7 March 1942

FRANCE: During the night of the 7th/8th, RAF Bomber Command flies two missions: (1) 15 aircraft bomb the submarine pens at St Nazaire and (2) 11 Hampdens lay mines off Lorient; one Hampden is lost.

GERMANY: Berlin: Hundreds of thousands of Germans and people from Nazi-occupied Europe face being forced to work on German farms. A plan announced today looks first to people from country districts and provincial towns to provide extra labour; as many as 800,000 people could be needed at harvest time. Refusal to undertake such work could lead to what are described as draconian punishments. But attempts to draft women over 55 or those who are pregnant have already encountered strong opposition. Attention is therefore expected to focus on women from more affluent circles as these are thought by Nazi officials to contain the most "shirkers."

MALTA: Fifteen Mk VB Spitfires, the first to serve outside the United Kingdom, are delivered to Malta by the aircraft carrier HMS EAGLE. (22)

GIBRALTAR: Force H, consisting of the aircraft carriers HMS Argus and Eagle and supported by a number of destroyers, sets sail for Malta with a number of Spitfires on board. Fifteen Spitfires were flown off when Force H comes within range of the island.

BURMA: The British Army evacuates Rangoon, moving along Prome road except for demolition forces, which are removed by sea. The loss of Rangoon seriously handicaps supply and reinforcement of the Burma Army, which must now depend on air for this. Withdrawal from Rangoon is halted at Taukkyan by an enemy roadblock. The bypassed Allied force in Pegu is ordered to withdraw.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Captain William Bradford flies a Stearman O-1 biplane trainer to the island of Panay on a courier mission and to survey the Iloilo airfield. While there he notices a 1933 Bellanca Skyrocket he had previously flown as a civilian pilot for an air transport company and was later sold to the Filipinos. The islands' commanding officer has been using the Bellanca as an observation aircraft. The closed cockpit of the six-seat Bellanca offered limited visibility for reconnaissance; conversely the open-cockpit O-1 offers increased visibility but, with only the additional seat, limited cargo and passenger carrying capacity. Bradford, therefore, successfuly negotiates a trade. The old Bellanca is not in good shape, having previously been condemned for flight. There are only about 200 flying hours left on its single engine, the battery is out, and it has no radio. (Mike Yared) (285)

Bandoeng: The fight to save Java is over. Displaying white flags, a convoy of cars led by the Dutch C-in-C, Lieutenant-General ter Poorten, is driving this evening to the Japanese occupied airport at Kalidjati, 25 miles to the north, to open negotiations for surrender. Hours earlier the 15 most senior members of the Dutch government and armed forces led by Dr van Mook, the lieutenant-governor of the East Indies, escaped by air to Australia from the last Allied-held airstrip.

At noon the Netherlands News Agency in Bandoeng, the Dutch HQ, transmitted its last bulletin to the outside world, ending with: "Now we shut down. Long live our queen! Goodbye till better times."

Reporting on the last 24 hours it said that the situation in the west part of the island had become critical since the decision to surrender Jakarta by turning it into an open city two days ago. Dutch forces were now outnumbered five to one and the Japanese had absolute air supremacy. Rail links between east and west Java had been severed, and Dutch troops were now blowing up installations to stop them falling into the hands of the enemy.

The Japanese conquest of Java is virtually complete. Radio and cable communications with Bandoeng cease. Final reports indicate that the Japanese are still advancing on all fronts, that the defenders are completely exhausted, and that all Allied fighter planes have been destroyed. The Japanese also capture Tjilatjap, the naval base on the south coast, and Surabaja was being evacuated in the face of strong Japanese forces.

While returning from a reconnaissance mission over Gasmata and Rabaul in the Bismarck Archipelago, the crew of an RAAF Hudson of No. 32 Squadron, based at Seven Mile Airstrip, Port Moresby, sights a convoy of 11 ships heading for Salamaua.

NEW CALEDONIA: Major General Alexander M. Patch, commander-designate of the New Caledonia Task Force, arrives on New Caledonia Island.

AUSTRALIA: USN Patrol Wing Ten (PatWing-10), which was based in the Philippines in December 1941, completes withdrawal from the Netherlands East Indies, and establishes headquarters in Perth, Western Australia, for patrol operations along the west coast of Australia. Sixty percent of the wing personnel are either dead or captives of the Japanese. Three of the four wing squadrons, Patrol Squadron Twenty One (VP-21), VP-22 and VP-102 are officially disestablished, and the remaining personnel and aircraft assets, PBY-4 and -5 Catalinas, are combined to bring up to full strength the remaining squadron, VP-101.

U.S.A.: The Tuskegee flying school graduates its first cadets. This US school was segregated for Black students. They joined the 99th Pursuit Squadron. Names: Capt. Ben Davis Jr.; 2LT Mac Ross, Charles DeBow, LR Curtis, and George Roberts. (Michael Ballard)

The practicability of using a radio sonobuoy in aerial anti-submarine warfare was demonstrated in an exercise conducted off New London, Connecticut, by nonrigid airship (or blimp) K-5 and submarine USS S-20 (SS-125). The buoy could detect the sound of the submerged submarine's propellers at distances up to 3 miles (5 kilometres), and radio reception aboard the blimp was satisfactory up to 5 miles (8 kilometres).

Hog Islander Cardonia sunk by U-126 about 9 miles (14 kilometres) north-northwest of West Tortuga Island, Haiti at 19.53N, 73.27W.

U-126 later sinks an unarmed U.S. freighter about 5 miles (8 kilometres) west-northwest of San Nicholas Mole, Haiti.

Unarmed Brazilian steamship SS Arabutan sunk by U-155 about 110 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, at 35.15N, 73.55W.

Steam tanker Unilawenco sunk by U-161 at 13.23N, 62.04W.

At 2314, steam trawler Nyggjaberg was hit by one torpedo from U-701 and sank within two minutes south of Iceland.

At 0835, the unescorted and unarmed Barbara was hit by a torpedo amidships on the port side, despite sailing an approved zigzagging course in moonlight. The torpedo penetrated the hull deep and exploded on the starboard side, causing a fire which damaged the engines, killed the watch below and reached mast high amidships. The fire prevented the survivors from launching any lifeboats, so they had to jump or climb into the water and swim to the life rafts. The ship burned for two and a half hours and sank stern first about nine miles north-northeast of Tortuga Island, Dominican Republic. On 9 March, the master, 15 men and a stewardess were picked up after three days at sea by a USN PBY Catalina flying boat several miles off Porta l'Ecu, Haiti. The pilot who risked two landings and overloaded his plane was cited for the act. A group of 21 survivors landed on Tortuga Island after nearly three days at sea. Able Seaman Maximo Murphy walked 18 hours across the island to get help from natives, who send a Haitian Coast Guard vessel to the survivors. Murphy earned the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions. Two other rafts with 19 survivors made it to the shore safely. Bosun Charles Rooney and AB John Taurin had released a portable gangway when the ship was sunk and clung to this gangway along with a passenger, who died on the second day. Both men were spotted by an aircraft on the forth day and were picked up by a destroyer, which was directed to them by the aircraft. Of the eight officers, 50 crewmen and 27 passengers aboard, four officers, 14 crewmen and eight passengers lost their lives. The master Walter Gwynn Hudgins later commanded the Elizabeth, which was sunk by U-103 on 21 May 1942. (Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)