February 19th, 1942 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Churchill
announces changes in the War Cabinet.
It now has seven members instead of nine. Out went Lord Beaverbrook, who ceases
to be minister of production. He had often been at loggerheads with Ernest Bevin,
the powerful minister of labour. Out also went Sir Kingsley Wood, the chancellor
of the exchequer, and Arthur Greenwood, the minister without portfolio. In came
Sir Stafford Cripps, the darling of Labour's discontented left-wingers. Clement
Attlee, Labour's leader, is now to remain deputy prime minister.
Submarine HMS Unison commissioned.
Destroyer HMS Obdurate launched.
FRANCE: During the night of 1-20th, two RAF Bomber Command aircraft drop leaflets on Paris and Lille.
Police arrest several Resistance leaders, including the philosopher Georges Politzer.
Riom: Two former premiers of France, Edouard Daladier and Leon Blum, went on trial here today with three of their ministers and the former commander-in-chief of the Allies, General Maurice Gamelin, accused of responsibility for defeat.
Their arrest was at the orders of French Premier Marshal Henri Pétain.
Both ex-premiers blamed the high command and French military establishment, many of whom are now serving in the Vichy government, while Gamelin refused to speak in his own defence. Daladier also blamed Germany.
"I protest against this arbitrary condemnation," he said. "Germany, who is in reality responsible for the war, today by this trial wants to obtain proof of its innocence."
The trial is adjourned and never completed.
GERMANY: During the night of 19-20th, seven RAF
Bomber Command Wellingtons visually bomb Essen.
U-610
commissioned.
U.S.S.R.: Soviet submarine V-3 commissioned.
BURMA: The Indian 17th Division continues to defend the Bilin River line throughout the day but is ordered to fall back after dark. Mandalay receives its first enemy air attack.
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Japanese forces land on Bali. As the Japanese Bali occupation force under Rear Admiral Kubo Kyuji retires, a naval battle ensues as an Allied naval force consisting of three cruisers and accompanying destroyers under Rear Admiral Karel W.F.M. Doorman, Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN), attacks in Badoeng Strait. The USN destroyer USS Stewart (DD-224) is damaged by gunfire from IJN destroyers HIJMS Oshio and HIJMS Asashio. The RNN destroyer HNMS Piet Hien is sunk; 30 of her survivors find a motor whaleboat jettisoned by USN destroyer USS John D. Ford (DD-228) and proceed unaided to Java. RNN light cruisers HNMS Java and HNMS Tromp are damaged by Japanese gunfire while IJN destroyers HIJMS Ushio and HIJMS Michisio are damaged by Allied gunfire.
USAAF A-24 Dauntlesses, with P-40 escort, and B-17 Flying Fortresses operating out of Malang, Madioen, and Jogjakarta Airfields, Java, attack vessels landing troops on Bali; the attacks, carried out during the afternoon of 19 February and throughout the morning of 20 February, claim considerable damage to vessels but fail to halt the landings; P-40s, based at Singosari Airfield on Java, shoot down or turn back several bombers sweeping west over Java.
The loss of den Pasar Airfield on Bali, which the Japanese begin using immediately, completes the Japanese encirclement of Java. (Jack McKillop and Alex Gordon)
CENTRAL PACIFIC: USN Aviation Chief Machinist's Mate Harold F. Dixon (Naval Aviation Pilot) and the two-man crew (Anthony J. Pastula, AOM2c and Gene D. Aldrich, RM3c )of TBD Devastator TBD-1 Bu.Aer. 0335 coded T-14, of Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6), whose plane ditched due to fuel exhaustion on 16 January, reach the Danger Islands in the Western Northern Cook Islands having spent 34 days at sea in their rubber boat. They have subsisted on occasional fish speared with a pocket knife, two birds, and rain water. While the straight line distance travelled measures 450 miles (724 kilometres), the estimated track is approximately 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometres). Dixon is awarded the Navy Cross for heroism, leadership, and resourcefulness.
AUSTRALIA: Carrier
planes from Japanese carriers raid Darwin, Northern Territory.
The attack was carried out by 188 aircraft - 36 fighters, 71
level bombers and 81 dive bombers from KAGA, AKAGI, Hiryu and SORYU. This was
equivalent to the force that attacked Pearl Harbor. A second attack was carried
out by 54 medium bombers from Kendari in the Celebes.
The attack began just before 10.00 when fighters strafed the ships in the harbour and shot down the few defending American fighters. The level bombers followed, concentrating on the port and town while dive bombers attacked the ships. In ten minutes Darwin ceased to be an operational port.
The
wharf was destroyed and the merchant vessels NEPTUNA and BAROSSA damaged. The
destroyer USS PEARY was caught running for the open sea, her magazines exploded
and she sank with heavy loss of life, her guns still in action. The US
transports MEIGS and MAUNA LOA were sunk as was the tanker BRITISH MOTORIST and
the Australian transport ZEALANDIA. Transports PORTMAR and TULAGI were holed and
beached.
An attack by dive bombers on the wharf hit NEPTUNA again and her cargo of depth
charges exploded, shaking the town and killing 45. BAROSSA was burnt out and
beached.
The RAN vessels in the harbour fought back desperately but only the sloops SWAN and WARREGO possessed anything like an adequate AA armament. Especially vulnerable was the corvette KATOOMBA sitting high and dry in a floating dry dock. She forced at least one attacker to turn away. The depot ship PLATYPUS was damaged by near misses which sank the lugger MAVIE alongside. Strafing aircraft caused fatal casualties on the boom defence vessels KARA KARA and KANGAROO and the auxiliary GUNBAR. The hospital ship MANUNDA, despite her clear markings, was bombed and heavily damaged with 12 dead and 58 wounded.
Leading Cook Francis Bassett Emms, age 33, mounted a
machine gun on board HMAS Kara Kara. Despite fatal wounds, he continued to fire
a machinegun at attacking aircraft.
North of Darwin two merchant vessels, DON ISIDRO and FLORENCE B, were destroyed.
There was also heavy damage and loss of life in the town and at the airfield.
The medium bombers attacked at midday concentrating on the airfield and causing further damage.
The attack was considered then, and many Australians still believe, to presage a Japanese attack on Australia. It was however simply intended to neutralise Darwin as a base from where Allied forces might operate against the Japanese invasion of the Eastern Netherlands Indies. In this it was outstandingly successful. (Richard Pelvin)
Jack McKillop adds: The four Japanese carriers launched 189 aircraft and the attack began at approximately 0910 hours. The attacking force consisted of:
81 Nakajima B5N2, Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name "Kate," 73 Aichi D3A1, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers, Allied Code Name "Val," and 36 Mitsubishi A6M2, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied Code Name "Zeke."
The medium bombers are Mitsubishi G4M1 Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name Betty.
Additional U.S. ships involved were:
The seaplane tender (destroyer) USS William B. Preston (AVD-7) which is damaged.
The freighter SS Portmar which is damaged and beached.
The freighter SS Admiral Halstead with a cargo of drummed gasoline, is damaged.
The freighter SS Florence D., under charter to the US Army and carrying a cargo of ammunition, rescues the 8-man crew of a Patrol Squadron Twenty Two (VP-22) PBY off the north coast of Australia. The ship is later attacked and sunk by Japanese carrier-based aircraft; the survivors are rescued by the minesweeper HMAS Warrnambool and the mission boat St. Francis.
The Philippine motorship MS Don Isidro, which was chartered by the US Army to run supplies to Corregidor, is sunk off the NW coast of Bathurst Island and the survivors are also rescued by the minesweeper HMAS Warrnambool.
As a result of this raid the a Zero is shot down and lands successfully (if very bent). The pilot (uninjured) is captured by unarmed personnel and is escorted to the main base by the only Army personnel available - they in turn were unarmed and used the pilot's own pistol to guard him. Examination of the aircraft starts immediately. (Daniel Ross)
CANADA: Parliament votes to introduce military conscription.
NEWFOUNDLAND: Corvette HMCS Moose Jaw grounded south entrance St John's. Moose Jaw was departing St John's to join convoy HX-176 when she went aground. Although she was refloated soon afterwards, she was badly holed and had to return to port for temporary repairs that were effected in St John's between 20 Feb and 05 Mar. Afterwards, permanent repairs were completed at Saint John , New Brunswick between 15 Mar and 25 Jun. Once her repairs were completed, Moose Jaw went on to see action in both Operation TORCH and Operation Neptune. She was serving with Escort Group 41 in the English Channel at the war's end.
U.S.A.: General Dwight D. Eisenhower is appointed as Chief of the War Plans Division for the US Army.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, setting the stage for the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in camps throughout the United States. Posting of Executive Order 9066. (Gene Hanson)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066,
authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas “as deemed
necessary or desirable.” The military in turn defines the entire West Coast,
home to the majority of Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship, as a
military area. By June, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to
remote internment camps built by the U.S. military in scattered locations around
the country. For the next two and a half years, many of these Japanese Americans
endured extremely difficult living conditions and poor treatment by their
military guards.
Baseball’s New York Yankees announced that they would admit 5,000 uniformed
servicemen free to each of their home ball games during the coming season.
Destroyers USS Nicholas and O'Bannon launched.
CUBA: The transport USS William P. Biddle (AP-15) arrives at Guantanamo Bay and disembarks the USMC's 9th defence Battalion.
CARIBBEAN SEA: At 10.07 hours on 19 Aug, 1942, U-564 attacked Convoy TAW (S) 85 miles NW of Boca Grande, Trinidad and observed three hits after 2 minutes 5 seconds and one after 2 minutes 50 seconds. Suhren claimed that he sank two ships and damaged two. In fact, the British Consul and Empire Cloud were sunk. The tanker was probably hit by more than one torpedo. Two crewmembers from the British Consul (Master James Kennedy) were lost. The master, 34 crewmembers, four gunners and one passenger (DBS) were picked up by HMS Clarkia and landed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mokihana lay two miles from the wharf in 40 feet of water with all anchor, cargo and port lights burning and silhouetted against the lights on shore. One torpedo struck on starboard side, just forward of the bridge. The explosion opened a hole of 35 feet by 45 feet in the hull and the ship sank to the bottom. There were no casualties among the eight officers, 28 crewmen and nine armed guards (the ship was armed with one 3in, four .50cal and two .30cal guns). After temporary repairs, the Mokihana left Port of Spain on 2 May 1942, but the ship came in troubles three days later in 16°40N/65°12W and had to be towed to the Virgin Islands and then to San Juan by tugs USS Partridge and Mankato. After more repairs, she arrived at Galveston, Texas on 15 June for permanent repairs.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1945, the unescorted and unarmed U.S. tanker SS Pan Massachusetts is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-128 about 20 miles (32 kilometres) off Cape Canaveral, Florida while steaming at 13.5 knots in misty and squally weather. The torpedoes struck on the starboard side amidships and ruptured the tanks and deck. The explosions sprayed the cargo over the length of the vessel and ignited it, turning the tanker into a burning inferno but the full tanks prevented the cargo to explode. Some of the nine officers and 29 crewmen on board jumped overboard and swam underneath the flames to open spots and others went forward and escaped into the water by lowering a mooring line over the side because all lifeboats became victims of the flames before they could be launched. Three officers and 17 crewmen were lost. The British tanker SS Elizabeth Massey immediately put out a lifeboat to pick up the men in the water, but rough seas hampered the effort until USCGC Forward took the lifeboat in tow and moved with it through the wreckage. Some bodies were recovered and placed on board the US Coast Guard ship, while all survivors were brought to the tanker and taken to Jacksonville, Florida.
At 2329, the unescorted, armed U.S. freighter MS Empire Seal is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-96 in the North Atlantic, about 300 miles (483 kilometres) west-southwest of St. John’s, Newfoundland, southeast of Sable Island. One crewmember was lost. The master, 43 crewmembers, eleven gunners and the US pilot were picked up by the British CAM ship Empire Flame and landed at Halifax. (Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)
SS Miraflores was hit by two torpedoes from U-432 at 0318 in the bow and amidships and sank immediately. The ship was expected in New York the next day, but did not arrive and was reported missing thereafter.