11 May 1942

- USS Yorktown sailed for Tongatapu, Tonga, British Western Pacific Territories for temporary repair for the damage incurred during the Battle of Coral Sea. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Bailey was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- USS Hornet arrived near New Hebrides. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- USS Enterprise arrived near New Hebrides. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Japanese invasion fleet (troopships Kinryu Maru and Takahata Maru, cruiser Tatsuta, destroyers Uzuki and Yuzuki, and minelayers Okinoshima (flagship) and Tsugaru) for Ocean (Banaba) and Nauru Islands set sail from Rabaul, New Britain. At 0452 hours, US submarine S-42 attacked the convoy, damaging Okinoshima 125 miles east of Rabaul; one of the destroyers took Okinoshima in tow while the other escorts counterattacked S-42 for six hours, which would cause severe damage, forcing S-42 to end her war patrol early. At 0640 hours, Okinoshima sank in the St. George's Channel. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Upon the loss of minelayer Okinoshima, destroyer Yuzuki temporarily assumed the role of Rear Admiral Kiyohide Shimazui's flagship. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Australian and American aircraft located the wreck of fleet oiler USS Neosho, damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea and adrift for four days. Destroyer USS Henley arrived at 1300 hours to pick up the survivors and to scuttle Neosho with gunfire. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC, CPC]
- US Marine Barracks, Fleet Air Base, Naval Operating Base, Iceland, was established. ww2dbase [CPC]
- German pilot Eduard Neumann was awarded the German Cross in Gold. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Six Soviet armies supported by various independent rifle, tank, and cavalry units gathered in preparation of an offensive toward Kharkov, Ukraine. German intelligence gained knowledge of such an offensive and the Germany military prepared for a defense. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Panamanian tanker Lubrafol, damaged by German submarine U-564 3 miles east of Hillsboro Inlet, Florida, United States two days prior, finally sank after two days of burning. On the same day, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean 400 miles northeast of Barbuda island, U-502 sank British ship Cape of Good Hope; 37 survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- British destroyers HMS Kipling, HMS Jackal, HMS Jervis, and HMS Lively, having been launched out of Alexandria, Egypt on the previous day to intercept an Axis convoy, was detected by German reconnaissance aircraft based out of Crete, Greece at about 1200 hours. At 1430 hours, 14 German Ju 88 aircraft attacked, sinking HMS Lively 120 miles north of Sidi Barrani, Egypt at 1530 hours (76 were killed). Just before sundown, 7 Ju 88 aircraft attacked again, sinking HMS Kipling (25 were killed) and damaing HMS Jackal (15 were killed) 60 miles north of Sidi Barrani. HMS Jervis rescued 630 survivors and took HMS Jackal, afire, in tow. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Rabaul, New Britain. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
- German Luftwaffe aircraft sank Soviet gunboat Rion and barge Anakriya in the Black Sea, killing 400, most of whom were wounded troops being evacuated from southern Ukraine. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team in Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii intercepted a radio message from Nobutake Kondo noting that the occupation force for the upcoming campaign would proceed to Saipan, Mariana Islands to await the launch of the operation. Rochefort determined that this occupation force was likely to sail east rather than south, and Midway Atoll was a likely target. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]
- The 3rd Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy moved to the coast of Gulf of Bomba in Libya in preparation for a planned amphibious operation behind Allied lines, which would never take place. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Newly arrived Spitfire fighters at Malta intercepted an Axis air fleet aiming to bomb Malta, shooting down 47 Axis aircraft at the loss of only 3. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Amon Göth ordered the Jewish council of Szczebrzeszyn, Poland to pay 2,000 zloty and 3 kilograms of coffee as payment for the cost of the ammunition that would soon be used to execute the local Jewish people. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Light cruiser Voroshilov bombarded German troop positions near Tash-Alchin, Russia. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]


11 May 1942 Interactive Map
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Did you enjoy this article? Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Change View
Desktop ViewSearch WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » Japan and Russia to continue negotiations on the Kuriles territorial dispute (22 Nov 2019)
- » Wreck of Akagi Found (21 Oct 2019)
- » Wreck of Kaga Found (18 Oct 2019)
- » USMC corrected Iwo Jima flag raiser identification (18 Oct 2019)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,067 biographies
- » 331 events
- » 37,111 timeline entries
- » 1,055 ships
- » 333 aircraft models
- » 186 vehicle models
- » 346 weapon models
- » 104 historical documents
- » 201 facilities
- » 463 book reviews
- » 26,082 photos
- » 309 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"We no longer demand anything, we want war."Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister, Aug 1939