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
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