Friday, 19 December 1941

US NAVY

PACIFIC—TF 8 (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.), formed around carrier Enterprise (CV‑6), heavy cruisers, and destroyers, sails from Pearl Harbor proceeding to waters west of Johnston Island and south of Midway to cover TF 11 and TF 14operations (see 14‑16 December). Destroyer Craven (DD‑382), in TF 8, is damaged by heavy sea soon after departure, however, and returns to Pearl for repairs.

           Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Wake Island, targeting installations on Wake and Peale islets.  

           Unarmed U.S. freighter Prusa is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I 172 about 150 miles south of Hawaii,16°45'N, 156°00'W (see 27 December).

UNITED STATES—U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1942 is graduated early, due to the National Emergency.

 

US ARMY AIR FORCE

ZONE of the INTERIOR—First AF is assigned to Eastern Theater of Operations (later Eastern Defense Command).

 

US ARMY

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—On Luzon, Japanese Legaspi detachment reaches Sipoco and is reported to be pushing toward Daet. On Mindanao, 2 enemy TF's from Palau, totaling about 5,000 men, arrive off Davao during night 19-20. Enemy planes discover and attack Del Monte airfield.

MALAYA—Enemy is active against right flank of Krian R line; on Grik road, frustrates efforts of Indian 3 Corps to recover lost ground. RAF fighters based at lpoh are forced to withdraw to Kuala Lumpu River Indian 9th Division continues withdrawal southward in E Malaya and abandons Kuala Krai railhead.

BURMA—Japanese overrun Bokpyin, village some 100 miles N of Victoria Pt. Controversy, known as the Tulsa Incident, arises as a U.S. officer asks Government of Burma to impound lend-lease material at Rangoon (a valuable part of which is loaded on the SS Tulsa in the harbor), pending a decision on its use. At the suggestion of the senior Chinese representative in Burma, a committee is subsequently formed to determine the division of stocks.

LIBYA—13 Corps, British Eighth Army, continues to follow withdrawing enemy, Indian 4th Division advancing along coast to Derna and 7th Armored Division across desert.

GERMANY—Hitler takes personal command of German Army, dismissing Field Marshal von Brauchitsch.

 

US MARINE CORPS

 

 

Thursday, 18 December 1941

US NAVY

UNITED STATES—President Roosevelt signs Executive Order No. 8984 that provides that Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet will take supreme command of the operating forces of all Navy fleets and coastal frontier commands, and be directly responsible to the President.

           In another executive order, President Roosevelt directs a commission, to be headed by retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Owen J. Roberts (Roberts Commission), to "ascertain and report the facts relating to the attack made by the Japanese armed forces upon the Territory of Hawaii on December 7, 1941...to provide bases for sound decisions whether any derelictions of duty or errors of judgment on the part of United States Army or Navy personnel contributed to such successes as were achieved by the enemy on the occasion mentioned; and if so, what these derelictions or errors were, and who were responsible therefor." In addition to Justice Roberts, the commission’s membership includes retired Admiral William H. Standley and Rear Admiral Joseph W. Reeves; Major General Frank R. McCoy, USA (Retired) and Brigadier General Joseph T. McNarney, USA (see 23 January 1942).

           Congress passes First War Powers Act. 

CARIBBEAN—State Department announces that Rear Admiral Frederick J. Horne and Admiral Georges Robert, French High Commissioner at Martinique, French West Indies, have reached an agreement neutralizing French Caribbean possessions.

PACIFIC—French motor mail vessel Marechal Joffre, manned by a scratch crew that includes aviation personnel from Patrol Wing Ten, departs Manila Bay for Borneo. Marechal Joffre will be formally acquired by the Navy on 20 April 1942, and will serve as the transport Rochambeau (AP‑63).

           Dutch Dornier 24 bombs and sinks Japanese destroyer Shinonome off Miri, Borneo.

 

US ARMY AIR FORCE

HAWAIIAN AF— General Tinker succeeds General Martinas Commanding General.

 

US ARMY

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—Japanese Legaspi detachment reaches Naga (Luzon).

MALAYA—Indian 11th Division completes withdrawal behind Krian R and is held in reserve in Taiping area. Forces defending Grik road are further reinf. After visiting forward areas, General Percival draws up plans for withdrawal behind Perak R; decides to amalgamate certain units, among them Indian 6th and 15th Brigades (to be designated Indian 6/15 Brigade) and to incorporate Indian 12th Brigade Group in Indian 11th Division.

CHINA—Japanese invade Hong Kong Island, crossing straits from mainland.

 

US MARINE CORPS

 

 

Wednesday, 17 December 1941

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Vice Admiral William S. Pye, Commander, Battle Force, becomes acting Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, pending the arrival of Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who is ordered on this date to relieve Admiral Husband E. Kimmel. 

           Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I 7 reconnoiters Pearl Harbor.

           Unarmed U.S. freighter Manini is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I 175 180 miles south of Hawaii,17°45'N, 157°03'E (see 27 and 28 December).

           USMC SB2Us (VMSB 231), led by a plane‑guarding PBY (VP 21) (no ships are available to plane‑guard the flight), arrive at Midway, completing the longest over‑water massed flight (1,137 miles) by single‑engine aircraft. The squadron had been embarked in Lexington (CV‑2) when the outbreak of war cancelled the projected ferry mission on 7 December 1941.

           Japanese submarine RO 66 is sunk in collision with sistership RO 62 off Wake Island.

           Philippine steamship Corregidor, crowded with about 1,200 passengers fleeing Manila for Mindanao, hits an Army mine off Corregidor and sinks with heavy loss of life. Motor torpedo boats PT‑32, PT‑34, and PT‑35 pick up 282survivors (196 by PT‑32 alone) distributing them between Corregidor and the requisitioned French steamship Si‑Kiang; seven of those rescued die of injuries suffered in the tragedy. Dr. Jurgen Rohwer, in his volume on Axis submarine successes, attributes the sinking to a mine laid by Japanese submarine I 124 on 8 December 1941 off Corregidor, P.I. Interestingly, Corregidor was formerly the British seaplane carrier HMS Engadine, which took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

           Navy takes over French motor mail vessel Marechal Joffre, Manila Bay (see 18 December).

           Japanese land at Miri, Sarawak, Borneo.

 

US ARMY AIR FORCE

UK—General Chaney, Chief SPOBS, writes to Adjutant General, USA on ‘Construction Program of US Forces in UK, ‘which indicates shortage of accommodations for proposed US forces in Scotland, N Ireland, and England.

FEAF—B‑17’s, evacuating Luzon, begin arriving at Batchelor Field. Captain Floyd J Pell arrives in Australia to begin arrangements for use of Australian facilities by FEAF.

 

US ARMY

U.S.—In command shake up, Adm Husband E. Kimmel is replaced by Adm Chester W. Nimitz as CinC, Pacific Fleet; Lieutenant General Walter C. Short, Commanding General Hawaiian Department, is replaced by Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons; Major General Frederick L. Martin, Commanding General Air Force, Hawaiian Department, is replaced by Brigadier General Clarence L. Tinker.

MIDWAY—Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 231 completes record flight from Hawaii to Midway, bolstering U.S. positions there.

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—Japanese Legaspi force, advancing NW on Luzon along Route 1 toward Naga, makes its first contact with Filipino forces near Ragay. B–17's begin withdrawal from Mindanao to Australia.

MALAYA—Hard fighting continues on Grik road. Weak defense detachment is reinf but falls back under pressure of superior enemy forces. Indian 12th Brigade Group is ordered to Kuala KangsaRiver General Percival gives Indian 3 Corps permission to withdraw to Perak R line if necessary. Perak Flotilla is formed to prevent enemy from landing on W coast between Krian and Bernam Rivers.

AUSTRALIA—Plan is drawn up for using Australia as an Allied supply base under command of Major General George H. Brett.

BORNEO—Dutch planes begin 3-day series of strikes against Japanese shipping off British North Borneo.

USSR—German Army Group South opens offensive against Sevastopol defenses, in the Crimea, and is stubbornly opposed.

 

US MARINE CORPS

 

 

Tuesday, 16 December 1941

US NAVY

ATLANTIC—Carrier Yorktown (CV‑5) departs Norfolk, Virginia, the first carrier reinforcement dispatched to the Pacific.

           Convoy ON 45, escorted by TU 4.1.2 (Commander Fred D. Kirtland), is dispersed because of bad weather.

           Destroyer Benson (DD‑421) sights white distress rocket at 0241 and alters course in hopes of locating survivors of merchantman Nidardal; the intense darkness in which the search is being conducted renders it barely possible to see the surface of the ocean from the bridge, and the loudness of the wind makes it unlikely that a hail can be heard no more than 50 to 100 feet from the ship. Benson searches throughout the daylight hours but finds no trace of the missing ship or her crew. She abandons the search at nightfall and proceeds to Reykjavik.

PACIFIC—TF 14 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher), comprising carrier Saratoga (CV‑3) (with VMF 221 embarked), four destroyers; heavy cruisers Astoria (CA‑34) (flagship), Minneapolis (CA‑36), and San Francisco (CA‑38); and five destroyers, sails from Pearl Harbor. These ships will overtake the force formed around Tangier (AV‑8) and Neches (AO‑5) and their consorts that is to relieve Wake Island.

           Japanese Pearl Harbor Attack Force (Vice Admiral Nagumo Chuichi) detaches carriers Hiryu and Soryu, heavy cruisers Tone and Chikuma, and two destroyers (Rear Admiral Abe Hiroaki) to reinforce second planned attack on Wake Island.

           Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Wake.

           Submarine Tambor (SS‑198), damaged by operational casualty, retires from the waters off Wake.

           Submarine Swordfish (SS‑193), attacking Japanese convoy south of Hainan Island, torpedoes army transport Atsutasan Maru, 18°06'N, 109°44'E.

           Gunboat Erie (PG‑50) boards Panamanian motor vessel Santa Margarita and orders her to proceed to Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Later the same day, the gunboat tows disabled motor boat Orion into Puntarenas.

 

US ARMY AIR FORCE

FEAF—1st Lt Boyd D Wagner (17th Pursuit Squadron) leads dive-bombing raid on airfield at Vigan and shoots down his fifth aircraft, thereby becoming the first AAF ‘Ace’ in World War II.

 

US ARMY

HAWAII—All elements of U.S. TF 14, bearing supplies, reinforcements, and aircraft for relief of Wake, rendezvous SW of Oahu and sail for Wake.

MALAYA—Indian 11th Division completes withdrawal behind Muda R in Wellesley Province and defeats enemy efforts to secure foothold on S bank. Indian 3 Corps decides to withdraw Indian 11th Division behind Krian River however, since it is greatly weakened by sustained fighting without benefit of tank and adequate air support. Fighting develops on Grik road N of Grik, night 16–17, as small detachment guarding the road encounters main body of Japanese Patani force thrusting toward Kuala Kangsar in effort to isolate Indian 11th Division on W coast. On E coast, Kelantan troops begin withdrawal by rail as movement of supplies and equipment is completed. Penang Island fortress is evacuated as planned during night 16–17.

BORNEO—Japanese invade British Borneo, landing on N coast at Miri (Sarawak) and at Seria (Brunei).

CHINA—U.S. War Department gives Brigadier General John Magruder, head of American Military Mission to China (AMMISCA), permission to divert Chinese lend-lease to the British, provided Chinese agree.

LIBYA—Axis forces begin withdrawal from Gazala line toward next delaying position, Agedabia. Indian 4th Division of 13 Corps, British Eighth Army, which has been particularly hard pressed by enemy, pauses briefly to reorganize before joining other elements of corps in pursuit.

USSR—Continuing firm pressure against enemy in Moscow area, Soviet forces seize Kalinin, NW of Klin.

 

US MARINE CORPS

 

 

Monday, 15 December 1941

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Seaplane tender Tangier (AV‑8), oiler Neches (AO‑5), and four destroyers sail for Wake Island. 

           Japanese reconnaissance flying boats (Yokohama Kokutai) bomb Wake Island.

           Johnston Island is shelled by Japanese submarine I 22; although one shell lands astern and another passes over her forecastle, transport William Ward Burrows (AP‑6) is apparently unseen by the enemy submariners. She is not hit and escapes.

           Kahului, Maui, T.H., is shelled by Japanese submarine from the Second Submarine Squadron. Possible candidates for having carried out the shelling are I 2, I 3, I 4, I 5, I 6, or I 7.

           Philippine steamship Vizcaya is scuttled in Manila Bay.

ATLANTIC—TU 4.1.2 (Commander Fred D. Kirtland) clears Reykjavik for the MOMP, escorting convoy ON 45; destroyer Sturtevant (DD‑240), escorting cargo vessel Alchiba (AK‑23), depth‑charges sound contact at 62°05'N, 24°15'W (see16 December).

           Destroyer Benson (DD‑421), detached from TU 4.1.3 and convoy HX 163 at the MOMP, searches for survivors of steamer Nidardal, reported sinking at 56°07'N, 21°00'W (later amended to 56°07'N, 23°00'W) (see 16 December).

           Convoy ON 43, struggling through rough seas and high winds, being escorted by TU 4.1.6 (Commander John S. Roberts), is dispersed.

UNITED STATES—Admiral Ernest J. King is offered the post of Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet. He accepts (see 18, 20 and 30 December).

 

US ARMY AIR FORCE

 

US ARMY

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—General Brereton receives permission to withdraw the few remaining B–17's to Darwin (Australia). Air defense of the Philippines is left to a few fighters.

MALAYA—Indian 3 Corps remains under strong pressure on W coast. During night 15–16, Indian 11th Division begins withdrawal from Gurun positions to Muda River Garrison of Penang Island fortress, opposite Butterworth, prepares to withdraw as RAF abandons Butterworth airdrome.

USSR—On central front N of Moscow, Red Army takes Klin, on rail line to Leningrad.

 

US MARINE CORPS

 

 

Sunday, 14 December 1941

US NAVY

PACIFIC—TF 11 (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.), comprising carrier Lexington (CV‑2), three heavy cruisers, nine destroyers, and oiler Neosho (AO‑23), sails for the Marshall Islands, to create a diversion to cover TF 14's attempt to relieve Wake Island (see 15 and 16 December).

           Japanese reconnaissance flying boats (Yokohama Kokutai) bomb Wake Island. Later in the day, naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) raid Wake, bombing airfield installations.

           Destroyer Craven (DD‑382) collides with heavy cruiser Northampton (CA‑26) during underway refueling and is damaged. The ships are part of TF 8 operating north of Oahu.

           Norwegian motorship Hoegh Merchant is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I 4 about 20 miles east‑northeast of Oahu. All hands (35‑man crew, 5 passengers) survive the loss of the ship.

           Coast Guard lighthouse tender Kukui reaches Niihau with squad of soldiers from Company M, 299th Infantry (Lieutenant Jack Mizuha); the detachment learns of the denouement of the events that have transpired on Niihau since7 December.

           Japanese gunboat Zuiko Maru, wrecked and driven aground by storm, sinks off Matsuwa Jima, Kuriles, 48°05'N,153°43'E.

           Gunboat Erie (PG‑50), off coast of Costa Rica, boards and takes charge of motor vessel Sea Boy, and takes off a Japanese POW; she orders Sea Boy into Balboa the following day.

           USAAF B‑17s bomb and damage Japanese cargo ship Ikushima Maru and oiler Hayatomo off Legaspi, Luzon.

           With its operating area rendered untenable by Japanese control of the air, Patrol Wing 10 (Captain Frank D. Wagner) departs Philippines for Netherlands East Indies. Seaplane tender (destroyer) Childs (AVD‑1), with Captain Wagner embarked, sails from Manila.

           Submarine Seawolf (SS‑197) torpedoes Japanese seaplane carrier San'yo Maru off Aparri, P.I.; one torpedo hits the ship but does not explode.

           Submarine Swordfish (SS‑193), attacking Japanese shipping off Hainan Island, torpedoes army transport Kashii Maru,18°08'N, 109°22'E.

           Navy boarding party (Lieutenant Edward N. Little) transported in commandeered yacht Gem, seizes French motor mail vessel Marechal Joffre, Manila Bay. Majority of the crewmen, pro‑Vichy or unwilling to serve under the U.S. flag, are transported ashore (see 17‑18 December).

 

US ARMY AIR FORCE

FEAF—B‑17’s are sent against beachhead at Legaspi. 1st Lt Hewitt T Wheless is later awarded DSC for bringing his bullet-riddled aircraft back from the mission to an emergency crash-landing at Cagayan.

 

US ARMY

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—Japanese Vigan and Aparri detachments are placed under the same command and ordered, after the Aparri force joins the Vigan at Vigan, to march south to Lingayen Gulf. Adm Thomas C. Hart withdraws the few remaining patrol bombers of Patrol Wing 10 and 3 tenders from the Philippines, leaving very little of the Asiatic Fleet to support operations. Major General Lewis H. Brereton has already withdrawn the heavy bombers of FEAF from Luzon to Del Monte airfield, Mindanao.

MALAYA—On west coast, Indian 11th Division completes withdrawal to Gurun; Japanese, in close pursuit, penetrate the new positions, night 14–15. Krohcol force is dissolved and its components, which are put under command of Indian 12th Brigade, move to Baling area, about 9 miles west of Kroh. Indian 3 Corps sends small detachments to guard Grik road, which is now uncovered. On east coast, Kelantan force continues fighting withdrawal. Since airdromes on Singapore are becoming congested, preparations are being made to base air units in Netherlands East Indies.

 

US MARINE CORPS

 

 

Saturday, 13 December 1941

US NAVY

UNITED STATES—Congress, to meet the demand for trained enlisted men, authorizes the retention of enlisted men in the Navy upon the expiration of their enlistments when not voluntarily extended.  

PACIFIC—Japanese planes attack Subic Bay area and airfields in Philippines. During bombing of shipping in Manila Bay by naval land attack planes (Takao Kokutai), unarmed U.S. tankship Manatawny is damaged (see 11 January 1942).

           Occupation of Niihau by Japanese Naval Aviation Pilot First Class Nishikaichi Shigenori ends: a party of Hawaiians sets out for Kauai to inform the outside world of events on Niihau; in the meantime, Nishikaichi burns his plane (it will not be until July 1942 that the U.S. Navy will be able to obtain an intact ZERO to study) and the house in which he believes his confiscated papers are hidden. Later, in confrontation with a local Hawaiian, Benny Kanahele, a scuffle to grab the pilot's pistol ensues. Although Kanahele is shot three times, he picks up Nishikaichi bodily and dashes the pilot's head into a stone wall, killing him; Harada Yoshio, the Japanese resident of Niihau who had allied himself with the pilot, commits suicide. Kanahele survives his injuries. On the basis of the report by the islanders who have arrived on Kauai after a 15‑hour trip, meanwhile, Commander, Kauai Military District (Colonel Edward W. FitzGerald, USA) dispatches expedition (squad of soldiers from Company M, 299th Infantry) in Coast Guard lighthouse tender Kukui to proceed from Kauai to Niihau (see 14 December).

           Japanese cargo ship Nikkoku Maru is stranded and wrecked off Hainan Island, 18°00'N, 110°00'E.

           Gunboat Erie (PG‑50) receives 50 Japanese POWs at Puntarenas, Costa Rica, from Costa Rican government, and sends prize crew to take charge of motor vessel Albert.

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Woolsey (DD‑437), sweeping astern of convoy ON 43, depth charges sound contact at 57°55'N, 32°05'W.

 

US ARMY AIR FORCE

FEAF—1st Lt Boyd D Wagner (17 Pursuit Squadron) shoots down 4 airplanes near Aparri while on reconnaissance mission over N Luzon.

 

US ARMY

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—Enemy aircraft again attack Luzon, virtually completing destruction of U.S. Army and Navy planes in the Philippines. Del Carmen, Clark, and Nichols Fields are hit, as well as Baguio, Tarlac, Cabanatuan, and Batangas.

MALAYA—Krohcol force concentrates in positions 2–3 miles W of Kroh. Indian 11th Division begins withdrawing from Kedah R toward Gurun, a more favorable defense position in S Kedah some 30 miles S of Jitra. Fighter support is increased as squadron from Singapore joins the few fighters based at Ipoh. Reports of Japanese convoy moving SSW from Saigon result in period of sharply increased British air reconnaissance from Malaya.

BORNEO—Small Miri detachment (Indian co and engineers), having destroyed oil fields and installations in E Sarawak and W Brunei to deny them to enemy, sails for Kuching, capital of Sarawak, where rest of the Indian battalion, with local and administrative attachments, is disposed to defend airdrome. Dutch planes based on Singkawang assist RAF units on Malaya in searching for Japanese shipping heading southward from Indochina.

CHINA—British withdraw from Kowloon under pressure as Japanese continue drive on Hong Kong.

BURMA—Victoria Pt, at S tip of Tenasserim, is evacuated by British.

LIBYA—13 Corps, British Eighth Army, opens attack on Rommel's Gazala line and meets firm resistance. Both sides suffer heavy losses.

 

US MARINE CORPS