Tuesday, 17 March 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—United States, in agreement with Allied governments, assumes responsibility for the strategic defense of entire Pacific Ocean.

            Submarine Grayback (SS-208) sinks Japanese collier Ishikari Maru six miles west of Port Lloyd, Chichi Jima, Bonins, 27°05'N, 142°05'E.

            Submarine Permit (SS-178) is damaged by depth charges off Tayabas Bay, P.I. but remains on patrol.

EUROPE—Naval Forces Europe (Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley) is established.

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Stack (DD-406) and carrier Wasp (CV-7) are damaged in collision while en route from Casco Bay, Maine, to Norfolk, Virginia.

            Unarmed U.S. tanker Acme is torpedoed and damaged by German submarine U-124 west of Diamond Shoals,35°06'N, 75°23'W; U-124 later torpedoes and sinks Greek freighter Kassandra Louloudi four miles west-southwest of Diamond Shoals gas buoy. Coast Guard cutter Dione (WPC-107) rescues 20 survivors from Acme and 35 from Kassandra Louloudi; steamship Beta rescues 22 men from the latter ship.

            Honduran freighter Ceiba is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-124 at 35°43'N, 73°49'W (see 19 March).

US ARMY AIR FORCE

SW PACIFIC AREA—General MacArthur arrives in Australia to assume command of United Nations forces in SWPA. He actually assumed command on 18 April.

US ARMY

AUSTRALIA—From Mindanao, General MacArthur flies to Darwin, where he will be in supreme command of forces in SW Pacific. Formal delineation of this area has not yet been agreed upon. Col Beebe, deputy chief of staff of USAFFE, is promoted to brigadier general.

CHINA BURMA INDIA—Air Vice Marshal Stevenson, commanding Allied air forces, moves HQ from Burma to Calcutta, India.

US MARINE CORPS

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Monday, 16 March 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Submarine Permit (SS-178) delivers ammunition to Corregidor, and evacuates second increment of naval radio and communications intelligence people.

ATLANTIC—Unarmed U.S. tanker Australia is torpedoed, shelled, and irreparably damaged by German submarine U-332 off Diamond Shoals, 35°07'N, 75°22'W. U.S. freighter William J. Salman rescues survivors and transfers them to yacht Ruby (PY-21) for further transportation to Southport, North Carolina. Australia, sunk in shallow water, is written off as a total loss and her wreck demolished on 20 March.

            British tanker San Demetrio is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-404 at 37°03'N, 73°50'W (see 18 March).

US ARMY AIR FORCE

FIFTH AF—3 B‑17’s of 435th Reconnaissance Squadron, 19th Bomb Group begin evacuating General MacArthur, his family, and his staff from Del Monte to Australia.

US ARMY

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US MARINE CORPS

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Sunday, 15 March 1942

US NAVY

ATLANTIC—Coast Guard lighthouse tender Acacia (WAGL-200) is shelled and sunk by German submarine U-161 south of Haiti.

            Unarmed U.S. tanker Ario is torpedoed, shelled, and sunk by German submarine U-158 11 miles southwest of Cape Lookout, 34°20'N, 76°39'W. Destroyer Dupont (DD-152) rescues the 29 survivors of the 36 man crew.

            U.S. tanker Olean is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-158 15 miles south of Cape Lookout, 34°24'N,76°29'W. Coast Guard motor lifeboats from Cape Lookout and Fort Mason stations rescue 33 survivors.

            While providing coverage for convoy ON 74, PBO (VP 82) bombs and sinks German submarine U-503, North Atlantic, 43°50'N, 48°45'W.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

SOUTH PACIFIC—67th Fighter Squadron, the first AAF tactical unit in the theater, arrives on New Caledonia.

ELEVENTH AF—XI Fighter Command is activated at Elmendorf Field commander is Col Norman D Sillin. Its operational components are the 11th and the 18th Pursuit Squadrons.

US ARMY

LUZON—In Manila Bay area the Japanese, having emplaced additional artillery along S shore of Manila Bay SW of Ternate, renew intensive bombardment of fortified islands. Shelling is conducted daily and in great force through 21 March, despite U.S. counterbattery fire. Forts Frank and Drum are particularly hard hit.

BURMA—General Stilwell is notified that General Wavell, as Supreme Commander, India, is responsible for operations in Burma.

US MARINE CORPS

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Saturday, 14 March 1942

US NAVY

ATLANTIC—Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet (Rear Admiral Roland M. Brainard) is established.

            Unarmed U.S. collier Lemuel Burrows is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-404 off Atlantic City, New Jersey, 39°18'N, 74°16'W. Freighter Sewalls Point rescues one group of survivors; a boat from James Elwood Jones the other.

            Panamanian motorship Annetta I rescues the last survivor of unarmed U.S. tanker J.N. Pew, sunk by German submarine U-67 on 21 February; 33 of the 36 man crew are lost.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

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US ARMY

UNITED STATES—Joint Chiefs of Staff decide to continue on the defensive in the Pacific with forces already there and to build up forces in United Kingdom for an offensive against Germany.

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—General MacArthur and his party reach Mindanao.

IRAN—U.S. Iranian Mission begins releasing civilian contractors in accordance with War Department directive of 18 February calling for militarization of contract activities throughout world.

US MARINE CORPS

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Friday, 13 March 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-25 reconnoiters Auckland, New Zealand.

            Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur and Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell, with their respective staffs, reach Cagayan, Mindanao, after a 560 mile voyage in heavy to moderate seas, in motor torpedo boats PT-32, PT-34, PT-35, and PT-41. PT-32 becomes disabled during the operation, and is scuttled by gunfire of submarine Permit (SS-178) one mile southwest of Taguayan Island, P.I., 10°58'N, 121°12'E.

            Submarine Gar (SS-206) torpedoes and sinks Japanese victualling stores ship Chichibu Maru between six and ten miles southwest of Mikura Jima, south of Tokyo Bay, Japan, 33°53'N, 139°29.5'E.

            Japanese minesweeper No.2 Tama Maru sinks as the result of damage inflicted by U.S. Navy carrier-based planes on 10 March during the Lae-Salamaua Raid.

ATLANTIC—Unarmed U.S. schooner Albert F. Paul is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-332 off the east coast of the United States, 26°00'N, 72°00'W. There are no survivors.

            Chilean freighter Tolten is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-404 off Barnegat, New Jersey, 40°10'N,73°50'W; subsequently, plane en route from Langley Field to Mitchell Field sights one survivor on a life raft at 39°50'N, 73°40'W; Coast Guard cutter Antietam (WPC-128), coastal minesweeper AMc-200 are sent to the scene; NAS Lakehurst sends three L-type blimps, one of which, L 2, ultimately sights the raft seen earlier that day. Net tender Larch (YN-16) rescues the one survivor of what was a crew of between 16 and 21 men.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

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US ARMY

NEW GUINEA—Japanese, having gained firm positions in Lae-Salamaua area, replace infantry with naval forces.

SOLOMON ISLANDS—Japanese force from 4th Fleet sails from Rabaul, New Britain, for Buka, which is eventually seized together with other positions in N Solomons.

INDIA—First detachment of U.S. troops (Air Forces personnel) to reach CBI arrive at Karachi, having been diverted from Java.

US MARINE CORPS

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Thursday, 12 March 1942

US NAVY

GENERAL—By executive order President Roosevelt combines duties of Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations (see March 26).

PACIFIC—U.S. Army troops (Brigadier General Alexander M. Patch) arrive on New Caledonia to establish a base at Nouméa.

ATLANTIC—U.S. tanker John D. Gill is torpedoed and irreparably damaged by German submarine U-158 off Frying Pan Shoals, 33°55'N, 77°39'W. Four of the seven man Armed Guard are lost. Coast Guard cutter CG-186 and cutter Agassiz (WPC-126) rescue one group of survivors, tanker Robert H. Colley the remainder. John D. Gill sinks the next morning.

            German submarine U-126 torpedoes unarmed U.S. freighters off the coast of Cuba, sinking Olga off Camaguey,23°39'N, 77°00'W, and damaging Colabee about 10 miles off Cape Guajaba, 22°14'N, 77°35'W. Colabee drifts ashore and grounds on a shoal; Cuban ship Oriente rescues one group of survivors (and then tows the damaged ship off the shoal), tanker Cities Service Kansas the other. Cuban Navy vessels later salvage the ship.

            First British armed trawlers sent to augment U.S. Navy patrol force efforts off the German submarine-plagued Eastern Seaboard, HMS Wastwater and HMS Le Tigre, begin patrol operations in Third Naval District waters. They are assigned duties off Atlantic City and Barnegat, New Jersey.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

TENTH AF—10 P‑40’s arrive in Karachi by ship from Australia.

ZONE OF THE INTERIOR—XII Bomber Command is activated at MacDill Field.

US ARMY

NEW CALEDONIA—U.S. TF (17,500 men) under General Patch reaches Noumea to assist in defense of that area.

ANDAMAN ISLANDS—Garrison of Andaman Islands. (Company of British and Battalion of Gurkhas) is withdrawn, since loss of Rangoon makes it unfeasible to maintain this seaplane base.

BURMA—Burma Army establishes hq at Maymyo.

US MARINE CORPS

U. S. forces arrive in New Caledonia.

Wednesday, 11 March 1942

US NAVY

PACIFIC—Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur and Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell depart Luzon, with their respective staffs, in motor torpedo boats PT-32, PT-34, PT-35, and PT-41, bound for Mindanao. For his role in the evacuation, as well as other operations in the Philippines since the start of hostilities, Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, Commander, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, will receive the Medal of Honor (see 13 March).

            Submarine Pollack (SS-180), operating in the East China Sea about 270 miles east of Shanghai, sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Fukushu Maru, 30°53'N, 126°20'E and passenger-cargo ship Baikal Maru, 31°00'N, 126°32'E.

            U.S. passenger ship Mount McKinley is stranded off Unimak Island, Aleutians; wrecked subsequently by heavy seas, the ship will be written off as a total loss.

ATLANTIC—Unarmed U.S. freighter Texan is torpedoed, shelled, and sunk by German submarine U-126 about 40 miles east of Nuevitas, Cuba, 21°32'N, 76°24'W; Cuban fishing boat Yoyo rescues survivors.

            Unarmed U.S. freighter Caribsea is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-158 about 14 miles east of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, 34°40'N, 76°10'W; U.S. freighter Norlindo rescues survivors.

            Coastal minesweeper AMc-202, at 40°32'N, 71°40'W, rescues seven survivors from Brazilian steamship Cairo, sunk by German submarine U-94 on 9 March, and transports them to New London, Connecticut.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

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US ARMY

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—General MacArthur and his family and staff embark from Corregidor in 4 PT boats for Mindanao.

BURMA—Burma Army regroups in preparation for defense of upper Burma. In Irrawaddy Valley, Indian 17th Division is disposed in Tharrawaddy area. In Sittang Valley, Burma 1st Division, after successful diversionary attacks against Shwegyin and Madauk, E of Nyaunglebin, withdraws, except for 13th Brigade, to positions N of Kanyutkwin. General Stilwell is placed in command of Chinese 5th and 6th Armies. Chinese 6th Army is holding Shan States. Chinese 5th Army, except for 200th Division disposed in Toungoo area, is to concentrate at Mandalay. 

MALTA—Military garrison is placed under command of CinC MEF. Naval and RAF garrisons are under command of CinC Mediterranean and Air Officer Commanding in Chief, respectively. Lt General Sir William Dobbie, Governor of Malta, remains commander in chief.

US MARINE CORPS

Gen MacArthur leaves Philippines for Australia.