April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up

Saturday 11 April 1942

US tanker Gulfamerica sinking off the Florida coast on 11 April 1942 after being torpedoed by U-123.

Battle of the Pacific: Another column of Allied POWs sets out from Bagac, the Philippines, in the Bataan Death March on 11 March 1942. Along the route, they join at Pilar the first column that set out from Mariveles on the 10th. Their shared objective is Camp O'Donnell, a march of about 60 miles (110 km) away (with a short train ride in between). Along the way, the prisoners are treated with increasing brutality as the Japanese captors tire of the march themselves. Little food or water is provided, and anyone who falls behind is shot, though a few prisoners manage to slip off into the forests to become guerillas. Men are beaten and killed for any specious reason or no reason under the blazing sun.

In Manila Bay, the Japanese continue pounding Corregidor with artillery moved to the shoreline. The remaining US troops in the area continue scuttling ships, including the 1074-ton Filipino passenger and cargo ship Apo.

In Tokyo, the Japanese fleet radio intelligence network continues picking up US Navy radio traffic between Pearl Harbor and ships heading west. These ships are Admiral "Bull" Halsey's Task Force 16, centered around USS Enterprise, and Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle's raiders aboard USS Hornet. The Japanese deduce that the Americans are heading toward Japan, but wait for picket ships to report that the Americans have gotten to within 300 miles of the coast. However, as a precaution, the Japanese do alert the 69 land-based bombers of the 26th Air Flotilla to be ready for action at any time.

US Navy submarine USS Trout torpedoes and sinks a Japanese fleet tanker west of Shionomisaki, Japan. Some A-20 Havocs of the US Army Air Force raids Lae, New Guinea, and bombs and destroys Japanese transport Taijun Maru (3 deaths).

TBD-1 Devastators of VT-6 on the flight deck of USS Enterprise. The Enterprise is hurrying to catch up with USS Hornet, which is carrying the planes for the Doolittle Raid. April 11, 1942

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Using troops freed up from the capture of Singapore in mid-February, the Japanese launch a major offensive in Burma in the middle of a storm toward the Yenangyaung oil fields. The British have the 1st Burma Division and the 48th Indian Infantry Brigade defending, and these formations give good accounts of themselves and hold their ground. The British deploy the 2nd Royal Tank regiment at Thadodan and Alebo near Magwe. The British defense is hampered by heavy jungles that the Japanese can get through while they themselves, due to their equipment, are confined to the roads.

Eastern Front: After today's attacks on the German defenses along the Parpach Narrows in the Crimea fail, Soviet General Kozlov calls off this fourth offensive against the line. It has been a dismal failure. During these four offensives and the initial reconquest of the Kerch Peninsula, the Soviets have lost a staggering 352,000 men, including 236,370 just during the offensives. This is 40% of its manpower, 25% of its artillery, and 52% of its tanks. Stalin, however, is not dismayed by the losses and wants further attacks made.

On the German side, little note is made of Kozlov's attacks. In his war diary, General Halder dismissively writes, "New strong attacks on the Kerch peninsula were repulsed. A landing attempt on the west coast of the Crimea was thrown back." These abortive Soviet landings are at Eupatoriya, Crimea. General Manstein in command of the 11th Army is now free to plan his own offensive, which will begin in about a month.

The 11 April 1942 NY Times carries news about the surrender on Bataan that focuses on the men holding out in the island fortress of Corregidor. There is not a hint about the Bataan Death March because the US government is not releasing any news about it.

The losses from these overly aggressive Soviet attacks will greatly aid the German summer offensive currently being planned at Zossen (General Franz Halder writes in his diary today, "Work on the orders for operation 'Blau."). At the daily situation conference, Hitler cancels all proposed offensives in the Army Group Center sector and orders division transfers to Army Group South and to the West.

Meanwhile, Halder notes that the German relief attempt toward the Demyansk pocket being mounted by General Seydlitz's men "is very tight. Seydlitz is making small advances." The trapped men at Demyansk and Kholm need to be rescued soon as they are drained from spending the entire winter in the pocket.

In the far North, the Soviets attack Finnish positions north of Lake Ladoga at Aunus (Olonets). As with many Soviet offensives, this hits at a "seam," namely, a boundary between two large Axis units. The Soviets break past the Finns in this wild and untamed region, but the Finns quickly regroup. They move in behind the advancing Soviets to cut them off. This turns another overly aggressive Soviet attack into a trap. The Soviets take heavy losses.

Even further north, the Red Air Force attacks the Luftwaffe airfield at Kirkenes, Norway. However, little damage is done.

European Air Operations: It is a light day for both sides, probably because of the weather. No major actions.

US tanker Harry F. Sinclair Jr. burns off Cape Lookout, North Carolina after being torpedoed by U-203, 11 April 1942 (National Archives).

Battle of the Atlantic: Both sides have begun allocating more resources to the Arctic Convoy route around northern Norway. The Soviets send five submarines (K-1, K-2, K-3, S-101, ShCh-401) to the area to ward off any surface attacks (K-2 lays mines today off Vardø), while the German destroyers Z.24 and Z.25 are at sea searching for a convoy. The Germans already have noticed Convoy QP 10 heading back to Iceland from Murmansk which left port yesterday. A Luftwaffe attack by Junkers Ju 88 medium bombers bombs and sinks 7161-ton British freighter Empire Cowper in the Barents Sea. There are nine deaths.

U-160 (Oblt. Georg Lassen), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, torpedoes and sinks 14,647-ton British passenger ship Ulysses about 45 nautical miles (83 km) south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. All 290 people on board are rescued by destroyer USS Manley. Ulysses escaped from Hong Kong prior to the takeover, but her luck ran out in the Atlantic when she collided with another vessel and then had to head to Newport News for repairs.

U-123 (Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen), on its eighth patrol out of Lorient, continues its reign of terror along the east coast of the United States. It torpedoes and sinks 8081-ton US tanker Gulfamerica about five miles off Jacksonville, Florida. there are 19 dead and 29 survivors. While the ship is abandoned and clearly an unrepairable derelict, Gulfamerica does not completely sink until 16 April. this sinking is a little unusual in that Hardegen surfaces to sink the derelict, but realizes that because it is so close to Jacksonville, some of his salvoes may overshoot the ship and hit the city. So, he circles around to the west and then begins firing. This delay enables a US destroyer, USS Dahlgren, to arrive on the scene, disrupt the attack, and damage U-123. However, Hardegen and U-123 escape. Hardegen receives praise after the war for this humanitarian gesture.

U-130 (KrvKpt. Ernst Kals), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5393-ton Norwegian freighter Grenanger northeast of the West Indies. The crew abandons the ship in lifeboats and are spotted by British freighter Almenara - but incredibly, in what may be a unique incident, they turn down the offer of rescue and sail on in their lifeboats with some supplies. The three lifeboats make it to St. Thomas, taken in tow the last part of the way by USS Courier (AMc 72).

HMS Kingston in a Malta drydock after being hit by bombs there. She was written off.

U-203 (Kptlt. Rolf Mützelburg), on its sixth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and damages 6151-ton US tanker Harry F. Sinclair, Jr. about seven miles (11 km) off Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The crew has to abandon ship immediately because the fuel cargo catches fire and turns the ship into a blazing torch. The flames catch one of three lifeboats as it is being launched, killing the men inside. There are 10 dead and 26 survivors. The ship refuses to sink, so it is eventually taken in tow by HMS Senateur Duhamel (FY 327) to Baltimore. It is rebuilt and returns to service in 1943 as Annibal.

US Navy anti-submarine trawler St. Cathan collides with another ship that also sinks (Dutch freighter Heße) off South Carolina and sinks. There are 31 deaths and eight survivors. the lost men are Royal Navy members because the Royal Navy has lent the St. Cathan to the US Navy due to the growing threat of U-boats off the east coast of the United States.

United Kingdom freighter Trongate catches fire at Halifax, Nova Scotia and has to be scuttled. Trongate was part of Convoy SC-79.

German tanker Eurosee hits a mine in the North Sea off Terschelling, Friesland and breaks in two, sinking quickly.

HMS Jervis attacking a submarine with depth charges in the Mediterranean, 11 April 1942 (© IWM A 8928).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Luftwaffe attacks continue with ferocity on Malta. Today, they bomb and sink Royal Navy destroyer HMS Kingston, which was in dry dock for repairs after already being bombed.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and badly damages Egyptian transport Kawsar near Port Said. She is towed to port but written off.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay (Cdr. A.C.C. Miers) uses his deck gun to sink Italian schooner Gesu Crocifisso about 16.5 miles northeast of Fano Island (northwest of Corfu).

Special Forces: British Commandos mount Operation J V. This is a raid by two Commandos, Captain Gerald Montanaro and Trooper Preece. They are brought close to Boulogne Harbor and then released in a canoe to paddle into the harbor. They quietly plant a limpet mine on a tanker there and paddle back out without issue.

American Homefront: The Office of Civilian Defense, Civil Air Patrol, issues Training Directive No. 25. This sets forth the requirements for inclusion in the CAP program, including the number of hours flying time required as pilots (200) and other factors. In addition to simple reconnaissance missions, the pilots are to become proficient at formation flying, picking up messages that are suspended between two poles, dropping supplies by parachute, radio communications, and similar topics. The CAP is intended to be a major asset in the fight against the U-boat menace.

Lt. Edward "Butch" O'Hare (far plane) and LDMDR Thach flying their F4F-3A Wildcats on 11 April 1942 off Hawaii. O'Hare is the namesake of the airport in Chicago. He would be awarded the Medal of Honor not long after this picture was taken.

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan

Thursday 9 April 1942

HMS Hermes sinks on 9 April 1942 in this photo taken by Japanese aircrew, perhaps Mitsuo Fuchida.

Battle of the Pacific: The senior US commander on Bataan, the Philippines, Major General Edward P. King, meets with Japanese commander Major General Kameichiro Nagano on the morning of 9 April 1942 to surrender. As negotiations proceed, the US Navy destroyer its facilities at Mariveles and scuttle (or the Japanese destroy with shelling) any remaining ships there, including submarine tender USS Canopus, minesweeper Bittern, and tugs Napa, Yu Sang, and Henry Keswick (later refloated and repaired by the Japanese). A few ships manage to get away with a small number of evacuees to Corregidor, including three ferry launches (San Felipe, Camia, and Dap Dap) and some motor launches.  

The surrender begins a horrifying ordeal for the roughly 75,000 captured Allied (American and Filipino) soldiers, who from the beginning are mistreated and brutalized by their Japanese captors. Many of them do not survive the war. About 10-12,000 Allied troops either avoid capture or escape from the Japanese during the infamous Bataan Death March, which actually begins on 10 April.

The 9 April 1942 Sweetwater, Texas, Reporters paints the US surrender in Bataan as an "epic." This is the same tactic used by the German after the defeat at Stalingrad.

There remains one pocket of Allied resistance in the vicinity. Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright leads a small number of US forces in Malinta Tunnel on the island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay. Wainright makes a public broadcast from the tunnel during the evening of 9 April 1942, saying in part:

Bataan has fallen. The Philippine-American troops on this war-ravaged and bloodstained peninsula have laid down their arms. With heads bloody but unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers of the enemy.

The Japanese quickly bring their artillery forward to bombard Corregidor. Fortunately for the island's defenders, it is heavily fortified. Malinta Tunnel includes 13 lateral tunnels branching off from the main shaft on the north side and 11 lateral tunnels on the south side. This provides shelter from the artillery and air pounding that the island soon receives. Ironically, the cement used to build the tunnels was purchased from the Japanese. US Navy submarine USS Snapper delivers some supplies to Corregidor, which is subject to a Japanese blockade.

HMS Hermes sinks off the coast of Ceylon, 9 April 1942.

There are some naval skirmishes offshore. Two US torpedo boats, PT-34 and PT-41, harass Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Kuma and torpedo boat Kiji without causing much damage off Cape Tanon, Cebu Island. The Japanese retaliate later in the day by using floatplanes flying from Japanese seaplane carrier HIJMS Sanuki Maruand to bomb and strafe PT-34, which is beached off Cauit Island (two dead and four survivors, with two or three wounded).

The events of April 9, 1942, deeply permeate the Philippines psyche. April 9th becomes a national holiday, the "Day of Valor" (Araw ng Kagitingan). A "Shrine of Valor" (Dambana ng Kagitingan) and memorial cross are built atop Mount Samat in Pilar, Bataan, the point of the Japanese breakthrough that led to the fall of Bataan.

Far to the east, half of the US Navy's carrier force in the Pacific is sailing almost due west toward Japan. Admiral Bull Halsey leads Task Force 16 in a sprint to catch up with a smaller group led by the aircraft carrier USS Hornet that is carrying B-25s that normally do not fly from carriers. The Japanese remain completely unaware of this approaching menace for the time being. The two groups plan to rendezvous at sea on 13 April.

HMAS Vampire under attack prior to sinking, 9 April 1942. This photo appears to show the bomb striking that breaks it in half.

Battle of the Indian Ocean:  The Japanese Indian Ocean Raid reaches its climax with renewed attacks against Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and British naval forces. At dawn, Admiral Nagumo sends over 100 planes to attack the port of Trincomalee. They are met by 22 defending RAF fighters that are brushed aside. The Japanese wreak devastation on the harbor facilities, including badly damaging/sinking 7953-ton British freighter Sagaing (3 deaths), but do not succeed in locating their real target, the Royal Navy Eastern Fleet. Incidentally, the Sagaing was raised and moved to a different location by the Sri Lanka navy in 2018 to open up the harbor.

However, the Japanese get lucky. Hearing about the Japanese raid, Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes (Captain R.F.J. Onslow), which had left Trincomalee to avoid the raid, turns around to help out. This turns out to be a big mistake. Japanese scout planes quickly locate Hermes and vector in bombers from aircraft carriers Hiryū, Shōkaku, and Zuikaku. They arrive over Hermes quickly before the dwindling shore-based RAF fighters can arrive, and hit it with over 40 bombs in about ten minutes, sinking it. There are about 600 survivors of Hermes and over 307 deaths. The accompanying destroyer HMAS Vampire (nine dead) also is hit, breaks in half, and sinks. Not far away, Royal Navy corvette Hollyhock (49 dead) and tankers Athelstane (5571 tons) and British Sergeant (5868 tons) also are sunk, with Hollyhock sinking in less than a minute. Japanese bombers from Akagi sink 2924-ton Norwegian freighter Norviken (four dead, 42 survivors).

B5N2 "Kate" coded EII-330 of the Zuikaku carrier during the Indian Ocean Raid on Trincomalee, April 9, 1942.

The British retaliate by sending nine Bristol Blenheim bombers of RAF No. 11 Squadron to attack Nagumo's fleet. Somehow, the bombers evade the fleet's combat air patrol, perhaps misidentified as fellow Japanese planes. The bombers make it intact over Nagumo's carriers and drop their bombs from 11,000 feet (3353 m), but achieve no hits. The defending Japanese fighters then shoot down four of the bombers at the cost of two Zeros (the planes returning from sinking the Hermes account for one of the bombers and one of the lost Zeros).

Overall, the raid on Trincomalee is another Japanese victory and caps off a very successful raid in the Indian Ocean. The British have lost a carrier, two cruisers, 23 merchant ships of 112,312 tons, and numerous planes. Royal Navy port facilities at Colombo and Trincomalee have been devastated. However, Nagumo has failed at his real goal of engaging and destroying the greatly inferior British Eastern Fleet. Sinking the Hermes is a feather in Nagumo's cap, but it was an old World War I carrier that had been converted into a training ship between the wars and not a true modern carrier. This is not meant to denigrate the Japanese victory, but assembling a five-carrier fleet and sending it on such a long mission consumed a lot of resources. The returns for the Indian Ocean raid were good, but insufficient to wrest control of the region from the British as hoped. In a way, it becomes a tactical victory but a strategic defeat for the Japanese.

Two B5N2 "Kate" bombers from aircraft carrier Zuikaku depart from Trincomalee Habor, which can be seen blazing in the background, on 9 April 1942.

Eastern Front: Soviet General Kozlov, commander of all forces in the Crimea, launches his fourth offensive against General Manstein's forces defending the Parpach Narrows. Stavka representative Lev Mekhlis, who reflects Stalin's thinking, changes the strategy from previous attacks to mass tanks for a breakthrough rather than distributing them throughout infantry formations. Manstein's 11th Army, however, has received many Luftwaffe reinforcements and the 28th Light Infantry Division. Kozlov also has received reinforcements, but not the best new Soviet tanks such as the T-34.

Kozlov's men already have suffered heavy losses in his previous three offenses and one launched by Manstein. However, Kozlov still commands half a dozen rifle divisions, which could be considered arguably adequate for the job. Massing the tanks also is an effective strategy under the right circumstances, but these turn out not to be the right circumstances.

This Soviet offensive fares no better than earlier offensives and only gains undefendable (marshy, barren) ground. The German 28th Light Division has the new 2.8 cm sPzB 41 light anti-tank gun, and this proves perfect for taking on the advancing Soviet tanks. One Wehrmacht soldier, Obergefreiter Emanuel Czernik, knocks out seven T26 and one BT tank on the first day. The Soviet attack achieves nothing except piling up more Soviet casualties and depleting Kozlov's reserves. The offensive quickly peters out.

The 9 April 1942 NY Times goes to press before news of the fall of Bataan. The big news otherwise is the arrival of US envoys in London to discuss the arrival of masses of US troops.

European Air Operations: It is a cloudy day, so not much happens on the Channel Front. Seven Wellington bombers attempt to raid Essen, but six turn back and the seventh bombs a village north of the city. There are no losses.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-123 (Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen), on its eighth patrol out of Lorient, continues very successful operations off the east coast of the United States. It torpedoes and sinks 3365-ton US refrigerated freighter Esparta about 14 miles south of Brunswick, Georgia. The torpedo hit releases ammonia gas used in the refrigeration system, causing men to quickly leap overboard (one dies). It takes two hours for the ship to sink completely in the shallow water. There are 39 survivors and only one death.

U-160 (Oblt. Georg Lassen), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, is operating slightly north of U-123 and also scores a success. It torpedoes and sinks 3516-ton US freighter Malchace about 25-50 miles off Cape Lookout. The U-boat then surfaces, circles the slowly sinking ship, and allows most of the crew to abandon ship in good order before finishing the ship off with another torpedo. There is one dead and 28 survivors.

USS California entering No. 2 Dry Dock at Pearl Harbor on 9 April 1942. The battleship was hit by two torpedoes and one bomb during the 7 December 1942 Pearl Harbor raid, sank, and was raised from the mud on the harbor bottom on 4 April 1942. Source: U.S.S. California Torpedo and Bomb Damage confidential report.

U-552 (Kptlt. Erich Topp),  on its eighth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 7137-ton US tanker Atlas near where U-160 sank the Malchace. The Atlas crew abandoned ship in good order before the U-boat fired a second torpedo that ignited the fuel cargo. However, the flames spread across the water as fuel spilled out of the tanker, engulfing a lifeboat and killing two crewmen. There are two dead and 32 survivors.

U-252 (Kptlt. Kai Lerchen), on its first and only patrol of the war out of Helgoland, torpedoes and sinks 1355-ton Norwegian freighter Fanefjeld off the northwest tip of Iceland. All 24 crewmen perish, though some debris and a body are found. The U-boat is in this unusual location because it has just landed espionage agent Ib Arnason Riis in northern Iceland on 6 April 1942.

Retired baseball star Babe Ruth signs a baseball for starlet Jane Withers in the 9 April 1942 The Sporting News. Jane Withers is still alive in 2020. You may remember her as "Josephine the Plumber" in television commercials for Comet cleanser. It is reported elsewhere on this day that the Babe is critically ill but responding to treatment.

Soviet submarine ShCh 421 (Lt. Cdr Vidyaev) hits a mine in German Minefield Ursula and is badly damaged off Svaerholthavet (Porsanger Fjord) in northern Norway. The crew abandons ship to another Soviet submarine, K-22, which torpedoes and sinks it. Another Soviet submarine, M-174, attacks a German convoy off Varangerfjord, Norway, without success.

US Navy torpedo boat PT-59 accidentally torpedoes freighter USS Capella (AK-13) in upper Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, while on maneuvers. The freighter is only damaged and does not sink.

It is a bad night for collisions. The US Coast Guard is trying to implement a convoy system off the east coast, but in blackout conditions, the situation remains chaotic. Norwegian 3931-ton freighter Benwood collides with tanker Robert C. Tuttle northeast of Molasses Reef, Florida. The Benwood is beached on Alligator Reef but later sinks in shallow water, where it becomes a destination for sport divers. In another collision, 2349-ton Argentinian steel freighter Brazil hits the Smith Point Light in the Chesapeake Bay and sinks.

This 500-kg Luftwaffe bomb penetrated through the rotunda of the 1833 Mosta, Malta, church on 9 April 1942. The bomb did not explode and was immediately carted away.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Thrasher torpedoes and sinks Italian freighter Gala off Benghazi, Libya. At Malta, the Axis air offensive continues and sinks Royal Navy destroyer Lance.

Royal Navy submarine Torbay uses its deck gun to sink Italian auxiliary patrol boat/schooner R-113 (Avanguardista) about nine miles off the Greek island of Antipaxos.

US Military: The US Army Air Force 8th Air Force is destined to head to the United Kingdom, but it remains in the United States. Today, it transfers its headquarters to Bolling Field in southern Washington, D.C.

The Onion satirical newspaper published this send-up of homefront news. Purporting to be from April 9, 1942, the page notes that internment camps have been set up for 32 million German-Americans, "including FDR himself."

American Homefront: The national New York Times Best Sellers List begins in the New York Times Book Review (Sundays). The national list debuts a supplement to regular New York City lists published by the paper and is derived from "reports from leading booksellers in 22 cities." The city lists eventually disappear, leaving only the national list.

Future History: President Donald J. Trump designates 9 April 2017 as National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day. The proclamation states in part:

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bataan Death March. After the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines on April 9, 1942, Filipino and American soldiers were rounded up and forced to march 60 miles from Mariveles to San Fernando. An estimated 500 Americans died during the march, as they were starved, beaten, and tortured to death. Those who reached San Fernando were taken in cramped boxcars to POW camps, where thousands more Americans died of disease and starvation.

An annual Bataan Memorial Death March is held at White Sands Missle Range, New Mexico each April 9th. There as still survivors of the Bataan Death March as of 2020.

Brandon deWilde is born in Brooklyn, New York. He becomes a child actor and debuts on Broadway at the age of 7. He goes on to a stellar acting career, being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "Shane" (1953). However, as he leaves his teens, good film roles become scarce, so he turns more to television roles. Brandon deWilde perishes in a car crash on 7 July 1972 in Colorado. 

Hayward, California, newspapers of April 9, 1942, displayed at a newsstand at a corner drugstore in a Japanese-American neighborhood, recording Bataan's fall. 9 April 1942 (Library of Congress 96509399).

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal

Monday 6 April 1942

M4A1 tanks on parade for Army Day, 6 April 1942, in front of the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Japanese Indian Ocean raid, Operation C, continues on 6 April 1942. The Japanese Kido Butai strike group wreaks devastation throughout the Bay of Bengal, sinking freighter and tankers left and right, most of whom are probably completely oblivious to the presence of the most powerful enemy fleet in existence nearby. The ships sunk are listed below.

However, despite clearing the seas of enemy shipping, the Japanese have a problem. While he does not realize it, Japanese Admiral Nagumo is sailing away from the British Eastern Fleet that it is his mission to destroy. On the British side, Admiral James Somerville now realizes that the Japanese fleet includes four aircraft carriers and three battleships and that this force is superior to his own forces. Thus, he does not get overly aggressive. During the day, the British reinforce their Force A with Force B and they advance to the vicinity of where the Japanese recently sank cruisers heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire. There, the British rescue 1122 survivors. However, Somerville does not know where the Japanese are and thus is operating in the dark.

The Clarksville, Tennessee, Leaf-Chronicle accurately sums up the war situation on 6 April 1942.

The massive Japanese fleet, meanwhile, after withdrawing to the southwest after their attack on Colombo, has circled around again to the northeast roughly toward Ceylon (Sri Lanka). During the day, heavy cruisers Kumano and Suzuya along with destroyer Shirakumo of the Northern Group under rear Admiral Kurita Takeo encounter and sink British freighters Silksworth, Autolycus, Malda, and Shinkuang and the American ship Exmoor. The Central Group also sinks a freighter, while the Southern Group sinks three freighters.

To give some perspective, let's look at the damage going on in the Bay of Bengal on 6 April 1942. Ships sunk and damaged today in the Bay of Bengal include:

• Dutch freighter Van Der Capellen (damaged by planes from aircraft carrier Ryujo)
• British freighter Taksang (sunk by cruisers Yura and Yugiri)
• British freighter Silksworth (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo, 50 survivors)
• British freighter Shinkuang (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo)
• British freighter Shinkiang (sunk by planes from Ryujo)
• US freighter Selma City (sunk by floatplanes from cruiser Chokai)
• British freighter Malda (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo)
• British freighter Indora (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo
• Norwegian freighter Hermod (sunk by two cruisers, all 36 men survive)
• British freighter Ganges (sunk by floatplanes from cruiser Chokai)
• British freighter Gandara (sunk by cruisers Mikuma, Mogami, and Amagiri)
• US freighter Exmoor (sunk by cruisers Kumano and Suzuya)
• Norwegian tanker Elsa (sunk by two cruisers, 1 of 30 crew dead)
• Norwegian freighter Dagfred (sunk by two cruisers (all 40 men survive)
• US freighter Bienville (sunk by planes from Ryujo and cruiser Chokai with 24 dead)
• Dutch freighter Batavia (sunk by cruisers Yura and Yugiri)
• Dutch freighter Banjoewangi (sunk by cruisers Uyra and Yugiri)
• British freighter Autolycus (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo).

No matter how you look at it, that's a lot of sunk and damaged ships. The only "silver lining" for the Allies is that they manage to avoid losing any major warships today. However, they've already lost two cruisers and other naval vessels during the Indian Ocean raid - and, without giving anything away, they're about to lose more, too.

Nagumo's next target to draw out the British fleet is Trincomalee on Ceylon, but this will take a couple of days to set up. In the interim, his overpowering might will continue to clear the seas of Allied shipping.

Twin Falls, Idaho, Times News, 6 April 1942.

Separately, Japanese submarine HIJMS I-5 catches and sinks a US freighter about 216 miles northwest of the Maldive Islands. I-4 also sinks a US freighter at the entrance to Eight Degree Channel, the Washingtonian. The 42-man crew makes it to the Maldive Islands. Japanese bombers also sink Indian sloop HMIS Indus at Akyab, Burma, with ten crewmen wounded.

While the British Eastern Fleet is occupied with the Kido Butai strike group, the Japanese land troops at Rangoon. General Chiang Kai-Shek decides to send another division to help the Burma I Corps and directs the Chinese 200th and 96th Divisions in Burma to hold Pyinmana and Taungdwingyi, Burma.

The Japanese Air Force also creates problems for the Allies by conducting their first bombing raid on India. They attack Coconada and Madras. 

Honolulu, Hawaii, Advertiser, 6 April 1942. This copy was sent by a US Army Private to his mother in Kansas.

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese continue occupying areas that the Allies have abandoned. They send a small force from Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands to the Lorengau on the eastern shore of Manus Island in the Bismarck Archipelago. Also on the Bismarck Archipelago, the US Army Air Force bombs Gasmata, New Britain Island. 

Lieutenant Colonel Jame H. Doolittle remains at sea aboard the USS Hornet en route to Japan. This is a complex operation, and today the Assam-Burma-China Ferry Command begins hauling 30,000 gallons of aviation fuel and 500 gallons of lubricants from Calcutta to Asansol in West Bengal, India, for his bombers. Of course, the Doolittle bombers will need to survive the mission and make it to India via China to be able to use these supplies.

On the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines, the situation does not improve for the Allies. A counterattack by II Corps (eastern end of the line) runs head-on into a Japanese attack and is forced back. A separate counterattack a little further east by US 31st Infantry and the Filipino 21st Division to close the breach at Mount Samat also fails. Another counterattack toward Mount Samat from a little to the west is smashed, with the Filipino 33rd Infantry surrounded and presumed lost. The situation at II Corps is in chaos, while the I Corps holding the western end of the line is doing only a little better. The Allied troops in the west withdraw to the San Vicente River. Two river gunboats, USS Mindanao and Oahu intercept the Japanese landing craft and claim four sunk, but later in the day, the Mindanao is damaged in another firefight.

Military police on a watchtower overlooking the Santa Anita Assembly Center in California, 6 April 1942 (Photographer Clem Albers. National Archives Ctrl.#: NWDNS-210-G-B389; NARA ARC#: 537020).

Eastern Front: The five divisions of German General Seydlitz are making very slow progress along the Staraya Russa - Demyansk road. While the Germans only have six miles to reach the Lovat River and a total of 20 miles to relieve the Demyansk pocket, the Soviets have brought in heavy reinforcements and the going is very slow. There is some question about whether the roughly 100,000 Germans trapped in Demyansk (and the much smaller force at Kholm) can hold out much longer, so the Luftwaffe comes to their rescue. It flies 360 sorties today to and from the pockets, escorted by fighters of JG 51 and 53. The Germans are fortunate that the Soviets have been unable to bring up heavy anti-aircraft units in the 20 miles between the lines, but the flights are still somewhat hazardous due to ground fire. The German Ju 52s fly at treetop level to minimize the danger and drop many of their supply pallets by parachute, some of which drift into Soviet hands or into no-man's land, causing firefights to break out.

The Luftwaffe continues its air offensive against the Soviet fleet at the naval base on Kronstadt island just outside of Leningrad. Soviet battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya and cruiser Maksim Gorki are hit and badly damaged by Heinkel He 111 medium bombers of Kampfgeschwader 4, but no ships are sunk.

RAF aerial reconnaissance photo of the Kriegsmarine base at Swinemünde (Świnoujście), 6 April 1942. Number 1 is cruiser Emden, No. 2 is cruiser Leipzig (Naval History and Heritage Command NH 80497).

European Air Operations: Tonight's main target for RAF Bomber Command is Essen, a frequent objective. The RAF sends 157 bombers, but they encounter terrible weather conditions including cloud cover of the target. While 49 bomber crews claim to have reached and bombed the target, few bombs actually fall in Essen and there are no casualties and light damage. The RAF loses five bombers (2 Hampdens and one apiece of Manchesters, Stirlings, and Wellingtons) on this failed raid.

In other attacks, one RAF bomber attacks Schipol Airfield and another the port area at Ostend.

Norwegian tanker Koll, sunk by U-571 on 6 April 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-160 (Oblt. Georg Lassen), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, scores its fourth victory at 08:07 when it damages 6837-ton US tanker Bidwell about 50 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Showered with burning oil, the second mate jumps overboard and is drowned, but that is the only casualty. The tanker continues to steam forward, but the steering gear is damaged so it just steams in a circle (like the Bismarck in May 1941). Two US destroyers arrive within two hours, and the ship's steering issues are repaired sufficiently for it to make port in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

U-571 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann), on its fourth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and sinks 10,044-ton Norwegian tanker Koll east of Cape Hatteras. When it doesn't sink right away, the U-boat surfaces to give the men in the boats some crackers and uses its deck gun to fire 30 rounds and finish off the tanker. There are three dead and 33 survivors. Two lifeboats from Koll are at sea until the 14th before being picked up by passing freighters.

U-754 (Kptlt. Hans Oestermann), on its second patrol out of Brest, winds up a very successful patrol (its best of the war) by torpedoing and sinking 9858-ton Norwegian tanker Kollskegg about 350 miles northwest of Bermuda. There are 4 dead and 38 survivors. This incident is unusual in that the men in the Kollskegg boats spot the lifeboats from the Koll, also sunk today as mentioned above, though they are later separated.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy destroyer HMS Havock runs aground at Kelibia on the Cap Bon peninsula, Tunisia. Havock is wrecked (later finished off with a torpedo from Italian submarine Aradam) and one crewman perishes, with 150 crewmen and 100 soldier passengers rescued. The Vichy French control Tunisia, and they follow the rules of war by interning the British crew and passengers (released in November 1942 due to Operation Torch). 

Axis bombers attack Alexandria and continue their air offensive against Malta. Among the victims today is the Royal Navy tugboat HMS West Cocker.

Japanese internment evacuation at Van Ness in the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco, 6 April 1942 (Bancroft Library).

Partisans: Operation Bamberg, a German antipartisan military attack on known partisan hideouts in the area of Bobruysk in the Belorussian region of the German-occupied western USSR, concludes. Bamberg is the prototype for future German antipartisan operations. Mounted by the reinforced 707th Division, a Slovak infantry regiment, and the 315th Schutzpolizeibataillon, Operation Bamberg involved drawing a "noose" around the partisan area and then moving inward to flush out the partisans. This strategy comports with the recent Fuhrer Directive No. 41 order to "mop up" behind the front.

While closely followed by the German high command (including Adolf Hitler via the OKH) which placed high hopes in it, Bamberg turns out at best to be a mixed success. On the positive side, any actual partisan bases are torched and active partisan operations in the area are stopped, at least for the time being. However, there are many questionable results. The Germans find that identifying actual partisans is difficult, as they purposefully blend in with local inhabitants. Many people identified as partisans may or may not be so, so any numbers on partisans eliminated (the Germans claim 3600) are suspect. One of the German tactics is to destroy villages and farms in the "hot zone" at the center of the target area, which earns the Germans enmity in the region and probably just creates more partisans. However, despite its failings, Operation Bamberg becomes the template for future antipartisan operations, of which there are many to come.

Spy Stuff: U-252 (Kptlt. Kai Lerchen) lands spy Ib Arnason Riis in northern Iceland on the remote Langanes Peninsula. Riis is half-Iceland and half-Danish and a reluctant Abwehr recruit. After being dropped off in poor weather, Riis walks for 17 hours through rain and snow until he finds a farmhouse where he gives himself up. After being interrogated in Reykjavik, Riis leads army officers back to Langanes where he digs up his buried radio and other equipment. He becomes a double agent, feeding the Germans false information under the supervision of a British naval officer. The Germans are completely unaware of his treachery and award him the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class - making Ib Riis the only Icelander to receive those awards.

Japanese/Soviet Relations: After riding the Trans-Siberian Railway, Naotake Satō, the new Japanese Ambassador to the USSR, presents his credentials to Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. In the confusing politics of the era, Japan is at war with several of the Soviet Union's main allies but is not at war with the Soviet Union. Satō will serve as the Japanese ambassador to the Soviet Union for the remainder of World War II and be involved in murky negotiations with Molotov regarding possible peace deals with the Allies that never pan out.

A Coca Cola ad, 6 April 1942 Life magazine.

US Military: US troops continue to flow into Australia. Today, the 41st Infantry Division, the 163d Infantry, the 167th Field Artillery Battalion, and other units arrive in Melbourne, Victoria. They become part of General Douglas MacArthur's Army Forces in Australia.

The USAAF Fifth Air Force sends the 11th and 12th Bombardment Squadrons, 7th Bomber Group (Heavy) sans equipment back to the United States to re-equip. The units will proceed to Columbia, South Carolina, to receive B-25 bombers.

Canadian Military: The First Canadian Army forms in the United Kingdom. Its commander is Lieutenant General Andrew McNaughton.

Life magazine, 6 April 1942.

American Homefront: In Proclamation 2542 of 20 March 1942, President Roosevelt proclaimed April 6, 1942, as Army Day. In that Proclamation, FDR wrote:

Army Day becomes, therefore, in fact a total-war day. It becomes a day when all of our citizens in civil pursuits can rally to the support of our armed forces, for only in the united effort of all of our forces—Army, Navy, and civilians—can we find the strength to defeat our enemies.

The Axis powers have not yet adopted the phrase "Total War" to describe their war effort. The Reich will not do that until after Stalingrad, in another year.

Future History: Barry Levinson is born in Baltimore, Maryland. After starting out as a television writer, Levinson becomes a prominent filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional actor. His major breakthrough is with "Diner" (1982), set in his native Baltimore. His extensive list of films written, directed, or produced includes "High Anxiety" (1977), "Tin Men" (1987), and "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987). Barry Levinson remains active in the film industry as of 2020.

Time magazine, 6 April 1942, with Ezequiel Padilla (Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs) on the cover (cover credit Ernest Hamlin Baker).

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

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April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA

Wednesday 1 April 1942

"A Fairey Albacore preparing to land on the flight deck of HMS EAGLE with HMS MALAYA in the background." This photo was taken from HMS Argus on 1 April 1942 (© IWM A 8341).

Battle of the Pacific: Japanese forces remain on the offensive in Burma on 1 April 1942, attacking at Prome (Pyay). General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief India, visits the front and agrees to a request by Burma I Corps to withdraw north of Prome to the Allanmyo area. Wavell informs Whitehall that Japanese control of the air is proving decisive.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, commander of US forces in the region, meets with Lieutenant General William J. Slim, General Officer Commanding Burma Corps. Stilwell is highly regarded by the Chinese even though the US does not have many forces in the area at this time.

Lights dimmed in NYC to save energy, 1 April 1942 (William C. Shrout).

After the meeting, Stilwell flies to Chungking to meet with Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek. The main topic is the refusal of Chinese generals to obey any orders that Stilwell gives (supposedly on behalf of Chiang) them despite his high position in the Chinese leadership as a top aide to Chiang. Stilwell confides privately that he believes that the Chinese generals actually are doing what Chiang wants because Chiang is giving them other orders behind his back. This situation is indicative of the murky politics and mutual distrust involved in Allied relations with the Chinese.

In the Solomon Islands, Japanese forces land at Buka Island off the north coast of Bougainville Island. Other troops land along the Dutch New Guinea coast from Sarong to Hollandia. Japanese troops also land at Ceram Island in the Netherlands East Indies. The Dutch there surrender without a fight. Australian RAAF Hudson Bombers of No. 2 and 13 Squadrons fly from Darwin to bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor Island. The mission is a success, as the bombers destroy six aircraft on the field and damage six others.

US Navy submarine USS Seawolf torpedoes Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Naka 50 miles northwest of Christmas Island, which the Japanese have just occupied. Royal Navy submarine Truant sinks two Japanese freighters (6780-ton Yaeyama Maru and 4910-ton Shunsei Maru) in the Malacca Strait about 60 miles off the coast of Sumatra and 80 miles northwest of Penang, Malaysia.

While the Japanese have not begun their final offensive on the Bataan Peninsula, the Philippines, the US is making preparations. Today, the US scuttles Filipino boats Kanlaon II and Escalante R. at Assume Lingayan so that they do not fall into Japanese hands.

The Japanese Combined Fleet Headquarters begins planning an operation (AL-GO) to occupy the Aleutian Islands and then Midway Island. This is known as the Second Phase of operations. Admiral Yamamoto is in charge of planning.

An April 1942 ad in The Province newspaper for Yamato Silks at 460 Granville Street. Japanese-Canadians were forced to leave their homes and businesses and report to internment camps beginning April 1, 1942.

Eastern Front: The Battle of Suursaari continues on the frozen Gulf of Finland when the Finns send a force with orders to subdue to stubborn Soviet garrison on Bolshoy Tyuters. To their surprise, they find the island abandoned. However, the Soviets have not given up on Bolshoy Tyuters and will return soon.

At Demyansk, the spring thaw (Rasputitsa) is turning the ground into a quagmire. Soviet tanks are better suited to such conditions due to their wider tracks than German tanks. General Seydlitz is deploying his troops north to the Staraya Russa to Demyansk road, and the Soviets are bringing in reinforcements. The stage is being set for a desperate German lunge east to rescue the troops of the trapped 11 Corps of 16th Army in the Demyansk Pocket.

European Air Operations: During the day, a dozen Boston bombers attack shipping at Boulogne but wind up bombing the dock area instead because of cloud cover. One Boston fails to return.
In the evening, RAF Bomber Command decides to try a new tactic. It sends 35 Wellington and 14 Hampden bombers to attack railway installations at Hanau and Lohr. The attack turns into a disaster for the British because the Germans shoot down a dozen Wellingtons and a Hampden. This results in a 27% loss ratio, which is unsustainable.

In a separate raid on Paris and Poissy, the RAF sends 24 Whitleys and 17 Wellingtons to attack a Ford Motor factory. Damage to the factory is minimal and the British lose one Wellington.

In other operations, the British send 3 Blenheims to Holland, but they turn back due to the weather. Another 15 bombers lay mines off of Lorient and at the mouth fo the Gironde River, and five bombers drop leaflets over France. There are no losses.

"The Captain of HMS THUNDERBOLT, Lieut Cdr C B Crouch, DSO, RN, standing alongside the periscope in the control room." This photo was taken at Blyth on 1 April 1942 (© IWM A 8461).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-754 (Kptlt. Hans Oestermann), on its second patrol out of Brest, torpedoes 5992-ton US tanker SS Tiger at 06:18 just off Cape Henry, Virginia. Sunrise is a favored time of day for U-boat attacks along the East Coast of the United States because the rising sun illuminates the target while obscuring the submarine. The one torpedo badly damages the tanker and the 41 survivors (one dead) quickly abandon ship. Tiger remains afloat for another day and an attempt to tow it into the nearby Chesapeake Bay is made, but the tanker sinks on 2 April 1942.

U-160 (Oblt. Georg Lassen), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, torpedoes and sinks 4086-ton British freighter Rio Blanco about 60 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. There are 19 dead and 21 survivors.

U-202 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinz Linder), on its fifth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 5249-ton British freighter SS Loch Don 500 miles northeast of Bermuda. There are three deaths and 44 survivors.

U-71 (Kptlt. Walter Flachsenberg), on its fifth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 5812-ton British freighter Eastmoor about 600 miles east of Hampton Roads. There are 16 dead and 36 survivors. this concludes a very successful patrol for U-71 during which it has sunk 38,894 tons of shipping. However, in one of those oddities of war, this is the only war patrol out of ten (ending in May 1943) during which U-71 gets any victories. Today's sinking is the last of U-71's career despite the fact that it is only halfway through its wartime service.

Freighter Rio Blanco, sunk on 1 April 1942 by U-160.

Due to heavy losses along the US coast such as that today of the Tiger and Rio Blanco, which were sailing independently, the US decides it is time to change tactics (or, more accurately, to start using some wartime tactics). the US Coast Guard begins a partial convoying system that becomes known as the "Bucket Brigade." Ships are to sail in convoys during the day and anchor in harbors at night. The Bucket Brigade only applies to the East Coast and not the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico.

Soviet submarine Shch-404 torpedoes and sinks German freighter Michael off Vardø, Norway. There is one dead and 14 survivors.

Canadian 1750-ton freighter SS Robert W. Pomeroy hits a mine and sinks about 8 miles southeast of the Dudgeon Light Vessel in the Wash Approaches (between Norfolk and Lincolnshire).

German raider Thor spots 4563-ton British freighter Willesden in the South Atlantic. The crew of the Willesden opens fire with her 4" deck gun but Thor outranges it. Gasoline drums on the Willesden's deck catch fire, forcing the crew to abandon ship. Thor then sinks it with a torpedo. There are five deaths and 47 survivors are taken aboard the Thor.

Royal Navy minesweeping trawler Solomon hits a mine and sinks north of Cromer, Norfolk, England. Everyone survives.

The Kingsport, Tennessee, Times, 1 April 1942. The image at the left is an April Fool's joke.

Battle of the Baltic: Ten Norwegian vessels interned at Gothenburg, Sweden, make a furtive break for Great Britain with the assistance of the British. Ten ships (known as the Kvarstad vessels) sail in Operation Performance. The operation turns into a disaster, as only two of the ships (MV B. P. Newton and MV Lind) actually make it through the Skagerrak out of the Baltic and to Great Britain.
The Luftwaffe helps out and sinks some of the fleeing freighters. In addition, the crews of four ships scuttle them after being approached by German coastal defense vessels, while two ships (Dicto and Lionel) return to Sweden and the Germans sink the remainder. While 124 people reach Great Britain, the vast majority of the other people on the ships (which include many civilians and seven women) wind up in prison camps.

German naval trawler UJ 1203 Heinrich Günther hits a mine and sinks off Pien, Tytursaari in the Gulf of Finland.

A customer fashionably attired in a fur coat shops at the Boylan-Pearce store in Raleigh, North Carolina, on 1 April 1942 (Barden Collection, State Archives of North Carolina).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Axis air attacks remain extremely heavy, particularly in the critical port area. A total of 148 aircraft bomb the island, hitting nine ships and killing 62 people. The planes bomb and sink two Royal Navy submarines, HMS P36 and Pandora and also 94-ton naval drifter Sunset. The British console themselves with the fact that they shoot down five Junkers Ju 87 Stukas and two Ju 88 medium bombers, along with one Bf 109, along with a roughly equal number of Luftwaffe planes damaged. The RAF claims no losses of its own.

The British "get one back" when submarine Urge sinks Italian cruiser Giovanni delle Bande Nere eleven miles off Stromboli. There are 381 deaths and 391 survivors The Italian Navy reports the discovery of the cruiser at a depth of 1400 meters on 9 March 2019.

A permit dated April 1, 1942, authorizing Łucja Frey (for whom Frey's Syndrome is named) to work as a physician in the Lwów ghetto. This document is now conserved at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC (Record Group 2002.34, Łucja Frey Gottesman collection).

Inter-Allied Relations: The Pacific War Council officially replaces ABDACOM and holds its first meeting in Washington. It includes representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom,  China, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Canada. the Philippines and India are added later. The Pacific War Council is quite active and holds over 30 meetings during World War II.

Admiral Sir A.B. Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, resigns his command to serve on the Combined Chiefs of Staff Committee in Washington, D.C. His "resignation" may be related to heavy shipping losses suffered recently during the Second Battle of Sirte and at Malta. It is a common tactic of the Churchill government to send officers and officials who are out of favor, such as Lord Halifax and Air Marshal Hugh Dowding, to staff posts in the United States. 

US Military: The US Army Air Force redesignates its main proving ground as Proving Ground Command. It has its main headquarters at Eglin Field, Valparaiso, Florida. Eglin becomes the main site for USAAF gunnery training and airplane testing.

Desmond Doss joins the US Army and enters military service at Camp Lee, Virginia (Fort Lee). He will win the US Medal of Honor in the Pacific.

Holocaust: Łachwa (or Lakhva) Ghetto is created in Lakhva, Western Belarus. The town's approximately 2500 Jewish inhabitants are put into a tiny ghetto comprising two streets and 45 houses. As with many ghettos, the Lakhva Ghetto is surrounded by barbed wire and transit in and out is strictly regulated. A Judenrat is established and also an underground resistance organization.

Office of Emergency Management newsroom. April 1, 1942 (Roger Smith, photographer for Office of Emergency Management).

British Homefront: Upon the retirement of Cosmo Lang as Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple succeeds him. Temple is an activist prelate sympathetic to the Labour Party (Winston Churchill, of course, is the leader of the Tories). Temple advocates theories such as what would become known much later as a universal basic income. In general, he proves an irritant to the Churchill government but supports the war effort as being necessary to eliminate the great evil represented by Adolf Hitler. 

American Homefront: Lieutenant General J.L. DeWitt, Western Defense Commander, posts exclusion orders at First and Front Streets in San Francisco, California. These direct the removal of persons of Japanese ancestry from the first part of San Francisco to be affected by the evacuation. The orders are issued today, April 1, 1942, and directs evacuation from this area of the city by noon on April 7, 1942. This order follows the first successful exclusion order carried out at Bainbridge Island, Washington, at the end of March 1942.

Exclusion order posted in a neighborhood in San Francisco on 1 April 1942.

March 1942

March 1, 1942: Second Battle of Java Sea
March 2, 1942: Huge Allied Shipping Losses at Java
March 3, 1942: Japan Raids Western Australia
March 4, 1942: Second Raid On Hawaii
March 5, 1942: Japan Takes Batavia
March 6, 1942: Churchill Assaults Free Speech
March 7, 1942: British Defeat in Burma
March 8, 1942: Rangoon Falls to Japan
March 9, 1942: Japanese Conquest of Dutch East Indies
March 10, 1942:US Navy attacks Japanese Landings at Lae
March 11, 1942: Warren Buffett's First Stock Trade
March 12, 1942: Japan Takes Java
March 13, 1942: Soviets Attack In Crimea Again 
March 14, 1942: The US Leans Toward Europe
March 15, 1942: Operation Raubtier Begins
March 16, 1942: General MacArthur Gets His Ride
March 17, 1942: MacArthur Arrives in Australia
March 18, 1942: Japan Attacks In Burma
March 19, 1942: Soviets Encircled on the Volkhov
March 20, 1942: "I Shall Return," Says MacArthur
March 21, 1942: Germans Attack Toward Demyansk
March 22, 1942: Second Battle of Sirte
March 23, 1942: Hitler's Insecurity Builds
March 24, 1942: Bataan Bombarded
March 25, 1942: Chinese Under Pressure in Burma
March 26, 1942: Win Or Die, Vows MacArthur
March 27, 1942: The Battle of Suusari
March 28, 1942: The St. Nazaire Commando Raid
March 29, 1942: The Free Republic of Nias
March 30, 1942: Japanese-Americans Off Bainbridge Island
March 31, 1942: Japanese Seize Christmas Island

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021