northeast of Imatrankoski), hard use of the brakes causes an issue with the left landing gear. A fire breaks out, apparently caused by brake fluid spraying over the hot brakes. The Kondor is known to have poorly designed brake hubs, causing the brakes to lock sometimes. Fortunately for Hitler, the fire is quickly extinguished with a fire extinguisher, the damage is slight, and the aircraft is quickly repaired (new bolts are quickly manufactured and installed). Hitler completely ignores the incident and may, in fact, not even know about it.

June 4, 1942. Dining in the train wagon: Adolf Hitler (left), Finnish Prime Minister Jukka Rangell, President Risto Ryti (back toward the camera), Finnish military commander, Marshal Carl Gustav Mannerheim (right). Source: Finnish Military Museum SA-Kuva.

There are some odd moments during the visit, which lasts much of the day. For one thing, Mannerheim has Hitler and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel walk a plank from a hillside to his command train. Both men navigate it without incident, but this could have ended in an embarrassing disaster. Another peculiar moment is when an SS officer bursts into the carriage where Hitler and Mannerheim (along with Finnish State President Risto Ryti and Keitel) are discussing strategy to inform them that Finnish intelligence has been taping their conversation with a hidden microphone. The microphone is located and disabled.

Fortunately for posterity, the 11-minute recording (on a phonograph record) survives the war despite Finnish assurances that it will be destroyed or remain sealed. It is rediscovered (mislabeled) and later released to the public. It is a rare recording of Hitler using his normal speaking voice, as opposed to the louder and more strident voice he uses during speeches. While there is some question whether the recording is genuine, an official investigation verified it.

During the conversation, Hitler confides why he invaded the Soviet Union. He says that he had nightmares of the Romanian oil fields, the source of most of the Reich's oil, "burning from end to end" due to Soviet attacks. To Hitler, Operation Barbarossa is a defensive operation to protect essential assets from a Soviet attack. He admits to being surprised by the Soviet ability to produce so many tanks.

Hitler leaves the meeting and flies back to Germany late in the day, blissfully unaware of the fateful events occurring in the Pacific.

Adolf Hitler arrives in Finland and is greeted by President Ryti on 4 June 1942. Hitler's Focke Wulf Fw-200 Kondor is in the background.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe engages in scattered bombing and mine-laying around Durham County, Yorkshire, and in general the northeast of England. The bombers show poor accuracy and drop bombs in fields west of Ryhope and at Tunstall Poultry Farm and the Turnstall Burdon District in Durham. Other bombs fall on a golf course and along the foreshore at Seaton Carew and Seaton Snooks. Many of these bombs are delayed-action bombs that must be handled by bomb experts and safely exploded. Other bombs fall in the riverside area near Sunderland. There are two men wounded and minimal damage, though an unexploded bomb does delay the loading of two coaling ships.

Both sides lose a plane over the Waddenzee today. The RAF shoots down a Junker Ju 88 over the Waddenzee 1 km south from Ameland Island. All four men aboard perish. Meanwhile, night-fighter pilot Oblt. Zur Lippe Weissenfeld of II/NJG 1 shoots down a British Wellington III from Marham on a raid to Bremen. All five crewmen perish.

Luftwaffe bombers attack and sink 555-ton British patrol boat HMY Sona (FY 027) off Poole Quay, Dorset, England. The ship poses a hazard to navigation, so it later is raised and sunk at Handfast Point.

USS Yorktown (CV-5) immediately after an aerial torpedo hit, 4 June 1942. The sky is full of planes and anti-aircraft bursts (U.S. Navy).

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Stier, operating 200 miles east of St. Paul's Rocks off the coast of Brazil, spots 4986-ton British freighter Gemstone. It fires a warning shot across the bow, but Gemstone does not stop. Instead, it heads directly away from Stier and tries to make a run for it. However, Stier does not give up and continues firing. Eventually, the Gemstone's crew abandons the ship, which is carrying iron ore. The Stier makes the crew prisoners of war and sinks Gemstone with a torpedo.

U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2647-ton Norwegian freighter Nidarnes in the Yucatan Strait (southwest of Cuba). Nidarnes is carrying military stores to Brazil and sinks within a minute, with the 11 survivors (13 dead) having to literally jump for their lives as the ship goes under. Someone manages to launch a raft, which the survivors reach a few hours later. They are picked up later in the day by U.S. freighter Curaca.

German 7978-ton freighter Katharina Dorothea Fritzen hits a mine and sinks near Borkum. Casualties are not recorded.

Japanese carrier Hiryu successfully evading bombs dropped by B-17 bombers early on 4 June 1942. The war in the Pacific proves the futility of using level bombers against agile ships. 4 June 1942 (U.S. Navy).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The two opposing field commanders in Libya, German General Erwin Rommel and British General Neil Ritchie, spend the day resupplying and preparing offensive operations. RAF Desert Air Force (DAF) fighters and fighter-bombers have a mixed day, scoring some success against Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers and destroying some Axis vehicles, but losing seven planes.

The Free French troops under General Kœnig continue to hold out at Bir Hakeim, disrupting Rommel's plans to sweep east toward Tobruk. He is grateful for the support of the DAF, which is destroying Axis vehicles surrounding his fortress, so he sends Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Coningham the message, "Bravo! Merci pour la R.A.F" Coningham responds in kind, "Merci pour le sport." However, all is not rosy on the Allied side, as Kœnig's men are surrounded and running low on water and other supplies.

German submarine S-57 torpedoes and sinks 305-ton Royal Navy anti-submarine ship HMS Cocker off Tobruk, Libya. There are 15 dead and 16 survivors.

RAF aircraft torpedo and badly damage 6837-ton Italian freighter Reginaldo Giuliani 120 miles northeast of Benghazi. An Italian destroyer, Partenope, later scuttles it. Casualties are not recorded. 

 The badly damaged aircraft of Lt(jg) Albert Earnest, the sole survivor of VT-8 during a morning attack on the Japanese Fleet, after landing at Midway (U.S. Navy).

Special Operations: Eight days after being wounded during an assassination attempt, Reinhard Heydrich dies in a Prague hospital. Heydrich for a time appeared to be improving, but lapsed into a coma on 3 June and never regained consciousness. The cause of death is variously attributed to sepsis and an embolism. The Germans plan a massive funeral for 7 June.

Heydrich's death makes the British/Czech Operation Anthropoid a resounding success. The two Special Operations Executive agents who staged the attack on him, Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, remain at large but are the subject of an intense manhunt. The two men are hiding out in Czech safe houses, but the Germans have offered both inducements and threats for his capture. At least one Czech resistance member knows their whereabouts and is planning to reveal it to the Germans.

U.S. Military: Brigadier General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr. (Chief of the American  Section attached to the Combined Operations Headquarters) completes an inspection of Northern Ireland. He submits a report on plans to activate the 1st Ranger Battalion at Carrickfergus. Lieutenant General Breton Somervell, Commanding General of the Army Service Forces, also carries out an inspection in Northern Ireland.

American Homefront: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer releases "Mrs. Miniver," starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Teresa Wright. It is the highest-grossing film of 1942 and earns six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), and Best Actress (Garson). Teresa Wright, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her debut film "The Little Foxes" and also as Best Actress for 'Pride of the Yankees" for work in 1941, this time earns the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. It is one of the most dazzling debuts by any actor or actress in history, but her success quickly peters out after this and "Mrs. Miniver" is her last nomination.

Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu circles while under high-level bombing attack by USAAF B-17 bombers from the Midway base, shortly after 8AM, 4 June 1942. This attack produced near misses, but no hits. U.S. Air Force Photograph.

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May 13, 1942: Crisis at Kharkov

Wednesday 13 May 1942

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) steaming in the Coral Sea area, 13 May 1942. Photographed from USS Enterprise (CV-6). Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-16430.

Battle of the Pacific: Admiral William "Bull" Halsey turns his Task Force 16 north at Efate on 13 May 1942 to defend Nauru and Ocean Island, which the US knows from intercepted Japanese communications are the next Japanese objective. The Japanese have postponed Operation RY, the invasion of those two islands, until 17 May and have no aircraft carriers of their own to cover the landings due to losses at the Battle of the Coral Sea. It is Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz's hope that simply seeing US carriers USS Enterprise and Hornet there will convince the Japanese to abandon the invasions altogether, at least for the time being.

USS Drum (SS-228), on her first patrol out of Pearl Harbor, torpedoes and sinks 5356-ton Japanese freighter Shonan Maru northeast of Mikimoto, Honshu, Japan.

RAAF Hudson bombs attack and sink naval auxiliary ship Taifoku Maru off Ambon, Maluku Islands, Dutch West Indies (Indonesia). 

Japanese 5268-ton ocean liner Nagasaki Maru hits a mine and sinks off Nagasaki. There are 39 deaths.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Chinese 6th Division retreats across the Salwen River and proceeds to Kengtun in Burma.

Colonel-General Erich von Manstein, Luftwaffe Colonel-General Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, and Colonel Torsten Christ in the trenches/observation post at a briefing in the Crimea, May 1942 (Federal Archive Image 141-0227).

Eastern Front: The Red Army advance north and south of Kharkov slows dramatically on 13 May. German General Paulus of Sixth Army receives three full-strength divisions as reserves and they are enough to prevent a Soviet breakthrough to Kharkov itself. The Red Army thrust to the south of the city gains some ground, but those troops have no strategic objectives except closing the pincer west of Kharkov - and that can't happen if the northern advance stalls, and that advance is lagging. The Red Army units all along the front lines are taking heavy casualties and losing strength rapidly, but Stalin is pouring fresh troops into the breakout attempts to maintain momentum.

Hitler is watching the situations in Crimea and around Kharkov closely. The situation becomes a great opportunity for Hitler to play warlord with the Luftwaffe, which is a little unusual for him since he prefers to control army units. While the two battles are close geographically, they are separated by the Sea of Azov and may as well be at opposite ends of the 2000-mile front. Hitler finetunes the Luftwaffe's impact in both theaters. He moves ground-attack units from Crimea to Kharkov, but refuses to move the bulk of 8th Air Corps (Fliegerkorps VIII) until victory at Kerch is assured.

At Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia, General Franz Halder writes in his war diary:

In Sixth Army sector, heavy attacks south and northeast of Kharkov, supported by several hundred tanks. Serious penetrations. Counter attack by 23rd (Panzer) and Third (Panzer) Divisions east of Kharkov. Grave crisis south of Kharkov (131st Division).

As Halder notes, the real danger is south of Kharkov, with the northern Red Army thrust gaining much less ground.

The Indian Express of 13 May 1942 headlines the German offensive in Crimea.

Here we get into subtleties of strategy that can be difficult to convey, but this is very important for what it reveals about how the war is being conducted at Fuhrer Headquarters. In effect, the Luftwaffe now is tasked with serving as mobile artillery for Fliegerkorps IV at Kharkov while maintaining its overpowering bombing and air-superiority roles for Fliegerkorps VIII in Crimea. Its strength is split between the two battles along tactical lines, or more accurately put, skewed. The Luftwaffe generals believe that the air effort should be more balanced between the two battles at all levels to establish dominance and not bifurcated as Hitler has done. Given a choice between the two, the Kharkov battle is more critical and should be the one with a heavy Luftwaffe presence, not Crimea. Hitler, though, thinks he knows best and always has the last word. Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richthofen in particular has some choice words to say about this.

It's dangerous to try to read someone else's mind, but Hitler has his reasons for wanting Crimea absolutely secured before switching to the more pressing situation at Kharkov. He has somewhat of an obsession with Crimea, which he sees as a future tourist/retirement spot for the Third Reich. Manstein also is one of his favored generals due to the successes in France and Hitler wants him to succeed. Hitler also has been thinking about Crimea all winter long while Kharkov is a new situation, just part of the endless back-and-forth on the main front. Crimea was one of the major unresolved situations from 1941 and Hitler just wants that off the table permanently.

Due to Hitler's interference, the Luftwaffe remains outnumbered around Kharkov at this time despite the piecemeal reinforcements from Crimea. This is somewhat bizarre since the Kharkov battle is absolutely critical to winning the war while Crimea is not (winning at Kharkov and advancing to the Caucasus automatically would win the Crimea campaign as a minor side effect). The Crimea battle is in a subsidiary zone and already is basically won, so why keep the majority of the Luftwaffe effort there? This is the question the Luftwaffe generals are asking.

However, the situation is not drastically affected by Hitler's choices. The Luftwaffe still maintains air superiority in the key Kharkov areas because self-sacrificing fighter crews fly ten or more missions apiece every day (two or three would be a normal full day). Thus, Hitler's misplaced strategy kind of works because of the dedication and exertions of the Luftwaffe pilots (it is well known as the most National Socialist of the three main service branches and its members are willing to go to extreme lengths to make Hitler's projects succeed at its own expense). There are no "Union rules" in the Luftwaffe and it does have the best equipment even if it is overused.

Some Luftwaffe units from other areas of the front also are being sent to Kharkov, but that will take a few days. It is worth pointing out that while Hitler's counterproductive choices can be overcome at this point of the war because of the Wehrmacht's innate strength and dedication, they would not work if the margin of overall power were to alter to the Wehrmacht's disfavor. And we all know how that works out, but let's stick with the here and now.

In Crimea, Soviet opposition is collapsing in the face of General Erich von Manstein's overpowering Operation Trappenjagd. The Red Army hoped to make a stand at a second line (the "Sultanovka Line"), but the German 132nd and 170th Infantry Divisions blow through it in the morning of the 13th with the 22nd Panzer Division close behind. There remains little standing between them and Kerch. Halder notes approvingly in his war diary:

On the Kerch peninsula, the battle appears to have been decided in our favor (more than 40,000 prisoners). What resistance the enemy will able to put up in this eastern part of the peninsula cannot yet be estimated.

It has been a brilliant victory for 11th Army and Manstein.

European Air Operations: Activity remains light on the Channel Front. Four RAF Wellington bombers attempt a raid on Essen, but the target is covered by clouds and no attack is made there. Three of the bombers choose secondary targets such as Mulheim. There are no losses.

The Halifax Herald of 13 May 1942 is full of news about U-boat attacks in the St. Lawrence River.

Battle of the Atlantic: German auxiliary cruiser/raider Stier (formerly freighter Cairo) has been sailing down the English Channel since 10 May in order to break out into the Atlantic. The British watch the Channel closely, so this is always a trickier route than sailing north around Scotland. The Royal Navy catches wind of the breakout attempt and sends motor torpedo boats (MTBs) to intercept it. A ferocious small-boat action ensues during which the Germans lose two torpedo boats (932-ton Iltis with 118 dead and 923-ton Seeadler with 85 dead) and the British one MTB (32-ton HM MTB 220).

Wolfpack attacks on convoy ON 92 about 675 nautical miles (1250 km)southeast of Cape race continue. U-94 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks two ships. The first is 4399-ton freighter Batna. There are one death and 41 survivors, who are rescued by British freighter Bury.

U-94 also torpedoes and sinks 4471-ton Swedish freighter Tolken. All 34 crewmen survive, rescued by British freighter Bury.

U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6630-ton British freighter City of Melbourne west of Barbados. There is one death and 86 survivors.

Dutch freighter Koenjit (formerly Stjerneborg), one of two ships sunk by U-156 on 13 May 1942.

U-156 also torpedoes and sinks Dutch freighter Koenjit 300 nautical miles (560 km) northeast of Barbados. All 37 crewmen survive. A motor launch (15-ton Letitia Portia) is being carried by Koenjit and also sinks.

U-128 (Kptlt. Ulrich Heyse), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3491-ton British freighter Denpark far off the coast of Mauretania. There are 21 deaths and 25 survivors, who are rescued by British freighter City of Windsor.

U-162 (FrgKpt. Jürgen Wattenberg), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7699-ton US tanker Esso Houston 150 nautical miles (280 km) east of Barbados. There are one death and 41 survivors, who are rescued by Norwegian freighter Havprins or reach land in lifeboats.

U-69 (Oblt. Ulrich Gräf), on its eighth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 2606-ton US freighter Norlantic northeast of Caracas, Venezuela. There are seven deaths and 22 survivors, who are rescued by Dutch freighters India and Mississippi and Norwegian freighter Marpesia.

U-506 (Kptlt. Erich Würdemann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 8862-ton US tanker Gulfpenn in the Gulf of Mexico six miles off the coast of Louisiana. There are 13 deaths and 38 survivors, who are rescued by Honduran freighter Teide.

U-156 torpedoes and sinks British freighter City of Melbourne on 13 May 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Norwegian 5062-ton freighter Hav hits a mine and is badly damaged off Port Said, Egypt. The ship is taken in tow and beached, but ultimately is written off. There are two deaths and 36 survivors.

Two separate civilians on Malta report that Axis pilots threw grenades at them. The main current Axis target is Hal Far airfield.

Partisans: An Axis ant-partisan operation in the Balkans, Operation Trio, officially concludes today. The operation is moderately successful in achieving its objectives of clearing out eastern Bosnia of partisans and relieving a besieged Croatian garrison at Rogatica. This operation settles nothing any finality, so it becomes just one in a series of similar actions against the partisans.

Perhaps inevitably, Operation Trio has revealed fundamental divisions within both the Axis and partisan forces. The two sides have begun fighting within themselves along ideological as well as nationalistic, lines. On the Axis side, the Italians complain that their participation has been limited by the Germans in order to prevent them from expanding their zone of influence. On the partisan side, the royalist Chetnik forces have refused to cooperate with the largely communist main partisan forces and have mounted several "coups" in mixed units. The Chetnik coups have resulted in numerous deaths of communists in those units and stoked antagonism within the partisan movement. 

The Ustaše are suspicious of a land grab by the Italians, while the Chetniks avoid combat against the Germans but delight in fighting the Ustaše. Many Chetniks join the Italian forces as auxiliaries, while the partisan main forces avoid fighting the Ustaše but have no problem fighting their supposed Chetnik allies. It is all very confusing to outsiders, and reports in the western media reveal a complete misunderstanding of what is actually going on. War correspondents tend to lavish praise on the Chetniks as a powerful anti-Axis force when their role is much murkier, while the communism of the main partisan forces is downplayed.

The end result has been that many partisans have been killed by both the Axis forces and at the hand of other partisans. The Axis have temporarily "recovered" some cities and territory, but the true significance has been the deterioration of internal relations on both sides. A follow-up attack, Trio II, already is in progress. However, it achieves little because the partisans have evacuated the area.

President Manuel Quezon visits President Franklin Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., 13 May 1942.

US/Vichy France Relations: The United States and France reach a tentative agreement regarding aircraft carrier Béarn, light cruiser Emile Bertin, and training cruiser Jeanne D'Arc at Martinique, French West Indies. Amiral (Admiral) Georges Robert, High Commissioner of the Republic to the Antilles, agrees to immobilize the ships. As part of the agreement, the Béarn transfers two-thirds of her fuel to a tanker and disables four of her six boilers. The ship also disables some of its weapons. The Vichy government prefers that the ships be sabotaged, but this is not done, at least now.

German Military: Hitler instructs Armaments Ministers Albert Speer to convert three ships (Europa, Potsdam, and Gneisenau) into auxiliary aircraft carriers. He says that it is "entirely out of the question" for surface forces to operate with air protection. The stumbling block is raw materials, which are in short supply. Once those are obtained, the conversions can be completed within a year.

US Military: US troops replace New Zealand troops in Fiji.

The Bureau of Navigation becomes the Bureau of Naval Personnel.

Ford shows the first M4A3 medium tank, later to become famous as the Sherman Tank.

British Military: King George VI is named the Commander in Chief of the British Home Guard.

American Homefront: Boston Braves lefthanded pitcher Jim Tobin hits three consecutive home runs and pitches a complete game to defeat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5, at Braves Field. He is the first Major League pitcher to hit three home runs in a game since 1886.

The prototype M4A3 Sherman tank, first rolled out by Ford on 13 May 1942.

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

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