28 May 1939

HUNGARY: In elections to the Hungarian parliament, the Fascist Arrow Cross party gains 45 seats.

FAR EAST: Russia and Japan enter into a border dispute over Outer Mongolia and Manchuria. Today units of the Japanese 23rd Division cross the border into Russian territory.

FRANCE: Dunkirk: 17,800 men are taken off. One destroyer has been lost in addition to various small craft.

Somme: This evening, the French 4th Armoured Division (de Gaulle) with 140 tanks , 6 battalions and 6 artillery groups arrives opposite Abbeville and immediately launches into an attack. By nightfall the first objective is taken.

'...a batch of 80-90 men (made up of the 2nd Battalion, the 4th Cheshires and some artillerymen from a passing convoy) were murdered by the SS in a barn on the outskirts of Wormhoudt. Of the battalion prisoners, there seem to have been about fifty men from D Company (together with Captain Lynn-Allen, the only officer in the group) and some from A Company. They were double-marched to the barn and thrust at with bayonets on the way. Wounded and unwounded alike were then herded into the barn. Captain Lynn-Allen immediately protested. He was answered with taunts, and several hand-grenades were thrown among the crowded troops, killing and wounding many of them. Survivors were taken out to be shot, in batches of five. After this had happened twice, those left behind refused to come out; whereupon the Germans fired indiscriminately into the barn until they judged that none were left alive. They judged wrongly; a few men did survive, thanks perhaps to the self-sacrifice of CSM A Jennings and Sergeant J Moore, who threw themselves on the top of grenades and were killed instantly by the explosion.' (92)
(Adrian Weale)

Amplifying the above:

The massacre at Wormhoudt undertaken at the behest of SS-Hstf.Mohnke usually takes second place (if mentioned at all) to the SS-TK atrocity the day before on May 27, 1940 at Le Paradis during the heavy fighting for the La Bassee canal. I have read the latter atrocity explained away by SS apologists as an _isolated_ incident by an undisciplined 'rogue officer' (ie.SS-Obstuf.Fritz Knoechlein), from a second line unit which had previously been desensitized to human suffering by their participation in the brutal KZ system (SS-Totenkopf Division). The actions of the SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler at Wormhoudt on the next day show that the incident was neither 'isolated', nor the product of a second-line formation, for if the burgeoning militarized SS had an elite unit at the time, it was most certainly the SS-LAH. (Also, none of the 'mitigating' factors usually dredged up in defence of the SS like, 'ideological fervor' - 'war of annihilation' etc. used in conjunction with atrocities in the East, are at play here, nor would be in any great measure for further Waffen-SS atrocites on the Western front later in the war.) The same Wilhelm Mohnke (b. 15 Mar, 1911) was also implicated in a cycle of similar atrocities at Fontenay le Pesnil in Normandy in June 1944, where, as a Regimental CO of the 12.SS-HJ Pz.Div., he was implicated in the murder of 35 Canadian POWs; and during the December 1944 Ardennes Offensive, when, as Divisional CO of the LSSAH Panzer Division (Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler), his troops murdered US POWs at Malmedy and elsewhere, and took the lives of numerous Belgian civilians in brutal reprisal killings during the division's short-lived advance. (Russ Folsom)(110)

The U.S. Ambassador to France, William C. Bullitt, sends a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull urging that the U.S. Navy sends a cruiser to Bordeaux, France to (1) provide the French police with arms and ammunition to quell a "Communist uprising" and (2) to take the French and Belgium gold reserves to the U.S. He also urges that the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet be sent to the Mediterranean to assist the British and French in keeping German attacks away from the U.S. President Roosevelt agrees with point (2) above and the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) and two destroyers are ordered to the Azores to be in position to pick up any gold shipment.

BELGIUM: Bruges: On orders from King Leopold, Belgian forces laid down their arms at 1100 hours today. At Ypres, a few units without communications continued fighting for two hours.

Leopold’s action has been denounced as "illegal and unconstitutional" by his cabinet ministers, who have fled to Paris. Britain’s liaison officer to the Belgian king, Admiral Sir Roger Keyes, passed on a message from King George VI appealing to Leopold to escape and lead resistance from England. Leopold brushed this aside, saying that it was a repetition of what his ministers had been saying. "The cause of the Allies is lost," he said.

It has been learnt that Leopold decided to surrender several days ago after an all-night row with his ministers, during which he refused to allow them to be seated. Then, two days ago, the king sent this message to the Allies: "The Belgian command intends to continue the fight to the very end. But the limits of resistance have now practically been reached."

Yesterday he sent General Derousseaux, his deputy chief of staff , to ask the Germans for an armistice. Almost six hours later, after having been fired upon by German troops, Derousseaux returned with the answer: "The Fuhrer demands unconditional surrender." Leopold capitulated.

This morning the German High Command made a further demand, requiring Leopold to give unhindered passage through the Belgian lines to the sea. Half an hour later German columns were moving on Ostend and Dixmude and encountering resistance from British forces led by Lt. Gen Alan Brooke.

GERMANY: General Keitel, the 'Chef der Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht' announces that only a 'Gerichtsherr' or commander of the Waffen-SS or Police is competent to pass judgement and sentence on members of the SS and Police. (Russ Folsom)(109)

U-121 commissioned.

U-177, U-178, U-179, U-180 ordered.

NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN: RN: AA cruiser HMS Cairo is badly damaged off the town of Narvik itself, just as French and Polish troops under French command complete its capture.

Two Dornier Do 26s are shot down by Hurricanes when ferrying troops to Rombaksfjord, and one crash lands are Narvik where the pilot, Graf Schack, and 10 troops are captured.

HMS Glorious is detected by a snooper, resulting in one section of 802 Squadron, led by Lt. G. D. D. Lyver, RN, being sent off and ultimately downs one He-111. Thereafter, Glorious is ordered to return to Scapa. She arrives off the harbour at 1600 on the 29th, but is unable to enter due to fog. (Mark Horan)

U.S.S.R.: Soviet submarines M-121 and M-122 laid down.

CANADA:

Corvette HMCS Sackville laid down Saint John, New Brunswick.

HMCS Caribou and Renard depart Halifax for Quebec City for naval conversions.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: MS Brazza sunk by U-37 at 42.43N 11.00W.

At 1630, the Julien was shelled and sunk by U-37.

28 May 1941

May 28th, 1941 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Destroyer ORP Krakowiak (ex-HMS Silverton) commissioned.

Destroyer HMS Lightning commissioned.

Destroyer HMS Panther launched.

Corvette HMS Cowslip launched.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Professor launched.

Corvette FS Roselys (ex-HMS Sundew) launched.

GERMANY:

U-183 laid down.

U-579, U-580 launched.

GREECE: CRETE: Sgt Alfred Clive Hulme (1911-82), 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, showed amazing courage many times from 20-28 May, once silencing a mortar and three snipers. (VC)

The decision to evacuate has been made and cruisers and destroyers prepare to lift off the troops. As they approach, HMS Ajax and destroyer HMS Imperial are damaged to the southeast.

EGYPT: Cairo: Wavell to CIGS:

All available armoured strength, which will be deciding factor, is being put into "Battleaxe." Various difficulties are delaying reconstitution 7th Armoured Division. Earliest date for beginning of forward move from Matruh will be June 7, and may be later.

2. I think it right to inform you that the measure of success which will attend this operation is in my opinion doubtful. I hope that it will succeed in driving enemy west of Tobruk and re-establishing land communications with Tobruk. If possible we will exploit success further. But recent operations have disclosed some disquieting features. Our armoured cars are too lightly armoured to resist the fire of enemy fighter aircraft and, having no gun, are powerless against the German eight-wheeled armoured cars, which have guns and are faster. This make reconnaissance difficult.

SYRIA: The Vichy French won their first air victory when Lt. Vuillemin of 7 Squadron. 1st Fighter Group (GCI/7), shot down an RAF Blenheim reconnaissance plane, while he was flying a Morane 406.

Reinforcements also arrive for the French in the form of Dewoitine D.520s, France's most modern fighter. 6 Squadron, 3rd Fighter Group (GCIII/6) lands at Rayak after a journey from Algeria which began on May 24 and skirted the northern coast of the Mediterranean; 2 of the planes were lost over Turkey.

IRAQ: The Allies, 20th Indian Brigade capture Ur.

CANADA:

Minesweeper HMCS Kelowna launched Prince Rupert BC

Minesweeper HMCS Guysborough laid down North Vancouver BC

U.S.A.: Washington: Roosevelt makes a speech warning of Hitler attempting world domination and directly threatening the United States: "... the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands, if occupied or controlled by Germany, would directly endanger the freedom of the Atlantic and our own physical safety. Under German domination they would become bases for submarines, warships and airplanes raiding the waters which lie immediately off our own coasts and attacking the shipping in the South Atlantic. They would provide a springboard for actual attack against the integrity and independence of Brazil and her neighbouring republics."

Hamilton Fish in the House of Representatives naval affairs committee says that the British have thus far filed 132 requests with the US government for permission to put warcraft into American ports in order to repair damages incurred in naval engagements.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The many warships deployed from all parts of the North Atlantic to hunt the BISMARK, return to other duties. As they do, heavy attacks by German He 111 aircraft sink destroyer HMS Mashona off the west coast of Ireland when a bomb is dropped that penetrates No. 1 boiler room. However the forward bulkhead is riddled with shell splinter holes and as such she takes in water, eventually rolling on her side and is abandoned 100 miles west of Ireland at 52 58N 11 36W. There are 46 casualties. The survivors are picked up by HMS Tartar which attempts to sink the hull with a torpedo, but when this failed, it was sent to the bottom by gunfire from HMCS St Croix and Sherwood. (Alex Gordon)(108)

At 1452, the unescorted Papalemos was hit on the port side in the stern by one torpedo from U-107. The explosion destroyed large parts of the superstructure and a lifeboat. After the crew had abandoned ship in two lifeboats the sinking was accelerated with shots from the Anti-Aircraft guns into the waterline at 1600. The U-boat went to the lifeboats for questioning, took care of three wounded survivors and provided them cigarettes, chocolate and provisions before leaving the area on a deception course.

28 May 1942

May 28th, 1942 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Minesweeping trawlers HMS Unst and Gairsay launched.

Destroyer HMS Tuscan launched.

GERMANY: Berlin: Goebbels writes that "10 Jews in a concentration camp or 6 feet under are preferable to one roaming at large."

U-225, U-384 launched.

U-624 commissioned.

BALTIC SEA: Soviet submarine M-95 is sunk by depth charges east of Suursaari by Tupolev SB-2 code SB-1 from 2/LeLv 6.

NORWAY: 258 Jews are executed by the SS to avenge an alleged plot to blow up a Nazi anti-Bolshevist exhibition.

NORTH AFRICA: As supplies, especially fuel, run low the German attack is disrupted, but fighting continues on Rigel Ridge, and near Bir Harmat.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Those Imperial Japanese Naval forces that have not previously sailed, leave today for the Midway operation.

US TF 16, carriers Enterprise and Hornet under Admiral Spruance, sail from Pearl Harbor for Midway. Admiral Fletcher will leave later with the Yorktown and TF 17.

The Enterprise Air Group in USS Enterprise (CV-6) consists of Bombing Squadron Six (VB-6) with SBD Dauntless, Fighting Squadron Six (VF-6) with F4F Wildcats, Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) with SBDs, and Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6) with TBD Devastators. The Hornet Air Group in USS Hornet (CV-8) consists of VB-8 with SBDs, VF-8 with F4Fs, VS-8 with SBDs and VT-8 with TBDs.

U.S.A.: Admiral Nimitz approves Lieutenant General Holcomb's plan for a Joint Military Intelligence centre at Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i coming from the proposal of 24 March. Nimitz suggests that the centre include Army and Navy radio intelligence sections, and officers dealing with estimates, information filing, photographic interpretation, mapping and the tracking of naval activity. CINCPAC requested that a naval officer command the unit and the Army, Navy and Marines provide officers plus a contingent of about five yeomen. (Mike Yared)(184)

Detachments of 54th Fighter Group, equipped with P-39 and based in Louisiana are sent to California:

42d FS to Ontario, California

56th FS to Santa Ana

57th FS to San Diego

I believe that they were sent there to improve air defense in the fear of a Japanese attack. (Massimiliano Stola)

CARIBBEAN SEA: German submarine U-103, sinks an armed U.S. merchant tanker southwest of the Cayman Islands.

At 1142, the unescorted New Jersey was hit by one torpedo from U-103 about 90 miles SW of Grand Cayman Island, after the U-boat had missed her with a first torpedo at 0759. The torpedo struck on the port side behind the bridge at the #5 and #6 tank. The engines were secured and the eight officers, 29 crewmen and five armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in and two .30cal guns) abandoned ship in two lifeboats. At 1205, a coup de grâce was fired, which struck at the #8 tank. When the ship stayed afloat the U-boat surfaced and fired 25 rounds into the waterline. The after housing of the tanker caught fire and the ship sank by the stern at 1255. 23 crewmembers and three armed guards were picked up after 33 hours by USS Tattnall and landed at Kingston, Jamaica on 30 May. USS Biddle picked up 13 crewmembers and two armed guards on 1 June.

At 0208, the unescorted Mentor (Master Alexander Pope) was hit on the port side in the stern by one torpedo from U-106 north of Cabo Catoche and sank within six minutes, following a coup de grâce at 0238. The U-boat surfaced and questioned the crew, which told them that the name of the ship was Bengloe. The fourth engineer and three Chinese crewmembers were killed on watch below when the engine room was flooded. The master, 74 crewmembers and seven gunners were picked up after three days by the British merchantman Antilochus and landed at Key West, Florida.

At 2000 on 27 May, U-155 had sighted an unescorted steamer of estimated 5000 tons near Barbados and unsuccessfully tried to overtake the vessel, so Piening decided to attack surfaced during the night. At 0500 hours on 28 May, a first spread of two torpedoes missed but at 0630 another spread of two torpedoes was fired of which one hit the ship between the stack and the mast aft. Shortly thereafter a boiler explosion caused the ship to sink by the stern quickly. It is quite sure that his victim was the Poseidon.

At 0200, the zigzagging, unescorted and unarmed Alcoa Pilgrim was hit by a torpedo from U-502 on the starboard side just below the waterline in the engine room. The ship sank in 90 seconds about 150 miles south of the Mona Passage. The crew of nine officers and 31 men had no time to launch a lifeboat and only nine managed to get on board of two rafts. U-502 came alongside one of the rafts and an officer inquired about the name of the ship, her nationality, tonnage and cargo. He also asked if the rafts had sails and wished the men luck. Six days later, the American SS Thomas Nelson picked up the surviving three officers and six men and landed them at Port of Spain on 5 June.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: SS Yorkmoor sunk by U-506 at 29.30N, 72.29W.

28 May 1943

May 28th, 1943 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: The award of the Victoria Cross to Wing-Commander Guy Gibson, who planned and led the raid on the Rühr dams, is announced.

GERMANY: U-475 launched.

ITALY: Ceprano, is liberated by the Canadians. The Germans fight fierce rearguard actions as they fall back to the Caesar Line.

YUGOSLAVIA: British support for Yugoslavia's partisans arrived today - in the shape of two officers and two wireless operators parachuted onto a mountainside in Serbia in a gale, while a battle raged around them. Their commanding officer, Captain F. W. Deakin, a former literary assistant to Winston Churchill, will report directly to London.

No visitors could have been more welcome. Tito's hard-pressed army is facing Operation Black, the strongest Axis offensive yet. One of the radio operators, Sergeant Peretz Rosenberg, a Palestinian volunteer, was shown an order to Axis forces to destroy everything, including civilians and animals.

Britain has decided to back Tito, whose requests for help have been hitherto fruitless, rather than the Chetniks led by the royalist General Mihailovich. This is largely owing to information on the two groups' merits received from a British intelligence officer, Major D. T. "Bill" Hudson, who landed in this country by submarine in 1941.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-755 sunk in the Mediterranean NW of Mallorca, in position 39.58N, 01.41E, by rockets from an RAF 608 Sqn Hudson from Blida in North Africa. This is the first U-boat sunk by an RAF aircraft by mean of rocket-fired projectiles fired from beneath the wings. 40 dead and 9 survivors. (22)

AUSTRALIA: The first Japanese Betty bomber is shot down by an Australian-based Spitfire. (Steve Alvin)(136)

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: By the end of the day on Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands, the Americans have crowded the Japanese into a small pocket of flat ground around their Chicagof Harbor base. The Americans plan a full-scale attack for tomorrow. During the night, a PBY Catalina drops surrender leaflets around the Japanese lines.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Saint John laid down Montreal, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.: From an Opera Broadcast by Deems Taylor of the New York Metropolitan Opera Guild in May, 1943, and quoted in a letter from Lady (Dorothy) Mayer, today:

A young ambulance driver in North Africa was taking his load back to the Hospital base. He had to drive about ten miles over bad roads, and as he drove he was thinking of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra concerts and of all that music had meant to him. When he go to the base and began to unload the wounded, one of the young Germans was already dead, and as he moved the body a book fell from the pocket. He picked it up. It was Introduction to Mozart, and on the fly-leaf were two words written - Goethe's words - "Mehr Licht."

Washington: The office of mobilization is established to co-ordinate war production.

Light fleet carrier USS Cowpens commissioned

Destroyers USS Erben and Trathen commissioned.

Destroyer escort USS McConnell commissioned.

Submarine USS Archerfish launched.

Frigate USS Glendale launched.

Destroyer USS Tingey launched.

Destroyer escorts USS Calcaterra, Chambers and Spangler laid down.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

Between 0443 and 0446, U-154 fired six torpedoes at Convoy BT-14 about 125 miles east of Fortaleza, Brazil and reported one tanker damaged, one freighter sunk, one tanker probably sunk and two more freighters sunk. In fact each of the three ships Florida in station #53, Cardinal Gibbons in station #61 and John Worthington in station #42 were hit by one torpedo and all reached port safely, but the last ship was never repaired. The Cardinal Gibbons was struck on the starboard side abaft the stem and a hole was ripped in the forepeak tank containing fresh water. The eight officers, 35 crewmen and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in and nine 20mm guns) remained on board and suffered no injuries. The vessel remained on course and arrived in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 5 June. The Florida was struck forward of the after peak on the starboard side 15 feet beneath the waterline. The explosion opened a hole 16 feet by six feet and broke her back. The ship lost way as water filled the engine room and the stern settled until the stern gun platform was awash. 15 minutes after the attack, the eight officers, 34 crewmen and 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in three lifeboats. A fourth boat swamped in the moderate seas. All hands were picked up by USS PC-592 and landed at Fortaleza the same day. A salvage crew boarded the tanker and corvette USS Saucy towed her into Fortaleza. The salvage ship USS Crusader later towed the Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico for temporary repairs. Permanent repairs were done at Chester, Pennsylvania, after which the tanker returned to service. The John Worthington was struck by one torpedo at the #8 tank. The explosion blew a hole 30 feet by 10 feet in her side, buckled the deck and pushed fragments out the port side. The ship veered 30° to starboard, but regained her course and continued on her way, rejoining the convoy the next morning. Only a few of the eight officers, 34 crewmen and 14 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in, one 3in, two .50cal and two .30cal guns) suffered slight injuries. After temporary repairs at Trinidad the ship was sailed on 10 June to Galveston, Texas for major repairs, arriving on 21 June. But the tanker was never repaired and did not return to service.

At 2353, U-177 attacked Convoy CD-20 and claimed two ships with 16000 grt sunk. The ships sunk were the Storaas and the Agwimonte. The Agwimonte was in station #53 (last ship of the starboard column) and the lookouts spotted the wake of a torpedo from U-177 but it was too late. The torpedo struck on the starboard side between the #2 and #3 hatches, causing the ship to heel to starboard and the sea washed over the foredeck and the bridge. The watch below secured the engines and the ship settled on even keel. Ten officers, 36 men and 23 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in, eight 20mm and two 30cal guns) abandoned ship in two lifeboats and three rafts. The first boat swamped in the swells when the after fall failed to release. The men tumbled into the sea and climbed back on board the Agwimonte. Several of these men left the ship with the overcrowded second lifeboat. The master and 5 men bailed out the swamped boat and picked up two men from a raft. One hour and twenty minutes later they witnessed a second torpedo attack, which caused the boiler to explode and she sank bow first off Cape Agulhas in ten minutes with the general alarm still blaring. Two of the survivors on one of the rafts later transferred to an abandoned lifeboat of the Storaas. The armed trawler SAS Vereeniging picked up 61 survivors from a lifeboat and two rafts and landed them at Port Elizabeth, South Africa. A South African Army plane sighted the other two boats in the afternoon of 29 May. An Army crash boat rescued the occupants of those boats 18 hours after the attack and landed them two hours later at Gordon Bay.

U-304 sunk in the North Atlantic SE of Cape Farewell, Greenland in position 54.50N, 37.20W by depth charges from an RAF 120 Sqn Liberator. 46 dead (all hands lost).

28 May 1944

May 28th, 1944 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: HMCS Algonquin and Sioux departed Scapa Flow to Portsmouth and D-Day Ops.

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

Mission 376: 1,341 bombers and 697 fighters in five forces are dispatched to hit oil targets in Germany; 32 bombers and 9 fighters are lost; they claim 64-30-31 Luftwaffe aircraft:

1. 610 B-17 Flying Fortresses are dispatched against an oil targets at Ruhland/Schwarz-Heide (38 bomb) and aircraft factory at Dessau (12 bomb); secondary targets are aviation factories at Zwickau (15 bomb) and Leipzig (28 bomb); 14 bomber hit Bohlen, 15 hit Meissen, 19 hit Brandis/Polenz Wusten-Sachsen Airfield, 12 hit Frankfurt marshalling yard, 32 hit Ubigau, 20 hit Dessau, four hit Frankfurt, five hit Camburg and 22 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 20-21-18 Luftwaffe aircraft; 17 B-17s are lost.

2. 255 B-17s are dispatched to an oil dump at Konigsburg/Magdeburg (105 bomb) and oil industry at Magdeburg/Rothensee (55 bomb); 17 hit Dessau and six bomb the marshalling yard at Gera; they claim 16-8-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; nine B-17s are lost.

3. 106 B-24 Liberators are dispatched to Lutzkendorf/Halle (66 bomb); ten hit Wetzlar and six hit a target of opportunity; three B-24s are lost.

4. 311 B-24s are dispatched to oil targets at Merseburg/Leuna (63 bomb) and Zeitz-Troglitz (187 bomb); 10 hit Limburg, eight hit Memmingen, nine hit Saalfeld and ten hit targets of opportunity; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; three B-24s are lost.

5. 58 of 59 B-17s hit Cologne/Eifeltor marshalling yard without loss; glide bombs are used but the weapon proves unsuccessful.

Personal Memory: A glide bomb attack on Cologne. This was largely a failure because we needed 50 mile visibility since we dropped the bombs 18 miles from the city. This was to avoid the heavy flak concentration there. It worked well for the air crews and we considered it a milk run.But we got too close to Brussels on the way to the target and our airplane ("Betty Jane") got a piece of flak into Number one engine which penetrated the case and destroyed the engine. But it never quit running and we didn't know about the damage until we got back to Molesworth. The glide bomb was a failure as all our bombs missed the Eifeltor Marshalling yard by over a mile and the rest of the bombs fell straight down or scattered through Cologne, killing 87 civilians and wounding over 15 others. Our 41st Wing dropped 113 of these bombs.

Since we had dropped the bombs 18 miles short of the city the Germans had no warning. The control box on each winged bomb had gyroscopes to guide it and at contact the box exploded scattering the wings and tail while the bomb bounced along for eleven more seconds before exploding. This 2000 pound bomb had an amazing five to one glide ratio.

That night, Lord Haw Haw said that Cologne had been bombed by US bombers from 40,000 feet. We all laughed of course and in three more days they had figured out what had happened. Lord Haw Haw said that it was a terrorist raid and any airman shot down during such a raid would be executed the same day. Not another raid of this type was aver attempted, but not because Lord Haw Haw threatened us, but because the system was a multi million dollar failure. Score:3 Milk Runs: 2 others. (Dick Johnson)

Escort is provided by 182 P-38 Lightnings, 208 P-47 Thunderbolts and 307 P-51 Mustangs; no P-38s are lost; P-47s claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground with the loss of four P-47s; P-51s claim 25-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft with the loss of five. 527 Ninth Air Force fighters also fly escort and claim 33-0-10 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 5-0-7 on the ground for the loss of fighters.

Mission 377: Five B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium and Norway.

22 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions; one is lost.

The USAAF's Ninth Air Force in England dispatches 600+ B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs to bomb marshalling and naval yards, railway bridges and V-weapon sites in France and Belgium; eight aircraft are lost. P-47s dive-bomb several targets in the same general area.

GERMANY: The USAAF attacks five synthetic oil targets at Heide, Magdeburg, Rottensee, Leuna and Troglitz. Once more their pattern bombing rips the factories apart.

ITALY: Artena: Davila, Rudolph B., SSgt. (later 2nd Lt.), 7th Infantry, awarded the MOH for his actions today.

The USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 100+ B-24s to bomb Genoa harbor and Vercelli marshalling yard and troop concentrations at Niksic, Yugoslavia. In Yugoslavia, P-38s fly fighter sweeps against airfields in the Kurilovec area and vehicles, communications lines and targets of opportunity in the Knin-Bihac-Banjaluka area.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The submarine USS Narwhal (SS-167) lands 23-men and 25 tons of supplies on Samar Island.

NEW GUINEA: On Biak, the US forces extend their perimeter.

The advance of the 162d Infantry Regiment along the coastal track toward the airstrips is slowed by equatorial heat; thick, 12-foot (3.7 m) scrub growth; rugged terrain; and small parties of Japanese entrenched in caves cut into the face of a 200-foot (61 m) high cliff. Patrols advance to within 200 yards (182.9 m) of the airfields when a Japanese counterattack drives them back. The infantry is now under attack from the west and the targets of well-aimed fire from the East Caves which dominate the coastal road. In danger of being cut off, the regiment withdraws late in the afternoon. USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24s and B-25 Mitchells in support of ground forces on Biak Island hit villages, supply areas, troop concentrations and gun positions on Biak, Noemfoor, and Japen Islands

General MacArthur announces that the strategic campaign for New Guinea is complete. He cautions that some hard tactical fighting remains to clean up the remaining Japanese.

CANADA:

HMCS Magog and Stettler arrived in Halifax from builder in Montreal.

HMCS Toronto arrived in Halifax from builder in Levis, Quebec

Frigate HMCS Ste Therese commissioned.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "It Happened Tomorrow" is released in the U.S. This fantasy drama, directed by Rene Clare, stars Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie and Edgar Kennedy. The plot involves an early 20th century reporter (Powell) who meets an old man who gives him the power to predict the news 24-hours in advance. Powell starts scooping the other papers and winning big at the horse races until he learns of his own death and then must try to change the future. The film is nominated for two technical Academy Awards.

Submarines USS Charr and Lagarto launched.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-179 was commissioned. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area. She was decommissioned on 1 October 1945.

28 May 1945

May 28th, 1945 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Royal Navy announces the abolition of convoys in the Atlantic, Indian and Arctic Oceans.

GERMANY: Hamburg: William Joyce, nicknamed "Lord Haw-Haw" and well known for his propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis throughout the war, has been captured in a wood between here and the Danish frontier. His voice, was his downfall. He boldly went up to two British officers collecting wood for a fire and started talking to them in German. Then he spoke English and they spotted the upper-class accent made famous by his "Jairmany calling" broadcasts.

When challenged Joyce moved his hand to his pocket, and one of the officers shot him in the thigh. He was later found to be carrying a fake German passport in the name of Hansen.

JAPAN: Okinawa: US forces reportedly occupy two-thirds of Naha.

Off Okinawa, the Japanese wage their last strong air effort and sink one ship and damage five others:

- The destroyer USS Drexler (DD-741) is attacked by two kamikazes at 0700 hours. One aircraft is shot down and the second tries to crash USS Lowry (DD-770) and failing, stumbled into Drexler, cutting off all power and starting large gasoline fires. At 0703 hours, another suicider crashed in flames into Drexler's superstructure resulting in a tremendous explosion and the destroyer rolled on her starboard side and sank stern first in less than a minute after the second hit. Because of the speed with which she sank, casualties were heavy: 168 dead and 52 wounded.

- While unloading cargo at 0730 hours, the attack transport USS Sandoval (APA-194) is attacked by a kamikaze which crashes into the portside of the wheelhouse. Five men are killed and 29 wounded; three of the latter died later. Flames lit the bridge, central fire control was lost and radar and interior communications were knocked out. The fire on the bridge was extinguished by 0830 and central fire control was regained after 0900 hours.

- The large support landing craft LCS(L)-119 is damaged by a kamikaze.

- The armed U.S. freighter SS Mary A. Livermore is hit by a kamikaze which kills four sailors and seven merchant sailors.

- The armed U.S. freighter SS Brown Victory is hit by a kamikaze off Ie Shima killing three sailors and one merchant sailor.

- The armed U.S. freighter SS Josiah Snelling is also hit by a kamikaze. Gunfire by the Armed Guard deflect the plane from hitting a vital part of the ship and nobody is killed.

The USAAF's Twentieth Air Force dispatches fighters from Iwo Jima Island to hit Kasumigaura, Japan and its airfield with six planes claimed destroyed and 40+ damaged and P-47s fly heckler strikes against Kyushu during the night of 28/29 May.

Mines previously laid by B-29 Superfortresses sink a Japanese transport and damage a coast defence vessel, two freighters and a fishing boat in Japanese waters.

CANADA: HMCS Beacon Hill departed Greenock for Halifax.

U.S.A.:

Destroyer USS Bausell laid down.

Destroyer USS Henderson launched.

Top of Page

Yesterday Tomorrow

Home