5 February 1939

LUXEMBOURG: His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano of Luxembourg is styled Hereditary Grand Duke. (More....)

EIRE: A Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-1 Condor of Kampfgeschwader 40 is returning to its base in France when it crashes near Bantry, County Cork. The only survivor is a gunner who is pulled from the blazing wreckage by a young Irish nurse who later receives a medal and citation signed by Adolf Hitler.

DENMARK: The Royal Danish Navy is constrained to hand over 6 newer Torpedo Boats to the German Occupation Force. As the Torpedo Boats leave the Naval Dock in Copenhagen, King Christian X order the Sovereign Flag at the Naval base lowered to half mast.

GERMANY: German dictator Adolf Hitler scolds his Axis partner, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, for his troops' retreat in the face of British advances in Libya, demanding that the Duce command his forces to resist.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Scharnhorst and Gneisenau enter the Atlantic through the Denmark Strait, and refuel from tanker Schlettstadt some 150 miles south of Cape Farewell. (Navy News)

UNITED KINGDOM: US Naval Operating Base (NOB), Londonderry, County Derry, Northern Ireland, is commissioned. The base will serve as a concentration point for North Atlantic convoys.

The base consisted of 749 Quonset huts; eight 60x90 foot (18.3 x 27.4 meter) utility buildings; 25 20x50 foot (6.1 x 15.2 meter) steel magazines; 17 40x100 foot (12.2 x 30.5 meter) storage buildings, 153 7x25 foot (2.1 x 7.6 meter) air raid shelters; three 10,000 barrel diesel oil tanks; four 100,000 barrel oil tanks; and a 25 mile (40.2 km) pipeline of 12-inch (30.5 cm) pipe for fuel oil and a 33 mile (53.1 km) long pipeline for diesel fuel.

The base was huge and contained a radio station; naval station; destroyer base; base hospital of 500 beds; medical supply storehouse; supply depot; fuel depot; convoy escort maintenance station; repair base; commercial dry dock; ammunition depot; degaussing facilities; a radio, radar and underwater sound pool, an ASW training center; a torpedo depot; and spare parts distribution center.

Detached form escort of convoy ON.63, Flower class corvette HMS Arbutus is torpedoed and sunk by U-136 Southwest of Ireland at 55 05N 19 43W whilst on A/S operation. (Alex Gordon)(108)

GERMANY: Berlin: The Hitler Youth leader Artur Axmann has called for camps to teach military discipline for all 17-year-old Jugend members soon to be called-up. Youth leaders meeting under the banner "Work in the East and Agriculture" were given descriptions of the numerous war victims and advised that medical training was particularly important in the teaching of military discipline. Jugend members are playing a major role in community aid and the care of dependants of fallen soldiers, it was reported.

YUGOSLAVIA: The British kick off Operation Disclaim, parachuting a team of agents near Sarajevo to join up with the partisans.

U.S.S.R.: The recommendation for Fegelein's Knight's Cross that was submitted by GdI Albrecht Schubert, commanding General XXII A.K. The SS-Kavallerie-Brigade attacked a strong enemy group northwest of Tschertolino on the personal decision of the Brigade Commander. The attack was carried out under his personal leadership with a tremendous swing in a bold advance, in spite of the most difficult terrain and weather conditions, against a vastly superior enemy in possession of strongly fortified positions.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-375 underwent a depth charge attack in the Mediterranean from a hunter-killer group, and sustained damage that forced her to return to base.

LIBYA: General Erwin Rommel's offensive is halted by the British at Gazala, just west of Tobruk. The British forces lose 40 tanks, 40 field guns and 1,400 troops. This was a disaster for the Allies in more ways than one; now the Allied convoys to Malta must pass between Axis occupied Crete and Axis airfields in Benghazi. The Axis forces are also in trouble; they have run to the end of their supply line, and his southern flank is hanging in mid-air, vulnerable to British raiders like the Special Air Service. Both sides gasp for breath in the intense desert heat. Rommel's engineers repair the damaged port of Benghazi, and motorize some units with captured British trucks (which are actually captured American lend-lease 2-1/2 ton trucks, which are very survivable). Another gain for Rommel is the recapture of Axis ammunition stocks in Benghazi, which had been left behind in the December retreat, and inactivated by removing their lighters. Now these stocks are made serviceable.

BURMA: General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, again visits Burma and inspects the situation west of the Salween River opposite Moulmein.

MALAYA: (A bloody shambles) by Jim Paterson:
On 5th February, the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Asia (16,909 GRT, Captain John Bisset Smith, Master) was hit by incendiary bombs dropped by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft. Fifteen soldiers and one crewmember were killed from the 2,651 people onboard. Empress of Asia was requisitioned by the British Government as a troopship and was part of a five-liner convoy that was the last attempt to reinforce Singapore and evacuate civilians. Empress of Asia was carrying 2,235 Australian troops and a large quantity of equipment and stores. The other four ships, Aorgagai, Empress of Australia, Empress of Japan, Duchess and Bedford were more modern oil-fired liners whereas the Empress of Asia was coal fired and slower. She fell behind the convoy on the inbound run and as she approached the harbour, was attacked three times by low-flying Japanese bombers. The fires that resulted from at least three direct hits were soon burning out of control. Captain Smith ordered the ship abandoned and the four screening escorts - HMS Danae (light cruiser), HMAS Yarra and HMIS Sutlej (sloops), and HMAS Woolongong (corvette), carried out the evacuation despite the raging fires and continued air attack. The ships were moored off Sultan Shoal in Singapore Roads. On board were troops of the British 18th Division, most of whom at been aboard ship for three months, after an odyssey that took the ship from the UK to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then back to the Pacific via South Africa.

Armidale was taking troops off the stern while Bendigo worked her way to the bow, but due to the liners bow flare couldn't get close enough; the Australian sailors told the soldiers to jump, not realizing, that being "poms" most of the soldiers couldn't swim. The medical officer aboard Armidale commented that the surf life saving and resuscitation skills acquired earlier in life by some members of the crew came in handy on this day. During this action Acting Ordinary Seaman Sheean the captain of No.2 gun aboard HMAS Armidale was Mentioned in Dispatches for keenness, courage and the example he set to all ratings. This was the first of two MIDs for Sheean. After the Armidale took the last two survivors, the Master and the Chief Engineer off the bow of the liner Armidale had on board no less than 1,804 survivors. Armidale's Captain stated "I was becoming a little dubious of the stability of HMAS Armidale, and on getting clear gave orders for all hands to sit."

Many consider that the failure to decorate Sheean was one of the more disgraceful sins of omission by the Australian leadership in WWII. Eyewitnesses said that Sheean continued to fire his gun even when he himself was completely submerged (not for long, obviously). Members of the ships company felt that no award was made for political reasons (NB). The Australian-designed and -built corvettes were very agile - a good skipper and crew could change course and dodge bombs AFTER they were released by Japanese medium bombers. On this occasion, Armidale was caught alone by a large number of enemy aircraft. (Michael Mitchell)

The YARRA was a modified Grimsby class escort sloop. HMAS YARRA (II) was constructed as ship number 114. It was laid down on 24 May 1934, launched on 28 March 1935, and completed on 12 December 1935. Its overall length was 266 feet and 3 inches, and full load displacement was 1,339 tons. Commander Rankin, the Commander of HMAS YARRA is honoured in HMAS RANKIN - Collins Class Submarine. (Daniel Ross)

In Malaya the Commonwealth army has retreated into Singapore and the causeway is breached by explosive demolition. Only 14 serviceable Hurricanes remain on the Island along with 6 or so Buffaloes all other aircraft have been pulled back to P1 and P2 on Sumatra. Japanese recon reported over 50 aircraft at Palembang and an air strike was planed for the following day.

USS Houston and Dutch cruiser Tromp arrived in Tjilatjap via the Lumbok Straits; Houston has 60 dead and 100 or so wounded and her aft 8 inch gun turret is destroyed after being hit by air attacks while patrolling north of Java. The cruiser USS Marblehead arrives in the same port just after midnight. She is so badly damaged that she returns to the US via India for repair. The remaining ships in the Strike Force ~ De Ruyter and a squadron of Dutch destroyers continues on to Batavia.

HMAS Vampire leaves Batavia for East Indies Station, she escorts two ships of trade Melchior Treub (3,242 tons) and Ophir (4,115 tons) to Colombo, Vampire was the only ship from Admiral Phillip's Force Z to survive the campaign, although she did not survive the war.

The mine sweepers HMAS Ballarat and Toowomba rescue survivors of the merchant Loch Ranza (4,958 Tons) along with radar gear contained within that ships cargo manifest.

General Yamashita moves into the former Imperial Palace of the Sultan of Johore on the northern side of the causeway looking down on Singapore Island. The assault across the causeway was planed for the 9th of February.

Frank Walker (who served on Bathurst class corvettes) makes the following argument, rather different to that in the official history of the RAN:

HMAS Armidale with another vessel was ordered to Timor to take off European civilians and deliver Dutch reinforcements to the Australian commandos on Timor. On the way, on 30 November 1942, the small flotilla was detected and attacked, first by 5 Jap bombers (driven off by RAAF Beaufighters) then by 9 Jap bombers. They evaded these but radioed for permission to abandon the mission. At dawn on 1 December 1942, the two vessels were still off Betano Bay and were immediately detected by Jap reconnaissance aircraft.

HMAS Castlemaine was allowed to return to Darwin with the civilians but the NOIC Darwin, Commodore Cuthbert Pope RAN, ordered HMAS Armidale to remain in Betano Bay to deliver the Dutch troops. At this point, Armidale was within 30 minutes flying time of a major Jap airbase, its position was known to the enemy and there were 10 hours of daylight left. No fighter cover was available.

Armidale sent several radio signals warning of air attacks and requesting permission to abort. At this point, Cdre Pope sent his notorious signal: "Air attack is to be accepted as ordinary routine secondary warfare". Walker calls this: "One of the most astounding signals in naval history". [One can at least be thankful that Pope was not given the opportunity to lose two capital ships].

The exact number of aircraft that attacked HMAS Armidale is unclear, however another vessel in the area, Kuru, reported being attacked by 44 aircraft and 200 bombs. Eventually Armidale was hit by two torpedoes and sank in three minutes. The captain, Lt Cdr David

Richards RANR(S) ordered abandon ship. At this point Japanese fighters strafed the ships boat. OB Teddy Sheean, although wounded, refused to obey the order and strapped himself into the Oerlikon. He is credited with downing one Jap aircraft and was observed to be still firing after he and the gun were submerged.

Total casualties in the Armidale's crew and Dutch passengers were about 100. This was partly due to a bungled rescue, co-ordinated by NOIC Darwin, Cdre Pope.

The RAN official history essentially excuses Pope. However, Walker says that government documents released in 1970s show that the Naval Board's report to Prime Minister Curtin deliberately omitted any mention of Cdre Pope or his conduct of the operation. They consider that Pope was 'dismissive of the potential of air attack', left HMAS Armidale in an impossible position and demonstrated gross incompetence. Nevertheless he was protected by the naval board. Walker suggests this is the reason OB Sheean only received a posthumous Mention in Dispatches, not the Victoria Cross which his shipmates believe he deserved, as the Board did not wish to call attention to the loss of the HMAS Armidale.

On the issue of abandoning the mission, Walker says it could have been postponed and carried out by one of the two fast Dutch destroyers anchored in Darwin - Van Gelan or Tjerk Hiddes which were better suited to the mission. (104) (Michael Mitchell)

AUSTRALIA: The air echelon of the USAAF 5th Air Force's 91st Bombardment Squadron (Light), 27th Bombardment Group (Light), ceases operating from Brisbane, Queensland, with A-24 Dauntlesses and begins a movement to Malang, Java. The ground echelon is based on Bataan, Luzon, Philippine Islands.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Twelve P-40s of the USAAF 5th Air Force’s 20th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) are refuelling at den Pasar Airdrome on Bali when the field is attacked by 20 Japanese aircraft. Four P-40s are destroyed on the ground and seven get airborne; the seven shoot down four Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters (later to be given the Allied Name “Zeke”) while the “Zeke” pilots shoot down four of the seven P-40s. Later in the day, the four surviving P-40s arrive at Blimbing Airdrome on Java and are merged with the 5th Air Force’s 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional).
Japanese planes bomb Allied shipping off Soembawa Island; after destroyer USS Paul Jones (DD-230) is damaged by a near-miss, she then rescues survivors of a Dutch merchantman, which had run aground in an attempt to avoid Japanese bombs.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: On Bataan, the I Corps plans to attack with all available forces against enemy pockets. In the South Sector, the Japanese are driven to the edge of a cliff overlooking beaches at Quinauan Point. Little progress is made against the Japanese in the Anyasan-Silaiim sector.
Submarine USS Seadragon (SS-194) evacuates 21 Army and Navy personnel; 23 torpedoes; 4,000 pounds (1.8 metric tonnes) of submarine spares; and 3,000 pounds (1.4 metric tonnes) of radio equipment. The radio equipment and some of the Navy personnel are from the naval communications/radio intelligence unit on Corregidor; they will set up facilities on Java.

Patrol vessel (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS Howe Sound I, 59ft overall, built in 1941, by Stanley Park Shipyards, owned by Iwakichi Suriyama and Mr. Fukiama of Howe Sound Fisheries. Initially chartered for $260.00 a month. It was noted that the owners became naturalized citizens in 1921, they had only been back to Japan once each for 3 months, one in 1936 and the other in 1939. Nevertheless in Sep 1942 she was appraised at $20.000.00 and ownership transferred to the Crown.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Woman of the Year" premieres at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Directed by George Stevens, this romantic comedy stars Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Roscoe Karns and William Bendix. This is the first of seven Tracy-Hepburn films.

All films entering or leaving the U.S. are subject to censorship by the U.S. Treasury Department effective today.

Washington: A full briefing on the reorganised War Department is presented to the Chief of Staff (Marshall). Attending are the G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, Chief of War Plans (Leonard Grew), representatives from the GHQ and USAAF, and the Deputy Chiefs of Staff. As Pogue notes, "[T]he Chiefs of Arms and Services were carefully excluded." (Marc James Small)

HQ USAAF redesignates the four named overseas air forces with an Arabic numeral: the Alaskan Air Force becomes the 11th Air Force; the Caribbean Air Force becomes the 6th Air Force; the Far East Air Force becomes the 5th Air Force; and the Hawaiian Air Force becomes the 7th Air Force.
An unarmed U.S. tanker is torpedoed, shelled, and sunk by German submarine U-103 about 175 miles (282 kilometres) east-northeast of Norfolk, Virginia.

San Francisco: Admiral King orders Nimitz to use the "maximum force available" of the Pacific Fleet, including battleships, to raid the western Pacific to divert Japanese strength from the Far East. (John B. Lundstrom)(225)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: 21 year old Fähnrich zur See Eberhardt Vollmer (Crew 1940) lost overboard from U-585 in the south Barents Sea.

U-105 saved seven men from a crashed German Do-24 aircraft 350 miles off the French coast in the Atlantic.

At 0153, the unescorted and unarmed tanker India Arrow was torpedoed by U-103 about 20 miles SE of Cape May, New Jersey, while steaming a nonevasive course at 10.5 knots. The torpedo struck the starboard quarter at about the #10 bunker. The ship caught fire and began to sink rapidly by the stern. Only a distress signal without position could be sent before the dynamo failed. The nine officers and 29 crewmen immediately began to abandon ship, but were only able to launch one lifeboat. The explosion destroyed two boats and a third was pulled beneath the water by the sinking tanker, drowning 18 of the 20 occupants in it. The U-boat then surfaced and fired seven shells from her deck gun at two minutes intervals from a distance of 250 yards into the bow section, which remained above water as the stern was sinking. Two men died as a result of the shelling. Only one officer and eleven crewmen survived in the lifeboat, set sail and headed for shore. They were picked up on 6 February by the American 24 foot fishing skiff Gitana 20 miles SE of Atlantic City and taken to the Coast Guard station there.

At 1808, the unescorted and unarmed tanker China Arrow was hit by two torpedoes from U-103, while running on a zigzag course and blacked out off Winter Quarter Shoals. The first struck the starboard side between the #8 and #9 tanks, the other between tanks #9 and #10. The explosion blew fuel oil 125 feet into the air and over the length of the vessel. Fire immediately broke out in these tanks. The live steam firefighting equipment smothered the blaze in tanks #9 and #10 but could not put out the fire in the #8 tank. The nine officers and 28 crewmen on board abandoned ship in three lifeboats 25 minutes after the hits. The U-boat surfaced and fired 15 to 20 shells into the waterline of the burning tanker, which sank by the stern at 1930. A USN aircraft spotted the men in the lifeboats 57 hours after the attack. A USCG Catalina landed near the boats and the men were later picked up by the USCGC Nike, which took them to the Coast Guard Station in Lewes, Delaware.

Rome: The first signs of a major crack in the facade of Mussolini's Fascist Italy began to show today when a tired and bitter Duce sacked his son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italy's foreign minister since 1936, and two other senior members of his cabinet. Mussolini himself has taken charge of foreign affairs.

Mussolini today is described as no more than a sad shadow of the bombastic, boastful and vain Duce who set out to recreate the grandeur of imperial Rome by engineering excuses to invade soft targets like Albania and Ethiopia - only to see his "empire" snatched from him by Allied troops.

His people are disillusioned. Il Duce promised them victories, not lengthy lists of casualties and prisoners. Morale is low throughout the country, and major strikes have taken place in the industrial north for "bread, peace and freedom."

With Anglo-American forces converging on Tunisia, he knows that the invasion of Italy cannot be far away and has pleaded with Hitler to sue for peace in Russia after his defeat at Stalingrad and bolster Italy's shattered army against the Allies.

On the other hand, Count Ciano has been appointed ambassador to the Vatican and many observers believe that the desperate Mussolini has sent him there to negotiate peace with the Allies.

SICILY: Operating as a "wolfpack" - in the style of their U-boat counterparts - British submarines have caused havoc to Axis transports off the Sicilian coast, it was learned today. One unnamed submarine even sailed into the Straits of Messina, risking rocks and the legendary whirlpool opposite the headland of Scylla, to sink a heavy transport under tow by two tugs.

Altogether ten vessels - including an anti-submarine ship - were sunk. The Italian navy was singularly absent.

U.S.S.R.: The Red Army reaches the Sea of Azov at Yeisk, cutting off German troops at Novorossiisk.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Minesweeping trawler HMS Stronsay mined and sunk in the western Mediterranean.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "The Outlaw" premieres at the Geary Theater in San Francisco, California. Directed by Howard Hughes, this western, which was filmed in 1941, stars Jane Russell, Walter Huston and Thomas Mitchell. Very controversial in 1943.

Submarine USS Bream laid down.

Destroyer USS Abner Read commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-617 shadowed a northbound convoy (probably on the XT or XTG route), consisting of four steamers and four escorts from grid CO92 to CO67. At 0802 hours, the U-boat torpedoed and sunk the Henrik and Corona. Corona was hit by one torpedo and 15 minutes later by another on the starboard side. The forecastle deck line split to keel and from keel to about 15 feet from deckline port side. The collision bulkhead was fractured and forecastle deck dropped 12 inches from aft side windlass to stem. All seven Norwegian officers, 40 Chinese crewmen, the Egyptian messboy, six British gunners and 49 army personnel as passengers abandoned ship. The master, 10 crewmen and 11 passengers were picked up by HMS ML-1012. The master, the 2nd mate and three crewmen returned to the lifeboat with the intention of returning to the ship, but on the way back he came across HMS ML-356 and being uncertain of the condition of the ship they decided to board the motor launch. HMS Erica put a boarding party on the Corona, including one Indian stoker from Henrik and later took the survivors on board and brought them to Tobruk. The next day, the Corona was taken in tow to Tobruk and beached. In the afternoon on 24 February, she sank during a storm. On 17 Oct 1947, the ship was refloated and was taken in tow by the tug Lenamill, but sank two days later 20 miles north of Derna. Henrik (Master Johan Sørlie) was probably hit by two torpedoes and sank within 3 minutes about 30 miles east of Tobruk. The launched lifeboat swapped as the vessel sank, throwing the occupants into the water. The survivors clung to rafts or debris until an escort vessel picked them up. Two Chinese crewmembers died, out of a complement of seven Norwegian officers, 33 Chinese crewmembers and six gunners.

U-267 was attacked in the North Atlantic by escorts with depth charges. The boat was damaged so severely that a return to base was necessary.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: One man washed overboard from U-450 in the Mediterranean. [Matrosengefreiter Thomas Heneka]. Later that day the boat suffered a fire in the engine room and was forced to return to base.

At about noon, Captain Thomas P Jeter came aboard. At 1335 hrs, R ADM John J. Ballentine was relieved as Captain of the Bunker Hill and Capt Jeter took over. RADM Ballentine left the ship.

In the middle of the afternoon, the port skuppers were shut down and after awhile, the deckedge elevator was lowered to the hanger deck and swimming became the game of the day. Three Marines were lined at different intervals along the catwalk, armed with rifles and kept a lookout for sharks.

GERMANY: Ravensbruck: Ensign Violette Reine Elizabeth Szabo (b.1921), Women's Transport Service, was executed. Arrested on a secret mission to France, she suffered brutal - and futile - interrogations before being sent to Ravensbruck camp. (George Cross)

The Allied PoWs force marched from Stalag Luft III arrive at Stalag IIIA, 50 kilometres south of Berlin, after an 8 day journey. (Henry Sirotin) Article by Buzz Bourdon, Globe and Mail, Thursday, May 5, 2006. Page S9. Link

GREECE: Athens: Communist fighters lay down their arms, as the government agrees an amnesty with EAM.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Sergeant Donald Rudolph crosses a battlefield on Luzon island in the northern Philippines alone - protecting himself with grenades - when the company that was supposed to be supporting his unit was pinned down. He destroyed two Japanese pillboxes before attacking and neutralizing six others. Then, when his unit came under fire from a tank, he climbed onto the tank and dropped a white phosphorus grenade through the turret, killing the crew. (MOH)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 2025, Liberty Ship Henry B. Plant as last ship in the starboard column of Convoy TAM-71 was torpedoed by U-245 about 17 miles east of Ramsgate. The lookouts had spotted the U-boat 300 yards off the starboard side, but it was too late to evade the torpedo which struck at the #4 hold. The explosion ruptured the main deck, severed steam lines, blasted the hatches and beams overboard and probably set off the after magazines. The engines were secured as the vessel rapidly sank, sinking stern first within five minutes. Most of the eight officers, 33 crewmembers, 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and one passenger (an Army security officer) had to jump overboard, they only managed to launch one lifeboat and four rafts. The survivors were picked up by HMS Hazard and armed trawler HMS Sir Lancelot and landed in England. One officer, eight crewmembers and seven armed guards drowned.