On 1 -15 October 1941

US NAVY

1 October 1941, Wednesday

SOVIET UNION—, British, and Soviet representatives conclude three‑day conference in Moscow on aid to the Soviet Union.

UNITED STATES—Secretary of the Navy Knox approves "popular" names for naval combat aircraft: "Avenger" (Grumman TBF),"Buccaneer" (Brewster SB2A), "Buffalo" (Brewster F2A), "Catalina" (Consolidated PBY), "Coronado" (ConsolidatedPB2Y), "Corsair" (Vought F4U), "Dauntless" (Douglas SBD), "Devastator" (Douglas TBD), "Helldiver" (CurtissSB2C), "Kingfisher" (Vought OS2U/Naval Aircraft Factory OS2N), "Mariner" (Martin PBM), "Sea Ranger" (Boeing PBB patrol bomber), "Seagull" (Curtiss SO3C), and "Vindicator" (Vought SB2U). Names supplement the Navy’s letter‑number designations, which remain unchanged and continue to be used in correspondence. As can be seen, the name "Avenger" is assigned well before either Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941) or the slaughter of torpedo planes at the Battle of Midway (4‑6 June 1942). These two events are commonly believed to have motivated the assignment of this particular nickname to the TBF/TBM series. The name "Seagull" is also applied unofficially to the Curtiss SOC series which is in use in cruiser‑based observation squadrons. Ironically, the SO3C proves a failure in service, and the SOC it was designed to replace serves on.  

            Sale of War Savings Bonds to naval personnel is inaugurated on this date; under the direction of a Coordinator for War Savings Bonds, Supply Corps officers are designated as issuing agents and assigned to 28 major shore activities. Actual sales of the bonds will amount to $61,000,000‑‑over 50 in excess of the predicted sales.

2 October 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—President Roosevelt rejects Japanese Prime Minister Konoye's request to meet and discuss Pacific and Far Eastern questions.

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Winslow (DD‑359), in screen of convoy ON 20, is detached from TU 4.1.3 to proceed to the assistance of Dutch motor vessel Tuva, torpedoed by German submarine U‑575 at 54°16'N, 26°36'W. Although Winslow finds the freighter still afloat, the destroyer depth charges a "doubtful" submarine contact in the vicinity and upon her return is unable to locate any survivors. Winslow rejoins ON 20 the following morning. The Dutch freighter's crew, however, is apparently rescued by another ship, for the Lloyd's List of Shipping Losses: World War II lists only one man missing from among the complement of 35.

            Coast Guard cutter Campbell scuttles irreparably damaged British tanker San Florentino (torpedoed by German submarine U‑575 at 52°50'N, 34°40'W and 52°42'N, 34°51'W).

5 October 1941, Sunday

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Mayo (DD‑422), escorting convoy HX 152, after seeing Swedish motor vessel Kaaparen showing a string of lights for five minutes, thus jeopardizing the convoy, hails the offender and threatens to open fire if the practice is not stopped.

7 October 1941, Tuesday

ATLANTIC—TU 4.1.1 (Captain Marion Y. Cohen) assumes escort duty for convoy ON 22 at the MOMP. Although there are no U‑boat attacks on the convoy, ships of TU 4.1.1 carry out depth charges attacks on suspicious contacts (see 8 and 9October).

8 October 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Dallas (DD‑199), in screen of convoy ON 22, depth charges a contact (later evaluated as "non‑submarine”) about 450 miles southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, 58°54'N, 29°31'W.

            Oiler Salinas (AO‑19), with convoy HX 152, is damaged by heavy seas, and is convoyed to Iceland by destroyer Broome (DD‑210).

9 October 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Upshur (DD‑144), in screen of convoy ON 22, carries out depth charge attack (like Dallas's the previous day, evaluated as "non‑submarine") about 405 miles southeast of Cape Farewell, 56°47'N, 34°05'W.

10 October 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—TG 14.3 (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), comprising carrier Yorktown (CV‑5), battleship New Mexico (BB‑40), heavy cruiser Quincy (CA‑39), light cruiser Savannah (CL‑42), and Destroyer Divisions 3 and 16, sails from Argentia, Newfoundland, for Casco Bay, Maine. Encountering heavy weather en route, Yorktown, New Mexico, Quincy, Savannah, and destroyers Rhind (DD‑404), Hammann (DD‑412), Anderson (DD‑411), Sims (DD‑409), Mayrant (DD‑402), Rowan (DD‑405), Hughes (DD‑410), and Trippe (DD‑403) will all suffer damage before the force reaches Casco Bay on 13 October.

PACIFIC—Captain Lester J. Hudson relieves Captain Richard E. Cassidy as Commander, South China Patrol, on board river gunboat Mindanao (PR‑8) at Hong Kong, B.C.C.

14 October 1941, Tuesday

ATLANTIC—German submarine U‑553 encounters convoy SC 48 and summons help (see 15‑18 October).

15 October 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—German submarine U‑553 begins onslaught against convoy SC 48, torpedoing and sinking British motorship Silvercedar at 53°36'N, 30°00'W, and Norwegian freighter Ila at 53°34'N, 30°10'W, before the U‑boat is driven off by Canadian destroyer HMCS Columbia [ex‑U.S. destroyer Haraden (DD‑183)]. U‑432, U‑502, U‑558 and U‑568, followed by U‑73, U‑77, U‑101 and U‑751 converge on the convoy, and one of these boats, U‑568, torpedoes and sinks British steamer Empire Heron at 54°55'N, 27°15'W, before being driven off by British corvette HMS Gladiolus. Consequently, TU 4.1.4 (Captain Hewlett Thebaud), comprising four U.S. destroyers, is directed to proceed to SC 48'said as the west‑bound convoy it had been escorting, ON 24, is dispersed (see 16‑18 October).

In the Month of September 1941

US NAVY

1 September 1941, Monday

ATLANTIC—Navy assumes responsibility for trans‑Atlantic convoys from point off Argentia to meridian of Iceland.

            Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet (Admiral Ernest J. King) designates a task group as a Denmark Strait Patrol to operate in waters between Iceland and Greenland.  

PACIFIC—U.S. Consul General in Shanghai, China (Clarence Gauss), Commander Yangtze Patrol (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford) and Commanding Officer Fourth Marine Regiment (Colonel Samuel L. Howard, USMC) recommend that all naval forces in China (river gunboats and Marines) be withdrawn.

4 September 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Greer (DD‑145), while tracking German submarine U‑652 175 miles southwest of Iceland, is attacked but not damaged. Soon thereafter, Greer damages the U‑boat with depth charges.

6 September 1941, Saturday

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Lansdale (DD‑426) rescues only three survivors from Panamanian freighter Sessa, sunk on 17 August; 24 crewmen (one of whom is an American) perish.

7 September 1941, Sunday

GULF OF SUEZ—Unarmed U.S. freighter Steel Seafarer (carrying cargo earmarked for the British Army in Egypt) is bombed and sunk by German plane (identified as a JU 88) off the Shadwan Islands; her 36‑man crew is rescued unharmed.

9 September 1941, Tuesday

UNITED STATES—Naval Coastal Frontier Forces are formed.

11 September 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—Executive order provides that such additional Coast Guard vessels, units, or people, should be transferred to the Navy as should be agreed upon between the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Chief of Naval Operations (see 6 August and 1 November).

ATLANTIC—President Roosevelt, in the wake of the Greer‑U 652 incident, announces order to Navy ("Shoot on Sight") to attack any vessel threatening U.S. shipping or ships under American escort. Roosevelt declares that if German or Italian vessels of war enter American‑protected waters, they "do so at their own risk."

            German submarines attack convoy SC 42; unarmed Panamanian freighter Montana is torpedoed and sunk by U‑105 at63°40'N, 35°50'W.

GULF OF SUEZ—Unarmed U.S. freighter Arkansan is damaged by antiaircraft shell fragments during heavy air raid on Port Suez; there are no reported casualties among the 38‑man crew.

US MARINE CORPS

UNITED STATES—President orders Navy to attack any vessel threatening U. S. shipping.

12 September 1941, Friday

US NAVY

ATLANTIC—Coast Guard cutter Northland, assisted by cutter North Star, seizes Norwegian trawler Buskoe in MacKenzie Bay, Greenland, thwarting Buskoe's mission of establishing and servicing German radio weather stations in that region. This is the first capture of a belligerent ship by U.S. naval forces in World War II.

14 September 1941, Sunday

UNITED STATES—Army General Headquarters (GHQ) maneuvers commence in Louisiana. Army's neglect of aviation support for its ground troops during the interwar period compels it to ask the Navy to provide planes to take part. Five Navy (VB 2, VF 41, VF 72, VS 5, and VS 42) and four Marine Corps (VMF 111, VMO 151, VMSB 131, and VMSB 132) squadrons take part in the large‑scale war games.

ATLANTIC—As TF 15 proceeds toward Iceland, destroyer Truxtun (DD‑229) reports submarine emerging from the fog 300 yards away, but low visibility and uncertainty as to the position of MacLeish (DD‑220), also in the screen of TF 15, prevents Truxtun from opening fire. After the submarine submerges, Truxtun, MacLeish and Sampson (DD‑394) make depth charge attacks with no verifiable result.

18 September 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—U.S. Navy ships escort eastbound British trans‑Atlantic convoy for first time: TU.4.1.1 (Captain Morton L. Deyo), comprising destroyers Ericsson (DD‑440), Eberle (DD‑430), Ellis (DD‑154), Dallas (DD‑199), and Upshur (DD‑144), assumes ocean escort duties for convoy HX 150, 150 miles south of Newfoundland.

19 September 1941, Friday

UNITED STATES—Secretary of State Cordell Hull sends note to German Chargé d'Affaires Hans Thomsen concerning settlement of the Robin Moor incident, citing reparations to the amount of $2,967,092.00. German Embassy acknowledges receipt of the note the same day (see 26 September 1941).

20 September 1941, Saturday

ATLANTIC—Army shore battery fires across the bow of destroyer Charles F. Hughes (DD‑428) as TU 4.1.2 (Commander Fred D. Kirtland) enters Hvalfjordur, Iceland in foggy weather conditions.

            German submarines attack convoy SC 44; among the ships lost in the onslaught are Panamanian freighter Pink Star (ex‑Danish Landby) and tanker T.J. Williams, torpedoed and sunk by U‑552 at 61°36'N, 35°07'W and 61°34'N,35°11'W, respectively.

24 September 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Eberle (DD‑430), in TU 4.1.1, screening convoy HX 150, rescues crew of British freighter Nigaristan, which has suffered an engine room fire.

25 September 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—U.S. Navy escorts (see 18 September) turn over convoy HX 150 to British escort vessels at the Mid‑Ocean Meeting Point (MOMP). All convoyed vessels reach port safely.

26 September 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—Navy orders protection of all ships engaged in commerce in U.S. defensive waters‑‑by patrolling, covering, escorting, and by reporting or destroying German and Italian naval forces encountered.

UNITED STATES—German Chargé d'Affaires Hans Thomsen replies to Secretary of State Hull's note of 19 September concerning reparations for the loss of Robin Moor: referring to the notes of 20 June and 19 September 1941, Thomsen replies that “the two communications made are not such as to lead to an appropriate reply by my government" (see 3 November).

27 September 1941, Saturday

UNITED STATES—First Maritime Commission EC‑2 type freighter (Liberty Ship), Patrick Henry, is launched at Baltimore, Maryland. This standardized type of ship is to be put into mass production in American shipyards to fulfill the need for merchant vessels in a wartime economy.

28 September 1941, Sunday

UNITED STATES—Army GHQ Maneuvers in Louisiana conclude.

30 September 1941, Tuesday

ATLANTIC—TU 4.1.5 (Commander William K. Phillips) assumes escort duty for convoy. During the rough passage to the MOMP, which concludes on 9 October, all destroyers of the unit, Mayo (DD‑422) (flagship), Broome (DD‑210), Babbitt (DD‑128), Leary (DD‑158) and Schenck (DD‑159) suffer varying degrees of storm damage.

            TU 4.1.3 (Commander Dennis L. Ryan) assumes escort duty for convoy ON 20 at the MOMP (see 2 October).

PACIFIC—Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis, incapacitated by illness, is relieved as Commandant, Sixteenth Naval District and Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I., by Captain Herbert J. Ray (see 5 November)."

 

In the Month of August 1941

US NAVY

1 August 1941, Friday

PACIFIC—Naval Air Station, Midway Island is established, Commander Cyril T. Simard in command.

ATLANTIC—Naval Operating Base, Trinidad, is established.

            Transport West Point (AP‑23) arrives at New York with American and Chinese passengers.

3 August 1941, Sunday

UNITED STATES—President Roosevelt departs Washington, D.C., by train for Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut, where he arrives later the same day, boarding presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25) that evening. Accompanied by auxiliary Calypso (AG‑35), Potomac sails for Point Judith, R.I., where the ship anchors for the night.

4 August 1941, Monday

ATLANTIC—New River (North Carolina) Maneuvers begin with the 1st Marine Division and the First Infantry Division, U.S. Army, engaging in amphibious exercises. Aircraft escort vessel Long Island (AVG‑1) participates and provides close air support in a test of that type of ship in that role.   

            Presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25), accompanied by Calypso (AG‑35), proceeds to South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where she embarks Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Martha of Norway and her party. After a day of fishing ("with some luck") the Chief Executive personally takes the helm of a Chris‑Craft motorboat and transports his guests back to the place whence they came. That night, Potomac, again accompanied by Calypso, shifts to Menemsha Bight, Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, where they join heavy cruisers Augusta (CA‑31) and Tuscaloosa (CA‑37) and five destroyers.

5 August 1941, Tuesday

ATLANTIC—President Roosevelt transfers from presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25) to heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31); soon thereafter, Augusta and Tuscaloosa (CA‑37) and five destroyers sail for Argentia, Newfoundland. The President's flag, however, remains in Potomac and she, in company with Calypso, will proceed via Cape Cod Canal to New England waters, maintaining a fiction of presidential presence (see 7 August).

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Northampton (CA‑26) and Salt Lake City (CA‑25) arrive at Brisbane, Australia, for a goodwill visit.

6 August 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—TF 16 (Rear Admiral William R. Monroe), formed around carrier Wasp (CV‑7), battleship Mississippi (BB‑41), heavy cruisers Quincy (CA‑39) and Wichita (CA‑45), and five destroyers, delivers U.S. Army troops, transported in transport American Legion (AP‑35), stores ship Mizar (AF 120), and cargo ship Almaack (AK‑27) to Reykjavik, Iceland. Carrier Wasp (CV‑7) flies off USAAF P‑40s and PT‑13s (33d Pursuit Squadron) to Iceland to provide cover for the soldiers' arrival.

PACIFIC—Executive order transfers Coast Guard's Honolulu District from the Treasury Department to the Navy in the first step toward shifting the Coast Guard to naval control (see 11 September and 1 November).

7 August 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—President Roosevelt arrives at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, in heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31); this day he fishes from the flagship's forecastle and inspects base development at Argentia (see 9 August).

8 August 1941, Friday

UNITED STATES—Japanese Ambassador Nomura suggests conference between President Roosevelt and Japanese Prime Minister Konoye.

9 August 1941, Saturday

ATLANTIC—Atlantic Charter Conference: British battleship HMS Prince of Wales, with British Prime Minister Winston L.S. Churchill embarked, arrives at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, escorted by destroyer HMS Ripley [ex‑U.S. destroyer Shubrick (DD‑268)] and Canadian destroyers HMCS Restigouche and Assiniboine. In this first meeting between the two men, Churchill calls upon President Roosevelt on board heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31); the two confer over luncheon and dinner before the prime minister returns to Prince of Wales.

10 August 1941, Sunday

ATLANTIC—Atlantic Charter Conference continues: President Roosevelt, transported in destroyer McDougal (DD‑358), attends divine services in British battleship HMS Prince of Wales as guest of Prime Minister Churchill, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. About 250 U.S. sailors and marines attend the service as well, wherein hymns "O God, Our Help in Ages Past," "Onward, Christian Soldiers," and "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" [the Navy hymn] are sung by all hands. "O God Our Help in Ages Past" was also sung during the funeral service for the late Lord Lothian, the British Ambassador to the United States, at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on 15 December 1940.– After inspecting the topsides of the British battleship, the President returns in McDougal to heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31); that night, the chief executive hosts the Prime Minister at dinner.

11 August 1941, Monday

ATLANTIC—Atlantic Charter Conference continues: President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill confer twice on-board heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31).

12 August 1941, Tuesday

ATLANTIC—Atlantic Charter Conference concludes as President Roosevelt confers with Prime Minister Churchill on board heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31). Discussions have concerned British needs for support, joint strategy, and the political character of the postwar world. The Atlantic Charter, the joint declaration that result from the meetings, outline goals in the war against Germany and emphasize the principles of freedom, self-determination, peace, and cooperation. Roosevelt privately reassures Churchill that when the United States enters the war, it would accord the defeat of Germany first priority. He also pledges that U.S. warships would escort British merchant ships between the United States and Iceland. After the last meeting, Prime Minister Churchill embarks in battleship HMS Prince of Wales and departs Placentia Bay. Soon thereafter, Augusta, accompanied by the same ships that had steamed with her to Newfoundland, sails for Blue Hill Bay, Maine, to rendezvous with presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25) and Calypso (AG‑35).

            Maneuvers at New River, North Carolina, conclude.

13 August 1941, Wednesday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Northampton (CA‑26) and Salt Lake City (CA‑25), arrive at Port Moresby, Papua, Australian Territory of New Guinea, for a goodwill visit.

14 August 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—President Roosevelt, on board heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31), returning from the Atlantic Charter conference, witnesses exhibition of flight operations by aircraft escort vessel Long Island (AVG 1) off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. Roosevelt had been instrumental in championing conversion of merchant vessels to auxiliary aircraft carriers. Long Island’s embarked scouting squadron (VS 201) is equipped with F2As and SOCs. That afternoon, Augusta reaches Blue Hill Bay, Maine, where the chief executive reembarks in presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25).

            Submarine chaser PC 457 is accidentally sunk in collision with U.S. freighter Norluna off Puerto Rico.

PACIFIC—During Japanese bombing raid on Chungking, China, Japanese planes approach the city from the east, passing directly over the U.S. Embassy chancery and the river gunboat Tutuila (PR‑4). There is no repetition of the incident of 30 July.

15 August 1941, Friday

PACIFIC—Naval Air Station, Palmyra Island, and Naval Air Facility, Johnston Island, are established.

ATLANTIC—TG 2.5, comprising carrier Yorktown (CV‑5) (VF 42, VS 41, and VT 5), light cruiser Brooklyn (CL‑40) and destroyers Roe (DD‑418), Grayson (DD‑435), and Eberle (DD‑430), departs Bermuda to begin 4,064‑mile neutrality patrol that will conclude at Bermuda on 27 August.

            President Roosevelt fishes with "indifferent luck" off Deer Island from presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25); the ship anchors in Pulpit Harbor, Penobscot Bay for the night.

US MARINE CORPS

PACIFIC—Naval Air Station, Palmyra Island, and Naval Air Facility, Johnston Island, established.

16 August 1941, Saturday

US NAVY

ATLANTIC—Presidential yacht Potomac (AG‑25) reaches Rockland, Maine, and disembarks President Roosevelt and his party. The chief executive returns by train to Washington the following morning.

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Northampton (CA‑26) and Salt Lake City (CA‑25) arrive at Rabaul, New Britain, British New Guinea, for a goodwill visit.

17 August 1941, Sunday

UNITED STATES—President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull confer with Japanese Ambassador Nomura and state conditions for resuming conversations or arranging a Pacific conference.

ATLANTIC—Panamanian (ex‑Danish) freighter Sessa is torpedoed and sunk about 300 miles southwest of Iceland, 61°26'N,30°50'W (see 6 September). The freighter's assailant is unknown.

18 August 1941, Monday

UNITED STATES—President Roosevelt announces that the United States is ferrying combat aircraft to British in Near East via Brazil and Africa.

19 August 1941, Tuesday

PACIFIC—Wake Detachment, 1st Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force (Major Lewis A. Hohn, USMC), arrives at Wake Island in cargo ship Regulus (AK‑14) to begin work on defense installations.

22 August 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Hughes (DD‑410) is damaged when accidentally rammed by British freighter Chulmleigh at Reykjavik, Iceland.

25 August 1941, Monday

IRAN—British and Soviet forces invade Iran from south and north respectively.

ATLANTIC—TG 2.6 (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), comprising Wasp (CV‑7), light cruiser Savannah (CL‑42), and destroyers Meredith (DD‑434) and Gwin (DD‑433), departs Hampton Roads, Virginia, on a neutrality patrol that will conclude at Bermuda on 10 September.

26 August 1941, Tuesday

UNITED STATES—Ship Warrants Act is invoked by Executive Order, empowering President to direct Maritime Commission to establish cargo handling, ship repair, and maintenance priorities for merchant ships.

27 August 1941, Wednesday

UNITED STATES—Japan protests shipment of U.S. goods to Vladivostok, Soviet Far East, through Japanese waters.

ATLANTIC—German submarine U‑570, attacked by an RAF Hudson (No. 269 Squadron), is captured intact by British surface force in the North Atlantic. The Royal Navy thoroughly evaluated the submarine, the first to be captured intact for intensive study; the U‑boat served as HMS Graph until it was wrecked in 1944. Among the ships that captured the submarine was Canadian destroyer HMCS Niagara, formerly USS Thatcher (DD‑162), one of the fifty destroyers transferred in the destroyers‑for‑bases agreement of August 1940.

28 August 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—Supply, Priorities, and Allocations Board is established.

IRAN—Hostilities in Iran cease.

ATLANTIC—TG 2.7, comprising aircraft escort vessel Long Island (AVG 1) (VGS 1), light cruiser Nashville (CL‑43) and destroyers Livermore (DD‑429) and Kearny (DD‑432) departs Bermuda. It will conclude the patrol‑‑the first involving the prototype "escort carrier"‑‑at Bermuda on 9 September.

 

In the Month of July 1941

US NAVY

1 July 1941, Tuesday

UNITED STATES—Naval Coastal Frontiers are established: North Atlantic, Southern, Caribbean, Panama, Pacific Southern, Pacific Northern, Hawaiian, and Philippine. Their commanders are responsible for the direction of local patrol, convoy escort, and antisubmarine warfare operations. Mobilization of all Organized, Fleet, and local defense divisions of the Naval Reserve is completed on this date.   

ATLANTIC—Task Forces are organized by Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet (Admiral Ernest J. King) to support defense of Iceland and to escort convoys between the U.S. and Iceland. TF 1 (Rear Admiral David M. LeBreton) based at Narragansett Bay and Boston; TF 2 (Rear Admiral Arthur B. Cook) based at Bermuda and Hampton Roads; TF 3(Rear Admiral Jonas H. Ingram) based at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Guantanamo; TF 4 (Rear Admiral Arthur L. Bristol) based at Narragansett Bay; TF 5 (Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards), TF 6 and TF 8 (Rear Admiral EdwardD. McWhorter), TF 7 (Rear Admiral Ferdinand L. Reichmuth) based at Bermuda; TF 9 (Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs); and TF 10 (Major General Holland M. Smith, USMC).

            Patrol Wing 7 (the redesignated Patrol Wing, Support Force) (Captain Harold M. Mullinix) (TG 4.2) is established at Argentia, Newfoundland, for operations in North Atlantic.

            Northeast Greenland Patrol (Commander Edward H. "Iceberg" Smith, USCG) (TG 6.5) is organized at Boston, Massachusetts, by the Coast Guard; it consists of cutters Northland and North Star, and auxiliary Bear (AG‑29).

2 July 1941, Wednesday

PACIFIC—Japan recalls its merchant ships from Atlantic Ocean and calls up more than one million army conscripts.

4 July 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—PBYs (VP 72) begin operations based in seaplane tender (destroyer) Goldsborough (AVD‑5), out of Reykjavik, Iceland, covering the movement of marines to Iceland.

5 July 1941, Saturday

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Charles F. Hughes (DD‑428) rescues 14 survivors (including four American Red Cross nurses) from the sunken Norwegian steamship Vigrid, which had been torpedoed while straggling from convoy HX 133 by German submarine U‑371 on 24 June, at 58°58'N, 36°35'W.

            U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom John Winant reports on 11 July 1941 that of the 27 American Red Cross nurses were travelling to serve in England; 9 had arrived safely, 10 had been rescued (4 in serious condition) and 8 were missing.

6 July 1941, Sunday

ATLANTIC—Transport Munargo (AP‑20) and U.S. Army transport Chateau Thierry arrive at Tunugdliarfik Fjord, Greenland, to disembark men and unload equipment to establish an air base there.

7 July 1941, Monday

ATLANTIC—President announces to Congress that an executive agreement has been made with Iceland for U.S. troops to occupy that country; the Navy is ordered to take all steps necessary to maintain communications between the United States and Iceland. TF 19 (Rear Admiral David M. LeBreton) lands 1st Marine Brigade (Provisional) (Brigadier General John Marston, USMC) at Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital. The replacement of the British garrison frees those troops for combat duty elsewhere.

UNITED STATES—1st Marine Aircraft Wing (Lieutenant Colonel Louis E. Woods, USMC) is established at Quantico, Virginia.

US MARINE CORPS

ATLANTIC—1st Marine Brigade lands in Iceland.

UNITED STATES—1st Marine Aircraft Wing forms at Quantico, Va.

8 July 1941, Tuesday

US NAVY

UNITED STATES—Patrol Wing 8 (Commander John D. Price) is established at Norfolk, Virginia.

10 July 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—2d Marine Aircraft Wing (Brigadier General Ross E. Rowell, USMC) is established at San Diego, California.

US MARINE CORPS

UNITED STATES—2d Marine Aircraft Wing forms at San Diego, Calif

12 July 1941, Saturday

US NAVY

UNITED STATES—Office of the Coordinator of Research and Development is established to unify the Navy's research activities, and to evaluate the best ways of advising tactical officers of air, ground, and sea forces of the "latest applications of science to the problems of modern warfare."

            Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, is established.

15 July 1941, Tuesday

ATLANTIC—Naval Air Station and Naval Operating Base, Argentia, Newfoundland, are established.

16 July 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—Transport West Point (AP‑23) (former U.S. passenger liner America) sails from New York City with German and Italian consular officials and their families, bound for Lisbon, Portugal. British government has granted West Point safe‑conduct for the voyage (see 24 and 26 July, and 1 August).

            TG 2.7, comprising light cruisers Philadelphia (CL‑41) and Savannah (CL‑42) and destroyers Meredith (DD‑434) and Gwin (DD‑433), departs Bermuda for 3,415‑mile neutrality patrol that will conclude there on 25 July.

17 July 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—VP 72 concludes its operations out of Reykjavik, Iceland, from seaplane tender (destroyer) Goldsborough (AVD‑5).

18 July 1941, Friday

JAPAN—Prince Konoye Fumimaro forms new Japanese cabinet; Vice Admiral Toyoda Teijiro succeeds Matsuoka Yosuke as Minister for Foreign Affairs.

24 July 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—Transport West Point (AP‑23) disembarks German and Italian consular officials and their families at Lisbon, Portugal (see 26 July and 1 August).

PACIFIC—Japanese forces occupy northern French Indochina (see 26 July).

26 July 1941, Saturday

PACIFIC—In response to the Japanese occupation of northern French Indochina on 24 July, President Roosevelt freezes Japanese and Chinese assets in United States and cuts off the export of oil to Japan.

            U.S. Army Forces, Far East (Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur) is organized; Philippine military forces are called into service with U.S. Army.

ATLANTIC—Transport West Point (AP‑23), at Lisbon, Portugal, embarks American and Chinese consular staffs from Germany, German‑occupied countries, and Italy, and sails for the United States. In addition, West Point embarks the 21 American ambulance drivers who had been passengers on board the Egyptian steamship Zamzam when she had been sunk by German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis on 17 April (see 1 August). [The other three members of the detachment were accounted for as follows: (1) Commander of the BAAC field unit, Francis J. 'Frank' Vicovari of New York remained aboard the Atlantis due to the extent of his shrapnel injuries during the attack of April 17th (There had been9 passengers wounded in the attack ‑‑ 3, who were serious, including Frank remained aboard Atlantis, the other passengers and crew transferred aboard the NDL freighter Dresden. The other wounded American died of his injuries several days later and was buried‑at‑sea. A British doctor was also wounded and transferred to the Dutch flagged prize ship Silva Plana in September, arriving Bordeaux in November). Frank would not return to the United States until released in the 2nd of 3 such operations under the RAMP (Returned Allied Military Personnel) scheme. Frank was exchanged for (2) German archeologists, detained in the United States. This 2nd exchange took place in Lisbon, Portugal during March of 1944 (1st Goteburg, Sweden October 42; 3rd Seville, Spain, May 44). Frank had been held in the Marlag und Milag du Nord internment camp near Bremen, Germany since his arrival and transfer from the French port of St. Nazaire on Christmas Eve, 1941. (2) The other 2 members of the BAAC team, David Stewart and Tom Greenough had escaped from a German transport train while the guards watching over the 21 drivers slept. After several days they walked safely across the border into unoccupied France. After meeting with Free‑French officials, they were granted passage to Lisbon and arrived in the USA just 5‑days ahead of the other 21 members of the BAAC.]

28 July 1941, Monday

JAPAN—Japan freezes U.S. assets.

29 July 1941, Tuesday

PACIFIC—Japanese occupy southern French Indochina with French permission.

30 July 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—TG 2.5, comprising carrier Yorktown (CV‑5) (VF 42, VS 41, and VT 5), light cruiser Brooklyn (CL‑40), and destroyers Roe (DD‑418), Grayson (DD‑435), and Eberle (DD‑430), departs Hampton Roads, Virginia, for 3,998‑mile neutrality patrol that will conclude at Bermuda on 10 August.

PACIFIC—During Japanese bombing raid on Chungking, China, one bomb falls eight yards astern of river gunboat Tutuila (PR‑4). While the bomb causes no damage to the ship, Tutuila's motor boats are badly damaged and the motor sampan cut loose from its moorings. There are no casualties (see 31 July).

31 July 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—Economic Defense Board is created.

PACIFIC—Japanese government assures U.S. government that the previous day's bombing of river gunboat Tutuila (PR‑4) at Chungking, China, is "an accident 'pure and simple'."

 

In the Month of June 1941

June 1941

US MARINE CORPS

UNITED STATES—First Joint Training Force (JTF-1), consisting of the 1st Marine Division, the 1st Marine Aircraft Group, and the U. S. Army 1st Infantry Division organized at Quantico, Virginia, under the command of Major General Holland M. Smith.

1 June 1941, Sunday

US NAVY

ATLANTIC—South Greenland Patrol (Commander Harold G. Belford, USCG), is established to operate from Cape Brewster to Cape Farewell to Upernivik; Coast Guard cutters Modoc, Comanche and Raritan, together with unclassified auxiliary vessel Bowdoin (IX‑50) make up the force.

MEDITERRANEAN—Crete capitulates to the Germans.

2 June 1941, Monday

UNITED STATES—Rear Admiral Edward J. Marquart becomes Commandant New York Navy Yard.

ATLANTIC—Aircraft escort vessel Long Island (AVG 1) is commissioned at Newport News, Virginia. Converted from Maritime Commission C‑3 type freighter Mormacmail in just 67 working days, Long Island is the first of a type of what come to be classified as "escort carriers" that will prove invaluable in the prosecution of the war in both Atlantic and Pacific theaters. 

3 June 1941, Tuesday

ATLANTIC—Cape Town, South Africa‑bound British ship rescues 35 survivors of U.S. freighter Robin Moor, sunk by German submarine U‑69 on 21 May (see 8 June).

6 June 1941, Friday

UNITED STATES—Bill is signed authorizing the government to requisition foreign merchant ships lying idle in U.S. ports.

CANAL ZONE—Naval Air Station, Balboa, Canal Zone, is established.

8 June 1941, Sunday

ATLANTIC—Brazilian freighter Osorio rescues 11 survivors of U.S. freighter Robin Moor, sunk by German submarine U‑69 on 21May.

9 June 1941, Monday

UNITED STATES—Intelligence sources having indicated that Germany has no plans for invading Spain and Portugal, the President suspends planning for the joint occupation of the Azores.

12 June 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—All members of the U.S. Naval Reserve, not in a deferred status, are called to active duty.

14 June 1941, Saturday

ATLANTIC—Central North Atlantic patrols commence with battleship/destroyer task groups; Texas (BB‑35) and accompanying destroyers inaugurate these patrols (see 20 June).

15 June 1941, Sunday

PACIFIC—Japanese land attack planes bombing Chungking, China, drop their ordnance near river gunboat Tutuila (PR‑4), U.S. military attaché's office and U.S. Navy canteen. Japanese Admiral Shimada Shigetaro expresses regret over the incident and assures U.S. representatives that the bombing is "wholly unintentional." U.S. military and naval attachés privately concur, however, that the bombing "was either criminal carelessness or [with] deliberate intent to bomb Embassy and gunboat..."

            Naval Air Station, Kodiak, Alaska, is established.

ATLANTIC—TF 3 (Rear Admiral Jonas H. Ingram) begins patrol operations from Brazilian ports of Recife and Bahia; the force consists of four Omaha (CL‑4) ‑class light cruisers and five destroyers.

16 June 1941, Monday

UNITED STATES—State Department requests that the German government "remove from United States territory all German nationals in anywise connected with the German Library of Information in New York, the German Railway and Tourist Agencies, and the Trans‑Ocean News Service," and that those agencies and their affiliates "shall be promptly closed." In addition, all German consular officers, agents, clerks and employees thereof of German nationality shall be removed from American territory and that the consular establishments be promptly closed. The German government is given until 10 July to comply. This move is made because of suspicion that the agencies aforementioned "have been engaged in activities...of an improper and unwarranted character" and "wholly outside the scope of their legitimate duties."

            Rear Admiral Joseph K. Taussig is detached as Commandant Fifth Naval District and Commander Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia.

18 June 1941, Wednesday

PACIFIC— Fleet Exercise No. 1, which commenced off coast of California on 14 May, concludes.

19 June 1941, Thursday

EUROPE—Germany and Italy request closure of U.S. consulates.

20 June 1941, Friday

UNITED STATES—President Roosevelt addresses message to Congress concerning the German sinking of U.S. freighter Robin Moor on21 May. The President notes that Robin Moor's destruction is a "warning to the United States may use the high seas of the world only with Nazi consent. Were we to yield on this we would inevitably submit to world‑domination at the hands of the present leaders of the German Reich. We are not yielding," the President declares, "and we do not propose to yield."

            Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles sends this message to the German Embassy for the information of the German government (see 24 June, 19 and 26 September and 3 November).

ATLANTIC—Battleship Texas (BB‑35) and destroyers Mayrant (DD‑402), Rhind (DD‑404), and Trippe (DD‑403) are sighted by German submarine U‑203 within what the German navy regards as the war, or "blockade" zone in the Atlantic. The American force, however, unaware of the U‑boat, outdistances the submarine and frustrates its attempted attack. In the wake of this incident, the commander in chief of the German navy (Grossadmiral Erich Raeder) orders that American warships can only be attacked if they cross the western boundary of the blockade area by 20 or more miles, or within the 20‑mile strip along the western edge of the blockade zone.

            TG 2.6, comprising carrier Wasp (CV‑7) (VF 71, VS 72, and VMB 1), heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA‑37), and destroyers Anderson (DD‑411) and Rowan (DD‑405), departs Hampton Roads for a 4,320‑mile neutrality patrol that will conclude at Bermuda on 4 July.

            Submarines O 6 (SS‑167), O 9 (SS‑170) and O 10 (SS‑171) conduct deep submergence trials out of Portsmouth, N.H. while O 6 and O 10 conduct their test dives without incident, O 9, the last boat to make the test dive, accidentally sinks (cause unknown) off the Isles of Shoals, southeast of Portsmouth, 42°59'48"N,

21 June 1941, Saturday

UNITED STATES—State Department requests closing of all Italian consulates in U.S. territory; the "continued functioning of Italian consular establishments in territory of the United States," Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles informs Italian Ambassador Don Ascanio dei principi Colonna, "would serve no desirable purpose." The Italian government is informed that such withdrawals and closures be effected before 15 July.

22 June 1941, Sunday

EUROPE—Germany, Italy, and Rumania declare war on the Soviet Union and invade along a front from the Arctic to the Black Sea.

ATLANTIC—After all hopes of finding any survivors from the sunken submarine O 9 (SS‑170) are lost and continued diving operations in the vicinity deemed hazardous, Secretary of the Navy Knox personally conducts memorial ceremony, held on board submarine Triton (SS‑201), over last known location of the lost boat.

24 June 1941, Tuesday

UNITED STATES—German Chargé d'Affaires Hans Thomsen replies to Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles's 20 June note concerning the Robin Moor sinking. "I have the honor to advise you," Thomsen writes, "that I do not find myself in a position to pass on...the text of a message to Congress from the President of the United States for the information of my government" (see 19 and 26 September and 3 November).

25 June 1941, Wednesday

EUROPE—Finland declares war on the Soviet Union.

ATLANTIC—TG 2.7, comprising light cruisers Philadelphia (CL‑41) and Savannah (CL‑42) and destroyers Lang (DD‑399) and Wilson (DD‑408), depart Hampton Roads for a 4,762‑mile neutrality patrol that will conclude on 8 July at Bermuda.

27 June 1941, Friday

EUROPE—Hungary declares war on the Soviet Union.

ATLANTIC—During German submarine attacks on convoy HX 133, Dutch steamship Maasdam is torpedoed and sunk by U‑564 approximately 300 miles south of Iceland; among the survivors are marines under Major Walter L. Jordan, USMC, the advance detail for the Marine Detachment at the American Embassy in London.

28 June 1941, Saturday

EUROPE—Albania declares war on the Soviet Union.

UNITED STATES—President issues executive order creating the Office of Scientific Research and Development (Dr. Vannevar Bush, chairman) which will replace the National Defense Research Committee. The new office will coordinate and supplement scientific research relating to the defense effort.

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Madison (DD‑425) is damaged when she runs aground on the southeast tip of Moratties Shoal, Placentia Harbor, Argentia, Newfoundland.

29 June 1941, Sunday

ATLANTIC—TG 2.8, comprising carrier Yorktown (CV‑5) (VF 42, VS 42, VMO 1, and half of VMS 1), heavy cruisers Quincy (CA‑39) and Vincennes (CA‑44), and destroyers Wainwright (DD‑419), Hammann (DD‑412), Mustin (DD‑413), and Stack (DD‑406), departs Hampton Roads for neutrality patrol. Yorktown, accompanied by Wainwright and Stack, depart the patrol on 10 July, returning to Hampton Roads on the 12th; Quincy, Vincennes, Hammann, and Mustin continue the cruise, putting in to Bermuda on 15 July.

30 June 1941, Monday

WORLDWIDE‑‑Naval vessels on hand (all types)‑‑1,899. Personnel: Navy‑‑284,427; Marine Corps‑‑54,359; Coast Guard‑‑19,235. Total personnel‑‑358,021.

EUROPE—Vichy France severs relations with the Soviet Union.

 

In the Month of May 1941

US NAVY

1 May 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—Office of Public Relations is established as an independent office directly under the Secretary of the Navy, "to serve as liaison between the people and their Navy and, within the limits of military security, to keep the public informed of the activities of the Navy."

2 May 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—Admiral Ernest J. King breaks his flag as Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet in heavy cruiser Augusta (CA‑31), at Newport, Rhode Island.

            Fifth "Lake"‑class Coast Guard cutter, authorized for transfer on 10 April under Lend‑Lease, is turned over to the Royal Navy. Chelan becomes HMS Lulworth (see 12, 20 and 30 May).

6 May 1941, Tuesday

CANAL ZONE—Carrier Yorktown (CV‑5) suffers slight damage (a long dent and scraped paint) when the ship's prominent "knuckle” rubs one side of Miraflores Lock, during night transit of the Panama Canal.

9 May 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—TG 1, comprising carrier Ranger (CV‑4) (VF 41, VS 41 and VS 42), heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA‑44), and destroyers Sampson (DD‑394) and Eberle (DD‑430), sets out from Bermuda to begin a 4,675‑mile neutrality patrol that will conclude at Bermuda on 23 May.

            German submarine U‑110 is damaged in action with British destroyers HMS Bulldog and HMS Broadway [ex‑ U.S. destroyer Hunt (DD‑191)] and corvette HMS Aubretia. Boarding party from Bulldog recovers a veritable cryptanalysis windfall, including an intact enigma machine and important current codes. Broadway is damaged in the encounter by collision with U‑110, which sinks the following day. U‑110's commanding officer, Kapitanleutnant Fritz‑Julius Lemp (who had been in command of U‑30 when she had sunk British liner Athenia on 3 September 1939) is not among the survivors rescued.

12 May 1941, Monday

UNITED STATES—Ambassador Nomura Kichasaburo presents Secretary of State Cordell Hull with Japanese proposal for establishment of "just peace in the Pacific."

            Three "Lake"‑class Coast Guard cutters, authorized for transfer on 10 April under Lend‑Lease, are turned over to the Royal Navy. Champlain becomes HMS Sennen; Sebago becomes HMS Walney, and Cayuga becomes HMS Totland (see 20 and 30 May).

US MARINE CORPS

UNITED STATES—Ambassador Nomura of Japan presents Secretary of State Cordell Hull with Japanese proposal for a “just peace in the Pacific. ”

14 May 1941, Wednesday

US NAVY

PACIFIC— Fleet Exercise No. 1 commences off coast of California. The maneuvers involve a landing on San Clemente Island and a bombardment exercise in which heavy cruisers and destroyers bombard shore targets (see 18 June).

15 May 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—During paratroop training at Camp Kearney, California, Second Lieutenant Walter A. Osipoff, USMC, becomes fouled in static cable and ripcord lines and dangles 100 feet to the rear of the R2D from which he was to jump. Efforts to bring him into the plane are unsuccessful. Seeing his plight, Lieutenant W.W. Lowery and Naval Aviation Pilot J. R. McCants take off in an SOC and effect a daring mid‑air rescue.

18 May 1941, Sunday

UNITED STATES—Auxiliary Bear (AG‑29) reaches Boston, Massachusetts, winding up her work in support of the U.S. Antarctic Service’s 1939‑1941 expedition.

20 May 1941, Tuesday

MEDITERRANEAN—German airborne troops invade Crete.

ATLANTIC—TG 2 (Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen), comprising carrier Wasp (CV‑7) (VF 71, VS 72, VMB 2), heavy cruiser

            Quincy (CA‑39) and destroyers Livermore (DD‑429) and Kearny (DD‑432), departs Bermuda to conduct a 4,170‑mileneutrality patrol that will conclude at Bermuda on 3 June.

            Ninth "Lake"‑class Coast Guard cutter, authorized for transfer on 10 April under Lend‑Lease, is turned over to the Royal Navy: Shoshone becomes HMS Languard (see 30 May).

21 May 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—Unarmed U.S. freighter Robin Moor, en route to South Africa and Mozambique, is stopped and sunk by German submarine U‑69 (torpedo and gunfire) about 700 miles off the west coast of Africa, 06°10'N, 25°40'W. Robin Moor‑‑her nationality prominently reflected in the U.S. flags painted on her sides‑‑is the first American merchantman sunk by a U‑boat in World War II. There are no casualties among her 38‑man crew and eight passengers, and U‑69's commanding officer, Kapitanleutnant Jost Metzler, provides the Americans with rations (see 3, 8 and 20 June).

24 May 1941, Saturday

UNITED STATES—Construction or acquisition of 550,000 tons of auxiliary shipping for the Navy is authorized.

ATLANTIC—Battle of Denmark Strait: British battle cruiser HMS Hood is sunk, and battleship HMS Prince of Wales damaged, by German battleship Bismarck (which is damaged by a shell from the latter capital ship) and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. British Home Fleet elements at sea then pursue the German battleship; carrier HMS Victorious launches FAA Swordfish that in the prevailing poor visibility conditions almost attack Coast Guard cutter Modoc, which is in the vicinity searching for survivors of ships sunk in convoy HX German submarine torpedoes had wreaked great destruction against the ships in HX 126: U‑94 had sunk British steamers Harpagus and Norman Monarch and Norwegian motor tanker John P. Pederson; U‑556 had damaged British motor tanker San Felix and sunk British motor tanker British Security and motorship Darlington Court; U‑111 had sunk British steamer Cockaponset; U‑98had sunk British steamer Rothermere; U‑109 had sunk British steamer Marconi; and U‑93 had sunk Dutch motor tanker Elusa. Bismarck, although damaged by an aerial torpedo, eludes her shadowers and disappears, while detaching her consort, Prinz Eugen, to conduct independent operations. One of the pursuing ships is British battleship HMS Rodney, en route to the United States for a refit at Boston when she is rerouted to participate in the hunt for Bismarck; on board is U.S. Naval Observer Lieutenant Commander Joseph H. Wellings, who witnesses the ensuing battle from that unique vantage point.

            PBYs (VP 52) operating from seaplane tender Albemarle (AV‑5) at Argentia, Newfoundland, and braving foul weather and dangerous flying conditions, search for Bismarck in the western Atlantic.

25 May 1941, Sunday

UNITED STATES—State Department informs German Chargé d'Affaires Hans Thomsen that an investigation into the incident concerning the tearing down of the Reich flag over the German consulate in San Francisco, California, on 18 January has yielded the fact that the individual involved was a U.S. Navy enlisted man who was tried and found guilty by court‑martial for the offense, and was serving "an appropriate sentence."

26 May 1941, Monday

ATLANTIC—Naval observer Ensign Leonard B. Smith, USNR, flying an RAF Catalina (Coastal Command No. 209 Squadron) sights Bismarck. British fleet units alter course accordingly and converge on the lone German capital ship. The same day, another naval observer, Lieutenant James E. Johnson, flying another RAF Catalina (Coastal Command No. 240Squadron) maintains contact with the German battleship as well.

27 May 1941, Tuesday

ATLANTIC—President issues proclamation that an unlimited national emergency confronts the United States, requiring that American military, naval, air, and civilian defenses be readied to repel any and all acts or threats of aggression directed toward any part of the Western Hemisphere. In a separate address to the nation to acquaint it with "cold, hard fact" that the conflict in Europe has developed into a "world war for world‑domination." The President announces that the Atlantic Neutrality Patrol has been extended and that the Atlantic Fleet, greatly increased during the past year, is being constantly built up. He also mentions the dangers posed by "Nazi battleships of great striking‑power" that pose “an actual military danger to the Americas," undoubtedly a reference to the recent operations of German battleship Bismarck. The President states the national policy as two‑fold: active resistance "to every attempt by Hitler to extend his Nazi domination to the Western Hemisphere, or to threaten it," and "his every attempt to gain control of the seas, and giving "every possible assistance to Britain and to all who, with Britain, are resisting Hitlerism or its equivalent with force of arms." The delivery of supplies to Britain, Roosevelt tells the nation, "is imperative. This can be done; it must be done; it will be done."

            German battleship Bismarck is overwhelmed and sunk by British naval force, 300 nautical miles west of Ushant, France, 48°10'N, 16°12'W.

US MARINE CORPS

UNITED STATES—President declares a state of unlimited emergency; he announces that the Atlantic Neutrality Patrol is extended and that Pacific Fleet units have been transferred to the Atlantic.

29 May 1941, Thursday

US NAVY

ATLANTIC—In the event that Germany invades Spain and Portugal, the Joint Board (the oldest inter‑service agency, established in1903 to facilitate Army‑Navy planning) approves a plan for an occupation of the Portuguese Azores Islands; the joint Marine Corps‑Army effort is to be headed by Major General Holland M. Smith, USMC (Commanding General 1stMarine Division).

            TG 3, comprising carrier Ranger (CV‑4) (VB 5, VF 5, and VS 5), heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA‑37), and destroyers McDougal (DD‑358) and Eberle (DD‑430), departs Bermuda for a 4,355‑mile neutrality patrol that will conclude there on 8 June.

30 May 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—Last "Lake"‑class Coast Guard cutter, authorized for transfer on 10 April under Lend‑Lease, is transferred to the Royal Navy: Itasca becomes HMS Gorleston.

31 May 1941, Saturday

ATLANTIC—TG 1 (Rear Admiral Arthur B. Cook), comprising Yorktown (CV‑5) (VF 41, VS 41, VS 42, and VT 5), heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA‑44), and destroyers Sampson (DD‑394) and Gwin (DD‑433), departs Bermuda for 4,550‑mileneutrality patrol that will conclude at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 12 June.