World war II chronology - April 1942

1 April 1942	Canadian merchant ship Robert W. Pomeroy hits a mine and sinks, off Cromer, Norfolk, in the North Sea. One man dies. Aircraft carrier USS Hornet leaves Seattle, Washington with 16 B-25B Mitchell bombers tied down to the flight deck, destined for an attack on Tokyo, Japan.
2 April 1942	German submarine U-123 repeatedly fires shells on American oil tanker SS Liebre. As it submerges to fire a finishing torpedo, it is scared off by sighting Canadian motor torpedo boat MTB-332. British Combined Operations begins work on Operation Rutter, an amphibious assault on Dieppe, France.
4 April 1942	In a PBY-5 Catalina flying boat, Canadian Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall radios a warning to Ceylon that the Japanese fleet is closing in on the island. The warning helps Allied forces prepare for the coming attack. Ships in harbor scatter, and Admiral James Somerville move five battleships and three aircraft carriers 600 miles southwest to Addu Atoll. Birchall's plane is shot down, killing three of his crew. (His actions win him the Distinguished Flying Cross, and Order of the British Empire for his service to fellow prisoners in Japan.)
5 April 1942	Adolf Hitler issues Directive 41, giving direction to the war against Russia when the weather improves. Armies in the central sector are to hold positions, while the northern armies captures Leningrad and the southern armies advance into the Caucausus. The Japanese Combined Fleet of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo attacks Colombo, Ceylon, with 91 bomber and 36 fighter aircraft. They sink armed merchant cruiser Hector and destroyer Tenedoes in the harbor. They damage the submarine depot vessel Lucia and merchant ship Benledi. Nineteen Hawker Hurricanes, six Fairey Swordfish, one Fairey Albacore, and one Consolidated Catalina are destroyed. The Japanese force loses six Aichi D3A1 dive bombers, and one Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero fighter. Fifteen other aircraft are damaged. Near Ceylon, 53 D3A1 planes from Japanese carriers Akagi, Soryu, and Hiryu attack British heavy cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire, sinking both in fifteen minutes.   In the Philippines, the Japanese army makes major attacks toward Bataan.
8 April 1942	A floatplane from the Japanese battleship Haruna reports ships of the British Far Eastern Fleet dispersing 65 miles south of Ceylon. 85 D3A planes of the Japanese naval force off Ceylon (one light carrier and several other ships) attack and sink the British light carrier Hermes. This is the first sinking of an aircraft carrier by ship-based planes. Japanese planes of a naval force off Ceylon sink the Australian destroyer Vampire.
9 April 1942	American General Jonathan Wainwright's American and Filipino forces on Bataan, Philippines, surrender to the Japanese.
10 April 1942	British Bomber Command drops its first 8,000-pound bombs, on Essen, Germany.
12 April 1942	On the eighth British bomber raid on Essen since March 8, bombs finally hit the Krupps armament works, causing a large fire.
13 April 1942	American destroyer USS Roper sinks German submarine U-85 off Nags Head, North Carolina. This is the first American surface ship to sunk a submarine.
15 April 1942	The British George Cross is awarded to the Island Fortress of Malta for their endurance and defiance against enemy forces. The American Army proposes to President Franklin Roosevelt a three-part plan for a cross-Channel attack on Europe. Part one, code-named Bolero, would build up American forces in the British Isles. Part two, code-named Roundup, would be a large invasion of France in the spring of 1943. Part three, code-named Sledgehammer, would be an emergency landing in France in 1942, in the event of a sudden German collapse or a crisis on the Russian front. Canadian Industries Limited begins construction of two mustard gas plants in Windsor, Ontario. The Canadian government approves implementing of a scorched earth policy in the event of enemy invasion. In Germany, a factory begins producing the nerve gas tabun. A small Allied raid is attempted near Boulogne, France. Britain's nuclear research team is moved to Canada, operating under the National Research Council.
17 April 1942	Twelve British Lancaster bombers set off on a 1250 mile round trip to attack a diesel engine manufacturing complex at Augsburg in Bavaria. Twelve 1,000 pound bombs hit the target. Only five planes return, all badly damaged.
18 April 1942	The United States Army imposes a blackout of city lights on American east coast cities, to help protect ships from being seen by enemy submarines. Sixteen American B-25 bombers lead by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle bomb Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kobe, Japan. The planes were launched from the carrier Hornet 668 miles off Tokyo. 73 of the 80 crew survive as the planes land in China.
20 April 1942	Submarine U-154 torpedoes and shells Canadian merchant ship Vineland in the Caribbean. One man dies.
23 April 1942	British Bomber Command launches a heavy attack on Rostock, Germany, the first of several nights of concentrated attacks.
24 April 1942	British Bomber Command launches a second attack on Rostock, Germany.
25 April 1942	British Bomber Command launches a third attack on Rostock, Germany.
26 April 1942	British General Harold Alexander decides Burma is lost, that forces must withdraw to ensure the defence of India. British Bomber Command launches a fourth and final attack on Rostock, Germany. Over the past four nights of attacks, 70% of the city is destroyed. Of 521 sorties in total, only 11 planes are shot down. The Heinkel aircraft factory is hit, but is back in production in a few weeks. Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler agree to retaliatory attacks on British cultural, resort, and civilization centers, to "bring the English to their senses". Goebbels writes in his diary: "They belong to a class of being to whom you can talk only after you have first knocked out their teeth."
27 April 1942	In Canada, a national vote is taken on the subject of conscription of soldiers for overseas duty. The response is 64% in favor of conscription, though in Quebec province 76% vote against. The Prime Minister decides that to keep Canada united, he would postpone conscription as long as possible. 43 British Halifax and Lancaster bombers attack the German Tirpitz battleship in Aalsfjord, near Trondheim, Norway. The ship is not hit, and five planes are shot down.