(poll) daily updated a day in WWII

Tyree67 · (poll) daily updated a day in WWII

this is sometthing I been wanting to try if I get the response to it i will contiue it if not I'll let it die. thanks

Tyree67 · April 1st.

April 1st in WWII

April 1

We Remember:

1933: FRANCE: French air minister Pierre Cot signs documents creating an
independent air force, the L'Arme de l'Air. The Army loses control of the
air units and the Army, Navy and Air Force are put on an equal footing. (Jack
McKillop)

1939: CANADA: Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA) begins transcontinental airline
service today with a flight from Montreal, Quebec, to Vancouver, British
Columbia. TCA operates 10-passenger Lockheed Model 14-H2 Super Electras and
14-passenger Lockheed Model 18-10 Lodestars. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The prototype Mitsubishi A6M1, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter (assigned
the Allied Code Name "Zeke" in 1942) makes its first flight at Kagamigahara.
A total of 10,449 aircraft will be build during the war. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The government recognizes the Franco government in Spain following
the end of the Spanish civil war. (Jack McKillop)
Hawaii, USA: The US Navy holds the largest war games to date in the
Hawaiian Islands. (Denis Peck)

1940: Germany: Hitler fixes the date of Operation Weserubung
[Exercise Weser], the invasion of Norway and Denmark, at 9 April and orders
preparations to start. (Andy Etherington)

South Africa: The South African Parliament passes General Smuts' War
Measures Bill. (Andy Etherington)

U.K. The government says that it will intervene to keep food prices
down. (Andy Etherington)
Douglas Bader, the brilliant pilot and rugby footballer who lost both legs
when he crashed his Bristol Bulldog fighter in December 1931, is back in the
cockpit, flying fighters again with the RAF. He left the RAF because he was no
longer allowed to fly despite his mastery of his "tin legs". But immediately
after war was declared he started to pull strings until he was given a test
on a trainer. All his old skill came flooding back - flying was still "a piece
of cake". Now, he can be seen stumping towards his Hurricane, as aggressive
as ever, to fly patrols over Channel convoys, and when he takes of he flies
like all the other pilots - only better than most. (Andy Etherington)

U.S.: "Broadcasting" magazine reports that the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) has suspended its order for "limited commercial" operation of
TV,
censures the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for their sales efforts
which are seen as an attempt to freeze TV standards at the present level and
calls a new hearing. Critics call the move "usurpation of power." (Jack
McKillop)

1941: ERITREA: Asmara the capital of Eritrea has fallen to the
advancing 5th Indian Division. Italian General Nicola Carnimeo, commander of
the 2nd
Colonial Division, though wounded in the leg, tries with scraps of his
defeated army to hold up the Indian advance at Adi Tecesan, 35 miles (56
kilometers) from Asmara. He failed. With nothing left, the Italians sent out
two
policemen with a white flag, and declared Asmara an open city. (Andy
Etherington)
The Italian destroyer Leone runs aground off Eritrea and is scuttled by its
crew to prevent it from being captured by the British. (Jack McKillop)ÃŠ

Fiji Islands: In the Pacific, the USN's heavy cruisers USS Chicago (CA-29)
(Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and USS
Portland (CA-33) and destroyers USS Clark (DD-361), USS Conyngham (DD-371), USS
Reid (DD-369), USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) arrive at Suva,
Fiji Islands from Brisbane, Australia. (Jack McKillop)

Germany: Hitler today demanded the demobilization of the Yugoslav army and
ratification of the Axis Pact. A third demand - that Yugoslavia apologize for
the anti-Nazi demonstrations - is less of a problem for Belgrade. Meanwhile
the Germans are making plans to attack Yugoslavia in line with the Fuhrer's
25th war directive. Yugoslav officials are planning to sign a non-aggression
pact with the Soviet Union. The treaty promises no Enmity between the two
nations and that each country will come to the aid of the other, should one be
attacked by a third party. (Andy Etherington)

IRAQ: A coup is led by the nationalist politician Rashid Ali and a group of
officers opposed to the British presence in the country; they call
themselves the "Golden Square." The Regent Faisal escapes to Transjordan (now
Jordan).
(Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Japanese Foreign Minister MATSUOKA Yosuke, on an official visit to
Rome, has separate meetings with King Victor Emmanuel III and dictator Benito
Mussolini. Matsuoka has arrived from Berlin where he had discussions with
Chancellor Adolf Hitler and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. (Jack
McKillop)

LIBYA: Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame, General Officer Commanding
Western Desert Force, orders the British 2nd Armoured Division to withdraw
towards
Benghazi; the retreat is hampered by the breakdown of most of their tanks..
He also orders the Benghazi garrison to prepare demolition charges and be
prepare to evacuate on 24 hoursâ€™ notice. (John Nicholas, Andy Etherington
and
Jack McKillop)

U.K. The Commons rejects government proposals to allow theatres to open
on Sundays. (Andy Etherington)
RAF Bomber Command: Last night 6 Wellingtons from 9 and 149 Squadrons
attacked the German port of Emden. One specially-modified aircraft from each
squadron dropped a 4,000-pound bomb on the target. Like the 2,000-pounder,
which
was first used last July, this new bomb has a thin, blunt-nosed case packed
with HE. Already nicknamed the "cookie" or "blockbuster" by air and ground
crews. (Andy Etherington) Churchill instructs Wavell to not hesitate to
implement
a full blockade on French Somaliland and its port of Djibouti. (Andy
Etherington)
When a small boy told Alice Stutley, a Cambridge air-raid shelter marshal,
that there was a dead body in the shelter in the park, she thought it was an
April Fool's Day trick. When she finally agreed to go and look she found a man
who had shot himself through the head. The body was that of Jan Willen ter
Braak, a german spy charged with "liquidating" Churchill. He had lodged in
Cambridge since last autumn, posing as a Dutch scientist who was working on
fossils. But frequent visits to London, and to Whitehall in partuicular, soon
alerted the Secret Service. Today they had found a transmitter, a Luger pistol
and a file on Churchill's movements in ter Braak's rooms and were waiting for
him to return. (Andy Etherington)

YUGOSLAVIA: The Senate is dissolved and the government order a general
mobilization. The Yugoslav Army has 900,000 men on active service but with
mobilization, that will be increased to 1.4 million. (Jack McKillop)

1942: British Solomon Islands: In the Solomon Islands, Japanese forces
occupy Buka Island off the north coast of Bougainville Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief India, visiting the
front, agrees to the immediate withdrawal of Burma I Corps to the Allanmyo
area,
north of Prome. The Japanese continue to press in on Prome. Wavell sends a
message to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stating that the Japanese
command of the air is setting the Allied command in Burma an extremely
difficult task. Lieutenant General William J Slim, General Officer Commanding
Burma
Corps, and Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American
Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army,
meet for the first time and are impressed with each other. (John Nicholas and
Jack McKillop)

CHINA: After meeting with British General William J Slim in Burma,
Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell flies to Chungking to meet with
Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-Shek. The meeting is stormy. Stilwell tells Chiang he will resign
because the Chinese generals won't obey his orders. "What a gag," Stilwell
writes.
"I have to tell Chiang Kai Shek with a straight face that his subordinates
are not carrying out his orders, when in all probability they are doing just
what he tells them. In justice to all of them, however, it is expecting a
great deal to have them turn over a couple of armies in a vital area to a
foreigner." (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: During the night of 31 March/1st, the Japanese land on Ceram
Island, Netherlands East Indies. The 1st Detachment occupies the town of Fakfak
and the small Dutch garrison surrenders without a fight.
RAAF Hudsons of Nos. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from Darwin, Northern
Territory, Australia, bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor Island. The
Australians destroy six and damage six aircraft on the ground. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 12 Bostons to attack a
"Q-ship" at Boulogne; clouds are encountered and the dock area is bombed
instead. A Boston is lost. During the night, two targets are hit: (1) 34
Wellingtons and 22 Hampdens are dispatched to attack the port area at Le Havre;
46
bomb and successful bombing is claimed. One Wellington is lost. (2) Twenty
four Whitleys and 17 Wellingtons are dispatched to bomb the Ford Motor Co.
factory in the Paris suburb of Poissy; 34 aircraft attack and crews claim
accurate
bombing but this is not confirmed by a later photographic flight. A
Wellington is lost. Other missions during the night are (1) 11 aircraft laying
mines
off Lorient and in the mouth of the River Gironde and (2) five aircraft
dropping leaflets. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: During the night of the 1st/2nd, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 35
Wellingtons and 14 Hampdens to carry out low-level attacks on railway targets.
Nine aircraft attack the marshalling yard at Hanau but 12 Wellingtons and a
Hampden are lost en route. In other attacks, three aircraft attack the city
of Darmstadt and one hits Frankfurt-am-Main. No 57 Squadron based at Feltwell,
Norfolk, England, lost five of the 12 Wellingtons dispatched while No. 214
Squadron at Stradishall, Suffok, England, lost seven of 14 Wellingtons. (Jack
McKillop)

ICELAND: Nineteen merchant ships of Convoy PQ 13 set sail for the Soviet
Union. They will lose five ships and one of their escorting light cruisers, HMS
Trinidad, will be crippled by German torpedoes. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: Japanese Combined Fleet Headquarters submits a draft of an
operational plan for the Second Phase of operations, in which the Aleutian
Operation
(AL-GO) will be followed by a Midway Operation. (Jack McKillop)

MEDITERRANEAN: Italian light cruiser Giovanni Delle Bande Nere is sunk near
Stromboli Island by British submarine HMS Urge. (John Nicholas and Jack
McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Japanese troops from the Netherlands East Indies land at a
number of points on the Dutch New Guinea coast, from Sorong on the northwestern
tip to Hollandia, during the period 1-20 April; the landings are virtually
unopposed. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
Six USAAF A-24 Dauntlesses based at Port Moresby attack the Japanese at Lae.
(Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Seawolf (SS-197) torpedoes Japanese light cruiser
HIJMS Naka 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Christmas Island south of
Java. British submarine HMS Truant sinks two Japanese merchant cargo ships in
Malacca Strait, 60 miles (97 kilometers) off the coast of Sumatra. (Jack
McKillop)

Philippine Islands: The Japanese Army resumes major attacks against the
US and Filipino forces on Bataan. The 24,000 men there are on 1/4 rations.
(John Nicholas)

SWEDEN: Operation Performance kicks off as ten Norwegian merchant ships in
the port of Gothenberg try to flee through the Skagerrak (the body of water
between Norway and Denmark) to Britain. Five are sunk before they clear the
Skagerrak, one is too badly damaged to continue, two turn back, only two reach
Britain. (Jack McKillop)

U.K.: Admiral Sir A.B. Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet,
is appointed to serve on the Combined Chiefs of Staff Committee in
Washington, D.C. relinquishing his command in the Mediterranean. (Jack
McKillop)

U.S.: The Pacific War Council holds its first meeting at Washington, D.C.
Presided over by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and attended by
representatives of Australia, Canada, China, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the
Philippines
and the U.K., this is the first of more than 30 meetings held during the
war. (Jack McKillop)
The USAAF's Air Corps Proving Ground is redesignated Proving Ground Command,
with its main base at Eglin Field, Valpariso, Florida. The command performs
operational tests and studies of aircraft and aircraft equipment. (Jack
McKillop)
As a result of the immense loss in shipping along the U.S. eastern seaboard,
since January 1942, the U.S. authorities institute a partial convoying
system, known as the â€œBucket Brigade.â€. This meant that ships will sail in
convoy
as close to the coast as possible during daylight hours and anchor in
protected harbors at night. Due to the shortage of escort vessels, continuous
convoying is not possible and the â€œBucket Brigadeâ€system did not apply to
the
Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico. (Jack McKillop)
Transport Squadron Two (VR-2), the first Naval Air Transportation Service
(NATS) squadron for Pacific operations, is established at NAS Alameda,
California. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: A stalemate exists along the entire line. The Germans of Army
Group North are largely concerned during the month with extricating 11 Corps of
the Sixteenth Army from a pocket southeast of Staraya Russa. (Jack McKillop)

1943: In Alaska, a joint directive by Commander-in-Chief, Pacific and
Commanding General Western Defense Command orders preparations for Operation
LANDGRAB, the invasion of Attu Island.
In the Aleutians, the Eleventh Air Force dispatches 16 B-24 Liberators, 5
B-25 Mitchells, and 12 P-38 Lightnings in attacks against Kiska Island from
Adak and Amchitka Islands. Targets include a ship in Gertrude Cove, the North
Head area, the Main Camp and the beach. AA fire damages 2 bombers.
Reconnaissance covers Kiska, Attu, Buldir, and Semichis Islands. (Jack
McKillop)

In the Bismarck Archipelago, Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses attack a
convoy off Kavieng, sinking merchant cargo ship SS Kokoko Maru, and
airfields at Gasmata and Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

In Burma, 16 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Maymyo railroad sheds while 8
others hit the railroad yards at Ywatsung. (Jack McKillop)

In China, a Japanese force of 9 Nakajima Ki-43, Army Type 1 Fighter
Hayabusa, Allied Code Name "Oscar," strafe the airfield at Hengyang and then
fly on
to Lingling Airdrome. They are intercepted in the Lingling area by Fourteenth
Air Force P-40s. The AAF claims 5 fighters shot down and 2 others crash while
returning to base; one P-40 and the pilot are lost. (Jack McKillop)

In the Netherlands East Indies, flights of from 1 to 3 Fifth Air Force B-25s
attack coastal shipping and shore targets over a wide area. (Jack McKillop)

In New Guinea, Fifth Air Force B-17s attack the town of Madang. (Jack
McKillop)

In the Solomons, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) launches Operation I GO to
hit US stockpiles on Guadalcanal, the naval base at Tulagi, and the
incomplete airstrips in the Russells. The Japanese launch 58 Mitsubishi A6M,
Navy
Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied Code Name "Zeke," in two waves to sweep Allied
aircraft from the air over the Russell Islands. They are intercepted by 28 F4F
Wildcats, 8 F4U Corsairs and 6 P-38s. Navy and Marine pilots shoot down 19
IJN aircraft in aerial battles lasting three hours; five Marine and one Navy
aircraft are shot down with the loss of three pilots. (Jack McKillop)

In Tunisia, Ninth Air Force P-40s escort bomber missions. B-25s and A-20
Havocs hit parked airplanes and AA batteries at El Maou Airfield at Sfax.
During the night of 31 March/1 April, RAF Wellingtons of the Northwest African
Air
Force (NAAF) bomb the Bizerte docks and Karouba Bay seaplane base. During
the day, A-20s bomb La Fauconnerie and El Djem Airfields. Fighters, carrying
out reconnaissance missions over wide areas of Tunisia, attack motor
transport, tanks, and guns in the Sidi Mansour-Djebel Tebaga areas. British
medium
and light bombers, and fighters hit gun positions north of Oued el Akarit and
hit the Sfax-El Maou Airfield. (Jack McKillop)

1944: Aircraft of Task Force 58 commence an all-out attack against
Woleai Atoll and a minor raid on Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands. This
concludes three days of attacks against targets in the western Carolines
including
the Palau Islands. During these three days, the USN estimates that the
Japanese lost 150 aircraft in the air and on the ground; and two destroyers,
four
escort ships and several auxiliary and merchant vessels. Aerial mines are
also dropped in the main fleet anchorage in the Palau Islands which will block
it for six weeks. US losses are 58 aircraft and 18 airmen. During the 3 days
of attacks, 130,000 tons of shipping is sunk. (John Nicholas and Jack
McKillop)

The German Force near Skala, USSR is caught between the 1st and 2nd
Ukrainian Fronts.

Paasikivi and Enckell return from Moscow. As Paasikivi notes in his diary,
during the negotiations the Russians, Molotov included, were scrupulously
polite and considerate personally, but absolutely unyielding in negotiations.
Finland has to accept the Soviet demands or the war goes on. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

In Burma, the Tenth Air Force dispatches 14 P-38s to hit a freight train and
damage a factory in the vicinity of Mandalay; near Rangoon, 16 B-24s hit a
railroad station and bomb Akyab while 6 B-25s damage a railroad bridge near
Nattalin; 40 RAF Vengeances attack the Homalin, Paungbyin and Thaungdut areas;
and 10 RAF Vengeances attack Japanese positions near Buthidaung in the Arakan
coastal region. (Jack McKillop)

In the Bismarck Archipelago, 24 Thirteenth Air Force B-25s bomb supply areas
at Wunapope and Ratawul on New Britain Island; 28 P-39 Airacobras and P-40s
hit the Toboi wharf area at Simpson Harbor; 3 P-40s follow with strike on oil
and coal storage in same general area; fighters maintain sweeps over Rabaul
and New Ireland Island throughout the day and B-25s harass Rabaul during the
night of 1/2 April. (Jack McKillop)

In Germany, the Eighth Air Force flies Mission 287 consisting of 440 bombers
and 475 fighters; the target is the chemical industry at Ludwigshafen (the
largest in Europe). The 245 B-17s dispatched of the lead force abandon the
mission over the French coast due to heavy clouds. The 195 B-24s in the second
force became widely dispersed and bomb targets of opportunity; 101 hit
Pforzheim; 38 hit Schaffhausen, Switzerland; 17 hit Strasbourg, France; and 9
hit
Grafenhausen; Schaffhausen and Strasbourg were mistaken as German towns; they
claim 1-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by
280 P-47 Thunderbolts and 195 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs: P-47s
claim 13-1-19 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground 2 P-47s are lost; P-51s claim
5-2-4 aircraft, 2 P-51s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

In Italy, Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack Leghorn harbor, bridges at Orvieto,
and railway track south of Poggibonsi; B-26 Marauders hit Arno River
railroad bridges at Signa, Riva-Trigoso, and Valdarno, while A-20s hit
ammunition
dumps; P-40s hit targets in the vicinity of Gaeta, Formia tunnel, several fuel
dumps, bridges, and guns in the battle areas; P-47s bomb Poggibonsi bridge
and strafe a train; and fighters patrol the Anzio battle area without incident.
(Jack McKillop)

In the Netherlands East Indies, Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Boela on Ceram
Island in Moluccas Islands, and B-25s attack Penfoei on Timor Island in the
Lesser Sunda Islands. (Jack McKillop)

In New Guinea, Fifth Air Force B-25s and A-20s hit the Tadji and Hansa Bay
areas. (Jack McKillop)

In the Solomon Islands, the Thirteenth Air Force dispatches 12 P-38s to
bomb the mission at Monoitu and 12 P-40s hit Numa Numa supply dumps on
Bougainville Island. (Jack McKillop)

Stan Kenton And His Orchestra's record of "Do Nothin' 'Till You Hear From
Me" with vocal by Red Dorris makes it to the Billboard Pop Singles chart. This
is their first single to make the charts and it stays there for 1 week
reaching Number 10. (Jack McKillop)

1945: Operation Iceburg; the invasion of Okinawa begins. Admiral Turner
with TF 51 consists of 1200 transport and landing ships, 450,000 Army and
Marine soldiers. The III Amphibious and XXIV Corps of General Buckner's 10th
Army land in the Hangushi area on the SW side of Okinawa They land against no
resistance. They secure a beachhead of 3 miles by 9 miles by nightfall.
Kadena and Yontan Airfields are captured. US TF 58; British TF 57; and TF 54
(Heavy ships) are also involved. The BB USS West Virginia and CV HMS
Indomitable, receive damage from Kamikaze raids.

The US 1st and 9th Armies link at Lippstadt cutting off the Ruhr. 325,000
men of the German 15th and 5th Panzer Armys under FM Model are surrounded.

In Borneo, Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Oelin Airfield. (Jack McKillop)

In Burma, the Tenth Air Force dispatches 10 B-25s to attack roads and
bridges behind enemy lines in central Burma; 478 transport flights are made
throughout the day.
The British 36 Division forces begin to push down the railroad from
Mandalay to Rangoon. (Jack McKillop)

In Central and Southern Europe, almost 400 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and
B-17s bomb the Maribor, Yugoslavia, railroad bridge, marshalling yards at Sankt
Polten, Selzthal, Zeltweg, Graz, and Villach, Austria, the railroad bridge at
Krieglach, Austria, and gun positions on the Adriatic coast near Venice,
Italy; 82 P-38s bomb the Ybbs, Austria, railroad bridge while 52 P-51s strafe
rail traffic in the Prague-Plzen, Czechoslovakia, area; other P-38s and P-51s
fly reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort. (Jack McKillop)

In China, 7 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the Ft Bayard storage area; 6
B-25s and 6 P-51s attack river shipping and warehouses in the Sienning-Puchi
area; 5 B-25s hit warehouses and other buildings at Hsuchang while 3 damage a
bridge at Changtuikuan; single B-25s bomb targets of opportunity around
Sanshihlitun, Sichuan, Loning, and Suicheng; 23 P-51s pound airfields in the
Shanghai area; 70+ other fighter-bombers attack river, road, and rail traffic,
storage areas, troops, and general targets of opportunity throughout wide areas
of occupied south and eastern
China. (Jack McKillop)

In Formosa, Far East Air Forces (FEAF) B-24s attack Giran Airfield while
B-25s and P-47s sweep wide areas.
Off Formosa, the USN submarine USS Queenfish (SS-393) inadvertently sinks
the Japanese relief ship SS Awa Maru in Formosa Straits. Awa Maru, a cartel
ship, is carrying Red Cross supplies earmarked for distribution to Allied POWs
in Singapore. Guaranteed safe conduct by the U.S. government, Awa Maru is
properly marked and lighted, but Queenfish's commanding officer, Lieutenant
Commander Charles E. Loughlin, does not discern the markings in the foggy
weather
in which his boat encounters the enemy vessel. Loughlin is relieved of his
command for the mistake, and is court-martialed. (Jack McKillop)

In French Indochina, 4 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s attack railroad targets at
Ninh Binh and Minh Koi. (Jack McKillop)

In Italy, during the night of 31 March/1 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and
A-26 Invaders on intruder missions over the Po Valley continue to attack road
and railroad bridges, motor transport, loading points, and other
targets; principal strikes are made at Po River bridges; fighters and
fighter-bombers during the day strike rail bridges, dumps, rail lines,
marshalling yards, trains, vehicles, gun positions, several buildings
(including
an ammunition plant and truck factory), and a variety of targets of
opportunity in the Po Valley and northeastern Italy; B-25s hit railroad bridges
at
Calcinato, Crema, Mantua, Monselice, Colle Isarco, San Ambrogio di
Valpolicella,
and Perea. (Jack McKillop)

In the Philippines, the U.S. Army's 158th Regiment Combat Team lands near
Legaspi, southern Luzon, under cover of naval gunfire and USAAF aircraft.
After the troops encounter only token opposition at the beaches,
considerable opposition develops inland.
On Luzon Island, Far East Air Forces B-24s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit
the Legaspi area in support of the landings above, targets north of Balete
Pass, the Batangas area, and support troops over parts of southern and
northwestern Luzon. In the central Philippine Islands, B-25s and A-20s support
ground
forces near Cebu City on Cebu Island and on Negros
Island. (Jack McKillop)

The Finnish Air Force changes its national insignia from blue swastika to a
white-blue-white roundel. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

2007: AP: Ft Lauderdale, FL Miami Herald By Fox Mulder

The lost squadron Flight 19 has been found says noted author and marine
archeologist Clive Cussler stated Saturday. At about 2:10 p.m. on the afternoon
of 5 December 1945, Flight 19, consisting of five TBM Avenger Torpedo
Bombers (manufactured by the Eastern Aircraft under license from Grumman)
departed
from the U. S. Naval Air Station, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on an
authorized advanced overwater navigational training flight. A radio message
intercepted at about 4 p.m. was the first indication that Flight 19 was lost.
This
message, believed to be between the leader on Flight 19 and another pilot in
the same flight, indicated that the instructor was uncertain of his position
and the direction of the Florida coast. This was the last time they were
ever heard of disappearing in the fabled Bermuda Triangle.One search aircraft
was lost during the operation. A PBM patrol plane which was launched at
approximately 7:30 p.m., 5 December 1945, to search for the missing TBM
's. This aircraft was never seen nor heard from after take-off. Cussler
stated all six planes are in remarkable condition. No remains of the crews
were found, but numerous personal items were recovered including the flight
log of flight leader Charles Taylor. It was wrapped in an oil cloth bag and
was in a great state of preservation. The last entry in the flight log Flight
Leader Taylor made was April Fools Day. Surprised

) (Tony Morano)

Tyree67 · April 2nd

April 2nd in WWII

April 2

We Remember:

1940: China: Chinese Nationalist troops have recaptured the north-
western city of Wuyuan for the second time after ambushing a column of 3,000
Japanese troops. The city which first fell under Japanese control in February,
was recaptured by the Nationalists two weeks ago. However, the Japanese sent in
reinforcements a week ago as a result of which they once more took the city.
Its successful retaking by the Nationalists will give heart to beleaguered
Chinese forces in the south of the country. (Andy Etherington)

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler orders that Operation WESERUBUNG, the
invasion of Norway and Denmark, be carried out. The planned date is 9 April.
(Jack McKillop)

Netherlands: Dutch border garrisons are put on full alert. (Andy
Etherington)

Sweden: The Swedish government receives vague reports of troops and
ships being concentrated in north German ports. (Andy Etherington)

U.K.: Luftwaffe aircraft attack the British naval base at Scapa Flow in the
Orkney Islands. On the return flight, the planes attack lighthouses. (Jack
McKillop)
Mr. John McCabe, a Royal Ordnance Factory assistant foreman, tackled a fire
at the factory; he told others to escape before a blast killed him. For this
he was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal. (Andy Etherington)
RAF Coastal Command: Sunderland flying boat drove off six Ju 88s and shot
one down into the sea. (Andy Etherington)
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. 166 Sqn. K8993 damaged taxiing at Jurby. Flg
Off Hannigan and crew safe. 102 Sqn. N1368 overshot Driffield. Plt Off K.N.
Gray and crew safe. (Andy Etherington)
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE
These two aircraft were Armstrong Whitworth A.W. 38 Whitleys; K8993 was a
Mk. III assigned to No. 166 Squadron based at Abingdon, Berkshire, England,
and N1368 was a Mk. V. assigned to No. 102 Squadron based at Driffield,
Yorkshire, England. (Jack McKillop)
RAF Fighter Command: 2 Luftwaffe a/c attacked over the North Sea, 1
destroyed. No damage done. Over Scapa Flow, 1 German a/c believed brought
down by gunfire. 2 civilians and 1 soldier killed by shell-splinters.
Duncansby Head and Stroma lighthouses struck by machine-gun bullets. (Andy
Etherington)

U.S. In the U.S. the U.S. Fleet departs the West Coast for maneuvers in
Hawaiian waters. Fleet Problem XXI is the last of the large prewar fleet
exercises that mark the culmination of the training year. Conducted in two
phases, Parts II and VI of the annual fleet exercises, it takes place in the
waters
of the Pacific in the vicinity of Hawaii to the westward. Part II exercises
two fleets (the augmented Battle Force vs. the augmented Scouting Force) of
approximately equal strength, one side concentrated and the other widely
dispersed, in scouting, screening, and conducting major fleet engagements. Part
VI
exercises two fleets of approximately equal strength (the same opponents as
in Part II), each dispersed, in scouting, screening, protecting convoys,
seizing and defending advanced bases, and conducting major fleet engagements.
The
worsening world situation will prompt the cancellation of Fleet Problem
XXII. (Jack McKillop)

1941: Atlantic: U-boats attack convoy SC26 from North America,
sinking ten ships. (Andy Etherington)

China: The battle of Shanggao, China ends. (Andy Etherington)
Rumours are afoot in Shanghai, China that one of Germany's 26,000 ton
battleships, either the Scharnhorst or the Gneisenau, is now in the Pacific.
In the same dispatch it is announced that the 8,000-ton German merchantman
Ramses, anchored in Shanghai since the start of the war has left and all US
naval units in the Pacific have been instructed to watch
this vessel closely. (Andy Etherington)

ERITREA: British troops advance from Asmara towards the seaport of Massawa
on the Red Sea. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Heinkel He 280 V1, the first turbojet-powered aircraft designed
as a potential fighter, makes its first flight at Marienehe. The aircraft,
carrying minimum fuel, circles the field once at a maximum height of 900 feet
(274 meters) with the landing gear (undercarriage) down. (Andy Etherington
and Jack McKillop)

Greece: The New Zealand Division under Major-General Sir Bernard
Freyberg completes its concentration on a position stretching from the Greek
Aegean
coast north of Katerini westwards along the south bank of the river Aliakmon.
(Andy Etherington)

HUNGARY: Prime Minister Count Teleki Pâ€¡l commits suicide because he does not
wish to lead his country in collaboration with Germany. The regent, Admiral
Horth, and the new prime minister, Laszlo Bardossy, continue to work with the
Germans. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

LIBYA: Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, commander of the Afrika Korps,
orders the 5th Light Division to continue its advance and take Agedabia. The
British then begin a withdrawal to Antelat, 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast
of
Agedabia. After a number of unit engagements during the day, the British 2nd
Armoured Division is ordered to withdraw to Antelat leaving the coast road to
Benghazi open. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

Mediterranean: The HMS Carrier Ark Royal brings Hurricanes to Malta.
(John Nicholas)

NETHERLANDS: The RAF drops 75,000 tea bags over the country bearing the
words, "Holland will arise. Keep your courage up." (Jack McKillop)

RED SEA: With the British advance on the seaport of Massawa, Eritrea, five
Italian destroyers in port set sail for Port Sudan, Sudan. RAF reconnaissance
aircraft spot the ships and they are attacked by torpedo carrying aircraft
which sink four of them; the fifth is scuttled by her crew. (Jack McKillop)

U.K. RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: In an attempt to entice fighters back
from the Balkans daylight intruder operations are stepped up. 19 sorties are
flown today, nine ships being attacked. (Andy Etherington)

YUGOSLAVIA: The British Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Sir
John Dill, is in Belgrade meeting with the head of the government, General
Dusan
Simovic. Dill is attempting to reach an alliance with Yugoslav officials but
they refuse. (Jack McKillop)
Gerhard Feine, the Counsellor at the German Legation at Belgrade,
Yugoslavia, reported that morale generally was low. People were having
second thoughts about the coup d'etat, and it seemed likely that the
government would be willing to make concessions in order to avoid war,
including adherence to the Tripartite Pact. It is too late though. Feine is
instructed by Berlin to reduce the size of the Legation to four or five
men, destroy all secret files and warn friendly Legations in Belgrade, so
that they could draw their own conclusions. (Andy Etherington)

1942: ATLANTIC: Two unarmed U.S. merchant ships are shelled by
German submarines off the U.S. East Coast: (1) U-123 attacks a tanker about 55
miles (89 kilometers) southeast of Morehead City, North Carolina; a motor
torpedo (PT) boat arrives forcing the sub to leave the area and the ship is
towed
to Morehead City; (2) U-552 shells a freighter about 30 miles (48 kilometers)
off the coast of Virginia and 60 miles (97 kilometers) northeast of Virginia
Beach, Virginia; only three of the 25 crew aboard the freighter survive
(Jack McKillop).

Burma: The British Burma Corps retreats from Prome. (John Nicholas)
In the Andaman Islands off the south coast of Burma, the 10th Air Force
flies its first combat mission; the mission is lead by Major General Lewis
H Brereton, Commanding General 10th Air Force. Two B-17 Flying Fortresses
and an LB-30 Liberator attack shipping during the night of 2/3 April and
claim hits on a cruiser and a transport; 2 B-17's are damaged by AA and
fighters, but all return to base. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek gives Lieutenant General Joseph
Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and
Chief
of Staff of the Chinese Army, a new executive officer, General Lo Cho-Ying,
who is mature and experienced. Stilwell and Lo hurry back down to the
disintegrating Burma front. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: RAF Bomber Command flies three missions during the night of the
2nd/3rd: (1) 40 Wellingtons and ten Stirlings are dispatched to bomb an
armaments
factory in the Paris suburb of Poissy; 44 aircraft bomb the target and one
Wellington is lost: (2) 26 of 49 aircraft dispatched bomb the port area at Le
Havre without loss; and (3) 23 Hampdens and seven Wellingtons lay mines in
Quiberon Bay with the loss on a Hampden and a Wellington. (Jack McKillop)

India: In India, US10th Air Force B-17s are dispatched to attack
Rangoon, Burma. The mission is aborted when 1 B-17 crashes on takeoff, killing
the
entire crew, and the other returns to base with mechanical troubles. (Jack
McKillop)

INDIAN OCEAN: Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville, Commander of the British
Eastern Fleet, changes course for Addu Atoll with the main part of his fleet.
Two heavy cruisers are detached, (1) HMS Dorsetshire is sent to Colombo,
Ceylon, to resume an interrupted refit and (2) HMS Cornwall is sent to escort
convoy SU-4 bound for Aden. The aircraft carrier HMS Hermes with Australian
destroyer HMAS Vampire is detached to return to Trincomalee, Ceylon. (Jack
McKillop)

MALTA: Luftwaffe General Albert Kesselring's Luftflotte 2 commences massive
bombing of Malta, to neutralize the British island. The heavy bombing
depletes Malta-based bombers and submarines, enabling more supply convoys to
reach
Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. (Jack McKillop)
.
U.K.: Prime Minister Winston Churchill receives a letter from U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt stating that his foreign affairs advisor, Harry
Hopkins, and General George S. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, will be
traveling to London. Roosevelt also says that "They will submit to you a plan
which
I hope will be received with enthusiasm by Russia." The plan is for a Second
Front in Europe. The plan has been prepared by Major General Dwight D
Eisenhower. (Jack McKillop)
The USNÃ¢s Task Force Thirty Nine (TF 39) comprised of the battleship USS
Washington (BB 56), the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7), heavy cruisers USS
Tuscaloosa (CA-45) and Wichita and eight destroyers, arrives at Scapa Flow in
the Orkney Islands. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The USAAF changes the designation of Observation Aircraft ("O") being
delivered to Liaison Aircraft ("L") resulting in the following changes:
Stinson O-49 Vigilant redesignated L-1; Taylorcraft O-57 Grasshopper
redesignated
L-2; Aeronca O-58 Grasshopper redesignated L-3; Piper O-59 Cub redesignated
L-4; Stinson O-62 Sentinel redesignated L-5; and Interstate O-63 redesignated
L-6.
The aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) and escorting vessels, sail from San
Francisco, California, with 16 USAAF B-25 Mitchells of the Doolittle attack
group on her deck; Hornet's aircraft are in the hanger deck. That afternoon,
Captain Marc Mitscher informs his men of their mission: a bombing raid on
Japan. (Jack McKillop)ÃŠ
The U.S. Army begins the mass evacuation of all people of Japanese ancestry
from the Pacific Coast. (Jack McKillop)
Glenn Miller and his orchestra record "American Patrol" for Victor Records.
The jitterbug tune became one of Miller's most requested hits. (Jack
McKillop)

1943: U-124 is sunk with all hands west of Oporto, Portugal, by the
British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the armed sloop HMS Black Swan. (Russ
Folsom)

In the Aleutians, the Eleventh Air Force dispatches 18 B-24 Liberators bomb
Kiska targets including North Head while 6 B-25 Mitchells, 16 P-38
Lightnings, and 24 P-40s in 6 missions from Amchitka to Kiska, bomb the
Main Camp and submarine base areas. Four B-24s bomb the runway at Attu. All
aircraft, including 2 B-25s colliding in the air, return safely. (Jack
McKillop)

In the Bismarck Archipelago, Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb the airfields at
Gasmata and Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

In Burma, 8 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Thazi railroad junction. (Jack
McKillop)

In the Caroline Islands, a USN submarine sinks a Japanese transport. (Jack
McKillop)

In Italy during the night of 1/2 April, RAF Liberators, under the
operational control of the Ninth Air Force, bomb the ferry terminal at
Messina and the airfield at Crotone. During the day, 2 Ninth Air Force
B-24s on a special mission bomb the ferry terminals at Messina and Villa
San Giovanni; 27 B-24s sent against Naples find the target totally obscured
by clouds; 9 bomb the area through overcast and 3 bomb Augusta and Crotone.
(Jack McKillop)

In New Guinea, Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs attack the Kitchen Creek area
and the Labiabi-Duali area while single B-24s attack Salamaua, Finschhafen
and the bridge at Rempi. (Jack McKillop)

In Sicily, 24 Ninth Air Force B-24s sent to attack Palermo abort because of
heavy clouds over the target. (Jack McKillop)

In the Solomons, Thirteenth Air Force P-38s and P-40s attack and set fire
to a small cargo vessel in Kokolope Bay. (Jack McKillop)

In Tunisia, Ninth Air Force P-40's fly 9 armored reconnaissance and 6
fighter-bomber and escort missions.
Northwest African Air Force B-25s and A-20s bomb the airfield at La
Fauconnerie, Tunisia. (Jack McKillop)

1944: The Soviets enter Rumania across the Prat River near Chernovtsy

British troops advance between Kohnina and Impaha, India.

In Austria, Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack targets at Steyr:
125 B-17s and 30 B-24s bomb the ball bearing plant and 168 B-24s hit the
Daimler-Puch aircraft components factory and the depot at the Steyr
Airfield. P-38s and P-47 Thunderbolts fly 150+ sorties in support of the
bombers; hundreds of enemy fighters oppose the missions and fierce air
battles result in 19 bombers shot down and several missing; the AAF shoots
down 33 Luftwaffe aircraft against the loss of one P-38. (Jack McKillop)

In the Bismarck Archipelago, 40+ Thirteenth Air Force fighter-bombers over
Rabaul on New Britain Island, hit the southeastern part of town, the Toboi
wharf area, and northern section of town along the Malaguna road; and 7
B-25s hit Raluana Point while 23 pound Lakunai.
Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb Rambutyo Island. (Jack McKillop)

In Burma, 12 Tenth Air Force P-40s bomb Kamaing while 6 P-51 Mustangs over
the Katha area hit trucks near Bhamo and a storage area at Indaw. Twelve RAF
Vengeances attack Japanese troops near Buthidaung. (Jack McKillop)

In the Caroline Islands, Seventh Air Force B-24s from Eniwetok Atoll in the
Marshall Islands hit Truk Atoll during the night of 1/2 April.
During the day, 31 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s fly a strike against
Dublon Island, Truk Atoll, causing considerable damage to the warehouse and
dock areas; the bombers claim 30+ fighters downed; 4 B-24s are lost. (Jack
McKillop)

In China, 2 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s on a sea sweep from Hong Kong to
Formosa bomb a 215-foot (66 meter) ship (reported sunk) and damage a large
motor launch. (Jack McKillop)

In India, the first operational XX Bomber Command B-29 Superfortress,
piloted by Colonel Leonard F Harman, lands at Chakulia. (Jack McKillop)

In Italy, Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26 Marauders attack railroad
bridges at Arezzo, Fano, Ficulle, Magra, north of Orvieto, and south of
Poggibonsi, scoring some direct hits, hits on approaches, and several near
misses; fighter-bombers hit trucks and the railroad station at Fara in
Sabina and east and north of Anzio, attack the Formia tunnel, fly armed
reconnaissance over the Atina and Arce areas, bomb a factory and buildings
north of Cassino, the town of Pignataro Interamna and numerous bridges,
dumps, gun positions and targets of opportunity in or around the battle
areas. (Jack McKillop)

In the Marshall Islands, Seventh Air Force B-25s bomb Jaluit and Maloelap
Atolls.
The USN's Task Unit 57.10.9, composed of destroyer escort USS Sanders
(DE-40), tank landing ship USS LST-127 and infantry landing craft LCI-346
and LCI-449 occupies Mejit Island. The small Japanese force that opposes
the occupation is wiped out by gunfire support provided by the LCIs. (Jack
McKillop)

In the Netherlands East Indies, Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb Dili and Penfoei
on Timor Island. (Jack McKillop)

In New Guinea, 120+ Fifth Air Force bombers and fighters continue to hit
targets in areas around Wewak, Hansa Bay, Madang, Bogadjim, and other points
along the northeastern coastline. (Jack McKillop)

In Yugoslavia, the Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 29 B-17s and 63 B-24s to
attack three targets: 35 B-24s bomb the Bihac marshalling yard, 28 B-24s
bomb an air depot at Mostar, and the B-17s bomb a marshalling yard at Brod.
The P-47 escorts shoot down three Bf-109s. (Jack McKillop)

1945: British 2nd Army advances north of Ruhr. MÅ¸nster is taken. The
Canadian 1st Army advances N. and E. between Nijmegan and Emmerith.

The US 163rd Regiment lands at Tawitawi in the Phillipine Islands in the
Sulu Archipeligo.
Amplifying the above:
This was the 163d Regimental Combat Team (Reinforced) which landed on Sanga
Sanga Island (5.04N,119.46E) in the Sulu Archipelago, Philippine Islands.
Filipino guerrillas had cleared the island in March so the 163d did not
encounter any opposition. Three USN destroyers supported the landing. (Jack
McKillop)

Off Okinawa, 4 US transports are damaged by Kamikaze forces.
Amplifying the above:
The four ships were the attack transports USS Henrico (APA-45) and USS
Goodhue (APA-107), and the attack cargo ships USS Achernar (AKA-53 and USS
Tyrrell (AKA-80). Two other ships damaged by kamikazes are the high-speed
transport USS Dickerson (APD-21) and infantry landing craft (gunboat) USS
LCI(G)-568. The attack transport USS Chilton (APA-38) is damaged by a near-miss
of a
kamikaze and attack cargo ship USS Lacerta (AKA-29) is damaged by friendly
fire.
Other ships damaged off Okinawa today include:
The destroyer USS Franks (DD-554) which collides with the battleship USS New
Jersey (BB-62).
The destroyer USS Borie (DD-704) which collides with the aircraft carrier
USS Essex (CV-9).
The destroyer escort USS Foreman (DE-633) which is struck by a bomb.
(Jack McKillop)

In the Aleutians, an Eleventh Air Force B-24 on weather reconnaissance
returns early due to mechanical trouble; another B-24 investigates radar
jamming on Kresta Point on Attu Island. (Jack McKillop)

In Austria, almost 600 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and B-17s, with fighter
escorts, bomb communications targets including the marshalling yards at
Graz, Sankt Polten, and Krems, and a railroad bridge on the Sulm River; 38
P-38s dive-bomb a railroad bridge at Wildon; 71 P-38s and
55 P-51s strafe Vienna-Munich, Germany and Wiener-Neustadt-Maribor,
Yugoslavia rail traffic; others carry out photo and weather reconnaissance
and reconnaissance escort flights. (Jack McKillop)

In Borneo, Far East Air Force B-24s hit the Sandakan shipyards and Tawau
Airfield. (Jack McKillop)

In Burma, bad weather cancels all Tenth Air Force offensive missions; air
supply missions continue with 469 sorties being flown to forward areas.
(Jack McKillop)

In China, 25 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s attack trucks, tanks, rivercraft,
and targets of opportunity at Sichuan, Neihsiang, Sinyang, Mingkiang,
Siangtan, Kweiping, Nanning, and Hengshan; 4 B-24s bomb the Kowloon Docks
in Hong Kong and hit shipping at Bakli and Samah Bays on Hainan Island; 32
P-51s pound airfields in the Shanghai area; 140+ other fighter-bombers
attack numerous targets scattered throughout southern and eastern China,
including troops, trucks, horses, river shipping, bridges, gun positions,
airfields, rail traffic, and town areas.
The Fifth Air Force dispatches 37 Fifth B-24s, escorted by fighters, to
bomb the harbor at Hong Kong. (Jack McKillop)

In Denmark, the Eighth Air Force flies 2 missions. Mission 922: 447 B-17s,
261 B-24s and 572 P-47s and P-51s are dispatched against 6 airfields but
are recalled because of bad weather in the target area; a B-17 and a P-47
are lost.
Mission 923: During the night of 2/3 April, 9 B-24s drop leaflets in
the Netherlands, France and Germany without loss and 10 B-24s fly
CARPETBAGGER missions to Denmark without loss. (Jack McKillop)

In French Indochina, 28 Tenth Air Force B-25s knock out a bridge southeast
of That Khe, bomb the town area of Vinh, damage the bridge approaches at
Kep, hit shipping and other targets of opportunity along the coast of the
Gulf of Tonkin, and bomb the town area of Luc Nam.
Off the coast, the USN submarine USS Hardhead (SS-365) lays mines off
Cape Camau. (Jack McKillop)

In Germany, weather prevents operations by the 9th Bombardment Division and
XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional). In Germany, the IX and XIX
Tactical Air Commands fly patrols and armed reconnaissance over wide
expanses of the country claiming 17 airplanes downed and the IX Tactical
Air Command supports the US 9th Armored Division at the Diemel River
bridgehead near Warburg. (Jack McKillop)

In Italy, Major General Benjamin W Chidlaw takes command of the Twelfth Air
Force and will shortly take over command of the Mediterranean Allied
Tactical Air Force (MATAF) also.
Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26 Invaders continue intruder missions
during the night of 1/2 April concentrating on Po River crossings and other
Po Valley communications targets; B-25s bomb railroad bridges at Fornovo di
Taro, Drauburg, San Michele all' Adige, Matrei am Brenner, Steinach, and
Colle Isarco, and a railroad fill at Vo Sinistro; fighters and
fighter-bombers again hit communications in the Po Valley but divert
sizeable effort to attacks on methane plants in the central Po area; the
P-47s are attacked by about 40 fighters during the day, 13 are claimed
destroyed. (Jack McKillop)

In Japan, 3 missions are flown by the XXI Bomber Command:
- Mission 51: 115 B-29s bomb the Nakajima aircraft factory at Tokyo;
they claim 1-1-0 Japanese aircraft; 6 B-29s are lost.
- Mission 52: During the night of 1/2 April, 6 B-29s mine the harbor at
Kure on Honshu Island between 0000 and 0400 hours local without loss.
- Mission 53: During the night of 2/3 April, 9 B-29s mine the harbor at
Hiroshima on Honshu without loss. (Jack McKillop)

In the North Pacific, 12 Guam-based Seventh Air Force B-24s bomb Marcus
Island. (Jack McKillop)

Off Okinawa, aircraft of Task Group 58.4 carriers sink three Japanese ships
near Amami-Oshima. (Jack McKillop)

In the Pacific, RN and USN submarines sink four Japanese ships. (Jack
McKillop)

In the Philippines, US Army troops capture La Carolta and Talisay Airfields
on Negros Island.
On Luzon, Far East Air Force B-25s and fighter-bombers attack the
Bamban bridges, the Balete Pass-Baguio area and Penablanca. Japanese troops
at Cebu City on Cebu Island and on Negros Island are bombed by B-25s and
fighter bombers. B-24s bomb the Sarangani Bay area on Mindanao Island and also
bomb Bongao Island. (Jack McKillop)

Tyree67 · april 3rd

April 3rd in WWII

April 3

We Remember:

1934: GERMANY: The government makes a token payment on the mixed claims
and costs of the army of occupation to the U.S. The principal installment is p
ostponed in accordance with the provisions of the debt agreement. (Jack
McKillop)

1939: GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler issues a war directive marked "Most
Secret" and has it delivered by hand to his senior war commanders. "Since
the situation on Germany's eastern frontier has become intolerable and all
political possibilities have been exhausted," it begins, "I have decided upon a
solution by force." Preparations for the attack on Poland, "Case White"
(Operation White), "must be made so that the operation can be carried out any
time
from 1 September 1939." (Jack McKillop)

U.K.: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain repeats the guarantee to Poland of
31 March, emphasizing its departure from traditional British ideas of policy,
and mentioned the possible necessity of extending it to other countries.
(Jack McKillop)

1940: Germany: A Dutch assistant military attache, in Berlin, passes
onto the Danes and Norwegians information that something is afoot in the
north German ports. (Andy Etherington)

LUXEMBOURG: The government announces plans for the emergency evacuation of
Luxembourg City. (Jack McKillop)

Norway: The first German troops leave for Norway. The supply ships bound
for Narvik are disguised as cargo ships. Over the next few days 26 merchantmen
carrying 8,105 tons of Army stores, 2,660 vehicles and 1,641 horses set out,
plus four tankers with fuel for the warships that would be carrying the
invasion force. (Andy Etherington)

U.K.: There is a cabinet shuffle in Prime Minister Neville ChamberlainÃ¢s
government. Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield resigns his post as Minister
for the Co-ordination of Defence; Winston Churchill is appointed to chair the
Ministerial Defence Committee, a significant increase in his responsibilities.
Berlin says that Churchill has been promoted from "warmonger" to "grand
warmonger." One of Churchill's first acts in his new post is to obtain final
consent for the mining of the Norwegian territorial waters, six months after he
first made the proposal. Churchill raised it soon after the outbreak of the
war as a means of exploiting Britain's superiority at sea. Then, Chamberlain
rejected it; now, influenced by reports of planned German moves against Norway,
he has changed his mind. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
Also, Lord Woolton becomes Minister of Food. Perhaps his most famous
initiative in this office is the invention of the "Woolton Pie," intended to be
a
nourishing and appetizing use of ration materials but it is not widely liked.
The ingredients and cooking instructions are: the vegetables could be changed
according to what was available at the time: 500 grams (17.6 ounces)
potatoes; 500 grams cauliflower; 500 grams swede; 500 grams carrots; 1 teaspoon
marmite (marmite is a dark brown-colored savory spread made from the yeast that
is
a by-product of the brewing industry); 25 grams (0.9 ounces) oatmeal: four
sping onions: 750 grams (26 ounces) potatoes: 25 grams (0.9 ounces) cheese. To
cook, (1) Dice and boil 500 grams (17.6 ounces) of potatoes, cauliflower,
swede and carrots in salted water. (2) Strain the vegetables, and save 200
milliliters (6.7 ounces) of cooking water. (3) Arrange the cooked vegetables in
a
large pie dish. (4) Add the marmite and oatmeal to the vegeta
ble water and boil until thickened. (5) Pour the thickened liquid over the
vegetables. (6) Add the chopped spring onions. (7) Boil and mash the remaining
750 grams (26 ounces) of potatoes. (8) Top the pie with mashed potato and a
little grated cheese. (9) Heat the pie in a moderately hot oven until golden
brown (approximately one hour). (10) Serve with brown gravy. (John Nicholas,
Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
A Heinkel shoots down a Spitfire of 41 Squadron, RAF Fighter Command, over
the Yorkshire coast. The Heinkel is also lost and a trawler sunk. (Andy
Etherington)
Air Marshal Charles Portal has been made C-in-C of RAF Bomber Command in
succession to the much respected Air Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt, who
becomes Inspector General of the RAF. Portal is a brilliant Staff Officer
with an analytical mind who sometimes loses sight of the sensibilities of his
colleagues. He is the favourite disciple of Lord Trenchard, the "Father of the
RAF", and faithfully follows his mentor's advocacy of al out attack by
bombers. Despite the success by Stuka dive-bombers supporting land forces,
Portal
is an opponent of co-operation between Bomber Command and the army. (Andy
Etherington)

1941: Atlantic: U-boats sink four ships on the 29th meridian, one
day before their escort reaches them. (Andy Etherington)

EGYPT: After receiving a brisk cable from Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief Middle East Command, decides to
replace Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame, General Officer Commanding
Western Desert Force, with Lieutenant General Richard OÃ¢Connor.

HUNGARY: Prime Minister Count Teleki Pâ€¡l, who committed suicide yesterday,
is succeeded by the notoriously pro-German Foreign Minister Laszlo Bardossy
who retains his foreign affairs portfolio.
Count Teleki, was not prepared to give in to Hitler, but unable to stand out
against his demands without plunging Hungary into war. He left a letter
addressed to Admiral Horthy, the regent, "You will understand that I am unable
to
carry on in the face of the spectre of war." (Andy Etherington, Jack
McKillop)

IRAQ: A coup d'etat is led by the nationalist politician General Rashid Ali
el Gailani and a group of officers calling themselves the "Golden Square;"
the group is opposed to the British presence in the country. The Regent Emir
Abdul Illah escapes to Transjordan (now Jordan) and by 3 April, a new
government has been installed. The Soviet Union recognises the new government
at
once, it was the first to do so, and the Luftwaffe makes plans to set up an
airlift to Iraq. A 1930 agreement between Iraq and Britain had granted the
British
two bases there: Shuaiba, south of Basra, and Habbaniya, an important RAF
base and training camp in the Euphrates Valley about 48 miles (77 kilombers)
west of Baghdad. It was from Habbaniya that the British had flown their March
1940 espionage flights over Baku and Batum in the Soviet Union. As a result of
the coup, the British send troops from India and the Middle East to ensure
access to the vital oil supplies. (John Nicholas, Andy Etherington a
nd Jack McKillop)

LIBYA: The British 2nd Armoured Division is authorized to withdraw from
Benghazi through El Regima. On learning that the British have evacuated
Benghazi,
Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, commander of the Afrika Korps, orders his
troops to advance on to the city during the night. (Andy Etherington, Jack
McKillop)

RED SEA: The eight Italian destroyers and torpedoes boats remaining at
Massawa, Eritrea, sortie from the port. The destroyers are sighted north of
Massawa and are attacked by Swordfish Mk. I aircraft of Nos 813 and 824
Squadrons
assigned to the aircraft HMS Eagle but operating from Port Sudan, Sudan, to
cover local troop activities. The destroyers Daniel Manin and Nazario Sauro are
sunk and the destroyers Pantera, Tigre and Cesare Battisti are scuttled near
Massawa.
Only one of the antiquated Italian motor torpedo boats at Massawa, MAS-213,
was still seaworthy in April 1941. It sorties against the British fleet
offshore and managed to close within 300 yards (274 meters) and put a torpedo
into
the light cruiser HMS Capetown, which was damaged so badly it had to be
towed back to Port Sudan. After the attack MAS-213 is scuttled. (Andy
Etherington, Mike Yakich and Jack McKillop)

In the Pacific, the USN's heavy cruisers USS Chicago (CA-29) and USS
Portland (CA-33) and destroyers USS Clark (DD-361), USS Conyngham (DD-371),
USS
Reid DD-369), USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) depart Suva, Fiji
Islands, for Pearl Harbor. (Jack McKillop)

Vichy France: The Vichy French Jewish affairs commissioner, Xavier Vallat,
meets the German ambassador, Otto Abetz, to agree measures to speed Jewish
"emigration." (Andy Etherington)

U.K.: The British government severs diplomatic relations with Hungary.
(Jack McKillop)
Bristol suffers a heavy night raid. (Andy Etherington)

YUGOSLAVIA: German diplomats leave Belgrade. (Jack McKillop)

1942: ATLANTIC: Two U.S. merchant ships are sunk by German submarines:
(1) a freighter, en route to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., from
Takoradi, Gold Coast, is torpedoed and sunk by U-754 about 250 miles (402
kilometers) east of Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.A.; and (2) a freighter en
route to
Takoradi, Gold Coast, from Marshall, Liberia, is torpedoed by U-505 about 240
miles south southwest of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and abandoned. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: The USAAFÃ¢s Air Transport Command activates two transport
squadrons, one at Archerfield Aerodrome near Brisbane, Queensland, and the
second at
Essendon Aerodrome near Melbourne, Victoria. The squadrons are equipped with
various transport aircraft. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: The Burma I Corps continues a northward withdrawal from the Allanmyo
area although not under enemy pressure. In the Sittang Valley, Lieutenant
General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma
and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, begins deploying the Chinese
for a stand at Pyinmana. The Chinese 22d Division is to fall back gradually
on Pyinmana, where the Chinese 96th Division is to take over. (Jack McKillop)
Japanese bombers attack Mandalay, killing 2000 and destroying much of the
city. (Jack McKillop)
Six USAAF 10th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses from Asansol Airdrome,
India, bomb warehouses and docks at Rangoon starting three large fires; one
B-17
fails to return. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: RAAF Hudsons of Nos. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from Darwin,
Northern Territory, Australia, bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor
Island. The Australians destroy four and damage two aircraft on the ground.
(Jack
McKillop)

HAWAII: Admiral Chester W Nimitz assumes command of Pacific Ocean Areas
(POA). POA comprises North, Central, Southeast and South Pacific Areas, all
under
overall command of Admiral Nimitz as Commander-in-Chief POA. The Southeast
Pacific Area had been established on 8 December 1941 and is commanded by Rear
Admiral John F Shafroth. The South Pacific Area is officially established on
20 April and North Pacific Area on 17 May. Nimitz retains his position as
Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC). (Jack McKillop)
Light minelayers USS Pruitt (DM-22), Preble (DM-20), Sicard (DM-21), and
Tracy (DM-19) mine French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiian Group, to prevent Japanese
submarines from using the area as a refueling point for flying boat raids on
Oahu. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: The Japanese open an all-out offensive against the
Bataan line, which is by now under strength, undernourished, poorly clothed and
equipped, and battle weary. After air and artillery bombardment, lasting from
1000 until 1500 hours, the Japanese move forward, making their main effort
against Sector D, the west flank of the II Corps, where the 41st and 21st
Divisions, Philippine Army (PA), are thinly spread and dazed as result of the
preliminary bombardment. The 41st, on the west, gives way and is rendered
virtually ineffective as a fighting force, although a regiment on extreme west
succeeds in withdrawing in an orderly fashion. A battalion on the flank of the
21st Division is forced to pull back. An effort to re-establish the line of the
41st Division after dark is partially successful. The only corps reserve
unit, the 33d Infantry (PA), less the 1st Battalion, is released to Sector D as
is the Provisional Tank Group (-) of the Luzon Force reserve. In the
I Corps sector to the west, the Japanese succeed in reaching the main line
of resistance on the eastern flank but are unable to pierce it. (Jack
McKillop)

U.S. The motion picture "Jungle Book" is released in the U.S. This
action adventure fantasy, directed by Zoltan Korda, starred Sabu and Rosemary
DeCamp. The plot involves a boy raised by wolves in India who is adopted by Ms.
DeCamp. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards. (Jack McKillop)

1943: In the Atlantic, German submarine U-156 sinks an armed US tanker
off Key West, Florida. (Jack McKillop)

In the Bismarck Archipelago, Fifth Air Force B-17s attack shipping and the
airfield at Kavieng on New Ireland Island sinking a transport while single
B-24 Liberators bomb Kavieng and damage a heavy cruiser and a destroyer.
(Jack McKillop)

In Burma, 17 Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, operating in 2 forces, bomb
the Myitnge bridge, scoring hits on both approaches. (Jack McKillop)

In New Guinea, Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs hit Kitchen Creek while single
B-24s bomb Korindindi. (Jack McKillop)

In the Pacific, two USN submarines sink a fleet tanker and a submarine
chaser. The latter vessel is sunk by USS Pickerel (SS-177), CO Augustus H.
Alston, Jr, which is subsequently sunk off northern Honshu, Japan. All hands
lost. (Jack McKillop and Joe Sauder)

In Tunisia, Ninth Air Force B-25's the bomb El Maou Airdrome in the Sfax
area during the night of 2/3 April. P-40's fly fighter-bomber missions
north of Gabes.
Northwest African Air Force fighters strafe tanks and trucks at Kebira
and Jabal Nasir Allah, and claim 13 Junkers Ju-87s downed in aerial combat
over Djebel Berda. B-25s bomb the airfield at Sainte-Marie du Zit. Western
Desert Air Force light bombers hit motor transport and gun positions north
of Oued el Akarit. (Jack McKillop)

Actor Conrad Veidt dies of a heart attack in Hollywood, California at age
50. Veidt, born in Potsdam, Germany, first appeared in films in Germany in
1917. Being Jewish, he and his wife fled Germany in 1933 when Hitler rose to
power and settled in England where he became a British subject in 1939. In
1940,
he came to the U.S. and acted in nine American films before his death.
Perhaps his most notable role was as Luftwaffe Major Heinrich Strasser in the
classic film "Casablanca." Unfortunately, Veidt never realized what a big hit
the
film "Casablanca" would become; it is now ranked as the second best film,
behind "Citizen Kane," on the American Film Institutes top 100 films. (Jack
McKillop)

1944: The German BB Tirpitz is attacked by British Barracuda bombers
from CV HMS Victorious and HMS Furious along with 4 CVE from the Home
Fleet. The damage will keep Tirpitz out of action for 3 months.

The German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop orders all deliveries of food
supplies to Finland to cease. This is in retaliation to the Finnish
peace-probes, which the Germans have discovered, apparently from their spies in
the
Swedish airport which the Finnish envoys used in their trip. This embargo puts
Finland in a very hard position; because of the wartime, the majority of
Finnish
supplies come from Germany or countries allied to it.
Already on 28 March the German representative at the Finnish GHQ, General
der Infanterie Waldemar Erfurth, had threatened the Finnish Chief of General
Staff, General of Infantry Erik Heinrichs, that Finland will suffer the same
fate as Hungary, which Germany recently occupied, if she tries to make peace
with the Soviet Union. Heinrichs answers that Finland is not a German ally like
Hungary, but the threat is taken very seriously by the Finnish military
leadership. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

In the Bismarck Archipelago, 23 Thirteenth Air Force B-25s bomb the
northeastern section of Rabaul on New Britain Island; this strike follows a
larger than usual (6 B-25s) heckling raid during the night of 2/3 April. In
other raids, 50+ fighter-bombers blast fuel stores at Keravia Bay on New
Britain. (Jack McKillop)

In Burma, 4 Tenth Air Force B-25s damage the Tangon bridge while 6 P-51
Mustangs hit Anisakan airstrip in the Mandalay area; 20+ fighter-bombers
and 6 B-25s hit targets of opportunity south of Mupaw Ga and west of
Mogaung, troops near Bhamo, and knock out a bridge near Mogaung; during the
night of 3/4 April 16 B-24s bomb oil and power facilities at Yenangyaung,
Chauk, and Lanywa while 8 P-38 Lightnings hit Meiktila Airfield. (Jack
McKillop)

In the Caroline Islands, Seventh Air Force B-24s, staging through Eniwetok
Atoll during the night of 2/3 April, bomb Truk Atoll. B-25s from Abemama
Island follow with a daytime attack on Ponape Island. (Jack McKillop)

In China, 4 rocket-firing Fourteenth Air Force P-40s, with 8 other as top
cover, damage 2 large river boats between Hengyang and Ichang. (Jack
McKillop)

In Eastern Europe, 450+ Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb targets in
Hungary and Yugoslavia; the B-17s hit an aircraft factory in Budapest,
Hungary and a marshalling yard at Brod, Yugoslavia; the B-24s hit a
marshalling yard at Budapest; 137 fighters escort the B-17s (B-24s miss the
rendezvous) to Budapest; the bombers and escorting fighters claim 24 enemy
aircraft shot down. (Jack McKillop)

In England, because of a combat crew shortage which has caused abolition of
the 50-mission limit tour of duty and resulted in fatigue and morale
problems, IX Bomber Command establishes a new operational leave policy.
Maximum leaves for bomber crews are set at 1 week between the 25th and 30th
missions and 2 weeks between the 40th and 50th missions. (Jack McKillop)

In French Indochina, 4 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s flying a Red River sweep
from Vinh Yen to Dong Cuong sink 4 small boats, damage 3 more, and strafe
50-100 persons at a loading point on the river; and 3 B-24s lay mines in the
Haiphong area. (Jack McKillop)

In Italy, Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack railway bridges at
Orvieto, cutting approaches to a bridge to the north of town; other medium
bomber attacks on bridges abort because of weather but light bombers
successfully bomb an ammunition dump; A-36 Apaches attack the railway at
Attigliano and bomb an underpass in the area, while P-40s hit Sesti Bagni
railroad station, a supply dump southeast of Frosinone, the town of Itri, a
bivouac area northwest of Velletri and several trucks; and P-47
Thunderbolts successfully bomb Pignataro Interamna and nearby road
junction. (Jack McKillop)

In the Marshall Islands, Seventh Air Force B-25s from Abemama and Tarawa
Atoll hit Maloelap and Jaluit Atolls. (Jack McKillop)

In the Netherlands East Indies, Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Langgoer and
B-25s bomb the Babo area and Penfoei on Timor Island. (Jack McKillop)

In New Guinea, 300+ Fifth Air Force B-24s, B-25s, A-20 Havocs, and P-38s
blast airfields at Hollandia; most of the remaining Japanese airplanes
there are destroyed; of 60 intercepting Japanese fighters, 26 are claimed
shot down; air opposition from Hollandia is very light hereafter; 50+
P-40s, P-47s, and P-39 Airacobras hit villages, communications, AA
positions, and other targets in areas around Wewak, Hansa Bay, Bogia and
Madang. (Jack McKillop)

In the Pacific, US submarine USS Pollack (SS-180) sinks an Japanese Army
cargo ship south of Japan. (Jack McKillop)

In the Solomons, Thirteenth Air Force USAAF and USN fighters strafe the
Numa Numa trail area on Bougainville and maintain patrols. (Jack McKillop)

1945: Wiener Neustadt falls to the Soviets

In Austria, 95 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s divebomb the Tainach-Stein
railroad bridge in Austria; other P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance and escort
missions; bad weather prevents bomber operations. (Jack McKillop)

In Burma, bad weather again causes cancellation of most scheduled strikes; a
few Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit a Japanese-held wooded area near
Kenglong; transports complete 383 sorties to forward areas. (Jack McKillop)

In China, 17 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Pinglo railroad yards and
60+ fighter-bombers knock out bridges at Hsitu and between Chuting and
Hengyang, destroy pontoon bridges in the Kanchou area, hit Yangtong airfield,
and
the Tayu, Hankow, Kanchou, Yoyang, and Ishan-
Hwaiyuanchen areas.
37 Fifth Air Force B-24s, escorted by fighters, bomb Japanese shipping in
Hong Kong harbor, sinking 2 cargo vessels and damaging an escort vessel. (Jack
McKillop)

In Formosa, Fifth Air Force B-24s and B-25s hit the airfield, butanol plant,
and railroad yards at Kagi, Formosa while A-20s sweep other rail targets.
(Jack McKillop)

In French Indochina, 28 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s attack the Ninh Binh
railroad yards, knock out a bridge at Thinh Duc, and damage bridges at Gian
Khau
and Mon Cay. Fighter-bombers pound the Hai Duong railroad yards, and hit
river traffic and other targets of opportunity at several locations including
Hongay, and Cao Bang. (Jack McKillop)

In Germany during Mission 924, over 693 Eighth Air Force B-17s, escorted by
517 P-51s, attack the Deutsche U-boat yards at Kiel destroying submarines
U-1221, U-2542, and U-3505; 2 B-17s and 2 P-51s are lost.
The Ninth Air Force dispatches about 230 B-26 Marauders, A-20s and A-26
Invaders to attack Holzminden and Hameln marshalling yards, the town of
Gottingen, 2 targets of opportunity, and fly a leaflet mission; fighters fly
escort,
fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, support the US 9th Armored Division in
the Warburg area, the XX Corps east of the Werra River toward Muhlhausen and
in the Kassel area, the XII Corps in the Gotha and Suhl areas, and the 2d and
8th Armored
Divisions in the Teutoburger Forest and Neuhaus.
Wiener Neustadt falls to the Soviets. (Jack McKillop)

In Italy during the night of 2/3 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s bomb the
marshalling yard at Mantua, several Po River crossings and other communications
targets in the Po Valley; weather hampers operations during the day; medium
bombers cancel most missions, but B-25s manage to bomb the Po Valley bridges
at Camposanto, Usigliano, and Modena; the XXII Tactical Air Command [including
Brazilian and South African Air Force units] attack communications, fuel
dumps, methane plants, trains, motor transport at numerous points in northern
Italy (mainly in the Po Valley), including Parma, Modena, Fidenza, Lodi,
Bergamo, Reggio Emilia, and Piacenza. (Jack McKillop)

In Japan, the XXI Bomber Command flies 4 missions during the night and
early morning hours of 3/4 April:
- Mission 54: 9 B-29 Superfortresses mine the waters off Hiroshima without
loss.
- Mission 55: In the early morning, 48 B-29s bomb the aircraft plant at
Shizuoka without loss.
- Mission 56: 43 B-29s attack the Koizumi aircraft factory and 18 hit the
urban areas in Tokyo as a target of opportunity; they claim 1-0-0 Japanese
aircraft.
- Mission 57: 61 B-29s strike the aircraft plant at Tachikawa and 49 hit the
urban area of Kawasaki as a target of opportunity; 1 B-29 is lost. (Jack
McKillop)

Off Okinawa, the USN escort aircraft carrier USS Wake Island (CVE-65) is
attacked by two kamikazes. At 1744 hours, a Japanese single-engine plane
plunged
at the ship from a high angle and missed the port forward corner of the
flight deck, exploding in the water abreast the forecastle. Thirty seconds
later,
a second similar plane whistled down on the starboard side at tremendous
speed, narrowly missing the bridge structure and plunging into the water about
10 feet (3 meters) from the hull. The plane exploded after impact, ripping a
hole in the shipÃ¢s side below the waterline, about 45 feet (13.72 meters) long
and about 18 feet (5.49 meters) from top to bottom and making many shrapnel
holes. Parts of the plane were thrown onto the forecastle and into the gun
sponsons. Various compartments were flooded, and the shell plating cracked
between the first and second decks. Other shell plating buckled, and the main
condensers were flooded with salt water, contaminating some 30,000 U
S gallons (24,980 Imperial gallons or 113,562 liters) of fresh water and
70,000 US gallons (58,287 Imperial gallons or 264,979 liters) of fuel oil. At
1824 hours, salting made
it necessary to secure the forward engine, and the ship proceeded on one
propeller. Remarkably, there were no injuries; and, by 2140 hours, corrective
measures had been taken, and the ship was again steaming on both engines. The
next day, the ship steamed to Kerama Retto anchorage with destroyer escorts
USS Dennis (DE-405) and USS Goss (DE-444) for inspection and temporary repairs.
The ship sailed for Guam on 6 April.
Other ships damaged by kamikazes include the high speed minesweeper USS
Hambleton (DMS-20) and the tank landing ships USS LST-599. (Jack McKillop)

In the Philippines, on Luzon Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers and A-20s
hit the Balete Pass-Baguio-Naguilian area north of the Cagayan Valley supply
targets, the Laguna de Bay area, and Infanta, and troops in the Cebu City area
on Cebu Island.
The US 108th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division lands on
Masbate Island, located west of Leyte, to assist the guerrillas fighting the
Japanese. (Jack McKillop)

1946: Lt. General Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for
the
Bataan Death March, was executed in the Philippines. (Tony Morano)

Tyree67 · April 4th

April 4th in WWII

April 4

We Remember:

1934: U.S.S.R.: The nonaggression treaties between the U.S.S.R. and
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania is renewed until 1945. (Jack McKillop)

1939: U.S.: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra record his theme song,
"Moonlight Serenade," for Bluebird Records. Previously, the Miller theme had
been
"Gone with the Dawn" and, before that, "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep." (Jack
McKillop)

1940: U.K. Churchill leaves for Paris to attempt to get more French
co-operation in mining Norwegian waters. (Andy Etherington)
The Norwegian Campaign (Operation Wilfrid) commences under the command of
Vice-Admiral William "Jock" Whitworth, a veteran of World War 1. 16 submarines
begin moving from the North Sea into the Skagerrak and the Kattegat. (Andy
Etherington)

U.S. The motion picture "Dark Command" is released in the U.S. This
western, directed by Raoul Walsh, starred Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter
Pidgeon, Roy Rogers and George "Gabby" Hayes. The plot is about William
Contrell
(Walter Pidgeon), the Civil War era despot, who launches his terror raids
after clashing with Marshall John Wayne. The film was nominated for two Academy
Awards. (Jack McKillop)

1941: Ethopia: Italian forces quit Addis Ababa, Ethopia. (Andy
Etherington)

France: Professor Georges Claude informs the Academy of Sceinces at
Paris of a new low cost, synthetic motor fuel called "acetylated ammonia", 40%
acetylene and 60% ammonia. It should put France's cars back on the road as it
can run a car 300 miles on a single tank. (Andy Etherington)

Germany: Hitler meets Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka again, and
promises to join Japan in fighting the US if it should declare war. (Andy
Etherington)
The anti-British propaganda film 'Omh Kruger' [Uncle Kruger], which depicts
British atrocities against the South Africans in the Boer War, is released in
Germany. (Andy Etherington)
In an article in the German scientific magazine 'Die Naturwissenschaften' it
is announced that Professors Clusius and Dickel of the University of Munich
can now separate Uranium 235 from Uranium 238. (Andy Etherington)

North Africa: Benghazi, Tripoli is taken by Italian and German forces.
The Axis force moving towards Msus finds slow going.
The German 5th Light and the Italian Ariete Divisions advance toward
Mechili is going well. (John Nicholas)
The British 2nd Armoured Division is abandoned without supplies at Msus
because the British garrison there had prematurely blown up the all the fuel
store, thinking to save them from the German tanks. (Andy Etherington)

RED SEA: Italian torpedo boat Giovanni Acerbi is sunk near Massawa,
Eritrea, by British torpedo bombers. (Jack McKillop)

U.K. Churchill appealed to Simovich, the Yugoslav Minister President,
saying that he could not understand his argument about playing for time. The
German army and air force were concentrating for an attack on Yugoslavia,
and what was wanted was a decisive forestalling thrust by the Yugoslavs
into Albania. (Andy Etherington)
Armed merchant cruisers again suffer heavy losses at widely scattered
locations and in different circumstances. Today HMS Voltaire is sunk in a
gun duel with raider 'Thor' west of the Cape verde islands and U-boats sink
ten vessels of a 22-ship US convoy. One U-boat is sunk. (Andy Etherington)

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt agrees to allow Royal Navy warships to
be repaired in the U.S. Among the first ships to benefit from this order are
the battleships HMS Malaya and Resolution. RN warships are also to be
allowed to refuel in the U.S. when on combat missions. He also allots funds to
build another 58 launching yards and 200 more ships. (Andy Etherington, John
Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
The U.S. government freezes Bulgarian assets in the U.S. (John Nicholas)
Roosevelt had expressed concern for the Italian civil population in
Abyssinia. Churchill telegrams to re-assure him that all efforts would be
made to provide for civilians once the fighting has stopped. In the
meantime though, all efforts were going towards keeping the armies
supplied. (Andy Etherington)

U.S.S.R. Polish General Anders was taken from his cell in a Moscow
prison and led to a luxuriously furnished study. Upon reaching this room,
Anders
was informed that in accordance with a recently signed Polish- Soviet
agreement, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed the commander of
all
Polish troops in the Soviet Union. The stunned Anders was then taken by
limousine to a Moscow apartment which had been furnished for his personal use.
(Alex Bielakowski)

1942: ATLANTIC: Two U.S. tankers are sunk by German submarines: (1) U-154
torpedoes and sinks the first about 140 miles (225 kilometers) north of San
Juan, Puerto Rico and (2) U-552 torpedoes and sinks the second about 21 miles
east of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S.A.; the ship's cargo of 91,500
barrels of crude oil catches fire. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: P-40E pilots of the USAAF 9th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor)
based at Darwin, Northern Territory, shoot down seven Mitsubishi G3M2, Navy
Type
96 Attack Bombers (later assigned the Allied Code Name "Nell") and two
Mitsubishi A6M2, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters ("Zeke") over Darwin between 1330
and
1405 hours. (Jack McKillop)

CEYLON: British heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire sail from
Colombo at 2200 hours to rejoin the British Eastern Fleet. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 12 Bostons and four
Wellingtons, escorted by RAF Fighter Command fighters, to attack the St. Omer
railroad yards; 12 aircraft attack but their bombs fall in fields near the
town. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: After a heated debate, Admiral NAGANO Osami, Chief of the Navy
General Staff, agrees to a simultaneous Aleutian-Midway operation. (Jack
McKillop)

MALDIVE ISLANDS: The crew of an RCAF Catalina Mk. I of No. 413 (General
Reconnaissance) Squadron based at Koggala, Ceylon, on a reconnaissance flight
reports sighting a Japanese fleet in the Indian Ocean about 360 miles (579
kilometers) southeast of Ceylon. Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville, Commander
of
the British Eastern Fleet, sails from Addu Atoll in the Maldive Islands,
located about 400 miles (644 kilometers) southwest of Ceylon, with the faster
ships (Force "A") to attack and orders the heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and
Dorsetshire to join him southwest of Ceylon. The two cruisers are at Colombo,
Ceylon. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the II Corps area on Bataan, the Japanese attack is
again preceded by a demoralizing artillery bombardment in conjunction with air
attacks. The main line of resistance of Sector D collapses as the 41st
Division, Philippine Army (PA), withdraws again and the 21st Division, PA, is
forced from their main line of resistance to the reserve line in front of Mt
Samat. After nightfall, the Japanese regroup for an assault on Mt Samat. Sector
C
has to refuse its left flank because of enemy breakthrough. The Luzon Force
sends two regiments of the Philippine Division, the U.S. 31st Infantry and
the 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, to support the II Corps. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The Allies concur in the establishment and divisions of the Southwest
Pacific Area and the Pacific Ocean Area proposed on 30 March. (Jack McKillop)
The U.S. grants recognition to Free French administration in Equatorial
Africa and appoints a Consul General to Brazzaville. Americans are granted
permission to use the airfield at Point Noire, Congo in exchange for eight
Lockheed
Hudson bombers. (Jack McKillop)

1943: FRANCE: The U.S. Eighth Air Force dispatches 97 B-17s of the
1st Bombardment Wing to attack industrial installations in the Paris area
including the Renault armament works and motor works. 85 aircraft drop 251
tons
of bombs on the target between 1414 and 1417 local and cause severe damage;
they claim 47-13-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17s are lost and 16 others are
damaged by fierce fighter opposition. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: The U.S. Ninth Air Force dispatches 99 B-24s to attack Naples,
concentrating on the dock area. In Sicily, RAF Liberators, under operational
control of the IX Bomber Command, bomb Palermo. Meanwhile, Northwest African
Air
Force B-25s bomb small shipping at Carloforte on San Pietro Island and 64 B-17s
hit Capodichino Airfield and the marshalling yards at Naples. (Jack
McKillop)

TUNISIA: Northwest African Air Force P-38s dive-bomb a beached freighter off
Cape Zebib. Other P-38's escort the bombing raids. Northwest African
Tactical Air Force (NATAF) A-20's hit La Fauconnerie Airfield while B-25's hit
El
Djem and Sainte-Marie du Zit airfields. Fighters accompany light and medium
bombers on attacks, and carry out numerous patrols, reconnaissance flights, and
fighter sweeps over the battle areas of Tunisia. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, USN, assumes the position of
Commander Air Solomons (COMAIRSOL) which has operational control of all
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), USAAF, USMC and USN aircraft in the South
Pacific. (Jack McKillop)

1944: The IJA 31st Division is in action against the British at Kohima.
The British force is in need of supplies.

DeGaulle announces the Committee of National Liberation. Of the various
appointments, 2 are communists. General Giraud is sidelined.

U.S.: HQ Twentieth Air Force is activated in Washington, DC. General Henry
H. "Hap" Arnold is named Commanding General and he retains that position until
the Twentieth moves to the Pacific in July 1945. It has been decided by the
Joint Chiefs of Staff that this strategic air force will not be assigned to a
theater commander but rather, operations will be controlled by Washington.
(Jack McKillop)

BURMA: The U.S. Tenth Air Force dispatches 120+ fighter-bombers and 4 B-25s
to hit rail lines, storage areas and Japanese held villages around Mogaung
and Myitkyina and support ground forces near Kamaing and Myitkyina; during the
night of 4/5 Apr, 14 B-24s bomb the Moulmein railroad yards and jetties and
hit a Japanese HQ nearby at Nagorn Sawarn; and 25 P-51s and P-38s attack
Aungban and Anisakan Airfields. (Jack McKillop)

RUMANIA: 350 U.S. Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack Bucharest; both
hit marshalling yards and the B-24s also hit an air depot; 110 P-38s support
of the mission; between 150 and 200 enemy fighters attack the bombers,
shooting down 10; the bombers and escorts claim 50+ aircraft destroyed in
combat.
This is the first mission to Rumania in support of the Soviet Army's drive
across the Balkans. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: U.S. Twelfth Air Force medium bomber missions are aborted due to
weather but A-20s manage to bomb an ammunition dump and fighter-bombers bomb
Terracina and Formia, attack a bridge and several vehicles during armed
reconnaissance of the Rome-Orte area, bomb Itri and Fondi, hit numerous gun
positions,
a railway station, a bivouac area, and a vehicle concentration, and attack
targets of opportunity between Atina and Cassino. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: U.S. Seventh Air Force B-24s, flying out of the Gilbert
Islands, bomb Truk Atoll during the night of 4/5 April and B-25s, from Abemama
Island and Tarawa Atoll, followup during the day with raids on Ponape Island,
and Jaluit and Maloelap Atolls (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 12 U.S. Thirteenth Air Force P-40s hit a barge hideout in
Gazelle Harbor, Bougainville Island; 10 B-25s (rained out of Rabaul, New
Britain Island) bomb Buka Airfield on Buka Island, 23 P-39s hit the Aitara
area,
and 11 P-40s bomb the Mamaregu barge hideout; 24 P-38s pound Mamagata, Dio
Dio, and the Miwo River area; and ground support missions along Empress Augusta
Bay are carried out by a variety of fighters. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: 50+ U.S. Fifth Air Force B-24s pound the Wewak area; and 12
P-39s hit villages, bridges and wooded areas along the coast from Cape Gourdon
to
Bogia. (Jack McKillop)

U.K. Studland Bay, Dorset: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards launch
their amphibious Valentine ÔDuplex DriveÕ (DD) tanks from landing craft for a
live-firing rehearsal for D-Day.
The weather was marginal at launch and later deteriorates. These errors
cause the loss of the tanks and six lives. This incident leads to the change on
D-Day that the amphibious tanks (by then the American Sherman DD tank) will be
launched much closer inshore than had been originally planned, and some were
taken right to the beach. As a result few were lost. (Andy Etherington)

1945: The first real resistance is met by Hodges troops on Okinawa. They
are halted on a line just south of Kuba.

The landing craft of TF 51 off Okinawa suffer damage from heavy weather.

Bratislava falls to forces under Malinovsky.

British and Canadian units take Osnabruck.

The US 9th Army reaches the River Weser at Hameln. The US 3rd Army
captures Kassel. French Units take Karlsruhe.

The US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) designates General of the Army Douglas
MacArthur Commander-in-Chief, US Army Forces, Pacific (CINCUSAFPAC) and Fleet
Admiral Chester W Nimitz Commander-in-Chief, Pacific (CINCPOA). (Jack
McKillop)

GERMANY:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS: The U.S. Eighth Air Force dispatches 1,431 bombers and
866 fighters to hit airfields, a shipyard and a U-boat shipyard in Germany;
they claim 30-4-30 Luftwaffe aircraft; 10 bombers and 4 fighters are lost.
1. 438 B-24s are sent to hit Parchim (33) and Perleberg (29)
Airfields; 97 hit Wesendorf Airfield, the secondary; attacks are visual;
they claim 6-4-6 aircraft; 6 B-24s are lost. Escorting are 324 P-47s and P-51s;
the P-47s claim 14-0-20 aircraft and the P-51s claim 9-0-3 aircraft; 1 P-47
and 3 P-51s are lost.
2. 443 B-17s are sent to hit Fassberg Airfield (149); secondary targets hit
are Hoya (37) and Dedelsdorf (13) Airfields; targets of opportunity are
Unterluss (39) and other (24); bombing is visual; 1 B-17 is lost, 2 damaged
beyond
repair and 58 damaged. The escort is 220 of 232 P-51s; 1 is lost.
3. 505 of 526 B-17s hit the Deutsche shipyard at Kiel using H2X radar; 2
others hit Eggebeck Airfield, a target of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost and 50
damaged. The escort is 208 P-51s; none are lost.
4. 22 of 24 B-17s fly a DISNEY mission attacking the Finkenwarder U-boat
yard at Hamburg without loss.
5. 19 P-51s fly a scouting mission and claim 0-0-1 aircraft.
6. 25 P-51s escort 8 F-5s and 2 P-38s on photo and radar reconnaissance
missions over Germany, claiming 1-0-0 aircraft.
7. 16 P-51s escort 1 OA-10 and 2 B-17s on air-sea-rescue patrols.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS: 330+ B-26s, A-20s and A-26s hit the Ebrach oil depot,
Crailsheim marshalling yard and barracks area, Grossaspach supply depot, the
town of Ellswangen, Backnang rail and road junction, and 2 targets of
opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, and armed
reconnaissance, attack special targets, and support the US 104th Infantry
Division at
Scherfede and Hardehausen, the 9th Armored Division in the Warburg area, the XX
Corps in the Muhlhausen-Kassel areas, the 2d and 5th Armored Divisions in the
Hameln and Minden areas on the Weser River, and the 8th Armored Division as
it assaults the Ruhr pocket in the Lippstadt area. (Jack McKillop)
U.S. forces liberated the Nazi death camp Ohrdruf in Germany. (Tony Morano)

ITALY: U.S. Twelfth Air Force B-25s continue to blast communications along
the Brenner rail line, ranging from the railroad bridge at Drauburg to the
Camposanto railroad bridge; the B-25s also inflict considerable damage on the
Merano methanol plant; P-47s concentrate on enemy movement, rail lines, and
ammunition and fuel dumps throughout the Po Valley. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: U.S. Far East Air Force B-24s bomb Toyohara Airfield, Mako harbor,
and Tokichito Island and A-20s hit Shinchiku factories and rail yards on
Formosa. B-24s bomb the harbor at Hong Kong. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: U.S. Far East Air Force P-38s and P-51s pound various targets
in central Luzon Island while A-20s and P-38s hit the Calauag area. A-20s
pound northwest Negros Island and B-24s bomb targets on central Mindanao
Island.
(Jack McKillop

Tyree67 · April 5th

April 5th in WWII

April 5

We Remember:

1939: U.S.: Secretary of State Cordell Hull writes to Congressional
Committees asking for an arms embargo law. He says, ". . . this Government
should no longer be left in the position of being unable to join the other
governments of the world in preventing the supply of arms and munitions for use
in
an international conflict when it is exercising its diplomacy and the whole
weight of our national influence and prestige to prevent or put an end to that
conflict." (Jack McKillop)

1940: Iran: RAF Airmen MacPhail and Burton fly from Habbaniya for
their second reconnaissance mission over the Soviet oilfields. This time the
target is Batum, the most important Soviet oil seaport on the Black Sea and the
terminal point of the Baku pipeline. They fly across Turkey and approach
Batum at high altitude from the Black Sea. They just finish photographing
the port and are circling over the rows of oil refineries, when anti-aircraft
shells explode around them. MacPhail pulls up the aircraft and is able to
escape under a protective cloud cover. (Andy Etherington)

U.K. Britain and France sent a diplomatic note to Norway reserving
their right to deprive Germany of Norweigan assets.
British minelaying ships leave Scapa Flow for Norway commanded by
Vice-Admiral Whitworth on the battle cruiser Renown, with eight destroyers
as escorts and four destroyers to lay mines across the Leads outside Narvik
Fjord. (Andy Etherington)
The British Prime Minister told a Conservative Party meeting today that
after seven months of war he feels ten times as confident of victory as he
did at the start. In this unusually buoyant mood Mr. Chamberlain said: "One
thing is certain. Hitler has missed the bus."
The speech appeared to be aimed at dispelling some signs of public
impatience about the conduct of the war. Mr. Chamberlain recalled that
Germany was turned into an armed camp in the years before the war while
Britain postponed rapid rearmament so long as any hope of peace remained.
He went on: "It was natural then to expect that the enemy would take
advantage of his initial superiority to make an endeavour to overwhelm us
and France before we had time to make good our deficiencies. Is it not
extraordinary that no such attempt was made?"
Having made his point, he declared: "Whatever the reason, Hitler has
very little margin of strength still to call upon." (Andy Etherington)
RAF Fighter Command: An unknown number of Luftwaffe aircraft attack Scapa
Flow. RAF claim 5 destroyed. (Andy Etherington)

U.S.S.R. Secret police remove a group of Polish officers from Kozelsk
prisoner-of-war camp and shoot them dead in a wood near Katyn. It is feared
that this could be the first of a series of killings. (Andy Etherington)

1941: Atlantic: The slow Halifax/UK convoy SC26 is attacked by
U-boats for two days and loses 10 merchantmen. Escorting destroyer HMS Wolverine
and sloop HMS Scarborough sink U-76. Only one of the crew of U-76 (type VIIB)
is lost; the remaining 42 survive. (Andy Etherington and Alex Gordon)

Germany: The He 280 V1 jet fighter prototype is demonstrated before
Luftwaffe and RLM officials including Udet, Lucht, Eisenlohr, Reitenbach and
Schelp at Marienehe. (Andy Etherington)
The German plan of operations provides for a concentrated three-pronged
armoured attack on Belgrade from Sofia, Banat [region in Hungary and
Yugoslavia],
and Austria. First, Field Marshal List's Twelth Army advanced from Bulgaria,
preparing to move into Yugoslavia and then march on Greece out of Bulgaria
and Yugoslavia. Twelth Army was to be followed a few days later by von Weich's
Second Army that just assembled in Austria.
The Italian High Command then ordered forces of General Ambrosio's Second
Army to march along the Adriatic coast and strike at Greece from Istria and
Ljubljana [Yugoslavia] and simultaneously to support the defense of Albania
against the Greeks. A total of approximately 85 Axis divisions entered the
field
against Yugoslavia and Greece: 35 German, 45 Italian and 5 Hungarian. 52 of
them - 24 German, 23 Italian and 5 Hungarian - were deployed against
Yugoslavia, and 27 against Greece, with one division securing the border with
Turkey
and 5 divisions kept in reserve.
The Yugoslavian plan of operations, "R-41," provides for the defense
of the entire length of the border. Almost the whole Yugoslav army - 27
divisions or 88% of all its forces - was to be deployed in defensive
operations, leaving only minimal reserves. The Yugoslavs planned only one
offensive action in which they were to combine with Greek forces along the
Albanian front. The dispersal of the Yugoslav forces along an extended
border front limited their operational capability. (Andy Etherington)

Italy: Italy closed the Yugoslav border at Fiume tonight and mined the
international bridge. The Yugoslav consul at Fiume departed hurriedly for
home. (Andy Etherington)

North Africa: German troops take Barce, 200 miles from their start point
at El Agheila. The main reason why Rommel is meeting so little resistance is
that so many men have been withdrawn from Wavell's army to join the British
expeditionary force to Greece. The 2nd Armoured Division is new in the
desert; its men are untrained in this unique form of mobile warfare, and many
of
its tanks have broken down. (Andy Etherington)

U.S. The motion picture "The Great Lie" is released in the U.S. This
soap-opera drama, directed by Edmund Goulding, stars Betty Davis, George Brent,
Mary Astor and Hattie McDaniel. The plot centers around two women, Davis and
Astor. Brent marries Davis but gets Astor pregnant and then he is lost in an
airplane crash in South America leaving the two women to battle for the
child. Ms. Astor won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. (Jack
McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: The government offers Yugoslavia a treaty of friendship and
non-aggression but not mutual assistance. The Yugoslav government accepts the
offer
and a treaty is signed in Moscow; the German government condemns the treaty.
(John Nicholas, Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
The MiG-3 fighter plane makes its maiden flight. (Andy Etherington)

1942: ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: Japanese forces occupy Lorengau on Manus Island
without opposition. Several hundred Japanese troops of a Special Naval
Landing Force are landed by a naval force consisting of the light cruiser HIJMS
Tatsuta, destroyer HIJMS Mutsuki and a troop transport ship SS Mishima Maru.
The island is defended by No. 4 Section, 'B' Platoon, First
Independent Company, Australian Imperial Force. With little and limited
resources the Australian Independent Company Section smartly withdraws to
prepared positions in the jungle. (Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC: German submarine U-154 sinks a U.S. tanker en route from San Pedro
de Macoris, Dominican Republic, to Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A. about 37
miles (60 kilometers) off the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic. (Jack
McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: In their combat debut, nine USAAF B-26 Marauders
attack Lakunai and Vunakanau Aerodromes at Rabaul on New Britain Island. (Jack
McKillop)

BURMA: Pilots of the American Volunteer Group's 1st and 3d Fighter Squadron
shoot down 12 Japanese fighters near Loiwing Airdrome during the afternoon.
(Jack McKillop)

CANADA: The port of Port Rupert, British Columbia, is opened to the U.S. for
shipment of supplies to the Territory of Alaska, thus avoiding a logistics
jam at Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: During the night of the 5th/6th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 20
Whitleys to bomb the Gnome & Rhone aircraft engine factory in the Paris suburb
of Gennevilliers; 14 aircraft bomb but the main target is not hit. Local
records show one house destroyed and four damaged, with no casualties. In a
second mission, 14 aircraft bomb the port area at Le Havre. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: Fuhrer Directive 41 is issued and the Wehrmacht has its marching
orders for 1942. Leningrad is to finally be captured and contact is to be made
with the Finns east of Lake Ladoga, but that is a secondary objective. The
big plan is in the South, which involves 2nd Army and 4th Panzer Army breaking
through to Voronezh on the Don River. 6th Army will break out south of
Kharkov and combine with the 4th Panzer Army to surround the enemy. After that,
the
4th Panzer Army and 6th Army will drive east under the command of Army Group
B and surround Stalingrad from the North, while Army Group A's 17th Army and
1st Panzer Army will do so from the South. Once Stalingrad is taken, the 6th
Army will hold the flank defense line while Army Group A drives South into
the Caucasus to seize the oilfields and become the northern punch of a grand
pincer movement (the southern half being Rommel) to seize Suez, the Nile
Delta, the Middle-East and its oilfields. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen and Jack McK
illop)
During the night of the 5th/6th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 263 aircraft,
179 Wellingtons, 44 Hampdens, 29 Stirlings and 11 Manchesters, to bomb the
Humboldt works in Cologne; 219 bomb the target claiming good results with the
use of GEE but the nearest bombing photographs developed were 5 miles (8
kilometers) from the Humboldt works. The Cologne report lists just one
industrial
building hit, a mill in the Deutz area, with 90 houses destroyed or
seriously damaged and other buildings, including a hospital, hit. Seven people
were
killed and nine injured in the bombing. There were further casualties among a
crowd who were watching a burning bomber which had crashed in the middle of
Cologne; the bomb load exploded killing 16 people and injuring 30 more. The
bomber's crew had been killed in the original crash. Two of the aircraft
dispatched bombed Bonn and another bombed Koblenz. (Jack McKillop)

INDIAN OCEAN: The Japanese fleet that sailed from Kendari, Celebes,
Netherlands East Indies, has reached a point about 200 miles (322 kilometers)
south
of Colombo and commences Operation C. The Japanese force under Vice Admiral
KONDO Nobutake consists of the battleships HIJMS Haruna, Hiei, Kirishima and
Kongo; the aircraft carriers HIJMS Akagai, Hiryu, Shokaku, Soryu and Zuikaku;
heavy cruisers HIJMS Chikuma and Tone; light cruiser HIJMS Abukuma; and nine
destroyers. At dawn, the carriers launch 127 aircraft [53 Nakajima B5N2, Navy
Type 97 Carrier Attack Bombers (later assigned the Allied Code Name "Kate"),
38 Aichi D3A1, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers ("Val") and 36 A6M2, Navy Type 0
Carrier Fighters ("Zeke")]. Of these, seven are lost (6 "Vals" and a "Zeke")
and 15 damaged (five "Kates", seven "Vals" and three "Zekes"). Two
additional "Zekes" are damaged downing an RAF Catalina over the Japanese fleet.
In
spite of the prior days warning of the approaching Japanese Task Force
, the Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter units are caught fairly unprepared. In
the massive air battle that follows, the RAF and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) losses a
total of 30 aircraft, six Swordfish, four Fulmars, 17 Hurricanes, a
Catalina, an Albacore and a Walrus. The FAA's No. 788 Squadron, the Eastern
Fleet
Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Pool unit equipped with Swordfish Mks I and II
and
based at China Bay, Ceylon, is caught unaware in transit from the
Trincomalee area and loses all six Swordfish and their pilots. FAA Nos. 803 and
806
Squadrons operating two sub-flights together while based at Ratmalana, Ceylon,
each lose two of three Fulmar Mk. II fighters and four crewmen. RAF No. 258
Squadron operating from Colombo Racecourse had 9 Hurricanes Mk. IIBs forced
down of the 14 that sortied with the loss of five pilots, while No. 30 Squadron
based at Ratmalana, had 8 Hurricanes Mk. IIA and IIBs forced down although
the actual number that sortied is unclear; four pilots were killed a
nd one later died of his wounds. Meanwhile, a Catalina of the morning search
found the Japanese fleet, but was shot down by the Japanese Combat Air
Patrol (CAP) before getting off a report; all eight crewmen were killed. Also
an
FAA No. 700 Squadron Walrus operating from the light cruiser HMS Glasgow is
dispatched on a search after the raid but on its return, it crashes while
landing, killing the pilot. The Japanese also sink the destroyer HMS Tenedos
and
the armed merchant cruiser HMS Hector. (Mark Horan, John Nicholas and Jack
McKillop)
A Japanese scout plane from the heavy cruiser HIJMS Tone sights two British
cruisers southwest of Ceylon and the Japanese aircraft carriers launch 53
"Vals." The two heavy cruisers, HMS Dorsetshire and Cornwall, had sailed from
Colombo, Ceylon, at 2200 hours yesterday and during the night orders were
received from the commander in chief Eastern Fleet to join him at 1600 hours
today. Starting at 1100 hours, aircraft, some friendly, were sighted but none
attacked. At about 1340 hours, both ships were attacked by the Vals and both
were severely damaged. HMS Dorsetshire sank at 1351 hours and HMS Cornwall at
1355 hours. Between the two ships, 424 crewmen were lost and 1,122 are rescued
tomorrow after spending 30 hours in the water. No Japanese aircraft were lost
in this attack. (Mark Horan and Jack McKillop)
After the attack, the Japanese Second Expeditionary Fleet, Malay Force (Vice
Admiral OZAWA Jisaburo) is divided into three groups to disrupt Allied
shipping in the Bay of Bengal. The British also are active after the attack.
RAF
No. 11 Squadron, based at Colombo Racecourse, dispatches ten Blenheim Mk. IVs
on a retaliatory strike but estimates of the Japanese position are off and,
with no further reports being received, the target is not found. During the
day, a pair of No. 827 Squadron Albacore Mk. Is from the aircraft carrier HMS
Indomitable, on a reconnaissance flight, run into the Japanese CAP and one is
shot down with the loss of three crewmen. Later in the day another No. 827
Albacore is intercepted by the CAP, but escapes. Unfortunately, the lack of a
proper sighting report from the later plane (its radio had been destroyed)
left Admiral Somerville to assume no contact had been and thus he did not
change
course to close. By the time his scout returned two hours lat
er, the Japanese Force had doubled back and further FAA search efforts
failed to make the contact necessary for Somerville to execute his planned
night
aerial torpedo attack. (Mark Horan)

NETHERLANDS: During the night of the 5th/6th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches
six Blenheim intruders to attack airfields; individual aircraft hit De Kooy,
Leeuwarden, Schipol and Soesterberg Airfields. (Jack McKillop)

NORWAY: In Oslo, 654 of the 699 Lutheran ministers resign their civil
service positions in protest of the German occupation of their country. (Jack
McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: After air and artillery preparation, the Japanese resume
their offensive in the II Corps area on Bataan, concentrating on the 21st
Division, Philippine Army, which yields Mt Samat and is left virtually
ineffective as a fighting force. The Corps prepares to counterattack tomorrow
with
all available forces. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
A Japanese invasion force of 4,852 troops sails from Lingayen Gulf, Luzon,
toward Cebu Island, in the Visayan Islands, east central Philippines. (Jack
McKillop)

1943: The Imperial Japanese Army forces on the Malaya Penninsula begin
advancing NW toward India.

ALEUTIANS: Aerial reconnaissance by Eleventh Air Force aircraft covers all
islands west of Kiska with negative results. 16 B-24 Liberators and 6 B-25
Mitchells bomb the Attu runway and Kiska's Main Camp and runway. 4 P-38
Lightnings fly top cover. Later, 3 B-25s, 16 P-40s and 16 P-38s bomb Kiska
again. (Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC: German submarine U-563 sinks an armed U.S. tanker , a straggler
from convoy HX 231. All hands on the tanker, 69-men, are lost. (Jack
McKillop)

BELGIUM: The VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 50: 104 B-17 Flying
Fortresses are dispatched against industrial targets in the Antwerp area.
The main force is directed at the Erla aircraft factory and Erla engine
works. 82 B-17's drop 245.5 tons of bombs at 1530 hours local. They claim
23-8-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17s are lost to strong Luftwaffe fighter
opposition. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Individual Fifth Air Force B-17s bomb Cape Gloucester
on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 17 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb railroad targets at Mandalay; 2 others
hit Ngamya. Three B-24s bomb the Prome railroad yards; 5 hit the Mahlwagon
yards and roundhouse. 12 P-40s and a B-25 support ground forces in northern
Burma. 12 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s on armored reconnaissance strafe 15
horse-drawn wagons at Wanling. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Individual Fifth Air Force B-17s attack occupied areas at
several points along the Huon Gulf coast, hit Finschaffen on the Huon
Peninsula, bomb Madang and other points on the north coast. (Jack McKillop)

SICILY: During the night of 4/5 April, Northwest African Air Force
Wellingtons bomb the Trapani docks and shipping. During the day, B-17s bomb
the airfields at Boccadifalco and Milo. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMONS: USN destroyer USS O'Bannon (DD-450) sinks Japanese submarine RO 34
near Russell Island. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Northwest African Air Force (NAAF) B-17s bomb airfields at Sidi
Ahmed and Tunis. B-25s hit the airfield at Bo Rizzo and attack a convoy
off Cap Bon. P-38s fly several fighter sweeps over the Straits of Sicily.
One force of fighters claims 16 airplanes destroyed. A-20 Havocs hit the
Airfield at El Djem and La Fauconnerie. Fighters attack E-boats off
Pont-du-Fahs and vehicles south of Bou Hamran, and fly sweeps,
reconnaissance, and patrol over the battle area in Tunisia. Western Desert
Air Force and NAAF aircraft hit motor transport west of Cekhira, bomb
Djebel Zitouna Airfield, and strike shipping in the Straits of Sicily.
During the day NAAF aircraft claim destruction of nearly 50 aircraft in
aerial combat. Today starts Operations FLAX (5-22 April) which is designed
to destroy, in the air and on the ground, enemy air transports and escorts
employed in ferrying personnel and supplies to Tunisia. (Jack McKillop)

1944: Malinovski's forces reach Razdelnaya cutting the rail route from
Odessa for the German forces there.

BURMA: 13 Tenth Air Force B-24s bomb the railroad from Moulmein to
Kanchanaburi, destroying 3 bridges, damaging several others, and causing
much damage to track and railroad cars. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb Koepang on Timor Island. (Jack
McKillop)

FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 288: 21 B-24s dispatched hit
V-weapon sites at St Pol/Siracourt without loss; heavy clouds and the
failure of blind-bombing equipment cause other B-24s to return to base
without bombing. 50 P-47s escort the B-24s without loss. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Fourteenth Air Force P-40s from Yungning, China pound a
railroad siding at Na Cham destroying 8 boxcars and a considerable amount
of track. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 289: 96 P-38s, 236 P-47
Thunderbolts and 124 P-51 Mustangs are dispatched to attack airfields in
Germany; heavy cloud hinders most groups: 1 P-38s is lost; P-47s claim
2-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-47 is lost; P-51s claim 96-4-120 aircraft, 7
P-51s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Weather precludes all light and medium bomber action by the Twelfth
Air Force; P-40s hit the Colleferro railway station, several fuel dumps,
and gun positions in the US Fifth Army battle areas; A-36 Apaches bomb
Formia, and railway stations northwest of Rome and in the Frosinone area.
(Jack McKillop)

MARSHALLS: Seventh Air Force B-25s from Tarawa Atoll hit Maloelap Atoll,
bomb up again at Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, and hit Jaluit Atoll
during the return trip. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: 270+ Fifth Air Force B-24s, B-25s, A-20s and P-38s hit
Hollandia town and dock area and villages and stores around Humboldt Bay;
P-47s and P-40s blast numerous targets in the Hansa Bay-Bogia and Wewak
areas; and B-24s hit Kaimana and Efman Island. (Jack McKillop)

RUMANIA: The Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 95 B-17s and 135 B-24s against
marshalling yards at Ploesti. Five B-24s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMONS: 12 Thirteenth Air Force B-25s pound Kara on Bougainville. (Jack
McKillop)

YUGOSLAVIA: The Fifteenth Air Force dispatches B-17s and B-24s to attack
marshalling yards. The B-17s bomb a marshalling yard at Nis while the B-24s
hit a marshalling yard at Leskovac. (Jack McKillop)

1945: US BB Nevada is damaged off Okinawa during a Kamakaze attack.
Clarification of the above:
According to the DANFS, the Nevada (BB-36) was damaged by a shore
battery not a kamikaze. (Jack McKillop)

The 201st Fighter Squadron of the Mexican Air Force, equipped with 25
Republic P-47D Thunderbolts, arrives at Clark Field, Luzon, Philippine
Islands. It is attached to the 58th Fighter Group, V Fighter Comand, Fifth
Air Force. (Jack McKillop)

The US 5th Army in Italy begins an attack north of Massa.

General Koiso and cabinet resign. Admiral Suzuki forms a new cabinet with
Togo as Foriegn Minister and Hiranuma as President of the Privy Council.
This cabinet shows a decrease in military influence and agree that no
reasonable offer of Peace should be turned down.

Molotov notifies Japan that the 1941 Non Aggression Treaty between the USSR
and Japan will not be renewed.

U-242 (type VIIC) is sunk on 5 April 1945 by a mine in the St. George's
Channel. All 44 of the crew are lost. (Alex Gordon)

Tito signs "friendship treaty" with Soviet Union. The agreement permits
"temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory."
Josip Broz, alias "Tito," secretary general of the Communist Party of
Yugoslavia, has led a partisan counteroffensive movement against the Axis
occupying powers of Germany and Italy since 1941. Recognized by the Allies
as the leader of the Yugoslav resistance, he was, in fact, the leader of a
power grab meant not only to expel the Axis forces but to wrest control of
Yugoslavia in the postwar environment from both royalist and democratic
movements.
Once the Soviet army liberated Serbia, the fate of Yugoslavia as a
communist-dominated nation was sealed. Tito's task now lies in remaining
independent of both the U.S.S.R. and the West. To this end, he will create a
"second Yugoslavia," a socialist federation that will became known for its
nonalignment stance. (Gene Hanson)

BORNEO: Fifth Air Force P-38s hit Tarakan Island and Tawau. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINES: 18 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Guam bomb targets on Eten and
Dublon Islands in Truk Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA AND FRENCH INDOCHINA: 27 Fourteenth Air Force fighter-bombers on
armed reconnaissance attack troops, horses, and river, road, and rail
traffic at Son La, French Indochina and Shanhsien and Shihkiachwang, and in
the Tehsien and Loyang-Pinglo area of China.
20 Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Kowloon Docks in Hong Kong, damaging 4
ships, and a nearby airfield. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: 38 Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Kiirun harbor. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 928: 1,358 bombers and 662
fighters attack marshalling yards, ordnance depots, armament works and
airfields in Germany; they claim 8-0-6
aircraft; 10 bombers and 1 P-51 are lost.
- 406 B-17s bomb munitions dumps at Ingolstadt and Grafenwohr, and the
marshalling yard at Bayreuth and 31 bomb targets of opportunity; 1 B-17 is
lost. Escorting are 182 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft in the air and
7-0-3 on the ground.
- 151 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Plauen while 39 bomb the
munitions dump at Bayreuth; 2 aircraft bomb targets of opportunity; 5 B-24s
are lost. 280 P-47s and P-51s escort; they claim 1-0-2 aircraft in the air;
1 P-51 is lost.
- 521 B-17s bomb Unterschlauersbach Airfield, an aircraft parts factory
and munitions depot at Furth, the Nurnberg South marshalling yard and the
Nurnberg Station marshalling yard; 4 B-17s are lost. The escort is 91 P-51s.
Ninth Air Force fighters fly patrols, sweeps, and armed reconnaissance,
and support the US 7th Armored Division's attack on the Ruhr pocket
southwest of Brilon, the XX Corps' drive east in the Muhlhausen area, the
XII Corps' advance in the Meiningen area, the 2d Armored Division
bridgehead astride the Weser River south of Hameln, the 8th Armored
Division (preparing for an assault on Soest), and the 5th Armored Division
near Minden. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: 22 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Angaur Island in the Palau
Islands bomb a bivouac area at Bunawan on Mindanao. 180+ sorties by Fifth
Air Force aircraft in support of ground forces are flown on Luzon. A-20s
and patrolling P-61 Black Widows support troops on Cebu and Negros Islands.
(Jack McKillop)

SOUTHERN EUROPE: Twelfth Air Force B-25s bomb 5 bridges in northern Italy
and Austria, at Steinach, Austria, and Matrei am Brenner, Modena, Salorno,
and San Michele all'Adige, and blast gun positions at La Spezia, Italy;
these attacks follow night raids by A-20s and A-26 Invaders on bridges at
Lavis, Ala, San Michele all'Adige, San Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Piazzola
sul Brenta, Cittadella, and Montebello, Italy and other targets; fighters
and fighter bombers devote their largest effort to close support of ground
forces, blasting occupied areas and gun positions in the Massa Lombarda
area, and also attack communications and dumps in the Po Valley.
The Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 457 B-24s and B-17s to attack a
railroad bridge at Dravograd, Yugoslavia, marshalling yards and locomotive
depots at Brescia, Alessandria, and Turin, Italy, and the airfield at
Udine, Italy; 96 P-38s dive-bomb the Radovljica, Yugoslavia railroad
bridge, 27 P-51s with 13 flying top cover, strafe rail communications in
the Munich, Regensburg, and Passau, Germany, and Linz, Austria areas; 20+
P-38s fly reconnaissance missions; around 300 fighter sorties are flown to
escort transport, reconnaissance, and bomber missions (including an RAF
raid on the Monfalconei, Italy shipyards). (Jack McKillop)

1964: General Douglas MacArthur, USA dies. (Tom Hickox)

Tyree67 · April 6th

April 6th in WWII

April 6

We Remember:

1937: GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler orders the resumption of the
immorality and foreign exchange trials against Catholic clergymen, which had
been
halted shortly before the Olympic Games in the summer of 1936. (Jack
McKillop)

1938: U.S.: The prototype Bell (Model 11) XP-39 Airacobra (USAAC s/n
38-326) makes its first flight at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. A total of 8,914
P-39s are built during the war; a large number are transferred to the Soviet
Union and France under Lend Lease. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: Soviet Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov proposes that talks between
the Soviet and the U.K. governments be held at ministerial level. (Jack
McKillop)

1939: ITALY: The government assures Britain it is not considering any
sudden attack against Albania. (Jack McKillop)

U.K.: Polish Foreign Minister Josef Beck signs a temporary mutual assistance
pact in London, but since Beck fears the Soviets as much or more than the
Nazis, it excludes any Soviet participation. (Jack McKillop)

1940: GERMANY: RAF photo-reconnaissance reveals heavy naval activity at
German ports in the area, believed to be in preparation for invasions of
Norway. This is the German invasion fleet which sails for Narvik, Norway.
(Andy
Etherington and Jack McKillop)

NORWAY: Operation Wilfred, the British mining of Norwegian waters, begins.
(Jack McKillop)

U.K. RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Reconnaissance - north-west Germany
and the Ruhr. 10 Sqn. Two a/c to the Ruhr. Slight opposition. One a/c force
landed near Grimsby on return. (Andy Etherington)
After dropping 65 million leaflets, Bomber Command suspends 'nickelling'
operations over Germany. (Andy Etherington)
The aerial photographs of MacPhail's mission over the Soviet oilfields and
the accompanying intelligence evaluations arrive on the desks of the
British and French general staffs. The Allied generals decide to concentrate
on the refineries and oil tanks. The French Armee de la Air will raid Batum
and the RAF will destroy the installations in Baku and Grozny. The staffs
calculate that it will be possible to destroy a third of the targets in the
first six days. The plans call for 9 bomber squadrons to level 122 refineries
within a 10 to 45 days period. Two French squadrons of Farman 221s, 4 French
squadrons of Glenn Martins and 3 British squadrons of Wellingtons were to be
used the French flying from Cizre in Turkey and the RAF from Mosul in Iraq.
With
extra fuel the Allied fleet was expected to carry 70 tonnes of bombs per
mission. The RAF anticipated a 20% loss rate, the French expected no losses.
The
general staffs believed that this would lead "to a total collapse of the
USSR's war capacity", and even "decide the entire course of the war." (Andy
Etherington)

U.S.: A USAAC B-17 Flying Fortress is flown from Mitchel Field, Hempstead,
Long Island, New York to Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia, by a pilot in a
hooded cockpit using instruments. A co-pilot, navigator and four other crewmen
were also aboard but they are not under a hood. (Jack McKillop)
The maiden flight of the first production Curtiss (Model 81-A) P-40, USAAC
s/n 39-156, takes place at Buffalo, New York. Deliveries of the 524 P-40s to
the USAAC begin in June. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

1941: ATLANTIC: The German battle cruiser Gneisenau is badly hit by an
RAF Beaufort torpedo plane while on an exercise just outside the port of
Brest, France.
F/O Kenneth Campbell (b. 1917), RAFVR, flying a Beaufort of 22 Squadron
RAF Coastal Command, was shot down and killed. (VC) (Andy Etherington and
Jack McKillop)

ETHIOPIA: British troops capture Addis Ababa the capital of Ethiopia which
had been abandoned by its Italian defenders who are believed to be heading
northeast to re-group with other units of the beleaguered Italian East African
army. Many Italian women and children are still in Addis Ababa, suggesting
that the Italian army's evacuation was a last-minute affair. Two brigades under
Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham, Commander in Chief East Africa Command,
had, in effect, been racing each other to the Ethiopian capital. The 1st South
African Brigade got there first after covering 700 miles (1127 kilometers)
in barely a month. Just outside the capital they overtook the 22nd East Africa
Brigade commanded by Brigadier Charles Fowkes. Cunningham thought it
important that white soldiers enter Addis Ababa first and ordered Fowkes to slow
down. Fowkes initially reacted with the Nelson touch. Signals telling him to
stop were pronounced garbled in transit; despatch riders were detained
by his rear troops. Finally just 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Addis, a plane
dropped him a halt order which he could not ignore. From 10 January 1941 to
today, the British forces under General Cunningham have covered 1,700 miles
(2736 kilometers) without fighting a major battle; their total killed is about
500 while the Italian Army has lost the majority of their arms, equipment
and supplies and tens of thousands have been taken prisoner. (John Nicholas,
Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

Germany: German Foreign Minister Von Ribbentrop tells the Yugoslan envoy
that "a clique of conspirators" had prevented Yugoslavia from joining the
Axis which would have ensured "a happy future for the Yugoslav people." (Andy
Etherington)

GREECE: In the east, the German Army's 12th Army under General Wilhelm von
List moves into Greece from Bulgaria and attacks the Greek Army of Eastern
Macedonia (Lieutenant-General Konstantinos Bakopoulos) on the Metaxas Line in
Macedonia. The west of the Metaxas Line is attacked by the German XVIII Corps
while the east of the line is attacked by the German XXX Corps. The troops of
British General Henry Wilson, General Officer Commanding W Force, man the
Aliakmon Line consisting of three Greek divisions, the New Zealand Division,
the
Australian 6th Division and the British 1st Armoured Brigade. Both lines are
supported by seven RAF squadrons. The Luftwaffe launches an air attack
against the port of Piraeus located 5 miles (8 kilometers) southwest of Athens
from bases in Bulgaria. During the raid, the British ammunition ship SS Clan
Fraser is hit and explodes in a massive fireball, wrecking the harbor and port
facilities. (Andy Etherington, Eugen Pinak and Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Italy declares war on Yugoslavia and the Italian Second Army occupies
some frontier villages in Venezia Giulia, a narrow strip of land west of
Trieste. (Jack McKillop)

LIBYA: The Afrika Korps' 5th Light Division captures Mechili and Msus and
the Australian 9th Division withdraws from Derna towards Tobruk. Near Derna,
British Lieutenant Generals Sir Philip Neame and Richard O'Connor, Brigadier
John Combe, until recently CO of the 11th Hussars, and three other high ranking
officers are captured by a German motorcycle unit. (Andy Etherington and
Jack McKillop)

U.K. RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: Ijmuiden power station in the
Netherlands, is attacked from low level. (Andy Etherington)
HMS Comorin catches fire and finally goes down west of Ireland - the rescue
of her crew and passangers in raging seas is an epic in its own right.
(Andy Etherington)

YUGOSLAVIA: At 0515 hours, the Luftwaffe's Luftlotte 4 (General Lohr)
consisting of 210 fighter, 400 bombers and dive bombers and 170 reconnaissance
aircraft, launches a heavy attack (Operation CASTIGO) on Belgrade even though
it
has been declared an open city by the Yugoslav government. The Yugoslav Air
Forces has 400 aircraft consisting of 144 fighter, 160 bomber and 40
reconnaissance aircraft. Belgrade is bombed by 150 bombers escorted by fighter
flying
from bases in Austria and Rumania. The first strike is made in three waves
consisting of 484 sorties. The attack was an act of terror resulting in the
death of 17,000 civilians----the largest number of civilian casualties in a
single day since the start of the war. Making the slaughter all the worse was
that nearby towns and villages had emptied out into the capital city to
celebrate Palm Sunday. All of the airfields are also bombed and 600 aircraft
are
destroyed on the ground. Included in the air assaults on Greece and Yug
oslavia are I, II and III Staffel of Kampfgeschwader (Bomber Wing) 2 and
III/KG 3 equipped with obsolete Dornier Do 17s; three dive bomber wings, I and
III Stukageschwader 2 under Oberst (Colonel) Oskar Dinort and I/St.G 3 under
Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) Heinrich Eppen, fly their Ju 87B Stuka in
devastating attacks on the Greeks and Yugoslavs. These units are later joined
by St.G 77.
The German 2nd Army under General Maximillian von Weichs advances towards
Belgrade from Austria while the Panzer Group Kleist under General Ewald von
Kleist advances from Bulgaria towards Nis in the north and Skopje and Monastir
in the south to prevent Yugoslav troops with joining up with the Greeks. The
Yugoslav Army, which is antiquated and riven by dissent, mutinies and
inefficiency, consists of 28 infantry and three cavalry divisions but only five
infantry and two cavalry regiments resist the German invasion, due to their
national compositions - they were mostly Serb, Montenegrin and Albanian. (Andy
Etherington, Eugen Pinak, Steve Stathros and Jack McKillop)

1942: ATLANTIC: German submarine U-160 torpedoes an unarmed U.S. bound
from Corpus Christi, Texas, to New York City, about 75 miles (121 kilometers)
southeast of Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.A. The ship manages to reach Hampton
Roads, Virginia. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: Headquarters of the 41st Infantry Division, the 163d Infantry,
the 167th Field Artillery Battalion and other units arrive in Melbourne,
Victoria, and are assigned to Army Forces in Australia. (Jack McKillop)

BELGIUM: During the night of the 6th/7th, one RAF Bomber Command aircraft
attacks the port area at Ostend. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF B-25s bomb Gasmata on New Britain Island. (Jack
McKillop)
A small Japanese naval force from Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands lands
on the eastern tip of Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, and captures the town
of Lorengau. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: The Japanese land reinforcements at Rangoon. Chinese Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek, visiting Maymyo, urges that Taungdwingyi be held and agrees to
provide a Chinese division to assist the Burma I Corps. The Chinese 200th
and 96th Divisions are in position to defend Pyinmana. (Jack McKillop)

EGYPT: Axis bombers attack the port of Alexandria. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: During the night of the 6th/7th, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 157
aircraft, 110 Wellingtons, 19 Stirlings, 18 Hampdens and ten Manchesters, to
bomb Essen The crews encountered severe storms and icing and there is
complete cloud cover over Essen. Only 50 aircraft claimed to have reached the
target
area and Essen reports only a few bombs, with light damage; no casualties
are recorded. Five aircraft, two Hampdens, a Manchester, a Stirling and a
Wellington are lost. Individual aircraft attack Aachen, Cologne, Duisburg,
Dusseldorf, Gladbeck and Koblenz. (Jack McKillop)

INDIAN OCEAN: Japanese Operation C continues: The Second Expeditionary
Fleet, Malay Force (Vice Admiral OZAWA Jisaburo) raids Allied shipping off the
east coast of India. The Japanese Northern Group (Rear Admiral KURITA Takeo)
attacks an Allied convoy about 36 miles (58 kilometers) southeast of Puri,
India; an unarmed U.S. freighter and four British merchantmen are sunk by
gunfire
of heavy cruisers HIJMS Kumano and Suzuya, and destroyer HIJMS Shirakumo. The
Southern Group (Captain SAKIYAMA Shakao), consisting of heavy cruisers HIJMS
Mogami and Mikuma and destroyer HIJMS Amagiri, sink three British
merchantmen. The Central Group, formed around the aircraft carrier HIJMS Ryujo,
heavy
cruiser HIJMS Chokai, light cruiser HIJMS Yura, and destroyers HIJMS Yugiri
and Asagiri, attacks shipping in a third area. After aircraft from the carrier
HIJMS Ryujo attack an unarmed U.S. freighter, heavy cruiser HIJMS Chokai
shells and sinks the American merchantman; Japanese gunfire renders all
lifeboats useless and kills 19 of the 41-man crew. Five more crewmen die
later of wounds suffered in the attack. Lost with the ship is its cargo of 500
monkeys (which are most likely earmarked for infantile paralysis research in
the United States). Floatplanes from the heavy cruiser HIJMS Chokai bomb an
unarmed U.S. freighter 11 miles (18 kilometers) off the coast of India and a
British freighter, sinking both. Light cruiser HIJMS Yura and destroyer HIJMS
Yugiri, meanwhile, sink two Dutch motorships and a British steamer. Planes
from HIJMS Ryujo bomb and sink a British steamer and a Dutch motorship and, at
Vizagapatam, India, bomb and damage a British motorship. The Allies lose
83,000 tons of shipping in the well-executed attacks. Ironically, many of the
ships sank were those dispersed from Colombo, Ceylon, earlier due to the threat
of the Japanese Fleet's attack. (John Rogers and Jack McKillop)
Japanese submarine HIJMS I-5 sinks an unarmed U.S. freighter, en route from
Suez to Ceylon, about 216 miles (348 kilometers) north northwest of the
Maldive Islands. (John Nicholas, Jack McKillop and John Rogers)

INDIA: Japanese bombers conduct their first bombing raids on India attacking
Coconada and Madras. (Jack McKillop)
Ten Pan American World Airways Douglas DC-3s of the USAAF's Assam- Burma-
China Ferry Command begin hauling 30,000 U.S. gallons (24,980 Imperial gallons
or 113 562 liters) of aviation fuel and 500 U.S. gallons (416 Imperial
gallons or 1893 liters) of lubricants from Calcutta to the airstrip at Asansol,
completing the mission tomorrow. This fuel, subsequently transferred via Dinjan
to China, is for use by Lieutenant Colonel James H Doolittle's Tokyo raiders,
already at sea aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). (Jack
McKillop)

NETHERLANDS: During the night of the 6th/7th, one RAF Bomber Command bomber
attacks Schipol Airfield. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the II Corps counterattacks north toward the
reserve line in Sector D but meets a Japanese attack head on and falls back.
On the corps eastern flank, the U.S. 31st Infantry and 21st Division,
Philippine Army (PA), directed to drive north in the region east of Mt Samat,
are
unable to reach the line of departure. In the center, the 33d Infantry, PA,
followed by the 42d and 43d, endeavors to drive north between Catmon and the
western slopes of Mt Samat, but the 33d is surrounded and presumed lost and
units to the rear are routed. Headquarters of Sector D and the western flank
troops are thus separated from rest of II Corps. On the west, the 41st
Infantry,
PA, followed by the 45th, makes limited progress, but the 45th is unable to
overtake the 41st and the 41st becomes isolated. The U.S. 31st Infantry and a
battalion of the 57th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, are assigned to Sector C,
where the line is withdrawn to the San Vicente River. The Japanese
receive effective air and artillery support throughout day. (Jack McKillop)
River gunboats USS Mindanao (PR-8) and Oahu (PR-6) engage Japanese landing
barges, claiming the destruction of at least four, in a night surface action
in Manila Bay. USS Mindanao is damaged by return fire. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: The British destroyer HMS Havock is wrecked on the coast. (Jack
McKillop)

U.K.: The First Canadian Army formed in the U.K. under the command of
Lieutenant General Andrew McNaughton. (Jack McKillop)

1943: Montgomery attacks which began last night at Wadi Akarit are
making good progress. The attack is led by the Br. 4th Indian Division.
Defending
units are mostly Italian Infantry plus the 15th Panzer and the 90th Light.

Follow up attacks this morning are badly coordinated and the battle does not
continue as well as it started for the British.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Individual B-17s bomb Gasmata while another strafes
Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 6 Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack Pazundaung bridge, damaging
the southern approach. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: RAF Liberators, under IX Bomber Command control, bomb the Naples
area. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb the town area and AA positions at
Salamaua while individual B-17s bomb Finschhafen. (Jack McKillop)

SICILY: Ninth Air Force B-24s hit the ferry and slips at Messina harbor.
Northwest African Air Force B-17s bomb the docks and ships at Trapani.
(Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force F-5 Lightning photo reconnaissance
aircraft note 114 Japanese bombers and fighters on Kahili Airdrome on
Bougainville. There were 40 aircraft on the airfield yesterday. (Jack
McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force B-25s fly 2 missions against concentrations in the
Oued el Akarit region, scoring hits on buildings, tanks, and numerous
vehicles. P-40s fly escort, fighter sweep, and strafing operations,
attacking guns, vehicles and personnel as the British Eighth Army begin their
assault
on Oued el Akarit from which the enemy begins withdrawing during the night.
During the night of 5/6 April, Northwest African Air Force Wellingtons bomb
the dock and shipping at Tunis. During the day, B-25s and P-38 Lightnings
attack shipping in the Straits of Sicily. Two forces of B-17s bomb a convoy
further west, near Zembra Island and hit a convoy off Bizerte sinking a German
freighter and damaging an Italian transport which is later beached to prevent
her sinking. B-25s and A-20 Havocs attack landing grounds and airfields at
Enfidaville, La Fauconnerie, and El Djem. La Fauconnerie bears the brunt of the
attacks and is well covered. Fighters escort the bombing raids, fly
reconnaissance missions, and attack scattered enemy movement. (Jack McKillop)

1944: Heavy fighting on the Eastern Front north of Razdelnaya.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Thirteenth Air Force bombers and fighters attack
targets on New Britain Island: 22 B-25s bomb Lakunai Airfield and revetment
area; 30+ fighter-bombers bomb the vicinity of Toboi wharf with
incendiaries while 20+ others carry out incendiary strike on Wunapope,
causing severe destruction to several buildings; and fighters maintain a
sweep over Rabaul and New Ireland Island areas. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 6 Tenth Air Force B-25s damage the railroad and rolling stock at
Shwebo. 80+ fighter-bombers and 2 B-25s hit troops in the Namti area,
support ground forces northeast of Kamaing, damage a bridge near Myitkyina,
and hit troops, oil dumps, and supplies at Mogaung and Manywet. (Jack
McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s from Eniwetok Atoll hit Ponape
Island twice. B-25s from Abemama Island bomb Jaluit Atoll, rearm at Majuro
Atoll, and hit Maloelap Atoll during the return flight. During the night of
6/7 April, 34 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Dublon Island, Truk Atoll.
(Jack McKillop)

CENTRAL PACIFIC: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Kwajalein Atoll bomb Wake
Island. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: Fourteenth Air Force P-40s from Suichwan pound a barrack southwest of
Nanchang, causing heavy damage; a B-25 strike during the night of 6/7 April
on airfields near Canton is curtailed by bad weather; only 1 B-25 reaches the
target, dropping fragmentation bombs on revetments. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb Koepang, Timor Island. (Jack
McKillop)

FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 290: 12 B-24s bomb V-weapon
sites at Watten without loss. Escort is provided by 27 P-47s without loss.
(Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s hit Perugia Airfield while B-26 Marauders
bomb a bridge and its approaches northwest of Orvieto; weather prevents other
medium bomber operations; fighter-bombers attack the railroad stations at
Capronica and Maccarese, guns southeast of Littoria, a road bridge east of
Pescasseroli, railroad bridges in the Arezzo area, other rail facilities in
central Italy, and small transport vessels in the Aegean Sea. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force P-39 Airacobras, P-40s and P-47s continue
to pound coastal targets in the Wewak, Aitape, and Madang areas and at
numerous other points along the coast. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: General Henry H "Hap" Arnold assumes command of the Twentieth Air
Force at Washington, DC where HQ will remain until July 1945. Chief of
Staff is Brigadier General Haywood S Hansell, Jr (currently Deputy Chief of
Air Staff), with Colonel Cecil E Combs as his deputy for operations. (Jack
McKillop)

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the airfield at Zagreb; numerous
other B-24s and B-17s abort because of weather; escorting fighters and the
bombers claim 17 enemy fighters destroyed in combat; 6 US aircraft are shot
down. (Jack McKillop)

1945: HIJMS Yamato sails from the Inland Sea on a Kamikaze mission to
Okinawa. There is only enough fuel on board for a one way trip.

The Japanese kamikaze onslaught against the US Navy begins off Okinawa.
Kamikazes sink two destroyers (DDs) (one is scuttled after being hit by four
kamikazes) and one landing ship tank (LST); and damage one light aircraft
carrier
(CVL), nine destroyers (DD), three destroyer escorts, three high-speed
minesweepers (DMSs), five minesweepers (AMs), two motor minesweepers (YMSs) and
one landing ship tank (LST). (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: With improving weather conditions combat strikes by the Tenth
Air Force in the central Burma battle area increase; 70+ fighter-bombers attack
troop concentrations, artillery positions, tanks, trucks, fuel dumps, and
general targets of opportunity along and immediately behind enemy lines;
targets are located in several areas including Paklu, Nawnghkio, Loilem, Takaw,
Mong Hko, Kongleng, Nawnghsan Pu, and Indaw; air supply sorties continue on a
steady basis throughout the day. (Jack McKillop)

CENTRAL PACIFIC: 11 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Guam bomb positions
and the airfield on Marcus Island. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 3 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s hit targets of opportunity in the
Bakli Bay area on Hainan Island and 8 P-51s blast railroad targets of
opportunity, troops, horses, and boat landings in the Chenghsien area and
along the Lung Hai railroad and Yellow River. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb the town of Hokko. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 4 Fourteenth Air Force P-38s knock out a bridge in the
Dien Bien Phu area. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 930: 659 bombers are dispatched
to hit rail targets in the Leipzig area using H2X radar; 4 B-17s and 1 P-51
are lost.
- 183 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Halle; 22 others hit Eisleben,
a target of opportunity. Escorting are 201 P-47s and P-51s.
- 321 B-17s hit the main station and marshalling yard at Leipzig and
109 hit Gera; 11 others hit the marshalling yard at Halle; 4 B-17s are
lost. The escort is 392 of 410 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost.
99 Ninth Air Force B-26s, A-20s and A-26 Invaders hit marshalling yards
at Gottingen and Northeim and the city area of Herzberg, and drop leaflets
over 3 city areas; fighters fly escort, alerts, sweeps, and armed
reconnaissance, and support the US VIII Corps in the Eisenach area, and the
XX Corps east of the Werra River near Muhlhausen. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26s on night intruder missions
during the night of 5/6 April, bomb several bridges in the Po River Valley,
scoring good results on 8 of the targets, also hitting an assembly area
along the Po River; XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter-bombers
hit lines of communications, mainly in the Po Valley, and support US Fifth
Army forces attacking toward Massa Lombarda; B-25s cancel missions against
targets on the Brenner line due to weather, but hit 6 bridges in the central Po
Valley and gun positions at La Spezia.
The Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 387 B-17s and B-24s, with fighter escort,
to bomb marshalling yard flak positions and an ordnance depot at Verona and
a marshalling yard and small arms plant at Brescia; 179 other bombers sent
against targets in northern Italy are recalled; 81 P-38s
dispatched to bomb a bridge in Austria abort due to weather; 14 manage to
attack bridges near the Austro-Italian border; 6 P-51s (of 54 airborne)
strafe railroad targets in the Straubing-Plattling, Germany area; others
fly reconnaissance missions. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: Eleventh Air Force bombers attacks targets in the Kurile Islands: 8
B-24s attack and photograph Kurabu on Paramushiru Island, especially the
airfield, while 8 B-25s hit radar installations in an all-out attack on
Hayakegawa, Kotani Island, and Minami Cape, dropping napalm-filled incendiaries
for
the first time; buildings and shipping in northern part of Hayakegawa are hit
especially hard; another B-25 flies weather reconnaissance. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: US Army Forces, Pacific (AFPAC) is established at Manila under
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.
Far East Air Forces missions: On Luzon Island, ground support sorties
continue in areas around Balete Pass, west of Ft Stotsenburg, north,
northeast and south of Laguna de Bay, and around Legaspi and Far East Air
Forces
fighters hit Carabao Island and Infanta. On Cebu, B-24s bomb a town north of
Cebu City while fighters support ground units. A-20s support
ground forces on Negros Island and B-25s pound Bunawan on Mindanao. B-24s
bomb Jolo Island, Philippine Island defenses and ammunition and supply dumps.
Seventh Air Force missions: 23 B-24s from Angaur Island in the Palau
Islands bomb barracks and a wharf at Bunawan on Mindanao. (Jack McKillop)

Tyree67 · April 7th

April 7th in WWII

April 7

We Remember:

1936: SWITZERLAND: In Geneva, Ethiopia again appeals to the League of
Nations for aid against Italy. (Jack McKillop)

1938: RUMANIA: Corneliu Codreanu, founder and leader of the anti-Semitic
paramilitary Iron Guard, which proposes a Christian-Nationalist political
system, is arrested by King Carol who feared his strong influence after his
party gained 1.6 million votes in the 1937 election. He is shot shortly
afterwards. (Jack McKillop)

1939: ALBANIA: In an effort to mimic German Chancellor Adolf Hitler's
conquest of Prague, Czechoslovakia, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's troops,
though badly organized, invade and occupy Albania. Although the invasion of
Albania was intended as but a prelude to greater conquests in the Balkans, it
proved a costly enterprise for Il Duce. Albania is already dependent on
Italy's economy, so had little to offer the invaders. The Italians state that
they invaded "for the reestablishment of peace, order, and justice."
"Influential persons in Albania had requested Italian intervention on account
of the
unbearable situation created by King Zog." (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: Regarding Danzig, Germany reproaches Poland for responding to her
offers with saber rattling. "Poland had obviously not understood the offer. .
. . The sort of reply which the Polish Government had given us to this offer
was no basis for a settlement of the matter in question." (Jack McKillop)

SPAIN: The Franco government joins Germany, Italy and Japan in the
Anti-Comintern Pact. (Jack McKillop)

1940: GERMANY: German warships begin to leave their home ports for the
invasion of Norway. The British have detected the concentration of shipping in
Kiel but because they have no previous information to compare this with they
fail to appreciate the significance. Some of the German units are sighted
and attacked by RAF aircraft, however. The whole of the German surface fleet is
committed to this operation, sailing at different times in six groups. They
plan to land at Narvik, Trondheim, Bergen, Kristiansand, Oslo and a small
detachment at Egersund.
Heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and 14 destroyers leave Bremen at 0510 hours
bound for Trondheim and Narvik, escorted by battle cruisers Scharnhorst and
Gneisenau. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sail with the Narvik group but are to go
on
to operate against shipping in the Arctic. In the evening, heavy cruisers
Blucher and Lutzow and light cruiser Emden with eight minesweepers, two armed
whaling ships and three torpedo boats sail with their troops for Oslo. Around
midnight, light cruisers Koln and Konigsberg, a gunnery training ship, a
storeship and eight torpedo boats leave Wilhelmshaven bound for Bergen.
A large part of the U-boat fleet is also involved in the campaign but they
achieve very little, partly because they use torpedoes with magnetic exploders
which do not function properly in high latitudes. (This error is discovered
during the campaign and is later rectified.) The ships carry units of three
divisions for the assault. Three more are earmarked for a second wave. Only
one, 3rd Mountain Division, is regarded by the Germans as being of best
quality.
They have air support from 500 transport planes, over 300 bombers and 100
fighters. For this air support to be effective it will be necessary quickly to
take airfields in northern Denmark and Norway itself. This difficult task
will be achieved. Meanwhile, British units are preparing to sail for their own
mining operations. In the evening the main forces of the Home Fleet sail.
(Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

Two German Army officers - Brigadier General Kurt Himer, chief of staff of
the 31st Corps, and Lieut. Colonel Hartwig Pohlman, operations officer of
Falkenhorst's Gruppe XXI are sent to Copenhagen and Oslo respectively, as
secret Plenipotentiaries of the Wehrmacht to advise and assist the German
ambassadors. They travel in civilian clothes, their uniforms being
forwarded separately as diplomatic baggage. (Andy Etherington)

NORWAY: During the night of the 7th/8th, the British lay three
minefields in Norwegian waters and Norway protests British minelaying
operations off
the Norwegian coast. (Jack McKillop)
The Norwegian government protests British minelaying operations off the
Norwegian coast. (Jack McKillop)

PANAMA CANAL ZONE: USN Destroyer J. Fred Talbott (DD-247) departs the
Canal Zone to rendezvous at sea with Japanese steamship SS Arimasan Maru to
provide medical assistance to a passenger on board the Japanese steamship.
(Jack McKillop)

U.K.: The British Norwegian invasion fleet sails from Scapa Flow in the
Orkney Islands. Escort is provided by units of the Home Fleet including the
battleships HMS Rodney and Valiant, the battle cruiser HMS Repulse, four
cruisers
and 14 destroyers which sail from Scapa Flow and Rosyth. Accompanying them is
a French cruiser and two destroyers. Two more British cruisers and nine
destroyers leave other duties and sail for Norwegian waters. (Andy Etherington
and Jack McKillop)
The prototype Blackburn B-20 crashes into the sea off Gourock Head on the
Clyde in Scotland during high speed trials due to aileron flutter. Three crew
escape by parachute but Flt. Lt. Bailey (Blackburn's chief test pilot) is
killed. (Andy Etherington)

1941: BERMUDA: U.S. Naval Operating Base, Bermuda, is established.
The aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) and other ships are to be based here
as the Central Atlantic Neutrality Patrol. These forces will be considerably
increased by three battleships and two carriers later in April and during May
and June. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

Germany: Berlin: The German high command reports that British sea
losses for March are 718,000 tons. (Andy Etherington)

GREECE: The German 12th Army under General Wilhelm List crosses the Greek
border from Bulgaria and after hard fighting, capture the important Rupel Pass.
Facing this force are four Greek divisions and about 30 miles (48
kilometers) away, the British Expeditionary Force of four British and
Commonwealth
divisions and a Polish brigade. Another three and a half Greek divisions are on
the Metaxas Line, a system of fortifications about 100 miles (161 kilometers)
long extending from the Beles mountains to the Nestos River. At 1800 hours,
the III Staffel of Kampfgeschwader (Bomber Wing) (III./KG 30) equipped with
Junkers Ju88s) take off from Gerbini, Sicily, to mine the approaches to
Piraeus harbour. The aircraft of 7./KG 30 led by Hauptmann (Captain) Hajo
Herrman
carried both bombs and mines and came in to the attack at low-level. Herrman's
aircraft released its bombs on the freighter SS Clan Frazer which, unbeknown
to the German crew, still had 250-tons of high explosives on board
. With a shattering explosion of almost nuclear proportions, the ship blew
up, destroying in the holocaust 12 other ships totalling 51,569 tons, in
addition to 60 light sail boats and 25 motor sailers, and making the port of
Piraeus unusable for many weeks. The defences were temporarily shattered, and
then
one anti-aircraft gun suddenly opened fire, putting Herrman's port engine
out of action. With great skill Hermann managed to land his aircraft at Rhodes
which had recently fallen to the Italians. (Andy Etherington and Jack
McKillop)
Personal Story for above: As a personal footnote to this point, I have
talked to my uncles, and my father about their wartime experiences (they were
teenagers), and both of them have related to me their memories about this
night.
My father, now deceased, relayed very little, except that the explosion
rocked windows all over the harbor. My Uncle Nick, though, went into more
detail,
and I heard more from my father's brother (through his son, my cousin). The
three of them (my father, his brother Parasko, and my uncle were sitting on a
stone wall that night, overlooking the harbor of Piraeus, watching the air
raid. They often did such things, first because it was neat to watch, and
second because it was the only entertainment that they had at night. All of a
sudden, one explosion (evidently hitting the "Clan Frazer') was quickly
followed
by another massive burst. The impact of the burst, lighting up the night
sky, knocked two of them off the wall. They said the fireball wen
t all over the water area, and that pieces of metal (shrapnel, parts of the
ship, etc.) were later found a block or two from their house (and they lived
rather far from the water's edge). The next morning, the harbor was a
shambles, and they went around their neighborhood looking for cracked window
panes
and broken windows. They were not disappointed. Later in the war, they got to
sit and watched the Allies bomb the German ships in the harbor. (Pete
Margaritis)
Greece break diplomatic relations with Bulgaria and Hungary. (Jack
McKillop)

LIBYA: On the coast Derna is overrun in the continuing Axis advance.
Inland near Mechili an armored battle begins between the German 5th Panzer
Regiment and the remnants of the British 2nd Armoured Division. As a result,
the commander of the 2nd Armoured Division and much of his command surrender
at Mechili. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

U.K. Montgomery is appointed commander of 12 Corps, responsible for
the defence of the south-east coast, covering Kent and Sussex. (John Nicholas)
In an attempt to combat the growing losses suffered at the hands of radar
equipped night fighters and AA guns the Luftwaffe simultaneously attack a
number of targets stretching all the way from the southern coast to
Scotland. (John Nicholas)
London: The standard rate of income tax was today raised by 1/6 to ten
shillings in the pound (50%). Persoanl allowances and tax exemption limits
are also drastically reduced. Money raised by the cuts in allowances will be
treated as compulsory savings, to be repaid through Post Office savings
accounts after the war. Steps to peg the cost of living have been promised.
(John
Nicholas)
RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: 105 Squadron makes a night raid on Cologne and
Bremerhaven. No. 18 Sqn. attacks shipping with ten aircraft, two
trawlers are damaged. (Andy Etherington)
The heaviest RAF attack on a single target yet, Kiel, involving 229
aircraft, takes place. This five-hour long raid was the 36th time that the
naval base
has been hit. Whitley, Wellington and Hampden bombers used 40,000
incendiaries to spread fire across the whole urban area. (John Nicholas)
RAF planes bomb Sofia in retaliation for enemy raids on Belgrade. (Andy
Etherington)
Great Britain severs diplomatic relations with Hungary. (Andy Etherington)

YUGOSLAVIA: The German XL Panzer Corps advancing from Bulgaria,
capturing Skopje in Macedonia and advancing towards Monastir. In the north, the
German 2nd Army, under General Maximillian Baron von Weichs, advances on
Zagreb while the Italian 2nd Army under General Vittorio Ambrosio crosses into
northwestern Yugoslavia from Italy. Powerful Luftwaffe contingents are
supporting the advance of the army by flying reconnaissance and by raiding
enemy
columns, positions and transport vehicles. As has been already reported, the
fortress installations and other military targets in Belgrade have been raided
repeatedly by the Luftwaffe, to devastating effect. In particular, the main
railroad station in Belgrade, a pontoon bridge over the Danube River east of
Belgrade, and several transport trains, have been badly hit. A multitude of
large
fires go on burning into the night and light the way for German
ground-attack aircraft as they make their fourth attack on the fortress of Belg
rade. Further, airfields, in central and southern Yugoslavia are bombed to
sustained effect and bombard with aerial guns. A number of Yugoslav aircraft
are destroyed on the ground. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
The head of the Croatian separatist movement, Ante Pavelic, calls on
Croatians to set up a separate state. (Jack McKillop)

1942: ALASKA: By proclamation, the 263 Japanese-Americans living in the
territory are notified that they may be relocated to the continental U.S.
(Jack McKillop)

Burma: IJA 18th Division arrives in Rangoon, Burma from Singapore.
(John Nicholas)

GERMANY: Karl Friedrich Stellbrink, an Evangelist minister in Luebeck, is
arrested along with three Catholic priests for criticizing Nazi rule.
Stellbrink was executed on 10 November 1943 in Hamburg. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the Japanese, attacking again in the II Corps
area with air and artillery support, force the entire corps main line of
resistance back to the Mamala River line; this line, too, becomes untenable,
and
Americans and Filipinos withdraw under cover of darkness, during the night
of the 7th/8th, to the Alangan River. The 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts,
released to the II Corps from the I Corps reserve, establishes a holding
position while the line is formed along the Mamala River. Meanwhile, attempts
by
Philippine Division units to form a continuous line prove futile. Philippine
Constabulary regiments defending the beaches are ordered into the battle line.
The I Corps is directed to withdraw southward to the Binuangan River line.
(John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
The remaining USAAF P-40 fighters on Bataan are ordered flown to Mindanao
Island. During the next three days, the P-40s will fly reconnaissance, cover
heavy bombers sent to Mindanao from Australia operating against concentrations
at Legaspi, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao, and carry out a strafing attack aircraft
at Davao. After the heavy bombers return to Australia on 12 April, the
fighters will continue to fly reconnaissance until Japanese forces envelop the
troops on Mindanao on 1 May. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The War Department officially states that the 8th Air Force will be
established in the UK as an intermediate command between US Army Forces in
British Isles (USAFBI) and the AAF commands. General George C Marshall
notifies Major General James E Chaney, Commanding General of USAFBI, of this
decision. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: Soviet Army troops force a very narrow corridor to Leningrad,
opening a tenuous rail link to the city. Trains run into the city with
desperately needed supplies and came out with civilians and the wounded, all
under
heavy artillery fire from the Germans. (Jack McKillop)
The Soviet Navy lists submarine M-176 Northern Fleet Varangerfjord
(lost off Norwegian coast, former M-93) (Mike Yared)

1943: 11th IJNAF Air Fleet begins "I" operation with attacks against
Guadalcanal and Tulagi. 180 a/c involved. The airgroups of 4 carriers have
been moved to land for this operation. This leaves almost no trained carrier
pilots left.
The Japanese aircraft attack shipping off the east coast of Guadalcanal, off
Koli Point and off Tulagi.
The second phase of the Japanese Operation I GO, 67 Aichi D3A, Navy Type 99
Carrier Bombers, Allied Code Name "Val," escorted by an estimated 117
Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied Code Name "Zeke," are
reported
by coast watchers to be moving down the "Slot" to attack a convoy off the east
coast of Guadalcanal, shipping at Koli Point, and a Task Force at Tulagi.
All 75 operable fighters on Guadalcanal, 36 F4F Wildcats, 9 F4U Corsairs, 12
P-38 Lightnings, 6 P-40s and 12 P-39 Airacobras, are scrambled, and the bombers
are moved to the southwestern tip of the island for safety.
The air battle takes place off the Russells, near Tulagi, and over the
convoy. Marine F4F pilots shoot down 12 "Val" dive bombers and 15 "Zeke"
fighters;
7 F4Fs and P-38s are shot down with the loss of a pilot. The "Vals" attack
Allied shipping and sink the corvette HMNZS Moa and the destroyer USS Aaron
Ward (DD-483) is damaged by one bomb hit and four near misses. Submarine rescue
vessel USS Ortolan (ASR-5) and tug USS Vireo (AT-144) attempt to beach Aaron
Ward, but the destroyer sinks as the result of bomb damage. Also damaged are
the oilers USS Kanawha (AO-1) and USS Tappahannock (AO-43) and tank landing
ship USS LST-449. Later, the tugs USS Rail (AT-139) and USS Menominee (AT-73)
and the net tender USS Butternut (YN-9), tow Kanawha into Tulagi harbor,
where the damaged oiler is beached just before midnight. (John Nicholas and
Jack
McKillop)

This is the date we [182nd Regiment, Americal Division, USA] left
Guadalcanal for Fiji, in 1943. I knew it was April, and that LIFE magazine had
called
it "the biggest air raid of the Pacific War so far", but they thought it was
only 100 Japanese planes. Yours says 180 planes. We were on the John Penn when
the planes came over.
All our planes were caught on the ground. I sneaked under a 20mm gun mount,
rather than be locked below decks, as the Navy did to keep us out of the way.
I saw the greatest air raid in my history of 3-1/2 years out there in war.
Planes went upwind, downwind, and crosswind clawing for height to attack the
enemy. P-38's which were new went straight up like an elevator. Planes were
falling with smoke trailing...no way to tell whose.
My late friend, Al Glendye, was Bos'n on a tanker loaded with air plane
fuel. The ship was straddled by two 500 lb bombs. Had either landed and blown
the
ship, others would have gone down with it. J.F.Kennedy's bio "PT-109" opens
with a chapter on this raid. He was coming out as a replacement when their
ship pulled into "Iron Bottom Bay" (Bill McLaughlin)

British 8th Army attack progresses at Wadi Akarit. Advance patrols meet
patrols from Patton's US Corps. on the road toward Gafsa.

A 4 day meeting between Hitler and Mussolini begins at Salzberg. They
decide to hold in North Africa.

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24
Liberators attack Lorengau on Manus Island. (Jack McKillop)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: In the Aleutians, the Eleventh Air Force
reconnaissance airplane aborts shortly after takeoff due to weather. (Jack
McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Individual Fifth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack
Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island and Kavieng on New Ireland Island.
(Jack McKillop)

BORNEO: USN submarine USS Trout (SS-202) lays mines near Sarawak. (Jack
McKillop)

BURMA: 2 Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells temporarily knock out a bridge
on the Ye-u railroad branch, crossing the Mu River between
Ywataung and Monywa; 18 B-25s, in 2 forces, bomb the Ywataung Marshalling Yard;
P-40s support ground forces north of Shingbwiyang and 6 B-24 Liberators bomb
Japanese HQ at Toungoo. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-25s hit areas along the northeastern coast
from Mur to Singor. B-24s bomb the landing ground at Babo and town area of Fak
Fak while individual B-17s and B-24s attack shipping and coastal targets at
Lae, Salamaua, Finschhafen and Wewak. (Jack McKillop)

SICILY: Ninth Air Force B-24s attack Palermo harbor. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force B-25s bomb retreating columns which are being
pursued north of Oued el Akarit by the British Eighth Army's 30 and 10
Corps while fighters carry out bombing and strafing operations the battle
area.
Northwest African Air Force Wellingtons attack Tunis and the Jabal al
Jallud Marshalling Yard. Weather cancels all other bomber missions except
for 2 reconnaissance sorties. All available airplanes of the XII Air Support
Command and Western Desert Air Force hit ground forces which are retreating in
all sectors. Fighters fly sweeps over Medjez el Bab (claiming 3 fighters
downed), a scramble mission northwest of Oued Zarga (5 fighters are claimed
destroyed), and over 100 other sorties (no encounters). Highway and motor
transport are bombed between Sfax and Sousse. Light and medium bombers, and
fighter-bombers attack concentrations north of the Oued el Akarit line. Units
of the
US II Corps make contact with the British Eighth Army on the Gabes-Gafsa road.
(Jack McKillop)

The motion picture "The More The Merrier" is released in the U.S. This
comedy, directed by George Stevens, and starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, and
Charles Coburn, is about the housing shortage in Washington, D.C. Arthur
decides
to be patriotic and shares her apartment with Coburn who then turns around
and rents to McCrea. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards; Mr. Coburn
won for Best Supporting Actor. Mr. Stevens also won the New York Film
Critics Circle Award for Best Director. (Jack McKillop)

1944: IJA encircle the 161st British Brigade inear Kohina, and Assam,
India. (John Nicholas)

ATLANTIC: Destroyer USS Champlin (DD-601) is damaged when she
intentionally rams German submarine U-856, 380 miles (612 km) southeast of Cape
Sable,
Nova Scotia, Canada. Champlin and destroyer escort USS Huse (DE-145) had
teamed to sink U-856. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Thirteenth Air Force aircraft attack New Britain
Island. 50+ fighter-bombers pound supply areas at Ratawul; 9 B-25s hit
Talili Bay, 11 bomb Vunakanau Airfield and 13 blast Tobera Airfield; 6 B-25s
maintain night heckling of the Rabaul area.
The destroyer USS Saufley (DD-465) sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS I-2, 50
miles (80 km) west-northwest of New Hanover Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 20+ Tenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs and B-25s hit gun positions at
Mawlu; throughout the Mogaung Valley 100+ fighter-bombers and 2 B-25s hit
numerous targets including fuel and ammunition stores near Many wet,supplies
and
a railroad station at Myitkyina, supplies and a radio station at Sahmaw, the
Kamaing area, bridges at Nsopzup and supply dumps west of Mogaung; 30+ of the
fighter-bombers carry out ground support missions at Shaduzup. (Jack
McKillop)

CHINA: 7 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s strafe 3 barges and several junks at
Saint John Island, leaving them burning. 2 B-24s on a sweep from Hong Kong
to Formosa claim a large river boat and a small freighter sunk and 2 other
freighters damaged; 1 B-24 is lost.

EAST INDIES: Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb barracks at Penfoei on Timor
Island. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 4 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s attack a large
concentration of small vessels at Haiphong, French Indochina, sinking at least
4.
(Jack McKillop)

ITALY: 400+ Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling
yards; the B-17s bomb Treviso, the B-24s hit Mestre and Bologna; almost 100
P-38s
provide escort; P-47s fly a sweep over the Gorizia-Udine area; the bombers
and fighters claim almost 20 aircraft shot down.
Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26 Marauders attack bridges, tracks and a
viaduct at Attigliano, Ficulle, Certaldo, Pontassieve and Incisa in Valdarno,
and
hit the Prato marshalling yard; A-20 Havocs hit an ammunition dump; Ausonia,
Pignataro Interamna, San Apollinare and Terracina are bombed by P-40s along
with a dump and several gun positions southeast of Rome; P-47 Thunderbolts
also hit bridges and trucks in this same area and attack the Empoli marshalling
yard while A-36 Apaches hit gun emplacements, train and tracks in the
Orvieto area and vicinity and approaches to the Montalto di Castro bridge.
(Jack
McKillop)

JAPAN: 8 Eleventh Air Force B-24s dispatched to destroy a convoy,
believed southeast of Matsuwa Island, Kurile Islands, turn back due to engine,
navigation and weather difficulties. A flight of F-7As Liberators of the 2d
Photographic Charting Squadron, 1st Photographic Charting Group, 311th
Photographic Wing (Mapping and Charting), arrives in the Aleutian Islands; its
mission
is mapping of the Kurile Islands. The squadron is based at Peterson Field,
Colorado Springs, Colorado and sends detachments to various parts of the world
to photo map. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s from Tarawa Atoll hit Maloelap
Atoll, rearm at Majuro Atoll, and bomb Jaluit Atoll on the return flight.
(Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-25s, A-20s and P-39 Airacobras hit
villages, barges, a supply area, and coastal road in areas around Madang,
Tadji,
Bogia, and Uligan Harbor; and B-24s bomb Langgoer and Wakde Island. (Jack
McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 4 Thirteenth Air Force P-40s bomb pillboxes near the
Reini River while 2 B-24s bomb Monoitu Mission. (Jack McKillop)

1945: Japanese BB Yamato receives the attention of 380 US a/c attacking
in 2 waves from TF 58. She aborbs 10 torpedoes and 5 bomb strikes before
sinking.
Amplifying the above;
The crew of a Martin PBM-3D Mariner of Patrol Bombing Squadron Twenty One
(VPB-21), based at Kerama Retto anchorage in the Ryukyu Islands, spots the
Japanese First Diversion Attack Force built around the battleship HIJMS Yamato
and alerts the Fifth Fleet. Task Force 58 launches 386 aircraft and the
battleship and the light cruiser HIJMS Yahagi are sunk west-southwest of
Kagoshima,
Japan at 30.40N, 128.03E. Also sunk are destroyers HIJMS Asashimo, HIJMS
Hamakaze, HIJMS Isokaze and HIJMS Kasumi; the destroyers HIJMS Suzutsuki, HIJMS
Hatsushimo, HIJMS Yukikaze and HIJMS Suzutsuki are damaged. (Jack McKillop)

OKINAWA: USN Fleet units shoot down 54 kamikazes against the loss of 10
fighters.
High speed minesweeper USS Emmons (DMS-22), irreparably damaged by five
kamikazes the previous day, is scuttled by high speed minesweeper USS
Ellyson (DMS-19); tank landing ship USS LST-447 sinks as the result of
damage inflicted by kamikaze the previous day. Motor gunboat PGM-18 is sunk
by mine; while picking up PGM-18's survivors, motor minesweeper YMS-103 is
damaged by mine. Also off Okinawa, kamikazes damage carrier USS Hancock (CV-19)
(a suicide plane cartwheeled across her flight deck and crashed into a group
of planes while its bomb hit the port catapult to cause a tremendous
explosion); battleship USS Maryland (BB-46) [a suicide plane loaded with a
500-pound
(227 kg) bomb crashed the top of turret No. 3 from starboard at dusk];
destroyers USS Longshaw (DD-559), and USS Bennett (DD-473); destroyer escort
USS
Wesson (DE-184); and motor minesweeper YMS-81; a shore battery damages motor
minesweeper YMS-427; tank landing ship USS LST-698 is damaged by grounding;
tank landing ship USS LST-890 is damaged in collision with LST-788. (John
Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Japanese ship loses include light cruiser HIJMS Isuzu by
submarines USS Gabilan (SS-252) and USS Charr (SS-328); an auxiliary submarine
chaser by submarine USS Tirante (SS-420); a fleet tanker by aircraft; and a
merchant cargo ship by mines laid by B-29s;

PHILIPPINES: Far East Air Forces fighters fly 130+ sorties in support of
ground forces at Solvec Cove, Villa Verde Trail, the Ipo and Marikina
Rivers, and northeastern Laguna de Bay on Luzon. B-24s again bomb Bunawan
on Mindanao Island while B-24s and P-38s hit Jolo Island.
24 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Angaur Island in the Palau Islands,
bomb the barracks area at Bunawan on Mindanao Island. (Jack McKillop)

There is heavy fighting by US 1st and 9th Armies around the Ruhr pocket.

U-1195 (German) 96 feet. Depth charged; 9 of 10 self escape from after hatch
even with 40 degee list on bottom, one without Drager gear, they survive as
PoWs. (Mark Horan)

ATLANTIC: The destroyer escort USS Gustafson (DE-182) sinks German
submarine U-857 off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRIA: A small number of Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack
marshalling yards at Innsbruck, Sankt Veit an der Glan, and Klagenfurt. 82
P-38s bomb
the Tainach-Stein railroad bridge while 74 others sent against a bridge in
southern Austria abort due to weather. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 95 Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers operating over and behind
Japanese lines in central Burma pound troop concentrations, trucks, and supply
areas, and sweep roads south of the bomb line. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 14 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s hit town areas and targets of
opportunity at Sichuan, Hsihhsiassuchi, Neihsiang, Shaoyang, and Nanchang and
24
P-51s attack river, road and rail traffic in the Yellow River area, south of
Anyi, at Yuncheng, and at Tengfeng. 4 B-24s bomb harbors and dock areas at
Bakli and Samah Bays on Hainan Island. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Bima Airfield on Sumbawa Island
in the Lesser Sunda Islands. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Due to bad weather north of the Philippines, Far East Air Forces
B-24s and P-38s hit various targets of opportunity. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Fourteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Haiphong and 8 P-38s hit
targets of opportunity around Dien Bien Phu and along the Nam Hon area. (Jack
McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 931: 1,314 bombers and
898 fighters are dispatched to hit airfields, oil and munitions depots and
explosive plants in central and northern Germany; all primary targets are
bombed visually; they meet 100+ conventional fighters and 50+ jets; the German
fighters attack fiercely and in the ensuing air battle down 15 heavy bombers;
the AAF claims 104-13-32 aircraft including a few jets.
- 143 B-17s bomb airfields at Kaltenkirchen and 134 hit Parchim; 36 attack
an oil depot at Buchen while 104 bomb a munitions depot at Gustrow; secondary
targets hit are the marshalling yards at Neumunster by 37 B-17s and Schwerin
by 48 B-17s; 1 other hit Salzwedel Airfield, a target of opportunity; they
claim 26-10-10 aircraft; 14 B-17s are lost. Escorting are 317 P-51s; they claim
31-1-8 aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost.
- 128 B-24s bomb an explosive plants at Krummel while 168 bomb a plant at
Duneburg; 26 others hit the marshalling yard at Neumunster; they claim 14-2-6
aircraft; 3 B-24s are lost. The escort is 252 P-47s and P-51s; they claim
30-0-7 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
- 107 B-17s attack the airfield at Wesendorf , 93 hit Kohlenbissen Airfield
and 115 bomb an oil depot at Hitzacker; 92 hit Lundeburg, the secondary; 25
others bomb targets of opportunity; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft. 209 P-51s
escort without loss.
The Ninth Air Force dispatches 268 A-20s, A-26 Invaders and B-26 Marauders
to strike marshalling yards at Northeim and Gottingen, plus 2 town areas;
fighters fly escort, patrols, and armed reconnaissance, and support the US 7th
Armored Division at Schmallenberg, the 3d and 9th Armored Divisions along the
Weser River east of Warburg, the VIII, XII, and XX Corps in the Muhlhausen,
Eisenach, and Meiningen areas (including strong air support against a
counterattack on the XII and XX Corps at Struth), the 2d Armored Division along
the
Sarstedt-Hildesheim road, and the XVI Corps between the Lippe and Ruhr Rivers
in the Essen area. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: During the night of 6/7 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and
A-26s bomb bridges at Lavis, Ala, Rovereto, and San Ambrogio di VaIpolicella,
and several Po River crossings; during the day weather grounds the medium
bombers; XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter bombers, operating on a
limited scale, hit the Montechino oil field, ammunition dumps and
communications targets north of the battle area, and gun positions in the Monte
Belvedere-Strettoia area in which US Fifth Army forces push north.
128 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack the Mezzocorona railroad
bridge and nearby road bridge, and the Verona-Parona di VaIpolicella railroad
bridge while 500+ bombers return to base without bombing because of multi-layer
clouds. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The XXI Bomber Command flies two missions:
- Mission 58: 101 B-29 Superfortresses bomb the Nakajima aircraft engine
plant at Tokyo; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 80-23-50
Japanese aircraft; 3 B-29s are lost.
- Mission 59: 153 B-29s hit the Mitsubishi aircraft plant at Nagoya; 29
others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 21-11-22 Japanese aircraft; 2
B-29s
are lost.
The missions above are escorted by 91 VII Fighter Command P-51s from Iwo
Jima; they claim 21-5-7 Japanese aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost. This is the first
B-29 mission escorted by fighters. One of the groups flying escort is the 15th
Fighter Group which was based at Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii on 7
December 1941.
An Eleventh Air Force B-24 flies a radar-ferret mission along the coasts of
Paramushiru and Harumukotan Islands in the Kurile Islands. (Jack McKillop)

1967 Mod_Tyree67 was born

afilter

I like this, but I hope you are cutting and pasting from a source. Maybe just a couple of key highlights.

Tyree67

I belong to several wwII sites and groups I get this on a daily basis.

Demotox

Duck Crusader

Looks kinda like we've got one.....

Tyree67 · April 8th

April 8th in WWII

April 8

We Remember:

1936: FRANCE: The French government prepares a critique of the German
peace proposals of 31 March and counters them with a plan of her own. (Jack
McKillop)

SWITZERLAND: Britain presents a memorandum to the League Committee of
Thirteen on the Italian use of poison gas against the Ethiopians. The League
Committee of Thirteen appointed a committee of jurists to examine the protocols
of
1925, said to have been violated by the Italians, to consider measures member
states should take as punishment for violation, and to determine what organ
was competent for deciding the question of violation. (Jack McKillop)

1938: FRANCE: Premier Eduard Daladier forms a new French government.
(Jack McKillop)

1939: ALBANIA: One day after invading Albania, Italian troops capture the
capital, Tirana, and King Zog flees to Greece. (Jack McKillop)

1940: Germany: Early this morning the light cruiser 'Karlsruhe', the
auxiliary 'Tsingtau' and 10 Torpedo boats leave Germany for Kristiansund,
and four mine sweepers head for Egersund, a terminal of the telephone and
telegraph cable from England. 28 submarines of the Kriegsmarine form a
protective
screen across the western approaches to Norway. (Andy Etherington)
Lieutenant General Leonhard Kaupisch, Commanding the XXXI Corps, musters his
troop and a collection of armed icebreakers, minesweepers, merchant ships
and prepares to invade Denmark tomorrow. (Andy Etherington)
The first operational sortie of the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 'Kondor', when
aircraft of KGrzbV 105 serve as both transports and maritime reconnaissance.
(Andy
Etherington)
German Embassies: In Oslo and Copenhagen at 23:00 hours. Himer and
Pohlman brief their respective Ambassadors on the forthcoming invasions. (Andy
Etherington)

NORWAY: During Operation WILFRED, Royal Navy destroyers lay a
minefield, simulated and real, at three points off the Norwegian coast between
Stadtlandet and Bod¿ located just north of the Arctic Circle. The Norwegian
government is notified by the British and French that mines have been laid in
their
territorial waters. The destroyers are covered by battlecruiser HMS Renown
and other destroyers. One of the screen HMS Glowworm, a 'G' and 'H' class
destroyer, is detached to search for a man overboard, just as the heavy cruiser
Admiral Hipper heads into Trondheim. They meet to the northwest of the port and
the destroyer is sunk at around 0900 hours about 140 miles (225 kilometers)
northwest of Trondheim, but not before she rams and damages the Hipper.
Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope RN (b. 1905) is posthumously
awarded
the Victoria Cross (VC not gazetted until 1945, but the first deed for which
the VC was awarded in the war). The Admiral Hipper picks up the surv
ivors. At 1150 hours, the German transport SS Rio de Janeiro is sunk by the
Polish submarine Orzel near the town of Lillesand and many German soldiers
are rescued by Norwegian fishing boats. There is heavy loss of life, but
Wehrmacht soldiers in full combat dress who reach shore in southern Norway,
tell
the Norwegians that they were on their way to Bergen to aid the Norwegians
against the British. When the report of this sinking reaches Berlin, the naval
staff assumed that the element of surprise had been lost and that the invasion
fleet would now be meeting resistance at all points along the Norwegian coast,
but within a few hours the German naval attache in Oslo advises Berlin that
there were reliable signs that the Norwegian Administration had not been
alerted, and that the navy were showing no signs of expected imminent danger.
Despite these and other indications, the Norwegian authorities only alert the
coastal forces in the evening. The chief communication officer of t
he Norwegian Admiralty staff is spending the evening with other important
guests at the home of the German Air attache in Oslo, and is not called away
until 2330 hours, and it is 0100 hours the following morning (9 April) before
the Admiralty orders the activation of mines in the Oslo Fjord, but too late,
as German ships had already entered the fjord. Also shortly after 0100 hours
on 9 April, the Army Chief of Staff informs Lieutenant Colonel Nielsen, Chief
of the General Staff Army Operations section, that fortresses at the mouth
of the Oslo Fjord have been attacked, and to black out the city as a
precaution; the lights go out in Oslo at 0158 hours on 9 April. (John
Nicholas, Andy
Etherington, Alex Gordon and Jack McKillop)
The British naval forces at sea are of course alerted, but are not kept up
to date with all the information available to London and are, therefore,
deployed too far out to sea to hope for interceptions of a landing force.
Instead
they guard against a raid out toward the Atlantic thus missing a chance to
stop the German invasion of Norway. (Andy Etherington)

U.K.: The troops embarking at Rosyth, Scotland, for the Anglo-French
expedition to Narvik, Norway, are sent back onshore and their cruiser
transports sail. In fact these troops could easily have reached their
objectives
before the German landings, or at least have been on hand for an attempt on
Narvik early in the campaign. (Jack McKillop)
British keep forces offshore fearing a raid into the Atlantic, thus missing
a chance to stop the German invasion of Norway. Troops bound for Narvik are
offloaded and the cruisers depart. This action nullifies all later attacks
the British and French make in Norway. (John Nicholas)

The British FAA: The startling events in Norway, for all intents, found the
Royal NavyÕs Air Branch about as ill-placed as possible. The loss of HMS
Courageous in September 1939 had left the Navy with six flight decks in
commission. HMS Argus, the oldest and least serviceable, was operating out of
Toulon, France as the FleetÕs Deck Landing Training carrier. HMS Hermes, the
next smallest in size and effectiveness, was stationed at Freetown to cover the
South Atlantic trade routes. HMS Eagle was in drydock at Singapore
undergoing an extensive refit to repair the damage sustained from an accidental
explosion in her bomb ready room. HMS Furious, the oldest of the FleetÕs fast
carriers, having just completed a long refit at Devonport, was due to reenter
service momentarily. The FleetÕs remaining two fast carriers had both just
arrived at the new home of the Mediterranean Fleet, Alexandria, Egypt,
intending
to begin an extensive work-up period with their Torpedo-Spotter-R
econnaissance (TSR) squadrons. Finally, a seventh carrier, the first of the
FleetÕs new armored carriers, HMS Illustrious, was fitting out at Devonport,
scheduled to commission in late May. Thus, with the Fleet about to embark
on the first naval campaign of the war, there was only one carrier, the navyÕs
oldest, in home waters!
When it came to its aircraft, the Fleet was only a little better off.
Despite steady expansion since September 1939, the Fleet Air Arm consisted of
but
twenty first-line squadrons: There were fourteen
Torpedo-Spotter-Reconnaissance squadrons, thirteen (810, 812, 813, 814, 815,
816, 818, 819, 820, 821,
823, 824, and 825) each operating nine to twelve Fairey Swordfish and one (826)
that had just received the first batch of the Fairey companyÕs new
Albacore, the SwordfishÕs planned replacement. The remaining six were fighter
squadrons: four (800, 801, 803, and 806) operating a combination of Blackburn
Skua
II fighter-dive bombers and Blackburn Roc turret-fighters, and two (802 and
804) operating Gloster Sea Gladiator biplane fighters.
As fortune would have it, while nine of the TSR and one of the fighter
squadrons were embarked on the overseas carriers, the remainder were actually
in
the UK, although all were not fully worked up. Both 816 and 818 Squadrons
were at RNAS Cambeltown (near Greenock) with nine Swordfish TSRs each, ready to
embark on HMS Furious when her refit was completed. 815 (Bircham Newton) and
819 Squadrons (Ford) were working up with the RAFÕs Coastal Command for
ultimate deployment on HMS Illustrious. Finally, 826 was just beginning its
working up Ford.
Three of the FleetÕs fighter squadrons, 800 (six Skua IIs, three Rocs), 803
(nine Skua IIs, three Rocs), and 804 (twelve Sea Gladiators) had for some
time been concentrated at RNAS Hatston (in the OrkneyÕs) defending the Fleet
anchorage at Scapa Flow. 801 Squadron (six Skua IIs, three Rocs), earmarked
for
HMS Furious, was at Evanton (Scotland) working up, while 806 Squadron (eight
Skua IIs, four Rocs) was doing likewise at West Freugh in preparation for
joining HMS Illustrious.
Unfortunately, the lack of available flight decks would, at least initially,
limit these squadrons to operating from land bases. Tactically, this was a
severe limitation as, other than the Skua fighter-dive bombers, none of the
FleetÕs combat aircraft had the range to reach Norway from any base in the UK.
Further, while the Skuas could reach the Norwegian coast in the Bergen
area, it was at the extreme limit of their range, leaving only a miniscule fuel
reserve to get home on after any strike. Thus, the FleetÕs ability to
challenge the Luftwaffe over Norway would be greatly inhibited during the
critical
early phases of the invasion. (Mark Horan)

1941: ERITREA: The Italians in the seaport of Massawa, the main Italian
naval base in East Africa, surrender to British and French Foreign Legion
troops. Of the 13,000 men defending the town, 3,000 have been killed and 5,000
wounded. The last Italian warship in East African waters, the torpedo boat
Vincenzo Giordano Orsini, is scuttled by its crew prior to the British entering
the town however, the Allies capture 17 large Axis merchant ships in the port
along with many smaller military and civilian vessels. The 4th Indian Division,
which has played a large part in the Allied campaign in Eritrea, is
immediately prepared for shipping to Egypt where the Allied forces are under
great
pressure. The priority in the East African campaign is now to clear the road
between Asmara and Addis Ababa and troops are being sent to this task from both
ends of the road. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
Before the final scuttling Italian MTB MAS213 torpedoes and damages cruiser
HMS Capetown as she escorts a convoy off Massawa. Four Italian submarines do
manage to escape and eventually reach Bordeaux. (Andy Etherington)

GREECE: German armor advancing through the Doiran Gap pushes back the Greek
19th Division and the British 1st Armoured Brigade is sent to their aid.
German units moving down the Axios Valley reach Kilkis late in the evening. The
weather on the battlefield is terrible. Snow falls intermittently on the
mountains and it is raining in the valleys and sometimes fog envelops the
mountains and does not lift until 1000 hours. A force of Australian, British and
New
Zealand units under Major General Iven Mackay, General Officer Commanding 6th
Australian Division, is formed to stop the German advance down the Florina
Gap. General Thomas Blamey, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, is
ordered to prepare for the defense of the Aliakmon line with the Australian
16th Brigade, Greek 12th Division and the New Zeland Division. (Andy
Etherington and Jack McKillop)

LIBYA: Mechili falls to the German attacks in the morning and the
Germans immediately begin to organize an advance to Tobruk. (John Nicholas
and
Jack McKillop)

U.K.: During the night of the 8th/9th, the Luftwaffe attacks Belfast, County
Antrim, Northern Ireland, killing 13 and injuring 81. The Luftwaffe also
bombs Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and the body of Christchurch church
built
in 1832 as a replacement for the medieval church is gutted by incendiaries.
(Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)
RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: No. 21 Sqn attack three ships near the Danish
coast and bomb a bridge being built near Ringkobing. 110 Sqn. try
unsuccessfully to block the Kiel Canal during the night. (Andy Etherington)

U.S.: An "Agreement relating to the defense of Greenland" is signed with the
Danish minister to the U.S. This agreement includes Greenland in the U .S.
system of cooperative hemispheric defense. (Jack McKillop)

YUGOSLAVIA: The German 1st Panzer Group Kleist under General Ewald von
Kleist captures Nis (or Nish) in Serbia and advances along the Morava Valley
towards Belgrade. The Yugoslav Army in southern Serbia is retreating under
enemy
pressure and thereby exposing the left flank of the army (Andy Etherington
and Jack McKillop)
Two nights of German air raids wreak havoc in Belgrade, Yugoslavia;
estimates of dead range from 1,500 to 30,000 people. The Germans claim to have
swept
into the strategic town of Skoplje, 50 miles across the border from Bulgaria,
gaining a foothold at the head of the Vardar valley and cutting the first
line of communication between Greece and Yugoslavia. (Andy Etherington)

1942: ATLANTIC: Three unarmed U.S. merchant tankers are torpedoed by
German submarines off the East Coast of the U.S.: (1) U-160 attacks a ship
bound
from Corpus Christi, Texas, to New York City, about 65 miles (105
kilometers) southeast of Beaufort, South Carolina, but she manages to reach
Hampton
Roads, Virginia, under her own power. One man of her 33-man crew is lost in the
attack. (2) U-123 sinks the second ship, which is en route from Port Arthur,
Texas, to Providence, Rhode Island, about 53 miles (85 kilometers) east of
Brunswick, Georgia. (3) U-123 then proceeds to sink the third ship about 85
miles (137 kilometers) east of Brunswick, Georgia. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: Pilots of the 1st and 3d Fighter Squadrons, American Volunteer Group
(AVG, aka, ÒThe Flying TigersÓ) shoot down 12 Japanese fighters near Loiwing
Airdrome in northern Burma during the afternoon. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Japanese forces landed and occupied, without a fight, the town
of Djailolo on Halmahera Island. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: During the night of the 8th/9th, seven of 13 RAF Bomber Command Welli
ngtons dispatched bomb the port area at Le Havre and one bombs the port area
at Cherbourg. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: During the night of the 8th/9th, 272 RAF Bomber Command bombers
(177 Wellingtons, 41 Hampdens, 22 Stirlings, 13 Manchesters, 12 Halifaxes and
seven Lancasters) are dispatched to bomb the Blohm and Voss submarine shipyards
at Hamburg. Icing and electrical storms are encountered and only 175 bombers
hit the targets with the loss of four Wellingtons and a Manchester. Overall,
the raid is a failure; 17 people are killed and 119 injured. Other targets
bombed are: three bomb Heligoland, two bomb Emden and individual aircraft
attack Cruxhaven, Norden and Bremen. Bremen reports a load of incendiaries
dropped very accurately on the Vulkan shipyard where four U-boats and several
surrounding buildings are damaged by fire. (Jack McKillop)

HAWAII: At 1200 hours, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6), with the
heavy cruisers USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) and Northampton (CA-26), four
destroyers, and the oiler USS Sabine (AO-25), sortie from Pearl Harbor to
rendezvous with the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) which is carrying USAAF
B-25s
to attack Japan. (Jack McKillop)

INDIA: A USAAF cargo plane makes the first flight over "The Hump," the
22,000-foot (6706 meters) high Himalayan mountain range that separates India
and
China. During the next four years, more than 650,000 tons (589 670 metric
tonnes) of supplies will be flown over the Hump to Kunming, China. More than
450 planes will crash during the airlift, giving the route over the mountains
the nickname "The Aluminum Trail." (Jack McKillop)

Malta: German and Italian a/c bomb Malta in what will be the heaviest
raid of the war against this beleaguered outpost in the Mediterranean. (John
Nicholas)

NETHERLANDS: Three RAF Bomber Command Blenheims attack Eindhaven, Haamstede,
Leeuwarden and Schipol Airfields during the night of the 8th/9th. (Jack
McKillop)

NORTH SEA: Four RAF Bomber Command Bostons fly a sweep off the Dutch coast
during the day without loss. A ship is bombed but not hit. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the II Corps disintegrates completely under
sustained Japanese attacks from the ground and air. The Japanese soon discover
gaps in the Alangan River line held by the U.S. 31st Infantry and 803d
Engineer Battalion; the Philippine Scoutsâ 57th Infantry, 26th Cavalry and 14th
Engineer Battalion; and Philippine Constabulary troops, and stream southward at
will. In a final effort to stem the enemy advance, the Provisional Coast
Artillery Brigade (Antiaircraft), serving as infantrymen, forms a weak line
just
north of Cabcaben, but other units ordered to extend this line are unable to
do so. Major General Edward King, Commanding General Luzon Force, decides to
surrender his troops and orders equipment destroyed during the night of the
8th/9th. Of the 78,000 men of the Luzon Force, about 2,000 succeed in
escaping to Corregidor Island in Manila Bay. (John Nicholas and Jack
McKillop)
Submarine USS Seadragon (SS-194) delivers food to Corregidor, and evacuates
the final increment of naval radio and communications intelligence people.
(Jack McKillop)ÊÊÊÊÊ
The air echelons of the 3d, 17th and 20th Pursuit Squadrons (Interceptor),
24th Pursuit Group (Interceptor), and the 21st and 34th Pursuit Squadrons
(Interceptor), 35th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) based on Bataan begin operating
from Del Monte Field on Mindanao with whatever aircraft are left. (Jack
McKillop)

U.K.: Harry L Hopkins, Special Assistant to President Franklin D Roosevelt,
and General George C Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, arrive in London,
England, for talks with British service and supply chiefs concerning the
integration of U.S. and British manpower and war production for action in
Europe.
General Marshall urges an offensive in the west to relieve pressure upon the
U.S.S.R. and promises a constant flow of U.S. troops, including many air
units, to the U.K. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The USAAFÕs V Air Support Command, which was activated on 1 September
1941 to support the Armored Force, is redesignated 9th Air Force with
headquarters at New Orleans AAB, Louisiana. (Jack McKillop)
The War Production Board accelerated the transformation of the nation's
economy by ordering a halt to all production that was not deemed necessary to
the
war. The War Production Board's mandate quickly took hold; at the peak of
the war, the military utilized nearly half of the nation's production and
services. Far from causing fiscal woe, World War II proved to be a great boon
to
the economy: unemployment, which had climbed up to 14 percent in 1940, all but
evaporated, while the gross national product doubled by the close of the
war. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: The Soviet Navy lists submarine Shch-421 Northern Fleet off
Nordkapp Cape (sunk by K-22 after mine damage, former Shch-325) (Mike Yared)

1943: In the US, President Roosevelt orders certain wage and price
controls in his effort to combat inflation. His order also restricts the
ability of some workers to change jobs.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force weather aircraft scouts Kiska and
islands west of it with negative results. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24
Liberators carry out small harassing raids on Ulamoa and Kavieng Airdrome
on New Ireland Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 9 Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Meiktila Airfield; 6 B-24s
attack the airfield at Heho; and 4 P-40s and a B-25 strafe an enemy dump at
Ningam. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 10 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s strafe Ft Bayard Airfield. (Jack
McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17 and B-24s bomb Finschhafen. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The oiler USS Kanawha (AO-1), damaged by Japanese dive
bombers yesterday, and beached off Tulagi by tugs USS Rail (AT-139) and USS
Menominee (AT-73), sinks before daybreak. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force P-40s fly 29 bomber escort, armed reconnaissance,
and fighter-bomber missions against retreating column along coast north of
Gabes.
Northwest African Air Force P-40s and Spitfires fly sweeps and armed
reconnaissance over the Faid Pass-Fondouk el Aouareb-Kairouan-Ousseltia
area as the British X Corps attacks Fondouk. Other fighters fly widespread
reconnaissance and sweeps, attacking motor transport south of Zaghouan.
Western Desert Air Force fighters hit retreating columns in the Cekhira-Sfax
area.
(Jack McKillop)

1944: Konev's Soviet troops reach the River Siret in Rumania on a 60
mile front.

Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 40 2:50 Flight Time Hailakandi, Assam to
Malu, Burma. Bombed Japanese troop area (Chuck Baisden)

BELGIUM: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 292: 5 B-17s drop 1 million
leaflets on Liege, Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, and Mont-sur-Sombre, Belgium
at 2215-2227 hours without loss.
198 Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders attack Hasselt marshalling yard and
hit Coxyde Airfield; and 32 P-47 Thunderbolts bomb the area around Hasselt.
(Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: During the night of 7/8 April, 6 Thirteenth Air Force
B-25s heckle the Kavieng Airfield area on New Ireland Island. On New Britain
Island, 50+ fighter-bombers hit the northeastern section of Rabaul and 24
B-25s bomb the center of Lakunai Airfield. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: Nearly Tenth Air Force 100 fighter-bombers and 2 B-25s again pound
Mogaung Valley targets, including Manywet, storage areas and railroad at
Mogaung, positions at Shaduzup and general targets of opportunity around
Kamaing; 4 B-25s damage a bridge and track at Sittang. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s flying out of Kwajalein Atoll,
strike Truk Atoll while Abemama Island-based B-25s bomb Ponape Island.
(Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 6 Fourteen Air Force B-25s damage several small ships in Yulinkan
Bay; 2 others strafe an airfield on Weichow Island; 8 P-40s pound oil dumps
at Wanling, leaving the target area in flames. 9 B-24s bomb the airfield on
Samah Bay, Hainan Island; 4 others lay mines in the bay. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 11 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s bomb railroad yards at
Hanoi. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 291: 3 separate forces, a total
of 664 bombers divided into 13 combat wings, escorted by 780 fighters, are
dispatched against airfields in northwestern Germany and aircraft factories
in the Brunswick area; 34 bombers and 23 fighters are lost.
- 59 B-17s hit Oldenburg Airfield.
- 83 B-17s hit Quakenbruck Airfield, 60 hit Achmer Airfield, 41 hit
Rheine Airfield, 22 hit Twente Enschede, 21 hit Hesepe, 19 hit Handorf and
3 hit targets of opportunity; 4 B-17s are lost.
- 190 B-24s bomb aviation industry targets in Brunswick, 59 hit Rosslingen,
48 hit Langenhagen Airfield and 6 hit targets of opportunity; they claim
58-9-32 Luftwaffe aircraft; 30 B-24s are lost
Escort is provided by 136 P-38 Lightnings, 438 Eighth and Ninth Air Force
P-47 and 206 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs; the fighters claim
88-3-46 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 49-6-38 on the ground: 5 P-38s, 4
P-47s
and 14 P-51s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

INDIA: Four C-47 Skytrain squadrons of the 64th Troop Carrier Group based
in Italy arrive in India to support the emergency resupply of the British
Army's besieged garrison at Imphal. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack a bridge northwest of Orte
while A-20 Havocs successfully attack supply stores; fighter-bombers hit
several bridges, motor transport, and supply dumps in central Italy, and
bomb railroad tracks at Sesti Bagni and Maccarese. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s from Tarawa Atoll hit Maloelap
Atoll, rearm at Majuro Atoll and bomb Jaluit Atoll during the return flight.
(Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force P-40s attack targets of opportunity in the
Aitape-Wewak area; and A-20s hit targets in the Hansa Bay area, firing a
fuel dump and destroying several warehouses and other buildings at 3
plantations and strafing and bombing roads and bridges along the coast.
(Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: The submarine USS Seahorse (SS-304) attacks a Japanese convoy 7
miles (11 km) off Guam, torpedoing an ammunition ship; the explosion in
turn damages destroyer HIJMS Asakaze. The crippled ammunition ship,
burning, drifts ashore and explodes and sinks the next day. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 4 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s again bomb Monoitu Mission on
Bougainville Island. (Jack McKillop)

The Pied Pipers' record of "Mairzy Doats" makes it to the Billboard Pop
Singles chart. This is their first single to make the charts and it stays
there for 1 week reaching Number 8. (Jack McKillop)

1945: The British IV Corps and XXXIII Corps begin a rapid motorized
advance down the Sittang and Irrawaddy valleys in Burma.

The US 7th Army captures Schweinfurt, Germany.

In the Philippine Islands, the U.S. Army's 163d Regimental Combat Team lands
on Jolo Island (6.00N, 121.10E) in the Sulu Archipelago. The invasion is
supported by three USN destroyers and aircraft of Marine Aircraft Groups Twelve
and Thirty Two (MAG-12 and MAG-32) based on Mindanao. The Japanese defenders
withdraw into the hills in the center of the island. (Jack McKillop)

Off Okinawa, a destroyer and an attack cargo ship are damaged by Japanese
assault demolition boats while kamikazes sink an LCT and damage a destroyer.
Shore batteries damage a high-speed transport and an LST while an infantry
landing craft is damaged by Japanese aircraft. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb the Rattenberg railroad bridge and
strafe rail traffic in the Salzburg and Linz areas. (Jack McKillop)

BONIN ISLANDS: During the night of 8/9 April, 6 VII Fighter Command P-61
Black Widows from Iwo Jima Island, operating singly at 2-hour intervals,
bomb Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, Ani Jima, and Ototo Jima Islands. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 50+ Tenth Air Force P-38s and P-47s operating in central Burma battle
areas attack troops, supplies, gun positions, and trucks at several points
along and behind enemy lines, and sweep roads south of bomb line; transports
maintain operations throughout the day. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 31 Fourteenth Air Force P-51s knock out a bridge south of Shaoyang,
destroy a section of track at Sincheng, and hit numerous road and rail targets
of opportunity in the Yellow River areas and points to the south, from
Shanhsien to Loning, at Hungtung, and south of Hei-Shih Kuan; 4 B-24s attack
shipping targets of opportunity in the South China Sea and in Bakli Bay on
Hainan
Island and Yulin Bay, China and bomb Kowloon Docks in Hong Kong.
Mines laid by USAAF planes sink a Japanese cargo ship in the Yangtze, near
Shanghai, and damage escort destroyer HIJMS Habushi 10 miles (16 km) below
Woosung.
The Japanese Army initiates a ground offensive against Paoching. The purpose
is to drive 80 miles (129 km) into Hunan Province and capture Chichiang
Airfield. This turns out to be the last Japanese offensive in China. (Jack
McKillop)

FORMOSA: For the second consecutive day bad weather prevents aerial attacks
on the primary targets north of the Philippine Islands. Fifth Air Force B-24s
and B-25s hit secondary targets including Chomosui Airfield in the
Pescadores Islands, and on Formosa, Tainan town and railroad yards, the towns
of
Takao, Toko, and Kaiko, and other scattered objectives. (Jack
McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 932: 1,173 bombers and 794
fighters attack various targets in Germany; 9 bombers and 1 fighter are lost.
- 31 B-17s bomb the Derben oil depot and 73 attack Schafstadt Airfield; 213
bomb the Halberstadt marshalling yard while 73 attack the Stendal marshalling
yard; Derben is hit visually and the others targets visually and with H2X
radar; 4 B-17s are lost. Escorting are 239 P-51s.
- 86 B-17s hit the marshalling yards at Plauen, 101 hit the marshalling
yards at Hof, 111 bomb the marshalling yard at Eger and 203 attack an ordnance
depot at Grafenwohr; the attacks are made visually and with H2X radar; 5 B-17s
are lost. Escort is provided by 235 P-51s.
- 51 B-24s attack the munitions depot at Bayreuth, 89 bomb the Blumenthal
jet aircraft factory at Furth while 57 bomb Unterschlauersbach
Airfield and 91 hit Roth Airfield. The escort is 245 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-47
is lost.
Around 620 Ninth Air Force A-20s, A-26 Invaders, and B-26 Marauders
bomb the Munchenbernsdorf oil storage depot, the Sonderhausen
communications center, Nienhagen oil refinery, Celle marshalling yard, and
8 city areas; fighters escort the bombers, attack an airfield, fly patrols
and armed reconnaissance, and operate in conjunction with the US VIII, XII,
and XX Corps in the Thuringer Forest and Erfurt areas.
Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb the Garmisch railroad bridge and strafe
rail traffic in the Munich, area. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: During the night of 7/8 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26s hit
command posts and dumps; medium bombers, despite bad weather bomb railroad
bridges at Salorno, San Michele all' Adige, Vo Sinistro, and Bondeno, a
railroad fill and canal at Salorno, and gun positions at La Spezia; XXII
Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers concentrate their efforts on the
Brenner area communications (cutting lines in 31 places and damaging 4
bridges),
oil fields in the central Po Valley, and points further north.
500+ Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and B-17s, with fighter escorts, attack
communications in northern Italy, concentrating on the transportation system
feeding into the Brenner Pass; bridges, viaducts, and marshalling yards are hit
at
or near Bressanone, Campodazzo, Vipiteno, Fortezza, Campo di Trens,
Mezzocorona, Avisio, Brescia, Gorizia, Pordenone, and Ponte Gardena; a power
dam at
Ponte Gardena is also hit. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The XXI Bomber Command flies 2 missions against airfields on Kyushu
from which Kamikaze attacks are originating. (1) Mission 60: 29 B-29
Superfortresses strike 2 airfields at Kanoya. (2) Mission 61: 48 B-29s
attack the airfield at Kokubu; 1 B-29 is lost. (Jack McKillop)

OKINAWA: The destroyer USS Charles J. Badger (DD-657) is damaged by an
assault demolition boat; the destroyer USS Gregory (DD-802) is damaged by
kamikaze; motor minesweeper YMS-92 is damaged by a mine; tank landing ship
USS LST-939 is damaged in collision with tank landing ship USS LST-268; tank
landing ship USS LST-940 is damaged by grounding.
The aircraft carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Randolph (CV-15) arrive
off Okinawa from Utithi Atoll during the night of 7/8 April and Task Force 58
is reorganized with the following 15 aircraft carriers:
Task Group 58.1
USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) with Light Carrier Air Group 30 (CVLG-30)
USS Bennington (CV-20) with Carrier Air Group 82 (CVG-82)
USS Hornet (CV-12) with CVG-17
Task Group 58.2
USS Enterprise (CV-6) with Night Carrier Air Group 90 [CVG(N)-90]
USS Randolph (CV-15) with CVG-12
USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) with CVLG-45
USS Wasp (CV-18) with CVG-86
Task Group 58.3
USS Bataan (CVL-29) with CVLG
USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) with CVG-84
USS Cabot (CVL-28) with CVLG-29
USS Essex (CV-9) with CVG-83
Task Group 58.4
USS Independence (CVL-22) with CVLG-46
USS Intrepid (CV-11) with CVG-10
USS Langley (CVL-27) with CVLG-23
USS Yorktown (CV-10) with CVG-9 (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: 25 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Angaur Island, Palau
Island, bomb the Bunawan area on Mindanao Island.
Far East Air Force A-20s and fighter-bombers over Luzon support ground
forces particularly in the areas east of Manila. B-24s join A-20s and
fighter-bombers in support of ground forces on Cebu and Negros Islands.
Other B-24s bomb the north Davao Bay area on Mindanao and Jolo Island.
(Jack McKillop)

1981: Omar N. Bradley, a World War II general and the first chairman of
the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, died at age 88. (Tony Morano)

Tyree67 · April 9th

April 9

We Remember:

1940: Denmark: German Major-General Eduard Dietl's Mountain
Division
and the Luftwaffe's First Parachute Regiment go in as the spearhead of
this
invasion. The main German army is under General Kaupitsch. Hardly a
shot has
been fired.
The invasion began as 500am when three troopships sailed into
Copenhagen
harbour. A lone policeman who resisted the invaders with a pistol
fell, and the
city is taken without further fighting. Trawlers escorted by E-boats
then
brought troops into all Denmark's ports and major islands, giving them
control
of the vital sea passages, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat, between
Denmark and
Norway. Airborne troops land at Aalborg airfield and motorised troops
cross
Denmark's land frontier at Flensburg and Tondern. At Gjedser a ferry
came in
ferrying troops and an armoured train.
After 12 Danish deaths King Christian X ordered a cease-fire at about
6am.
The Danish C-in-C General Pryor ignored the order, then at 6.45am, the
King
sent his personal adjutant to ensure that it was obeyed.
The occupation puts Germany in an unprecedented legal position. Since
Denmark did not resist, Denmark is not at war with Germany. It is still
neutral.
The Germans are faced with a coalition government embracing most Danish

democratic parties which they cannot depose without undermining their
claims,
however tenuous, of not threatening other neutral nations. (Andy
Etherington)

Norway: The German Norwegian Invasion begins. Landings at Oslo,
Bergen,
Kristiansand, Trondheim and Narvik. Parachute troops are used at Oslo.

Norwegian forces resist strongly. (John Nicholas)
At Narvik, the 40 year old Norweigan ironclads "Eidsvold" and "Norge"
are
ordered to resist any attack by force, but both are sunk by torpedoes
from
destroyer "Wilhelm Heidekamp". "Norge" is sunk by torpedoes from the
German
destroyer BERND VON ARNIM. (Peter Beeston and Alex Gordon)
"Â®gir" and "Tor" are sunk at Frederikstad. (Alex Gordon)
The German Cruiser KÅ¡nigsburg is damaged near Bergen by coastal
batteries.
Cruisers "KÅ¡nigsberg" and "KÅ¡ln" are leading the Group 3 invasion
forces to
Bergen. The German Navy were regarding this part of the operation as
particularly dangerous since Bergen was only 8 or 9 hours sailing time
from Britain
and they expected that major units of the British Fleet would be
waiting for
them. In fact the British had no elements stationed off Bergen and the
German
ships were able to make their approach without any opposition.
However,
Norwegian Defence forces under Admiral Tank-Nielsen were alert and
prepared for
action, as the Admiral had reckoned on the German likely reaction to
the laying
of mines off Narvik by the British Navy the previous day.
He sent two minelayers to lay mines blocking the approaches to the
town from
both north and south, and stationed some torpedo boats and patrol
craft in
the same approaches. He alerted coastal forts, extinguished coastal
lighting
and requested the local army commander to supply infantry for the
town's
defence, and the air force to make reconnaisance patrols at first
light, and
Bergen was blacked out.
A coastal lookout reported the German invasion fleet heading towards
Bergen
from the south just after 0100, but when one of the torpedo boats
found
itself in a suitable position from which to launch an attack, it held
back when
its commander saw the overwhelming firepower of the oncoming German
ships. As
the ships came within range of the main fortress, the commandant
ordered the
searchights to be turned on, but they were unable to do so, because
their
electrical power came from the town supply which had been turned off
when the
blackout was ordered. The fortress gunners were able to identify
silhouettes of
the German warships, but held fire as two cargo ships sailed through
the
firing zone, and "KÅ¡ln" sailed past the fort and made port in Bergen.
The
fortress gunners then opened fire on the German ships bringing up the
rear of the
invasion force and hit the supply ship "Bremse" and seriously damaged
"KÂ¿nigsberg", but as the Norwegian infantry failed to arrive, the
city
fell to the Germans with little resistance. (John Nicholas and Alex
Gordon)
Germans capture the airfield at Stavanger and put their a/c to good
use.
(John Nicholas)
German Navy forces, committed to the Norweigian Campaign, include a
pocket
battleship, six cruisers and 14 destroyers for the landings at the
five
Norwegian ports, with battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau covering
the
two most northerly ones. Thirty U-boats patrol off Norway and British
bases, but throughout the campaign they suffer from major torpedo
defects.
Early in the morning HMS Renown is in action with the two
battlecruisers to the west of Vestfjord. Gneisenau is damaged and HMS
Renown slightly. The Germans withdraw.
Around the same time the occupation forces heading for Oslo come under
heavy fire from Norwegian coastal defences. Heavy cruiser Blucher is
sunk
by guns and torpedoes.
A British Home Fleet cruiser force is detached to attack the German
warships in Bergen, but is soon ordered to withdraw. As they do they
come
under sustained air attack and destroyer HMS Gurkha is bombed and sunk
south-west of Bergen. HMS Rodney is damaged by German air attack.
In the evening German cruiser Karlsruhe leaves Kristiansund and is
torpedoed by submarine HMS Truant. She has to be scuttled the next
day.
Three Heinkel 111 units of KGs 4, 26 and 100 performed 'demonstration
flights' and leaflet raids with some bombing of Oslo-Kjeller airfield
and
flak positions. All three Gruppen of KG30(Ju88) take part.
Luftwaffe: 41 bombers of KG 26 in company with Ju88s of KG30 attack
Royal Naval units, damaging cruisers HMS Devonshire, Glasgow and
Southampton and sinking the destroyer HMS Gurkha.
Three fighter Gruppen of ZG1 and ZG76 (Bf110C) take part as the
fighter cover.
German troops under General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst have been landed
in every Norwegian port as far north as Narvik. (Andy Etherington)

U.K. When the German invasion of Norway began, the Royal Navy was
quick
to respond, sending the Home Fleet to sea to support its other
elements at
sea and to, hopefully, crush the Kriegsmarine forces involved. One of
the
ships dispatched to join the gathering forces was the sole Royal Navy
carrier in
home waters, HMS Furious, escorted by the destroyers, HMS Maori, HMS
Ashanti,
and HMS Fortune. Unfortunately for future operations, Furious, which
had
been in the Clyde after completing a refit, had only been able to
land-on her
two Swordfish TSR Squadrons, 816 and 818. Her presence with the fleet
being
considered a necessity, the Admiralty refused permission for the ship
to close
the Orkneys to embark her Skua equipped fighter-dive bomber Squadron,
801,
then at Evanton in Scotland. Thus, when she joined the fleet off
Trondheim on
10 April, she embarked but 18 Swordfish and no fighters. (Mark Horan)

U.S.: The Joint Planning Committee of the Joint Board submits a new
general
estimate of the world situation in relation to American defense and
preparations for war. This is part of the revision of existing plans,
and for
developing or completing new plans for the rainbow series. Formulators
of the
rainbow plans envision multiple, simultaneous enemies, instead of
individual
enemies each designated by a single color, e.g., ORANGE stands for
Japan. (Jack
McKillop)

1941: The Metaxas Line in Greece collapses.

Birmingham is attacked by the Luftwaffe with 237 bombers. (Andy
Etherington)

Ernst Heinkel AG are put in control of Hirth Motoren Gmbh in order to
speed
up production of their turbojet engines. (Andy Etherington)

German forces take Veles, in Yugoslavia, and are advancing rapidly
towards
the Albanian border and junction with Italian forces after taking
Tetovo
and Prilep. Nish has also been captured and the advance guard of the
German
forces have crossed the Drava River. (Andy Etherington)
The Wehrmacht High Command announced: Mobile troops and infantry
divisions under the command of Field Marshal List, advancing from
Bulgaria,
have broken through the Yugoslavian border defences and despite
difficult
mountain terrain, have penetrated over 60 miles into the Skopje
(Ueskub)
Basin and crossed the Vardar river, thereby cutting off the Yugoslav
forces
from their Greek and British allies. (Andy Etherington)

The Yugoslav General Staff announced: All troop reports which have
reached our general staff so far indicate that the situation on the
fronts
is progressing favourably. We have succeeded in halting all attacks
and
have in part repulsed them. Our troops are fighting with the greatest
determination and have inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. (Andy
Etherington)

In Salonika the Germans within three days of crossing into Greece from
Bulgaria, have captured the key port of Salonika, and forced the
surrender
of the whole eastern wing of the Greek army between Salonika and the
Turkish border. This brings them within striking distance of the main
defence line, which is manned by British, Australian and New Zealand
troops.
An announcement from a British military spokesman in Athens indicates
though that there has not yet been any contact between Germans and
Commonwealth forces, although a small patrol was fired upon by New
Zealanders when trying to cross the river Aliakmon.
The strongest resistance to the Germans has been in the Struma valley,
where the frontiers of Yugoslavia, Greece and Bulgaria meet. German
military spokesmen admitted that the Greeks were putting up a tough
fight.
But then the weight a German armour forced the Yugoslavs to withdraw,
leaving the Greek flank exposed. the Greeks were brushed aside and the
Panzers raced on to Salonika.
In a message to his people, King George of the Hellenes says: "We
shall win with the help og God and the benediction of the Holy Virgin.
Yes,
we shall win! The historians will once again have to write that the
country
renowned for Marathon and Salamis does not waver, does not submit,
does not
surrender. Forward, Children of Hellas, for the supreme struggle, for
your
altars and your hearths." (Andy Etherington)

United States-Danish agreement relating to defense of Greenland
by the United States. Department of State BULLETIN, April 12, 1941,
Vol.
IV, pp. 443, 445. (Andy Etherington)

U.S.: The battleship North Carolina (BB-55) is commissioned at the New
York
Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, the first new U.S. Navy battleship to
enter
the fleet since USS West Virginia (BB-48) was commissioned in 1923.
(Jack
McKillop)

1942: Trincomalee, Ceylon is attacked by a/c from Nagumo's
carriers.
112,000 tons of shipping, 2 British CA, and 1 CV are sunk along with 4
smaller
ships.
Amplifying the above:
This is a continuation of the Japanese "C" Operation which began on 5
April.
All of the shipping had been cleared from Trincomalee harbor in
anticipation
of the raid but Japanese carrier-based aircraft still manage to sink
the
aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, the destroyer HMAS Vampire, the corvette
HMS
Hollyhock, the depot ship HMS Athelstane and RFA oiler British
Sergeant. (Jack
McKillop)

General King unconditionally surrenders US forces on Luzon, Philippine
Islands. This involves 75,000 men, 12,000 Americans. These troops
begin
the 100 mile march to San Fernando which will be known is history as
"The
Bataan Death March".
Officially this day in the Philippines is designated as "Araw ng
Kagitingan." In English, this roughly translates into "Day of Valor",
an official
holiday in honor of all Filipinos who fought in World War II. (John
Nicholas and
Ike Suarez)

ATLANTIC: The German submarine U-123 sinks unarmed U.S. freighter SS
Esparta, en route from Honduras to New York, about 14 miles (22,5 km)
south of
Brunswick, Georgia. Two ships are sunk off Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina: U-160
sinks the unarmed U.S. freighter SS Malchace about 50 miles (80 km)
off the
coast while U-552 sinks unarmed U.S. tanker SS Atlas. Later the same
day, U-552
torpedoes the tanker SS Tamaulipas; the tanker, gutted by fires,
sinks the
following morning.
Motor torpedo boat PT-59, on a practice run in upper Narragansett Bay,
Rhode
Island, accidentally torpedoes cargo ship USS Capella (AK-13); tugs are
on
the scene immediately and anchor the damaged auxiliary in shoal water.
(Jack
McKillop)

PHILIPPINES LUZON: General King unconditionally surrenders US
forces on
Luzon, Philippine Islands. This involves 75,000 men, 12,000
Americans.
These troops begin the 100 mile march to San Fernando which will be
known is
history as "The Bataan Death March". (John Nicholas)
Officially this day in the Philippines is designated as "Araw ng
Kagitingan." In English, this roughly translates into "Day of Valor",
an official
holiday in honor of all Filipinos who fought in World War II.
I was an ROTC cadet at the University of the Philippines and
volunteered to
be part of the Sunday Soldier program. We Sunday Soldiers marched
along with
Filipino World War II veterans. I am not sure if those marching behind
us
fought in Bataan, but they fought as guerrillas, that's for sure.
One scene I shall always remember, and I do not know why, is the
veterans
rehearsing the salute to the colors command and the drill commands in
Filipino.
During their time, the commands were in English. (Ike Suarez)

PHILIPPINES: USN facilities at Mariveles are demolished to prevent
enemy
use: Navy forces scuttle submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9),
minesweeper USS
Bittern (AM-36), tug USS Napa (AT-32), and drydock Dewey. Ferry
launches San
Felipe (YFB-12), Camia (YFB-683), and Dap Dap (YFB-684), and Canopus
motor
launches, evacuate men and equipment to Corregidor.
The submarine USS Snapper (SS-185) delivers food to Corregidor.
Motor torpedo boats PT-34 and PT-41 engage the Japanese light cruiser
HIJMS
Kuma and torpedo boat Kiji in a running fight off Cape Tanon, the
southern
tip of Cebu Island; Kuma is hit by a dud torpedo and machine gun fire.
Later
that same day, PT-34 is bombed and strafed by floatplanes from
Japanese
seaplane carrier HIJMS Sanuki Maruand and is beached off Cauit Island.
A second
bombing and strafing attack by Sanuki Maru's planes destroys PT-34,
which suffers
two dead and three wounded from her six-man crew in the action. (Jack

McKillop)

U.S.: The 8th Air Force HQ echelon is relocated to Bolling Field,
Washington, DC, to prepare the 8th for a move overseas. (Jack
McKillop)

Melbourne, Australia: The 2nd victim of the "Brownout Strangler", 31
year
old Pauline Thompson was found this morning. She had told her husband,
a
policemean in Bendigo, that was going to a dance at the Music Lover's
club with a
number of her girlfriends and a very young American, Private Justin
Jones.
She had planned to meet Private Jones at the American Hospitality Club
before
the dance at 7pm. Private Jones was 30 minutes late. Pauline gave up
waiting
for Jones and she was later seen with a soldier at the Astoria Hotel.
They
were seen leaving the hotel just before midnight. It was a dark, rainy
miserable
night. Pauline's body was found at about 4am on the steps of
Morningside
House in Spring Street. She had been badly strangled and her clothing
was torn.
(Denis Peck)

1943: The British 8th Army takes Maharos, 50 miles SW of Gabes in
North
Africa.

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: Individual B-17 Flying Fortresses strafe vehicles
at
Lorengau on Manus Island. (Jack McKillop)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: An Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberator flies
reconnaissance
over Kiska, Attu and the Semichis while P-40's fly reconnaissance over

Kiska. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb and strafe the
airfield and
town and dock areas of Madang. A-20 Havocs hit the Kitchen Creek-Mubo
area
and individual B-17s attack barges at Bogia, Alexishafen and
Finschhafen and
hit the town of Wewak. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: US submarines sink four Japanese ships.
- USS Drum (SS-228) attacks a Japanese convoy, sinking an army cargo
ship
about 180 miles (290 km) north-northwest of Kavieng, New Ireland
Island,
Bismarck Archipelago.
- USS Grayling (SS-209) in an attack on a Japanese convoy off Mindoro,

Philippine Islands, sinks an army cargo ship about 10 miles (16 km)
east of Dumali
Point
- USS Tautog (SS-199) attacks a Japanese convoy in Buton Passage, off
southeastern Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies, sinking an army
cargo ship.
Tautog then sinks destroyer HIJMS Isonami as the enemy warship
attempts to
rescue survivors. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force P-40's in a fighter-bomber role attack Sfax,
as the
British Eighth Army, in pursuit of the retreating enemy, reaches a
position
a few miles to the southwest of the coast.
Northwest African Air Force fighters continue reconnaissance of the
northern
half of Tunisia and the Straits of Sicily and hit enemy movement and
defenses over wide areas between Sfax and Enfidaville. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The USN reestablishes the rank of Commodore. (Jack McKillop)

1944: Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 41 2:55 Flight Time
Hailakandi,
Assam to Indaw, Burma. Bombed Japanese supply dumps. (Chuck Baisden)

ATLANTIC: Rockets and machine gun fire from four TBM Avengers and FM-2

Wildcats of Composite Squadron 58 (VC-58) in the escort aircraft
carrier USS
Guadalcanal (CVE-60), together with depth charges from destroyer
escorts USS
Pillsbury (DE-133), USS Pope (DE-134), USS Flaherty (DE-135), and USS
Chatelain
(DE-149), sink German submarine U-515 at 1515 hours local off Madeira
Island,
Portugal. 44 of the 60 man crew on the U-boat survive. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, 23 Thirteenth Air Force
B-25s
bomb Lakunai; 31 fighter-bombers hit Ralum supply areas while 22
others
strike Wunapope; and during the night of 8/9 April, 7 B-25s fly
heckling missions
against Rabaul. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: The Mogaung Valley is attacked by 100+ Tenth Air Force
fighter-bombers and a few B-25s; the aircraft hit town areas, bridges,
storage areas,
support ground forces, and hit targets of opportunity in general in or
near
Mogaung, Kamaing, Laban, Hopin, Myitkyina, and Nsopzup; 25 B-25s and
P-51s hit fuel
dumps at Indaw, bomb a road near Manhton and support ground forces at
Lasai;
6 B-24s bomb Mandalay railroad yards, another bombs nearby Maymyo, and
13
others mine areas near Mandalay and Magwe; also in the Mandalay area,
11 P-38s
damage several locomotives, numerous railroad cars and set a steamer
afire
near Ywataung. (Jack McKillop)

CENTRAL EUROPE: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 293: 542 bombers
and 719
fighters are dispatched to aircraft factories and airfields in Germany
and
Poland; the bombers claim 45-8-14 Luftwaffe aircraft; 32 bombers and
10
fighters are lost.
- 41 B-17s bomb the aviation industry at Rahmel, Poland and 96 attack
Marienburg, Germany; 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 6 B-17s are
lost.
- 33 B-17s bomb the Focke-Wulf plant at Poznan, Poland and 85 bomb the

Heinkel plant at Warnemunde, Germany; 18 others hit Marienehe
Airfield; 12 B-17s
are lost
- 106 B-24s bomb an assembly plant at Tutow, Germany; 14 hit Parchim,
Germany and 6 hit targets of opportunity; 14 B-24s are lost.
Escort is provided by 119 P-38s, 387 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s
and
213 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; the fighters claim 20-1-6
Luftwaffe
aircraft in the air and 19-0-8 on the ground; no fighter support is
available over
the targets because of bad weather or distance: 2 P-38s, 4 P-47s and 4
P-51s
are lost. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 2 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s sink a Japanese merchant vessel
off the
southern tip of Hainan Island claim 3 fighters shot down over Yulinkan
Bay.

FRANCE: During Eighth Air Force Mission 294, 5 B-17s drop 2.752
million
leaflets on Rouen, Paris, Amiens and Caen, France at 2224-2338 hours
without
loss. During the night, 23 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER
operations
delivering supplies to the Resistance. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force P-40 and A-36 Apache fighter-bombers bomb the

railroad line between Rome and Bracciano, hitting tracks, a station,
and a
warehouse; attack Littoria and Terracina, repair shops northwest of
Valmontone and
several gun positions; and bomb scattered motor transport during armed

reconnaissance of the Avezzano-Sora-Pontecorvo-Ceprano areas. (Jack
McKillop)

JAPAN: A weather sortie by an Eleventh Air Force B-24 over Matsuwa
Island,
Kurile Islands, is negative due to low clouds and fog. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s fly a photo reconnaissance
mission
over Maloelap, Wotje, and Mille Atolls, and a single Tarawa
Atoll-based B-25
bombs Taroa Island, Maloelap Atoll; B-25s, in a shuttle mission from
Abemama
Island, bomb Jaluit Atoll, rearm at Majuro Atoll, and then hit
Maloelap
Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: 55 Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb the Aitape area while B-24s
and
A-20s hit Wewak, Boram, Cape Moem, AA positions along Hansa Bay, and
barges
southeast of Mushu Island and in the Wagol River; and P-39 Airacobras
hit
troops, barges, and bridges in the Madang, Awar, Bogia and Bunabun
areas. (Jack
McKillop)

PACIFIC: US Submarines sink 2 Japanese ships:
- USS Seahorse (SS-304) attacks a Japanese convoy sinks a transport
about 40
miles (64 km) west of Saipan, Mariana Islands.
- USS Whale (SS-239) sinks a Japanese army cargo ship off the
northwestern
coast of Kyushu, Japan.
The Japanese hospital ship Takasago Maru is damaged by a mine off the
Palau
Islands. (Jack McKillop)

1945: The British 8th Army under General McCreery begins a spring
offensive in Italy. They advance towards Ferrana and Bologna.

The US 5th Army begins minor ops towards Modena, Italy.

KÅ¡nigsburg Fortress surrenders to the Soviets.

The US 9th Army takes the Krupp factories in Essen.

RAF attack on Keil. Kriegsmarine cruisers Scheer, Hipper and Emden
are
damaged beyond repair.

BONIN ISLANDS: 16 VII Fighter Command P-51s from Iwo Jima Island bomb
and
strafe military installations at Chichi Jima Island during the early
morning.
(Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 70+ Tenth Air Force P-38s and P-47s attack troops, supplies,
gun
positions, and general targets of opportunity along and behind the
central Burma
battleline around Mong Pawn, Wan Htum, Pang po, Kyawkku, Mong Hko,
Hanhwe-Mu,
Laihka, and other points; transports complete 415 sorties to forward
areas.
(Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 9 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the docks at Canton and
Kowloon in
Hong Kong and attack targets of opportunity at Bakli Bay on Hainan
Island; 8
B-25s bomb Sinyang railroad yards and nearby targets of opportunity;
13 other
B-25s knock out a bridge north of Hsuchang and hit various targets
around
Laohokow, Sichuan, Sinyang, Likuanchiao, Lichen, and along the Han
River; and
19 P-51s hit targets of opportunity in or near Neihsiang, Laohokow,
and
Sichuan.
Several Far East Air Forces B-24s on armed reconnaissance missions hit

coastal targets. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 2 Fourteenth Air Force P-38s attack trucks in the
Dien
Bien Phu area.
Several Far East Air Forces B-24s on armed reconnaissance missions hit

coastal targets. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 935: 1,252 bombers and 846

fighters are dispatched to visually attack underground oil storage, an
ammunition
plant and 10 jet airfields; they claim 85-1-60 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7
bombers
and 5 fighters are lost:
- 76 B-17s bomb a munitions plant at Wolfratshausen while 107 hit
Oberpfaffenhofen Airfield and 139 attack Furstenfeldbruck Airfield.
Escorting are 137
P-51s; they claim 4-0-10 aircraft on the ground.
- 89 B-17s attack an oil depot and 66 attack an airfield at Neuburg
while
128 bomb Schleissheim Airfield; 3 B-17s are lost. The escort is 193
P-51s;
they claim 1-0-3 aircraft in the air and 70-0-37 on the ground; 3
P-51s are lost.
- 212 B-17s bomb Riem Airfield at Munich; 10 others hit the secondary,
the
marshalling yard at Ingolstadt; 3 B-17s are lost. 149 P-51s escort;
they claim
6-0-4 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost.
- 109 B-24s bomb Lechfeld Airfield, 96 attack Memmingen Airfield, 88
hit
Leipheim Airfield, 62 bomb Landsberg Airfield and 33 hit Landsberg
East landing
ground; 1 B-24 is lost. 193 P-51s escort claiming 4-0-5 aircraft on
the
ground.
During the night of 9/10 April, the Eighth Air Force flies Mission 937:
14
B-24s bomb Stade Airfield using PFF methods; 5 Mosquito's escort the
bombers.
700+ Ninth Air Force A-20s, A-26 Invaders and B-26 Marauders strike
marshalling yards at Jena and Saalfeld, oil targets at Bad Berka and
Dedenhausen,
ordnance depots at Naumburg and Amberg-Kummersbruck, and several
targets of
opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, attack several airfields and
a fuel
storage facility, fly area patrols and armed reconnaissance, and
support the III
Corps along the Lenne River, the 3d Armored Division east of the Weser
River
toward Nordhausen, the VIII Corps in the Arnstadt area and the XII and
XX
Corps in the Thuringer Forest and around Erfurt.
150+ Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb and strafe railroad bridges at
Rattenberg, Seefeld, and Telfs, Austria and Rosenheim, and to the
south near the
Austro-German border, and also hit rail lines in the Munich-Rosenheim.
(Jack
McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26s on intruder missions
during the
night of 8/9 April, bomb bridges, vehicles, and targets of opportunity
in
the Po River Valley and northeastern Italy; during the day B-25s and
XXII
Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers [in conjunction with RAF Desert
Air Force
fighter-bombers and Mediterranean Allied Strategic Air Force heavy
bombers]
blast gun positions, troop concentrations, enemy HQ, and strongpoints
in the
Lugo-Imola area in support of a British Eighth Army offensive; other
XXII
Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers hit communications in northern
Italy
(including the Brenner line) and methane plant and ammunition and fuel
dumps in the
west central Po Valley.
825 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and B-17s in close coordination with the

British Eighth Army, pound gun positions and other forward military
targets
southeast of Bologna, in the area immediately west and southwest of
Lugo; 88 P-51s
provide target cover. 90+ P-51s escort supply (to northern Italy) and
transport missions and support tactical aircraft attacking positions
in the Imola
area; other airplanes continue reconnaissance operations. (Jack
McKillop)

JAPAN: During the night of 9/10 April, the XXI Bomber Command flies
Mission
62: 16 B-29 Superfortresses mine Shimonoseki Strait between Kyushu and

Honshu Islands without loss. (Jack McKillop)

OKINAWA: Destroyers USS Mertz (DD-691) and USS Monssen (DD-798) sink
Japanese submarine HIJMS RO 56, 45 miles (72 km) east of Okinawa.
(Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: 17 Guam-based Seventh Air Force B-24s bomb the Marcus Island
airfield and defensive installations in the North Pacific.
USN submarines sink 3 Japanese ships.
- USS Parche (SS-384) sinks a minesweeper as she is escorting
transport
(ex-armed merchant cruiser) northeast of Sendai, Honshu, Japan.
- USS Spadefish (SS-411) damages a merchant cargo ship off the west
coast of
Korea,. The cargo ship attempts to run aground to facilitate salvage,
but
sinks before she can accomplish her goal.
- USS Tirante (SS-420) attacks convoy TAMO-53 in Yellow Sea, sinking
an army
tanker and damages a coast defense vessel. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: 22 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Angaur Island, Palau
Islands,
hit a troop concentration at Kabacan on Mindanao.
Far East Air Forces A-20s and fighter bombers support ground forces on
Luzon
in the Balete Pass, Baguio, and Solvec Cove areas and at several
points in
southwestern Luzon Island, and attack Japanese forces in the Legaspi
area.
B-24s and fighter-bombers support ground forces in central Cebu Island
and on
Negros Island. (Jack McKillop)

WESTERN EUROPE: During the night of 9/10 April, 10 B-24s drop leaflets
in
the Netherlands and France during Eighth Air Force Mission 936. (Jack
McKillop)

2001: Horace S. (Hal) Turell dies aboard the M.S. Amsterdam. Mr.
Turell
was born in New York City on August 20, 1917. Joining the California
National
Guard in 1937, he later served as a Navigator with the 445th Bomb
Group of
the USAAF 8th AF in England. A faithful member of these lists, Hal
shared his
insights of the times, his wisdom, wit and when appropriate, his
disappointment with our attempts to discuss these events which bind us
in a common study.

Field Marshal PF

Great thread, keep it up.

Tyree67 · April 10th

April 10th
We Remember:

1932: Germany: Adolf Hitler came in second in voting for German
president to
the
incumbent, Paul von Hindenburg. (Tony Morano)

1940: Five British destroyers make a surprise attack in the Narvik
Fiord under Captain Warburton-Lee. RN (5 destroyers) HMS HARDY
(Captain
"D"), HUNTER (both sunk), HOTSPUR, HAVOCK, and HOSTILE. Kriegsmarine
(10
destroyers) WILHELM HEIDKAMP (Commodore), ANTON SCHMIDT (both sunk),
GEORGE
THIELE, HANS LUDERMANN, HERMANN KUNNE, DIETHER VON RODER, WOLFGANG
ZENKER,
ERIC GIESE, ERICH KOELLNER and BERND VON ARNIM. Ammunition ship
RAUENFELS sunk.
(Peter Beeston) The First Battle of Narvik is a series of short,
quick,
confused actions.

The Norwegian Government and Royal Family leave Oslo. Vidkin Quisling
is
installed as head of a German sponsored puppet government.

The stocks of arms at various mobilization centers around Norway are
now in
German hands, due to the rapid German success. This decreases any
chance of
Norwegian success at resistance.

US Pacific Fleet arrives in Pearl Harbor from San Diego. (Marc Small)

U-50 on patrol off the Shetlands in support of the Norwegian invasion,
sunk
be destroyer HMS Hero. (Andy Etherington)

The British Home Fleet is now reinforced by battleship HMS Warspite
and
carrier HMS Furious.
Submarine HMS Thistle on patrol off Utsira fails in an attack on U-4.
Shortly after she is herself sunk by the same U-boat.
6,000 ton Cruiser Konigsberg, damaged by shore batteries in the
landings at Bergen is sunk at her moorings by FAA Skuas of 800 and 803
Squadrons flying from the Orkneys. This is the first major warship to
be
sunk by air attack. All but one Skua return to base after the 330 mile
night crossing of the North Sea.
The Nazi newspaper 'Volkischer Beobachter' carried this descriptive
account of German airborne landings in Norway.
After a smooth trip - reports Obergefreiter [Airman 2nd class] Dambeck
- we reached Trondheim airbase. Everyone was keyed up and on the
alert.
We started north to Narvik. An uncanny land-scape sailed past beneath
us. Nothing but mountains, snow and ice. It was bitter cold. After
several
hours of flight we finally reached our drop point.
"Get ready!" Out I go! I made a smooth landing, set down on a
moss-covered expanse of free snow. Then it was on to the so-called
Base Two
with a Norwegian bearer column. Once up on the mountain, we were
surprised
and no exactly pleased to learn that we had still farther to go, that
we were
supposed to occupy Hill 698 with our trench mortar train. The Swedish
border
ran along 150 yards from our new position. So, we had to take charge
of the
right flank of the German front at Narvik. (Andy Etherington)

The Mediterranean:
The events in Norway have suddenly forced the Admiralty to prioritize
its
operations. Clearly, if the Allies are to have any chance in the
upcoming
campaign, they will have to challenge the German mastery of the air.
With no
airfields available in Norway itself, the only plausible solution lies
with the
Royal Navy aircraft carriers and their Fleet Air Arm squadrons.
Unfortunately, while HMS Furious is in home waters, the Royal NavyÃ•s
other two fleet
carriers, HMS Ark Royal (Flag of Vice-Admiral Aircraft Carriers, Lionel
Victor
Wells, CB, DSO, RN) and HMS Glorious are in far off Alexandria. Thus,
the
Admiralty immediately orders both to return to the UK forthwith.
The Attack on Bergen:
At the time of the German invasion of Norway, all four of the Fleet Air
Arm's
Skua fighter-dive bomber squadrons were based in the UK. The two most

experienced, 800 and 803 Squadron, were based at Royal Navy Air Station
Hatston,
in the Orkneys. As events unfolded on the 9th, one RAF sighting report

placed one German cruiser in Bergen Harbour tied up at the main docks.
Determining that this prime target was just within the range of his
aircraft, Lieutenant William Paulet Lucy, RN, the Officer Commanding
(OC) 803
Squadron, approached the station commander, Acting Captain Cecil Lewis
Howe, RN and
proposed that he take the all the available Skuas over to Bergen and
make a
dawn attack on the target. The operation was approved. It was to be
the
first attack on a major warship by aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm.
The aircraft were each armed with a single 500 lb. Semi-Armor Piercing
(SAP)
bomb and a half load of .303 caliber ammunition. The pilots received
their
final briefing at 0415, the first aircraft took off at 0500, and the
16-plane
formation departed at 0515 in two waves. The first consisted of nine
Skuas
of 803 Squadron under Lieutenant Lucy, while the second consisted of
seven
Skuas of 800 Squadron, led by the Officer Commanding 800 Squadron,
Captain
Richard Thomas Partridge, RM.
Landfall was made at 0655 and the formation, now at 12,000 feet,
turned to
approach Bergen from the Southeast (up sun). The target was sighted
at 0715
and the aircraft commenced their approach dives while forming into
line-astern
formation. At 0720, Lieutenant Lucy pushed over from 9,000 feet and
began
the attack, the rest following over the course of 10 minutes.
Anti-aircraft
opposition was moderate, mostly consisting of Ã’pom-pomÃ“ type (3.7 cm
and 2
cm). The results of this, the first dive bombing attack by the Fleet
Air Arm
were, to say the least, spectacular. Three hits and a very near miss
were
obtained. Even before the attackers departed, Konigsberg had begun to
sink.
Gutted by the hits, with several serious fires blazing and with all
her fire
mains destroyed, damage control efforts were ineffective and she rolled
over
and capsized. The action reports indicate that the first wave scored
two hits
(Lieutenant A. B. Fraser-Harris, RN, the third to dive, and Lie
utenant C. H. Filmer, RN, eighth to dive) and the second wave one
(Lieutenant K. V. V. Spurway, RN).
Notable in the reports are the actions of two of the other pilots.
Lieutenant(A) W. C. A. Church, RN, of 803 Squadron, found himself out
of position in
the dive and pulled off, climbed back to altitude over the city, and
made
another solitary attack after every one else departed. Acting
Lieutenant E. W.
T. Taylor, RN of 800 Squadron, having become separated in route,
arrived
alone just after the main attacked ended and also attacked alone.
The attackers suffered no losses during the attack. In fact, only two
Skuas
were even hit, both receiving but a single Ã’pom-pomÃ“ round through a

mainplane. However, as events transpired, one Skua was lost on the
way home. About
50 miles Southwest of Bergen, the formation encountered a large cloud
formation and elected to climb though it. While doing so, Skua
L2923:A8P went into
a spin and crashed into the North Sea. Lieutenant Bryan John Smeeton,
RN,
Red Section leader in 803 Squadron, and his observer, Midshipman(A)
Fred
Watkinson, RN were both killed. This was the first of 31 Skuas that
would be
lost through various causes during the subsequent campaign.
RNAS Hatston:
In early evening, German aircraft were identified in the area of Scapa
Flow
which prompted the dispatch of all three sections of 804 Squadron,
Sub-Lieutenant M. F. Fell, RN leading Yellow, Lieutenant R. H. P.
Carver, RN leading
Red, and Lieutenant R. M. Smeeton, RN leading Blue. In the dusk air
battle,
Yellow section claimed the probable destruction of a Do-17, Red
section claimed
a He-111 damaged, and Blue section claimed to have probably downed
another.
In actuality, while two of the KGr 100 He-111s were badly damaged, but
both
managed to return to base. (Mark Horan)

24 hours after it began the German occupation of Denmark is complete.
Danish ports and airfields are now available to the Germans as forward
bases for their attack on Norway. (Andy Etherington)

The Iceland Parliament severs its constitutional links with Denmark.
(Andy
Etherington)

The French battleship Bretagne and cruiser Algerie return to France.
They
sailed in march for Canada, with 2,379 gold bullion bars part of the
national
reserve. Algerie later served in the Vichy Fleet and was sabotaged
and burned
by her crew on 27 November, 1942 to prevent her falling into German
hands.
(Andy Etherington)

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, acting under the Neutrality Act

of1939, issues a proclamation extending the combat zone to include the

northwestern part of the USSR on a line to the southern point of
Svalbard, a Norwegian
possession, to the northwestern tip of the combat zone issued in the
President's proclamation of 4 November 1939. (Jack McKillop)

1941: Zagreb, Yugoslavia falls to the German 2nd Army.

Croatia declares independance and proclaims the "Independant State of
Croatia" (Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska - NDH). One week later Croatia
declares
war on Britain and thereby joins the Axis. (Milcic)

The war cabinet agrees to send troops serving in India under General
Auchinleck to Iraq. (Andy Etherington)

The Germans attack the Florina gap, in Greece, held by a force known
as the
Amynteion Detachment and including the 27th New Zealand Machine Gun
Battalion (less two companies), the 64th Medium Regiment, Royal
Artillery,
and the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment along with units of the 6th Australian
Division.
The attack is halted by artillery fire and the RAF bombing the enemy
columns on the roads. (Andy Etherington)

Rommel lays siege to the Australian 9th Division, which has retreated
to
Tobruk. (Andy Etherington)

A striking force of four destroyers under Captain Mack in HMS Jervis
are
sent to Malta to operate against Rommel's convoys. (Andy Etherington)

Germany and the US have their first military encounter when the US
destroyer USS Niblack engages a U-boat. (Andy Etherington)
Amplifying the above:
While operating in the Atlantic on 10 April 1941, the destroyer USS
Niblack
(DD-424) picked up three boatloads of survivors from a torpedoed
merchantman.
When a submarine was detected preparing to attack, the destroyer
division
commander ordered a depth charge attack which drove off the U-boat.
This
bloodless battle apparently was the first action between American and
German forces
in World War II. (Jack McKillop)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes the transfer of ten
Lake-Class US
Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy. Coast Guardsmen will train the
RN
crews in the waters off Long Island, New York. (Jack McKillop)

The actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr has been commissioned as a
junior-grade
lieutenant in the US Navy. (Andy Etherington)

Washington, DC orders all ships of alien flags to be commandeered for
purveying war materials to Great Britain and the Suez Canal. (Andy
Etherington)

U.S.: The USN's heavy cruisers USS Chicago (CA-29) and USS Portland
(CA-33)
and destroyers USS Clark (DD-361), USS Conyngham (DD-371), USS Reid
(DD-369),
USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) arrive at Pearl Harbor,
Territory of Hawaii, thus winding up the Australia-New Zealand
good-will cruise.
(Jack McKillop)

1942: The British Far East Fleet withdraws from Ceylon, in the
face of
the Japanese Forces. As the British move west, the Japanese force
moves
east.

The Japanese Army lands 12,000 soldiers on Cebu in the Philippine
Islands.

The RAF drops the 1st 2 ton bombs over Essen.

In the Philippines, the crews of the river gunboats USS Oahu (PR-6)
and USS
Mindanao (PR-8) are transferred ashore to man the guns at Fort Hughes
in
Manila Bay. (Jack McKillop)

In the Atlantic, the US tanker SS Gulfamerica is sunk by the German
submarine U-123. The tanker had been silhouetted by the lights of
Jacksonville,
Florida making her an easy target. Seventeen of the 41-man crew die
along with two
of the seven-man Armed Guard detachment. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: Pilots of the American Volunteer Group's 2d and 3d Fighter
Squadrons
shoot down 4 Japanese aircraft over Loiwing at 1545 hours local. (Jack

McKillop)

JAPAN: The submarine USS Thresher (SS-200) torpedoes and sinks a
Japanese
(ex-Portuguese) merchant cargo ship 6 miles (9.6 km) north of Oshima,
near the
entrance to Tokyo Bay, Honshu. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: The submarine USS Snapper (SS-185) evacuates military
personnel
from Corregidor.
The minesweeper USS Finch (AM-9) is sunk by aerial bombs off Luzon.
(Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The Pacific Fleet is reorganized into type commands: Battleships
(Rear
Admiral Walter S. Anderson); Aircraft Carriers (Vice Admiral William
F.
Halsey Jr.); Cruisers (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher); Destroyers
(Rear
Admiral Robert A. Theobald); Service Force (Vice Admiral William L.
Calhoun);
Amphibious Force (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown, Jr.); Submarine Force
(Rear Admiral
Thomas Withers); and Patrol Wings (Rear Admiral John S. McCain). The
old
titles Battle Force and Scouting Force are abolished. (Jack McKillop)

1943: The British 8th Army enters Sfax in Tunisia. The British IX
Corps breaks out of Fondouk Pass to late to cut off the retreat of the
Axis
forces.

84 Liberator bombers raid La Maddalena in Trieste and damage the
Italian
ship Gorizia.
Correcting the above:
USAAF B-17s of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) bomb
Italian fleet units at La Maddalena, Sardinia, sinking the heavy
cruiser Trieste
and two motor torpedo boats and damaging the heavy cruiser Gorizia.
(Jack
McKillop)

Robert McClintock, the chief American diplomat in Finland, had offered
his
good services to mediate peace between Finland and Soviet Union. Four
days
later the Finnish Foreign Minister Henrik Ramsay answered and asked
for more
information to substantiate whether there is a real basis for a
negotiated
peace.
The American answer is received today. McClintock states that the offer

concerns only arranging a direct contact between Finland and Soviet
Union, not any
offer to act as an intermediary. After receiving the American
statement,
President Risto Ryti empowers Ramsay to give the Finnish answer.
Finland does
not think it possible to start negotiations in the present
circumstances. One
reason is that the Soviets are unwilling to state their terms for
starting the
negotiations (Molotov has in fact informed the Americans what their
minimum
demands are, but has also forbidden to inform the Finns of these). The

Germans are also applying heavy pressure on Finland; ambassador Wipert
von BlÅ¸cher
has already left Finland for an indetermined period of time. The
Germans also
demand Finland to conclude a formal alliance with Germany, but this is

refused. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force weather reconnaissance
B-24
Liberator observes 4 unidentified aircraft near Segula Island. Three
B-25
Mitchells, 17 P-40s, and 6 P-38 Lightnings fly 5 attack missions to
Kiska, and
negative searches for the unidentified airplanes at Segula. The last
mission
finds Kiska closed in and returns with bombs. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: A lone Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress
bombs
the airfield at Arawe on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Ninth Air Force B-24s bomb the harbor at Naples. (Jack
McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb the town and
dock area
of Wewak. Some of the B-17s also bomb Cape Boram and Kairiru Island
while
some of the B-24s hit Alexishafen and shipping off Wewak. B-25's pound
the
harbors at Bobia and Uligan. A lone B-17 strafes barges southeast of
Bogia and
trucks at Cape Croisilles. (Jack McKillop)

SICILY: RAF Liberators, under operational control of the IX
Bomber
Command, hit Palermo. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force B-24s continue to fly
harassing
strikes as 3 of the heavy bombers hit Kahili Airfield on Bougainville.

(Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Allied ground forces take Sfax and continue north to La
Hencha.
During the night of 9/10 April Northwest African Air Force Wellingtons
bomb
troops and transport on roads in the area surrounding Enfidaville. The

following day, B-26 Marauders follow up the Wellingtons with raids on
roads and
military concentrations near Enfidaville. Fighter-bombers also hit
ground
targets in the Enfidaville areas. Fighters escort bombers, carry out
reconnaissance, and fly sweeps over the battle area from Medjez el Rah
to Sousse. (Jack
McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: The Soviet Navy lists submarine K-3 Northern Fleet off
coast
of Norway (sunk off Batsfjord) (Mike Yared)

1944: Russian forces take Odessa. The 2nd Ukrainian Front crosses
the
River Siret in Rumania.

British troops at Imphal and Kohima, India in the Burma Theater will
be
supplied by air and begin offensive operations.

Air Commando Combat Mission N0.42 ÃŠ3:00 Flight Time Hailakandi, Assam
to
Banmauk, Burma. Bombed Japanese supply dumps. (Chuck Baisden)

ATLANTIC: The German submarine U-68 is sunk off Madeira Island by
depth
charges and rockets from FM-2 Wildcats and TBM Avengers of Composite
Squadron 58
(VC-58) in the escort aircraft carrier USS Guadalcanal (CVE- 60).
(Jack
McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Thirteenth Air Force aircraft attack New Britain

Island. 22 B-25s bomb the Ratawul supply area and 40+ fighter-bombers
hit the
runway at Tobera, both strikes causing considerable damage; night
harassment of
the Rabaul area continues. (Jack McKillop)

BELGIUM AND FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 295: 729
bombers and
496 fighters are dispatched to hit aviation industry targets and
airfields in
Belgium and France; 3 bombers and 2 fighters are lost.
- 123 B-17s bomb the aviation industry and airfield at Evere, 52 hit
Melsbroek Airfield at Brussels, 39 hit aviation industry targets at
Brussels, and 20
hit Bergen op Zoom; 1 B-17 is lost.
- In Belgium, 62 B-17s hit Maldagem Airfield, 60 hit Schaffen Airfield
at
Diest and 42 hit Juzaine Airfield at Florennes; in France, 21 B-17s
hit
Courcelles and 21 hit Beaumont sur Oise Airfield; they claim 0-2-1
Luftwaffe
aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost.
- In Belgium, 151 B-24s hit the airfield and aviation industry at
Bourges;
in France, 28 hit Bricy Airfield Orleans, 21 hit Romarantin Airfield
and 15
hit V-weapon sites at Marquise/Mimoyecques; they claim 6-0-0 Luftwaffe

aircraft; 1 B-24 is lost.
Escort is provided by 51 P-38s, 295 P-47s and 150 Eighth and Ninth Air
Force
P-51s: P-38s have no claims or losses; P-47s claim 12-0-7 Luftwaffe
aircraft, 1 P-47 is lost; P-51s claim 40-0-16aircraft, 1 P-51 is lost.
258 Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and 41 A-20s, including 12 aircraft

dropping Window, attack coastal batteries at Le Harve/Le Grand Hameau,
France, and
military installation nearby. In Belgium during the afternoon 267
B-26s and
A-20s bomb the marshalling yard, airfield, coastal defenses, and
NOBALL
targets at Charleroi/Montignies, Namur, Coxyde, Nieuport and other
points on the
northern coast of Western Europe. 47 P-47s dive-bomb the airfield at
Evreux,
France. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: About 100 Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers and a few B-25s pound

numerous targets, including an encampment southwest of Mogaung,
positions near
Kazu, a railroad and truck park at Myitkyina, a supply area south of
Myitkyina,
and a bivouac area and supplies at Kamaing; some of the
fighter-bombers carry
out support of ground forces northeast of Kamaing; 40+ fighter-bombers
and
B-25s over the Katha area hit a bridge at Thityabin, troops and
supplies at
Shwegu, gun positions and troops south of Mawlu, and targets of
opportunity
including a fuel dump; and 9 B-24s bomb the railroad station and jetty
area at
Moulmein while 4 others mine the mouth of the Tavoy River.
Ten Fourteenth Air Force P-40s pound roads north and south of Wanling.

(Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s, staging through Eniwetok
Atoll,
bomb Truk Atoll (1 hits Ponape Island) while B-25s, based on Abemama
Island,
strike Ponape. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 3 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s damage 2 bridges at Phu
Dien
Chau and destroy several buildings and some railroad track. (Jack
McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force A-20s hit an ammunition dump at Gallicano nel

Lazio; B-25s bomb the Orvieto marshalling yard and 2 bridges; B-26s
hit Poggibonsi
and Cecina railroad bridges and tracks, and viaducts at Bucine and
west of
Arezzo; fighter-bombers operating over wide areas of central Italy and
in the
battle zones hit railroad bridges, railroad cars, motor transport,
barracks,
and troop concentrations with good effect. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: 3 Eleventh Air Force B-24s fly armed reconnaissance over
Matsuwa and
Onnekotan Islands in the Kurile Islands. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s, flying a shuttle
mission
between Tarawa and Majuro Atolls, pound Maloelap and Jaluit Atolls.
(Jack
McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: About 60 Fifth Air Force B-24s, teaming with US
destroyers
offshore, bombard the Hansa Bay area, concentrating on AA positions
guarding
airfields. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) informally approve
Operation
MATTERHORN, the plan for the bombing of Japan by B-29 Superfortresses
based in
the Calcutta, India, area and staging through advanced fields in the
Chengtu,
China, area, which had been approved in principle by President
Franklin D
Roosevelt on 10 November 43. The operational vehicle is to be the 58th

Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) (4 bombardment groups) of the XX Bomber
Command, soon to
be assigned to the newly activated Twentieth Air Force, operating
under
General Henry H "Hap" Arnold as executive agent for the JCS. (Jack
McKillop)

1945: The US Army's 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry
Division,
lands on Tsuken Shima off the east coast of Okinawa. (Jack
McKillop)

AUSTRIA: 152 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s dive-bomb bridges, a tunnel and

marshalling yards at Seefeld and Worgl. (Jack McKillop)

BONIN ISLANDS: During the night of 10/11 April, Iwo Jima-based P-61
Black
Widows of the VII Fighter Command, flying individual strikes, bomb and
strafe
Chichi, Muko, Ani, and Haha Jima Islands. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: About 30 Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers attack troop
concentrations
at Tonglau, at points along the Zawgyi River, and at other locations
in the
central Burma battle area; 455 transport sorties are flown to forward
areas.
(Jack McKillop)

CHINA: A Japanese merchant cargo vessel is sunk by mine laid by USAAF
B-29
Superfortresses on 4 and 28 March on the Yangtze River.
23 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s pound storage areas at Yungcheng; 50+
B-25s and 180+ fighter-bombers (operating in small flights) attack
numerous
targets throughout southern and eastern China; targets hit are mainly
troops,
horses, town areas, storage areas, and river, road, and rail traffic.
(Jack
McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Liang Airfield on Ambon
island
in the Moluccas Islands, and Bingkalapa Airfield on Celebes Island.
(Jack
McKillop)

FORMOSA: 23 Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb the town of Koshun. (Jack
McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 938: 1,315 bombers and 905

fighters are dispatched to attack airfields known or suspected to be
used by jet
aircraft; about 60 jets and a few conventional fighters attack the
formations;
19 bombers and 8 fighters are lost; the AAF claims 328-4-249 Luftwaffe

aircraft.
- 278 B-17s bomb the Army HQ munitions depot and another 139 bomb the
airfield at Oranienburg; 11 hit Rechlin Airfield, the secondary; they
claim 7-1-8
aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost. Escorting are 273 P-51s; they claim
11.5-0-8
aircraft in the air and 56-0-32 on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost.
- 132 B-17s hit Neuruppin Airfield; 9 others hit the marshalling yard
at
Stendal, the secondary; 1 B-17 is lost . The escort of 112 P-51s
claims 128-0-94
Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost.
- 138 B-17s bomb the Briest Airfield at Brandenburg, 75 hit Zerbst
Airfield
and 147 attack Burg-Bei-Magdeburg Airfield; they claim 10-3-4
aircraft; 8
B-17s are lost. 172 P-51s escort; they claim 6-0-2 aircraft in the air
and
84-0-43 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
- 159 B-24s hit Rechlin Airfield, 103 bomb Larz Airfield at Rechlin
(103)
and 32 hit Parchim Airfield; 9 others hit the marshalling yard at
Wittenberge, a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost. The escort is
207 P-51s; they
claim 1-0-1 aircraft in the air and 20-0-21 on
the ground.
423 Ninth Air Force A-20s, A-26 Invaders, and B-26s strike oil storage
and
ordnance depots, rail bridge and viaduct (all primary targets) and
several
other targets including a marshalling yard andan industrial area;
fighters
escort the bombers, fly patrols, rail cutting operations, and armed
reconnaissance, and support the US 13th Armored Division crossing the
Sieg River near
Siegburg, the 3d Armored Division approaching Nordhausen, the 9th
Armored Division
in the Hain area, the XIICorps near Coburg, the XX Corps west of
Weimar and
the Saale River, the 2d and 5th Armored Divisions crossing the Oker
River in
the Ahnsen and Schladen areas, and the XVI Corps along the Ruhr River
in the
Essen area. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: During the night of 9/10 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and
A-26s hit
guns and other close support targets along the British Eighth Army
front
(which stretches from west of Imola to Comacchio Lagoon and the coast)
and also
hit several Po River crossings and attack the Brenner line bridges at
Lavis,
Rovereto, and San Michele all'Adige; during the day B-25s and XXII
Tactical
Air Command fighter-bombers continue pounding support targets along
the
battlefront; fighter-bombers also attack bridges on the Brenner line
and
communications and other targets in the Po Valley.
648 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and B-17s, in support of British Eighth
Army
forces, blast artillery positions, machine gun nests, and infantry
defenses
along the Santerno River; this effort represents the largest number of

Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attacking targets in a single day as
of this date;
88 P-51s fly target cover. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: In coordinated operations with USN aircraft, 7 Eleventh Air
Force
B-24s napalm-bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu Island, Kurile
Islands; 4 B-25s
attempt to hit radar installations on Minami Cape on Paramushiru
Island, the
primary air warning station in the Kurils, but fail to release bombs
due to
an approach error; 3 other B-25s decklevel bomb a Masugawa River
cannery; and
a B-24 investigates ice floes along the Kurile Islands. (Jack
McKillop)

PACIFIC: The Dutch submarine HNMS O-19 sinks a Japanese merchant
tanker as
the enemy ship proceeds from Balikpapan, Borneo to Batavia on Java.
(Jack
McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: Far East Air Forces A-20s and fighter-bombers again
support
ground forces in southwestern Luzon and in the Balete Pass, Baguio,
and Solvec
Cove areas, and pound the Legaspi area. B-24s and fighter-bombers
support
ground forces on central Cebu Island. (Jack McKillop)

Tyree67 · april 11th

April 11th in WWII

April 11

We Remember:

1907: Mod_tyree67's grandfather Louis R. Kettlehake II was born. was in WWII

1940: General Laake Commander in Chief of the Norwegian Army resigns
and General Ruge is appointed.

Shipping in the Kattegat is bombed by RAF squadrons 10 Sqn. Six a/c. One
returned U/S, one bombed ship without result. 51 Sqn. Five a/c. One bombed
ship without result. 77 Sqn. Six a/c. One returned U/S. No ships sighted.
One FTR. 102 Sqn. Six a/c. One bombed and destroyed an 8,000 ton ammunition
ship. 6 Wellingtons attack Stavanger airport, this is the first RAF bombing
operation against a target in the interior. (Andy Etherington)

Returning from the Oslo landings, pocket battleship Lutzow is torpedoed and
badly damaged by submarine HMS Spearfish in the Skagerrak. (Andy
Etherington)

Cruiser HMS Penelope is damaged when she runs aground in Vestfjord on her
way into Narvik. (Andy Etherington)

The Mediterranean:

Both HMS Ark Royal and HMS Glorious arrive independently at Malta, and then
depart for Gibraltar escorted by the destroyers HMAS Stuart, HMS Bulldog, HMS
Westcott and HMS Wishard.

The attack on Trondheim:

RAF reconnaissance reports having placed Admiral Hipper in Trondheim on 10
April, plans were drawn up for HMS Furious' squadrons to make a dawn torpedo
attack on Trondheim Harbour and sink the foe. This was to be the first aerial
torpedo attack of the war to date. All 18 aircraft were to participate, 816
Squadron being led by Lieutenant-Commander Henry Horace Gardner, RN and 818
Squadron by Lieutenant-Commander Patrick George Osric Sydney-Turner, RN.

Takeoff commenced at 0400, with the entire force taking its departure at
0419, the squadrons proceeding independently to attack from different
directions. Climbing to 8,000 feet enroute, 816 Squadron sighted Trondheim
Fjord at
0514, the roads being entirely obscured in cloud. Hoping to surprise the foe,
the formation commenced a diving attack at 0519. Emerging from the clouds at
3,000 feet, the cruiser was nowhere to be seen, having Ã’flown the coupÃ“ the
prior evening. Flying towards Skjoren Fjord, the Squadron sighted a
destroyer that appeared to be at anchor and opted for her. In actuality, the
target,
was Theodore Riedel (Z-6), which had run fast aground the day before. 816Ã•s
attack commencing at 0522, all nine aircraft making good drops on the
stationary target., but to their horror, about 500 yards from the target, all
the
torpedo tracks ended, four of the nine exploding. Not equipped with proper
maps, the attackers had not realized that the target was aground in s
hoal water!

Meanwhile, 818 Squadron sighted another Maass-class destroyer in
Trondheimfjord heading towards the harbour. Unknown to the British, this was
Friedrich
Eckholdt (Z-16), returning after her unsuccessful attempt to sortie home with
the Hipper. In any case, eight of the nine attackers were able to release
their Ã’kippersÃ“ on her. Two exploded prematurely, the other six being
skillfully avoided. It was a very disheartened band that returned to the ship
at
0630.

Later that morning, Furious dispatched a two Swordfish of 816 Squadron on an
armed reconnaissance over Trondheim harbour. After completing the main
task, they opted to dive bomb Reidel, apparently still aground in Skjoren Fjord
at 1220. Unfortunately, all the six bombs dropped fell wide of the mark.
Both aircraft returned safely at 1345. (Mark Horan)

1941: ATLANTIC: Destroyer USS Niblack (DD-424), while rescuing
survivors of a Dutch freighter torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-52 the
day before after the dispersal of convoy OB 306, depth charges what is believed
to be a German U-boat off Iceland. The German Navy investigates and
concludes that none of their submarines are in the vicinity at the time of
Niblack's
attack. The U.S. Navy's conclusion is that Niblack has depth-charged a false
contact. (Jack McKillop)

Europe - The Balkans: It is announced that the Germans have captured
Monastir and its Pass. (Andy Etherington)
The Germans attack through the Florina Gap near Vevi and Kelli in front of
Amynteion, with tanks supported by infantry. It is beaten off with
considerable enemy casualties. (Andy Etherington)
General Ambrosio and the Italian 2nd Army advances from Trieste
toward Ljubljana. Other Italian units advance south down the Dalmatian
coast.(John Nicholas)

Germany: A French officer, Lieutenant Alain le Ray, is the first PoW to
escape from Colditz now serving as a prison camp. (Andy Etherington)

North Africa: Tobruk is isloated and the German attack continues.
Australian Infantry and British Artillery prove too strong. (John Nicholas)
Under American pressure Admiral Darlan agrees not to move the battleship
'Dunkerque' from Oran to dry dock in Toulon lest it should fall into German
hands. (Andy Etherington)

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims that the Red Sea and Gulf

of Aden are no longer combat areas and are open to U.S. shipping. This means
that US ships can now dock in Eqypt.
President Roosevelt also tells Churchill that the US Navy will extend the
American Defensive Zone to 26 degrees West. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
President Roosevelt issues an executive order creating the Office of
Price Administration (OPA). Leon Henderson is appointed Director. The OPA is
tasked with waging war against inflation and imposes price caps on a vast
array of goods and attempts to keep a tight fist on key items with low
inventories. Most Americans complied with the OPA but the agency could not
quell the
spread of black markets for certain items, including meat, gas and
cigarettes. Later in the war, Director Henderson will ride a bicycle to his
office as a
way of promoting gas rationing. (Jack McKillop)
The USAAF issues a request for proposal to design and build a bomber
capable of carrying a 5-ton bomb-load 5,000 miles and return. This led to the
Northrop B-35 (later, with jet engines, the B-49, and, as a distant derivative,
the current B-2) and the Convair B-36. (Marc James Small)

U.K.: Coventry has again been the target for the Luftwaffe. 230 aircraft
dropped 330 tons of bombs, but the fires started by the incendiaries did not
get out of control, thanks to prompt action by fire-watchers and the Auxiliary
Fire Service. A hospital was hit repeatedly by HE over several hours. The
staff struggling to save 160 patients by moving them to the basement as ward
after ward was hit. At one point oxygen cylinders were used to provide air in
the packed conditions. Several doctors and nurses were killed. (John Nicholas)
RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: 105 Squadron makes a nuisance raid on Brest.
(Andy Etherington)

1942: Russian landing begin at Eupatoriya, Crimea.

The Russians attack the Finnish positions in Aunus (Olonets) north of Lake
Ladoga. The offensive is aimed at the dividing line between the Finnish 11th
and 17th divisions (which is also the border of the V and VI Corps), and hits
a stretch of thinly manned wilderness. After some initial difficulties, the
Finnish troops are able to encircle the attacking Russian spearheads, and the
last Russian pockets surrender on the 20th April. After the battle, Finns
count some 10 000 Russian dead on the battlefield, the Finnish losses are 440
men. (The casualty figures are Finnish and should be used with caution.) (Mikko
HÅ rmeinen)

PACIFIC: The submarine USS Trout (SS-202) torpedoes a Japanese fleet tanker
west of Shionomisaki, Japan. (Jack McKillop)

1943: NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Lae and
Finschhafen while individual B-24s bomb Finschhafen 3 times and hit Madang
once. After 1200 hours, 21 Aichi D3A, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers (Allied Code
Name "Val") escorted by 72 Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters
(Allied Code Name "Zeke"), attack Oro Bay and sink 2 merchant vessels and
damage a
RAN corvette; P-38s and P-40 intercept and down 7 "Vals" and 11 "Zekes."
(John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

German planning for an attack on the Kursk salient begins. A clear massive
attack must be prepared to have any chance of success.

HMAS Pirie, a minesweeper, and the British vessel "Hanyang" bound from Milne
Bay to Oro Bay were attacked by a large force of enemy planes. Pirie fought
back and brought down one of the attacking planes. She sustained a direct hit
from a bomb, which tore through the bridge structure and exploded near the
forward gun. Seven crew members were killed. The Hanyang was also damaged
during the attack and had three fatal causalities. (Denis Peck)

USS Branch (DD-197), commissioned as HMS Beverley (H-64) on 8 Oct. 1940,
part of the destroyers-for-bases deal, is sunk. Beverley was torpedoed by U-188
was sunk with the loss of all but four of the ship's company of 152. (Ron
Babuka)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 4 B-25 Mitchells, 22
P-40s, and 8 P-38 Lightnings to hit Kiska 5 times. The last mission aborts
due to weather. The other 4 missions bomb various targets starting large
fires and some fighters strafe Little Kiska. (Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC: Two US armed freighters are sunk by German submarines U-195 and
U-615 in the North Atlantic. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Fifth Air Force B-25s hit Vila Salazar and another village on
Timor. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack Naples harbor. AA is intense
and fighters attack the bombers from all sides, knocking 1 down. The B-24s
claim destruction of 3 fighters. (Jack McKillop)

SARDINIA: During the night of 10/11 April, Northwest African Air Force
Wellingtons bomb airfields at Decimomannu and Monserrato. (Jack McKillop)

SICILY: Northwest African Air Force B-17s strike the harbors of Marsala and
Trapani. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force P-38s and F4F Wildcats and F4U
Corsairs strafe gun positions in the Rekata Bay area. B-17s bomb airfields at
Kahili
on Bougainville and on Ballale Island. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack motor transport and troop
concentrations north of Sfax as Allied ground troops push toward Sousse.
Northwest African Air Force P-38s carry out fighter sweeps and
reconnaissance flights, claiming numerous aircraft shot down, including 21
transports
destroyed between Cap Bon and Marsala. B-26 Marauders bomb Oudna Airfield,
B-25s
hit Sainte-Marie du Zit Airfield, and B-17s strike the
harbor of Tunis. Fighter-bombers and A-20 Havocs attack trucks south of the
Enfidaville road and east of Kairouan, the Sousse docks, and numerous other
targets in the northeast quarter of Tunisia. (Jack McKillop)

1944: Kerda falls to the Soviets.

Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 43 2:30 Flight Time Hailakandi, Assam to
Naumgkan, Burma. Bombed ground troops and strafed village. (Chuck Baisden)

BELGIUM: 229 Ninth Air Force B-26s and 36 A-20s, including 3 dropping
Window, attack Montignies Airfield at Charleroi, military installations on
the coast, and Chievres Airfield. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: About 40 Thirteenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit the
eastern section of Rabaul on New Britain Island while 12 others strike Talili
Bay ammunition dump; 24 B-25s blast supply areas at Ratawul. (Jack
McKillop)

BURMA: 17 Tenth Air Force P-51s and B-25s fly ground support missions and
bomb a road near Maungkan; Mogaung Valley targets are attacked by 50+
fighter-bombers and 2 B-25s; targets include HQ and stores at Sahmaw, HQ and
ammunition dump southwest of Mogaung, troops at Myitkyina, and targets of
opportunity
to the south, a gun position south of Kamaing, and HQ at Waingmaw. (Jack
McKillop)

CENTRAL PACIFIC: Seventh Air Force B-25s from the Gilbert Islands hit Ponape
Island in the Caroline Islands, rearm at Majuro Atoll, and carry out a
shuttle mission against Jaluit and Maloelap Atolls in the Marshall
Islands. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: During the Eighth Air Force's Mission 299: 5 B-17s drop 2 million
leaflets on Paris, Rouen, Le Mans, Rennes, Vichy, Lyon, Limoges and Toulouse
between 2301 and 0055 hours localwithout loss.
90+ Ninth Air Force P-47s dive-bomb a military installation and Gael
Airfield, France. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 3 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s hit railroad targets of
opportunity north of Vinh and seriously damage a bridge south of Thanh Hoa.
(Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 298: 917 bombers and 819
fighters are dispatched in 3 separate forces to bomb production centers
(primarily
fighter aircraft factories) and targets of opportunity in northern Germany; 64
bombers are lost, one of the heaviest single-day losses of World War II. The
bombers also drop 2.4 million leaflets:
- 108 B-17s hit aviation industry targets at Sorau and 17 bomb Cottbus; 127
hit Stettin, 20 hit Trechel, 16 hit Dobberphel and 23 hit targets of
opportunity; they claim 12-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 19 B-17s are lost.
- 172 B-17s hit Rostock, 52 hit Politz, 35 hit the industrial area at
Arnimswalde and 15 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 34-20-19 Luftwaffe
aircraft; 33 B-17s are lost.
- 121 B-24s hit aviation industry targets at Oschersleben and 99 bomb
Berenburg; 9 bomb aviation industry targets at Halberstadt, 9 bomb Eisleben and
5
hit targets of opportunity; they claim 27-2-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 B-24s are
lost.
Escort is provided by 124 P-38s, 454 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47
Thunderbolts and 241 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs; the fighters
claim
51-5-25 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 65-0-67 on the grounds: 7 P-47s and 9
P-51s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Increased German aerial mining activities are noted off Anzio.
Twelfth Air Force B-25s hit the Montalto di Castro railroad bridge, while
B-26s hit marshalling yards at Ancona and Siena; fighter-bombers concentrate on
attacks against railroad targets northeast of Rome and buildings inland from
the east coast; tracks are hit hard in the Arezzo-Pontassieve area as are
stations at Maccarese and Cesano; an overpass, bridges, railroad cars and dumps
throughout central Italy are
attacked, as is the town of Gaeta. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: Of 3 Eleventh Air Force B-24s attempting to fly a photographic and
bombing run over Matsuwa Island, Kurile Islands installations, 2 must turn
back; the third bombs the runway area. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: 80+ Fifth Air Force A-20s and B-25s, supported by 30 P-47s and
P-40s, blast AA positions, stores, dumps and personnel areas at Hollandia; 50+
B-24s bomb barges, AA guns, and other targets along Hansa Bay which is also
hit by 12 B-25s. 12 other B-25s bomb targets on Karkar Island. (Jack
McKillop)

PACIFIC: Two Japanese warships are sunk:
- A USN PB4Y-1 Liberator of Bombing Squadron One Hundred Eight (VB-108)
based on Eniwetok attacks an enemy submarine while on patrol, claiming a
sinking.
This was undoubtedly HIJMS I-174, which departed on 3 April 1944 from the
Inland Sea of Japan for the Marshall Islands. It failed to answer when called
on 11 April 1944.
- The submarine USS Redfin (SS-272) sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS Akigumo
in the eastern entrance to Basilan Strait in the Philippines. (Jack
McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville Island, 20+ Thirteenth Air Force
fighter-bombers are dispatched against coastal gun positions but fail to locate
their
objective; 12 of the fighter-bombers bomb Aitara while 2 claim
destruction of a bridge near Mawareka. (Jack McKillop)

1945: Tolbukhin reaches the Danube Canal in Vienna, Austria.

The US 9th Army reaches the River Elbe. The US 3rd Army takes Weimar.

Carrara, Italy falls to the US 92nd Division.

Sabang in the Indian Ocean is shelled by Admiral Walker's British Eastern
Fleet. BB Queen Elizabeth and French BB Richelieu are part of this fleet.

Off Okinawa, US BB Missouri and CV Enterprise are damaged by Kamakaze
attacks.
Amplifying your excellent series:
RE: USS Missouri (BB-63), the following is from the DANFS.
On 11 April Missouri opened fire on a low-flying suicide plane which
penetrated the curtain of her shells to crash just below her main deck
level. The starboard wing of the plane was thrown far forward, starting a
gasoline
fire at 5-inch Gunmount No. 3. Yet the battleship suffered only superficial
damage, and the fire was brought quickly under control. The Missouri remained
on station as part of Task Force 58.
RE: USS Enterprise (CV-6)
A single Kamikaze plummeted over her flight deck and glanced over the side
and its engine damaged the ship at the waterline. The bomb the aircraft was
carrying, exploded beneath the ship, lifting the hull about 3 feet (91 cm),
rupturing eight fuel tanks and damaging some machinery. Enterprise retired to
Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands for repairs.
Kamikazes also damage the destroyer USS Kidd (DD-661) [Note: The USS Kidd
[DD-661] is now berthed on the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge. (Tom Hickox)]
[The USS Kidd [DD-661] is also the only unaltered Fletcher class destroyer
in the world. (Skip Guidry)], destroyer escort USS Samuel S. Miles (DE-183)
and an LCS; the carrier USS Essex (CV-9) and destroyer USS Hale (DD-642) are
damaged by bombs; and the destroyers USS Black (DD-666) and USS Hank (DD-702)
are damaged by strafing. (Jack McKillop)

In the Philippines, a battalion combat team of the US Army's 164th
Regimental Team, Americal Division, makes an unopposed landing on Bohol Island
(9.50N,
124.10E), Visayan Islands on a beach controlled by Filipino guerrillas.
(Jack McKillop)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Eleventh Air Force P-38s together with USN aircraft pick
up bomb filled paper balloons over Attu and east of Adak; one balloon over
Attu is shot down and portions of the gondola are recovered in Massacre Bay.
(Jack McKillop)

BORNEO: Far East Air Forces P-38s attack gun positions at Tarakan. (Jack
McKillop)

BURMA: 54 Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit troop and supply
concentrations near Mong Kung and Mong Nim, attack trucks and targets of
opportunity in
other areas behind the battleline, and sweep several roads south of the bomb
line; transports fly 424 sorties carrying men and supplies to forward areas.
(Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: 18 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb positions on Eten Island
in Truk Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 7 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb Hsihhsiassuchi, 5 pound the Pinglo
barracks and storage area, and a few others hit the Yanglowtung railroad
yards and targets of opportunity east of Paoching; 150+ fighter-bombers attack
troops, river, road and rail traffic, and a variety of targets of opportunity
scattered throughout southern and eastern China and northern French Indochina.
(Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Okayama Airfield while B-25s hit
several industrial targets including the Ts'eng Wen sugar refinery, Seiko,
Sunbon-sha, and Shasekiryo. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 941: 1,303 bombers and 913
fighters are dispatched to hit a variety of targets in Germany; 1 B-17 is lost:
- 300 B-17s bomb the Freiham oil depot and 133 attack the Kraiburg munitions
plant; secondary targets hit are the munitions depot at Landshut and the
marshalling yard at Treuchtlingen; 1 B-17 is lost. Escorting are 273 P-51s.
- 28 B-17s bomb the munitions depot and 82 hit the marshalling yard at
Landshut; 131 attack the airfield and 79 hit the marshalling yard (79) at
Ingolstadt; 70 bomb the marshalling yards at Treuchtlingen and 108 bomb the
marshalling yards at Donauworth without loss. The escort is 281 P-51s.
- 79 B-24s bomb the Obertraubling Airfield, 31 hit a munitions depot while
80 attack an oil depot at Regensburg; 71 bomb the marshalling yards at
Neumarkt and 73 hit the marshalling yards at Amberg. 211 P-47s and P-51s
escort.
The Ninth Air Force dispatches 689 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s to strike
marshalling yards at Bernburg, Oschersleben, Zwickau, and Kothen, the Naumburg
ordnance depot, Bamberg motor transport plant, and several other targets;
fighters
escort the bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, a leaflet mission, and armed
reconnaissance (claiming 43 aircraft shot down), and support the US 3d and 9th
Armored Divisions in the Nordhausen and Ringleben-Sachsenburg-Rothenberga
areas,
the 2d Armored Division as it reaches the Elbe River south of Magdeburg in a
record drive of 57 miles (92
km), the XVI Corps along the Ruhr River at Witten, the XX Corps as it
crosses the Saale River at Weimar and overruns the Buchenwald concentration
camp
and Allied prisoner camp nearby, the XII Corps in the Coburg-Rottenbach area,
and the VIII Corps as it approaches the Saale River south of Weimar.
40 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s dive-bomb the Rosenheim railroad bridge. 40
other P-38s and 29 P-51s strafe rail traffic in the Munich and Regensburg;
Plzen, Czechoslovakia; and Linz and Salzburg, Austria areas. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: During the night of 10/11 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26s
bomb bridges at Lavis, Ala, Rovereto, San Michele all'Adige, and San Ambrogio
di Valpolicella, and hit vehicles, Po River crossings and targets of
opportunity in the Po Valley; medium bombers continue to support British Eighth
Army
forces between Imola and Comacchio Lagoon, bomb guns south of La Spezia in
front of the US Fifth Army advance, and bomb 4 bridges on the Brenner line;
XXII
Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers also fly support on the Eighth Army
front, and hit communications (including the Brenner line) and fuel and
ammunition dumps in the north.
544 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and B-17s hit communications in northern
Italy, concentrating on the transportation system feeding into the Brenner
area,
in an effort to hamper the enemy's supply and escape routes; the bombers bomb
bridges at Padua, Vipiteno, Campodazzo, Ponte Gardena, and Campo di Trens,
marshalling yards at Bronzolo and Ora, a vehicle repair shop at Osoppo, and a
fuel depot at Goito. 250+ fighters escort the bomber missions. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: The Japanese lose 5 ships at sea:
- Submarine USS Parche (SS-384) sinks an auxiliary minesweeper off
Todogasaki, Japan.
- Submarine USS Spadefish (SS-411) sinks an auxiliary minesweeper off
Tokckok-Kundo, Japan.
- RAF Liberator G.R. Mk VIs of No. 203 Squadron based at Kankesanturai,
Ceylon, sink a submarine chaser and an auxiliary netlayer in the Andaman Sea in
the Bay of Bengal.
- A mine sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser off Futaoi-Jima, Shimonoseki,
Japan. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: 24 Seventh Air Force 24 B-24s from Angaur Island, Palau
Islands, hit the Cotabato supply and personnel areas on Mindanao.
Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Cotabato on Mindanao. On Negros Island, B-24s
hit Japanese defenses northwest of Guadalupe and A-20s hit a bivouac east of
Negritos. On Luzon Island B-24s,B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers bomb
numerous targets including Fuga Island, the Cagayan Valley areas, Santa Fe,
bridges and other communications in Iligan, Naguilian, Manga, and Tuguegarao,
and
troops and supply concentration north of Imugan; troop support strikes are
flown in the Solvec Cove area and east of Manila; Baguio and a troop
concentration
in the Batangas area and on the Bicol peninsula are bombed; at Iriga,
defenses are hit with napalm. (Jack McKillop)

An element of the US 6th ('Super Sixth') Armored Division's, 9th Armored
Inf.Bn. [Task Force 9 - Combat Team Bennett].entered the vast Thuringian camp
at
approx.1600 on April 11th, 1945. Driving in an M8 Armored recon vehicle,
Capt.Frederic Keffer, Spokane, Wash., T/Sgt. Herbert Gottschalk, Bronx N.Y.,
Sgt. Harry Ward,Seattle, Wash., (driver),and Pfc.James Hoyt, Oxford,
Iowa,(radio-operator),were the first US Army troops to enter the infamous 'KL
Buchenwald' eight (8) kilometers north of Weimar on the Ettersberg. There, an
estimated 21,000 political and military prisoners, slave-laborers, and Jews,
including ca.900 children, were found in various states of starvation and broken
health after years of terror under the Nazi regime. Although it was not a site
of
planned Genocide such as Auschwitz or Treblinka, mass killings of prisoners
(including military POWs) took place during the war years through selection,
forced-labor, disease, starvation, and medical-experimentation impos
ed by the SS. More than 250,000 people were held captive in the camp between
1937 and 1945, and an estimated 50,000 prisoners perished during this period.
Gedenkstaette Buchenwald:
http://www.buchenwald.de/index.html
[See also:
http://www.koch-athene.de/6th/weimar-buchenwald/bu-hot2.htm
and:
http://members.aol.com/super6th/ - 6th Armored Div. Vet website.] (Russ
Folsom)

Tyree67 · April 12

April 12

We Remember:

1940: British land based aircraft attack the German ships Gneisenau,
Scharnhorst, and Admiral Hipper. The attack is unsuccessful due to weather.
(John Nicholas)

The Mediterranean:
HMS Ark Royal and HMS Glorious, in company with the destroyers HMAS Stuart,
HMS Bulldog, HMS Westcott and HMS Wishard are enroute to Gibraltar.
RNAS Hatston: The Bergen Blitz - Part Two
After the highly successful attack on Bergen on the 10th, the ACOS Hatston,
Acting Captain C. L. Howe, RN decided that another attack on the port was in
order. The previous day 801 Squadron had arrived from Evanton, sizably
increasing the number of Skuas available for the strike. This time, 20 Skuas
were
slated for the attack, formed in three waves timed to arrive over the
harbour in the late afternoon. The first consisted of seven 803 Squadron
aircraft
led the OC and strike commander Lt. W. P. Lucy, RN. Next came the six
aircraft of 800 Squadron, again led by their OC, Captain R. T. Partridge, RM.
Last
came the seven 801 Squadron aircraft under their OC, Lieutenant-Commander
Hugh Peter Bramwell, RN. Takeoff began at 1405, and the entire force departed
at 1430. Each aircraft was armed with a single 500 lb. SAP bomb.
The squadrons approached the target at 5,000 feet, the altitude of the cloud
base. 803 Squadron pushed over at 1615, 800 and 801 following at 15 minute
intervals. The mean altitude of release was 2,000Ã•. By all accounts the
harbour was full of shipping, and the squadrons executed individual sections
attacks on various targets. Unfortunately, probably due to the short dives, no
practical results were obtained beyond some near misses and a thorough
strafing of schnellboote S-24.
One Skua from 803 Squadron, L3037:A8Q was hit by Flak during the withdrawal
and forced to land about 150 yards off shore some 10 miles West of Bergen.
The aircrew, Acting Petty Officer Airman J. A. Gardner RN (P) and Naval Airman
first class A. Todd, RN (AG) were eventually returned to Britain by air on
27 April. The other 19 aircraft returned safely.
Off Norway:
Meanwhile, after the previous dayÃ•s attacks on Trondheim, the Home Fleet had
sailed for Narvik, arriving off Vestfjord at 0500. At 1545, with plans well
underway for a dive bombing attack on the German warships trapped at Narvik,
HMS Furious was detached to join the Battlecruiser Squadron stationed
further off shore. At 1615, the first range, eight Swordfish of 818 Squadron
led
by the OC, Lieutenant-Commander P. G. O. Sydney-Turner, RN, began taking off.
The nine Swordfish of 816 Squadron, led by OC Lieutenant-Commander G. B.
Hodgkinson, RN, followed at 1655. Each aircraft was armed with 4 x 250 lb. GP
bombs and 8 x 20 lb. Cooper bombs.
The weather was miserable, with 10/10 cloud at 1,500Ã• over the ship, though
as 818 Squadron approached Narvik, the cloud base suddenly increased to 2,800
feet leaving the aircraft exposed during their approach. The three
sub-flights attacked independently in the face of extremely intense and
accurate
Flak, targeting two of five destroyers sighted as well as the ore quay.
Although
one Swordfish was unable to release its bombs, the others claimed three 250
lb. and one 20 lb. hits. In the event, Erich Koellner (Z-13) was hit once,
Erich Giese (Z-12) received splinter damage, and three small Norwegian craft,
including the fishery protection vessel Senja, were sunk. Additionally, in
all the confusion, the Dutch steamer Bernisse (951 BRT) scuttled herself. Six
of the attacking planes were hit, three seriously. U3L, missing its port
wingtip and aileron, half the starboard elevator and the bottom of the rudder,
with virtually the entire instrument panel wrecked, and with b
oth aircrew wounded, opted to make a water landing alongside HMS Grenade,
which quickly picked up both Sub-Lieutenant(A) S. G. J. Appleby, RN (P) and
Leading Airman E. Tapping, RN (AG). Meanwhile, U3A, with its petrol tank
holed,
managed to make it to the task force before force-landing alongside HMS
Punjabi who quickly gathered in all three aircrew, Lieutenant-Commander P. G.
O.
Sydney-Turner, RN (P), Lieutenant W. B. Kellett, RN (O), and Petty Officer W.
H. Dillnutt, RN (AG). The third Swordfish, U3K, having lost its port
landing gear, remained aloft until all the other aircraft were down before
executing a superb night landing.
Meanwhile, 816 Squadron, took its departure at 1712. At 1808 they passed
the returning survivors of 818 Squadron, but immediately afterward a sudden
snow squall dropped visibility to virtually nil. By 1827 Hodgkinson gave up
and
turned for home, arriving at 2205 in pitch darkness. In the ensuing night
landings, Swordfish U4L:K6002 missed the arrestor wires, catapulted overboard,
and landed upside down in the Arctic waters. In what can only be called a
miracle both aircrew, Lieutenant(A) M. D. Donati, RN (P) and Leading Airman F.
A. J. Smith, RN (AG) scrambled clear to be rescued by HMS Hero after 45
minutes in the frigid water with only their life vests for support. (Mark
Horan)

The motion picture "Johnny Apollo" is released. Directed by Henry Hathaway,
this crime drama stars Tyrone Power, Dorothy Lamour, Edward Arnold and
Lloyd Nolan. (Jack McKillop)

The entire Allied army in France is put on general alert, and all units
have to be on six hours notice to move. (Andy Etherington)

1941: RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: During a raid on Flushing Docks,
Holland, three Blenheims are caught by two Bf109s and an air gunner is
killed. Operations Order 27 expands the anti-shipping campaign from
Bordeaux to Norway. (Andy Etherington)

In his role as Chancellor of Bristol University, Churchill confers an
honorary degree on Mr. Winant, the US ambassador, Dr JB Conant of Harvard
and Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia. Many of the academics are
still covered in the grime from fighting the previous nights air raid.
(Andy Etherington)

Daily Keynote from the Reich Press Chief: The Minister has ordered that
the music of the grand Prince Eugen Fanfare and the German national anthem
should no longer be played every time a special announcement is made,
because then we would have no way left to intensify [the people's mood]. He
has reminded us that our broadcast for the ceasefire with France moved then
people most profoundly, precisely because [the music played] was unique.
Thus the grand Prince Eugen Fanfare and the German national anthem must be
played only two or three times throughout the whole Balkan campaign. (Andy
Etherington)

Croatia is proclaimed as a sovereign state, with Ante Pavelich as head of
the puppet Axis state. (Andy Etherington)

The British and Imperial forces, deployed along the rugged terrain from the
Gulf of Salonika to Edhessa in the Vermion mountains, have been pulled back
to Mount Olympus, the next defensible line, less than a hundred miles to the
south. The Allied C-in-C, General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, decided he had
no other choice when he learnt that the Germans were pouring into Greece
through the Monastir Gap and Yugoslav resistance was crumbling.
The 53,000 strong British and Imperial forces have had little or no
time to prepare their defences, and their strength is insufficient to
organize a defence in depth. If the Germans are not stopped at Monastir
they will soon be turning the British left flank.
The Luftwaffe carry out a heavy raid on Kozani behind the position of
the Amynteion Detachment. There was virtually no opposition to the raiding
aircraft and the town was severely damaged. (Andy Etherington)

It should also be noted that the Greek Albanian forces in the Northern
sector begin their withdrawal from Albania today, 6 days after the initial
German
thrust into north-eastern Greece. My grandfathers unit pulls out of
Beragozhde (Pragosda) blowing up the road behind them to slow the Italians. The
Italians, in fact, do not respond to the Greek withdrawal by advancing
themselves
until the following day. (Steven Stathros)

Yugoslavian Headquarters announced: In the northern sector, the superior
enemy forces have crossed through Drvar (Yugoslavia) and reached the Save
river; they have also occupied Kragujevac. German troops have marched into
Zagreb unopposed by our troops. (Andy Etherington)

Bardia, in North Africa, falls to the Germans. (Andy Etherington)

A British raiding party on a Norwegian destroyer attacks a fish-oil
factory at Hammerfest, Norway. (Andy Etherington)

Stalin has now issued a secret directive for the strengthening of the
western frontier fortified zones. Some 150,000 construction workers have
been drafted in, but work is held up by shortages of such materials as
timber and cement. (Andy Etherington)

The United States has decided to establish air and naval bases in
Greenland, under an agreement concluded here yesterday between Henrik
Kauffman, the Danish minister, and the US secretary of state, Cordell
Hull.Kauffman has been disowned by Danish leaders in Nazi-occupied
Copenhagen, but he said he was acting in the name of the Danish king. In
terms of war, if not law, it will ease the ferrying of aircraft to Britain
and enable the US Navy to patrol further eastwards to protect Allied
convoys. (Andy Etherington)

1942: PHILIPPINES: Australia-based USAAF B-25s, staging through Mindanao
Island, hit the harbor and shipping at Cebu, Cebu Island while B-17s carry
out single-bomber strikes from Mindanao against Cebu harbor and Nichols Field
on Luzon. (Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC: German submarines sink 4 merchant vessels:
- Armed U.S. freighter SS Delvalle, en route from New Orleans, Louisiana to
Buenos Aires, Argentina, via St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, is torpedoed and
sunk by U-154 south of Haiti.
- Armed Panamanian motor tanker MT Stanvac Melbourne is torpedoed by U-203
about 15 miles (24 km) off Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina.
- Unarmed U.S. tanker SS Esso Boston, en route from Venezuela to Nova
Scotia, is torpedoed and shelled by U-130 northeast of Puerto Rico.
- Unarmed U.S. freighter SS Leslie is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine
U-123 approximately 3 miles (4,8 km) southeast of Hetzel Shoals Gas Buoy,
Florida. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: American Volunteer Group P-40s attack Toungoo Airfield and destroy 3
Japanese bombers.. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: Motor torpedo boat PT-35, undergoing repairs on the marine=
railway at the Cebu Shipyard and Engineering Works, is destroyed by crew as the
Japanese capture Cebu Island. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: Lieutenant General Henry H "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General
USAAF, sends air plans for Operation BOLERO, the buildup of US armed forces in
the
UK for an attack on Europe, to General George C Marshall, Chief of Staff US
Army, in London. The plan calls for establishment of the 8th Air Force in=20
the UK. (Jack McKillop)

1943: The Germans announce the discovery of mass graves at the Katyn
Forest containing 4,100 Polish Officers. (John Nicholas)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: 3 B-25s, 24 P-40s, and 13 P-38s of the US Eleventh Air
Force fly 7 missions to Kiska Island. The fighters also strafe Little Kiska. AA
fire damages 1 P-40 and 1 P-38; the P-38 force-lands safely. (Jack
McKillop)

BURMA: 9 Tenth Air Force B-25s hit the airfield at Magwe while P-40s bomb
and strafe the ammunition and supply dump at Walawbum. Fourteenth Air Force
P-40s based in China strafe more than 20 vehicles 25 mi (40 km) E of Loiwing.
(Jack McKillop)

ENGLAND: A Board of 5 officers of the US Eighth Air Force and 1 of the Royal
Air Force complete formulation of a plan for the Combined Bomber Offensive
(CBO) from the United Kingdom in accordance with the mission prescribed by the
Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) in the Casablanca Directive. (Jack
McKillop)

ITALY: Ninth Air Force B-24s sent to attack Naples harbor, are prevented by
bad weather from bombing the primary target. About half return without
bombing while the others hit Cosenza and Crotone. Other heavy bombers of the
same
group, in a subsequent mission, bomb Naples and the secondary target of Pizzo.
(Jack McKillop)

SICILY: RAF Liberators, under operational control of the US IX Bomber
Command, are dispatched against Palermo. The primary target is attacked, in
spite of total cloud cover, but most of bomb tonnage is dropped in Messina,
Italy harbor. Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) B-17s bomb the
harbor at Trapani and hit shipping in the Straits of Sicily. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: NASAF B-17s bomb the harbor at Bizerte. Northwest African Tactical
Air Force (NATAF) B-25s and A-20s bomb airfields at Oudna and Sainte-Made du
Zit; other tactical aircraft hit enemy movements and fly sweep and
reconnaissance throughout NE Tunisia following the attack during the night of
11/12 Apr
by British aircraft, mainly in the Enfidaville, Zaghouan, and Bou Ficha
areas. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Single Thirteenth Air Force B-24s continue snooper strikes,
hitting Kahili Airfield on Bougainville twice during the evening. (Jack
McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Fifth Air Force B-24s and B-17 pound the airfields at
Rabaul and Gasmata, shipping in the Saint George Channel, and targets of
opportunity in the Ubili and Talasea areas. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-24s and B-17s hit shipping in Hansa Bay, the
airfields at Lae and Nubia and Bogia harbor. B-24's, operating individually,
attack several targets, scoring hits on the Madang dock area and at Toeal.
Japanese planes attack Port Moresby.
Japanese aircraft, 43 Mitsubishi G4M, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers (Allied
Code Name "Betty") escorted by 131 fighters, attack Port Moresby.
This bombing destroys 3 B-25s, an RAAF Beaufighter and several fuel dumps as
well as the runways of 3 airfields. Fifth Air Force pilots shoot down 17
"Betty" bombers and 10 fighters; 2 P-39 Airacobras are shot down. (Jack
McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Flying Fish (SS-229) sinks a Japanese merchant cargo
ship at the eastern entrance to Tsugaru Strait, just off Shiriyazaki,
northern Honshu. (Jack McKillop)

1944: In a secret session, the Finnish Parliament rejects the Soviet
terms for peace. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

BURMA: 90+ P-40s, A-36s, P-51s, and B-25s over the Mogaung Valley support
ground forces, bomb supply areas, and hit numerous targets of opportunity in
areas around Mogaung, Myitkyina, Kamaing, Taungni, and Shaduzup; 5 B-25s knock
out a bridge at Natmauk while 2 others damage the Pyu bridge near Rangoon; 5
B-24s bomb Nagorn Sawarn while 7 hit the Moulmein railroad station and
jetties and bomb the SE part of Prome. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: US Eighth Air Force Mission 300: 455 bombers and 766 fighters
dispatched to bomb industrial targets at Schweinfurt, Zwickau, Oscheresleben,
Schkeuditz, Halle and Leipzig are forced to abandon the mission because of haze
and multilayer clouds; Luftwaffe fighter opposition is concentrated over N
France and the bombers claim 10-6-7 fighters; 6 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged
beyond
repair and 1 damaged; 25 B-24s are damaged; casualties are 12 KIA, 16 WIA
and 56 MIA. Escort is provided by 124 P-38s, 449 Eighth and Ninth Air Force
P-47s and 193 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 18-1-3 Luftwaffe
aircraft in the air and 1-0-8 on the ground; 3 P-38s and 2 P-51s are lost, 2
P-47s are damaged beyond repair and 3 P-38s, 17 P-47s and 1 P-51 are damaged.
(Jack McKillop)

FRANCE AND BELGIUM: 231 B-26s and 20 A-20s of the US Ninth Air Force attack
railroad, shore batteries, radar installations, airfields, and V-weapon sites
at Dunkirk and Courtrai/Wevelghem, France; Coxyde/Furnes, De Pannes-Bains,
Saint Ghislain and Ostend, Belgium; and points along the coast. 70+ P-47s
dive-bomb military installations in N France. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRIA & YUGOSLAVIA: Bad weather lifts, permitting US Fifteenth Air Force
bomber operations; almost 450 B-17s and B-24s attack targets in Austria and
Yugoslavia; the B-17s hit aircraft factories at Fischamend Markt, Austria and
Split, Yugoslavia; the B-24s hit the industrial area at Wiener Neustadt and
Bad Voslau, Austria and the marshalling yard and air depot at Zagreb,
Yugoslavia; 200+ P-38s and P-47s provide escort; the bombers and fighters claim
30+
enemy aircraft shot down; 8 US airplanes are known lost and several more fail
to return. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: US Twelfth Air Force medium bombers bomb rail lines approaching the
Monte Molino bridge and at a nearby junction to the Viterbo line, railroad
and road bridges S of Orvieto and at Certaldo, tracks approaching a bridge
at Impeda, and railroad bridges over the Var River and at Albenga; light
bombers pound the Zagarolo supply dump; fighter-bombers and fighters (some
operating with British aircraft) hit communications (mainly railroad bridges),
vehicles, supply dumps at various places, including Arezzo, the island of
Elba, Orvieto, NE of Grosseto, NW of Bracciano, Civita Castellana, Montalto di
Castro, between Piombino and Viterbo, in the Castiglioncello area, NW of
Montepescali and S of Cecina. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: US Seventh Air Force B-25s, flying out of Abemama Island,
bomb Maloelap Atoll, rearm at Majuro Atoll, and hit Jaluit Atoll on the
return trip. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, 23 B-25s and 11 P-39s of the US
Thirteenth Air Force pound the W section of Rabaul, 7 other B-25s cause
considerable damage in the Ratawul supply area; 23 fighter-bombers blast the
concrete airstrip at Vunakanau. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMONS ISLANDS: On Bougainville Island, 12 US Thirteenth Air Force
fighter-bombers bomb and strafe the Numa Numa trail and pound the harbor area.
(Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: The US Fifth Air Force dispatches 180+ B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s,
supported by 60+ P-38s, bomb AA positions, airfields, supply areas and
shipping construction; B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and P-39s bomb and strafe various
targets at Wewak, Madang, along Hansa Bay and on Karkar Island; other P-39s fly
a
barge sweep from Alexishafen up the coast as far as the mouth of the Sepik
River. 2 B-25s bomb Penfoei on Timor Island. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Halibut (SS-232), despite the presence of at least 3
escort vessels, sinks a Japanese army passenger/cargo ship about 20 miles
(32 km) southwest of the Nansei Shoto, Ryukyo Islands. (Jack McKillop)

1945: US President Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrage at Warm
Springs, GA. Vice President Harry S. Truman, from Missouri, is sworn in as
President. (John Nicholas)

His Last Words: 'I Have a Terrific Headache': Roosevelt was posing for an
artist when the hemorrhage struck -- He died in his bedroom (Tony Morano)

On Okinawa the fighting continues. Three Kamakaze attacks achieve some
results against the radar picket ships.
Destroyer USS Stanly (DD-478) is damaged by a Baka; high speed minesweeper
USS Jeffers (DMS-27) is damaged by a Baka and a kamikaze; kamikazes sink
support landing craft LCS-33 and damage battleship USS Idaho (BB-42);
battleship
USS Tennessee (BB-43), destroyers USS Purdy (DD-734), USS Cassin Young (DD-793)
and USS Zellars (DD-777) and destroyer escort USS Riddle (DE-185); ,
27-17'N, 127-50'E; destroyer escorts Rall (DE-304), USS Walter C. Wann
(DE-412), and
USS Whitehurst (DE-634) and light minelayer USS Lindsey (DM-32); minesweeper
Gladiator (AM-319) is also damaged by the near-miss of a kamikaze.
Kamikazes also attack U.S. freighter SS Minot Victory, but Armed Guard
gunners inflict sufficient damage on the suicider that it only strikes the ship
a
glancing blow and then disintegrates; there are no fatalities on board the
merchantman among the 57-man merchant complement, the 27 Armed Guard sailors
and 9 passengers. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

The Mannert L. Abele (DD-733) also caught the fill fury of the "Divine
Wind." On the morning of 12 April she found herself surrounded by 15 to 25
planes
that attacked in three and four-plane waves while the others orbited out of
gun range. Quickly downing all three in the first wave, her guns swung to
take on another trio of Zekes, opening fire at 4,000 yards. The first two,
hammered by numerous hits, disintegrated in the air. The third began to belch
smoke but flew defiantly on spewing flames until it smashed into the after
engine room, wiping out the entire engine room black gang, exploding with such
force that it broke the keel abaft of the second stack.
Dead in the water, Abele was struck a minute later by a Baka bomb - a
piloted, rocket-powered, glider bomb carrying an explosive 2,600 pound warhead.
The ensuing blast broke the crippled ship in two and both halves rapidly sunk.
As her survivors struggled amidst the debris, the remaining Japanese
aircraft began to strafe them with machine guns. It was only the good shooting
of
the nearby LSMRs - 189 and 190 - that downed the staffers, allowing less
than half of the luckless destroyers crew to be rescued. The USS Abele is the
first destroyer to be sunk by a Baka suicide aircraft.
DD-733s crew numbered roughly 345 officers and crew.
From October 1944 through June 1945, 7830 Japanese Kamikazes were destroyed
at a cost of almost 800 US Navy aircraft. Thirty-six vessels were sunk with
288 being damaged with a loss of 4907 sailors. US Destroyers suffered the
heaviest losses with 13 vessels sunk and 88 severely damaged. (Ron Babuka)

The 9th US Army crosses the River Elbe at Magdeburg. Patton's forces take
Erfort. (John Nicholas)

The British 8th Army achieves 3 separate bridge heads over the River
Santerno in Italy. (John Nicholas)

British IV Corps makes progress in the Sittang Valley in Burma. (John
Nicholas)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: US Eleventh Air Force P-38s shoot down a Japanese paper
bomb-balloons over Attu Island. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA & FRENCH INDOCHINA: 12 US Fourteenth Air Force B-24s supported by 14
P-51s, bomb the Wuchang railroad yards and airfield; 7 B-25s bomb the Hsuchang
railroad yards, 3 hit Loning, 2 attack Likuanchiao, 2 bomb Tenghsien, and a
single B-25 attack storage areas at Pingyao and Huaiching. 100+
fighter-bombers attack troops, horses, bridges, river shipping, trucks, and
railroad
targets at several locations in French Indochina and at points scattered over S
and E China. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 75 fighter-bombers of the US Tenth Air Force continue to pound
targets in the C Burma battle area; troop concentrations, gun positions,
supplies,
vehicles, and general targets of opportunity are attacked along the
battlefront, behind enemy lines, and along roads S of the bomb line; 369 air
supply
sorties are flown throughout the day. (Jack McKillop)

DENMARK: 6 Eighth Air Force B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in Denmark.
(Jack McKillop)

THE NETHERLANDS & GERMANY: US Eight Air Force Mission 944: During the night
of 12/13 Apr, 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: 167 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s of the Ninth Air Force, escorted by 95
Eighth Air Force P-51s, attack the Hof rail bridge, Kempten ordnance
depot, and Goppingen marshalling yard, plus a town area and a casual target
of opportunity; 275+ planes abort because of weather; fighters escort the
bombers, attack the town of Kothen, fly armed reconnaissance and sweeps
over wide areas and support ground forces; fighters also support the US
III, XVI, and XVIII Corps as they continue to reduce the Ruhr pocket, the
9th Armored Division on the Saale River near Werben and Bad Lauchstadt, the
XX Corps from the Saale River N and S of Jena E across the Weisse Elster
River, the VIII Corps along the Saale further S of Jena, the XII Corp SE of
Coburg on the Hasslach River, the 2d Armored Division across the Elbe River
near Randau S of Magdeburg, the 5th Armored Division on the W bank of the
Elbe at Wittenberge, and the XVI Corps as it continues fighting in the
Duisburg and Dortmund areas. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY & AUSTRIA: The US Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 400+ B-17s and B-24s
to hit communications in N Italy and S Austria, attacking railroad bridges at
Padua, Ponte di Piave and Nervesa della Bataglia, Italy, and Sankt Veit an
der Glan, Austria, an ammunition dump at Malcontenta, and supply dump at
Peschiera del Garda, Italy; 124 P-51s provide escort. 123 P-38s bomb railroad
bridges at Unzmarkt and Arnoldstein, Austria; 128 B-24s, with P-51 escort, sent
against N Italian communications abort due to bad weather. 38 P-51s escort
MATAF B-25s on raids in N Yugoslavia. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY & YUGOSLAVIA: During the night of 11/12 Apr, US Twelfth Air Force
A-20s and A-26s hit Po River crossings; medium bombers, restricted by low
clouds,
bomb approaches to the Maribor, Yugoslavia bridge, hit targets along the
Brenner rail line, and support the British Eighth Army in the Argenta area;
fighter-bombers attack NE Italian railroad lines, including fuel dumps and
communications targets in the Po Valley. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: 24 Seventh Air Force B-24s, based on Angaur Island hit a
personnel area at Kabacan on Mindanao Island. Far East Air Force operations
include
dispatching P-38s and A-20s to support ground troops on Cebu and Negros
Islands. On Mindanao Island, B-24s bomb Sapakan, Kabacan and the Davao Bay
areas
and P-38s hit Cotabato and also Kabacan. On Luzon Island, B-24s, B-25s,
A-20s, and fighter-bombers pound targets throughout the Cagayan Valley, blast
defenses at Balete Pass and in the Baguio area, and hit troops, communications
targets, and defenses at numerous points in SW and SE Luzon Island. (Jack
McKillop)

PACIFIC: 5 Japanese ships are sunk at sea:
- Submarine USS Silversides (SS-236) sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser
east of Tanega Jima south of Kyushu.
- British submarine HMS Stygian sinks an auxiliary minesweeper off the=
north coast of Bali.
- Mines sink the submarine HIJMS RO 64 off Kobe, Japan and a merchant cargo
ship off Wakamatsu, Japan.
- A B-24 aircraft (service and nationality unspecified) sinks a merchant
ship off Badjowe, Borneo. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Far East Air Force B-24s attack Tainan and bomb Okayama Airfield.
(Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The US Twentieth Air Force flies four missions.
Mission 63: 94 B-29s, escorted by 90 P-51s, strike the Nakajima aircraft
factory at Tokyo while 11 hit the secondary target, the Shizuoka engine plant;
B-29s gunners claim 16 fighters downed. The P-51s claim 15-6-3 Japanese
aircraft; 4 P-51s are lost.
Mission 64: 66 B-29s hit a chemical plant at Koriyama and 9 hit targets of
opportunity.
Mission 65: 70 B-29s hit a second chemical plant at Koriyama and 6 hit
targets of opportunity; 2 B-29s are lost.
Mission 66: During the night of 12/13 Apr, 5 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait.
(Jack McKillop)

VOLCANO ISLANDS: During the night of 12/13 Apr, 6 Iwo Jima-based fighters of
the VII Fighter Command, operating singly at intervals, bomb and strafe
targets on Kita, Chichi, Haha, and Ani Jima Islands. (Jack McKillop)

Tyree67 · April 13

April 13th in WWII

April 13

We Remember:

1940: An advance guard of Royal Marines is landed in the Faeroe Islands,
with the eventual agreement of the Danish Governor. (Andy Etherington)

The Second Battle of Narvik begins with HMS Warspite and nine destroyers
being sent into the Narvik Fjords to finish off the remaining German ships.
U-64
is first of all sunk by HMS Warspite's Swordfish catapult aircraft scouting
ahead. Then the surviving eight German destroyers are all destroyed or
scuttled - Bernd von Arnim, Diether von Roeder, Erich Giese, Erich Koellner,
Georg
Thiele, Hans Ludermann, Hermann Kunne and Wolfgang Zenker. The Royal Navy's
HMS Eskimo and HMS Cossack are damaged.
Vice-Admiral Whitworth, commanding officer (Naval) wires the Admiralty and
urges that since the German troops on shore have been stunned and disorganized
- Dietl and his men had in fact taken to the hills - Narvik could be
occupied at once 'by the main landing force'.
The first British troop convoys have by now left the Clyde for Narvik, but
some ships are diverted to Namsos. German forces are well-established in the
south and centre of Norway and have control of the air. Norway's remaining
armed forces including the units which were guarding the Finnish frontier and
some reservists are now under the command of Norway's new C-in-C, General Otto
Ruge, an intellectual reputed to work well under pressure. His strategy is to
prevent the main German force now landed at Oslo from linking up with the
coastal foothold, by blocking the valleys. Thus the German advance has been
punctuated by bloody localised assaults, sending back a stream of casualties
amongst Gen. von Falkenhorsts reservists. Falkenhorst's tactics have been to
use
his elite 169th Mountain Division to outflank the Norwegian blocks and to
apply "aerial artillery" (dive-bombers) against them. General Ruge is unlikely
to surrender though, he says, "the defeat or captivity of our
forces is better for the nation than their voluntary capitulation."
Ruge also gets some vital financial help today in the form of 11.1 million
Kroner - almost 4.5 million American dollars - Norwegian bank notes. The notes
had been spirited out of the Bank of Norway by the driver of the bank's
armoured truck, Rudolph Sandergren. In a daredevil exploit, Sandergren
concealed
the money in five potato sacks and smuggled it through German lines and
roadblocks to the town of Hamar, where he turned it over to Anders Frihagen,
Norway's Minister of Commerce. Today, Frihagen appeared at Ruge's HQ in Rena
and
presented him with the money, for use in paying the recruits to his Resistance
force and to purchase food and other supplies.

RAF Coastal Command: A/c reconnoitre the coastal areas of southern Norway.
An enemy cruiser and destroyer are seen heading north off the Haugesund
area; two enemy cruisers are anchored at Kristiansand South, and a considerable
amount of Flak is encountered. Six Hudsons drop bombs on Stavanger airfield
during the afternoon and are attacked by Bf110s, one Bf110 is claimed shot down
and one damaged.
RAF Bomber Command: Weather prevents a force of Blenheims from attacking
German shipping in the Heligoland Bight. During the night Hampdens lay mines in
the Kattegat-Kiel area and on the return flight one comes down in the sea.
(Andy Etherington)

The first mines dropped by RAF aircraft are laid in Danish waters. (Andy
Etherington)

Italy and Hungary seem to be sliding ever nearer to involvement in the war.
In Italy's case it is only the dictator Mussolini's fear of the consequences
which has kept him out. He has so far not fulfilled his obligation to Hitler
under the "Pact of Steel" which committed Italy to go to Germany's aid with
"all its military forces" in time of war.
"I must emphasise to you," he wrote to Hitler, "that I cannot assume the
initiative of warlike operations, given the actual conditions of Italian
military preparations." However, with Germany's continued military success
there are
indications the the Duce is preparing to go to war in case he misses any of
the spoils.
Hungary's case is different. It is caught between Russia and Germany and,
although its army is reputed to be the best in the Danube basin, its central
plain makes ideal tank country.
Every time its giant neighbours move, Hungary trembles. Admiral Horthy, the
regent of this kingless kingdom, tries to placate both of them. Soon he may
be forced to choose between Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. (Andy
Etherington)

The Mediterranean:
HMS Ark Royal and HMS Glorious, in company with the destroyers HMAS Stuart,
HMS Bulldog, HMS Westcott and HMS Wishard, arrive at Gibraltar.
Off Norway:
At 1220, in an effort to cooperate with the Royal NavyÃ•s assault on the
German destroyers trapped in the fjords around Narvik, HMS Furious dispatched a
striking force composed of six Swordfish of 816 Squadron and four of 818
Squadron, led by Captain A. R. Burch, RM. Each was armed with 4 x 250 lb. SAP
bombs and 8 x 20 lb. Cooper bombs. Visibility of the target area was extremely
poor, the cloud base extending down to 500 feet and many rain storms were
about. After crossing Baroy Island, visibility began to improve and large
caliber gun flashes were observed from HMS Warspite.
At 1345, the formation split into individual sub-flights to attack several
enemy destroyers observed below. The aircraft attacked first with the 250
pounders, then again with the 20 pounders, again in the face of an intense Flak
barrage. Two hits were claimed as well as several near misses, though in
reality the only tangible result are near misses on the German destroyers
Herman
KÅ¸nne (Z-19) and Bernd von Arnim (Z-11) and the sinking of the Norwegian
patrol vessel Kelt. Two aircraft of 818 Squadron were lost; U3C being shot
down, Sub-Lieutenant(A) Grenville Robert Hampden, RN (P) and Naval Airman first
class Raymond Frederick Dale, RN (AG) both being lost, while U3M:L2810, with a
badly wounded pilot, made a force-landing ashore, Midshipman (A) D. H.
Dammers, RN (P) and Leading Airman A. J. Sturges, RN (AG) being saved. (Mark
Horan)

Britain places an order for several hundred of the Bell model 14 fighter,
later to become the P39 Airacobra. (Andy Etherington)

U-64 (German) bottom depth unknown Bombed in fjord nr. Narvik; 8 trapped
below self escape from conning tower after sinking, rescue on hand (British
destroyer), all PoWs. (Mark Horan)

CANAL ZONE: Destroyer USS J. Fred Talbott (DD-247) returns to the Canal
Zone after providing medical assistance to passenger on board Japanese
steamship SS Arimasan Maru. The warship's medical officer remains with his
patient until the Japanese vessel reaches Balboa. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: Experimental TV station W2XWV in New York City is licensed to the
Allen B. DuMont Laboratories. (The station is now WNYW, Channel 5 in New
York City.) (Jack McKillop)

1941: USSR and Japan sign a Neutrality Agreement which will last 5
years. This means that Stalin can begin troop movements east and that
Japan can look south.

AMC HMS Rajputana on Northern Patrol is lost to U-108 in the Denmark Strait.
(Andy Etherington)

Hitler orders swift mopping-up operations in Yugoslavia and Greece. (Andy
Etherington)

German and Hungarian troops enter Belgrade, Yugoslavia. (Andy Etherington)

In Greece, General Wilson decides to withdraw to the Thermopylae line -
running from the town of Molos on the Gulf of Euboea east of Thermopylae,
to Eratine on the Gulf of Corinth.. This is a naturally strong defensive
line, and had the merit of being only 50 miles long (compared with the 100
miles of the Olympus-Vermion line) and could in theory be held by the
British troops on their own. (Andy Etherington)

Malta is heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. (Andy Etherington)The Germans
capture Sollum and Fort Capuzzo in Libya. (Andy Etherington)

1942: Rear Admiral Lord Mountbatten is appointed Chief of Combined
Operations and functions as a member of the British Chiefs of Staff
Committee. This appointment announced today was effective March 18.

The German radio announces the finding of mass graves in Katyn, Poland,
filled with the bodies of thousands of Polish officers. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Grayling (SS-209) torpedoes and sinks a Japanese
merchant cargo ship off the southwest tip of Shikoku, Japan. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Australia-based B-25 Mitchells bomb targets in the
Philippines for the second consecutive day. Staging through Del Monte Airfield
on
Mindanao, the B-25s take off just after midnight on 12/13 April and bomb
shipping at Cebu on Cebu Island and installations at Davao on Mindinao. Later
in
the day the B-25s again attack Davao, bombing the dock area. (Jack McKillop)

SOUTH PACIFIC: Vice Admiral Robert L Ghormley, USN, is assigned as
Commander-in-Chief South Pacific (COMSOPAC). He is to command all Allied base
and
local defense forces (land, sea, and air) in the South Pacific Islands, with
the
exception of New Zealand land defenses. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates that the minimum
program time required of TV stations is cut from 15 hours to four hours a
week for the duration of the war. (Jack McKillop)

1943: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 15 B-24
Liberators, 15 B-25s, 28 P-38 Lightnings and 20 P-40s to fly 11 attacks to
Kiska
Island; 43 tons of bombs are dropped on the Main Camp, North Head, and runway.
Fighters attack the Main Camp causing large fires, and also strafe aircraft
on the beach. Heavy AA fire damages 2 P-38s, 1 of which later crashes into the
sea, and a B-25. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 9 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Myitnge bridge without inflicting
further damage to the structure; 9 others hit Monywa Airfield. Six P-40s knock
out a bridge at Shaduzup. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs bomb and strafe the Labiabi area
while a single B-17 bombs the runway at Finschhafen. (Jack McKillop)

SARDINIA: Northwest African Air Force P-38s bomb a cruiser at La Maddalena
and other shipping at Porto Torres. (Jack McKillop)

SICILY: Ninth Air Force B-24s are dispatched against the harbor at Catania.
Total cloud cover prevents visual contact with the target. One drops bombs in
the target area, but others jettison their load or return to base without
bombing.
Northwest African Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the airfields at
Castelvetrano and Milo. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force P-38s and Navy aircraft bomb the
airfield at Munda Airfield on New Georgia Island and strafe barges. (Jack
McKillop)

TUNISIA: The British Eight Army's 10 Corps, continuing north reaches an
anti-tank ditch guarding new enemy positions at Enfidaville and unsuccessfully
attempts, on a limited scale, to force a retreat before the line can be
strengthened.
Northwest African Air Force B-25s bomb Oudna Airfield. Fighters maintain
sweeps and armored reconnaissance over northeastern Tunisia and the Straits of
Sicily. During the night of 12/13 April, RAF aircraft bomb Megrine landing
ground. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.A. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Jefferson Memorial.
(Tony Morano)

1944: BELGIUM AND FRANCE: The Ninth Air Force dispatches 121 B-26s and
37 A-20s
to attack a marshalling yard, coastal batteries, airfields and V-weapon
sites at Namur, Chievres and Nieuport, Belgium; Le Havre, France; and along
the northern coast of France in general; nearly 175 other aircraft abort
missions mainly because of weather; and 48 P-47s also dive-bomb V-weapon
sites. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Thirteenth Air Force aircraft attack targets on New
Britain Island. 24 B-25s bomb the Talili Bay and Ratawul supply areas and
the town of Rabaul; 40+ fighter-bombers strike the Malaguna area northwest
of Rabaul; 17 fighter-bombers hit personnel and supply areas at Mosigetta,
Mawareka, Meive, and Maririei. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 90+ Tenth Air Force P-40s, P-51 Mustangs and A-36 Apaches and a few
B-25s carry out ground support missions near Kamaing and hit assorted
targets throughout the Mogaung Valley; 12 B-25s and 11 P-51s support ground
forces
at Mawlu. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: There are two attacks on targets in Truk Atoll. During the
early morning 23 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb and later in the day,
Seventh Air Force B-24s from Eniwetok Atoll attack. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 28 Fourteenth Air Force fighters attempt to intercept but fail to
make contact with 13 Japanese airplanes which bomb Namyung, China. (Jack
McKillop)

ENGLAND: General Dwight D Eisenhower formally assumes direction of air
operations out of the UK at 0000 hours (though he began informal exercise of
this
authority in late March 2944). This assumption of authority gives Eisenhower
direction over the Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF) consisting of the
RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force and the USAAF Ninth Air Force; RAF Bomber Command;
and US Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF) consisting of the USAAF Eighth
and Fifteenth Air Forces (the Fifteenth Air Force retains some degree of
independence) along with the US 1st Army Group, British 21 Army Group, and
Allied
Naval Forces. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 301: 626 bombers and 871
fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany; the bombers claim 22-13-34
Luftwaffe aircraft and the fighters claim 42-8-10 in the air and 35-0-21 on the
ground; 38 bombers and 9 fighters are lost; the bombers also drop 5.2 million
leaflets on Germany; this mission is flown in conjunction with a raid on
Hungary by 500+ Fifteenth Air Force bombers.
- 154 B-17s hit the industrial area at Schweinfurt and 1 hits a target of
opportunity; 14 B-17s are lost.
- 207 B-17s bomb aviation industry targets at Augsburg and 20 hit the city
of Augsburg; 18 B-17s are lost.
- 93 B-24s hit Lechfeld Airfield; 60 bomb aviation industry targets at
Oberpfaffenhofen; 29 hit Lauffern and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 6 B-24s are
lost/
Escort is provided by 134 P-38s, 504 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47
Thunderbolts and 233 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; 3 P-38s, 2 P-47s and 4
P-51s
are lost. (Jack McKillop)

HUNGARY: 535 Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers (largest bomber mission to
date) bomb targets in Hungary; 163 B-17s bomb an aircraft plant and depot at
Gyor while 324 B-24s bomb an aircraft factory at Budapest and air depots at
Budapest, Tokol and Vecses; fighter opposition and AA account for 14 US bombers
and 1 fighter shot down; 40 enemy fighters are claimed shot down and 120+
aircraft destroyed on the ground. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack Terni and a bridge at Marsciano while
B-26s bomb Ancona marshalling yard and a nearby railroad bridge;
fighter-bombers again strike mainly at communications, the town of Itri, Cesano
station,
a factory at Fontana Liri, a railroad overpass at Fara in Sabina, Anguillara,
and bridges, trucks and other targets at points throughout central Italy.
(Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: 3 Eleventh Air Force B-24s fly armed reconnaissance and bombing runs
over the airfield on Matsuwa Island and installations on Onnekotan Island in
the Kurile Islands. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s from Tarawa Atoll bomb Jaluit
Atoll, rearm at Majuro Atoll and hit Maloelap Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

THE NETHERLANDS: During Eighth Air Force Mission 302, 4 B-17s drop 800,000
leaflets on Amsterdam, The Hague and Eindhoven at 2235-2252 hours without
loss. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: 80+ Fifth Air Force B-24s and A-20s pound the airfields at Dagua
and But on the north coast of New Guinea; 33 A-20s hit Aitape; P-39
Airacobras, B-25s, and B-24s fly light strikes against a variety of targets
along
Hansa Bay, on Wakde Island, at Uligan, and several other points along the
coast.
(Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Harder (SS-257) sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS
Ikazuchi 180 miles (290 km) south-southwest of Guam. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The motion picture "The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress"
opens in Hollywood, California. Directed by William Wyler, this film
documents the 25th and final mission of the crew of the Eighth Air Force's
B-17F-10-BO "Memphis Belle." (Jack McKillop)

1945: Vienna falls to the Soviet Army.

Ft. Drum, a "concrete battleship" in Manila Bay is attacked with 5,000
gallons of fuel oil and burned out over the next 5 days.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: On Attu Island, 27 Eleventh Air Force P-38s and P-40s
scramble following radar reports of unidentified plots; later, they shoot down
9
of 11 Japanese paper bomb-balloons sighted over the western
Aleutians. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 30+ Tenth Air Force P-47s and P-38s attack troops and supplies in the
Hamn gai, Loi-hseng, and Wan Yin areas and sweep roads south of the bomb
line in central Burma; air transport operations to the front areas
total 450 sorties. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA AND FRENCH INDOCHINA: 6 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s hit a fort at Bac
Ninh. 11 B-25s bomb the railroad yards and warehouse area at Kaifeng and 6
knock out a bridge at Ningming; 7 B-25s hit shipping in the South China Sea and
Bakli Bay on Hainan Island and the town areas of Tenghsien and Liuchow; 4
others, along with 5 P-51s, knock out a bridge and hit the town area and
shipping at Puchi; 24 P-38s and P-51s knock out 3 bridges, damage another, and
hit
several targets of opportunity in northern French Indochina; about 140
fighter-bombers fly armed reconnaissance and strikes throughout southern and
eastern China, hitting rail, road, and river traffic, town areas, troops, and
general targets of opportunity.
Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb the Hong Kong waterfront (Taikoo Docks) and
storage areas in Canton. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: RN aircraft from the RN's Task Force 57 again attack airfields. TF
57 then retires to refuel at sea and return to its station off the Sakishima
Islands in the Ryukyu Islands.
Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb airfields at Tainan and Okayama while B-25s
attack railroads. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: Adolf Hitler proclaims from his underground bunker that deliverance
was at hand from encroaching Russian troops--Berlin would remain German. A
"mighty artillery is waiting to greet the enemy," proclaims Der Fuhrer.
The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 945: The AAF claims 284-0-220 Luftwaffe
aircraft. 212 B-17s, escorted by 256 P-51s, attack the marshalling yard at
Neumunster visually; 2 B-17s are lost. The escort claims 137-0-83 Luftwaffe
aircraft in the air; 6 P-51s are lost. During this mission, 97 P-47s and P-51s
fly a freelance mission in support of the bombers; they claim 147-0-137
aircraft on the ground; a P-47 and a P-51 are lost. During Mission 946 flown
that night, 10 B-24s bomb the Beizenburg rail junction without loss.
Fighter-bombers of the Ninth Air Force's IX Tactical Air Command fly a
special mission against the HQ of Field Marshall Walter Model's Army Group B at
Haus Waldesruh in the Ruhr pocket; the air attack is followed by an artillery
barrage; as a result the HQ is moved to Haan. IX Tactical Air Command pilots
sight Soviet fighters in the air for the first time. Weather grounds the 9th
Bombardment Division. Fighters fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, and
support the US XVIII Corps in the Huckeswagen and Hagen areas, the III Corps
between the Ruhr and Honne Rivers, the 3d Armored Division on the Saale River in
the Alsleben, Nelben and Friedeburg area, the XX Corps astride and between the
Weisse Eister and Zwickauer Mulde Rivers north of Gera, the XVI Corps
northwest of Hagen, the 2d Armored Division in the Elbenau-Grunwalde area, and
the
5th Armored Division along the Elbe River in the Tangermunde area. (Jack
McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s are restricted by weather to 1 mission, an
attack on a road bridge at Mollinella; fighter bombers continue to hit
communications and dumps in the Po Valley and guns in the La Spezia area;
during the
night of 12/13 April, A-20s and A-26 Invaders attack Po River crossings at
San Benedetto Po, Ostiglia, Piacenza, and Casalmaggiore, bridges at San
Ambrogio di Valpolicella, and motor transport and targets of opportunity in the
Milan area. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: XXI Bomber Command flies Mission 67 during the night of 13/14 April:
327 B-29 Superfortresses bomb the Tokyo arsenal area; 3 others hit targets of
opportunity; 7 B-29s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

MARIANA ISLANDS: 2 Seventh Air Force P-61 Black Widows based on Saipan bomb
and strafe Pagan Island. (Jack McKillop)

NORTH PACIFIC: 18 Guam-based Seventh Air Force B-24s bomb enemy positions on
Marcus Island in the N Pacific. (Jack McKillop)

OKINAWA: Off Okinawa, destroyer escort USS Connolly (DE-306) is damaged by
kamikaze. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Six Japanese ships are sunk at sea:
- Submarine USS Parche (SS-384) sinks an auxiliary minesweeper and a
guardboat off northern Honshu, Japan.
- RN submarine HMS Stygian sinks an auxiliary minesweeper off Bali in the
East Indies.
- An auxiliary submarine chaser is sunk by aircraft northwest of Hainan
Island, China.
- Mines laid by USAAF B-29 Superfortresses in Japanese waters sinks two
cargo ships and damage a coast defense vessel. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: 23 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Angaur Island, Palau
Islands, bomb personnel and storage areas at Kabacan on Mindanao Island.
The Far East Air Forces flies numerous sweeps are flown over the Cagayan
Valley on Luzon and ground support missions are continued on Luzon, Cebu, and
Negros Islands. On Mindanao Island, B-24s bomb the Davao area and B-25s hit
various targets on Mindanao and in the Sulu Archipelago. (Jack
McKillop)

Tyree67 · April 14

April 14

We Remember:

1939: Germany: Rudolf Hess signs a decree setting up the
government of
the Sudetenland as in integral part of the Reich. (Andy Etherington)

USA: President Roosevelt writes to Hitler and Mussolini asking
for a
guarantee of non-aggression on-behalf of 31 countries from Germany and
Italy.
These countries include Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia,
Finland,
France, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Liechtenstein,
Palestine, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Syria,
Turkey, United
Kingdom, USSR and Yugoslavia. (Andy Etherington)

1940: Denmark: The occupation of Denmark is proving embarrassing
for
the Germans. As the Danes did not resist they have not been defeated..
Germany
is obliged to keep to its word that German troops went in to protect
Scandinavia from the Allies. Thus it is faced with king, a
consititution and
recognised democratic government.
Outside Denmark, the Danes are flocking to the Allies, 5,000 Danish
seamen
bringing in 90% of Denmark's tonnage into friendly ports. Inside
Denmark,
Danes continue to live as if the Germans did not exist, ignoring them,
as King
Christian ignores the salutes of the German sentries.
For Germany to disband the government and rule directly would be great
blow
to its prestige amon neutrals. But to continue is exasperating. These
Nordic
people, who should be welcoming Germans, are responding with a policy
once
favoured by Irish peasantry: the Boycott. (Andy Etherington)

Germany: Despite his success in Norway and Denmark, General Jodl
notes that
the Fuhrer is suffering a 'nervous crisis' and 'terrible excitement',
after
he receives news of the naval losses at Narvik. (Andy Etherington)

Gibraltar: Vice-Admiral Aircraft Carriers Lionel V. Wells, CB,
DSO, RN
shifts his flag to HMS Glorious, which then departs Gibraltar at 2130
in
company with the destroyers HMAS Stuart (local escort only), HMS
Velox, and HMS
Watchman bound for the Clyde. HMS Ark Royal remains at Gibraltar.
(Mark Horan)

Norway: The German advances north from Oslo in the Glamma Valley
near
Lake Mj€ ¢Å¡sa are delayed by skillful action of the Norwegian forces.
(John
Nicholas)
The British and French are still pondering their options for strategies
at
Trondheim and Narvik. (John Nicholas)
The advance party of the Allied Expeditionary Force lands at Namsos
and Harstad. Despite being told that the Germans had fled Narvik,
Maj.
Gen. P.J. Macksey, a cautious officer, lands his 3 infantry battalions
at
Harstad, 35 miles north of Narvik but still in the hands of the
Norwegians.
(Andy Etherington)
General von Falkenhorst signs an order providing for taking as
hostages 20 of the most distinguished citizens of Oslo including
Bishop
Berggrav and Paal Berg, who in the words of Minister Brauer, 'were to
be
shot in the event of continued resistance of attempted sabotage.'
British Military Attache, Lieut. Colonel E.J.C. King-Salter reaches
Maj. Gen. Ruge's HQ at Rena to liaise with the Allied Expeditionary
Force.
Ruge now has 12,000 troops, but no armour and no anti-tank weaponry.

Ruge's plan was to make his stand in the mountainous country 160 miles
south
of Trondheim where the Norwegian's could use the terrain to their
advantage
while relying on the Allies to capture the city of Trondheim.
Strategically
placed with an excellant deep harbour and at the head of two valleys -
the
Gudbrandsal and the Osterdal - that lead south through the mountains
to Oslo, it
also lay on the only road and rail link with northern Norway, and
currently
it is only lightly defended with 1,700 mountain troops. (Andy
Etherington)

U.K. RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group. 107 Sqn moves to Scotland
(Lossiemouth) with the help of Bombay transport. Aim is to attack
Stavanger with up to 12
aircraft daily. All 250 pounders have to be manhandled as the bomb
trolleys
are still on a train making the long journey from Cambridgeshire.
Norwegian Campaign: Submarine HMS Tarpon on patrol off southern Norway
is
sunk by German minesweeper M6.
RAF Bomber Command raids Stavanger aerodrome twice. At dawn 3
Wellingtons bomb the two runways from 450 feet; several He111's and a
hangar are damaged and air gunners fire at machine gun nests on the
ground.
The crews saw about 20 seaplanes and flying boats at moorings. Four
aircraft go out in the evening, timed to reach Stavanger just after
dusk.
Two failed to find the objective. The remainder drop HE and incendiary
bombs, damaging a hangar and put out a searchlight through machine-gun
fire. One a/c FTR.
During the night 28 a/c are sent to lay mines in the Great and Little
Belts, only 9 succeed due to bad weather. (Andy Etherington)

RNAS Hatston:
Air Officer Commanding at Hatston, Acting Captain C. L. Howe, RN again

decided to send his Fleet Air Arm Squadrons after naval targets at
Bergen. This
time, a total of 15 Skuas were dispatched in two waves. The first
consisting
of six 800 Squadron aircraft led by Captain R. T. Partridge, RM
departed at
0500, and the second, containing nine 803 Squadron aircraft led by
Lieutenant
W. P. Lucy, RN, departed at 0550. Each aircraft was armed with a
single 500
lb. SAP bomb.
800 Squadron crossed the Norwegian Coast at 0700 and attacked at 0712,
dive
bombing two vessels tied up at the jetty and strafing two submarines,
U-60
and U-7, and two schnellbootes, S-23 and S-25 in the harbour. After
the first
wave departed, the weather over Bergen deteriorated significantly. Of
803
Squadron, only Lieutenant Lucy's sub-flight was able to locate the
target and
make a low altitude glide-bombing attack. Lucy€ ¢Ã’µs bomb exploded
along side SS
Barenfels (7,569 BRT) between her and the jetty, causing severe damage
that
ultimately caused the ship to sink stern first to the harbour bottom,
carrying
her valuable cargo of anti-aircraft guns to the bottom with her. One

aircraft, Skua A8G, (serial unknown) was shot down in flames over the
harbour,
both Captain Eric Donald Mentioned in Dispatches McIver, RM (P) and
Leading
Airman Albert Alexander Barnard, RN (AG) being killed. The others
strafed a
German Flying Boat on the water on their way home.
Off Norway:
Flight operations on board HMS Furious were limited due mainly to the
poor
weather. At 1220, two Swordfish were dispatched on an uneventful
armed
reconnaissance flight to Tromso. (Mark Horan)

U.S. 'Lights Out in Europe', a film showing how war broke out,
opens in
New York City. This documentary film, directed by Herbert Kline, was
narrated
by Frederic March. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R. Today there starts at Moscow a conference of the highest
Soviet
military leadership to ponder the lessons of the Winter War. The
conference
lasts until the 17th of April, and it initiates a series of reforms in
the
Red Army. (Mikko H€ ¢Å rmeinen)

1941: Egypt: King Farouk sends a secret message to Hitler
expressing
the hope that Egypt will soon be liberated from the "British yoke."
(Andy
Etherington)

Greece: German forces enter Katerini, Greece. (Steve Stathros)
The formation of 'Savige Force' under the command of Brigadier S. G.
Savige
is completed. Savige Force is to protect the British left flank by
blocking
the routes leading from Grevena and Metsovon via Kalabaka into the
Larissa
plain. 1st Armoured Brigade is combined with 17th Australian Brigade
to form the
force. (Andy Etherington)

Libya: Cpl John Hurst Edmondson (b. 1914), Australian Military
Forces,
despite being severely wounded, saved the life of his officer, who was
being
attacked by two enemy soldiers at Tobruk. He died shortly afterwards.
(VC)
In the fiercest battle he has faced so far in this campaign, Rommel
saw his
tanks withdraw from Tobruk's hastily prepared defences under a
withering hail
of fire from British anti-tank guns and heavy artillery; and then
watched
them literally chased back into the desert in confusion by tank
attacks on his
flanks. Although his Afrika Korps had managed deep penetration into
what
eariler reconnaissance had selected as a "weak spot", their light
tanks were no
match for British gunnery. 17 were knocked out before General Olbrich,
the
Panzer commander, ordered the withdrawal
The indications are that Rommel is coming to the limit of his supply
lines.
His men are tired and his tanks are badly in need of servicing. The
prospect
here is of a long siege so long as Tobruk can be supplied from the
sea. (Andy
Etherington)

Pacific: On Palmyra Island, a Marine garrison designated Marine
Detachment, 1st Defense Battalion, was established for the defense of
the island. (Ri
chard Gaines)

U.K. Convinced that his troops have borne an unfair share of the
fighting, the Australian Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, moves to end
Churchill's
"dictatorship" of the war. (Andy Etherington)

Churchill tells the MOI to stop publishing the demoralizing weekly
figures
for shipping losses. (Andy Etherington)

U.S.: The USAAC places an order for 2,000 Vultee Model 74s. (Jack
McKillop)
Secret talks between Iceland and the US. Iceland agrees not to resist
US
forces replacing the British forces on Iceland. (John Nicholas)

Yugoslavia: King Peter leaves Yugoslavia for Athens, Greece. (John

Nicholas)
The Germans smash the southern army and pour through the Monastir Gap,
cutting off the Greek army in Albania. (Andy Etherington)

1942: USS Roper sinks U-85, scoring the first submarine sunk by an
American
ship.
Amplifying the above:
U-85 was the first U-boat to be sunk off the North American coast
after the
start of the Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat) on January 13, 1942. On
the
day that she was sunk, 14 April, U-85 stayed on the surface through
the
engagement. After repeated hits on the boat, fatally damaging her, the
order to
abandon ship was given and maybe half of the crew got into the water
and then
U-85 started to sink again fast. USS Roper then dropped 11 depth
charges onto
the already sinking U-boat and its 2 dozen survivors and in the
process killed
everyone in the water. (Gary Kao)

Laval forms a new government in Vichy, with Marshal Petain as Head of
State.

Operation Bolero is provisionally accepted by the British as a basis
for
the American buildup in Britain.

Ultra Intercepts had placed three Axis convoys at sea enroute from
Italian
ports to Tripoli. The largest convoy, consisting of the German motor
vessel
Reichenfels (7,744 g.r.t.), and three Italian motor vessels: Vettor
Pisani
(6,339 g.r.t.), Ravello (6,142 g.r.t.), and Reginaldo Giuliani (6,837
g.r.t.).
The Italian Navy had provided a strong escort: five destroyers and two
torpedo
boats including Pegaso. The recent blitz of Malta having greatly
reduced the
islands strike capability, the convoy was bolding steaming on a direct

course, passing within 100 miles of the island.
The Coastal Command's Mediterranean command, 201 Group, had been
building up
a small force of Beauforts for 39 Squadron. Combining with elements of
22
Squadron, on a delayed passage to Ceylon, a striking force of 10
serviceable
Beauforts (three from 22 Squadron, seven from 39 Squadron) as well as
four
Beaufighters of 272 Squadron is forwarded to the airfield at Bu Amud.
As the
aircraft do not have the range to strike the convoy and return to
their North
African base, the plan calls for them to fly on to Malta after the
attack, and
hope that they can fight their a through to the islands airfields
through the
ever present patrols of German fighters.
Though the convoy is contacted by two Maryland reconnaissance aircraft
of
203 Squadron, also operating from Bu Amud, one of 22 Squadron's ASV
Beauforts
is dispatched 0730 as a contact plane. The main striking force of nine

Beauforts and four Beaufighters follows. One Beaufort had to abort
early on.
The ASV-equipped contact plane found the convoy, transmitted its
position,
and then headed for Malta. Caught by Bf-109s during the approach to
the
island, the pilot (FS S. E. Howroyd) was killed, and Beaufort AW-282
crashed short
of the runway. While the other three members of the crew survived the
crash,
the navigator, subsequently died of his wounds in hospital.
Unfortunately, Howroyd's position report was never received by the
strike
leader, FL J. M. Lander DFC (22 Squadron). Flying at sea level, the
striking
force passed the convoys line of advance without sighting it. Turning
Southwest
to search for the elusive foe, the escorting Beaufighters of 272
Squadron,
led by SL W. Riley, flying about 500 feet higher than their charges,
spotted
several German Me-110s and Ju-88s providing distant air cover for the
convoy.
The series of combats bled away their precious combat fuel, and they
were
forced to turn for Malta. Lander knew the mission was in trouble. The
departure
of his escort left the Beauforts terribly alone. Several minutes
later, when
the target was finally sighted, the Beaufort crews were horrified to
discover
that, besides the strong naval escort, there were some 25 Bf-109s,
Bf-110s,
and Ju-88s overhead.
What followed was reminiscent of the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Stripped
of their escort, there was little the three sub-flights could do but
fling
themselves at the convoy and then flee for home. Five of the Beauforts
managed
to get off good drops, unfortunately without any result (though three
hits
were claimed). Then began one of the longest air battles of the entire
campaign,
as the badly outnumbered eight struggled to fight through the 70 miles
to
safety. Five , N1100 (PO G. Belfield) of 22 Squadron, N1169 (FL R. G.
W.
Beveridge), N1186 (FO R. B. Seddon), N1166 (PO B. W. Way), and X8923
(FO D. A. R.
Bee), all of 39 Squadron, did not make it, the latter actually lost
over the
island itself. Of the 20 aircrew, only five (Belfield's crew and FO
McGregor
of Seddon's crew) were rescued. Of the three that reached Malta,
Lander's
X8924, whose wing tip had actually hit the sea at one point, would not
fly again
while N1102 (FO S. W. Gooch) would be under repair for some ti
me. Amazingly, other than sweat from the crew, FL A. T. Leaning's
W6505 came
through the entire ordeal without so much as a scratch!
While the courage and devotion to duty displayed by the Beauforts
crews
could not have been higher, the aftermath of the mission was to have
severe
consequences on the campaign against Rommel's supply lines. The
combined squadron
had operationally, for all intents, been wiped out. Besides the
seventeen
highly trained aircew lost, only one operational Beaufort remained to
return to
Egypt. It had taken three months to accumulate 10 operational aircraft
prior
to this mission. It would take another two to replace them. Until
June, the
Beaufort Squadron had shot its bolt.
There was, however, one other unforseen consequence of the mission.
With the
loss of Beveridge, 39 Squadron had lost one of the Flight Leaders. The

needed replacement had been lingering at Group for several months -
one FL
Reginald Patrick Mahoney € ¢Ã’²Pat€ ¢Ã’³ Gibbs, DFC - a man who in the
coming months would
stamp a hugh mark on the course of the war in the Mediterranean. (Mark
Horan)

ATLANTIC: German submarine U-203 torpedoes and sinks the British
freighter SS Empire Thrush approximately 8 miles (12,9 km) north of
Diamond
Shoals, North Carolina. The antisubmarine vessel ("Q-ship") USS
Asterion (AK-100),
masquerading as the freighter SS Evelyn (her original mercantile
name), picks
up entire crew (and the captain's dog). The rescued sailors are
enjoined not
to reveal the fact that they were rescued by a "Q-ship" and to keep
secret
Asterion's true identity.
The unarmed U.S. freighter SS Margaret is sunk by German submarine
U-571 off the eastern seaboard while bound for New York City from San
Juan,
Puerto Rico. Although the Germans see the crew lower a boat and put
rafts
over the side, none of the 29 sailors from Margaret's complement are
ever seen
again. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: The government approves the 30 March directive in
which
General Douglas MacArthur is named Supreme Commander, Southwest
Pacific Area
(SWPA). (Jack McKillop)

France: Laval forms a new government in Vichy, with Marshal Petain as
Head of State. (Andy Etherington)

Great Britain: Operation Bolero is provisionally accepted by the
British
as a basis for the American build-up in Britain.
London: Purchase tax is to be doubled to 66% on nearly all
non-essential
goods. Beer is up 2d a pint. A bottle of whisky will cost 22/6 instead
of
17/10, and cigarettes go up from 1/6 to 2/- for a pack of 20. These
hefty
increases in indirect taxation were announced in today's "sacrifices
for victory"
budget, which keeps the standard rate of income tax at 10/- in the
pound (50%).
The government denied that tobacco supplies to shops are to be cut.
(Andy
Etherington)

USSR: Stalin opens a war loan subscription to raise 10,000 million
roubles. (Andy Etherington)

1943: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 30 P-40s,
17 P-38
Lightnings, 9 B-24 Liberators and 6 B-25 Mitchells to fly 10 missions
to
Kiska Island, bombing and strafing the runway, North Head area,
installations,
parked seaplanes, and facilities on Little Kiska. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: Tenth Air Force P-40s dropping 1,000 pound (454 kg) bombs, hit
airfields at Myitkyina and Manywet, rendering the runways at both
unusable. (Jack
McKillop)

CHINA: Fourteenth Air Force P-40s strafe pack horses south of
Tengchung,
barracks and warehouses in Lungling, and cattle and trucks north
ofLungling.
(Jack McKillop)

Germany: Josef Stalin's son Jacob dies in a PoW camp. (Andy
Etherington)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17s, B-24s and B-25s carry out
widespread
attacks on individual enemy vessels. During these raids, B-17s bombing
Hansa Bay
sink an army cargo ship.
An estimated 144 Japanese bombers and fighters carry out a heavy attack
on
the Milne Bay area, severely damaging 1 vessel, beaching 1 vessel, and
hitting
2 others, but doing very little damage to USAAF facilities in the
area. AA
defenses and the 40+ P-40s and P-38s that intercept the enemy strike
shoot down
7 aircraft with the loss of three US fighters.
Captain Richard I "Dick" Bong becomes a Double Ace when he gets his
10th
kill, one of the Mitsubishi G4M, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers (Allied
Code Name
"Betty") attacking the Milne Bay area. (Jack McKillop)
HMAS Wagga, a minesweeper, with HMA ships Kapunda and Whyalla, took
part in
the defense of Milne Bay during a heavy Japanese air attack. The
British
vessel "Gorgan" was damaged and the Netherlands troopship "Van
Heemskerk" was
hit by bombs and set on fire. Minutes before the fire reached drums of
petrol,
which blew up, the Wagga took the survivors off the ship and saved a
lot of
lives in doing so. The ship was beached, but became a total loss. The
Wagga
sustained superficial damage. (Denis Peck)

SARDINIA: Northwest African Air Force B-17s bomb the Elmas and
Monserrato
Airfields. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force P-40s fly convoy escort, and carry out
fighter
sweeps over the battle area as the British Eighth Army's 10 Corps
continues to
make quick jabs at positions at Enfidaville. These attempts to force
an enemy
retreat are unsuccessful.
During the night of 13/14 April, Northwest African Air Force
Hurricanes and
Blenheims bomb La Sebala Airfield and attack transport on the
Tunis-Pont-du-Fahs road, and Western Desert Air Force light and medium
bombers hit the
Airfields at Sainte-Marie du Zit and Korba. During the day, B-17s bomb
El Aouina
Airfield. P-38s escort the heavy bombers and fly a bombing and
strafing
mission against a beached vessel southeast of Cape Zebib. A-20 Havocs
bomb Bordj
Toum. Fighter-bombers hit a motor convoy near Grich el Oued and trucks

northeast of Dechret Ben Saidane and a battery east of Djedeida.
Fighters fly
reconnaissance and sweeps throughout the Tunisian battle area. Patrol
planes
maintain sea reconnaissance and patrols. (Jack McKillop)
Axis forces in North Africa, now occupy their final defense
positions in a fing from Cape Serat to Bizerta to Tunis to
Enfidaville.
(John Nicholas)

U.S.: John Grist Brainerd, director of research at the University of
Pennsylvania's Moore School, submits a proposal for an electronic
computer to
colleagues at the U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory. The
proposal was
written by the Moore School's John Mauchly. In May 1943, the Army
contracted the
Moore School to build ENIAC, the first electronic computer. Although
ENIAC
was not finished until after the war had ended, it nevertheless marked
a major
step forward in computing.
The USAAF activates the Weather Wing at Asheville, North Carolina to
provide
scientific weather information for the USAAF and the rest of the Army.
This
new wing assumes responsibility from HQ USAAF for the supervision of
the Army
Air Forces Weather Service which was established in 1937. (Jack
McKillop)

USSR: Leningrad: The Soviet High Command reports today that the
Red
Army has repulsed a heavy German tank and infantry attack south-east
of
Leningrad. The attack, says the Stavka, was of an
"offensive-defensive"
nature, and adds laconically that it resulted in "no material damage."
It would
seem from these reports that, although the Russian corridor to the
besieged
city is only some 12 miles wide in this area, the attack was not a
serious
attempt to cut the road and railway which the Russians have built to
carry
supplies to the city's long-suffering people. It is far more likely to
have been an
attempt to seize a local advantage of terrain before the ground
hardens and
the Russians renew their attempts to drive the Germans and their
allies away
from Leningrad for ever. Following their success in opening a route to
the
city on 18 January, the Soviets have twice tried to lift the siege
completely.
In their first attack, on 10 February, they were foiled by the Spanish
Azul
division, and then on 19 March they were driven off again. The
situation now
is like two boxers sparring, seeking advantage, before unleashing th
eir big punches. (Andy Etherington)

1944: DeGualle retires French General Giraud. (John Nicholas)

The British 2nd Indian Division breaks the Japanese position at Zubza
and
relieves the British 161st Brigde in the Burma Theater. (John
Nicholas)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Shortly after 0100 hours local, 12 Mitsubishi G4M,
Navy
Type 1 Attack Bombers (Allied Code Name "Betty") approach Engebi
Island in
Eniwetok Atoll to attack the airfield. They are intercepted at 20,000
feet (6096
meters) by four F4U-2 Corsair night fighters of a detachment of Marine
Night
Fighting Squadron Five Hundred Thirty Two [VMF(N)-532] based on
Engebi. The
Marines shoot down 2 Bettys and get a "probable" on a third. All enemy
bombs
fell into the water; one Marine plane and pilot are lost and another
pilot
has to bail out with the loss of the aircraft. This was the first
successful
interception by F4U night fighters. Unfortunately for the squadron, it
was
their first and last victory of the war. (John Nicholas and Jack
McKillop)
A single Seventh Air Force B-24, en route from Kwajalein Atoll to
Tarawa
Atoll, bombs Jaluit Atoll while B-25s from Abemama Island strike
Jaluit and
Maloelap Atolls, using Majuro Atoll as an arming station between
strikes. (Jack
McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: The Thirteenth Air Force dispatches 24 B-25s and
40+
fighter-bombers to attack a supply area at Ratawul; and 8 other
fighter-bombers hit Wunapope; both targets are on New Britain Island.
(Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 20 Tenth Air Force P-40s over the Mogaung Valley attack a camp
at
Manywet; 20 P-51 Mustangs and 3 B-25s support ground forces in the
Mawlu area.
(Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s from Eniwetok Atoll in the
Marshall Islands bomb Ponape Island.
19 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s on a mission to the Caroline Islands bomb
Eten,
Param, and Kuop Islands and targets of opportunity in Truk Atoll.
(Jack
McKillop)

India: Bombay: The merchant ship Fort Stikine catches fire
while at
No. 1 berth, in the early stages of cargo discharge. From a
sister-ship Fort
Crevier, berthed 400 yards away, smoke is seen spiralling from the
Fort
Stikine's ventilators. Later it is also seen by the steamer Iran, and
also by an
inspector from the dock police. To no one did it occur that the ship
might be
on fire, and it was not reported. Some time later the fire was seen by

returning stevedores, and even then was reported as a routine fire
alarm and
without any suggestion of undue danger or emergency. This resulted in
the dispatch
of quite inadequate fire-fighting appliances. In the previous five
years
there had been over 60 fires in ships in Bombay, but only one vessel
had been
lost, although 15 had carried explosives.
Soon the serious nature of the fire became apparent, and every effort
was
made to contain it. Thirty-two hoses crossed her decks and a thousand
tons of
water poured onto the seat of the fire in No. 2 hold. Decks and shell
plating
grew red-hot.
At 15:45 the explosive caught fire. Five minutes later a great sheet
of
flame shot up and the ship became a flaming torch. At 16:06 the
fore-part of the
ship exploded with a deafening roar. Flaming drums, blazing cotton and

damaged. Dock gates, bridges and berths were destroyed, sheds
warehouses and
offices were demolished and the ruins afire; roads, railways and
equipment a mass
of tangled wreckage. No. 1 berth was a devastated crater, very few
persons
remained alive nearby, and smoke and flame enveloped the wreck.
The million pounds-worth of gold had disintegrated. In the explosion
the
fore-part of the ship had blown off and sunk. The after-part remained
afloat
and on fire.
Thirty-four minutes later this after-part containing 784 tons of
explosive,
also blew up with a blast even more shattering than before. Flying,
flaming
debris fell again into the dock area and into other parts of the city,
causing
terrible devastation and many more casualties.
Another huge crater was born where the remains of No. 1 berth had
previously
been. Chaos followed, for no organisation was equipped to deal with a
disaster of such magnitude, and the two docks at the heart of the fire
were
virtually abandoned. The radius of the fire was over a mile; hundreds
of sheds, the
edge of the oil depot and the western part of the city burnt
furiously.
In the Alexandra Dock area were three ammunition ships and many sheds
filled
with explosives. A loaded tanker lay nearby. Fires had to be
extinguished
and the injured rescued. A central organisation was finally formed and
the task
of salvage and rescue got under way as confusion turned into
efficiency.
Subsequently piles of debris were cleared, sunken vessels scrapped or
lifted, quay walls, sheds and other buildings repaired or rebuilt.
Docks were
drained and cleared and other ruins and wreckage swept into the open
sea.
Clearance and reconstruction would normally have taken years, but
wartime
requirement called for action on a grand scale, and the docks were
operating
again some six months later.
Allied shipping losses in the Bombay explosion were:
FORT STIKINE (7,142 grt); FORT CREVIER (7,131 grt);
JALAPADMA
(3,935 grt); BARODA (3,205 grt); GRACIOSA (1, 773 grt);

KINGYUAN (2,653 grt); TIMOMBA (872 grt) ROD EL FARAG
(6,842 grt);
IRAN (5,704 grt) ;GENERAL VAN DER HEIJDEN (1,213 grt);
GENERAL
VAN SWIETEN (1,300 grt). (Andy Etherington)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack Viterbo Airfield and Leghorn
marshalling yard, B-26 Marauders strike at Poggibonsi, Certaldo,
Cecina and Magra,
attacking mostly rail facilities and hit Arezzo bridge and viaduct and
Bucine
viaducts; fighter-bombers also concentrate on rail lines and bridges
and hit
many supply dumps, gun positions and factories, generally located
northeast of
Rome. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: 3 Eleventh Air Force B-24s fly an armed photo reconnaissance
mission
during the early morning over Matsuwa, Onnekotan, and Paramushiru
Islands,
Kurile Islands. Photographs taken are negative due to cloud cover.
(Jack
McKillop)

NEW GUINEA (Fifth Air Force B-25s and P-39 Airacobras hit barges and
luggers in Vanimo Harbor and at Bogia. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 20+ Thirteenth Air Force fighter-bombers strike
various targets in the northeastern part of Bougainville Island. (Jack

McKillop)

U.S.: In the Pacific, the I Marine Amphibious Corps was redesignated
the III
Amphibious Corps. (John Nicholas)
Chart topping songs in the U.S. today include "It's Love, Love, Love"
by Guy
Lombardo And His Royal Canadians with vocal by Skip Nelson; "I Love
You" by
Bing Crosby; "Besame Mucho" by Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra with
vocal by
Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen; and "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry"
by Al
Dexter and his Troopers. (Jack McKillop)

USSR: Kiev: General Nikolai F Vatutin, injured on 29 February, dies of
his wounds.
Moscow: The Red Army has reconquered the Crimea in a lightning campaign

which lasted just six days. Only the southern tip around Sevastopol is
holding
against Marshal Tolbukhin's Fourth Ukrainian Front. The attack
was launched following the liberation of the Black Sea port of Odessa
from
which the Germans supplied General Jaenecke's 17th Army in the Crimea.
Tolbukhin's men stormed across the Perekop peninsula in the north,
outflanking defences by crossing the Sivash lagoon, thus unlocking the
northern gate
of the Crimea. General Eremenko then came in by the side door,
attacking from
his toehold at Kerch in the east. Since then the Russians have rolled
up the
Germans, who, under Hitler's orders, tried to hold a second line of
defence
south of Perekop instead of giving ground as Jaenecke wanted to do.
Now the Germans and their Romanian allies have no choice. They have to
fall
back on the "Gneisenau Line" covering Sevastopol. Thousands of German
and
Romanian non-combatant personnel and Russian auxiliaries are being
evacuated
from the Crimea to Constanta. Jaenecke wants to get his fighting men
away before
they are trapped, but Hitler has ordered that Sevastopol must be held
at all
costs.
That cost will be high. Moscow radio today broadcast this order:
Sailors and
airmen. Don't allow them to escape! Destroy their ships! Shoot down
their
planes! Don't allow a single enemy to escape retribution!" (Andy
Etherington)

1945: AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack the Klagenfurt

marshalling yard as a target of opportunity. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 41 Tenth Air Force P-47s and P-38s attack troops, supplies, and
fuel
dumps at Tawnghkam Nawng-hkam, Mong Kung, Loi-makhkawn, and Nawngkaw;
8 P-38s
damage bridges at Kong pau and Kyawngteng; 446 transport flights are
flown
to forward areas. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 24 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s, supported by 12 P-51s, bomb
Loyang and
knock out a bridge over the Yellow River; 30+ B-25s and 130+
fighter-bombers
attack bridges (knocking out at least 6), river, road, and rail
traffic,
troops, storage areas, town areas, and general targets of opportunity
over the
vast expanse of southern and eastern China.
Far East Air Forces B-25s sweep the Canton-Hong Kong waterways, hitting

shipping and other targets. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb four airfields. (Jack
McKillop)

FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 948: 1,167 bombers are
dispatched
without escort to visually attack enemy pockets on the French Gironde
estuary; 2 B-24s are lost; other Allied Air Forces and French naval
units attack
similar targets; the air attacks precede a ground assault by a French
detachment of the Sixth Army Group on the defense pockets which deny
the Allies use of
port facilities in the Bordeaux area:
- 480 B-17s hit 15 strongpoints and flak batteries in the
Bordeaux/Royan,
Pointe Coubre and Pointe Grave areas without loss.
- 315 B-24s hit 12 strongpoints and flak batteries in the same area as
Force
1 above; 2 B-24s are lost.
- 338 B-17s attack 4 strongpoints and flak batteries in the
Bordeaux/Royan
area without loss. (Jack McKillop)
A series of French attacks on remaining German positions in France
begins
today and will last for 6 days. The area is in the SW at Royan. The
French battleship Lorraine provides bombardment support for these
attacks.
(John Nicholas)

GERMANY: 18 Ninth Air Force B-26s fly a leaflet mission in the Ruhr
area;
fighters fly patrols, sweeps, and armed reconnaissance, and support
the US 3d
Armored Division southwest of the Elbe/Mulde River junction near
Dessau, the
9th Armored Division in the Borna and Lobstadt area, XX Corps elements
which
continue to arrive at the Zwickauer Mulde River, the VIII Corps along
the
Weisse Elster River south of Gera, XII Corps elements in the Bayreuth
area, the
2d and 5th Armored Divisions along the Elbe River in the
Barby-Magdeburg and
Tangermunde areas.
29 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb and strafe railroad targets in the
Munich and Regensburg- Linz, Austria areas (Jack McKillop)
Himmler orders that no prisoners at Dachau concentration camp
"shall be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy alive." Central
Germany: With Patton's Third Army thrusting through the Thuringian
Forest to
Dresden and Leipzig, the gap between the Americans and the Russians is
closing
rapidly and Germany is being sliced in two.
There are fears that Hitler may attempt a last-ditch defence in the
southern redoubt based on Berchtesgaden. French and American troops
are
closing on the Danube before crossing into Bavaria. In the north, the
British are moving on Bremen, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven to forestall
any attempt to
mount a defence of the ports.
Relentless Allied air attacks on Germany are wiping out the Luftwaffe
on the
tarmac and the Kriegsmarine in harbour. Figures show that 1,738 enemy
aircraft were destroyed in a week's attacks on 59 airfields. A total
of 332 were
shot down in air combat. Many German planes are limited by a lack of
fuel.
(Andy Etherington)

ITALY: During the night of 13/14 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and
A-26
Invaders continue to hit communications in the Po Valley; bad weather
over the
northern part of the Brenner line prevents medium bomber attacks but
the
B-25s, escorted by 54 Thirteenth Air Force P-51s, hit alternates on
the southern
part of the line at Salorno, San Ambrogio di Valpolicella, and
Chiusaforte,
bomb gun emplacements southeast of La Spezia in support of the US
Fifth Army,
and hit 5 defensive positions along the British Eighth Army front in
the
Argenta area; fighter-bombers concentrate on supporting Fifth Army
forces
southwest of Bologna.
318 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s hit ammunition factories at
Avigliana, Spilimbergo, Malcontenta, and Palmanova, and a motor
transport depot at
Osoppo; 158 fighters provide escort. (Jack McKillop)

Japan: Tokyo: Not a building is left standing in ten square
miles of
Tokyo after a four-hour fire-bomb raid last night by 327 USAAF B-29s.
Where yesterday there were wooden homes, workshops and munitions
factories, there is only smoking rubble in which thousands are feared
to
have died. The imperial palace was also damaged. The fire-storm
started
as 2,139 tons of incendiaries filled with jellied petrol set buildings
burning so fiercely that all air was consumed, creating strong winds
that spread the fire further - until there was nothing left to burn.
In the Philippines, SBDs from Marine Aircraft Group 24 flew the last
Marine aviation mission on Luzon, in support of the 37th Army
Division.
(Richard Gaines)

OKINAWA: Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage battleship USS New York (BB-34)
and
destroyers USS Sigsbee (DD-502), USS Dashiell (DD-659), and USS Hunt
(DD-674).
Carrier-based F6F Hellcats, FM Wildcats and F4U Corsairs shoot down 45

Japanese aircraft near the ships of Task Force 58.
The aircraft carrier HMS Formidable joins the RN's Task Force 57
replacing
HMS Illustrious which is ordered to retire for an overhaul. (Jack
McKillop)
On Okinawa, the 4th and 29th Marines launched a coordinated attack
on the Motobu Peninsula inland in an easterly direction and west and
southwest from the center of the peninsula, respectively. (Richard
Gaines)

PACIFIC: Japanese vessels sunk at sea:
- Submarine USS Gabilan (SS-252) attacks a Surabaya-to-Makassar
convoy,
sinking a cargo vessel and an auxiliary submarine chaser.
- Submarine USS Tirante (SS-420) attacks Japanese convoy MOSI-02 in
the
approaches to the Yellow Sea, sinking a transport, an escort vessel,
and a coast
defense vessel west of Quelpart Island. For his skill and daring in
carrying
out this surface attack through mined and shoal-obstructed waters,
Lieutenant
Commander George L. Street III, Tirante's captain, will receive the
Medal of
Honor.
- An aircraft sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser off French
Indochina.
- An aircraft sinks a merchant cargo ship near Rima Island. (Jack
McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: 24 Seventh Air Force B-24s based on Angaur Island,
Palau
Islands, bomb supply and personnel areas at Tigatto.
Far East Air Forces B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers fly
numerous
strikes in support of ground forces and against airfields, gun
positions,
defenses, and troop concentrations throughout Luzon, Cebu, Negros, and
Mindanao
Islands. (Jack McKillop)
SBDs from Marine Aircraft Group 24 flew the last Marine aviation
mission on
Luzon, in support of the 37th Army Division. (Richard Gaines)

Tyree67 · April 15th

April 15

We Remember:

1939: Great Britain: Hampden Park, Glasgow: England beat Scotland 2-1, before a crowd of 149,269 in the British Championship. Jimmy Dougall, the Scottish captain opens the scoring but Albert Lawton and Tommy Lawton score for England. The weather was so bad that both teams changed their shirts at half-time, with England coming out in the shirts of Queen's Park. (The Scottish League team who normally play at Hampden) (Andy Etherington)

U.S.: President Roosevelt makes an appeal top the world and to the leaders of Germany and Poland with a view to preventing further complications in Europe. (Andy Etherington)

1940: Egypt: Cairo: Wavell discusses the possibility of war with Italy -
..it was obvious that we had little or no knowledge of the general
Allied appreciation and plan for war against Italy, naval, military or air.
The essential factors were
a. to what extent air action will be taken against objectives in Italy
itself, which will influence Italian reinforcement for Libya.
b. plans for French action, by air and land against Tripoli.
c. whether action against Libya or the Dodecanese would be the primary
commitment of any forces that become available for offensive action against
Italy.
C-in-C Med. considers that the reduction of Libya is of the greatest
importance to enable the route through the Mediterranean to be maintained.
(Andy Etherington)

Japan: The Japanese Foreign Minister, Mr. Arita, warns that if hostilities spread to the Netherlands and thus to the Dutch East Indies, peaceful co-existence in the Pacific will be damaged. (Andy Etherington)

Norway: Vidkun Quisling resigns from the German sponsored Norwegian puppet government. He is replaced by Ingolf Christensen. (John Nicholas)
The Main Body of the British 24th Guards Brigade arrives at Harstad, Norway. (John Nicholas)
As the Harstad troopships approach the port, escorting destroyers HMS
Brazen and HMS Fearless find U-49 and sink her. RAF Bomber Command lays its first mines off the German and Danish coasts.
During an attack on the Vigra radio station mid-way between Bergen and
Trondheim a Junkers Ju 87R rams one of the aerials, putting the transmitter
out of action.
As the allied landings begin, the commitment of the Luftwaffe to the
Norwegian campaign is increased leading to the establishment of Luftlotte
5's HQ at Hamburg to exercise command over Norway. Milch is the temporary
commander of Luftlotte 5.
The main British expeditionary force arrives in the Narvik area.
Swordfish from HMS Furious attack Ju52s which are found on a frozen lake 10 miles north of Narvik, destroying two and damaging others. (Andy
Etherington)

U.K. RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Bombing - Stavanger Airfield. 102 Sqn. Six a/c attacked successfully.
2 Group. 110 Sqn( Blenheim ). Two a/c to Heligoland. Reconnaissance. 1
a/c attacked a patrol ship encountering heavy fire and was shot down.
On return 110 Sqn. is ordered north to Lossiemouth in Scotland to join 107 Sqn for attacks on Norway.
RAF Coastal Command: No. 22 Squadron's Bristol Beauforts make their first mine-laying sortie in the mouth of the River Jade.
A single Hudson on patrol off the Norwegian coast is attacked by two Bf110s one of which crashes into a mountain while trying to attack the Hudson. Another Hudson FTR from the same area. (Andy Etherington)
At Bletchley Park, British Intelligence deciphers the German Enigma code used in Norway. (Andy Etherington)
Fleet Air Arm:
Gibraltar/Atlantic:
HMS Ark Royal remains at Gibraltar. HMS Glorious, in company with the destroyers HMS Velox and HMS Watchman continue towards the Clyde.
Off Norway:
HMS Furious was detached from the Home Fleet with three escorting destroyers, HMS Isis, HMS Ilex, and HMS Imogen and proceeded to enter a heretofore unnamed fiord which was immediately dubbed Ã’FuriousÃ“ fjord. At 1050, three Swordfish were flown off. One was assigned to photograph the German positions in the Narvik area, while the other two were to fly an A/S search of Vaagsfjord. In the event, the camera was unserviceable and no pictures were obtained. However, the observer noted an estimated 11 German transport aircraft on a frozen lake North of Narvik.
At 1726 a striking force of nine Swordfish, six from 816 Squadron, led by the OC, Lieutenant-Commander H. H. Gardner, RN, and three from 818 Squadron, were dispatched to bomb grounded German aircraft. The aircraft each carried 8 x 20 lb. Cooper bombs while the commanderÃ•s aircraft carried two additional 250 lb. bombs for experimental purposes. The aircraft attacked in clear weather and results were good. Several direct hits were obtained. It was noted that the 250s blew large holes in the ice, and it was felt that the Ã’runwaysÃ“ were made unserviceable. Heavy Flak was encountered. Five aircraft were hit, U4B:P4167 in the petrol tank, necessitating a water-landing near the task force, Sub-Lieutenant(A) J. N. Ball, RN (P), Lieutenant A. S. Marshall, RN (O), and Naval Airman first class R. Pike (AG) being rescued by HMS Zulu. (Mark Horan)
Anticipating an invasion RAF units are dispersed around France. No. 1 Sqn. moves its Hurricanes to Pontavert alongside Battles of 12 and 45 Sqns and places three aircraft on constant patrol. (Andy Etherington)

US: The motion picture "Dark Command" is released. Directed by Raoul Walsh, this western about an 1860s renegade stars Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter Pidgeon, Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes and Marjorie Main. The film is nominated for best art direction and best music Academy Awards. (Jack McKillop)

1941: Bulgaria: Bulgaria severs diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia. (Andy Etherington)

Egypt: Cairo: French General de Gaulle presses Wavell to agree to a Free French plan for entering Syria from northern Palestine and asks for British assistance in the form of air cover, tanks and transport. Wavell refuses as he needs all his forces in other theatres. (Andy Etherington)
General Wavell's Headquarter's announced: The Germans are carrying out an offensive in Cyrenaica using heavy and medium tanks supported by large numbers of mobile motorised batteries. The German troops bypassed Tobruk, and later Sollum, which was attacked from the east. (Andy Etherington)

Greece: The government of Yugoslavia moves to Athens. They join King
Peter. (John Nicholas)
General Blamey is issued with the order to withdraw the ANZAC Corps to the Thermopylae/Corinth line. Blamey's orders for the withdrawal provided that the 6th NZ Brigade would occupy a rearguard position astride the roads near Elasson through which the two forward New Zealand Brigades would withdraw; the 16th Australian Brigade would occupy a position west of Larisa through which the 17th Australian Brigade would withdraw and the 19th Australian Brigade would form a final rearguard at Domokos. Meanwhile German divisions were rushing south and west over muddy cratered roads. Blamey ordered Brigadier Allen's 16th Brigade to the Pinios Gorge to halt the German thrust towards the main road at Larisa, a bottle-neck which was the only escape road for the Anzac Corps. (Anthony Staunton)

U.K. In Belfast heavy air raid kills 758 people and seriously injures 454. Another 15 people were killed in Londonderry and 5 in Bangor. Among the targets hit were the harland and Wolff shipyard and York Road railway station. Parachute mines devastated working-class areas of north and west Belfast. The government is being criticised for leaving the city defenceless; there were only 16 heavy anti-aircraft guns in Belfast. (Andy Etherington)
RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: Low-level intruder strikes are carried out on Borkum by Blenheims of 105 Sqn. During other anti-shipping strikes two vessels are sunk. (Andy Etherington)
The American United Press New Agency in London reports: A German reconnaissance plane makes an emergency landing at Rovno, in Soviet-held eastern Poland. It was on a mission in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, but the crew are allowed to return to Germany and the plane followed shortly. While waiting to return to Germany the crew are allowed free movement at the Soviet military airfield. (Andy Etherington)

U.S. Harry Hopkins is appointed as President Roosevelt's personal
representative over the Lend Lease Program. (John Nicholas)
The Truman Committee, of the US Senate, holds their first hearing. Appearances include Henry Stimson and General George Marshall. While discussing the problem of seniority in the Army, Marshall insists on the need for selective promotion. "You give a good leader very little and he will succeed, you give a mediocrity a great deal and he will fail." This marks the beginning of a long relationship between Harry Truman and George Marshall. (From David McCullough -- "Truman") (John Nicholas)
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an executive order permitting members of the US Army Air Corps, US Marine Corps and US Navy to sign one-year contracts with the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO) in China. After the one year term, these personnel will be permitted to rejoin their respective branch of the military without loss of rank. This is the first step in forming the American Volunteer Group (AVG), aka, "The Flying Tigers," in China. (Jack McKillop)

1942: ATLANTIC: German submarine U-575 torpedoes and sinks the unarmed U.S. freighter SS Robin Hood, en route to Boston, Massachusetts from Trinidad, British West Indies, about 300 miles (483 km) off Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: The last remaining motor torpedo boat, PT-41, her torpedoes expended and lacking gasoline to operate, is transferred to the Army to be moved overland to Lake Lanao where she is slated for service as a machine gun boat. The rapid Japanese advance across Mindanao, however, compels the Army to destroy PT-41 to prevent her capture. (Jack McKillop)

Poland: Sobibor, the new camp set deep in the woods near the river Bug, on a former railway siding, is ready to receive its first transports of Polish Jews and Gypsies. Like Chelmo and Belzec, it is a death camp: there will be no forced labour here, just immediate extermination in the gas chamber.
SS Staff Sergeant Paul Grot is one of the staff waiting to greet the first arrival. He is especially proud of his enormous dog Barry, trained to rip off the testicles of his master's chosen victim on the command Jude! [Jew]

U.K.: London: Lord Louis Mountbatten's dazzling progress through the military hierarchy continues apace. Less than six months after being appointed chief of the tri-service Combined Operations, he has been made a vice- admiral of the Royal Navy, a lieutenant-general in the army, an air- marshal of the RAF and a full member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. At yesterday's meeting in London of the Anglo-American Combined Commanders' Group. it was decided that no major Allied assault on the Nazis in western Europe could be launched this year. The decision puts the onus on Mountbatten at Combined Operations to keep the Germans guessing by delivering a succession of hit-and-run raids. One report, unconfirmed, says that he is planning an assault in strength on one of the French Channel ports. Such an operation, it is said, would provide invaluable experience for a full-scale invasion.
There are to be no more frills and fripperies in Britain as from 1 June. A new order issued by the board of trade bans embroidery, applique work and lace on women's and girl's underwear and also introduces stringent rule designed to minimize the work and material put into clothing. Skirts are to have no more than three buttons, six seams, one pocket and two box pleats or four knife pleats. Double-breasted suits are out, and men will also lose pockets on pyjamas. (Andy Ehterington)
King George VI writes to the governor of Malta awarding the island the GC "to honour her brave people" and "to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous." (Andy Etherington)

USA: US Navy Motor Torpedo Squadron 3 is decommissioned. (Jack McKillop)
Claire Chennault is recalled to active duty in the USAAF as a colonel.
(Jack McKillop)

1943: Atlantic: Two Consolidated PBY-5A Catalinas of the USN's Patrol Squadron Eighty Three (VP-83) based at Natal, Brazil, attack the 913 ton Italian submarine Archimede off the coast of Brazil. The crew of the first PBY drops four depth charges that damages the sub; a few minutes later, the crew of the second aircraft drops four more depth charges from an altitude of 50 feet (15.24 meters). The sub sank six-minutes later after 30 crewmen abandoned ship and boarded three rafts; one raft was found 27 days later by Brazilian fishermen. The raft contained two bodies and one survivor who identified the submarine. (Jack McKillop)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Eleventh Air Force aircraft fly reconnaissance over Kiska, Attu, the Semichis, and Agattu but spots no new enemy activities. Two bomber missions from Adak and 11 fighter missions from Amchitka, composed of 23 B-24Liberators, 20 B-25 Mitchells, 25 P-38 Lightnings, and 44 P-40s, hit Kiska; an F-5A Lightning takes photos; 85 tons of bombs are dropped. Fires result on North Head and Little Kiska. One B-24 is shot down in flames and 4 bombers receive battle damage. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Fifth Air Force B-17s bomb the airfields at Rabaul
and Gasmata on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 10 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Mandalay Marshaling Yard; 9 more bomb the marshaling yard at Ywataung. 8 B-24s hit the Thilawa oil refinery while 7 others hit Prome. (Jack McKillop)

Finland: Finland officially rejects the Soviet terms for peace, stating that they would be impossible to meet. This refers primarily to the Soviet demand for 600 million USD reparations, which the Finnish economic experts think impossible to pay in time without ruining the Finnish economy. As for the other Soviet demands, military experts think the Soviet demand of rapid demobilization together with the inevitable war against the Germans a dangerous combination. Majority of the people also still find it hard to accept the permanent loss of the territories lost after the Winter War, plus Petsamo, esp. as the Finnish lines of defence are still where the Finnish advance was stopped in 1941. Many are still confident that the German situation is not hopeless, although the highest Finnish leadership doesn't share this hope.
From now on, the Finns see two possibilities. The first is that the Soviets think the Finnish front too unimportant to warrant a major transfer of troops from the most important effort against the Germans. In this case Finland could perhaps secure better terms later. The second is that the Soviets will attack, but that the attack could be repulsed, and after that Finland could have better terms. The latter is essentially what eventually happened, but whether the somewhat lighter terms received in September 1944 were worth the almost 20 000 deaths suffered in the battles of summer 1944 (not to mention the Russian losses), is another matter. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

ITALY: RAF Liberators, under operational control of the IX Bomber Command, bomb Naples and Messina.
Northwest African Air Force B-26 Marauders on armed reconnaissance of the Naples area attack a vessel south of Ustica Island. (Jack McKillop)

Montenegro: After two years of unaided guerrilla warfare, with huge losses on both sides, Tito's Yugoslav partisans seem to have been recognized by the Allies. Until recently, the misinformed British were dropping weapons to the rival band of partisans the pro-royalist Chetniks.
Today, however, Allied liaison officers, Canadians of Yugoslavian birth, were parachuted into Croatia to find Tito's partisans fighting their way to Montenegro after a major Axis crackdown had failed to destroy them. The fourth major offensive involved five German divisions - including a Waffen- SS, a complete infantry regiment, two Italian divisions and their locally raised Ustachi allies.
After savage fighting the outnumbered partisans managed to fight their way out, bringing 4,000 wounded with them. An attempt to trap them failed after a savage series of battles in which no prisoners were taken. (Andy Etherington)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17s bomb the airfield at Lae. (Jack McKillop)

North Africa: The Allied Air Forces in the Mediterranean have been completely re-organized in both their command structure under the overall command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder.
A North-West Africa Tactical Air Force has been established under the
command of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham to use the lessons learnt in the desert to give close support to ground forces in Tunisia. Light bombers and tank-busters protected by fighters will blast the enemy's strongpoints. A Strategic Force has also been set up. Composed of USAAF heavy and medium bombers, and RAF medium bombers, it is responsible for long-range attacks on bases, communications and shipping.
In order to cope with the vast area covered by the Allied air forces they have also been divided into three geographical regions: Middle East Command, stretching from India to Tunis; the North African Air Command in Tunisia under Major-General Carl Spaatz, of the USAAF; and the RAF in Malta. The re-organization is to cope with the vast expansion of Allied air power in the region. The creation of the Tactical Air Force reflects planning for the invasion of Europe. (Andy Etherington)

NORTH PACIFIC: Submarine USS Seawolf (SS-197) sinks a Japanese transport about 275 miles (443 km) south-southwest of Marcus Island. (Jack McKillop)

SARDINIA: Northwest African Air Force Wellingtons bomb Decimomannu, Villacidro, and Elmas Airfields during the night of 14/15 April. (Jack
McKillop)

SICILY: Ninth Air Force B-24s attack Catania and Palermo (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On or about this date, the Royal New Zealand Air Force's No. 15 Squadron equipped with Curtiss Kittyhawk Mk. IAs (P-40Es), arrives on Guadalcanal. This is the first RNZAF fighter unit to operate under Aircraft Solomons (AirSols) command. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force B-25s bomb the airfield and area near a fuel dump at Sainte-Marie du Zit. P-40's fly reconnaissance and sea patrol.
Northwest African Air Force fighters attack tanks and trucks at Oum EL Djema and a concentration near Sidi Ahmed, while others fly reconnaissance and patrols during the day. (Jack McKillop)

U.S. The US begin preparations for attacks on Attu in the Aleutians with the 7th Division US Army. (John Nicholas)

1944: BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, 24 Thirteenth Air Force B-25s bomb an ammunition dump on Talili Bay; 11 P-39 Airacobras follow with a strike on the same target; 3 P-38s fire the Wunapope supply area; other fighter-bomber strikes on the same area are cancelled by weather. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 12 Tenth Air Force P-38s hit Heho Airfield destroying several parked airplanes. (Jack McKillop)

Finland: Finland officially rejects the Soviet terms for peace, stating that they would be impossible to meet. This refers primarily to the Soviet demand for 600 million USD reparations, which the Finnish economic experts think impossible to pay in time without ruining the Finnish economy. As for the other Soviet demands, military experts think the Soviet demand of rapid demobilization together with the inevitable war against the Germans a dangerous combination. Majority of the people also still find it hard to accept the permanent loss of the territories lost after the Winter War, plus Petsamo, esp. as the Finnish lines of defence are still where the Finnish advance was stopped in 1941. Many are still confident that the German situation is not hopeless, although the highest Finnish leadership doesn't share this hope.
From now on, the Finns see two possibilities. The first is that the Soviets think the Finnish front too unimportant to warrant a major transfer of troops from the most important effort against the Germans. In this case Finland could perhaps secure better terms later. The second is that the Soviets will attack, but that the attack could be repulsed, and after that Finland could have better terms. The latter is essentially what eventually happened, but whether the somewhat lighter terms received in September 1944 were worth the almost 20 000 deaths suffered in the battles of summer 1944 (not to mention the Russian losses), is another matter. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 3 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s knock out a bridge at Viet Tri and damage another. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 303: 616 fighters are dispatched on strafing sweeps of central and western Germany, airfields being the primary objectives; 132 P-38s claim 7-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft, 11 P-38s are lost; 262 P-47s claim 20-1-23 aircraft, 7 P-47s are lost; 222 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s claim 30-0-10 aircraft, 15 P-51s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

Hungary: With today's round-up of Jews in the German-occupied areas of Ruthenia and Croatia, Hungary is no longer a safe refuge for Jewish people. The Hungarian government has hitherto stood up to German demands for the 767,000 Jews to be deported for "special treatment" in Poland. Miklos Kallay, who was premier until 22 March, refused to take any measures against the Jews, refusing German pressure to institute ghettoes and badges for them.
In April last year, Hitler reproached Hungary's regent, Admiral Miklos Horthy, for his liberal attitude. Horthy said he could not "beat the Jews to death"; the FÅ¸hrer treated him to a lecture, saying that nations which did not rid themselves of Jews perished. They met again last month. With the Red Army approaching the Hungarian border, Hitler was insistent. Horthy was to replace Kallay with Dome Sjotay, who boasted that he was a "true pioneer of anti-Semitism". It was agreed that a German plenipotentiary, Edmund Veesenmayer, and a security police force under SS Maj-Gen Otto Winkelmann were to supervise Hungary's internal affairs.
On 19 March German troops moved into Hungarian combat zones. At the same time Adolf Eichmann, the head of the Gestapo Jewish office, arrived in Budapest. His painstaking attention to detail has ensured the shipment of millions of European Jews to the extermination camps. He has brought a team of Einsatzkommandos with him to carry out the deportations with their customary brutality.
Meanwhile, at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the guards chuckle that "soon we'll be eating Hungarian salami". Engineers are checking and overhauling the gas chambers and crematoria. They are clearly expecting some big transports to arrive soon. (Andy Etherington)

INDIA: 12 Tenth Air Force B-24s over the Andaman Islands attack shipping and other targets at Port Blair. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s strike a marshalling yard at Leghorn and a tunnel and railroad bridges in central Italy; P-47 Thunderbolts attack rail lines, bridges and ammunition dumps northeast of Rome with good results; other P-47s, P-40s and A-36 Apaches hit numerous targets, including rail lines, motor transport shop, vehicles, tanks and gun positions, in central Italy and in the US Fifth Army battle areas. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: During the night of 14/15 April, 3 Eleventh Air Force B-24s on armed reconnaissance mission over Matsuwa and Onnekotan Islands in the Kurile Islands, hit several targets including Matsuwa Airfield; reconnaissance over Paramushiru Island fails due to overcast. (Jack McKillop)

Lithuania: Vilna: 40 Jewish prisoners working as a "Blobel Commando" digging up and incinerating massacre victims buried at Ponar Woods escape; 25 are shot dead. (Andy Etherington)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s, based on Tarawa Atoll, bomb Maloelap Atoll, rearm at Majuro Atoll and hit Jaluit and Mille Atolls on the return trip. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: 180+ Fifth Air Force B-24s, B-25s and A-20 Havocs bomb landing strips, off-shore islands and the entire coastal area in the vicinity of Aitape; 16 P-40s strafe barges at nearby Seleo Island; 20 P-39s hit villages, supply dumps, trucks and other targets along Hansa Bay and in the Alexishafen area. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Two Japanese ships are sunk at sea:
- A merchant cargo ship is sunk, probably by a mine laid by submarine USS Steelhead (SS-280), off Honshu, Japan.
- British submarine HMS Storm sinks a minesweeper in the Andaman Islands. (Jack McKillop)

POLAND: The Soviet Army occupies Tarnopol, one of the principal cities of Eastern Galicia, across the former Polish border. Tarnopol, traditionally a part of Poland, then part of the Soviet Union, had become German-occupied territory in the great German offensive eastward in June 1941. (Jack McKillop)

RUMANIA AND YUGOSLAVIA: Clearing weather again permits Fifteenth Air Force bomber operations. 448 B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards; B-17s hit Ploesti, Rumania and Nis, Yugoslavia; B-24s hit Bucharest, Rumania; 150+ fighters provide escort.
A special group, led by Lieutenant Colonel Louis A Neveleff, flies from Fifteenth Air Force HQ at Bari, Italy to Medeno Polji, Yugoslavia and from there the group proceeds to Marshall Tito's HQ at Drvar, where Colonel Neveleff confers with Tito and spends several days laying the groundwork for the evacuation of downed US airmen in Yugoslav hands. Also, much information is gathered regarding the military organization and political trend of the partisan movement. The mission returns to Italy on 2 May and 122 men, mostly Fifteenth Air Force airmen, are also evacuated. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMONS ISLANDS: A few Thirteenth Air Force P-38s hit targets in the
northeastern part of Bougainville Island. (Jack McKillop)

USSR: The Red Army captures Tarnopol. One of the principal cities of
Eastern Galicia, across the former Polish border. Tarnopol, traditionally a part of Poland, then part of the Soviet Union, had become German-occupied territory in the great German offensive eastward in June 1941. (Jack McKillop)

1945: ATLANTIC: The German submarine U-1235 is sunk in the North Atlantic by destroyer escorts USS Frost (DE-144) and USS Stanton (DE-247). All 57 crewmen on the U-boat are lost. (Jack McKillop)

Burma: Taungdwingyi, Burma falls to the British 20th Indian Division. (John Nicholas)
62 Tenth Air Force) P-38s and P-47s attack troop concentrations and supply areas at Loi-Mwe, Lawksawk, Thongdan, and near Laihka; 312 transport sorties are flown to forward areas. (Jack McKillop)

CENTRAL EUROPE: The Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 36 P-38s and 36 P-51s
strafe rail communications in the area bounded by Munich, Germany, Salzburg and Linz, Austria, Plzen, Czechoslovakia, and Regensburg, Germany; 12 of the P-38s skipbomb rail targets in the Salzburg-Linz, Austria area, including the Vocklabruck marshalling yard; 8 P-38s furnish top cover for
the strafing missions. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 3 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s knock out the Pa-Ching pontoon bridge, 7 attack a storage depot at Fang-cheng, 4 bomb Tunganhsien, and 3 hit Paoching; 1 B-24 bombs the Canton docks; almost 200 fighter-bombers ranging over all of southern China and up into the northern China plain hitnumerous targets including bridges, river shipping, town areas, trucks, railroad traffic, gun positions, storage areas, and general targets of opportunity; the Paoching, Hengyang, Yungfengshih, and Hsihhsiassuchi areas are especially hard hit. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Toyohara, Shinchiku, and Shinshoshi Airfields and B-25s hit the Shoka rail yards. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 951: 1,348 unescorted bombers are dispatched to visually attack strongpoints on the French Atlantic coast; the first two forces below make the sole operational employment of napalm bomb by the Eighth Air Force against German ground installations (pillboxes, gunpits, tank trenches, and heavy gun emplacements); the results are negligible and HQ recommends its discontinuance against this type of target:
- 492 B-17s hit four strongpoints and flak batteries in the Royan area without loss.
- 341 B-24s hit six strongpoints and flak batteries in the Royan area without loss.
- 442 B-17s hit 9 strongpoints and flak batteries in the Bordeaux/Royan, Pointe Grave and Pointe Courbre area without loss. (Jack McKillop)
France: US bombers drop "napalm" bombs on German troops at Royan, in the Gironde estuary. (Andy Etherington)

GERMANY: 258 Ninth Air Force B-26s and A-26 Invaders bomb marshalling yards at Gunzburg and Ulm (primary targets) and several other targets including 3 marshalling yards; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, and support the US 3d Armored Division near Dessau and across the Mulde River near Torten, the 9th Armored Division along the Mulde northwest of Borna, the VIII Corps along Weisse Elster River between Gera and Plauen, the XX Corps astride the Mulde NE of Chemnitz (where the 6th Armored Division awaits Red Army forces), and the 2d Armored Division on the Elbe River near Magdeburg. (Jack McKillop)
The Liberation of BERGEN-BELSEN: The first British troops entered
Bergen- Belsen on Sunday, April 15th 1945, at 3 p.m., led by Brigadier H.L. Glyn Hughes, the Chief Medical Officer of the British Second Army (with anti-tank battery of 63 A/Tk Regt, Royal Artillery.) Brigadier Hughes cried when he saw the horrible conditions of the camp. He later mentioned that "Belsen was unique in its vile treatment of human beings. Nothing like it had happened before in the history of mankind. The victims of this infamous behavior had been reduced to a condition of sub-human existence" The liberators' most urgent concerns included separating the sick from the living, burying the dead, and caring for the sick.
Hospitals were set up in the barracks and doctors fed the prisoners after determining which could be saved and which could not. Mass graves were dug to bury the thousands of dead. Captain Derrick Sington, who was the first British officer to enter Bergen- Belsen, forced Commandant SS-Captain Josef Kramer and other SS officials to assist in the mass burials as well. After the soldiers cleared the camp of people, the camp was set on fire to help combat the spread of disease.
Bergen-Belsen was a concentration camp in Germany, located between the villages of Bergen and Belsen. Built in 1940, it was a prisoner-of-war camp for French and Belgium prisoners. In 1941, it was renamed Stalag 311 and housed about 20,000 Russian prisoners.
The camp changed its name to Bergen-Belsen and was converted into a concentration camp in 1943. Jews with foreign passports were kept there to be exchanged for German nationals imprisoned abroad, although very few exchanges were made. About 200 Jews were allowed to immigrate to Palestine and about 1,500 Hungarian Jews were allowed to immigrate to Switzerland, both took place under the rubric of exchanges for German nationals.
Bergen-Belsen mainly served as a holding camp for the Jewish prisoners. The camp was divided into eight sections, a detention camp, two women's camps, a special camp, neutrals camps, "star" camp (mainly Dutch
prisoners who wore a Star of David on their clothing instead of the camp uniform), Hungarian camp and a tent camp. It was designed to hold 10,000 prisoners, however, by the war's end more than 60,000 prisoners were detained there, due to the large numbers of those evacuated from Auschwitz and other camps from the East. Tens of thousands of prisoners from other camps came to Bergen-Belsen after agonizing death marches.
While Bergen-Belsen contained no gas chambers, more than 35,000 people died of starvation, overwork, disease, brutality and sadistic medical experiments. Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, died of typhus in March 1945, along with other prisoners in a typhus epidemic.
In 1946, Belsen served as the largest displaced person (DP) camp for more than 11,000 Jews; it was the only exclusively Jewish camp in the British zone of Germany. (Russ Folsom)

Italy: The Polish II Corps attached to the British 8th Army in Italy reaches Sillaro after crossing the River Santerno. (John Nicholas)
During the night of 14/15 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26s concentrate on communications targets in the Po Valley, particularly the Po River crossings; during the day B-25s and B-26s and fighter-bombers concentrate on direct support of the US Fifth and British Eighth Armies drives, hitting troop concentrations, guns, strongpoints, and a variety of targets in areas south of Bologna, around Medicina and Sasso Marconi and at
other points in battle areas.
830 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, in support of the US Fifth
Army, blast gun positions, supply dumps, troop concentrations, maintenance
installations, and German HQ along highways leading from Bologna; 145 P-38s furnish escort; another force of 312 B-17s and B-24s bomb rail diversion bridges at Nervesa della Battaglia, Ponte di Piave, and Casarsa della Delizia, and an ammunition factory and stores at Ghedi; 191 P-51s provide escort.Today's effort is the largest of World War II by the Fifteenth Air Force (most fighters and bombers dispatched and attacking, and the largest bomb tonnage dropped) during a 24-hour period; 1,142 heavy bombers bomb targets. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: Aircraft of fast carrier task force (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) attack airfields and aircraft on the ground in southern Kyushu Island; the strike is repeated on 16 April.
During the night of 15/16 April, the Twentieth Air Force flies two missions: (1) Mission 68: 194 B-29 Superfortresses bomb the Kawasaki urban area while 8 others hit targets of opportunity; 12 B-29s are lost. (2) Mission 69: 109 B-29s hit the urban area of Tokyo; 1 B-29 is lost. (Jack
McKillop)

Netherlands: Arnhem, Holland is taken by Canadian forces. (John Nicholas)

Okinawa: The US 6th Marine Division engages in hard fighting for Yae Taku Hill on Okinawa. (John Nicholas)
Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage the destroyer USS Laffey (DD-724) and a large support landing ship [LSC(L)] while a Japanese assault demolition boat damages a motor minesweeper (YMS). (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Charr (SS-328) lays mines off the Malay Peninsula.
Two Japanese ships are sunk. (1) A guardboat is sunk by U.S. aircraft off Chezhudo, Korea and (2) a mine laid by USAAF B-29 Superfortresses sinks a cargo ship southeast of Hesaki Light, Japan. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A battalion of the 151st Infantry Regiment, 38th Infantry Division, lands on Carabao Island at the entrance to Manila Bay; landing is preceded by cruiser/destroyer and aircraft bombardment.
Far East Air Forces B-24s and fighter-bombers bomb island fortifications in Manila Bay, fighter-bombers hit bivouacs and other targets in northern Luzon and support ground forces east of Manila and on Carabao Island. Fighter bombers and B-24s fly support missions for ground forces on Negros and Cebu Islands. On Mindanao Island, B-24s bomb the Davao area and B-25s join USMC F4U Corsairs and SBD Dauntlesses in hitting
highways and vehicles. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: Top popular hits on the music charts are "My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time" by The Pied Pipers; "I'm Beginning to See the Light" by Harry James and his Orchestra with vocal by Kitty Kallen; "Candy" by Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford; and "Smoke on the Water" by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. (Jack McKillop)

Liberation of BERGEN-BELSEN: The first British troops entered Bergen- Belsen on Sunday, April 15th 1945, at 3 p.m., led by Brigadier H.L. Glyn Hughes, the Chief Medical Officer of the British Second Army (with anti-tank battery of 63 A/Tk Regt, Royal Artillery.) Brigadier Hughes cried when he saw the horrible conditions of the camp. He later mentioned that "Belsen was unique in its vile treatment of human beings. Nothing like it had happened before in the history of mankind. The victims of this infamous behavior had been reduced to a condition of sub-human existence"
The liberators' most urgent concerns included separating the sick from the living, burying the dead, and caring for the sick. Hospitals were set up in the barracks and doctors fed the prisoners after determining which could be saved and which could not. Mass graves were dug to bury the thousands of dead. Captain Derrick Sington, who was the first British officer to enter Bergen- Belsen, forced Commandant SS-Captain Josef Kramer and other SS officials to assist in the mass burials as well. After the soldiers cleared the camp of people, the camp was set on fire to help combat the spread of disease.
Bergen-Belsen was a concentration camp in Germany, located between the villages of Bergen and Belsen. Built in 1940, it was a prisoner-of-war camp for French and Belgium prisoners. In 1941, it was renamed Stalag 311 and housed about 20,000 Russian prisoners.
The camp changed its name to Bergen-Belsen and was converted into a concentration camp in 1943. Jews with foreign passports were kept there to be exchanged for German nationals imprisoned abroad, although very few exchanges were made. About 200 Jews were allowed to immigrate to Palestine and about 1,500 Hungarian Jews were allowed to immigrate to Switzerland, both took place under the rubric of exchanges for German nationals.
Bergen-Belsen mainly served as a holding camp for the Jewish prisoners. The camp was divided into eight sections, a detention camp, two women's camps, a special camp, neutrals camps, "star" camp (mainly Dutch prisoners who wore a Star of David on their clothing instead of the camp uniform), Hungarian camp and a tent camp. It was designed to hold 10,000 prisoners, however, by the war's end more than 60,000 prisoners were detained there, due to the large numbers of those evacuated from Auschwitz and other camps from the East. Tens of thousands of prisoners from other camps came to Bergen-Belsen after agonizing death marches.
While Bergen-Belsen contained no gas chambers, more than 35,000 people died of starvation, overwork, disease, brutality and sadistic medical experiments. Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, died of typhus in March 1945, along with other prisoners in a typhus epidemic.
In 1946, Belsen served as the largest displaced person (DP) camp for more than 11,000 Jews; it was the only exclusively Jewish camp in the British zone of Germany. (Russ Folsom)

Tyree67 · April 17th

April 17

We Remember:

1939: USSR: Moscow: Stalin proposes a defensive alliance with Britain
and France. (Andy Etherington)

JAPAN: The USN heavy cruiser USS Astoria (CA-34) arrives in Yokohama
carrying the remains of the former Japanese Ambassador to the United States,
the
late Hirosi Saito. In command of the ship is Captain Richmond Kelly Turner. In
addition to his normal duties, he is tasked with attempting to photograph the
Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi. USS Astoria sailed for Shanghai,
China, on 26 April. (Jack McKillop)

1940: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. 58 Sqn. Two a/c to Kjeller and Fornebu.
No bombing due to weather. 77 Sqn. Three a/c to Trondheim. No bombing due to
weather. 102 Sqn. Three a/c to Trondheim. No bombing due to weather. (Andy
Etherington)
Amplifying the above:
All three squadrons were flying Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk. Vs. (Jack
McKillop)

Heavy cruiser HMS Suffolk bombards Sola airfield near Stavanger, but as she
returns is badly damaged by Ju88 bombers. She barely make Scapa Flow. RAF
Hudsons spot for the Navy's gunners.
RAF bombers attack a submarine in Bergen Fjord and a supply ship at Larvik.
At noon 12 Blenheims attack Stavanger. 2 FTR. At night 11 Wellington's renew
the attack on Stavanger airfield. One Wellington is lost.

In the south a mixed force of British aircraft mine German sea and coastal
communications.
British troops are sent in two forces to land at less conspicuous ports
that are still in Norwegian hands to effect an attack on Trondheim.
'Mauriceforce' is to land at Namsos, 80 miles to the north of Trondheim.
'Sickleforce' is to land at Aandalsnes, 100 miles to the southwest. The
heart of Mauriceforce is the British 146th Brigade under Maj. Gen. Sir Adrian
Carton de Wiart, a stiff-backed veteran who had left Oxford to enlist in the
army during the Boer War. He wore a piratical black patch over the empty socket
of an eye he had lost in the Middle East, an artificial hand to replace one
lost in France during WW1 and a splendid collection of medals that included
the Victoria Cross.
Carton de Wiart had arrived at Namsos by flying boat, intending to prepare
the way for his troops. He had some problems. The 15 mile fjord leading to the
tiny port of Namsos proved too winding and narrow for bulky troop transports
to navigate; the ships would be easy targets for the Luftwaffe. Before
entering the fjord, therefore, much of the British brigade had to be
transferred
to destroyers. In the confusion, equipment was misplaced, and one transport
sailed home with 170 tons of weapons, rations and ammunition still aboard,
leaving the 146th with just two days' supplies. Even the brigade commander was
missing; he was aboard one of the transports heading for Narvik. (Andy
Etherington)

Upon hearing of the loss of Narvik, Hitler had a fit of hysteria; he
demanded that General Dietl's troops there be evacuated by air - an
impossibility.
'Each piece of bad news, leads to the worst fears.' said Jodl in his diary.
(Andy Etherington)

Atlantic:
HMS Ark Royal in company with the destroyers HMS Westcott and HMS Bulldog
are enroute to the Clyde. HMS Glorious, in company with the destroyers HMS
Velox and HMS Watchman continue towards the Clyde. RNAS Hatston:
It was decided to fly another armed reconnaissance mission to Bergen in
search of worthwhile targets. Working under the same plan as the day before,
two
aircraft from 800 Squadron were dispatched in company around 0945, weather
having delayed take off for some four and one half hours. Each carried as
single 250 SAP lb. bomb and 8 x 20 lb. Cooper bombs. Again, the actual
reconnaissance was carried out at low level, from 5,000 feet to 1,000 feet.
One Skua
sighted a small warship, identified as Bremse, tied up at the Dokajeer
jetty, and dive bombed her at 1150, but no results were noted. Photos were
taken
and both aircraft headed back, one making it to Hatston, but Captain R. T.
Partridge, RM, caught by a 180 degree shift in the wind direction, was forced
to land at RAF Sumburgh in the Shetlands, his 6A:L3025 being seriously damaged
when it overturned on the soggy ground.
Meanwhile, at noon word was received at RNAS Hatston from HMS Suffolk that,
while returning from bombarding Stavanger, she had been seriously damaged by
aerial bombing, was returning to Scapa under threat of further air attack,
and was requesting air cover. Lieutenant H. E. R. Torin, RN immediately led
the two Skuas of 803 SquadronÃ•s Green section aloft, meeting her 150 miles off
the coast. Almost immediately, at 1340, the duo broke up an attack by
several German bombers, one Do-18 being badly damaged. An hour later, the six
Skuas of 803Ã•s Blue (Lieutenant W. P. Lucy, RN) and Yellow (Lieutenant L. A.
Harris, RM) sections arrived as relief. At 1440, both sections shot up a
He-111,
while Blue section also chased off a Ju-88. About 30 minutes later two
sections of 801 Squadron arrived overhead. Red section, led by Lieutenant R.
L.
Strange, RN chased off a snooper at 1520, while at 1533 Yellow section, led
by the Squadron OC Lieutenant-Commander H. P. Bramwell, RN, jum
ped a Do-18G of 1/KuFlGr 406 and shot it down.
Still later, after refueling, 803 Yellow section and Blue-leader returned,
this time leading a section of Gladiators from 804 Squadron, also based at
Hatston, and they covered Suffolk until she arrived at Scapa without further
action.
Tromso:
Meanwhile, with the bulk of the Home Fleet having returned to Scapa to
refuel, HMS Furious, with inadequate facilities available, was slowly
refueling.
She also took the time to repair her tired and somewhat mangled air group,
which now consisted of twelve Swordfish, five of 818 Squadron and seven of 816
Squadron. Fortunately, crew casualties to date had not be serious: two dead
and three wounded. (Mark Horan)

French General Weygand reports to Gamelin and to General Vuillemin, the
C-in-C of the French Air Force, that "the preparations for the bombing of the
Caucasian oil fields have advanced so far that the operation can take place
shortly." The French High Command accept Weygand's proposal and decide to
attack
the USSR at the end of June or beginning of July, 1940. (Andy Etherington)

US Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, says that any threat to the status quo
in the Dutch East Indies would imperil peace in the Pacific. (Andy
Etherington)

1941: Yugoslavia surrenders (Steve Stathros)

In London, Lt. Ernest Oliver Gidden (1910-61), RNVR, spent six hours
chiselling molten metal from the highly sensitive fuse of a bomb on
Hungerford Bridge, and putting in a gag to stop the mechanism. (George
Cross) (Andy Etherington)

The Luftwaffe drop 170 HEs, 32 parachute mines and 5,400 incendiary bombs on
a decoy installation on Hayling Island in Sussex. (Andy Etherington)

Churchill agrees to a secret appeal from General Papagos, the Greek C-in-C
for British and Empire forces to evacuate mainland Greece in order to save it
from further destruction, but insists that Crete must be held with force.
(Andy Etherington)

In Sarajevo remnants of the army gave themselves up; around 6,000
officers and 335,000 men were marched off to PoW camps. King Peter and
Prime Minister, General Simovich have escaped to Greece.
From the outset the Yugoslav General Staff was committed to fighting an
unwinnable campaign. The bitter divisions between the country's many
nationalities - especially between Croats and Serbs - meant that an attempt had
to be
made to defend the whole country.
The Yugoslav forces were thus strung out along the frontier without depth or
necessary reserves. The Germans jumping off from Hungary, Romania and
Bulgaria plunged into Yugoslavia along the mountain passes accompanied by
dive-bombers. Within a week German forces were in Belgrade.
Many Yugoslav units never saw battle and they remain in remote areas still
with thier weapons, where some inted to fight on as partisans. (Andy
Etherington)

Savige force withdraws from the Kalabake area during the night. In Athens a
group from the Joint Planning Staff in Cairo arrive to plan the evacuation of
'Lustre', the Allied expeditionary force. (Andy Etherington)

The German raider Atlantis sinks the Egyptian liner Zamzam and takes 220
passengers prisoner. (Andy Etherington)
Amplifying the above
The information I have is that the ship was sunk in the South Atlantic and
there were 138 American citizens aboard, 21 of them ambulance drivers.
(Jack McKillop)
Amplifying the above:
The captain of the ATLANTIS claimed to have mistaken ZAMZAM for a British
ship in the pre-dawn darkness and fired six salvos at her at 9000 yds obtaining
six hits. She was an ex British Bibby liner .She carried 202 passengers
(including 109 women and children) of various nationalities - 138 US (including
the Editor of "Fortune" magazine), 26 Canadians, 25 British with the remainder
composed of four other nationalities. No one was killed but there were some
wounded. Egypt was technically neutral at the time, not declaring war on the
Axis powers until 1944. ZAMZAM was en route to Capetown from New York.
(Peter Beeston)

U.S.: Igor Sikorsky lifts his VS-300 helicopter off the water for the
first time near the plant in Sikorsky plant in Stratford, Connecticut. (Jack
McKillop)

1942: Great Britain: Southampton: Private Nora Caveney becomes the first
ATS casualty of the war when she is killed operating a range-finder on an
anti-aircraft battery site. (Andy Etherington)

Germany: Konigstein: General Henri Giraud, the French commander captured in
1940, escapes from a German PoW camp. (Andy Etherington)

Dortmund: The Gestapo reports an increase in anti-Nazi graffiti in this city
and other industrial areas of the Rhineland. (Andy Etherington)

The RAF has followed up its devastating fire raid on mediaeval LÅ¸beck with a
daring raid from 500 feet on the M.A.N. diesel engine factory at Augsburg.
The object was to "blood" new Lancaster bombers and crews on an industrial
target easily identified by vivid landmarks. Seven out of 12 Lancasters, from
44 and 97 Squadrons, were shot down and five damaged. Only eight reached the
target and of 17 bombs on target, just 12 exploded. Only four factory
workshops were damaged, but the raid has caught the public imagination because
it was
in daylight at low-level. (Andy Etherington)

Augsburg, Germany: Sqn-Ldr. John Dering Nettleton (1917-43) led six
Lancasters on a daylight raid under heavy attack. Only his plane returned.
(Victoria
Cross) (Andy Etherington)

1943: Finnish Commander-in-Chief Marshal Mannerheim travels to
Switzerland to tend his health. He uses the alias of 'Baron Marhein'. Chief of
General
Staff Gen. Erik Heinrichs acts as the C-in-C during Mannerheim's absence.
Numerous rumours float around explaining the 'true' reasons for Mannerheim's
trip. Some say there's in fact been a military coup and Mannerheim has been
driven to exile. Others say Mannerheim went to present the Finnish surrender
to the Western Allies. But the truth is just that: Mannerheim goes to tend
his health after being seriously ill in early April. He returns on 9 May and
resumes his duties. Mannerheim is old (he will be 76 next June) and his duties
has worn him further. The old Marshal is no more in top of his powers. (Mikko
HÅ rmeinen)

ALEUTIANS: 7 B-24 of the Eleventh Air Force bomb and score 8 direct
hits on the runway and gun emplacements at Attu. One B-24 and 2 F-5As abort due
to weather. 4 B-25s, 31 P-38s, and 14 P-40s hit Kiska 9 times, bombing
installations and strafing gun emplacements and 3 parked airplanes. (Jack
McKillop)

BURMA: 7 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Myitnge bridge, scoring 4
damaging hits. Ten others hit the Myitnge railroad works. Sixteen P-40s damage
the
bridge at Kamaing, attack the town of Nanyaseik, and score hits on the N
approach to the bridge at Namti. Six B-24s damage the S approach to the
Pazundaung railroad bridge. (Jack McKillop)

ENGLAND: The Commanding General, VIII Fighter Command, expresses the
need for 20 fighter groups to neutralize growing German fighter opposition to
the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO). (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 52: 115 B-17s are dispatched
against the Focke-Wulf factory at Bremen, Germany the Eighth Air Force's
largest mission to date. A mass of fighters attacks during bomb run, shooting
down 15 while flak claims another. The B-17s claim 63-15-17 Luftwaffe aircraft;
39 B-17s are damaged. (Jack McKillop)

MOLUCCAS ISLANDS: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb targets on Amboina Island.
(Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: A single Fifth Air Force B-24 scores hits on the NW shore of
Hollandia Bay. (Jack McKillop)

SICILY: Ninth Air Force B-24s (including Liberator Mk IIs of the RAF
178 Squadron, under operational control of the IX Bomber Command) bomb Catania.
Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17s bomb shipping and docks at
Palermo. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: During the night of 16/17 April, 15 Thirteenth Air
Force B-17s and 8 TBF Avengers of Torpedo Squadron Twenty Six (VT-26) and
Composite Squadron Twenty Eight (VC-28) bomb Kahili Airfield on Bougainville.
Two
of the VC-27 TBFs conduct a mast-high bombing attack on ships in New Georgia
Sound, the first attack of this kind in this theater. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force P-40s fly sweeps, sea patrol, and
fighter-bomber missions. During the night of 16/17 April, Northwest African
Strategic Air
Force (NASAF) Wellingtons bomb the N quay in Bizerte harbor. Shortly after
noon, B-17s bomb shipping and docks at Ferryville. B-25s hit the town area and
marshaling yard at Mateur. Fighters provide escort. Northwest African
Tactical Air Force (NATAF) Blenheims bomb La Sebala Airfield and A-20s hit Ksar
Tyr
and concentrations NE of Grich el Oued. Fighters fly escort and
reconnaissance missions. Northwest African Coastal Air Force (NACAF) airplanes
fly sea
patrol and reconnaissance and attack shipping in the Strait of Sicily. (Jack
McKillop)

EAST INDIES: The submarine USS Searaven (SS-196) begins the rescue of
stranded Australian sailors, airmen, and soldiers from Japanese-occupied Timor
Island. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), Ambassador to France,
announces that he is being recalled to Washington "for consultation." (Jack
McKillop)

ATLANTIC: The German submarine U-175 is sunk southwest of Ireland by depth
charges and gunfire from USCGC Spencer (WPG-36); 41 of the 54 U-boat crewmen
survive. USCGC Spencer was escorting convoy HX 233. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Amboina on Ambon Island. (Jack
McKillop)

PACIFIC: Three Japanese ships are sunk at sea:
- A mine laid by USN TBF Avengers on 30 March sinks a transport near Buin,
Bougainville, Solomon Islands.
- An ex-whale factory ship is sunk by unknown agent about 160 miles (257 km)
east of Formosa.
- Submarine USS Flying Fish (SS-229) sinks an army cargo ship off
Yerimozaki, Hokkaido, Japan. (Jack McKillop)

1944: Great Britain: London: Under pressure from the military
commanders for the "Overlord" invasion of Europe, the British war cabinet has
clamped down on diplomatic privileges, held up diplomatic bags and put all
foreign
embassies under surveillance. Even friendly embassies have been included,
since it was reckoned that they could not be completely secure against spies.
There has been only one protest against the restrictions - from officials of
General de Gaulle's Free French. The worrying gap in this security cordon is
Eire, where de Valera's government remains at peace with Nazi Germany. German
agents in Dublin move freely. But the long, coiling border with Northern
Ireland, where travellers pass to and fro freely in peacetime, is now under
close
guard. (Andy Etherington)

Italy: Naples: Italy's return to democracy is not coming easily. Nine months
after Mussolini's downfall, the country is without a government. The
dictator's successor, Marshal Pietro Badoglio, has announced the resignation of
his
entire cabinet. Badoglio has been asked to form a new government with a broad
base - and has approached the veteran communist leader Palmiro Togliatti as
well as "Actionists", led by Prince Caracciolo, at the other end of the
political spectrum. From Zurich come reports that Mussolini, who has spent much
of
his time at his Lake Garda villa, has visited a Vienna cancer clinic, but
has refused an operation. (Andy Etherington)

China: The Japanese launch Operation Ichi-Go (1-5), to crush Chinese
resistance between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers and wipe out USAAF bases in
Honan
and Kwangsi provinces. (Andy Etherington)

ATLANTIC: The German submarine U-986 is sunk southwest of Ireland by depth
charges from the RN destroyer HMS Swift and the USN subchaser USS PC-619. All
50 crewmen on the U-boat are lost. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, 24 B-25s pound runway and
revetments at Rapopo Airfield; 40+ fighter-bombers hit Matupi with incendiaries
while 10 others pound the runway at Keravat. (Jack McKillop)

BULGARIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Sofia.
(Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 6 Tenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs support ground forces near Meza; 9
P-38s destroy several airplanes at Heho Airfield while 5 B-24s bomb Ywataung;
26 B-25s and 36 P-51s support ground forces at Mawlu and bomb a fuel dump at
Kin; 13 other P-51s are diverted to intercept a Japanese force over the
Imphal, India area and claim 3 airplanes shot down. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: 20 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the airfield at Satawan
Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: 20 Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb storage areas and troop
concentrations in Kai Island, Moluccas Islands. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies two mission. Mission 304: 14 B-24s bomb
the V-weapon site at Wizernes without loss; escort is provided by 33 P-47
Thunderbolts.
Mission 305: 5 B-17s drop 1.48 million leaflets on Rennes, Brest, Nantes,
Lorient and St Nazaire at 2248-2258 hours without loss. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack bridges north of Orte and at Monte
Molino, while A-20s pound a fuel dump NE of Rome; P-40, P-47 and A-36 Apache
fighter-bombers hit motor transport stores and gun positions north of Anzio,
bomb Fara in Sabina station, hit tracks, trains and guns in the Orte and Narni
area and at other points north of Rome. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The submarines USS Barb (SS-220) and USS Steelhead (SS-280) shell
phosphate works on Rasa Island which lies 254 miles (408 km) southeast of
Okinawa. Officially, the island is named Okidaito-jima. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s, based on Tarawa Atoll, strike
Maloelap and Mille Atolls, rearming at Majuro Atoll between the raids. (Jack
McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force P-39s attack AA positions at Bogia; other
planes, operating individually or in pairs, attack Hollandia, Uligan Harbor and
vicinity and the Madang area. A Japanese army vessel is sunk off Aitape by
USAAF
aircraft. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Two Japanese ships are sunk by submarines at sea:
- USS Harder (SS-257), in an attack on a convoy, sinks an army cargo ship
about 150 miles (241 km) northwest of Woleai Atoll in the Caroline Islands.
- USS Searaven (SS-196) sinks an auxiliary minesweeper 120 miles (193 km)
south of Haha Jima, Bonin Islands. (Jack McKillop)

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s bomb the industrial area, air depot
and marshalling yard at Belgrade. (Jack McKillop)

1945: Large scale German surrenders begin in the Ruhr area.

In Operation VICTOR FIVE, the U.S. Army's X Corps consisting of the 24th and
31st Infantry Division is landed on Mindanao Island, Philippine Islands,
near Malabang, Parang and Cotabato. The landings are supported by the cruisers
and destroyers of Task Group 74.2. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRIA: 147 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s divebomb railroad bridges at Seefeld
and Mariahof. (Jack McKillop)

BONIN ISLANDS: 18 VII Fighter Command P-51s flying two strikes from Iwo
Jima, attack vessels at Futamiko on Chichi Jima. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 18 Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit troops and supplies near Mong
Kung and Wan Hpun; 12 others attack vehicles and other targets of opportunity
along roads south of the bomb line; 489 transport sorties are completed to
forward areas throughout the day. (Jack McKillop)

CENTRAL EUROPE: Fifteenth Air Force P-51s, with 10 flying top cover, strafe
targets of opportunity in the Munich, Germany, Plzen, Czechoslovakia, and
Linz, Austria areas. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: The Fourteenth Air Force dispatches 4 B-25s and 4 P-51s to attack
river shipping south of Yiyang; 6 B-25s bomb the area around Kwangsi University
at Liang-feng; 2 B-24s bomb the Bakli Bay dock area on Hainan Island; 70+
P-51s and P-40s hit troops, town areas, road traffic, river shipping, and
general targets of opportunity at several locations in southern and eastern
China
including Changsha, Sinning, Sinhwa, Yiyang, Tungting Lake, Paoching,
Yungfengshih, Shanhsien, Lingling, Pingsiang, Tsinkong, and Hochih. (Jack
McKillop)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: During the Eighth Air Force's Mission 957, 115 B-17s bomb an
oil depot and marshalling yard at Roundnice and 36 B-24s bomb the rail
junction and industry at Kladno and 61 bomb the railroad, rail industry and
marshalling yard at Beroun. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Far East Air Forces B-24s bomb Taichu, Shinshoshi, Toyohara, and
Okayama Airfields and B-25s hit the airfield at Taito. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Boris T. Pash commandeers over half a ton
of uranium at Strassfut, in an effort to prevent the Soviets from developing
an A-bomb. Pash was head of the Alsos Group, organized to search for German
scientists in the postwar environment in order to prevent the Soviets,
previously Allies but now a potential threat, from capturing any scientists and
putting them to work at their own atomic research plants. Uranium piles were
also
rich "catches," as they were necessary to the development of atomic weapons.
The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 957: 1,054 bombers and 816 fighters are
dispatched to hit rail targets in eastern Germany and western Czechoslovakia
(see above); 50 Luftwaffe fighters are encountered, mostly jets and the AAF
claims a total of 300-0-119 aircraft destroyed on the ground and in the air
(including 4 jets); 8 bombers and 17 fighters are lost.
- 152 B-17s bomb the rail center at Dresden and 276 bomb the marshalling
yard at Dresden; they claim 1-0-1 aircraft; 6 B-17s are lost. Escorting are 230
P-51s; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft in the air and 91-0-37 on the ground; 2
P-51s are lost.
- 76 B-17s bomb the Dresden area and 86 attack the rail junction and station
at Aussig; 86 hit
the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Dresden; 2 B-17s are lost. 265
P-51s escort claiming
11-0-2 aircraft in the air and 142-0-47 on the ground; 14 P-51s are lost.
- 55 B-24s hit the rail center and junction at Fischern while 37 bomb the
rail junction and bridge at
Falkenau. The escort is 228 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 53-0-29 aircraft on
the ground; 1 P-51 is lost.
The Ninth Air Force's 9th Bombardment Division attacks the defended city of
Magdeburg (including numerous gun positions in the area), marshalling yard
and ordnance depot at Aalen, marshalling yard and ordnance depot at Tubingen,
and ordnance depot at Ravensburg; fighters fly escort to the bombers, fly
patrols, area cover, and armed reconnaissance, hit airfields at Marianske Lazne
and Michalovy Hory, and support the US 3d Armored Division mopping up south of
the Elbe River and west of the Mulde River near Dessau, the 9th Armored
Division along the Mulde east of Leipzig, the VIII Corps in the Greiz-Zwickau
area, the XX Corps southwest of Chemnitz, the 5th Armored Division at the
Knesebeck Forest, south of Wittingen, and the 2d Armored Division opening an
assault on Magdeburg. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: During the night of 16/17 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26
Invaders hit Po River crossings and several towns west and southwest of
Bologna;
during the day B-25s successfully attack 4 Reno River bridges near Bologna
and close support targets on the British Eighth Army front to the southwest,
and extensively damage 4 bridges in northern Italy and Austria on the Brenner
rail line; XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter-bombers concentrate
on close support of the US Fifth Army south and west of Bologna.
The Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 751 B-24s and B-17s, in support of the US
Fifth Army, to hit troop concentrations, supply dumps, gun positions, and HQ
immediately south and southwest of Bologna; 143 P-51s provide escort. (Jack
McKillop)

JAPAN: The XXI Bomber Command flies Missions 70 to 75: 118 B-29
Superfortresses bomb airfields at Tachiarai, Kokubu, Izumi, Nittagahara, and 2
at Kanoya;
5 others attack targets of opportunity; beginning on this date and
continuing through 11 May, XXI Bomber Command devotes about 75 per cent of its
combat
effort to support of the Okinawa campaign; during this period the B-29s fly
more than 2,100 sorties against 17 airfields on Kyushu and Shikoku Islands
which are dispatching air attacks (including Kamikaze raids) against USN and
USMC forces. (Jack McKillop)

OKINAWA: Off Okinawa, destroyer USS Benham (DD-796) is damaged by kamikaze
and by friendly fire. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Four Japanese ships are sunk at sea:
- Mines sink a guardboat off Goto Rette.
- A USN PB4Y-1 Liberator of Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Eleven
(VPB-111) based at Palawan AAFld in the Philippines, sinks a cargo ship off
the
coast of Malaya.
- A mine laid by USAAF B-29 sinks a cargo ship off Shanghai, China.
- A mine laid by USAAF B-29 sinks a cargo ship off Wada Misaki light, Japan.
(Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: The 24th Infantry Division lands near Malabang, Parang, and
Cotabato on Mindanao Island by a naval attack group (Rear Admiral Albert G.
Noble); the landings are supported by cruiser and destroyer gunfire and USMC
aircraft (30 F4U Corsairs and 35 SBD Dauntlesses). The defenders do not make a
determined stand.
Far East Air Forces flies numerous sweeps and sorties in support of ground
forces in Luzon, Cebu, Negros, and Mindanao Islands and the Sulu Archipelago.
B-24s over Mindanao bomb Cotabato and Kabacan. (Jack McKillop)

Tyree67 · April 18th

April 18

We Remember:

1940: The British 148th Brigade lands at Andalsnes, Norway.

The French 5th Chesseurs Alpines land at Namsos, Norway. They are
without
legging type bindings for their skis and thus are unable to use them.

Atlantic:
HMS Ark Royal in company with the destroyers HMS Westcott and HMS
Bulldog
are enroute to the Clyde. HMS Glorious, now in company with the
destroyers HMS
Walker and HMS Walpole arrive in the Clyde after nightfall.
RNAS Hatston: no missions today.
Tromso:
Having taken aboard enough fuel to again steam, HMS Furious sent off
three
aircraft. One Swordfish was dispatched on a search mission to seaward
of
Ã’FuriousÃ“ fjord to ensure that the ship could depart safely. A
second was
dispatched to the Narvik area with orders to locate Flag Officer
Narvik for further
communication, while a third was sent to Narvik to photograph the
area.
Meanwhile, Furious got underway. At 1350, while transiting the
narrowest
part of Grotsund fjord in company with the destroyers HMS Isis and HMS
Ilex,
she was surprised by a single Fw-200 of I/KG 40 which dropped two 250
kg.
bombs. One landed very close, badly whipping the hull, and stripping
some turbine
blades. The ship then returned to Ã’FuriousÃ“ fjord to evaluate the
damage,
recovering two of her aircraft at 1515. The third, 816Ã•s U4K:P4214
was
returning home at low altitude in poor weather after completing the
photographic
mission when it hit a power line across Kvalsund. In the resulting
crash,
Lieutenant(A) Frank Whittingham, RN (P) was killed while Lieutenant(A)
O. M.
Cheeke, RN (O) and Leading Airman F. White, RN (AG) were seriously
injured,
though quick action on the ground saved both.
Although Furious was to continue operations, the damage to her
turbines
would ultimately force her home for repairs. (Mark Horan)

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Bombing - Kjeller and Fornebu airfields;
shipping in Trondheimfjord. 10 Sqn. Three a/c to Kjeller and three to
Fornebu. No bombing due top weather. 58 Sqn. Three a/c to Kjeller and
Fornebu. No bombing due to weather. 77 Sqn. Three a/c to attack
shipping in
Trindheimfjord. None sighted. One aircraft ditched. (Andy Etherington)

In London, General Sir John Dill, the commander of 1 Corps of the BEF
in
France, has become the vice-Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Aged
59,
Dill is a former director of military operations. Before the war he
commanded the army's Staff College. In France he has earned a
considerable
reputation as commander of one of three army corps holding ground
between
two French army groups, an allied wall of men which has the
impregnable
fortress of the Maginot Line on its right. Dill is a man of mature
judgement whom friends describe as "canny" and opponents as
irresolute.
However, among his admirers is Winston Churchill, the First Lord of
the
Admiralty, who is not known for his dithering.
Dill, like some French military leaders, has risen to prominence as a
classroom warrior who prefers to make his move only after all
information
is to hand. The German High Command is reputed to have a low opinion
of
British officers who are averse to taking decisions; but Dill is
probably
of tougher mettle than his detractors think.
'Gone With The Wind', the film colossus famed for costing (GBP) 1
million to make, taking three hours and 40 minutes to see and winning
Oscars galore, including one for Vivien Leigh as best actress, had its
premiere in no fewer than three West End cinemas tonight. It has
broken box
office records in America. The critics' reception in Britain has been
warm,
but not ecstatic. "Very good indeed but no masterpiece," declares
Campbell
Dixon in the Daily Telegraph. (Andy Etherington)

Four days after sinking the gunnery training ship Brummer, submarine
HMS
Sterlet is presumed lost in the Skagerrak to A/S trawlers. (Andy
Etherington)

Hitler recovers sufficiently from his previous days panic to order
Dietl to
hold Narvik as long as possible before withdrawing into the interior.
(Andy
Etherington)

1941: Churchill to CIGS: After the capture of Benghazi ... the 7th
Armoured Division, ... was ordered back to Cairo to refit. This
involved a
journey of over 400 miles, and must have completed the wearing out of
the
tracks of many of the tanks. It was an act of improvidence to send the
whole division all his way back, in view of the fact that German
elements
were already reported in Tripoli. The whole of the tanks in this
division
could not have been all in a condition of needing prolonged heavy
repairs.
Workshops should have been improvised at the front for lighter
repairs, and
service personnel sent forward. (Andy Etherington)

The Greek Prime Minister, Alexander Korizis, commits suicide. (Andy
Etherington)

The Greek High Command announced: Our position in West Macedonia has
remained substantially unchanged. Our troops on the Albanian front
have
carried out an ordered retreat. (Andy Etherington)

A Mitsubishi G3M2 bearing no national emblems but belonging to No. 3
"Kukutai" Corps of the Japanese navy, takes off from Takao, Formosa
and
sets a course for the US base at Legaspi on the Philippine island of
Luzon.
Keeping just outside the territorial waters 15 miles from shore they
photograph the island of Luzon from 28,000 feet.He (Andy Etherington)

FRANCE: Vichy France quits the League of Nations. (Jack McKillop)

GREECE: The 2/2nd and 2/3rd Battalions Australian Imperial Force and
the New
Zealand 21st Battalion stem a German advance in a rearguard action
that
enabled the main Allied force in Greece to establish a new defensive
line across
the Thermopylae Peninsula. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: General Motors, now producing 50% of U.S. cars, announces that
it will
make no changes in passenger-car models due to defense needs. (Jack
McKillop)

1942: German General Von Leeb is removed from Command of Army Group
South in Russia.

The Chinese 55th Division retreats from Manchi. It is met by the IJA
56th
Division and destroyed.

16 USAAF B-25 Mitchell's, under Col. James Doolittle, take off from
the
carrier USS Hornet in the North Pacific. They have a 650 mile flight
to
bomb Japan. The raid results in little material damage, but it is a
morale
booster in the eyes of the US Public. It arrives in the middle of a
Air
Defense Drill and goes unnoticed by many civilians. It throws weight
to
Admiral Yamamoto's plan to attack Midway Island. The Japanese are
unaware
of the source of this raid. President Roosevelt refers to Shangri-La
in a
radio broadcast.
Col. Doolittle is the first to take off. William Farrow pilots the
last B-25
off the deck. The propeller on Farrow's aircraft struck a Hornet
deckhand
resulting in an amputation. (John Nicholas)

The US submarine USS Searaven (SS-196), which arrived off
Japanese-held
Timor Island, Netherlands East Indies (8.35S, 126.00E) yesterday
evening, rescues
32 Royal Australian Air Force airmen from the island. (Jack
McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: General Douglas MacArthur assumes command of the
Southwest
Pacific Area. The staff of the new command is: Australian General
Thomas
Blamey, Commander of Allied Land Forces; USAAF Lieutenant General
George H Brett,
Commander of Allied Air Forces; USN Vice Admiral Herbert F Leary,
Commander
of Allied Naval Forces; US Army Lieutenant General Jonathan M
Wainwright,
Commander of Forces in the Philippines; and US Army Major General
Julian F
Barnes, Commander of US Army Forces in Australia. The Allied Air
Forces had command
all USAAF tactical and associated service units in Australia, and
operational control, except for training, of the Royal Australian Air
Force and the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force. In reality General MacArthur
kept
Blamey from having control over United States land forces in the
Pacific during
World War II. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: Two American Volunteer Group P-40s down a Japanese
reconnaissance aircraft over Loiwing at 1300 hours local.
In eastern Burma, a Chinese division collapses and opens the way for a

Japanese drive toward Lashio, the eastern terminus of the Burma Road.
(Jack
McKillop)

U.S.: Due to the fear of a Japanese attack, west coast military
leaders
ask baseball's Pacific Coast League teams to limit crowds to 3,000
fans.
The USN orders a blackout of waterfront lights along the eastern
seaboard,
where German U-boats have been using the illumination to silhouette
their
targets. (Jack McKillop)

1943: The Russians respond to the Katyn Massacre incident with a
lie.
They claim that it was concocted by the Germans.

A convoy of 100 transport aircraft leves Sicily for Tunisia to
resupply
Axis forces. It sustains over a 50% loss to Allied fighters.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
TUNISIA: Off Cap Bon, 46 Ninth Air Force P-40Fs of the 57th Fighter
Group's
three squadrons (64th, 65th and 66th Fighter Squadrons) and the
attached
314th Fighter Squadron, 324th Fighter Group, plus 11 Spitfires of the
RAF No. 92
Squadron flying top cover, take off to patrol. At approximately 1800
hours,
they spot 2 Bf 109s and an armada of 65 Ju 52/3m transports heading
back to
Sicily for more supplies. The transports are in three great vees,
covered by 16
Bf 109s and Mc 202s and 5 Bf 110s. The 64th Fighter Squadron and the
RAF
Spitfires stay high; the remaining 3 squadrons of P-40s attack the
Luftwaffe
formation and down 24 Ju 53/3m's and 16 fighters; another 35 Ju
52/3m's crash
along the coast.
During the night of 17/18 April, RAF Wellingtons of the Northwest
African
Air Force bomb the Tunis docks and marshaling yard. RAF Blenheims hit
the La
Marsa landing ground while fighter fly reconnaissance and scramble
missions.
Fighters fly reconnaissance and patrols, attacking vessels, troop
columns, and
truck in the coastal area. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Major John W. Mitchell leads a flight of 16
P-38s (2
others abort) on a low-level, circuitous, over-water trip from
Henderson Field
on Guadalcanal to a spot up the Bougainville coast from Kahili to
intercept
the fight of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, Chief of the Combined Fleet of
the
Imperial Japanese Navy. These P-38s are part of the USAAF 339th
Squadron, 13th
Airforce. Admiral Yamamoto according to US intelligence, is on an
inspection
trip in the South Pacific and is due in Ballale Airfield on
Bougainville at
0945 local. As Chief of the Combined Fleet he has planned and directed
the
Japanese Naval moves from preparing for the attack on Pearl Harbor and
the
advance during 1942. His ability has helped stiffen the Japanese
resistance in the
South Pacific. This mission to intercept his flight has the support of
high
ranking US officers. It is not clear who actually authorized the
mission.
Admiral Yamamoto's well-known punctuality is calculated to allow the
interception to take place at 0935 local at a point 35 miles (56 km)
from Kahili.
Two hours and 15 minutes after takeoff at 0725 local, as the P-38s
streak
toward Bougainville at almost sea level, a flight of 2 Mitsubishi G4M,
Navy Type
1 Attack Bombers (Allied Code Name "Betty") and 6 Mitsubishi A6M, Navy
Type 0
Carrier Fighters (Allied Code Name "Zeke") appears just ahead.
The 4-aircraft attack section under Captain Thomas G. Lanphier, Jr
bores in.
The "Zekes" spot the attacking P-38's at about 1 mile (1.6 km) and try
in
vain to cut off the attack as the bombers attempt to escape. In the
air battle,
both "Bettys" are shot down and Captain Lanphier and First Lieutenant
Rex T.
Barber are credited with shooting down the "Betty" carrying Admiral
Yamamoto. The resulting controversy has never been resolved.
In 1997 the American Fighter Aces Association gave Barber 100 percent
credit
for the shoot down of the bomber carrying Yamamoto. In 1998 the
Confederate
Air Force recognizing that Barber alone and unassisted brought down
YamamotoÃ¢s aircraft inducted Barber into the American Combat Airman
Hall of Fame.
(Jack McKillop)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: 22 Eleventh Air Force P-38 Lightnings (some flown by
Royal
Canadian Air Force pilots) and 37 P-40s hit Kiska Island 9 times. The
submarine base and gun emplacements on North Head are bombed and gun
emplacements
near the submarine base are silenced. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: Fourteenth Air Force P-40s strafe an enemy-held supply village
southeast of Tengchung. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: B-25 Mitchells of the RAAF's No. 18 (NEI) Squadron bomb
the
airfield at Penfoei, Timor. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb the Finschhafen and Saidor
areas.
(Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Drum (SS-228) sinks a Japanese ammunition ship
about
200 miles (322 km) north-northwest of Mussau Island, Bismarck
Archipelago. A
submarine chaser rescues survivors, who include a number of Army
prostitutes
among them. (Jack McKillop)

SARDINIA: Northwest African Air Force B-25s, escorted by P-38s, hit
the
Alghero-Fertilia Airfield and shipping at Porto Torres while RAF
Beaufighters
attack the Decimomannu Airfield. (Jack McKillop)

SICILY: Ninth Air Force In Sicily, B-24 Liberators attack Catania.
Over 75 Northwest African Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, escorted
by
P-38s, attack Boccadifalco Airfield and the Palermo Marshaling Yard.
(Jack
McKillop)

1944: German attacks around Buchach on the eastern front.

In preparation for Operation Overlord; the British Government issues a
ban
on coded radio transmissions and telephone calls. Diplomatic bags are
to
be censored. (The only people, apart from armed forces and spys, with
the
privelege of sending coded messages were embassies -- allied and
neutral.
The ban on coded telegrams referred to ALL traffic from neutral
embassies
and, I believe, "consular" traffic from allied ones. The security
service
-- MI5 -- was responsible for monitoring messages and diplomatic bags.
(Cris Whetton))

Hitler forbids all exports of weapons to Finland. This comes as a
further
retaliation for the Finnish peace feelers earlier in this year, even
though
Finland just recently decided to reject the Soviet terms for peace.
(Mikko HÅ
rmeinen)

BURMA: 7 Tenth Air Force B-24s bomb an oil plant at Yenangyaung
while
5, along with 7 P-38s, hit Ywataung; 6 B-25s score numerous hits on
the
Mandalay-Shwebo railroad; and 15 B-25s and 4 P-51s bomb Kamaing and
hit the
Myitkyina-Bhamo road. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s staging through
Eniwetok
Atoll hit Truk Atoll while B-25s from Tarawa Atoll bomb Ponape Island.
Twenty two Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Woleai Atoll and Mariaon
Island.
(Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 306 Part 2: 12 B-24s hit
V-weapon sites at Watten; escort is provided by 36 P-47 Thunderbolts
without loss.
277 Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders, including 24 dropping Window, and
37
A-20 Havocs bomb gun positions and marshalling yards at Dunkirk,
Calais, and
Saint Martin Airfield at Charleroi. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 306 Part 1: 776
bombers and
634 fighters are dispatched to hit airfields and aviation industry
targets;
they claim 33-5-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 19 bombers and 5 fighters are
lost;
due to poor weather, several units bomb targets of opportunity in the
Berlin
area:
- 275 B-17s hit aviation industry targets at Oranienburg, Perleberg
Airfield, Wittenberge and targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost.
- 210 B-17s hit Oranienburg, Brandenburg, Luneburg Airfield, Rathenow
and
targets of opportunity; 14 B-17s are lost.
- 248 B-24s hit Brandenburg, Rathenow, Cuxhaven, Wittenberge and
targets of
opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost.
Escort is provided by 119 P-38s, 296 P-47s and 219 Eighth and Ninth
Air
Force P-51 Mustangs; 1 P-38, 1 P-47 and 3 P-51s are lost. (Jack
McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force P-47 fighter-bombers cut several rail
lines in
the Florence and Arezzo areas and strafe trains and motor transport;
P-40s
and P-47s hit Itri and a rail bridge and fuel dumps as
the campaign against communications continues.
Fifteenth Air Force P-38s and P-47s strafe Udine and Aiello Airfields
and
targets of opportunity in the Basiliano, Sant' Andrea Island, and
Cervignano
del Friuli areas and in Golfo di Panzano; other fighters fly cover for
the
strafing missions. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: 3 Eleventh Air Force B-24s fly armed reconnaissance over
Matsuwa,
Onnekotan, and Paramushiru Islands in the Kurile Islands; cloud cover
and
lack of moonlight permit only bombing of Kashiwabara Airfield and the
Banjo Cape
area. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s from Abemama Island
bomb
Jaluit and Maloelap Atolls, using Majuro Atoll as a shuttle base
between strikes.
(Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Manokwari and Babowhile
fighter-bombers attack the Madang area. (Jack McKillop)

NORWAY: During Eighth Air Force Mission 307, 5 B-17s drop 2.56
million
leaflets on Stavanger, Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim between 2336-0041
hours
without loss. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Seven PB4Y-1P Liberators of Photographic Squadron Three
(VD-3)
and Marine Photographic Squadron Two Hundred Fifty Four (VMD-254),
take off
on a 1,252 mile (2015 km) flight from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, to

Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The next day, the aircraft
take off,
escorted by 5 Seventh Air Force B-24s, which bomb Saipan, and fly over
1,000 miles
(1609 km) to Momote Airdrome on Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands,
via
Saipan, Tinian and Aguijan Islands, in the Mariana Islands, obtaining
complete
photographic coverage which will be used for the upcoming invasions.
The submarine USS Gudgeon (SS-211), CO Robert A. Bonin, is sunk,
probably by
Japanese naval aircraft (901st Air Group), southwest of Iwo Jima,
Volcano
Islands. All hands lost. (Jack McKillop and Joe Sauder)
Submarine USS Tambor (SS-198) sinks a Japanese guardboat 300 miles
(483 km)
northwest of Wake Island.
Seventh Air Force B-24s from Kwajalein Atoll bomb Wake Island after
failing
to find shipping reported in the area. (Jack McKillop)

SOVIET UNION: General Feodor Tolbukhin's 4th Ukranian Army
reaches the
outskirts of Sevastopol and takes Balaklava, scene of the charge of
the Light
Brigade during the Crimean War. The 17th German-Romanian Army is
trapped in
Sevastopol and awaiting evacuation by ship. (Jack McKillop)

1945: RYUKYU ISLANDS: Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent
Ernie
Pyle is killed by Japanese machine-gun fire on the island of Ie Shima
off the
coast of Okinawa. Extremely popular, especially with the average GI,
whose life
and death he reported on (American infantrymen braved enemy fire to
recover
Pyle's body), Pyle had been at the London Blitz of 1941 and saw action
in
North Africa, Italy, France, and the Pacific. A monument exists to him
to this
day on Ie Shima, describing him simply as "a buddy." He was
44-years-old.
(Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC: Two armed U.S. merchant freighters are sunk by German
submarines:
- SS Cyrus H. McCormack, while in convoy HX 348, is torpedoed and sunk
by
U-1107 70 miles (113 km) southwest of Brest, France.
- SS Swiftscout is torpedoed by U-548 about 145 miles (223 km)
northeast of
Cape Henry, Virginia; Armed Guard gunfire drives the attacker down,
but U-548
returns to torpedo the ship a second time, sinking her. (Jack
McKillop)

BONIN ISLANDS: During the night of 18/19 April, 3 VII Fighter Command
P-61s
based on Iwo Jima, flying individual strikes, bomb and strafe
Futamiko and
the radio station on Chichi Jima. (Jack McKillop)

BORNEO: Far East Air Force B-25s and P-38s attack Tarakan and
Sandakan.
(Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 21 Tenth Air Force P-38s attack a troop concentration, tanks,
artillery positions, and a bivouac area near Man Li and Kongsam; 5
P-61 Black Widows
hit a supply area west of Laihka; transports land or drop 806 tons of
supplies at forward bases and frontline areas. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 3 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s hit trucks and other targets of
opportunity east of Siangtan; 52 P-51s and P-40s attack river
shipping, town areas,
rail and road traffic, tanks, and bridges at several southern and
eastern
China locations including Sinhwa, Hengyang, Changsha, Luchai,
Paoching, Kweiyang,
Yenkou, Sinning, and Siangtan. (Jack McKillop)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: During Eighth Air Force Mission 959: 97 B-17s bomb the

marshalling yard at Kollin while 21 others hit the secondary, the
marshalling yard
at Pilsen. The escort is 157 P-51s; they claim 3-0-4 aircraft in the
air; 1
P-51 is lost. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Far East Air Forces B-25s bomb Karenko Airfield, B-24s bit
Tainan,
Giran, Toyohara, Hobi, and Soton Airfields, and P-38s on sweeps hit
rail and
road transportation. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: In the West, the British Second Army captures â€ lzen and
LÅ¸neburg;
resistance in the Ruhr ends as the US First Army rounds up 325,000
Germans;
and the US Third Army captures NÅ¸rnberg and advances into Bohemia.
In the East, the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front captures Forst on the
Neisse
River; north of Frankfurt, the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front continues
its attack
to take the Seelow Heights, gradually wearing down the outnumbered
German
defenders.
During Eighth Air Force Mission 959:
- 174 B-17s bomb the secondary target, the marshalling yard at
Straubing
without loss. 99 P-51s escort.
- 166 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard while 28 attack the rail bridge
and
rail industry at Passau without loss. Escorting are 240 P-47s and
P-51s; they
claim 12-0-8 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost.
- 9 B-17s bomb the electrical transformers and 56 attack the
marshalling
yard at Traunstein while 148 hit the marshalling yard and electrical
transformers at Rosenheim; 61 hit the secondary, the marshalling yard
at Freising. 139
P-51s escort.
About 590 Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders, A-26 Invaders and A-20s
attack oil
storage at Neuburg an der Donau, marshalling yards at Juterbog and
Nordlingen, and rail junctions at Falkenburg and Juterbog; fighters
escort the
bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, and armed reconnaissance, attack
assigned targets, and
support ground forces including the US V Corps assaulting Leipzig, the
VII
Corps in the Dessau-Halle areas, the 5th Armored Division near
Steimke, and
the 2d Armored Division at Magdeburg and other XIX Corps elements
astride the
Elbe River south of Barby; organized German resistance in the Ruhr
pocket
ceases. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: During the night of 17/18 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and
A-26s
pound communications in the southern Po Valley and the towns of
Vignola,
Bazzano, and Sassuolo in the US Fifth Army battle area; B-25s and B-26s
hit 2
railroad fills and a bridge on the southern Brenner line and troop
concentrations on the US Fifth and British Eighth Army fronts,
southwest of
Bologna and in the Dugnano Paderno area; fighter-bombers of the XXII
Tactical
Air Command also concentrate on support targets in the Fifth Army
battle
area.
473 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and B-17s, with an escort of 89 P-51s,
support
the US Fifth Army offensive in the Bologna area, blasting defensive
positions and communications in areas around the city; 78 P-38s
dive-bomb a railroad
bridge at Malborghetta Valbruna, while 87 others dive-bomb 2 railroad
bridges
at and southeast of Kolbnitz, Austria. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The XXI Bomber Command flies Missions 76 to 81. 112 B-29
Superfortresses hit Japanese airfields at Tachiarai, Izumi, Kokubu,
Nittagahara, and 2 at
Kanoya, the same targets attacked yesterday; 13 other B-29s hit targets
of
opportunity; 2 B-29s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

NETHERLANDS: The Wehrmacht's Army Group H is cut off when the Canadian
2nd
Army reaches the Zuider Zee. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Japanese vessels sunk at sea:
- Submarine HIJMS I-56 is sunk 150 miles (241 km) east of Okinawa by
destroyers USS Heermann (DD-532), USS McCord (DD-534), USS Mertz
(DD-691), and USS
Collett (DD-730), assisted by destroyer USS Uhlmann (DD-687) and TBM
Avengers
from Torpedo Squadron Forty Seven (VT 47) in the light aircraft
carrier USS
Bataan (CVL-29).
- Submarine HIJMS RO 46 is sunk 500 yards (457 meters) off Wake Island
by
submarine USS Sea Owl (SS-405).
- A mine sinks a transport near the western entrance to Shimonoseki
Strait,
Japan. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Far East Air Forces fighter bombers and A-20s hit
the
Balete Pass area and support ground forces on Luzon, Negros, and Cebu
Islands.
B-24s bomb Piso Point on Mindanao. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: In baseball, the St. Louis Browns' Pete Gray, an one-arm
outfielder,
makes his major league debut with one hit in four at-bats in a 7-1
victory
over the Detroit Tigers. Gray played in 77 games for the Browns in
1945 and
batted .218 for the season. (Jack McKillop)

1946: The League of Nations closed up shop. The League's assets of

$22,000,000 were then assigned to the U.N. (Tony Morano)

Tyree67 · April 19

April 19

We Remember:

1933: Major General Stanley D Embick, then commander of Manila Harbor Defenses, described the provision to despatch a fleet to relieve Manila as "literally an act of madness" and assessed that the US should either massively increase its Philippine defenses or completely withdraw to the Eastern Pacific. (Embick was later to serve as Chief of War Plans and, during World War II, to be one of Marshall's closest advisors.) (Marc Small)

1940: Germany: German General Jodl notes in his diary - 'Renewed crisis. Political action has failed. Envoy Brauer (the German minister in Oslo) is recalled. According to the Fuhrer, force has to be used...' The conference at the Chancellery becomes so embittered, with the heads of the three services blaming each other for the delays, that even the lackey Keitel stalked out of the room. 'Chaos of leadership is again threatening,' Jodl noted. (Andy Etherington)

Japan: Tokyo: The Japanese government advises the US that it has no aggressive intentions against the Netherlands East Indies. (Jack McKillop)

Norway: The British 146th Brigade retreats from Steinker towards Namsos. (John Nicholas)
The country becomes a Reichskommisariat, led by Joseph Terboven under the control of the German Foreign Office. (Andy Etherington)
A force of British and French troops have landed at the Lofoten Islands, off Narvik. The aim of the Lofoten Islands force is to take Narvik. Maj. Gen. Macksy's force includes the French 5th Demi-Briage of Chasseurs Alpins
- specialists in mountain warfare. However, the French have been dogged by
trouble. Their convoy had been bombed by the Luftwaffe, one escorting
destroyer was so badly damaged that it had to put back to France. When they
reached port and began unloading cargo they discovered that their skis were
useless - they had been shipped without bindings. The British 148th Brigade
at Andalsnes under Brig. Gen. Harold de Riemer Morgan loads his troops onto
trains to carry them the 60 miles inland to Dombas. From Dombas he intends
to turn north to Trondheim, as he had been instructed to do. But General
Ruge, who was eagerly awaiting their arrival, had a more pressing need for
the British. "My men are near exhaustion," he told Morgan, and he warned
that the Norwegian positions to the south were in danger of imminent
collapse unless the British general rushed troops to their assistance. The
appeal seemed logical. If the British advanced northward and the Norwegian
positions fell, the Germans could readily cut the only supply line from
Andalsnes to Dombas. The British would be stranded in unfamiliar terrain,
wedged between the German garrison at Trondheim and the advancing
spearheads of the German troops from Oslo. Morgan orders to his men south
80 miles to Lillehammer, and take up positions to the south of the city.
(Andy Etherington)

U.K. RAF Bomber Command: Reconnaissance - Hamburg. 51 Sqn. Task carried out as briefed. Considerable searchlight activity, but Flak negligible. (Andy
Etherington)
Amplifying the above:
No. 51 Squadron, based at Dishforth, Yorkshire, England, was flying Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk. IVs. (Jack McKillop)
The FAA: Atlantic/The Clyde:
HMS Ark Royal in company with the destroyers HMS Westcott and HMS Bulldog are enroute to the Clyde. HMS Glorious docks at Greenock and begins loading stores and equipment for 263 Squadron, RAF.
RNAS Hatston: poor weather results in no missions today.
Off Norway:
HMS Furious had expected to finally get fully refueled from the newly arrived tanker War Pindari (5,559 BRT), but the need to get underway in the face of two air attacks left little doubt that Tromso was no longer a safe haven. Abandoning further efforts, she put to sea at her best speed on three shafts, 20 knots. That afternoon, having received word (errantly) that five German destroyers were at sea, a single Swordfish was send off on an armed reconnaissance mission ahead of the ship. The aircraft, 818 SquadronÃ•s U3K, became entangled in a snowstorm and was unable to return home. The crew navigated to Skogsfjord where they force-landed in a snowy field. The aircraft was recovered by Norwegian Navy personnel and taken to Skattoia, while the flight crew, Lieutenant(A) S. Keane, RN (P), Lieutenant A. S. Marshall, RN (O), and Naval Airman F. Clark, RN (AG) eventually reached friendly forces. (Mark Horan)

1941: The British 20th Indian Brigade lands at Basra, Iraq. Although
Rashid Ali's new government objects, these movements are covered by a 1930
treaty and with no German support available, the objections are just words.

A new British Employment Order begins registration of women for war work.

General Wavell arrives in Athens to meet Generals Wilson and Blamey.

Labour exchanges across Britain were filled today with 20 and 21 year old
women signing up for war work under the new Employment Order. Under the
order, brought in by the Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin, women with young
children will not be compelled to work for the war effort, but they must
all register so that their cases can be considered. Subsidised childcare is
being made available. (Andy Etherington)

The government has also issued an Essential Work Oder compelling reluctant
companies to employ women to do war work. (Andy Etherington)

RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: Three a/c of 18 Sqn. sink a 7,000-ton ship in
the North Sea and a Blenheim of 101 Sqn. sinks a 5,000 tonner. (Andy
Etherington)

Tonight London experiences its heaviest air raid since the "Great Fire" of
December 29. The attack lasted until the early hours. 712 aircraft dropped
153, 096 incendiaries, which started a record 1,500 fires followed by a
rain of 1,026 tons of high explosive and parachute mines. there are as
large as pillar-boxes and weigh over two tons. They drift down on the wind,
exploding on impact with the surface with the maximum blast effect. Two can completely oblterate a street. One mine failed to explode and lodged on the railway bridge leading to Charing Cross, where it was disarmed on the spot by a naval squad.

Eight London Hospitals including Guy's were hit. Christie's auction rooms,
Maples' furniture store and the Shaftesbury theatre were destroyed, parts
of Selfridge's set on fire, the Speaker's House at Westminster, the Royal
Hospital, Chelsea, the Law Courts and Wellington Barracks badly damaged.
St. Paul's is closed after a 500-pound bomb crashed through the north
transept, strewing the crypt below with wreckage. Fortunately the St Paul's
Watch, whose rest room is beneath, were all on the roof dealing with
incendiaries. All the remaining windows were shattered, but the dome was
not shaken by the blast.
Other churches destroyed or burnt out included St Andrew's, Holborn -
Wren's largest after St Paul's - the City Temple, St Clement Danes and
Chelsea Old Church. (Andy Etherington)

The Germans take Olympus and Larissa, the SS 'Adolf Hitler' division
cutting off the Greek retreat. (Andy Etherington)

The first Indian troops land at Basra, Iraq. (Andy Etherington)

British Headquarters in Egypt announced: Violent attacks by German
armoured formations and infantry units, aimed along the entire front,in
Greece, have been repulsed. The enemy has suffered heavy losses and we have
taken many prisoners. Despite the heavy attacks, our lines have not been
broken at any point. (Andy Etherington)

British patrols around Tobruk have launched several bold attacks. (Andy
Etherington)

1942: ATLANTIC: Armed U.S. freighter Steel Maker is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-136 west of Bermuda. "I am sorry to have to sink you and do this to you," one German officer says apologetically after the enemy has questioned the survivors about the ship, its cargo, and destination, "but this is war." He promises to send Steel Maker's position to enable the Americans to be rescued. The last survivor is picked up on 18 May. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: The Allies win a pyrrhic victory. They rescue the encircled 1st Burmese Division near Yenangyaung, but lose all of their tanks and much of their artillery and motorized transport. They have very little left to defend Mandalay, Lashio and the Burma Road and northern Burma. (Jack McKillop)

CARIBBEAN: German submarine U-130 uses its deck gun to bombard Royal Dutch Shell refineries at Ballen Bay on Curacao in the Netherlands West Indies. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: The Japanese have completed their conquest of Cebu Island and encounter little organized opposition on nearby islands. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau asks Americans to spend 10 percent of their income on war savings bonds. (Jack McKillop)

Lieutenant Ronald Reagan, a reserve Cavalry officer, is called to
active duty. (Jack McKillop)

1943: Another German effort to fly supplies into Tunisia fails.

The final liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto began on the Eve of Passover, April 19, 1943. The deportation did not come as a surprise. The Germans had amassed a military force to carry it out, but did not expect to engage in a confrontation that included street battles. Armed German forces ringed the ghetto at 3:00 a.m. The unit that entered the ghetto encountered armed resistance and retreated. The main ghetto, with its population of 30,000 Jews, was deserted. The Jews could not be rounded up for the transport; the railroad cars at the deportation point remained empty.
After Germans and rebels fought in the streets for three days, the Germans began to torch the ghetto, street by street, building by building. The entire ghetto became a sizzling, smoke-swathed conflagration. Most of the Jews who emerged from their hideouts, including entire families, were murdered by the Germans on the spot. The ghetto Jews gradually lost the strength to resist. On April 23, Mordecai Anielewicz the ZOB commander wrote the following to Yitzhak Zuckerman, a member of the ZOB command who was stationed on the "aryan" side: "I cannot describe the conditions in which the Jews are living. Only a special few will hold out; all the others will perish sooner or later. Their fate is sealed. None of the bunkers where our comrades are hiding has enough air to light a candle at night.... Be well, my dear, perhaps we shall yet meet. The dream of my life has risen to become fact. Self-defense in the ghetto will have been a reality. I have been a witness to the magnifice
nt, heroic fighting of Jewish men of battle". The rebels pursued their cause, even though they knew from the outset that they could not win. Even before the war ended, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising became a symbol of Jewish resistance. (Russ Folsom)

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force flies 9 missions involving 14 B-24 Liberators, 12 B-25 Mitchells, 32 P-40s, and 23 P-38 Lightnings to Kiska Island. The first mission is weathered out of the primary target, Attu Island, and directed to Kiska. Bombing and strafing concentrates on 4 grounded ships and the submarine base area where fires are started. One ship, believed to serve as a power station, is set afire. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, B-24s and B-25s mount individual attacks against Gasmata and Cape Glouster Airfields on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: Tenth Air Force P-40s hit bridges, seriously damaging the Namti railroad bridge between Mogaung and Myitkyina. Nine B-24s bomb Rangoon's main railroad station. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17s, B-24s and B-25s bomb airfields at Hollandia and Lae.

PACIFIC: The submarine USS Scorpion (SS-278) mines waters off Kashima Nada, Japan while USS Seawolf (SS-197) sinks a Japanese depot ship east of Okinawa. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: In the first night fighter victory in the Pacific, a USAAF P-70 shoots down a Mitsubishi G4M Navy Type 1 Attack Bomber (Allied Code Name "Betty") near Tulagi Island at 0425 hours. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: The British 8th Army makes small gains but suffers heavy casualties near Enfidaville, 45 miles (72 km) south of Tunis. The U. S. II Corps takes over the northern end of the Allied line and prepares to attack.
Ninth Air Force B-25s hit landing grounds and defensive positions, and P-40s escort bombers and fly fighter sweeps in support of the British Eighth Army assault on Enfidaville.
During the night of 18/19 April, Northwest African Air Force Blenheims bomb La Marsa landing ground and roads nearby, and attack activity on beach at Reyville. During the day, B-17s bomb shipping at Tunis. B-25s and A -20 Havocs raid the La Sebala Airfield and fighter-bombers attack tanks in the battle area. (Jack McKillop)

1944: Admiral Sommerville's British Eastern Fleet including the US carrier Saratoga attacks Sebang.
Amplifying the above:
During Operation COCKPIT, an Allied task force consisting of ships of the British Eastern Fleet, including the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, and the US aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) and three US destroyers, attacks Japanese ships and positions at Sabang, Netherlands East Indies. This is the first joint naval exercise in the Indian Ocean. (Jack McKillop)

The Battle for Sevastopol.

Air Commando Combat Mission NO.45 4:05 Flight Time Hailiakandi, Assam to Mawlu, Burma Bombed Japanese troops (Chuck Baisden)

Air Commando (2nd mission) Combat Mission N0.46 2:55 Flight Time
Same as mission 45.
Notes: Am now taking atabrine tablets and skin is turning a bit yellow but no fever, chills or backaches. We are getting a ration of beer and I've got a case under my cot. Officers coming around to swap their booze for beer.
Our S/Sgt crew chief got himself all warped out of shape on a bottle of Bombay gin. Came into Col. Alison's office with Gin bottle in one hand and a machete in the other. Demanded a promotion which of course he did not get. I was never sure of the exact outcome of this incident as he continued to do the maintence work on our plane but in a rather subdued and quiet manner. (Chuck Baisden)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: 38 Thirteenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit supply areas on Matupi Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: The Tenth Air Force dispatches 6 B-25s and 8 P-51 Mustangs to attack troops and stores northwest of Banmauk; 10 P-38s hit the airfield near Meiktila; and 5 P-51s attack troop positions near Mawlu and a bridge at Shweli.
Four Fourteenth Air Force P-40s attack the village of Takaw causing several fires and sink a ferry- boat in the area. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s, staging through Eniwetok Atoll, bomb Truk Atoll while B-25s from the Gilbert Islands strike Ponape Island.
21 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the airfield at Satawan Atoll, hitting the target area with about 50 tons of high explosives while B-24s bomb Woleai Atoll.
During the night of 19/20 April, RAAF Catalinas mine the waters in and around Woleai Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: The Japanese offensive gathers momentum as the 12th Army pushes down the Peking-Hankow Railroad toward four B-29 bases of the U. S. 14th Air Force. The Japanese easily defeat Chiang Kai-shek's poorly led, equipped and trained army. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies Part 2 of Mission 308 27 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites at Watten; 1 B-24 is lost; escort is provided by 47 Ninth Air Force P-47s without loss. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Three Fourteenth Air Force B-25s damage a bridge at Thanh Moi and score hits on railroad and buildings south of the bridge. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force Mission 308.
During Part 1 of this mission: 772 bombers and 697 fighters are dispatched in 3 forces; they claim 17-1-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 2 fighters are lost.
- 271 B-17s hit the Kassel area, Eschwege Airfield, Limburg and a target of opportunity; 5 B-17s are lost.
- 243 B-17s hit Lippstadt and Werl Airfields and a target of opportunity without loss.
- 230 B-24s bomb Paderborn and Gutersloh Airfields, Soest, Koblenz, Buren and targets of opportunity without loss.
Escort for the three forces above is provided by 127 P-38s, 439 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts and 131 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 16-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
The Ninth Air Force dispatches 350+ B-26 Marauders and A-20s to bomb marshalling yards, city areas, and targets of opportunity at Gunzburg, Ulm, Neu Ulm, Donauworth, and Schelklingen; fighters fly over 1,200 sorties against a variety of targets in northwestern Europe. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-26s hit the Cecina railroad bridge and Ancona marshalling yard while B-25s hit a marshalling yard at Piombino; P-47s hit railroad tracks, a marshalling yard, junction, and railway cars between Pontedera and Empoli and between Figline Valdarno and San Giovanni Valdarno. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-24s hit Urarom and Manokwari while B-25s, A-20s, and fighter aircraft strike a wide variety of targets around Hollandia, Aitape, Bogia, Uligan, Bunabun, Madang and Cape Croisilles. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force fighters hit the Numa Numa area on Bougainville Island. (Jack McKillop)

SOVIET UNION: Action along the Soviet front subsides as spring mud and floods make movement impossible. The exception is the Crimea, where Tolbukhin's 4th Ukrainian Army is closing on Sevastopol. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: In baseball, New York Giants manager and right fielder Mel Ott hits the first National League home run of the season, the 464th of his career, helping the Giants defeat the Boston Braves, 2-1. Ott will finish the season with a .288 batting average and 26 home runs. Ott retires from the playing field after the 1946 season with a career .304 batting average and 511 home runs. During the 1948 season, he is replaced as manager halfway through the season by Leo Durocher. (Jack McKillop)

1945: XXIV Corps has 3 divisions, 7th, 27th and 96th, in line and
attacking in Italy.

The US 1st Army captures Leipzig.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
GERMANY: In the west, the U.S. First Army nears its final stop line in central Germany as it captures Leipzig and Halle. Eisenhower has ordered the First and Ninth Armies to halt along the Elbe and Mulde rivers and let the Red Army overrun areas that will be part of the postwar Soviet occupation zone. Leipzig is taken.
In the east, Zhukov's army crashes through German defenses and swarms to within 20 miles (32 km) of Berlin's eastern suburbs. Konev's army threatens southern Berlin.

The British 2nd Army reaches the Elbe River south of Namburg.

Pyinmana in the Sittang Valley, Burma falls to the 5th Indian Division.

XXXIII Corps clears the Mt. Popo area in Burma.

Magwe, Burma falls to the British 20th Indian Division.

German FM Model commits suicide.

Patton's US forces cross the Czech border.

Final German surrenders in the Ruhr pocket total 325,000.

US I Corps takes Vigan, Luzon, PI

AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb the Rattenberg railroad bridge and marshalling yards at Lienz, Klagenfurt and Linz. (Jack McKillop)

BONIN ISLANDS: 8 Seventh Air Force P-51s from Iwo Jima bomb and strafe Futamiko in the Bonin Islands. During the night of 19/20 April, 6 P-61 Black Widows from Iwo Jima, operating singly and at intervals, bomb and strafe Chichi, Haha, and Muko Jima Islands. (Jack McKillop)

BORNEO: Thirteenth Air Force B-25s attack Tarakan while B-24s bomb Sandakan. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 14 Tenth Air Force P-38s hit supplies near Paklu, a fuel dump at Hainang, and bridges near Kunna; 1 bridge is knocked out; 6 other P-38s attack targets of opportunity along roads behind enemy lines; air supply operations continue as 800 tons of supplies are landed or dropped in forward areas. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: 17 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Guam bomb Dublon, Fefan and Eten Islands in Truk Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 12 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s bomb railway repair shops at Taiyuan; 3 others attack targets of opportunity in Bakli Bay on Hainan Island, 8 B-25s attack bridges and rail and road traffic north and northeast of Anyang and northeast of Taiku, damaging or destroying several locomotives and numerous boxcars; 100+ P-40s, P-51s, and P-47s attack town areas, troops, river, road, and rail traffic, and general targets of opportunity all over southern and eastern China and hit a few targets of opportunity in northern French Indochina. (Jack McKillop)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Eighth Air Force fighter pilots shoot down five Me 262 jet fighters between 1150 and 1300 hours local. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Tainan Airfield and Shinchiku town. (Jack McKillop)

The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 961: 605 B-17s and 584 P-51s are dispatched to make visual attacks on rail targets in southeastern Germany and northwestern Czechoslovakia; they claim 18-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 B-17s and 2 P-51s are lost:
- 135 B-17s bomb the Elsterwerda marshalling yards while 143 bomb the Falkenberg marshalling yards. Escorting are 191 P-51s that claim 5-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost.
- Of 321 B-17s dispatched, 115 hit the railroad industry and rail bridge at Pirna while 87 hit Karlsbad and 109 bomb the marshalling yard at Aussig; they claim 6-1-2 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost. The escort is 197 P-51s; they claim 7-0-3 aircraft.
Ninth Air Force bombers hit marshalling yards at Ulm, Neu Ulm, and Gunzburg (primary targets), the city of Donauworth and a target of opportunity at Schelklingen; weather prevents 70+ of the 450+ dispatched aircraft from bombing targets; fighters fly escort to the bombers, carry out patrols and armed reconnaissance, bomb a radio station, and cooperate with the US VII Corps in the Halle-Dessau area, the XII Corps attacking southeast from south of Bayreuth, the XX Corps in the Bamberg-Nurnberg area, preparing to drive toward Austria, and the XIX Corps along the Elbe River in the Magdeburg area.
Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers Bischofshofen and Rosenheim while 78 P-38s divebomb the marshalling yard at Weilheim. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: During the night of 18/19 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26 Invaders bomb roads, vehicles, and lights in the Bologna, Turin, Milan, and Mantua areas, and continuing to attack Po River crossings, hit 8 bridges; B-25s and B-26s bomb bridges in the Brenner Pass and support ground forces at several points including Budrio, Vignola, and San Martino in the Soverzano areas; fighter-bombers hit dumps, communications, and close support targets in the US Fifth Army battle areas south and west of Bologna.
Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack the Avisio viaduct, the Vipiteno railroad bridge, AA batteries near Grisolera and Santo Stino di Livenza, and several minor targets of opportunity. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The Seventh Air Force flies Very Long Range Mission 4: 104 P-51s based on Iwo Jima fly a fighter sweep to Atsugi and Yokusuka Airfields; they claim 23-0-7 aircraft in the air and 14-0-23 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
Eight Eleventh Air Force B-25s off to bomb Kurile Island targets abort due to weather. (Jack McKillop)

NORWAY: During the night of 19/20 April, 11 Eighth Air Force B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions; 2 B-24s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

OKINAWA: An enormous bombardment precedes attacks on the Shuri Line, but the 7th, 27th and 96th Infantry Divisions make small gains and suffer severe losses. The 1st and 6th Marine divisions complete occupation of north and central Okinawa. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: US submarines sink 9 Japanese vessels at sea:
- Submarine USS Cero (SS-225) sinks a guardboat south of Japan.
- Submarine USS Sennet (SS-408), attacking a convoy in Kii Suido off the south coast of Kyushu, sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser and a merchant cargo ship.
- Submarine USS Silversides (SS-236) sinks a guardboat .
- Submarine USS Sunfish (SS-281) attacks a convoy off Hokkaido, sinking a gunboat and a merchant cargo.
- Submarine USS Trutta (SS-421) sinks a merchant vessel and two merchant fishing boats. (Jack McKillop)

PALAU ISLANDS: 25 Seventh Air Force B-24s, based in the Palau islands, bomb nearby Arakabesan and Koror Islands. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Numerous missions are flown by the Far East Air Forces A-20s, B-24s and B-25s in support of ground forces on Luzon, Cebu, and Negros Islands. On Mindanao Island, Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb personnel areas at Kabacan, Cagayan, and along the Davao River. USMC SBD Dauntlesses attack IJA positions on Jolo Island. B-25s and USMC F4U Corsairs and SBDs sweep highways and road on Mindanao. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The musical "Carousel", based on Molnarâ€™s "Liliom," opens at the Majestic Theatre in New York City. John Raitt and Jan Clayton starred in the show which ran for 890 performances. Music was by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. (Jack McKillop)

1951: Gen. Douglas MacArthur, relieved of his command by President Harry S. Truman, bid farewell to Congress, quoting a line from a ballad: "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." (Tony Morano)

Tyree67 · April 20

April 20

We Remember:

1889: Adolf Hitler is born on this day in Braunau, Austria. (Tony Morano)

1940: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Bombing - Kjeller, Fornebu,
Stavanger and Trondheim airfields. 10 Sqn/. Five a/c. One returned U/S, two
bombed Stavanger. 51 Sqn. Three a/c. One returned U/S. Two bombed Stavanger claiming hits on installations. Heavy opposition. 58 Sqn. Three a/c bombed Stavanger. 102 Sqn. Three a/c to Trondheim. No bombing due to weather. 35 Wellington's attack Stavanger Aerodrome reporting heavy damage to runways and parked aircraft. (Andy Etherington)

Everywhere in London there are signs of preparation against air attack but
ten million Londoners - the biggest bombing target in Europe - are still
waiting for the action to begin. It is a city of sandbags, piled high round
the windows and doorways of public buildings, shopfronts and underground
shelters. They are beginning to turn green as they weather and to leak at
the corners.
Estate agents' boards blossom in Belgravia and Mayfair, where the rich
and titled have flown to safer nests in the shires. In Eaton Square only
six houses out of 120 are occupied. There are no takers.
But in the City, which was so quiet six months ago when 3,500 firms
fled to the provinces, daily life has returned to near-normal. At leat 700
firms are back again, and thousands of office workers pour along almost
traffic-free streets. Hardly one carries a gas mask.
There are no paintings on view at the National Gallery - they are
stored in a slate quarry in Wales - but it is filled every day with music
lovers who come to Myra Hess's lunch-time concerts. The middle of Hyde Park
is wired off as a military area, and sandbagged shelters disfigure all the
parks. But the barrage balloons shining in the evening sun look almost
romantic - like pearls strung from clouds. (Andy Etherington)

Large scale German air attacks against Namsos begin. The wooden houses are
set alight and the jetty damaged. Aandalsnes is bombed three times.
Steinkjaer is reduced to ruins. Using 150 bombers (He111 and Ju88) and 60
Ju87s, Fliegerkorps X mounts an attack on the Allied landings that is so
intense that it prevents strong formations of supplies from being landed to
reinforce the troops already on Norwegian soil. (Andy Etherington)

On the his 51st birthday, Hitler orders a new SS regiment to be set up
containing Norwegians and Danes as well as Germans. (Andy Etherington)

Greenock:
HMS Ark Royal, having parted company with the destroyers HMS Westcott and HMS Bulldog off Plymouth, is joined by the destroyers HMS Saladin, HMS Juno, and HMS Hasty, all arriving in the Clyde at 0145. She then docks at Greenock. HMS Glorious remains in Greenock loading stores and equipment.
Off Norway:
Again, Fleet Air Arm activity was limited by terrible flying weather.
RNAS Hatston: Bergen Blitz - Finale
Acting Captain C. L. Howe, RN again decided to attack shipping in the vicinity of Bergen. An unspecified number of Skuas from both 800 and 801 Squadrons were dispatched. The German schnellboote S-22 was attacked but escaped serious damage. While approaching the OrkneyÃ•s on the return flight, Skua L2999 of 800 Squadron disappears, Midshipman(A) John Richard Crossley, RN (P) and Petty Officer Airman Maurice Hall, DSM, twice Mentioned in Dispatches, RN being missing and presumed killed. This was to be the last Skua operation from RNAS Hatston for some time. (Mark Horan)

1941: Plymouth: Heavy air raids wipe out an area of 600 yards radius
around the Plymouth Guidhall; mediaeval buildings simply vanished. In all
1,000 people have died, with 30,000 made homeless as 18,000 houses have
been destroyed. However, Devonport dockyard - the bombers' target - is
still working. The Royal Navy is clearing the wreckage and the lord mayor
and lady mayoress, Lord and lady Astor have been raising morale. A band is
playing on Plymouth Hoe for open-air dancing. At night 50,000 people leave
Plymouth to shelter on the moors, in barns, in churches, even cow-sheds.
(Andy Etherington)

Gen-Leut Kurt Student, leader of the new XI. Fliegerkorps which took under
its control all air transport units, suggests to Goring that an attempt be
made to invade Crete from the air. (Andy Etherington)

Allied forces pull back to Kalamata, Nauplia and Monemvasia, in Greece.
They are retreating southwards through Thermopylae, with some detachments
remaining to slow the German advance. (Andy Etherington)

Japan captures Ningbo, China. (Andy Etherington)

Reuters News Agency announced: Undersecretary-of-State Patterson of the
US War Department, and other American and Canadian leaders, have seen a
demonstration of the first 28-ton tanks built for the US Army. The new
tanks have a 400-hp airplane engine, a maximum speed of 24 mph and are
equipped with several heavy machine-guns and one 37-mm cannon. (Andy
Etherington)

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces an exchange of defense articles with Canada. (Jack McKillop)

The motion picture "That Uncertain Feeling" is released in the U.S. The film, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, stars Merle Oberon, Melvyn Douglas, Burgess Meredith, Alan Mowbray and Eve Arden. This romantic comedy is about a married couple (Oberon and Douglas) who have problems and get involved with an absurd pianist (Meredith). The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Music category. (Jack McKillop)

1942: The USS Wasp, HMS Renown along with 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers
ferry 47 Spitfires to Malta. They deliver 46 to the island; however, 30
are immediately destroyed.
Amplifying the above:
This was Operation CALENDAR. The aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7), escorted by the battle cruiser HMS Renown and screened by two US and four RN destroyers, launched 47 RAF Spitfires which landed on Malta. Within four days, all but six of the Spitfires are destroyed by Luftwaffe bombings. (Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC: Unarmed U.S. freighter SS West Imboden, her presence advertised by an accidental fire in her stack, is torpedoed by German submarine U-752 about 200 miles (322 km) off Nantucket lightship and abandoned as she is being shelled by the U-boat. U-752 nears one of the lifeboats and asks about casualties. "That's good," one German officer responds when told that the American merchant sailors have come through unharmed. (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: USAAF Major General George H Brett assumes command of the Allied Air Forces, which has units based in northern and eastern Australia, with advanced facilities in the Port Moresby, New Guinea, area. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Japanese heavy artillery, including 9.5-inch (24,1 cm) mortars, on Bataan smash US positions on Corregidor, 2 miles (3,2 km) away. The Japanese conquest of the central Philippines is nearly complete as Cebu and Panay are conquered. Small U. S. and Filipino garrisons have fled into the hills of Leyte, Samar, Negros and Bohol. (Jack McKillop)

France: Rennes: Resistants attempt to assassinate the leading French fascist Jacques Doriot.

Vichy: The new head of the Vichy France government, Pierre Laval, today fawned on Hitler and attacked Britain that but sought friendship with the United States. Speaking on the very day that the Nazis shot 30 hostages in Rouen in reprisal for an attack on a German troop train, Laval called Hitler "a conqueror who did not abuse his victory". The gigantic battle that Germany was waging against "Bolshevism". he said, had given a new meaning to the war. But Laval took care not to attack the United States, which he hopes to influence. (Andy Etherington)

1943: The Japanese Cabinet is re-organized with Shimegitsu as Foreign
Minister.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 15 B-24 Liberators, 16 B-25 Mitchells, 10 P-38 Lightnings, and 32 P-40s to hit shipping in the harbor at Kiska Island and gun positions in North Head. Other targets include buildings in the Main Camp area and the runway. The bombers sinks a Japanese ship north of Kiska. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 8 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb the engine sheds at Thazai. (Jack McKillop)

CENTRAL PACIFIC: 22 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Funafuti, in the Gilberts, carry out a photo-bombing mission over Nauru Island. Several direct hits on runways and the dispersal areas are claimed. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Kaimana and targets of opportunity on Kendari Island in the Celebes. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: 425 RAF bombers inflict heavy damage on German ports of Stettin and Rostock on the Baltic. German night fighters and anti-aircraft guns shoot down 29 aircraft. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17s bomb Wewak, Nubia, and Boram Airfields and shipping off Wewak sinking a cargo ship. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Runner (SS-476) mines the waters near Hong Kong while submarine USS Scorpion (SS-278) sinks a Japanese gunboat off the east central coast of Honshu, Japan. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: The British 8th Army takes Enfidaville, a road and rail junction 45 miles (72 km) from Tunis, but makes only limited headway against strong Italian defenses.
Ninth Air Force P-40s fly sweeps, reconnaissance, and fighter-bomber missions in support of the 8th Army.
Northwest African Air Force B-17s and B-25s bomb the landing grounds of Mabtouha, La Marsa, La Sebala, Sidi Ahmed, Creteville, and near Protville. Fighters fly escort, carry out reconnaissance, and attack various Tunisian airfields. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill decide to hold another strategy conference. This one, called Trident, will begin 12 May in Washington, D.C., with US and British military leaders deciding what the Western Allies will do in 1944. Led by US Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, the Americans will insist on invading northern France. (Jack McKillop)

Great Britain: The ban on ringing church bells is to be lifted from next
Sunday, Easter Day, said Mr Churchill in the commons today. The cabinet decided that the ban can be relaxed on Sundays and special occasions "in the light of changing circumstances". Many of the 12,000 parish churches will not be able to ring their bells this Sunday as they have been disused for three years and their bellringers are in the armed services. No substitute signal of invasion has been announced. (Andy Etherington)

Tunisia: Company Havildar-Major Chhelu Ram (b.1905), 6th Rajput Rifles, knocked out a machine-gun post and led hand-to-hand fighting until he was killed. (Victoria Cross) (Andy Etherington)

1944: Turkey stops chrome exports to Germany under diplomatic pressure
from the Allies.

German torpedo planes and submarine U-969 attack the 87-ship convoy UGS-38 in the Mediterranean off the coast of Algeria. The destroyer USS Landsdale (DD-426) is sunk by aerial torpedo; the survivors are rescued by two destroyer escorts. The US freighter SS Paul Hamilton is struck by an aerial torpedo and disintegrates; the 47-man merchant crew, the 29-man Armed Guard and 504 troops aboard are all killed. (Jack McKillop)

The documentary short "It's Your War Too" is released in the U.S. This ten-minute documentary film details the history of the U.S. Army's Women's Army Corps, the WACS. (Jack McKillop)

The so-called British Free Corps of the Waffen-SS holds its inaugural parade at the Haus Germanien in the St Michaeli Kloster, Hildesheim. Present are a small German staff and fourteen assorted British renegades including the senior NCO, SS-Oberscharfuehrer Thomas Cooper, a former concentration camp guard and veteran of 'aktions' in the Warsaw and Cracow ghettoes. After a brief speech from the German commanding officer and the formal presentation of rank insignia and side-arms, the British traitors are despatched to begin recruiting at POW camps throughout the Reich. (Adrian Weale)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: With improved weather conditions bombing of targets in the Bismarck
Archipelago by the Thirteenth Air Force resumes; on New Britain Island, 22 B-25s hit the Matupi supply area and 40+ fighter-bombers blast the airfields at Lakunai and Keravat. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 11 Tenth Air Force B-25s hit a bivouac and supply area northwest of Manywet. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Woleai Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 309: 842 bombers and 388 fighters are dispatched to hit V-weapon sites in France; 24 of 33 sites briefed are hit; 9 bombers and 2 fighters are lost:
- 438 B-17s hit sites in the Pas de Calais and Cherbourg areas; 19 others hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-17s are lost.
- 113 B-24s hit sites in the Pas de Calais area; 2 B-24s are lost.
Escort is provided by 89 P-38s, 211 P-47 Thunderbolts and 88 P-51 Mustangs; they claim 4-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 4-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
The Ninth Air Force dispatches almost 400 B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs to attack gun positions at Etaples, Bazinghen, Villerville, Gravelines and Fecamp, the airfield at Poix, and V-weapon sites and targets of opportunity in the Pas de Calais area; nearly 140 P-47s bomb marshalling yards at Creil and Mantes-La-Jolie. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: B-25s and B-26s of the Twelfth Air Force score hits on a marshalling yard and 3 fuel dumps at Leghorn and near misses on Cecina and Certaldo bridges and Arezzo viaduct; fighter-bombers hit
railroad lines and fuel dump in the Florence area; bridges, dump, rail lines and train cars near Civitavecchia and Zagarolo, at Sezze, near Ladispoli, southwest of Stimipliano and north of Monterotondo; and guns south of Albano Laziale; in the battle area around Cassino fighter-bombers blast several gun positions and hit bridges, trucks, troops and other targets, at several points, including Falconara, Recanati, San Benedetto de Marsi, and the Fondi-Itri and Orte-Orvieto areas.
300+ Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack targets in Italy; the B-17s bomb marshalling yards at Ancona, Castelfranco, Padua and Vicenza and Venice harbor installations; the B-24s hit marshalling yards at Mestre, Reviso and Fano, Venice harbor, Monfalcone dockyards and Trieste; 180+ other heavy bombers dispatched against communications targets in northern Italy are forced to abort due to bad weather; about 250 fighters provide cover for the bombing raids. (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Tarawa-based Seventh Air Force B-25s, using Majuro Atoll as a shuttle base between strikes, bomb Maloelap and Jaluit Atolls. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb airfields on Noemfoor Island, Schouten Islands. In New Guinea, B-25s, A-20s, and fighters hit a variety of targets around Hollandia, on Cape Croisilles, in the Bunabun area and along Hansa Bay. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Seahorse (SS-304) sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS RO-45 off the Marianas. (Jack McKillop)

SOVIET UNION: Soviet planes, destroyers, submarines and torpedo boats attack German and Romanian ships evacuating the 17th German-Romanian Army from Sevastopol. During the next three weeks, the Soviets will sink 10 Axis ships, but the sea lift will rescue more than 42,000 troops. (Jack McKillop)

WAKE ISLAND: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Kwajalein Atoll search the area near Wake Island for shipping; finding none, the bombers hit Wake and Peale Islands. (Jack McKillop)

India: British forces reach the besieged Kohima garrison, but Japan still
holds the surrounding land. (Andy Etherington)

France: Paris: Tonight an Allied air raid kills 641 people. (Andy Etherington)

1945: Konev crosses the River Spree.

Khukov takes PrÅ¡tzel.

The French 1st Army advances rapidly in the Stuttgart area.

III Corps completes its capture of Northern Okinawa. Attacks against the
Shuri Line in the south begin.

U.S. Army troops, supported by USAAF aircraft and USN vessels, land on Catanduanes Island (13.45N, 124.15E) in the Philippine Islands. (Jack McKillop)

Nuremberg, site of the ostentatious NSDAP 'Partei Tag' rallies, is captured
by the US 7th Army.

BONIN ISLANDS: 11 VII Fighter Command P-51s from Iwo Jima bomb Haha Jima. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 32 Tenth Air Force P-38s knock out 3 bridges and damage 5 others in central Burma behind the enemy lines; 12 P-47s hit a troop concentration and ration dump at Tonglau, 18 attack a troop concentration around a monastery at Kengkawmanhaung, and 12 attack troops along a stream
near Wan Nahpeit; 497 transport sorties land or drop 784 tons of supplies in forward areas. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 7 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s hit the town of Neihsiang and attack railroad targets of opportunity from Saiping to Lohochai and from Linying, Burma to Hsuchang; 9 B-25s bomb Loyang and Luchou; 100+ P-51s, P-40s, and P-47s concentrate attacks against town areas throughout southern and eastern China, also hitting troops, gun positions, river traffic, and other targets of opportunity. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: Submarine USS Guitarro (SS-363) lays mines in Berhala Strait off the northeast coast of Sumatra.
Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Sepinggang and Labuan Island Airfields on Borneo while USN PV Ventura attack various targets. P-38s and B-25s hit Tarakan Island. (Jack McKillop)

FORMOSA: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Tainan Airfield while P-51s attack Koshun Airfield. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: From its Oder bridgeheads south of Stettin, the Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front (Rokossovsky) launches an offensive toward Neubrandenburg, Stralsund and Rostock, while Soviet heavy artillery begins a continuous bombardment of Berlin. But the cost of victory is high: In the battle for Berlin, Soviet tank losses between 1-19 April amount to 2,807. During the same period, the Allies in the West lose 1,079 tanks.
Zhukov's army fights into the eastern suburbs and Konev's army pushes to within 22 miles (35 km) of the southern suburbs as it takes Zossen, the Wehrmacht high command headquarters.
The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 962: 837 bombers and 890 fighters are dispatched to hit rail targets north-northwest to south-southwest of Berlin, Bavaria and Czechoslovakia; they claim 7-0-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost:
- 82 B-17s are sent to hit the rail industry at Nauen and 77 bomb the marshalling yards at Wustermark, 57 hit Neuruppin and 82 Oranienburg; 1 hits Neuruppin Airfield, a target of opportunity. Escorting are 258 P-51s; 1 is lost.
- Marshalling yards are the target of 289 B-17s as 137 bomb Brandenburg, 66 hit Seddin (66) and 82 attack Treuenbrietzen; 1 B-17 is lost. The escort is 227 P-51s.
- 56 B-24s hit a rail bridge and junction at Zwiesel, 53 hit a marshalling yard and rail junction at Muhldorf while 56 bomb the railroad and rail junction at Irrenlohe and 54 attack Klatovy; 1 hits the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Straubing. 228 P-47s and P-51s escort.
564 Ninth Air Force A-20s, A-26 Invaders and B-26s strike oil storage at Deggendorf and Annaburg, marshalling yards at Memmingen and Wittenberg, ordnance depots at Nordlingen and Straubing, and other targets including flak positions; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, and armed reconnaissance, attack special targets, and cooperate with US ground forces including the VII Corps west of Dessau, the VIII Corps between Plauen and Chemnitz, the XII Corps in the Grafenwohr area, the XX Corps attacking toward the Danube River and Regensburg, and the XIX Corps in the Magdeburg-Barby area. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: The US Fifth Army fights its way out of the Apennines and onto the Po River plain. Without Hitler's authorization, General Heinrich Von Vietinghoff orders his army to retreat across the Po.
Allied air forces commence Operation CORNCOB today. This is a three-day attack on the bridges over the rivers Adige and Brenta to cut off German lines of retreat on the peninsula. During the night of 19/29 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26s on night intruder missions continue to pound Po River crossings and vehicle movement throughout the Valley; B-25s and B-26s considerably damage 4 of 6 railroad bridges and fills attached on the Brenner line, and also hit HQ in the battle area and 2 Reno River bridges north of Bologna.
Fifteenth Air Force bombers again pound railway systems and road bridges in an effort to hinder the supply or withdrawal of enemy forces in northern Italy; 700+ B-24s and B-17s hit railroad bridges at Campodazzo, Ponte Gardena, and Campo di Trens, a viaduct at Avisio, marshalling yards at Vipiteno, Fortezza, and Brennero, and road bridges at Lusia, la Carrare, and Boara Pisani, and in Austria, the Mariahof viaduct and Innsbruck marshalling yard. 115 P-38s divebomb the Innsbruck, Austria-Rattenberg, Austria-Rosenheim, Germany railroad line, hitting marshalling yards at Hall, Schwaz, Jenbach, Kundl, and Worgl, Austria and Kiefersfelden, Germany, 4 rail bridges, and several box cars, and cut rail lines at 42 places between Innsbruck and Rosenheim. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINES: Far East Air Forces aircraft support of the ground forces on Luzon, Cebu, and Negros Islands continues. USMC F4U Corsairs and SBD Dauntlesses attack targets on Mindanao and SBDs attack Japanese infantry positions on Jolo Island's Mount Daho. (Jack McKillop)

At Flossenburg KZ, approx. 15,000 prisoners are assembled to make a forced march in the direction of Dachau concentration camp. Thousands are killed on the way, and the paths that they marched are littered with dead. As the already starved and weakened prisoners fell from exhaustion, SS guards bringing up the rear would kill them by a shot in the back of the head. Death was also caused by beatings. The prisoners marched from Friday to Monday with many perishing from exhaustion. On the 23rd of April they were liberated en route by American troops between the towns of Cham and Roding. (Russ Folsom)

On the night of April 20th, near Hamburg, 20 children, ten boys and ten girls, originally from Auschwitz and used in medical experimentation, are transported from the Neuengamme KZ to the Bullenhuser Damm School in the Rothenburgsort district and murdered in the cellar by the SS. A few hours later 24 Soviet prisoners are also murdered there. (Russ Folsom)

Adolf Hitler celebrates his 56th and last birthday in the ruins of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. The cheerless luncheon ceremony is attended by various high ranking Nazi satraps, including Goering and Himmler, who then flee the doomed city amidst a mass exodous directly after the giving the Fuhrer their birthday congratulations. Both will be accused of treason and dismissed from all official offices by Hitler in little more than a week's time.
After an air-raid interruption by marauding RAF Mosquitos, Hitler, accompanied by one-armed Reich Youth Leader Artur Axmann, decorates a group of Hitler-Youth boys with the Iron Cross for bravery against the Russians (who are at the same moment steadily investing the outlying suburbs to the south and east of the city). The occasion is filmed by the propaganda cameras for the weekly 'Wochenschau', and will be the last photographic sequence taken of Hitler, his hands shaking and palsied by Parkinson's disease, before his suicide ten days later. After the ceremony, the Hitler-Youth boys aged 10-16, are sent back into defense of the city where most will perish. (Russ Folsom)

Tyree67 · April 21

April 21

We Remember:

1939: Palestine: Jewish resistance movement, the Etzel, puts its
first six pilots through flight school at Lod, They graduate today. (Andy
Etherington)

U.S.: The US Army Air Force, standardises with the B-2 regulation winter
flying cap. (Andy Etherington)

1940: Singapore Conference between UK, US, and Dutch. (Air Vice-Marshal
Sir Robert Brooke-Popham chaired meeting, US naval representative was
Captain 'Spec' Purnell, Chief of Staff to ADM Hart, Commander of the
Asiatic Fleet); "ADB" Plan was developed but both US War and Navy
Departments recommended it be rejected as they felt it was defeatist and
compromised US interests by insisting on defense of trade routes over
offensive actions against Japanese. (Marc Small)

NORWAY: U.S. Military AttachÅ½ Captain Robert E. Losey, USA, is killed in a
German bombing raid on Dombas. The U.S. Minister to Sweden, Frederick A.
Sterling, orders Naval AttachÅ½ Lieutenant Commander Ole E. Hagen, USN, to
proceed
to receive Captain Losey's remains. (Jack McKillop)
The British has scarely settled in at Lillehammer when General Pellengahr's
men hit them. The Germans quickly outflanked the British position, forcing
Morgan's entire line to fall back. That night a German motorized machine-gun
battalion made a daring drive through the retreating British and Norwegians and
seized Lillehammer.
A German column of mountain troops moves overland from Trondheim to
Steinkjer by rail and road. Equipped and trained for snow fighting and
supported by a battery of mountain guns, they moved forward carrying their
machine-guns and mortars forward in motorcycle sidecars using the minor
farm road to get into position over Carton de Wiarts Maurice force.
The RAF attacks Aalborg and Stavanger while 36 aircraft carry out
reconnaissance over German waters. The Stavanger defences have been
strengthened with a balloon barrage and extra searchlights.
RAF Fighter Command: RAF base party of No. 223 Sqn. with 6 officers and 60
men leaves for Norway aboard a warship. They arrive at Aandalsnes at midnight
and immediately begin to clear their stores out of the danger area.
Three hours later the petrol is safely stored in a railway tunnel five
miles outside the town and the billeting officer has found a hotel to
accomodate the men. The hotel had been the Expeditionary Force HQ but had
been evacuated because it stood in the zone of near misses of bombs aimed
at the jetty. (Andy Etherington)

U.K. Fleet Air Arm:
RNAS Haston:
The Fleet Air Arm fighter squadrons are beginning a major reorganization in
preparation for embarkation on the newly arrived carriers for action off
Norway. Previously, 800, and 801 squadrons had each operated nine aircraft,
six
Skua IIs and three Rocs. Now each was expanded to twelve-planes by adding a
third Skua section and ordered to prepare to embark on HMS Ark Royal. 803
Squadron, which had been operating twelve aircraft all along, discarded its Roc
section to equip entirely with Skuas in preparation to embarking on HMS
Glorious. Finally, 804 Squadron was instructed to prepare nine of their twelve
Sea Gladiators for embarkation on Glorious as well.
Greenock:
HMS Ark Royal remains at Greenock loading stores. At 1100, HMS Glorious
departs Greenock in company with the destroyers HMS Hyperion, HMS Hereward, and
HMS Hasty to fly on her air group consisting of 802 Squadron (Sea
Gladiators), 812 Squadron (Swordfish), 823 Squadron (Swordfish), and 825
Squadron
(Swordfish). That afternoon, as she rounds Northern Scotland, she commences
flying
aircraft off and on. First, the Swordfish of 812 and 825 Squadrons depart
for Prestwick, carrying the pilots of 802 Squadron ashore so that they can
ferry the RAF Gladiator IIs of 263 Squadron to Hatston in preparation for
flying
them out to the ship. In the flurry of aerial activity that follows, one of
these aircraft, N5624, crashes killing the pilot, Petty Officer Cornelius
Desmond Gordon-Wilson, RAFVR.
Off Norway:
HMS Furious, with only ten Swordfish remaining, continued to cruise off
Northern Norway, now in company with HMS Isis, HMS Ilex, and HMS Imogen. The
days only activity occurs at 1340, when the German trawler Rhein (254 BRT) is
sighted and, facing overwhelming force, surrenders to Imogen. (Mark Horan)

U.S.: The quiz show, "Take It or Leave It," debuts on CBS radio at 2200
hours Eastern time sponsored by Eversharp with Bob Hawk as the Quizmaster.
Contestants, chosen from the studio audience, tried to answer seven questions
valued at $1-$2-$4-$8-$16-$32-$64. The questions were asked and answered and if
you got it wrong, you left without any consolation prize. The show remained on
the radio until September 1950.. (Jack McKillop)

1941: Australia: Australian politicians move to oust the Prime
Minister, Robert Menzies, whom they blame for high Australian casualties in
Greece. (Andy Etherington)

Finland: Recruitment of Finnish volunteers for Waffen SS begins at
Helsinki. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

Germany: General Student's plan to invade Crete from the air is put to
Hitler. (Andy Etherington)

Greece: Papagos recommends that the Allies leave Greece and permission to
evacuate is received from London. (John Nicholas)
A brief account by NX1755 Cpl. L.J. Irvine of the escape of my party
from Greece.
After the 2/2 Bn. was broken up, I, with a few others, found ourselves
completely cut off from retreating towards Larissa, so we took to the
hills and made for the coast. The battle took place on 18/4/41. We
struck the coast at a small village called Koritza on 21/4/41. We rested
for a day and then pushed on, making for Volos, crossing the Larissa
plain that night. We passed through an enemy tank patrol that had come
from Aya to cut off the escaping troops. Next morning the Germans
followed our tracks along the beach but we evaded them. Enemy planes
patrolled the coast all day and made it difficult to move. We reached a
small village near Zogara, called Poiri, 25/4/41, where we learned the
whole of Greece was taken. We waited a few days in the hope of getting a
boat, eventually setting out on 30/4/41 to walk around Salonika and into
Turkey.
Two days later we met a Greek who tried to advise us against our plan,
but when he saw we were determined, he asked us to wait a few days and
he would get a boat for us, that would take us to one of the islands,
where we would be passed on, and eventually reach Turkey. We waited, and
he did get us a boat which took us to Skiathos, on the night of 11/5/41.
Skiathos was then occupied, so the people hid us until nightfall, when
we were put in a small boat and taken to Skopelos, passing quite close
to a German patrol boat on the way. Skopelos also was occupied by
Germans but we were hidden by the Greeks. It was impossible to get a
boat away for some time, the islands were constantly patrolled, both by
sea and air, and benzine and oil was unprocurable, and all the
serviceable boats were commandeered to take Germans to Crete.
Eventually we got in touch with a chap who had a letter from the British
Consulate in Turkey, we were trying to contact him for some time. He
took us to the island of Helonossis on 27/7/41, where we caught a larger
boat on 31/7/41, which took us to Skyros, from Skyros to Chesme, 2/8/41,
on the Turkish coast, where we were quarantined for 10 days. The Consul
got to work in the meantime and arranged for our transportation through
Ankara to Syria, and thence to Palestine. We went to Corps H.Q. at Alex,
who sent us on here.
My party consisted of: Pte. Murphy, 2/2 Bn.; Pte. Edwards, 2/2 Bn.; Pte.
Robb, 21st Bn. N.Z.E.F. (Cpl. NX1755 Irvine, L.J., H.Q.Coy, 2/2 Bn., A.I.F.
via Bill Howard)

Singapore: Singapore Conference between UK, US, and Dutch. (Air
Vice-Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham chaired meeting, US naval representative
was
Purnell); "ADB" Plan was developed but both US War and Navy Departments
recommended it be rejected as they felt it was defeatist and compromised US
interests by insisting on defense of trade routes over offensive actions
against
Japanese. (Marc Small)

Tripoli: Three battleships, HMS Barham, HMS Valiant and HMS Warspite of
the British Mediterranean Fleet shell Axis positions in Tripoli after
escorting a convory to Malta. This action by Admiral Cunningham is done under
protest after direct orders from Churchill. (John Nicholas and Andy
Etherington)

U.K.: RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: 21 Sqn lose two a/c on anti-shipping
strikes in the North Sea. (Andy Etherington)
The Luftwaffe raid Plymouth and continue for the next 8 nights. Decoy fires
help to save the dockyards but at the expense of the city. (Andy
Etherington)

U.S.: Hyde Park, New York: President Roosevelt and the Canadian
Prime Minister, William Mackenzie King, today agreed at the President's family
home, in Hyde Park, New York, on an unprecedented measure of collaboration
ultimately aimed at helping the British war effort. Canada is to sell the US
arms, raw material and ships. There are also unconfirmed reports that the US is
prepared to take over a role in the defence of Canada to release more
Canadian troops for service overseas. (Andy Etherington)

1942: ATLANTIC: Two U.S. ships are sunk by German submarines:
- U-576 sinks an armed freighter en route from Trinidad, B.W.I., to Boston,
Massachusetts, approximately 455 miles (732 km) south-southeast of Atlantic
City, New Jersey. All 45 men aboard the ship take to the lifeboats. The
submarine crew provisions one of the sunken freighter's four lifeboats after
questioning some of the survivors.
- U-201 sinks an unarmed freighter, en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico,
approximately 475 miles (764 km) south-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Five sailors and 9 passengers are killed; 74 crewmen and 95 passengers survive.
(Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: Louise Leahy, wife of Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired),
Ambassador to France, dies of an embolism in Vichy. Her death, on the eve of
their departure from Vichy, is a "crushing emotional shock" to the admiral,
"beyond the understanding of anyone who has not had an identical experience."
(Jack McKillop)
General Giraud reaches Switzerland after escaping from German
captivity. he will return to unoccupied France. (John Nicholas)
The Germans shoot 20 French hostages "for complicity" during the
raid on St. Nazaire last month. (Jack McKillop)

Germany: The Germans request the assistance of the Italian Navy to deal
with the ramshackle Soviet flotilla on Lake Ladoga (estimated at 6 gunboats,
2 large and 5 small torpedo boats, 32 armed minesweepers, 9 armed transport
ships,17 armed tugboats and 1 submarine, plus another 25 other boats). (Jack
McKillop)
The Italian Navy promptly agreed and sent the four torpedo boats (MAS 526 to
529) of 12th MAS Flotilla, commanded by Capitano di Corvetta (Lt-Comm)
Bianchini, with four officers, 19 NCO's, and 63 other ranks. (Arturo Lorioli).
(Andy Etherington)

ITALY: Malta is nearly defenseless and Italian dictator Benito
Mussolini urges an assault led by German parachute units. Hitler is hesitant,
recalling the heavy losses his paratroopers suffered in 1941 when they drove
the
British from Crete. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The federal government decides to build the "Big Inch" oil pipeline
from Texas to New York so Allied tankers won't have to run the German submarine
gauntlet along the East Coast.ÃŠ (Jack McKillop)
Washington: President Roosevelt orders all patents owned or controlled
by enemy nations to be seized in order to forestall German interference in US
industry. (Andy Etherington)

USSR: The three-month battle to relieve 100,000 Germans trapped in the
Demyansk pocket northwest of Moscow ends with the surrounded Germans breaking
through the Russian lines. The German troops had been supplied by airlifts only
for ten weeks. (Jack McKillop and Andy Etherington)

1943: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Commander North Pacific Forces (NORPACFOR)
places all Army and Navy Air Forces [Task Group (TG) 16.1] under Brigadier
General William O. Butler, Commanding General Eleventh Air Force. The Army Air
Striking Unit (Eleventh Air Force) is designated Task Unit 16.1.1 (TU 16.1.1)
and
the Naval Air Search Unit (Patrol Wing Four) is designated TU 16.12. (Jack
McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses make individual
attacks on Ubili and Gasmata on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: 8 Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb the railroad yards at Maymyo,
and 9 more bomb the area around the Myitnge bridge. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: RAAF No. 18 (NEI) Squadron B-25s bomb Laga on Timor Island.
(Jack McKillop)

ELLICE ISLANDS: IJN bombers from Nauru Island, staging through Tarawa Atoll
in the Gilberts, attack the airfield on Funafuti Atoll. One Seventh Air Force
B-24 Liberator is destroyed and five others damaged. (Jack McKillop)

Europe: The RAF celebrated Hitler's 54th birthday last night with raids
against Stettin and Rostock, on the Baltic coast, and Berlin. In the east,
the Red Air Force attacked Tilsit. Stettin, a key port supplying Nazi armies
in north Russia, was most heavily hit. More than 140 4,000-pound bombs were
dropped in 40 minutes. Simultaneously other aircraft laid mines off the
Brittany coast. Hitler, it is thought, was far from the bombing, in a mountain
retreat. (Andy Etherington)

INDIAN OCEAN: A U.S. freighter is torpedoed by the Italian submarine
Leonardo da Vinci off the coast of South Africa and abandoned. Leonardo da
Vinci
then surfaces, finishes off the freighter with gunfire, and temporarily detains
a member of the crew on board for questioning before returning him to his
shipmates. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: RAF Liberators, under operational control of the IX Bomber Command,
bomb Naples. (Jack McKillop)

Japan: Admiral Koga succeeds Admiral Yamamoto as Commander in Chief of
the Combined Fleet, IJN. (John Nicholas)

Mediterranean: Submarine HMS Splendid is sighted by destroyer Hermes
(German manned but previously the British built Greek Vasilefs Georgios 1)
which delivers three depth charge attacks. Splendid begins to flood and sinks
below 500 feet (operational diving depth 250) at which point the commander
decides to surface and abandon the sinking submarine. There are 18 casualties,
but
27 survivors. Location: off Capri. (Alex Gordon)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17s make individual attacks on coastal
villages in northeastern New Guinea. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Stingray (SS-186) mines the waters off Wenchow,
China. (Jack McKillop)
USS Grenadier (SS-210), CO John A. Fitzgerald is scuttled after damage by
an enemy aircraft off Penang Malaya. All hands taken prisoner and 4 died
in pow camp. (Joe Sauder)
Japanese aircraft bombard US positions on Funafuti in the Ellice
Islands, retaliating for yesterday's raid on Nauru. (Andy Etherington)

THAILAND: 16 Tenth Air Force B-24s are dispatched to bomb the Bangsue
Arsenal and other targets in Bangkok, but only 4 reach the target area and
loose
bombs over the city. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: New Zealand troops consisting mainly of Maoris, take Takrouna.
(Andy Etherington)
After heavy casualties and little progress, the British 8th Army ends a
three-day attempt to break through strong Italian defenses. It is the Desert
Rats' final North African battle. During the upcoming Allied offensive, the 8th
will remain on the defensive while other Allied units destroy the Axis army.
Ninth Air Force P-40s bomb and strafe barges along the coast.
Northwest African Air Force fighters and A-20 Havocs hit landing grounds and
military traffic on roads, fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance, and attack
ground forces and aircraft in the Medjez el Bab-Goubellat area where an enemy
counterattack by armored and infantry columns during the night of 20/21 April
ends in costly failure. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The USN signs a contract for 67 Cessna T-50s. These were included
in a USAAF order for C-78-CEs.
In Washington, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces "with a feeling of
deepest horror" the Japanese execution of a number of Doolittle Raiders who
bombed Tokyo and other Japanese cities in April 1942.
In baseball, the St. Louis Browns win their seventh consecutive Opening Day
game in front of a reduced crowd of 4,000 due to war-time travel
restrictions. (Jack McKillop)

1944: BELGIUM: ; 175+ Ninth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts dive-bomb
marshalling yards and concentrations at Montignies-sur-Sambre, Hasselt, Namur,
and
Haine-Saint-Pierre (France). (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: In spite of heavy weather in the Bismarck Archipelago,
24 Thirteenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Matupi supply area on New Britain
Island. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: Lt. Carter Harman made the first helicopter combat rescue in
military history flying a Sikorsky YR-4, when he made 4 separate flights some
ten
miles into Japanese held territory to take out a light plane pilot who had
made an emergency landing along with three wounded British soldiers. The
underpowered aircraft would only take one passenger at a time. Lt. Harman was a
member of the Air Commando. (Chuck Baisden and Jack McKillop)
The Tenth Air Force dispatches 12 B-25s and 14 P-51 Mustangs to attack Indaw
and Mawlu, causing several fires in supply dumps and in the general target
areas; 12 B-25s bomb the camp and supply area at Kamaing. 8 B-24s bomb storage
and fuel dumps at Lashio and bomb Namtu; 13 B-24s bomb Maymyo while 5 B-25s
knock out 3 bridges in the Tangon area; and 4 P-51s knock out a bridge at
Shweli.
Twelve Fourteenth Air Force P-40s fly armed reconnaissance over roads,
strafing bridges, buildings, steamrollers, trucks, and troops in areas around
Takaw, Bhamo, Loiwing, Kutkai, Hsenwi, and Lashio; at least 3 steamrollers and
7
trucks are destroyed. (Jack McKillop)
Air Commando Combat Mission No. 47 2:55 Flight Time. Bombed Japanese troops
at Mawlu for the 4th day in a row. (Chuck Baisden)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Kwajalein Atoll hit Wotje
Atoll while B-24s from Eniwetok Atoll, staging through Kwajalein, bomb Truk
Atoll. B-25s from Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll, bomb Ponape Island. (Jack
McKillop)

FRANCE: 236 Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and 34 A-20s attack gun
positions, coastal defenses and V-weapons sites at Etaples, at Berck-sur-Mer,
near Doullens, and in the Saint-Omer, Abbeville, and Amiens area; 4 B-26s are
lost. (Jack McKillop)
Paris: The SacrÂ Couer at Montmarte is damaged in an air raid. (Jack
McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force A-20s blast an ammunition dump while P-47s
attack train, rail lines, and motor transport behind enemy lines; other P-47s,
along with P-40s and A-36 Apaches, attack railway lines and trains between Rome
and Terni, between Rome and Tivoli, and between Orte and Attigliano; hit a
motor transport concentration northeast of Rome; and attack several bivouac
areas and gun positions in the battle areas. (Jack McKillop) .
Italy: Naples: Marshal Pietro Badoglio forms a coalition government.
(Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s based on Abemama Island use Majuro
Atoll as a shuttle base to bomb Jaluit and Maloelap Atolls. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: 21 Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb airstrips on Noemfoor Island,
Schouten Islands while about 320 B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s hit numerous targets
in
the Tadji, Wewak, and Madang areas. (Jack McKillop)

Pacific: US TF 58 attacks Wadke Island, Sawar, Sarmi and Hollandia
during daylight. Accompaning cruisers bombard at night. (John Nicholas)
Amplifying the above, Task Forces 58 and 78 begin a preinvasion aerial
bombardment in New Guinea. Fighters from Task Group 58.1 attack Wakde Island and
Sarmi at dawn and then surface vessels and aircraft of the two Task Forces
attack Aitape, Hollandia, airfields in the Hollandia area and Wakde Islands.
Many Japanese aircraft are strafed on the ground but the fuel has been removed
from them and few burn.
The aviation composition of these two Task Forces is:
TF 58
TG 58.1
USS Bataan (CVL-29) with Light Carrier Air Group Fifty (CVLG-50)
USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) with CVLG-24
USS Cowpens (CVL-25) with CVLG-22
USS Hornet (CV-12) with Carrier Air Group Two (CVG-2)
TG 58.2
USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) with CVG-8
USS Cabot (CVL-28) with CVLG-29
USS Monterey (CVL-26) with CVLG-30
USS Yorktown (CV-10) with CVG-5
TG 58.3
USS Enterprise (CV-6) with CVG-10
USS Langley (CVL-27) with CVLG-32
USS Lexington (CV-16) with CVG-16
USS Princeton (CVL-23) with CVLG-23
TF 78
TG 78.1
USS Chenango (CVE-28) with Escort Carrier Air Group Thirty Five (CVEG-35)
USS Sangamon (CVE-26) with CVEG-37
USS Santee (CVE-29) with CVEG-26
USS Suwannee (CVE-27) with Composite Squadron Three (VC-3)
TG 78.2
USS Coral Sea (CVE-57) with VC-33
USS Corregidor (CVE-58) with VC-41
USS Manila Bay (CVE-61) with VC-7
USS Natoma Bay (CVE-62) with VC-63 (Jack McKillop)

ROMANIA: 100+ Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb marshalling yards at Bucharest;
all 17 bomb groups dispatched are recalled due to bad weather but 7 groups
fail to receive the recall signal; 150+ P-38s and P-51s are dispatched as
escort; 40+ rendezvous with the B-24s and battle some 30 enemy fighters that
attack the bomber force; the other fighters, failing to meet the bombers,
engage
about 40 enemy fighters; the bombers and fighters claim 35 aerial combat
victories; 10 US aircraft are shot down. (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 11 Thirteenth Air Force P-39 Airacobras, closed out of
Rabaul, New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago, bomb Tinputs Harbor on
Bougainville Island. (Jack McKillop)

USSR: German Generaloberst (Colonel-General) Ferdinand Schorner begs
Hitler to evacuate the 17th German-Romanian Army from Sevastopol. Once again,
Hitler ignores a top military commander. He orders "Fortress Sevastopol" to
hold out for eight weeks to discourage Turkey from joining the Allies. Hitler
doesn't know that the Turks have already decided to remain neutral. (Jack
McKillop)

1945: AUSTRIA: Weather curtails daytime operations but Twelfth Air
Force B-25s score hits on the Matrei am Brenner bridge on the Brenner rail
line.
About 200 Fifteenth Air Force bombers, with P-51 escort, bomb marshalling
yards at Attnang-Puchheim, Spittal an der Drau, and Vocklabruck. (Jack
McKillop)

BURMA: Bad weather over central Burma causes canceling or aborting of
all Tenth Air Force combat missions however, transports complete 464 sorties,
landing or dropping 682 tons of supplies to forward areas. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: 5 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb Loyang; a single B-24 hits
targets of opportunity in Bakli Bay on Hainan Island; 30 P-51s and P-47s attack
railroad and road targets, barracks area, buildings, and bridges at or near
Paoching, Chihsien, Taiku, Hsihhsiassuchi, Shaho, Linfen, Luan, Yutze, and
Shanhsien. C-47 Skytrains commence Operation ROOSTER, the movement by air of a
Chinese infantry division to the Chichiang area. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: On Borneo, Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Miri, Kudat,
Manggar, and Sepinggang Airfields and P-38s hit Tarakan Island and Sandakan,
Miri Airfield, oil storage near Lutong, and, with B-24s, attack targets of
opportunity along the southwest Celebes coast. USN PV Venturas also attack
various targets on Borneo. (Jack McKillop)

Germany: Wustrow: Himmler meets Norbert Masur of the World Jewish Congress
and refuses to free the Jews under his control. (Andy Etherington)
Ruhr: Three days ago the commander of German forces in the Ruhr, Field
Marshal Walter Model, drove to the forest beyond Dusseldorf, left his car,
drew his service pistol and shot himself. A few months ago, when he took
over the western command, he issued a ringing call to battle: "None of us
gives up a square foot of German soil while still alive ... Long live our
Germany and out beloved FÅ¸hrer!" (Andy Etherington)
Now the Battle of the Ruhr has ended, with 325,000 prisoners in Allied
hands; these include 30 generals and an admiral. Eisenhower, in an order of
the day, says that "21 enemy divisions, including three Panzer, one
Panzergrenadier and three Parachute divisions" have been smashed. (Andy
Etherington)
The Western Front: Stuttgart is overrun by De Lattre de Tassigny's 1st
French Army while there is continued German resistance around Elbingerode in
the
Harz Mountains. (Andy Etherington)
British Guardsman Edward Charlton is later posthumously awarded the last
Victoria Cross of the war for saving the lives of several men trapped in their
tank during a battle in the village of Wistedt. He is so badly wounded during
his act of heroism that he dies shortly after being taken prisoner. A total
of 182 Victoria Crosses--Britain's highest honor for valor--were finally
awarded for World War II. (Andy Etherington)
The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 963: 532 bombers and 444 fighters are
dispatched to attack jet fighter airfields and rail targets in southeastern
Germany; 2 bombers and 2 fighters are lost:
- 111 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Munich, a target of last resort,
with H2X radar. Escorting are 90 P-51s.
- 186 B-24s are sent to hit the Salzburg marshalling yard and rail bridge
but abort the mission due to 10/10 cloud cover; 1 B-24 is lost. The escort is
99 P-51s.
- 6 B-17s hit the secondary target, the Amlech Airfield at Landsberg; 212
hit a target of last resort, the town of Ingolstadt; 1 B-17 is lost. 144 P-51s
escort; 2 are lost.
The Ninth Air Force dispatches 121 B-26 Marauders to hit the
Attnang-Puchheim marshalling yard; fighters fly escort, patrols, armed
reconnaissance and
cooperate with the US VIII Corps as elements of the 6th Cavalry Group cross the
Czechoslovakian border to reach Hranice and Trojmezi, the XII Corps in the
Grafenwohr-Weiden area, and the XX Corps east of Nurnberg.
Fifteenth Air Force bombers bomb the marshalling yard at Rosenheim while 138
P-38s bomb railroad lines and facilities in the Munich and Rosenheim,
Germany-Rattenberg, Austria areas (Jack McKillop)
Zukov's leading units reach the Berlin suburbs. (John Nicholas)
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
GERMANY: In the East: the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front captures Bautzen and
Cottbus 70 miles (113 km) southeast of Berlin while Soviet forces fighting
south of Berlin, at Zossen, assault the headquarters of the German High
Command.
The only remaining opposing "force" to the Russian invasion of Berlin are the
"battle groups" of Hitler Youth, teenagers with anti-tank guns,
strategically placed in parks and suburban streets. In a battle at Eggersdorf,
70 of
these Hitler teens strove to fight off a Russian assault with a mere three
anti-tank guns. They were bulldozed by Russian tanks and infantry. In East
Prussia,
remnants of AOK Ostpreussen (von Saucken) are still resisting in the port of
Pillau, the Frische Nehrung and the Vistula delta between Danzig and
Marienburg.
Hitler announces he will remain in Berlin. Goering, Himmler and other top
Nazis flee so they can surrender to the Americans or British. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: During the night of 20/21 April, Twelfth Air Force A-20s and A-26
Invaders bomb Po River crossings with good results and in the late afternoon
hit
Po River crossings; XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter bombers,
grounded most of the day, fly close support to the US Fifth Army which drives
into Bologna (a longstanding objective) and begins to push rapidly across
the plain toward the Po River. (Jack McKillop)
It was 5.50am when the last of the German garrison motored out of this
university city. Bologna slept. Fifteen minutes later, advance units of the
Polish
II Corps drove in from the east and hoisted their national flag on
the town hall, just a few minutes before American tanks rumbled in from the
north, soon to be joined by Italian troops of the Eighth Army, their British
steel helmets adorned with flowers and feathers.
Only then did Bologna awake to go noisily, crazily, mad with joy and relief.
A stiff street-by-street battle had been expected. The German commander had
received the now almost rubber-stamped order to fight to the last man.
Instead, it seems that he made a deal with the city's archbishop and the
Fascist
mayor. If partisans did not molest his retreating troops, he would not demolish
Bologna's public services. (Andy Etherington)
As the Poles advanced along the Via Emilia, a coded signal had to be sent to
the partisans to rise up. Anticipating this, the Germans arrested and shot
two of their leaders. Today, as Bologna went wild, the partisans shot two
leading Fascists in revenge. (Andy Etherington)
San Terenzo: US 2nd Lt. Daniel K. Inouye (442nd Infantry) performs acts of
heroism which later result in him being awarded the MOH. (Andy Etherington)

JAPAN: The XXI Bomber Command flies Missions 82 to 90 bombing airfields in
Japan; 217 B-29 Superfortresses blast airfields at Oita, 2 at Kanoya, Usa,
Kokubu, Kushira, Tachiarai, Izumi, and Nittagahara; 21 other B-29s hit targets
of opportunity including the city of Kagoshima. (Jack McKillop)

NORTH PACIFIC: 18 Seventh Air Force Guam Island-based B-24s bomb Marcus
Island. (Jack McKillop)

Okinawa: Off Okinawa, the destroyer USS Ammen (DD-527) is damaged by
bomb that misses. (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: The Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force continue large
scale support of ground forces on Luzon, Cebu, Negros, and Jolo Islands. USMC F
4U Corsairs and SBD Dauntlesses attack highways and roads supporting the US
X Corps on Mindanao. USMC SBDs also attack Japanese positions on Mount Daho
on Jolo Island. (Jack McKillop)
The US 37th Division makes some gains in heavy fighting near Baguio, Luzon,
PI. (John Nicholas)

RYUKYU ISLANDS: Organized Japanese resistance on Ie Shima ends. Nearly 5,000
Japanese have been killed, 149 captured. The Americans have suffered 1,000
casualties.ÃŠ (Jack McKillop)

U.K.: London: Churchill's fears about Stalin's post-war ambitions grew
today with news of the signing of a mutual assistance pact between the USSR
and its client Polish government based in Lublin. Meeting in Washington, the
Big Three's foreign ministers, Eden, Stettinius and Molotov, have set out
their positions, with Britain and America insisting on the widening of the
government into one of National Unity. (Andy Etherington)
Molotov refuses to budge, and Eden has written to Churcill: "No sign of
progress. My impression is that the Soviet governmeny is still cavalier in
its attitude and will not accept the seriousness of the situation, unless it
is brought up sharply against realities." (Andy Etherington)

U.S.S.R.: A Mutual Assistance Pact between the USSR and the Lublin
Polish Government is signed. (John Nicholas)

1997: The death of Ben Prime, USAAF; graduated Aviation Cadet School May
22, 1944. He flew the Hump and was a member of this list. October 29, 1923
- April 21, 1997.

Tyree67 · april 22

April 22

We Remember:

1940: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Bombing - Fornebu, Kristiansund,
Aalborg and Trondheim airfields. 10 Sqn. One a/c to Kjeller. Airfield
bombed and machine-gunned. 51 Sqn. Seven a/c. Six bombed Kjeller, Fornebu
and Aalborg. 1 FTR. 77 Sqn. Two a/c to Trondheim. No bombing due to
weather. (Andy Etherington)

RAF air reconnaissance of Trondheim reveals three troopships and seven
seaplanes moored off the town. On a nearby frozen lake, 12 He 111s, 6 Ju87s and
4
Ju52s are observed covered with snow and little sign of activity around them.
Four Coastal Command Hudsons attacked camouflaged petrol-tanks in Oslo Fjord
claiming hits on one of them.
German air raids are directed against Aandalsnes, its railway and shipping.
The railway line was cut in several places.
RAF personnel begin construction of the runway on frozen lake Lesja for the
Gladiators of 223 Sqn.
Allied troops clash with Germans north of Trondheim. The weight of the
attack hits hardest against one battalion of the Lincolnshire Battalion, one
company suffers 25% casualties. The Lincolnshires begin to waver. Ordered to
retreat on Steinkjer, they get out of hand and cannot be rallied for a
rear-guard stand. That evening as a German destroyer shells the village, German
troops come ashore and seize the only bridge across the Ogna River, cutting the
road north to Namsos.
Those British troops east of Steinkjer were now cut off. But by chance one
of their senior officers, a Lieut. Col. H. B. Hibbert, had spent several
boyhood holidays fishing in the nearby mountains. Hibbert dimly remembered an
old
wooden bridge well to the east of Steinkjer. Thinking that it might provide
an escape route, Hibbert dispatched a volunteer Norwegian guide on skis to
look for it while he got his battalion ready for a forced march. The guide
returned. There was indeed a bridge east of Steinkjer; it was six miles away as
the crow flies, but a much longer hike over mountain trails. Hibbert's men
loaded their wounded onto sleds and moved out, single file and three yards
apart
so that if one man fell on the slippery footing he would not bring down the
whole line behind him. They covered approximately 82 miles in 67 hours,
reaching Mauriceforce's new position north of Namsos without losing a weapon or
leaving behind a straggler.
Lillehammer: Morgan tries to reform his line on a new position. but the
Norwegians could not help; they said there ski troops were too weary to provide
cover for his flanks. Small parties of Germans on skis worked there way into
Morgan's flanks and rear, and they even managed to raid his brigade HQ. The
British fell back along the east bank of the Lagen River to a bridge at the
village of Trettin. The bridge had to be held until the Norwegians and British
west of the river could retreat across it. (Andy Etherington)

HMS Ark Royal, again flying the flag of Vice-Admiral Aircraft Carriers L. V.
Wells, CB, DSO, RN and in company with the destroyers HMS Sikh, HMS Mashona,
and HMS Juno, departs Greenock at 0700 for Scapa Flow. She is still
carrying her three TSR squadrons, 810, 820, and 821.
HMS Glorious, in company with the destroyers HMS Hyperion, HMS Hereward, and
HMS Hasty, arrives off Scapa Flow at 1500, where she is joined by the
destroyers HMS Arrow, HMS Acheron, and HMS Brazen to cover her during the
flight
evolutions that follow. First, the 17 RAF Gladiator IIs of 263 Squadron are
flown out to the ship from Hatston by the pilots of 802 Squadron and the spare
pilots of 804 Squadron. Once they are aboard, the Swordfish of 823 Squadron
leave for Hatston. Meanwhile, at 1545, the nine Sea Gladiators of 804
Squadron and the twelve Skuas of 803 Squadron fly out from Hatston. In the
event,
Skua 8R of 803 Squadron crashed over the side while landing aboard and though
the pilot, Acting Sub-Lieutenant(A) A. S. Griffith, RN was rescued by the
plane-guard destroyer, Naval Airman first class Kenneth Admiral Brown, RN (AG)
was lost with the plane. With the operation complete, HMS Arrow, HMS
Acheron, and HMS Bulldog are detached to Rosyth while the rest put in
to Scapa Flow to refuel.
Meanwhile, HMS Furious, though now with a failing engine, continues to
support the Allied effort. TodayÃ•s goal being to support a planned Royal Navy
bombardment of German positions at Narvik. Amid abominable weather, hourly
patrols of one or two Swordfish each, are sent to the target area, each being
armed with four 250 lb. bombs and under orders to assist as they could. 818
SquadronÃ•s U3G:P4163, flying the second patrol, was shot down by Flak.
Leading
Airman Thomas George Cutler, RN (AG) was killed outright in the crash and,
although Sub-Lieutenant P. C. Roberts, RN (P) and badly wounded Lieutenant
Charles Robert Dalton Messenger, RN (O) were rescued by HMS Aurora, the later
died of his wounds. Unfortunately, the entire effort was for naught as the
bombardment had been cancelled although no one thought to inform Furious! (Mark
Horan)

German General Jodl notes in his diaries that Hitler is 'increasingly
worried about the English landings.' (Andy Etherington)

1941: German forces reach the Thermopylae position in Greece.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
GREECE: The evacuation of Allied troops from Greece begins. The
evacuation marked the end of the ill-conceived Greek campaign which lasted only
three weeks and saw the Allies retreat ever southwards in the face of the
German
advance until they were evacuated at the end of April. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka returns from Europe
and says, "We should not confuse deliberation with procrastination just as the
Tripartite Pact does not affect the relations of the Three Powers vis the
Soviets so that the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact and the declaration do not
affect in the least the Tripartite Pact which remains the immutable basis of
our foreign policy." (Jack McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: 2,000 American troops arrive to reinforce the US Army's
Philippine Department. (Jack McKillop)

British tank regiments armed with Cruiser-type tanks have been re-organized
as more effective fighting units. In future they will have their own support
arms in the front-line, including motorised infantry, combat engineers,
artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank units. It is the sort of mixture which
has
given such strength to the German Panzer divisions.
The government believes that Cruisers - Matildas, Crusaders, Cavaliers or
Cromwells - are as good as anything that the Germans or Italians can put into
the field. (Andy Etherington)

Japanese forces occupy Fuzhou, China. (Andy Etherington)

1942 The British 7th Armored Brigade and the Chinese 200th Division
take up positions around Maitila and Taunggyi, Burma. Another unit, not
following orders from General Stillwell, endangers this position.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
BURMA: The Japanese 15th Army pursues British Empire forces to within
150 miles (241 km) of Mandalay. In eastern Burma, a Japanese armored column
has bypassed the defenses of Lt. Gen. Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell's Chinese
army and is rushing toward Lashio, the eastern terminus of the Burma Road.
10th Air Force aircraft begin to evacuate military and civilian personnel
and supplies from Burma to India. By 15 June the 10th Air Force has evacuated
4,499 passengers and 1,733,026 pounds (786 095 kg) of freight. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: The British win a small victory with a commando raid on Boulogne, a
port on the English Channel. The commandos suffer few casualties during a
two-hour action. (Jack McKillop)

NEW ZEALAND: A joint US-New Zealand Naval Command is ordered established
under Vice Admiral Robert L Ghormley, USN. It is to operate separately but in
close liaison with General Douglas MacArthur and Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary
in Australia. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: The Office of Price Administration (OPA) announces that motorists in
17 eastern states will be allowed to purchase no more than 21.4 US gallons
(17.8 Imperial gallons or 81 liters) of gasoline per week beginning 15 May.
Police and Federal agents raid Hitler birthday parties in Union City,
Hoboken and 50 other New Jersey gatherings. (Jack McKillop)

The motion picture "Saboteur" premiers in Washington, D.C. This offbeat
espionage thriller, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, stars Robert Cummings,
Priscilla Lane and Otto Kruger. Cummings, a California aircraft worker, is
accused
of sabotage and chases the real saboteur across the country and confronts him
on top of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. (Jack McKillop)

1943: The US II Corps, under General Bradley, attack Hill 609 in
"Mousetrap Valley" on the way to Mateur.

The British V and IX Corps attack between Goubellat and Bou Arada.

The German air re-supply effort is mauled with 30 aircraft shot down.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Individual Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb
and strafe Ubili on New Britain Island. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: The submarine USS Grenadier (SS-210) is scuttled off Penang,
Malaya, after having been damaged by Japanese aircraft of the 936th Kokutai
yesterday. The sub was running on the surface at dawn when it was spotted by
the
aircraft.
As the sub crash dived, her skipper, Commander John A. Fitzgerald commented
"we ought to be safe now, as we are between 120 and 130 feet (36,6 and 39,6
meters)." Just then, bombs rocked Grenadier and heeled her over 15 to 20
degrees. Power and lights failed completely and the fatally wounded ship settled
to the bottom at 267 feet (81,4 meters). She tried to make repairs while a
fierce fire blazed in the maneuvering room.

After 13 hours of sweating it out on the bottom Grenadier managed to surface
after dark to clear the boat of smoke and inspect damage. The damage to her
propulsion system was irreparable. Attempting to bring his ship close to
shore so that the crew could scuttle her and escape into the jungle, Commander
Fitzgerald even tried to jury-rig a sail. But the long night's work proved
futile.
As dawn broke, 22 April, Grenadier's weary crew sighted two Japanese ships
heading for them. As the skipper "didn't think it advisable to make a
stationary dive in 280 feet (81.5 meters) of water without power," the crew
began
burning confidential documents prior to abandoning ship. A Japanese plane
attacked the stricken submarine; but Grenadier, though dead in the water and to
all
appearances helpless, hit the plane with machine gun fire on its second
pass. As the damaged plane veered off, its torpedo landed about 200 yards
(182,9
meters) from the boat and exploded. Reluctantly opening all vents,
Grenadier's crew abandoned ship and watched her sink to her final resting
place.
A Japanese merchantman picked up 8 officers and 68 enlisted men and took
them to Penang, Malay States, where they were questioned, beaten, and starved
before being sent to other prison camps. They were then separated and
transferred from camp to camp along the Malay Peninsula and finally to Japan.
Throughout the war they suffered brutal, inhuman treatment, and their
refusal to reveal military information both frustrated and angered their
captors.
First word that any had survived Grenadier reached Australia 27 November 1943.
Despite the brutal and sadistic treatment, all but four of Grenadier's crew
survived their 2 years in Japanese hands. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Northwest African Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb the harbor at
Carloforte on San Pietro Island. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: Japanese Prime Minister Kideki Tojo announces that American fliers
captured while bombing Japan will be given "one-way tickets to hell." (Jack
McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells bomb the
Lababia-Duali area on Nassau Bay while individual B-17s bomb the Dobo and Nubia
area. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: The submarine USS Stingray (SS-186) mines waters off Wenchow,
China, while the Dutch submarine HMNS O 21, despite presence of an escort
vessel,
sinks a Japanese army cargo ship in Malacca Straits. (Jack McKillop)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force P-40s fly fighter sweeps over the battle area along
the Gulf of Hammamet.
Northwest African Air Force B-26s bomb 2 landing grounds near Protville
while fighters and A-20s fly sweeps, reconnaissance, and patrols and attack
positions at Djebel el Ahmera (Longstop Ridge), Sidi Nsir, Djebel el Ajred (Bald
Hill), and other points as the British First Army's 5 Corps launches the start
of the final phase of the assault on Tunis and Bizerte, attacking on a front
north and south of Medjez el Bab. (Jack McKillop)

1944: US I Corps lands from TF 77 at Hollandia, New Guinea.
Amplifying the above:
The U.S. Army executes three amphibious operations in New Guinea. In
Operation PERSECUTION, the invasion at Hollandia, the 24th and 41st Infantry
Divisions of the I Corps land unopposed 25 miles (40 km) apart; the 24th
Infantry
Division at Tanahmerah Bay while the 41st Infantry Division lands at Humboldt
Bay. In Operation RECKLESS, the 163d Regimental Combat Team, 41st Infantry
Division, lands unopposed at Aitape. (Jack McKillop)

US forces occupy Uselap Island completing the campaign for the Marshall
Islands.
AMPLIFYING THE ABOVE:
MARSHALL ISLANDS: "I" Company, 3rd Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment,
Central Pacific Base Command, occupies Ujelang Atoll. This operation, which
extends U.S. control over the westernmost atoll, is supported by small seaplane
tender USS Onslow (AVP-48) and motor minesweeper YMS-91.
Seventh Air Force B-25s from Tarawa Atoll, using Majuro Atoll as a shuttle
base for rearming, bomb Jaluit, Maloelap and Mille Atolls. (Jack McKillop)

China: Japan captures Chengchow, in Honan province. (Andy Etherington)

India: New Delhi: The Imperial Japanese army, already deeply enmeshed
in a highly ambitious "March on Delhi" offensive from Burma, has now been
committed to another equally ambitious offensive in China. Imperial
headquarters has reinforced the China expeditionary force and ordered it to
undertake an offensive to crush China. (Andy Etherington)

On 17 April, the Japanese First and Twelfth Armies, supported by 200
aircraft, began a drive to open an overland supply route to the Southern
Army in Thailand and Malaya and to occupy the new Allied airfields in
south-east China which the Americans are using to attack shipping in the
Formosa Strait. (Andy Etherington)

The offensive also aims to prevent long-range American bombers from using
Chinese airfields to bomb the Japanese home islands. Another Japanese army is
driving towards French Indochina. The Chinese high command in Chungking has
announced the advance of Japanese columns in Honan where the Japanese claim to
have routed 300,000 Chinese. (Andy Etherington)

Three days before the Japanese attack, Chiang Kai-shek ordered divisions
from Yunnan into Burma to help the hard-pressed General Stilwell. Until then,
fearing a Japanese offensive, he had not only refused to help but had indicated
that Chinese divisions already in Burma should "drag their feet". Chiang was
persuaded to send his troops into the Burma theatre after President
Roosevelt had cabled a stern request. (Andy Etherington)

Egypt: Alexandria: The Greek naval commander-in-chief, Vice-Admiral
Petros Voulgaris, is preparing to board five warships whose refusal to obey
orders sparked a virtual strike by 12 April of all Greek navy seamen in Egypt.
The First Division of the Greek Army has also rebelled against its officers.
Britain is keeping an eye on developments. The mutiny's causes are confused,
but seem to stem from dissatisfaction with the Greek government in exile. (Andy
Etherington)

BELGIUM: Nearly 275 Ninth Air Force P-47s and P-51s dive-bomb marshalling
yards. (Jack McKillop)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, about 40 Thirteenth Air Force
B-25s bomb supply areas at Ratawul and Talili Bay, attack Keravat and hit the
area between Rapopo and Cape Gazelle; and 40+ fighter-bombers attack the
runway and gun positions at Rapopo while 9 strike Lakunai airfield. (Jack
McKillop)

BURMA: 12 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb Kamaing while 5 B-25s and 6 P-51
Mustangs attack ammunition and other supplies at Hopin; 3 B-25s and 4 P-51shit
a
village northeast of Bhamo while 7 P-51s attack Gokteik Viaduct.
Fourteenth Air Force P-40s on armed reconnaissance over northern Burma
destroy 10 boxcars and a truck north of Lashio. (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: During the night of 21/22 April, Seventh Air Force B-24s
from Kwajalein Atoll bomb Wotje Atoll and other B-24s from Kwajalein follow
with another raid on Wotje during the day.
During the night of 22/23 April, 17 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Dublon,
Param, and Eten Islands in Truk Atoll. (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: The Japanese take Chengchow, a railroad center. (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: During the night, the Eighth Air Force flies Mission 312: 5 B-17s
drop 1.44 million leaflets on Orleans, Tours, Paris, Nantes, Lille, Reims,
Chartres and Rouen at 2251-2344 hours.
The Ninth Air Force dispatches 400+ B-26s and about 90 A-20s to fly two
missions against V-weapon sites in the area of Saint-Omer and Hesdin. (Jack
McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 6 Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack a Japanese
Singapore-to-Saigon convoy anchored off Cape St. Jacques and sink a transport,
a fleet tanker, an army cargo vessel, and a merchant tanker; and damaging a
tanker. Only an escort vessel, a submarine chaser, escapes the low-level
onslaught unscathed. Another B-24 knocks out a bridge southwest of Vinh. (Jack
McKillop)

GERMANY: The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 311: 803 bombers and 859
fighters are dispatched to hit a marshalling yard at Hamm; the bombers claim
20-6-8
Luftwaffe aircraft and the fighters claim 40-2-16; 15 bombers and 13 fighters
are lost:
- 459 B-17s bomb the primary, 20 hit Bonn, 19 hit Soest, 15 hit Hamm City
and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 8 B-17s are lost.
- 179 B-24s hit the primary, 50 hit Koblenz and 36 hit targets of
opportunity; 7 B-24s are lost.
The escort is 132 P-38 Lightnings, 485 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47
Thunderbolts and 242 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; 2 P-38s, 5 P-47s and 6
P-51s are lost. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s bomb a bridge and tracks south of Ficulle and
a bridge north of the town; other B-25s and B-26s attack San Stefano al Mare
harbor, the northern section of Orvieto, Chiusi railroad bridge, viaducts
south and west of Arezzo and Bucine, Certaldo railroad bridge, bridge
approaches at Incisa in Valdarno, a bridge near Siena and viaduct at
Poggibonsi; A-20s
hit Valmontone ammunition dump and Sonnino; P-47s hit a railroad, trains,
and tunnels in the Florence area and west of Chiusi, marshalling yard at Siena,
a vessel south of Savona, railroad lines south of Orte and the town of
Gaeta; and P-40s attack gun positions north of the Anzio beachhead and bomb the
Ferentino dump area and towns of Fondi, Terracina and Formia. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: 20+ Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb airstrips on Noemfoor Island,
Schouten Islands while 80+ B-24s and A-20s hit Boram and But Airfields and
other
targets in the Wewak area; 100+ B-24s and B-25s pound targets along Hansa
Bay; and all through the day B-25s and fighter-bombers, in flights of 1 to 20+
aircraft, attack areas around Hansa Bay, Wewak, Bogia, Madang, and many other
points along the northern and eastern coast of New Guinea; many of the
strikes indirectly support Allied amphibious landings at Hollandia. (Jack
McKillop)

PACIFIC: The Japanese lose two ships at sea: U.S. aircraft sink a transport
off Murilo Island, Carolines and the British submarine HMS Taurus sinks a
salvage vessel off Malaya. (Jack McKillop)

"It â€™s Love-Love-Love" by Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians with vocal
by Skip Nelson and The Lombardo Trio reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop
Singles chart in the U.S. This song, which debuted on the charts on 18
March 1944, was charted for 19 weeks, was Number 1 for 2 weeks and was
ranked Number 17 for the year 1944. Also on this date, Andy Russell's
record of "Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)" makes it to the Billboard Pop
Singles chart. This is his first single to make the charts and it stays
there for 2 weeks reaching Number 10. (Jack McKillop)

1945: Himmler meets with Count Bernadotte of the Swedish Red Cross,
with a peace proposal.

The US 7th Army crosses the Danube at Dillingen and Baldingen.

The US 31st Divison lands at Mora Gulf in the Philippines.

The US II and IV Corps reach the Penaro River in Italy.

Toungoo in the Sittang Valley falls to the British 5th Indian Division.

OKINAWA: USN ships are again attacked by Japanese aircraft. Support landing
craft LCS-15 is sunk by aircraft; kamikazes sink minesweeper USS Swallow
(AM-65), and damage destroyers USS Hudson (DD-475) and USS Wadsworth (DD-516);
destroyer USS Isherwood (DD-520) and minesweeper USS Ransom (AM-283); and light
minelayer USS Shea (DM-30); minesweeper USS Gladiator (AM-319) is damaged by
strafing and near-miss of a kamikaze. (Jack McKillop)

Berlin: Zhukov and Konev, having overcome the fanatical resistance of
the
defence zone before Berlin, are moving rapidly to put a ring of tanks round
the capital. Zhukov's 47th Army and Konev's Fourth Guards Tank Army, are both
west of the city, and only 25 miles separate them. Rokossovsky, after being
held up crossing the Oder marshes, is preventing the 3rd Panzer Army from
coming to Berlin's aid from the north. (Andy Etherington)

ATLANTIC: The German submarine U-518 is sunk in the North Atlantic northwest
of the Azores, in position by depth charges from the US destroyer escorts
USS Carter (DE-112) and USS Neal A. Scott (DE-769). All 56 dead on the sub are
lost. (Jack McKillop)

BURMA: General Hyotaro Kimura evacuates Rangoon and prepares to make a last
stand against the British 14th Army near the Burmese-Thai border.
Bad weather again cancels scheduled air strikes by the Tenth Air Force but
464 transport sorties fly 664 tons of supplies to forward areas. (Jack
McKillop)

CHINA: 2 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s bomb targets of opportunity at Canton
and in Bakli Bay on Hainan Island; 5 B-25s bomb Hsuchang and hit the area to
the northwest; 19 P-51s and P-47s attack trains, trucks, troops, horses, and
town areas at or near Linfen, Luan, Sincheng, Fentingtukou, Taiku, Chenghsien,
Sinsiang, and Kaifeng. (Jack McKillop)

EAST INDIES: On Borneo, Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb Manggar and
Jesselton airfields, B-25s bomb Tarakan and P-38s hit Kuching; 10 USN PV
Venturas
attack various targets. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: Adolf Hitler, learning from one of his generals that no German
defense was offered to the Russian assault at Eberswalde, admits to all in his
underground bunker that the war is lost and that suicide is his only recourse.
Almost as confirmation of Hitler's assessment, a Soviet mechanized corps
reaches Treuenbrietzen, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Berlin, liberates a POW
camp and releases, among others, Norwegian Commander in Chief Otto Ruge.
In the battle for Berlin, units of the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front have
penetrated into the northern and eastern suburbs of the city.
The final American offensive in Europe begins with Patton's Third Army and
Patch's Seventh Army driving toward southern Germany and Austria.
The Allies believe that some German troops, notably SS Storm troopers, may
plan to retreat to the Alps for a deadly last stand in a "National Redoubt."
Eisenhower wants to overrun the region before the diehard Nazis organize.
Weather prevents combat operations by the Ninth Air Force's 9th Bombardment
Division and IX Tactical Air Command. The XIX Tactical Air Command flies
armed reconnaissance over eastern Germany and western Czechoslovakia, flies
area
cover over the Wurzburg-Bayreuth areas, patrols the Third Army front (the
Bayreuth-Nurnberg areas), and the XII Corps in the German-Czech border area
near
Weiden. (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: General Heinrich von Vietinghoff, German commander in Italy, decides
to surrender. His armies have lost most of their tanks and guns during a
chaotic retreat across the Po.
The entire night and day effort by the Twelfth Air Force is concentrated
against German forces retreating north across the Po River in face of Allied
forces which send advance elements racing to the south bank; B-25s fly 16
missions against ferries and pontoon bridge sites on the Po between
Casalmaggiore
and Polesella; XXII Tactical Air Command A-20s and A-26 Invaders,
fighter-bombers, and fighters maintain night and day attacks on Po crossings
and enemy
movement; the command claims 900+ motor and horse-drawn vehicles destroyed.
258 Fifteenth Air Force P-51s and P-38s fly armed reconnaissance over
northeastern Italy, bombing marshalling yards, bridges, railroads, highways,
and
several buildings and strafing an airfield, rail and road traffic, and numerous
other targets of opportunity; other P-38s fly reconnaissance while P-51s
escort reconnaissance and supply missions. (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: The VII Fighter Command flies effective sorties during a fighter
attack from Iwo Jima against Akenogahara and Suzuko Airfields; they claim 10
aircraft downed and 15 destroyed on the ground.
The XXI Bomber Command flies Missions 91 to 95 against airfields; 87 B-29
Superfortresses bomb airfields at Izumi, Kushira, Miyazaki, Tomitaka, and
Kanoya and 6 others hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-29 is lost. (Jack McKillop)

PACIFIC: The Japanese lose 4 ships and have a cruiser damaged at sea:
- Submarine USS Cero (SS-225) sinks a guardboat west of Tori Jima.
- Submarine USS Hardhead (SS-365) sinks a cargo vessel off Chimpon.
- Dutch submarine HMNS O 19 torpedoes Japanese heavy cruiser HIJMS Ashigara
as the latter proceeds in company with destroyer HIJMS Kamikaze toward
Batavia.
- A guardboat is sunk by U.S. aircraft in Ise Bay.
- USAAF P-51s sink an auxiliary submarine chaser south of Toshi Jima. (Jack
McKillop)

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Numerous missions in support of ground forces are flown
by the Far East Air Forces against targets on Luzon, Cebu, and Negros
Islands. USMC PBJ Mitchells and SBD Dauntlesses attack Japanese positions on
Mount
Daho on Jolo Island. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: Soviet Foreign Minister V.M. Molotov arrives in Washington for talks
with Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. (Jack McKillop)

Tyree67 · April 23

April 23

We Remember:

1940: The British 15th Brigade lands at Molde and Andalsnes to relieve
the 148th Brigade.

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Bombing - Fornebu, Kristiansund, Aalborg and
Trondheim airfields. Shipping in Oslofjord. 10 Sqn. Four a/c
bombedKristiansund, one bombed Fornebu, one bombed and hit a motor vessel
and machine-gunned another in Oslofjord. 51 Sqn. One a/c to bomb shipping
but FTR. 58 Sqn. Three a/c to Aalborg. Two bombed. 102 Sqn. Six a/c to
Trondheim. No bombing due to weather. (Andy Etherington)

British taxpayers were called up in a big way for the war effort today. In
Parliament Sir John Simon, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced
Budget proposals for higher income tax and surtax. He also increased duties
on tobacco, beer, spirits and matches as well as announcing dearer postal
and telephone charges.
On top of all that there will be a novel new tax on the sale of most
goods not already heavily taxed. It will be called "Purchase Tax". Exactly
how it works has still to be decided. The standard tax rate will be 7/6 in
the pound, and surtax starts on incomes over GBP 1,500 a year instead of
GBP 2000. Cigarettes will now cost 1/5 for 20, and beer is up a penny a
pint while whisky will cost 16/- a bottle.
The rate for a three-minute telephone trunk call will be 1/2 above 50
miles. There will be a basic charge of 9d for nine words instead of 6d, and
greetings telegrams will cost 1/- instead of 9d. Sir John explained that
this War Budget is intended to curb spending. He warned that when peace
returns the government will take effective action against those making
"colossal war fortunes". (Andy Etherington)

The slow progress of the German forces moving up from Oslo toward Trondheim
and Andalsnes causes Hitler's 'excitement to grow', according to Jodl. (Andy
Etherington)

The retreating British troops of Sickleforce are suddenly attacked in the
Trettin valley, in Norway, by three German tanks. They charge through the
centre of the defensive line. Troops west of the Lagen withdraw in haste;
those east of the river are cut off. After a further retreat of 45 miles,
Morgan could count only nine junior officers and some 300 men out of his
original strength of 1,000. The 148th Brigade, routed in its first major
engagement, no longer existed as a fighting unit. Morgan sends the
survivors back to Andalsnes for evacuation. (Andy Etherington)

At 0800 HMS Ark Royal, in company with the destroyers HMS Sikh, HMS Mashona,
and HMS Juno, having flown off the Swordfish of 821 Squadron to Hatston
enroute, arrived at Scapa Flow and commenced refueling. At 1230, Vice-Admiral
Air Wells, flying his flag on Ark Royal, in company with HMS Glorious, the
heavy cruiser HMS Berwick, the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Curlew, and the
destroyers HMS Fearless, HMS Fury, HMS Hasty, HMS Hereward, HMS Hyperion, and
HMS
Juno, departs Scapa Flow. Immediately afterwards, Ark flies aboard the Skua
and
Roc fighters of 800 and 801 Squadrons.
WellsÃ• mission, dubbed Operation Ã’DXÃ“, is to transport the RAF fighters to
the ice landing ground on Lake Lesjaskog and to cover the Allied landing sites
at Andalsnes to the South, and Namsos to the North of Trondheim.
HMS Ark Royal has embarked 44 aircraft of four Fleet Air Arm squadrons:
800 Squadron: 9 Skuas, 2 Rocs
801 Squadron: 9 Skuas, 3 Rocs
810 Squadron: 12 Swordfish
820 Squadron: 9 Swordfish
HMS Glorious has embarked 46 aircraft of three Fleet Air Arm squadrons as
well as the RAF squadron:
803 Squadron: 11 Skuas
802 Squadron: 9 Sea Gladiators
804 Squadron: 9 Sea Gladiators
263 Squadron, RAF: 17 Gladiators
Due to the loss of one of 263 SquadronÃ•s valuable Gladiator IIs the day
before, 802 Squadron Ã’sellsÃ“ one of their Sea Gladiators to the RAF for duty
in
Norway.
Meanwhile, severe snowstorms prevent any air operations from HMS Furious,
which steams for Harstad and anchors in Bygden Fjord. (Mark Horan)

1941: King George of Greece and his government evacuate to Crete.

The Truman Committee, of the US Senate, holds a hearing at Camp Meade in
Maryland. They are investigating waste and fraud in the military buildup of the
US Armed Forces. This is the first of 9 camps that will be visited by the
committee in the coming weeks. "Cost Plus" contracts, "fantastically poor
judgment" by the Army in selecting camp sites (Camp Meade is a primary example)
and the rental of equipment instead of outright purchase are cited as wasteful.
Senator Truman's intent is to find the waste before it can continue, rather
than to investigate and make headlines "after the fact". (David McCullough --
"Truman")

Churchill to the Secretary of State for War: All the lessons of this war
emphasise the necessity of good anti-tank weapons and plenty of them. The
number of anti-tank guns that can be produced is necessarily limited; all
the more need therefore to press forward with whatever substitutes can do
the trick. There are persistent rumours that the Germans are
constructing tanks with very thick armour - figures of four to six inches
are mentioned. Such armour would be impervious to any existing anti-tank
gun, or indeed and mobile gun; the tracks and other vulnerable parts are
very small targets. Tests have shown that plastic explosive applied to
armour plate, as, for instance, in the bombard developed by Colonel Blacker
and Colonel Jefferis, has very great cutting power, and this may be a
solution to the problem. In any event, we must not be caught napping. (Andy
Etherington)

Greece severs diplomatic relations with Bulgaria. (Andy Etherington)

The northern Greek army surrenders to the Germans and Italians at Epirus
and Macedonia. (Andy Etherington)

Charles Lindbergh addresses 30,000 people at the first mass meeting of the
America First Committee in New York City. 'The British government,' he
said, 'has one desperate plan: ... to persuade us to send another American
Expeditionary Force to Europe and to share with England militarily, as well
as financially, the fiasco of this war.' He condemned England for having
'encouraged the smaller nations of Europe to fight against hopeless odds.'
(Andy Etherington)

1942: The Chinese 6th Army retreats from Taunggyi toward Yunnan Province.

The IJA 56th Division moves from Taunggyi toward Lashio, Burma.

Germany: Berlin: A decree issued by Fritz Sauckel, the Reich Plenipotentiary
for Labour orders schoolboys aged 14-16 and schoolgirls aged 16-17 to
perform agricultural service. (Andy Etherington)

1943: Australian troops occupy Mubo, New Guinea.

Rastenburg: Himmler orders the SS to put down the Warsaw uprising with "the
utmost severity." (Andy Etherington)

Great Britain: London: A joint Anglo-US command is set up to plan for a
European landing; Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Morgan is appointed Chief
of Staff Supreme Allied Command [COSSAC]. (Andy Etherington)

Tunisia: Maj. John Thompson McKellar Anderson (1918-43), Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders, led many attacks at the head of his battalion, which
seized a key objective and 200 prisoners. (Victoria Cross) (Andy Etherington)

Lt. Wilwood Alexander Sandys Clarke (b.1919), Royal North Lancs Regt.,
knocked out three machine-gun posts and led his platoon to its goal, before
he was killed tackling two sniper posts. (Victoria Cross) (Andy Etherington)

*** How many of you remember this "hot" movie and all the controversy
surrounding it? Today, the kids would say, "Ho-hum, turn the channel." ***
The motion picture "The Outlaw" is released in the U.S. This controversial
"sex western," is directed by Howard Hughes and stars Jane Russell, Walter
Huston and Thomas Mitchell. This motion picture was filmed in 1941 and most of
it was directed by Howard Hawks but Hughes took over and his interest in Jane
Russell's bosom is evident even though the film is about Billy the Kid, Pat
Garrett and Doc Holliday. (Jack McKillop)

1944: US Forces occupy Hollandia. Subsidary landings at Aitape is
continuing well.

Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 48 3:05 Flight Time Hailakandi, Assam to
Indaw, Burma. Bombed Japanese troop concentration and strafed village. My last
mission with Lt/Col R. T. ÃŠSmith. note: This is an expanded version of the
mission>
At 1300 hours 8 B-25 Hs, escorted by 10 P-51B fighters took off from
Hailakandi on what was the most ruthless, yet necessary, raids I had ever been
on.
Our objective was a Burmese village on the North shore of Indaw Lake. A
Chindit column was advancing from the main stronghold, the roadblock at Mawlu.
They
needed the water here for drinking. We arrived over our target at 1500
hours. The weather was fair, but with poor visibilty ÃŠbecause of the haze from
burning forest fires abundant this time of year throughout Burma.
Our aircraft "Barbie III," led the first flight over the target and released
our fragmentation cluster bombs (para-frags) at an altitude of about two
hundred feet. Our bomb cover was good and fires immediately broke out in
several
parts of the village. Captain Sinskie led his formation over next, but
released his incendiary clusters too late and they overshot by two hundred
yards.
Captain Ziegler came over last and dropped his para-frags. They covered the
entire town and more fires immediately came into view. Smoke rose to 2,000
feet. The fighters came in last and dive bombed a small group of huts about
one-half mile northwest of our target. They were carrying two five hundred
General Purpose bombs per aircraft.
As soon as the fighters finished and got altitude above us, R. T. ÃŠordered
two flights into our gunnery pattern and we commenced strafing the village.
Our . 75 mm shells tore into the thatched buildings and literally exploded them
into a thousand pieces. I would hear the heavy rattle of our six . 50
caliber machine guns and the dull thud and jolt of our cannon, a thousand yards
away a hut (basha) would explode in a red flash and black smoke. I could see
our
tracers hitting the ground and ricocheting into the air. They appeared to
eat their way into a basha. We averaged three burst of machine gun fire and
three cannon shells per run. After each aircraft had made two passes, we
concentrated our fire on the basha area the fighters had dive bombed. Two runs
were
made on these and then we started working over the flat bushy stretch of
ground starting at the lake edge and then into town. This area contained
trenches
and dugouts which I strafed from my turret as we pulled out f
rom a run. I could see no results from my fire. (Chuck Baisden)

Egypt: Alexandria: Greek officers board three striking warships, with the
loss of 50 lives. (Andy Etherington)

1945: Hermann Goering sends a radio message to Hitler offering to take
war leadership of the Reich, if Hitler is unable to continue while the seige
continues.

The US 5th and the British 8th Army reach the River Po in Italy. The 5th
Army crosses south of Mantua.

The XXIV Corps attack begins to gain ground on Okinawa.

Units of the US 37th Division reach the outskirts of Baguio, Luzon, PI.

The US Navy's Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Nine (VPB-109) based at
Puerto Princessa, Palawan, Philippine Islands, launches the Special Weapons
Ordnance Device (SWOD) Mk. 9 for the first time against an enemy target. The
SWOD Mk. 9, or "Bat" missile, is a glide bomb consisting of a 1,000 pound
(453.6
kg) bomb casing equipped with wings, twin tail and internal radar to guide
it. Two Bats are launched by a VPB-109 Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer against
Japanese shipping in Balikpapan harbor in Borneo but both are defective and do
not hit any targets. (Jack McKillop)

Berlin: Albert Speer bids Hitler farewell, confessing that he sabotaged
the "scorched-earth" directive, and has preserved German factories and
industry for the post-war period. (Andy Etherington)

The Red Army has broken into Berlin from the north, east and south. Massed
Russian artillery is shelling the central and western areas of the city.
Buildings are collapsing piece by piece. Sturmovik aircraft dive over the
rubble
to silence German strongpoints. Latest reports say that Russian assault troops
are smashing their way through the inner ring of SS resistance near the
Stettiner railway station, one mile from the Unter den Linden. (Andy
Etherington)

Burma: The First Division of the Indian National Army, fighting with the
Japanese, surrenders en masse to the Allies. (Andy Etherington)

Elements of the 2nd US Cavalry Group, 90th and 97th US Infantry Divisions
liberate the 1,526 prisoners who remain in the FlossenbÅ¸rg Concentration Camp
near Weiden in NE Bavaria.
A brief history of KL FlossenbÅ¸rg:
In May 1938,'Konzentrationslager'(KL)FlossenbÅ¸rg in the district of Neustadt
on the Waldnaab was established.(*) At first it was intended for "criminal
and asocial elements", but later the camp contained mostly political prisoners,
in particular foreign nationals from the areas occupied by Germany during
the war. The original camp was made up of 16 long, single level, wooden
barracks, the kitchen, the laundry and disinfection buildings, the workshops,
the
camp prison (punishment block), crematorium, and roll call area. During the
first years, prisoners were used primarily to build the camp and to labor in
the
granite quarry. After the war began, the prisoners were increasingly put to
work in the armaments industry. Eventually, the camp administered nearly a
hundred satellite camps and external labor commands, some of which were quite a
distance from the central camp at FlossenbÅ¸rg, as far away as Bohemia and
Saxony. Some 5,000 prisoners were held in the satellite camps,
approximately one third of them were women.
"According to records found in the camp, from 1939 on, 54,890 men and over
10,000 women were held prisoner in KL Flossenburg. In the 14 month period
preceding 20 April, 1945, 14,000 inmates died from starvation, exhaustion,
mistreatment and various diseases. The prisoners worked in stone quarries and a
nearby Messerschmitt Airplane Factory. On 20 April, 1945, 15,000 inmates,
including children and elderly people, were marched away. Those that could not
keep
up the march were killed by the wayside. Less than 2000 were left in the
camp when US troops arrived. Among those reported to have been in the camp were
Kurt Von Schuschnig, former Chancellor of Austria; Leopold, King of Belgium,
Prince Albrecht of Austria and Hjalmar Schacht, Reich Minister of Finances."
(Photo caption from 97th Div. "Flossenburg Collecion")
A camp memorial was built between 1946 and 1948. The foundations, as well as
a few complete prison barracks and the remains of the wall around the prison
courtyard have been preserved. Two cells have been reconstructed in their
original form on the west side of the prison barracks. Many well-known
participants of the German [July 20th] resistance movement, including Pastor
Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and Generalmajor Hans Oster were
imprisoned and executed at the FlossenbÅ¸rg Camp in April 1945. (Russ Folsom)

Tyree67 · april 24

April 24

We Remember:

1940: After four days of continuous AA duty off Andalsnes, cruiser HMS
Curacoa is badly damaged by bombs. Carrier HMS Glorious flies off
Gladiator biplanes for shore operations. Two sections of nine Gladiators each
accompanied by a two seat Skua (with navigator) leave Glorious. This
is the first time that the Gladiator pilots have flown from the deck of a
carrier
(the aircraft were flown on by FAA pilots), but they all got into the air
and by 7pm all the Gladiators are safely down on the frozen lake. (Andy
Etherington)

Hitler appoints Josef Terboven, a tough young Nazi Gauleiter (Essen),
to be Reich Commissar for Norway. (Andy Etherington)

General von Falkenhorst decides that most of Pellengahr's division can now
be diverted from Trondheim and sent to Andalsnes to complete the
destruction of Morgan's forces. The relief of Trondheim would be the
responsibility of Colonel Hermann Fischer, who was pushing up the Osterdal
valley with three infantry battalions, two artillery battalions, an
engineer battalion and some tanks and motorised units. (Andy Etherington)

The French Premier, Paul Reynaud, urges Mussolini not to enter the war.
(Andy Etherington)

Although the weather was still poor, the arrival off Trondheim of the
Home Fleet carriers promises a new phase in the Campaign - one where
some level of air support, particularly fighters, will be available to
the Allied forces in Northern Norway. Unfortunately for these
efforts, Vice-Admiral Wells elected to keep the carriers well off
shore to limit the likelihood of concentrated air attack on them,
meaning the Skuas would have a long flight before and after each
fighter patrol.
At 0300, and continuing until 2115, GloriousÃƒâ€¢ two Sea Gladiator
squadrons begin flying two-hour standing patrols over the task force.
The ship puts one section in the air overhead and keeps two more
sections ranged on deck in reserve. Throughout the day the air
department on HMS Glorious prepared the RAF Gladiators for takeoff.
Finally, at 1600 with the task force in position 65.00 N, 5.24 E,
under overcast skies with frequent snow squalls, wind from the NE at
force 3 with 25Ãƒâ€¢ seas, conditions are barely acceptable to attempt
the transfer. Thus, at 1615, HMS Ark Royal dispatched one section
three Skuas from each of the two fighter squadrons on board (800 &
801) to patrol over the fleet debarkation site at Andalsnes. At 1636,
Glorious followed with two sections of 803 Squadron (three Skuas each)
to conduct fighter patrols over the Romsdalen Valley to directly cover
the landing of the RAF Squadron.
Glorious then began preparing the first of two ranges of nine 263
Squadron Gladiators, each with one Skua of 803 Squadron to lead them
in. The first range departed at 1715 and the second at 1830. In the
event, the operation is a complete success, with all 18 Gladiators
arriving safely on the Lake airfield. While patrolling the Romsdalen
area, 803 SquadronÃƒâ€¢s Blue (Lieutenant W. P. Lucy, RN) and Red
(Lieutenant A. B. Fraser-Harris, RN) sections find themselves engaging
several German He-111s of KG 4 between 1755 and 1810, ultimately
downing two and damaging another.
By the time the Skuas returned to the fleet, however, they were
desperately short of fuel and two of ArkÃƒâ€¢s contingent, 6M:L3050
(Midshipman(A) C. Treen, RN (P) and Naval Airman A. E. T. Goble, RN
(AG)) and 7K:L2877 (Lt. C. P. Campbell-Horsfall, RN (P) and Petty
Officer Airman A. E. Suggett, RN (AG)) ran dry and were forced to make
water landings. Fortunately, all four aircrew are rescued by
screening vessels.
The dayÃƒâ€¢s aerial activity saw the two carriers with 27 Skuas for
fighter patrols and 17 Sea Gladiators and 5 Rocs for Fleet defense.
Meanwhile, near Narvik, things take a turn for the worse on HMS
Furious when a second turbine sheds some blades, leaving her with only
two good engines. After consultations, the Commander in Chief, Home
Fleet, Admiral Sir Charles M. Forbes, RN decides that she is to refuel
and then return home for repairs. (Mark Horan)

1941: President Roosevelt orders US naval units to report the
movements of German warships west of Iceland.

Churchill meets with US Admiral Ghormley to discuss joint activities
in the Atlantic, and the risk of German bases being setup in the Canaries or
Cape
Verde Islands. (Andy Etherington)

Letter to The London Times: Sir, - In case it would interest your
readers I enclose extracts from a letter which I have received from my son,
who was taken prisoner in British Somaliland last August by the Italians. The
letter is dated January 1. He says: "Christmas under these
circumstances was a rather hollow farce, but even this prison atmosphere
could not prevent us from capturing some of the good old Christmas spirit.
Strange to relate we even got some presents - the Italian Red Cross
sent us a case of cakes, biscuits and a few bottles of wine, which was a
great
luxury. The only other presents we received were from the Italian Air
Force, who not only gave us a bottle of beer apiece - only Italian
beer, it is true, but nevertheless beer - but a boxload of games, such as
chess,draughts, dominoes, etc. The local General commanding the Air Force
in this area came down in person on Christmas Eve to wish us a happy
Christmas with these presents. We all thoroughly appreciated the kindness
and consideratio shown by the Air Force, which is difficult to find
elsewhere. The local captain of the police, who is our official gaoler,
came and had a drink with us in the evening, and the other policemen who
are variously responsible for our captivity came and visited us at various
other times."
I feel this should comfort relations of our men who have recently
become prisoners in Italian hands.
Yours Truly, Eva Trevaskis.
The Rectory, Rusper, Sussex. (Andy Etherington)

As German paratroopers capture the islands of Samothrace, Limnos and
Thasos, the Allies start to evacuate their troops from the mainland. The
troops at Thermopylae are withdrawn and themselves evacuated from Megara,
Rafina and Porto Rafti near Athens. (Andy Etherington)

Bulgaria declares a state of war in its occupied areas of Greece and
Yugoslavia. (Andy Etherington)

The motion picture "Penny Serenade" is released in the U.S. Directed
by George Stevens, the film stars Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah
Bondi and Edgar Buchanan. This romantic drama (tearjerker) has a
couple (Dunne and Grant) adopting a baby after the wife loses a child.
Cary Grant was nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award but lost out
to Gary Cooper for Sergeant York. (Jack McKillop)

The U.S. Navy extends its Neutrality Patrol to 26.00W longitude.( Jack
McKillop)

1942: Exter is bomberd by the Lauftwaffe. This becomes the first of
the so-called Baedeker Raids. They are a German response to an RAF raid on
Lubeck in late March.

Jews are forbidden to use public transport in Germany. (Mikko HÃ… rmeinen)

Germany: Berlin: For as long as many of them can remember, German
women have been told that their true vocation is motherhood. No longer
is that the case, it seems. Under a new decree by Gauleiter Fritz
Sauckel, the plenipotentiary-general for employment, they are obliged
to work in industry. This means that many mothers will be working in
factories for the first time - and earning some 20% less than men for
doing the same jobs. The women are not happy about that - nor about
the extra problems of shopping and bringing up their children. (Andy
Etherington)

1943: The SS begins full operations against Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.

USA: San Francisco: A US invasion force sails to take Attu, in the
Aleutians. (Andy Etherington)

The motion picture "Larceny, Inc." is released in the U.S. Directed by
Lloyd Bacon, the film stars Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick
Crawford, Jack Carson and Anthony Quinn with Jackie Gleason in a bit
part as a soda jerk. This comedy has three ex-cons buying a luggage
store so they can tunnel into a bank next door but the store prospers
and........... (Jack McKillop)

1944: Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 49 ÃƒÅ 3:15 Flight Time.
Hailakandi, Assam to Indaw, Burma. Bombed Japanese supply dumps and
railroad. Notes: We circled over the lake where we had been the day
before. I looked at what was left of the Burmese village. There were
dozens of spots of gray. The town was just not there. I wondered what
their casualties were? My pilot and friend was on his way to the
States and I now flew Barbie III with many different pilots, some good
and some not so good; hoping I would also be rotated back to the ZI in
the near future. (Chuck Baisden)

New Guinea: Australian troops capture Madang.

Great Britain: The actor and composer Ivor Novello is sentenced
to two months imprisonment for offences concerned with petrol
rationing. (Andy Etherington)

Germany: A Mosquito VI, piloted by Wg./Cdr. G. L. "Leonard"
Cheshire VC, of No. 617 Squadron is used to carry out the first
low-level target-marking during a raid on Augsburg. (Andy Etherington)

Egypt: Alexandria: The remaining striking warships and the First
Brigade of the Greek Army surrender, ending a three-week mutiny in the
exiled Greek forces under the Allied High Command. (Andy Etherington)

USA: Washington: US military strategists agree that to defeat
Japan it will be necessary to invade Japan itself. (Andy Etherington)

1945: Konev's troops penetrate Berlin from the South.

Dessau on the Elbe falls to the British 1st Army.

The US 5th and British 8th Army cross the River Po, in Italy, in large
numbers.

La Spezia, Italy falls to the US 92nd Division.

The Japanese forces on Okinawa begin to pull back to the 2nd section
of the Shuri Line.

Berlin: Hitler orders GÃ…Â¡ring to be arrested after receiving a
telegram from him offering to take over command of the Reich. (Andy
Etherington)

The RAF joined in the final battle of Berlin today with fighter-bombers of
Bomber Command pouncing on General Wenck's Twelfth Army as it moves
east after being switched from the western front to Berlin. The pilots
report that the entire eastern half of the city is on fire. On the
ground Konev's men are crossing the heavily-defended Tetlow canal on
bridges built by assault sappers under fire. (Andy Etherington)

Guardsman Edward Colquhoun Charlton (b.1920), Irish Guards, stopped a
German attack single-handed. He died of wounds. (Victoria Cross) (Andy
Etherington)

Great Britain: The "dim-out" is abolished, except for a coastal belt five
miles deep. (Andy Etherington)

1953 UK: British statesman Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen
Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. (Tony Morano)

Tyree67 · April 25

April 25

We Remember:

Today is ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day is celebrated in
New Zealand and Australia, in honor of all veterans. This is the anniversary
of the Gallipoli Landings in WWI, in 1915. (Neil Chappell)

1940: The British 15th Brigade and Norwegian units forces give fierce
resistance in the Gudbrondsdal but fall back.

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Bombing - Kjeller, Fornebu and Aalborg
airfields. 77 Sqn. Six a/c. One returned U/S, two attacked shipping without
result, three attacked airfields. 102 Sqn. Two a/c to Aalborg. Intense
opposition. One FTR. Six Blenheims searched Hardanger and neighbouring
fjords. and bombed harbour works and a railway station in Granvins Fjord
and shipping at Ulvik; a medium sized transport was sunk. Two German flying
boats were also encountered, one was sunk and the other seriously damaged.
One Blenheim FTR. (Andy Etherington)

RAF Coastal Command: Blenheims shoot down a He111 and Hudsons make
reconnaissances of the Norwegian coast. (Andy Etherington)

An IRA landmine kills 6 people in Dublin, Ireland.

In Norway, Pellengahr sets out for Andalsnes. He meets a new British force,
the 15th Brigade, whose 3,800 men had been hurriedly shipped to the aid of
Sickleforce. The brigade's three battalions were regular army. One of them
had served in Palestine until 1939 and was experienced in small-unit hill
fighting. In fact, the 15th Brigade was trained and fit to fight anywhere -
except in the deep snow of Norway.
Maj. Gen. Sir Bernard G. T. Paget commanded and General Ruge had
assigned a few Norwegian ski detachments and some trucks for transport, the
15th Brigade moved forward through Dombas, setting up supply dumps in
railroad tunnels as it moved. The going was rough; German air attacks on
road and rail movements went on through the increasingly long hours of
daylight, taking a toll in casualties and frazzled nerves.
Pellangahr's spearhead made contact with 15 Brigade at Kvam, 35 miles
south of Dombas. The bridgade's five French 25mm Hotchkiss antitank guns
stopped the first German rush, knocking out two tanks, but the Germans
began working around the British left flank. The British held though and at
night they reorganize their lines, abandoning two anti-tank guns in the
process. (Andy Etherington)

With the RAF fighters safely ashore, Vice-Admiral Wells next decided to
carry the air war to the enemy. Again the skies were overcast, with a force 2
wind out of the NW and 35Ã• swells. By 0300 the two carriers were in position
65.12 N, 8.24 E with the first of several ranges of aircraft prepared to
strike the German targets at Trondheim:
Range 1: At 0310 HMS Ark Royal commenced launching 14 Swordfish, each armed
with 4 x 250 lb. GP and 8 x 20 lb. Cooper bombs. (The Cooper bomb is an
anti-personnel bomb. The British carried them them on most missions to cause
fraagmentation casualties amongst the AA and, on smaller vessels, the bridge
crews crews.) Taking their departure at 0330 were six of 820 Squadron's
Swordfish, led by the OC Lieutenant-Commander Guy Beauchamp Hodgkinson, RN,
heading
for the German airfield at Vaernes. Following right behind was Captain
Nigel Robert Mackie Skene, RM, leading eight Swordfish of 810 Squadron.
Unfortunately, one of this number, Swordfish 2K:L2768 crashed on takeoff.
Thankfully
the crew, Lieutenant N. R. Corbet-Milward, RN (P) and Petty Officer J.
Black, RN (AG), were rescued by the plane guard destroyer. SkeneÃ•s squadron
was
assigned to attack Jonsvatnet Lake outside of Trondheim, where many German
transport aircraft had been observed the prior evening. They had
orders to switch to Vaernes if no enemy aircraft were found. At the same
time, HMS Glorious dispatched five Skuas of 803 Squadron's Blue and Red
sections, led by Lieutenant W. P. Lucy, RN to attack shipping and seaplanes
believed
to be in Trondheim harbour. From there they were to shift to the lake and
cover the slower Swordfish during their attack
Range 2: Between 0415 and 0430, Ark Royal dispatched nine Skuas (seven from
801, two from 800) under 801 Squadron's OC, Lieutenant-Commander H. P.
Bramwell, RN, while Glorious added the remaining six Skuas of 803 Squadron's
Green
and Yellows sections. Each aircraft was armed with a single 250 lb. GP bomb
and 8 x 20 lb. Cooper bombs, and the lot had orders to proceed independently
to the various fjords surrounding Trondheim harbour and attack any enemy
shipping.
Meanwhile, at 0445 and continuing throughout the day, the Sea GladiatorÃ•s of
802 and 804 SquadronÃ•s continue their two-hour standing section patrols over
the fleet.
Lucy's Skuas, being faster than Ark RoyalÃ•s Swordfish, arrived over
Trondheimfjord at 0440 and commenced their attack on nine twin engine aircraft
and
six ships sighted in the harbour. They used the 250 lb. bombs on the ships and
the Cooper bombs on the aircraft. They then linked up with 810 Squadron at
0455 proceeding to the lake.
At 0450, 820 Squadron commenced its diving attack on Vaernes from 5,000 feet
and in the face of intense AA fire, hitting several facilities. Meanwhile,
having discovered no aircraft on the lake, 810 Squadron diverted to Vaernes
and, at 0525, they gave the airfield its second plastering in an hour. At the
same time 803 Squadron strafed the aircraft in the harbour. One Skua, 8G,
was hit by return fire and force-landed in Sorfjord in shallow water near a
village. The crew, Lieutenant A. B. Fraser-Harris, RN (P) and Leading Airman
G. S. Russell (AG), RN, ultimately made the 69 mile trip to friendly lines and
HMS Calcutta.
Flak damage accounted for three Swordfish as well. Two force-landed near
the task force: 810 SquadronÃ•s 2R:K8879 near HMS Maori, which quickly picked
up the crew, Captain W. H. N. Martin, RM (P), Lieutenant J. A. Crawford, RN
(O), and Leading Airman H. G. Edwards, RN (AG) and 820 Squadron's 4A near
another destroyer which saved Captain A. C. Newson, RM (P),
Lieutenant-Commander
G. B. Hodgkinson, RN (O), and Leading Airman R. H. McColl, RN (AG).
Unfortunately 810Ã•s 2G:L2790 was forced down a considerable distance from the
task
force. Although Ark Royal received a signal from the crew about their
predicament and an aerial search was sent off to lead a destroyer to them,
Lieutenant
Arthur Anthony Pardoe, RN (P) and Petty Officer Airman Leslie Melville Lloyd,
RN (AG) were never found.
While the first wave attackers were retiring the Skuas of the second wave
arrived. Ark RoyalÃ•s contingent again worked over the six ships in port,
claiming one hit and many near misses, while two Skuas spotted a Ju-88 and a
wrecked HE-111 on a frozen lake and shot them up for sport. 803 SquadronÃ•s
contingent piled in right after the Ark RoyalÃ•s, hitting two oilers. Green
section
ran into an impenetrable weather front while returning to the ship, forcing
all three to return to the area of Namsos. Skua 8A:L2903 (Lieutenant H. E.
R. Torin, RN (P) and Midshipman(A) T. A. McKee, RN (O)) came down on shore
near Roan, SW of Namsos. 8B:L3048 (Lieutenant G. R. Callingham, RN (P) and
Naval Airman first class D. A. Prime, RN (AG)) came down on a beach in front of
Namsos, while 8C (Sub-Lieutenant I. Easton, RN (P) and Naval Airman first
class A. J. Hayman, RN (AG)) came down at Osen. Fortunately, all three crews
quickly linked up with Allied forces, though it would be some tim
e before they got home. The rest returned safely by 0730.
Meanwhile, at 0455 and again at 0555, Ark Royal launched three-plane
sections from 800 Squadron to provide fighter patrols over the Allied landing
site
at Namsos. The first, Red section (Lieutenant G. E. D. Finch-Noyes, RN) ran
off several German bombers before returning at 0850, while the other returned
at 1015 having made no contact. By that point the weather had closed in and
further flying was suspended.
Meanwhile, at 1600, after fueling in Bygden Fjord and delaying her departure
to bring aboard a recovered German torpedo, HMS Furious got underway for the
Clyde in company with the destroyers HMS Isis, HMS Ilex, HMS Imogen. At 2230
her screen was reinforced by the destroyers HMS Delight, HMS Diana, and HMS
Imperial. (Mark Horan)

1941: Operation Mercury, the airborne attack on Crete is ordered by
Hitler in Directive 28.

RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: 18 Sqn. bombs and sinks a 7,000-ton vessel.
(Andy Etherington)

The Afrika Korps attacks the Halfaya Pass and drives the British back to
Buq Buq. Wavell admits to Churchill that the decision to let the Armoured
Division withdraw gradually from Rommel so as to maintain force until the
enemy had been stretched too far and then counterattack, was a mistake. The
3rd Armoured Brigade melted away through mechanical and administrative
breakdowns, without much fighting. 2nd Armoured Division's unpracticed HQ lost
control. This was partly due to inexperience of signal personnel. (Andy
Etherington)

Germany and Italy undertake to give financial and military aid to Rashid
Ali after his successful coup in Iraq. (Andy Etherington)

Reuters News Agency reports: Strong British and Imperial troops have
arrived in the area of the Mosul airfields and, with the consent of Iraqi
military authorities, have occupied positions of strategic importance.
Precautions have been taken against possible military surprise raids, and
both land and aerial forces have been considerably strengthened. British
troop movements are still continuing. (Andy Etherington)

The US Navy enforces a new security zone 2,000 miles off the east coast.
(Andy Etherington)

In a statement today, President Roosevelt promises all possible aid will be
sent to Greece from the United States. (Andy Etherington)

The motion picture "The Flame of New Orleans" is released in the U.S.
Directed by Rene Clair, the film stars Marlene Dietrich, Bruce Cabot, Mischa
Auer
and Andy Devine. This period comedy set in 1840 New Orleans, has Dietrich
trying to convince her fiance that she is two different women while being
chased
by another man. The film was nominated for one technical Academy Award. (Jack
McKillop)

1942: The Japanese move toward Lashio in Burma. They lose Taunggyi to
the Chinese 5th Army.

The Luftwaffe bombs Bath, England in another Baedeker Raid.

1943: The Hays Office, the motion picture censorship group, bans "zoot
suits" from the movies. (Jack McKillop)

1944: Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 50 3:05 Flight Time Hailakandi,
Assam to ÃŠHopin, Burma. Bombed Japanese supply dumps. note: Our ÃŠcrew was now
flying with different pilots. Remember Captain Ziegler, a damn fine pilot and
good officer. He retired from the AF as a full Colonel. Died several years
ago. Also had Major Radovich, (we called him 1,000 pounder Rad) we could only
carry three of these as compared to 6- 500 lb. GPs. Rad claimed we got more
bang from the big ones. ÃŠReally wasn't much around the area that the smaller
bombs could not handle, but he was a Major and one does not argue with Majors.
Also flew with Captain Sinskie and Captain Merchant. Good pilots. (Chuck
Baisden)

1945: The Soviets complete the encirclement of Berlin.

Pillam in East Prussia falls to the Russians.

German resistance in Italy begins to collapse as Mantua, Parma and Verona
fall to the Allies.

Uprisings in Milan and Genoa are aided by Partisans.

The US 1st Army meets the Soviet Army at Torgau on the River Elbe.

An Allied conference at San Francisco meets to write a constitution for the
post war organization "The United Nations". The meeting will conclude
tomorrow.

The last German troops leave Finnish territory around KilpisjÅ rvi, in far
north- western Finland, thus ending the Fenno-German Lappland War and WWII for
Finland. In this last day, two Finnish soldiers die, one is wounded and one
goes missing in skirmishes with German patrols. During the seven-month war
against Germany, Finns lose 774 KIA, 262 MIA and 2904 WIA. The German losses
are
estimated roughly equal. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

US Secretary of War Stimson and General Leslie Groves arrive at the White
House. They are here to brief President Truman on the Manhattan Project -- "S1"
as Stimson preferred to call it.
Stimson meets alone with Truman at first. A memo of several pages, was given
to Truman. Finished by Stimson that morning, it begins: "Within four months
we shall in all probability have completed the most errible weapon ever known
in human history, one bomb of which could destroy a whole city." The memo
acknowledges the shared development, by the US and Great Britain, of this "most
terrible weapon".
General Groves then joins them with a memo of 25 pages on the status of the
Manhattan Project. After President Truman reads this, Stimson and Groves
answer his questions.
Stimson asked for an authorization to establish an advisory committee to
"advise" the President regarding the implications and decisions of "this new
force". The request is approved.
This is Truman's first briefing of specific activities at Hanford, W
ashington and other locations within the US. Truman had first become aware of
the
hugh government activity during 1943 as Chairman of the "Truman Committee". At
that time, after assurances by Col. Stimson, he kept the committee away from
any serious investigations of the Manhattan Project. (From David McCullough
"Truman")

Tyree67 · April 26

April 26

We Remember:

1940: RAF Wellingtons bomb Stavanger aerodrome and fjord, while six
Whitleys search Oslo Fjord attacking oil tanks and a refinery at Vallo and
Grisebu. A ship of 5,000 tons is hit. (Andy Etherington)

Allied units in northern Norway begin retreating. (Andy Etherington)

Pellengahr again attacks 15 Brigade, enveloping both flanks of the new
British position and driving hard at its centre with artillery and air
support. Mortar shells set the woods on fire, eventually forcing the
British to retreat three miles to a position at Kjorem. (Andy Etherington)

Improving news from Norway boosts Hitler. At 3.30 in the morning during an
all-night session with his military advisers, he tells them he intends to
start 'Yellow' between May 1 and 7. 'Yellow' is the code name for the attack on
Holland and Belgium. (Andy Etherington)

Throughout the day, HMS Furious, in company with the destroyers HMS Isis,
HMS Ilex, HMS Imogen, HMS Delight, HMS Diana, and HMS Imperial, continued her
journey home, flying single plane A/S patrols and searches well ahead of her
course.
Off Trondheim Vice-Admiral Wells again had a big day planned for his carrier
air groups although in the event the weather did not cooperate. After the
prior dayÕs activity, the two carriers have had following aircraft:
HMS Ark Royal:
800 Squadron: 8 x Skuas, 2 x Rocs the former for fighter patrols, the
later for fleet defense
801 Squadron: 8 x Skuas, 3 x Rocs the former for fighter patrols, the
later for fleet defense
810 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish ASW and strike capability
820 Squadron: 8 x Swordfish ASW and strike capability
HMS Glorious:
802 Squadron: 8 x Sea Gladiators for fleet defense
803 Squadron: 7 x Skuas (1 unserviceable) fighter patrols
804 Squadron: 9 x Sea Gladiators for fleet defense
During the morning three Swordfish of 810 Squadron were sent off to search
for some Royal Navy destroyers scheduled to join the task force. Wells
intended to maintain standing patrols over the landing areas until nightfall,
but
it was not until 1000, when the carriers were in position 65.08 N, 5.28 E,
that the weather cleared sufficiently to allow flight operations to commence.
Lieutenant-Commander H. P. Bramwell, RN led off the first patrol with two
sections of 801 Squadron (six Skuas). At 1145 they engaged three He-111s of
5/KG
4 in the area of Andalsnes and Gladiator Lake (Lesjaskog), accurately
claiming one destroyed and one damaged.
HMS Glorious contributed the next patrol at 1158, when Lieutenant W. P.
Lucy, RN led 803 Squadron's Blue section to Aalesund. At 1308 they engaged
three
He-111s of I/KG 26, forcing one out of formation as they fled, but return
fire sent Skua 8Q:L2991 down on fire. While the pilot, Lieutenant A. B.
Fraser-Harris, RN survived his force-landing near Aalesund, his observer, Petty
Officer Airman Kenneth George Baldwin, RN was killed by the enemy fire. At
1350, the remaining pair intercepted three more He-111s, this time from 9/LG 1,
shooting down one, before returning home with empty guns.
Ark Royal next sent off three Skuas of 800 Squadron, led by Captain R. T.
Partridge, RM. They attacked one of two He-111s bombing HMS Flamingo, damaging
it, but Skua 6C was hit by return fire, shattering the non-armored
windscreen and wounding the pilot, Petty Officer Airman J. Hadley, RN.
However, all
three are able to return to the ship safely.
Glorious next dispatched three Skuas of 803 SquadronÕs Yellow section
(Sub-Lieutenant(A) G. W. Brokensha, RN) which returned to Aalesund. They were
later joined by two consolidated sections from Ark RoyalÕs 800 & 801 Squadrons,
led by Lieutenant G. E. D. Finch-Noyes, RN and Lieutenant W. C. A. Church, RN.
Only Finch-Noyes Red section saw action, damaging a He-115 in a running
battle. All returned safely to the carriers after nightfall.
Glorious managed to get off only a few standing patrols by 802 Squadron
during the day, although throughout the day sections were maintained in
readiness
ranged on deck. During the day the carriers managed to fly 21 offensive
fighter patrols over the Allied troops and seven A/S sorties over the fleet.
(Mark Horan)

1941: The main German advance is stopped at Thebes for the day.

Dessie in East Africa falls to British Forces with 8,000 Italian prisoners.

RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: Six a/c of 21 Sqn. on anti-shipping strike
attack targets near Schiemonikoog and Vlieland. A convoy of three 4,000-ton
ships, eight smaller ships and three flak ships. Two a/c and their crews
are lost for one large ships damaged. (Andy Etherington)

Two battalions of the German 2nd Parachute Regiment under Colonel Sturm
seize the bridge over the Corinth Canal. The bridge was undamaged when it
fell into German hands, but a stray British anti-aircraft shell set off an
explosive charge on the structure and it collapsed. This affords a welcome
respite for the retreating British troops, because no German heavy weapons
can follow them for some time. (Andy Etherington)

German columns advancing in the west of Greece have reached Missolonghi.
(Andy Etherington)

Rommel's forces crossed the Egyptian border today, with three motorised
columns of Italian troops breaking through to the thinly defended "Hellfire
Pass" at Halfaya. 300 miles to the west, the garrison at Tobruk has
withstood two more assaults by Rommel's tanks and taken over 2,000
prisoners. (Andy Etherington)

The U.S. Neutrality Patrol is extended southward to 26.00S latitude. A
carrier task group, Task Group 2 comprised of the aircraft carrier USS Wasp
(CV-7), the heavy cruiser USS Quincy (CA-39) and the destroyers USS Livermore
(DD-429) and USS Kearny (DD-432), gets underway for Bermuda as part of the
patrol.
(Jack McKillop)

1942: Hitler tells of "Great Victories" to come this summer while
addressing the Reichstag. He calls for a "Supreme Effort" to accomplish
this. They confirm his absolute power.

1943: Japanese held harbor at Attu in the Aleutian Islands is bombed by
a US naval squadron under the command of Admiral McMorris.

This was Task Grouop 16.6 consisting of:
Light cruisers USS Richmond (CL-9), USS Detroit (CL-8) and USS Santa Fe
(CL-60), and Destroyers USS Caldwell (DD-605), USS Bancroft (DD-598), USS
Coghlan
(DD-606), USS Frazier (DD-607), USS Gansevoort (DD-608) and USS Edwards
(DD-619).
The TG bombarded Adak Island from 0815 to 0840 hours local; the Japanese
did not return fire.
Kiska Island is also bombed on this day. Royal Canadian Air Force P-40K-1-CUs
of No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron based on Kodiak Island fly 24 sorties while
five USAAF B-25s abort due to the usual Aleutian Island weather. (Jack
McKillop)

Russia breaks diplomatic relations with the Exiled Polish Government over
allegations concerning the Katyn Massacre.

Longstop Hill in Tunisia falls to the British V Corps.

Operation Cartwheel is agreed to. This has Halsey's forces move through
New Georgia and Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. MacArthur will move
NW along the coast of New Guinea. Then they will both attack Rabaul, New
Britian and Kavieng, New Ireland.

1944: Admiral Moore leads Fleet Carriers VICTORIOUS, FURIOUS and Escort
Carriers SEARCHER, STRIKER, EMPEROR and PURSUER (Peter Beeston) the
battleship Anson and 6 cruisers, from the British Home Fleet, to attack the
Tirpitz. Bad weather interferes with the planned raid. A coastal convoy
is attacked instead and 3 ships are sunk.

Australian forces take Alexister, New Guinea.

Air Commando Combat Mission N0. 51 3:10 Flight Time Hailkandi, Assam to
Meza, Burma Did not bomb due to weather.
Note: The rainy season is beginning and our field here at Hailakandi is a
dirt and grass strip. Landings are getting real tricky and both our fighters
and bombers get a mud bath each time they land. With the wet, high and hot
humidity. We have our share of problems with bomb rack electrical systems and
rusting machine guns, although check firing them each flight and oiling them
down (we do not fly high enough for them to freeze up) seems to keep them
operating better. The flight crews (enlisted) do all the reaming and general
work.
(Chuck Baisden)

USA: The western state of Wyoming approves a statute allowing deployed
soldiers to vote absentee in Wyoming's elections. This will allow voting in the
November Presidential Election. (Pat Holscher)

1945: British complete capture of Bremen.

The French 1st Army reaches Lake Constance.

The US 5th Army moves towards the Brenner Pass and west towards Milan,
Italy.

The British 8th Army moves northeast towards Venice and Trieste.

Marshall Petain is arrested on the Swiss border. He will later be tried
and convicted as a war criminal.

Off Okinawa, the destroyer USS Hickox (DD-673) is damaged by Japanese
aircraft. (Jack McKillop)

Tyree67 · April 27

April 27

We Remember:

1940: The commanding officer of 46 Sqn. (Hurricane) arrives in a
Sunderland flying boat. He is to visit the Setnesmoen landing-ground
currently in use by the Gladiators of 223 Sqn. and report on its
suitability for use by Hurricanes. He recommends that a Hurricane squadron
should be sent immediately with ground staff and servicing equipment
accompanying them in flying boats. It is too late though as the damage to
Aaldalsnes has seriously reduced the capacity of the port to handle the
supplies needed for the Allied Expeditionary force.
Pellengahr reaches Paget's line at Kjorem. The British hold
stubbornly, but once more the Germans circle up over the snowy ridges,
outflanked the defenders and inflict heavy losses; one 700-man British unit
suffered nearly 400 casualties. Paget urgently asked London for another
brigade of infantry, more anti-aircraft artillery and effective air
support. Without that he radios that he can't hold any position for more
than two days, and he would be lucky to manage a delaying action back to
Andalsnes on the coast. (Andy Etherington)

Germany officially declares war on Norway. (Andy Etherington)

The German employment ministry today drafted a confidential programme to
make registration compulsory for all women aged from 15 to 40, as a result
of which many women never before employed and thus not registered with an
employment office will become available to work in industry. How women will
react to the measure is uncertain, since a woman's pay for any given job is on
average only 80% of what a man would get. And the idea of general
compulsory employment for women is opposed by some senior Nazis, such as
Goering, because it runs contrary to the Nazi doctrine of women as domestic
creatures. (Andy Etherington)

HMS Furious, escorted by HMS Isis, HMS Ilex, HMS Imogen, HMS Imperial, HMS
Delight, and HMS Diana and maintaining a constant A/S patrol with her
Swordfish, continued their course to the Clyde in the face of steadily
worsening
weather. At 1012, Imogen picked up a strong asdic contact and attacked it with
three patterns of depth charges, but obtained no visible results. At 1800,
having passed the Orkneys, Delight, Diana and Imperial were detached to Scapa
Flow.
Meanwhile, off Norway, Vice-Admiral WellsÃ• intentions were to provide
fighter patrols over the Allied bases throughout the day.
At 0820, with the carriers in position 64.40 N, 04.48 E, Lieutenant R. L.
Strange, RN led one section of 801 Squadron on the first fighter patrol over
Andalsnes. They intercepted two He-111s of 4/LG 1, forcing one down with its
port engine afire.
Meanwhile, in the morning the German snoopers located the carrier task
force. At 0935, in response to the threat, HMS Glorious began operating
standing
patrols with 802 and 804 SquadronsÃ• Sea Gladiators. At 0940, Lieutenant R.
M. SmeetonÃ•s Blue Section of 804 Squadron (three Sea Gladiators) engaged a
He-111 of 1(F)/122, severely damaging it, though the pilot managed to make a
successful crash landing back at base.
At 1030, Glorious dispatched the four operational Skuas of the battered 803
Squadron, one pair to Andalsnes, and the other to Aalesund. Yellow section
(Sub-Lieutenant(A) G. W. Brokensha, RN), engaged a He-111 of 7/KG 26 and
forced it down. All four were recovered by Ark Royal on their return as
Glorious
had a serial of nine Sea Gladiators ranged to meat the expected German air
attack which, fortunately, never developed.
At 1130 both carriers came to action stations and Glorious began Ã’double
bankingÃ“ her fighter patrols, keeping two sections aloft over the fleet and
two
more sections ranged on deck ready to take off immediately if needed.
At 1230, Ark Royal dispatched Yellow section of 800 Squadron (Captain R. T.
Partridge, RM) to Andalsnes. The three Skuas engaged and force down a He-111
of 9/KG 26 near Grotli, but return fire cut the COs petrol line and he was
forced to set 6A:L2940 down as well. After several adventures, Partridge and
his observer, Lieutenant R. S. Bostock, RN managed to get to the landing site
and found their way back to Scapa.
At 1515, Ark dispatched two further sections of five Skuas to patrol over
Andalsnes, three from 800Ã•s Red section, led by Lt. G. E. D. Finch-Noyes, RN,
and two from 801 led by Lieutenant-Commander H. P. Bramwell, RN. They arrived
just as a large scale air attack was developing on a British convoy below.
At 1600 they drove off two Ju-88s of KG 30 with minor damage and then, at
1610 found themselves attacking a formation of 15 Heinkels of KGr 100 following
up. In the wild melee that followed the Skuas expended all their ammunition,
hitting several bombers, one badly, and although none were brought down,
their attacks on the ships below were not pressed home.
At 1645, Ark sent off another full section from 801, under Lieutenant(A)
William Coutenay Antwiss Church, RN. They sighted and engaged a single He-111
of 2/KGr 100, forcing it down in the fjord below, but return fire sent
Lieutenant ChurchÃ•s 7L:L2931 into the sea in flames. He and observer Acting
Sub-Lieutenant(A) David George Willis, RN perished. The other two Skuas
returned
safely, ending the dayÃ•s aerial activity.
Soon thereafter, Glorious was detached to return to Scapa to refuel and
gather in replacement aircraft leaving Ark Royal to carry on alone with her 18
available Skua (800: 7, 801: 7, 803: 4), and 5 Roc (800: 2, 801: 3) fighters on
board. (Mark Horan)

A conference between American, Dutch and British military officers ends in
Singapore. They have reached an agreement on combined operations of defense
forces in the event of war with Japan. (Jack McKillop)
Amplifying the above:
Well, perhaps it would be fairer to say that the "ADB" Plan was developed
but both US War and Navy Departments recommended it be rejected as they felt it
was defeatist and compromised US interests by insisting on defense of trade
routes over offensive actions against Japanese. So, the agreement reached at
Singapore came to naught. RADM "Speck" Purnell, Chief of Staff to the US
Asiatic Fleet, had been the US naval representative; I am not certain whom the
US
had sent. The meeting was chaired by Air Vice-Marshal Sir Robert
Brooke-Popham. (Marc Small)

1941: General Paulus arrives in North Africa on an OKH inspection tour.
He is also to control Rommel.

Churchill warns that if Egypt is not held, blood will flow and he will
"shoot the generals." (Andy Etherington)

Operation Dunlop: 24 Hurricanes delivered from carrier, HMS Ark Royal: 23
arrive in Malta. (Andy Etherington)

Following violent attack and pursuit fighting, German armoured division
spearheads pursued the fleeing British and marched into Athens at 9:25 A.M.
today. (Andy Etherington)

The swastika flag has been hoisted over the Acropolis. (Andy Etherington)

The Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler", in a turbulent advance, has reached the
Bay of Patrai west of the Pindos mountains, forced its way across the bay
and penetrated the Peloponnese. (Andy Etherington)

As units of the Mediterranean Fleet carry out the evacuation, destroyers
HMS Diamond and HMS Wryneck rescue troops from the bombed transport
'Slamat' Shortly afterwards, both are sunk by more German bombers off Cape
Malea at the southeast tip of Greece. There are few survivors from the
three ships. (Andy Etherington)

1942: USSR: Baltic Fleet, Ladoga and Onega Flotillas: Shipping loss.
Training Ship TS "Svir" is sunk by aviation, at Leningrad. (Sergey Anisimov)

Germany: The RAF bombs Rostock for the fourth night in a row. 70% of the
city has now been destroyed and 100,000 are homeless. (Andy Etherington)

Great Britain: The first operational sortie is made by the de Havilland
Mosquito night-fighter. Armed with four 20mm guns it can reach 407 mph. (Andy
Etherington)

Czechoslovakia: Theresienstadt: 1,000 Jews are deported to their deaths
at Belzec and Sobibor. (Andy Etherington)

Manchukuo: In the worst mining disaster in history, 1,527 miners have
died at the Honkeiko colliery. (Andy Etherington)

USA: Washington: Roosevelt places the US economy on a full war footing.
(Andy Etherington)

1943: Djebel Bou Aoukaz falls to British forces.

1944: Air Commando We did not fly again until the 5th of May. No one tells
us much but think it is weather problems in Burma. Will pick up our combat
flights on that date.
Our food is a constant diet of powdered eggs, dehydrated potatoes with Spam
or Vienna sausages. No bread but crackers and chlorinated water from canvas
lister bags. We managed to appropriate a 10-in-1 ration on occasion and cook
it up at our aircraft.
From 1946 until very recently no Spam was ever permitted in my house. A
month or so ago I saw a travel TV on Hawaii and learned that Spam was the one
biggest imports from the mainland. I broke down and purchased a new version
that
is called hot and spicy. Hate to admit it but it was great as my wife and I
both like spicy foods. Still lack the nerve to try the W.W.II style. (Chuck
Baisden)

The Finnish Chief of General Staff jalkavÅ enkenraali Erik Heinrichs starts
his three-day visit in Germany. At Berchtesgaden he meets with the highest
German military leadership, and there's some tension because of the recent
Finnish peace-feelers. Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel states bluntly, that
in
Germany there's no mercy for traitors and complainers. Generaloberst Alfred
Jodl is more friendly, but demands that Finland give a proclamation ensuring
that the weapons Germany has delivered to Finland would not end in Soviet
hands. (Mikko HÅ rmeinen)

The motion picture "Going My Way" is released in the U.S. Directed by Leo
McCarey, this sentimental musical film stars Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald,
Rise Stevens and Frank McHugh. Crosby is a young Catholic priest assigned to
assist aging pastor Fitzgerald at a New York church.
The songs include "Going My Way," "Swinging on a Star," "Too-Ra-Loo-
Ra-Loo-Ral," "Silent Night" and "Ave Maria." The film was nominated for ten
Academy
Awards and won seven including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor
(Crosby) and Best Supporting Actor (Fitzgerald, who was also nominated for Best
Actor). (Jack McKillop)

1945: Himmler's peace feeler sent through the Swedish Red Cross is
refused by the Allies.

Admiral Berkey leads a squadron of 3 US cruisers and 6 destroyers in
bombarding targets on Borneo, near Tarakan. These will continue through the
30th.

The Soviets occupy Tempelhof Airfield in Berlin.

US forces liberate Genoa, Italy which ans been controlled by partisans.

Baguio on Luzon in the Philippines is taken by US forces.

Off Okinawa, kamikaze aircraft sink the U.S. freighter SS Canada Victory and
damage the destroyer USS Ralph Talbot (DD-390), destroyer escort USS England
(DE-635) and high-speed transport USS Rathburne (APD-25). Japanese
demolition boats are also active damaging a large support landing craft
[LCS(L)] and
the destroyer USS Hutchins (DD-476); another boat is sunk by an infantry
landing craft (rocket) [LCI(R)]. Japanese shore batteries damage the heavy
cruiser
USS Wichita (CA-45). (Jack McKillop)

>From the Memoirs of General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling,CO of LVI
Panzer
Korps, and last "Kampf-kommandant" of besieged Berlin: At 0500 hours, after
a violent bombardment and with very strong air support,the Russians attacked
on both sides of the Hohernzollerndamm. Defence Zone HQ was under heavy fire.
The account for the sins of past years had arrived.
The Potsdamer Platz and Leipzigerstrasse were under heavy artillery
bombardment. Brick and stone dust hung in the air like a thick fog. The car in
which I
was driving to General Barenfanger (1) could only make slow progress. Shells
were bursting on all sides. We were showered with splinters of stone. Near
the Castle (2) we halted the car and walked the last part of the way to the
Alexanderplatz.
Everywhere the streets were full of craters and broken brickwork,and streets
and squares lay desolate. To reach cover from a Russian heavy mortar
bombardment,we had to cross the Alexanderplatz to the Underground in short
rushes.
In the spacious,two-level Underground station the populace had taken refuge.
Masses of scared people were standing and lying packed together. It was a
shattering sight....
During the day we lost both Tempelhof and Gatow airports,and that put a stop
to the landing of airborne supplies. Although an emergeny landing strip had
been prepared in the Zoo,only small machines could land there. (3) By the 28th
we could no longer use this landing strip because of deep shell-holes. In my
afternoon situation report I spoke of the sufferings of the population and
the wounded,and about everything I had seen with my own eyes during the course
of the day.... (Russ Folsom

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