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

Thursday 21 May 1942

P-36C Ser. No. 38-204, 61st Pursuit Squadron, skids off the runway after mechanical failure at Bridgeport Airport in Connecticut, 21 May 1942. The pilot, Lt. George D. Hobbs, is uninjured.

Battle of the Pacific: Japanese Admiral Nagumo sails his Kido Butai carrier force out of the inland sea port of Sasebo on 21 May 1942. His crews spend the day practicing fleet maneuvers as they head through the Bungo Strait. Badly damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea, aircraft carrier Zuikaku limps into Kure today. It is unavailable for the upcoming attack on Midway.

The Americans remain in doubt about the next target of Japanese aggression, though many officers in naval intelligence suspect it is Midway. Seeking definitive proof, decryption teams in Washington, D.C., Honolulu, and Melbourne, Australia spend the day working on a stack of intercepted Japanese radio messages. These include one long message that has been flagged for priority processing. Japanese radio intelligence operators, meanwhile, also notice an increase in American radio traffic out of Hawaii. They intercept 180 messages and note that 72 are marked as urgent.

The Japanese continue their gradual occupation of the Philippines. After landings in the Leyte Gulf, they enter the city of Bacolod, Leyte, and Samar. Organized Allied resistance ended with the fall of Corregidor, so the Japanese only have to contend with occasional guerrillas.

US Army Air Force B-26 bombers attack Lae, New Guinea.

I-10 at Penang sometime in 1942.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Japanese submarine I-10, part of A Detachment which is scouting the Indian Ocean for targets, surfaces off Durban, South Africa. The crew launches its E14Y1 floatplane to perform reconnaissance. The pilot spots no targets and quickly flies back to the submarine when challenged by Allied forces over the radio. This is the first Japanese venture to Africa during the war.

Eastern Front: Marshal Timoshenko, belatedly concerned about the mortal danger to his forces south of Kharkov posed by German counterattacks, spends the day regrouping his forces. The Luftwaffe has complete aerial supremacy and wrecked Red Army vehicles block many roads. 

At Fuhrer Headquarters, General Franz Halder notes that "The situation at Kharkov continues to develop to our satisfaction." After writing that an encircled German force at Ternovaya (northeast of Kharkov) has been relieved, he continues that "We can now take out forces from this sector [north of Kharkov] and get them ready to meet Kleist, converging from the north." He concludes that Kleist's advance is taking "a gratifying course" and "we are now recapturing the initiative." Throughout the middle years of the war, "having the initiative" is a major aim of both sides, sometimes to their detriment.

Supply difficulties on the Eastern Front are shown on the cover of the 21 May 1942 Illustrierter Beobachter. 

Southeast of Kharkov, Kleist's panzers of the 14th Panzer Division advance another four miles. This reduces the Soviet breakout point through which all of their supplies flow to Timoshenko's troops to the west from 12 to 8 miles. The Germans remain puzzled that the Red Army on either side still has not attempted to pierce the thin line that the Wehrmacht is establishing east of Timoshenko's armies.

Halder sums up Manstein's victory in Operation Trappenjagd: "Kerch operation concluded. Regrouping at Sevastopol, where the enemy is evidently making preparations against our impending attack."

There is an oblique but telling reference in Halder's diary to the German high command's condescending attitude toward its allies. He writes that the Hungarian military attache visited during the day and requested information about the Kharkov battle. Halder notes simply, "I politely refuse." This is a peculiar attitude considering the key role that the allied troops are projected to play in the upcoming "decisive" summer offensive, Case Blau. However, it also is quite common in the Wehrmacht.

European Air Operations: An extended spring lull continues for both sides over the Channel Front. The only major action is the RAF sending 33 Wellington and 15 Stirling bombers of No. 3 Group to lay mines at the Biscay ports. However, poor weather permits only 18 bombers to complete the mission. No aircraft are lost.

U-106. Its sinking of a Mexican oil tanker on 21 May 1942 leads to a declaration of war.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-106 (Kptlt. Hermann Rasch), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6067-ton Mexican oil tanker Faja de Oro. There are ten deaths and 21 survivors. This sinking, along with other events, leads Mexico to declare war on Germany.

It isn't really Rasch's fault that this leads to war, of course. He is just doing the job asked of him and the sinking of neutral ships is quite common by 21 May 1942. In fact, if U-106 didn't sink Faja de Oro, another U-boat was in a position to do so. U-754 was stalking Faja de Oro and watched as U-106 torpedoed it. Two U-boats were ready to do the deed. So, the tanker was doomed and Mexico was fated to declare war.

U-103 (Kptlt. Werner Winter), on its seventh patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3372-ton US freighter Clare 40 nautical miles (74 km) south of easternmost Cuba. All 40 crewmen survive, either reaching land in their lifeboats or picking up by a Cuban naval vessel.

U-103 also torpedoes and sinks 4727-ton US freighter Elizabeth about 30 nautical miles (56 km) south of Cape Corrientes, Cuba. There are six deaths and 36 survivors.

U-201 returning to Brest, 21 May 1942. the crew has the binoculars out to see what is in port (Leskin, Federal Archive Image 101II-MW-4939-22).

U-159 (Kptlt. Helmut Friedrich Witte), on its second patrol out of Lorient, gets its first two victories of the war today. It torpedoes and damages 2646-ton Royal Fleet Auxiliary RFA Montenol 140 nautical miles (260 km) southeast of Santa Maria Island, Azores. RFA Montenol is with convoy OS 28. There are three deaths and 61 survivors, who are rescued by HMS Woodruff. RFA Montenol is deemed unsalvageable and is scuttled by HMS Wellington.

U-159 also torpedoes and sinks 6529-ton British freighter New Brunswick 140 nautical miles (260 km) southeast of Santa Maria Island, Azores. New Brunswick is part of Convoy OS 28. There are three dead and 59 survivors, who are rescued by British freighter Inchaga, HMS Totland, HMS Weston, and HMS Woodruff.

Canadian freighter Troisdoc, sunk by U-558 on 21 May 1942.

U-558 (Kptlt. Günther Krech), on its seventh patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 1925-ton Canadian freighter Troisdoc west of Jamaica. All 18 crewmen survive and are rescued by USCGC Mohawk.

U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 1738-ton Dominican Republic freighter Presidente Trujillo off Fort-de-France, Martinique. There are 24 dead and 15 survivors.

U-69 (Oblt. Ulrich Gräf), on its eighth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 1927-ton Canadian freighter Torondoc 60 nautical miles (110 km) northwest of Martinique. All 22 crewmen perish.

After two weeks at sea, four survivors of Neosho (AO-23) are rescued by the destroyer USS Helm (DD-338).

Convoy PQ 16 departs Iceland, bound for Murmansk.

An article about expressive dance in the 21 May 1942 Illustrierter Beobachter.

Battle of the Mediterranean: British troops in Malta find a man in bad condition in a cave beneath the Dingli cliffs and bring him to Imtarfa military hospital for treatment. He identifies himself under a phony name, Caio Borghi. By chance, he is recognized at the hospital by a boyhood neighbor who now is a captain in the British Army. The man, Carmelo Borg Pisani, then admits to being an Axis spy sent to report on conditions on Malta.

The Luftwaffe continues its recent pattern of sending Bf 109 fighter-bombers on sweeps over Malta. The RAF attempts to intervene, but is usually too slow to arrive. On one of these attacks over Hal Far aerodrome, they kill two men and wound three others. One of the deaths is Sgt. Dewhurst, recently awarded the Military Medal.

A postcard commemorating the laying of the keel of USS Pargo on 21 May 1942.

US Military: Having been greatly reinforced in recent days by troops brought over to Northern Ireland by liner Queen Mary and other transport ships,  US Army medical battalions begin taking over some facilities. These include hospitals at Musgrave Park on the outskirts of Belfast and at Irvinestown.

North Pacific Force is established in Alaska. It controls all US and Canadian forces in the region. Its first commander is Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald.

Holocaust: German forces deport 4300 Jewish residents of Chelm to the death camp at Sobibor. All are gassed to death.

German firm IG Farben establishes a factory outside the Auschwitz extermination camp in order to profit from slave labor.

Deportation of Slovak Jews. Stropkov, Czechoslovakia, May 21, 1942.

American Homefront: MGM releases "Tortilla Flat," directed by Victor Fleming and starring Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield, Frank Morgan, and Akim Tamiroff. Morgan is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In her 'My Day" syndicated column, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt notes that many women in New Mexico have volunteered and been trained as nurses. They now are "being used in all clinics and hospitals throughout the state." This frees up trained nurses and doctors for other tasks.

Ted Williams goes 3-5 with a home run and four RBIs in an 8-3 Boston Red Sox victory over Cleveland. This is his last game before joining the U.S. Navy on 22 May. After being sworn in, Williams returns to the Red Sox and finishes out the season, coming in second in MVP voting to NY Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon.

Future History: Danny Ongais is born in Kahului, Hawaii. He serves in the US Army in Europe in the late 1950s as a paratrooper, then returns to Hawaii and enters motor racing. He becomes a top drag racer, winning the AA Gas Dragster Championship in 1963 and 1964, and in the National Hot Rod Association AA Dragster championship title in 1965. He enters Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1979 and races in several Indianapolis 500 races. To date, Ongais, who becomes known as the "Flyin' Hawaiian" due to his flamboyant personality, is the native Hawaiian to race in the Indianapolis 500. Danny Ongais is inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000 and retires from racing in the late 1980s, though he returns for a final race in 1996 and remains associated with the sport for years afterward.

Internees at the Poston internment camp in Arizona filling mattresses with straw, 21 May 1942 (Fred Clark, National Archives and Records Administration, Ctrl. #: NWDNS-210-G-A145, NARA ARC #: 536112).

May 1942

May 1, 1942: Japanese Take Mandalay

May 2, 1942: Cruiser Edinburgh Sunk

May 3, 1942: Japanese Take Tulagi

May 4, 1942: Fletcher Attacks at Tulagi

May 5, 1942: British Invade Madagascar

May 6, 1942: Corregidor Falls to Japan

May 7, 1942: Scratch One Flattop!

May 8, 1942: Lexington Sunk in the Coral Sea

May 9, 1942: Manstein on the Attack in Crimea

May 10, 1942: Spitfires Rule Over Malta

May 11, 1942: First Japanese Retreat at Deboyne

May 12, 1942: Soviets Attack At Kharkov

May 13, 1942: Crisis at Kharkov

May 14, 1942: Where in the World is AF

May 15, 1942: Germans Take Kerch

May 16, 1942: Sobibor Begins Operation

May 17, 1942: Germans Counterattack at Kharkov

May 18, 1942: Soviet Command Confusion 

May 19, 1942: Soviet Panic at Kharkov

May 20, 1942: Churchill and Molotov Negotiate

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

May 22, 1942: AF is Midway!

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

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

May 25, 1942: Soviet Breakout at Kharkov Fails

May 26, 1942: Rommel Pounces in North Africa

May 27, 1942: Heydrich Fatally Wounded in Prague

May 28, 1942: German Victory At Kharkov

May 29, 1942: Japanese at Madagascar

May 30, 1942: First RAF Thousand-Plane Raid

May 31, 1942: The Attack on Sydney Harbour

2021

April 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!

2021

April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan

Friday 3 April 1942

German General Erwin Rommel makes a surprise visit to the most advanced Afrika Korps base 89.6 km north of Tobruk on the North Africa front, 3 April 1942 (Koeth, Cord, Federal Archive Image 101I-441-1390-17).

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese of General Homma's 14th Imperial Army begins a massive preparatory bombardment of Allied forces along the Orion-Bagac Lineon defensive line on the Bataan Peninsula at 09:00 on 3 April 1942. The barrage is centered on Mount Samat, which is the center of the Allied line and the point where US Army I and II Corps meet. The Japanese 4th Division and 65th Brigade also attack in this area on the left flank of US II Corps, which is manned by two Filipino Divisions (21st and 41st). The Japanese quickly gain ground in a rough landscape and plan on capturing the entire peninsula in one week. Japanese attacks in the I Corps (western) portion of the line gain little ground. After dark, the US forces launch a counterattack that regains some ground.

Concerned about Japanese use of the French Frigate Shoals as staging areas for flying boat attacks on Hawaii (as were attempted twice in March), the US Navy mines the area. Light minelayers USS Pruitt, Preble, Sicard, and Tracy lay the mines. The US also will station a destroyer permanently there.

The Wilson (North Carolina) Daily News, 3 April 1942. The main headline is, "Grave Reverses Mark Allied Burma Defense."

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Japanese bombers attack Mandalay, Burma, with devastating results on 3 April 1942. While they have attacked the city previously, the Japanese are helped this time by weather conditions that create a firestorm (firestorms require certain meteorological factors and are not just the product of dropping a lot of bombs). Incendiary bombs destroy about 60% of the wooden structures in the city and kill about 2000 people. The effects are magnified by the "lucky" destruction of city firefighting equipment in the raid. Bodies lie in the street for days. Ironically, the fort which is a centerpiece of the city is largely untouched.

Admiral Nagumo, in command of the powerful Kido Butai Japanese naval force that attacked Pearl Harbor, continues sailing into the Indian Ocean in accordance with the plans for Operation C. This operation, better known as the Indian Ocean Raid, aims to draw out the British Eastern Fleet for destruction by threatening Ceylon (Sri Lanka). British Admiral Sir James Somerville knows roughly what he is facing due to naval intelligence and has divided his force into two groups, A and B, based on speed. As the inferior force, the British are avoiding combat by day and have withdrawn to a point 600 miles (970 km) southwest of Ceylon to refuel. Nagumo is sailing toward a point roughly halfway between Somerville's forces and Ceylon. Both sides are unaware of the other's position.

Japanese submarine HIJMS I-7 in 1937 (colorized by Irootoko Jr.).

Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-7 (lT. Cdr Koizumi) torpedoes and sinks 9415-ton British refrigerated freighter Glenshiel about 300 miles east of the Maldive Islands. The ship sinks slowly, so Koizumi must use a total of four torpedoes and also shells the ship with his twin 140-mm deck gun. Everyone survives and is rescued by destroyer HMS Fortune.

In Burma, British Burma I Corps continues a withdrawal northward from the Allanmyo region. In the Sittang Valley, the Chinese prepare to make a stand at Pyinmana. Chinese 22nd and 96th Divisions there are under the control of Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma, and India, though Chinese generals have not been following his orders.

The US Army Air Force sends six 10th Air Force B-17 bombers from Asansol Aerodrome, India, to Rangoon. They bomb warehouses and docks at the cost of one bomber.

Panzerschreck in action.

Eastern Front: A temporary lull in larger operations continues all along the Eastern Front, but there is still a lot of local fighting. General Seydlitz has regrouped his forces for the relief attempt to the Demyansk Pocket and is ready to resume his attacks on 4 April. Rather than attack through the mud and trees, he will focus on a road further north. On the other side, the Soviets also have regrouped and reinforced their own forces. The Red Air Force has begun harassing attacks of German troops using old biplanes, often manned by women aviators, who cruise slowly at very low altitudes over the German camps at night and drop small bombs. The Germans take to calling these pilots the "Night Witches."

The Wehrmacht in the Demyansk area has begun using a new weapon, the Panzerschrek, on an experimental basis. This weapon is similar to a US Army bazooka and fires a hollow-point grenade that, when on target, can destroy a T-34 tank (the Panzerschreck is similar to but different than the later Panzerfaust). Today, Seydlitz reports that using the weapon requires nerve "and a generous endowment of luck" because the weapon's range is only 50 yards. Secret German hollow-charge shells (Rotkopf), meanwhile, are proving ineffective in the heavily wooded region because the shells tend to explode when they hit a branch en route to their targets.

European Air Operations: There is little activity on the Channel Front today. This lull follows a heavy bombing schedule for RAF Bomber Command over the past couple of weeks.

US freighter David H. Atwater, sunk on 3 April 1942 (Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University).

Battle of the Atlantic: At 03:40, U-552 (Kptlt. Erich Topp), on its eighth patrol out of St. Nazaire, surfaces and begins firing with its deck gun at 2438-ton US freighter David H. Atwater about ten miles east of Chincoteague Inlet, Virginia. The U-boat fires 93 shots and hits the vessel with about 50 of them. This sets the ship on fire and the crew is unable to abandon ship in an orderly fashion, instead simply leaping into the water. There are 24 deaths and only 3 survivors who manage to swim to an empty lifeboat. The use of a deck gun alone to sink a freighter is not unheard of, but it is unusual and shows that Captain Topp is trying to be efficient and conserving his torpedoes to prolong his patrol. USCGC Legare (WPC 144) and USCGC CG-218 arrive on the scene quickly and pick up the survivors. Some accounts state that this incident occurred late on 2 April 1942.

U-754 (Kptlt. Hans Oestermann), on its second patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 4839-ton US freighter Otho about 200 miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia. There are 32 dead and 21 survivors. Some of the survivors are not picked up until 25 April after drifting to within 150 miles of Bermuda, and one man dies an hour after being rescued.

U-505 (Kptlt. Axel-Olaf Loewe), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5775-ton US freighter West Irmo about 300 miles southwest of Takoradi (Sekondi-Takoradi), Ghana. There are 10 dead and 99 survivors. All of the dead are African stevedores who were sitting on a hatch that blew up when the torpedo hit. An attempt is made to tow the sinking West Irmo on 4 April, but this is unsuccessful and the ship is then intentionally sunk.

U-155 (Kptlt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its first patrol out of Kiel, hits 6882-ton US tanker Gulfstate with two torpedoes about 50 miles southeast of Marathon Key, Florida. The tanker immediately bursts into flame and sinks in four minutes, and the crew is unable to launch lifeboats. There are 43 dead and 18 survivors, with the survivors being picked up within hours by a Coast Guard seaplane and USS YP-351.

U-702 (Kptlt. Wolf-Rüdiger von Rabenau), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, is lost to a mine on or about this date. There are no survivors. U-702 finishes its career with no victories.

German raider Thor (HSK 4), as it would have been seen by the crew of one of its victims such as Norwegian freighter Aust on 3 April 1942.

German raider Thor, operating in the South Atlantic, uses its floatplane and deck gun to stop 5630-ton Norwegian freighter Aust. The ship is sunk with placed charges after the Germans take the entire crew as prisoners.

Luftwaffe aircraft bomb and damage/sink 6854-ton British freighter Empire Starlight at its dock in Murmansk (the date of its "sinking" is disputed). The Empire Starlight was part of Convoy PQ 13. The Soviets later raise the Empire Starlight in 1945 and rename it Murmansk.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks British freighter New Westminster City from Convoy PQ-13 at Murmansk. This vessel also is later raised. In the same attack, the Luftwaffe severely damages Polish freighter Tobruk. It is later repaired and returned to service in September 1942.

British freighter Gypsum Prince sinks after colliding with fellow British freighter Voco about four miles off Lewes, Delaware. There are 20 survivors and five dead.

"George Thomas the 16-year-old anti-aircraft gunner." Onboard freighter SS Empire Airman, Liverpool, England, 3 April 1942 (© IWM A 8110).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian coaster Antonio Landi hits a mine and sinks off Punta Platamoni, near Kotor, Montenegro. There is one death.

Perpetual air raids continue all across Malta on 3 April 1942 as Luftwaffe General Kesselring attempts to subdue the island. Unexploded bombs are becoming a major problem for Malta. It is very hazardous work and many officers lose their lives doing it. 

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet destroyer Shaumian sinks of unknown causes at Rybachka-Gelendshik in the Black Sea. The vessel is later scrapped.

US Military: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz officially takes command of Pacific Ocean Areas (POA). The Southeast Pacific Area, currently a backwater used mainly as a supply route to Australia, remains under the command of Rear Admiral John F Shafroth. General Douglas MacArthur is the commander of the South West Pacific Area (SWPA).

The 21st and 22d Transport Squadrons, Air Transport Command, 5th Air Force, are activated at Archerfield (near Brisbane)) and Essendon (near Melbourne) Airdromes, Australia, respectively. The 39th Pursuit Group of 39th Pursuit Squadron transfers from Mount Gambier to Williamstown, Australia.

A "Short Snorter" dated 3 April 1942. This is a banknote signed by fellow travelers on an airplane. Each of the men signing it would have had their own bill. These were considered a good luck practice and memorialized a temporary bond (Collectors Weekly).

American Homefront: "The Jungle Book," an independent production largely created by the Korda family (Zoltan, Alexander, and Vincent) based on the book by Rudyard Kipling, is released by United Artists. Starring Sabu as Mowgli, the film earns the studio $1.3 million in rentals and becomes a big hit for UA. After the war, "The Jungle Book" is released or released in European countries such as France and the United Kingdom and becomes a hit once again. 

Future History: Carson Wayne Newton is born in Norfolk, Virginia. Carson learns to play the piano, guitar, and steel guitar at an early age and begins singing in supper clubs with his older brother, Jerry. The act begins getting bookings on local television shows and in 1958 it is spotted on one of them by a Las Vegas booking agent. The agent signs the brother act and they wind up performing six shows daily in Vegas for the next five years. This leads to television show appearances and other opportunities. In 1963, billed as Wayne Newton, Carson is signed by Capitol Records as a solo act and has a Top 40 hit with 'Danke Schoen." This leads to a spectacular career in showbusiness for the man who becomes known as "Mr. Las Vegas." As of 2020, Wayne Newton remains active in show business.

Marsha Mason is born in St. Louis, Missouri. She becomes an accomplished actress who is nominated for four Academy Awards in the 1970s and 1980s. She also is well-known for marrying playwright Neil Simon, who gives her some of her best roles and writes three of her Oscar-nominated parts. As of 2020, Marsha Mason remains active on television.

A page of apparently random news photos from the Munster, Indiana, Times, 3 April 1942.

April 1942

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

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

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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