Today in the History of the Pacific Theater

May 17, 1942
-Submarine Grampus (SS-207) is damaged by gunfire of Japanese patrol craft off Truk.
-Submarine Silversides (SS-236) damages Japanese transport Tottori Maru and merchant cargo ship Thames Maru off Shionomisaki, southern Honshu.
-Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) sinks Japanese army transport Taizan Maru near the mouth of the Gulf of Siam.
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) torpedoes and sinks Japanese submarine I-28 north of Rabaul.
-Submarine Triton (SS-201) torpedoes and sinks Japanese submarine I-64 southeast of Kyushu, Japan.
-In the Aleutian Islands. US forces take significant Japanese positions on high ground overlooking Holtz Bay.
-The US and Britian arrive at a cooperation agreement in the code breaking war against the Axis. From now on, the two countries will actively share the burden of unravelling the ciphers produced by the German Enigma, the Japanese Purple and the Italian C38M machines. The Allies will share not only technical knowledge, but also the intelligence gleaned, to be known as ULTRA. US intelligence analysts are to spend more time on Pacific theater intelligence, while Britain focuses on German and Italian ciphers.

May 17, 1944
-TF 77 (Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler) lands Army 163d Regimental Combat Team (Reinforced) in Wakde-Toem area, New Guinea, preceded by cruiser and destroyer bombardment (Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey, Captain Albert G. Noble) in Operation STRAIGHTLINE.
-In an operation timed to coincide with the Wakde landings, planes from an Allied task force (Admiral James F. Somerville, RN) that includes carrier Saratoga (CV-3) and British carrier HMS Illustrious bomb Japanese shipping and harbor installations at Surabaya, Java, in Operation TRANSOM. British planes sink transport Shinrei Maru; Saratroga's damage Patrol Boat No.36, auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 107 and Cha 108, cargo ships Ch_ka Maru and Tencho Maru, and tanker Y_sei Maru.
-Destroyers Frazier (DD-607) and Meade (DD-602) bombard Japanese defenses on Eniben Island, Maloelap Atoll, Marshalls.
-Submarines Sand Lance (SS-381) and Tunny (SS-282) attack convoy 3503, the four Marus carrying Japanese soldiers earmarked for service at Yap and Palau, and the three escorts. Sand Lance torpedoes and sinks transport Taikoku Maru about 60 miles west of Saipan; Tunny torpedoes and sinks army cargo ship Nichiwa Maru west of the Marianas. Sand Lance torpedoes army cargo ship Fukko Maru when she stops to pick up Nichiwa Maru's survivors. Although destroyer Minazuki and submarine chasers Ch 31 and Ch 32 claim the destruction of Sand Lance and Tunny, both boats survive enemy depth-chargings.
-USAAF P-38s, P-39s and P-40s carry out sweeps for targets in the Bismarck Archipelago; these operations may account for the sinking of Japanese guardboat Zuiho Maru off Duke of York Isle.
-In Burma, a combined force of Chindits, US soldiers of the 5307th Regiment and Chinese troops of the 30th and 38th Divisions attempt to take Myitkyina after their advance through Burma of more than 150 miles. The attack is blunted against strong Japanese defenses on the outskirts.

May 17, 1945
-Carrier aircraft (Rear Admiral Clifton A.F. Sprague) strike Japanese installations on Taroa Island Maloelap Atoll, Marshalls.
-USAAF 21st Bomber Command begins operations against airfields on Kyushu and Shikoku from which Japanese kamikaze attacks are launched; the raids will continue through 11 May 1945.
-Destroyer Douglas H. Fox (DD-779) is damaged by kamikaze off Okinawa.
-Off Wadanomisaki, Japan, USAAF mines sink Japanese transport Tairyu Maru and army cargo ship Koan Maru; mines also sink merchant cargo ship Mikazuki Maru in Yangtze below below Woosung, China, and damage Coast Defense Vessel No.200 inside Miyazu harbor.
-Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Wa.101 is damaged by aircraft from carriers Saratoga (CV-3) and HMS Illustrious, at Surabaya, Java.
-Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers No.2 Hakusan Maru, Wakatake Maru and Yobai Maru are damaged by aircraft off Ishigaki Island.

 

May 18, 1942
-Office of Naval Inspector General (Rear Admiral Charles P. Snyder) is established.

May 18, 1943
-Submarine Pollack (SS-180) sinks Japanese gunboat Terushima Maru southwest of Maleolap Atoll, Marshalls.
-U.S. tanker H.M. Storey is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-25 while en route from Nouméa, New Caledonia, to San Pedro, California, and abandoned by the 48-man civilian complement (two merchant seamen are lost when the ship is hit), 2 passengers and 15-man Armed Guard. I-25 then hastens the sinking by shelling the burning ship. Destroyer Fletcher (DD-445) subsequently rescues H.M. Storey's survivors and takes them to Vila, Efate.

May 18, 1944
-Naval base and Naval Air Station, Manus Island,Admiralty Islands, are established.
Submarine Puffer (SS-268) attacks Japanese convoy in Java Sea, sinking army cargo ship Shinryu Maru about 40 miles east-southeast of Surabaya.
-Japanese merchant tanker Nichiyoku Maru is sunk by mine (laid by British submarine HMS Tally Ho on 14 May).
-Japanese army cargo ship Fukko Maru sinks as the result of damage inflicted by submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) the previous day.
-USAAF B-25s damage Japanese cargo ship No.3 Shinnan Maru.
-The remaining Japanese resistance in the Admiralty Islands is finally extinguished, leaving the fortified Japanese bases at Kavieng (New Ireland) and Rabaul (New Britain) entirely surrounded by Allied forces. They will remain this way until the end of the war, excaping invasion owing to the US policy of avoiding Japanese strongholds if they can be bypassed and isolated instead. The Japanese have lost 3290 men killed, while the US Admiralties campaign results in 326 dead and 1189 wounded.

May 18, 1945
-Thirty-four USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Tsuruya, Japan.
-Destroyer Longshaw (DD-559), damaged by shore batteryoff Naha, Okinawa, explodes; wreck is demolished by destroyers Heywood L. Edwards (DD-663) and Picking (DD-685). Also off Okinawa, high speed transport Sims (APD-50) is damaged by kamikaze, and tank landing ship LST-808 by aerial torpedo. U.S. freighter Cornelius Vanderbilt (carrying gasoline and explosives, as well as general cargo) is bombed by Japanese plane and set afire off Ie Shima, but the 38-man merchant crew, 27-man Armed Guard and the 108 stevedores on board working cargo assemble firefighting parties and put out the blaze in short order.
-Submarine Shad (SS-235) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Chosan Maru in the Yellow Sea off Gunzan, Korea.
-Navy land-based aircraft sink Japanese cargo vessel Enkyo Maru off western Korea.
-Japanese submarine chaser Ch 57 is damaged by mine [laid by British submarine HMS Porpoise on 9 January 1945], south channel into Penang, Malaya.
-Japanese landing ship T.137 is damaged by aircraft, 12 miles off Daiosaki.
-Japanese transport No.18 Nissho Maru is damaged by mine.
-Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.3 Takunan Maru is damaged by aircraft.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.5 Nissen Maru is damaged by aircraft.

 

May 19, 1942
-Light cruiser Nashville (CL-43) sails independently from Midway, bound for the western Aleutians.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-21 reconnoiters Suva Bay, Fiji.
In the Indian Ocean, a small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-30 reconnoiters Zanzibar and Dar-es-Salaam.

May 19, 1943
-Submarine Gar (SS-206) sinks Japanese guardboat Asuka Maru in Makassar Strait.
-In the Aleutian Islands, US troops clear the Sarana Pass on the approaches to Chichagof harbor, where much of the remainder of Attu's Japanese garrison is confined.

May 19, 1944
- James V. Forrestal of New York, Under Secretary of the Navy since 1940, becomes Secretary of the Navy. Forrestal will prove himself a tough and capable administrator, and even experience combat by landing under fire on Iwo Jima when visiting US forces in April 1945.
-Aircraft from TG 58.6 (Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery) bomb Marcus Island; attacks continue on 20 May.
-Japanese radio traffic intercepted by U.S. Navy intelligence allows deductions to be made as to where the new submarine cordon established to intercept American carriers will be; consequently, destroyer escort England (DE-635) sinks Japanese submarine I-16, on a resupply run to Buka, 140 miles northeast of Cape Alexander, Solomon Islands. I-16 is the first of five Japanese submarines that England will sink in a week's time as U.S. antisubmarine forces work their way down the NA line.
-Submarine Skate (SS-305) sinks Japanese guardboat Meisho Maru off Ogasawara-Gunto.
-USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) on antishipping sweep of the South China Sea bomb Japanese convoy no.87, but only succeed in inflicting minor damage upon cargo ship Yamadori Maru.

May 19, 1945
-Destroyers bombard Japanese installations on Paramushiro, Kurils.
-Destroyer escort Vammen (DE-644) is damaged in collision with oiler Cimarron (AO-22) off Okinawa. Cimarron is also damaged by grounding.
-Motor gunboat PGM-1 is damaged by explosion off Luzon.
-Japanese army cargo ship Kaiko Maru is sunk by aircraft in Keelung harbor.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Daishin Maru is sunk, and light cruiser Kashima damaged, when the two ships collide in Tsushima Strait.
-Japanese cargo vessel Ogishima Maru is damaged by aircraft.
-Japanese merchant tanker Soei Maru is damaged by mine six kilometers east of Mushima.
-In China, Japanese forces abandon the port of Foochow on the Chinese coast. Japanese occupied ports have become untenable since the US capture of the Philippines, putting US airbases within striking range of Chinese coastal towns suchs as Amoy and Swatow, which have also been deserted by the enemy.
-Over Japan, B-29's bomb the city of Hamamatsu.

 

May 20, 1942
-Air Force, South Pacific Area (Rear Admiral John S. McCain) is established.
-In Burma, the Japanese conquest is completed. For the campaign the Japanese suffered about 7000 casualties against the 13,463 British, Indian and Burmese dead. Allies troops are now arriving in Imphal.

May 20, 1943
-Submarine Pollack (SS-180) sinks Japanese armed merchant cruiser Bangkok Maru southeast of Jaluit, Marshalls. Pollack is damaged by depth charges during counterattacks by what she describes as a "Chidori-class torpedo boat," but remains on patrol.

May 20, 1944
-TG 53.18 (three light cruisers and eight destroyers) bombards Japanese shore installations on Alu, Poporang, and Morgusia Islands, Shortlands. Enemy return fire damages light cruiser Montpelier (CL-57) and straddles light cruiser Cleveland (CL-55).
-Submarine Angler (SS-240) sinks Japanese transport _tori Maru (ex-Panamanian Boyaca) and survives depth-charging by escort ship.
-Submarine Bluegill (SS-242) despite presence of two escort vessels, sinks Japanese army cargo ship Miyaura Maru in the narrow passage between Halmahera and Morotai.
-Submarine Picuda (SS-382) is damaged by depth charges, Luzon Strait but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Silversides (SS-236) sinks Japanese gunboat Shosei Maru off Saipan.
-Planes from small carrier San Jacinto (CVL-30) sink guardboat Yawata Maru 150 miles north of Marcus Island.
-USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) bomb Takao-bound Japanese convoy no. 88 in South China Sea south of Hong Kong, sinking army cargo ship Shinju Maru and damaging Tsukuba Maru and Kori Maru. Gunboat Hashidate takes the crippled Tsukuba Maru in tow; Kori Maru reaches Takao unaided. Salvage vessel (ex-Chinese) Sonjo Maru is dispatched to aid Hashidate.
-Other USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) attack Japanese warships sent to aid convoy no. 87, attacked the previous day, damaging auxiliary submarine chaser Kinsui Maru in the South China Sea.

May 20, 1945
-Thirty USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Maizuru and Miyazu, Japan.
-Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyer Thatcher (DD-514); destroyer escort John C. Butler (DE-339); high speed transports Chase (APD-54) and Register (APD-92); and tank landing ship LST-808; high speed transport Tattnall (APD-19) is damaged by horizontal bomber.
-TBF/TBMs from TG 58.3 provide close air support for efforts to take Japanese position holding up the advance of U.S. ground forces northeast of Shuri castle, Okinawa. The Tenth US Army surrounds the Shuri castle while Japanese troops makes counterattacks across the southern sector, but all are repulsed. In a new variation on Japanese tactics, numbers of Japanese soldiers are found to be wearing US Marine uniforms and carrying US weapons.
-Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese merchant whaler No.5 Seki Maru east-southeast of Kinkazan.
-Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 244 is sunk by aircraft.
-Japanese army cargo vessel No.1 Konan Maru is sunk by aircraft off Hong Kong.
-USAAF B-24s (Fifth Air Force) sink Japanese army cargo vessel Torai Maru off Keelung, Formosa.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Nikkan Maru is sunk by aircraft off Pusan, Korea; merchant refrigerated stores ship Kanagawa Maru is sunk by aircraft off south coast of Korea.
-Japanese merchant tanker No.11 Horai Maru is damaged by aircraft, location unspecified.

 

18 May 1944 – A PB4Y from VB-106 shoots down an E13A near Manokwari, New Guinea. A VPB-13 PB2Y accounts for a G4M about 500 miles east of Guam.

19 May 1944 – Four F6Fs from VF-14 gang-up on and shoot down a G4M about 30 miles south of Marcus Island. A VB-115 PB4Y shoots down 1 A6M near Satawan Island.

20 May 1944 – PB4Ys from VB-106 bring down 2 G4M while on patrol out of Los Negros.
20 May 1945 – A VBF-83 F4U shoots down a snooping C6N about 110 miles southeast of Naha, Okinawa

 

May 21, 1942
-North Pacific Force (Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald) is established for operations in Alaskan sector.
-Destroyer Helm (DD-388) rescues four survivors from Neosho (AO-23) that had abandoned ship when the oiler was damaged on 7 May.

May 21, 1943
-In the Aleutian Islands, Attu Village, a key Japanese defensive position, is completely wiped out by a massive US assault supported by ground attack P-38 Lightning fighter bombers.
-In the Indian Ocean, the last eight survivors from U.S. freighter John Drayton, sunk by Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci in the Indian Ocean on 21 April 1943, are rescued. Originally, 24 men had been in the boat found this date, only the eight remain. A total of 21 merchant seamen and six Armed Guard sailors perish in the loss of John Drayton.

May 21, 1944
-In a reprise of the type of raid conducted on Jaluit on 13-14 May, Navy F4Us and PV-1s and USAAF B-24s and B- 25s bomb Japanese positions on Wotje atoll. Navy PB2Ys had harassed the atoll the previous night.
-Accidental explosion occurs in tank landing ship LST-353 as she is being loaded with mortar ammunition at West Loch, Pearl Harbor. The cataclysmic blasts result in the loss of LST-39, LST-43, LST-69, LST-179, LST-353, and LST-480; tank landing craft LCT-961, LCT-963, and LCT-983; 17 tracked landing vehicles (LVT); and eight 155-millimeter guns. LST-205 and LST-225 are damaged. During firefighting efforts, big harbor tugs Osceola (YTB-129) and Hoga (YTB-146); medium harbor tug Geronimo (YTM-119); little harbor tugs YTL-233, YTL-306, YTL-307, YTL-308, YTL-309, and YTL-339; net tender (tug class) Tamaha (YTM-12); and Navy-chartered tug Mikioi suffer varying degrees of damage.
-Oiler Neches (AO-47) is damaged by mine about 630 miles west of Los Angeles.
-Submarine Billfish (SS-286) damages Japanese cargo ship Bokuy_ Maru west-southwest of the Marianas; Coast Defense Vessel No.12 counterattacks unsuccessfully.
-Submarine Cero (SS-225) attacks, unsuccessfully, Japanese convoy, and survives enemy antisubmarine efforts conducted by Anshu Maru, No.5 Takunan Maru, and No.17 Shonan Maru.
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) attacks, unsuccessfully, 12- ship Japanese convoy en route from Cebu to Wasile.

May 21, 1945
-Submarine Chub (SS-329) sinks Japanese minesweeper W.34 in Java Sea off Kepualuan.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Santen Maru is sunk by USAAF mine laid by B-29 (20th Air Force) off Niihama.

 

21 May 1945 – A PB4Y from VPB-102 shoots down an unidentified glider near Shizuoka, Honshu.

22 May – Nothing to report

Rich

 

May 22, 1942
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) damages Japanese transport Sanko Maru southwest of Truk.
-Submarine Silversides (SS-236) damages Japanese transport Asahisan Maru at the mouth of Kii Suido, between Ichiyozaki and Shionomizaki, Honshu. Counterattack by Japanese aircraft (Maizuru Kokutai) is unsuccessful.

May 22, 1943
-Japanese aircraft attack gunboat Charleston (PG-51) and destroyer Phelps (DD-360) off Attu Island, Aleutians; both ships emerge unscathed and splash one attacker.

May 22, 1944
-Destroyers Bancroft (DD-598) and Edwards (DD-619) bombard installations at Wotje Atoll, Marshalls.
-Destroyer escort England sinks Japanese submarine RO-106, 250 miles north of Kavieng, New Ireland.
-Submarine Bluegill (SS-242) is damaged by aerial bombs off Halmahera, but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Picuda (SS-382), patrolling the South China Sea, comes across Japanese gunboat Hashidate towing crippled merchant passenger/cargo ship Tsukuba Maru [the latter had been damaged by USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) on 20 May 1944], accompanied by salvage vessel Sonju Maru. Picuda sinks Hashidate and Tsukuba Maru off Pratas Island; Sonju Maru flees in haste and reaches Hong Kong without further incident.
-Submarine Pollack (SS-180) attacks Japanese convoy, and sinks destroyer Asanagi, 180 miles west-northwest of Chichi Jima, Bonins.
-Submarine Ray (SS-271) attacks same Japanese convoy sought by Cero (SS-225) the day before, and sinks army cargo ship Tempei Maru off south coast of Mindanao.
-British submarine HMS Sea Rover sinks Japanese gunboat Koshu Maru off southern entrance to Penang harbor, Malaya, in Strait of Malacca.

May 22, 1945
-Thirty-two USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits.
-Planes from carriers Bennington (CV-20) and Hornet (CV-12) sink Japanese submarine chasers Ch 37 and Ch 58, and landing ship T.173 southwest of Kyushu between Sasebo and Oshima.
-Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ships No.25 Uwajima Maru off Moji, and Sagami Maru off Wakamatsu, and damage auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 157 eight miles off Niigata harbor.
-Japanese auxiliary patrol vessel Pa 25 is damaged by aircraft one kilometer off Omaesaki.

 

May 23, 1942
-District patrol craft YP-277 is destroyed by fire after striking U.S. mine at French Frigate Shoals, T.H.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-29 reconnoiters Sydney, Australia.
-In Burma, Lt General Stilwell and a small group of men reach safety at Dimapur after a 150 mile retreat through the Burmese jungle.

May 23, 1943
-Motor torpedo boat tender Niagara (AGP-1), damaged by horizontal bomber while en route from Tulagi to New Guinea, is scuttled by motor torpedo boat PT-147.
-Motor torpedo boats PT-165 and PT-173 are lost on board U.S. tanker Stanvac Manila when Japanese submarine I-17 torpedoes the tanker (which is transporting the boats) 100 miles south of Nouméa, New Caledonia.

May 23, 1944
-TG 58.3 (Rear Admiral Alfred E. Montgomery) planes bomb Japanese installations on Wake Island.
-Destroyer escort England sinks Japanese submarine RO-104, 250 miles north-northwest of Kavieng.
-Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taijun Maru and teams with Ray (SS-271) to torpedo and damage army tanker Kenwa Maru off Halmahera Island.
-Submarine Raton (SS-270) sinks Japanese merchant vessel Koshin Maru west of Borneo.
-PB4Y damages Japanese cargo vessel Hakko Maru near Helen Reef.

May 23, 1945
-Mines laid by USAAF B-29s (20th Air Force) sink Japanese cargo vessels Sagami Maru, 2 Shinri Maru off Hesaki, and Kimigayo Maru west of Hime Jima. Mine damages merchant cargo ship Iwai Maru three kilometers southeast of Mushima.
-In the Philippines, the US X Corps and elements of the US 40th Division meet in central Mindanao in positions around Impalutao. Japanese forces are increasingly compressed into a small pocket of resistance in the east of the island about 100 miles long by 50 miles wide.

 

May 24, 1941
-Construction or acquisition of 550,000 tons of auxiliary shipping for the Navy is authorized.

May 24, 1942
-Submarine Pompano (SS-181) sinks Japanese merchant fishing boat Kotoku Maru.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-21 reconnoiters Auckland, New Zealand.

May 24, 1944
-Operations against the Japanese NA line continue; destroyer escort England (DE-635) sinks submarine RO-116, 225 miles north-northwest of Kavieng.
-Submarine Flying Fish (SS-229) is damaged by premature explosion of own torpedo, Philippine Sea but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Gurnard (SS-254), in attack on Japanese convoy in the Celebes Sea, sinks fleet tanker Tatekawa Maru just off the coast of Mindanao.
-Submarine Lapon (SS-260), in South China Sea, sinks Japanese cargo ship Bizen Maru and merchant cargo ship Wales Maru.
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) lands men and supplies on Samar, P.I.
Submarine Perch (SS-313) attacks Japanese convoy no. 88 in South China Sea but without success. It is the convoy's last adventure with U.S. forces.
-Submarine Raton (SS-270) attacks Japanese convoy about 220 miles east of Singapore and 150 miles west of Sarawak, sinking escort vessel Iki and damaging escort vessel Matsuwa.
-Japanese transport Taichi Maru is sunk in collision near Chinhai, China.

May 24, 1945
-Aircraft from TF 58 (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) attack airfields in southern Kyushu.
-Japanese aircraft attack U.S. positions and ships at Okinawa; strikes continue on 25 May. Kamikazes damage destroyer escort William C. Cole (DE-641); high speed transport Sims (APD-50); and large support landing craft LCS(L)-121; friendly fire damages destroyer Heywood L. Edwards (DD-663). Escort carrier Suwannee (CVE-27) is damaged when plane landing on her flight deck explodes upon landing.
-PBMs sink Japanese Special Coast Defense Ship No.21 off China coast.
-Thirty USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Niigata, Nanao, and Fushiki, Japan. Mine laid by USAAF B-29 (20th Air Force) sinks Japanese cargo vessel No.14 Kaishin Maru west of the mouth of Kammon Channel. Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ships Fukuei Maru off Shodo Jima, Kinryuzan Maru off Moji, Tatsufuku Maru off Hesaki, Inaba Maru west of Oshima, Kagawa prefecture, and (USAAF B-29-laid mine) merchant tanker No.7 Nanko Maru off Motoyamamisaki; and damage transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Kiyokawa Maru off Motoyamamisaki, and merchant cargo ships Nitcho Maru 44 kilometers southwest of Onna Jima, Yamazumi Maru and No.2 Tomoe Maru.

 

23 May 1945 – A PB4Y from VPB-102 shoots down Ki-45 near Hamamatsu, Honshu.

24 May 1945 – F6Fs from VF-17 are credited with 2 E16A about 20 miles northwest of Tokuno Shima; and from VF-47, with 2 A6M west of Kushira airfield. Two VPB-13 PB2Ys account for a E13A about 10 miles south-southwest of Jeju, Korea. PB4Ys from VPB-109 knock down 1 A6M2-N and 1 Ki-61 about 15 miles southwest of Geoje, Korean Straits; and from VPB-102, 1 Ki-45 near Katsuura, Honshu.

 

May 25, 1940
-Minor Landing and Base Defense Exercise begins at San Clemente Island, California (see 1 June).

May 25, 1942
-Light cruiser St. Louis (CL-49) arrives at Midway and disembarks Companies "C" and "D," 2d Marine Raider Battalion, and 37-millimeter gun battery of the 3d Defense Battalion.
-Submarine Drum (SS-228) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kitakata Maru east of Nojimazaki, Honshu, Japan.
-Submarine Permit (SS-178) damages Japanese transport Senko Maru.
-Submarine Pompano (SS-181) sinks Japanese merchant tanker Tokyo Maru about 70 miles west of Naha, Okinawa.
-Submarine Tautog (SS-199) sinks Japanese transport Shoka Maru about 385 miles southwest of Ulithi, Carolines.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-9 reconnoiters Kiska and Amchitka, Aleutians.

May 25, 1944
-Submarine Flying Fish (SS-229) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking guardboat Dait_ Maru and merchant cargo ship _saka Maru north of Palau.

May 25, 1945
-Off Okinawa, kamikazes sink high speed transport Bates (APD-47) and medium landing ship LSM-135; and damage destroyers Guest (DD-472) and Stormes (DD-780); destroyer escort O'Neill (DE-188); high speed transports Barry (APD-29) and Roper (APD-20); high speed minesweeper Butler (DMS-29); and minesweeper Spectacle (AM-305). Friendly fire damages destroyer Cowell (DD-547). Japanese plane torpedoes U.S. freighter William B. Allison in Buckner Bay; six merchant sailors and a stevedore die in the explosion. The 34-man merchant complement, 28 Armed Guard sailors and 150 stevedores, however, unload the ship's cargo. Fleet tug Tenino (ATF-115) later tows William B. Allison, written off by the War Shipping Administration as a total loss, to Kerama Retto, where she undergoes repairs and is taken over by the Navy for use as a mobile storehouse for lubricants and drummed petroleum products. Classified as a miscellaneous auxiliary (IX-117), she is renamed Gamage.
-Submarine Blenny (SS-324) sinks Japanese gunboat Kairyu Maru.
-Submarine Ray (SS-271) sinks Japanese schooner Tsuki Maru 35 miles east of Kaiyo Island.
-British submarine HMS Thorough sinks Japanese cargo ship Nittei Maru off west coast of Borneo.
-British submarine HMS Trenchant sinks Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Wa 105 east of Mandalike Island.
-Mines laid by USAAF B-29s (20th Air Force) sink Japanese cargo vessel Hikawa Maru and merchant tanker No.3 Toyo Maru 3.2 kilometers off Hesaki. Mines also sink transport Tobi Maru northwest of Kyushu and cargo ship Matsushima Maru two miles south of Matsuzaki Island and merchant cargo ships Shiragi Maru near Hesaki, and No.1 Nissan Maru off Mutsure, and damage destroyers Sakura seven kilometers off Hesaki Light and Tsubaki off Shimonoseki anchorage, Patrol Boat No.104 5.4 kilometers off Futaoi Light, army cargo ships Ginsei Maru and Ginzan Maru three kilometers off Mutsure Island merchant cargo ships No.3 Shinto Maru off Hesaki, and Iyo Maru east of the mouth of Kammon Channel, and merchant tanker No.4 Nanko Maru 6.5 kilometers off Hesaki.
-USAAF planes sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Amoy Maru off north coast of Tsushima.
-Japanese merchant vessel Kokei Maru is sunk by aircraft off Pusan, Korea.
-Japanese transport Kamishima Maru is damaged by stranding off north coast of Java, N.E.I.

 

25 May 1945 – F6Fs from VF-30 are credited with 1 Ki-84 about 15 miles northeast of Amami Shima and 1 G4M about 100 miles east of Naha, Okinawa; and from VF-49, with 1 C6N and 1 A6M over the radar picket line.

26 May – Nothing to report

27 May – Nothing to report

 

May 26, 1942
-Aircraft ferry Kitty Hawk (AKV-1) arrives at Midway with reinforcements for MAG 22, as well as the 3-inch antiaircraft group (3d Defense Battalion) and a light tank platoon earmarked for a mobile reserve.
-Submarine Salmon (SS-182) sinks Japanese repair ship Asahi about 180 miles south-southeast of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-9 reconnoiters Kiska.

May 26, 1943
-Japanese begin evacuation of troops from Kiska to Paramushiro via submarines. Between 26 May and 21 June 1943, 13 boats will be involved in the operation that will eventually extricate 820 men. Three boats will be sunk and three (I-2, I-155, and I-157) damaged.
-Gunboat Charleston (PG-51) bombards Japanese positions in the Chichagof area, Attu Island, Aleutians, starting numerous fires.
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266), in attack on Japanese convoy, sinks merchant cargo ship Tainan Maru off Shioyazaki, Honshu.
-Submarine Saury (SS-189) attacks Japanese convoy south of Kyushu, sinking transport Kagi Maru some 10 miles north of Amami Oshima Nansei Shoto.
-Submarine Trout (SS-202) lands men, currency, and equipment on Basilan Island, P.I.
-Submarine Whale (SS-239) sinks Japanese gunboat Shoei Maru (transporting men of the Guam Base Detachment) about 17 miles north-northwest of Rota Island, Marianas.
-Japanese merchant tanker Palembang Maru is damaged by mine (possibly laid by Trout (SS-202) on 7 April 1943).

May 26, 1944
-Destroyers (TG 57.8) bombard Japanese shore batteries and installations on Mille Atoll, Marshalls.
-Operations against NA line continue; destroyer escort England sinks Japanese submarine RO-108 110 miles northeast of Manus.
-Submarine Cabrilla (SS-288) sinks Japanese transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Sany_ Maru about 80 miles north of Menado, Celebes.
-Submarine Permit (SS-178) torpedoes and damages Japanese submarine I-44 west-southwest of Truk.
-Submarine Tambor (SS-198) sinks Japanese stores ship Chiy_ Maru west of the Marianas.

May 26, 1945
-Thirty USAAF B-29s (20th Bomber Command) mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Fukuoka, Karatsu, and Fushiki, Japan. Mines sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 172 at entrance to Fushiki harbor, Honshu and merchant cargo ships Mogi Maru south of Hime Jima, Shiokubi Maru off Motoyamazaki and 9 Kaishin Maru, and No.6 Miyakawa Maru 3.5 kilometers south of Hesaki and damage Japanese gunboat Hirota Maru, transport Akeshima Maru near Moji, and transport Inari Maru off Motoyamamisaki, and army cargo ships Ginzan Maru off Takenoko signal station and Igasa Maru 2.2 kilometers south of Hesaki, and merchant cargo ships Kunugi Maru outside Kobe harbor, Shozan Maru off Tokuyama, Shimonoseki Strait, and Mitsukisan Maru.
-Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage high speed minesweeper Forrest (DMS-24) and submarine chaser PC-1603.
-Submarine Billfish (SS-286) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship No.7 Kotobuki Maru off Nagasaki, Japan.
-Japanese guardboat Kaishin Maru is damaged by stranding at north end of Paramushiro Island Kurils.

 

May 27, 1942
-Japanese forces begin heading for Midway. Chief among them is First Mobile Force, Carrier Strike Force (Vice Admiral Nagumo Chuichi), which departs home waters on this date.
-Japanese submarine I-19 prepares to launch her small reconnaissance seaplane off the northern side of Bogoslof Island, Aleutians, but sights what she identifies as a U.S. destroyer and submerges hurriedly, irreparably damaging the aircraft.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-25 reconnoiters Kodiak, Alaska.
-Marines and Seabees occupy Wallis Island, South Pacific Ocean.
-The carrier USS Yorktown, damaged in the Coral Sea, reaches safety in Pearl Harbor. Navy and civilian repair crews swarm the ship as she docks and will return her to sea ready for combat a mere 72 hrs later.

May 27, 1943
-Submarine Finback (SS-230) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Kochi Maru about 75 miles northwest of Palau.
-Submarine Runner (SS-275) departs Midway for her third war patrol and headed for the Kurile Island chain and waters off northern Japan. No report was heard from her again. Captured Japanese records indicated that she sank the cargo ship Seinan Maru on 11 June in Tsugaru Strait off Hokaido, and the passenger-cargo ship Shinryu Maru on 26 June off the Kurile Islands. Runner was declared overdue and presumed lost in July 1943 and struck from the Navy list on 30 October 1943.

May 27, 1944
-TF 77 (Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler) lands U.S. Army 41st Division (Major General Horace H. Fuller, USA) on Biak in the Schouten Islands off New Guinea, in Operation HORLICKS. Heavy and light cruisers and destroyers of TG 77.2 (Rear Admiral Victor A.C. Crutchley, RN) and TG 77.3 (Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey) provide gunfire support.
-Motor torpedo boat PT-339, damaged by grounding off Pur Pur, western New Guinea is scuttled by her crew to prevent capture.
-Submarine chaser SC-699 is damaged by crashing Japanese plane off western New Guinea.
-British submarine HMS Templar sinks Japanese cargo ship Tyokai Maru in Strait of Malacca.

May 27, 1945
-Admiral William F. Halsey Jr., Commander Third Fleet, relieves Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Commander Fifth Fleet, of operational control at Okinawa. TF 58 thus becomes TF 38.
-On Okinawa, US infantry and marines secure most of Naha, the Okinawan capital. Appalling rain slows the US advance even more, however.
-Off Okinawa, two kamikazes damage destroyer Braine (DD-630); kamikazes also damage destroyer Anthony (DD-515), high speed minesweeper Southard (DMS-10), high speed transports Loy (APD-56) and Rednour (APD-102), surveying ship Dutton (AGS-8), submarine chaser PCS-1396 and degaussing vessel YDG-10; destroyer escort Gilligan (DE-508) is damaged by dud torpedo fired by kaiten from Japanese submarine I-367; minesweeper Gayety (AM-239) is damaged by near-miss of bomb; large support landing craft LCS-52 is damaged by near-miss of kamikaze; fleet tug Pakana (ATF-108) is damaged by strafing.
-In the final mine-laying operation of Phase III of Operation STARVATION, eleven USAAF B-29s (20th Bomber Command) mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Moji, Japan. USAAF B-29-laid mines sink cargo vessels Chizan Maru off Wadanomisaki light, and Kongo Maru in Shimonoseki Strait off Hakata, merchant tanker Hojo Maru off south coast of Yoshimi Island and damage merchant cargo ship Kifune Maru 1.4 kilometers north of Niigata light.
-Submarine Tench (SS-417) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kinei Maru off Kushiro light.
-Submarine Tigrone (SS-419) sinks Japanese guardboat No.3 Yawata Maru off Tori Jima.
-Japanese auxiliary minesweeper No.3 Misago Maru is sunk by U.S. aircraft at entrance to Ise Wan, Japan.
-Japanese naval vessel Shinho Maru is sunk by aircraft off Sosa, Chiba prefecture.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.2 Daito Maru is sunk by aircraft off Yosu.
-Commanding General, Alaskan Department, requests Navy assistance in evacuating local citizens endangered as Yukon River floods.
-In China, Nationalist troops win an important victory in southern China by capturing the city of Nanning, the capital city of the Kwangsi Province. The loss means that the Japanese Army in China is now cut off from its forces in Burma, Thailand, Indochina and Malaya.

 

May 28, 1942
-Japanese First Fleet, Main Body (Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku in battleship Yamato) allocated to the Midway operation sorties from home waters. The Second Fleet, Escort Force (Rear Admiral Tanaka Raizo), whose composition includes 15 transports, sails from Saipan; Second Fleet, Occupation Support force (Rear Admiral Kurita Takeo) sorties from Guam.
U.S. troops (500 men drawn from the garrison at Efate) arrive at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides.
-TF 16 (Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance), formed around carriers Enterprise (CV-6) and Hornet (CV-8), departs Pearl Harbor to take up position northeast of Midway.
-Submarine Salmon (SS-182) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Ganges Maru in the South China Sea about 250 miles south-southeast of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina.
-Submarine Seal (SS-183) damages Japanese army cargo ship Tatsufuku Maru at western entrance to Balabac Strait.
-In China, the Japanese penetrate the Yunnan Province using the Burma Road. In Chekiang Province, the Japanese forces take the capital, Kinhwa, having suffered heavy losses from Chinese resistance. In one action, the Japanese lost 1500 men in a minefield.

May 28, 1943
-Submarine S-41 (SS-146) sinks Japanese merchant barkentine/cargo ship Asuka Maru off Paramushiro, Kuriles.
-Submarine Saury (SS-189) torpedoes and sinks Japanese fleet tanker Akatsuki Maru about 90 miles northwest of Okinawa. Although early in the battle Akatsuki Maru responds to the submarine's attack with depth charges and gunfire, and later claims to have sunk her assailant, her efforts at self-defense prove unavailing and Saury emerges the victor in the encounter.
-Submarine Trigger (SS-237) damages Japanese merchant tanker Koshin Maru off Irosaki, Japan.

May 28, 1944
-Destroyer Stockton (DD-646) is damaged by shore battery, Biak Island, Schouten Islands, New Guinea.
-A PV-1 (VB 148) accidentally bombs submarine Permit (SS-178) off Truk, but the damage sustained by Permit does not prevent her from continuing her war patrol.
-In New Guinea, men of the 158th, 162nd, and 186th Infantry Regiments land on Biak off northwestern New Guinea. Although the landing is unopposed, the US advance towards an airstrip near Mokmer turns into a ferocious firefight after Japanese troops spring a huge machine gun, artillery and mortor ambush from cliff-side positions.

May 28, 1945
-Off Okinawa, kamikazes sink destroyer Drexler (DD-741), and damage attack transport Sandoval (APA-194), and large support landing craft LCS(L)-119. A suicider crashes and damages U.S. freighter Mary A. Livermore in Buckner Bay; the 27 Armed Guards and 75 Construction Battalion sailors on board contribute men to firefighting efforts (four Armed Guard sailors, as well as seven merchant seamen, die in the explosion and fires). Another kamikaze crashes and damages U.S. freighter Brown Victory off Ie Shima; two of the 27 Armed Guards are killed instantly, and 18 injured (one merchant sailor and an Armed Guard sailor die of their wounds later). Still another suicider crashes U.S. freighter Josiah Snelling off Okinawa; Armed Guard gunfire manages to deflect the Japanese plane from its suicidal course toward the amidships deckhouse and into a less vulnerable part, saving the ship from worse damage. There are no fatalities on board.
-Submarines Blueback (SS-326) and Lamprey (SS-372) battle Japanese submarine chaser Ch.1 in a surface gunnery action off Japara, N.E.I. and damage the enemy escort vessel.
-Submarine Ray (SS-271) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Biko Maru northwest of Changshan.
-Commander, Kodiak Sector, Alaskan Sea Frontier, dispatches four PBYs (three from FAW 1 and one from NAS Kodiak) to Fairbanks, via Anchorage, Alaska, to provide assistance in evacuating citizens threatened by rising Yukon River floodwaters (see 31 May).
-USAAF B-29-laid mines sink Japanese transport Akitsu Maru south of Kure, and damage Coast Defense Vessel No.29 off Kyushu, merchant cargo ships Mishimasan Maru three kilometers off Tateishikzaki and Annette Fritzen Go; and fishing boat No.3 Genei Maru outside Sasebo Bay.

 

May 29, 1942
-Seaplane tender (destroyer) Thornton (AVD-11) arrives at French Frigate Shoals, T.H., to relieve light minelayer Preble (DM-20) on patrol station there. Japanese submarine I-123 arrives the same day to find the Americans already there.
Seaplane tender (destroyer) Ballard (AVD-10) arrives at Midway along with the eleven motor torpedo boats from Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron One (Lieutenant Clinton McKellar Jr.); the latter are assigned to local defense forces of Midway (Captain Cyril T. Simard).
-PBYs (VP 71) and RAAF Catalinas bomb Japanese base at Tulagi, Solomons.
-Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-21 reconnoiters Sydney, Australia.
-Submarine Swordfish (SS-193) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Tatsufuku Maru at the southwestern entrance to Balabac Strait.

May 29, 1943
-Submarine chaser SC-669 sinks Japanese submarine I-178 30 miles west of Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides.
-Submarine Gar (SS-206) sinks Japanese gunboat Aso Maru southeast of Cayagan, Sulu Sea.
-Submarine Scamp (SS-277) sinks Japanese seaplane carrier Kamikawa Maru north of Kavieng, New Ireland and survives attacks by one of the submarine chasers escorting her, Ch 12 or Ch 37.
-Submarine Tambor (SS-198) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Eisho Maru (ex-Panamanian Folozu) in South China Sea about 60 miles southeast of Hainan Island.
-Submarine Tinosa (SS-283) unsuccessfully attacks Japanese cargo vessel Shinto Maru.
-In the Aleutian Islands, Japanese troops on Attu launch a final suicidal charge around Chichagof in an attempt to drive US forces from the island. The attack makes some progress overrunning two US command posts but US firepower proves decisive and Japanese survivors are forced to retreat, whereupon many commit suicide. The Attu campaign costs the Japanese 2351 lives, only 28 soldiers surrender. US losses are also heavy; 561 dead and 1136 wounded.

May 29, 1944
-Destroyers (Destroyer Squadron 41) bombard Japanese installations on northern coast of New Ireland, shelling the Medina Plantation area.
Submarine Rasher (SS-269) attacks Japanese convoy in the eastern Celebes Sea, damaging gunboat Anshu Maru about 110 miles north-northwest of Halmahera.
-Submarine Silversides (SS-236), despite the proximity of four escort vessels and aircraft, sinks Japanese transports H_raisan Maru and Sh_ken Maru about 100 miles north-northwest of Saipan.
-Japanese convoy no. 3530 sails from Yokohama, bound for Saipan. The seven transports/cargo ships carry men and equipment of the Japanese Army's 118th Infantry.
-Off the coast of New Guinea, US and Japanese tanks engage each other on Biak Island. The action, the first tank battle in the Pacific Theater, results in a Japanese defeat.

May 29, 1945
-Off Okinawa, kamikazes crash destroyer Shubrick (DD-639) and high speed transport Tatum (APD-81); groundings account for damage to motor minesweeper YMS-81, and tank landing ship LST-844.
-Mine laid by USAAF B-29 (20th Air Force) sinks Japanese cargo vessel Umatsu Maru off Mutsure Jima and damage army cargo ship No.6 Unyo Maru 3.6 miles off Hesaki light and merchant cargo ship No.5 Nissen Maru off Mutsure Jima.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Etsunan Maru is sunk by RAF-laid mine; later that day, submarine Hawkbill (SS-366) torpedoes Kamiyama Maru as she picks up Etsunan Maru survivors, and forces the rescuing ship to take refuge at Cape Khokwang.
-Submarine Sterlet (SS-392), despite proximity of escorting Coast Defense Ship No.65, sinks Japanese army cargo ships Kuretake Maru and Tenryo Maru.
-Over Japan, Tokyo is devestated once again by B-29 raids which this time burn up nearly 17 square miles of the battered city.

 

28 May 1944 – A VB-115 shoots down a G4M about 25 miles north-northwest of Manokwari, New Guinea.
28 May 1945 – Three F4Us from VBF-85 shoot down a Ki-51 50 miles north of Okinawa. Other F4Us from VF-85, operating between Yoron Shima and Okinawa, are credited with 1 A6M, 1 Ki-43, 3 Ki-45 and 4 Ki84. F6Fs from VBF-9, operating about 40 miles north of Zampa Misaka are credited with 1 Ki-43, 1 Ki-45, 1 Ki-84, and 1 P1Y. A PBM from VPB-18 accounts for a Ki-27 30 miles west of O-Shima.

29 May – Nothing to report.

Rich

 

May 30, 1940
-President Roosevelt (through Secretary of State Hull) rejects Ambassador Bullitt's request of 28 May to send the fleet to the Mediterranean. "The presence of the fleet in the Pacific at this time," Hull reminds the ambassador, "is a very practical contribution to the maintenance of peace in the Pacific."

May 30, 1942
-TF 17 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher), formed around carrier Yorktown (CV-5), departs Pearl Harbor to join TF 16 northeast of Midway.
-Submarine Pompano (SS-181) sinks Japanese army transport Atsuta Maru in East China Sea east of Okinawa and survives counterattack by her victim's escort.
-In the Indian Ocean, a small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-10 reconnoiters Diego Suarez.

May 30, 1943
-Organized Japanese resistance ends on Attu, Aleutians.
-Submarine Saury (SS-189) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant cargo ship Hakozaki Maru and army cargo ship Takamisan Maru about 150 miles east-southeast of Shanghai, China.
-Submarine Steelhead (SS-280) lays mines off Erimo Zaki, Japan.

May 30, 1944
-Submarine Guitarro (SS-363), despite proximity of at least three escort vessels, sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Shisen Maru 60 miles southeast of Keelung, Formosa.
-Submarine Pompon (SS-267) sinks Japanese merchant passenger/cargo ship Shiga Maru off Murotosaki, Japan.
-Submarine Rasher (SS-269) continues attack on Japanese convoy in the eastern Celebes Sea, sinking gunboat Anshu Maru about 110 miles north-northwest of Halmahera.
-USAAF B-25s (11th Air Force) sink Japanese guardboat Shinyo Maru northeast of Paramushiro, Kurils, and damage guardboat No.3 Sh_wa Maru east of the Kurils.
-USAAF B-25s damage Japanese cargo vessel Nansei Maru west of Manokwari.

May 30, 1945
-Planes (VC 82) from escort carrier Anzio (CVE-57) sink Japanese submarine I-361, 400 miles southeast of Okinawa.
-Submarine Blenny (SS-324) sinks Japanese cargo ship Hokoku Maru 40 miles southwest of Bandjermasin.
-Submarine Croaker (SS-246), despite proximity of escorting auxiliary submarine chaser Kenkai Maru, sinks No.154 Shuttle Boat and No.146 Shuttle Boat.
-Mines laid by USAAF B-29s (20th Bomber Command) sink Japanese transport Hakuun Maru off Hakata, Japan and merchant cargo ships Fujitama Maru off Wadanomisaki light, Kasumi Maru .8 kilometers off Mijizaki, and No.14 Takasago Maru northwest of Tadotsu, and damage army cargo ships Hyuga Maru 3.6 kilometers south-southeast of Genka Jima and Shinno Maru at mouth of Tsuruga Bay.

 

May 31, 1942
-Japanese midget submarines from submarines I-22, I-24, and I-27 penetrate the defenses of Sydney, Australia. Their torpedoes near-miss U.S. heavy cruiser Chicago (CA-29) but sink RAN accommodation ship Kuttabul and damage Dutch submarine K-IX beyond economical repair. Three Japanese midget submarines are lost in the attack.
-Submarine Pollack (SS-180) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.5 Shunsei Maru off Murotosan.
In the Indian Ocean, a small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-10 reconnoiters Diego Suarez.

May 31, 1944
-Operations against the Japanese NA line continue: destroyer escort England (DE-635), assisted by destroyers McCord (DD-534) and Hazelwood (DD-531) and destroyer escorts George (DE-697), Raby (DE-698), and Spangler (DE-696), sink submarine RO-105 200 miles north-northwest of Kavieng.
-Submarines Barb (SS-220) and Herring (SS-233) rendezvous in Sea of Okhotsk about 150 miles west of Matsuwa Island, Kurils, to plan operations against Japanese shipping in the vicinity. Subsequently, Herring attacks convoy NE, sinking escort vessel Ishigaki and army cargo ship Hokuyo Maru west of Matsuwa Island; Barb comes across convoy NE and sinks army cargo ship Madras Maru and transport K_t_ Maru southwest of Paramushiro.
-Japanese river gunboat Kotaka is sunk by Chinese aircraft in the Yangtze River.

May 31, 1945
-Four PBYs (three from FAW 1 and one from NAS Kodiak) dispatched to Fairbanks, via Anchorage, by Commander, Kodiak Sector, Alaskan Sea Frontier, return to Kodiak, their mission of providing assistance in evacuating citizenry threatened by rising Yukon River floodwaters having been completed.
-Soviet merchantman Uzbekistan and U.S. freighter American Star are damaged in collision off Dutch Harbor, Alaska; big harbor tug YTB-191 provides assistance.
-Mines laid by USAAF B-29s (20th Bomber Command) sink Japanese cargo ship Man Maru off Hesaki light, and damage gunboat Kazan Maru off Genka Jima Light, army cargo ships No.2 Yoro Maru southeast of Hesaki and Peking Maru off Onna Jima, and merchant cargo ship Jindai Maru northwest of Mutsure Jima. USAAF B-29-laid mine damages transport Tensho Maru, but Tensho Maru sinks after being towed into Osaka harbor.