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.

 

In the Month of April 1941

US NAVY

1 April 1941, Tuesday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) (Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and Portland (CA‑33) and destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371), Reid (DD‑369), Cassin (DD‑372) and Downes (DD‑375) arrive at Suva, Fiji Islands (see 3 April 1941).

            ANTARCTIC—Interior Department motorship North Star and auxiliary Bear (AG‑29) of the U.S. Antarctic Service, depart Punta Arenas, Chile; the former will proceed back to the United States via the west coast of South America, the latter via the east coast (see 5 and 18 May, respectively).

3 April 1941, Thursday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) and Portland (CA‑33) and destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371), Reid (DD‑369), Cassin (DD‑372) and Downes (DD‑375) depart Suva, Fiji Islands, for Pearl Harbor (see 10 April).

6 April 1941, Sunday

EUROPE—German troops invade Yugoslavia and Greece; Italy declares war on Yugoslavia.

7 April 1941, Monday

ATLANTIC—Naval Operating Base, Bermuda, is established, Captain Jules James in command.

9 April 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—Battleship North Carolina (BB‑55) is commissioned at New York Navy Yard, the first new U.S. Navy battleship to enter the fleet since West Virginia (BB‑48) was commissioned in 1923.

UNITED STATES—Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Danish Minister to the United States Henrik de Kauffman sign AgreementRelating to the Defense of Greenland.

10 April 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—President Roosevelt, equating the defense of the United Kingdom to the defense of the United States, authorizes, under Lend‑Lease, the transfer of 10 "Lake"‑class Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy. Coast Guardsmen will train the British crews in the waters of Long Island Sound (see 30 April, 2, 12, 20 and 30 May).

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) and Portland (CA‑33) and destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371), Reid (DD‑369), Cassin (DD‑372) and Downes (DD‑375) arrive at Pearl Harbor, thus winding up the Australia‑New Zealand good‑will cruise.

11 April 1941, Friday

UNITED STATES— President proclaims that the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are no longer combat areas and are open to U.S. shipping.

ATLANTIC—Destroyer Niblack (DD‑424), while rescuing survivors of Dutch freighter Saleier (torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U‑52 the day before at 58°04'N, 30°48'W, after the dispersal of convoy OB 306) depth charges what is believed to be a German U‑boat off Iceland. A thorough investigation by the German navy, however, will conclude that none of their submarines are in the vicinity at the time of Niblack's attack. The U.S. Navy's conclusion is that Niblack has depth‑charged a false contact.

13 April 1941, Sunday

GENERAL—Soviet‑Japanese Non‑Aggression Pact is signed.

15 April 1941, Tuesday

UNITED STATES—President Roosevelt signs executive order allowing Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Air Corps individuals to sign contracts with the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO) in China for one year, after which time the men can rejoin their respective services with no loss in rank. This is the first step toward forming the American Volunteer Group (AVG), which will become known as the "Flying Tigers." Over half of the pilots in the AVG will be from the Navy and Marine Corps.

16 April 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA‑44) arrives at New York, having transported gold from Simonstown, South Africa.

17 April 1941, Thursday

EUROPE—Yugoslavia capitulates to Axis.

ATLANTIC—Egyptian steamship Zamzam is shelled and sunk by German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (Schiffe 16, aka "Raider C") in South Atlantic; 138 Americans (including 24 British‑American Ambulance Corps drivers) are among rescued passengers. Even U.S. citizens travelling in ostensibly neutral ships find themselves at risk. [Zamzam was en route from New York to Mombasa, Kenya. After debarking, the ambulance unit was to travel by rail to Kisumu, Uganda and then overland towards Lake Chad, Anglo‑Egyptian Sudan, and link up with Free French elements in the East African campaign. They carried enough supplies and spare parts (including 600,000 Lucky Strike cigarettes) to remain in the field for a year.)

            Purportedly, the surreptitious photographs snapped of Atlantis by Life magazine photographer Carl Mydans, who is serendipitously among the passengers, will prove helpful in providing the Royal Navy with a record of the auxiliary cruiser’s appearance. [Note: The Life Magazine photographer aboard the Zamzam was not Carl Mydans. Embarking Zamzam in Recife, Brazil was Life Magazine photographer David E. Scherman and Charles J.V. Murphy, a reporter for Fortune Magazine. Murphy had been with the Admiral Byrd expedition to Antarctica in 1932‑33 as a media reporter. Zamzam had been scheduled to arrive in Recife via Port au Spain on 1 April 41, but was delayed due to heavy weather during the passage of the Caribbean Sea until 08 April. Murphy and Scherman had flown into Recife from New York via San Juan and Para' (Belem) in hopes of catching up with Zamzam which had departed New York on 20 March.]

21 April 1941, Monday

PACIFIC—Battleship Arizona (BB‑39) and destroyer Davis (DD‑395) collide while fueling during exercises in Hawaiian Operating Area.

22 April 1941, Tuesday

UNITED STATES—Authorized enlisted strength of regular navy is increased to 232,000.

23 April 1941, Wednesday

MEDITERRANEAN—Greece signs armistice with Germany.

24 April 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—Neutrality Patrol is extended east to 26°W.

25 April 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—Coast Guard cutter Ingham relieves Coast Guard cutter Campbell at Lisbon, Portugal.

26 April 1941, Saturday

ATLANTIC—Neutrality Patrol is ordered extended southward to 20°S. Accordingly, carrier task group patrols are inaugurated this date when carrier Wasp (CV‑7) (embarked squadrons: VF 72, VS 71, and VS 72) departs Hampton Roads accompanied by heavy cruiser Quincy (CA‑39) and destroyers Livermore (DD‑429) and Kearny (DD‑432). TG 2, as the force is designated, will steam 5,292 miles before it arrives at Bermuda on 12 May.

27 April 1941, Sunday

PACIFIC—American‑Dutch‑British Conference at Singapore ends, having reached agreement on combined operating plan of local defense forces in the event of war with Japan; Captain William R. Purnell, Chief of Staff to Admiral Thomas C. Hart, Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet, is senior U.S. representative.

30 April 1941, Wednesday

ATLANTIC—First four "Lake"‑class Coast Guard cutters are turned over to the Royal Navy: Pontchartrain becomes HMS Hartland; Tahoe becomes HMS Fishguard; Mendota becomes HMS Culver, and Itasca becomes HMS Gorleston (see2, 12, 20 and 30 May).

 

In the Month of March 1941

US NAVY

1 March 1941, Saturday

UNITED STATES—Support Force Atlantic Fleet (Rear Admiral Arthur L. Bristol) composed of destroyers and patrol plane squadrons and supporting auxiliaries is established for protection of convoys in North Atlantic.

EUROPE—Bulgaria joins the Axis as German troops occupy the country.

3 March 1941, Monday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) (Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and Portland(CA‑33), light cruisers Brooklyn (CL‑40) and Savannah (CL‑42), destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371),Cummings (DD‑365), Cassin (DD‑372), Case (DD‑370), Shaw (DD‑373), Tucker (DD‑374), Reid (DD‑369), and Downes (DD‑375), and oiler Sangamon (AO‑28), depart Pearl Harbor for Samoa (see 9 March 1941).

7 March 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—Carrier Wasp (CV‑7) encounters foundering U.S. lumber schooner George E. Klinck in storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and rescues her crew.

PACIFIC—Transport William P. Biddle (AP‑15), escorted by light cruiser Concord (CL‑10), arrives at Pago Pago, Samoa, and disembarks the Seventh Defense Battalion, the first unit of the Fleet Marine Force deployed to the Southern Hemisphere in World War II.

9 March 1941, Sunday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) (Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and Portland (CA‑33), light cruisers Brooklyn (CL‑40) and Savannah (CL‑42), nine destroyers and oiler Sangamon (AO‑28), that had departed Pearl Harbor on 3 March arrive at Samoa (see 12 March).

10 March 1941, Monday

PACIFIC—Japan steps in to mediate undeclared war between France and Thailand; France cedes territory to Thailand and gives Japan monopoly of Indochinese rice crop and right to airfield at Saigon.

            Rear Admiral Edward J. Marquart is detached as Commander Minecraft Battle Force.

11 March 1941, Tuesday

UNITED STATES— Congress passes Lend‑Lease Act; "cash and carry" provisions of Neutrality Act of 1939 are changed to permit transfer of munitions to Allies. Although criticized by isolationists, the Act proves to be the primary means by which the United States will provide Great Britain, the USSR, and other belligerents with war material, food, and financial aid without the U.S. having to enter combat.

12 March 1941, Wednesday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) (Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and Portland (CA‑33), accompanied by destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371), Cassin (DD‑372), Downes (DD‑375), and Reid (DD‑369) depart Samoan waters for Sydney, Australia (see 20 March); Light cruisers Brooklyn (CL‑40) and Savannah (CL‑42), and destroyers Case (DD‑370), Shaw (DD‑373), Cummings for Auckland, New Zealand (see 17 March).

            Oiler Sangamon (AO‑28), that had accompanied the aforementioned cruisers and destroyers from Pearl Harbor, sails to return to Hawaiian waters.

UNITED STATES— Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas, is established.

15 March 1941, Saturday

US MARINE CORPS

UNITED STATES— The Fleet Marine Force is divided, with the 1st Marine Division at Quantico, Virginia, becoming part of the Atlantic Fleet and the 2d Marine Division at San Diego, California, becoming part of the Pacific Fleet

17 March 1941, Monday

US NAVY

PACIFIC—TG 9.2 (Captain Ellis S. Stone), comprising light cruiser Brooklyn (CL‑40) and Savannah (CL‑42) and destroyers Case (DD‑370) and Shaw (DD‑373), and Tucker (DD‑374), arrive at Auckland, New Zealand, beginning a three‑day goodwill visit (see 20 March).

ATLANTIC—Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA‑44) arrives at Pernambuco, Brazil, en route to her ultimate destination of Simonstown, South Africa (see 20 March).

            Coast Guard cutter Cayuga departs Boston, Massachusetts, with South Greenland Survey Expedition, composed of State, Treasury, War, and Navy Department representatives, embarked. The expedition's mission is to locate sites of airfields, seaplane bases, radio and meteorological stations and aids to navigation on Greenland's soil (see 31 March).

18 March 1941, Tuesday

PACIFIC—Rear Admiral William R. Furlong breaks his flag as Commander Minecraft Battle Force.

19 March 1941, Wednesday

PACIFIC—Destroyers Aylwin (DD‑355) and Farragut (DD‑348) are damaged by collision during night tactical exercises in Hawaiian Operating Area, 23°35'N, 158°14'W. One man dies on board Aylwin.

20 March 1941, Thursday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) (Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and Portland (CA‑33) and destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371), Reid (DD‑369), Cassin (DD‑372) and Downes (DD‑375), arrive at Sydney, Australia, beginning a three‑day goodwill visit (see 23 March).

            TG 9.2 (Captain Ellis S. Stone), comprising light cruiser Brooklyn (CL‑40) and Savannah (CL‑42) and destroyers Case (DD‑370) and Shaw (DD‑373), and Tucker (DD‑374), concludes its port visit to Auckland, New Zealand and sails for Tahiti (see 25 March).

ATLANTIC—Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA‑44) departs Pernambuco, Brazil, for Simonstown, South Africa (see 20 March).

22 March 1941, Saturday

ANTARCTIC—Emergency evacuation of East Base, U.S. Antarctic Service, Marguerite Bay, is carried out. Two R4C flights (Aviation Chief Machinist's Mate Ashley C. Snow and Radioman First Class Earl B. Perce, naval aviation pilots) bring out the entire complement of 24 people to Mikkelson Island, the emergency landing field 25 miles northeast of Adelaide Island, whence they are taken on board Bear (AG‑29), which soon sails for Punta Arenas, Chile, to rendezvous with Interior Department motorship North Star.

23 March 1941, Sunday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) (Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and Portland (CA‑33) and destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371), Reid (DD‑369), Cassin (DD‑372) and Downes (DD‑375), depart Sydney, Australia, for Brisbane (see 25 March).

25 March 1941, Tuesday

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) (Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and Portland (CA‑33) and destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371), Reid (DD‑369), Cassin (DD‑372) and Downes (DD‑375), arrive at Brisbane, Australia, beginning a three‑day good‑will visit (see 28 March).

            TG 9.2 (Captain Ellis S. Stone), comprising light cruisers Brooklyn (CL‑40) and Savannah (CL‑42) and destroyers Case (DD‑370), Shaw (DD‑373) and Tucker (DD‑374), arrive at Tahiti.

27 March 1941, Thursday

ATLANTIC—U.S.‑British‑Canadian staff discussions in Washington end; ABC‑1 Staff Agreement embodies the basic strategic direction of the war in the event of U.S. entry, making the defeat of Germany a priority and establishing a Combined Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Atlantic Fleet is to help the Royal Navy convoy ships across the Atlantic. The agreement inextricably links the U.S. Navy in the effort against Germany.

PACIFIC—TG 9.2 (Captain Ellis S. Stone), comprising light cruisers Brooklyn (CL‑40) and Savannah (CL‑42) and destroyers Case (DD‑370), Shaw (DD‑373) and Tucker (DD‑374), depart Tahiti for Pearl Harbor.

28 March 1941, Friday

MEDITERRANEAN—British fleet defeats Italian fleet in Battle of Cape Matapan; three Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers are sunk, and a battleship and a destroyer damaged.

PACIFIC—Heavy cruisers Chicago (CA‑29) (Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) and Portland (CA‑33) and destroyers Clark (DD‑361), Conyngham (DD‑371), Reid (DD‑369), Cassin (DD‑372) and Downes (DD‑375), depart Brisbane, Australia, for Suva, Fiji Islands (see 1 April).

29 March 1941, Saturday

ATLANTIC—Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA‑44) arrives at Simonstown, South Africa (see 30 March).

            Coast Guard receives report that crew of Italian merchantman Villarperosa, interned at Wilmington, North Carolina, is sabotaging the ship. The Coast Guard investigates reports that the crews of Italian and German vessels in American ports had received orders to "sabotage and disable" them (see 30 March).

30 March 1941, Sunday

ATLANTIC—Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA‑44) departs Simonstown, South Africa, for New York, with a cargo of gold for deposit in the United States (see 16 April).

            As the result of Coast Guard investigation of report that crew of Italian merchantman Villarperosa was sabotaging their ship, United States takes protective custody of two German, 26 Italian, and 35 Danish ships in American ports; Coast Guardsmen take over the vessels. Executive order consequently imprisons 850 Italian and 63 German officers and men.

PACIFIC—Element of the First Defense Battalion (5‑inch artillery, Detachment "A") arrives at Palmyra Island in stores issuing ship Antares (AKS‑3) to begin construction of defenses.

            Elements of the First Defense Battalion (5‑inch artillery, Detachment "B", and Machine Gun Battery, Detachment “A") arrive at Johnston Island in high speed minesweeper Boggs (DMS‑3) to begin construction of defenses.

31 March 1941, Monday

ATLANTIC—South Greenland Survey Expedition, in Coast Guard cutter Cayuga, arrives at Godthaab, Greenland, to take up its task.

 

In the Month of February 1941

US NAVY

1 February 1941, Saturday

UNITED STATES—Navy Department announces reorganization of U.S. Fleet, reviving old names Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet; Asiatic Fleet remains unchanged.

            Marine Corps expansion occurs as the 1st and 2d Marine Brigades are brought up to division strength.

            Rear Admiral H. Fairfax Leary relieves Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel as Commander Cruisers Battle Force.

            Admiral Husband E. Kimmel relieves Admiral J.O. Richardson as Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet in battleship Pennsylvania (BB‑38) at Pearl Harbor, T.H.

            Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr. relieves Vice Admiral Adolphus Andrews as Commander Scouting Force.

            Rear Admiral John H. Newton relieves Rear Admiral Gilbert J. Rowcliff as Commander Cruisers Scouting Force.

ANTARCTICA—Auxiliary Bear (AG‑29) and Interior Department motorship North Star depart Bay of Whales; they will proceed via different routes to rendezvous off Adelaide Island to evacuate Antarctic Service's East Base (see 24 February).

3 February 1941, Monday

UNITED STATES—Navy Department General Order No. 143 creates three independent fleets, each commanded by an admiral. Admiral Husband E. Kimmel becomes Commander in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet (and also Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet in the event that two or more fleets operate together); Patrol Force U.S. Fleet becomes U.S. Atlantic Fleet under command of Admiral Ernest J. King; Admiral Thomas C. Hart continues as Commander in Chief U.S. Asiatic Fleet.

PACIFIC—During routine exercises in Hawaiian Operating Area off Oahu, destroyers Dale (DD‑353) and Hull (DD‑350) contact what they believe is a submarine. With all U.S. boats accounted for, Commander Destroyers Battle Force orders Lamson (DD‑367) to join Dale and Hull. The ships are to maintain contact and to take offensive action only if attacked. Mahan (DD‑364) joins in search as well. With speculation that the only possible reason a submarine would be in those waters would be to obtain supplies or land agents, Lamson accordingly searches the shoreline east of Diamond Head (see 4 February).

4 February 1941, Tuesday

CARRIBEAN—Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 7 begins in Culebra‑Vieques, Puerto Rico, area, with all available ships of the Atlantic Fleet and elements of the 1st Marine Division and the U.S. Army's First Division, to train "Army and Navy Forces in the amphibious operations incident to a Joint Overseas Expedition." Unlike FLEX No. 6 in 1940, bona fid transports are available for, and participate in, the maneuvers.

PACIFIC—Search for submarine off Oahu, begun the previous day, continues. After destroyers Dale (DD‑353) and Hull (DD‑350) return to Pearl Harbor, destroyers Flusser (DD‑368) and Drayton (DD‑366) join Lamson (DD‑367) in the hunt. Ultimately, however, the search is called off.

13 February 1941, Thursday

PACIFIC—Light cruisers Brooklyn (CL‑40), Philadelphia (CL‑41), and Savannah (CL‑42) and stores issue ship Antares (AKS 3) arrive at Midway with the remainder of the 3d Defense Battalion (Lieutenant Colonel Robert H. Pepper, USMC).

14 February 1941, Friday

CARRIBEAN—Fleet Landing Exercise No. 7, which had begun on 4 February, concludes in Culebra‑Vieques, Puerto Rico, area.

15 February 1941, Saturday

PACIFIC—Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, T.H., is established, Commander Harold M. Martin in command.

19 February 1941, Wednesday

UNITED STATES—Rear Admiral William P. Blandy relieves Rear Admiral William R. Furlong as Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance.

            Coast Guard Reserve is established.

21 February 1941, Friday

PACIFIC—Carrier Enterprise (CV‑6) arrives off Oahu and launches 30 USAAC P‑36s that will be based on Wheeler Field.

24 February 1941, Monday

ANTARCTICA—Auxiliary Bear (AG‑29) and Interior Department motorship North Star rendezvous off Adelaide Island to begin evacuation of East Base of U.S. Antarctic Service. Heavy pack‑ice south of this area, however, prevents the ships from reaching East Base. The two vessels retire north to Dallman Bay. The time spent in the Mechior Archipelago, however, is not unfruitful, as North Star's people conduct surveys, make soundings, and make a geological study of the island group, in addition to collecting further examples of flora and fauna. Bear, meanwhile, gets underway soon thereafter to attempt to find a way through the pack ice to reach East Base. She is unsuccessful. Amidst growing concern over whether or not a full or partial evacuation can take place since mid‑March, and the shortening of the polar days, is approaching, North Star, running short of supplies and fuel, is sent to Punta Arenas, Chile, to replenish and return if required (see 22 March).

 

In the Month of January 1941

 US NAVY

3 January 1941, Friday

ATLANTIC—Heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa (CA‑37) departs Lisbon, Portugal, for Norfolk, Virginia, having transported Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), U.S. Ambassador to France, on the transatlantic leg of his journey to his diplomatic post.

5 January 1941, Sunday

ATLANTIC—Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA‑28) arrives at Simonstown, South Africa (see 6 January).

6 January 1941, Monday

ATLANTIC—Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA‑28) departs Simonstown for New York, having taken on board $148,342,212.55 in British gold for deposit in American banks (see 22 January).

7 January 1941, Tuesday

UNITED STATES—Office of Production Management is established under industrialist William S. Knudsen, labor leader Sidney Hillman, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson.

8 January 1941, Wednesday

FRANCE—Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired) presents his credentials as Ambassador to France at Vichy.

9 January 1941, Thursday

PACIFIC—Transport William Ward Burrows (AP‑6) arrives at Wake Island with first increment of workmen (Contractors Pacific Naval Air Bases) to begin building a naval air station there.

10 January 1941, Friday

ANTARCTICA—Auxiliary Bear (AG‑29) returns to Bay of Whales, Antarctica, to evacuate West Base; the evacuation is under the supervision of Commander Richard H. Cruzen, second‑in‑command of the U.S. Antarctic Service.

MEDITERRANEAN—During air attack on British force off Malta, carrier HMS Illustrious is bombed and damaged by Luftwaffe JU 87s; Lieutenant Commander Frederick P. Hartman, U.S. Naval Observer on board, is consequently commended for gallantry in action.

11 January 1941, Saturday

PACIFIC—Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis relieves Captain Eugene T. Oates as Commandant, Sixteenth Naval District and Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I. Captain Oates had been acting commandant since the incapacitation of Rear Admiral John M. Smeallie in December 1940.

16 January 1941, Thursday

UNITED STATES—President asks Congress for immediate appropriation of $350 million for 200 new merchant ships.

17 January 1941, Friday

PACIFIC—Rear Admiral Thomas Withers relieves Rear Admiral Wilhelm L. Friedell as Commander Submarines Scouting Force, on board light cruiser Richmond (CL‑9) (force flagship) at Pearl Harbor, T.H.

            Battle of Koh Chang: Vichy French retaliate against Thai moves against Cambodia. French squadron (Rear Admiral Jules Terraux) consisting of light cruiser Lamotte‑Picquet, colonial sloops Amiral Charner and Dumont D'Urville and sloops Tahure and Marne, decisively defeats a Thai Navy force in a surface gunnery and torpedo action fought in the Gulf of Siam, sinking coast defense ship Dhonburi and torpedo boats Cholbury and Songkhla and damaging coast defense ship Sri Ayuthia and torpedo boat Trat in about two hours.

18 January 1941, Saturday

UNITED STATES—German Consul General in San Francisco, California, displays the prescribed German Reich flag from the consular office in recognition of German national holiday. At noon this day the flag is taken down in the presence of what is described as "a large shouting throng of people" and torn to pieces. German Chargé d'Affaires Hans Thomsen makes “most emphatic protest" over the incident (see 19 January and 25 June).

19 January 1941, Sunday

UNITED STATES—Secretary of State Cordell Hull responds to German Chargé d'Affaires Hans Thomsen's protest over the incident concerning the tearing down of the Reich flag over the consulate in San Francisco, promising a full investigation (see 25 June).

22 January 1941, Wednesday

UNITED STATES—Heavy cruiser Louisville (CA‑28) arrives at New York, with $148,342,212.55 in British gold brought from Simonstown, South Africa, to be deposited in American banks.

24 January 1941, Friday

ANTARCTICA—Interior Department motorship North Star arrives at Bay of Whales, Antarctica, to take part in evacuating West Base of U.S. Antarctic Service.

25 January 1941, Saturday

UNITED STATES—Keel of battleship Wisconsin (BB‑64) is laid at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She will be the last battleship ever built by the U.S. Navy.

29 January 1941, Wednesday

UNITED STATES—U.S.‑British‑Canadian staff conversations begin in Washington to determine joint strategy in case of U.S. involvement in the war.

30 January 1941, Thursday

EUROPE—Germany announces that ships of any nationality bringing aid to Great Britain will be torpedoed.

31 January 1941, Friday

UNITED STATES—Vice Admiral William S. Pye relieves Admiral Charles P. Snyder as Commander Battle Force.

            Vice Admiral Walter S. Anderson becomes Commander Battleships Battle Force.

ANTARCTICA—West Base, U.S. Antarctic Service, is closed.