WW2 Pacific, April 1942

WWII in the Pacific
APRIL 1942.

Apr 1 . Japanese land on Buka and Santa Isabel, Solomons.

Apr 2 . Japanse occupy Prome on Irrawaddy River in Burma.

Apr 3 . Mandalay bombed, 2/3 business district destoyed and 2,000 killed

Apr 4 . Hornet leaves San Francisco with Doolittle and 16 B-25's.

Apr 5 . Jap fleet w/5 carriers attack Ceylon. Heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire and two others sunk.

Apr 5 . Imperial Japanese Navy battle plan for Midway accepted.

Apr 6 . Rommel breaks through Commonwealth defense lines in Cyrenaica (Benghazi, Libya)

Apr 6 . Japanese Malaya fleet sinks 23 merchantmen off Eastern India

Apr 6 . Advance elements of the U.S. Army 41st Division reach Melbourne, Australia.

Apr 7 . Japanese subs off western India sink 5 merchantmen this week.

Apr 7 . Colorado only western state to agree to accept voluntary relocation of enemy aliens.

Apr 7 . Relocation begins of Japanese from coastal defense zones.

Apr 8 . Force from Rabaul lands in Western New Britain.

Apr 8 . Enterprise departs Pearl to rendezvous with Hornet.

Apr 8 . Submarine Seadragon (SS-194) delivers food to Corregidor; evacuates naval radio intelligence people.

Apr 9 . Bataan peninsula surrenders 75,000 U.S. troops. Over 10% die in Death March

Apr 9 . British warships sunk off Ceylon : Carrier HMS Hermes (CV.95), HMAS Vampire (D68), 2 others.

Apr 10. Japanese start to take southern Philippines, Cebu.

Apr 12. Victorious Japanese fleet starts its return to home waters having lost no surface warships in war to date.

Apr 13. Lexington (TF 11, RAdm Fitch) leaves Pearl to join Yorktown (TF 17, Fletcher) for raid on Rabaul.

Apr 14. Adm Nimitz assigned to South Pacific. Sends Yorktown (CV-5, RAdm Fletcher) to Tongatabu, south of Samoa, to replenish for anticipated defense of New Guinea and Solomon Islands at the end of the month.

Apr 15. Rommel advance is overextended, stops at Egyptian boarder.

Apr 16. Japanese land on Panay and Negros, Philippine Islands.

Apr 17. Japanese army takes central Burma.

Apr 17. Submarine Searaven (SS-196) begins rescue of stranded Australian servicemen from occupied Timor.

Apr 18. Doolittle Raid on Tokyo with 16 Army B-25 bombers from Hornet, escorted by Enterprise. film

Apr 18. Lexington (CV-2, TF 11, RAdm Fitch), ferries USMC F2A Buffalos to Palmyra Island.

Apr 19. Japanese land in Dutch New Guinea

Apr 20. Lexington arrives S Pacific.

Apr 20. Wasp (CV-7) ferries 47 RAF Spitfires to embattled British island of Malta in Mediterranean.

Apr 21. Entire Japanese fleet searches for the Doolittle carriers.

Apr 22. Lexington joins Yorktown at Tongutabu to prepare for expected battle in Coral Sea.

Apr 23. Code breakers harvest intel from massive Japanese pursuit of Doolittle carriers.

Apr 24. Japanese fleet elements start to return to refuel.

Apr 25. Allied army forces begin retreat from Burma.

Apr 25. Enterprise and Hornet arrive Pearl from Doolittle's Tokyo raid.

Apr 26. Nimitz flies to San Francisco to brief Adm King on South Pacific plan.

Apr 27. Yorktown departs for Coral Sea.

Apr 27. Seven battleships remain based on West Coast to conserve fuel.

Apr 28. Coast watchers report Japanese flying-boat base established in upper Solomons.

Apr 28. VAdm Ghormley arrives from Europe to take command of South Pacific.

Apr 29. Japanese land on Mindanao, southern Philippine Islands

Apr 29. Japanese naval landing force occupies former RAAF seaplane base at Tulagi, Solomons.

Apr 30. PBYs evacuate military and civilian personnel from Corregidor.

Apr 30. Japanese cut China Road by capture of Lashio, Burma.

Apr 30. Zuikaku and Shokaku sortie Truk to support Port Moresby invasion leading to the Battle of Coral Sea.

Apr 30. Enterprise and Hornet speed towards Coral Sea; too far to reach in time. < March May >