May 9, 1942: Manstein on the Attack in Crimea

Saturday 9 May 1942

"German U-boat, U-352, May 1942. 33 German prisoners were brought ashore at the Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina, by US Coast Guard cutter Icarus (WPC-110) after the sinking of the German submarine, U-352, off the Atlantic coast on 9 May 1942. The Executive Officer of the German submarine repeats in German the instructions given to him by US Navy officers as the crew eat “chow.”" Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-41304.

Battle of the Pacific: Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher takes Task Force 17 out of the Coral Sea on 9 May 1942, ending the Battle of the Coral Sea. With only one fleet carrier, USS Yorktown left, Fletcher proceeds south of New New Caledonia and proceeds toward Tongatabu to refuel. Australian Rear Admiral John Crace, in charge of Task Force 44, keeps his cruiser force in the area throughout the day to guard Port Moresby.

The Japanese fleet is short of fuel, so Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi's Carrier Strike Force, also down to one carrier (Zuikaku), spends the day refueling. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto has ordered him to pursue and engage the Allied warships again. In the evening, Takagi heads southeast with his refueled ships, then turns southwest toward the Coral Sea. The invasion of Port Moresby remains on hold unless and until Takagi can eliminate the Allied forces.

The Japanese recently set up a seaplane base in the Deboyne Islands during the opening stages of Operation Mo in order to assist with the invasion of Port Moresby. Today, the Allies begin a series of air raids on the base that damage seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru and eventually force the Japanese to leave.

Having taken the US island fortress of Corregidor, the Japanese seek complete control of the Philippines by taking Dalirig on Mindanao.

Manila, the Philippines during the Japanese occupation, 9 May 1942.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Burma Corps continues withdrawing west across the Chindwin River. Today, the divisional headquarters and the 13th Indian Infantry Brigade makes the crossing. Their destination is the border town of Tamu, which is not that far but will require traversing some rough, roadless terrain

USS Albacore in Measure 9 camouflage (dull black) off Groton, 9 May 1942.

Eastern Front: It is day two of the German offensive in Crimea and everything is going the Wehrmacht's way. General Franz Halder's war diary entry is short and succinct: "Breakthrough on the southern wing. The attack is making good progress. All quiet on the rest of the front."

General Erich von Manstein's attempt to clear the Kerch peninsula, Operation Trappenjagd ("Bustard Hunt"), continues on 9 May with great success. In some ways, the operation resembles the opening days of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, with crushing German domination sweeping aside all opposition. Where the Germans attack, the Red Army gives way, and casualties are light.

German engineers have successfully created an opening through the Soviet anti-tank ditch in the south. Manstein uses it to commit the 22nd Panzer Division in a move east, then north to the Sea of Azov coast. This maneuver eventually traps the Soviet 51st Army in a pocket, isolating about one-third of the Soviet strength. The 44th Army in the south is in disarray, and the 47th Army in reserve at Kerch is slow to react, hampered by Luftwaffe attacks on the roads.

Colonel-General Erich von Manstein, left, and Luftwaffe commander Wolfram von Richthofen in Crimea, May 1942 (Cherry, Federal Archive Image 183-B18908).

The Red Army counterattacks with its armor, but the Luftwaffe has complete aerial superiority and, with little tree cover, an open field of fire on the roads. Luftwaffe General Wolfram von Richthofen has assembled overwhelming power from units that have returned from the Reich after being refurbished over the winter. German planes down 25 Soviet planes over the breakthrough point and wreak havoc on the counterattacking Red Army tanks. The Luftwaffe launches 1700 sorties during the day, not far under the 2100 sorties on the first day of the offensive. Overall, the Luftwaffe claims 52 Soviet planes shot down during the day for only two losses. A rainstorm during the evening effectively ends operations for the day.

General Hans Zorn, the commander of the breakout attempt from the Demyansk pocket that ultimately led to its relief (in conjunction with Seydlitz's advance to Ramushevo), visits Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia. Halder writes that he looks "Quite worn!"

European Air Operations: After 12 Boston bombers attack Bruges oil storage tanks and Hazebrouck railway yards, it is a quiet night. The only activity by either side is a mission by 20 RAF bombers to lay mines off Denmark and Germany. There are no losses.

German U-boat, U-352, May 1942. 33 German prisoners were brought ashore at the Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina, by US Coast Guard cutter Icarus (WPC-110) after the sinking of the German submarine, U-352, off the Atlantic coast on 9 May 1942. US Marines, with fixed bayonets, stand guard as prisoners are lined up in front of the Coast Guard cutter (Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-41302).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-352 (Kptlt. Hellmut Rathke), on its send patrol out of St. Nazaire, is depth-charged and sunk near Morehead City, North Carolina by US Coast Guard ship Icarus. There are 15 deaths and 33 survivors. The submarine ends its career with no victories.

U-162 (FrgKpt. Jürgen Wattenberg), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 1905-ton Canadian freighter Mount Louis south of Trinidad. There are 13 deaths and 8 survivors, who are rescued by Canadian freighter Mona Marie.

U-564 (Kptlt. Reinhard Suhren), on its fifth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 7138-ton Panamanian tanker Lubrafol three nautical miles off Delray Beach, Florida. There are 13 deaths and 31 survivors, who are rescued by US Coast Guard ships. Lubrafol does not actually sink today, but it is a burning wreck with no hope of salvage until it finally does go under on 11 May.

Near Bir Hacheim in North Africa, a German soldier wearing a pith helmet mans a 7.92mm machine gun MG15 with tripod on a motor vehicle, May 1942 (Zwilling, Ernst A., Federal Archive Image 101I-443-1551-06A)

U-69 (Oblt. Ulrich Gräf), on its eighth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 6825-ton Norwegian tanker Lise northeast of Aruba. There are 12 deaths and 33 survivors, many of whom are rescued by two Dutch ships while others make it to shore in lifeboats. Some sources place this sinking on 12 May.

U-125 (Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 11,941-ton Canadian tanker Calgarolite 50 nautical miles (93 km) southwest of Grand Cayman Island. Folkers surfaces when the tanker does not sink right away and uses his deck gun to finish the job. All 45 crewmen survive.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 928-ton Norwegian freighter Douro midway between Iceland and Scotland. There are ten deaths and ten survivors, who are rescued by Icelandic trawler Gyllir.

German 125-ton minesweeper R-45 collides with a minesweeper tender off Dunkirk, France, and sinks. Also sunk in the collision is 508-ton M-533.

British Spitfire V fighter taking off from carrier USS Wasp for Malta, 9 May 1942 (US National Archives).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The US Navy and Royal Navy mount another carrier ferry mission to Malta today. This is Operation Bowery. USS Wasp and HMS Eagle launch 64 Supermarine Spitfires, with 58 actually making it to the island. Despite the losses, this is much more successful than Operation Calendar, when a similar ferrying mission resulted in disaster when the fighters were quickly attacked and mostly destroyed by the Luftwaffe. Operation Bowery is a successful mission that builds on the learning experience of Operation Calendar. 

This mission leads Prime Minister Winston Churchill to comment, "Who said a Wasp couldn't sting twice?" The presence of the Spitfires essentially ends the daylight bombing campaign against Malta.

An internee awaiting the evacuation bus, 9 May 1942.

American Homefront: "Tangerine" by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell becomes the No. 1 song on the Billboard chart. It knocks off "Moonlight Cocktail" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with Ray Eberle and the Modernaires after ten weeks. Ray Eberle and Bob Eberly are brothers despite the slight differences in their last names, Bob just changed his for professional purposes.

Thoroughbred Alsab wins the Preakness, spoiling the chance of Shut Out to win the Triple Crown.

Future History: John David Ashcroft is born in Chicago, Illinois. He becomes a politician from Missouri who becomes Governor of that state, a US Senator, and the US Attorney General from 2001-2005.

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 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster

Monday 20 April 1942

A military parade in honor of Adolf Hitler's birthday organized by Reichskommissar Koch in Rovno, Ukraine on 20 April 1942 (Federal Archive B 162 pic-04246).

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese high command is still furious on 20 April 1942 about the Doolittle raid and orders the massive Second Fleet, recently returned from its Indian Ocean Raid, to hunt down the American carrier task force. Nobody has any idea where the US ships are, and Admiral Nagumo aboard his own carrier, the Akagi, thinks they may be within striking distance of his ships near Formosa and attack them. The fact that the US Navy used land-based bombers in the attack further confuses the Japanese. Meanwhile, USS Enterprise and Hornet have long since departed the scene as they return to Pearl Harbor. The US high command, mirroring Japanese concerns, also remains deeply worried about a Japanese attack on the west coast.

In the Philippines, Japanese artillery continues to pound the last US island outpost of Corregidor. The Japanese have overrun US positions on Cebu and Panay, and US and affiliated Filipino garrisons throughout the northern and central Philippines have fled into the hills to operate as guerilla forces on Leyte, Samar, Negros, and Bohol.

Soviet freighter Turksib is wrecked in bad weather in the Unimak Strait, Alaska Territory. The USSR and Japan are not at war, so Soviet ships may pass more-or-less freely between their home ports and the United States, though they are subject to search for military goods by Japanese patrol vessels.

Reich Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop congratulates Adolf Hitler on his 53rd birthday, 20 April 1942 (Source: National Digital Archives, Poland).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Chinese General Sun Li-Jen, having successfully rescued trapped British forces on the 19th, continues attacking south toward the Yenaungyaung oil fields. The small Chinese force makes some progress and inflicts heavy casualties on the Japanese, but this success is only temporary and the Chinese soon begin retreating back to the north. The British 1st Burma Division that barely had escaped destruction due to the Chinese advance finds vehicles to take it north to Mount Popa.

Eastern Front: The spring thaw ("Rasputitsa") is rapidly increasing, causing extensive flooding and muddy conditions that make operations difficult. General Franz Halder notes in his war diary:

Curiously quiet. Enemy is seemingly anticipating a German red-letter day attack. Enemy propaganda. Good progress on the Lovat River. The gap has been almost closed. Consolidation of the situation on the Volkhov River.

The two operations that Halder mentions, on the Lovat and Vokhov rivers, are of utmost importance to both sides as large numbers of troops are at risk. The former is the relief operation to rescue the huge German forces trapped at Demyansk and Kholm, and the latter is a large Soviet force including the Second Shock Army that is trapped west of the Volkhov. While the outcome of both operations has been in doubt for months, the Germans gradually are gaining the upper hand in both sectors.

The Soviet Stavka (high command) officially ends the Rzhevsk-Vyazma Operation and orders forces in the area over to the defensive. This follows a partially successful breakout of trapped Soviet forces in the area east of Smolensk. The operation was a failure in its objective to encircle and destroy large Wehrmacht forces, but the Soviets claim that it succeeded in forced German forces back 100-250 kilometers.

European Air Operations: There are no operations today due to some very thick ground haze. A circus over a French port is briefly planned but scrubbed at 12:15 local time. 

Time magazine features German Admiral Karl Raeder on its cover on 20 April 1942 (Cover Credit: BORIS ARTZYBASHEFF).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-572 (Kptlt. Heinz Hirsacker), on its fourth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes, and sinks 7164-ton British freighter Empire Dryden about 240 nautical miles (440 km) northwest of Bermuda. There are 25 deaths and 22 survivors, who are picked up by the US freighter City of Birmingham.

U-752 (Kptlt. Karl-Ernst Schroeter), on its fifth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes, shells, and badly damages US freighter West Imboden about 200 miles off the Nantucket lightship. The freighter was an easy target due to an accidental fire in its stack that gave away its position. The U-boat captain has a conversation with the survivors in their lifeboats and says "That's good" when told there have been no casualties. West Imboden later sinks.

U-654 (Oblt. Ludwig Forster), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 4569-ton Swedish freighter Agra about 280 nautical miles (520 km) northwest of Bermuda. There are six deaths and 33 survivors, who are picked up by Norwegian freighter Tercero. Torpedoing neutral shipping obviously is improper, but all ships are transiting in blackout conditions and it is largely impossible to tell neutral shipping from legitimate targets.

U-654 also torpedoes and sinks 6176-ton US freighter Steel Maker about 350 nautical miles (650 km) east of Wilmington, North Carolina. There are one death and 47 survivors, who are rescued by British freighter Pacific Exporter and USS Rowan. The one crewman rescued by the Rowan is in the water until 18 May 1942.

U-109 (Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5719-ton British freighter Harpagon about 150 nautical miles (280 km) northwest of Bermuda. There are 41 deaths and eight survivors, who are picked up by Argentinian freighter Rio Diamante.

Adolf Hitler and his personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann, on 20 April 1942.

U-154 (KrvKpt. Walther Kölle), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5587-ton Canadian freighter Vineland in the mid-Atlantic. There are 34 survivors and one death.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Trident torpedoes and sinks 5386-ton German freighter Hödur northwest of Namsos, Norway.

Royal Navy destroyers Cotswold and Quorn, operating as escorts for Convoy FS 80 in the North Sea, hit mines off Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Quorn (two deaths) is towed by patrol sloop Shearwater to Chatham and requires 17 weeks of repairs, while Cotswold (five dead, 23 wounded) is towed Shotley Spit and beached. Refloated later, Cotswold re-enters service on 8 May 1943.

British 1498-ton freighter Plawsworth and Belgian 1829-ton freighter Vae Victis, members of Convoy FS 80, also hit mines and sink in the North Sea off Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

Swedish 569-ton coaster Arete hits a mine and sinks in the Danish Great Belt strait. There are four deaths.

German 470-ton trawler/minesweeper M 4006 Neuwerk hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off Morlaix, Finistère, France.

General Walther Buhle, Chief of Organizations Section, OKH, congratulates Adolf Hitler for his 53rd birthday, 20 April 1942 (Source: National Digital Archives, Poland).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) flies off 48 Spitfire fighters of RAF No. 601 and 603 Squadrons to land in Malta, which has had no operational fighter cover recently. The Wasp's Grumman F4F Wildcats provide air cover. Operation Calendar has resulted from a personal request from Winston Churchill to President Roosevelt for the use of a US carrier for this purpose.

The Luftwaffe has been alerted to the joint US-British operation and times an air raid to coincide with the landing of the Spitfires at Malta's Ta'Qali airfield. The RAF fighters, low on fuel after their shuttle flight, cannot defend themselves and must land immediately, leaving them vulnerable. The German bombers, facing no air opposition, destroy most of the incoming fighters immediately and virtually all of them within days (some sources say within two days, others within four days).

The British military command and Churchill are aghast at this disaster. They set in motion plans to replace the island's longtime governor, Lieutenant General Sir William Dobbie, who blames the failure on the intense bombardment that the island has faced over the past month from German General Albert Kesselring's continuing air offensive.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet icebreaker Ledokol No. 7 hits a mine laid by the Luftwaffe and sinks between Novorossiysk and Kerch. There are 25 dead and 11 survivors.

Turkish Ambassador to the Reich Hüsrev Gerede signs the list congratulating Adolf Hitler on his birthday in the Reich Chancellery on 20 April 1942 (Schwahn, Federal Archive Image 183-J01196).

Partisans: The Italian and German security services in eastern Bosnia under the overall command of General der Artillerie Paul Bader begin Operation Trio. The operation targets all insurgents between Sarajevo and Drina. Bader gives the Italians military control over civil affairs in the areas of operation, a key Italian goal for expanding their zone of control in the Balkans despite their continuing difficulties with the partisans. The first phase of Operation Trio, an advance east toward the Drina, begins today, but this is a massive operation using regular army troops as well as auxiliaries that is intended to last for throughout the spring. Italian, German, Croatian, and Chetnik forces take part.

The 718th Infantry Division advances from Sarajevo, Olovo, and Tuzla. The initial goal is to relieve an embattled Croatian garrison at Rogatica in an area swarming with partisans in the surrounding countryside. The Axis forces advance without much difficulty, but the effort is hampered by intra-Axis hostilities between the royalist Chetniks and the Ustaše Black Legion led by Jure Francetić.

In Rennes, France, the French Resistance makes an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate French fascist Jacques Doriot. He is a founder of the Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF), a French unit of the Wehrmacht. Doriot has fought in the Soviet Union as part of Operation Barbarossa and is highly esteemed by the Germans. Separately, German security troops in Rouen shoot 30 hostages in reprisal for an attack on a German troop train.

Adolf Hitler accepts congratulations on his birthday, 20 April 1942 (Source: National Digital Archive, Poland).

German Military: At lunch with Hitler and other top generals, Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler broaches the idea of using SS troops extensively on the Eastern Front in regular military formations. This has been done very sparingly so far, usually only in emergency situations, as the SS is considered more of a "special operations" force. General Franz Halder notes in his diary that he takes "sharp issue" with this idea, perhaps realizing that this would introduce an entirely separate military command outside of the normal Wehrmacht chain of command. This would reduce both Halder's own control of operations and introduce problems in coordinating attacks.

US Military: US Army Air Force Major General George H. Brett assumes command of all Allied Air Forces in Australia and nearby areas. This includes units in Port Moresby, New Guinea.

The Berlin Philharmonic puts on a concert for Hitler's birthday, 20 April 1942. He is not in attendance, as he remains at his Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia.

German Homefront: It is Adolf Hitler's birthday, always marked during the Third Reich with celebrations and speeches. Today's celebration is relatively low-key, and Hitler's main event is having lunch at Fuhrer Headquarters in Rastenburg with his top generals such as Halder and Himmler. New French leader (under figurehead Petain) Pierre Laval lavishes praise on Hitler ("He is a conqueror who did not abuse his victory") and characterizes the war as an attack on "Bolshevism."

Holocaust: Fritz Sauckel, the Reich Plenipotentiary General for Labor Mobilization, sends a memo to Alfred Rosenberg, Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, about forced labor. It details a program of abduction and enslavement, focused mainly on Rosenberg's sphere of authority in Eastern Europe. Approximately 5 million men and women will be forced to work for the Reich as slave labor under this program. The document states that the program is necessary "for the armament of the Armed Forces and also for the nutrition of the Homeland" and " to the profit of Germany and her allies."

American Homefront: The San Francisco News reports that "The Army today ordered two more Los Angeles areas cleared of 2000 Japanese by noon of April 29." General De Witt also announces that the army is building a new "reception center" for internees at Tula Lake. All internees are urged to deposit large sums of money and valuables for safekeeping before going to the camps, as there will be no banks or other repositories there. The Army also announces that evacuations will "proceed at a rapid rate from now on."

The 20 April 1942 Life magazine features a cover story about women's slacks.

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 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally

Sunday 12 April 1942

The Esso Boston sinking after being torpedoed on 12 April 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: The Bataan Death March continues on 12 April 1942. New groups set out on foot in the morning, and it is a six-day journey on foot to the San Fernando railhead. Japanese captors routinely behead or drive bamboo stakes through POWs and civilians alike for any number of reasons. The POWs are given little food and water during the march, and no allowances are made for war wounds or any other inability to march. Anybody who stops by the side of the road for bodily functions or any other reason is usually bayoneted. The distance on foot is roughly 60-80 miles to the railhead but the distances vary because prisoners starting out at different areas take slightly different routes. The prisoners walk all day and at dark are led into a field and allowed to sleep there.

The Japanese continue advancing through the Philippines now that Bataan is conquered. They take Cebu Island, where US forces destroy the motor torpedo boat PT-35 which is on the marine railway for repairs at Cebu Shipyard and Engineering Works. Staging through Mindanao from Australia, ten B-25 and three B-17 bombers commanded by US Brigadier General Ralph Royce attack the harbor and nearby shipping at Cebu (the "Royce Raid"). Afterward, Royce's command evacuates 44 officers and civilians from Mindanao. In addition, B-17s based on Mindanao also attack Cebu Harbor and Nichols Field.

USS YAG-4, the auxiliary minesweeper/patrol boat which had rescued many men from Bataan right before the fall, is shelled and sunk 500 yards (460 m) off Corregidor by Japanese shore artillery.

HMAS Laurabada arrives in Port Moresby on 12 April 1942. It carries 156 survivors of Lark Force, the Australian garrison of New Britain (Rabaul). This ship, the former touring yacht of Papua's administrator, somehow evaded detection while secretly taking off men from Palmalmal Plantation in Jacquinot Bay after the Japanese invasion. The rescue was arranged by Australian coastwatchers on New Britain who had communications equipment. Many men who did not make it to the Laurabada were massacred by the Japanese or otherwise did not survive the war (Naval Historical Collection, Australian War Memorial No 69370).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Japanese advance toward the Yenangyaung oil fields in Burma continues as their troops take the town of Myanaung. The 1st Burma Division, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment near Magwe (Magway), and 48th Indian Infantry Brigade are slowly falling back under pressure to the north. The American Volunteer Group (AVG, or Flying Tigers) continues supporting air operations against Toungoo Airfield. The P-40s destroy three bombers on the ground.

Eastern Front: General Seydlitz's men continue advancing slowly in their relief attack toward the Demyansk pocket. They get within 500 yards (meters) of the Lovato River today and make a turn upstream toward Ramushevo. More out of desperation than hope, the Germans begin preparing an advance by II Corps out of the pocket to meet Seydlitz's men somewhere in the direction of the Lovato. Hitler will not permit the men to abandon the pocket even though its usefulness is highly questionable.

One of the persistent problems facing the Wehrmacht is ammunition shortages and also troop deficits. General Halder meets with Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm, Chief of Army Armament and the Reserve Army. Fromm controls army procurement and production in addition to controlling all troops within the Reich itself. Knowing the supply situation better than anyone, he has recommended going over to the defensive in 1942 rather than attempting offensive gambles.

Fromm gives Halder the raw figures. The Wehrmacht is expected to be 318,000 men short of its table strength as of 1 May 1942. There will be 960,000 more men available through September, including in August the class of 1924 (eighteen-year-old recruits), to replace losses. He recommends shortening training to two months, which will enable 240,000 men to be sent to the Eastern Front by May for the summer offensive. Manpower is not yet a point of crisis, but how that plays out will depend on summer losses.

"USS Wasp CV-7, Greenock, Scotland, April 12, 1942." Watercolor by Ian Marshall.

European Air Operations: After a one-day pause in operations, RAF Bomber Command is back in action today. During the day, 9 Boston bombers attack the Hazebrouck railway marshaling yards at a cost of one of their number. At sunset, 251 bombers (171 Wellingtons, 31 Hampdens, 27 Stirlings, 13 Halifaxes, 9 Manchesters) set out for a major raid on one of Bomber Command's favorite targets, Essen.

This Essen raid is slightly more productive than previous raids. The bombers hit the intended target, the Krupps factory, with five high-explosive bombs and 200 incendiary bombs. These start a large fire. However, as usual, bombing accuracy is poor and most bombs hit towns all along the Ruhr River. A total of 28 houses are destroyed, 50 more seriously damaged, 27 people are killed, 36 injured, and nine are missing. The British lose 10 aircraft (7 Wellingtons, 2 Hampdens, 1 Halifax) for a barely tolerable 3.1% loss rate.

This is the eighth of eight major raids on Essen, and they have been largely futile. The Krupps factory has not been put out of action, much less Essen in total, and railway lines continue to function. The city remains as productive in the German war effort as ever. However, it should be noted that the Germans do not know where these raids are heading and millions of people across the Reich are forced into bomb shelters for hours at night and lose sleep. So, there are effects on German morale, but what those are is highly debatable, and those are certainly not the intended effect of the raids.

In other operations, the RAF sends 27 bombers over Le Havre, 18 Whitley bombers to Genoa, 4 Blenheims to targets in Holland, 20 bombers on minelaying operations off the German coast, and 7 on leaflet flights over France. There are no losses on these missions.

Empire Lotus sinking in the North Atlantic on 12 April 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-154 (KrvKpt. Walther Kölle), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5032-ton US freighter Delvalle south of Haiti. The attack is unusual in that a passing civilian aircraft spots the U-boat and warns the ship's crew, who first attempt to flee and then turn to ram the U-boat. Kölle panics and fires two torpedoes at the advancing freighter, which miss, but the freighter also fails to make contact. Adjusting his position, Kölle finally manages to pump two torpedoes into the Delvalle, which seals her fate. It ultimately takes seven torpedoes to sink the ship including the misses, a very poor result for an ordinary freighter. There are two dead and 61 survivors.

Ernst Kals, captain of U-130 which sinks US tanker Esso Boston on 12 April 1942.

U-130 (KrvKpt. Ernst Kals), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7699-ton US tanker Esso Boston about 300 miles northeast of Sint Maarten in the Caribbean. The one torpedo that hits stops the tanker and causes its crew to abandon the ship, which is carrying 105,400 barrels of crude oil. Kals then surfaces and uses his deck gun to finish off the tanker, leaving it a smoking ruin, but it does not sink. Everyone survives, and on the 13th the crew reboards the half-submerged sinking tanker, but they cannot save it. USS Biddle (DD 151) shows up the same day and rescues them just before the ship sinks.

U-203 (Kptlt. Rolf Mützelburg), on its sixth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and damages 10,013-ton Panamanian tanker Stanvac Melbourne about 15 miles from Frying Pan Shoal Inside Buoy off Cape Fear, North Carolina. After the tanker is hit with one torpedo, most of the crew abandons ship and Mützelburg moves on. However, the tanker does not sink, and three men who remained on board, including the master, Andrew T. Lagan, decide to try to save it. They drop anchor and wait out the night, and in the morning, two tugs appear and take her to Southport. Repairs are quick and the Stanvac Melbourne returns to service on 2 July. One of the reasons the tanker did not sink was that it was in ballast with great buoyancy.

Captain Mützelburg of U-203, which sank Panamanian tanker Stanvac Melbourne on 12 April 1942.

Italian submarine Pietro Calvi uses its deck gun to shell and sink Panamanian tanker 7691-ton Ben Brush off the coast of Brazil. There are 34 survivors and one death.

Swedish 1839-ton freighter Scotia hits a mine and sinks off Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK. There are 25 survivors, many of them wounded, and one missing and presumed dead.

A member of Convoy SC-79, 3696-ton British freighter Empire Lotus, founders in rough seas along the North Atlantic convoy route. Everyone survives.

Aerial view of survivors of SS Delvalle, sunk on 12 April 1942 off the southern coast of Haiti, clinging to a raft. National Archives 80-G-61538.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Luftwaffe attacks continue on Malta today and they score hits on cruiser HMS Essex and freighter SS Talabot. However, the results are less than they appear because the Talabot previously has been hit and written off, with nobody on board. The Luftwaffe aircrews, however, have been given point-blank instructions to make sure Talabot is sunk because it narrowly escaped previous attacks (or so the Germans thought), and the Luftwaffe crews carry out their orders to finish it off. The Germans have been achieving some success with a new tactic of sending Bf 109s in advance of the bombing attacks to strafe Allied gun positions on the island to suppress antiaircraft fire.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet freighter Kommuna hits a mine and sinks near Kamysh-Buran. There are two deaths.
 
Anglo/Indian Relations: Today marks the official end of the "Cripps Mission" to broker a deal between the British government and Indian nationalists. However, talks continue unofficially, facilitated by US President Franklin Roosevelt's personal representative, Colonel Louis Johnson, appointed on 11 March 1942. These talks too, however, fail by 16 May 1942.

Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the leaders of the Indian independence movement, gives a press conference in New Delhi to discuss the rejection of British independence offers. He emphatically rejects any possibility of an alliance with the Axis or his old colleague in the independence movement, Subhas Chandra Bose:

Hitler and Japan can go to hell. I shall fight them to the end and this is my policy. I shall also fight Mr Subhas Bose and his party along with Japan if he comes to India.

He also states that Bose's troops, assembled from prisoners of war, are just a "dummy force under Japanese control." Nehru adds that there will be "no surrender" to the Axis.

A P-40E (41-125116) of the 58th Pursuit Group, 33rd Pursuit Squadron, after crashing on 12 April 1942. At this time, the 58th is a replacement training unit based at Dale Mabry Field, Florida.

US Military: The US takes another big step toward the transfer of the US Army 8th Air Force to the United Kingdom today when Lieutenant General Henry H "Hap" Arnold sends plans for the move to General George C Marshall, Chief of Staff US Army. Marshall is currently in London with Harry Hopkins, so he can discuss these plans for "Operation Bolero" with his British counterparts.

In Australia, the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22nd BG (Medium), takes its B-26 bombers from Townsville to Reid River.

Hungarian Military: Advance elements of the 209,000-man Hungarian 2nd Army begin leaving for the Eastern Front. This is the best-equipped Hungarian formation. The Wehrmacht has assigned it to Army Group South to aid in the advance to take the Caucasus oilfields during the projected summer offensive. Partisans take note and attack 18 of 822 railway trains used during this move, which lasts until 27 June 1942.

Borger, Texas, Daily Record, 12 April 1942.

American Homefront: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 at Detroit Olympia Arena to stave off defeat in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Red Wings still lead the series 3-1. In an epic turn of events, the Maple Leafs will win the next three games and the series 4 games to 3. This series becomes a rallying cry for decades for teams facing a seemingly hopeless deficit in a playoff series.

Future History: Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Mhlanganyelwa Zuma is born in Nkandia, South Africa. Jacob Zuma serves as South Africa's fourth President of South Africa from May 2009 until February 2018. He resigned under pressure, and after that, he had a child on 12 April 2018. Jacob Zuma currently faces corruption charges.

Carlos Alberto Reutemann is born in Sante Fe, Argentina. He becomes a top racing car driver in the Formula One series from 1972 to 1982 and later a politician in his home region. Carlos Reutemann currently (as of 2020) serves in the National Senate of Argentina and is part of the Cambiemos alliance. He is often mentioned as a possible candidate for president.

Hilario D. Ramos Jr. is born in Waimea, Kauai County, Hawaii. he becomes a guitarist, banjo player, and vocalist with a variety of acts in the 1960s and thereafter. He is best known for work with the Association and the New Christy Minstrels, with which he wins a Grammy in 1963. He acquires the rights to The Association in 1984 and becomes its leader until his death. Larry Ramos passes away on 30 April 2014.

April Tatro is born in Escondido, California. She grows up to become a famed contortionist who appears in many Hollywood productions, including the 1970s series "Wonder Woman" and as a stuntwoman in "Blazing Saddles" (1974). For some, though, Tatro's most memorable performance was her very first, in 1968, when April appeared in the original "Star Trek" as the human form of Isis the Cat in "Assignment: Earth." April is still around as of 2022.

Charlie Chan comics for 12 April 1942 (Alfred Andriola).

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 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt

Saturday 4 April 1942

"Senussi Arab with rifle, Libya, 4 April 1942." That appears to be a captured Italian Carcano rifle (© IWM E 10186).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The massive Kido Butai Japanese strike force that attacked Pearl Harbor now is operating in the Indian Ocean. So far, it has proceeded unobserved to a spot south of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). During the afternoon of 4 April 1942, a Catalina flying boat of RCAF Squadron No. 413 spots and reports Admiral Nagumo's large force 310 nautical miles (580 km) southeast of Ceylon. The Japanese quickly shoot the observation plane down before it can clarify the size of the fleet. The fleet's commander, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, is secure in the belief that his ships have superiority over the British. So, he ignores the fact that the British have spotted his fleet and continues along his intended course. Nagumo does not even bother sending aerial reconnaissance ahead of the fleet. His plan is to attack the port of Colombo at dawn on 5 April.

The British, on the other hand, change plans immediately. Admiral James Somerville has withdrawn his fleet to Addu Atoll in the Maldive Islands. He now sends his Force A eastward in the general direction of the Japanese while Force B refuels. Admiral Geoffrey Layton, in command in Ceylon, directs heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire (which have just reached Colombo for maintenance and port defense) to turn around at 22:00 and rejoin Force A. Layton also orders old aircraft carrier Hermes to leave the port of Trincomalee and seek refuge to the northeast. The stage is set for a major confrontation, depending upon how aggressive Admiral Somerville chooses to be.

There is a preliminary action when two Japanese cruisers spot and sink Norwegian freighter Dagfred. The 40 Norwegian crew all survive after the Japanese allow them to take to the boats.

USS Hornet, accompanied by Task Force 18, continues sailing from San Francisco toward Japan. Its plan is to rendezvous with Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey's Task Force 16 and then proceed to a spot where it can launch the 16 B-25 bombers it is carrying to attack Tokyo. The US task force is following the reverse path of that followed by Kido Butai in December 1941 prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

U.S. Navy non-rigid airship L-8 delivers spare parts for Doolittle’s B-25 bombers to USS Hornet (CV-8). Somewhere in the Pacific on the way to Tokyo. L-8 was the former Goodyear commercial blimp, Ranger. The pilot was Lieutenant Ernest DeWitt Cody, U.S.N. (U.S. Navy).

Battle of the Pacific: Japanese bombers attack Darwin, Australia again between 13:30 and 14:05. Previous daylight raids have not cost the Japanese much in terms of lost planes and pilots, but the Allies have been transferring units to northern Australia. This is beginning to pay off. The 9th Pursuit Squadron of the US Army Air Force shoots down seven "Nell" bombers and two Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters.

In the Philippines, a critical section of the Allied Main Line of Resistance held by II Corps (eastern side of the line) collapses under assault by the Japanese 4th Division and 65th Brigade. The 21st and 41st Divisions of the Filipino Army are forced back again, as on the 3rd, and try to dig in around Mount Samat. This breach in the line causes flank problems for nearby Allied formations. To try to contain the breach, Luzon Force sends the US 31st and 45th Infantry to support II Corps. The Japanese attack is going better than planned, perhaps because the Allied troops are undernourished and inadequately armed after months of the Japanese blockade.

US Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet and Task Force 18 continue sailing west from San Francisco Bay bound for an attack on Japan. At noon, the Hornet rendezvouses with Navy blimp L-8 which lowers parts to complete modifications for the mission to the Hornet's flight deck. This is another step toward the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.

A StuG III (right) of the Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 202 gets pulled out of the snow by a Panzer III (left, going in reverse). Eastern Front, 1942.

Eastern Front: Operation Bruckenschlag ("Bridge-building") resumes on 4 April 1942 after a short period to regroup and reorient its line of attack toward the Demyansk Pocket. The first objective of General Seydlitz's men is the Lovat River, which is only six miles away but which is heavily guarded by reinforced Soviet troops. Today begins a brutal slog toward the river through worsening weather conditions as the spring thaw ("Rasputitsa") accelerates. There is no subtlety to the German advance, it is straight down the road on the most direct route possible.

The Luftwaffe launches heavy air attacks in the Murmansk area in northern Russia. The III/KG 30 attacks Zyp Navolok and sinks 1130-ton Russian Trawler RT-103. It also attacks Iokanka and damages Russian minesweepers T-58/RT-94/Zhadanov, T-4/RT-84/Golfstrem, T-60/RT-410/Pelikan, and patrol boat SKR-78/RT-57/Smela. Meanwhile, at Murmansk, emergency repairs are being completed to destroyer HMS Eclipse.

"OKTYABRSKAYA REVOLUTSIYA (Soviet battleship, 1911-1956). Photographed in the Baltic during 1946. Note anti-aircraft guns on forecastle and turret roofs, added during World War II." Naval History and Heritage Command NH 78290.

Battle of the Baltic: Operation Eisstoß (Ice Assault) begins. This is a Luftwaffe operation by Generaloberst Alfred Keller's Luftlotte I against the Soviet fleet at Kronstadt, a fortified island near St. Petersburg. This is one of a series of such attacks against Vitse Admiral Vladimir F. Tributs’s Baltic Fleet. Like the others, this operation accomplishes little. The Luftwaffe sends 62 Stuka dive bombers and 70 medium bombers (33 Junkers Ju 88s and 37 Heinkel He 111s), escorted by 59 Bf 109 fighters of Oberstleutnant Hannes Trautloft’s Jagdgeschwader 54. The plan is for the Heinkels to bomb the anti-aircraft defenses while the Stukas and Junkers attack the ships. 

After dark, a smaller force of 31 He 111s return. In the two attacks, the Germans score hits on 13 warships but do not sink any. Battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya (formerly Gangut) takes four hits, the cruiser Maksim Gorky is hit seven times, the cruisers Kirov and Petropavlovsk and destroyer Silnyi each suffers one serious hit each, and the destroyer Grozyashchiy, minelayer Marti and training ship Svir each takes less serious hits. Assorted smaller vessels also are hit.

This operation and the subsequent "Götz von Berlichingen" and "Froschlaich" continue throughout April without meaningful results. Overall, the Luftwaffe flies 590 sorties at the loss of 29 aircraft, a fairly high loss rate. Hitler is worried that the Soviet fleet will steam out when the ice melts and "make a fool of me," but it has no plans to leave port.

SB2U Vindicator code 72-S-4 of VS-72 England April 1942. This plane probably came over on USS Wasp, which arrived in Great Britain on 4 April 1942. The Wasp pilots then flew their planes to Hatson in Orkney (UK).

European Air Operations: The weather is poor for flying operations, but the RAF tries a few missions anyway. All this accomplishes is showing that bombing success depends on the weather. Out of 21 Hampdens sent to lay mines in the Frisian Islands, only two manage to complete the mission while the rest return to base.

RAF Bomber Command also sends a dozen Boston bombers and 4 Wellingtons to attack the railway yards at St. Omer. The mission is a nullity because the bombs drop in open fields and there are no losses or destruction on either side.

The RAF sends 4 Wellington bombers to bomb different German targets, but low cloud cover forces three of them to abort their missions. The fourth bomber turns south when it finds its primary target of Emdem covered with clouds, but it later finds a target of opportunity in the Essen region.

Rear Admiral S S Bonham Carter, Commanding 18th Cruiser Squadron, aboard his flagship HMS Edinburgh, 3 or 4 April 1942. He has welcomed the arrival of powerful US naval forces to Great Britain (© IWM A 9241). 

Battle of the Atlantic: US Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp leads a large fleet of warships to join the British Home Fleet. Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, flying his flag in the heavy cruiser Wichita, assumes command of TF 39. The American ships were met at sea by a Royal Navy force including the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh on 3 April. Those British ships have escorted the American ships to Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.

U-505 (Kptlt. Axel-Olaf Loewe), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5759-ton Dutch freighter Alphacca 154 miles south of Cape Palmas, Ivory Coast. There are 15 deaths and 52 survivors.

U-154 (KrvKpt. Walther Kölle), on its second patrol out of Lorient,  torpedoes and sinks 5034-ton US tanker Comol Rico about 225 miles (417 km) north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The tanker sinks within seven minutes after being hit with a second torpedo. The 39 survivors (against three deaths) spend two days at sea before being picked up by US destroyer USS Sturtevant (DD 240). This is the first victory for U-154.

HMS Stonehenge (P232), shown, is laid down on 4 April 1942. It will be launched on 23 March 1943, commissioned on 15 June 1943, and presumed sunk on or about 15 March 1944.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Luftwaffe General Albert Kesselring's II Fliegerkorps sustained air offensive against Malta continues wreaking massive damage all across the island. The planes today sink Greek Hellenic Navy submarine Glavkos (two dead) and Royal Navy Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Plumbleaf. The Plumleaf, next to Parlatorio Wharf in Grand Harbor, is raised after the war and scrapped in Sicily. Damaged in the attacks are cruiser Penelope and destroyer Lance.

The air attacks take a heavy toll today on land, too. Around Grand Harbour, numerous buildings are destroyed. A bomb lands on the north end of Coronado Tunnel, which is being used as a shelter. It kills 16 men and injures 50 others, including eight men from HMS Kingston.

British 4782-ton tanker SS Turbo, a ship heavily damaged by Italian bombers on 20 August 1941, is being towed to Karachi when its old damage suddenly causes it to break in two. The forepart is shelled and sunk about 15 miles north of Ras Banas, while the stern section just drifts off, never to be seen again.

"An Italian stretcher case being carried up the gangway of the LLANDOVERY CASTLE at Alexandria." Italian prisoners in Alexandria boarding a transport for an exchange for British prisoners, 4 April 1942 (© IWM A 8715).

POWs:  The British begin an exchange of 917 seriously wounded Italian prisoners for 129 British prisoners by loading the Italians on a ship. Hospital ship Llandovery Castle is used to make the prisoner exchange at Smyrna. This operation has been very difficult to transact because the Italians prefer a "one-for-one" exchange to preserve their dignity.

US/ French Relations: The United States grants official recognition to the Free French government in Equatorial Africa. It sends a Consul General to Brazzaville.

US/South African Relations: The South African government permits the Unites States Army Air Force to use the airfield at Point Noire, Congo. In exchange, the United States gives South Africa eight Lockheed Hudson bombers.

Japanese Military: The High Command has plans to invade both Midway and the Aleutian Islands. Neither is particularly strategically important but would expand the defense perimeter further away from Japan. The preliminary plan has been to invade them in sequence. Today, after a hearty debate, the Chief of the Navy, General Staff, Admiral Nagano, agrees to combine them. This will require a complex series of fleet movements and a full naval commitment.

US Military: The 5th Air Force USAAF transfers the 36th Pursuit Squadron, 8th Pursuit Group, from Lowood to Townsville, Australia. It is equipped with P-39s and P40s.

Winnipeg Free Press, 4 April 1942. Note the article at the lower left, "Hitler is Goaded by Need for Oil."

American Homefront: Warner Bros. releases "I Was Framed," a remake of the 1939 James Cagney crime drama "Each Dawn I Die." It stars Tod Andrews, Julie Bishop, and Regis Toomey. "I Was Framed" is a typical programmer for wartime audiences eager for any distraction. It clocks in at a brisk 61 minutes, also typical, and is only designed to make money, not be subtle or pretend to be high art.

Future History: James Louis Fregosi is born in San Francisco, California. He becomes a Major League Baseball shortstop in 1961 and later a well-traveled manager. Fregosi is notable for having been the most popular player of the California Angels franchise early in its history and still holds the franchise record with 70 career triples. Fregosi also is notorious in some circles for having been involved in the famous 1971 trade that sent Nolan Ryan from the New York Mets to the Angels. Jim Fregosi passes away on 14 February 2014 in Miami, Florida.

Saturday Evening Post, 4 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!

2021