3 April 1939

Yesterday Tomorrow

1934: GERMANY: The government makes a token payment on the mixed claims and costs of the army of occupation to the U.S. The principal instalment is postponed in accordance with the provisions of the debt agreement.

April 3rd, 1939 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain repeats the guarantee to Poland of 31 March, emphasizing its departure from traditional British ideas of policy, and mentioned the possible necessity of extending it to other countries.

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler issues a war directive marked "Most Secret" and has it delivered by hand to his senior war commanders. "Since the situation on Germany's eastern frontier has become intolerable and all political possibilities have been exhausted," it begins, "I have decided upon a solution by force." Preparations for the attack on Poland, "Case White" (Operation White), "must be made so that the operation can be carried out any time from 1 September 1939."

The Heer has now 86 infantry divisions, with six panzer armoured divisions, supported by over 3,000 modern planes. Five battleships and 55 submarines make up the Kriegsmarine.

3 April 1940

April 3rd, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: A Heinkel shoots down a Spitfire of 41 Squadron, RAF Fighter Command, over the Yorkshire coast. The Heinkel is also lost and a trawler sunk.

There is a cabinet shuffle. Churchill is made chairman of the Ministerial Defence Committee, following Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield's resignation as Minister for the Co-ordination of Defence. Churchill's appointment to chair the Ministerial Defence Committee is a significant increase in his responsibilities. Berlin says that Churchill has been promoted from "warmonger" to "grand warmonger". Churchill meanwhile is persuading the cabinet to adopt his plan for mining Norwegian territorial waters - six months after he first made the proposal. Churchill raised it soon after the outbreak of the war as a means of exploiting Britain's superiority at sea. Then, Chamberlain rejected it; now he has changed his mind. His reluctance to expand the war and violate the rights of the neutrals has been worn away by the 'hawks', led by Churchill and the French who are eager to activate conflict away from France. (Robert Mårtensson)

Lord Woolton, the director of the Supply Ministry, is made Food Minister. He later becomes famous for "Woolton Pie"

London: Air Marshal Charles Portal has been made C-in-C of Bomber Command in succession to the much respected Air Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt, who becomes Inspector General of the RAF. Portal is a brilliant Staff Officer with an analytical mind who sometimes loses sight of the sensibilities of his colleagues. He is the favourite disciple of Lord Trenchard, the "Father of the RAF", and faithfully follows his mentor's advocacy of al out attack by bombers. Despite the success by Stuka dive-bombers supporting land forces, Portal is an opponent of co-operation between Bomber Command and the army.

LUXEMBOURG: The government announces plans for the emergency evacuation of Luxembourg City.

NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN. Final consent is given for the British mining of the Norwegian Leeds.

BALTIC SEA: The first German troops leave for Norway. The supply ships bound for Narvik are disguised as cargo ships. Over the next few days 26 merchantmen carrying 8,105 tons of Army stores, 2,660 vehicles and 1,641 horses set out, plus four tankers with fuel for the warships that would be carrying the invasion force.

GERMANY: Berlin: A Dutch assistant military attaché passes onto the Danes and Norwegians information that something is afoot in the north German ports.

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Yesterday Tomorrow

April 3rd, 1941 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Bristol suffers a heavy night raid.

The British government severs diplomatic relations with Hungary.

FRANCE: Paris: The Jewish affairs commissioner, Xavier Vallat, meets the German ambassador, Otto Abetz, to agree measures to speed Jewish "emigration."

HUNGARY: Budapest: Prime Minister Count Teleki Pál, the Hungarian Prime Minister, who committed suicide yesterday is succeeded by the notoriously pro-German Foreign Minister, Laszlo Bardossy who retains his foreign affairs portfolio.

Pál left a letter addressed to Admiral Horthy, the regent, "You will understand that I am unable to carry on in the face of the spectre of war."

YUGOSLAVIA: German diplomats leave Belgrade.

EGYPT: After receiving a brisk cable from Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief Middle East Command, decides to replace Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame, General Officer Commanding Western Desert Force, with Lieutenant General Richard O’Connor.

LIBYA: The British 2nd Armoured Division is authorized to withdraw from Benghazi through El Regima. On learning that the British have evacuated Benghazi, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, commander of the Afrika Korps, orders his troops to advance on to the city during the night.

IRAQ: A coup d'état is led by the nationalist politician General Rashid Ali el Gailani and a group of officers calling themselves the "Golden Square;" the group is opposed to the British presence in the country. The Regent Emir Abdul Illah escapes to Transjordan (now Jordan) and by 3 April, a new government has been installed. The Soviet Union recognises the new government at once, it was the first to do so, and the Luftwaffe makes plans to set up an airlift to Iraq. A 1930 agreement between Iraq and Britain had granted the British two bases there: Shuaiba, south of Basra, and Habbaniya, an important RAF base and training camp in the Euphrates Valley about 48 miles (77 kilometres) west of Baghdad. It was from Habbaniya that the British had flown their March 1940 espionage flights over Baku and Batum in the Soviet Union. As a result of the coup, the British send troops from India and the Middle East to ensure access to the vital oil supplies.

RED SEA: The eight Italian destroyers and torpedoes boats remaining at Massawa, Eritrea, sortie from the port. The destroyers are sighted north of Massawa and are attacked by Swordfish Mk. I aircraft of Nos 813 and 824 Squadrons assigned to the aircraft HMS Eagle but operating from Port Sudan, Sudan, to cover local troop activities. The destroyers Daniel Manin and Nazario Sauro are sunk and the destroyers Pantera, Tigre and Cesare Battisti are scuttled near Massawa.

Only one of the antiquated Italian motor torpedo boats at Massawa, MAS-213, was still seaworthy in April 1941. It sorties against the British fleet offshore and managed to close within 300 yards (274 meters) and put a torpedo into the light cruiser HMS Capetown, which was damaged so badly it had to be towed back to Port Sudan. After the attack MAS-213 is scuttled. (Mike Yaklich and Jack McKillop)

NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-boats sink four ships on the 29th meridian, one day before their escort reaches them.

PACIFIC: The USN's heavy cruisers USS Chicago (CA-29) and USS Portland (CA-33) and destroyers USS Clark (DD-361), USS Conyngham (DD-371), USS Reid DD-369), USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) depart Suva, Fiji Islands, for Pearl Harbor.

3 April 1942

April 3rd, 1942 (FRIDAY)

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: The German and Soviet armies are now sparring for advantage before they launch the major offensives they plan for spring. Encounters are reported from outside Leningrad, and there is heavy fighting for possession of Novgorod and Staraya Russa in the centre.
Most of the activity is in the south where the spring thaw is releasing the ground. The Russians have pushed the Germans back south-east of Kharkov. The Germans admitted yesterday that the Russians had penetrated their lines and compelled them to retreat.

BURMA : The Burma I Corps continues a northward withdrawal from the Allanmyo area although not under enemy pressure. In the Sittang Valley, Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, begins deploying the Chinese for a stand at Pyinmana. The Chinese 22d Division is to fall back gradually on Pyinmana, where the Chinese 96th Division is to take over.

Japanese bombers attack Mandalay, killing 2000 and destroying much of the city.

Six USAAF 10th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses from Asansol Airdrome, India, bomb warehouses and docks at Rangoon starting three large fires; one B-17 fails to return.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The Japanese open an all-out offensive against the Bataan line, which is by now under strength, undernourished, poorly clothed and equipped, and battle weary. After air and artillery bombardment, lasting from 1000 until 1500 hours, the Japanese move forward, making their main effort against Sector D, the west flank of the II Corps, where the 41st and 21st Divisions, Philippine Army (PA), are thinly spread and dazed as result of the preliminary bombardment. The 41st, on the west, gives way and is rendered virtually ineffective as a fighting force, although a regiment on extreme west succeeds in withdrawing in an orderly fashion. A battalion on the flank of the 21st Division is forced to pull back. An effort to re-establish the line of the 41st Division after dark is partially successful. The only corps reserve unit, the 33d Infantry (PA), less the 1st Battalion, is released to Sector D as is the Provisional Tank Group (-) of the Luzon Force reserve. In the I Corps sector to the west, the Japanese succeed in reaching the main line of resistance on the eastern flank but are unable to pierce it.

AUSTRALIA: The USAAF’s Air Transport Command activates two transport squadrons, one at Archerfield Aerodrome near Brisbane, Queensland, and the second at Essendon Aerodrome near Melbourne, Victoria. The squadrons are equipped with various transport aircraft.

EAST INDIES: RAAF Hudsons of Nos. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor Island. The Australians destroy four and damage two aircraft on the ground.

TERRITORY OF HAWAII: Admiral Chester W Nimitz assumes command of Pacific Ocean Areas (POA). POA comprises North, Central, Southeast and South Pacific Areas, all under overall command of Admiral Nimitz as Commander-in-Chief POA. The Southeast Pacific Area had been established on 8 December 1941 and is commanded by Rear Admiral John F Shafroth. The South Pacific Area is officially established on 20 April and North Pacific Area on 17 May. Nimitz retains his position as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC).

Light minelayers USS Pruitt (DM-22), Preble (DM-20), Sicard (DM-21), and Tracy (DM-19) mine French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiian Group, to prevent Japanese submarines from using the area as a refueling point for flying boat raids on Oahu.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Jungle Book" is released in the U.S. This action adventure fantasy, directed by Zoltan Korda, starred Sabu and Rosemary DeCamp. The plot involves a boy raised by wolves in India who is adopted by Ms. DeCamp. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Two U.S. merchant ships are sunk by German submarines: (1) a freighter, en route to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., from Takoradi, Gold Coast, is torpedoed and sunk by U-754 about 250 miles (402 kilometres) east of Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.A.; and (2) a freighter en route to Takoradi, Gold Coast, from Marshall, Liberia, is torpedoed by U-505 about 240 miles south southwest of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and abandoned.

3 April 1943

April 3rd, 1943 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Focke-Wulf FW190 fighter bombers raid Eastbourne and strafe streets crowded with shoppers.

NORTH AFRICA: Lieutenant G. F. Barnes, a Londoner, drove into the German lines after a British infantry raid in the Medjez area and, helped by the Germans, evacuated a seriously wounded man and his two dead companions.

The raiding force had reached its objective and was about to withdraw with prisoners when the Germans suddenly counter-attacked. The action was seen by Lieutenant Barnes, a regimental medical officer, who was a little over a mile away. He jumped into an ambulance and flying the Red Cross pennant, made for the German positions.

He was about 20 yards from the enemy positions when the German beckoned him to come behind their lines. A German officer approached and, after exchanging salutes, Lieutenant Barnes indicated that he wished to take back the crew of a knocked-out Bren-gun carrier.

The German officer ordered his men to place the members of the crew on stretchers and carry them to the ambulance. With the officer at the wheel, the ambulance was driven back a short distance and the wounded soldier, whose injuries included a broken leg, was attended to. The Germans showed a scrupulously correct attitude to the British Red Cross men.

Shortly before Lieutenant Barnes drove off on his errand of mercy the enemy had opened mortar fire on positions near the ambulance, which was standing head-on to the German lines. The Red Cross symbols on its sides could therefore not be seen and it was mistaken for a military vehicle. Another ambulance was placed in position where the Germans could see the symbols. The mortar fire ceased. - Reuter.

Manchester Guardian
(Despatch from the Northern Tunisian Front)

TUNISIA: Ninth Air Force B-25's the bomb El Maou Airdrome in the Sfax area during the night of 2/3 April. P-40's fly fighter-bomber missions north of Gabes.

Northwest African Air Force fighters strafe tanks and trucks at Kebira and Jabal Nasir Allah, and claim 13 Junkers Ju-87s downed in aerial combat over Djebel Berda. B-25s bomb the airfield at Sainte-Marie du Zit. Western Desert Air Force light bombers hit motor transport and gun positions north of Oued el Akarit.

BURMA:17 Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, operating in 2 forces, bomb the Myitnge bridge, scoring hits on both approaches.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Fifth Air Force B-17s attack shipping and the airfield at Kavieng on New Ireland Island sinking a transport while single B-24 Liberators bomb Kavieng and damage a heavy cruiser and a destroyer.

NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs hit Kitchen Creek while single B-24s bomb Korindindi.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Two USN submarines sink a fleet tanker and a submarine chaser. The latter vessel is sunk by USS Pickerel (SS-177) which is subsequently sunk off northern Honshu, Japan.

U.S.A.: Actor Conrad Veidt dies in Hollywood of a heart attack. Veidt played Major Heinrich Strasser in the film "Casablanca" and died without knowing how great the film would be rated in future years.

Aircraft carrier USS Chapin Bay (CVE-63) is renamed USS Midway.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-156 sinks an armed US tanker off Key West, Florida.

3 April 1944

April 3rd, 1944 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: England: Because of a combat crew shortage which has caused abolition of the 50-mission limit tour of duty and resulted in fatigue and morale problems, IX Bomber Command establishes a new operational leave policy. Maximum leaves for bomber crews are set at 1 week between the 25th and 30th missions and 2 weeks between the 40th and 50th missions.

NORWAY: OPERATION TUNGSTEN. Germany's one surviving battleship, the TIRPITZ, has been disabled again by a daring navy attack. Repairs on the Tirpitz following the midget submarine attack last September had just been completed. The Royal Navy learnt from Ultra codebreaking that she was ready to sail and sent two carriers to Altenfjord. HMS Victorious and HMS FURIOUS sailed as near as they dared and launched their 41 Fairey Barracuda bombers at 4.15 this morning. The conditions were between snow storms and thus ideal for flying. They scored six direct hits and three probables on the Tirpitz. The bombs did not pierce the ship's heavy armour, but floods and fires on the ships upper decks mean the Tirpitz will not sail again for three months.

One of the pilots was Temporary Acting Sub-Lieutenant David Clarabut RNVR(A) (1923-2011). His Barracuda was carrying a 1,600lb bomb in the first strike wave of 21 aircraft of 827 and 830 Naval Air Squadrons.

At 0529, the first Wildcats and Hellcats flew in over the mountains to surprise the German flak positions with machine-gun fire, while Corsairs gave air cover. The Barracudas took station in line ahead and dived through the clear skies from 10,000 feet.

The mountains had hidden Tirpitz from view until a few seconds before the dive, and the battleship put up two dense box barrages, one at 8,000 ft and the other at 3,000 ft, where bombs were meant to be released. The aircraft of 830 Squadron were led lower, and Clarabut dived lowest of all until, at 1,200 ft and at a 45 degree angle, he dropped his deadly cargo. A dense column of smoke rose higher than his aircraft, and Clarabut could only fly through this and hope to pull out of his dive before hitting the mountainside. As he emerged, there was the bright flash of an explosion between Tirpitz's bridge and B turret.

Those killed included Tirpitz's captain and she drifted out of control until she ran aground. One Barracuda was shot down and its crew of three lost during the attack, which had lasted barely a minute. (Daily Telegraph)

ITALY: Naples: Mount Vesuvius erupts sending clouds of dust and rock falling onto Allied merchant ships in the Bay of Naples. Tom Stainton and his ship are forced to move out to sea to avoid damage.

Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack railway bridges at Orvieto, cutting approaches to a bridge to the north of town; other medium bomber attacks on bridges abort because of weather but light bombers successfully bomb an ammunition dump; A-36 Apaches attack the railway at Attigliano and bomb an underpass in the area, while P-40s hit Sesti Bagni railroad station, a supply dump southeast of Frosinone, the town of Itri, a bivouac area northwest of Velletri and several trucks; and P-47 Thunderbolts successfully bomb Pignataro Interamna and nearby road junction.

FINLAND: The German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop orders all deliveries of food supplies to Finland to cease. This is in retaliation to the Finnish peace-probes, which the Germans have discovered, apparently from their spies in the Swedish airport which the Finnish envoys used in their trip. This embargo puts Finland in a very hard position; because of the wartime, the majority of Finnish supplies come from Germany or countries allied to it.

Already on 28 March the German representative at the Finnish GHQ, General der Infanterie Waldemar Erfurth, had threatened the Finnish Chief of General Staff, General of Infantry Erik Heinrichs, that Finland will suffer the same fate as Hungary, which Germany recently occupied, if she tries to make peace with the Soviet Union. Heinrichs answers that Finland is not a German ally like Hungary, but the threat is taken very seriously by the Finnish military leadership.

Eastern Europe: 450+ Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb targets in Hungary and Yugoslavia; the B-17s hit an aircraft factory in Budapest, Hungary and a marshalling yard at Brod, Yugoslavia; the B-24s hit a marshalling yard at Budapest; 137 fighters escort the B-17s (B-24s miss the rendezvous) to Budapest; the bombers and escorting fighters claim 24 enemy aircraft shot down.

Seven Heja II fighters of the Hungarian Air Force stationed on a field near Budapest manage to get airborne, and thereby only proved their inadequacy against modern aircraft. Still underpowered and lacking an oxygen supply, t hey had difficulty operating above 15,000 feet, which was still several thousand feet below the altitude preferred by the bomber formations. (Jack McKillop and Mike Yaklich)

CHINA: 4 rocket-firing Fourteenth Air Force P-40s, with 8 other as top cover, damage 2 large river boats between Hengyang and Ichang.

BURMA:4 Tenth Air Force B-25s damage the Tangon bridge while 6 P-51 Mustangs hit Anisakan airstrip in the Mandalay area; 20+ fighter-bombers and 6 B-25s hit targets of opportunity south of Mupaw Ga and west of Mogaung, troops near Bhamo, and knock out a bridge near Mogaung; during the night of 3/4 April 16 B-24s bomb oil and power facilities at Yenangyaung, Chauk, and Lanywa while 8 P-38 Lightnings hit Meiktila Airfield.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 4 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s flying a Red River sweep from Vinh Yen to Dong Cuong sink 4 small boats, damage 3 more, and strafe 50-100 persons at a loading point on the river; and 3 B-24s lay mines in the Haiphong area.

NETHERLANDS East Indies: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Langgoer and B-25s bomb the Babo area and Penfoei on Timor Island.

NEW GUINEA: 300+ Fifth Air Force B-24s, B-25s, A-20 Havocs, and P-38s blast airfields at Hollandia; most of the remaining Japanese airplanes there are destroyed; of 60 intercepting Japanese fighters, 26 are claimed shot down; air opposition from Hollandia is very light hereafter; 50+ P-40s, P-47s, and P-39 Airacobras hit villages, communications, AA positions, and other targets in areas around Wewak, Hansa Bay, Bogia and Madang.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO:23 Thirteenth Air Force B-25s bomb the northeastern section of Rabaul on New Britain Island; this strike follows a larger than usual (6 B-25s) heckling raid during the night of 2/3 April. In other raids, 50+ fighter-bombers blast fuel stores at Keravia Bay on New Britain.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s, staging through Eniwetok Atoll during the night of 2/3 April, bomb Truk Atoll. B-25s from Abemama Island follow with a daytime attack on Ponape Island.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-25s from Abemama and Tarawa Atoll hit Maloelap and Jaluit Atolls.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force USAAF and USN fighters strafe the Numa Numa trail area on Bougainville and maintain patrols.

PACIFIC OCEAN: US submarine USS Pollack (SS-180) sinks an Japanese Army cargo ship south of Japan.

3 April 1945

April 3rd, 1945 (TUESDAY)

AUSTRIA: Wiener Neustadt falls to the Soviets.
The Fifteenth Air Force, the strategic air force in Italy, dispatches 95 P-38s to dive-bomb the Tainach-Stein railroad bridge in Austria; other P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance and escort missions; bad weather prevents bomber operations.

GERMANY

The USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions:

Mission 924: 752 B-17s and 569 P-51s are dispatched to hit U-boat yards at Kiel; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 bombers and 4 fighters are lost; three German submarines, U-1221, U-2542 and U-3505 are destroyed.

1. 693 of 752 B-17s hit the Deutsche U-boat yard and 24 hit the Howardts U-boat yard; 2 B-17s hit Flensburg Airfield a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 121 damaged. Escorting are 517 of 569 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft.

2. 98 of 100 P-51s fly a sweep of the Kiel area.

3. 4 P-51s escort an1 F-5 on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany.

4. 17 of 18 P-51s fly a scouting mission; 2 P-51s are lost.

Mission 925: 1 B-17 and 10 B-24s are dispatched to drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.

The US Ninth Air Force, the tactical air force supporting US ground troops, dispatches about 230 B-26s, A-20s and A-26s to attack the Holzminden and Hameln marshalling yards, the town of Gottingen, 2 targets of opportunity, and fly a leaflet mission; fighters fly escort, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, support the US 9th Armored Division in the Warburg area, the XX Corps E of the Werra River toward Muhlhausen and in the Kassel area, the XII Corps in the Gotha and Suhl areas, and the 2d and 8th Armored Divisions in the Teutoburger Forest and Neuhaus.

Capt Ian Oswald Liddell (b.1919), Coldstream Guards, scaled a road block and, in full view and under fire, disconnected the bombs planted on a bridge. He was killed on 21 April. (Victoria Cross)

The US 76th Division reassembles at Homberg to mop up German rearguard resistance. (Skip Guidry)(116)

ITALY: During the night of 2/3 April, the Twelfth Air Force, the tactical unit, sends A-20s to bomb the marshalling yard at Mantua, several Po River crossings and other communications targets in the Po Valley; weather hampers operations during the day; medium bombers cancel most missions, but manage to bomb the Po Valley bridges at Camposanto, Usigliano, and Modena; the XXII Tactical Air Command [including Brazilian and South African Air Force (SAAF) units] blast communications, fuel dumps, methane plants, trains, motor transport at numerous points in northern Italy (mainly in the Po Valley), including Parma, Modena, Fidenza, Lodi, Bergamo, Reggio Emilia, and Piacenza.

CHINA: 37 Fifth Air Force B-24s again attack the Hong Kong docks sinking two cargo ships and damaging an escort vessel; other B-24s and B-25s hit the airfield, butanol plant, and railroad yards at Kagi, Formosa while A-20s sweep other rail targets. B-25s attack N Hainan Island.

17 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s bomb the Pinglo railroad yards and 60+ fighter-bombers knock out bridges at Hsitu and between Chuting and Hengyang, destroy pontoon bridges in the Kanchou area, hit Yangtong airfield, and the Tayu, Hankow, Kanchou, Yoyang, and Ishan-Hwaiyuanchen areas.

BURMA: Bad weather again causes cancellation of most scheduled strikes; a few Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit a Japanese-held wooded area near Kenglong; transports complete 383 sorties to forward areas.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: 28 Fourteenth Air Force B-25s attack the Ninh Binh railroad yards, knock out a bridge at Thinh Duc, and damage bridges at Gian Khau and Mon Cay. Fighter-bombers pound the Hai Duong railroad yards, and hit river traffic and other targets of opportunity at several locations including Hongay, and Cao Bang.

JAPAN: Off Okinawa, Kamikazes damage 1 CVE and other ships of the supporting naval forces.

There are a number of attacks on USN ships off Okinawa today.

1. The escort aircraft carrier USS Wake Island (CVE-65) and high-speed minesweeper USS Hambleton (DMS-20) are damaged by kamikaze near-misses.

2. Attack transport USS Telfair (APA-210) and tank landing ship USS LST-599 are damaged by kamikazes.

3. Destroyer USS Prichett (DD-561) is damaged by a bomb.

JAPAN: The Twentieth Air Force flies four missions during the night of 3/4 April.

Mission 54: 9 B-29s mine the waters off Hiroshima, Japan without loss.

Mission 55: In the early morning, 48 of 49 B-29s hit the aircraft plant at Shizuoka, Japan without loss.

Mission 56: 43 of 78 B-29s attack the Koizumi aircraft factory and 18 hit the urban areas in Tokyo as a target of opportunity; they claim 1-0-0 Japanese aircraft.

Mission 57: 61 of 115 B-29s strike the aircraft plant at Tachikawa and 49 hit the urban area of Kawasaki as a target of opportunity; 1 B-29 is lost.

USN escort aircraft carrier USS Wake Island (CVE-65) is attacked by two kamikazes. At 1744 hours, a Japanese single-engine plane plunged at the ship from a high angle and missed the port forward corner of the flight deck, exploding in the water abreast the forecastle. Thirty seconds later, a second similar plane whistled down on the starboard side at tremendous speed, narrowly missing the bridge structure and plunging into the water about 10 feet (3 meters) from the hull. The plane exploded after impact, ripping a hole in the ship’s side below the waterline, about 45 feet (13.72 meters) long and about 18 feet (5.49 meters) from top to bottom and making many shrapnel holes. Parts of the plane were thrown onto the forecastle and into the gun sponsons. Various compartments were flooded, and the shell plating cracked between the first and second decks. Other shell plating buckled, and the main condensers were flooded with salt water, contaminating some 30,000 US gallons (24,980 Imperial gallons or 113,562 litres) of fresh water and 70,000 US gallons (58,287 Imperial gallons or 264,979 litres) of fuel oil. At 1824 hours, salting made it necessary to secure the forward engine, and the ship proceeded on one propeller. Remarkably, there were no injuries; and, by 2140 hours, corrective measures had been taken, and the ship was again steaming on both engines. The next day, the ship steamed to Kerama Retto anchorage with destroyer escorts USS Dennis (DE-405) and USS Goss (DE-444) for inspection and temporary repairs. The ship sailed for Guam on 6 April.

Other ships damaged by kamikazes include the high speed minesweeper USS Hambleton (DMS-20) and the tank landing ships USS LST-599.

FORMOSA: Fifth Air Force B-24s and B-25s hit the airfield, butanol plant, and railroad yards at Kagi, Formosa while A-20s sweep other rail targets.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Part of the US 40th Division lands at Masbate to assist the guerrillas.

On Luzon Island, Far East Air Force fighter-bombers and A-20s hit the Balete Pass- Baguio-Naguilian area north of the Cagayan Valley supply targets, the Laguna de Bay area, and Infanta, also, Miri Airfield in Borneo, troops in the Cebu City area on Cebu Island, and targets on Tarakan Island, Borneo are bombed.

The US 108th Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division lands on Masbate Island, located west of Leyte, to assist the guerrillas fighting the Japanese.

U.S.A.: Washington: General MacArthur has been appointed C-in-C of all US Pacific ground forces, and Admiral Nimitz will command all US naval units. The old geographic boundaries of "South-West Pacific" and "Pacific Ocean Areas" are to be discarded in favour of this new command structure in preparation for the coming invasion of Japan. The joint chiefs of staff in Washington have retained direct control of the US Twentieth Army Air Force and will exercise strategic command in the Pacific theatre.

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