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• About 250 internees of the Portland Assembly Center in Oregon, United States departed for Newell, California, United States to assist in the construction of the Tule Lake War Relocation Center. ww2dbase [Portland Assembly Center | 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 [Arctic Convoys | 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 [Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns | CPC]
• US Navy Rear Admiral Spruance took over the responsibilities of Vice Admiral Halsey. ww2dbase [Raymond Spruance | CPC]
• US Navy Vice Admiral Halsey fell ill. ww2dbase [William Halsey | CPC]

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

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

• Kumano joined the Midway Invasion Transport Group at Guam, Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Battle of Midway and the Aleutian Islands | Kumano | DS]

• USS Hornet arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Hornet (Yorktown-class) | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Pearl Harbor, Oahu | CPC]
• USS Enterprise arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Enterprise | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Pearl Harbor, Oahu | CPC]

• Tatsuta Maru departed Sasebo, Japan. ww2dbase [Tatsuta Maru | Sasebo, Nagasaki | 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 [Battle of Midway and the Aleutian Islands | Inland Sea | 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 [Nachi | Mutsu, Aomori | 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 [Battle of Gazala | Gazala | CPC]
• In Libya, Erwin Rommel released 620 Indian prisoners of war originally from the Indian 3rd Motor Brigade. ww2dbase [Erwin Rommel | CPC]

• Kamoi departed Emidji, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Emidji | 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 [Second Battle of Kharkov | Lozovenka, Kharkov | 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 [London, England | 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 [Midway Bases | Kitty Hawk | Midway | CPC]

26 May 1942 Interactive Map