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.
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.
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 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.