22 May 1939

May 22nd, 1939 (MONDAY)

GERMANY: Berlin: Italy and Germany sign the "Pact of Steel".

U.S.A.: The 45th (Oklahoma) Division of the National Guard replaces its Swastika shoulder patch with a Thunderbird. Bill Mauldin recounts that some of the Federalized troops still were wearing the old Swastika patch for a while until the supply system caught up with demand. (Marc James Small)

Destroyer USS Buck launched.

22 May 1940

May 22nd, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - road/rail communications at Givet and Hirson. 10 Sqn. 11 aircraft. All bombed. 51 Sqn. 8 aircraft, all bombed. 58 Sqn. 6 aircraft, all bombed.

Churchill again travels to Paris to push the planned attack.

Petrol prices are increased by one shilling and a halfpenny to one shilling and elevenpence-halfpenny a gallon.

Bletchley Park: The code breakers here at Hut Six have made a great breakthrough in their attempt to decode the enigma machine. Using their first British-built ‘Bombe’, an electromechanical device which can do hundreds of computations every minute, they have broken the Luftwaffe’s "Red" key. This means that all the Luftwaffe’s operational and administrative traffic can be read despite the added security devices built into Enigma in preparation for the assault on the west.

Westminster: Parliament took less than three hours today to rush into law the most drastic legislation known in British history. It gives the government almost unlimited power over the life, liberty and property of everyone in the land.

Under the Emergency Powers Act banks, the munitions industry, profits, wages and working conditions are all now subject to rigorous state control. There is also an unprecedented mobilisation of manpower.

In his first speech as Lord Privy Seal and Deputy Premier in the new government, Clement Attlee urged the nation to keep calm. "Everyone should continue at their jobs until ordered otherwise," he said.

At the same time Ernest Bevin is being given dictatorial power, as Minister of Labour and National Service, to divert anyone to do anything needed in the struggle for national survival.

With the emergency powers settled, MPs then quickly passed a Treachery Act redefining the scope of traitorous acts punishable by death.

Destroyer HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes (ex-HMS Nonpareil) laid down.

Destroyer HMS Obedient laid down.

Corvette HMS Heather laid down.

Corvette HMS Mallow launched.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Almond launched.

BELGIUM: Belgian forces retreat to the Lys River.

FRANCE: Two Gruppen of Hs 123 ground attack aircraft hold off an attack by 40 French tanks on their advanced base at Cambrai.

After sharp encounters at Desvres and Samer, Guderian’s 2nd Panzers reach Boulogne and the 1st Panzers reach Calais.

GERMANY: U-599, U-600, U-601, U-602, U-603, U-604, U-605, U-606, U-607, U-608, U-609, U-610 ordered.

NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN: All three fleet carriers are proceeding to Scapa Flow in thick fog. HMS Ark Royal in company with the destroyers HMS Brazen, HMS Encounter, and HMS Volunteer in one force, while HMS Glorious and HMS Furious form the core of a second force. The later force arrived at 2134, 23 May, and commenced refuelling. (Mark Horan)

ASW trawler HMS Melbourne bombed and sunk off Narvik.

AUSTRALIA: Destroyer HMAS Napier launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-101 encountered an enemy submarine in the North Atlantic, but neither boat attacked.

After 2300, the Dunster Grange was damaged by gunfire from U-37 and escaped.

22 May 1941

May 22nd, 1941 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: The Reuters News Agency reported:

Reports this morning state that violent struggles took place on Crete on Wednesday and that often the opposing troops were locked in hand-to-hand fighting. The battle also extended to the mountains and the tableland.

Minelayer HNLMS Nautilus sunk due to a collision with the British merchantman Murrayfield at 0023 near Saltfleet in position 53.36N, 00.25E. There were no fatalities.

Destroyer HMCS Saguenay completed refit Barrow-in-Furness.

GERMANY: Kesselring moves the headquarters of his air fleet east to Posen.

U-373, U-571 commissioned.

BALTIC SEA: U-564 rescued four crewmembers from a crashed JU 88 off Gotenhafen.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet destroyer Razjarennyj launched.

GREECE: CRETE: A force of four cruisers and three destroyers from the British Mediterranean Fleet are spotted to the north of the island. They are attacked by Ju87s of St.G 2 and later by Do 17s of KG 2 and Ju88s from Hptm Cuno Hoffman's I./LG 1 from Eleusis. The cruisers HMS Naiad and HMS Carlisle are damaged, and shortly afterwards the battleship HMS Warspite receives a direct hit. Three and a half hours later the destroyer HMS Greyhound is caught on her own in the same area west of Crete and is soon sent to the bottom when she is hit by two bombs. The cruiser HMS Gloucester, going to pick up Greyhound's survivors is rendered dead in the water by heavy aircraft attack west of Crete at 35 50N, 23 00E and is sunk by bombs from St.G 2 and I. and II./LG 1. Three hours later cruiser HMS Fiji is caught by a single Me109 fighter-bomber which reduces her speed to 17 knots and a heavy list. Then she takes three hits above the A boiler room and is rendered dead in the water. With no ammunition left on board she finally rolls over and sinks south of Crete at 34 35N, 23 10E. There are 248 casualties, but HMS Kingston and HMS KANDAHAR return after dark and rescue 523 officers and men, amongst them Stoker Walter Arnold who had survived the sinking of HMS Thetis. All ships are very short of AA ammunition by this time. (Alex Gordon)(108)

ZG 26's Bf 110s, based at Argos, in company with Bf109s from I.(J)/LG 2 and II. and III./JG 77 escort the bombers and dive-bombers of VIII Fliegerkorps.

In turn the British naval forces encounter a convoy of German coastal motor sailers that had left the port of Piraeus carrying a division of mountain infantry troops and cuts it to pieces. Later they attack a second convoy carrying another 4,000 mountain infantry.

Overnight on 21st/22nd, the NZ defenders on Hill 107 withdrew from their positions fearing they would be outflanked. The empty positions were found early this morning. More and more JU52's began to land on the airfield at Maleme, no longer under artillery fire. The Gebirgsjäger commander, General Ringel, lands and Ramcke hands over command of German forces in the west of the island. He then joins his battlegroups who had broken out to the east and taken part in the fierce fighting for the Platanias Ridge, which overlooked the northern coast toward Chania.

King George of Greece is evacuated to Egypt.

The British Eastern Mediterranean Fleet, commanded by Admiral Andrew B. Cunningham, was given the task of destroying the seaborne follow-on element of the German force. The RN would operate without air support, which had been withdrawn to Egypt. To cover all avenues of approach, Cunningham divided his fleet into four separate forces. Two cruiser-destroyer forces were used to cover the west end of Crete and one was placed in the east. A battleship support force was kept to the southwest of Crete in the event that the Italian Fleet put to sea to support the invasion force. Cunningham directed that the British forces should retire south of Crete by day beyond the range of German aircraft. He also directed his forces to concentrate for better anti-aircraft barrage fire. Cunningham did not go to sea to command this operation. Force A, made up of the battleships Warspite and Valiant with the destroyers Napier, Kimberley, Janus, Isis, Imperial and Griffin, was positioned 100 miles southwest of Crete. Vice-Admiral H.B. Rawlings commanded with his flag in Warspite. Force B, made up of the light cruisers Gloucester and Fiji with the destroyers Greyhound and Griffin, carried out sweeps between the mainland of Greece and Kythira Island. Captain H.A. Rowley commanded with his flag in Gloucester. Force C, made up of the light cruisers Naiad and Perth plus four destroyers covered the Kaso Strait at the east end of Crete. Rear Admiral E.L.S King commanded with his flag in Naiad Force D, made up of the light cruisers Dido, Orion and Ajax with the destroyers Hasty, Hero and Hereward, was positioned off the west end of Crete. Rear-Admiral I.G. Glennie commanded with his flag in Naiad. During the afternoon of 20 May, allied aerial reconnaissance located a flotilla of twenty-five enemy caiques (small motor-sailing vessels common to the Bosphorus) travelling from Piraeus towards their advance base at Milos. They arrived in the late evening. The next leg of their voyage was 17 kilometers to Maleme, on the northwest coast of Crete. During the forenoon and afternoon of Wednesday, 21 May, the British fleet was attacked many times by the Luftwaffe. Ajax was damage during the morning and by the afternoon Force D had fallen back of Force A. Admiral Rawlings sent a signal warning all ships to conserve their ammunition. In the east, at 13 -00, after three hours of heavy air attacks, Force C lost the destroyer Juno. German airborne forces soon captured the airport at Maleme and the decision was taken to send two small convoys of caiques and small coastal steamers with reinforcements, arms, and supplies to Crete. Each caique carried about 100 German and Italian troops plus equipment and stores. The first of the two convoys set off from Milos in the early hours of 21st May. The slow speed of caiques meant 17 hours was required to reach Crete. This provided an opportunity for the RN forces to intercept the convoys at night. Allied reconnaissance soon reported both convoys and Cunningham ordered them destroyed. Forces B, C, and D were deployed to the northwest coast of Crete to intercept the invasion fleets. Admiral Glennie's Force D intercepted the first convoy 18 miles north of Crete at 23 -30. The sole escort, the Italian destroyer Lupo, Cdr. Mimbelli, CO, convoy laid a smoke screen and then engaged the British ships with gunfire and torpedoes. Over the next two hours, Lupo was hit by 18 6-inch shells and left for dead. The British cruisers and destroyers roamed about hunting down the small craft and, despite waving white sheets in a signal of surrender, all but a few of the caiques were sunk at close range using secondary anti-aircraft armament. Survivors were machine-gunned in the water and run down by warships as they raced about in the hunt. Only the badly damaged Lupo and rescue seaplanes saved a few survivors the next day. Accounts of British atrocities reached Luftwaffe units by the next morning, whose pilots swore revenge. Dawn on the morning of 22 May found Forces B, C, and D off the northwest coast of Crete. Admiral King's Force C intercepted the second German convoy in the mid-forenoon and destroyed approximately half of the force before threat of air attack forced King to break off the pursuit. Heavy air attacks soon developed and all forces began to fall back upon Force A for support. Admiral Rawlings, concerned over reports of low ammunition moved Force A north to join the three retiring cruiser-destroyer forces. Force A was within sight of Force B when Warspite suffered a direct hit that reduced her speed. Meanwhile, the destroyer Greyhound was hit and sank quickly. Gloucester, going to pick up survivors from Greyhound, was hit by four bombs and near-missed by three others. Fiji and Griffin dropped life rafts to survivors from Gloucester, which was out of control and obviously doomed, as they swept past. German aircraft machine-gunned British life rafts and swimmers. The cruisers Naiad and Carlisle, which had joined King's Force C, were also damaged. The British force was eventually able to join together and withdrew to the south. Three and a half-hours later, Fiji was hit by a single fighter-bomber operating at the extreme limit of its endurance. Fiji sank soon afterwards with heavy loss of life. Two destroyers from Lord Louis Mountbatten's 5th Destroyer Flotilla were sunk in the next days. Of the fifty-four British ships engaged in the battle for Crete and the subsequent evacuation of troops from the island, eleven vessels were lost and twenty-two were damaged. A total of 2,261 men were either killed or missing. Admiral Cunningham claimed that the "Golden Rule" in the confined waters of the Mediterranean was that ships must keep together for mutual defense and never be deployed for individual tasks. However, it was Cunningham's plan that split his force into four units and gave them the impossible task of defending a lost outpost under air attack. Cunningham was determined to make a scapegoat of someone and on 30 May wrote to the First Sea Lord, Sir Dudley Pound, complaining that Admiral King had failed to completely destroy the second caique convoy - "I could cheerfully put up with our losses had we had some thousands more Hun soldiers swimming in the Aegean." Admiral King conducted two valiant evacuation operations subsequent to the events of 21-22 May but the damage had already been done. Despite Cunningham's contradictory directions to concentrate the fleet and be mindful of the air threat, Admiral King was removed from his post for lack of aggression and was given a desk job at the Admiralty. King never went to sea again and was placed on the Retired List on 15 Jun 44.

PALESTINE: General Wilson meets Maj-Gen Lavarack for the first time at Sarafand in mid-Palestine. Australian troops are ordered not to wear slouch hats within 10 miles of the frontier. General Wilson’s planning will be based on the assumption that the French in Syria will show little resistance. Therefore he proposes to advance in three separate brigade columns along isolated roads with no lateral communications. (Michael Alexander)

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Arvida commissioned.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "Blood and Sand" is released in the U.S. Based on Vicente Blasco Ibanez's novel, this drama is directed by Rouben Mamoulian and stars Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, Anthony Quinn, J. Carrol Nash, John Caradine and Lynn Bari. The film is about naive bullfighter Power who ignores his true love (Darnell) for a hot temptress (Hayworth). The film is nominated for two technical Academy Awards and wins one.

The naval tug USS Hoga is placed is commissioned into the USN. (John Nicholas)

Minesweeper USS Nuthatch laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: BISMARK is reported at sea and the main body of the Home Fleet under Adm Tovey leaves Scapa Flow and heads west. Battleship HMS King George V, fleet carrier HMS Victorious, cruisers and destroyers are later joined by battlecruiser HMS Repulse. HMS Victorious is also working up.

At 2252, the unescorted British Grenadier was torpedoed and damaged by U-103 SW of Freetown. The tanker later foundered in 06°20N/12°50W. The Portuguese SS Ganda picked up the master, 22 crewmembers and two gunners and 24 crewmembers were rescued by the Spanish tanker Jose Calvo Sotelo and landed at Freetown.

At 1340, the Barnby, dispersed from Convoy HX-126, was torpedoed and sunk by U-111 SW of Iceland. One crewmember was lost. The master, 35 crewmembers and eight gunners landed at Reykjavik.

22 May 1942

May 22nd, 1942 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Submarine depot ship HMS Wolfe commissioned.

Escort carrier HMS Hunter (ex-HMS Trailer ex-USS Block Island) launched.

GERMANY:

U-366 laid down.

U-264 commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: Kharkov: A titanic struggle is going on south of Kharkov where the Russians and Germans have launched offensives at the same time. Marshal Timoshenko was quicker off the mark and his men, breaking the German line, have advanced 30 miles in three days.

The Germans have retaliated by striking at Izyum, at the south-eastern base of the bulge created by the Russian advance. Timoshenko's forces are in danger of being cut off, with the Sixth Army of von Bock's Army Group South coming down from the north to meet von Kleist's group (Seventeenth Army and 1st Panzer Army), thus tying to neck of the sack south of Balakleya. There are signs that Timoshenko has realised he is in danger and is trying to reinforce the bulge while pulling his vanguard back to safety. His problem is to persuade the reluctant Stalin to allow him to retreat. The battle grows fiercer every day, with tanks, guns, aircraft and men locked in combat while smoke rises from tanks burning on the Ukrainian steppes.

PORTUGESE TIMOR: With supplies arriving, the moral of the Australian troops of Sparrow Force on this island improves and they go on the offensive against the Japanese occupiers.

The Japanese, fed up with the lack of progress had had brought in an Army Major known as the "Singapore Tiger" a legend among his troops. He was soon in pursuit of a group of Australians who had raided Dilli. The Australians took their time setting up a good ambush next to a noisy waterfall along a narrow track. the Japanese Major almost caused the ambush to fail, but not however due to any of his renowned tactical skill; as Corporal Aitken of the 2/2nd describes the ambush --

"The (Japanese) formation was four forward scouts, a gap of 20 yards, four more, another gap and then the main body led by a nuggety lad with crossed straps and a sword. Naturally enough when fire opened the scouts and the boy with the sword copped most of the attention. Those uninjured in the van flopped to the track, disconcerted by the noise of the waterfall and evidently thinking the fire was coming from up the track rather than from above..... Five or six Japanese soldiers took cover under a flame tree in a rock hole on the uphill side of the track. They would have been perfectly safe had not Norm Thorton been expecting this and was sitting on top of the hole, and he proceeded to kill them with systematic machine gun fire. The main body did the only possible thing, which was to run like hell back down the track. " (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)

AUSTRALIA: A US unit mutinies at Townsville, Queensland. The 96th Battalion US Army Corps of Engineers, an African-American unit, mutiny against their white officers.

Picture

Article by Ray Holyoak and Peter Dunn

U.S.A.: Last year, Ted Williams batted .406. Today, after the Red Sox return to Boston from a road trip, Williams enlists in the U.S. Navy Air Corps to train to become a fighter pilot.

He passes the complete physical examination (his eyesight is 20-15) and is sworn into the service, immediately becoming Seaman Williams, second class. Upon his call to active duty, he will automatically become Air Cadet Williams.

Behind him are the months of wonder and indecision that followed his deferment from the draft by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in February on the grounds that he is the sole support of his mother.

The $32,000-a-year ballplayer will become a cadet at the salary of $106 a month. This won't happen for a while, though. Williams won't be called to active duty until after the baseball season ends.

He will win the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .356 average, 36 homers and 137 RBI. He will miss the next three seasons as well as most of the 1952 and 1953 seasons, serving as a fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War. (Rodney Sanders)

He was initially classified 3-A because his mother was totally dependent on him. After we got into the war, he was reclassified 1-A. He appealed this to his draft board and they agreed that his status should not have been changed and he made a public statement that as soon as he had built up his mother's trust fund, he would enlist. (234)

Destroyer USS Kimberly laid down.

Escort carrier USS Altamaha launched.

Maine's director of civilian defenses, Col. Francis H. Farnum, announces that foreign agents both male and female have already landed on the coast of Maine and are investigating shipping prospects. Others, he warns, have come into the state from Canada. (Scott Peterson)

MEXICO: MEXICO City: Mexico declares war on the Axis from 1 June.

CARIBBEAN SEA: German submarine U-558 torpedoes an unarmed US tanker south of Jamaica, but the ship makes port under her own power.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 2010, the unescorted and unarmed Plow City was hit by one torpedo from U-588 about 200 miles off Cape May, New Jersey. The ship had spotted at 1500 hours a lifeboat with a sail from the Peisander, which had been sunk by U-653 on 17 May, but the master suspected an U-boat and fled the area on a zigzag course at eight knots. The U-boat had noticed the smoke, chased the ship for four hours before firing a spread of two torpedoes. The first missed by about five feet ahead and the second struck on the port side aft of the #2 hold at the waterline. The second mate was blown overboard by the explosion and drowned. The watch below secured the engines and the most of the eight officers and 23 crewmen abandoned ship in two lifeboats, while the radio operator stayed behind to send distress messages. At 2022, a coup de grâce hit the engine room on the starboard side and caused the ship to sink by the stern within three minutes. One survivor was taken aboard the U-boat for questioning and returned him along with rations of cigarettes and rum. The Germans also righted one of the boats that capsized during launching before leaving the area. The survivors were picked up after five days by patrol yacht USS Sapphire.

At 0730, U-753 stopped the sailing vessel EP Theriault with gunfire and placed demolition charges on board. The vessel was heavily damaged but did not sink.

The Canadian Upper Lakers and St. Lawrence Transportation bulk laker Frank B Baird (1,748 GRT), CS Tate, Master, was sunk SE of Bermuda in position 28.03N, 58.50W, by gunfire from U-158, Kptlt. Erwin Rostin, Knights Cross, CO. The ship was sailing independently from St. Lucia for Sydney, Cape Breton, with a load of bauxite. The Master, who had abandoned ship by jumping overboard, was unable to reach the two lifeboats and was in danger of drowning when he was sighted by U-158 and rescued. Kptlt. Rostin apologized for "sinking such a small ship so far from shore," provided both boats with food, cigarettes and matches, and transferred Captain Tate to one of the lifeboats before departing. All 23 crewmen were rescued a few hours later by SS Talisman. They were landed in the Belgian Congo and, after a considerable period in West Africa, managed to return home to Canada and Barbados.

22 May 1943

May 22nd, 1943 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Frigate HMS Duff launched.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Ganilly launched.

GERMANY: General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland flies the 4th prototype of the Me262 (code PC+UD werknummer 262 000004). (Russ Folsom) He reaches 520mph and says that it would regain air superiority for Germany. But Hitler wants it made into a bomber.

Ruhr: As emergency services deliver bread, milk and coffee to households which have had their power supplies cut, Albert Speer, Hitler's armaments minister, has pulled 7,000 men out of the Atlantic Wall defences in France to repair the breached Ruhr dams. At least 476 people died, and 156 are missing (91), after a nine-foot wave of 100 million cubic metres of water tore through the Mohne valley, wrecking road and rail bridges and flooding towns and villages. Among the dead are many slave labourers, including women from the Ukraine. A further 47 died in the Eder area.

German Admiral Karl Doenitz withdraws his U-boats from the North Atlantic after mounting losses.

U-877 laid down.

BALTIC SEA: Finnish patrol boats in action against their Soviet counterparts. VMV 17 is hit by gunfire, two men lost and one wounded, in addition two wounded in other boats. Two enemy boats sunk.

ITALY: The Allies bomb Sicily and Sardinia.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: There are increasing signs that both sides are about to launch their long-prepared summer offensives on the eastern front. Artillery barrages are rumbling all along the front, and there is intense aerial activity while the ground forces spare for position. The battle will almost certainly centre on the great Soviet salient bulging into the German lines before Kursk. Hitler planned to launch Operation Citadel, a huge attack to cut off the salient, on 9 May, but postponed it on 5 May until mid-June to allow more preparation. He knows that the course of the war depends on it.

Soviet submarine Shch-408 of the Baltic Fleet is sunk off Vaindlo Island by the Finnish minelayer Ruotsinsalmi. (Mike Yared)(146 and 147)

JAPAN: The large Japanese Naval Force consisting of the battleships HIJMS Musashi, HIJMS Kongo and HIJMS Haruna; the aircraft carrier HIJMS Hiyo; the heavy cruisers HIJMS Tone and HIJMS Chikuma; and five destroyers that departed Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands on 16 May, arrives in Tokyo Harbor and joins the Attu relief force.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: US troops in south Attu penetrate the valley that leads to Chichagof; those in the north remain in their positions. The Southern Landing Force is blocked in their attempts to take Sarana Nose, a high point at the junction of Sarana and Chichagof Valleys, but by nightfall, the Northern Landing Force has taken the position.

Bad weather forces cancellation of all air missions by the USAAF's Eleventh Air Force.

Fifteen Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name "Betty," make a torpedo attack on the gunboat USS Charleston (PG-51) and destroyer USS Phelps (DD-360) patrolling Attu. The ships suffer only negligible damage and shoot down one "Betty."

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Napanee arrived Montreal, Province of Quebec for refit.

U.S.A.: Naval Air Station Hitchcock is commissioned as a blimp patrol facility to cover the Gulf Coast of Galveston, Texas.

Destroyer escorts USS George and Lovelace laid down.

Destroyer USS Kimberly commissioned.

Destroyer USS Caperton launched.

Destroyer escort USS Harveson launched.

Light fleet carrier USS Langley launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Two Grumman TBF Avengers of Composite Squadron Nine (VC-9) in the auxiliary aircraft carrier USS Bogue (ACV-9) depth charge and damage the German submarine U-569 in the North Atlantic. The sub is subsequently scuttled by her crew in position 50.40N, 35.21W; 25 of the 46-man crew survive. This is the first U-boat sunk by an escort carrier on a hunter-killer patrol.

U-305 was attacked twice at 1302 and 1521 by Avengers from USS Bogue. The boat had to return to base.

22 May 1944

May 22nd, 1944 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

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

Mission 361: 438 bombers and 568 fighters are dispatched on PFF attacks to targets in Germany and France; five bombers and seven fighters are lost:

- 342 B-17 Flying Fortresses are dispatched to the port area at Kiel, Germany; 289 hit the primary and five bomb targets of opportunity; five B-17s are lost.

- 94 of 96 B-24 Liberators hit V-weapon sites at Siracourt, France.

Escort is provided by 145 P-38 Lightnings, 95 P-47 Thunderbolts and 328 P-51 Mustangs; P-38s claim 8-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft, P-47s claim 12-1-2 and P-51s claim 2-2-1; three P-38s, three P-47s and a P-51 are lost.

130 P-47s are dispatched on a fighter-bomber attack on railroad bridges at Hasselt and Liege, Belgium; one P-47 is lost.

Mission 363: Four B-17s drop 320,000 leaflets on The Hague, Haarlem, Rotterdam and Utrecht, The Netherlands without loss.

Twelve B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions without loss.

The USAAF's Ninth Air Force on England dispatches about 330 B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs to bomb airfields and other targets in the Cherbourg, Calais, and Paris areas of France while a like number of P-47s and P-51s dive-bomb marshalling yards, airfields and other targets in the same general areas.

Submarine KNM Utsira (ex-HMS Variance) launched.

Corvette HMS Caistor Castle launched.

Minesweeper HMS Cheerful launched.

Salvage vessel HMS Kingarth launched.

ARCTIC SEA: U-476 encountered an enemy submarine in the Arctic Sea, but neither boat attacked.

BALTIC SEA: U-1164 hit a mine in the Baltic Sea and was damaged.

FINLAND: The Soviet 21st Army begins to transfer its tank and artillery units to the Karelian Isthmus against Finns. This is done by rail and boats during nights to keep it secret. Gen. Gusev's 21st Army comprises of 97th and 109th Army Corps and the crack 30th Guards Army Corps.

Gusev's Army has spent the most of May in intensive training, which is of essence, because it's to act as the Soviet spearhead in the coming offensive against the Finnish Army. The Red Army has not forgotten the fierce resistance of the Finns in the Winter War, so as little as possible is left to chance. To practice storm-troop tactics, training-grounds has been built south-west of Leningrad to resemble as much as possible the first Finnish defence-lines. The morale of the soldiers is also taken care of: they have received intensive political training.

ITALY: US II Corps push north on Route 7. The French take Pico.

In an attack on the Hitler Line, the Canadian Three Rivers Regiment's tanks arrive at their jump off point where 30-40 British Churchill tanks (of the North Irish Horse and the 21st RTR) sat burning in front of them. These have been destroyed by a few well-placed 88mm anti-tank guns. Fortunately the 88's were moved back by the time the Three Rivers Regiments Shermans arrived. (Stuart Millis)

The weather clears again and the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 550+ B-17s and B-24s to attack communications and military targets in central and northwestern Italy; B-17s bomb the marshalling yard at Avezzano; B-24s hit port areas at Fano, Porto Civitanova and La Spezia; fighters fly 200+ sorties in escort to bombers; there is no fighter opposition.

PACIFIC OCEAN: A US submarine spots the IJN forces near Tawi Tawi.

The destroyer escort USS England (DE-635) sinks a second Japanese submarine in three days. HIJMS RO-106, part of Operation "NA," is sunk 250 miles north of Kavieng, New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago.

Two USN destroyers bombard Wotje Atoll, consisting of 65 islets in the Marshall Islands.

WAKE ISLAND is bombarded by a strong US destroyer force.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Charlottetown visited namesake enroute Halifax from builder Quebec City, Province of Quebec.

Corvette HMCS Ville de Quebec commenced workups at Bermuda.

ASW towing vessel HMCS Wildwood assigned to Esquimalt, British Columbia.

U.S.A.: Ben Prime graduates Aviation Cadet School and goes on to join the USAAF.

Destroyer USS Duncan laid down.

Minesweeper USS Inaugural laid down.

Destroyer escort USS John L Williamson laid down.

Submarine USS Trutta laid down.

Submarine USS Trepang commissioned.

Minesweeper USS Instill commissioned.

Frigate USS Forsyth launched.

Destroyer USS Little launched.

Escort carrier USS Mantanikau launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Two new RCN torpedo boat flotillas start operating off coast of France.

22 May 1945

May 22nd, 1945 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The cost of victory was emphasized again today with the announcement that rations of bacon, cooking fats and soap are to be cut. Supplies are now to be shared with the liberated European countries which were kept short of food by the Germans. The weekly ration of cooking fat is halved from two ounces to one ounce, that of bacon reduced from four to three ounces, and soap rations are cut by an eighth. Fish and fruit, though, are expected to become more plentiful. Rations for non-labouring PoWs are to be cut.

London: A gang of 25 German PoWs was put to work today in the suburbs of South-east London, to start rebuilding the country which their leader swore that he would defeat and destroy during the war. Equipped with picks and shovels, they began excavating an 18-foot sewage trench which will serve new houses, and were hard at it from 8.45am to 5.45pm. They were visited by Duncan Sandys, the minister of works, who spoke in German with some of the men. He said of them later: "We hope to get a lot of good work out of these chaps."

GERMANY: Bremervorde, near Hamburg: A British patrol arrests Heinrich Himmler.

JAPAN: The USAAF's Twentieth Air Force in the Mariana Islands flies Mission 180: During the night of 22/23 May, 30 B-29 Superfortresses mine Shimonoseki Strait and approaches in Japan; one B-29 is lost.

Okinawa: US troops capture Conical Hill and enter Yonabaru.

CANADA: HMC MTB 726 paid off.

U.S.A.: President Truman reports to Congress on Lend Lease as of March, 1945.

British - 12,775,000,000 tons

USSR - 8,409,000,000 tons

Reverse Lend Lease, mostly British, is 5,000,000,000 tons.

The Coast Guard accepted the Army vessel, FS-34. On 4 October 1945, she was ordered to proceed to Ketchikan for further transfer to DCGO, 13th Naval District. On 6 October 1945, she departed Dutch Harbor for Kodiak and Ketchikan for Seattle. On 25 January 1946 she was at sea on a freight and supply run to Spring Island and DCGO, Seattle, advised that she would be turned back to the Army on her arrival in Seattle. On 30 January 1946, she was decommissioned as a Coast Guard-manned vessel and returned to the Army on 6 February 1946.

Escort carrier USS Okinawa laid down.

Minesweeper USS Shoveler commissioned.

Destroyer USS Harwood launched.

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