September 5, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SATURDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 1942

ALASKA (11th Air Force): Three B-24s abort bombing Kiska due to an overcast.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker becomes Commanding Officer (C.O.) of V Bomber Command as the command is remanned at Townsville. P-400s strafe Kokoda, Kaile, Isurava, Alola, Buna, Sanananda, and the trail from Buna-Kokoda. Lost is P-400 Airacobra pilot 2nd Lt. Jean D. Jackson (MIA). P-400s and A-20s strafe and bomb Buna Airfield; as the Japanese withdraw from the Milne Bay area.

Nine B-17s from 19th Bombardment Group (19th BG) took off from Mareeba Airfield on a bombing mission against Japanese shipping in Simpson Harbor at Rabaul. Inbound, the formation experienced bad weather. Returning to land around 9:45pm, B-17F "Miss Carriage" 41-24428 pilot Major William R. Humrichouse suffered a landing gear collapse at Mareeba Airfield and was written off.

U.S. Army: 32nd Infantry Division (32nd ID) "Red Arrow Division" and 41st Infantry Division (41st ID) "The Jungleers" are assigned I Corps under the command of General Robert Eichelberger.

Australian Army: Australian soldiers capture the Japanese supply dump at Waga Waga near Milne Bay.

IJN: After dark, Japanese evacuate roughly 1,300 of original force of 1,900 from Milne Bay.

On Guadalcanal after midnight, after landing Japanese troops, destroyers Yudachi, Murakumo and Hatsuyuki prepare to bombard Henderson Field when flares illuminate two high-speed transports and open fire sinking USS Gregory (APD-3) and USS Little (APD-4) with gunfire.

U.S. Navy: High speed transports USS Gregory (APD-3) and USS Little (APD-4) are sunk by gunfire from Japanese destroyers Yudachi, Murakumo and Hatsuyuki off Lunga Point on Guadalcanal at roughly Lat 9°20'S, Long 160°01'E.

USS Seal (SS-183) sinks Japanese merchant passenger-cargo ship Kanju Maru southeast of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina at roughly Lat 11°00'N, Long 109°32'E.