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• » 1 Apr 1942

• During this month, Captain Kaoru Arima, Chief Equipping Officer of the future battleship Musashi, paid an orientation visit on Yamato with members of Musashi's fitting-out crew. ww2dbase [Yamato | CPC]
• Japanese troops landed at Buka and Santa Isabel in the Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | CPC]
• Submarine USS Swordfish departed with 40 tons of food and supplies for Corregidor, Philippine Islands, but she would be unable to deliver before the American garrison surrendered at Bata'an. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Saipan, departing later on the same day. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
• Georg von Bismarck became the commanding officer of the 21st Panzer Division. ww2dbase [Georg von Bismarck | CPC]
• Trawler Anticosti was launched. ww2dbase [Anticosti | CPC]
• Light carrier Hosho was assigned to the 1st Air Fleet. ww2dbase [Hosho | CPC]
• German submarine U-77 was damaged by a British Swordfish aircraft 50 miles north of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, causing her to lose the ability to dive. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British submarine HMS Urge sank Italian cruiser Bande Nere north of Sicily, Italy at 0900 hours with two torpedo hits. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German anti-submarine trawler UJ-1203 struck a mine and sank in the Gulf of Finland. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-71 sank British ship Eastmoor 500 miles north of Bermuda at 0403 hours; 16 were killed, 32 survived. About two hours later at 0618 hours, U-754 sank US tanker Tiger 10 miles off Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States, killing 1 of 43 aboard. To the southeast, 60 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States, U-160 sank British ship Rio Blanco at 1622 hours; 19 were killed, 21 survived. In the far south Atlantic, at 1724 hours, German armed merchant cruiser Thor sank British freighter Willesden with gunfire and a torpedo; 2 were killed. Finally, U-202 sank British ship Loch Don 500 miles north of Bermuda at 2314 hours; 3 were killed, 44 survived. ww2dbase [Thor | Second Happy Time | CPC]
• Hans-Joachim Marseille was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | CPC]
• Kurt Fricke was promoted to the rank of admiral. ww2dbase [Kurt Frike | CPC]
• Kamoi, along with the rest of 24th Air Flotilla, was assigned to the 11th Seaplane Tender Division. ww2dbase [Kamoi | CPC]
• USS St. Louis shifted from San Francisco to Mare Island, Vallejo, California. ww2dbase [St. Louis | Mare Island Navy Yard | DS]

• The newly arrived US squadron in Port Moresby, Australian Papua, flying A-24 Banshee aircraft, launched its first attack on Japanese positions. The primary target was Lae on the northern coast of New Guinea, but due to cloud cover, the secondary target of Salamaua was attacked; the attack caused only minor damage. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | Salamaua | CPC]
• The Japanese 25th Air Flotilla was assigned to Rabaul, New Britain under the command of Rear Admiral Sadayoshi Yasuda. ww2dbase [Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]
• Tenryu arrived at Rabaul, New Britain, refueled, and departed later in the day. ww2dbase [Tenryu | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's Malaya Force, Second Expeditionary Fleet, departs Mergui, Burma and steams into the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean Raids to attack merchant shipping. The force includes light carrier Ryujo and cruisers Chokai, Suzuya, Kumano, Mikuma, Mogami, and Yura. ww2dbase [Kumano | Amagiri | Suzuya | Yura | Chokai | Mikuma | Mogami | Raids into the Indian Ocean | Jisaburo Ozawa | Ryujo | Mergui | DS]

• Joseph Stilwell arrived in Chongqing, China, threatening to resign his post as Chiang's chief of staff over Chinese field commanders' insubordination. ww2dbase [Joseph Stilwell | Chongqing | CPC]
• The Chinese Air Force established No. 3 Aircraft Plant in Chengdu, China. ww2dbase [Chengdu, Sichuan | CPC]

• Japanese cruiser Naka was hit by a torpedo from US submarine USS Seawolf (of three fired) off Christmas Island, causing serious damage. She would be towed to Bantam Bay, Java, Dutch East Indies for repairs. ww2dbase [Naka | Java | CPC]

• British submarine HMS Truant sank Japanese merchant ships Yae Maru and Shunsei Maru in the Malacca Strait between Malaya and Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [Malacca Strait | CPC]

• Tomokazu Kasai began basic flight school in Japan. ww2dbase [Tomokazu Kasai | CPC]

• As Italian bombers sank British submarines HMS P36 and HMS Pandora in Valetta Harbour, Malta, the island had become one of the most bombed place on earth. Although Malta remained a thorn on the Axis' side, making convoying between Italy and North Africa hazardous, the Luftwaffe told an impatient Hitler that they could not sink an island with bombs. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | Valetta | AC, CPC]

• USS Astoria arrived at Nouméa, New Caledonia. ww2dbase [Astoria (New Orleans-class) | Nouméa | CPC]

• Soviet submarine ShCh-404 sank German freighter Michel in the Barents Sea 8 miles north of Kirkenes, Norway. ww2dbase [Kirkenes | CPC]

• In Washington DC, United States, General George Marshall and his General Staff enthusiastically accepted a plan, submitted by Dwight Eisenhower, for an immediate assault across the English Channel into Nazi-occupied France with ten divisions of British and Canadian troops; it was understood that the British and the Canadians would likely see a very high casualty rate from such an invasion. ww2dbase [George Marshall | Washington | AC]
• Under strict security sixteen modified B-25 bombers were lifted onto the USS Hornet and lashed to the flight deck at Naval Air Station Alameda, California, United States. ww2dbase [Doolittle Raid | Alameda, California | AC]
• General George Marshall and Major General Dwight Eisenhower presented a plan of war to President Franklin Roosevelt. This plan included "Operation Bolero" which would see the immediate preparation of 30 divisions, of which six were to be armoured, and complimentary air-power for movement across the Atlantic Ocean within the period of a year. ww2dbase [George Marshall | AC]
• Emil Sandquist established a headquarters at the future site of the Portland Assembly Center in Oregon, United States. ww2dbase [Portland Assembly Center | Portland, Oregon | CPC]
• USS S-29 arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States. ww2dbase [S-29/P556 | New London, Connecticut | CPC]

1 Apr 1942 Interactive Map