World war II chronology - May 1942

1 May 1942	Submarine U-69 shells Canadian merchant ship James E. Newsom north-east of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean. Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, devises Operation Mi to draw out the U.S. Pacific Fleet by an attack on Midway. Task Force 17 is formed under American Rear-Admiral Fletcher, to operate in the Coral Sea. Japanese forces take Mandalay.
2 May 1942	The US Task Force 17 fleet heads west to search for Japanese ships.
3 May 1942	Japanese light carrier Shoho moves to cover the Port Moresby Invasion Force.
5 May 1942	The Japanese Striking Force under Vice-Admiral Takagi with the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku enter the Coral Sea. Japanese forces invade Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. Submarine U-106 torpedoes and sinks Canadian passenger freighter Lady Drake north of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 272 people on board, 6 crew and 6 passengers die.
6 May 1942	American Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright offers to surrender Corregidor, which is refused by Japanese general Masaharu Homma. Corregidor surrenders to the Japanese, putting all of the Philippines under Japanese control.
7 May 1942	Japanese aircraft sight the US Cruiser Support Group under Rear-Admiral Crace of the British Royal Navy. American aircraft sight two Japanese carriers and four heavy cruisers in the Coral Sea. Japanese carrier Shoho sights American carrier Yorktown. Japanese carrier-based planes attack American warships Sims and Neosho. Inouye orders the invasion fleet to turn away from its Port Moresby destination. Yorktown launches planes to attack the Japanese carrier force in the Coral Sea. Planes from US carrier Yorktown sight the carrier Shoho. Torpedo planes from US carrier Yorktown put five torpedoes into Japanese carrier Shoho, sinking it. Land-based Japanese aircraft attack the Cruiser Support Group in the Coral Sea. In Canada, the Prime Minister recommends to Cabinet that the National Resources Mobilization Act be amended, to allow conscription for overseas war duty. Submarine U-136 shells and sinks Canadian merchant ship Mildred Pauline in the North Atlantic. There are no survivors. The Japanese invasion of Port Moresby is postponed.
8 May 1942	American aircraft locate the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku in the Coral Sea. Japanese aircraft locate the carriers Lexington and Saratoga. Japanese and American carriers launch planes against each other. American plane attacks on carrier Shokaku inflict serious damage. Japanese planes attack carriers Yorktown and Lexington. American aircraft carrier Lexington is struck by a torpedo. German General Erich von Manstein's army launches a thrust into the Kerch peninsula of the Crimea, shattering three Russian armies, capturing 169,000 prisoners. Lexington is rocked by a large explosion. Takagi sends carrier Shokaku to Truk. American aircraft carrier Lexington is abandoned. Lexington is struck again by a torpedo. Submarine U-588 torpedoes Newfoundland-registered merchant ship Kitty's Brook off Cape Sable in the Atlantic Ocean. Nine die.
9 May 1942	Sixty British Spitfire planes arrive at Malta from carriers Wasp and Eagle. US Coast Guard cutter Icarus sinks German submarine U-352 off the American east coast.
10 May 1942	Mindanao surrenders to the Japanese on the Philippines.
11 May 1942	German submarine U-533 torpedoes 5,000 ton British freighter Nicoya off the Gaspé Peninsula of Canada, at the entrance to the St. Lawrence River.
12 May 1942	German submarine U-533 torpedoes Dutch freighter Leto off the Gaspé Peninsula of Canada, at the entrance to the St. Lawrence River. Extermination of Jews begins at Auschwitz. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, German submarine U-553 sinks merchant freighters Leto and Nicoya.
13 May 1942	The British Chiefs of Staff approve Operation Rutter, the amphibious attack on Dieppe, France, for early July.  American airmen begin arriving in England. The Royal Canadian Navy establishes the Gulf Escort Force, based at Gaspé, Quebec, to escort shipping through the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The US Navy establishes coastal convoys along the American east coast.
18 May 1942	British Deputy Chief of Air Staff proposes a 1000-bomber strike on a major German city to Charles Portal, who approves.
19 May 1942	British Deputy Chief of Air Staff proposes a 1000-bomber strike on a major German city to Winston Churchill, who approves.
21 May 1942	Convoy PQ-16 sails from Iceland, headed to Murmansk, Russia. (Six ships are lost out of 35.) Convoy QP-12 sails from Murmansk, headed to Iceland. (No ships are lost.) Submarine U-69 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Torondoc off Martinique in the Caribbean. 21 die. Submarine U-558 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Troisdoc off Jamaica in the Caribbean.
22 May 1942	Japanese naval intelligence reports on a water problem on "AF". The "problem" is actually a ruse, simply a radio message from Midway Island to Pearl Harbor designed to verify the Japanese code identity of "AF" as Midway. Submarine U-158 shells and sinks Canadian merchant ship Frank B. Baird south-east of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean.
26 May 1942	Great Britain and the Soviet Union conclude an alliance for twenty years. Axis forces in North Africa under German General Erwin Rommel resume attacks on British forces. Italian infantry make a diversionary frontal assault against the British Gazala line at Belhamed, a fifty mile long heavily mined defensive line. Rommel's 10,000-vehicle force begins a drive for the weak British southern flank.
27 May 1942	The German 90th Light Division in North Africa seizes El Adem and numerous supply dumps. Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik, part of a Czechoslovak commando team from England, make an assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich in Prague. Heydrich is wounded by grenade shrapnel, and later dies of the wound.   The Yorktown aircraft carrier arrives at Pearl Harbor.
28 May 1942	The aircraft carriers Enterprise and Hornet leave Pearl Harbor.
29 May 1942	Convoy SC-85 leaves Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, destined for England. The German Navy petitions Adolf Hitler for permission to carry the war to the American continent, by a surprise attack on Brazilian naval and merchant ships, because of their help to Allies in the war at sea. Adolf Hitler issues Directive 42, giving instructions for operations against unoccupied France and the Iberian Peninsula. Directives for operations Attila and Isabella are cancelled, to be replaced by improvised plans for both operations. If necessary, Germany and Italy would share occupying remaining French territory, including the colonies. Code name for this operation is Anton. Preparations are to be made for counter-measures against an enemy attack on the Iberian Peninsula, code named Ilona.
30 May 1942	Operation Millennium begins, the first British 1000 bomber attack on a German city. Arthur Harris gambles all available aircraft in his command: front line, reserves, and much of the training organization. 95 fighters and Blenheim bombers begin with attacks on airfields, losing three aircraft in the process. Then 1047 bombers attack Cologne, dropping 915 tons of incendiaries and 840 tons of high explosives. Total loss of British planes is 41 aircraft. Over 600 acres are devastated, including 328 large factories, hundreds more smaller factories, some 2500 fires started, 469 people killed, 12,840 buildings destroyed, and 45,132 made homeless. This is the first bombing/reconnaissance mission of the Mosquito aircraft. The aircraft carrier Yorktown leaves Pearl Harbor.
31 May 1942	Submarine U-432 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Liverpool Packet off Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. Two die.