Pacific Wrecks 2021 Daily Updates
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• 5-18  May 18, 1942: Lost over Port Moresby is G4M1 Betty pilot Oyama and P-39F Airacobra 41-7191 pilot 2nd Lt. Charles H. Chapman, Jr.
• 5-17  May 17, 1942: Damaged strafing are A6M2 Zero 645 pilot PO2c Tsutomou Ito (captured) and A6M2 Zero pilot Yamaguchi (MIA).
• 5-16  May 16, 1942: Lost B-25C Mitchell 41-12478 pilot 2nd Lt. John D. Feltham force lands at Aiyary Airfield in New Guinea.
• 5-15  May 15, 1942: Crashed is B-26 "Lil Deicer" 40-1390 pilot Lt. Robert "Bud" M. Rye after take off from Reid River Airfield in Queensland.
• 5-14  May 14, 1942: Damaged B-25C Mitchell 41-12497 pilot 2nd Lt John E. Hesselbarth over Lae force lands at 3 Mile Drome (Kila).
• 5-13  May 13, 1942: Shot down is P-39D Airacobra 41-6945 pilot 2nd Lt. Hervey Carpenter damaged by A6M2 Zeros over Port Moresby.
• 5-12  May 12, 1942: Lost is P-39D Airacobra 41-6802 pilot 2nd Lt. Robert M. Wilde (KIA) shot down by Zeros near Port Moresby.
  
• 5-11  May 11, 1942: Damaged USS Neosho (AO-23) is scuttled after being bombed during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
• 5-10  May 10, 1942: Lost is B-26 Marauder 40-1402 pilot Captain Richard “Roy” R. Royall, Jr. attacking seaplanes at Deboyne Lagoon.
• 5-9  May 9, 1942: Force landed is P-39D Airacobra 41-6800 pilot 2nd Lt. Don McGee onto Fishermans Island (Daugo) off Port Moresby.
• 5-8  May 8, 1942: During the Battle of the Coral Sea Japanese planes damage USS Lexington (CV-2) that explodes and is later scuttled.
• 5-7  May 7, 1942: "Scratch one flat top!" Battle of the Coral Sea USN carrier planes sink aircraft carrier Shōhō with bombs and torpedoes.
• 5-6  May 6, 1942: The end General Jonathan M. Wainwright surrenders Corregidor and all U.S. forces in the Philippines.
• 5-5  May 5, 1942: At 11:30pm the Japanese Army soldiers begin landing on the north shore of Corregidor Island.
  
• 5-4  May 4, 1942: USN carrier aircraft strike Japanese warships and transports in Tulagi Harbor and damage Kikuzuki that later sinks.
• 5-3  May 3, 1942: Operation MO begins with Japanese forces enter Tulagi Harbor in the Florida Islands without opposition.
• 5-2  May 2, 1942: In the early morning, RAAF personnel and commandos on Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo began to demolish facilities.
• 5-1  May 1, 1942: Airacobras force land on Cape York Peninsula: P-39D 41-6951, P-39F 41-7215, P-39F 41-7216 and P-39F pilot Love (KIA)
• May 2021
• 4-30  April 30, 1942: Eleven P-39 Airacobras from the 8th Pursuit Group (8th PG) led by Lt. Col. Boyd D. Wagner strike Lae Airfield.
• 4-29  April 29, 1942: At Batchelor Field a P-40 crashed kills Brigadier General Harold H. George and two others standing nearby.
• 4-28  April 28, 1942: Lost is P-40E Kittyhawk A29-8 piloted by S/L John F. Jackson crashed Mount Lawes near Port Moresby.
• 4-27  April 27, 1942: Anchors away! USS Yorktown (CV-5) departs Tongatabu Harbor on bound for the Coral Sea with Task Force 11 (TF 11).
• 4-26  April 26, 1942: Japanese Type 96 / G3M Nells bomb 3 Mile Drome (Kila) with approximately 90 bombs exploding near dispersal area.
• 4-25  April 25, 1942: Lest We Forget ANZAC Day 2021 / Lost is B-17E 41-2505 (MIA) crashed Mount Obree in the Owen Stanley Range.
• 4-24  April 24, 1942: Lost is B-17E 41-2641 unexpectedly bursts into flames ten minutes after strafing at 7 Mile Drome near Port Moresby.
• 4-23  April 23, 1942: Returning from a Jomard Passage reconnaissance Japanese submarine RO-33 returns to Rabaul.
• 4-22  April 22, 1942: Lost is P-39D 41-7104 on a training flight crashed Viti Levu Island in Fiji, the crash site was found in the 1990s.
• 4-21  April 21, 1942: Lost is B-25C 41-12486 (KIA) crashed Mount Bartle Frere returning from a search mission in heavy cloud.
• 4-20  April 20, 1942: In Australia, Lt. General George H. Brett assumes command of Allied Air Headquarters, SWPA
• 4-19  April 19, 1942: The crew of B-26 40-1418 travel aboard three outrigger canoes to Tufi arriving the next morning.
• 4-18  April 18, 1942: "Doolittle Raid" B-25B Mitchells launch from USS Hornet (CV-8) led by Colonel James H. Doolittle bomb Japan.
• 4-17  April 17, 1942: Lost are P-40E Kittyhawk A29-7 (KIA) and P-40E Kittyhawk A29-12 (WIA) / TBM Avenger 91188 ditched off Patrick AFB
• 4-16  April 16, 1942: A direct hit from Japanese artillery disables the No. 2 gun and commander's station of Battery Grubbs on Corregidor.
• 4-15  April 15, 1942: Former U.S. Navy (USN) PT-41 is destroyed on Mindanao / 370th Bombardment Squadron activated Geiger Field.
• 4-14  April 14, 1942: Filipino guerrillas led by Lt. Severino Antiporda attack and captured the Japanese garrison in Tayug.
• 4-13  April 13, 1942: Second day of Royce Mission hit targets and destroyed while parked is B-17E "San Antonio Rose II" 41-2447.
• 4-12  April 12, 1942: First day of Royce Mission B-25C Mitchells and B-17E Flying Fortresses hit targets in the Philippines.
• 4-11  April 11, 1942: Lost is P-40E A29-38 pilot Sgt David S. Brown captured / A-24 41-15773 pilot 2nd Lt. Gus Kitchens crashed Lae.
• 4-10  April 10, 1942: Shot down is P-40E Kittyhawk A29-24 pilot S/L John F. Jackson bails out and later returns to Port Moresby.
• 4-9  April 9, 1942: Major General King surrenders at Limay / D3A Vals sink HMS Hermes and HMAS Vampire (D68) off Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
• 4-8  April 8, 1942: In the evening, U.S. Army Major General Edward P. King decides to surrender Bataan to save his men.
• 4-7  April 7, 1942: Lost is A-24 41-15798 pilot 2nd Lt. Henry G. Swartz (MIA) dive bombing Lae.
• 4-6  April 6, 1942: Pan American Airways DC-3s begin hauling fuel and lubricants from Calcutta to Asansol bound for China.
• 4-5  April 5, 1942: "Operation C" Japanese carrier planes strike Colombo on Ceylon (Sri Lanka) / Crashed is B-17E 41-2443 on Oahu.
• 4-4  April 4, 1942: Shot down is G4M1 Betty T-361 pilot PO1c Matsuda over the Cox Peninsula near Darwin by P-40E 41-5647 pilot Landers.
• 4-3  April 3, 1942: P-39 Airacobras from the 39th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) "Cobra In The Clouds" move to Williamstown Airfield.
• 4-2  April 2, 1942: Aerial collision SBD Dauntless 2136 and SBD Dauntless 2165 lost off Oahu with the pilots rescued passengers missing.
• 4-1  April 1, 1942: Crew of B-17E 41-2446 aboard MV Matoma arrive Port Moresby / General Douglas MacArthur earns the Medal of Honor.
• April 2021
• 3-31  March 31, 1942: Lost is G3M2 Nell pilot Harada on a solo suicide bombing mission and explodes over Port Moresby.
  
• 3-30  March 30, 1942: Japanese warships enter Shortland Harbor and Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) occupy the Shortland Islands.
• 3-29  March 29, 1942: The ground echelon of Marine Fighting Squadron 212 (VMF-212) arrives at Port Vila Airfield on Efate.
• 3-28  March 28, 1942: Ocean liner RMS Queen Mary enters Sydney Harbor but is large to dock and personnel board a ferry to reach shore.
• 3-27  March 27, 1942: Shot down by P-40E Kittyhawk pilot John Piper is G4M1 Betty pilot Itsuda (KIA) crashed inland from Rigo.
• 3-26  March 26, 1942: Small ship MS Van Heemskerk is chartered by the U.S. Army forces in Australia as a transport.
• 3-25  March 25, 1942: Raised from Pearl Harbor, battleship USS California (BB-44) is refloated and enters dry dock.
• 3-24  March 24, 1942: Lost over Chang Mai are P-40B Warhawk P-8115 pilot McGarry (POW) and P-40B Warhawk P-8196 pilot Newkirk (KIA)
• 3-23  March 23, 1942: Japanese Army 18th Division lands at Port Blair on South Andaman Island and occupied the city without resistance.
• 3-22  March 22, 1942: Kittyhawks from RAAF No. 75 Squadron strike Lae Airfield lost is P-40E A29-16 and P-40E A29-6.
• 3-21  March 21, 1942: The first four Kittyhawks from RAAF No. 75 Squadron land at 7 Mile Drome near Port Moresby.
• 3-20  March 20, 1942: At Terowie railroad station in South Australia, General Douglas MacArthur remarks "I came through and I shall return".
• 3-19  March 19, 1942: Air raid! Port Moresby Air Raid March 19, 1942 (Raid #14) eight G3M2 Nells bomb Tuaguba Hill Gun Battery
• 3-18  March 18, 1942: A6M2 Zeros from 4th Kokutai (4th Air Group) strafe MV Canberra off Torres Strait in Australia
• 3-17  March 17, 1942: The 9th Pursuit Squadron "The "Flying Knights" with P-40 Warhawks arrive at Batchelor Field near Darwin.
• 3-16  March 16, 1942: Evacuation of General MacArthur, his family and senior staff on B-17E 41-2408, B-17E 41-2429 and B-17E 41-2447.
• 3-15  March 15, 1942: Disassembled at San Francisco is A-20A Havoc 40-082 then loaded as cargo aboard a ship bound for Australia.
• 3-14  March 14, 1942: Over Horn Island with jammed guns P-40E "Poopy" pilot 2nd Lt. A. T. House spontaneously rams A6M2 Zero pilot Oishi.
• 3-13  March 13, 1942: During the night, Japanese submarine I-25 launches E14Y "Glen" floatplane piloted by W/O Fujita Nobuo
• 3-12  March 12, 1942: Aircraft and personnel arrive at Karachi Airfield in Pakistan | American personnel arrive in New Caledonia.
• 3-11  March 11, 1942: Ordered by U.S. President F. D. Roosevelt to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur departs Corregidor aboard PT-41.
• 3-10  March 10, 1942: U.S. Navy carrier aircraft strike Japaneses ships off Lae and Salamaua sinking Tenyo Maru and Yokohama Maru.
• 3-9  March 9, 1942: Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Lt. General Hein ter Poorten announces the surrender of Allied forces on Java.
• 3-8  March 8, 1942: Japanese forces capture Yogyakarta Airfield (Djogjakarta) on Java including B-17E 41-2471 repaired and test flown.
• 3-7  March 7, 1942: The British Army withdraws from Rangoon (Yangoon) in southern Burma (Myanmar).
• 3-6  March 6, 1942: The 8th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) arrives in Brisbane equipped with P-39 Airacobras.
• 3-5  March 5, 1942: Crew of Do 24K-1 X-36 burn their flying boat fifty miles south of Broome fearing Japanese air raids or invasion.
• 3-4  March 4, 1942: Operation K: H8K1 Emily Tail Y-71 bombs Mount Tantalus on Oahu shattering windows but no other damage.
• 3-3  March 3, 1942: A6M2 Zeros from 3rd Kōkūtai attack Broome destroying flying boats in Roebuck Bay and aircraft at Broome Airfield.
• 3-2  March 2, 1942: Sunk is HMS Stronghold (H50) by gunfire from heavy cruiser Maya and sunk in the Indian Ocean.
• 3-1  March 1, 1942: Japanese forces land on Java after American, British, Dutch and Australian (ABDA) defeat in the Battle of the Java Sea.
  
• March 2021
• 2-28  February 28, 1942: A6M2 Zeros at Napa Napa destroying Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Catalina A24-3 and Catalina A24-6.
• 2-27  February 27, 1942: Sunk is USS Langley AV-3 and in the afternoon begins the first phase of the Battle of the Java Sea.
• 2-26  February 26, 1942: Lost is C-53 41-20066 force landed near Truscott / Crashed is DC-3 "Emoe" PH-AFZ on Sumatra
• 2-25  February 25, 1942: American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) "Eastern Striking Force" including HMS Encounter departs Batavia.
• 2-24  February 24, 1942: First Wake Island Raid: USS Enterprise (CV-6) carrier aircraft strike Wake and Marcus.
• 2-23  February 23, 1942: Lost is B-17E 41-2446 (aka "Swamp Ghost") pilot Captain Frederick C. Eaton, Jr. force lands in Agaiambo Swamp.
• 2-22  February 22, 1942: After dark at Garbutt Field while taxiing B-17E 41-2434 collides with B-17E 41-2416 damaging both bombers.
• 2-21  February 21, 1942: Seaplane tender USS Curtiss (AV-4) and Patrol Squadron 14 arrives Nouméa on New Caledonia.
• 2-20  February 20, 1942: U.S. bombers and fighters strike the Japanese landing force off Bail are intercepted crashed is P-40E "Colleen".
• 2-19  February 19, 1942: Japanese carrier aircraft strike Darwin and Darwin Harbor. Crashed is A6M2 Zero 5349 pilot Toyoshima POW.
• 2-18  February 18, 1942: Artwork "Singosari Savior" by Paul Eckley depicts P-40E Warhawk pilot 2nd Lt. Adkins at Singosari Airfield.
• 2-17  February 17, 1942: A6M2 Model 21 Zeros took off from Shōhō land at Lakunai Airfield and are assigned to 4th Kōkūtai (4th Air Group).
• 2-16  February 16, 1942: Lost Martin B-10 M-531 pilot Postma damaged over Bangka Island and crashed on southern Sumatra.
• 2-15  February 15, 1942: The British Army on Singapore surrenders to the Imperial Japanese Army at Ford Factory.
• 2-14  February 14, 1942: at 6:20pm USS President Taylor ran aground west of Canton Island and efforts to tow or salvage failed.
• 2-13  February 13, 1942: Sunk is MV Derrymore hit by torpedoes fired by Japanese submarine I-55 off Batavia (Jakarta) survivors rescued.
• 2-12  February 12, 1942: Armed flyingboat Short S.23 "Centaurus A18-10 was assigned to No. 33 Squadron at Townsville.
• 2-11  February 11, 1942: Lost are Hudson A16-91 and Hudson A16-126 bomb then are shot down by A6M4 Claudes over Gasmata.
• 2-10  February 10, 1942: Civilian DH.83 Fox Moth "Irene" VH-UUS departs New Guinea for Australia where it serves in Qantas and RAAF.
• 2-9  February 9, 1942: Lost is P-40E Warhawk pilot 2nd Lt. Stone and Ki-27 Nate pilot Kurosawa over the Bataan Peninsula.
• 2-8  February 8, 1942: At 8:30pm the Japanese 25th Army under General Yamashita 5th Division and 18th Division land on Singapore Island.
• 2-7  February 7, 1942: Do 24K-1 X-1, Do 24K-1 X-24 and Do 24K-1 X-36 fly reconnaissance from Lake Grati near Soerabaja in Java.
• 2-6  February 6, 1942: Guinea Airways Ford 5-AT-C Trimotor VH-UBI and Ford 4-AT-E Trimotor VH-UDY enter service with the RAAF.
• 2-5  February 5, 1942: Landed is PBY-5 Catalina 2309 pilot Lt(jg) Richard Bull north of Ambon Island with three missing
• 2-4  February 4, 1942: Captured, stripped of possessions and Australian Army soldiers from "Lark Force" are massacred at Tol and Waitavalo
• 2-3  February 3, 1942: Five Catalinas bomb shipping in Simpson Harbor off Rabaul / Lost is B-17C 40-2062 pilot Cox crashed Java
• 2-2  February 2, 1942: U.S. Army Air Force Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. earns his wings and is commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.
• 2-1  February 1, 1942: Lost over the target TBD-1 Devastator 1515 and TBD-1 Devastator 0298 ditch into Jaluit Lagoon.
• February 2021
• 1-31  January 31, 1942: Under repair at Bremerton Navy Yard in Bremerton is USS Saratoga (CV-3) to fix torpedo damage.
• 1-30  January 30, 1942: Guinea Airways Junkers G 31 Trimotor VH-UOW is impressed into service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
• 1-29  January 29, 1942: War correspondent George A. Weller Chicago Daily News Foreign Service departs Singapore for Java.
• 1-28  January 28, 1942: During taking off B-17D Flying Fortress 40-3067 had the left engines fail and crashed at Batchelor Field near Darwin.
• 1-27  January 27, 1942: Allied personnel are withdrawn from Tebrau Airfield on the southern tip of the Malayan Peninsula to Singapore.
• 1-26  January 26, 1942: Open fire! Battery Geary mortars on Corregidor commence fire on the Japanese positions on Bataan Peninsula.
• 1-25  January 25, 1942: The administration orders missionaries to evacuate but many stay including those at Gona Mission Station.
• 1-24  January 24, 1942: First U.S. Navy (USN) surface action since the Spanish-American War is the Battle of Balikpapan.
• 1-23  January 23, 1942: After midnight the Japanese Army 144th Infantry Regiment "South Seas Detachment" occupies Rabaul.
• 1-22  January 22, 1942: Damaged during take off is B-17E 41-2419 at Palembang I Airfield on Sumatra then written off and abandoned
• 1-21  January 21, 1942: At Bulolo Airfield strafing Zeros destroy G 31 "Pat" VH-URQ, G 31 "Paul" VH-UOU and G 31 "Peter" VH-UOV.
• 1-20  January 20, 1942: Lost is B5N1 Kate pilot Sugihara hit by anti-aircraft fire over Rabaul crashed Mount Kombiu (Mother).
• 1-19  January 19, 1942: Japanese forces occupy Sandakan on northeast Borneo and rename it Elopura "Beautiful City".
• 1-18  January 18, 1942: During the night, PT-31 ran aground in Subic Bay and and PT-34 fires two torpedoes at a ship defective torpedoes
• 1-17  January 17, 1942: In Sunda Strait destroyer HMS Jupiter (F85) uses depth charges and gunfire to sink Japanese submarine I-60
• 1-16  January 16, 1942: Ditched is TBD Devastator 0335 pilot ACMM Harold F. Dixon and crew survive 34 days at sea in a life raft.
• 1-15  January 15, 1942: Crashed is PBY Catalina A24-11 (MIA) during take off from Kavieng Harbor.
• 1-14  January 14, 1942: Japanese warships and aircraft carriers assemble at Truk including Akagi ahead of Operation R in the South Pacific.
• 1-13  January 13, 1942: Assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 4 (MTBS-4) is PT-68 at the Training Center at Melville, Rhode Island.
• 1-12  January 12, 1942: Denied! Charles Lindbergh is refused to be recommissioned due to his vocal pre-war isolationist views.
• 1-11  January 11, 1942: Japan declares war on the Netherlands to coincide with landings at Tarakan, Borneo and Celebes (Sulawesi).
• 1-10  January 10, 1942: For eight hours General Douglas MacArthur makes his only visit to inspect forces on the Bataan Peninsula.
• 1-9  January 9, 1942: Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant is Richard I. Bong who later becomes America's highest scoring ace of World War II.
• 1-8  January 8, 1942: Commissioned is HMAS Whyalla (J153) Bathurst class corvette in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
• 1-7  January 7, 1942: A6M2 Zeros from the Tainan Kokutai (Tainan Air Group) arrive at Zettle Airfield on Jolo Island in the Philippines.
• 1-6  January 6, 1942: Japanese flying boats bomb Vunakanau Airfield on the ground is RAAF No. 24 Squadron Wirraways and Hudsons.
• 1-5  January 5, 1942: Zeros strafe Mariveles Seaplane Base sinking five U.S. Navy seaplanes from Patrol Wing 10 (Pat Wing 10).
• 1-4  January 4, 1942: Japanese forces occupy Manila with thousands of civilian prisoners detained at Santo Thomas University.
• 1-3  January 3, 1942: Creation of ABDA: American, British, Dutch, and Australia unified command in the South West Pacific.
• 1-2  January 2, 1942: The Japanese Army occupies Manila and Cavite. "Manila, Cavite lost; MacArthur fights on, holding Corregidor."
• 1-1  January 1, 1942: South Luzon Force withdraws across the Pampanga River at Calumpit and demolishes both bridges.
• January 2021
  

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