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.
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.
Vice Admiral Walter S. Anderson becomes Commander Battleships Battle Force.
West Base, U.S. Antarctic Service, is closed.
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.
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).
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).
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.
Coast Guard Reserve is established.
Europe
Bulgaria joins the Axis as German troops occupy the country.
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.
Rear Admiral Edward J. Marquart is detached as Commander Minecraft Battle Force.
Light cruisers Brooklyn (CL-40) and Savannah (CL-42), and destroyers Case (DD-370), Shaw (DD-373), Cummings 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.
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).
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).8
Atlantic
Heavy cruiser Vincennes (CA-44) departs Pernambuco, Brazil, for
Simonstown, South Africa (see 20 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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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).
Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Danish Minister to the United States Henrik de Kauffman sign Agreement Relating to the Defense of Greenland.
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.
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.
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, theambulance 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.]
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).
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.
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).
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-mile neutrality 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).
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-98 had 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.
German battleship Bismarck is overwhelmed and sunk by British naval force, 300 nautical miles west of Ushant, France, 48°10'N, 16°12'W.
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.
Comanche and Raritan, together with unclassified auxiliary vessel Bowdoin (IX-50) make up the force.
Crete capitulates to the Germans.
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.
Naval Air Station, Balboa, Canal Zone, is established.
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.
Rear Admiral Joseph K. Taussig is detached as Commandant Fifth Naval District and Commander Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia.
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).
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vichy France severs relations with the Soviet Union.
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 Edward D.
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).
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.
1st Marine Aircraft Wing (Lieutenant Colonel Louis E. Woods, USMC) is established at Quantico, Virginia.
Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, is established.
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.
24, Thu.
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).
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 been 9 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 prizeship 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 interment 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.]
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).
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'."
Atlantic
Naval Operating Base, Trinidad, is established.
Transport West Point (AP-23) arrives at New York with American and Chinese passengers.
Presidential yacht Potomac (AG-25), accompanied by Calypso (AG-35), proceeds to South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where she embarks Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Martha of Norway and her party. After a day of fishing ("with some luck") the Chief Executive personally takes the helm of a Chris-Craft motorboat and transports his guests back to the place whence they came. That night, Potomac, again accompanied by Calypso, shifts to Menemsha Bight, Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, where they join heavy cruisers Augusta (CA-31) and Tuscaloosa (CA-37) and five destroyers.
Pacific
Heavy cruisers Northampton (CA-26) and Salt Lake City
(CA-25) arrive at Brisbane, Australia, for a goodwill visit.
Pacific
Executive order transfers Coast Guard's Honolulu District from the
Treasury Department to the Navy in the first step toward shifting the
Coast Guard to naval control (see 11 September and 1 November).
Maneuvers at New River, North Carolina, conclude.
Submarine chaser PC 457 is accidentally sunk in collision with U.S. freighter Norluna off Puerto Rico.
Pacific
During Japanese bombing raid on Chungking, China, Japanese planes
approach the city from the east, passing directly over the U.S. Embassy
chancery and the river gunboat Tutuila (PR-4). There is no
repetition of the incident of 30 July.
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 Bermuda to begin 4,064-mile neutrality patrol that will
conclude at Bermuda on 27 August.
President Roosevelt fishes with "indifferent luck" off Deer Island from presidential yacht Potomac (AG-25); the ship anchors in Pulpit Harbor, Penobscot Bay for the night.
Pacific
Heavy cruisers Northampton (CA-26) and Salt Lake City
(CA-25) arrive at Rabaul, New Britain, British New Guinea, for a
goodwill visit.
Atlantic
Panamanian (ex-Danish) freighter Sessa is torpedoed and sunk
about 300 miles southwest of Iceland, 61°26'N, 30°50'W (see 6
September). The freighter's assailant is unknown.
Atlantic
TG 2.6 (Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt), comprising Wasp (CV-7),
light cruiser Savannah (CL-42), and destroyers Meredith
(DD-434) and Gwin (DD-433), departs Hampton Roads, Virginia, on
a neutrality patrol that will conclude at Bermuda on 10 September.
Atlantic
German submarine U-570, attacked by an RAF Hudson (No. 269
Squadron), is captured intact by British surface force in the North
Atlantic. The Royal Navy thoroughly evaluated the submarine, the first
to be captured intact for intensive study; the U-boat served as HMS Graph
until it was wrecked in 1944. Among the ships that captured the
submarine was Canadian destroyer HMCS Niagara, formerly USS Thatcher
(DD-162), one of the fifty destroyers transferred in the
destroyers-for-bases agreement of August 1940.
Hostilities in Iran cease.
Atlantic
TG 2.7, comprising aircraft escort vessel Long Island (AVG 1)
(VGS 1), light cruiser Nashville (CL-43) and destroyers Livermore
(DD-429) and Kearny (DD-432) departs Bermuda. It will conclude
the patrol--the first involving the prototype "escort carrier"--at
Bermuda on 9 September.
Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet (Admiral Ernest J. King) designates a task group as a Denmark Strait Patrol to operate in waters between Iceland and Greenland.
Pacific
U.S. Consul General in Shanghai, China (Clarence Gauss), Commander
Yangtze Patrol (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford) and Commanding
Officer Fourth Marine Regiment (Colonel Samuel L. Howard, USMC)
recommend that all naval forces in China (river gunboats and marines)
be withdrawn.
Executive order provides that such additional Coast Guard vessels, units, or people, should be transferred to the Navy as should be agreed upon between the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Chief of Naval Operations (see 6 August and 1 November).
German submarines attack convoy SC 42; unarmed Panamanian freighter Montana is torpedoed and sunk by U-105 at 63°40'N, 35°50'W.
Gulf of Suez
Unarmed U.S. freighter Arkansan is damaged by antiaircraft
shell fragments during heavy air raid on Port Suez; there are no
reported casualties among the 38-man crew.
Atlantic
As TF 15 proceeds toward Iceland, destroyer Truxtun (DD-229)
reports submarine emerging from the fog 300 yards away, but low
visibility and uncertainty as to the position of MacLeish
(DD-220), also in the screen of TF 15, prevents Truxtun from
opening fire. After the submarine submerges, Truxtun, MacLeish
and Sampson (DD-394) make depth charge attacks with no
verifiable result.
German submarines attack convoy SC 44; among the ships lost in the onslaught are Panamanian freighter Pink Star (ex-Danish Landby) and tanker T.J. Williams, torpedoed and sunk by U-552 at 61°36'N, 35°07'W and 61°34'N, 35°11'W, respectively.
German Chargé d'Affaires Hans Thomsen replies to Secretary of State Hull's note of 19 September concerning reparations for the loss of Robin Moor: referring to the notes of 20 June and 19 September 1941, Thomsen replies that "the two communications made are not such as to lead to an appropriate reply by my government" (see 3 November).
TU 4.1.3 (Commander Dennis L. Ryan) assumes escort duty for convoy ON 20 at the MOMP (see 2 October).
Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis, incapacitated by illness, is relieved as Commandant, Sixteenth Naval District and Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I., by Captain Herbert J. Ray (see 5 November)."
Secretary of the Navy Knox approves "popular" names for naval combat aircraft: "Avenger" (Grumman TBF), "Buccaneer" (Brewster SB2A), "Buffalo" (Brewster F2A), "Catalina" (Consolidated PBY), "Coronado" (Consolidated PB2Y), "Corsair" (Vought F4U), "Dauntless" (Douglas SBD), "Devastator" (Douglas TBD), "Helldiver" (Curtiss SB2C), "Kingfisher" (Vought OS2U/Naval Aircraft Factory OS2N), "Mariner" (Martin PBM), "Sea Ranger" (Boeing PBB patrol bomber), "Seagull" (Curtiss SO3C), and "Vindicator" (Vought SB2U). Names supplement the Navy's letter-number designations, which remain unchanged and continue to be used in correspondence. As can be seen, the name "Avenger" is assigned well before either Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941) or the slaughter of torpedo planes at the Battle of Midway (4-6 June 1942). These two events are commonly believed to have motivated the assignment of this particular nickname to the TBF/TBM series. The name "Seagull" is also applied unofficially to the Curtiss SOC series which is in use in cruiser-based observation squadrons. Ironically, the SO3C proves a failure in service, and the SOC it was designed to replace serves on.
Sale of War Savings Bonds to naval personnel is inaugurated on this date; under the direction of a Coordinator for War Savings Bonds, Supply Corps officers are designated as issuing agents and assigned to 28 major shore activities. Actual sales of the bonds will amount to $61,000,000--over 50 in excess of the predicted sales.
Atlantic
Destroyer Winslow (DD-359), in screen of convoy ON 20, is
detached from TU 4.1.3 to proceed to the assistance of Dutch motor
vessel Tuva, torpedoed by German submarine U-575 at
54°16'N, 26°36'W. Although Winslow finds the freighter
still afloat, the destroyer depth charges a "doubtful" submarine
contact in the vicinity and upon her return is unable to locate any
survivors. Winslow rejoins ON 20 the following morning. The
Dutch freighter's crew, however, is apparently rescued by another ship,
for the Lloyd's List of Shipping Losses: World War II lists
only one man missing from among the complement of 35.
Coast Guard cutter Campbell scuttles irreparably damaged British tanker San Florentino (torpedoed by German submarine U-575 at 52°50'N, 34°40'W and 52°42'N, 34°51'W).
Oiler Salinas (AO-19), with convoy [???}, is damaged by heavy seas, and is convoyed to Iceland by destroyer Broome (DD-210).
Pacific
Captain Lester J. Hudson relieves Captain Richard E. Cassidy as
Commander, South China Patrol, on board river gunboat Mindanao
(PR-8) at Hong Kong, B.C.C.
Destroyer Charles F. Hughes (DD-428), while escorting convoy HX 154, rescues the only seven survivors of British freighter Hatasu (torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-431 on 2 October, 600 miles east of Cape Race), at 51°56'N, 35°58'W.
Pacific
Destroyers Peary (DD-225) and Pillsbury (DD-227) are
damaged in collision during night exercises in Manila Bay, P.I.
Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet (Admiral Husband E. Kimmel) sends two submarines to Midway and two to Wake on "simulated war patrols" (see 26 October).
Navy orders all U.S. merchant ships in Asiatic waters to put into friendly ports.
Atlantic
Battle to protect convoy SC 48 continues. SC 48 is the first U.S.
Navy-escorted convoy to engage German submarines in battle, but despite
the presence of the three modern U.S. destroyers and two flush-deckers--Decatur
(DD-341) and HMCS Columbia [ex-U.S. destroyer Haraden
(DD-183)], and four Canadian corvettes, the enemy torpedoes six ships
and an escort vessel in a total elapsed time of four hours and
forty-seven minutes. U-432 sinks Greek steamer Evros at
57°00'N, 24°30'W, Panamanian steamer Bold Venture and
Norwegian motor tanker Barfonn at 56°58'N, 25°04'W; U-558
sinks British tanker W.C. Teagle at 57°00'N, 25°00'W,
and Norwegian steamship Rym at 57°01'N, 24°20'W. U-553
sinks Norwegian steamer Erviken at 56°10'N, 24°30'W,
and conducts unsuccessful approach on destroyer Plunkett
(DD-431). Destroyer Kearny (DD-432) is torpedoed by U-568
southwest of Iceland, 57°00'N, 24°00'W; 11 of Kearny's
crew are killed, 22 injured (see 18 October). Soon thereafter, U-101
torpedoes and sinks British destroyer HMS Broadwater [ex-U.S.
destroyer Mason (DD-191)], at 57°01'N, 19°08'W. Lost on
board the British flush-decker are two survivors from Ervinger
and nine from W.C. Teagle. Escorted by Greer (DD-145),
the damaged Kearny proceeds to Hvalfjordur, Iceland. There she
will undergo repairs alongside repair ship Vulcan (AR-5) and
eventually return to the United States. Iceland-based PBYs (VP 73)
arrive to provide air coverage for SC 48.
Destroyer Charles F. Hughes (DD-428) and Gleaves (DD-423), while screening convoy HX 154, depth-charge suspicious contacts at 54°40'N, 33°59'W, and 54°40'N, 33°59'W (see 19 October).
Unarmed U.S. freighter Lehigh is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-126 about 75 miles off Freetown, Sierre Leone, 08°26'N, 14°37'W. While there are no fatalities, four men are slightly injured.
TU 4.1.3 (Commander Richard E. Webb) escorts convoy HX 156; destroyer Hilary P. Jones (DD-427) carries out depth charge attacks on suspicious contact but, after spying a school of porpoises, ceases fire.
South and Northeast Greenland Patrols are merged and renamed Greenland Patrol; it is designated as TG 24.8 of the Atlantic Fleet.
Destroyer Hilary P. Jones (DD-427) is damaged by heavy seas while screening convoy HX 156.
TU 4.1.6 (Commander George W. Johnson) screens convoy ON 28. During the day, destroyers Lea (DD-118), DuPont (DD-152), MacLeish (DD-220), and Sampson (DD-394) depth charge suspected U-boat contacts.
TU 4.1.1 (Captain Marion Y. Cohen) contacts MOMP-bound convoy HX 157 at 45°43'N, 55°37'W. The convoy will not be attacked by U-boats (see 1 November).
TU 4.1.6 (Commander George W. Johnson), screening ON 28, carries out vigorous attacks on sound contacts: destroyer Babbitt (DD-128) carries out two, while Buck (DD-420), DuPont (DD-152) (which is attacked by U-boat but missed), Leary (DD-158) and Sampson (DD-394) one attack apiece.
Pacific
Pacific Escort Force is formed at Pearl Harbor to protect transports
and certain merchant vessels carrying troops and valuable military
cargoes between Hawaii and the Far East.
Atlantic
PBYs (VP 73) provide air coverage for convoy ON 30.
Destroyers Dallas (DD-199), Ellis (DD-154), and Eberle (DD-430), screening convoy HX 157, carry out depth charge attacks on sound contacts off St. John's, Newfoundland.
PBMs (VP 74) provide air coverage for convoy ON 30.
Atlantic
PBYs (VP 73) provide air coverage for convoy ON 31.
Destroyer Upshur (DD-144), escorting convoy HX 157, depth charges sound contact (later determined to be most likely a whale or blackfish) at 56°56'N, 49°21'W.
British RFA oiler Olwen reports German surface raider attack at 03°04'N, 22°42'W. Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic, Vice Admiral Algernon U. Willis, RN, orders heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire (accompanied by armed merchant cruiser HMS Canton) to investigate. Light cruiser HMS Dunedin and special service vessels HMS Queen Emma and Princess Beatrix are ordered to depart Freetown, Sierra Leone to join in the search. Dorsetshire and Canton part company, with the former heading southeast and the latter steaming toward a position to the northwest, to be supported by TG 3.6, light cruiser Omaha (CL-4) and destroyer Somers (DD-381), which are at that time well to the northwest of the reported enemy position. Light cruiser Memphis (CL-4) and destroyers Davis (DD-395) and Jouett (DD-396), near to Olwen's position, search the area without result; Omaha and Somers search unsuccessfully for survivors (see 5-6 November).
Search for German raider reported by British RFA oiler Olwen the previous day continues; Commander-in-Chief South Atlantic (Vice Admiral Algernon U. Willis, RN) informs British ships of the unsuccessful efforts by the five U.S. ships (two light cruisers and three destroyers) involved in the search the previous day (see 6 November).
Pacific
Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell relieves Captain Herbert J. Ray as
Commandant, Sixteenth Naval District and Commander, Philippine Naval
Coastal Frontier. Ray had been acting in that capacity due to the
illness of Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis.
Destroyer Madison (DD-425), on the flank of convoy ON 39, carries out depth charge attack at 45°50'N, 40°40'W; investigation later proves their quarry to have been a whale.
Naval Operating Base, Iceland, is established; Rear Admiral James L. Kauffman is the first commandant.
Destroyer Ericsson (DD-440), screening convoy HX 157, depth charges sound contact later evaluated as a "doubtful" submarine.
Pacific
Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet (Admiral Thomas C. Hart) receives
permission to withdraw river gunboats from the Yangtze and USMC forces
from China.
Destroyer Decatur (DD-341), screening convoy HX 159, depth charges sound contact off the Grand Banks; it is later evaluated as a "doubtful" submarine.
Destroyer Decatur (DD-341), screening convoy HX 159, twice depth charges sound contacts that are later evaluated as "non-submarine." Destroyer Badger (DD-126), depth charges sound contact that is later evaluated as perhaps Decatur's wake. Coast Guard cutter Campbell reports sound contact and conducts search; she is joined by destroyer Livermore (DD-429).
Destroyer Decatur (DD-341), screening convoy HX 159, depth charges sound contact; although it is regarded as a good contact, the ensuing search yields no evidence of a submarine.
Atlantic
Destroyer Benson (DD-421) and Niblack (DD-424),
screening convoy ON 34, depth charge sound contacts.
Destroyer Edison (DD-439), en route to MOMP in TU 4.1.1 to screen convoy ON 35, attacks a sound contact southwest of Iceland at 62°53'N, 24°30'W.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.1 (Captain Marion Y. Cohen) assumes escort duty for convoy ON 35
at the MOMP. There will be no U-boat attacks on the convoy, but nearly
continuous heavy weather between 16 and 25 November result in 16 of the
26 ships straggling.
Bureau of Navigation directs that naval district personnel who received Armed Guard training be assigned to Little Creek, Virginia, or San Diego, California, for further instruction. They will be transferred to Armed Guard centers at New York, New York, and Treasure Island, California, for assignment to merchant ships.
Special Japanese envoy Kurusu Saburo arrives in Washington and confers with Secretary of State Cordell Hull.
Atlantic
Destroyers Benson (DD-421) and Edison (DD-439),
screening convoy ON 34, depth charge submarine contacts.
TU 4.1.5 (Commander William K. Phillips) intercepts and joins convoy HX 160; although none of the destroyers in the task unit will be damaged by enemy action, all--Mayo (DD-422), Babbitt (DD-128), Leary (DD-158), Schenck (DD-159), and Nicholson (DD-442)--will suffer storm damage of varying degrees between this date and 28 November.
German blockade runner Odenwald, captured by light cruiser Omaha (CL-4) and destroyer Somers (DD-381) on 6 November, is escorted into San Juan, Puerto Rico, by Somers and turned over to U.S. authorities.
Atlantic
Destroyer Nicholson (DD-424), with TU 4.1.5, escorting convoy
HX 160, depth charges a sound contact at 50°30'N, 50°40'W.
Atlantic
Lend-Lease is extended to Iceland.
Pacific
Destroyer Shaw (DD-373) and oiler Sabine (AO-25) are
damaged in collision in Hawaiian Operating Area.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.6 (Commander Gilbert C. Hoover) assumes escort duty for convoy
HX 161; the convoy will not be attacked by U-boats during its passage
(see 24 November).
British light cruiser Dunedin is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-124 north of Pernambuco, Brazil, at approximately 03°00'S, 26°00'W (see 27 November).
Submarines Triton (SS-201) and Tambor (SS-198) arrive off Wake Island on simulated war patrols.
Pacific
Japanese carrier task force (Vice Admiral NagumoŒ', Chuichi), formed
around six aircraft carriers, sails from remote Hittokappu Bay in the
Kuriles, its departure shrouded in secrecy. Its mission, should talks
between United States and Japan fail to resolve the diplomatic impasse
over Far Eastern and Pacific questions, is to attack the U.S. Pacific
Fleet wherever it is found in Hawaiian waters.
Tug Sonoma (AT-12) sails from Wake Island with Pan American Airways barges PAB No. 2 and PAB No. 4 in tow, bound for Honolulu.
Pacific
U.S. passenger liner President Madison, chartered for the
purpose, sails from Shanghai, China, with the 2d Battalion, 4th Marine
Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Donald Curtis, USMC) embarked, bound for
the Philippines (see 28 November).
Atlantic
Destroyer Babbitt (DD-128), with TU 4.1.5, escorting convoy HX
160, depth charges a sound contact.
U.S. freighter Nishmaha rescues 72 survivors (five of whom succumb to their wounds) from British light cruiser HMS Dunedin, sunk by German submarine U-124 on 24 November. Nishmaha transports the survivors to Trinidad.
Seaplane tender Wright (AV-1), arrives at Wake Island, with Marine Aircraft Group 21 people to establish an advance aviation base.
U.S. passenger liner President Harrison, chartered for the purpose, sails from Shanghai, China, with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Curtis T. Beecher, USMC) and regimental staff (Colonel Samuel L. Howard, USMC) embarked, bound for the Philippines. "Stirring scenes of farewell," U.S. Consul Edwin F. Stanton reports to Secretary of State Hull, accompany the marines' departure.
During their storm-fraught passage to rendezvous with the river gunboats proceeding from Shanghai to Manila, submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) experiences steering casualty; minesweeper Finch (AM-9), which loses both anchors in the tempest, stands by to render assistance, and eventually, after three tries, manages to take the crippled ship in tow the following day.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.2 (Commander Fred D. Kirtland), accompanied by salvage vessel Redwing
(ARS-4) and oiler Sapelo (AO-11), assumes escort for convoy HX
162 (see 1 December).
TU 4.1.4 (Captain Alan G. Kirk) assumes escort duty for convoy ONS 39; the convoy will not be attacked by U-boats during its passage. ONS 39, however, will encounter considerable stormy weather that causes varying degrees of topside damage to destroyers Plunkett (DD-431), Livermore (DD-429), Decatur (DD-341) and Cole (DD-155).
Destroyer Woolsey (DD-437), screening convoy HX 161, despite having been hampered by propulsion problems the previous days, depth charges suspicious contact without result.
Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I 10 reconnoiters Suva Bay, Fiji.
U.S. passenger liner President Madison arrives at Olongapo, P.I., and disembarks the 2d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Donald Curtis, USMC). President Madison will then proceed on to Singapore.
River gunboats Luzon (PR-7) and Oahu (PR-6) (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford, Commander Yangtze Patrol, in Luzon) rendezvous with submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) and minesweeper Finch (AM-9); they will remain in company until 3 December.
Atlantic
Destroyer Decatur (DD-341), in TU 4.1.4 (Captain Alan G. Kirk),
escorting convoy ONS 39, carries out depth charge attack on suspicious
contact, 59°24'N, 27°03'W.
Army GHQ Maneuvers in North and South Carolina conclude.
German submarine U-575 encounters and tracks unarmed U.S. tanker Astral, the latter en route from Aruba, N.W.I., to Lisbon, Portugal, with a cargo of 78,200 barrels of gasoline and kerosene. After seeing that Astral is unarmed and bears prominent neutrality markings, however, the U-boat's commanding officer, Kapitanleutnant Gunther Heydemann, allows the American ship to pass unmolested. Subsequently, another submarine in the vicinity, U-43, encounters Astral and attacks her, but her torpedoes miss their mark (see 2 December).
TU 4.1.2 (Commander Fred D. Kirtland), accompanied by salvage vessel Redwing (ARS-4) and oiler Sapelo (AO-11), while escorting convoy HX 162, encounters heavy weather that scatters 35 merchantmen. Destroyers Charles F. Hughes (DD-428), Madison (DD-425), Lansdale (DD-426), Wilkes (DD-441) and Sturtevant (DD-240) all suffer storm damage of varying degrees (see 7 December).
Destroyer Livermore (DD-429), escorting convoy ONS 39, is dispatched to investigate darkened merchantman steaming on opposite course. Livermore trails her and after determining her to be Panamanian freighter Ramapo, en route to join convoy SC 56, allows her to continue her voyage after being warned not to radio a report of contact with a convoy.
Pacific
President orders a "defensive information patrol" of "three small
ships" established off the coast of French Indochina; he specifically
designates yacht Isabel (PY-10) (reserve flagship for Commander
in Chief Asiatic Fleet) as one of the trio of vessels (see 3 and 6
December). Schooner Lanikai is acquired and commissioned, but
the start of the war results in her planned mission being cancelled.
The third vessel, schooner Molly Moore, is selected for the
mission but is never taken over. Lanikai's civilian career had
seen her used as a "prop" in the filming of motion picture "Hurricane"
that starred Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall.
U.S. passenger liner President Harrison arrives at Olongapo, P.I., with the remaining elements of the 4th Marine Regiment (Colonel Samuel L. Howard, USMC) withdrawn from Shanghai. President Harrison soon sails to bring out the last marines from China (see 8 December).
As river gunboats Luzon (PR-7) and Oahu (PR-6) (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford, Commander Yangtze Patrol, in Luzon), submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) and minesweeper Finch (AM-9) proceed toward Manila, they become the object of curiosity by Japanese forces in the vicinity; first a floatplane circles the formation, then seven Japanese warships of various types.
Atlantic
German submarine U-43 again attacks unarmed U.S. tanker Astral
and this time torpedoes and sinks her at 35°40'N, 24°00'W.
There are no survivors from the 37-man merchant crew.
Weather encountered by convoy ONS 39, being escorted by TU 4.1.4 (Captain Alan G. Kirk) worsens to the extent that the watch on board destroyer Plunkett (DD-431) cannot be relieved because officers and men cannot safely traverse the weather decks.
TU 4.1.5 (Commander William K. Phillips) clears Reykjavik, Iceland, to rendezvous with convoy ON 41, which due to poor weather will be 48 hours late to the MOMP. Over the ensuing period at sea, TU 4.1.5 battles "consistently severe" weather conditions that will cause varying degrees of damage to all of the ships in the task unit. Although ships of the unit carry out attacks (see 5, 9 and 11 December), there will be no U-boat attacks on the merchantmen under their protection.
TU 4.1.6 (Commander Gilbert C. Hoover), escorting convoy HX 161, encounters heavy weather; destroyer Bernadou (DD-153) suffers storm damage; destroyers Roe (DD-418) and Lea (DD-118) each lose a man overboard. Neither sailor is recovered (see 4 December).
Pacific
Submarine Trout (SS-202) arrives off Midway Island on simulated
war patrol.
Destroyer Mayo (DD-422), in TU 4.1.5 en route to MOMP and convoy ON 41, encounters two British ships, HMS Tenacity and merchantman Meademere, burning navigation lights south of Iceland; when they fail to answer challenge, Mayo illuminates them with starshells, at which point they turn off lights and answer challenge promptly.
Pacific
Yacht Isabel (PY-10) sails for coast of French Indochina,
deployed in accordance with President Roosevelt's "defensive
information patrol" order.
Submarine Argonaut (SS-166) arrives off Midway Island on simulated war patrol.
River gunboat Mindanao (PR-8) (Captain Lester J. Hudson, Commander South China Patrol, embarked) sails from Hong Kong, British Crown Colony, for Manila. She is the last U.S. Navy ship to depart Chinese waters prior to war. Luzon Stevedoring Company tug Ranger follows subsequently, carrying spare parts and 800 3-inch shells for Mindanao's main battery (previously stored ashore at Hong Kong). Only two U.S. naval vessels remain in Chinese waters: river gunboat Wake (ex-Guam) (PR-3) at Shanghai to maintain communications until a radio station is established at the Consulate General with Navy equipment, and river gunboat Tutuila (PR-4) at Chungking, where she furnishes essential services to the U.S. Embassy. Wake had received her new name on 23 January 1941 to clear the name Guam for a new large cruiser (CB 2).
Carrier Enterprise (CV-6) ferries USMC F4Fs (VMF 211) to Wake Island; TF 8 (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.) then shapes a course to return to Pearl Harbor. TF 8 is slated to reach Pearl on 6 December. Heavy weather on 5-6 December, however, will result in a delay in fueling the force's destroyers and push back the time of arrival in Pearl from the afternoon of the 6th to the morning of the 7th. That same day, a routine scouting flight from the carrier sights Honolulu-bound tug Sonoma (AT-12) with Pan American Airways barges PAB No. 2 and PAB No. 4 in tow. Sonoma, armed with only two .30-caliber machine guns, will eventually reach Honolulu on 15 December 1941, with her tows.
Japanese naval land attack plane (Chitose Kokutai) reconnoiters Wake Island undetected.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.5 (Commander William K. Phillips) reaches MOMP to escort convoy
ON 41 which has been delayed by bad weather.
TU 4.1.6 (Commander Gilbert C. Hoover), encounters "mountainous" seas as it continues to escort convoy HX 161; destroyer Roe (DD-418) suffers two sailors hurt when torpedo breaks loose atop her after deckhouse.
Carrier Lexington (CV-2) in TF 12 (Rear Admiral John H. Newton) sails for Midway to ferry USMC SB2Us (VMSB 231) to that atoll. Like Enterprise (CV-6)'s deployment to Wake, Lexington's to Midway is in response to the "War Warning" of 27 November.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.3 (Commander George W. Johnson) assumes escort duty for convoy
HX 163 in North Atlantic.
Destroyer Babbitt (DD-128), in TU 4.1.5 escorting convoy ON 41, depth-charges suspected submarine contact without result.
Atlantic
Destroyer Decatur (DD-341), in TU 4.1.4 (Captain Alan G. Kirk),
escorting convoy ONS 39, carries out depth charge attack on suspicious
contact, 51°54'N, 41°53'W.
Pacific
Unarmed U.S. Army-chartered steam schooner Cynthia Olson is
shelled and sunk by Japanese submarine I 26 about 1,000 miles
northwest of Diamond Head, Honolulu, T.H., 33°42'N, 145°29'W.
She is the first U.S. merchantman to be sunk by a Japanese submarine in
World War II. There are no survivors from the 33-man crew or the two
Army passengers.
Japanese Type A midget submarine attempts to follow general stores issue ship Antares (AKS-3) into the entrance channel to Pearl Harbor; summoned to the scene by the auxiliary vessel, destroyer Ward (DD-139), on channel entrance patrol, with an assist from a PBY (VP 14), sinks the intruder with gunfire and depth charges. Word of the incident, however, works its way with almost glacial slowness up the chain of command.
Army radar station at Opana Point, Oahu, soon thereafter detects an unusually large "blip" approaching from the north, but the operator reporting the contact is told not to concern himself with the matter since a formation of USAAF B-17s is expected from the west coast of the United States. The army watch officer dismisses the report as "nothing unusual." The "blip" is the first wave of the incoming enemy strike.
Consequently, "like a thunderclap from a clear sky" Japanese carrier attack planes (in both torpedo and high-level bombing roles) and bombers, supported by fighters, totaling 353 planes from naval striking force (Vice Admiral Nagumo Chuichi) attack in two waves, targeting ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and nearby military airfields and installations. Japanese planes torpedo and sink battleships Oklahoma (BB-37) and West Virginia (BB-48), and auxiliary (gunnery training/target ship) Utah (AG-16). On board Oklahoma, Ensign Francis G. Flaherty, USNR, and Seaman First Class James R. Ward, as the ship is abandoned, hold flashlights to allow their shipmates to escape; on board West Virginia, her commanding officer, Captain Mervyn Bennion, directs his ship's defense until struck down and mortally wounded by a fragment from a bomb that hits battleship Tennessee (BB-43) moored inboard; on board Utah, Austrian-born Chief Watertender Peter Tomich remains at his post as the ship capsizes, securing the boilers and making sure his shipmates have escaped from the fireroom. Flaherty, Ward, Bennion, Tomich and Bennion's falling in action sets in motion a chain of events that will result in Mess Attendant First Class Doris Miller becoming the first African-American to be awarded the Navy Cross. Miller, a brawny, broad-shouldered former high school football player, is recruited to carry the mortally wounded captain from the bridge. Their egress temporarily blocked by fires, however, the men are compelled to remain on the bridge. Miller mans a .50-caliber machine gun and later tells interviewers modestly that he believes he may have damaged two low-flying Japanese planes. Sadly, Miller will not survive the war; he will perish with escort carrier Liscome Bay (CVE-56) on 24 November 1943 off the Gilberts.
Japanese bombs also sink battleship Arizona (BB-39); the cataclysmic explosion of her forward magazine causes heavy casualties, among them Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Commander Battleship Division 1, who thus becomes the first U.S. Navy flag officer to die in combat in World War II. Both he and Arizona's commanding officer, Captain Franklin van Valkenburgh, are awarded Medals of Honor, posthumously. In addition, the ship's senior surviving officer on board, Lieutenant Commander Samuel G. Fuqua, directs efforts to fight the raging fires and sees to the evacuation of casualties from the ship; he ultimately directs the abandonment of the doomed battleship and leaves in the last boat. He is awarded the Medal of Honor.
When Arizona explodes, she is moored inboard of repair ship Vestal (AR-4); the blast causes damage to the repair ship, which has already been hit by a bomb. Vestal's captain, Commander Cassin Young earns the Medal of Honor by swimming back to his ship after being blown overboard by the explosion of Arizona's magazines, and directing her beaching on Aiea shoal to prevent further damage in the fires consuming Arizona.
Battleship California (BB-44) is hit by both bombs and torpedoes and sinks at her berth alongside Ford Island; during the battle, Ensign Herbert C. Jones, USNR, organizes and leads a party to provide ammunition to the ship's 5-inch antiaircraft battery; he is mortally wounded by a bomb explosion. Gunner Jackson C. Pharris, leading an ordnance repair party, is stunned by concussion of a torpedo explosion early in the action but recovers to set up an ammunition supply train, by hand; he later enters flooding compartments to save shipmates. Chief Radioman Thomas J. Reeves assists in maintaining an ammunition supply party until overcomes by smoke inhalation and fires; Machinist's Mate Robert R. Scott, although his station at an air compressor is flooding, remains at his post, declaring "This is my station and I will stay and give them [the antiaircraft gun crews] air as long as the guns are going." Jones, Pharris, Reeves and Scott all receive the Medal of Honor (Jones, Reeves and Scott posthumously).
Japanese bombs damage destroyers Cassin (DD-372) and Downes (DD-375), which are lying immobile in Drydock No. 1.
Minelayer Oglala (CM-4) is damaged by concussion from torpedo exploding in light cruiser Helena (CL-50) moored alongside, and capsizes at her berth; harbor tug Sotoyomo (YT-9) is sunk in floating drydock YFD-2. Contrary to some secondary accounts, Utah (a converted battleship) is not attacked because she resembled an aircraft carrier, she is attacked because, in the excitement of the moment, she looked sufficiently like the capital ship she once had been. Of the other sunken ships, California, West Virginia, Oglala, and Sotoyomo are raised and repaired; Cassin and Downes are rebuilt around their surviving machinery; all are returned to service. Oklahoma, although raised after monumental effort, is never repaired, and ultimately sinks while under tow to the west coast to be broken up for scrap. The hulks of Arizona and Utah remain at Pearl as memorials.
Battleship Nevada (BB-36), the only capital ship to get underway during the attack, is damaged by bombs and a torpedo before she is beached. Two of her men are later awarded the Medal of Honor: Machinist Donald K. Ross for his service in the forward and after dynamo rooms and Chief Boatswain Edwin J. Hill (posthumously) for his work in enabling the ship to get underway and, later, in attempting to release the anchors during the attempt to beach the ship.
Battleships Pennsylvania (BB-38), Tennessee (BB-43), and Maryland (BB-46), light cruiser Honolulu (CL-48), and floating drydock YFD-2 are damaged by bombs; light cruisers Raleigh (CL-7) and Helena (CL-50) are damaged by torpedoes; destroyer Shaw (DD-373), by bombs, in floating drydock YFD-2; heavy cruiser New Orleans (CA-32), destroyers Helm (DD-388) and Hull (DD-350), destroyer tender Dobbin (AD-3), repair ship Rigel (AR-11), and seaplane tender Tangier (AV-8), are damaged by near-misses of bombs; seaplane tender Curtiss (AV-4) is damaged by crashing carrier bomber; garbage lighter YG-17 (alongside Nevada at the outset) is damaged by strafing and/or concussion of bombs.
Destroyer Monaghan (DD-354) rams, depth-charges, and sinks Type A midget submarine inside Pearl Harbor proper, during the attack. This particular Type A may have been the one whose periscope harbor tug YT-153 attempts to ram early in the attack.
Light minelayer Gamble (DM-15) mistakenly fires upon submarine Thresher (SS-200) off Oahu, 21°15'N, 159°01'W.
Thresher mistakes Gamble for destroyer Litchfield (DD-336) (the latter ship assigned to work with submarines in the Hawaiian operating area), the ship with which she is to rendezvous. Gamble, converted from a flush-deck, four-pipe destroyer, resembles Litchfield. Sadly, the delay occasioned by the mistaken identity proves fatal to a seriously injured sailor on board the submarine, who dies four hours before the boat finally reaches port on the 8th, of multiple injuries suffered on 6 December 1941 when heavy seas wash him against the signal deck rail.
Carrier Enterprise (CV-6) Air Group (CEAG, VB 6 and VS 6) search flight (Commander Howard L. Young, CEAG), in two-plane sections of SBDs, begins arriving off Oahu as the Japanese attack unfolds; some SBDs meet their doom at the hands of Japanese planes; one (VS 6) is shot down by friendly fire. Another SBD ends up on Kauai where its radio-gunner is drafted into the local Army defense force with his single .30-caliber machine gun. Almost all of the surviving planes, together with what observation and scouting planes from battleship (VO) and cruiser (VCS) detachments, as well as flying boats (VP) and utility aircraft (VJ) that survive the attack, take part in the desperate, hastily organized searches flown out of Ford Island to look for the Japanese carriers whence the surprise attack had come.
Navy Yard and Naval Station, Pearl Harbor; Naval Air Stations at Ford Island and Kaneohe Bay; Ewa Mooring Mast Field (Marine Corps air facility); Army airfields at Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows; and Schofield Barracks suffer varying degrees of bomb and fragment damage. Japanese bombs and strafing destroy 188 Navy, Marine Corps, and USAAF planes. At NAS Kaneohe Bay, Aviation Chief Ordnanceman John W. Finn mounts a machine gun on an instruction stand and returns the fire of strafing planes although wounded many times. Although ordered to leave his post to have his wounds treated, he returns to the squadron areas where, although in great pain, he oversees the rearming of returning PBYs. For his heroism, Finn is awarded the Medal of Honor.
Casualties amount to: killed or missing: Navy, 2,008; Marine Corps, 109; Army, 218; Civilian, 68; Wounded: Navy, 710; Marine Corps, 69; Army, 364; Civilian, 35. One particular family tragedy prompts concern in the Bureau of Navigation (later Bureau of Naval Personnel) on the matter of brothers serving in the same ship, a common peacetime practice in the U.S. Navy. Firemen First Class Malcolm J. Barber and LeRoy K. Barber, and Fireman Second Class Randolph H. Barber, are all lost when battleship Oklahoma (BB-37) capsizes. The Bureau considers it in the "individual family interest that brothers not be put on the same ship in war time, as the loss of such a ship may result in the loss of two or more members of the family, which might be avoided if brothers are separated." The Bureau, however, stops short of specifically forbidding the practice. On 3 February 1942, it issues instructions concerning the impracticality of authorizing transfers of men directly from recruit training to ships in which relatives are serving, and urges that brothers then serving together be advised of the undesirability of their continuing to do so. Authorizing commanding officers to approve requests for transfers to facilitate separation, the Bureau directs in July 1942 that commanding officers of ships not forward requests for brothers to serve in the same ship or station. This is too late, however, to prevent the five Sullivan brothers from serving in light cruiser Juneau (CL-52) (see 13 November 1942). Acts of heroism by sailors, marines, soldiers and civilians (from telephone exchange operator to yard shop worker), in addition to those enumerated above, abound. Among the civilians who distinguish themselves this day is Tai Sing Loo, the yard photographer, who has a scheduled appointment to take a picture of the marine Main Gate guards. During the attack, he helps the marines of the Navy Yard fire department fight fires in dry dock number one and later, in the wake of the morning's devastation, delivers food to famished leathernecks.
Japanese losses amount to fewer than 100 men, 29 planes of various types and four Type A midget submarines. A fifth Type A washes ashore off Bellows Field and is recovered; its commander (Ensign Sakamaki Kazuo) is captured, becoming U.S. prisoner of war number one.
Japanese Naval Aviation Pilot First Class Nishikaichi Shigenori, from the carrier Hiryu, crash-lands his Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 carrier fighter (ZERO) on the island of Niihau, T.H. He surrenders to the islanders who disarm him and confiscate his papers but, isolated as they are, know nothing of the attack on Pearl Harbor. "Peaceful and friendly," Nishikaichi is not kept in custody but is allowed to roam the island unguarded (see 9, 12-14 December).
First night recovery of planes in World War II by the U.S. Navy occurs when Enterprise turns on searchlights to aid returning SBDs (VB 6 and VS 6) and TBDs (VT 6) that had been launched at dusk in an attempt to find Japanese ships reported off Oahu. Friendly fire, however, downs four of Enterprise's six F4Fs (VF 6) (the strike group escort) that are directed to land at Ford Island. Other Enterprise SBDs make a night landing at Kaneohe Bay, miraculously avoiding automobiles and construction equipment parked on the ramp to prevent just such an occurrence.
Damage to the battle line proves extensive, but carriers Enterprise and Lexington (CV-2) are, providentially, not in port, having been deployed at the eleventh hour to reinforce advanced bases at Wake and Midway. Saratoga (CV-3) is at San Diego on this day, preparing to return to Oahu. The carriers will prove crucial in the coming months (see Chapter VI, February-May 1942). Convinced that he has proved fortunate to have suffered as trifling losses as he has, Vice Admiral Nagumo opts to set course for home, thus inadvertantly sparing fuel tank farms, ship repair facilities, and the submarine base that will prove invaluable to support the U.S. Pacific Fleet as it rebuilds in the wake of the Pearl Harbor disaster.
Midway Island is bombarded by Japanese Midway Neutralization Unit (Captain Kaname Konishi) consisting of destroyers Ushio and Sazanami; Marine shore batteries (6th Defense Battalion) return the fire, claiming damage to both ships. One of the submarines deployed on simulated war patrols off Midway, Trout (SS-202), makes no contact with the enemy ships; the other, Argonaut (SS-166), is unable to make a successful approach, and Ushio and Sazanami retire from the area. Subsequent bad weather will save Midway from a pounding by planes from the Pearl Harbor Attack Force as it returns to Japanese waters.
Damage control hulk DCH 1 (IX-44), formerly destroyer Walker (DD-163), being towed from San Diego, California, to Pearl Harbor, by oiler Neches (AO-5), is cast adrift and scuttled by gunfire from Neches at 26°35'N, 143°49'W.
Japanese declaration of war [N.B.: the so-called "Fourteen Point message" is not a declaration of war; it merely declares an impasse in the ongoing diplomatic negotiations. The Imperial Rescript declaring a state of war between the Japanese Empire and the United States is not issued until the next day, in Tokyo. pwc] reaches Washington, D.C., after word of the attack on Pearl Harbor has already been received in the nation's capital.
President orders mobilization.
Potomac River Naval Command with headquarters at Washington, D.C., and Severn River Naval Command with headquarters at Annapolis, Maryland, are established.
Pacific
Japanese submarine I 123 mines Balabac Strait, P.I.; I 124
the entrance to Manila Bay.
Striking Force, Asiatic Fleet (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford) departs Iloilo, P.I., for Makassar Strait, N.E.I.
Seaplane tender (destroyer) William B. Preston (AVD-7) is attacked by fighters and attack planes from Japanese carrier Ryujo in Davao Gulf, P.I.; William B. Preston escapes, but two PBYs (VP 101) she is tending are strafed and destroyed on the water.
Japan interns U.S. Marines and nationals at Shanghai, Tientsin and Chinwangtao, China. River gunboat Wake (PR-3) maintained at Shanghai as station ship and manned by a skeleton crew, is seized by Japanese Naval Landing Force boarding party after attempt to scuttle fails.
Wake, the only U.S. Navy ship to surrender during World War II, is renamed Tatara and serves under the Rising Sun for the rest of the war. British river gunboat HMS Peterel, however, moored nearby in the stream of the Whangpoo River, refuses demand to surrender and is sunk by gunfire from Japanese coast defense ship Idzumo. American-flag merchant small craft seized by the Japanese at Shanghai: tug Meifoo No. 5, tug Mei Kang, Mei Nan, Mei Ying and Mei Yun.
U.S. passenger liner President Harrison, en route to evacuate marines from North China, is intentionally run aground at Sha Wai Shan, China, and is captured by the Japanese. Repaired and refloated, President Harrison is renamed Kakko Maru and later, Kachidoki Maru (see 12 September 1944). Among the baggage awaiting shipment out of occupied China along with the North China Marines are the bones of Peking Man, which are never seen again. Their fate remains a mystery to this day.
Japanese forces land on Batan Island, north of Luzon.
Japanese forces land on east coast of Malay Peninsula. RAF Hudsons bomb invasion shipping off Kota Bharu, Malaya, setting army cargo ship Awajisan Maru afire; destroyers Ayanami and Shikinami and submarine chaser Ch 9 take off Awajisan Maru's crew.
Japanese planes bomb Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippine Islands. Extensive damage is inflicted on USAAF aircraft at Clark Field, Luzon, P.I. During Japanese bombing of shipping in Manila Bay, U.S. freighter Capillo is damaged by bomb, set afire, and abandoned (see 11 December).
Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Wake Island, inflicting heavy damage on airfield installations and VMF 211's F4Fs on Wake islet. The four-plane VMF 211 patrol is out of position to deal with the incoming raid (there is no radar on Wake). Pan American Airways Martin 130 Philippine Clipper (being prepared for a scouting flight with an escort of two VMF 211 F4Fs when the attack comes) in the aftermath of the disaster precipitately evacuates Caucasian airline staff and passengers only (Pan American's Chamorro employees are left behind). Another individual who somehow fails to get a seat on the outgoing flying boat is an official from the Bureau of the Budget who was on Wake to go over construction costs.
Japanese force slated to assault Wake Island (Rear Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi) sails from Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands.
Japanese floatplanes (18th Kokutai) bomb Guam, M.I., damaging minesweeper Penguin (AM-33) and miscellaneous auxiliary Robert L. Barnes (AG-27). Penguin, abandoned, is scuttled in deep water by her crew.
Robert L. Barnes, maintained in reduced commission as a floating oil depot, her seaworthiness reduced by age and deterioration, had served since 1 July 1937 as the training ship for Guamanian mess attendants recruited on the island.
Atlantic
Destroyers Niblack (DD-424), Benson (DD-421) and Tarbell
(DD-143), part of TU 4.1.3 escorting convoy HX 163, depth-charge sound
contacts that are later classified as non-submarine.
Japanese submarines RO 63, RO 64, and RO 68 bombard Howland and Baker Islands in the mistaken belief that American seaplane bases exist there.
Transport William Ward Burrows (AP-6), en route to Wake Island, is re-routed to Johnston.
Japanese submarine I 10 shells and sinks unarmed Panamanian-flag motorship Donerail 200 miles southeast of Hawaii, 08°00'N, 152°00'W. There are only eight survivors of the 33-man crew; all seven passengers perish.
Japanese Naval Aviation Pilot First Class Nishikaichi Shigenori, from the carrier Hiryu, who had crash-landed his Mitsubishi A6M2 fighter Type 0 carrier fighter on Niihau on 7 December, is placed under guard by the islanders; attempts this day and the next to transport him to Kauai are frustrated by bad weather (see 12-14 December).
Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb defense installations on the islets of Wilkes and Wake, Wake Island.
China declares war on Japan, Germany, and Italy.
Japanese occupy Bangkok, Thailand.
River gunboat Mindanao (PR-8), en route from Hong Kong to Manila, encounters Japanese fishing vessel No. 3 South Advance Maru, stops her, and takes her 10-man Formosan crew prisoner. Mindanao leaves the craft adrift at 16°42'N, 118°53'E, and steams on, reaching her destination the following day.
Submarine Swordfish (SS-193), in initial U.S. submarine attack of the war, torpedoes Japanese ship 150 miles west of Manila at 14°30'N, 119°00'E. Her claim of a sinking, however, is not confirmed in enemy records.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.5 (Commander William K. Phillips) continues its escort duty with
convoy ON 41; destroyers Babbitt (DD-128) and Mayo
(DD-422) depth-charge sound contacts; Babbitt's at 57°19'N,
33°09'W. Destroyer Schenck (DD-159), operating
independently from TU 4.1.5 while escorting U.S. freighter Ozark,
carries out "well conducted" depth charge attack on sound contact at
52°19'N, 39°37'W.
Battleship New Mexico (BB-40), en route to Hampton Roads, Virginia, accidentally rams and sinks U.S. freighter Oregon, bound for Boston, Massachusetts, south of Nantucket Lightship, 35°55'N, 69°45'W.
TU 4.1.1 (Captain Marion Y. Cohen) assumes escort duty for convoy HX 164; the ships will not be attacked by enemy submarines. While escorting oiler Mattole (AO-17) to join the main convoy, destroyer Gleaves (DD-423) carries out depth charge attack on sound contact at 45°50'N, 53°35'W. The contact is later classified as "doubtful" submarine.
Pacific
Cavite Navy Yard, P.I., is practically obliterated by Japanese land
attack planes (Takao Kokutai and 1st Kokutai).
Destroyers Peary (DD-226) and Pillsbury (DD-227),
submarines Seadragon (SS-194) and Sealion (SS-195),
minesweeper Bittern (AM-36), and submarine tender Otus
(AS-20), suffer varying degrees of damage from bombs or bomb fragments;
ferry launch Santa Rita (YFB-681) is destroyed by direct hit.
Submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) tows Seadragon
out of the burning wharf area; minesweeper Whippoorwill (AM-35)
recovers Peary, enabling both warships to be repaired and
returned to service. Bittern is gutted by fires. Antiaircraft
fire from U.S. guns is ineffective. During bombing of Manila Bay area,
unarmed U.S. freighter Sagoland is damaged.
While flying to safety during the raid on Cavite, Lieutenant Harmon T. Utter's PBY (VP 101) is attacked by three Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 carrier fighters (ZERO) (3rd Kokutai); Chief Boatswain Earl D. Payne, Utter's bow gunner, shoots down one, thus scoring the U.S. Navy's first verifiable air-to-air "kill" of a Japanese plane in the Pacific War. Utter, as a commander, will later coordinate the carrier air strikes that lead to the destruction of Japanese battleship Yamato (see 7 April 1945).
Japanese forces land on Camiguin Island and at Gonzaga and Aparri, Luzon. Off Vigan, minesweeper W.10 is bombed and sunk by USAAF P-35 at 17°32'N, 120°22'E; destroyer Murasame and transport Oigawa Maru are strafed; the latter, set afire, is beached to facilitate salvage. USAAF B-17s bomb and damage light cruiser Naka and transport Takao Maru; the latter is run aground at 17°29'N, 120°26'E (see 5 March 1942). Off Aparri, minesweeper W.19 is bombed by a B-17 and grounded (total loss) at 18°22'N, 121°38'E; light cruiser Natori is also damaged by a B-17. The B-17 is probably the one flown by Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr., who is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, posthumously, for heroism when Japanese fighters attack his bomber over Clark Field as he returns from his mission over Aparri.
British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battle cruiser HMS Repulse (Admiral Sir Tom S.V. Phillips, RN) are sunk by Japanese land attack planes off Kuantan, Malaya. Four U.S. destroyers that had been sent to help screen Phillips's ships, having arrived at Singapore too late to sortie with the British force, search unsuccessfully for survivors before returning to Singapore.
Governor of Guam, M.I. (Captain George J. McMillin) surrenders the island to Japanese invasion force (Rear Admiral Goto Aritomo). District patrol craft YP-16 and YP-17; open lighters YC-664, YC-665, YC-666, YC-667, YC-6687, YC-670, YC-671, YC-672, YC-673, YC-674, YC-685, YC-717, YC-718; dredge YM-13; water barges YW-50, YW-55, YW-58; and miscellaneous auxiliary Robert L. Barnes (AG-27) are all lost to the Japanese occupation of that American Pacific possession.
SBD (CEAG) from carrier Enterprise (CV-6) sinks Japanese submarine I 70 in Hawaiian Islands area, 23°45'N, 155°35'W. Plane is flown by a VS 6 pilot.
Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Marine installations on Wilkes and Wake islets, Wake Island. During the interception of the bombers, Captain Henry T. Elrod, USMC, executive officer of VMF 211, shoots down a Mitsubishi G3M2 Type 96 land attack plane (NELL); this is the first USMC air-to-air "kill" of the Pacific War. Japanese submarines RO 65, RO 66, and RO 67 arrive off Wake. Shortly before midnight, submarine Triton (SS-201), patrolling south of the atoll, encounters a Japanese warship, probably a picket for the oncoming assault force (see 11 December).
Unarmed U.S. freighter Mauna Ala, re-routed back to Portland, Oregon, because of Japanese submarines lurking off the U.S. west coast, runs aground off the entrance to the Columbia River; she subsequently breaks up on the beach, a total loss.
United States declares war on Germany and Italy.
Pacific
Secretary of the Navy Knox arrives on Oahu to personally assess the
damage inflicted by the Japanese on 7 December.
Submarine Triton (SS-201), patrolling south of Wake Island, attacks the Japanese ship she has encountered shortly before midnight; she is unsuccessful.
Wake Island garrison (Commander Winfield S. Cunningham) repulses Japanese invasion force (Rear Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi); Marine shore battery gunfire (1st Defense Battalion) sinks destroyer Hayate and damages destroyers Oite, Mochizuki, and Yayoi, and Patrol Boat No. 33 (high-speed transport); USMC F4Fs (VMF 211) bomb and sink destroyer Kisaragi and strafe and damage light cruiser Tenryu and armed merchant cruiser Kongo Maru. Later the same day, USMC F4F (VMF 211) bombs and most likely damages submarine RO 66 south of Wake. U.S. submarines deployed off Wake, Triton to the south and Tambor (SS-198) to the north, take no active part in the battle. Following the abortive assault, Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb marine gun batteries on Peale islet.
Japanese submarine I 9 shells unarmed U.S. freighter Lahaina about 800 miles northeast of Honolulu, T.H., 27°42'N, 147°38'W (see 12 and 20 December).
Japanese make landings at Legaspi, Luzon.
Unarmed U.S. freighter Capillo, damaged by bomb on 8 December 1941, is partially scuttled by U.S. Army demolition party, off Corregidor, P.I. (see 29 December). Freighter Sagoland, damaged by bombs the previous day, sinks in Manila Bay.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.5 (Commander William K. Phillips) detaches destroyers Babbitt
(DD-128) and Leary (DD-158), low on fuel because of the delayed
arrival of convoy ON 41 at the MOMP, to proceed to Argentia. En route
to that place, Babbitt depth charges sound contact without
result at 51°37'N, 43°08'W.
TU 4.1.6 (Commander John S. Roberts) assumes escort duty at MOMP for convoy ON 43, which has been badly scattered by heavy weather conditions (see 13 and 15 December). Convoy HX 163, being escorted by TU 4.1.3 (Commander George W. Johnson), encounters same abominable weather.
12, Fri.
Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) is established.
U.S. government seizes French ships in U.S. ports.
Pacific
Secretary of the Navy Knox departs Oahu after inspecting the damage
done by the Japanese attack of 7 December.
Japanese reconnaissance flying boats (Yokohama Kokutai) bomb Wake Island in pre-dawn raid. Later in the day, land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Wake.
Unarmed U.S. freighter Vincent is shelled and sunk by Japanese armed merchant cruisers Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru about 600 miles northwest of Easter Island, 22°41'S, 118°19'E, and her entire crew captured.
Unarmed U.S. freighter Lahaina, shelled and torpedoed by Japanese submarine I 9 the previous day, sinks (see 21 December).
Japanese Naval Aviation Pilot First Class Nishikaichi Shigenori begins, with aid of Harada Yoshio, a Japanese resident of Niihau, to terrorize the inhabitants of the island into returning papers confiscated on 7 December. In response to this campaign of intimidation, the islanders flee to the hills (see 13 December).
Submarine S 38 (SS-143) mistakenly torpedoes and sinks Norwegian merchantman Hydra II west of Cape Calavite, Mindoro, P.I., believing her to be a Japanese auxiliary. Hydra II had been en route from Bangkok, Thailand, to Hong Kong, when she is diverted to Manila by the outbreak of war.
During Japanese bombing of shipping off Cebu, in the Visayan Sea, Philippine passenger vessel Governor Wright is sunk, 12°55'N, 123°55'E.
USAAF B-17 (19th Bombardment Group) bombs Japanese shipping off Vigan, P.I., damaging transport Hawaii Maru.
Dutch submarines operate off Malaya against Japanese invasion shipping. K XII torpedoes and sinks army cargo ship Toro Maru off Kota Bharu, 06°08'N, 102°16'E; O 16 torpedoes and damages army cargo ships Tozan Maru, Kinka Maru, and Asosan Maru off Patani/Singora.
Japanese minelayer/netlayer Naryu is damaged by marine casualty, Tomogashima Channel.
13, Sat.
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 light house 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.
Japanese reconnaissance flying boats (Yokohama Kokutai) bomb Wake Island. Later in the day, naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) raid Wake, bombing airfield installations.
Destroyer Craven (DD-382) collides with heavy cruiser Northampton (CA-26) during underway refueling and is damaged. The ships are part of TF 8 operating north of Oahu.
Norwegian motorship Hoegh Merchant is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I 4 about 20 miles east-northeast of Oahu. All hands (35-man crew, 5 passengers) survive the loss of the ship.
Coast Guard lighthouse tender Kukui reaches Niihau with squad of soldiers from Company M, 299th Infantry (Lieutenant Jack Mizuha); the detachment learns of the denouement of the events that have transpired on Niihau since 7 December.
Japanese gunboat Zuiko Maru, wrecked and driven aground by storm, sinks off Matsuwa Jima, Kuriles, 48°05'N, 153°43'E.
Gunboat Erie (PG-50), off coast of Costa Rica, boards and takes charge of motor vessel Sea Boy, and takes off a Japanese POW; she orders Sea Boy into Balboa the following day.
USAAF B-17s bomb and damage Japanese cargo ship Ikushima Maru and oiler Hayatomo off Legaspi, Luzon.
With its operating area rendered untenable by Japanese control of the air, Patrol Wing 10 (Captain Frank D. Wagner) departs Philippines for Netherlands East Indies. Seaplane tender (destroyer) Childs (AVD-1), with Captain Wagner embarked, sails from Manila.
Submarine Seawolf (SS-197) torpedoes Japanese seaplane carrier San'yo Maru off Aparri, P.I.; one torpedo hits the ship but does not explode.
Submarine Swordfish (SS-193), attacking Japanese shipping off Hainan Island, torpedoes army transport Kashii Maru, 18°08'N, 109°22'E.
Navy boarding party (Lieutenant Edward N. Little) transported in commandeered yacht Gem, seizes French motor mail vessel Marechal Joffre, Manila Bay. Majority of the crewmen, pro-Vichy or unwilling to serve under the U.S. flag, are transported ashore (see 17-18 December).
Japanese reconnaissance flying boats (Yokohama Kokutai) bomb Wake Island.
Johnston Island is shelled by Japanese submarine I 22; although one shell lands astern and another passes over her forecastle, transport William Ward Burrows (AP-6) is apparently unseen by the enemy submariners. She is not hit and escapes.
Kahului, Maui, T.H., is shelled by Japanese submarine from the Second Submarine Squadron. Possible candidates for having carried out the shelling are I 2, I 3, I 4, I 5, I 6, or I 7.
Philippine steamship Vizcaya is scuttled in Manila Bay.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.2 (Commander Fred D. Kirtland) clears Reykjavik for the MOMP,
escorting convoy ON 45; destroyer Sturtevant (DD-240),
escorting cargo vessel Alchiba (AK-23), depth-charges sound
contact at 62°05'N, 24°15'W (see 16 December).
Destroyer Benson (DD-421), detached from TU 4.1.3 and convoy HX 163 at the MOMP, searches for survivors of steamer Nidardal, reported sinking at 56°07'N, 21°00'W (later amended to 56°07'N, 23°00'W) (see 16 December).
Convoy ON 43, struggling through rough seas and high winds, being escorted by TU 4.1.6 (Commander John S. Roberts), is dispersed.
United States
Admiral Ernest J. King is offered the post of Commander in Chief U.S.
Fleet. He accepts (see 18, 20 and 30 December).
Convoy ON 45, escorted by TU 4.1.2 (Commander Fred D. Kirtland), is dispersed because of bad weather.
Destroyer Benson (DD-421) sights white distress rocket at 0241 and alters course in hopes of locating survivors of merchantman Nidardal; the intense darkness in which the search is being conducted renders it barely possible to see the surface of the ocean from the bridge, and the loudness of the wind makes it unlikely that a hail can be heard no more than 50 to 100 feet from the ship. Benson searches throughout the daylight hours but finds no trace of the missing ship or her crew. She abandons the search at nightfall and proceeds to Reykjavik.
Pacific
TF 14 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher), comprising carrier Saratoga
(CV-3) (with VMF 221 embarked), four destroyers; heavy cruisers Astoria
(CA-34) (flagship), Minneapolis (CA-36), and San Francisco
(CA-38); and five destroyers, sails from Pearl Harbor. These ships will
overtake the force formed around Tangier (AV-8) and Neches
(AO-5) and their consorts that is to relieve Wake Island.
Japanese Pearl Harbor Attack Force (Vice Admiral Nagumo Chuichi) detaches carriers Hiryu and Soryu, heavy cruisers Tone and Chikuma, and two destroyers (Rear Admiral Abe Hiroaki) to reinforce second planned attack on Wake Island.
Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Wake.
Submarine Tambor (SS-198), damaged by operational casualty, retires from the waters off Wake.
Submarine Swordfish (SS-193), attacking Japanese convoy south of Hainan Island, torpedoes army transport Atsutasan Maru, 18°06'N, 109°44'E.
Gunboat Erie (PG-50) boards Panamanian motor vessel Santa Margarita and orders her to proceed to Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Later the same day, the gunboat tows disabled motor boat Orion into Puntarenas.
Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I 7 reconnoiters Pearl Harbor.
Unarmed U.S. freighter Manini is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I 175 180 miles south of Hawaii, 17°45'N, 157°03'E (see 27 and 28 December).
USMC SB2Us (VMSB 231), led by a plane-guarding PBY (VP 21) (no ships are available to plane-guard the flight), arrive at Midway, completing the longest over-water massed flight (1,137 miles) by single-engine aircraft. The squadron had been embarked in Lexington (CV-2) when the outbreak of war cancelled the projected ferry mission on 7 December 1941.
Japanese submarine RO 66 is sunk in collision with sistership RO 62 off Wake Island.
Philippine steamship Corregidor, crowded with about 1,200 passengers fleeing Manila for Mindanao, hits an Army mine off Corregidor and sinks with heavy loss of life. Motor torpedo boats PT-32, PT-34, and PT-35 pick up 282 survivors (196 by PT-32 alone) distributing them between Corregidor and the requisitioned French steamship Si-Kiang; seven of those rescued die of injuries suffered in the tragedy. Dr. Jurgen Rohwer, in his volume on Axis submarine successes, attributes the sinking to a mine laid by Japanese submarine I 124 on 8 December 1941 off Corregidor, P.I. Interestingly, Corregidor was formerly the British seaplane carrier HMS Engadine, which took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916.
Navy takes over French motor mail vessel Marechal Joffre, Manila Bay (see 18 December).
Japanese land at Miri, Sarawak, Borneo.
In another executive order, President Roosevelt directs a commission, to be headed by retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Owen J. Roberts (Roberts Commission), to "ascertain and report the facts relating to the attack made by the Japanese armed forces upon the Territory of Hawaii on December 7, 1941...to provide bases for sound decisions whether any derelictions of duty or errors of judgment on the part of United States Army or Navy personnel contributed to such successes as were achieved by the enemy on the occasion mentioned; and if so, what these derelictions or errors were, and who were responsible therefor." In addition to Justice Roberts, the commission's membership includes retired Admiral William H. Standley and Rear Admiral Joseph W. Reeves; Major General Frank R. McCoy, USA (Retired) and Brigadier General Joseph T. McNarney, USA (see 23 January 1942).
Congress passes First War Powers Act.
Caribbean
State Department announces that Rear Admiral Frederick J. Horne and
Admiral Georges Robert, French High Commissioner at Martinique, French
West Indies, have reached an agreement neutralizing French Caribbean
possessions.
Pacific
French motor mail vessel Marechal Joffre, manned by a scratch
crew that includes aviation personnel from Patrol Wing Ten, departs
Manila Bay for Borneo. Marechal Joffre will be formally
acquired by the Navy on 20 April 1942, and will serve as the transport Rochambeau
(AP-63).
Dutch Dornier 24 bombs and sinks Japanese destroyer Shinonome off Miri, Borneo.
Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Wake Island, targeting installations on Wake and Peale islets.
Unarmed U.S. freighter Prusa is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I 172 about 150 miles south of Hawaii, 16°45'N, 156°00'W (see 27 December).
United States
U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1942 is graduated early, due to the
National Emergency.
Pacific
SBDs (VB 6 and VS 6) from carrier Enterprise accidentally bomb
submarine Pompano (SS-181) twice, at 20°10'N, 165°28'W,
and 20°15'N, 165°40'W.
PBY (VP 23) arrives at Wake Island to deliver information to the garrison concerning the relief efforts then underway (see 21 December).
Survivors of U.S. freighter Lahaina (sunk on 11 December by Japanese submarine I 9), aided by Coast Guard cutter Tiger, reach land at Sprecklesville Beach, near Kahului, Maui, having lost four of their number during their ordeal in their one lifeboat.
Japanese troops land at Davao, Mindanao, P.I.
Unarmed U.S. tankship Emidio is shelled, torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I 17 about 25 miles west of Cape Mendocino, California, 40°33'N, 125°00'W (see 21 December).
Unarmed U.S. tanker Agwiworld is shelled by Japanese submarine I 23 off the coast of California, 37°00'N, 122°00'W.
Naval local defense forces in Philippine Islands (Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell) move headquarters to Corregidor.
Destroyer Paul Jones (DD-230) is damaged when her starboard propeller strikes a sunken object off Makassar, N.E.I.
Coast Guard cutter Shawnee rescues 31 survivors of U.S. tanker Emidio, sunk the previous day by I 17 off Cape Mendocino, California, from Blunt's Reef Lightship.
Atlantic
Light cruiser Omaha (CL-4) and destroyer Somers
(DD-381), operating out of Recife, Brazil, encounter darkened ship that
acts suspicious and evasive when challenged. Omaha fires
starshell and illuminates the stranger; Somers sends armed
boarding party that learns that the merchantman nearly fired upon is
Soviet freighter Nevastroi.
Destroyer Edison (DD-439), in TU 4.1.3 en route to MOMP to pick up convoy ON 47, depth-charges sound contact without result.
Pacific
Japanese bombers and attack planes, covered by fighters, from carriers Soryu
and Hiryu, bomb Wake Island for the second time; the last two
flyable USMC F4Fs (VMF 211) intercept the raid. One F4F is shot down,
the other is badly damaged.
American troops (Task Force South Pacific) (Brigadier General Julian F. Barnes, USA) arrive at Brisbane in convoy escorted by heavy cruiser Pensacola (CA-24). This is the first U.S. Army troop detachment to arrive in Australia.
Japanese submarine I 19 shell unarmed U.S. tanker H.M. Storey southwest of Cape Mendocino, California, 34°35'N, 120°45'W, but fails to score any hits and the American ship escapes.
Japanese commence invasion of Luzon, landing troops at Lingayen, P.I.; submarine S 38 (SS-143) torpedoes and sinks Japanese army transport Hayo Maru in Lingayen Gulf, 16°00'N, 120°00'E.
USAAF B-17s bomb and damage Japanese army oiler No. 3 Tonan Maru off Davao, P.I.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.3 (Commander George W. Johnson), assumes escort duty at MOMP for
convoy ON 47; the convoy is dispersed the following day.
Pacific
Wake Island (Commander Winfield S. Cunningham) is captured by naval
landing force (Rear Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi) that overcomes gallant
resistance offered by the garrison that consists of marines, sailors,
volunteer civilians (Contractors Pacific Naval Air Bases) and a USAAF
radio detachment. Japanese Patrol Boat No. 32 and Patrol
Boat No. 33 (old destroyers converted to high speed transports)
intentionally run ashore to facilitate landing of troops, are destroyed
by marine shore batteries (1st Defense Battalion). Planes from carriers
Hiryu and Soryu, as well as seaplane carrier Kiyokawa
Maru provide close air support for the invasion. Open cargo lighter
YCK 1 is lost to Japanese occupation of the atoll, as are
civilian tugs Pioneer and Justine Foss, and dredge Columbia.
Uncertainty over the positions of and number of Japanese carriers and reports that indicate Japanese troops have landed on the atoll compel Vice Admiral William S. Pye, Acting Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, to recall TF 14 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher) while it is 425 miles from its objective.
Palmyra Island is shelled by Japanese submarines I 71 and I 72.
Unarmed U.S. tanker Montebello is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I 21 about four miles south of Piedras Blancas light, California, 35°30'N, 121°51'W. I 21 machine-guns the lifeboats, but miraculously inflicts no casualties. I 21 later also shells unarmed U.S. tanker Idaho near the same location.
Japanese submarine I 17 shells unarmed U.S. tanker Larry Doheny southwest of Cape Mendocino, California, 40°00'N, 125°00'W, but the American ship escapes.
USAAF B-17s bomb Japanese ships in Lingayen Gulf and off Davao, damaging minesweeper W.17 and destroyer Kuroshio off the latter place. USAAF P-40s and P-35s strafe landing forces in San Miguel Bay, Luzon, damaging destroyer Nagatsuki.
Submarine Seal (SS-183) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Soryu Maru off Vigan, Luzon, 17°35'N, 120°12'E.
Japanese troops land at Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo. Off the invasion beaches, Dutch submarine K XIV torpedoes and sinks transport Hokkai Maru, army transport Hiyoshi Maru, and damages army cargo ship Nichiran Maru and transport Katori Maru.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.4 (Commander Richard E. Webb) assumes escort duty for convoy HX
166; the ships reach their destination without being attacked by
U-boats.
Unarmed U.S. steamship Dorothy Philips is shelled by Japanese submarine I 23 off Monterey Bay, California.
Seaplane tender Wright (AV-1) disembarks Marine reinforcements (Batteries "A" and "C," 4th Defense Battalion) at Midway.
Second Marine Brigade (Colonel Henry L. Larsen, USMC) is formed at Camp Elliott, California, to defend American Samoa (see 6 and 20 January 1942).
Japanese land at Lamon Bay, Luzon.
Motor torpedo boat PT-33 is damaged by grounding on reef five miles northwest of Cape Santiago, Luzon, 13°46'N, 120°40'E.
During Japanese bombing of shipping in Manila Bay by naval land attack planes (Takao Kokutai and 1st Kokutai), seized French steamship Si-Kiang is set afire off Mariveles; of the 8-man USMC guard detachment on board (from 1st Separate Marine Battalion), two marines are killed and three wounded. Tug Napa (AT-32) assists in fire-fighting efforts.
Dutch submarine K XVI torpedoes and sinks Japanese destroyer Sagiri off Kuching, Sarawak, 01°34'N, 110°21'E.
British surrender Hong Kong. U.S. freighter Admiral Y.S. Williams, under repairs in that port for damage incurred in a grounding that had occurred on 24 September, is intentionally damaged to prevent use by the Japanese. The merchantman is salvaged, however, and is renamed Tatsutama Maru. U.S. steamship (ex-yacht) Hirondelle (also under repairs in the Crown Colony when caught there by the outbreak of hostilities) and Philippine steamship Argus are captured. Hirondelle is renamed Gyonan Maru and will survive the war. Argus is refitted and commissioned in the Japanese Navy as the gunboat Hong Kong Maru; for her fate under her new owners, see 19-21 June 1943. Philippine steamship Churruca is scuttled.
Japanese land at Jolo, P.I. Submarine Sealion (SS-195), damaged by bombs at Cavite, P.I., on 10 December, is scuttled by demolition crew.
Carrier Saratoga (CV-3) diverted from the attempt to relieve Wake Island, flies off USMC F2As (VMF 221) to Midway. These will be the first fighter aircraft based there.
Motor torpedo boat PT-33, damaged by grounding on 24 December five miles northwest of Cape Santiago, Luzon, 13°46'N, 120°40'E, is burned to prevent capture.
Dutch Army planes bomb and sink Japanese minesweeper W.6 and collier No. 2 Unyo Maru off Kuching, Sarawak, 01°34'N, 110°21'E.
Japanese destroyer Murasame and minesweeper W.20 are damaged by marine casualties off Takao, Formosa.
Seaplane tender Tangier (AV-8), diverted from the attempt to relieve Wake Island, disembarks Battery "B," 4th Defense Battalion and ground echelon of VMF 221 at Midway to augment that garrison's defenses.
Atlantic
Submarine chaser PC 451 accidentally rams and sinks U.S. tug Nancy
Moran off east coast of Florida.
Coast Guard cutter Tiger rescues 14 survivors of U.S. freighter Prusa, sunk by Japanese submarine I 172 on 19 December. A second group of 11 survivors reaches safety after a 2,700-mile voyage, rescued by a Fijian government vessel and taken to Boruin, Gilberts.
Unarmed U.S. tanker Connecticut is shelled by Japanese submarine I 25 about 10 miles west of the mouth of the Columbia River.
Submarine Perch (SS-176) torpedoes Japanese supply ship Noshima in South China Sea, 22°14'N, 115°13'E.
Six PBYs (VP 101) bomb Japanese shipping at Jolo, P.I. against heavy fighter opposition; four Catalinas are lost.
Japanese bomb shipping in Manila Bay and Pasig River (Takao Kokutai and 1st Kokutai). Philippine customs cutters Arayat and Mindoro and motor vessel Ethel Edwards are set afire, while lighthouse tender Canlaon is destroyed by a direct hit. Steamship Taurus is scuttled in the Pasig River (see 29 December).
Destroyer Peary (DD-226) is damaged when mistakenly bombed and strafed by RAAF Hudsons off Kina, Celebes, N.E.I.
Japanese destroyer Akikaze and army cargo ships Kamogawa Maru and Komaki Maru are damaged by marine casualties east of Luzon.
Japanese submarine RO 60, returning from the Wake Island operation, is irreparably damaged by grounding, Kwajalein Atoll, 09°00'N, 167°30'E.
Atlantic
TU 4.1.5 (Commander William K. Phillips) assumes guard for east-bound
convoy HX 167. U.S. freighter Stonestreet is damaged by
evaporator explosion; one man is killed and three injured. Destroyer Simpson
(DD-221) puts medical officer and corpsman on board promptly to treat
the injured; Stonestreet is directed to return to St. John's;
U.S. PBY provides cover. During the voyage to Iceland, HX 167 will not
encounter any enemy submarines but poor navigation by the convoy will
result in a critical fuel state for the "shortlegged" flush-deck
destroyers (see 3 January 1942).
Pacific
Japanese submarine I 1 shells Hilo, Hawaii; seaplane tender
(destroyer) Hulbert (AVD-6), moored to a pier adjacent to the
one damaged by the bombardment, is not damaged.
Navy-commandeered tug Ranger lands volunteer raiding party on Sangley Point. The sailors bring out diesel generators and diesel oil needed on Corregidor to provide auxiliary power.
Japanese submarines shell Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii.
While returning from attempting to aid destroyer Peary (DD-226) (see 28 December), small seaplane tender Heron (AVP-2) is damaged but fights off, over a seven-hour span, a series of attacks by Japanese reconnaissance flying boats (Toko Kokutai) and land attack planes off Ambon, N.E.I. Heron shoots down one seaplane whose crew refuses rescue.
Submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) transports armed party [Lieutenant (j.g.) Malcolm M. Champlin, USNR] to Sangley Point which brings out Luzon Stevedoring Company lighter loaded with 97 mines and eight truckloads of aerial depth charges; Pigeon then tows the barge to a point four and a half miles off Sangley Point and capsizes it in 11 fathoms of water. The sailors also destroy the aircraft repair shop at Cavite and one irreparable PBY.
U.S. cargo/passenger ship Ruth Alexander, en route from Manila to Balikpapan, Borneo, is bombed and irreparably damaged by Japanese flying boat in Makassar Strait, N.E.I., 01°00'N, 119°10'W, one man is killed in the bombing. She sinks on 2 January 1942. Dutch Dornier 24 later rescues all 48 survivors.
Japanese destroyer Yamagumo is damaged by mine off Lingayen.
Philippine steamships Magellanes and Montanes are scuttled, most likely at Manila.
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