June 3, 1942: Start of Battle of Midway

Wednesday 3 June 1942

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Die Wehrmacht Magazine, 3 June 1942.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2021

June 2, 1942: German Artillery Barrage on Sevastopol

Tuesday June 2 1942

"An infantryman takes the surrender of the crew of an enemy supply truck in the Western Desert, 2 June 1942." © IWM E 12810.

Battle of the Pacific: About 350 miles (648 km) northeast of Midway Island, US Navy Task Force 16 (carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and Hornet (CV-8)) joins with Task Force 17 (Yorktown (CV-5)) on 2 June 1942. Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher aboard Yorktown assumes tactical command of the entire force, with Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance in charge of TF16. 

Altogether, the three US carriers carry 234 aircraft. There also are 110 fighters, bombers (including B-17s, though six of the sixteen there are sent back to Hawaii today), and patrol planes on Midway itself, giving the US a slight numerical advantage in planes over the approaching Japanese fleet. In the waters nearby are 25 US Navy submarines. Only a few key officers on Midway know of the presence of the US carriers. The Navy pilots stationed on Midway are told not to "expect any help from the U.S. carriers; they’re off defending Hawaii."

The 11th Air Force in Alaska has been moving assets toward the Aleutian Islands in preparation for an expected Japanese invasion. Today, two PBY-5A Catalinas of the USN's Patrol Squadron Forty One (VP-41) flying out of Dutch Harbor spot the incoming invasion force. They report Japanese aircraft carriers HIJMS Ryujo and Junyo about 210 miles (644 km) away from Dutch Harbor. The Japanese on the carriers also spot the PBYs, and Zeros quickly shoot them down. One crewman is taken prisoner while the rest on the two planes perish.

Admiral Kakuta in command of the two Japanese light carriers is preparing to raid Dutch Harbor, which is now alerted. However, this is only a feint, as the invasion force is heading for islands further west in the Aleutians.

Fifth Air Force raids the Japanese base at Rabaul.

Japanese 5822-ton freighter Kofuku Maru hits a mine and sinks off Rangoon, Burma.

The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Long Island (AVG-1) moored at Naval Air Station North Island, California (USA), on 2 June 1942, shortly before she sortied with Task Force 1 (TF-1) under Vice Admiral William S. Pye. Aircraft on deck include six Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat and three Curtiss SOC-3A Seagull of Auxiliary Scouting Squadron 1 (VGS-1). Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-31839.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The two Japanese survivors of the attack on Sydney Harbour on 30 May 1942, Lt Akieda Saburo and PO1C Takemoto Masami, have traveled 48 miles on foot when they are intercepted and killed in a gunfight with Royal Marines Commando No. 5 at Amponkarana Bay. One Marine also is killed and four more wounded by a sword wielded by one of the Japanese. The two fleeing men were betrayed by a local in a village where they stopped to get food. I-20, submerged off Amber Bay, will wait for another 36 hours before giving up hope of picking up any of the men.

Eastern Front: Harko (Hoeheres Artillerie Kommando) 306, Eleventh Army's artillery command, gives the order today to open fire on the Red Army's Sevastopol defense with everything. And by everything, they mean everything. 

This includes 17-inch (420mm) GAMMA, known to the world as "Big Bertha" during World War I, and 21-inch KARL. The biggest gun of all, though, is DORA, a 31.5-inch (800mm) artillery weapon that fires a 7-ton shell and can penetrate 90 inches of steel. It has taken a month, a crane, and thousands of soldiers to get DORA ready. These artillery weapons are massive and extremely vulnerable to air attack, but they can be deployed because the Luftwaffe has complete control of the skies over Crimea. It is a one-off situation where there is no fear of retaliation and the biggest weapons ever made can just fire as many rounds as they are able (which isn't that many per day due to technical issues).

DORA finally ready to fire.

The firing of 600 large artillery pieces (1300 total) controlled by Harko 306 is joined by air attacks by VIII Air Corps, concentrating on Soviet forts to the north of the port. Luftwaffe General von Richtofen awakens at 03:30 and at daybreak flies over the cloudless combat zone in his personal Fieseler Storch observation plane. He is aloft when the artillery opens fire.

VIII Air Corps has been greatly reinforced by stripping South Air Corps based in Kerch. Its planes fly from airfields at Saki, Sarabus, and Simferopol, all within 70 km of the port. The planes arrive for their first sortie of the day between 06:00 and 06:30. The area of bombardment is scheduled to shift from one area to another each day to soften up the entire Red Army line. Today's area of attack is against barracks northeast of the city and mobilization points in the villages of Schabykina and Balossowa to the southeast. At 07:00, a full attack using everything in the arsenal begins and lasts for twelve hours. All told, the Luftwaffe flies 723 sorties today and drops 525 tons of high explosives while shooting down six enemy planes. The Red Army pilots are completely outmatched, and four of their planes are shot down while they are trying to flee from Crimea to airfields in the Caucasus. The Germans only lose one Junkers Ju 87 Stuka.

DORA does not have to make many direct hits to achieve results, because every single one that does hit the target completely destroys the pillbox or fort. At Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder simply notes in his war diary, "Artillery assault of Sevastopol has started... On the whole, a day without important events or changes on the front."

While it is a quiet day at Fuhrer headquarters, Halder does have several meetings today. One of them is with Major Count Stauffenberg. They discuss issues with the troops that just won the victory southeast of Kharkov near Izyum, which includes a disturbing shortage of horses in a place where the great summer offensive is to be launched within a few weeks.

"Aerial photograph of Beaulieu airfield, looking north 2 June 1942. Photograph taken by No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, sortie number RAF/HLA/567. English Heritage (RAF Photography)." American Air Museum in Britain.

European Air Operations: It is a fairly quiet day on the Channel Front at first as both sides recuperate from their recent bombing missions (RAF Bomber Command to Cologne and Essen, the Luftwaffe to Canterbury). At first light, there are RAF patrols along the French coast between Gravelines and Dunkirk at 20-25,000 feet without incident. A second sweep at 09:30, however, turns into a massive dogfight over Le Touquet, where the Luftwaffe has an airbase. RAF No. 403 Squadron finds itself facing 40-50 enemy Focke Wulf 190s. The Allies (Canadians) lose six out of twelve pilots. The Luftwaffe also loses planes but seems to have gotten the better of the encounter. In a sign of the resiliency of the RAF, the six lost planes are replaced by nine new Spitfires by dinner time.

Battle of the Atlantic: In one of the more unusual events of the Battle of the Atlantic, U-213 (Oblt. Amelung von Varendorff), on its second patrol out of Lorient, spots 6826-ton Norwegian freighter Berganger southeast of Cape Cod at 03:32. Varendorff has bad luck, however, and all five torpedoes that he fires miss. However, the freighter also has very bad luck, as during the evening U-578 (KrvKpt. Ernst-August Rehwinkel), on its fourth patrol out of St. Nazaire, also spots the freighter and pumps a torpedo into the ship at 20:27. Rehwinkel then pumps a coup de grâce into the freighter, whose gunners have begun firing at his submarine. After the ship sinks Rehwinkel surfaces, questions the survivors, and takes pictures of them. There are 4 dead and 43 survivors, who occupy three lifeboats and are rescued by several different ships on 4 June.

U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes 5970-ton Brazilian freighter Alegrete between St. Lucia and St. Vincent. All 64 aboard the ship survive. This sinking is sometimes listed as happening on 1 June because it happens right around midnight on 1 June, so I mention it on both dates.

U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5686-ton US freighter Knoxville City 50 miles southeast of Cape Corrientes, Cuba. There are two dead and 53 survivors. This sinking also is sometimes listed as occurring on 1 June 1942.

U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, sports 5403-ton U.S. transport Illinois 400 miles northwest of Puerto Rico. Witte hits the freighter with two torpedoes that cause the ship to capsize and sink within 40 seconds. The time is too short for a distress call or for the crew to launch any lifeboats. There are only six survivors and 32 dead. The survivors find a capsized lifeboat and manage to right it, then sail to the southwest until picked up on 8 June by US tanker Esso Montpelier.

Free French Navy Admiral Aboyneau's barge coming alongside the Free French ship Amiens at Porsmouth for an inspection, 2 June 1942. © IWM A 8804.

U-553 (Kptlt. Karl Thurmann), on its seventh patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 6019-ton British freighter Mattawin 190 miles southeast of Nantucket. The U-boat chased the freighter for three and a half hours and missed with two torpedoes before finally having success with one (of two) at 07:18. All 71 men aboard the freighter survive, including a sailor blown off the forecastle and into the water when the torpedo hit. Thurmann fires a coup de grâce at 07.30 that sinks the ship in five minutes. The rescue of the survivors is a bit unusual in that the crews in three lifeboats turn down offers of rescue from Norwegian freighter Torvanger because it is heading to Capetown. However, the master of the vessel then discusses the matter with his own crew, who claim they are fearful of traveling independently with U-boats around. The master agrees to take the survivors to Halifax. Incidentally, the crew of the Torvanger is right to be fearful, as U-84 (Horst Uphoff) later sinks Torvanger west of the Azores while it is on its way to Capetown.

U-558 (Kptlt. Günther Krech), on its seventh patrol out of Brest, uses its deck gun because it is out of torpedoes and sinks 2078-ton Dutch freighter Triton 470 miles southeast of Bermuda. The first shot destroys the ship's stern gun and the German radio operator jams the ship's distress signals. There are 6 dead and 30 survivors, who are picked up after three days by US freighter Mormacport.

Italian submarine Da Vinci (Capt Luigi Longanesi-Cattani) uses its deck gun and torpedoes to sink 1087-ton Panamanian four-masted freighter Reine Marie Stewart 40 miles southwest of Freetown, Sierra Leone. All 11 crewmen survive after being picked up by the British freighter Afghanistan.

A Luftwaffe bomber finds 903-ton Irish freighter City of Bremen en route from Lisbon to Holyhead, Wales, and bombs it. While the City of Bremen does not sink immediately, the blast causes enough damage for the crew to abandon the ship at 23:30. Nobody sees the ship sink. Everybody survives.

Dutch 197-ton freighter Antares hits a mine and sinks. There is one death.

German 341-ton flak ship V 1510 Unitas 6 hits a sunken wreck and sinks near Dieppe in the English Channel.

"British 25 pounder guns fire at Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps on the night of 2 June 1942 during the battle of Gazala, Libya." © IWM E 12789.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Axis forces resume their blockade of the French fortress at Bir Hakeim after the Free French there briefly broke it to receive badly needed supplies. The Afrika Korps begins shelling the fortress at 10:00, accompanied by attacks from Axis planes. This includes twenty attacks by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers. The Italian Ariete division then launches an attack on the fort, which the French repel.

The British Desert Air Force also is active. It bombs the easily observed Axis forces surrounding the fortress in the desert, blowing up a lot of vehicles and leaving them burning wrecks. The Allies launch small-scale raids by the 7th Motor Brigade and the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade that cause more destruction but can't end the blockade. The military draw at the fort, however, is bad news for the Free French, who are rapidly running low on essential supplies such as water.

U-652 (Oblt. Georg-Werner Fraatz), on its ninth patrol out of Pola, sustains heavy damage in the Gulf of Sollum from depth charges dropped by British Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of RAF No. 815 Naval Air Squadron. The submarine is able to surface and the entire crew survives, but it is a total loss. U-81 (Kptlt. Friedrich Guggenberger ) happens to be nearby and torpedoes it to ensure the Allies don't come into possession of the hulk. U-652 ends its career with a total of 34,907 of Allied tonnage to its credit. After this, U-81 breaks off its own patrol and takes the survivors to Salamis.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet submarine SHCH-214 continues its string of successes against neutral Turkish vessels, sinking 100-ton sailing ship Kaynarea. It does this by ramming the sailing ship east of Rezovo, Bulgaria. Why the Soviet sub destroys so many Turkish vessels is a mystery, but there are many suspicions that Turkish war profiteers are transporting cargo in violation of neutrality.

Luftwaffe aircraft bomb and sink 836-ton Soviet transport Mikhail Gromov near Yalta while it is en route from Tuapse to Sevastopol to supply the trapped Red Army soldiers there.

German Military: Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler visits Reinhard Heydrich in the hospital at Prague. Heydrich appears to be recovering satisfactorily but is not out of the woods yet. He tells Himmler that he is ready for whatever happens, saying, "The world is just a barrel-organ which the Lord God turns Himself. We all have to dance to the tune which is already on the drum."

An article in the Asahi Shimbun on 2 June 1942 describes "a gift from the front." Soldiers in southeast Asia have sent home this leopard for Ueno Zoological Garden, a Tokyo zoo. Captain Shigetaka Yoshimura is shown petting the leopard.

Australian Government: Apparently stung by the recent attack on Sydney Harbour, Prime Minister John Curtin defiantly says, "I defy the enemy to land large forces in Australia."

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives a speech in the House of Commons primarily about the ongoing German attack in Libya. "From captured documents, it is clear that Rommel's object was to defeat our armored forces and capture Tobruk," he says. He gives an estimate that 260 enemy tanks have been destroyed or captured, and mentions that "we have retained control of the battlefield." Churchill also states that General Claude Auchinleck, in charge of North Africa, has complimented "the excellent performance of the American Grant tanks."

Churchill also gives a brief update on the air war, noting that "no fewer than 1,130 British-manned aircraft" attacked Cologne on the night of 30/31 May, and "1036 machines of the Royal Air Force" attacked Essen on the following night. "[T]hese two great night-bombing raids mark the introduction of a new phase in the British air offensive against Germany."

While it is all well and good for Churchill to crow about British successes, this speech also makes it quite awkward later in June when it turns out that the British in fact have not "retained control of the battlefield" and Rommel's forces capture Tobruk in a lightning assault. His government almost falls due to the heightened expectations and depressing results. To save face, Churchill has to fire Auchinleck. This shows the danger of being too overconfident and self-congratulatory. But that is looking ahead and I try not to do that too often.

American Homefront: There are 89 known US war dead today, a "quiet" day in the war.

The Western Defense Command warns citizens on the west coast to be on the alert for Japanese infiltrators wearing U.S. Army uniforms.

Actress Veronica Lake on the cover of Look Magazine, 2 June 1942. 

2021

June 1, 1942: Hitler at Poltava

Monday 1 June 1942

Hitler at Poltava, 1 June 1942. From left to right: Lieutenant General Adolf Ernst Heusinger, General of the Infantry von Sodenstern, Colonel General Max Freiherr von Weichs, Adolf Hitler, General of the Panzer Force Friedrich Paulus, Colonel General Eberhard von Mackensen and Field Marshal Feodor von Bock. Federal Archive Image 183-B24543.

Battle of the Pacific: On 1 June 1942, a Japanese invasion force departs from Kashiwabara on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands heading for Kiska Island in the Aleutians. Meanwhile, the US Navy sends Task Force 8.6 centered around the light cruiser USS Nashville (CL-43) to patrol 400 miles (741 km) south of Kodiak Island. The US 11th Air Force now has 12 P-40s, six B-26 bombers, and a B-17E at Otter Point on Umnak Island.

Pursuant to Admiral Nimitz's orders, aircraft carrier Saratoga sails from San Diego for Pearl Harbor following repair of torpedo damage suffered on 11 January 1942 and some modernization. It carries 14 Wildcats of VF-2 Detachment and 23 Dauntlesses of VS-3, along with four Wildcats, 43 Dauntlesses, and 14 Avengers as cargo. The cargo aircraft are carried as future replacements for aircraft expected to be lost at Midway Island by carriers Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown.

Five Japanese submarines (I-21, I-22, I-24, I-27, and I-29) lie off Port Hacking, Australia, waiting for the crewmen of the mini-submarines that attacks Sydney Harbour on 31 May to reach their rendezvous point. The men never arrive, having all been killed either during the attack or afterward.

The US Fifth Air Force sends B-17s to attack the Japanese base at Rabaul, while others raid Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea.

Hitler driving from the airfield to his meeting with the leaders of Army Group South in Poltava, Ukraine, 1 June 1942.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Following their successful mini-sub attack on the British fleet at Diego Suarez, Madagascar, two Japanese sailors (Lt Akieda Saburo and PO1C Takemoto Masami) have abandoned their mini-sub at Nosy Antalikely (Antali Keli) islet. Having gotten to the mainland on the boat of some friendly locals, they are proceeding on foot to the pickup point at Cape Amber. Hungry, they stop at a village, Anijabe village, to buy some food. They obtain the food from the friendly locals, but one of them contacts the British in hopes of getting a reward.

Japanese submarine I-10 launches its "Glen" seaplane for a reconnaissance mission over Diego Suarez, Madagascar. Even though this is the third straight day of such flights, the British do not notice it.

The US 10th Air Force raids the Rangoon dockyards with five bombers. The bomber crews claim to sink one tanker and damage another.  

Adolf Hitler, center, greets soldiers after getting off of his Focke Wulf Fw 200 Kondor at Poltava airfield, 1 June 1942.

Eastern Front: Adolf Hitler makes a rare visit to Army Group Center headquarters at Poltava in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. He is there to discuss the upcoming Case Blue with Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. Hitler flies in at 9 a.m. and is gone by noon. Afterward, everyone is a little mystified why he visited, but Hitler shows a bit of wanderlust in early June 1942, flying to Poltava, then to Finnland to wish Marshal Mannerheim a happy 75th birthday, and then down to Berchtesgaden for a holiday. This is the first of Hitler's two visits to Poltava, the second being on 3 July.

These visits accomplish nothing that could not also be done via simple teletype messages and phone calls. However, they serve Hitler's purposes in terms of reminding the generals and soldiers at the front who is really in charge. They also serve as good propaganda tools to show the same thing to the German public. Hitler fully expects Case Blau to be a resounding victory and the final German triumph over the USSR, so he wants to be seen prominently at the point of its inception.

At Sevastopol, General von Manstein's 11th Army bombards the Soviet holdouts throughout the day. He is preparing to finally take the port. The Red Army troops know they have no hope of relief and Stalin has not authorized a withdrawal using ships.

The action is heating up in the air over Sevastopol, too. II./JG 77's Lt. Ludwig-Wilhelm Burckhardt is shot down near enemy lines while flying an escort mission for Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen's Fiesler Storch. He crash-lands near the Soviet lines, gets out of the plane, and runs for his life from advancing Soviet infantry. Burckhardt barely survives and makes it back to German lines but gets chewed out by his commander, Major Gordon Gollob, for not destroying his Bf 109 before leaving.

Back at Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder simply writes "Unchanged" in his war diary, adding "The mopping-up operation in the rear of Fourth Army [anti-partisan operation Hannover] is making good progress." Halder talks to General Hoth, the new commander of the 4th Panzer Army, about his role in Case Blue.

Adolf Hitler exits his Focke-Wulf 200 in Poltava, Ukraine, 1 June 1942.

European Air Operations: German flak batteries at Ostend down an RAF Spitfire. The Belgian pilot survives two days and three nights in his dinghy before being picked up by the Germans and imprisoned.

RAF Bomber Command takes a rest after two major raids on consecutive nights, one against Cologne and the other over Essen. It considers the Cologne raid a success although the RAF lost 40 bombers. The Essen raid by 956 bombers, however, achieved little due to poor bombing accuracy.

Fires rage in Canterbury, England, after the latest "Baedeker Blitz" attack by the Luftwaffe.

 Lt. Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer of NJG 1 gets his first victory during the Essen raid. He will become known as "The Night Ghost of St. Trond."

Battle of the Baltic: German 981-ton freighter Malmö hits a mine in the Drogden area of the Skagerrak and sinks in Øresund southwest of Malmö, Sweden. On 8 August 1942, a Danish salvage company raises it, brings it to Copenhagen, repairs it, and returns it to service. It survives the war.

Hitler arrives at the headquarters of Army Group South, 1 June 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-156 torpedoes and sinks 5970-ton Brazilian freighter Alegrete between St. Lucia and St. Vincent. The attack is made after dark at 23:51, making the (neutral) Brazilian flag difficult to see. The crew quickly abandons ship and the U-boat uses its deck gun to send it under by 03:00 on the 2nd. All 64 on the freighter survive, with three lifeboats making landfall in Trinidad and Venezuela and the fourth being rescued by USS Tarbell (DD 142).

U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5686-ton US freighter Knoxville City near the Isle of Pines and 50 miles southeast of Cape Corrientes, Cuba. This sinking is sometimes listed as having sunk early in the morning on 2 June. A torpedo strikes the engine room, killing two men instantly and stopping the ship. After an hour the ship is still afloat, so Rostin fires another torpedo that sinks it. Aside from the two men in the engine room, all 53 other crewmen survive. The crew's story is a little unusual because a Brazilian freighter, Jamaica, stops and asks the men in the boats if they want to be rescued, but they decline because they fear that this ship will be torpedoed, too. They ultimately make landfall in La Calina, Cuba, after 48 hours.

U-106 (Kptlt. Hermann Rasch), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, sinks 2689-ton US freighter Hampton Roads northwest of Cape San Antonio, Cuba. Rasch fires two warning shots with his deck gun, causing the freighter to stop. He waits for the crew to disembark, then fires one torpedo that sinks the ship. Five men remain on board and perish, but the other 23 men take to the boats and are picked up seven hours later by Alcoa Pathfinder.

U-404 (Kptlt. Otto von Bülow), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 5492-ton US freighter West Notus 320 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The U-boat chases the ship for two hours and 45 minutes, using its deck gun and scoring about 20 hits in 55 shots. The crew is unable to send a distress call because one of the first shells destroys the radio. Finally, one of the shots disables the steering, causing the ship to sail in circles. The crew abandons ship after firing some rounds with a machine gun that causes minor damage to the U-boat. The U-boat then surfaces, questions the men, gives them some Perrier mineral water bottles, and directs them to Cape Hatteras. The burning freighter, meanwhile, takes a long time to sink, so in an unusual move, von Bülow sends a party on board to plant scuttling charges. There are four dead and 36 survivors, who are picked up after a couple of days by two separate freighters (Greek Constantinos H. and Swiss Saentis).

U-566 (Kptlt. Dietrich Borchert), on its fifth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and later uses gunfire to sink 9512-ton British freighter Westmoreland northeast of Bermuda 240 miles northeast of Bermuda. The ship takes a long time to sink, and remains afloat even after a coup de grâce torpedo is used, so Borchert surfaces and uses the deck gun to sink it after a five-hour ordeal. There are three dead and 65 survivors, who are picked up by two different freighters (Canadian Cathcart and U.S. Henry R. Mallory). This is U-566's only victory on this patrol.

Some sources place the sinking of 4536-ton Panamian freighter Bushranger today by U-107, but others do so on 31 May 1942, so I covered it there.

Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stuka bombers sink 6850-ton British freighter Empire Starlight in Murmansk Harbor. The Soviets refloat and repair it in 1945, renaming the freighter Murmansk. The planes also sink 235-ton Soviet freighter Subbotnik in the harbor, with eight dead.

The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52). "Photographed off New York City, 1 June 1942. She has a barge alongside her starboard quarter. Her superstructure retains its original camouflage scheme, but her hull has been repainted to a different pattern." Juneau will be sunk on 13 November 1942 at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal with the loss of 687, including the five Sullivan brothers. Naval History & Heritage Command 19-N-31264.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Following heavy Stuka attacks on British defenders of the 150th Infantry Brigade at the Sidi Muftah box (Got el Ualeb, due west of Tobruk), German soldiers of the Afrika Korps resume their attack west against them that began on the 31st of May. The British Eighth Army attempts to relieve the embattled soldiers, without success. Fierce fighting continues throughout the day into the early afternoon, when the last British soldiers surrender. The Germans claim 3000 prisoners, the destruction of 101 tanks and armored cars, and the capture or destruction of 124 artillery pieces. 

This enables the Germans to make contact with the Italian X Corps, advancing through the minefield from the west. This Axis victory clears two desperately needed pathways through the British minefields to the west so that supplies can be trucked in by the Italian Ariete and Trieste divisions.

Spy Stuff: The Wehrmacht begins a secret disinformation campaign, Operation Kreml (Kremlin). Working on the assumption that the Red Army has sources within the German army, Operation Kreml involves a phony plan by Army Group Center to mount a large-scale offensive to capture Moscow. The plan is put in motion today with the Army Group's distribution down to the regimental level of sealed maps of Moscow with instructions not to open them until 10 June, when meetings to discuss the offensive will be held. In fact, the only Wehrmacht offensive planned for the summer is the one in the south, Case Blau. Kreml is a classic misdirection counterintelligence operation.

A photo of Hermann Goering in the 1 June 1942 issue of Time Magazine.

German Military: Generals Hermann Hoth of 17th Army and Richard Ruoff of 4th Panzer Army switch commands. Hoth is considered a top panzer general is tasked with preparing the 4th Panzer Army for its critical role in the upcoming Case Blue offensive into southern USSR toward Stalingrad.

Oblt. Heinrich Kraft of 8./JG 51 becomes Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 51.

US Military: Headquarters, United States Army Northern Ireland Force and Headquarters, V Corps (both commanded by MG Hartle) transfer from Wilmont House to Lurgan. Meanwhile, the Headquarters of Northern Ireland Base Command (Provisional) is activated at Wilmont House under the command of BG Leroy P. Collins.

Brazilian Homefront: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CRVD) is founded in Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is a metals and mining corporation that eventually evolves into Vale S.A., one of the most valuable companies in Latin America. It is also is controversial due to its impact on the environment and various accidents resulting in deaths and injuries.

Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek on the cover of Time magazine, 1 June 1942.

Holocaust: Carl Oberg officially takes up his post as Higher SS and Police Leader (Höherer SS-und Polizeiführer, HSSPF) "Frankreich" (France) with authority over German police and security forces in France, including the SD and the Gestapo. Oberg now is the ultimate authority in France for anti-partisan operations and Holocaust activities. He will earn the nickname "Butcher of Paris." 

Reinhard Heydrich accompanied Oberg to his new post in France in early May (before the Heydrich assassination attack on 27 May). Already, even before his official installation, Oberg has instituted the policy of requiring Jews in Paris to wear a yellow badge. One of Oberg's defining characteristics will be ordering mass executions of hostages as reprisals for Resistance activities.

American Homefront: The Grand Coulee Dam, which has been under construction since the ceremonial driving of the first stake on 16 July 1933, opens on the Columbia River. The reservoir fills completely and the first waters overtop the spillway. Over 21,000 acres (85 square km) of land have been flooded

The dam's first generator has been in operation since January 1941. Getting the dam into full operation is a very slow and gradual process, with the last of its 18 generators not being switched on until 1950. The total cost of the dam in 2020 dollars: $2 billion.

Future History: Thomas Frank Mankiewicz is born in Los Angeles, California. The son of Joseph Mankiewicz and nephew of Herman Mankiewicz, both power players in Hollywood, Tom Mankiewicz goes on to become an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television. His most famous credits include "Superman: The Movie" (1978) and some James Bond films, including "Live and Let Die" (1973). Tom Mankiewicz was famous within Hollywood insider circles as a "script doctor" brought in to "fix" shaky movie scripts. He passes away in Los Angeles on 31 July 2010 from pancreatic cancer.

Cecil Randolph Hundley Jr. is born in Martinsville, Virginia. He becomes a top catcher, particularly defensively, in Major League Baseball from 1964-1977. He is most famous for playing with the Chicago Cubs. His son, Todd, also becomes a Major Leaguer. Hundley originated the idea of baseball "fantasy camps," where fans get to play with former pros. He apparently still operates some as of this writing in 2021.

Fernando Atzori is born in Ales, Province of Oristano, Italy. He goes on to become a champion boxer before retiring in 1975. He passes away on 9 November 2020.

Life magazine, 1 June 1942, with actress Hedy Lamarr on the cover.

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 29, 1942: Japanese at Madagascar

Friday 29 May 1942

USS Yorktown in Dry Dock #1 of the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, 29 May 1942 (Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-13065).

Battle of the Pacific: Frantic repairs on USS Yorktown in a Pearl Harbor drydock continue on 29 May 1942 as two other US aircraft carriers, Enterprise and Hornet, approach Midway Island. The US Navy has only one other aircraft carrier in the Pacific, Saratoga, but it is undergoing repairs at San Diego and is unavailable for the expected battle about to occur at Midway.

US Navy submarine tender Thornton (AVD-11) arrives at the French Frigate Shoals to relieve minelayer Preble (DM-20). The Americans know that the Japanese have been using this location as a staging location for attacks on Hawaii. Japanese submarine I-123 arrives late in the day with fuel for a reconnaissance plane that is scheduled to arrive soon but is unable to set up the operation due to the US presence.

US Navy seaplane tender Ballard (AVD-10) arrives at Midway with eleven motor torpedo boats (PT boats) of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron MTBRon 1 (Lt. Clinton McKellar Jr.). They are there to supplement the local defense forces, which are under the command of Captain Cyril T. Simard.

Japanese naval intelligence (COMINT) is monitoring US naval communications and suspects from radio chatter there that a US naval task force has departed recently (TF 16 recently left for Midway). Admiral Yamamoto's strict radio silence order, however, prevents this information from being forwarded to Admiral Nagumo, whose carriers are approaching Midway.

Admiral Yamamoto sails out of the inland sea today with a support force for the Midway operation. His radio intelligence has identified six US Navy submarines nearby, but none are spotted.

US Navy submarine USS Swordfish (Lt Cdr Chester C. Smith SS-193) attacks a Japanese army convoy at the southwestern entrance to Balabac Strait, Philippines. It sinks 1946-ton freighter Tatsufuku Maru. Swordfish also damages freighter Rio de Janeiro Maru.

PBY-5 Catalinas based at Noumea, New Caledonia join RAAF Catalinas in bombing Tulagi Island, the site of a Japanese seaplane base near Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

Japanese submarine I-21 launches its E14Y "Glen" seaplane for an uneventful reconnaissance mission over Sydney, Australia.

"The aircraft carrier HMS ILLUSTRIOUS is seen ahead of HMS WARSPITE." The photo was taken in the Indian Ocean on 29 May 1942. (© IWM A 10655).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: A large Japanese submarine force takes up station off Madagascar after a long and arduous journey across the Indian Ocean. They are there to launch mini-submarines to attack the British Far Eastern Fleet. This is "Divine Dragon Operation No. 2."

I-10 launches its E14Y "Glen" floatplane (crewed by Lt. (j.g.) Araki Toshio and Ito Yoshiharu) for a reconnaissance mission above the harbor at Diego Suarez. The men spot numerous targets in the harbor, including battleship HMS Ramillies and numerous destroyers, corvettes, troopships, a tanker, an ammunition ship, a freighter, and a hospital ship. Three submarines - I-16, I-18, and I-20 - attempt to launch a mini-sub attack today, but only two of the mini-submarines are launched properly. The other two proceed toward the harbor.

Unlike many other such flights, the British spot this one and sound the alert. The British battleship quickly changes its anchorage in the harbor. After the floatplane returns, I-10 Captain Ishizaki orders a mini-submarine attack of his own for 0230 on 31 May.

Four B-17 bombers of the 10th Air Force bomb Myitkyina Airfield in Burma.

Eighteen Japanese Zeros and 17 P-39 Aircobras have a furious dogfight over Hood Bay southeast of Port Moresby. The Japanese lose four planes to one P-39F. One of the Japanese pilots crash-lands and is shot and killed while resisting arrest.

Heavy cruiser USS Quincy (CA-39) at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, 29 May 1942.

Eastern Front: The German victors at Kharkov count Soviet prisoners as mass surrenders continue. At Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder writes simply, "All quiet along the entire front (including Byeloi)."

European Air Operations: Despite continued poor weather, the RAF sends planes on patrols late in the day. RAF planes bomb and sink 1839-ton Danish (German) freighter Niels R. Finsen, carrying a load of coke, west of Borkum. They also sink 750-ton German minesweeper Sperrbrecher-150 (Viriato) near the Dutch West Frisian island of Ameland. The RAF planes also sink 285-ton German patrol boat V-1103 off Ameland (three deaths). An RCAF sweep over Cap Gris-Nez to Dunkirk encounters heavy flak.

British banana boat Allister, sunk on 29 May 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: As it continues toward the Soviet Union, Convoy PQ-16 divides in half with six ships making for Archangel and the rest for Murmansk. The Germans, having sunk seven of its ships, have no more success against it.

U-504 (KrvKpt. Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 1597-ton British banana boat Allister 54 miles south of Grand Cayman Island. The ship breaks in half and sinks quickly. There are 15 dead and 8 survivors, who spend eight days at sea before being picked up by an unidentified passing ship and landed at Port au Prince, Haiti.

U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 1913-ton British freighter Norman Prince 70 miles west of Martinique. Hartenstein chased the ship for eight hours before getting into firing position. There are 16 dead and 33 survivors, who are picked up by Vichy French freighter Angoulême and interned at Martinique. While on the island, they meet Lt.z.S Dietrich von dem Borne, who was injured in a gun explosion on U-156 in February and put ashore for humanitarian reasons. One survivor clings to a door for three days before being picked up by USCGC Unalga (WPG 53).

U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 2599-ton British freighter Western Head in the Windward Passage 50 miles east of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There are 24 deaths and six survivors, who are picked up by a US Navy patrol ship and taken to Guantanamo Bay.

Italian submarine Barbarigo, on patrol in the South Atlantic near Brazil, torpedoes and uses its deck gun to sink 4836-ton British freighter Charlbury.

German 750-ton Sperrbrecher (literally, mine barrage breaker, or minesweeper)  150 Viriato hits a mine and sinks off Dunkirk.

Kansas City Star, 29 May 1942. One of the headlines states, "Smash Deep Axis Thrust" at Tobruk, which is a bit of an overstatement.

Battle of the Mediterranean: With the Afrika Korps advance into the British Gazala Line stalled at Bir Hakeim, badly needed supply trucks of the Trieste and Ariete divisions reach the Axis forces after clearing a path through minefields. The British Desert Air Force (DAF) is active, intercepting two raids by Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers and also attacking Axis supply vehicles.

The Free French men in the fortress of Bir Hakeim also need supplies. However, the Axis forces have them surrounded and one breakout attempt already has failed. A detachment led by Capitaine Gabriel de Sairigné sorties out and destroys three German tanks today.

General Erwin Rommel, having lost the initiative and still facing supply issues, cleverly uses Allied minefields to protect his flanks and assumes a defensive posture even as his forces continue to reduce Bir Hakeim. Uncoordinated British attacks achieve nothing. A British armored brigade attacks the Ariete Division near the fortress, but the Italians beat them off. This becomes known as "The Cauldron."

British destroyers HMS Hero, Eridge, and Hurworth, after being alerted to a U-boat's presence by a patroling Blenheim bomber of RAF No. 203 Squadron, use depth charges to sink U-568 (Kptlt. Joachim Preuss), on its fifth patrol out of La Spezia, northeast of Tobruk. All 47 crewmen survive.

British submarine Turbulent has a big day, sinking two ships. It torpedoes and sinks 3175-ton Italian freighter Capo Arma 70 miles northwest of Benghazi. Casualties are unknown.

Turbulent also torpedoes and sinks Italian destroyer Emanuele Pessagno 85 miles northwest of Benghazi. There are 140 deaths and 85 survivors.

Italian 1160-ton freighter Penelope, torpedoed on 19 May 1942 by British submarine Thrasher, finally sinks.

"A Supermarine Walrus taxiing up to WARSPITE after returning from anti-submarine patrol. In the background are HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and the destroyer HMS LOOKOUT, 29 May 1942." Note the crewman on top of the plane to attach the hook to lift it.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet submarine SHCH-214 rams and sinks 90-ton Turkish sailing vessel Hudavendiar east of Cape Igneada, Turkey. This is one of several sinkings of neutral Turkish vessels in the Black Sea during 1942, but they do not provoke a diplomatic crisis.

Soviet submarine A-3 torpedoes and sinks 3595-ton Romanian freighter Sulina off Odessa.

Partisans: Reinhard Heydrich remains in critical care in a Prague hospital following an assassination attempt by British/Czech agents. Heinrich Himmler's personal physician, Dr. Karl Gebhardt, assumes responsibility for Heydrich's care, which includes large doses of morphine for the pain. Gebhardt does not (according to his own account) administer the antibacterial drug sulfanilamide despite its recommendation by Hitler's personal doctor, Theodor Morell.

A newlywed, Mrs. Robert Cramer, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 29 May 1942 © The Ann Arbor News.

German Military: Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 42. This cancels Operation Isabella, a wishful plan to invade Spain and Portugal. It also refines a projected plan to invade Vichy France, Operation Attila, and replaces it with Case Anton (which ultimately is executed). Fuhrer Directive No. 42 is issued due to a "continual shifting of our forces in the West." It suggests that Spanish leader Francisco Franco's appeasement of Hitler by sending troops to the Eastern Front is working and that he views the lukewarm support offered by the Vichy government and French partisan activities as a growing nuisance.

The directive also states that "The Italians may also, if the situation requires, have to take action in Tunisia." The situation will require this later in 1942, but the Germans will take care of matters themselves.

Australian Military: Today is the first flight of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-12 Boomerang fight. It is the only Australian-produced plane of World War II.

Holocaust: The Germans extend their requirement that Jews over six years of age wear a yellow badge to Paris. This is the eighth German decree on the subject of anti-Jewish measures and comes into effect on 7 June 1942.

African-American US Army 2nd lts. Henry Harris, Frank Frederick Doughton, Elmer B. Kountze, and Rogers H. Beardon pinning on their new brass rank insignias, Ft. Benning, Georgia, US, 29 May 1942 (National Archives).

American Homefront: Warner Bros. premiere "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in New York City. Featuring songs by George M. Cohan and starring James Cagney, Joan Leslie, and Walter Huston, the film is a huge success and the company's biggest box-office success to date. Cagney wins the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the film wins other awards for its music and sound recording. Congress selects it for preservation in 1993. In a patriotic gesture, Warner Bros. sells war bonds for entrance to the premiere ranging in value from $25 to $25,000.

Future History: Actor John Barrymore, born John Sidney Blyth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (and buried there), passes away in Los Angeles, California from illness. Barrymore is known as one of the great stage and film actors of the early 20th Century and is sometimes referred to as "The Great Barrymore." However, he is probably best remembered most these days for his wildly eccentric life that involved alcoholism, bankruptcy, four marriages, and a life largely led in the pages of tabloid magazines. He also founds the "Barrymore family of actors" that continues down to the present day with his granddaughter, Drew Barrymore.

Yosano Akiko passes away in Tokyo, Japan, from a stroke. She is remembered as a poet and feminist. While sometimes called a pacifist, in fact, many of Akiko's later works support the wars against China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. One of her poems even praises Bushido, or the samurai code urging men to die in battle for the Emperor. Akiko has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years.

A traffic accident at Folsom and Army Streets in San Francisco, 29 May 1942 (San Francisco Police Department Photograph Bureau Negatives / Bureau of Accident Investigation and Prevention, San Francisco Police Department Records, via San Francisco Public Library).

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