Saturday 28 February 1942

" USS Pope (DD-225) under attack from gunfire from IJN Myoko and Ashigara, air attacks, and scuttling charges during the evacuation of Java, 28 February 1942. She later sank on 1 March. Photograph originally from a Japanese propaganda booklet Victory on the March. U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (7/24/2013)." National Museum of the U.S. Navy 80-G-179003: USS Pope (DD 225) under attack, February 28, 1942.

Captain Albert Harold Rooks of the USS Houston, who goes down with his ship on 28 February 1942. He posthumously receives a Medal of Honor - the highest honor for any US serviceman - for his actions during the period 4 to February 27, 1942. "Photograph was taken circa 1940. This view was released by the Bureau of Personnel on 14 October 1966. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command." NH 97916 Captain Albert H. Rooks, USN.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Exeter, badly damaged at the Battle of Java Sea, also tries to escape even though it is badly damaged. It leaves Surabaya for Ceylon at sunset escorted by destroyers HMS Encounter and USS Pope. They are sailing into seas full of Japanese warships, though, and meet their own fates on the morning of 1 March. Four US Navy destroyers (John D. Edwards, John D. Ford, Alden, and Paul Jones) also depart Surabaya at sunset but manage to evade detection.

With the Allies completely defenseless at sea, the Japanese begin landing troops at three places in Java. These are Bantam near Batavia, at Indramayu (mid-Java), and at Rembang (110 miles from Surabaya). Rembang houses a large oil refinery that is vital to Japanese plans.

The NY Times highlights the Battle of Java Sea in its 28 February 1942. Nobody knows the outcome of these battles right away.

In Burma, British defenders are under extreme pressure outside of Rangoon. They retreat to Pegu from Payagyi and Waw as the Japanese continue to sidestep them through the jungles. The Japanese cut the main road 50 miles north of Rangoon as they continue to pour across the Sittang River.

General Gordon Bennett becomes one of the few top officers to successfully escape from Singapore when he reaches Australia today. He is the most senior officer to evade capture or death. Bennett is extremely pessimistic and believes that an invasion of Australia itself is imminent. He heads for Sydney to report to the government.

T1E2 after arrival on Aberdeen Proving Ground, 28 February 1942. This is a typical pre-war United States Army tank design with an array of guns designed for different purposes. That's a 37 mm anti-tank gun in the turret above the 76.2 mm main gun, for instance. This tank was designated the Heavy Tank M6, was produced in small numbers (40), and never saw combat. The Army preferred to go with the new M4 Sherman for all purposes instead. The M6 was declared obsolete on 14 December 1944. There is one remaining T1 on display at the Aberdeen, Maryland, Ordnance Museum.

Japanese aircraft raid Port Moresby, New Guinea. They drop 130 bombs and injure ten people. Among the damage is the sinking of two PBY Catalina flying boats at Napa Napa. One A6M2 Zero pilot bails out and is captured, still a rarity at this stage of the war. The pilot, Lt. Nagatoma, becomes the first Japanese POW taken in Australian territory.

Japanese submarine I-4 torpedoes and sinks 1693-ton Dutch freighter Ban Ho Guan south of Bali, while Japanese patrol boats sink 983-ton Dutch freighter Tomohon off Tjilatjap. All 30 men on the Tomohon survive. Japanese fighters shoot down British Overseas Airways Corp. (BOAC) Short S-23 C-Class Empire Boat, msn S-842, registered G-AETZ, after it takes off from Tjilatjap, Java, bound for Australia.

"Commandos in a landing craft taking them ashore during training in Scotland, 28 February 1942." © IWM (H 17472).

Eastern Front: The Soviets conclude their airborne landings behind Wehrmacht lines south of Vyazma. The landings are unopposed by the Germans, who often are able to see the Soviet transport planes landing in the distance. Since the Germans control thinly held lines all around this forested area, in essence, the Soviet troops are flying into a pocket. Today, the airborne troops are able to link up with Soviet 50th Army, which also is trapped. The Germans are content to keep these Soviet forces under observation and conclude that the new troops don't have a clear objective. They focus more on self-protection and securing their supplies rather than making any aggressive moves.

"Squadron Leader Percy Pickard, Commanding Officer of No. 51 Squadron RAF, inspects a captured German helmet with parachute troops after the Bruneval raid, 28 February 1942. On the night of 27/28 February Pickard's squadron of Whitleys dropped 'C' Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion (commanded by Major J D Frost) near a German Wurzburg radar site at Bruneval near Le Havre in northern France - its objective to seize components of the radar and then evacuate them by sea." © IWM (H 17347).

In the Crimea, Lieutenant General Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov continues his offensive along the Parpach Narrows. There is bitter fighting, but the Red Army attack loses momentum after advancing five kilometers as two important German strongpoints hold out. Gruppe Hitzfeld from the German 73rd Infantry Division, under the command of Otto Hitzfeld, mounts a counterattack and recovers some ground lost by Romanian troops, retaking Kiet. The Soviets are reorienting their attack to focus on Romanian troops because they prove weaker than nearby German units. This is a Red Army practice that increases throughout the war, with areas held by Romanians easy to identify due to their different and distinctive helmets. The Germans bring up their 170th Infantry Division to secure the Romanian portion of the line in the north.

European Air Operations: Operations are light. RAF Bomber Command sends six Blenheims with a fighter escort to attack north German ports. They return without loss.

A newspaper clipping showing "Ill-fated U.S. Destroyer" Jacob Jones, sunk on 28 February 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-578 (KrvKpt. Ernst-August Rehwinkel), on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 1090-ton US Navy destroyer USS Jacob Jones (DD 130) off Cape May, New Jersey, and the Delaware Capes (about 38 miles (61 km) northeast of Ocean City, Maryland). One of the two torpedoes that hit ignites the destroyer's magazine, causing a huge explosion, while the second torpedo blows off the stern. While many men are able to abandon ship, the destroyer's depth charges explode as it sinks, killing many of the men in the water. There are 138 dead and only 11 survivors.

U-129 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes 2605-ton Panamanian freighter Bayou at 07:45 about 140 miles north of Paramaribo, Suriname. The ship sinks immediately, within 25 seconds according to the U-boat commander. This concludes an 18-hour chase by U-129. There is only one survivor and 24 dead.

Norwegian freighter Leif, sunk on 28 February 1942.

U-653 (Kptlt. Gerhard Feiler), on its second patrol out of Brest, torpedoes independent 1582-ton Norwegian freighter Leif east of Cape Hatteras. The two torpedoes blow off Leif's bows and it sinks within 11 minutes. The crew abandons ship, but the weather is rough and one of two lifeboats disappears and is never found. There are ten survivors and 15 deaths.

U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its second patrol out of Lorient, concludes an outstanding patrol today by using gunfire to sink independent 7017-ton US tanker Oregon. Hartenstein is out of torpedoes and on his way home, but when he spots Oregon 130 miles north of the Mona Passage (170 miles (274 km) northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico) he can't resist attacking despite the fact that his gun is in poor condition, too, due to an accident off Aruba. U-156 approaches to within 900 meters and opens fire, immediately scoring hits. The second shell hits the bridge, killing the entire bridge crew including Master Ingvald C. Nilsen. This causes the tanker to sail out of control, hitting U-156 but not seriously damaging the U-boat. Hartenstein then pumps the rest of his deck gun's shells into the tanker at point-blank range, sinking it. The tanker's crew is able to abandon ship and there are six dead and 30 survivors. Some of the crew later claim that Hartenstein intentionally tried to kill them as they lowered a lifeboat and then again in the water, but there is no proof of that. Hartenstein's U-156 has sunk a total of five ships and damaged two others for a total of 22,723-tons sunk and 10,769-tons damaged.

Italian submarine Da Vinci torpedoes and sinks 3644-ton Latvian freighter Everasma in the mid-Atlantic east of Guadeloupe. There are 15 survivors.

Destroyer USS Jacob Jones, 1930s, lost on 28 February 1942 (US Navy photo).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Abstention, the British attempt to seize the island of Kastellorizo from the Italians, comes to an inglorious conclusion. Royal Navy destroyers HMS Decoy and Hero land a party on the island and find the Commandos there on the run, with abandoned and wrecked equipment on the landing ground. Some of the Commandos who have retreated to a plateau east of the port make it back to the beach and are withdrawn, while others surrender to the Italians. There is a brief naval battle offshore between Royal Navy destroyer Jaguar and Italian destroyer Crispi during which Jaguar is lightly damaged. The Royal Navy opens a Board of Inquiry about the botched operation and concludes that a major factor in the defeat is complete Italian control of the air and an insufficient amount of aggressiveness by the commander of the destroyer (Hereward) that first landed the troops. Total British casualties are three dead, eleven wounded, and 27 men missing (most taken captive) while the Italians lost eight men killed, eleven wounded, and ten men missing. It is a bitter British defeat.

Reinhard Hardegen in "before and after" photos following his return to France on the cover of the “Toute la vie,” 28 February 1942. Hardegen at this time is the commander of U-123, one of the first U-boats operating off the United States' east coast during World War II - thus the headling about seeing New York City through his periscope (he saw Brooklyn). Reinhard Hardegen survived the war and passed away on 8 June 2018 in Bremen at the age of 105.

Japanese/Soviet Relations: Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander of the Combined Fleet, issues Navy Directive No. 60. This directs the Japanese Navy to treat Soviet ships as "absolutely neutral." This prevents a war from breaking out between the two powers, which Japan does not want, but also leaves opens a huge source of supply to the Soviet Pacific port of Vladivostok.

US/French Relations: The U.S. Consul-General in New Caledonia officially recognizes the authority of Free French forces over French islands in the Pacific. This is announced on 12 March.

US Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet. " View is at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 28 February 1942. Close-up of the starboard side of the Island. Note camouflage; raft stowage; Island; underway refueling rig (R)." Naval History and Heritage Command 19-N-29065 USS HORNET (CV-8).

US Military: The United States Army Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the U.S. Army is created.

US Government: The Dies Committee (which later becomes the House Un-American Activities Committee) issues a report on pre-war espionage in the United States by the Japanese. This widely anticipated "Yellow Paper" concludes that there was a wide-spread spy ring of about 150,000 members in the United States. This provides a foundation for the internment of Japanese Americans.

The Carolina Times for 28 February 1942. This newspaper (which remains in existence) focuses on news from a racial equality viewpoint.

Iran: The Iranian Cabinet resigns and a new government must be formed. This proves difficult and takes over a week.

India: From Berlin, Subhas Chandra Bose makes a radio broadcast affirming his support of the goals of the Third Reich and expressing his wish for an independent India. This is the first of two such broadcasts that he makes, the second is on 11 March.

Holocaust: There are mass killings at the Chelmno concentration camp in Poland. While it is impossible to single out many deaths, today Stanislaw Kaszyński, the secretary of the local Polish council, is put to death along with his wife. Kaszyński has been trying to publicize the exterminations at the camp. An obelisk to his memory is dedicated on 7 August 1991 at Chelmno.

"Changing the 16-inch guns on HMS RODNEY at Cammel Laird shipyard, Birkenhead. Lowering a gun into position in "A" turret." 28 February 1942. © IWM (A 7690).

German Homefront: Due to a growing fuel crisis, the government bans the use of private automobiles other than for war work.

American Homefront: "Moonlight Cocktail" by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra and written by Luckey Robers with lyrics by Kim Gannon hits No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. It remains on top for ten weeks, taking over from Miller's own "String of Pearls." The record was recorded on 8 December 1941 with vocals by Ray Eberle and The Modernaires. However, not everybody enjoys "Moonlight Cocktail," as the BBC bans it in August 1942 as "sentimental slush" that does not aid the war effort. "Moonlight Cocktail" becomes the number two record of 1942, behind only Bing Crosby's classic "White Christmas."

Picture Post magazine, 28 February 1942. At this point in the war, India considered very much in jeopardy.

Future History: Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones is born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. His father was a piano teacher when not working as an aeronautical engineer, while his mother plays piano and organ in the choir of her local church. Brian persuades his parents to buy him a saxophone in 1957 and then a guitar in 1959. He leaves home later that year to bum his way through Europe but eventually returns home. In 1962, Jones (who now goes by Brian Jones) places an advertisement in Jazz News for musicians to audition to form a rock group. Ian Stewart and Mick Jagger appear, and Mick eventually brings along his childhood friend Keith Richards. Jones then comes up with a name for the nascent group, the "Rollin' Stones," which more formally becomes the band's name as The Rolling Stones. They have their first appearance at the Marquee Club in London on 12 July 1962 and in January 1963 convince drummer Charlie Watts to join. After that, The Rolling Stones begin releasing albums and become one of the iconic rock groups of all time. Jones, however, becomes estranged from the others in the group and last records with them in 1968, finally leaving the group on 9 June 1969. Less than a month later, on the night of 2-3 July 1969, Brian Jones is found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool at the age of 27 - a notoriously common age for the deaths of rock stars, a "trend" that Jones starts.


February 1942

February 1, 1942: The US Navy Strikes Back
February 2, 1942: Germans Recovering in Russia
February 3, 1942: Japanese Shell and Bomb Singapore
February 4, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
February 5, 1942: Empress of Asia Sunk
February 6, 1942: The Christmas Island Body
February 7, 1942: The Double-V Campaign
February 8, 1942: Japan Invades Singapore
February 9, 1942: French Liner Normandie Capsizes
February 10, 1942: US Car Production Ends
February 11, 1942: Tomforce Fails on Singapore
February 12, 1942: The Channel Dash
February 13, 1942: Japanese Paratroopers In Action
February 14, 1942: RAF Orders Terror Raids
February 15, 1942: Japan Takes Singapore
February 17, 1942: Indian Troops Defect to Japanese
February 18, 1942: Battle of Badung Strait
February 19, 1942: FDR Authorizes Internment Camps
February 20, 1942: O'Hare the Hero
February 21, 1942: Crisis in Burma
February 22, 1942: Bomber Harris Takes Over
February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California
February 24, 1942: US Raid on Wake Island
February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles
February 26, 1942: Gneisenau Eliminated
February 27, 1942: Battle of Java Sea
February 28, 1942: Battle of Sunda Strait

March 1942

March 1, 1942: Second Battle of Java Sea
March 2, 1942: Huge Allied Shipping Losses at Java
March 3, 1942: Japan Raids Western Australia
March 4, 1942: Second Raid On Hawaii
March 5, 1942: Japan Takes Batavia
March 6, 1942: Churchill Assaults Free Speech
March 7, 1942: British Defeat in Burma
March 8, 1942: Rangoon Falls to Japan
March 9, 1942: Japanese Conquest of Dutch East Indies
March 10, 1942:US Navy attacks Japanese Landings at Lae
March 11, 1942: Warren Buffett's First Stock Trade
March 12, 1942: Japan Takes Java
March 13, 1942: Soviets Attack In Crimea Again 
March 14, 1942: The US Leans Toward Europe
March 15, 1942: Operation Raubtier Begins
March 16, 1942: General MacArthur Gets His Ride
March 17, 1942: MacArthur Arrives in Australia
March 18, 1942: Japan Attacks In Burma
March 19, 1942: Soviets Encircled on the Volkhov
March 20, 1942: "I Shall Return," Says MacArthur
March 21, 1942: Germans Attack Toward Demyansk
March 22, 1942: Second Battle of Sirte
March 23, 1942: Hitler's Insecurity Builds
March 24, 1942: Bataan Bombarded
March 25, 1942: Chinese Under Pressure in Burma
March 26, 1942: Win Or Die, Vows MacArthur
March 27, 1942: The Battle of Suusari
March 28, 1942: The St. Nazaire Commando Raid
March 29, 1942: The Free Republic of Nias
March 30, 1942: Japanese-Americans Off Bainbridge Island
March 31, 1942: Japanese Seize Christmas Island

2020

Friday 27 February 1942

HMS Exeter (right, barely visible under the spray) and Australian cruiser HMAS Hobart (D63) under aerial attack by Japanese aircraft in the Battle of Java Sea. The date of this picture has not been positively established may be from 27 February 1942. Or, it may be from an earlier incident on 14-15 February 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: Admiral Karel Doorman has his fleet at sea east of Surabaya in search of a reported Japanese invasion fleet heading for Java on 27 February 1942. After spending all night and all morning in a fruitless search, his ships spot the Japanese ships at about 16:00. within about fifteen minutes, the two fleets are firing guns and torpedoes at each other. Allied cruiser HMS Exeter is hit in the boiler room by a Japanese shell and heads back to Surabaya, and destroyer HNMLS Kortenaer sinks quickly after being hit by a torpedo. A gun battle between Royal Navy destroyer Electra and Japanese light cruiser Jintsū and destroyer Asagumo leads to the loss of Electra (Asagumo is damaged and withdraws). At 18:00, having lost two ships with a third badly damaged, Doorman breaks off the battle and heads west in an attempt to intercept the invasion transport ships. However, on the way, Royal Navy destroyer Jupiter hits a mine and sinks, compounding the damage. The Japanese pursue Doorman and there is another furious gun-and-torpedo battle which leads to the sinking of Dutch cruisers De Ruyter and Java. Doorman goes down with his ship, and only 111 men survive from both ships. Following orders, the only two surviving Allied ships, cruisers Perth and Houston, retreat back to Tanjung Priok.

Dutch flagship De Ruyter, sunk on 27 February 1942.

The Battle of the Java Sea is decisive for the fate of the Netherlands East Indies. While the battle delays the Japanese invasion by the day, that comes at a cost to the Allies of virtually their entire fleet in the Netherlands East Indies (Japanese losses are not known with precision but apparently are very light). The fate of Java is now sealed and the Allies have almost no naval forces left in the region aside from the battered Exeter and a few destroyers. This arguably is the height of Japanese naval power in the Pacific, though a lot of fighting remains.

In this perfectly timed photo, the U.S. Navy seaplane tender USS Langley (AV-3) is torpedoed by USS Whipple (DD-217), after being abandoned, south of Java, 27 February 1942. Naval History and Heritage Command NH 92476 USS LANGLEY (AV-3)

Allied woes at sea on 27 February 1942 do not end there, however. US Navy aircraft carrier USS Langley, the country's first aircraft carrier and now serving as a seaplane tender, is attacked early in the day south of Tjilatjap (Cilacap), West Java, along with US destroyers Whipple and Edsall by sixteen Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers. They are flying out of Denpasar airfield on Bali and are escorted by 15 A6M Reisen "Zero" fighters. While Langley (which is carrying 32 P-40s) evades two bombing runs, it takes five 60- and 250-kg bombs on the third pass and bursts into flames. At 13:32, the crew abandons ship, and the escorting destroyers put two torpedoes into Langley to make sure that the Japanese don't salvage it. The tragedy of the Langley does not end there, either, as many of her surviving crew are on another ship, USS Pecos, when it is sunk while en route to Australia.

Polish soldiers in London, 27 February 1942 (Imperial War Museum).

Eastern Front: In the Crimea, Soviet Lieutenant General Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov launches an offensive along a section of the front at the Parpach Narrows at 06:30. The Red Army has 93,804 troops, 1,195 guns and mortars, 125 anti-tank guns, 194 tanks, and 200 aircraft. The offensive begins with a 230-gun artillery barrage, but the shelling is poorly aimed and does little to disrupt the German defenses. The Germans have their 46th and 132nd Infantry Divisions on the 42 Corps front along with the Romanian 18th Infantry Division. The Germans also have Gruppe Hitzfeld in reserve.

The crew of destroyer USS Whipple (DD-217) watches as its torpedo (fired to prevent the ship from falling into enemy hands) strikes USS Langley south of Java (Naval History and Heritage Command NH 92475 USS LANGLEY (AV-3)).

The Germans rely on a hedgehog defense of fortified strongpoints at the villages of Tulumchak, Korpech’, and Koi-Asan. They have built strong fortifications all along the front, and they are aided by warm weather which creates muddy conditions benefiting the defense. The Soviets must advance across a flat, 80-square kilometer plain which exposes them to brutal counter-fire. Soviet tanks, particularly the heavy KV-1s which are slow and make good targets, sink in the mud. Still, the Red Army soldiers take Tulumchak, which is held by the Romanian 18th Infantry Regiment. However, the Germans hold their other two strongpoints at Korpech’ and Koi-Asan after brutal fighting. The Luftwaffe makes 40 Stuka sorties which help to knock out 93 Soviet tanks in total, including 28 KV-1s. The Soviets do make minor gains but at a brutal cost.

Sergeant Hajime Toyoshima (left), Australia’s first Japanese prisoner of war, Bathurst Island, 27 February 1942. Toyoshima piloted of a Zero fighter damaged during the 19 February air raid on Darwin. After being forced to crash-land on Melville Island, Toyoshima was disarmed and captured by Aborigines who took him to Bathurst Island to hand over to Sergeant Leslie Powell (right), 23rd Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers. Powell, who had been sent to maintain demolition installations on the island and was unarmed, used Toyoshima’s service pistol to escort him into captivity.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 68 bombers (33 Wellingtons, 17 Manchesters, and 18 Hampdens) to bomb the Kiel drydock again where Gneisenau is being repaired. However, the weather is cloudy and only 50 bombers even drop their bombs - but where they drop is a mystery because there is no report of damage in Kiel. In another mission, 33 bombers (three Whitleys are lost) attack Wilhelmshaven and heavy cruiser Scharnhorst, but again the weather is poor and only 26 bombers drop their bombs - somewhere - to no effect. Another 15 bombers (11 Hampdens and 4 Manchesters) lay mines off the Frisian Islands.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 269-ton British coaster Fernside off Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Tanker R.P. Resor, sunk on 27 February 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-578 (KrvKpt. Ernst-August Rehwinkel), on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 7451-ton tanker R.P. Resor about 20 miles east of Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey. The torpedo hits at 06:36 and ignites oil which sprays into all along the ship. The flames make abandoning ship almost impossible, and the sole lifeboat that can be launched is burned up. There are only two survivors of the 50 men on board. The ship stays afloat at an extreme angle, but the stern grounds in 122 feet of water when it is taken under tow and the ship sinks on 1 March.

U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze), on its fourth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and sinks independent 8215-ton US tanker Marore about 3.5 miles off Wimble Shoals near Cape Hatteras. Captain Schultze then surfaces and begins the shelling the ship. The crew of the Marore abandons ship just in time. All 39 men survive.

U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its second patrol out of Lorient, uses its damaged deck gun (which exploded during a surface attack on the island of Aruba) sinks 2498-ton British freighter Macgregor about 15 miles northeast of Cabo Frances Viejo, Dominican Republic. Hartenstein follows the freighter for 16 hours until moonrise allows him to make his attack. The U-boat's gun erupts from 1600 yards at 22:35 and the first shot kills or wounds the freighter's gun crew. The Macgregor is able to send a distress signal before the guns destroy the freighter's bridge. After 35 minutes, the freighter is ablaze and the crew abandons ship. Amazingly, only one man on the Macgregor perishes, hit by the opening shot from U-156. There are 30 survivors.

Italian freighter Tembien, sunk off Tripoli on 27 February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian forces based on Rhodes launch a major counterattack against British commandos trying to take Kastelorizo in Operation Abstention. The weather is poor, making the landings difficult, but Ammiraglio di Divisione (Vice Admiral) Luigi Biancheri manages to land enough troops from gunboats Lupo, Lince, MAS 546, and MAS 561to isolate the poorly equipped British troops. During the afternoon, destroyers Crispi and Sella also land more troops to bring the total Italian Army presence to 258 soldiers and 80 marines. Now outnumbered, the commandos retreat to Nifti Point, harassed by naval gunfire by Lupo. Offshore, the Royal Navy makes a half-hearted attempt to intervene but can't locate the Italian ships. The British intend to land reinforcements on destroyer Rosaura, but the heavy Italian naval presence is calling that into doubt. Operation Abstention has become a muddled fiasco, but the British are determined to take the island and thus send more troops from Alexandria to land on the 28th.

Royal Navy Submarine HMS Upholder torpedoes and sinks 5584-ton Italian freighter Tembien about 24 miles (40 km) from the Tripoli lighthouse.

The Bruneval radar station.

Special Operations: The British execute Operation Biting, an overnight raid on German coastal radar installations in northern France. After several days of poor weather, conditions are right for aircraft of RAF No. 51 Squadron based at RAF Thruxton to drop "C" Company of the 2nd Parachute Battalion at Bruneval, France. The Commandos take the cutting-edge Wurzburg radar installation by force, killing one German guard and taking two others as prisoners. Rather than destroying the equipment, the Commandos remove it and take key pieces to the nearby beach on special trolleys. However, the Commandos find the beach to be under enemy fire, so they return to the installation and, after a fierce firefight with German troops, re-occupy it while other troops clear the beach. Six Royal Navy landing craft then appear on schedule and the entire force (less six Commandos who get lost) board and return to England. The Commandos lose two killed and eight wounded, while the Germans lose 5 killed, two wounded, and five missing men. The raid is both a technical and propaganda success for the British and leads to the expansion of British airborne forces. British scientists use the equipment to develop radar countermeasures, including "Window" (chaff), that are highly effective in later air raids. The British will erect a memorial to the Biting raid at Bruneval.

Short S23 C-Class S.849, Empire Flying Boat, A18-12 G-AEUG "Coogee" VH-ABC (see above photo) of 33 Squadron RAAF crashes on landing in Cleveland Bay near Townsville on 27 February 1942. Six RAAF crew perish and are buried at Townsville War Cemetery.

US/Mexican Relations: President Roosevelt signs an executive order establishing a Joint Mexican-U.S. Defense Commission.

British/Venezuelan Relations: Great Britain cedes Patos Island to Venezuela. This is one of Britain's oldest possessions in the New World, dating to 1628 and being part of the colony of Trinidad and Tobago. In exchange, the Venezuela government gives Trinidad and Tobago Soldado Rock. The two islands are or will become national parks and are of no strategic importance.

HMS Duke of York at sea, 27 February 1942. © IWM (A 7556).

US Military: US Navy ship Sea Witch deposits 27 crated P-40s at Tjilatjap, Java. With the Japanese about to invade, it is doubtful that they can be prepared in time to enter combat.

US Government: There is a tense Cabinet meeting at the White House about Japanese internment. At the meeting, representatives of the US Army claim that ethnic Japanese in the Hawaiian Islands will all have to be brought to the mainland for internment. President Roosevelt disagrees and wishes them to be interned on Molokai. The issue is left unresolved, but eventually, the Army's position will prevail.

A formation of Japanese bombers attacking warships during the Battle of the Java Sea, as seen from the Australian cruiser, HMAS Hobart, February 1942. Australian War Memorial P02620.005.

British Homefront: British physicist and radio astronomer James Stanley Hey discovers radio emissions coming from the Sun. This is a major development in the field of radio astronomy - the study of celestial objects at radio frequencies. Hey's discovery is related directly to the war, as he realizes today that complaints from the RAF of jamming of anti-aircraft radars are not the result of German actions, but are natural phenomenon from the Sun.

American Homefront: Scientist Edwin Hubble publishes an article, "The Problem of the Expanding Universe," in Science magazine. Hubble writes that he has validated scientist Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity by proving that light takes longer than it should to arrive at earth from distant galaxies. The reason is that the universe is expanding. The theory of the expanding universe is one of the cornerstones of modern cosmology. The question of how fast the universe is expanding remains unresolved to this day.

Armorers reloading a Messerschmitt Bf 109E of Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG27), North Africa, February 1942.

February 1942

February 1, 1942: The US Navy Strikes Back
February 2, 1942: Germans Recovering in Russia
February 3, 1942: Japanese Shell and Bomb Singapore
February 4, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
February 5, 1942: Empress of Asia Sunk
February 6, 1942: The Christmas Island Body
February 7, 1942: The Double-V Campaign
February 8, 1942: Japan Invades Singapore
February 9, 1942: French Liner Normandie Capsizes
February 10, 1942: US Car Production Ends
February 11, 1942: Tomforce Fails on Singapore
February 12, 1942: The Channel Dash
February 13, 1942: Japanese Paratroopers In Action
February 14, 1942: RAF Orders Terror Raids
February 15, 1942: Japan Takes Singapore
February 17, 1942: Indian Troops Defect to Japanese
February 18, 1942: Battle of Badung Strait
February 19, 1942: FDR Authorizes Internment Camps
February 20, 1942: O'Hare the Hero
February 21, 1942: Crisis in Burma
February 22, 1942: Bomber Harris Takes Over
February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California
February 24, 1942: US Raid on Wake Island
February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles
February 26, 1942: Gneisenau Eliminated
February 27, 1942: Battle of Java Sea
February 28, 1942: Battle of Sunda Strait

2020

Thursday 26 February 1942

Aerial reconnaissance photo of heavy cruiser Gneisenau in its Kiel drydock after having its bow blown off in an RAF raid. This is "Bomber" Harris' first major success as head of Bomber Command.

Battle of the Pacific: The Allies are desperately trying to hold Java on 26 February 1942, but they have been having difficulty tracking the Japanese invasion fleet that they know is coming. Today, a Dutch Dorner seaplane spots the Japanese ships again in the Makassar Strait. It reports 30 Japanese transport ships escorted by two cruisers and five destroyers sailing at 10 knots. The plane shadows the ships for several hours, then attacks destroyer HIJMS Amatsukaze but misses. The USAAF then sends two B-17 Flying Fortresses at low altitude (1300 feet) which miss destroyer Hatsukaze. At 18:30, Admiral Karel Doorman, commander of the Allies' Combined Striking Force, sails from Surabaya, Java to conduct a night attack. On paper, Doorman's force outguns the Japanese escort, but real battles are not fought on paper, and many of Doorman's ships are in poor repair from the previous fighting. The Allied ships head eastward along the north shore of Madoera (Madura) Island. Three light cruisers, HMS Dragon and Danae and HMAS Hobart, sail from Batavia to join Doorman's large force. The Allied ships find nothing during the night - once again, the invasion fleet has disappeared.

"'Four members of Finucane's Squadron wheel out the new Spitfire. It has been specially prepared for his return'. Finucane is almost certainly Wing Commander Brendan 'Paddy' Finucane', an Irish-born RAF fighter ace of World War II." This picture was taken on 26 February 1942. © Daily Herald Archive / National Science & Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library.

In the Philippines, the Japanese are beginning to expand out from the power center on Luzon. Today, they send an amphibious force from Olongapo, Luzon to Mindoro Island. When it lands, it will contain an infantry battalion and a field artillery battery. On the Bataan Peninsula, things remain quiet as the Japanese build up their forces for an assault on the Allied lines.

Der Adler, 26 February 1942.

In Burma, the Japanese are putting pressure on the 17th Indian Division at Pegu, which is blocking the Rangoon-Mandalay road. A battle breaks out in the Waw area to the northeast. The Japanese are crossing the Sittang River in increasing numbers and threatening the rail link between Mandalay and Rangoon.

US Navy submarine USS S-38 uses its deck gun to shell the radio station on Japanese-held Bawean Island in the Netherlands East Indies.

Japanese submarine HIJMS I-25, on its second patrol out of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, launches its Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 "Glen" Small Reconnaissance Seaplane to fly over Melbourne, Australia's Port Phillip Bay. This is one in a series of such reconnaissance flights over Australia and New Zealand from mid-February to mid-March. The Allies do not spot any of these flights.

Three German soldiers in a foxhole who are manning an MG-34 machine gun in front of a knocked-out Soviet T-26 light tank, February 1942.

Eastern Front: The Red Army has built up an attack force on the Kerch Peninsula, Crimea, to liberate Sevastopol. The Crimean Front force is commanded by Lieutenant General Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov and is composed of nine rifle divisions and numerous tank brigades of the 44th, 47th, and 51st Armies. Kozlov has 73,804 soldiers, 1195 guns and mortars, 125 anti-tank guns, 194 tanks, and 200 aircraft. However, while this is an imposing force on paper for such a small 80-square kilometer front, the Red Army units are short of essential supplies like fuel and working weapons. Kozlov requests permission to delay his offensive, but the Stavka orders hi to attack on 27 February.

An unidentified convoy sailing out of Brooklyn, New York, February 1942. USS Neville (AP-16) is in the foreground, with six or seven freighters and a light cruiser also visible.

European Air Operations: During the day, four Boston bombers of RAF No. 226 Squadron make this aircraft's their first regular operation. The Bostons attack shipping, but neither side sustains any losses.

The night raids mark a turn of fortunes for the RAF. After several failed attempts to damage German heavy cruiser Gneisenau in its drydock in Kiel, RAF Bomber Command scores a major success. The RAF sends 49 aircraft (33 Wellingtons, 10 Hampdens, 6 Halifaxes) and loses 2 Wellingtons and one Halifax. A bomb hits the Gneisenau in the bow area, killing 116 crew and causing major damage. This one hit ends the career of Gneisenau, once a major threat in the North Atlantic. After this attack, the Gneisenau is towed to Gdynia but never is repaired. It is stripped of its guns and left as a lifeless hulk. While one bomber scores a hit, though, many of the bombers get lost and drop their bombs elsewhere. This includes the town of Kiel itself and locations as far as away as east Denmark. Thre are three deaths in Vejle, 100 miles north of Kiel, and 1 death in Odense.

RAF reconnaissance spots the German battleship they've been looking for, Tirpitz, at Trondheim. This ship is a major focus of the Royal Navy's strategy and its destruction is considered imperative. As Churchill likes to say, destroying the Tirpitz would alter the entire balance of world naval operations and allow major shifts to the Pacific.

Dutch tanker Mamura, sunk by U-504 on 26 February 1942 with no survivors.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-504, on its second patrol out of Lorient, hits independent 8245-ton Dutch tanker Mamura with two torpedoes at 19:13 about 230 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The cargo explodes, breaking the tanker in two and causing it to sink quickly. All 56 men on board, including 34 Chinese sailors, perish. Mamura carried 11,500 tons of clean oil and was headed to Belfast, Ireland.

While moving through dense fog, 5030-ton US freighter Cassimir collides near the tip of the Frying Pan Shoals off North Carolina with another freighter, Lara. Cassimir sustains severe damage on its starboard side amidships and the crew abandons ship. Wartime conditions play a major role in such incidents, as ships are trying to maintain blackout conditions. The Lara, which sustains virtually no damage, takes aboard the survivors. There are 31 survivors and five deaths.

Brazilian 3557-ton collier Cabedello disappears on 26 February 1942 while en route from Philadelphia to Rio de Janeiro. The likeliest cause was a torpedo attack by an Italian submarine, but there is no record of this attack. Nobody survives.

British patrol on the lookout for enemy movements over a valley in the Western Desert, on the Egyptian side of the Egypt-Libya border, February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: On Kastellorizo, about 200 British No. 50 Commandos are trapped after a botched landing. The Italians at nearby Rhodes spend the day preparing a counterattack, and it begins after sunset when torpedo boats Lince and Lupo land about 240 men north of the port. The boats shell the port and in the Governor's palace with their 3.9-inch (99 mm) guns, killing three commandos and wounding another seven. The torpedo boats then land unopposed at the port and evacuate some of the Italian inhabitants.

British Prime Minister, under serious pressure in Parliament after recent reversals such as the successful German Channel Dash and the fall of Singapore, asks Middle East Commander General Claude Auchinleck to open an offensive against the Afrika Korps. Auchinleck, however, demurs, saying he needs to build his forces before he can attack from the Gazala Line. He says that he may have sufficient forces in place by June. British XIII Corps holds a 36-mile (58 km) line from Gazala to Bir Hacheim, while the British 30 Corps is further back along the Libya/Egyptian frontier.

Royal Navy Flower-class corvette HMS Campion in Londonderry, 26 February 1942. © IWM (A 7307).

Soviet/Allied Relations: Speaking at the Overseas Press Club in Washington, D.C., Soviet Ambassador to the U.S. Maxim Litvinov admonishes his listeners that there should be "no idle armies, immobile shipping." Litvinov demands the opening of a front in France in 1942. He states:

only by simultaneous offensive operations on two or more of the fronts can Hitler's armed forces be disposed of.

The Western Allies, though, have no intention of opening a second front in 1942. In fact, the US Army is having serious doubts about following through with Operation Gymnast, the invasion of North Africa, before 1943.

Indian/Chinese Relations: Following the well-received (but at times embarrassing, due to meetings with independence leaders) visit by Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek to India, the Indian (British) government appoints a "China Relations Officer." He is sir Edward Cook. New British Ambassador to China Sir Horace +

HM Motor Minesweeper J512 at Londonderry, 26 February 1942. © IWM (A 7306).

Canadian Homefront: Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King joins the United States in ordering the removal of persons of Japanese ancestry from British Columbia on the west coast.

American Homefront: The 14th Academy Awards are held in Los Angeles. Director John Ford and his "How Green Was My Valley" are the big winners, each earning Oscars. Documentary "Churchill's Island" wins the first Oscar in the new category "Best Documentary (Short Subject)." Gary Cooper wins the Best Actor Oscar for "Sergeant York," while Joan Fontaine wins for her performance in "Suspicion." Donald Crisp and Mary Astor win Best Supporting Oscars. "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from "Lady Be Good" wins for Best Original Song. "Citizen Kane," considered by many to be one of the best films of all time, wins only for "Best Original Screenplay," giving Orson Welles (along with Herman J. Mankiewicz) his only Oscar despite the film receiving nine nominations. This is due in large part to sustained hostility to Welles and his film from the Hearst newspaper chain.

Italian magazine Tempo, 26 February 1942. "Assault on an Enemy Position" is the cover story.

February 1942

February 1, 1942: The US Navy Strikes Back
February 2, 1942: Germans Recovering in Russia
February 3, 1942: Japanese Shell and Bomb Singapore
February 4, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
February 5, 1942: Empress of Asia Sunk
February 6, 1942: The Christmas Island Body
February 7, 1942: The Double-V Campaign
February 8, 1942: Japan Invades Singapore
February 9, 1942: French Liner Normandie Capsizes
February 10, 1942: US Car Production Ends
February 11, 1942: Tomforce Fails on Singapore
February 12, 1942: The Channel Dash
February 13, 1942: Japanese Paratroopers In Action
February 14, 1942: RAF Orders Terror Raids
February 15, 1942: Japan Takes Singapore
February 17, 1942: Indian Troops Defect to Japanese
February 18, 1942: Battle of Badung Strait
February 19, 1942: FDR Authorizes Internment Camps
February 20, 1942: O'Hare the Hero
February 21, 1942: Crisis in Burma
February 22, 1942: Bomber Harris Takes Over
February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California
February 24, 1942: US Raid on Wake Island
February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles
February 26, 1942: Gneisenau Eliminated
February 27, 1942: Battle of Java Sea
February 28, 1942: Battle of Sunda Strait

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