Year 1942

WW2 War Diary for Friday, May 22, 1942: Air War Southeast Asia: Lt.-Col. Kato, Japanese AAF fighter ‘ace’ (58 victories) disappears in his Nakajima Oscar fighter over Bay of Bengal. […]

WW2 War Diary for Thursday, May 21, 1942: Air War Mediterranean – Operation Herkules: planned German airborne invasion of Malta postponed indefinitely. Pacific Philippines: Japanese troops land in Leyte Gulf.

WW2 War Diary for Tuesday, May 19, 1942: Air War Canada: UN Air Training Conference in Ottawa, May 19-22 (enlarged Empire Air Training Scheme signed at Ottawa, June 5, 1942).

WW2 War Diary for Monday, May 18, 1942: Sea War Mediterranean: Admiral Harwood appointed C-in-C; Admiral Cunningham to head naval delegation to Washington. Politics Japan: Malik appointed Russian Ambassador in

WW2 War Diary for Saturday, May 16, 1942: Eastern Front Crimea: GERMANS CAPTURE KERCH – dashing Russian hopes that siege of Sebastopol can be lifted. Air War Southeast Asia: RAF

WW2 War Diary for Friday, May 15, 1942: Neutrals Vichy France: 3 Vichy French warships – carrier Bearn and 2 cruisers – immobilized at Martinique at insistence of US Government.

WW2 War Diary for Thursday, May 14, 1942: Sea War Mediterranean: Britsih sub Turbulent makes repeated attacks on heavily escorted Italian convoys making for Benghazi (May 14-29); sinking 3 merchant

WW2 War Diary for Wednesday, May 13, 1942: Sea War Atlantic: British MTBs sink torpedo boats Iltis and Seeadler (200 killed) escorting disguised raider Stier from Rotterdam to Bordeaux; MTB

WW2 War Diary for Tuesday, May 12, 1942: Eastern Front Ukraine: Russian ‘South-West Front’ (Army Group, approx. equal to a German or Anglo-American Army) launches counter-offensive from Barvenkovo Salient, south

WW2 War Diary for Monday, May 11, 1942: Sea War Mediterranean: British destroyers Lively, Kipling and Jackal bombed by Ju 88 bombers west of Alexandria. Sister ship Jervis rescues 630

WW2 War Diary for Sunday, May 10, 1942: Home Fronts Britain: Churchill warns Germany in broadcast that Britain will retaliate if poison gas is used on Russian Front (unknown to

WW2 War Diary for Saturday, May 9, 1942: Eastern Front BATTLE OF KHARKOV: The front line sways back and forth in East Ukraine throughout May and June, before Germans finally

WW2 War Diary for Tuesday, May 8, 1942: Home Fronts Britain: Sinclair, Secretary for Air, declares at Birmingham that the RAF does not wish to destroy historic German cities but

WW2 War Diary for Thursday, May 7, 1942: Home Fronts Germany: State Armaments Council (Ruestungsrat) formed under Speer with Milch (Luftwaffe), 3 generals, 1 admiral and 8 representatives of the

WW2 War Diary for Wednesday, May 6, 1942: Pacific Philippines – FALL OF CORREGIDOR and US forts in Manila Bay: Japanese take 12,495 prisoners, including Generals Wainwright and King. Philippines