Today in the History of the Pacific Theater

November 29, 1939
-Submarine S 38 (SS-143) is damaged by explosion of after storage battery, Olongapo, P.I.; four sailors suffer injuries.

November 29, 1941
-River gunboats Luzon (PR-7) and Oahu (PR-6) (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford, Commander Yangtze Patrol, in Luzon) depart Shanghai for Manila. Oahu (PR-6) is the sistership of river gunboat Panay (PR-5), which had been bombed and sunk by Japanese naval aircraft near Nanking, China, on 12 December 1937.

November 29, 1942
-USAAF B-17s damage Japanese destroyers Shiratsuyu and Makigumo in Vitiaz Strait off New Britain.
-Aircraft from Henderson Field sink Japanese cargo ships Azusa Maru and Kiku Maru at Wickham Anchorage, New Georgia.

November 29, 1943
-1st Marine Parachute Battalion is landed before dawn about six miles east of Cape Torokina from LCVPs and LCMs, covered by two LCI(G) and a motor torpedo boat; heavy Japanese opposition at daybreak, however, compels evacuation of the leathernecks. Destroyer Fullam (DD-474) aided by F4U, silences enemy artillery, mortar and sniper fire, and thus allows the successful extraction of the beleaguered marines.
-TG 74.2 (Captain Frank R. Walker), two U.S. destroyers and two Australian (HMAS Arunta and HMAS Warramunga), shell Japanese positions on Gasmata.
-Destroyer Perkins (DD-377) is sunk in collision with Australian troop ship Duntroon off eastern New Guinea.
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) sinks Surabaya-bound Japanese army cargo ship Suez Maru off Kangean Island, north of Bali. Unbeknown to the submariners, Suez Maru has on board 546 British POWs. Minesweeper W.12 rescues survivors.
-Submarine Paddle (SS-263) attacks Japanese fleet tanker Nippon Maru 19 miles off Brown Island, in the Marshall Islands chain.
-Submarines Pargo (SS-264) and Snook (SS-279) continue attacks against Japanese transport convoy northwest of the Marianas; Pargo torpedoes and sinks Manju Maru, Snook torpedoes and sinks Shiganoura Maru. Destroyer Oite and auxiliary submarine chaser Choan Maru counterattack to no avail.
-Submarine Snapper (SS-185) sinks Japanese transport Kenryu Maru off Hachijo Jima.

 

November 29, 1944
In Leyte Gulf, kamikazes damage battleship Maryland (BB-46),and destroyers Saufley (DD-465), Aulick (DD-569).
-U.S. freighter William C.C. Claiborne, anchored off Leyte, is hit by what is most likely friendly fire that wounds 3 of the 28-man Armed Guard and 1 of the ship's 42-man merchant complement.
-Motor torpedo boats attack Japanese shipping in Ormoc Bay; PT-127 sinks Patrol Boat No.105 (ex-Philippine Arayat); PT-128 and PT-191 sink auxiliary minelayer Kusentai No.105.
-USAAF B-25s and P-47s (5th Air Force) attack Japanese shipping near Ormoc Bay sinking submarine chaser Ch 45. P-40s and P-47s (5th Air Force) sink army cargo ship Shinetsu Maru off Camotes Island and cargo ship Shinsho Maru off Ormoc.
-Submarine Archerfish (SS-311) sinks Japanese carrier Shinano 160 nautical miles southeast of Cape Muroto, Japan. At that time the Shinano was the largest aircraft carrier ever built and would remain so until the late 1950's.
-Submarine Scabbardfish (SS-397) sinks Japanese submarine I-365 off Honshu.
-Submarine Spadefish (SS-411) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship No.6 Daiboshi Maru off the west coast of Korea.
-British submarine HMS Sturdy sinks two Japanese fishing vessels off Bawean Island.

 

November 30, 1940
-United States lends $50 million to China for currency stabilization and grants an additional $50 million credit for purchase of supplies.

November 30, 1941
-Japanese Foreign Minister Tojo rejects U.S. proposals for settling Far East crisis.
Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-10 reconnoiters Suva Bay, Fiji.
-U.S. passenger liner President Madison arrives at Olongapo, P.I., and disembarks the 2d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Donald Curtis, USMC). President Madison will then proceed on to Singapore.
-River gunboats Luzon (PR-7) and Oahu (PR-6) (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford, Commander Yangtze Patrol, in Luzon) rendezvous with submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) and minesweeper Finch (AM-9); they will remain in company until 3 December.

November 30, 1942
-Battle of Tassafaronga: TF 67, comprising four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and six destroyers (Rear Admiral Carlton H. Wright) surprises Japanese destroyers (Captain Sato Torajiro) off Tassafaronga Point, Guadalcanal. The enemy presses on to jettison supply containers to sustain Japanese troops on Guadalcanal, while torpedoes launched from destroyers Kagero, Makinami, Kuroshio, Oyashio, Kawakaze and Naganami wreak havoc on Wright's ships, damaging heavy cruisers Pensacola (CA-24), Northampton (CA-26), New Orleans (CA-32), and Minneapolis (CA-36). Japanese destroyer Takanami is damaged by cruiser and destroyer gunfire off Tassafaronga (see 1 December).
-USAAF B-24s (India Air Task Force) bomb Japanese torpedo boat Kari off Port Blair, Andaman Island, in a strike that inaugurates attacks on the sea approaches to Burma.
-German auxiliary cruiser Thor (Schiffe 10) is sunk by explosion of supply ship Uckermark, moored alongside, Yokohama, Japan. The blast also sinks German prize ship Leuthen and Japanese harbor craft in the vicinity.

 

November 30, 1943
-U.S. destroyers bombard Japanese positions on Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, Solomons.
-Submarine Gato (SS-212) sinks Japanese army transport Columbia Maru and escapes counterattacks by escorting submarine chaser Ch 24.
-Submarine Skate (SS-305) attacks Japanese carrier Zuiho, which, along with carrier Un'yo and escort carrier Chuyo and escort vessels is proceeding back to Japan from Truk. Although Skate claims one damaging hit, none of her four torpedoes strikes home (see 4 December 1943).
-PBY sinks Palau-bound Japanese cargo ship Himalaya Maru six nautical miles south of New Hanover.

November 30, 1944
-Submarine Pipefish (SS-388) is damaged by aerial bombs in South China Sea off Hainan, but remains on patrol.
-Submarine Sunfish (SS-281) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Dairen Maru off western Korea.
-Japanese bomber, evading a 12-plane combat air patrol, damages floating drydock ARD-17 with a near-miss, Kossol Roads, Palau.
-British submarine HMS Stratagem sinks Japanese cargo vessel Kumano Maru in Malacca Straits.

 

December 1, 1939
-Submarine Division 14 arrives on the Asiatic Station, the first modern reinforcements received by the Asiatic Fleet in many years. Submarines comprising the division are Pickerel (SS-177) (flag), Porpoise (SS-172), Perch (SS-176), Pike (SS-173), Tarpon (SS-175) and Permit (SS-178).

December 1, 1940
-Headquarters for Alaskan units of Coast Guard is established at Ketchikan.

December 1, 1941
-President orders a "defensive information patrol" of "three small ships" established off the coast of French Indochina; he specifically designates yacht Isabel (PY-10) (reserve flagship for Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet) as one of the trio of vessels. Schooner Lanikai is acquired and commissioned, but the start of the war results in her planned mission being cancelled. The third vessel, schooner Molly Moore, is selected for the mission but is never taken over. Lanikai's civilian career had seen her used as a "prop" in the filming of motion picture "Hurricane" that starred Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall.
-U.S. passenger liner President Harrison arrives at Olongapo, P.I., with the remaining elements of the 4th Marine Regiment (Colonel Samuel L. Howard, USMC) withdrawn from Shanghai. President Harrison soon sails to bring out the last marines from China.
-As river gunboats Luzon (PR-7) and Oahu (PR-6) (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford, Commander Yangtze Patrol, in Luzon), submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) and minesweeper Finch (AM-9) proceed toward Manila, they become the object of curiosity by Japanese forces in the vicinity; first a floatplane circles the formation, then seven Japanese warships of various types.

December 1, 1942
-As a result of damage received in the Battle of Tassafaronga, heavy cruiser Northampton (CA-26) sinks in Iron Bottom Sound of Savo Island; Japanese destroyer Takanami goes down about 10 miles south-southwest of Savo Island.
-Japanese destroyer Isonami is damaged by planes (USAAF B-25s, B-26s, A-20s, and P-400s are all involved in raids on Buna) off Buna, New Guinea.

December 1, 1943
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) sinks Japanese transport Nichiryo Maru in Celebes Sea.
-Submarine Pargo (SS-264) sinks Japanese transport Shoko Maru north of Ulithi.
-Submarine Peto (SS-265) sinks Truk-bound Japanese transport Konei Maru approx 300 miles north of Manus, and escapes countermeasures by torpedo boat Otori.
-USAAF B-25s bomb Taikoo dockyard, Hong Kong, damaging Japanese transport Teiren Maru (ex-Vichy French Gouverneur General A. Varenne). Subsequently, the ship is written off as a total loss.
-USAAF B-24s pound Japanese installations at Wewak; among the heavy damage inflicted, small cargo vessel No.16 Yoshitomo Maru is sunk.

December 1, 1944
-Naval Operating Base, Kwajalein, is established.

 

December 2, 1941
-Submarine Trout (SS-202) arrives off Midway Island on simulated war patrol.

December 2, 1943
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) lands ammunition and stores, and evacuates certain people from Mindanao.
-USAAF B-24 damages Japanese cargo ship Shinyu Maru off New Hanover.
-RAAF Beaufighters damage Japanese paddle steamer Assam in Irrawaddy River.
-Japanese cargo vessel Koki Maru is sunk by mine, laid by USAAF B-24 on 16 November, off Macao.

December 2, 1944
-Four destroyers (DesDiv 44) bombard Japanese positions at Palompon and northern Ormoc Bay, Leyte. Another group of three destroyers (DesDiv 120) (Commander John C. Zahm) enters Ormoc Bay at night and battles enemy aircraft, destroyers, and shore batteries.
-Submarine Gunnel (SS-253) lands supplies and evacuates Allied aviators from Palawan, P.I.
-Submarine Sea Devil (SS-400) attacks Japanese convoy MI-29 in the East China Sea, sinking merchant tanker Akigawa Maru and passenger/cargo ship Hawaii Maru about 80 miles south-southwest of Kyushu.
-British submarine HMS Sturdy sinks Japanese Communication Ship No.142 in Makassar Strait.
-USAAF B-24s sink Japanese gunboat Bantan Maru and damage auxiliary minesweeper Cha 105 and cargo ship Sh_ka Maru 140 miles nautical miles from Makassar.
-USAAF P-40s attack Japanese shipping off Palompon, P.I., sinking motor sailship Kosei Maru.

 

December 3, 1941
-Yacht Isabel (PY-10) sails for coast of French Indochina, deployed in accordance with President Roosevelt's "defensive information patrol" order.
-Submarine Argonaut (SS-166) arrives off Midway Island on simulated war patrol.

December 3, 1942
-SBDs and TBFs from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, attack a Japanese Reinforcement Unit, ten ships strong, en route to Guadalcanal and damage destroyer Makinami. The Japanese throw some 1,500 supply canisters overboard for their troops on Guadalcanal, but only 310 reach the intended recipients.

December 3, 1943
-Second Cairo Conference begins, attended by President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek.
-Submarine Guardfish (SS-217) is damaged in collision with unidentified tanker.
-Submarine Tinosa (SS-283) sinks Palau-bound Japanese fleet tanker Azuma Maru northwest of Sonserol.
-USAAF B-24s bomb Japanese fishing boats off Garove, sinking No.13 Sansei Maru.
-USAAF B-25s sink Japanese paddle steamer Assam, immobilized the day before by RAAF Beaufighters in Irrawaddy River.

December 3, 1944
-Destroyer engagement in Ormoc Bay that began late the previous night continues. Destroyer Cooper (DD-695) is sunk, possibly by torpedo from escort destroyer Kuwa, but not before Cooper, along with Allen M. Sumner (DD-692) and Moale (DD-693), sinks Kuwa and damages her sistership Take. "Black Cat" PBY-5A picks up Cooper's survivors that night and the next day. One PBY carries 56 in addition to its 8-man crew. Allen M. Sumner is damaged by horizontal bomber, and Moale is damaged (possibly by Kuwa) in Ormoc Bay.
-Hospital ship Hope (AH-7), fully illuminated in accordance with the dictates of the Geneva Convention, is attacked by Japanese torpedo planes but not damaged, 125 miles east of Mindanao.
-Submarines Pampanito (SS-383), Pipefish (SS-388), Sea Cat (SS-399) and Searaven (SS-196) attack Japanese convoy in South China Sea off coast of French Indochina, in a heavy seas and poor visibility. Pipefish probably torpedoes and sinks Coast Defense Vessel No.64; Pampanito torpedoes army cargo ship Seishin Maru, and Sea Cat or Searaven torpedoes tanker Harima Maru.
-U.S. Navy land-based aircraft sink Japanese merchant tanker No.13 Nanshin Maru off Balikpapan and merchant tanker No.18 Nanshin Maru off Borneo.

 

December 4, 1941
-River gunboats Luzon (PR-7) and Oahu (PR-6) (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford, Commander Yangtze Patrol, in Luzon), followed later by submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) and minesweeper Finch (AM-9), reach Manila.
-River gunboat Mindanao (PR-8) (Captain Lester J. Hudson, Commander South China Patrol, embarked) sails from Hong Kong, British Crown Colony, for Manila. She is the last U.S. Navy ship to depart Chinese waters prior to war. Luzon Stevedoring Company tug Ranger follows subsequently, carrying spare parts and 800 3-inch shells for Mindanao's main battery (previously stored ashore at Hong Kong). Only two U.S. naval vessels remain in Chinese waters: river gunboat Wake (ex-Guam) (PR-3) at Shanghai to maintain communications until a radio station is established at the Consulate General with Navy equipment, and river gunboat Tutuila (PR-4) at Chungking, where she furnishes essential services to the U.S. Embassy. Wake had received her new name on 23 January 1941 to clear the name Guam for a new large cruiser (CB 2).
-Carrier Enterprise (CV-6) ferries USMC F4Fs (VMF 211) to Wake Island; TF 8 (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.) then shapes a course to return to Pearl Harbor. TF 8 is slated to reach Pearl on 6 December. Heavy weather on 5-6 December, however, will result in a delay in fueling the force's destroyers and push back the time of arrival in Pearl from the afternoon of the 6th to the morning of the 7th. That same day, a routine scouting flight from the carrier sights Honolulu-bound tug Sonoma (AT-12) with Pan American Airways barges PAB No. 2 and PAB No. 4 in tow. Sonoma, armed with only two .30-caliber machine guns, will eventually reach Honolulu on 15 December 1941, with her tows.
-Japanese naval land attack plane (Chitose Kokutai) reconnoiters Wake Island undetected.

December 4, 1943
-TF 50 (Rear Admiral Charles A. Pownall) attacks Japanese installations on Kwajalein and Wotje Atolls, Marshalls. Planes from Lexington (CV-16) and small carrier Independence (CVL 22) sink collier Asakaze Maru, cargo ship Tateyama Maru, auxiliary submarine chaser No.7 Takunan Maru, and guardboat No.5 Mikuni Maru and damage light cruisers Nagara and Isuzu, stores ship Kinezaki, auxiliary vessel Fujikawa Maru, and transports Eiko Maru, Kenbu Maru, and No.18 Mikage Maru.
During Japanese retaliatory air strikes, three U.S. ships suffer damage: carrier Lexington (CV-16) by aerial torpedo; light cruiser Mobile (CL-63) when one of her 5-inch mounts accidentally fires into one of her own 40-millimeter mounts, and destroyer Taylor (DD-468) by friendly fire from light cruiser Oakland (CL-95).
-Submarine Apogon (SS-308) sinks Japanese gunboat Daido Maru northeast of Ponape.
-Submarine Gunnel (SS-253) sinks Japanese transport Hiyoshi Maru northeast of Haha Jima, and eludes counterattacks by destroyer Inazuma.
-Submarine Sailfish (SS-192)(formerly the USS Squalus) torpedoes and sinks Yokosuka-bound Japanese escort carrier Chuyo southeast of Honshu. Unbeknown to Sailfish, Chuyo is carrying survivors from sistership Sculpin (SS-191).
Ironically, the Sculpin had been the first ship on scene leading the rescue effort when the Squalus sank in 60 fathoms of water while making a test dive off Portsmouth, New Hampshire in May 1939.
-Japanese seaplane carrier Sanuki Maru is damaged by mine, Pomelaa, as she sails for Singapore.

December 4, 1944
-Destroyer Drayton (DD-366) is damaged by horizontal bomber off Leyte.
-Submarine Flasher (SS-249) attacks Japanese convoy about 275 miles southwest of Manila, sinking destroyer Kishinami, and damages merchant tanker Hakko Maru. Flasher eludes efforts of the escorting Yurijima and Coast Defense Vessel No.17; Hakko Maru is later scuttled, most likely by Yurijima and/or Coast Defense Vessel No.17.

 

December 5, 1941
-Japan assures the U.S. that her troop movements in French Indochina are only precautionary.
-Carrier Lexington (CV-2) in TF 12 (Rear Admiral John H. Newton) sails for Midway to ferry USMC SB2Us (VMSB 231) to that atoll. Like Enterprise (CV-6)'s deployment to Wake, Lexington's to Midway is in response to the "War Warning" of 27 November.

December 5, 1942
-Tug Grebe (AT-134) sinks after running aground south of Fiji.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship Mansei Maru founders and sinks in storm in Formosa Strait.
-VCS Detachment RINGBOLT is established at Tanambogo, B.S.I., composed of planes (SOCs) from heavy cruisers Pensacola (CA-24), Northampton (CA-26), New Orleans (CA-32), Minneapolis (CA-36), and light cruiser Honolulu (CL-48). Operations of the new unit commence immediately, taking precedence over setting up camp. Two SOCs patrol this night with PT boats. Lack of equipment and communication difficulties handicap operations that are carried out on moonless nights in rain squalls. Only facilities provided being a flashlight on the beach to guide returning plane through reef passage after landing.

December 5, 1943
-Destroyers bombard Choiseul Bay area, Choiseul Island, Solomons.
-Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) sinks Japanese cargo ship Himeno Maru (ex-U.S. Dos Hermanos) off Camiquin Island in the Philippine archipeligo.

December 5, 1944
-Naval Base, Tinian, is established.
-Submarine Hake (SS-256) lands supplies on Panay, P.I. Tank landing ship LST-23 and medium landing ship LSM-20 are damaged by Japanese planes 70 miles northwest of Caiut Point, Leyte. Kamikazes damage destroyers Drayton (DD-366) and Mugford (DD-389)in the Suriago Straits.
-Japanese planes attack convoy bound for Leyte, torpedoing U.S. freighter Antoine Saugraine approx 80 miles northwest of Mindanao, falling astern of the convoy, the freighter again comes under attack, is torpedoed a second time, and is abandoned. Frigates San Pedro (PF-37) and Coronado (PF-38), and Army tug LT 454 rescue the 42-manmerchant complement, 26-man Armed Guard and 376 Army troop passengers between them (see 6-7 December 1944). A kamikaze crashes freighter Marcus Daly in San Pedro Bay, Leyte; 1 of the 27-man Armed Guard is killed, as are 2 of the 40-man merchant complement and 62 of the 1,200 embarked Army troops; 49 men are wounded. Nearby, Armed Guard gunfire from freighter John Evans deflects a kamikaze from his suicidal course toward that ship, but the plane grazes the ship, glancing off the topmast and the stack before splashing close aboard. Bomb fragments cause some topside damage and wound four men (two of the 43-man merchant complement and 2 of the 26-man Armed Guard).
-Medium landing ship LSM-149 is damaged by grounding, Philippine Islands.
-Japanese escort destroyer Ikuna is damaged by aircraft off Formosa.

 

December 6, 1941
-Yacht Isabel (PY-10) is sighted by floatplane from Japanese seaplane carrier Kamikawa Maru at about. Later in the day, Isabel receives orders to return to Manila.

December 6, 1944
-Submarine Haddo (SS-255) damages Japanese tanker No.3 Kyoei Maru of the eastern coast of Olongapo City P.I.
-Submarines Segundo (SS-398), Trepang (SS-412), and Razorback (SS-394) attack Japanese convoy of ten cargo vessels and four escorts west of Dalupiri Island, P.I., en route from Takao to Manila; Trepang damages army cargo ship Fukuyo Maru and merchant cargo ships Jinyo Maru and Yamakuni Maru; Segundo damages merchant cargo ships Kanjo Maru, Yasukuni Maru, and Shinfuku Maru.
-Fleet tug Quapaw (ATF-110) arrives to assist freighter Antoine Saugraine, damaged the previous day by Japanese aerial torpedo off Leyte; she stands ready to tow the freighter if necessary.
-Aircraft sink Japanese army cargo ship Shinto Maru in South China Sea off Luzon.
-British submarine HMS Shalimar damages Japanese merchant tanker Shinbun Maru in Strait of Malacca.

 

December 7, 1939
-Rear Admiral George J. Meyers, Commander Base Force, dies of coronary thrombosis on board his flagship, auxiliary Argonne (AG-31), San Pedro, California

December 7, 1941
-Unarmed U.S. Army-chartered steam schooner Cynthia Olson is shelled and sunk by Japanese submarine I 26 about 1,000 miles northwest of Diamond Head, Honolulu, Hawaii. She is the first U.S. merchantman to be sunk by a Japanese submarine in World War II. There are no survivors from the 33-man crew or the two Army passengers.
-Japanese Type A midget submarine attempts to follow general stores issue ship Antares (AKS-3) into the entrance channel to Pearl Harbor; summoned to the scene by the auxiliary vessel, destroyer Ward (DD-139), on channel entrance patrol, with an assist from a PBY (VP 14), sinks the intruder with gunfire and depth charges. Word of the incident, however, works its way with almost glacial slowness up the chain of command.
-"Like a thunderclap from a clear sky" Japanese carrier attack planes (in both torpedo and high-level bombing roles) and bombers, supported by fighters, totaling 353 planes from naval striking force (Vice Admiral Nagumo Chuichi) attack in two waves, targeting ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and nearby military airfields and installations. Japanese planes torpedo and sink battleships Oklahoma (BB-37) and West Virginia (BB-48), and auxiliary (gunnery training/target ship) Utah (AG-16). On board Oklahoma, Ensign Francis G. Flaherty, USNR, and Seaman First Class James R. Ward, as the ship is abandoned, hold flashlights to allow their shipmates to escape; on board West Virginia, her commanding officer, Captain Mervyn Bennion, directs his ship's defense until struck down and mortally wounded by a fragment from a bomb that hits battleship Tennessee (BB-43) moored inboard; on board Utah, Austrian-born Chief Watertender Peter Tomich remains at his post as the ship capsizes, securing the boilers and making sure his shipmates have escaped from the fireroom. Flaherty, Ward, Bennion, Tomich and Bennion's falling in action sets in motion a chain of events that will result in Mess Attendant First Class Doris Miller becoming the first African-American to be awarded the Navy Cross. Miller, a brawny, broad-shouldered former high school football player, is recruited to carry the mortally wounded captain from the bridge. Their egress temporarily blocked by fires, however, the men are compelled to remain on the bridge. Miller mans a .50-caliber machine gun and later tells interviewers modestly that he believes he may have damaged two low-flying Japanese planes. Sadly, Miller will not survive the war; he will perish with escort carrier Liscome Bay (CVE-56) on 24 November 1943 off the Gilberts. Japanese bombs also sink battleship Arizona (BB-39); the cataclysmic explosion of her forward magazine causes heavy casualties, among them Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Commander Battleship Division 1, who thus becomes the first U.S. Navy flag officer to die in combat in World War II. Both he and Arizona's commanding officer, Captain Franklin van Valkenburgh, are awarded Medals of Honor, posthumously. In addition, the ship's senior surviving officer on board, Lieutenant Commander Samuel G. Fuqua, directs efforts to fight the raging fires and sees to the evacuation of casualties from the ship; he ultimately directs the abandonment of the doomed battleship and leaves in the last boat. He is awarded the Medal of Honor. When Arizona explodes, she is moored inboard of repair ship Vestal (AR-4); the blast causes damage to the repair ship, which has already been hit by a bomb. Vestal's captain, Commander Cassin Young earns the Medal of Honor by swimming back to his ship after being blown overboard by the explosion of Arizona's magazines, and directing her beaching on Aiea shoal to prevent further damage in the fires consuming Arizona. Battleship California (BB-44) is hit by both bombs and torpedoes and sinks at her berth alongside Ford Island; during the battle, Ensign Herbert C. Jones, USNR, organizes and leads a party to provide ammunition to the ship's 5-inch antiaircraft battery; he is mortally wounded by a bomb explosion. Gunner Jackson C. Pharris, leading an ordnance repair party, is stunned by concussion of a torpedo explosion early in the action but recovers to set up an ammunition supply train, by hand; he later enters flooding compartments to save shipmates. Chief Radioman Thomas J. Reeves assists in maintaining an ammunition supply party until overcomes by smoke inhalation and fires; Machinist's Mate Robert R. Scott, although his station at an air compressor is flooding, remains at his post, declaring "This is my station and I will stay and give them [the antiaircraft gun crews] air as long as the guns are going." Jones, Pharris, Reeves and Scott all receive the Medal of Honor (Jones, Reeves and Scott posthumously). Japanese bombs damage destroyers Cassin (DD-372) and Downes (DD-375), which are lying immobile in Drydock No. 1. Minelayer Oglala (CM-4) is damaged by concussion from torpedo exploding in light cruiser Helena (CL-50) moored alongside, and capsizes at her berth; harbor tug Sotoyomo (YT-9) is sunk in floating drydock YFD-2. Contrary to some secondary accounts, Utah (a converted battleship) is not attacked because she resembled an aircraft carrier, she is attacked because, in the excitement of the moment, she looked sufficiently like the capital ship she once had been. Of the other sunken ships, California, West Virginia, Oglala, and Sotoyomo are raised and repaired; Cassin and Downes are rebuilt around their surviving machinery; all are returned to service. Oklahoma, although raised after monumental effort, is never repaired, and ultimately sinks while under tow to the west coast to be broken up for scrap. The hulks of Arizona and Utah remain at Pearl as memorials. Battleship Nevada (BB-36), the only capital ship to get underway during the attack, is damaged by bombs and a torpedo before she is beached. Two of her men are later awarded the Medal of Honor: Machinist Donald K. Ross for his service in the forward and after dynamo rooms and Chief Boatswain Edwin J. Hill (posthumously) for his work in enabling the ship to get underway and, later, in attempting to release the anchors during the attempt to beach the ship. Battleships Pennsylvania (BB-38), Tennessee (BB-43), and Maryland (BB-46), light cruiser Honolulu (CL-48), and floating drydock YFD-2 are damaged by bombs; light cruisers Raleigh (CL-7) and Helena (CL-50) are damaged by torpedoes; destroyer Shaw (DD-373), by bombs, in floating drydock YFD-2; heavy cruiser New Orleans (CA-32), destroyers Helm (DD-388) and Hull (DD-350), destroyer tender Dobbin (AD-3), repair ship Rigel (AR-11), and seaplane tender Tangier (AV-8), are damaged by near-misses of bombs; seaplane tender Curtiss (AV-4) is damaged by crashing carrier bomber; garbage lighter YG-17 (alongside Nevada at the outset) is damaged by strafing and/or concussion of bombs. Destroyer Monaghan (DD-354) rams, depth-charges, and sinks Type A midget submarine inside Pearl Harbor proper, during the attack. This particular Type A may have been the one whose periscope harbor tug YT-153 attempts to ram early in the attack. Light minelayer Gamble (DM-15) mistakenly fires upon submarine Thresher (SS-200) off Oahu, 21°15'N, 159°01'W. Thresher mistakes Gamble for destroyer Litchfield (DD-336) (the latter ship assigned to work with submarines in the Hawaiian operating area), the ship with which she is to rendezvous. Gamble, converted from a flush-deck, four-pipe destroyer, resembles Litchfield. Sadly, the delay occasioned by the mistaken identity proves fatal to a seriously injured sailor on board the submarine, who dies four hours before the boat finally reaches port on the 8th, of multiple injuries suffered on 6 December 1941 when heavy seas wash him against the signal deck rail.
-Carrier Enterprise (CV-6) Air Group (CEAG, VB 6 and VS 6) search flight (Commander Howard L. Young, CEAG), in two-plane sections of SBDs, begins arriving off Oahu as the Japanese attack unfolds; some SBDs meet their doom at the hands of Japanese planes; one (VS 6) is shot down by friendly fire. Another SBD ends up on Kauai where its radio-gunner is drafted into the local Army defense force with his single .30-caliber machine gun. Almost all of the surviving planes, together with what observation and scouting planes from battleship (VO) and cruiser (VCS) detachments, as well as flying boats (VP) and utility aircraft (VJ) that survive the attack, take part in the desperate, hastily organized searches flown out of Ford Island to look for the Japanese carriers whence the surprise attack had come.
-Navy Yard and Naval Station, Pearl Harbor; Naval Air Stations at Ford Island and Kaneohe Bay; Ewa Mooring Mast Field (Marine Corps air facility); Army airfields at Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows; and Schofield Barracks suffer varying degrees of bomb and fragment damage. Japanese bombs and strafing destroy 188 Navy, Marine Corps, and USAAF planes. At NAS Kaneohe Bay, Aviation Chief Ordnanceman John W. Finn mounts a machine gun on an instruction stand and returns the fire of strafing planes although wounded many times. Although ordered to leave his post to have his wounds treated, he returns to the squadron areas where, although in great pain, he oversees the rearming of returning PBYs. For his heroism, Finn is awarded the Medal of Honor.
-Casualties amount to: killed or missing: Navy, 2,008; Marine Corps, 109; Army, 218; Civilian, 68; Wounded: Navy, 710; Marine Corps, 69; Army, 364; Civilian, 35. One particular family tragedy prompts concern in the Bureau of Navigation (later Bureau of Naval Personnel) on the matter of brothers serving in the same ship, a common peacetime practice in the U.S. Navy. Firemen First Class Malcolm J. Barber and LeRoy K. Barber, and Fireman Second Class Randolph H. Barber, are all lost when battleship Oklahoma (BB-37) capsizes. The Bureau considers it in the "individual family interest that brothers not be put on the same ship in war time, as the loss of such a ship may result in the loss of two or more members of the family, which might be avoided if brothers are separated." The Bureau, however, stops short of specifically forbidding the practice. On 3 February 1942, it issues instructions concerning the impracticality of authorizing transfers of men directly from recruit training to ships in which relatives are serving, and urges that brothers then serving together be advised of the undesirability of their continuing to do so. Authorizing commanding officers to approve requests for transfers to facilitate separation, the Bureau directs in July 1942 that commanding officers of ships not forward requests for brothers to serve in the same ship or station. This is too late, however, to prevent the five Sullivan brothers from serving in light cruiser Juneau (CL-52) (see 13 November 1942). Acts of heroism by sailors, marines, soldiers and civilians (from telephone exchange operator to yard shop worker), in addition to those enumerated above, abound. Among the civilians who distinguish themselves this day is Tai Sing Loo, the yard photographer, who has a scheduled appointment to take a picture of the marine Main Gate guards. During the attack, he helps the marines of the Navy Yard fire department fight fires in dry dock number one and later, in the wake of the morning's devastation, delivers food to famished leathernecks.
-Japanese losses amount to fewer than 100 men, 29 planes of various types and four Type A midget submarines. A fifth Type A washes ashore off Bellows Field and is recovered; its commander (Ensign Sakamaki Kazuo) is captured, becoming U.S. prisoner of war number one.
-Japanese Naval Aviation Pilot First Class Nishikaichi Shigenori, from the carrier Hiryu, crash-lands his Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 carrier fighter (ZERO) on the island of Niihau, T.H. He surrenders to the islanders who disarm him and confiscate his papers but, isolated as they are, know nothing of the attack on Pearl Harbor. "Peaceful and friendly," Nishikaichi is not kept in custody but is allowed to roam the island unguarded.
-First night recovery of planes in World War II by the U.S. Navy occurs when Enterprise turns on searchlights to aid returning SBDs (VB 6 and VS 6) and TBDs (VT 6) that had been launched at dusk in an attempt to find Japanese ships reported off Oahu. Friendly fire, however, downs four of Enterprise's six F4Fs (VF 6) (the strike group escort) that are directed to land at Ford Island. Other Enterprise SBDs make a night landing at Kaneohe Bay, miraculously avoiding automobiles and construction equipment parked on the ramp to prevent just such an occurrence.
-Damage to the battle line proves extensive, but carriers Enterprise and Lexington (CV-2) are, providentially, not in port, having been deployed at the eleventh hour to reinforce advanced bases at Wake and Midway. Saratoga (CV-3) is at San Diego on this day, preparing to return to Oahu. The carriers will prove crucial in the coming months. Convinced that he has proved fortunate to have suffered as trifling losses as he has, Vice Admiral Nagumo opts to set course for home, thus inadvertantly sparing fuel tank farms, ship repair facilities, and the submarine base that will prove invaluable to support the U.S. Pacific Fleet as it rebuilds in the wake of the Pearl Harbor disaster.
-Midway Island is bombarded by Japanese Midway Neutralization Unit (Captain Kaname Konishi) consisting of destroyers Ushio and Sazanami; Marine shore batteries (6th Defense Battalion) return the fire, claiming damage to both ships. One of the submarines deployed on simulated war patrols off Midway, Trout (SS-202), makes no contact with the enemy ships; the other, Argonaut (SS-166), is unable to make a successful approach, and Ushio and Sazanami retire from the area. Subsequent bad weather will save Midway from a pounding by planes from the Pearl Harbor Attack Force as it returns to Japanese waters.
-Damage control hulk DCH 1 (IX-44), formerly destroyer Walker (DD-163), being towed from San Diego, California, to Pearl Harbor, by oiler Neches (AO-5), is cast adrift and scuttled by gunfire from Neches.
-Japanese declaration of war [N.B.: the so-called "Fourteen Point message" is not a declaration of war; it merely declares an impasse in the ongoing diplomatic negotiations. The Imperial Rescript declaring a state of war between the Japanese Empire and the United States is not issued until the next day, in Tokyo. pwc] reaches Washington, D.C., after word of the attack on Pearl Harbor has already been received in the nation's capital.
-President orders mobilization.

 

December 7, 1942
-USMC SBDs (VMSB 132) from Henderson Field attack Japanese Reinforcement Unit (Captain Sato Torajiro), 12 ships strong, carrying reinforcements and supplies to Guadalcanal, damaging destroyers Nowaki and Arashi.
Cargo ship Alchiba (AK-23) is damaged by Japanese midget submarine Ha.38 (from submarine I-24) off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal.
-Submarine Kingfish (SS-234) sinks Japanese transport No.3 Hino Maru west of the Bonins.

December 7, 1943
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266) sinks Japanese collier Soyo Maru north of Truk.
-Submarine Sailfish (SS-192) is attacked by Japanese plane off Kyushu, Japan, but although damaged by aerial bomb, remains on patrol.

December 7, 1944
-TG 78.3 (Rear Admiral Arthur W. Struble) lands Army troops (77th Infantry) on the eastern shore of Ormoc Bay after bombardment by destroyers and LCI(R)s. Within three hours of the first soldiers' going ashore, however, enemy air attacks begin. Kamikazes damage destroyers Mahan (DD-364), and Lamson (DD-367); Mahan is scuttled by destroyer Walke (DD-723); destroyer Flusser (DD-368) and rescue tug ATR-31 extinguish Lamson's fires and she is towed to Leyte Gulf. Other suiciders damage high speed transports Ward (APD-16)and Liddle (APD-60);Ward is scuttled by destroyer O'Brien (DD-725). Still other kamikazes damage tank landing ship LST-737, sink medium landing ship LSM-318 and damage (by near-misses) LSM-18 and LSM-19.
U.S. freighter Antoine Saugraine, damaged on 5 December by Japanese aerial torpedo off Leyte, is torpedoed again during enemy air attack upon shipping at that place, and sunk.
-Japanese planes bomb U.S. airfield on Saipan.
-Seaplane tender (destroyer) Gillis (AVD-12) is accidentally rammed and damaged by U.S. merchant tanker Gulf Star 40 miles off Makapu Point, Oahu.
-Submarines Razorback (SS-394), Segundo (SS-398) and Trepang (SS-412) continue their attacks on Japanese convoy beset the day before. West of Dalupiri Island, Razorback sinks army cargo ship Kanjo Maru (damaged the day before by Segundo). Cargo ship Yasukuni Maru, runs aground, written off as a total loss, as the consequence of damage inflicted by Navy carrier-based planes and Segundo the day before; Trepang sinks transport No.31 Banshu Maru north of Luzon. Army cargo ships Jinyo Maru and Fukuyo Maru sink as the result of damage inflicted by Trepang the previous day.
-Opposing the 8th phase of the TA Operation, USAAF fighter-bombers (5th Air Force) and USMC F4Us (VMF 211, VMF 218, and VMF 313) attack Japanese shipping in San Isidro Bay, Leyte, sinking fast transport T.11 and army cargo ships Akagisan Maru, No.5 Shinsei Maru, Hakuba Maru, and Nichiyo Maru; and damaging escort destroyers Ume and Sugi.

 

December 8, 1941
-U.S. declares war on Japan. In his address to the nation, President Roosevelt describes December 7th, 1941 as "a date which will live in infamy."
-Japanese submarine I 123 mines Balabac Strait, P.I.; I 124 the entrance to Manila Bay.
-Striking Force, Asiatic Fleet (Rear Admiral William A. Glassford) departs Iloilo, P.I., for Makassar Strait, N.E.I.
-Seaplane tender (destroyer) William B. Preston (AVD-7) is attacked by fighters and attack planes from Japanese carrier Ryujo in Davao Gulf, P.I.; William B. Preston escapes, but two PBYs (VP 101) she is tending are strafed and destroyed on the water.
-Japan interns U.S. Marines and nationals at Shanghai, Tientsin and Chinwangtao, China. River gunboat Wake (PR-3) maintained at Shanghai as station ship and manned by a skeleton crew, is seized by Japanese Naval Landing Force boarding party after attempt to scuttle fails.
-Wake, the only U.S. Navy ship to surrender during World War II, is renamed Tatara and serves under the Rising Sun for the rest of the war. British river gunboat HMS Peterel, however, moored nearby in the stream of the Whangpoo River, refuses demand to surrender and is sunk by gunfire from Japanese coast defense ship Idzumo. American-flag merchant small craft seized by the Japanese at Shanghai: tug Meifoo No. 5, tug Mei Kang, Mei Nan, Mei Ying and Mei Yun.
-U.S. passenger liner President Harrison, en route to evacuate marines from North China, is intentionally run aground at Sha Wai Shan, China, and is captured by the Japanese. Repaired and refloated, President Harrison is renamed Kakko Maru and later, Kachidoki Maru. Among the baggage awaiting shipment out of occupied China along with the North China Marines are the bones of Peking Man, which are never seen again. Their fate remains a mystery to this day.
-Japanese forces land on Batan Island, north of Luzon.
-Japanese forces land on east coast of Malay Peninsula. RAF Hudsons bomb invasion shipping off Kota Bharu, Malaya, setting army cargo ship Awajisan Maru afire; destroyers Ayanami and Shikinami and submarine chaser Ch 9 take off Awajisan Maru's crew.
-Japanese planes bomb Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippine Islands. Extensive damage is inflicted on USAAF aircraft at Clark Field, Luzon, P.I. During Japanese bombing of shipping in Manila Bay, U.S. freighter Capillo is damaged by bomb, set afire, and abandoned.
-Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Wake Island, inflicting heavy damage on airfield installations and VMF 211's F4Fs on Wake islet. The four-plane VMF 211 patrol is out of position to deal with the incoming raid (there is no radar on Wake). Pan American Airways Martin 130 Philippine Clipper (being prepared for a scouting flight with an escort of two VMF 211 F4Fs when the attack comes) in the aftermath of the disaster precipitately evacuates Caucasian airline staff and passengers only (Pan American's Chamorro employees are left behind). Another individual who somehow fails to get a seat on the outgoing flying boat is an official from the Bureau of the Budget who was on Wake to go over construction costs.
-Japanese force slated to assault Wake Island (Rear Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi) sails from Kwajalein, in the Marshall Islands.
-Japanese floatplanes (18th Kokutai) bomb Guam, M.I., damaging minesweeper Penguin (AM-33) and miscellaneous auxiliary Robert L. Barnes (AG-27). Penguin, abandoned, is scuttled in deep water by her crew.
-Robert L. Barnes, maintained in reduced commission as a floating oil depot, her seaworthiness reduced by age and deterioration, had served since 1 July 1937 as the training ship for Guamanian mess attendants recruited on the island.

December 8, 1942
-Motor torpedo boats PT-36, PT-37, PT-40, PT-43, PT-44, PT-48, PT-59, and PT-109 turn back eight Japanese destroyers (Captain Sato Torajiro) attempting to reinforce Guadalcanal.
-Submarine Gar (SS-206) sinks Japanese cargo ship Heinan Maru off the eastern coast of Borneo.
-USAAF B-17s and B-24s damage Japanese destroyers Asashio and Isonami off Buna, New Guinea.

December 8, 1943
-Task group including carriers, battleships, and destroyers (Rear Admiral Willis A. Lee) bombs and bombards Nauru Island; destroyer Boyd (DD-544) is damaged by shore battery fire. OS2Us (VO 6 and VO 9) from battleships strafe and photograph barracks area upon completion of ships' bombardment.
Submarine Sawfish (SS-276) sinks Japanese transport Sansei Maru southwest of Chichi Jima.
-TBFs sink Rabaul-bound Japanese fishing boats No. 3 Yusho Maru, No.7 Fukuei Maru, Takatori Maru, and No.1 Hoko Maru south of Truk.

December 8, 1944
-TG 94.9 (Rear Admiral Allan E. Smith) bombards airstrips and shore batteries on Iwo Jima.

[ 08. December 2004, 11:18 PM: Message edited by: Bill Murray ]

 

December 9, 1941
-Japanese seize Tarawa and Makin, Gilbert Islands.
-Japanese submarines RO 63, RO 64, and RO 68 bombard Howland and Baker Islands in the mistaken belief that American seaplane bases exist there.
-Transport William Ward Burrows (AP-6), en route to Wake Island, is re-routed to Johnston.
-Japanese submarine I 10 shells and sinks unarmed Panamanian-flag motorship Donerail 200 miles southeast of Hawaii. There are only eight survivors of the 33-man crew; all seven passengers perish.
-Japanese Naval Aviation Pilot First Class Nishikaichi Shigenori, from the carrier Hiryu, who had crash-landed his Mitsubishi A6M2 fighter Type 0 carrier fighter on Niihau on 7 December, is placed under guard by the islanders; attempts this day and the next to transport him to Kauai are frustrated by bad weather.
-Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb defense installations on the islets of Wilkes and Wake, Wake Island.
-China declares war on Japan, Germany, and Italy.
-Japanese occupy Bangkok, Thailand.
-River gunboat Mindanao (PR-8), en route from Hong Kong to Manila, encounters Japanese fishing vessel No. 3 South Advance Maru, stops her, and takes her 10-man Formosan crew prisoner. Mindanao leaves the craft adrift about 100 miles due west of San Fernando, P.I., and steams on, reaching her destination the following day.
-Submarine Swordfish (SS-193), in initial U.S. submarine attack of the war, torpedoes Japanese ship 150 miles west of Manila. Her claim of a sinking, however, is not confirmed in enemy records.

December 9, 1942
-Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, USMC, is relieved by Major General Alexander M. Patch, USA, as commander of Marine and Army troops, Guadalcanal.
-Aircraft from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, begin what become daily attacks on Japanese installations at Munda, New Georgia.
-Motor torpedo boat PT-59 sinks Japanese submarine I-3, engaged in a resupply mission to Guadalcanal, three miles northeast of Kamimbo Bay.

December 9, 1943
-Following the Teheran and Cairo conferences, President Roosevelt reembarks in battleship Iowa (BB-61) at Dakar for the return voyage to the United States.

December 9, 1944
-Submarine Plaice (SS-390) damages Japanese escort destroyer Maki approximately 80 miles SW of Nagasaki.
Submarine Sea Devil (SS-400) and Redfish (SS-395) damage Japanese carrier Junyo about 90 miles and 60 miles SW of Nagasaki and respectively.

 

December 10, 1940
-Naval Air Station, Tongue Point, Oregon, is established; although incomplete when placed in operation, it is being prepared for operation of patrol planes.

December 10, 1941
-Cavite Navy Yard, P.I., is practically obliterated by Japanese land attack planes (Takao Kokutai and 1st Kokutai). Destroyers Peary (DD-226) and Pillsbury (DD-227), submarines Seadragon (SS-194) and Sealion (SS-195), minesweeper Bittern (AM-36), and submarine tender Otus (AS-20), suffer varying degrees of damage from bombs or bomb fragments; ferry launch Santa Rita (YFB-681) is destroyed by direct hit. Submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR-6) tows Seadragon out of the burning wharf area; minesweeper Whippoorwill (AM-35) recovers Peary, enabling both warships to be repaired and returned to service. Bittern is gutted by fires. Antiaircraft fire from U.S. guns is ineffective. During bombing of Manila Bay area, unarmed U.S. freighter Sagoland is damaged.
-While flying to safety during the raid on Cavite, Lieutenant Harmon T. Utter's PBY (VP 101) is attacked by three Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 carrier fighters (ZERO) (3rd Kokutai); Chief Boatswain Earl D. Payne, Utter's bow gunner, shoots down one, thus scoring the U.S. Navy's first verifiable air-to-air "kill" of a Japanese plane in the Pacific War. Utter, as a commander, will later coordinate the carrier air strikes that lead to the destruction of Japanese battleship Yamato.
-Japanese forces land on Camiguin Island and at Gonzaga and Aparri, Luzon. Off Vigan, minesweeper W.10 is bombed and sunk by USAAF P-35; destroyer Murasame and transport Oigawa Maru are strafed; the latter, set afire, is beached to facilitate salvage. USAAF B-17s bomb and damage light cruiser Naka and transport Takao Maru; the latter is run aground at the town of Santa in the Philippine Islands. Off Aparri, minesweeper W.19 is bombed by a B-17 and grounded (total loss) at Aparri, Philippines; light cruiser Natori is also damaged by a B-17. The B-17 is probably the one flown by Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr., who is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, posthumously, for heroism when Japanese fighters attack his bomber over Clark Field as he returns from his mission over Aparri.
-British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battle cruiser HMS Repulse (Admiral Sir Tom S.V. Phillips, RN) are sunk by Japanese land attack planes off Kuantan, Malaya. Four U.S. destroyers that had been sent to help screen Phillips's ships, having arrived at Singapore too late to sortie with the British force, search unsuccessfully for survivors before returning to Singapore.
-Governor of Guam, M.I. (Captain George J. McMillin) surrenders the island to Japanese invasion force (Rear Admiral Goto Aritomo). District patrol craft YP-16 and YP-17; open lighters YC-664, YC-665, YC-666, YC-667, YC-6687, YC-670, YC-671, YC-672, YC-673, YC-674, YC-685, YC-717, YC-718; dredge YM-13; water barges YW-50, YW-55, YW-58; and miscellaneous auxiliary Robert L. Barnes (AG-27) are all lost to the Japanese occupation of that American Pacific possession.
-SBD (CEAG) from carrier Enterprise (CV-6) sinks Japanese submarine I 70 in Hawaiian Islands area. Plane is flown by a VS 6 pilot.
-Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Marine installations on Wilkes and Wake islets, Wake Island. During the interception of the bombers, Captain Henry T. Elrod, USMC, executive officer of VMF 211, shoots down a Mitsubishi G3M2 Type 96 land attack plane (NELL); this is the first USMC air-to-air "kill" of the Pacific War. Japanese submarines RO 65, RO 66, and RO 67 arrive off Wake. Shortly before midnight, submarine Triton (SS-201), patrolling south of the atoll, encounters a Japanese warship, probably a picket for the oncoming assault force.
-Unarmed U.S. freighter Mauna Ala, re-routed back to Portland, Oregon, because of Japanese submarines lurking off the U.S. west coast, runs aground off the entrance to the Columbia River; she subsequently breaks up on the beach, a total loss.

December 10, 1942
-Submarine Halibut (SS-232) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kosei Maru and damages Japanese transport Uyo Maru, off Hachinoihe, Japan.
-Submarine Stingray (SS-186) is damaged by bombs off northern Solomons.
-Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese collier Kamoi Maru off Buin, Bougainville.
-USAAF B-17s damage Japanese oilers Fujisan Maru and Toa Maru off Buin, Bougainville.

December 10, 1943
-Destroyer Sigourney (DD-643) is damaged by grounding, Solomons.

December 10, 1944
- Off Leyte, destroyer Hughes (DD-410) is damaged by kamikaze; south of Dulag, a suicide plane crashes the previously damaged freighter Marcus Daly, which is discharging cargo to tank landing craft LCT-1075 alongside. LCT-1075 is hit by part of the kamikaze and sunk; Marcus Daly suffers no fatalities among the embarked complement (38 merchant sailors, 26-man Armed Guard, 60 stevedores and 124 troops) although eight men are wounded. Nearby freighter William S. Ladd is hit by kamikaze and gutted by fire despite the efforts of four infantry landing craft (LCI) that come alongside; there are no fatalities among the 41-man merchant complement, the 29-man Armed Guard and the 50 stevedores on board to work cargo, although six men are injured. Motor torpedo boat PT-323, damaged by suicide plane just west of the town of Silago in the Philippines, is beached and abandoned.
Japanese merchant cargo ship Yokohamasan Maru is sunk by aircraft off Cavite.

 

December 11, 1941
-Germany and Italy declare war on United States.
United States declares war on Germany and Italy.(Though there will not be much in the way of direct combat, the war with Germany and Italy will have an indirect effect on the battles of the Pacific from a logistical standpoint)
-Secretary of the Navy Knox arrives on Oahu to personally assess the damage inflicted by the Japanese on 7 December.
-Submarine Triton (SS-201), patrolling south of Wake Island, attacks the Japanese ship she has encountered shortly before midnight; she is unsuccessful.
-Wake Island garrison (nominally under command of Commander Winfield S. Cunningham, garrison is for all intents and purposes led by Maj. J.P. Devereaux USMC) repulses Japanese invasion force (Rear Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi); Marine shore battery gunfire (1st Defense Battalion) sinks destroyer Hayate and damages destroyers Oite, Mochizuki, and Yayoi, and Patrol Boat No. 33 (high-speed transport); USMC F4Fs (VMF 211) bomb and sink destroyer Kisaragi and strafe and damage light cruiser Tenryu and armed merchant cruiser Kongo Maru. Later the same day, USMC F4F (VMF 211) bombs and most likely damages submarine RO 66 south of Wake. U.S. submarines deployed off Wake, Triton to the south and Tambor (SS-198) to the north, take no active part in the battle. Following the abortive assault, Japanese naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb marine gun batteries on Peale islet.
-Japanese submarine I 9 shells unarmed U.S. freighter Lahaina about 800 miles northeast of Honolulu.
-Japanese make landings at Legaspi, Luzon.
-Unarmed U.S. freighter Capillo, damaged by bomb on 8 December 1941, is partially scuttled by U.S. Army demolition party, off Corregidor, P.I. Freighter Sagoland, damaged by bombs the previous day, sinks in Manila Bay.

December 11, 1942
-SBDs and USAAF P-39/P-400s from Henderson Field attack 11 Japanese destroyers (Rear Admiral Tanaka Raizo) on a resupply mission to Guadalcanal, north of New Georgia, without success.
Submarine Seadragon (SS-194) damages cargo ship Johore Maru off Cape St. George.

December 11, 1943
-Submarine Bonefish (SS-223) damages small Japanese cargo vessel Toyohime Maru off the SE coast of Borneo.

December 11, 1944
-Japanese planes attack resupply convoy of 13 LSMs and LCIs, bound for Ormoc Bay; destroyer Reid (DD-369) is sunk by kamikaze off Leyte; destroyer Caldwell (DD-605) is near-missed by a suicider. Tank landing craft LCT-1075 is sunk by aircraft, Leyte Gulf.
-USMC F4Us (VMF 211, VMF 218, VMF 313) repeat mast-head attack on Japanese convoy 30 miles off Leyte, sinking cargo ships Mino Maru and Tasmania Maru.
-USAAF B-25s, A-20s, P-38s, and P-40s attack Japanese supply and troop concentrations on the southern shore of Wasile Bay and along the shores of north Halmahera, sinking No.2 Sumiyoshi Maru.
-Submarine Gar (SS-206) lands supplies on west coast of Luzon, and picks up intelligence documents.
-Submarine Sea Owl (SS-405) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 76 in East China Sea.
-PB4Ys sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Sh_nan Maru north of Banton Island, P.I.

 

December 12, 1940
-Rear Admiral John M. Smeallie, Commandant Sixteenth Naval District and Commandant Cavite Navy Yard, is hospitalized at Caracao, P.I., after attempted suicide. Admiral Smeallie's worsening condition results in his being ordered to Naval Hospital, Mare Island, California, for further treatment, and ultimately to the naval hospital in Washington, D.C.

December 12, 1941
-Secretary of the Navy Knox departs Oahu after inspecting the damage done by the Japanese attack of 7 December.
-Japanese reconnaissance flying boats (Yokohama Kokutai) bomb Wake Island in pre-dawn raid. Later in the day, land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) bomb Wake.
-Unarmed U.S. freighter Vincent is shelled and sunk by Japanese armed merchant cruisers Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru about 600 miles northwest of Easter Island and her entire crew captured.
-Unarmed U.S. freighter Lahaina, shelled and torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-9 the previous day, sinks.
-Japanese Naval Aviation Pilot First Class Nishikaichi Shigenori begins, with aid of Harada Yoshio, a Japanese resident of Niihau, to terrorize the inhabitants of the island into returning papers confiscated on 7 December. In response to this campaign of intimidation, the islanders flee to the hills.
-Submarine S 38 (SS-143) mistakenly torpedoes and sinks Norwegian merchantman Hydra II west of Cape Calavite, Mindoro, P.I., believing her to be a Japanese auxiliary. Hydra II had been en route from Bangkok, Thailand, to Hong Kong, when she is diverted to Manila by the outbreak of war.
-During Japanese bombing of shipping off Cebu, in the Visayan Sea, Philippine passenger vessel Governor Wright is sunk.
-USAAF B-17 (19th Bombardment Group) bombs Japanese shipping off Vigan, P.I., damaging transport Hawaii Maru.
-Dutch submarines operate off Malaya against Japanese invasion shipping. K XII torpedoes and sinks army cargo ship Toro Maru off Kota Bharu, O 16 torpedoes and damages army cargo ships Tozan Maru, Kinka Maru, and Asosan Maru off Patani/Singora.
-Japanese minelayer/netlayer Naryu is damaged by marine casualty, Tomogashima Channel.

December 12, 1942
-Five motor torpedo boats attack 11 Japanese destroyers (Rear Admiral Tanaka Raizo) off Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal. Motor torpedo boats PT-37 and PT-40 sink Terutsuki, but Kawakaze and Suzukaze sink PT-44 off Savo Island.
-Submarine Drum (SS-228) damages Japanese aircraft carrier Ryuho off Hachijo Jima.
-Submarine Halibut (SS-232) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Gyokusan Maru off northeast coast of Honshu.
-Japanese merchant cargo ship No.2 Unyo Maru is lost to unknown cause, place unspecified.

December 12, 1943
-Submarine Tuna (SS-203) sinks Japanese naval transport Tosei Maru northwest of Halmahera.

December 12, 1944
-USMC (MAG 12) and USAAF (13th Air Force) planes thwart last attempt by Japanese to reinforce their Leyte garrison (the 9th phase of the TA Operation) by attacking convoy off the northeastern tip of Panay. Destroyer Yuzuki is sunk by USMC planes 65 nautical miles north-northeast of Cebu; landing ship T.159 is sunk by USMC and USAAF planes north of Camotes Island, P.I.
Motor torpedo boats PT-490 and PT-492 sink Japanese destroyer Uzuki off Canaguayan Point, Leyte.
-Destroyer Caldwell (DD-605) is damaged by kamikaze off Leyte; medium landing ship LSM-42, damaged by aircraft, is beached on west coast of Leyte.
-Japanese escort destroyer Kiri and fast transport T.15 are damaged by aircraft off Ormoc.
-Japanese river gunboat Katata damaged by USAAF aircraft in the Yangtze River near Kiukiang, China.

 

December 13, 1941
-Congress, to meet the demand for trained enlisted men, authorizes the retention of enlisted men in the Navy upon the expiration of their enlistments when not voluntarily extended.
-Japanese planes attack Subic Bay area and airfields in Philippines. During bombing of shipping in Manila Bay by naval land attack planes (Takao Kokutai), unarmed U.S. tankship Manatawny is damaged.
-Occupation of Niihau by Japanese Naval Aviation Pilot First Class Nishikaichi Shigenori ends: a party of Hawaiians sets out for Kauai to inform the outside world of events on Niihau; in the meantime, Nishikaichi burns his plane (it will not be until July 1942 that the U.S. Navy will be able to obtain an intact ZERO to study) and the house in which he believes his confiscated papers are hidden. Later, in confrontation with a local Hawaiian, Benny Kanahele, a scuffle to grab the pilot's pistol ensues. Although Kanahele is shot three times, he picks up Nishikaichi bodily and dashes the pilot's head into a stone wall, killing him; Harada Yoshio, the Japanese resident of Niihau who had allied himself with the pilot, commits suicide. Kanahele survives his injuries. On the basis of the report by the islanders who have arrived on Kauai after a 15-hour trip, meanwhile, Commander, Kauai Military District (Colonel Edward W. FitzGerald, USA) dispatches expedition (squad of soldiers from Company M, 299th Infantry) in Coast Guard light house tender Kukui to proceed from Kauai to Niihau.
-Japanese cargo ship Nikkoku Maru is stranded and wrecked off Hainan Island.
-Gunboat Erie (PG-50) receives 50 Japanese POWs at Puntarenas, Costa Rica, from Costa Rican government, and sends prize crew to take charge of motor vessel Albert.

December 13, 1943
-Submarine Pogy (SS-266) damages Japanese army cargo ship Fukkai Maru off Palau Islands, but is damaged by depth charges and forced to terminate her patrol.
-Submarine Pompon (SS-267) lays mines off Poulo Condore, southwest of French Indochina.
-Submarine Puffer (SS-268) unsuccessfully attacks Japanese transport Teiko Maru (ex-Vichy French steamship D'Artagnan).
-Submarine Sailfish (SS-192) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Totai Maru approx 140 miles SE of Kagoshima, Japan.
PBY sinks Japanese cargo vessel Tokiwa Maru approx 60 miles NW of Rabaul.

December 13, 1944
-Japanese suicide planes damage light cruiser Nashville (CL-43) and destroyer Haraden (DD-585)in the Mindanao-Negros area.
-Submarine Bergall (SS-320) battles Japanese heavy cruiser Myoko off Royalist Bank, South China Sea; both ships emerge from the encounter damaged. Although Bergall damages her heavier adversary in that battle off French Indochina, she is hit by a dud 8-inch shell from Myoko and is forced to terminate her patrol.
-Submarine Pintado (SS-387) sinks Japanese fast transport T.12 and landing ship T.104 in South China Sea. Although Pintado claims her destruction, the third ship in the convoy, landing ship T.106, continues on to Manila.

 

December 14, 1939
-Interior Department motorship North Star (U.S. Antarctic Service), with the permission of the British government, visits Pitcairn Island to take on water and discovers the islanders in need of certain foodstuffs and medical supplies, which she provides. The provisions include flour, sugar, potatoes, matches, lard, gasoline and lubricating oil. The supplies will be replaced in New Zealand with funds turned over to Rear Admiral Byrd by the Chief Magistrate.

December 14, 1941
-TF 11 (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.), comprising carrier Lexington (CV-2), three heavy cruisers, nine destroyers, and oiler Neosho (AO-23), sails for the Marshall Islands, to create a diversion to cover TF 14's attempt to relieve Wake Island.
-Japanese reconnaissance flying boats (Yokohama Kokutai) bomb Wake Island. Later in the day, naval land attack planes (Chitose Kokutai) raid Wake, bombing airfield installations.
-Destroyer Craven (DD-382) collides with heavy cruiser Northampton (CA-26) during underway refueling and is damaged. The ships are part of TF 8 operating north of Oahu.
-Norwegian motorship Hoegh Merchant is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-4 about 20 miles east-northeast of Oahu. All hands (35-man crew, 5 passengers) survive the loss of the ship.
-Coast Guard lighthouse tender Kukui reaches Niihau with squad of soldiers from Company M, 299th Infantry (Lieutenant Jack Mizuha); the detachment learns of the denouement of the events that have transpired on Niihau since 7 December.
-Japanese gunboat Zuiko Maru, wrecked and driven aground by storm, sinks off Matsuwa Jima, Kuriles.
-Gunboat Erie (PG-50), off coast of Costa Rica, boards and takes charge of motor vessel Sea Boy, and takes off a Japanese POW; she orders Sea Boy into Balboa the following day.
-USAAF B-17s bomb and damage Japanese cargo ship Ikushima Maru and oiler Hayatomo off Legaspi, Luzon.
-With its operating area rendered untenable by Japanese control of the air, Patrol Wing 10 (Captain Frank D. Wagner) departs Philippines for Netherlands East Indies. Seaplane tender (destroyer) Childs (AVD-1), with Captain Wagner embarked, sails from Manila.
-Submarine Seawolf (SS-197) torpedoes Japanese seaplane carrier San'yo Maru off Aparri, P.I.; one torpedo hits the ship but does not explode.
-Submarine Swordfish (SS-193), attacking Japanese shipping off Hainan Island, torpedoes army transport Kashii Maru.
-Navy boarding party (Lieutenant Edward N. Little) transported in commandeered yacht Gem, seizes French motor mail vessel Marechal Joffre, Manila Bay. Majority of the crewmen, pro-Vichy or unwilling to serve under the U.S. flag, are transported ashore.

December 14, 1942
-Fleet Air Command, Nouméa, New Caledonia (Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) is established.
-Submarine Sunfish (SS-281) lays mines in entrance to Iseno Umi Bay, Japan. She continues these mining operations in those waters on 15, 16, and 17 December 1942.
-On board submarine Grayback (SS-208), on war patrol in the Bismarck Archipelago, appendectomy commences (2300) by Pharmacist's Mate First Class Harry B. Roby, USNR, on Torpedoman First Class W.R. Jones.

December 14, 1943
Faulty fuel pump ignites gasoline dump that in turn explodes ammunition dump; resultant fire destroys motor torpedo boat PT-239, Lambu Lambu Cove, Vella Lavella, Solomons.
Submarine Herring (SS-233) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Hakozaki Maru in the East China Sea approx 120 miles West of Taejong.

December 14, 1944
-Submarine Blenny (SS-324) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.28 off Dasol Bay, Luzon, about 100 miles northwest of Manila, and guardboat No.5 Taisho Maru.
-Planes from carrier Hornet (CV-12) sink Japanese landing ship T.109 off Vigan, P.I.
-British submarine HMS Shalimar sinks auxiliary minesweeper No.7 Choun Maru off Belawan, Sumatra.

 

Good thread Bill!

I hope you'll have a chance to write some more about the Yangtze Patrol on the appropriate dates. In addition to their service in China, the Yangpat boats and sailors that made it to the Phillipines participated in the fighting in the waters off Bataan and on Corregidor during 1942.