11-17 April 1942

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11 April 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-123 torpedoed and fatally damaged US tanker Gulfamerica within 5 kilometers of Jacksonville, Florida, United States at 0422 hours, killing 19 of 48 aboard; the burning hulk would finally sink 5 days later. German submarine U-203 torpedoed and damaged US tanker Harry F. Sinclair Jr. 20 kilometers southeast of Swansboro, North Carolina, United States at 1320 hours, killing 10 of 36 aboard; the hulk would later be towed for repairs. 20 kilometers further east, U-160 torpedoed and sank British passanger ship Ulysses; all 290 aboard survived.

German submarine U-103 torpedoed and sank Norwegian cargo ship Grenanger in the middle of the Atlantic ocean at 1855 hours; all 36 aboard survived.

North Sea : German tanker Eurosee struck a mine and sank off Netherlands

Boulogne-sur-mer , France : Operation J : Two British Army commandos inflitrated Boulogne harbour with a canoe in the dark and sank a 4.000 ton German tanker laying in anchor with limpet mines then escaped back to sea where they were picked up by Royal Navy motor launch ML102 and returned to Dover.

Arctic Ocean : Luftwaffe Ju 88 aircraft attacked Allied convoy QP-10 returning from Russia to UK , damaging ship Stone Street and sinking British ship Empire Cowper (19 were killed) with bombs; a heavy snow storm prevented the Germans from launching another air attack on returning Arctic convoy.

Mediterranean Sea : Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay attacked two Italian schooners on the surface with her deck gun northwest of Corfu, Greece, sinking Gesu Crocifisso with gunfire and forcing Natalina to ground to prevent sinking.

Egyptian transport ship Kawsar was bombed by Luftwaffe JU-88 aircraft , badly damaged and towed back to Port Said where she was declared a total loss.

Malta : Luftwaffe JU-87 dive bombers attacked La Valletta harbor, Malta, bombing and wrecking Royal Navy destroyer HMS Kingston in the dry dock where she was declared a total loss.

Crimea , Ukraine : A Soviet landing attempt near Eupatoria (Yevpatoria) near Sevastopol, Russia was halted by the Germans.

Pacific Ocean : American submarine USS Trout torpedoed and damaged Japanese tanker Nisshin Maru 5 miles off the southern coast of Japan.
American submarine USS Thresher provided a weather report on Tokyo, Japan for the incoming Doolittle Raiders.

Philippines : US Army Brigadier General Ralph Royce led 10 B-25 bombers and 3 B-17 bombers from Darwin, Australia to Mindanao, Philippine Islands; they were to be used for bombing Japanese forward positions. On the Bataan peninsula on the island of Luzon, 350 Filipino prisoners of war were killed by the Japanese north of Mount Samat during the Bataan Death March.

Burma : In Burma, British and Indian troops formed a new defensive line, Minhia-Taungdwingyi-Pyinmana, on the Irrawaddy River. After dark, the Japanese reached this line, launching a first attack on the Indian 48th Brigade at Kokkogwa.

Dutch East Indies : American submarine USS Searaven evacuated 33 Australian Army personnel from Timor Island.

New Guinea : US A-20 Havoc bombers attacked Japanese shipping in the Gulf of Huon off Lae, Australian New Guinea, bombing and fatally damaging transport Taijun Maru which sank next day.

Rabaul , New Britain : Eight B-26 Marauder bombers took off from Port Moresby, Australian Papua at 0900 hours; one of them would return to base due to engine trouble. The remaining seven attacked Vunakanau airfield and Lakunai airfield near Rabaul, New Britain, causing minimal damage. As the bomber crews returned to base, they reported a sighting of a fleet carrier (most likely mis-identified Kasuga Maru), causing the commanders to scramble to prepare a major strike against the target.

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12 April 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-203 torpedoed and damaged Panamanian tanker Stanvac Melbourne 15 kilometers southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, United States at 0626 hours; 3 were killed, 45 survived. German submarine U-154 torpedoed and sank US freighter Delvalle south of Haiti at 0709 hours after a 9-hour pursuit.

At 1921 hours, in U-130 torpedoed and sank US tanker Esso Boston in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; all 37 aboard survived. Finally, Italian submarine Calvi sank Panamanian tanker Ben Brush with gunfire on the surface off the coast of Brazil; 1 was killed, 34 survived.

North Sea : Swedish cargo ship Scotia struck a mine and sank off Lowestoft , Suffolk.

Essen , Germany : 251 British bombers (171 Wellington, 31 Hampden, 27 Stirling, 13 Halifax, and 9 Manchester) from RAF Bomber Command attacked Essen, Germany, damaging the Krupp factory and destroying 28 homes; 36 civilians were killed, 36 were injured. The British lost 10 bombers on this attack.

Corregidor , Philippines : The Japanese artillery bombardment of Corregidor island in the Philippine Islands continues. Meanwhile, many US and Filipino prisoners of war continued to die while being marched northward during the Bataan Death March from starvation, dehydration, disease, and murders.

Philippines : To the south, on the island of Cebu, US and Filipino troops scuttled torpedo boat PT-35 and withdrew deeper into the mountains.

Rabaul , New Britain : Three USAAF B-26 Marauder bombers were launched from Port Moresby, Australian Papua at dawn in search of the reported fleet carrier (most likely the mis-identified Kasuga Maru) at Rabaul, New Britain. At 0930, another group of four B-26 aircraft was launched. The two groups attacked Rabaul, causing little to no damage.

Burma : Japanese attacks on Minhia, Thadodan, and Alebo on the Minhia-Taungdwingyi-Pyinmana defensive line in Burma were stopped by Anglo-Indian troops including the British 2nd Royal Tank Regiment. British tankers reported seeing captured British tanks pressed into Japanese service.

Dutch East Indies : 4,000 Japanese troops landed at Manokwari, Dutch New Guinea; 125 Dutch troops fled into the jungle.

Indian Ocean : Japanese carrier fleet began to depart from the Indian Ocean after a successful raid.

Delhi , India : Jawaharlal Pandit Nehru, leader of the Congress Party in India, quoted ‘It distresses me’ that any Indian should talk of the Japanese liberating India.’ promised resistance to the Axis.

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13 April 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-123 torpedoed and sank US freighter Leslie 5 kilometers southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States at 0511 hours, killing 4 of 32 aboard. At 0745 hours, U-123 struck again, sinking Swedish cargo ship Korsholm with her deck gun; 9 were killed, 17 survived. 400 miles south of Newfoundland, German submarine U-402 torpedoed and sank British cargo ship Empire Progress at 2326 hours; 12 were killed, 38 survived.

German submarine U-154 torpedoed and sank British cargo ship Empire Amethyst 40 miles south of Haiti at 0552 hours; all 47 aboard were killed.

Arctic Sea : German submarines attacked Allied convoy QP-10 returning from Russia to UK , 150 miles north of Norway; U-436 torpedoed and sank Russian merchant ship Kiev at 1300 hours (6 were killed, 62 survived), and U-435 torpedoed and sank Panamanian cargo ship El Occidente at 1329 hours (20 were killed, 21 survived) and then torpedoed and sank British cargo ship Harpalion which had been damaged previiously by a Luftwaffe air raid and straggled behind.

Mediterranean Sea : Royal Navy submarine HMS Thrasher torpedoed and sank German freighter Atlas 82 miles southwest of Benghazi, Libya at 1012 hours; then HMS Trasher was counterattacked by Italian escorts with 19 depth charges but she was able to escape without damage.

Scotland , UK : Operation Calendar , American aircraft carrier USS Wasp took on 48 British Spitfire fighters at Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom in preparation for an aircraft ferrying mission to Malta escorted by Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Renown , two Royal Navy cruisers and sx destroyers.

UK : Luftwaffe bombers attacked Portland and Weymouth, England, United Kingdom during the day, damaging a number of homes. After dark, German bombers attacked again at Grimsby on the eastern coast of England, lasting until the next date.

Vichy France : Philippe Pétain, under German pressure, decided to reinstate Pierre Laval as both Prime Minister , head of goverment and Foreign Minister whom the Germans favored.

Burma : Japanese troops continued to assault the Minhia-Taungdwingyi-Pyinmana defensive line along the Irrawaddy River in Burma without success. To the northwest, troops of Japanese 56th Infantry Division captured Mauchi from troops of Chinese 6th Army and the nearby tungsten mines. Allied troops retreat to Magwe , leaving oilfields in Central Burma exposed to Japanese

Luzon , Philippines : US and Filipino prisoners of war began to be marched from Balanga for Orani in Bataan, Philippine Islands. To the south, Japanese artillery continued the bombardment of Corregidor island.

Hawaii , Pacific Ocean : American aircraft carrier USS Lexington departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii to rendezvous with another carrier USS Yorktown for a raid on Rabaul.

Pacific Ocean : US Navy Task Force 16 with aircraft carrier USS Enterprise rendezvoused with Task Force 18 with aircraft carrier USS Hornet (Yorktown-class) north of Midway and pressed on westward toward the launch point for the Doolittle Raid.

American submarine USS Grayling torpedoed and sank Japanese cargo vessel Ryujin Maru 60 miles south of Japan at 2100 hours.

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14 April 1942

Atlantic Ocean : Just after the midnight , off North Carolina , old WWI era Wickes class US destroyer USS Roper (equipped with British built Type 286 radar) made a radar contact with German submarine U-85 sailing on surface. Due to shallow water , German submarine tried to run and shake off the pursuer on the surface unaware that USS Roper was equipped with radar (Admiral Doenitz and German Navy still were unconvinced that shipborne radars could be developed by the enemy) and approached fast to 300 yards to ram the U-Boat. The captain of U-85 gave the order to scuttle the U-boat and abandon the ship while USS Roper illuminated the target , opened fire on surfaced German submarine with 6 inch guns and machine guns , killing most of the U-boat crew on the deck. Sea cocks opened , U-85 sank within thirty minutes with all hands. Afterwards USS Roper dropped eleven depth charges on top of sinking U-Boat to ensure the sinking.
NOTE : This is the first U-boat kill by US Navy vessels

Meanwhile German submarine U-203 torpedoed and sank British freighter Empire Thrush 10 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States at 1515 hours; all 55 aboard survived. Off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States, German submarine U-571 torpedoed and sank US freighter Margaret at 2102 hours, killing the entire crew of 29.

German submarine U-66 torpedoed and sank Greek cargo ship Korthion off Barbados , Caribbean Sea at 1636 hours; 14 were killed, 9 survived.

While returning from her patrol back to France , German submarine U-252 located convoy OG-82 returning from Gibraltar to UK. Plus the convoy was escorted by Escort Group 36 under command of chief anti submarine commander of Royal Navy, Capatain Frederic “Johnny” Walker in Royal Navy sloop HMS Stork and four corvettes. (hero of battle of HG-76 convoy in December 1941 where his escorts sank four U-Boats) As soon as U-252 reported the contact with convoy , wireless direction finders in Royal Navy escort ships DF’d and became aware of U-252 shadowing the convoy. One of the corvettes HMS Vetch located the position of U-Boat with new milimetric Type 271 radar , charged upon U-252 on surface with gunfire , badly damaging her before she crash dived and then together with sloop HMS Stork under direct command of Capain “Johnny” Walker , HMS Vetch sank German submarine U-252 with depth charges 650 miles west of Brest, France at 2230 hours, killing all 44 aboard.

Walker lowered a whaleboat to look for survivors, but the boatmen found only “a revolting mixture of oil, wood, blood, and guts.” They fished up some small wooden pieces from the boat, a sheepskin coat, and a pair of leather trousers, which contained a penciled chit headed “U-252,” and “a human heart and lungs, complete but penetrated by splinters.” HMS Stork’s physician pickled the heart and lungs in a bottle “for the future pleasure of the Medical Branch.”

Even a better outcome of this engagement for Allies , from now on after loss of U-252 Admiral Doenitz and BdU (German U-Boat Command ) decided that Bay of Biscay route used by Gibraltar - UK - West Africa convoys were too well protected by British and decided not to pursue and patrols in this region anymore (so all OS or OG convoys inbound and outbound from Gibraltar off French shores , would sail relative safety from now on)

Arctic Sea : A German Fw 200 Condor aircraft located Allied convoy QP-10 returning from Russia to UK at dawn; 20 JU-88 aircraft attacked at 0600 hours, damaging the rudder of British freighter Harpalion (she would be scuttled shortly after) at the cost of four German JU-88 aircraft shot down by anti aircraft guns of the convoy.

Murmansk , Russia : British cargo ship Lancaster Castle was bombed and sunk by Luftwaffe HE-111 bombers.

Black Sea : Soviet transport ship Anton Chekhov struck a mine off Kerch peninsula and sank with 200 aboard lost and only 50 survived. Soviet submarine chaser SKA-042 and minesweeper KT-608 also struck mines in same area and both sunk.

Scotland , UK : American aircraft carrier USS Wasp along with her escorts , departed the Clyde Estuary, Scotland, United Kingdom with 48 Spitfire fighters of No. 601 and No. 603 Squadrons RAF on board for Malta

Mediterranean Sea : Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder under highest scoring Allied submarine ace Captain Malcolm Wanklynn , became missing in the Mediterranean Sea somewhere between Italy and Libya; all 33 aboard were never seen again. She was either sunk by German aircraft on 13th April bombed off Malta or by Italian torpedo boat Pegaso who located her position with passive sonar and depth charged her location.

Dortmund , Germany : 208 British bombers (142 Wellington, 34 Hampden, 20 Stirling, 8 Halifax, and 4 Manchester) from RAF Bomber Command attacked Dortmund, Germany, damaging 6 buildings and killing 4 civilians. 9 bombers were shot down by German anti aircraft guns or night fighters and lost in this attack.

France : 12 RAF Bomber Command DB-7 Boston bombers attacked and damaged the Mondeville power station in Calvados, France during a daylight raid.

Vichy France : With German pressure , Pierre Laval was named Chief of Government , Prime Minister and Foreign Minister with special powers in Vichy France. Phillipe Petain as President is a figurehead from now on.

Rastenburg , East Prussia : Adolf Hitler ordered the German Luftwaffe to recommence air attacks on United Kingdom with an emphasis of bombing cities with no particular industrial value but of great beauty. The British soon called these raids “Baedeker” raids after the famous German 19th-century tourist guide.

London , UK : Combined Commanders Group set up by the British and American Chiefs of Staff finally concluded that no Allied action to help Russia was possible in Europe in 1942, apart from small raids. In a speech at a meeting with Franklin Roosevelt’s representatives General Marshall and Harry Hopkins in London, England, United Kingdom, British Imperial Chief of Staff General Alan Brooke on behalf of the Chiefs-of-Staff Committee insisted that it must be essential to hold the Japanese and to ensure that there should be no junction between them and the Germans that could gravely threaten Allied oil supplies from the Persian Gulf.

UK : Luftwaffe bombing on Grimsby, England, United Kingdom that began before midnight on the previous date ended; it killed 13, injured 28, and destroyed a number of homes.

Andaman Islands , Indian Ocean : Hudson bombers of No. 139 Squadron RAF attacked the Japanese flying-boat base on the Andaman Islands.

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15 April 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-575 torpedoed and sank US freighter Robin Hood 250 kilometers east of New Jersey, United States at 0338 hours, killing 14 of 38 aboard.

Arctic Ocean : Allied convoy PQ-14 sailing from Iceland to Murmansk Russia, now down to 7 cargo ships and 2 tankers due to bad weather, was spotted by a German BV 138 flying boat. Later in the day, Fw 200 Condor aircraft relieved the BV 138 aircraft in keeping track of this convoy. They called in several air attacks, but none of them succeeded in sinking any ships.

Malta : King George VI awarded Malta the George Cross for heroism and devotion. His message to island governor Sir Dobbie , King said “To honor her breave people , I award George Cross to the islland fortress Malta to bear witness hearoism and devotion that would long be famous in history” No part of British Empire experienced a sustained air attack and naval blockade like Malta had since the beginning of the war , in average seven Axis raids in a day hits on Malta since December 1941 when Hitler ordered neutralization of the island fortress which is in Central Mediterranean on Sicilian Narrows , less than 100 miles away from Axis airfields in Sicily.

Leningrad , Soviet Union : In Leningrad, April 15 marked the 248th day of the siege. On that day, the trams were run again, for the first time in many months. A German prisoner-of-war, Corporal Falkenhorst, later told his captors that he had lost his faith in Hitler when he heard the sound of the tram bells that morning. But the month of April also saw 102,497 deaths from starvation in Leningrad, the highest death rate for any month of the siege, though the burials by which the figure was calculated included a few thousand bodies which had lain frozen in the streets throughout the last winter months.

Dortmund , Germany : 152 British bombers (111 Wellington, 19 Hampden, 15 Stirling, and 7 Manchester) from RAF Bomber Command attacked Dortmund, Germany for a second night in a row, destroying 1 home and killing 1 civilian. 4 bombers were lost on this attack , shot down by anti aircraft fire.

UK : Luftwaffe bombers attacked Middlesbrough in northeastern England, United Kingdom after dark, lasting until the next date.

Burma : General Alexander Burma Commander, General Slim commander of Burma Corps, and General Stilwell met at Maymyo, Burma.

As Japanese troops began to push through the British Minhia-Taungdwingyi-Pyinmana defensive line along the Irrawaddy River in Burma and approached the oil-producing region of Yenangyaung, William Slim gave the order to destroy 1,000,000 gallons of crude oil to prevent Japanese capture while the British 7th Armoured Division pushed through Japanese road blocks to prepare men on the line to fall back.

Next day entire Yeunungyang oilfields would be demolished by Burma Corps

Corregidor , Philippines : A tunnel near the James and Morrison coastal gun batteries at Corregidor island, Philippine Islands collapsed from Japanese artillery bombardment, killing 70 US perssonel.

Mindanao , Philippines : At the southern island of Mindanao, US Navy motor torpedo boat PT-41 was scuttled by her own crew to prevent capture.

Pacific Ocean : American aircraft carrier USS Lexington was assigned to US Navy Task Force 11

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16th April 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-123 torpedoed and sank US freighter Alcoa Guide 200 kilometers east of North Carolina, United States, killing 6 of 34 aboard. At 1800 hours, U-572 torpedoed and sank Panamanian cargo ship Desert Light 150 miles east of North Carolina; 1 was killed, 30 survived.

German submarine U-66 torpedoed and sank Dutch tanker Amsterdam 60 miles west of Grenada in Caribbean Sea at 1745 hours; 2 were killed, 38 survived.

Barents Sea : German submarine U-403 fired 5 torpedoes at Allied convoy PQ-14 and made 2 hits on the civilian commodore’s ship Empire Howard which sank 200 miles north of Norway at 1245 hours; 29 were killed, 37 survived. Many of victims were killed by depth charges meant to hit U-403. Captain W. H. Lawrence of merchant ship Briarwood took over the civilian commodore role as his predecessor E. Rees was also killed.

Mediterranean Sea : Royal Navy submarine HMS Turbulent torpedoed and sank Italian transport ship Delia (fully laden with supplies inbound to Libya) 3 miles off of Brindisi, Italy at 1751 hours.
NOTE : Despite these sucesses by Royal Navy submarines , Italians managed to deliver six more supply ships in two different convoys intact to North Africa during first two weeks of April. So Rommel and Afrikakorps complaints about lack of supplies and logistical incompatence of Italians were baseless. It was Rommel himself who was using delivered supplies badly with reckless operations.

East Mediterranean : German submarine U-81 torpedoed and sank French anti-submarine trawler Vikings 23 miles west of Beirut, French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon at 2038 hours; 41 were killed, 16 survived. At 2148 hours, U-81 struck again, torpedoed and sank British tanker Caspia; 27 were killed, 11 survived. At 2250 hours, U-81 attacked yet again, sinking ttwo small Egyptian sailing vessels with her deck gun off Syria.

Greece : The 11th Battalion of the British Royal Marines landed on Koufonisi, Greece by Royal Navy destroyers HMS Kelvin and HMS Kipling , destroyed a German radio station, captured some documents and equipment, and embarked back to their ships. The destroyers, HMS Kelvin and HMS Kipling, returned to Alexandria, Egypt by 1830 hours.

UK : Luftwaffe bombing on Middlesbrough, England, United Kingdom that began before midnight on the previous date ended; it injured 52, damaged some roads and homes, and caused interruptions to public utility services. During the day, the weekly Home Security Situation Report was filed, noting that for the week ending at 0600 hours on 15 Apr 1942, 20 were killed and 33 were seriously injured due to German bombing.

Germany : Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt , old veteran on Polish and French campaigns and Operation Barbarossa , was assigned as Commander in Chief of German Atlantic Wall defences.

Black Sea : Soviet transport ship Svanetiya was bombed and sunk by Luftwaffe JU-87 dive bombers off Crimea

Philippines :4.000 Japanese troops landed on Panay and and 2.000 more on Negros in the Philippine Islands before dawn. On Panay, lloilo City, Capiz, and the copper mines near San Jose were captured without resistance, but they found lloilo City in ruins, sabotaged by the retreating Filipino troops.

Burma : Japanese troops decisively defeated the 1st Burma Division near Yenangyaung, Burma. Same day British and Indian began to destroy oilfields in the region , causing 500 ft long flames raising sky from demolished derricks.

South West Pacific : American submarine USS Tambor torpedoed and sank Japanese freighter Kitami Maru 50 miles southeast of Kavieng, New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago.

Tokyo , Japan : The Japanese Navy issued Order No. 18 for the capture of Midway and Aleutian Islands.

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17th April 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-123 sank US freighter Alcoa Guide on the surface with her deck guns 300 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States at 0355 hours; 6 were killed, 27 survived.

Caribbean Sea : German submarine U-66 torpedoed and sank Panamanian tanker Heinrich von Riedemann 100 miles west of Grenada at 0523 hours; all 44 aboard survived.

Arctic Sea : Soviet destroyers Sokrushitelny and Gremyashchy were transferred from Allied convoy QP-10 to convoy PQ-14 at 0430 hours.

Black Sea : Luftwaffe aircraft bombed and sank Soviet troopship Svanetiya in the Black Sea; 750 were killed, 193 survived.

Ausburg , Germany : 12 Lancaster bombers from No. 44 Squadron RAF and No. 76 Squadron RAF attempted a low level daylight attack on the MAN diesel engine factory in Augsburg, Germany. 7 of the 12 aircraft were shot down by German fighters, while the remaining 5 accurately dropped the bombs on the target, though the damage caused was smaller than desired. The leader of the raid RAF commander John Dering was awarded with Victoria Cross. This costly raid reinforced RAF Bomber Command Air Marshal Arthur Harris’ feelings that daylight missions should be avoided though.

Elsewhere, 173 British bombers (134 Wellington, 23 Stirling, 11 Halifax, and 5 Manchester) from RAF bomber command attacked Hamburg, Germany; 23 civilians were killed, 66 were wounded; 8 bombers were shot down by German night fighters and anti aircraft guns during this attack.

Dortmund , Germany : Gestapo reports a huge increase in anti Nazi grafitti and wallpapers in Dortmund and other Rhineland towns.

Konigstein , Germany : French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud who was captured in 1940 escaped from his castle prison in the Königstein Fortress and was smuggled into Vichy France. (which irritated Hitler so much , Himmler ordered Gestapo to locate and assasinate Giraud personally) For the French population, now approaching their third year under German occupation, Giraud’s escape was a fantastic boost for morale.

Berlin , Germany : German government reduced the amount of provisions given to Soviet prisoners of war.

UK : Luftwaffe bombers attacked Southampton, England, United Kingdom.

Philippines : Two column of Japanese troops converged at Dumarao on Panay, Philippine Islands, completing the conquest of the eastern side of the island.

Chinese consul general in the Philippines Yang Guangsheng, after repeatedly refuse to cooperate with the Japanese to recognize the puppet government in Nanjing even under torture, was executed by the Japanese in the Philippines. 7 of his staff members were executed on the same day.

Burma : General William Slim launched a failed counterattack with the Indian 17th Division near Yenangyaung, Burma; he had wanted the counterattack to open up Japanese lines, to meet with troops of the 113th Regiment of Chinese 38th Division fighting to relieve Yenangyaung, and to allow the remnants of the 1st Burma Division to return to the main Allied lines. To the east, Japanese 56th Infantry Division and Chinese troops clashed at Bawlake and Pyinmana, Burma.

Dutch East Indies : American submarine USS Searaven evacuates a further 35 more Australian troops from Timor, Dutch East Indies.

Hawaii , Pacific Ocean : Admiral Chester Nimitz accepted Joseph Rochefort’s hypothesis that Port Moresby, Australian Papua was likely the target of the suspected Japanese Navy operation against the location code named RZP.

Pacific Ocean : The task force carrying the Doolittle Raiders refueled at about 1,000 miles away from Tokyo, Japan.

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