14 May 1939

May 14th, 1939 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Royal Naval depot ship HMS FORTH is completed at Rosyth.

Rochester: The first Shorts A-29 (L 7600) is rolled out. This prototype will lead to the Shorts Stirling 4-engined bomber. Today's flight though ends in disaster when the aircraft crashes and is totally destroyed on landing. (22)

Top of Page

Yesterday Tomorrow

Home

14 May 1940

Yesterday Tomorrow

May 14th, 1940 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:
Recruiting begins for the Local Defence Volunteers (Dad's Army).

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - road/rail communications - Monchen-Gladbach. 77 Sqn. 7 aircraft all bombed, moderate opposition. 102 Sqn. 5 aircraft all bombed, moderate opposition.

Westminster: Churchill, signing himself, "Former naval person", writes to Roosevelt asking for aid.

Westminster: Churchill has now filled most of the major posts in the new coalition government. Political foes - Tory, Labour and Liberal - are sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at the cabinet table. "A crowd of able men" he is calling them. First the Prime Minister announced his inner war cabinet - himself as Minister of Defence, the ex-premier Chamberlain as Lord President of the Council, Lord Halifax staying as Foreign Secretary, Clement Attlee, who will be Lord Privy Seal and deputy Prime Minister, and Arthur Greenwood as Minister without Portfolio. The former Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, Dominions Secretary since war broke out, becomes Secretary for War. Labour’s A V Alexander is First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Liberal leader Sir Archibald Sinclair is Secretary for Air. Other important appointments go to two of Labour’s senior men - Herbert Morrison as Minister of Supply and Hugh Dalton as Minister for Economic Warfare. The Trade Union leader Ernest Bevin becomes Minister of Labour and National Service in charge of the nation’s manpower. A new Ministry for Aircraft Production has been created, which goes to the fiery newspaper proprietor Lord Beaverbrook, a friend of Mr. Churchill.

NETHERLANDS:

Gunboat HNLMS Johan Maurits van Nassau bombed and sunk by German aircraft.

The Wehrmacht High Command announced:

Under the overwhelming impact of German dive bombing attacks, and of the impending tank assault on the city, Rotterdam has surrendered and thus saved itself from destruction.

Hilversum: At dawn today the Dutch were still hoping to hold on. The German airborne troops at The Hague had been captured or driven off, and Rotterdam, the key to the defence of Fortress Holland, still held out.

On the previous evening, General von Kuchler, commander of 18th Army in Holland, ordered that resistance at Rotterdam be broken by an armoured attack. To precede this, artillery fire and aerial bombardment would paralyse the Dutch defence. The bombers were to drop their load within a triangle to the north of the Meuse bridges, in the old town, where it was known that the Dutch had established one of their major zones of resistance. The operation was not intended to induce surrender through terror, but to aid the progress of the ground forces in their attack. As von Kuchler stipulated, ‘all means to prevent unnecessary bloodshed among the Dutch population.’ were to be used, and no incendiary bombs would be dropped. Indeed, beforehand, an attempt would be made to persuade the Dutch authorities to surrender, and emissaries were sent immediately to Rotterdam with that aim.

However, the Dutch commandant saw no reason to surrender at once, and the German demand was answered evasively. But some time after 1 pm the German commander in charge of the attack, General Schmidt, sent a radio message to Luftlotte 2: ‘Attack postponed owing to parley’. Negotiations were not over. The aerial bombardment, scheduled for 3 pm was to be called off. The message arrived 45 minutes too late for the attacking Kampfgeschwader (KG 54, under Colonel Lackner); its He-111s were already over the Dutch border, just as the talks were coming to a head. All attempts to contact the aircraft in the air failed. However, to meet a situation such as this, the Germans had instituted a system whereby red Very lights shot for the Meuse island would signal that the attack had been called off. The men on the ground could only hope that the aircrews would see the lights through the mist, smoke and anti-aircraft fire that was over Rotterdam. As it was only one of the two attacking formations of the Kampfgeshwader saw the flares, and turned away in time. The other 57 bombers flew in at 2000 feet and dropped 97 tons if high explosive. Killing 980 and making 80,000 homeless.

With the loss of Rotterdam, General Henri G Winkelman, the Dutch C-in-C, decided further resistance would lead only to the complete destruction of the country. He broadcast his surrender on Hilversum radio this evening. "By vast superiority of the most modern arms, the enemy has been able to break our resistance," he said, "But ultimately the Netherlands will rise again as a free nation. Long live our Queen!"

So the fight goes on. Queen Wilhelmina and her cabinet, brought to England by the Royal Navy, have proclaimed London to be the seat of the Netherlands government. Wilhelmina, in a navy coat and skirt and with a gas mask slung from her shoulder, arrived at Liverpool Street station with officers of the Royal guard and was met by King George, who kissed her on both cheeks. She told him that the Dutch people in the colonies overseas would continue to fight alongside the Allies.

FRANCE:

Sedan: "Impenetrable" was the word the French strategists used for the Ardennes, with its narrow roads winding through wooded hills; so they left the area to be defended by a light screen of cavalry. Now Lt-Gen. Heinz Guderian, known as "Father of the Panzers" has come out of the hills with XIX Pz. K. with three Panzer divisions with a total strength of 787 tanks, 509 of which are obsolescent models and unarmed command vehicles. The French have been severely mauled.

Panzergruppe von Kleist, of which Guderian is subordinated, has a total of five Panzer Divisions with a total of 1,252 tanks.

Less than three days after his force was spotted by French scouts, he has reached the Meuse on an 80-mile front. The French General Andre Corap, on the left bank, has two divisions there; the rest of his Ninth Army is some 60 miles distant. "So the Germans have reached the Meuse," he remarked, for he was confident that the decisive battle was being fought elsewhere, in Belgium; the Meuse was impassable.

But this morning Guderian’s Panzers cut through the centre of the French covering line, on the Perwez-Gembloux axis and had three bridgeheads, backed by an armoured brigade, across the Meuse. At last the French counter-attacked, to be ripped apart by German tanks swarming across the river. So this afternoon Guderian has smashed a mighty hole in the French defences. Corap’s Ninth Army, its artillery paralysed, its horses slaughtered by low-flying fighters, its HQ bombed and its communications in ruins, is in full retreat.

The French and British have thrown all the aircraft they can muster at the Sedan breakthrough. 40 French and 70 British (including 36 Fairey Battles) aircraft have been lost, 60% of British bombers failed to return. By the evening the RAF has only 206 aircraft fit to fly in France, out of its initial force of 474

Vincennes: Gamelin was astonished to find out that there had been no reserve on the plateau south of Sedan at the time of the German attack, and that no counter-attacks had been made at Sedan or Dinant. Reserves are still being sent north of the Sambre, to the First Army, where they are not needed.

GERMANY:

Secret Report of the SS Secret Service on German internal affairs, No. 87:

I. General comments: The sudden German entry into Belgium and Holland came as a surprise to the [German] population ... Their initial enthusiasm changed to a deep solemnity after public announcement of the Fuhrer's appeal to the soldiers of the West Army ... The rapid seizure of the strong Belgian fort of Eben Emael, and the capture of its garrison, came as a particularly happy surprise. The bombing assaults on the open cities of the Ruhr district, and on Freiburg above all, have caused universal outrage, and in the latter case have aroused a hatred of France. there is a firm expectation that henceforth, any such action will immediately receive the compensation it deserves.

OKW issues Führer Directive #11. (i) The progress of the Western Offensive indicates the enemy has failed to appreciate in time the basic idea of our operations, strong forces continue to be directed into Belgium and the sector facing Army Group A has been neglected. (ii) The swift forcing of the Meuse has established the essentials for the strong north-westerly drive laid down in Directive #10, which might produce major success. All available motorized divisions will be transferred to Army Group A as soon as possible. Those operating in Army Group B will be switched to the left flank as soon as the situation allows. (iii) Dutch resistance has been stronger than supposed. For political and military reasons this resistance must be broken quickly and 'Fortress Holland'
occupied. (iv) The Luftwaffe will concentrate strong forces for action with the focal point at Army Group A, in order to prevent the transfer of enemy reinforcements to the area and to give direct support to our own forces.
The Kriegsmarine will operate against sea traffic in the Channel and the Hoofden as opportunity offers. (Marc Roberts)

U-459, U-460, U-461, U-462 ordered.

NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN: The British and French advance towards Narvik from Harstad in Norway.
French forces land 10 miles north of Narvik, at Bjerkuick, Norway

Mark Horan adds: HMS Glorious and HMS Furious finally depart Greenock and begin the voyage to Norway. The ships are primarily acting as transports for the two RAF Squadrons
and the Walrus amphibians of 701 Squadron. Glorious carried but five Sea Gladiators of 802 Squadron for self defence and six Swordfish of 823 Squadron for A/S and strike duties, while Furous carried six Sea Gladiators of 804 Squadron and nine Swordfish of 818 Squadron for A/S and strike duties.

806 Squadron at HMS Sparrowhawk (RNAS Hatston) has orders to remain on the ground pending transfer South to operate of the Channel.

HMS Ark Royal spends the early hours of the day closing Narvik to ensure longer time over the target and to find clearer weather. At 1000, with the ship in position 71.11N, 16.24E, the first fighter patrol, a trio of 801 Squadron Skuas led by Lt.Cdr. H. P. Bramwell, RN, left for Narvik at 1100. Seeing no enemy aircraft, they opted to strafe some abandoned German transport aircraft on Lake Hartvig (North of Narvik) before returning.

At 1330 Lt. W. P. Lucy, RN led off three 803 Squadron Skuas. Each aircraft carried a single 100 lb bomb, and the section had orders to use them to crack the ice around the transports on Lake Hartvig. After doing so, the section headed for the fleet, arriving over HMS Resolution at 17,000 feet. They ran off two solitary bombers, then observed five He-111s of Stab/KG 26 approaching from slightly above. The section hit one He-111 and sent it down with one engine afire, claiming a probable (the bomber managed to crash land back at Vaernes).

Then Lucy plunged down to low altitude in pursuit of two low flying Heinkels. Sweeping in in a firing pass, Lucy's 8F:L2925 was seen to explode at 50 feet over Ofotfjord, showering the sea with debris. One of his wingman, Lt. T. E. Gray hastened over to a nearby destroyer, HMS Whirlwind, and led her to the scene, but all she recovered was the body of the gallant Lt. William Paulet Lucy DSO, MiD, RN. Lost with him was Squadron Observer Lt. Michael Charles Edward Hanson DSC, MiD, RN. Having spent too long orbiting the wreckage and bring the destroyer to the scene, Lt. Gray had to make a force-land 8G:L2918 on the shore at
Breivik. He and his TAG, Leading Airman A. G. Clayton, RN were rescued by HMS Encounter.

At 1535, another pair from 803 Squadron, led by Lt. L. A. Harris, RM was dispatched over Narvik, again armed with a single 100 lb bomb for Lake Hartvig. The duo encountered a scattered formation of seven He-111s of II/KG 26, badly damaging two solitary 5 Staffel machines. Subsequent patrols sent off at 1700 (Lt. J. M. Chriatian, RN with three 803 Squadron Suas) and 1900 (Lt. G. E. D. Finch-Noyes, RN with three 800 Squadron Skuas) sighted no foes, all aircraft returning safely.

With the close of air operations on the 14th, Operation "OB" ended. HMS Ark Royal had 34 aircraft on board for subsequent operations:

    810 Squadron:    7 Swordfish
    820 Squadron:    6 Swordfish
    800 Squadron:    6 Skuas
    801 Squadron:    9 Skuas - 1 unserviceable
    803 Squadron:    6 Skuas

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Waterloo Bridge" is released in the U.S. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, this film, based on the play by Robert E. Sherwood, stars Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor. This romantic drama is about the trials and tribulations of a World War I British officer who meets and falls in love with a ballet dancer. The film was nominated for two technical Academy Awards.

14 May 1941

May 14th, 1941 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Karl Richter, a German spy, is arrested in East Anglia shortly after parachuting in.

London: The Home Guard mounted guard at Buckingham Palace today in honour of its first birthday and was congratulated on its keenness by the King in an order of the day. Its strength is now 1,500,000 men, organized in 1,200 battalions. Their makeshift weapons have changed to regulation rifles and American Tommy guns.

London: Herbert Morrison, the Home Secretary, has announced the nationalisation of the country's fire services. The 1,450 local fire authorities in England and Wales will be replaced by a central command divided up into 12 Civil Defence regions. The Blitz has shown up the weakness of having a multiplicity of fire brigades, many of them very small, which refuse to amalgamate or co-operate. Some would not go to the help of others until payment was agreed. Their equipment, ranks and words of command all differ, causing confusion when two brigades are fighting the same fire side by side.

No. 121 Squadron Fighter Command is formed. It will be composed of American pilots.

Wavell tells the UK Chiefs of Staff that occupation of Syria will require an entire corps including an armoured division. Fearing a concentrated Axis offensive against the Middle East from the Balkans via Syria, the Chiefs of Staff order Wavell to secure Syria as soon as possible. (Michael Alexander)

Submarine HMS Thrasher commissioned.

FRANCE: Paris:

French police arrest 1,000 foreign Jews and hand them over to the Germans who deport them.

VICHY FRANCE: Darlan tells Petain that he will collaborate with Hitler to prevent France's "Polandization".

GERMANY: Germany declares the Red Sea a danger zone, and the northern part a zone of military operations.

U-82 commissioned.

LIBYA: General Wavell launches operation 'Brevity' designed to counter-attack the German positions at Sollum and around Fort Capuzzo in an attempt to push Rommel back from the frontier and relieve Tobruk. The British front line forces, under Brigadier Straffer Gott, consisted of the Support Group of 7th ARmoured, the 11th Hussars and the motorised 22nd Guards Brigade, together with some artillery, plus the 2nd Royal Tanks from the 7th Armoured Brigade, now equipped with the reconditioned A9 and A10 Cruiser tanks and the 4th RTR equipped with heavily armoured Matildas. The 22 Guards Brigade and the 4th Tanks opened the offensive with an assault on the Halfaya Pass. Here they achieved complete surprise but were then held up by Italian gunners who fought well and knocked out 7 Matildas before being overrun. The fight alerted the Germans at Fort Capuzzo, who greeted the advancing tanks of A Squadron, 4 RTR, with a hail of shellfire. Although the fort fell, it was quickly recaptured. Gott's forces continued to press forward during the night, but with more German tanks coming forward and the opposition steadily increasing, he decided to pull back and defend the Halfaya Pass above Sollum, which was held by a squadron of the 4th Tanks in Matildas, and 3rd Bn. the Coldstream Guards.

The 1st Free French Fighter Squadron leaves Libya and moves to Palestine. (Yannis Kadari)

ETHIOPIA: The South African force moves north from Addis Abba, Ethiopia and has joined the battle at Amba Alagi. Italian forces suffer from Allied attacks and by Ethiopian guerrilla attacks which are fierce and undisciplined.

SYRIA: A British reconnaissance plane observed a German Junkers 90 transport plane taking off from Palmyra. The reconnaissance plane flew a second mission at noon and determined that several axis transport planes had landed there. Later that afternoon 3 British Blenheim bombers with 2 Curtiss Tomahawk fighters flying cover, made a low-level strafing attack on Palmyra without visible success. This was the first time that Curtiss Tomahawks were deployed in the war.

Alep is also attacked.

The 1st Free French Fighter Squadron leaves Libya and moves to Palestine. (Yannis KADARI)

NEW ZEALAND: A Royal New Zealand Navy minesweeper is lost sweeping mines laid by the German raider Orion.

CANADA:

Minesweeper HMCS Goderich launched Toronto, Ontario.

Corvette HMCS New Westminster launched Victoria, British Columbia.

U.S.A.: Destroyers USS Aulick and Charles Ausburne laid down.

14 May 1942

May 14th, 1942 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: Despite British assurances that Madagascar will be returned to France after the war, de Gaulle sends Free French troops to claim the island.

Stockings have hit the headlines with a request from the board of trade that women should go without in the summer so that there are enough stockings for the winter. And parents are being asked not to be concerned about their daughters going bare-legged to work.

While their younger sisters are being urged back into the ankle-socks of their childhood, some women are opting for the "liquid stocking" in preference to revealing their legs to the world. They colour them with anything from suntan lotion to onion skins, and then draw in seams down the back with eyebrow pencil.

Destroyers HMS Hardy and Zebra laid down.

GERMANY: Rastenburg: Hitler obsessed with winning the Russian war, refuses Admiral Dönitz's plea for all-out war on Allied merchant shipping.

The air offensive against Germany's industrial heartland - the Battle of the Ruhr - has reached a new intensity in the past 48 hours. On 12-13 May the inland port of Duisburg was hit for the fifth time in a raid led by ten target-marking "Oboe" Mosquitoes, which were followed by 562 heavy bombers. The total weight of explosive dropped on this one town is now 5,157 tons. On 13-14 May much of Bochum, a coal-rich area near Dortmund, was also reduced to burning rubble. So dense was the coverage that one Stirling returned with three incendiary bombs embedded in its wings.

Yet the raids also extended far beyond the "Happy Valley" of the Ruhr. Targets have included Berlin, Czechoslovakia and Belgium; American Flying Fortresses are tonight attacking the General Motors plant at Antwerp, US-owned before the war. The total bomb tonnage delivered in this 48-hours was 4,000. Seventy-two aircraft have been lost, but Bomber Command reluctantly accepts such losses as inevitable.

U-622, U-663 commissioned.

U-239, U-240, U-968 laid down.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet destroyer Dzerjinsky sunk on a "friendly" mine.

ARCTIC OCEAN: Cruiser HMS Trinidad which had been repaired at Kola after sustaining a hit by one of her own torpedoes, is subjected to air attacks after leaving Murmansk and has to be scuttled in the Barents Sea 100 miles N of Murmansk at 73 37N 23 53E.There are 81 casualties. (Alex Gordon)(108)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Fred was damaged by a mine laid by U-561 off Port Said.

Hav struck a mine laid on 14 April by U-561 off Port Said. Two crewmembers were killed and several of the survivors were injured and taken to a hospital ship in the harbor. The ship immediately began to sink, but tugs towed her to land where she was beached in 29ft of water in 31°17´57N/32°21´09E. Later that summer she was on fire six times and declared a total loss.

Mount Olympus sank after hitting a mine laid by U-561 on 14 April off Port Said. The wreck, which broke in three, lies in 31°19´45N/32°23´15E.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The first Japanese coded radio messages are broken that indicate the upcoming Japanese operation at Midway.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Blairmore launched Port Arthur, Ontario.

NEWFOUNDLAND: An area off St. John's is mined by U-213.

U-213 also lands a German spy near the town of St. Martins, New Brunswick. The spy, Lieutenant M.A. Langbein, has documents identifying him as "Alfred Haskins" of Toronto, Ontario and his task is to monitor convoy traffic leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia. Upon landing, he buried his uniform and supplies, and made his way to Ottawa, Ontario, where he lived on the funds he had been provided. In late 1944, he turned himself into Canadian authorities but was not punished since he had not conducted any spying.

U.S.A.: The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps is established.

It's first director is Oveta Culp Hobby, the wife of a prominent politician and publisher in Houston, Texas.

President Manuel Quezon established Philippine government in Washington.

Corvette HMCS Snowberry completed forecastle extension refit Charleston, South Carolina.

FRENCH WEST INDIES: French High Commissioner consented to the immobilization of French warships at Martinique and Guadeloupe (as a result of conversations between Admiral Georges Robert, French High Commissioner, and Rear Admiral John. H. Hoover, commander of the Caribbean Sea Frontier and Samuel Reber, assistant chief of the European division of the State Department. The Laval Government had insisted that under the terms of the armistice it could not turn over to the United States its tankers and other merchant ships in the French possessions.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1812, the unescorted Comayagua was hit by one torpedo from U-125 about 14 miles west by south of Georgetown, Grand Cayman. The torpedo struck just forward midships in the boiler room, killing six crewmembers on watch below. At 18.30 hours a second torpedo hit about 20 feet from the stern and blew it off, causing the ship to sink immediately. The rest of her crew of 38 men and four armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in gun aft and two .30cal guns, one on each bridge wing) abandoned ship in boats and rafts. U-125 surfaced and the master was questioned by Folkers and he told him that land was only 10 miles away. Apparently Folkers did not understand the name of the ship correctly; he misidentified the vessel as the British steam merchant Cayuga. 15 minutes later a USN aircraft appeared and tried to locate the U-boat without success. It then flew off to Georgetown where the pilot dropped a note in the Commissioner’s garden, informing him of the survivors. The motor schooner Cimboco was sent to pick up the survivors and returned them to Georgetown. The Jr. Engineer had been badly burned and died later in the hospital at Georgetown. One armed guard was also badly burned but survived.

MS Brabant sunk by U-155 at 11.32N, 62.43W.

At 0202, the unescorted British Ardour was torpedoed and sunk by U-162 90 miles northeast of Bridgetown, Barbados. Four crewmembers were lost. The master, 39 crewmembers and three gunners landed 13 miles north of Bridgetown.

At 0547, the unescorted David McKelvy was hit by one torpedo from U-506 about 35 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, as she proceeded on a zigzag course at 10 knots. The torpedo struck amidships on the port side at about the #4 tank. A huge explosion set the ship on fire and the water around the tanker quickly became covered with burning oil. U-506 surfaced, Würdemann examined the vessel and decided to leave without to do further damage. The master and the three deck officers perished as the bridge crumpled in the flames. 23 men among the eight officers, 28 men and six armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in and two .50cal guns) abandoned ship 20 minutes after the hit in the #3 lifeboat. Some others jumped overboard and swam to two rafts. These survivors were picked up by the USCGC Boutwell and taken to the section base at Burwood, Louisiana. Four were badly burned and were taken to the Marine Hospital in New Orleans, where one crewman died. The Chief Engineer and the pumpman survived by standing in the fresh water tanks of the ship’s double bottom until the fire burned out. The two men were picked up by the Norwegian motor tanker Norsol the next day and taken to Key West, Florida. Four officers, 11 men and two armed guard died. A salvage crew reboarded the burned out tanker on 29 May and prepared to tow her to the beach. After beaching on the coast of Louisiana, she was declared a total loss.

At 0717, the unescorted and neutral Potrero del Llano was torpedoed and sunk by U-564 off Florida. The survivors were picked up by USS PC-536 and taken to Miami. Prior to the attack, Suhren had noticed a illuminated flag painted on the side of the ship and the identification books indicated that the ship had to be Italian, but this was not possible due to the position and route of the vessel so he decided to sink the tanker. The Mexican flag has the same colours like the Italian but has an eagle in the central part. The problem was that only ships of the Mexican Navy were permitted to show the eagle on the flag, the Mexican merchants were only allowed to paint the flag without eagle on the side of their ships, this resulted in the misidentification of their nationality.

SS Stavros damaged by U-593 at 39.45N, 72.35W.

14 May 1943

May 14th, 1943 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The intelligence service confirms the success of Operation Mincemeat, in which a corpse was floated ashore off Spain bearing papers aimed at fooling the Germans into thinking that the Allies plan to invade Greece.

London: The Public Relations department of the Free French, led by Jacques Soustelle, announces the creation of the CNR, Comité National de la Résistance. CNR is an organization created to allow the union of various French partisan groups. (Yannis Kadari)

The USAAF VIII Bomber Command in England flies Mission Number 56: A maximum force, 154 B-17s, 21 B-24s and 12 B-26s, is dispatched against four targets. This is first time more than 200 US bombers are dispatched.

- The principal attack is against submarine yards and naval installations at Kiel, Germany; 136 B-17s and 21 B-24s are dispatched with 126 B-17s and 17 B-24s hitting the target at 1200-1203 hours local and destroying three U-boats; they claim 62-24-27 Luftwaffe aircraft and lose 5 B-24s and 3 B-17s.

- 42 B-17s are dispatched against the former Ford and General Motors plants at Antwerp, Belgium; 38 hit the target at 1320 hours local; they claim 5-1-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; one B-17 is lost. The bombers are escorted by 118 P-47 which claim 4-6-11 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 P-47s are lost.

- 39 B-17s are dispatched against Courtrai Airfield, France; 34 hit the target and claim 0-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; two B-17s are lost.

- 12 B-26's are dispatched against the Velsen power station at Ijmuiden, The Netherlands; 11 hit the target at 1100 hours without loss.

Frigate HMS Cuckmere commissioned.

GERMANY: U-237 sunk at Germaniawerft Kiel, by US bombs. Raised, repaired, and returned to service on 8 Oct 1943.

U.S.S.R.: Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla: Submarine "M-122" - sunk by aviation, close to cape Zip-Navolok. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The Allies' Mediterranean Air Command orders a sea and air blockade of Pantelleria.

INDIA: New Delhi: The first Allied offensive in Burma has ended in total failure. After six months' campaigning, the British Army is back where it started.

The much-heralded offensive from India began last December. The 14th Indian Division advanced down the long narrow Mayu peninsula, on the Bay of Bengal, with the limited objectives of clearing the peninsula and seizing the strategically important island Akyab Island. Possession of Akyab would put Allied air forces within easy striking distance of Rangoon.

At first all went well. The port of Maungdaw and the town of Buthidaung fell with little opposition. However, early in January, an unfortunate delay occurred when the offensive became bogged down in the inhospitable terrain of the peninsula. The Japanese blocked the division five miles short of Donbaik. Frontal attacks, gallantly pressed against the strong Japanese bunker defences, were repulsed. Failures at Donbaik and Rathedaung gave the enemy time to rush reinforcements forward and take the offensive with its well-trained veteran 55th Division. Winston Churchill, convinced that another retreat would be disastrous to army morale, would not countenance a withdrawal. Tanks were sent in, but they were knocked out almost at once. More frontal attacks were made. But gallantry was not enough. In March Lieutenant-General William Slim was sent to report on the situation. He found that morale was ebbing as a result of repeated failures. Further desperate attempts to dislodge the enemy were met by heavy fire and driven back.

The commander of the 14th Division was replaced by Maj-Gen C. Lomax, and Slim was again sent to the front where he found the situation "fantastically" bad. A brigade had disintegrated, and small starving parties were struggling over the hills. Things had gone terribly wrong, and on 8 April, Churchill wrote: "We are being completely out-fought and out-manoeuvred by the Japanese."
By early May the Japanese had re-occupied Maungdaw and the fighting stopped with the monsoon. The Allies were back at their starting point.

AUSTRALIA: The MS Centaur, an Australian Hospital ship is sunk off the coast of Queensland by IJN submarine I-177.

The MS Centaur, 2/3rd Australian Hospital Ship, was a motor passenger ship converted in early 1943 for use as a hospital ship. In November 1941 it had rescued survivors of the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran after it had sunk and been sunk by HMAS Sydney.

On 12 May 1943 the Centaur sailed unescorted from Sydney at 0945 hours carrying her crew and normal staff, as well as stores and equipment of the 2/12th Field Ambulance but no patients. It was sunk without warning by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine on 14 May 1943 at approximately 0400 hours, its position being approximately 27°17' S, 153°58' E about 50 miles east north-east of Brisbane. The wreck was discovered in 1995.

Of the 332 persons on board, only 64 survived. These survivors spent 35 hours on rafts before being rescued. Sister Ellen Savage, the only one of twelve nursing sisters on board to survive, though injured herself, gave great help to the other survivors and was awarded the George Medal for this work.

The ship had been appropriately lit and marked to indicate that it was a hospital ship and its sinking was regarded as an atrocity. The Australian Government delivered an official protest to Japan over the incident. The Japanese did not acknowledge responsibility for the incident for many years and the War Crimes Tribunal could not identify the responsible submarine. However, the Japanese official war makes clear that it was submarine 1-177, under the command of Lt Commander Nakagawa who had sunk the Centaur. Lt Commander Nakagawa was convicted as a war criminal for firing on survivors of the British Chivalry which his ship had sunk in the Indian Ocean. More...

(Daniel Ross)

CANADA: Lake Erie: LAC Kenneth Gerald Spooner (b.1922), RCAF, was killed trying to land an aircraft after the pilot fainted. The pilot also perished. (George Cross)

Tug HMCS Marion assigned to Quebec City, Province of Quebec.

Tugs HMCS Heatherton and Beaverton ordered.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA:

On Attu Island in the Aleutians, an attempt to capture Jarmin Pass is made by a combined attack of the Northern and Southern Landing Forces. The Southern Force will attempt to inch forward up Massacre Valley while the Northern Force will attempt to drive the Japanese off the reverse slope of Hill X, continue on to seize Moore Ridge and then take Jarmin Pass from the rear.

Each attack quickly bogs down. In the north, the Provisional Scout Battalion which has been pinned down since landing in Austin Cove on D-Day, remains pinned down. The second arm of the Northern Force also is unable to move forward because the 3d Battalion, 32d Infantry Regiment does not reach its assault position in time. Major General Albert E. Brown, Commanding General 7th Infantry Division, calls off the attack and in a report to higher headquarters that evening, states that "progress through passes will, unless we are extremely lucky, be slow and costly, and will require troops in excess to those now available to my command."

USAAF support is hampered by poor weather. The air-ground liaison B-24 flies reconnaissance and photo reconnaissance over Attu throughout the day while another B-24, carrying supplies for the ground forces, hits a mountain side 10 miles (16 km) west of the drop zone. Ground support missions over Attu are flown by six B-24s and five B-25s while two P-40s bomb Kiska Island through the overcast.

The USN continues gunfire support for the American troops.

U.S.A.: Minesweeper USS Oracle commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: USS Hunt (DD-194), commissioned as HMS Broadway (H-90) on 8 Oct. 1940 as part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. Broadway having a part in the attack on U-110 on 9 May 1941, today locates and sinks U-89. (Ron Babuka)

U-640 sunk in the North Atlantic east of Cape Farewell, Greenland in position 60.32N, 31.05W by depth charges from a USN VP-84 Catalina. 49 dead (all hands lost).

14 May 1944

May 14th, 1944 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Intelligence officers decode a cipher message from Göring uncovering a campaign to trick Allied bombers into raiding inactive airfields.

ITALY: The The French Mountain Corps (North African Colonial troops from Morocco and Algeria) advance into the Ausente Valley and cross the Aurunci Mountains. This advance assists the US forces on the left flank of the French.
The 2nd French Infantry Division under General Juin, moves in the direction of the city of Liri and makes its junction with the 1st DMI, led by General d. Brosset. (Yanni Kadari)

The British XIII Corps consolidates a bridgehead over the Rapido river, and advances into the Ausente valley.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force dispatches just over 700 B-17s and B-24s to attack targets in Italy; B-17s hit marshalling yards at Ferrara and Mantua and an air depot at Piacenza; B-24s hit Vicenza marshalling yard and air depots at Piacenza and Reggio Emilia; fighters fly 170+ sorties in escort; 48 P-38s strafe Aviano and Villaorba airfields.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: 14.05.44 SS Fort Fidler (7,127 GRT) Canadian-owned, British-registered merchantman and British-flagged SS GS Walen heavily damaged in the Mediterranean Sea, at 36.45N, 000.55E, when torpedoed by U-616, OLtzS Siegfried Koitschka, Knights Cross, CO. U-616 was scuttled on 17 May 44 in the Mediterranean, east of Cartagena, in position 36.46N, 000.52E, after a 3 day-long action by USS Nields, Gleaves, Ellyson, Macomb, Hambleton, Rodman, Emmons and assistance from a 'Wellington' patrol a/c from RAF 36 Sqn. All of 53 of her crewmembers survived this incident. U-616 attacked the 94-ship Port Said to Hampton Roads convoy GUS 39 on the night of 13-14 May and damaged the American tanker G.S. Walden (10,627) plus Fort Fidler. The USN mounted a massive 'swamp' ASW operation code named 'Monsterous' that employed a/c from 5 Sqns and 8 US escorts. Two Benson-class destroyers (Nields and Gleaves) from the convoy were tracking and attacking U-616 during the day on 14 May, they were joined by the assisting units. U-616 repeatedly evaded her attackers but, on 15 May, further attacks finally produced an oil slick whereafter contact was lost. Unwilling to give up the search on such evidence, the searchers stayed in the area, at 2226 on 17 May, they were rewarded when the Wellington sighted U-616 on the surface. The destroyers were vectored in on the contact. At 2359, USS Macomb illuminated the U-boat with starshell, which then crash-dived. Sonar contact was re-established at 0017 and continuous attacks finally forced U-616 to the surface at 0807 on 17 May. The crew abandoned the boat and were recovered by USS Ellyson. Only 5 hours later, U-960 attacked Ellyson off Oran. Her torpedo missed and another Swamp operation began that eventually resulted in the sinking of U-960 on 19 May.

U.S.A.:

Destroyer USS Hawkins laid down.

Submarines USS Moray and Roncador launched.

Escort carrier USS Lunga Point commissioned.

14 May 1945

May 14th, 1945 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Submarine HMS Springer launched.

ITALY: Trieste: Britain and the United States are taking a firm line with Marshal Tito over the occupation of Trieste - a territory long in dispute between Yugoslavia and Italy. Marshal Tito has protested vigorously against the presence of Allied troops, claiming that his partisans captured the territory and that he would settle the matter with Italy in due course.

JAPAN: The Japanese Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, agrees to enlist the USSR to assist with obtaining peace. The SCDW is known as the Big 6 of the Japanese Cabinet. PM, FM, War Minister, Navy Minister, Army CofS, Navy CofS.

About 2,500 tons of incendiary bombs are dropped on Nagoya by 472 US B-29 bombers and 20 Japanese fighters are shot down.

The USAAF Twentieth Air Force in the Mariana Islands flies Mission 174: 472 B-29s bomb the urban area of Nagoya, Japan; 8 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim about 20 Japanese fighters; eleven B-29s are lost. This is the XXI Bomber Command's first four-wing raid as B-29s of the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) join bombers from the 73d, 313th, and 314th Bombardment Wings (Very Heavy) in a single mission.

Okinawa: US forces capture Yonabaru airfield.

Off Okinawa, a kamikaze damages the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6). The suicide plane destroys the ship's forward elevator, killing 14 and wounding 34 men, forcing Enterprise to retire to the U.S. for repairs.

Jim Verdolini notes in his diary:

May 14, 1945 (Mothers Day)

Again today, heavy attacks. Where do the Japs get all the planes, and men.

Seems we've shot down 10 million, but they keep coming. They come low on the water, now. One plane kept coming at us low on the water.

We fired everything at it, but we thought sure she would hit us just forward of the 5" gun mounts, but she went right over the flight deck and exploded in the water to port.

They come from any direction. Saw one dive into the Enterprise. The plane hit the forward elevator and blew it about 400 feet into the air. Admiral Marc Mitscher, Flag, Task Force 58, after having moved his Flag from the Bunker Hill, three days ago, to the Enterprise, now is moving his Flag to Randolph.

AUSTRIA: The concentration camp at Ebensee, "more horrible than Buchenwald", is liberated.

CANADA: Submarines HMCS U-190 and U-889 commissioned.

U.S.A.: Off Delaware, U-858 became the first German warship to surrender to US forces.

Admiral H. Kent Hewitt begins a "further investigation of facts pertinent to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor." Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal asks the admiral to review the proceedings of the Hart Inquiry and the Navy Court of Inquiry to determine if "errors of judgment" were made by "certain officers in the Naval Service, both at Pearl Harbor and at Washington."

Destroyer USS Perry laid down.

Submarine USS Spinax laid down.

Submarine USS Irex commissioned.

Escort carrier USS Siboney commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Frigates HMCS Matane, St Pierre and Monnow detached from Convoy JW-67 to escort 14 surrendering U-boats from Trondheim to Loch Eriboll.

Top of Page

Yesterday Tomorrow

Home