May 4, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

FRIDAY, 4 MAY 1945

ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Brigadier General Isaiah Davies replaces Major General Davenport Johnson as Commanding General 11th Air Force (11th AF) on an interim basis.

CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 12 B-25s and 180+ fighter-bombers, mostly operating in flights of 2 to 4 aircraft, attack town areas, storage, troops, horses, trucks, river shipping, airfields, and many other targets of opportunity scattered over the vast expanse of S and E China.

Burma: Vice Adm Mountbatten, having decided to omit Operation Roger, the capture of Phuket Island off Kra Isthmus, as forward base for Operation Zipper the assault on Malaya, asks for 11th Aircraft Carrier Sq of British Pacific Fleet as close support force for Zipper. Request is denied, but Mountbatten is promised an additional escort carrier and two general purpose carriers.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): The 792d, 793d and 794th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy), 468th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), begin a movement from Kharagpur to Tinian Island with B-29s.

INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in Burma: 83d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 12th Bombardment Group (Medium), based at Fenny with B-25s, begins operating from Magwe, Burma; 164th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, from Sinthe to Magwe with UC-64s and L-5s.

AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): Twenty-two B-24s from Angaur Airfield bomb AA positions on Koror. Lost is B-24M "Brief" 44-42058 pilot 2nd Lt. Glen R. Custer (crew KIA, one POW) Eleven B-24s from Guam hit Marcus Airfield.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Missions 140 to 143: 47 B-29s attack airfields at Oita Airfield, Omura, Saeki, and Matsuyama on Kyushu and Shikoku; two others attack targets of opportunity; 1 B-29 is lost.

USN: USS Lagarto (SS-371) was sunk by minelayer Hatsutaka.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s bomb the Tuguegarao area while other B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers, in spite of bad weather, support ground forces in N and S Luzon and on Negros. P-38s pound Itu Aba Island, China. B-24s heavily damage oil installations at Saigon. B-25s and P-38s support ground forces on Tarakan and B-24s hit Sandakan and Kota Baru. On Celebes Island, bomb Mandai Airfield and Masamba Airfield. HQ 18th Fighter Group, 12th Fighter Squadron and 70th Fighter Squadron move from San Jose to Zamboang with P-38s.

U.S. Army: In U.S. Sixth Army's I Corps area, elements of 161st Inf, 25th Div, seize Mt Haruna, 300 yards W of Balete Pass, and for some days to come remain there patrolling and consolidating. 2d Bn, 27th Inf, has advanced along Wolfhound Ridge about 3,000 yards from Lone Tree Hill and 3d Bn is relieving it. In XI Corps area, 145th Inf opens co-ordinated attack after arty preparation, 1st Bn on left, 3d in center, and 2d on right. Left flank elements get about halfway to Wawa but withdraw to more tenable position at San Isidro under cover of darkness. Progress otherwise is slow because of terrain as well as enemy opposition. 152d Inf, 38th Div, renews attack on Woodpecker Ridge but makes little headway.

In the southern Philippines, U.S. Eighth Army area, 2d Bn of 108th Inf returns to Leyte from Masbate, where 118 Japanese and 7 Americans have lost their lives. Filipino guerrillas are responsible for final mop up. In X Corps area, 24th Div forces mop up in Davao area, Mindanao, while 124th Inf of 31st Div probes northward with patrols from Kibawe. RCT 162, 41st Div, arrives at Parang from Zamboanga. On Samal I., I and R Platoon of 19th Inf, 24th Div, lands to reconnoiter. On Negros, 1st Bn of 164th Inf, Americal Div, continues efforts to reopen supply line in Negros Oriental.

On Okinawa, In U.S. Tenth Army area, III Amphib Corps (6th Mar Div and corps troops) is displacing southward. 27th Div takes over sector vacated by 6th Mar Div. In XXIV Corps area, Japanese open ground phase of their counteroffensive early in morning and it too is a costly failure. Arty pieces, brought out into the open to provide powerful support, are profitable targets for U.S. counter battery fire. Japanese troops attack line of 7th Div and 306th Inf, 77th Div, in force but are unable to achieve a breakthrough. Enemy survivors are caught in the open and subjected to destructive fire. Suicide planes are more successful than enemy ground or amphibious forces. From evening of 3 May until evening of 4th, 17 American ships are sunk at cost to enemy of 131 planes destroyed. Japanese maintain their well-organized Shuri defenses while conducting their counteroffensive and prevent much forward movement of corps. 1st Mar Div, although not directly involved in the counteroffensive, suffers extremely heavy casualties while attacking west of Machinato Airfield. 307th Inf, 77th Div, against vicious opposition, improves positions on Maeda Escarpment.

Australian Army: 19th Infantry Brigade captures Cape Wom.