April 1, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SUNDAY, 1 APRIL 1945

CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): Four B-25s attack railroad targets at Ninh Binh and Minh Koi, French Indochina. In China, 7 B-24s bomb the Ft Bayard storage area; 6 B-25s and 6 P-51s attack river shipping and warehouses in the Sienning-Puchi area; 5 B-25s hit warehouses and other buildings at Hsuchang while 3 damage a bridge at Changtuikuan; single B-25s bomb targets of opportunity around Sanshihlitun, Sichuan, Loning, and Suicheng; 23 P-51s pound airfields in the Shanghai area; 70+ other fighter-bombers attack river, road, and rail traffic, storage areas, troops, and general targets of opportunity throughout wide areas of occupied S and E China; the detachments of the 11th and 22d Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), operating from Chihkiang with B-25s, return to base at Yangkai; during April 1945, the 426th Night Fighter Squadron, Fourteenth AF (attached to 312th Fighter Wing), based at Shwangliu with P-61s, sends detachments to operate from Liangshan and Ankang.

Burma: Br Fourteenth Army takes command of Br 36th Div, which has completed its mission with NCAC. While conducting limited attacks to clear rest of central Burma, British are regrouping to make main effort with 4 Corps (Ind 5th and 17th Divs and 255th Tank Brig) down Mandalay- Rangoon RR while 33 Corps (Br 2d, Ind 7th, and Ind 20th Divs plus Ind 268th Inf Brig) shifts SW to drive along Irrawaddy R Valley on Army right flank toward Prome. Ind 19th Div, under army command, is to mop up behind 4 Corps.

INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Ten B-25s attack roads and bridges behind enemy lines in central Burma; 478 transport flights are made throughout the day; British 36 Division forces begin to push down the railroad from Mandalay to Rangoon. Unit moves In India: 12th Combat Cargo Squadron, 3d Combat Cargo Group, from Moran to Tulihal with C-47s; detachments of the 24th Combat Mapping Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, operating from Tulihal and Cox's Bazar with F-7s, return to base at Guskhara.

AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): The detachment of the 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, VI Air Service Area Command (attached to VII Fighter Command), operating from Peleliu with F-5s, joins the detachment operating from Saipan.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): During April 1945, the 25th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy), 40th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), the 676th, 677th and 678th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy), 444th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), and the 768th, 769th and 770th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy), 462d Bombardment Group move from Chakulia, Dudhkundi and Piardoba respectively to West Field on Tinian with B-29s.

In the third of six mine drops carried out in support of Iceberg, six USAAF B-29s mine the waters off Kure, Japan. Mines sink merchant cargo ship Karikawa Maru off Tsushima, and damage escort vessel Inagi southeast of Hesaki, and auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 226 in Kii Channel, Japan, 30°04'N, 130°54'E.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s attack Giran Airfield on Formosa while B-25s and P-47s sweep wide areas. On Luzon, B-24s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit the Legaspi area (where a US amphibious landing is taking place), targets north of Balete Pass, the Batangas area, and support troops over parts of S and NW Luzon. In the C Philippine Islands, B-25s and A-20s support ground forces near Cebu City and on Negros. B-24s hit Oelin Airfield. The 159th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 3d Air Commando Group, based at Mangaldan with UC-64s and L-5s, sends detachments to operate from Negros and Cebu. Unit moves during Apr 45: HQ Fifth Air Force from Mindoro to Clark Field, Luzon; 4th Photographic Charting Squadron, 311th Photographic Wing (Mapping and Charting) [attached to 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance)], based at Hollandia with F-7s, sends a detachment to operate from Zamboanga to map areas of the SW and W Pacific (another detachment is operating in Australia). Lost is A-20G Havoc 43-21628 (pilot KIA, gunner rescued). B-24s bomb Japanese shipping at Keelung, irreparably damaging Taiga Maru.

U.S. Army: In U.S. Sixth Army area, Legaspi Attack Group (TG 78.4) lands RCT 158, reinf, in Legaspi area, Bicol Peninsula, after preparatory aerial and naval bombardment. Landing is unopposed and the assault forces quickly secure Legaspi and Legaspi Airfield as well as Libog. After the troops encounter only token opposition at the beaches, considerable opposition develops inland. 2d Bn encounters resistance near Daraga. Gen MacNider takes command ashore. In I Corps area, on Villa Verde Trail, 128th Inf of 32d Div recovers ground lost to Japanese during counterattack on 31st, but operations during next few days are curtailed sharply by torrential rains. 3d Bn of 27th Inf, 25th Div, secures ridge leading to Mt Myoko and until 9 April works on spur W of its crest. In XI Corps area, 43d turns S flank of Shimbu line as 172d Inf mops up Hill 1200. Main body of 103d Inf concentrates in Maybancal area and reconnoiters for routes of advance. In XIV Corps area, elements of 7th Cav, 1st Cav Div, reach Alaminos. 5th Cav continues eastward to N of 7th. 2d Sq, 12th Cav, begins attack on strongly defended Imoc Hill, about 4,000 yards SW of Calauan. Against decreasing resistance 1st Bn of 187th Inf, 11th A/B Div, secures Bukel Hill. 2d Bn has now opened Route 416 from Cuenca to Dita.

In the southern Philippines, in U.S. Eighth Army area, 185th Inf of 40th Div drives to outskirts of Talisay on Negros. Elements of 160th Inf take Granada. On Cebu, 2d Bn of 182d Inf, Americal Div, begins assault on Bolo Ridge, less than a mile NW of Guadalupe, making slow progress against well organized positions consisting of numerous pillboxes and cave and tunnel defenses.

Joint Expeditionary Force Task Force 51 (TF 51) under Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turner lands Tenth Army at 8:30am in vicinity of Hagushi on the southwest of Okinawa after an intensive naval and aerial bombardment by supporting forces of Fifth Fleet. Northern Attack Force (TF 53) under Rear Adm Lawrence F. Reifsnider puts Marines of 6th Mar Div and 1st Mar Div, III Amphibious Corps, land north of Bishi River while Southern Attack Force (TF 55, Rear Adm J. L. Hall, Jr.) lands 7th and 96th Divs, XXIV Corps, south of the river. Japanese offer little opposition as assault units move inland to gain beachhead of about 15,000 yards in length and 4,000-5,000 yards in depth. As a diversion, 2d Mar Div feints a landing on the southeast shore of Okinawa. Air opposition is light but kamikazes, cause some damage to shipping. In U.S. Tenth Army's III Amphib Corps area, 6th Mar Div, employing 22d Regt on N and 4th on S, capture Yontan Airfield with ease. 1st Mar Div lands to S and, with 7th Regt on N and 5th on S, speeds E beyond Sobe in conjunction with XXIV Corps to S. In XXIV Corps area, 7th Div moves quickly eastward with 17th Inf on left and 32d on right, seizing Kadena Airfield. 96th Div, to S, moves forward to secure commanding ground S and SE of its beaches, pushing to river beyond Chatan on coast.

U.S. Navy: Operation Iceberg under the cover of heavy naval gunfire and aircraft Marines and Army land on Okinawa The operation is under the overall command of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Commander Fifth Fleet. The Joint Expeditionary Force is under the comand of Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turner. The troops are under the command of U.S. Army Lt General Simon B. Buckner, Jr.

Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage battleship West Virginia (BB-48), 26°20'N, 127°40'E; attack transports Hinsdale (APA-120) and Alpine (APA-92), 26°20'N, 127°41'E, and tank landing ship LST-884; battleship Tennessee (BB-43) is damaged by shell fragments (possibly friendly fire); Japanese dive bombers damage destroyer Prichett (DD-561), 26°38'N, 127°25'E, and minesweeper Skirmish (AM-303), 26°33'N, 127°33'E; horizontal bomber damages attack transport Elmore (APA-42), 26°20'N, 127°41'E; destroyer escort Vammen (DE-644) is damaged by explosion of undetermined origin (possibly depth charge dropped by Japanese assault demolition boat), 26°18'N, 127°29'E. Infantry landing craft (mortar) LCI(M)-807 is damaged by own mortar explosion; medium landing ship LSM-192 by operational casualty.

Submarine Queenfish (SS-393) inadvertantly sinks Japanese relief ship Awa Maru in Formosa Straits, 25°25'N, 120°07'E. Awa Maru, a cartel ship, is carrying Red Cross supplies earmarked for distribution to Allied POWs in Singapore. Guaranteed safe conduct by the U.S. government, Awa Maru is properly marked and lighted, but Queenfish's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Charles E. Loughlin, does not discern the markings in the foggy weather in which his boat encounters the enemy vessel. Loughlin is relieved of his command for the mistake, and is court-martialed.

Royal Navy: Off Okinawa, a kamikaze damages British fleet carrier HMS Indefatigable and destroyer HMS Ulster is damaged by bomb.

USMC: L-Day at 8:30am American forces including U.S. Marines from the III Amphibious Corps and U.S. Army XXIV Corps land land at Hagushi Bay on Okinawa Island. Initially, the American met little resistance as Japanese forces prepare to defend further to the south.

Preceded by naval gunfire and air support, the III Amphibious Corps (1st and 6th Marine Divisions, rein) and the XXIV Corps, USA, landed north and south of Bishi Gawa River, respectively, on the Hagushi beaches of the island's western shore. The XXIV Corps captured Kadena Airfield and advanced south along the coast to the Chatan vicinity, and the III Amphibious Corps made extensive ground gains to the south. Yontan airfield was secured by the 4th Marines, and the 7th Marines moved through Sobe Village, a first priority objective.