Monday, 25 May 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Light cruiser St. Louis (CL-49) arrives at Midway and disembarks Companies "C" and "D," 2d Marine Raider Battalion, and 37-millimeter gun battery of the 3d Defense Battalion.

            Submarine Drum (SS-228) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kitakata Maru east of Nojimazaki, Honshu, Japan,34°00'N, 139°00'E.

            Submarine Permit (SS-178) damages Japanese transport Senko Maru, 00°20'N, 118°20'N.

            Submarine Pompano (SS-181) sinks Japanese merchant tanker Tokyo Maru about 70 miles west of Naha, Okinawa,27°03'N, 127°03'E.

            Submarine Tautog (SS-199) sinks Japanese transport Shoka Maru about 385 miles southwest of Ulithi, Carolines,04°07'N, 143°32'N.

            Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-9 reconnoiters Kiska and Amchitka, Aleutians.

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Blakely (DD-150) is torpedoed by German submarine U-156 off Martinique, French West Indies.

            German planes attack convoy PQ 16 as it proceeds toward Murmansk, USSR, from Reykjavik, Iceland; U.S. freighter Carlton is damaged by near-misses. She leaves the convoy under tow of British trawler HMS Northern Spray. There are no casualties among Carlton's 35 man merchant crew or 11 man Armed Guard (see 26 May 1942)

GULF OF MEXICO—Unarmed U.S. freighter Alcoa Carrier is torpedoed and shelled by German submarine U-103 at 18°45'N, 79°50'W, and abandoned. U-103 surfaces and her commanding officer asks the Americans for the name and speed of their ship, and if all of her men have been accounted for, before he provides them with cigarettes. Alcoa Carrier sinks early the following morning, after which time the U-boat departs (see 30 May).

            Mexican freighter Oaxaca rescues three survivors from U.S. tanker Halo, sunk by German submarine U-506 on 20 May; two of the men recovered, however, will die of their wounds (see 27 May).

CARIBBEAN—Destroyer Goff (DD-247) scuttles the hulk of U.S. tanker Samuel Q. Brown, torpedoed by German submarine U-103 on 24 May.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

TENTH AF—4 B‑17’s bomb Rangoon during 24/25 May.

FIFTH AF—B‑17’s bomb Vunakanau airfield at Rabaul.

US ARMY

INDIA—Chinese 38th Division (-113th Regiment, which acts as rear guard) reaches India.

US MARINE CORPS

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Sunday, 24 May 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Submarine Pompano (SS-181) sinks Japanese merchant fishing boat Kotoku Maru, 25°16'N, 122°41'E.

            Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-21 reconnoiters Auckland, New Zealand.

CARIBBEAN—Unarmed U.S. freighter Beatrice is torpedoed by German submarine U-558 at 17°23'N, 76°58'W, but the torpedo fails to explode. U-558 then surfaces to shell the ship, which is abandoned under fire with the loss of one man. A PBY arrives on the scene and drives off the submarine. Of the 30 survivors, 21 men in a lifeboat reach Pigeon Island, Jamaica; British patrol craft Hauken rescues the remaining nine sailors. Beatrice sinks the next morning.

            Steamship Marpesia rescues two survivors on a raft from U.S. freighter Norlantic, sunk by German submarine U-69 on 13 May.

            Destroyer Goff (DD-247) rescues 48 survivors of U.S. tanker Samuel Q. Brown, torpedoed by German submarine U-103 the previous day (see 25 May).

ATLANTIC—Fifteen survivors from U.S. freighter Quaker City, sunk by German submarine U-156 on 18 May reach safety at Barbados (see 26 May).

US ARMY AIR FORCE

EIGHTH AF—VIII AF Bomber Command, under overall logistical control of SOS, is given primary responsibility for all supply and maintenance peculiar to AAF, thus leaving much logistical autonomy to AAFIB.

FIFTH AF—B‑26’s attack Lae airfield but heavy AA and at least 15 intercepting Zeros prevent accurate bombing. Several of the Medium Bombers are shot down or badly damaged and forced to crash-land.

ZONE OF THE INTERIOR—Deployment of air units from eastern US is begun as a result of threat of a naval attack on the W coast. 12th Bomb Group begins movement from Louisianna to California.

US ARMY

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US MARINE CORPS

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Saturday, 23 May 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—District patrol craft YP-277 is destroyed by fire after striking U.S. mine at French Frigate Shoals, T.H.

            Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-29 reconnoiters Sydney, Australia.

CARIBBEAN—U.S. tanker Samuel Q. Brown is torpedoed by German submarine U-103 south of the Yucatan Channel, 20°15'N,84°38'W; two merchant seamen die at the outset. After the U-boat surfaces and the Germans ask the identity of the ship and her cargo, the survivors (37 merchant seamen and the 16 man Armed Guard) gather in two lifeboats. Later that day, a Navy plane from the Panama Canal Zone rescues five wounded men (see 24 May and 25 May).

US ARMY AIR FORCE

EIGHTH AF—Agreement is reached on plan to transfer repair depot at Burtonwood to US forces following period of joint control to begin at end of Jun. Burtonwood later becomes greatest AAF depot overseas.

FIFTH AF—B‑25’s strike airfield and buildings at Lae.

US ARMY

ALEUTIANS—U.S. fighter aircraft land safely on runway at new air base on Umnak Island.

USSR—Continuing counteroffensive in Kharkov area, Germans isolate Red Army forces in Izyum salient W of the Donets.

US MARINE CORPS

Training Center, Fleet Marine Force, organized at Marine Barracks, New River, North Carolina, to include all Fleet Marine Force units and replacements except the 1st Marine Division.

Friday, 22 May 1942

US NAVY

GENERAL—Mexico declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.

CARIBBEAN—Unarmed U.S. tanker William Boyce Thompson, en route to Curacao, N.W.I., is torpedoed by German submarine U-558 at 16°26'N, 76°55'W; there are no casualties among the 37 merchant seamen and two Navy signalmen, and the ship reaches port under her own power.

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Blakely (DD-150), at 15°01'N, 57°38'W, rescues seven survivors from U.S. freighter Quaker City, sunk by German submarine U-156 on 18 May (see 24 and 26 May).

            Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), boards Swedish passenger liner Drottningholm at Lisbon, Portugal, for passage home to the United States. He will arrive in New York on 1 June.

PACIFIC—Submarine Tautog (SS-199) damages Japanese transport Sanko Maru southwest of Truk, 07°00'N, 151°00'E.

            Submarine Silversides (SS-236) damages Japanese transport Asahisan Maru at the mouth of Kii Suido, between Ichiyozaki and Shionomizaki, Honshu, 33°30'N, 135°27'N. Counterattack by Japanese aircraft (Maizuru Kokutai) is unsuccessful.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

FIFTH AF—B‑17’s pound airfield and shipping at Rabaul while B‑26’s hit airfield at Lae and attack shipping in the harbor.

US ARMY

NEW GUINEA—21st Troop Carrier Sq begins movement of some 300 troops and supplies to Wau to reinforce weak Australian group, called Kanga Force, defending Bulolo Valley. Kanga Force consists largely of troops of New Guinea Volunteer Reserve (NGVR).

US MARINE CORPS

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Thursday, 21 May 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—North Pacific Force (Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald) is established for operations in Alaskan sector.

            Destroyer Helm (DD-388) rescues four survivors from Neosho (AO-23) that had abandoned ship when the oiler was damaged on 7 May.

ATLANTIC—Unarmed U.S. freighter Plow City, en route from Trinidad to New York, mistakes lifeboat from British motorship Peisander (sunk by German submarine U-653 on 17 May) and flees, her smoke attracting the attention of U-588, which torpedoes and sinks Plow City at 39°08'N, 69°57'W. One crewman dies in the attack. U-588 briefly interrogates one crewman on board the submarine before returning him to his shipmates with rum and cigarettes; U-boat sailors also help the Americans right a capsized lifeboat (see 26 May).

US ARMY AIR FORCE

FIFTH AF—B‑26’s bomb aircraft at Lae.

US ARMY

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA—Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald, as commander of TF 8, becomes responsible for all forces, U.S. Army and naval and Canadian, in Alaska area.

GERMANY—Adolf Hitler decides to postpone projected conquest of Malta, Operation HERCULES, until Egypt is conquered.

US MARINE CORPS

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Wednesday, 20 May 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Air Force, South Pacific Area (Rear Admiral John S. McCain) is established.

ATLANTIC—District patrol craft YP-387 is sunk in collision off the coast of Delaware, 39°00'N, 75°00'W.

GULF OF MEXICO—Unarmed U.S. tanker Halo is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-506 approximately 50 miles from Southwest Pass, 28°42'N, 90°08'W; 23 survivors from a merchant complement of 42 men initially survive the loss of the ship (see 25 and 27 May).

            U.S. freighter George Calvert is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-752 near the Yucatan Channel, 22°55'N,84°26'W; three Armed Guard sailors perish in the attack. Fifty-one merchant seamen and seven surviving Armed Guard sailors abandon ship in three boats, in which they reach the coast of Cuba, going ashore the following day.

            U.S. tanker Esso Dover rescues 20 merchant sailors and two Armed Guard sailors, survivors of freighter Ogontz, sunk by German submarine U-103 the previous day.

CARIBBEAN—U.S. freighter Clare is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-103 approximately 40 miles off the south coast of Cuba, 21°35'N, 84°43'W; the 33 man merchant complement and 7 man Armed Guard (all hands) survive, abandoning ship in one boat and three rafts. Later the same day, U-103 torpedoes and sinks U.S. freighter Elizabeth at 21°36'N,84°48'W; six of the 35 merchant seamen perish, the remainder, along with the 7 man Armed Guard, reach the coast of Cuba the following day.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

FIFTH AF—B‑17’s attack airfield and AA guns at Koepang on Timor Island.

SOUTH PACIFIC—Adm McCain, aboard USS Tangier at Noumea, assumes command as COMAIRSOPAC.

US ARMY

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA—Reinforcements are being hastily moved to Midway and the Aleutians, since Japanese plan to invade the islands is by now known. In the Aleutians, work on secret air base on Umnak Island is being rushed to a conclusion. Rear Admiral John S. McCain takes command as COMAIRSOPAC.

BURMA—With conquest of Burma completed, Japanese (56th, 18th, 33d, and 55th Divisions of 15th Army) take up defensive positions.

INDIA—Burma I Corps is placed under command of 4 Corps as rear guard reaches India.

US MARINE CORPS

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Tuesday, 19 May 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Light cruiser Nashville (CL-43) sails independently from Midway, bound for the western Aleutians.

            Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-21 reconnoiters Suva Bay, Fiji.

INDIAN OCEAN—Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-30 reconnoiters Zanzibar and Dar-es-Salaam.

ATLANTIC—Armed Guard officer on board U.S. freighter Ironclad, at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, reports disturbance among the crew, occasioned by some of the merchant seamen breaking into a quantity of liquor consigned to Admiral William H. Standley, USN (Ret.), U.S. Ambassador to the USSR. Battleship Washington (BB-56) provides a guard of marines from her detachment to bring the rowdies under control. Consequently, Ironclad is withdrawn from the list of ships to comprise convoy PQ 16 so that the incident can be investigated.

            Last three survivors of unarmed U.S. fishing trawler Foam, attacked by German submarine U-432 on 17 May, are rescued by Canadian corvette HMCS Halifax.

            U.S. steamship Howard rescues the 29 survivors of U.S. tanker Mercury Sun, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-125 the previous day; she transfers one to a Coast Guard boat at the Tampa Sea Buoy for medical attention and transports the rest to Mobile, Alabama.

GULF OF MEXICO—U.S. freighter Heredia is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-506 two miles south of the Ship Shoal Buoy, Louisiana, 27°32'N, 91°00'W; the rapidity with which the ship sinks gives the crew no time to launch boats. Of the 62men on board (48 man merchant crew, six man Armed Guard and eight passengers), 36 (30 crewmen, five Armed Guard sailors and one passenger) perish. Shrimp boats Papa Joe, Conquest, J. Edwin Treakle, and Shellwater rescue 23 survivors; a seaplane rescues three.

            U.S. freighter Ogontz is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-103 at 23°30'N, 86°37'W; 17 merchant seamen and two Armed Guard sailors perish in the attack, the majority of the casualties caused when a mast falls across a lifeboat when the ship is being abandoned. U-103 questions two survivors on board before returning them to their shipmates. The Germans provide medical assistance and cigarettes before leaving (see 20 May).

CARIBBEAN—Unarmed U.S. freighter Isabela is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by German submarine U-751 35 miles south of Navassa Island light, 17°50'N, 75°00'W; three crewmen perish. Survivors subsequently reach Cape Briton, Haiti, in two lifeboats.

            Latvian freighter Kegums rescues the 22 survivors of U.S. freighter William J. Salman, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-125 the previous day. She transports them to Key West, Florida.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

EIGHTH AF—Det, HQ Eighth AF, under General Eaker, assumes control of all AAF organizations in British Isles.

US ARMY

MIDDLE EAST—General Auchinleck issues instructions to Commander, British Tenth Army, on action to be taken should the enemy attack through Iran from the Caucasus.

UNITED KINGDOM—U.S. Eighth Air Force detachment HQ under General Eaker takes control of all U.S. Army air organizations in British Isles.

US MARINE CORPS

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