Today in the History of the Pacific Theater

May 4, 1942
-Battle of the Coral Sea opens as TF 17 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher) attacks Japanese Tulagi Invasion Force (Rear Admiral Shima Kiyohide) at Tulagi, Solomons, where elements of the Japanese 3d Kure Special Landing Force have gone ashore (as well as on neighboring Gavutu) to establish defenses. SBDs and TBDs (VB 5, VS 5, VT 5), supported by F4Fs (VF 42) from carrier Yorktown (CV-5) sink destroyer Kikuzuki, minesweeper Tama Maru and auxiliary minesweepers Wa 1 and Wa 2 and damage destroyer Yuzuki, minelayer Okinoshima, transport Azumasan Maru, and cargo ship Kozui Maru. Lieutenant John J. Powers of VB 5 participates all three strikes, receiving credit for one direct hit, two close-misses, and a persistent low-level strafing attack. Destroyer Hammann (DD-412) rescues two downed F4F pilots (VF 42) from Guadalcanal; destroyer Perkins (DD-377), however, sent to retrieve downed two-man TBD crew (VT 5) south of the island, does not locate the missing men. The crew, though, reaches Guadalcanal and ultimately sails to the New Hebrides in a schooner with a Chinese crew.
-Japanese transports sail from Rabaul, bound for Port Moresby.
-Minesweeper Tanager (AM-5) is sunk by Japanese shore battery, Corregidor.
-Submarine Greenling (SS-213) sinks Japanese gunboat Kinjosan Maru near Truk, Carolines.
-Submarine Trout (SS-202) sinks Japanese gunboat Kongosan Maru off southeast coast of Honshu, Japan.

May 4, 1943
-Submarine Gudgeon (SS-212) sinks Japanese merchant trawler Naku Maru west of Panay, P.I.
-Submarine Seal (SS-183) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking fleet tanker San Clemente Maru about 50 miles southeast of Palau.
-Net tender Catalpa (YN-5) begins towing damaged U.S. freighter William Williams, torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-19 near Suva on 2 May.

May 4, 1944
-Naval Base and Naval Air Facility, Majuro, are established.
-Submarines Bang (SS-385), Parche (SS-384) and Tinosa (SS-283) attack Japanese convoy of merchant cargo ships in Luzon Strait. Bang sinks Kinrei Maru; Parche sinks Shoryu Maru and Taiyoku Maru, and Tinosa sinks Taibu Maru and Toyohi Maru.
-Submarine Pargo (SS-264) sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer Eiry_ Maru east of Mindanao.
-Submarine Tuna (SS-203) sinks Japanese guardboat Tajima Maru north of Wake Island.
-At Truk, Japanese guardboat Sapporo Maru is sunk by aircraft; gunboat No.2 Hino Maru sinks as the result of damage inflicted by TF 58 planes on 30 April.
-Japanese merchant vessel Akira Maru is sunk by gunfire.
-Japanese convoy No.3503 (ten Marus and six escort vessels) leaves Tateyama, bound for the Marshalls.

May 4, 1945
-Japanese planes attack Yontan airfield, Okinawa, and U.S. and British ships supporting Okinawa operation. Kamikazes sink destroyers Luce (DD-522) and Morrison (DD-560), and medium landing craft LSM-190 and LSM-194; they damage light cruiser Birmingham (CL-62), escort carrier Sangamon (CVE-26), [destroyer Hudson (DD-475) collides with Sangamon as the destroyer lies alongside], destroyers Ingraham (DD-694), Cowell (DD-547), and Lowry (DD-770); light minelayer Gwin (DM-33); high speed minesweeper Hopkins (DMS-13); motor minesweeper YMS-331; British carrier HMS Formidable [carrier HMS Indomitable is also crashed by a suicider, but her armored deck deflects the attacker into the sea]. In addition, light minelayer Shea (DM-30) is damaged by a Baka; minesweeper Gayety (AM-239) is damaged by near-misses of kamikaze and Baka; motor minesweeper YMS-327 is damaged by kamikaze and by friendly fire; motor minesweeper YMS-311 is damaged by friendly fire; motor gunboat PGM-17 is damaged by grounding; large support landing craft LCS-31 and LCS-57 are damaged by air attack. Coordinated with the air strike, a minor Japanese counterlanding is attempted and repulsed.
-Fleet Air Wing 18 (Rear Admiral Marshall R. Greer) is established at Guam for operations in the forward areas.
-Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Shinpen Maru off Yamada Bay.
-Submarine Trepang (SS-412) sinks Japanese minesweeper W.20 in Yellow Sea 140 nautical miles southeast of Mokpo, Korea, as W.20 proceeds to the scene of the sinking of escort vessel Oga, sunk by Springer (SS-414) on 2 May 1945.
-USN land-based planes sink Japanese merchant tankers Koan Maru and No.15 Takasago Maru off Pusan, Korea. Navy PBMs damage cargo vessel Harukawa Maru while she is en route from Jinsen to Moji.
-Japanese tanker No.2 Yaei Maru is sunk by USAAF B-29 (20th Bomber Command)-laid mine off Singapore; stores ship Hayasaki is damaged by mine [laid by submarine Guitarro (SS-363) on 20 April 1945] while en route from Batavia to Singapore.
-USAAF B-24 (13th Air Force) attacks Japanese shipping off Cape Camau, French Indochina, sinking auxiliary netlayer Tokachi Maru.
-Tank landing craft LCT-1358 sinks after running aground off California coast.
-In Burma, the 17th Indian Division takes Meiktila. The four day battle has been ferocious, and more than 2000 Japanese have been killed. Mandalay is the next objective, where the bulk of the Japanese Fifteenth and Thirty-Third Armies are trapped.

 

4 May 1942 – Solomon Islands - F4Fs from VF-42 shoot down 3 F1M2 near Tulagi (NB: The two pilots involved in the shoot downs were not the pilots who had to be rescued from the beach on the south tip of Guadalcanal, noted above).
4 May 1945 – Okinawa and vicinity - F4Us from VF-84 are credited with 3 Ki-84 near Amami; from VF-85, with 6 A6M, 3 F1M2, and 5 K5Y2 northeast of Iheya Shima; from VBF-83, with 3 A6M, 2 D3A, 1 J2M, 1 K5Y2, 2 Ki-43, 1 Ki-51, and 2 Ki-84 operating southeast of Okinoerabu. F6Fs from VBF-9 are credited with 2 A6M in the vicinity of Yoron Shima; from VBF-12, with 5 A6M and Ki-84 in the vicinity of Kikai Shima; from VF-9, with 3 A6M, 5 D3A, 1 D4Y, 2 E13A, 3 G4M, 1 H8K, 1 Ki-27, 5 Ki-43, 1 Ki-44, 1 Ki-46, 1 Ki-67, 7 Ki-84 (2 with assists from F6Fs of an unidentified squadron), and 1 N1K2 in the general vicinity of Izena Shima; from VF-46, with 2 A6M, 2 B6N, 1 D4Y, and 1 Ki-61 near Kakai Shima; and from VF-83, with 3 D3A, 2 D4Y, 16 K5Y1, 1 Ki-27, and 2 Ki-43 also near Izena Shima. FM-2s from VC-90 are credited with a Ki-46 in the vicinity of Kume Shima. PBMs from VPB-18 are credited with a Ki-27 and a B5N about 20 miles west-southwest of Yokoate Shima and another PBM, this from VPB-208, with a B6N near Iotori Shima.

Rich

 

May 5, 1942
-Japanese troops (61st Infantry Regiment, and supporting units) land on Corregidor, initially opposed by the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines.
Submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) is bombed and sunk; tug Genesee (AT-55) and harbor tug Vaga (YT-116) are scuttled off Corregidor.
-Japanese Imperial General Staff orders the Combined Fleet to move forward with operations against Midway and the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
-U.S. freighter John Adams is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-21 85 miles from Amadee lighthouse, Nouméa, New Caledonia; five of the 11-man Armed Guard drown when the ship is abandoned.

May 5, 1943
-Submarine Permit (SS-178) damages Japanese transport Tokai Maru, Apra Harbor, Guam.
-Submarine Sawfish (SS-276), despite proximity of escort vessel, sinks Japanese gunboat Hakkai Maru off Ise-Wan, Honshu, Japan.
-Submarine Snook (SS-279) attacks Japanese merchant shipping in the Yellow Sea, sinking cargo ships Kinko Maru and Taifuku Maru.
-Twenty-three survivors from U.S. freighter Phoebe A. Hearst, torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-19 about 240 miles southeast of Suva on 30 April, reach Tofua Island; motor minesweeper YMS-89 picks them up and transfers them to Tongatabu.
-Japanese forces in central China begin a huge offensive into Hunan Province in an attempt to extend territorial gains and seize additional rice fields. Since 1941, the China conflict has been a mixture of savage localized campaigns by the Japanese, often involving the slaughter of whole village populations, and de facto truces between the Japanese, the Chinese Nationalists under Chiang Kai-Shek and the Chinese Communists under Mao Tse Tung. US commanders wanting to station air bases in China have been particularly disappointed by the intermittent Chinese coexistence with the Japanese invaders.

May 5, 1944
-Appointment of Admiral Toyoda Soemu as Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet is announced following the death of Admiral Koga.
-U.S. motor torpedo boats blockading the southeastern coast of Bougainville encounter five or more heavily armed Japanese barges. In the ensuing action, the barges and enemy shore batteries on Rantan and Bougainville catch the three PTs in a cross fire, sinking PT-247.
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266) attacks Japanese convoy, sinks transport Shirane Maru off Shionomisaki, Honshu.
-In India, the British Fourteenth Army begins extensive couterattacks in the Imphal area. Throughout April and into early May, IV Corps has been defending the long perimeter around Imphal, with fighting particularly heavy around the Shenan Saddle, Torbung and Mapao Ridge. Both sides are increasingly exhausted and are running out of basic foodstuffs.

May 5, 1945
-In the second of two operations aimed at blockading Japan's industrial centers, 98 USAAF B-29s sow mines in the Inland Sea and off Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya.
-Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage seaplane tender St. George (AV-16) and surveying ship Pathfinder (AGS-1).
-Japanese army cargo ship Manshu Maru is damaged by USAAF B-29-laid mine.
-Japanese merchant tanker No.5 Takasago Maru is sunk by aircraft.
-Japanese merchant tanker No.11 Takasago Maru is sunk by aircraft, off Yosu, Korea.
-Japanese merchant cargo ships Yamatogawa Maru and Naka Maru are sunk by aircraft off Mokpo, Korea.
-Navy patrol bomber (PBMs and PB4Ys are operating in this area) sink Japanese merchant cargo ship No.9 Taiun Maru west of Kunsan.
-USAAF B-24s (13th Air Force) raid Japanese shipping and shore installations at Makassar, sinking cargo vessel Kenzan Maru.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Okusu Maru is sunk by aircraft off Karatsu.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Washi Maru is sunk by aircraft.
-Japanese escort destroyer Oki is damaged by aircraft.
-Warships of the British Pacific Fleet bombard Miyako Island in the Sakishima Group, southeast of Okinawa. The firepower is directed against the Hirara and Nobara airfields, and is coordinated with a strike by British carrier aircraft that destroys at least 22 Japanese aircraft.
-In the Korean Straits, US aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One flying from Okinawa attack Japanese vessels sailing along the coastline of western Korea. Two large oilers and five cargo ships are sunk, and fourteen other ships are left badly damaged.
-The US suffers its first civilian fatalities of the Pacific War since Pearl Harbor when a Japanese bomb balloon, one of hundreds released in the Pacific weeks earlier, kills six US civilians in Oregon.

 

5 May 1942 – In the Coral Sea, 3 F4Fs from VF-42 share credit for an H6K approximately 400 miles south of Guadalcanal.
5 May 1945 – In scattered encounters - An FM-2 from VC-97 is credited with a D4Y about 200 miles south of Okinawa. A VPB-116 PB4Y is credited with a K10W about 5 miles south of Kowaura, Japan. Near Pusan, Korea, VPB-118 PB4Ys account for a Q1W and a DC-2. About 20 miles northwest of Fukuoka, Japan, another VPB-118 PB4Y brings down a Ki-76.

 

May 6, 1942
-Corregidor and Manila Bay forts surrender to the Japanese. To deny the enemy use of river gunboats Oahu (PR-6) and Luzon (PR-7) and minesweeper Quail (AM-15), the ships are scuttled off Corregidor. Lost to Japanese occupation of the Philippines are district patrol craft YP-97; ash lighters YA-52, YA-59, and YA-65; miscellaneous district auxiliaries YAG-2, YAG-3, and YAG-4; open lighters YC-178, YC-181, YC-537, YC-643, YC-644, YC-646, YC-647, YC-648, YC-649, YC-652, YC-653, YC-654, YC-669, YC-683, YC-714, YC-715, and YC-716; floating derricks YD-19, YD-47, YD-56, and YD-60; covered lighters YF-177, YF-178, YF-179, YF-180, YF-181, YF-212, YF-223, YF-224, YF-230, and YF-317; ferry launches San Felipe (YFB-12), Rosal (YFB-682), Camia (YFB-683), Dap Dap (YFB-684), Rivera (YFB-685), Magdalena (YFB-687) and Yacal (YFB-688); dredge YM-4; fuel oil barge YO-64; pile driver YP-D 22; salvage pontoons YSP-41, YSP-42, YSP-43, YSP-44, YSP-45, YSP-46, YSP-47, YSP-48, YSP-49, and YSP-50; sludge removal barge YSR-2; harbor tugs Banaag (YT-104), Iona (YT-107), and Mercedes (YT-108); and water barge YW-54.
Fitted out with weapons, ammunition, provisions and clothing scrounged from abandoned Navy-commandeered tug Ranger, commanding officer, one other officer, and 16 men in 36-foot motor launch from Quail (AM-15) escape Manila Bay.
-Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) sinks Japanese merchant passenger-cargo ship Kanan Maru about 26 miles northeast of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina.
-Submarine Triton (SS-201), attacking Japanese convoy north-northeast of Keelung, Formosa, sinks cargo ship Taiei Maru and transport/cargo ship Taigen Maru.
-Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Nawiliwili, Kauai, T.H., is established.
-In China, forces led by General Chiang Kai-shek begin a major offensive along a 400 mile front against Japanese occupiers in seven major cities, including Shanghai and Nanking.

May 6, 1943
-Submarine Gar (SS-206) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kotoku Maru, Tarakan, Borneo, harbor.

May 6, 1944
-Submarine Crevalle (SS-291) attacks Japanese convoy off northern Borneo, sinking fleet tanker Nisshin Maru about 40 miles west of Kalutan Island.
-Submarine Gurnard (SS-254) encounters Japanese TAKE No.1 convoy in the Celebes Sea, sinking Manokwari-bound troop-carrying army cargo ships Aden Maru, Amatsuzan Maru and Tajima Maru.
-Submarine Spearfish (SS-190) attacks Japanese shipping in East China Sea west of Kyushu, and sinks merchant cargo ship Toyoura Maru and damages supply ship Mamiya.
-In Burma, Chinese troops are now fighting the Japanese at Ritpong, only 30 miles from Myitkyina.

May 6, 1945
-Naval landing force, covered by destroyer escort Wintle (DE-25) and motor minesweeper YMS-354, evacuates about 500 Marshallese from Jaluit in infantry landing craft LCI-394, LCI-479 and LCI-481.
-Off Okinawa, battleship South Dakota (BB-57) is damaged by explosion of five 16-inch powder tanks in magazine. "Superb damage control measures and fire fighting," South Dakota's war diarist notes, "quickly brought the fire under control and narrowly averted a major disaster." South Dakota lay alongside ammunition ship Wrangell (AE-12) at the moment the first tank exploded.
-Floating drydock ARD-28 is damaged by horizontal bomber.
-Submarine Hammerhead (SS-364) sinks Japanese fleet tanker Kinrei Maru in Gulf of Thailand.
-Japanese guardboat Kiho Maru No.1 is destroyed by fire, location unspecified.
-Off Inchon, Korea, Japanese merchant tanker No.5 Hoei Maru is sunk by aircraft; USN land-based planes sink merchant cargo ship Eiko Maru in Yellow Sea.
-Japanese cargo ship Sagamigawa Maru is sunk by USAAF mine laid by B-29 (20th Bomber Command). Submarine I-366, en route to take delivery of kaitens, is damaged by mine off Hikari.
-Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Kumi Maru is damaged and merchant cargo ship No.3 Kinzan Maru is sunk, by aircraft off Kuche Island.
-USN land-based aircraft sink Japanese merchant cargo ship No.1 Tora Maru off Mokpo, Korea. PBMs or PB4Ys sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Nakagawa Maru off Yosu, Korea.
-Japanese merchant vessel Niosan Maru is sunk by aircraft north of Kumun Island.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Enzan Maru is damaged by aircraft.

 

May 7, 1940
-President Roosevelt orders U.S. Fleet to remain in Hawaiian waters indefinitely as a deterrent to Japan.

May 7, 1942
-Battle of the Coral Sea resumes as Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher's Allied force turns north to engage Japanese Carrier Strike Force (Vice Admiral Takagi Takeo).
-Support Group (Rear Admiral John G. Crace, RN) detached to intercept Port Moresby Invasion Force (Rear Admiral Abe Koso) is attacked by Japanese land attack planes carrying torpedoes (4th Kokutai) or bombs (Genzan Kokutai); destroyer Farragut (DD-348) is damaged by friendly fire while engaged in repelling air attack. Later, mistaken for Japanese Port Moresby Invasion Force, Crace's ships are bombed by USAAF B-26s that straddle Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia (flagship) and near-miss heavy cruiser Chicago (CA-29) and destroyer Perkins (DD-377).
-SBDs and TBDs (VB 2, VB 5, VS 2, VS 5, VT 2, VT 5) from Yorktown (CV-5) and Lexington (CV-2) attack Japanese Close Support Force (Rear Admiral Goto Aritomo) and sink small carrier Shoho in Coral Sea, off Misima Island. During the action off Misima, Lieutenant John J. Powers (VB 5) and Lieutenant (j.g.) William E. Hall, USNR (VS 2) exhibit skill and determination in pressing home their attacks. That night, Lieutenant Powers (VB 5's gunnery officer) lectures his squadron on point of aim and diving technique. He advocates a low-level release point to ensure accuracy, a philosophy he had demonstrated in the attack on Shoho.
-Mistaken at the outset for a carrier and a cruiser, oiler Neosho (AO-23) and destroyer Sims (DD-409) are attacked by Japanese planes, although the enemy recognizes the mistake in time to avoid expending torpedoes; Neosho is damaged by bombs and crashing dive bomber and Sims is sunk. On board the damaged oiler, Chief Watertender Oscar V. Peterson, although badly wounded, risks his life by closing bulkhead stop valves, receiving severe burns that result in his death. For his extraordinary heroism and distinguished gallantry at the cost of his life, Peterson is awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously.
-Japanese attempt to find U.S. force in waning daylight runs afoul of bad weather.
-Japanese occupy Hollandia, New Guinea.
-In the Indian Ocean, a small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-30 reconnoiters Aden.

May 7, 1943
-TG 36.5, composed of light minelayers Gamble (DM-15), Preble (DM-20), and Breese (DM-18), covered by destroyer Radford (DD-446), lays minefield across Blackett Strait, western approaches to Kula Gulf, Solomons. Four Japanese destroyers encounter the field later that night.
-Submarine Snook (SS-279) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ships Tosei Maru and No. 3 Shinsei Maru in the Yellow Sea.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese merchant passenger/cargo ship No.5 Tamon Maru off Benten Zaki, Honshu.
-Net tender Catalpa (YN-5), escorted by minesweeper Dash (AM-88), brings damaged U.S. freighter William Williams, torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-19 on 2 May 1943, into Suva, Fiji Islands.
-Vichy French steamship Gouverneur General Pasquir is sunk by mine off coast of French Indochina.

May 7, 1944
-Submarines Bonefish (SS-223) and Flasher (SS-249) damage Japanese army cargo ship Aobasan Maru in Sulu Sea off Zamboanga.
-Submarine Burrfish (SS-312) sinks German oiler Rossbach, bound for Balikpapan, south of Murotosaki, Japan.
-Japanese TAKE No.1 convoy reaches Bangka Island, Celebes, where it will pause before continuing on toward Halmahera, while efforts continue to rescue survivors of the three ships (army cargo ships Aden Maru, Amatsuzan Maru and Tajima Maru) sunk by Gurnard (SS-254) the day before.
-In India, the Fourteenth Army counterattacks around Imphal lose force and peter out in the face of ferocious Japanese resistance.

May 7, 1945
-Japanese minesweeper W.29 and cargo vessel Kashima Maru are sunk by mines (laid by USAAF B-29s) in Shimonoseki Strait; mines also sink merchant cargo ship Shofuku Maru off Dairen, Manchuria; and merchant vessel Teiko Maru off Futaoi Jima.
-USAAF B-24s (13th Air Force) bomb Japanese shipping and shore installations at Makassar, sinking gunboat Kenzan Maru and cargo ship Hakko Maru.
-PBMs or PB2Ys on sweeps off west coast of Korea sink Japanese cargo ships Tatsuchiyo MaruE; No.2 Kozan Maru; Kaba Maru and Hoei Maru.
-Japanese minesweeper Nuwajima, damaged by aircraft, is beached, Saeki Bay.

 

7 May 1942 – Battle of the Coral Sea – F4Fs from VF-2 are credited with 2 A5M, and 6 A6M; from VF-42, with 2 A5M, 1 A6M, 1 B5N, 2 D3A, and 1 H6K. SBDs from VB-5 were credited with 2 E7K; from VS-5, with 1 A5M; and from VS-2, with 3 A6M.
7 May 1944 – Southeast of Guam – Three PB4Ys from VD-3 are credited with 5 A6M and one from VB-109 shoots down an H6K.
7 May 1945 – An F6F from VBF-12 is credited with a P1Y approximately 75 miles west of Okinawa and a PB4Y from VPB-118 accounts for a D3A 15 miles southwest of Kunsan, Korea

 

May 8, 1940
-River gunboat Tutuila (PR-4) is damaged when she runs aground on a reef and becomes stranded as she shifts her anchorage at Chungking, China.

May 8 , 1942
-Battle of the Coral Sea concludes as carrier Lexington (CV-2) SBD (VS 2) sights Japanese Carrier Strike Force (Vice Admiral Takagi Takeo) formed around carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. As VB 5 pilots leave the ready room on board Yorktown (CV-5), Lieutenant John J. Powers exhorts his shipmates to "Remember the folks back home are counting on us. I am going to get a hit if I have to lay it [his bomb] on their flight deck." SBDs from Lexington and Yorktown (CV-5) damage Shokaku and force her retirement; Lieutenant Powers scores a direct hit on Shokaku, pressing home his attack to a perilously low altitude of 200 feet; he is last seen attempting, unsuccessfully, to recover from his dive. For his heroism on this day (as well as on the previous day and on 4 May), Powers is awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously.
Zuikaku's air group suffers heavy losses. Damage to Shokaku, as well as to Zuikaku's air group, prevents the use of those two carriers for several months, thus making them unavailable for immediate operations. At the same time, Japanese carrier bombers and attack planes attack TF 17. The comparatively few fighters on hand compels the continuation of the use of SBDs as anti-torpedo plane patrol. Lieutenant William E. Hall, USNR (VS 2), whose performance of duty the previous day had elicited favorable notice, distinguishes himself in attacking the Japanese planes pressing home their assault on carrier Lexington. Although Hall is badly wounded, he brings his damaged SBD back to his ship having participated in the destruction of at least three carrier attack planes, bravery and skill rewarded with the Medal of Honor. Japanese planes, however, manage to get through and damage carriers Lexington (bombs and torpedoes) and Yorktown (bombs). On board Yorktown, Lieutenant Milton E. Ricketts, in charge of an engineering repair party, is mortally wounded when a bomb passes through and explodes just beneath his compartment, killing, stunning or wounding all of his men. Ricketts, despite his wounds, opens the valve on a nearby fire plug, partially leads out the hose, and directs water into the burning compartment before he drops dead. For his extraordinary heroism, he is awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously). Lexington is further damaged when gasoline vapors are ignited, triggering massive explosions that lead to her abandonment. She is then scuttled by destroyer Phelps (DD-360).
The Battle of the Coral Sea is the first engagement in modern naval history in which opposing warships do not exchange a shot; all damage is inflicted by carrier aircraft. In halting the Japanese push southward and blunting the seaborne thrust toward Port Moresby, Coral Sea is a strategic U.S. victory.
-Light cruiser Nashville (CL-43) is damaged when she runs aground at Midway Island; she must return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. Her raiding cruise to Kamchatka is postponed.
-Submarine Grenadier (SS-210) attacks Japanese convoy about 120 miles southwest of Kyushu and torpedoes and sinks army transport Taiyo Maru; Grenadier survives persistent attacks by enemy antisubmarine forces the following day. Taiyo Maru carries to their deaths many technical experts bound for the East Indies to work on resuming oil production.
-Submarine Porpoise (SS-172) is damaged by depth charges off Ceram, Moluccas but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) attacks Japanese convoy about 125 miles east of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, and torpedoes and sinks army cargo ship Bujun Maru.
In the Gulf of Aden a small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-30 reconnoiters Djibouti.
-In Burma, the Japanese capture Myitkyina, an important rail terminus and air base in the northern Bura. In a futile attempt to stem the Japanese Burma offensive, the Chinese Fifth Army had been sent to occupy defensive positions around the town, but was unable to halt the Japanese Fifteenth Army.

May 8, 1943
-Japanese destroyer Kuroshio is sunk by mine laid the day before, Blackett Strait, Solomons; destroyer Oyashio, damaged by mine off Rendova, is sunk by Navy aircraft; destroyer Kagero, damaged by mine off Rendova is sunk by USMC aircraft; destroyer Michisio is damaged by aircraft, Blackett Strait.
-Submarine Plunger (SS-179) sights Japanese Saipan-bound convoy about 60 miles northwest of Truk.
-USAAF B-25s (5th Air Force) sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Tomioka Maru and army cargo ship Sumida Maru, Madang harbor, New Guinea.

May 8 , 1944
-Submarine Hoe (SS-258) damages Japanese escort vessel Sado and army tanker Akane Maru in South China Sea west of Luzon Strait.
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) attacks Japanese convoy in Tsugaru Strait, sinking army cargo ship Miyazaki Maru off Ominato, northern Honshu.

May 8, 1945
-Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) sinks Japanese fishing boat No.3 Daito Maru east-southeast of Todogasaki.
-Submarine Bream (SS-243) lays mines off Puolo Obi, French Indochina, in the last U.S. Navy submarine mine plant of World War II.
-Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Shuncho Maru south of Futaoi Jima, and damage minesweeper W.39, 4.85 kilometers southeast of Futaoi Light. Transport Kotobuki Maru (ex-Italian liner Conte Verde) is damaged by mine laid by USAAF B-29 (20th Bomber Command) off southern Korea.
-Japanese merchant vessel No.6 Kosho Maru is sunk by aircraft.

 

8 May 1942 – Battle of the Coral Sea – F4Fs from VF-2 are credited with 8 A6M, 1 B5N, 4 D3A, and 1 Me-109 (obviously a case of mistaken identity); and from VF-42, with 7 A6M, 1 B5N, 4 D3A, and 1 H6K. SBDs from VB-2 are credited with 1 A6M, 3 B5N, and 1 D3A; from VS-2, with 3 A6M and 3 B5N; and from VS-5, with 3 A6M.
8 May 1944 – A PB4Y from VB-108 is credited with a G4M south of Guam.

 

May 9, 1943
-Submarine Gar (SS-206) sinks Japanese gunboat Aso Maru southeast of Cagayan Island.
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266) damages Japanese transport Uyo Maru off Iwaki, Japan.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ships Takao Maru and Jimmu Maru off Kone Zaki, northeastern Honshu.

May 9, 1945
-Off Okinawa, in celebration of the final unconditional surrender of Germany, which was signed two days ago, every US Naval gun and artillery piece on and around Okinawa fires a single shell at Japanese positions. Bad weather over the last couple of days has led to reduced Japanese air activity over the island, although today kamikazes damage destroyer escorts Oberrender (DE-344) and England (DE-635); and British carriers HMS Formidable and HMS Victorious.
-Japanese escort vessel Uku is damaged by mine off Futaoi Light.
-Japanese merchant tanker No.13 Horai Maru is damaged by aircraft.

 

9 May 1944 – A PB4Y from VB-106 is credited with a G4M while on patrol from Los Negros.
9 May 1945 – A PB4Y from VPB-116 is credited with a H6K about 20 miles west of Izu-Shoto. Another PB4Y, this one from VPB-119, is credited with a D3A near Swatow, China.

 

Sorry for the delays on these. Had computer modem problems the last week.

May 10, 1940
-Secretary of State Hull reiterates that the United States will not stand for any country establishing a protectorate over the Netherlands East Indies. Japanese Foreign Minister indicates his country's desire to maintain the political and economic status quo in that region.

May 10, 1942
-Submarine Silversides (SS-236) engages Japanese guardboat No.5 Ebisu Maru in a surface gunnery action 540 miles north of Marcus Island and sets her afire. As Silversides closes in to finish off her quarry, however, machine gun fire from No.5 Ebisu Maru (which reaches port in a heavily damaged condition) kills one submariner.
-Survivors (39-man crew and six of the 11-man Armed Guard) of U.S. freighter John Adams, torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-21 on 5 May, are rescued. One boat with survivors is recovered at sea; two boats reach Nouméa, New Caledonia.

May 10, 1943
-Destroyer MacDonough (DD-351) and light minelayer Sicard (DM-21) are damaged in collision about 100 miles north-northwest of Holtz Bay, Attu Island, Aleutians.
-Submarine Plunger (SS-179) attacks Japanese convoy tracked since the day before, sinking merchant passenger/cargo ship Tatsutake Maru and damaging transport Kinai Maru about 200 miles east of Saipan; the latter is abandoned. Torpedo boat Hiyodori is damaged in collision with Tatsutake Maru and Kinai Maru, probably during the rescue of survivors.

May 10, 1944
-Naval Base, Eniwetok, Marshalls, is established.
-Motor torpedo boat PT-79 is damaged in collision, Cold Bay.
-Submarine Cod (SS-224) attacks large Japanese convoy off west coast of Luzon, sinking destroyer Karukaya and transport Shohei Maru about 150 miles northwest of Manila.
-Submarine Silversides (SS-236) attacks Japanese convoy about 120 miles south-southwest of Guam, sinking auxiliary cable ship Okinawa Maru, gunboat No.2 Choan Maru, and collier No.18 Mikage Maru and forces it to return whence it comes. Silversides survives depth-charging by one or more of the following ships: escort vessel Momi, submarine chaser Ch 30, auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 66 and auxiliary minelayer Wa 5.
-Submarine Tambor (SS-198) encounters Japanese convoy 3503 and torpedoes aircraft transport Keiyo Maru about 420 miles northwest of Saipan.

May 10, 1945
-TG 78.3 (Rear Admiral Arthur D. Struble) lands Army troops of the 40th Division at Macajalar Bay, Mindanao.
-Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyer Brown (DD-546) and light minelayer Harry F. Bauer (DM-26). While a courageous attack by a fighter of the 2nd Marine Air Wing whose guns have jammed destroys a Japanese bomber by cutting off its tail assembly using the fighters propeller.
-On Okinawa, the 6th Marine Division bridges the Asa River in the southern portion of the island. The bridging effort is delayed for some hours by two Japanese human bomb attacks, but eventually the crossing is secured. Elsewhere in the southern portion of the island around the Shuri Line, US progress is slow, with hand to hand fighting in some sectors. The Japanese are attempting constant night attacks and night infiltration into the Tenth Army's lines.
-Mines sink Japanese transport Tatsuwa Maru off Imabari, Kurahashi Jima; merchant cargo ship Otowa Maru and damage merchant tugboat No.7 Naniwazu Maru off Wadanomisaki.
-USN land-based planes sink Japanese merchant tanker No.1 Toyu Maru and cargo ship No.2 Yumihari Maru off west coast of Korea.

 

May 11, 1942
-In the wake of the Battle of the Coral Sea, oiler Neosho (AO-23), damaged and adrift since 7 May and deemed beyond salvage, is scuttled by torpedoes and gunfire of destroyer Henley (DD-391), which rescues survivors from Neosho and Sims (DD-409). Among those men is the injured Chief Watertender Oscar V. Peterson, who dies of his wounds.
-Submarine S-42 (SS-153) torpedoes Japanese minelayer Okinoshima west of Buka Island, Solomons.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Oridono Maru is sunk by Japanese mine near Surabaya, Java.

May 11, 1943
-Army troops (Seventh Division) land on Attu Island, Aleutians in Operation LANDCRAB; TF 16 (Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid) and TF 51 (Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell) cover the landing. The troops go ashore in northern and southern sectors of of the islands southeastern coastline. From the outset they encounter a ferocious defense from the 2400-strong Japanese garrison commanded by Colonel Yamazaki Yasuyo.
-Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) and Narwhal (SS-167) land scouts on Attu Island.
-Submarine Grayback (SS-208) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking collier Yodogawa Maru about 125 miles northwest of Kavieng.
-Submarine Plunger (SS-179) finishes off abandoned Japanese transport Kinai Maru, damaged the day before east of Saipan.

May 11, 1944
-Submarine Crevalle (SS-291) evacuates 28 women and children from Negros, P.I.
-Submarine Rasher (SS-269) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking auxiliary vessel Choi Maru in the Molucca Sea northwest of Boeroe Island.
-Submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking transport Mitakesan Maru off Tinian.
-Submarine Sturgeon (SS-187) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking army cargo ship Seiryu Maru about 140 miles north of Chichi Jima.
-Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa takes charge of the Japanese naval defense of the Mariana Islands in an operation code named A-Go.

May 11, 1945
-Japanese aircraft attack U.S. ships off Okinawa; two kamikazes crash carrier Bunker Hill (CV-17); kamikazes also crash destroyer Evans (DD-552) and large support landing craft LCS-88; destroyer Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774) is damaged by Baka.
On Okinawa, Pharmacist's Mate Second Class William D. Halyburton, Jr., USNR, advances into an open field under fire to treat a casualty. Hit by a bullet while tending to the wounded marine, Halyburton unhesitatingly shields the man with his own body to protec him from further injury. In so doing, the corpsman is mortally wounded. For his heroically saving another man's life at the cost of his own, Halyburton is awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously.
-Japanese guardboat No.8 Sagami Maru is sunk by U.S. aircraft off Hong Kong. Also on the island, US forces launches a major offensive against the Okinawan capital, Naha with elements of the 6th Marine Division penetrating the outer suburbs.
-USAAF B-24s (11th Air Force) sink Japanese army cargo ship Aitoku Maru and damage escort destroyer Hachijo in Kataoka harbor, Kurils.
-PB4Y-2s (VPB 118) operating against Japanese shipping off coast of Korea, sink merchant cargo ships Seiri Maru and Shinzan Maru.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Kamiyama Maru is sunk by aircraft off Mokpo, Korea.
-Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Kitsurin Maru off Wadanomisaki, damage auxiliary minelayer Koei Maru seven miles off Umezaki and damage two tugboats off Wadanomisaki.
-In New Guinea, the 6th Australian Division attacks and occupies Wewak on the New Guinea coast. Wewak was the headquarters of the Japanese Eighteenth Army, and the remaining Japanese troops in the country are now widely dispersed and unable to mount organized resistance.

 

May 12, 1941
-Ambassador Nomura Kichasaburo presents Secretary of State Cordell Hull with Japanese proposal for establishment of "just peace in the Pacific."

May 12, 1942
-Submarine S-44 (SS-155) torpedoes and sinks Japanese repair ship Shoei Maru 15 miles southwest of Cape St. George and survives counterattacks by her victim's escort. Shoei Maru had been en route to try and salvage the damaged minelayer Okinoshima. Attempt to save Okinoshima (damaged the previous day by submarine S-42), by transport Kinryu Maru and destroyer Mochizuki, fails, and the doomed minelayer sinks.
-In Burma, Japan's steady advance slows substantially under extremely heavy monsoon rains, which turn the jungle trails into almost impassable quagmires.

May 12, 1943
-Battleship Pennsylvania (BB 38) neutralizes Japanese positions on the west arm of Holtz Bay, Attu Island, while battleship Nevada (BB 36) renders Japanese positions at head of Massacre Bay, Attu, ineffective. Japanese submarine I-31 attacks Pennsylvania nine miles northeast of Holtz Bay but the torpedoes miss their mark; I-35 likewise conducts an unsuccessful attack against light cruiser Santa Fe (CL-60). Destroyer Edwards (DD-619), assisted by destroyer Farragut (DD-348), subsequently sinks I-31 about five miles northeast of Chichagof Harbor, Attu.
-Submarine Gudgeon (SS-212), despite her quarry's being skillfully camouflaged and moored close inshore, sinks Japanese army cargo ship Sumatra Maru off Bulusan, Luzon.
-Submarine Steelhead (SS-280) lays mines off Erimo Zaki, Japan.
-In Washington DC, British Prime Minister Churchill and US President Roosevelt attend the Trident Conference of Allied was leaders in Washington. Despite a unified confirmation of the Germany First strategy, including setting a date for the Allied invasion of occupied Western Europe, British concerns are raised that the Pacific war is diverting too many resources away from European operations.

May 12, 1944
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant collier No.2 Banei Maru off northeast Honshu.
-Japanese transport Kasumi Maru is sunk by mine (probably Japanese) in Straits of Malacca.
-Japanese river gunboat Saga is damaged by aircraft, South China Sea.

May 12, 1945
-Destroyers support landing of Army troops on Torishima, Ryukyus which is captured without resistance.
-Off Okinawa, a kamikaze damages battleship New Mexico (BB-40); heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45) is damaged by friendly fire.
-Submarine Raton (SS-270) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Rekizan Maru in the Yellow Sea off the Shantung Peninsula.
-Mines sink Japanese army cargo ship Brazil Maru off Kobe, Japan; mine laid by USAAF B-29s on 3 May 1945 sink merchant cargo ship Manbo Maru off Osaka; cargo ship No.1 Nissho Maru is sunk by USAAF mine (laid by 20th Air Force B-29s) off Futaoi Light, Shimonoseki; and No.1 Nisshin Maru in Shimonoseki channel; and damage merchant cargo ship Hokusei Maru (northwest of Mutsure Jima).
-Japanese merchant tanker No.13 Takasago Maru is damaged by aircraft, Kogunsan-Kundo.
-Navy patrol bombers (TU 50.5.5) damage Japanese merchant ship Chile Maru, which is run aground to permit salvage on the north coast of Iki Jima. Chile Maru is written off, however, as a total loss.

 

May 13, 1940
-River gunboat Tutuila (PR-4), stranded on a reef in the Yangtze River off Chungking, China, since 8 May, is refloated.

May 13, 1942
-Bureau of Navigation is renamed Bureau of Naval Personnel.
-Submarine Drum (SS-228) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Shonan Maru northeast of Mikimoto, Honshu.
-RAAF Hudsons bomb Japanese shipping off Ambon, N.E.I., sinking auxiliary Taifoku Maru and damaging gunboat Taiko Maru.
-Japanese merchant cargo vessel Nagasaki Maru is sunk by Japanese mine off Nagasaki, Japan.

May 13, 1943
-TF 18 (Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth) bombards Munda and Vila airfields, Solomons, while minelayers (TG 36.5) sow mines across northwestern approaches to Kula Gulf. Light cruiser Nashville (CL-43) is damaged by turret explosion, Solomons and destroyers Chevalier (DD-805) and Nicholas (DD-449) are damaged by gun mount explosions.
-Battleship Idaho (BB 42) and destroyer Phelps (DD-360) silence enemy batteries on Attu, permitting U.S. Army artillery units to move up at Holtz Bay.

May 13, 1944
-F4Us, F6Fs, and SBDs, and USAAF B-24s and B-25s bomb Japanese installations at Jaluit; attacks will continue on 14 May.
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266) sinks Japanese cargo ship Anb Maru off Suruga Bay, Honshu.
-Japanese landing ships T.128 and T.150 are damaged by mines, Palau.

May 13, 1945
-Aircraft from fast carrier task force (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) begin two-day attack on Kyushu airfields, rail networks and aviation production plants. 272 Japanese aircraft are destroyed or damaged during the attacks. The aircraft carrier Enterprise is damaged by a suicide attack off the coast of Japan but all of Kyushu's airfields will be knocked out by this raid.
-Phase III of Operation STARVATION, a blockade of northwest Honshu and Kyushu, commences as 12 USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Niigata, Japan.
-Off Honshu, small carrier Bataan (CVL-29) is damaged by friendly fire; off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyer Bache (DD-470) and destroyer escort Bright (DE-747).
-Submarine Baya (SS-318) attacks Palembang-bound Japanese convoy, sinking tanker Yosei Maru; guardboat No.17 Shonan Maru carries out unsuccessful counterattack. Although Baya claims a second ship sunk, her quarry, tanker Enoshima Maru, emerges unscathed.
-Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Shinnan Maru off Todozaki, Honshu.
-Submarine Plaice (SS-390) attacks Japanese guardboat Nisshin Maru southwest of Uruppu Island.
-British submarine HMS Trump sinks Japanese guardboat No.15 Shosei Maru at Sapudi Strait.
-Japanese guardboat No.8 Choyo Maru is sunk by U.S. aircraft, Kumun Island.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.2 Funakawa Maru is sunk by aircraft.
-Mine laid by USAAF B-29 (20th Air Force) sinks Japanese tanker No.2 Takasago Maru off Wadanomisaki. Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Kinoto Maru and Mishima Maru (off Kobe, Japan), merchant cargo ship Magane Maru (location unspecified), and damage auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 170 (off Shodo Jima), (laid by USAAF B-24) merchant cargo ship Gyoryu Maru off Kobe; and merchant vessel Miyajima Maru 129 miles off Ezaki light.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Hakuju Maru is damaged by aircraft between Kurosaki and Shirohana.

 

May 14, 1941
-Pacific Fleet Exercise No. 1 commences off coast of California. The maneuvers involve a landing on San Clemente Island and a bombardment exercise in which heavy cruisers and destroyers bombard shore targets.

May 14, 1942
-US intelligence code-breakers obtain details of Japanese plans to destroy the US Pacific Fleet by fighting a decisive carrier engagment around Midway.

May 14, 1943
-Motor torpedo boats PT-150 and PT-152 sink Japanese submarine RO-102 in Vitiaz Strait, New Guinea.
-USMC TBFs (VMSB 143) damage Japanese army cargo ship Houn Maru and force her aground off Tonolei, Bougainville, a total loss.
-Minesweeper Dash (AM-88) rescues 25 survivors from U.S. freighter Phoebe A. Hearst, torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-19 about 240 miles southeast of Suva on 30 April 1943. With this recovery, all hands from the lost freighter (including the 16-man Armed Guard) are accounted for.

May 14, 1944
-Submarines Aspro (SS-309) and Bowfin (SS-287) attack Japanese convoy, and sink cargo ship Bisan Maru about 90 miles northwest of Palau.
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) attacks Japanese convoy bound for the Sibitu Passage, sinking destroyer Inazuma near Tawi Tawi, east of Borneo and evades counterattacks by what is most likely destroyer Hibiki. Ironically, Bonefish had aimed her initial torpedo at a tanker (Nichiei Maru, Azusa Maru, or Tatekawa Maru) but ended up hitting Inazuma instead.
-Submarine Crevalle (SS-291), en route to her base, is damaged by depth charges off northern Celebes.
-Submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) encounters that portion of convoy 3503 that had been detached to proceed to Guam, and sinks army cargo ship K_ho Maru southwest of Apra harbor. Sand Lance survives resultant depth-charging from one or more of the escorts: escort vessel Oki, torpedo boat Otori, and auxiliary submarine chaser No.8 Shonan Maru.

May 14, 1945
-On Okinawa, after a bloody five day battle, US troops capture Chocolate Drop Hill east of Ishimmi and the Yonabaru airfield.
-Off Okinawa, operational casualties account for damage to tank landing ship LST-137 and medium landing ship LSM-137.
-Submarine Cobia (SS-245) is damaged by depth charges, Gulf of Siam, but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) sinks Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Yoshino Maru off Erimosaki, Hokkaido.
-Navy aircraft (TU 50.5.5) on sweeps over the South China Sea, sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Kurokamisan Maru and Samukaze Maru west of Kuche Island.
-Mine laid by USAAF B-29 (20th Air Force) damages Japanese merchant ship Miyajima Maru at Awaji, Japan. Mines sink Japanese transport Anko Maru off Shimonoseki and merchant tug No.13 Uwajima Maru off Hiraiso light buoy; sink/damage merchant cargo ship Tatsukei Maru and damage merchant cargo ship No.6 Kaiyo Maru off Hesaki light.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Keishin Maru is sunk by aircraft off Inchon, Korea.
-Japanese merchant vessel Kanpu Maru is sunk by aircraft.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Kainan Maru is damaged by aircraft three miles off Ioshima light.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Chofuku Maru is damaged by aircraft near Hakata Bay.
-Over Japan, the mainland is further devasted after 472 B-29 Superfortress bombers drop 2500 tons of incindiary bombs on Nagoya. Nearly 6 square miles of the city are incinerated, and the Aichi and Mitsubishi aircraft works are practically destroyed. In the air 20 Japanese fighters are shot down by the bombers fighter escorts.

 

May 15, 1941
-(NOTE:Taking liberties with the area on this one but the story was so fantastic that I felt I had to share it.) During paratroop training at Camp Kearney, California, Second Lieutenant Walter A. Osipoff, USMC, becomes fouled in static cable and ripcord lines and dangles 100 feet to the rear of the R2D from which he was to jump. Efforts to bring him into the plane are unsuccessful. Seeing his plight, Lieutenant W.W. Lowery and Naval Aviation Pilot J. R. McCants take off in an SOC and effect a daring mid-air rescue.

May 15, 1942
-Submarine Tuna (SS-203) sinks Japanese transport Toyoharu Maru 65 miles off Sohuksando, Korea.
-In China; in retaliation for the US Doolittle air raid on Tokyo, Japanese troops kill 100 Chinese families.

May 15, 1943
-Naval Advanced Base and Naval Air Facility, Russell Islands, Solomons, are established.
-Naval Air Station, Adak, Aleutians, is established.
-Submarine Gar (SS-206) attacks Japanese convoy screened by escort vessel Matsuwa, at eastern entrance of Verde Island passage, and sinks Japanese army cargo ships Meikai Maru and Indus Maru between Dumali Point, Mindoro, and Marinduque Island, P.I.
-USAAF B-24s, flying from Midway, bomb Wake Island.
-The Australian hospital ship HMAS Centaur is torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Brisbane, despite being clearly marked as a medical vessel. More than 260 people are killed with only 63 survivors.

May 15, 1944
-Naval Air Bases, Ebeye and Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshalls, are established.
-During amphibious training exercises in the Hawaiian Operating Area, heavy seas break the moorings of three LCTs carried as deck cargo on board three tank landing craft. LCT-988 sinks; LCT-984 founders and is scuttled by submarine chaser PC-1079; LCT-999 is salvaged.
-Submarine Aspro (SS-309) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking transport Jokuja Maru about 175 miles northwest of Palau.
-Japanese destroyer Shiratsuyu is sunk in collision with Seiyo Maru west of Mindanao.
-In India, just south of Naga village, the 33rd Brigade begins a series of attempts to capture Hunter's Hill and Gun Spur. All attacks are initially repulsed.

May 15, 1945
-Submarine Hammerhead (SS-364) sinks Singapore-bound Japanese transport Tottori Maru in Gulf of Siam. Escorting minelayer Hatsutaka conducts unsuccessful counterattack.
-Submarine Sea Poacher (SS-406) sinks Japanese army luggers No.56 Ume Maru and Fukumo Maru.
-Submarine Shad (SS-235) damages Japanese merchant cargo ship Mako Maru.
-USN land-based planes, in wide-ranging sweeps against Japanese shipping, sink merchant cargo ship No.1 Kyodo Maru; merchant cargo ship Keiun Maru off Karatsu, western Kyushu, and merchant cargo ship No.3 Hakutetsu Maru off east coast of Korea.
-Japanese merchant vessel Miyajima Maru, while under tow after being damaged the previous day by a mine, strikes a second mine and sinks. Mishima Maru is sunk by USAAF mine laid off Kobe on 3 May 1945.
-In Burma; with the defeat of the Japanese Army in Burma essentially complete, the Burmese nationalist leader, Aung Sun, gives full cooperation to the Allied war effort.
-In the Indian Ocean, the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro is sunk by a force of five British destroyers in the Malacca Strait as it attempts to evacuate Japanese Army troops from Andaman Island in the eastern Bay of Benghal.

 

Oh good, Bill, you're back. Had me worried, I don't like to get ahead of you. Catch-up follows.

10 May 1945 – F4Us from VF-85 shoot down a D4Y southwest of Kobisho. An F6F from VF-9 is credited with an N1K near Tokuno airfield. PB4Ys from VPB-13 account for an H6K about 2 miles northeast of Tomie, Goto-Retto.

11 May 1945 – Action in the Ryukyus - F4Us from VBF-83 are credited with 1 A6M and 1 Ki-84 about 20 west of Satsunan-Shoto and a P1Y1 about 75 miles southeast of Amami-Shoto; from VF-84, with 3 A6Ms and 8 Ki-27 in the vicinity of Kikai-Shima; and from VF-85, with 8 A6M southeast of Tori-Shima and 1 B6N east of Okinawa. F6Fs from VBF-12 are credited with 1 A6M and 2 Ki-61 about 100 miles west of Okinawa; from VF-9, in the vicinity of Satsunan-Shoto, with 9 A6M, 2 Ki-43, 1 Ki-44, 3 Ki-61, 2 Ki-84, and 1 unidentified S/E fighter. Other VF-9 claims for the day are 2 P1Y, one north of Okinawa and one west of Tokuna Shima. Other F6Fs: from VF-23, 3 A6M, 1 B6N and 1 C6N southeast of Okinawa; from VF-47, 3 A6M, 1 G4M, 9 Ki-44, and 1 P1Y all to the north of Okinawa. A VOC-2 FM-2 accounts for 1 D3A about 6 miles west of Okinawa. A PB4Y from VPB-116 shoots down a G3M near Kumano, Honshu. A PBM from VPB-208 scores a B6N northwest of Okinawa and another PBM, this from VPB-21, is credited with a N1K near Aino-Shima, west of Sasebo, Kyushu.

12 May 1944 – A PB2Y from VPB-13 shoots down a G4M between Koror and Majuro.
12 May 1945 – F6Fs from VF(N)-90, on a dawn sweep over the Kagoshima Bay/Kanoya airfield area, are credited with 4 E13A, 1 F1M2, 1 Ki-43, and 1 Ki-61. As the strike returns to its carrier (Enterprise), an additional Ki-61 is shot down approximately 25 miles south of Toi Mizaki. Near Cukai, Malaysia, a PB4Y from VPB-111 shoots down a Ki-57.

13 May 1945 – In action near the Ryukyus - F6Fs from squadrons noted were credited: from VF(N)-90, 1 Ki-46 175 miles east of Tanega Shima; from VF-12 1 C6N 60 miles east of Tanega Shima; from VF-82, 1 Ki-84 and 2 N1K near Izumi airfield; and from VF-83, 2 E13A and 1 Ki-61 100 miles east of Tanega Shima. A TBM from VT(N)-90 accounts for 1 A6M2-N 30 miles south of Yaku Shima. A PBM from VPB-208 shoots down 2 E8N 80 miles west of Okinawa. To the far south, PB4Ys from VPB-111 score twice in separated actions. One is credited with a F1M2 near Makassar, Celebes and two others share a Ki-51 near Ponianak, Borneo.

14 May 1945 – In action in the Ryukyus and over Kyushu and Honshu – F6Fs from squadrons noted are credited: from VBF-12, with 6 A6M approximately 100 miles southeast of Toi Mizaki, Kyushu, 3 other A6M and 1 D4Y north of Okinawa, and 1 unidentified S/E utility biplane north of Kakaji, Kyushu; from VBF-17, with 6 Ki-84 on the east side of Kagoshima Wan; from VF-12, with 1 A6M and 1 Ki-45 100 miles east of Tanega Shima and 1 Ki-46 10 miles north of Usa airfield, Kyushu; from VF-17, with 1 A6M, 1 D4Y, and 1 Ki-84 100 miles east of Tanega Shima, 1 Ki-84 on the east side of Kagoshima Wan, and 1 A6M near Kanoya airfield, Kyushu; from VF-30, with 1 J2M near Kokusu airfield, Kyushu; from VF-34, with 1 Ki-46 north of Usa airfield, 1 A6M and another shared with a VF-47 F6F 100 miles east of Tanega Shima; from VF-47, with the previous shared A6M plus 2 others in the same vicinity; from VF-82, with 2 Ki-61 over Kagoshima Wan and 1 Ki-84 80 miles east of Tanega Shima; from VF-83, with 1 Ki-45 east of Saganoseki, Kyushu; and from VF(N)-90, with 1 Ki-43 near Kushira, Kyushu and 1 A6M and 1 G4M 80 miles east of Tanega Shima. F4Us from VBF-83 were credited with 1 A6M over Bofu, Honshu, 1 E13A 5 miles west of Bofu, 1 P1Y over Osakiga-Bana, and 1 C6N 135 miles southeast of Toi Mizaki.

15 May 1944 – A PB4Y from VB-106 shoots down a G4M while on patrol from Los Negros.
15 May 1945 – F6Fs from VF-40 are credited with 3 D3A approximately 75 miles southwest of Okinawa. PBMs from VPB-18 claim 3 N1K approximately 100 miles southwest of Goheung, Korea and a fourth N1K about 40 miles northwest of Jeju, Korea.

 

May 16, 1942
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) torpedoes Japanese fleet tanker Goyo Maru west of Royalist Bank, Truk. Tautog's first "fish" circles, forcing her to go deep at once.

May 16, 1943
-Submarine Grayback (SS-208) damages Japanese destroyer Yugure northwest of Kavieng.
-U.S. freighter William K. Vanderbilt is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-19 southwest of Suva, Fiji Islands and abandoned by the 41-man merchant complement. The 16-man Armed Guard remains on board to the last, but abandons after a second torpedo splits the ship in two. I-19 then fires upon one lifeboat and two rafts, and questions the ship's master before departing; throughout the ordeal only the ship's chief engineer is killed.
-In the Aleutian Islands, the campaign to take Attu has become a war of attrition, with both sides taking heavy loses. The US land forces commander even states his belief that the island will take six months to liberate, a comment that costs him his job. However, the Japanese are steadily being pushed out of their fortified positions and retreat to Chichagof Harbor as the southern and northern US groups combine into a single thrust against them.

May 16, 1944
-During exercises, battleship Colorado (BB-45) is damaged when she accidentally runs aground on a pinnacle off Kahoolawe, T.H.
-Destroyers Franks (DD-554), Haggard (DD-555), and Johnston (DD-557) sink Japanese submarine I-176, 150 miles north of Cape Alexander, Solomons. Haggard suffers slight damage from exploding depth charges. The sinking of I-176 prompts the Japanese to shift the position of a cordon of submarines (the NA line) in the New Guinea-Carolines area; much radio traffic accompanies the move.
-Japanese minelayer Aotaka is damaged by mine, Kaoe Bay.

May 16, 1945
-Thirty USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Miyazu and Maizuru, Japan.
-Escort carrier Shipley Bay (CVE-85) is damaged in collision with oiler Cache (AO-67) off Okinawa.
-Avengers from British escort carrier HMS Emperor sight and attack Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro heading into the Malacca Strait; subsequently, British destroyers HMS Saumarez, HMS Venus, HMS Verulam, HMS Vigilant, and HMS Virago sink Haguro 55 nautical miles west-southwest of Penang, Malaya, as the enemy ship, in company with destroyer Kamikaze (which is damaged in the engagement) is evacuating troops from Port Blair to Singapore.
-Submarine Hawkbill (SS-366) sinks Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka off east coast of Malaya.
-Submarine Raton (SS-270) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Eiju Maru in Yellow Sea off west coast of Korea.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.5 Yamanami Maru is sunk by mine laid by USAAF B-29s (20th Bomber Command) off Wadanomisaki.
-On Okinawa, US troops of the 96th Infantry Division engage in a ferocious evening battle to take "Conical Hill", against Japanese counterattacks. One company fights a one hour grenade battle before ousting the Japanese from the summit. Another hill, known as "Sugar Loaf Hill", is taken by the 6th Marine Division on the 18th, the fifth time the summit has changed hands (it will change hands a total of 11 times during the course of the Okinawa battle).

 

16 May 1945 - A VPB-111 PB4Y scores an L2D 5 miles off the south tip of Indochina. PB4Ys from VPB-118 claim 2 N1K 15 miles southwest of Tsushima, between Korea and Japan.

17 May 1944 – A VB-12 SB2C is credited with an unidentified transport aircraft east of the main refinery at Soerabaja, Java and a VF-12 F6F accounts for a G4M southeast of Soerabaja.
17 May 1945 – PB4Ys from VPB-109 shoot down 2 N1K about 10 miles southwest of Goto-Retto, Japan.

[ 20. May 2005, 09:57 PM: Message edited by: R Leonard ]