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• Weather data for 26 May 1942

• US Navy Vice Admiral Halsey fell ill. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• US Navy Rear Admiral Spruance took over the responsibilities of Vice Admiral Halsey. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-103 sank US tanker Alcoa Carrier between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands at 0416 hours; all 35 aboard survived. At 1100 hours, U-106 sank US tanker Carrabulle 150 miles south of Louisiana, United States; 22 were killed, 18 survived. Beginning at 2000 hours, U-106 pursued US ship Atenas on the surface in the Gulf of Mexico, exchanging gunfire; Atenas would ultimately be able to escape, though suffering some damage. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-703 attacked Allied convoy PQ-16 780 miles northeast of Iceland at 0259 hours, sinking US merchant ship Syros (two torpedo hits, detonating cargo of ammunition); 9 were killed, 30 survived (but 2 of the survivors would later die from exposure). 8 German He 111 and 3 Ju 88 aircraft also attacked PQ-16, but they failed to cause any damage. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Japanese merchant ship Naruto Maru departed Rabaul, New Britain for Yokohama, Japan. ww2dbase [CPC]
• US pilot Major Felix Hardison flew a lone B-17E bomber to attack Rabaul, New Britain at night time. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Milton Miles and his group departed Chongqing, China by trucks toward the coast. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Hornet arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]
• USS Enterprise arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• Nachi departed Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan as the flagship of Vice Admiral Boshiro Hosogaya, providing support for the convoy carrying troops of the Aleutian Islands invasion force. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• Tatsuta Maru departed Sasebo, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• The Japanese Navy Carrier Striking Force, composed of four carriers and an escort of battleships and lesser ships, sortied from the Inland Sea of Japan for Midway Atoll. In the Aleutian Islands in northern Pacific Ocean, Japanese submarine I-9 launched her floatplane for a reconnaissance mission over Kiska. In Japan, the naval leadership instructed the various fleets and bases to prepare for a new radio encryption scheme that would be deployed very soon. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• A feint was launched by German General Ludwig Crüwell at the center of the Gazala Line in Libya, drawing Allied troops away from the main offensive to be launched on the next day. All available Axis tanks were assigned to the main offensive, and Crüwell's men mounted unused aircraft engines on trucks to create dust clouds similar to those caused by tank movements. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• In Libya, Erwin Rommel released 620 Indian prisoners of war originally from the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Kamoi departed Emidji, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Soviet troops in the pocket at Izium, Ukraine captured Lozovenka to the east during their breakout attempt, but overall German pressure caused the pocket to shrink to the size of about 15 square kilometers. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The United Kingdom and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in London, England, United Kingdom, with terms including the agreement that neither party would seek a separate peace with Germany, a 20-year alliance, the refusal to join any treaty against one another, and the pledge not to interfere in each other's internal affairs. ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS Kitty Hawk delivered to Midway Atoll the 3-inch anti-aircraft group of 3rd Defense Battalion, 5 light tanks of a light tank platoon for mobile reserve, 16 SBD-2 aircraft, and 7 F4F-3 aircraft, all of which were of the United States Marine Corps. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

26 May 1942 Interactive Map