May 30, 1942: First RAF Thousand-Plane Raid

Saturday 30 May 1942

Cologne Cathedral illuminated during Operation Millenium, 30-31 May 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: Having spent 72 hours in drydock, during which its flight deck was patched and whole sections of internal frame were replaced, USS Yorktown (Task Force 17) departs Pearl Harbor on 30 May 1942 to join Enterprise and Hornet near Midway Island. Repairmen from repair ship Vestal, damaged on 7 December 1941, remain on the ship and continue to work as it sails. Yorktown's depleted air group is replenished with units from aircraft carrier Saratoga, which is under repair in San Diego. The carriers plan to rendezvous northeast of Midway.

Admiral Nimitz, meanwhile, has not forgotten about Saratoga. Today, he orders Captain Ramsey to sail from San Diego as soon as possible even if not 100% ready for action. The 7th Air Force dispatches six B-17 bombers from Hawaii to Midway to reinforce the 15 already there.

The Japanese invasion fleet bound for Midway already is at sea. Today, a task force of two light aircraft carriers and two troop transport ships departs from northern Honshu for the Aleutian Islands part of the plan.

The US 11th Air Force based in Alaska brings a new airfield at Umnak, Aleutian Islands, into operation with B-26 bombers of the 77th Bombardment Squadron (Medium).

Japanese patrol planes approach the French Frigate Shoals, but they spot two US Navy ships anchored there and are forced to turn back. Their mission was to rendezvous with a submarine there, refuel, and fly reconnaissance over Pearl Harbor. This is now impossible and the Japanese do not find out with certainty that the US Navy carriers have left. The US ships are stationed at the shoals because they know the Japanese have used them in the past as transit points for bombing missions against Hawaii.

US Navy submarine Pompano  (SS-181) torpedoes and sinks Japanese troop transport Atsuta Maru in the East China Sea east of Okinawa. There are 39 crew and 37 passengers killed. Pompano escapes a depth charge attack by the transport's destroyer escort.

Pix magazine, 30 May 1942.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Two Japanese submarines (I-16 and I-20) stationed about ten miles off Diego Suarez, Madagascar, launch mini-subs to penetrate the harbor. Both subs make it into the harbor, which the British have left unguarded despite having spotted a Japanese floatplane on the 29th. At 17:10, the I-20 mini-sub M-20b (Lt. Akieda Saburo) launches a torpedo that hits Royal Navy battleship HMS Ramillies. The torpedo blows a 30x30 foot hole in the port bulge forward of "A" turret. This cuts off the entire ship's electrical system and floods the forward magazines and shell rooms.

Saburo is not done yet. He and the other sub remain in the harbor and, at 21:20, Saburo fires his second and last torpedo, which sinks 6,993-ton tanker British Loyalty in 65 feet of water (later raised and used as a hulk at Addu Atoll, Maldives). The subs remain in the harbor until the 31st.

B-17 bombers of the 10th Air Force again bomb the airfield at Myitkyina, Burma. This is the last attack against this target for the time being. 

Eastern Front: The final, weak Soviet attempts to break out of the encirclement southeast of Kharkov end today. Less than 10% of the trapped men have managed to escape. The Germans march the roughly 250,000 (the exact number is a matter of scholarly debate) Red Army prisoners in long columns through Kharkov and then on to prison camps. At Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia, General Franz Halder notes in his war diary "All fronts equally quiet. On the Volkhov, the access to the bulge has been narrowed down."

The loss of the Kharkov battle irreparably destroys Marshal Semyon Timoshenko's military reputation. Stalin will replace him as commander of the Stalingrad Front on 22 July 1942 with Vasily Gordov. Thereafter, Timoshenko will be given only one more command before being basically cashiered.

The Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress makes its first flight at Boeing Field, Seattle, on 30 May 1942. This is a new series of B-17 bombers that incorporated 400 improvements learned from missions to date in the war. 

European Air Operations: After a lengthy period of preparation, RAF Bomber Command launches Operation Millenium at dusk. It sends over 1000 bombers to raid Cologne, the first 1000-plane raid of the war. The main targets are the city's chemical and machine-tool factories. The planes drop 1455 tons of bombs and incendiaries during a 90-minute attack. The firestorm kills 469 people and leaving 45,000 homeless.

Hermann Goering is having dinner at Veldenstein Castle when he gets a call from Josef Grohe, the Gauleiter of Cologne. During Grohe's explanation of the severity of the attack, Goering calls him a liar and hangs up. Soon after, another call comes in - this time from Adolf Hitler, who is in Berlin and has heard the same reports. Goering assures Hitler that at most 70 bombers attacked. When Goering learns later that air and flak defenses claim to have shot down 40 bombers, he claims it was a great defensive victory. Another 116 RAF bombers are damaged.

Winston Churchill, meanwhile, knows exactly how many bombers were sent - 1046 planes - and announces to the press that it was over 1000. Hitler, speaking to an aide, comments to an aide:

It is out of the question that only seventy or eighty bombers attacked. I never capitulate to an unpleasant truth. I must see clearly if I am to draw the proper conclusions.

Aside from the devastation to the city, the raid begins a rift between Hitler and Goering that only grows with time.

During an RAF Coastal Command patrol off Terschelling, the planes bomb and sink 2956-ton Swedish ore carrier Värmdö in the North Sea off Den Helder, North Holland. The ship was carrying ore to Rotterdam. There are seven deaths.

A German flak ship shoots down an RAF Hudson III (AM842) out of North Coates during a convoy attack in the Waddenzee, South of Schiermonnikoog. All four crewmen perish.

The crew of a German flak ship showing off the wheel of an RAF Hudson III they shot down on 30 May 1942.

Battle of the Baltic: German 1354-ton freighter Orkan hits a mine laid by Soviet submarine Lembit and sinks near Greifswalder Oie, Swinemunde. Casualties are unknown.

Battle of the Atlantic: Having lost seven ships to air raids, Convoy PQ 16 makes port in Murmansk (eight ships continue on to Archangelsk and reach that port safely). The Luftwaffe sends Junkers Ju 88 bombers of  II./KG 30 against the Murmansk-bound ships, and during these attacks Hero of the Soviet Union Leonid Ivanovich Rodionov is shot down and killed after claiming two planes himself.

German auxiliary cruiser Michel (HSK-9), operating in the South Atlantic, spots 6800-ton US Liberty ship George Clymer. The Liberty ship is stopped with engine trouble and makes an easy target. The raider hits the ship with two torpedoes (actually, it launches a motor torpedo boat that scores the hits), but is then chased off by nearby Royal Navy AMC Alcantara (which doesn't see Michel and assumes it was torpedoed by a U-boat). The George Clymer is so badly damaged that the crew has to abandon it, and Alcantara later scuttles it on 6 July 1942. Everybody survives.

U-404 (Kptlt. Otto von Bülow), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 5491-ton US freighter Alcoa Shipper 500 miles east of Cape Charles, Virginia. The lookouts on the freighter spot the U-boat well before the attack, but evasive maneuvers do not prevent a torpedo strike. The ship, carrying 8340 tons of bauxite ore, sinks within five minutes. The U-boat surfaces after the sinking, questions the men in their lifeboat, and leaves them bottles of rum, cigarettes, and a pair of dungarees for a sailor who was undressed. There are seven dead and 25 survivors, who are picked up just over two days later by Norwegian freighter Margrethe Bakke.

An unidentified submarine torpedoes and sinks the 2161-ton Norwegian freighter Baghdad east of Martinique. The ship sinks within minutes. There are nine deaths and 21 survivors. U-155 (KrvKpt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, is usually credited with this sinking, but some records indicate that it was still in port at Lorient on this date.

German 1592-ton minesweeper Sperrbrecher-166 Schirmeck sinks after a collision with training ship Obra. The ship apparently is refloated and returned to service.

French 288-ton trawler Edmond René is lost off Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, of unknown causes (perhaps a mine).

Sperrbrecher 166, sunk on 30 May 1942 after a collision but refloated and repaired.

Battle of the Mediterranean: In Libya, the Axis offensive is struggling. German General Erwin Rommel, low on supplies and facing determined Free French resistance at the fortress of Bir Hakeim, pulls back the leading tanks of the Afrika Korps to the west. This forms a defensive perimeter, dubbed "The Cauldron," that is protected by British minefields on its western side.

Rommel sends some brave men through the minefield to make contact with Italian X Corps to the west and open a supply lane. These troops run into the British 150th Brigade at the "Sidi Muftah box" and destroy it early on the 31st to establish a connection with the Italian Corps. Meanwhile, fierce battles erupt near Bir Hakeim as the French attempt to close the supply lane there opened through the minefield on the 29th, while the Germans attempt to defend it.

The Germans previously captured 620 soldiers of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade but, unable to watch over them, simply let them loose in the desert. These men make it to the Bir Hakeim fortress today. This only adds to the French supply issues, especially of water. 

British submarine HMS Proteus torpedoes and sinks 1571-ton Italian freighter Bravo in the Gulf of Sidra. Casualties are unknown.

British 72-ton utility tug HMS St. Angelo hits a mine off Grand Harbour, Malta, and blows up. There are at least four deaths.

Colonial Union day in Munich, at which Governor of Bavaria Franz Ritter von Epp gives a speech (Denzel, Federal Archive Image 146-2008-0172).

Partisans: Félix Otto Cadras, a leading French partisan and communist (participating in organizing the National Front partisan organization), is executed by a German firing squad at Fort Mont-Valérien, Paris, along with Arthur Dallidet, Louis Salomon, and Jacques Decour. These executions are in reprisal for an attempted assassination at Le Havre on 23 May 1942. Cadras will be made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by a decree of 17 January 1961, and a school and a street are named after him.

Allied Relations: RAF Air Chief Marshall Sir Charles F Portal and Lieutenant General Henry H "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General USAAF, meet to discuss the basing of US planes in Great Britain. Arnold's plan calls for 66 combat groups and additional observation squadrons by March 1943.

American Homefront: It is Memorial Day in the United States.

Attempting to evade being sent to an intern camp, Fred Korematsu has had plastic surgery on his eyelids. However, today he is arrested on a street corner in San Leandro, California. He will begin a court case, Korematsu vs. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), that reaches the US Supreme Court. It upholds the exclusion of those of Japanese ancestry from the US West Coast. The conviction is overturned in a case filed in 1983 and disavowed by the Supreme Court in Trump vs. Hawaii (2018), though this latter opinion is not binding, being merely dictum.

Launching of submarine Runner, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, United States, 30 May 1942 (US Navy).

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

May 28, 1942: German Victory At Kharkov

Thursday 28 May 1942

Kittyhawk fighters of the American Volunteer Group flying near the Salween River Gorge on the Chinese-Burmese border, 28 May 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: Two US Navy carriers, the USS Enterprise (CV-6) and Hornet (CV-8), leave Pearl Harbor on 28 May 1942 for the vicinity of Midway Island. A third carrier, Yorktown, continues to under frantic repairs in dry dock to damage caused at the Battle of the Coral Sea and is scheduled to follow them on within the next two days. Yorktown's air units, depleted by casualties, are replaced by fresh units (Bombing Three (VB-3), Torpedo Three (VT-3), and Fighting Three (VF-3)).

Naval Intelligence has determined from decoded Japanese transmissions that the Japanese intent to invade Midway on June 4th, and American Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is planning to give them a hot welcome by all of his carrier forces. Taskforce commander Vice Admiral William Halsey has been replaced by Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance due to illness. Unfortunately, carrier Saratoga remains on the West Coast for repairs and is unavailable for the battle, but some of its aircrews wind up on Yorktown. Admiral Nimitz has ordered 25 submarines to patrol around Midway.

The US 11th Air Force has secretly constructed an airfield on Unmak, Aleutian Islands, in preparation for the anticipated Japanese invasion in conjunction with the Midway operation. The field becomes operational today when a B-17 flies armed reconnaissance over the Aleutian chain. The Japanese are not there yet, so the bomber crew spots nothing amiss. 

USS Salmon (Lt.Cdr. E.B. McKinney) torpedoes and sinks 4382-ton Japanese freighter Ganges Maru 250 nautical miles southeast of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina. There are seven deaths.

B-26 bombers of the 5th Air Force attack the airfield at Lae, New Guinea.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: After a long journey across the Indian Ocean, a Japanese naval force composed of submarines designated "Divine Dragon Operations No. 2" nears Madagascar. Its mission is to launch midget submarines against the British Far Eastern Fleet in the vicinity of East Africa. Training for this mission has taken place throughout 1942 and has had the attention of top Japanese leadership, including Admiral Yamamoto. This is one of the few Japanese military activities designed specifically to aid their German allies, though how much aid attacks on the British Far Eastern Fleet would be to the Reich is an open question.

German tanks crossing a river on the Russian Front, World War II. Illustration from Illustrierte Zeitung (Leipzig, 28 May 1942).

Eastern Front: In a crushing defeat, the Soviet 6th and 57th Armies and 21st Tank Corps are annihilated southeast of Kharkov by defending German forces after being encircled. Red Army General Timoshenko still has not grasped the true state of play and only today orders a halt to Soviet offensive operations. Scattered and sporadic attempts by individual units continue, but very few succeed. Mass surrenders by an estimated 250,000 men begin today and continue for several days. The Germans, meanwhile, have lost perhaps 20,000 casualties all told. 

A Soviet salient to the southwest by Red Army forces attempting to reach Kharkov from the northeast is eliminated with help from the Luftwaffe first group of Schlachtgeschwader 1. It is flying the new Henschel HS-129 ground attack aircraft, which have proven quite durable and effective. During May, SchG 1 has flown 1467 sorties, with 1,028 Bf 109 missions, 259 by Hs 123s and 180 by the Hs 129s

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

The battle at Kharkov and on the Donets is brought to a close with a large take of prisoners and booty. Army Group South has issued the orders for the next phase of the offensive "Volchanak" and "Izyum."

The stage is now set for the opening stages of the grand German offensive that Hitler has decided will "sweep the deck" of the remaining Soviet forces and finally bring a successful conclusion to the campaign in the USSR. This, however, will take some time to prepare and is subject to the whims of the weather.

European Air Operations: Weather on the Channel Front remains unsettled, with winds from the southwest gusting to 40-45 mph and visibility poor, especially in the morning. This obviously is not good flying weather, so it is mainly an "off" day for the RAF. The men spend such days entertaining themselves during the day and then often attending Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) shows in the evening.

HMS MTB-77 - Vosper 72 feet-type Motor Torpedo Boat, British Navy. Commissioned 28 May 1942, Bombed by German aircraft off Vibo Valentia, Calabria, Italy on 8 September 1943.

Battle of the Atlantic: After losing half a dozen ships to Luftwaffe attacks south of Bear Island on the 27th, Convoy PQ 16 is joined by a Soviet escort composed of three destroyers and four minesweepers. These warships enable the convoy to proceed toward the Soviet Union without losing any more vessels.

U-502 (Kptlt. Jürgen von Rosenstiel), on its fourth war patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6759-ton US freighter Alcoa Pilgrim about 150 miles south of the Mona Passage (southwest of St. Thomas). The ship, carrying 9500 tons of bauxite ore, sinks within 90 seconds and the crew has no time to launch lifeboats. There are 31 dead and 9 survivors, who are picked up by US freighter Thomas Nelson.

U-106 (Kptlt. Hermann Rasch), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7383-ton British freighter Mentor north of Cabo Catoche, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Rasch surfaces and questions the crew, who misinform him that the ship was the Bengloe. There are four dead and 82 survivors, who are rescued after three days by British freighter Antilochus.

U-103 (Kptlt. Werner Winter), on its seventh patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6414-ton US tanker New Jersey 90 miles southwest of Grand Cayman Island. The crew is able to launch two lifeboats before Winter fires a coup de grace torpedo and then surfaces and uses his deck gun to finish off the tanker. All 42 crewmen survive, picked up by USS Tattnall (DD 125) and Biddle (DD 151) within a few days.

U-155 (Kptlt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 1928-ton Dutch freighter Poseidon east of Barbados. Piening engages in a somewhat unusual night surface attack. After firing four torpedoes, one finally hits and sinks the ship quickly. All 32 men on board perish.

Panamian 7797-ton tanker Sylvan Arrow, torpedoed on 20 May by U-155, finally sinks. There are 43 survivors and one dead.

British freighter Yorkmoor, sunk by U-506 on 28 May 1942.

U-506 (Kptlt. Erich Würdemann), on its second war patrol out of Lorient, uses its deck gun to sink 4457-ton British freighter Yorkmoor northeast of the Bahamas. Würdemann uses his gun because he is out of torpedoes, having used them all in a successful patrol in the Gulf of Mexico. Yorkmoor has a 4-inch gun and eight machine guns, so an unusual gun battle emergest between the freighter and the U-boat. However, it is a night attack and the Yorkmoor's gunners have difficulty aiming at the submarine so they score no hits. The attack takes just over half an hour, during which the U-boat gunners fire 55 shells and score several hits at extreme range. The ship's crew abandons ship in four lifeboats after the radio operator has sent distress calls. All 45 crewmen survive, picked up within about a week by British freighter Laguna and a US Coast Guard cutter. U-506, although out of torpedoes and having used up a lot of shells, still has one more victory in store for it on the way back to base during an extremely successful patrol.

Italian submarine Barbarigo torpedoes, shells, and sinks 4836-ton British freighter Charlbury off the east coast of Brazil. There are two deaths.

German 1337-ton minesweeper Sperrbrecher-174 (Tindefjell) hits a mine and sinks west of Buoy 11W, west of Dunkirk. There is one dead.

Canadian 70-ton sailing vessel Carmen Nina runs aground and is wrecked off Sheet Harbor, Nova Scotia. Casualties are unknown.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Nicholas (DD-449) flying Bath Iron Works' house flag on acceptance trials off Rockland, Maine (USA), 28 May 1942, a week before she was commissioned (Naval History and Heritage Command 19-N-36881).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Fierce tank battles continue in Libya as German General Erwin Rommel continues his offensive into the British Gazala Line. The British 4th Armoured Brigade arrives at El Adem and stops the German 90th Light Division, pushing it back to the southwest.

While his forces have made impressive advances, Rommel's main headache is at the fortress of Bir Hakeim. There, the Italian IX Tank Battalion of the 132nd Tank Infantry Regiment, Ariet Division, has failed to dent strong Free French fortifications and lost heavily in the attempt. 

Supplies are critical in the desert, as the panzers eat up fuel during Rommel's sweeping maneuvers and the men need water and rations. Italian supply vehicles operated by the Trieste and Ariete divisions are slowed by minefields near Bir Hakeim but continue to make progress toward the advancing panzers. 

While the Afrika Korps retains the initiative, quick British responses have blunted the attacks and ended chances of a quick German victory. The Desert Air Force (DAF) bombs the French at Bir Hakeim by mistake. The French under General Kœnig are surrounded at Bir Hakeim, so Kœnig attempts to break the encirclement by sending a column north toward the 150th Infantry Brigade. A fierce battle ensues during which the French destroy seven Italian half-tracks, but Italian artillery prevails and the breakout attempt fails.

The New York Times of 28 May 1942 notes that "Heydrich of Gestapo Hurt: Big Reward Up for Assailant."

Special Operations: German leader Reinhard Heydrich remains alive at a Czech hospital, kept alive by quick surgical intervention following the assassination attempt on 27 May 1942. The medical prognosis remains grim, but Heydrich's condition has stabilized. His two assassins, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, remain at large in a local safe house. SS-Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler has dispatched his personal SS physician, Karl Gebhardt, by plane to the hospital to supervise Heydrich's care.

Wojciech Biernat, was born in Jodłówka. A Catholic priest who perished at Auschwitz on 28 May 1942 (Auschwitz Memorial).

Holocaust: The first convoy of Nacht und Nebel (Night and Fog) detainees, composed of 43 men and 9 women, leave Paris from the Gare de l’Est. The male detainees are taken to a camp at Hinzert and the females to Aachen. While technically they are supposed to be taken before a German court and tried, this does not always happen. The Nacht und Nebel arrests stem from a 7 December 1941 directive issued by Adolf Hitler to arrest political activists secretly ("in the night and fog"), leaving their families and friends uncertain about their fates. Invariably aside from rare situations, those arrested were to be executed.

American Homefront: US Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson issues a warning to the citizens of the West Coast to prepare for a Japanese bombing attack in retaliation for the Doolittle Raid.

Italian opera singer is released from FBI custody after three months of custody for being a suspected enemy alien. The FBI alleged that Pinza supported the Axis and have held him at Ellis Island since March 1942. A fellow opera singer, Norman Cordon, claimed to have told the FBI that Pinza was a fascist sympathizer, though there never was any proof of that. Why Cordon did that is unproven, though perhaps out of professional jealousy. Pinza quickly goes from captivity to singing onstage at the Metropolitan Opera.

Future History: Tien Chun is born in Guangdong, China. As James Tien, he becomes a prominent actor in 70 Hong Kong martial arts films such as "Hands of Death" (1976) until retiring in 1996. 

Stanley Benjamin Prusiner is born in Des Moines, Iowa. He goes on to win numerous awards and accolades in the fields of neurology and biochemistry, including the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology for prion research. As of this writing in 2021, Prusiner is director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases research laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco.

Vought Test Pilot team, 28 May 1942 -Lt-Rt Boone Guyton, Charlie Sharpe, Dick Burroughs, Bill Boothby & Lyman Bullard with SB2U.

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

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

Saturday 23 May 1942

Jewish residents of Stropkov, Slovakia, being deported to concentration camps (Majdanek and Auschwitz) on 23 May 1942. Yad Vashem Photo Archives 3132/1.

Battle of the Pacific: Following US Naval Intelligence descriptions of Japanese communications, both sides on 23 May 1942 know that a major confrontation soon will occur at Midway Island. The key difference is that the Japanese don't know that the Allies know about their invasion plans. In fact, the Japanese believe that they sunk two US Navy carriers, USS Lexington and Yorktown, at the Battle of the Coral Sea and that the Midway operation will be fairly routine. In fact, only the Lexington sank and the Yorktown has joined up with USS Enterprise to return to Pearl Harbor at high speed in preparation for the battle.

There is still some Allied resistance in the occupied Philippines, though it is gradually dying out. During one of these incidents, Lt. Comdr. Ryland Dillard Tisdale, 47 (who had retired in the 1930s but returned to service in July 1940 due to the contingency of war) perishes at Tamparan. He dies in an action against the Moros, who are collaborating with the Japanese. He receives the Silver Star posthumously. The citation notes that Tisdale was offered passage out of Corregidor on the last plane out but offered up his seat to another. Tisdale escaped from the island along with a few others shortly before the surrender. Tisdale falls today in a "last stand" near Dansalan (Marawi, Lanao del Sur, Philippines, since 1956) along with a small group of officers and enlisted men, including civilians, that includes Lieutenant Colonel Vesy of the Philippine Army.

Five B-25 bombers of the 3rd Bomber Group attack Lae, New Guinea. They damage the airfield and buildings there. Two bombers fail to return.

US Navy patrol boat USS YP-277 hits a mine and sinks at the French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The US Navy is keeping a close eye on this area due to Japanese attempts to use them to bomb Hawaii.

Japanese submarine I-29 launches its Yokosuka "Glen" seaplane for an uneventful reconnaissance mission over Sydney, Australia. This is one of a continuing series of Japanese reconnaissance flights over Allied areas in the southwest Pacific that are rarely noticed.

Curtiss Hawk P-40 Tomahawk with pilot Robert T. Smith at the controls in Kunming, China, 23 May 1942. Photo: akg-images / Robert T. Smith.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Japanese and Chinese troops clash in inconclusive fighting along the Hsipaw-Mogok road in northern Burma. The Japanese have no intention of invading China from this direction, though the Chinese do not know this. The Japanese in Burma already have achieved their main objectives of closing the Burma Road and establishing a defensive front along the Indian border.

Eastern Front: A carefully laid German trap south of Kharkov springs shut as the Soviet 6th and 57th Armies desperately try to avoid being surrounded near Izyum. Early in the morning, the 16th Panzer Division (Hube) and the 23rd Panzer Division meet ten miles west of Balakleya. This forms a ten-mile wide German corridor from north to south to the east of the Soviet offensive forces. This is generally considered to be the activity that surrounds the Soviets and traps them, though technically the 14th Panzer Division already has formed a thin line to the east.

Soviet Marshal Timoshenko has staked everything on a breakout attempt by these two armies today south of Kharkov, but it fails. At Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder writes confidently in his diary that "The Izyum pocket is firmly closed." However, things are still a bit more tentative than that.

The Soviets outnumber the Wehrmacht troops at the key points, but the Red Army breakout effort is dissipated today in multiple counterattacks to relieve surrounded formations to consolidate their overall defensive position. In addition, the German forces may be relatively small, but they include elite panzer units hemming the Soviets in on a narrow corridor to the east. The Soviets have by no means given up and are preparing more breakout attempts during the coming days. Halder notes that "Pressure from within [the Izyum] pocket seems to be preparing and will be felt from 24 May onwards." 

German soldiers on the scene remain puzzled that the Red Army forces to the east haven't tried a strong relief effort. Stalin does not like to retreat, especially from such a massive offensive operation. Plus, he tacitly is putting the onus on Timoshenko to prove his worth and regain the initiative - or suffer the consequences personally.

Meanwhile, the other prong of the Soviet offensive north of Kharkov has ground to a complete halt. Halder notes that "the enemy has withdrawn his tanks behind the Donets, but is still holding the western bank with its strong forces." The Soviets are only mounting local thrusts in this area that the Wehrmacht easily parries. Halder concludes this diary entry with a rare dash of emotion, writing, "The bulges shrink!" 

The overriding Wehrmacht concern remains the preparation for the upcoming "decisive" summer offensive on the southern third of the front, Operation Blau. Halder confers with Luftwaffe Colonel Meister about air preparations for this today and with others (including Colonel Balck, a top field commander) about training and personnel issues. All is calm and serene in East Prussia.

Soviet flak on the southern front downs three Henschel Hs 129B-1 ground attack planes belonging to II./SchG 1. The Hs 129B-1 have only arrived in Crimea within the past two weeks and each is equipped with a 30 mm (1.2 inch) MK 101 cannon.

Following a dramatic run of victories during the Crimea campaign, Major Gordon "Mac" Gollob, Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77, receives his reward. He is awarded the Knights Cross (no. 17). Gollob continues to shoot down Red Army planes seemingly at will from his base near Kerch and now has 107 victories.

European Air Operations: Luftwaffe experimental unit Erg.u.Lehr. Kdo 17 (formerly Erg.u.Lehr. Kdo 100) mounts an afternoon daylight raid on the Avonmouth docks using 7 He 111s. The weather is poor, providing some cover, and the real purpose of the missions is to test out planes guided by both X- and Y-Verfahren direction-finding equipment. The raid is not very successful, as one plane is lost and the bombers drop their loads six miles from the target at Severn Tunnel Junction. From the British perspective, the Luftwaffe raid is very meaningful. For the first time, RAF technicians detect the Luftwaffe's X-signals. The RAF immediately begins developing countermeasures.

The Saturday Evening Post for 23 May 1942 features the beginning of a new serial featuring Perry Mason by Erle Stanley Gardner.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-588 (Kptlt. Victor Vogel), on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 4545-ton British freighter Margot southeast of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There are one death and 44 survivors. Swedish freighter Sagoland picks up the survivors. After this sinking, U-588 returns to port after a successful cruise during which it has sunk or damaged 27,106 tons of Allied shipping. As things turn out, this is U-588's final victory because it is sunk early on its next patrol.

U-558 (Kptlt. Günther Krech), on its seventh patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and damages 7061-ton US tanker William Boyce Thompson (en route from New York to Curaçao in ballast) at 00:53 about 120 miles south of Kington, Jamaica. While the torpedo opens a hole of 20 feet on the starboard side, tankers are famous for survivability due to their compartmentalized construction. The fact that the tanker is carrying no cargo further helps it. The tanker escapes northward zigzagging at full speed with a smokescreen. There are no injuries, and the tanker makes it to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze), on its fifth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and sinks 4455-ton British freighter Zurichmoor 400 nautical miles (740 km) east of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All 45 men on board perish.

U-155 (Kptlt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2220-ton Panamanian Design 1049 freighter Watsonville in Saint Vincent Passage (in the Caribbean between Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent). Everyone survives.

U-103 (Kptlt. Werner Winter) torpedoes and badly damages 6625-ton US tanker Samuel Q. Brown about 100 nautical miles (190 km) south of Cape Corrientes, Cuba (extreme western tip of Cuba). There are two deaths when the torpedoes hit and 53 survivors. The crew gathers in two lifeboats and the U-boat surfaces to question them. A US Navy seaplane based at Upham, Canal Zone, locates the damaged ship and quickly and lands to pick up five injured crew. The rest have to wait a couple of days to be rescued by USS Goff, which scuttles the flaming tanker.

German 4626-ton freighter Asuncion hits a mine and sinks off the coast in the extreme north of Norway in the general vicinity of Sandland.

German 254-ton trawler/Vorpostenboot V 1808 Dortmund hits a mine and sinks in the southern North Sea. It sinks in an area south of the Dogger Bank off the coast of The Netherlands known as the "Broad Fourteens" due to its consistent 14-fathom (84 feet, 26 m) depth.

A new movie palace, The Midland Theater, opens on 23 May 1942 in Midland, Michigan. The first film is "Captain of the Clouds" starring James Cagney.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Activity is stirring along the North African front as the temperature rises. Gruppenkommandure of  I./JG 27 Oblt. Gustav Rodel downs two planes to bring his total to 41 kills. His unit downs a total of a dozen RAF Tomahawks and Kittyhawks.

Oberlieutenant Hans-Joachim Marseille also downs two bombers today southeast of Tobruk. This brings his own victory total to 64 planes. His victims are a pair of No. 223 Sqdn Martin "Baltimore" bombers on their first flights with their unit. While unit commands in the Luftwaffe generally go to the most successful pilots, Marseille is considered "trouble" by his superiors despite his obvious talent. Thus, Marseille remains an ordinary pilot who simply continues racking up victories without having to worry about administrative duties.

On Malta, things have quieted down considerably since the arrival of numerous defensive RAF Spitfires recently. There is a raid at 07:16 by five Cant 1007 Italian bombers with a large escort of Italian RE2001s, Macchi 200s, and Luftwaffe Bf 109s. The planes come in from the north and are met by a dozen Spitfires of Nos. 126 and 601 Squadrons based at Luqa. The RAF planes down two Re 2001s, two Bf 109s, one Cant bomber (probable). Two other Cant 1007s are damaged along with a Re 2001 and a Bf 109. The only RAF damage is to a Spitfire that returns safely to base. The Italian bombers do get through, however. They drop ten 100kg bombs apiece on Ta Qali airfield, causing craters.

Abbott and Costello grace the cover of Liberty magazine, 23 May 1942. This apparently is to promote their film "Rio Rita," released on 11 March 1942, about wartime spies on the Mexican border.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet submarine ShCh-205 torpedoes and sinks Turkish 330-ton freighter Safak off Burgas, Bulgaria. This obviously is a military mistake, as the USSR is not at war with Turkey and has no wish to antagonize it at this time. Then again, there are historical enmities between the two powers that date back centuries and continue after this war.

US Military: The 7th Air Force transfers the 31 Bombardment Squadron's B-17s and B-18s from Hickam Field to Kipapa.

German Government: Adolf Hitler gives a speech to the Reichsleiters and Gauleiters in Berlin in which he justifies the concentration camps. According to Hitler, these are necessary to prevent an uprising. This is part of a very gradual and almost indiscernible trend in Hitler's 1942 speeches toward a defensive, paranoid, and almost fearful tone. British Intelligence has a pioneer social scientist, Mark Abrams, watching Hitler's speeches closely and he notes this tendency in a report marked "Secret." The aim is ""to reconstruct, if possible, what was in Hitler's mind when he composed and delivered the speech."

Abrams asks a fellow academic, Joseph McCurdy, to write up a report on these findings. McCurdy concludes that Hitler's speeches now have a "dull flatness of the delivery" and show "a man who is seriously contemplating the possibility of utter defeat." Hitler also is developing a "Jew phobia" and increasingly sees them as a "universal diabolical agency" versus himself, who represents "the incarnation of the spirit of good."

US Government: Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg meets with President Roosevelt in Washington, D.C. before returning to her wartime home in Montreal.

The New Yorker, 23 May 1942. Painting by Ilonka Karasz.

American Homefront: Japanese are not the only enemy aliens being imprisoned at internment camps in the United States. Today, Lt. Colonel Horace Rogers writes a letter to the Provost Marshal General in Washington, D.C., confirming the arrival of 13 new internees, mostly German, at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. The internees will be at Camp McCoy for the duration of the war.

"Grand Central Murder" opens today, starring Van Heflin and Virginia Grey.

Future History: Peter Frederick Wedlock is born in Bristol, England. He gets some singing experience in the church choir at St. Mary Redcliffe. After becoming a teacher, Fred Wedlock becomes a regular performer on the folk circuit. This leads him to record albums beginning with "The Folker" (1971), "Frollicks" (1973), and, most notably, "The Oldest Swinger in Town" (1981) (the title track becomes a hit single). Fred Wedlock passes away on 4 March 2010 in Bath, Somerset, with his funeral held at St. Mary Redcliffe where he had begun singing.

Collier's magazine, 23 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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May 20, 1942: Churchill and Molotov Negotiate

Wednesday 20 May 1942

Prime Minister Winston Churchill greets Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov in the back garden of No. 10 Downing Street, 20 May 1942. Also seen in the photo are  Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, and others (The Daily Telegraph).

Battle of the Pacific: Admiral Nimitz approves a secret operation on 20 May 1942 to ascertain Japanese plans. One of the codebreakers in the Honolulu station, Jasper Holmes, has come up with a way to ascertain the location of "AF," known from decrypts to be the target for an upcoming Japanese invasion. Using an undersea cable that is known to be secure, Nimitz today sends a message to the Midway Island base commander telling him to send out a radio message that there is a "water shortage" at the island. "At the present time, we have only enough water for two weeks. Please supply us immediately."

Just to make certain the intended Japanese recipients get the radio message, the island commander also is instructed to send the request for help both in a code the Japanese are known to have broken and "in the clear" (without coding). The US naval intelligence offices in three locations - Melbourne, Honolulu, and Washington - then sit back to see what develops.

The Japanese indeed are preparing an offensive operation against Midway. Today, Admiral Yamamoto sends out Operational Order 14. This details a complex plan to coordinate invasions of the Aleutian Islands and Midway with troops from Saipan.

A Yeoman in the US Navy Fleet Radio Unit in Melbourne, Australia (FRUMEL), Bill Tremblay, is working late. At 23:30, he identifies Yamamoto's message as important even though it is badly garbled. After Tremblay discusses it with his superiors, the message is put on a fast track for decryption. That, however, will take several days. The Honolulu station also intercepts a copy of the message which also is garbled, but largely in different places. Between the two interceptions, a large portion of the lengthy message can be decrypted.

B-17s based in Australia bomb the airfield at Koepang, Timor, continuing a series of missions against the base. These missions are effective at silencing antiaircraft guns at the airfield.

Due to the meeting of Brigadier General Jimmy Doolittle and President Franklin Roosevelt in the White House on 19 May, the newspapers on 20 May are full of hints of new raids on Japan. Here, the Baltimore News-Post gives these rumors a banner headline. In fact, no such raids are planned.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Today is generally viewed as the completion of the Japanese conquest of Burma. The British formally dissolve Burma Corps, transferring all soldiers formerly under General William Slim to the British IV Corps. Slim is reassigned to Indian XV Corps.

Meanwhile, India is receiving a steady flow of reinforcements from the United States. Another unit of the 10th Air Force in the China-Burma-India Theater arrives at Karachi, India, from the US today. It is the 11th Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bomber Group (Heavy), and flies B-17s. The 11th will become active and fly its first mission on 3 June 1942

The troops of Soviet Marshal Timoshenko, shown, are in big trouble around Kharkov on 20 May 1942.

Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht commits more units to its attempt to encircle the Red Army troops wheeling about in confusion south of Kharkov. The Luftwaffe is particularly effective at sealing the pocket, sending Junkers Ju 87 Stukas from StG 77 to destroy five of the Soviet bridges across the Donets River and damage four others. Kampfgeschwader 3 (KG 3), meanwhile, focuses on the roads in the developing pocket that are crowded with Soviet columns that have belatedly been turned 180 degrees to face the growing threat to their communications. Such a maneuver is difficult even in normal times, as the roads east are crowded with service troops, equipment, and other obstacles. The going is slow, and the Soviets are running out of time.

Turning an army around is one of the most difficult maneuvers in warfare. The entire orientation is inverted, with the cutting edge of tanks, infantry, and artillery having to reverse course in a perfectly coordinated ballet that is difficult in peacetime, let alone under fire. The army's "tail," or supply establishment, likewise has to change position to be just the right distance from the front line - which is moving who knows where. Ammunition dumps wind up in the wrong places, headquarters have to move and are out of touch, unit commanders don't even know where their soldiers are. Add to that blocked roads through rough terrain caused by air and artillery attacks and it's easy for chaos to erupt. This is exactly what happens to the Red Army south of Kharkov in May 1942.

Fulfilling a direct order from Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, the 14th Panzer Division advances further north from Petrovskoye and takes Protopopovka. This eliminates another key Soviet Donets river crossing and narrows the mouth of the breakthrough from there to Balakleya down to a dozen miles.

The Germans, though, are running a big risk. They are drawing only a thin line between the huge Red Army forces to the east and west. It is eight miles long and, in most places, only two miles wide. This easily could be pierced by fierce Red Army attacks. The German III Panzer Corps heads west to try and expand the width of this cordon. However, the Germans have to rely on Romanian troops that are less than enthusiastic to stick their heads into this potential noose (at Fuhrer headquarters, General Franz Halder notes that "the Romanians have gained only a little ground").

Von Kleist.

Determined to seal his victory, General Ewald von Kleist risks it all and sends the 16th Panzer Division (General Hube), the 60th Motorized Division, and the 1st Mountain Division to support the exposed 14th Panzer Division. These are the best troops in the First Panzer Army, the cream of the Wehrmacht. It is a huge gamble because Soviet counterattacks from either or both sides easily could cut off all of these divisions in the exposed salient. This would turn German victory into defeat. Bock convinces Sixth Army commander Friedrich Paulus (direct orders don't always work in these situations even in the Wehrmacht), whose troops are north of the bulge, to support this ambitious move by releasing the 3rd and 23rd Panzer Divisions. They will advance south from Balakleya and meet Kleist's advancing panzers. Even if they meet, however, it is unclear if they can hold their positions against furious counterattacks. It is an audacious gambit.

Someone is going to have a massive victory that may decide the entire summer campaign. It's just not perfectly clear yet who that will be. How hard the Red Army on opposite sides of the German advance will resist this encircling move is the big imponderable.

Bock knows the decisive moment of the entire campaign, perhaps the entire war has arrived. He writes in his war diary, confidently but perhaps more hopefully:

[T]tonight I have given orders aimed at completely sealing off the Izyum bulge. Now everything will turn out well after all.

Only one thing stands in Bock's path to victory: the Red Army. However, something strange is going on. The Germans are astonished to see no signs of either a determined breakout or a relief attack from the East. The thin German lines are holding and consolidating even though they are outgunned and outmanned by enemy troops just out of sight. It's a mystery that only deepens.

The Arizona Daily Star of 20 May 1942 features news from the Eastern Front battle of Kharkov that suggests the Red Army is doing well there. "Russian Planes blast at German Tanks Along Highway."

General Manstein's 11th Army eliminates the final above-ground pocket of Soviet resistance south of Kerch today (there are still Red Army soldiers operating out of catacombs in the region). The German success in the Kerch peninsula means many Luftwaffe resources can be transferred to the Kharkov battle, but there is still unfinished business in Crimea to the west. Luftwaffe ace Gordon "Mac" Gollob completes one of the longest sustained victory streaks of the war by shooting down two enemy aircraft, a DB-3 and a LaGG-3. This gives him 101 victories, a major milestone, and 14 victories over the past five days since taking command of JG 77. Gollob is the tenth Luftwaffe pilot to reach the century mark. After these victories, JG 77 is transferred west to help with the conquest of Sevastopol.

The German victory in the Kerch peninsula now is complete. It was an overwhelming triumph. While Fliegerkorps VIII has lost 37 aircraft, the Soviets lose 417. While between 37,000 and 116,045 Red Army soldiers make it back to the mainland, an estimated 162,282 do not. The Germans take about 150,000 soldiers and others (many are civilians) prisoner. The 11th Army loses only 7588 men in total, about ten tanks, and a dozen artillery pieces. The Soviets effectively lose three armies and nine divisions, with nine other divisions requiring major rebuilding.

European Air Operations: There are no major raids by either side today, perhaps due to the weather. The RAF's 197-plane raid on Mannheim on the night of 19/20 May accomplishes very little and causes only two fatalities in the city.

During an intruder operation to Soesterberg Airfield, German Flak of the 2./leichte Flak-Abteilung 764 downs an RCAF Douglas DB-7B Boston Mk III. All three crewmen perish.

MV Norland on fire and sinking after being torpedoed by U-108 on 20 May 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Michel shells and sinks 4245-ton Norwegian freighter Kattegat in the South Atlantic. Michel's crew takes the entire 32-man crew of Kattegat as prisoners.

U-108 (KrvKpt. Klaus Scholtz), on its seventh patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes, shells, and sinks 8134-ton Norwegian tanker Norland in the mid-Atlantic. Norland is part of Convoy ON 93. The entire 48-man crew survives and is rescued by Dutch freighter Polyphemus and USS PT-453.

U-753 (KrvKpt. Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein), on its fourth patrol out of La Pallice, gets its first victory of the wary. It torpedoes and sinks 7191-ton US Liberty ship George Calvert in the Caribbean near the Yucatan Channel. There are three deaths and 48 survivors.

U-155 (Kptlt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and badly damages 7797-ton Panamanian tanker Sylvan Arrow in the Caribbean southwest of Grenada. There are one death and 43 survivors, who are picked up by the destroyer USS Barney. Sylvan Arrow sinks while under tow on 28 May.

Wreck of SS Halo, sunk on 20 May 1942 by U-506, lying on the seafloor.

U-506 (Kptlt. Erich Würdemann), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6986-ton US tanker Halo 50 miles south of Louisiana. There are 39 deaths and three survivors, who are rescued by Mexican freighter Oaxaca and British freighter Otina. This is the ninth victory of the patrol for U-506 and it isn't over yet. The wreck of the Halo, which was carrying 64,103 barrels of crude oil, is found during a pipeline survey in July 2000 lying in 470 feet (78 fathoms, 143 m) of water.

U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 8,113-ton British tanker Darina 500 nautical miles (930 km) southeast of Bermuda. There are six deaths and 50 survivors, who are rescued by British freighter British Ardour, Norwegian freighter Dagrun, and US freighter Exanthia. This is the first victory of what will be an eventful patrol for U-158.

US Navy yard patrol craft USS YP-387 sinks after colliding with collier Jason off Delaware. There are six deaths and 15 survivors who are rescued by Jason.

The 20 May 1942 Chicago Daily Tribune contains a map and account of the 18 April Doolittle Raid on Japan.

Battle of the Mediterranean: U-431 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Dommes), on its sixth patrol out of La Spezia, torpedoes and sinks 4216-ton British tanker Eocene off Sollum, Egypt. The tanker is part of convoy AT-46. All 43 crewmen survive, rescued by Royal Navy HMT Cocker.

Due to a large number of RAF Supermarine Spitfires now on Malta, the Axis bombing raids now are usually composed of hit-and-run attacks by Luftwaffe fighter-bombers. The main objectives are still the airfields, and Luqa Airfield is attacked several times today after dark. Compared to the situation of a month ago, however, the attacks are minor and cause little damage.

Battle of the Baltic: Norwegian (Axis) freighter Vestra hits a mine and sinks in the Skagerrak near the Falsterbo Lighthouse, Sweden. The ship sinks in shallow water and is refloated, repaired, and returned to service.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov arrives in London to hold talks on opening a second front. Churchill does not take to Molotov, later saying about him, "I have never seen a human being who more perfectly represented the modern conception of a robot." (WSC, WWII, Vol. I p. 288-9). Molotov, as usual, is all business, just as he was with Hitler in November 1940. He emphasizes Soviet claims on territory in Poland and the Baltic States, matters that Churchill views as premature. Despite their issues, the two men immediately begin work toward preparing a twenty-year treaty of friendship. The final agreement is signed on 26 May 1942.

Woodland, California, 20 May 1942. Entrance to American Legion Hall, being used by the Wartime Civil Control Administration (W.C.C.A.) to assist persons of Japanese ancestry in settling their affairs before they depart for internment camps (Dorothea Lange, National Archives at College Park NARA record 1372774).

US Military: The US Navy Department issues a press release on 20 May 1942, "Recruiting of [African Americans] to Begin June 1." It also releases a separate press release, "Marines Announce Plans for Recruiting [African Americans]."

The new Navy recruits are to receive the normal eight weeks of training at the established Great Lakes facilities. This will qualify them for a sixteen-week vocational school at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. They will be trained there as electricians, carpenters, ship fitters, machinists, metalsmiths, firemen, and cooks. Heretofore, African Americans in the Navy have been confined to the stewards' branch. Fearful of crew shortages in this area, the Navy refuses to allow transfers out of the stewards' branch to the general service until May 1945.

The black Marine Corps recruits have a somewhat different experience. The Marine Corps does not have a training center prepared, so the recruits must be placed on inactive duty status while one is set up. Eventually, a facility is constructed at Montford Point, near New River, North Carolina, and Camp Lejeune. Prospective Marine Corps recruits face often insurmountable obstacles such as tight quotas for black marines and other restrictions.

Admiral John S. McCain arrives at Noumea, New Caledonia, in seaplane tender USS Tangier. He assumes command as the new Commander Aircraft South Pacific Forces (COMAIRSOPAC). McCain now is responsible for tender and shore-based aviation in the South Pacific Area (SOPAC) under admiral Nimitz. This area is to the east of the Southwest Pacific Area and south of the Central Pacific Area. SOPAC encompasses the Ellice, Phoenix, Marquesas, Tuamotu, Samoa, Fiji, and New Hebrides island groups plus New Caledonia and New Zealand. However, it does not yet include Guadalcanal or Tulagi and thus does not include areas of likely conflict. It includes, though, the main route from the United States to Australia and is of immense strategic importance.

Submarine USS Kingfish (SS-234) is commissioned.

The Major League Baseball schedule for 20 May 1942, sponsored by Carstairs White Seal Blended Whiskey.

British Government: A two-day debate on the war situation concludes in Parliament. PM Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of State for War under former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, is particularly critical of the Churchill government's handling of the war situation. He notes that there is not yet a "method of continuous cooperate" with the United States and that the different Allies are speaking with "disunited voices." Hore-Belisha proposes government reforms that will maintain "a clear-cut distinction" between "impartial, undiluted military opinion and what is a political decision." This is an obvious attack on Churchill, who is suspected by some of managing the war for his own personal political benefit.

American Homefront: Henry Ford begins the construction of a memorial to inventor George Washington Carver in Greenfield Village adjacent to the Logan County Courthouse. This project has been Ford's dream since meeting Carver, who is still alive to watch the building go up and be completed, in 1937.

Future History: Carlos Norman Hathcock is born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He joins the US military during the Vietnam War and becomes a Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant. He earns the nickname "White Feather Sniper" due to his habit of wearing a bush hat with a feather in it. Hathcock becomes a legendary sniper, and the Viet Cong place a $30,000 bounty on him. In his most famous encounter, he is sent specifically to eliminate an elite Viet Cong sniper known as "The Cobra." He accomplishes the task with a bullet that travels up Cobra's scope and into his eye. Carlos Norman Hathcock survives the war and passes away on 23 February 1999.

West Coast internees bound for a camp. (Dorothea Lange, Woodland, California, May 20, 1942. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration).

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