ALASKA (11th Air Force): During June 1942, 11th Fighter Squadron, 28th Composite Group, moves from Elmendorf Field, Anchorage to Ft Glenn, Umnak with P-40s. During Jun, 406th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 41st Bombardment Group (Medium), sends detachments to operate in Alaska with B-18s.
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS (10th Air Force): 5 heavy bombers attack the Rangoon, Burma dock and harbor area, claiming 1 tanker sunk and another left listing. 436th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Karachi to Lahabad, India with B-17Es; first mission is 4 Jun.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s attack Lae and Salamaua and Rabaul.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): 6 of 16 B-17s that have been on detached service at Midway return to Oahu, Territory of Hawaii.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s bomb the dock and military camp area at Rabaul. 39th Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, moves from Woodstock to Port Moresby with P-39s; first mission is today.
AUSTRALIA - Australian Prime Minister John Curtin bouyed by the arrival of American forces challenges the Japanese, saying "I defy the enemy to land large forces in Australia".
ALASKA (11th Air Force): In an attempt to divert forces from the Midway area, a Japanese carrier-based bombers and fighters bomb and strafe Ft Mears and Dutch Harbor in several waves inflicting little damage but killing 52 US personnel. P-40s from Cold Bay trying to intercept them arrive 10 minutes after the last attack wave departs. Other P-40s at Umnak are notified too late due to communication failure. 9 P-40s and 6 B-26s fly a patrol but cannot find the fleet-l80 miles (288 km) S of Dutch Harbor- but 2 of the P-40s engage 4 carrier-based aircraft, shoot down one and damage another. An A6M2 Zero fighter crashes in the Aleutian Islands and is discovered intact five weeks later. It is shipped to the United States for testing and evaluation.
Alaska - Japanese occupy Kiska and Attu in the Aleutians.
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS (10th Air Force): A flight of 6 B-25s of the 11th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), earmarked for China, take off from Dinjan, India for China. They bomb Lashio, Burma en route to Kunming, but afterward 9 crash into an overcast-hidden mountain at 10,000 feet (3,048 m) and another is abandoned when it runs out of fuel near Chan-i, China. The remaining 2 B-25's reach Kunming, China, 1 with its radio operator killed by a fighter.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): Preliminary action begins in the Battle of Midway. 9 B-17s, flying out of Midway , attack 5 large warships 570 miles (912 km) off Midway, claiming 5 hits and several near misses. 7 other B-17s leave Oahu, Territory of Hawaii and fly to Midway.
3-6--The Battle of Midway--A strong Japanese thrust in the Central Pacific to occupy Midway , was led by a four carrier Mobile Force, supported by heavy units of the Main Body (First Fleet) and covered by a diversionary carrier raid on Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s hit the wharf, warehouse area, and military camp at Rabaul.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): A carrier-borne force from carrier Junyo attacks Dutch Harbor with 11 Val bombers led by Lt. Zenji Abe, 10 fighters led by Lt. Yoshio Shiga and 8 torpedo bombers in several waves. 2 P-40s intercept 4 bombers just before noon over Umnak Pass and shoot down 3. During the afternoon P-40s intercept 9 fighters; a dogfight claims 1 enemy aircraft and 1 P-40, the Eleventh Air Force's first combat casualty. AA fire claims another Japanese bomber. In all, four Vals and a Zero were lost, and two P-40s. Lost is A6M2 Zero 4593 that force landed on Akutan. During the afternoon 2 B-17s and 5 B-26s attack the carrier force, and 3 more B-26s strike the cruiser TAKAO; no hits are scored; 1 B-24 and 1 B-25 fail to return. 36th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 28th Composite Group, based at Ft Greeley, Kodiak with B-17Es and LB-30s, sends detachments to operate from various bases in the Aleutian s.
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS (10th Air Force): 2 heavy bombers bomb Rangoon, Burma, but are attacked by 10 fighters; 1 heavy bomber is shot down and the other badly damaged. This raid ends 2 months of harassing strikes against Rangoon; soon all heavy bombers are grounded by the monsoons. 11th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), is established at Kunming, China with B-25s.
USN - Battle of Midway begins. The battle would result in the Japanese Navy's first clear naval defeat in over 300 years and the loss of four carriers. All available aircraft were involved in the battle. The TBF Grumman Avenger flown by pilots of a shore-based element of Torpedo Squadron 8, began its combat career with attacks on the Japanese Fleet. The Marine Corps VMSB-241 attack in two groups: 16 SBD-2 (led by Henderson) attacked the Hiryu, 8 were lost including SBD-2 Dauntless 2129. Also, 11 SB2U-3 (led by Norris). After releasing its torpedo at Akagi, B-26 "Suzy-Q" 40-1391 flys down its flight deck escaping and force lands at Midway with heavy damage.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): 4 B-26s, in conjunction with US Navy (USN) torpedo bombers, attack a carrier; 2 of the B-26s are shot down. In further morning action 14 B-17s attack a task force approaching Midway at a distance of 145 miles (232 km); they claim several hits on carriers and 2 Zekes shot down. In the late afternoon 2 B-17s attack a carrier force at 31-40N 179-10W, claiming hits on a battleship and a carrier and 9 aircraft shot down; 4 other B-17s claim a hit on heavy cruiser 185 miles (296 km) from Midway. 6 B-17s, en route to Midway from Hawaii, bomb ships 170 miles (272 km) from Midway, claiming hits on a burning carrier, the HIRYU, hit earlier in the battle, and a destroyer, which is claimed sunk.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): 18 B-26s, 10 B-17s and 2 LB-30s search and attack sorties are flown against the carrier force, the B-26s splitting into 3 missions, the B-17s into 2. No contact is made. The B-17s using radar bomb targets which look like ships, but later turn out to be the Pribilof s.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): The Battle of Midway continues with the Japanese fleet retiring westward. In the morning 8 B-17s hit a force 130 miles (208 km) from Midway , claiming hits on 2 large warships. During the afternoon 6 B-17s claim hits on a heavy cruiser 300 miles (480 km) from Midway. The last strike by Seventh Air Force aircraft in the Battle of Midway is by 5 B-17s which bomb a heavy cruiser 425 miles (680 km) from Midway. 1 B-17 is shot down and another lost due to fuel shortage. The battle ends with Midway's installations heavily damaged by bombs but still in US hands and with landing strips still intact. During the fighting (3-5 Jun) Seventh Air Force aircraft carried out 16 B-17 attacks (55 sorties) and 1 torpedo attack by 4 B-26s, claiming 22 hits on ships and 10 fighters shot down. 2 B-17s and 2 B-26s were lost. One of the decisive battles of naval history, Midway will cost Japan the initiative and will be a turning point in the Pacific war.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s hit wharves, a warehouse, and coal jetty at Rabaul.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): Various bomber search-attack missions are flown in an attempt to contact the fleet reported near Seguam . No contact is made due to weather. 8 P-38s enroute from Cold Bay to Umnak mistakenly attack a Soviet freighter. The Japanese begin to land on Kiska .
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): B-17s maintain a search out of Midway . 6 B-17s mistakenly attack a US submarine, which later reports no damage. More B-17s arrive on Midway from Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. This attack was met by a greatly outnumbered United States carrier force composed of Task Force 17 (Rear Admiral F. J. Fletcher) with Yorktown, and Task Force 16 (Rear Admiral R. A. Spruance) with Hornet and Enterprise, and by Navy, Marine Corps, and Army air units based on Midway. Planes from Midway located and attacked ships of the Japanese Occupation Force 600 miles to the west (3 June), and of the mobile Force (4 June) as it sent its aircraft against defensive installations on Midway. Concentrating on the destruction of Midway air forces and diverted by their torpedo, horizontal, and dive bombing attacks, the Japanese carriers were caught unprepared for the carrier air attack which began at 0930 with the heroic but unsuccessful effort of Torpedo Squadron 8, and were hit in full force at 1030 when dive bombers hit and sank the carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu. A Japanese counter attack at noon and another 2 hours later, damaged Yorktown with bombs and torpedoes so severely that she was abandoned. In the late afternoon, U.S. carrier air hit the Mobile Force again, sinking Hiryu, the fourth and last of the Japanese carriers in action. With control of the air irretrievably lost, the Japanese retired under the attack of Midway-based aircraft (5 June) and of carrier air (6 June) in which the heavy cruiser Mikuma was sunk and the Mogami severely damaged. Japanese losses totaled two heavy and two light carriers, one heavy cruiser, 258 aircraft, and a large percentage of their experienced carrier pilots. United States losses were 40 shore-based and 92 carrier aircraft, the destroyer Hammann and the carrier the Yorktown, which sank 6 and 7 June respectively, the result of a single submarine attack. The decisive defeat administered to the Japanese put an end to their successful offensive and effectively turned the tide of the Pacific War.
SUNDAY, 7 JUNE 1942
AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS ALASKA (11th Air Force): Japanese troops invade
Attu. More troops are put ashore
on Kiska. An enemy airplane
is sighted over Cold Bay but cannot be intercepted. The invasion was supposed
to draw U.S. ships from the area of Midway, but failed in that respect.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force) Four LB-30s take off from from Midway. Lost is LB-30 AL589, piloted by General Tinker leading the predawn attack on Wake. The other LB-30s are LB-30 AL611, LB-30 AL617, LB-30 AL626
MIDWAY - The Battle of Midway ends. Japanese losses include 3,500 men, four carriers, a cruiser, 332 aircraft, and many of their bravest, most experienced pilots. American losses include 307 men, the carrier Yorktown, one destroyer and 150 aircraft lost.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): 1 LB-30 flies armed patrol over Kiska and Umnak s and discovers Japanese naval units in Kiska Harbor.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): Patrols are flown but encounter no aircraft.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): Brigadier General Howard C Davidson, Commanding General VII Fighter Command, also becomes Commanding General 7th Air Force.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s attack Lae and Salamaua. Lost is B-26 "The Virginian" 40-1508. On the return to base, B-26 40-1363 force lands at 7-Mile Drome, its crew safe and is later repaired. That mission, future US President L. B. Johnson flys as a passenger aboard B-26 40-1588 that aborted the mission. Lost on a ferry flight is B-17E 41-2667.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): Local patrol is flown at Umnak .
USN - Patrol planes of Pat Wing 4 discovered the presence of the enemy on Kiska and Attu--the first news of Japanese landings that had taken place on the 7th.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s bomb aircraft and buildings at Rabaul. HQ 38th Bombardment Group (Medium) moves from Amberley to Eagle Farms.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): The 11th Air Force strikes at Kiska for the first time. 5 B-24's and 5 B-17s from Cold Bay load bombs at Umnak and hit Kiska harbor installations and shipping targets. Low-altitude runs score near misses on 2 cruisers and a destroyer. AA downs a B-24; the other B-24s are pursued by 4 fighters back to Umnak where US fighters drive them off. Air echelon of 21st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 30th Bombardment Group (Heavy), begins operating from Umnak with B-24s.
USN - Aircraft discover Japanese landing at Attu . PBY Catalinas, operating from the seaplane tender Gillis in Nazan Bay, Atka , hit ships and enemy positions on Kiska in an intense 48-hour attack which exhausted the gasoline and bomb supply aboard the Gillis but was not successful in driving the Japanese from the .
ZONE OF INTERIOR: Aircraft and crews of the 97th Bombardment Group deployed temporarily to the W coast, are ordered back to New England for movement to the UK.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): 6 B-17s and 1 B-24 bomb shipping in the harbor at Kiska . A cruiser is heavily damaged and one destroyer is seen burning. 42d Fighter Squadron, 54th Fighter Group, based at Harding Field, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, begins operating from Kodiak, Alaska with P-39s.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s bomb the building area and Vunakanau and Lakunai.
US Army - First issue of "Yank" is published
ALASKA (11th Air Force): An LB-30 flies a weather mission and for the third straight day shipping in the harbor at Kiska is bombed by 5 B-17s and 3 B-24s; 2 heavy bombers turn back; the others bomb partially cloud-obscured targets. No effect is observed.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s hit the Lakunai Airfield.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): 4 B-17s and 3 B-24s bomb shipping in the harbor of Kiska from an altitude of 700 feet (213 m), lowest altitude yet. 2 cruisers are hit and one scout seaplane is downed. 2 B-17s are heavily damaged but return to base. The Japanese bomb Nazan Bay, Atka .
ZONE OF INTERIOR: 32d, 352d, 353d and 419th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy), cease operating from Muroc AAB, California and return to base at Alamogordo AAFld, New Mexico with B-17s and cease flying ASW patrols. 358th, 359th and 360th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 303d Bombardment Group (Heavy), cease operating from Muroc AAB, California and return to base at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho with B-17s and cease flying ASW patrols.
New Zealand - First echelon of 1st Marine Division arrives at Wellington, New Zealand
ALASKA (11th Air Force): A bombing mission to Kiska by 3 B-17s and 2 B-24s is aborted due to weather.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): 63d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Sydney to Charleville with B-17s.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): FEAF was planning a joint strike against Lae and Salamaua similar to the operation of June 9. The morning schedule was interrupted by a fighter sweep of A6M2 Zeros of the Tainan Kokutai over the Port Moresby area. 32 P-39 and P-400 Airacobra of the 39th and 40th Fighter Squadron were scrambled. They were hit hard and four were shot down and two heavily damaged. Tainan piliots claim 17 shot down and 2 probables and lost no aircraft damaged or shot down. Lost is P-39F 41-7204, P-39F 41-7136, P-39F 41-7222 and P-39 piloted by Lynch. Three of the pilots shot down returned while one went MIA.
In the afternoon, 22nd BG B-26s and 19th BG B-17s hit Lae and 3rd BG B-25s hit Salamaua hitting runways and buildings and starting several fires. They meet their Airacobra escort on the return flight, shot down is P-39 piloted by Magre.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): A Kiska Harbor bombing mission is cancelled due to weather as is a patrolling mission by heavy bombers.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): P-40s of 73d Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, aboard the aircraft carrier. USS SARATOGA (CV-3) are flown off the carrier at Midway to replace USN aircraft lost in the Battle of Midway. The P-40s begin dawn and dusk patrols which continue until the P-40s are relieved on 23 Jun 43.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): 1 LB-30, 3 B-17s and 4 B-24s make a precision high-altitude attack on Kiska Harbor. A transport is left burning and sinking, another is mauled, and 2 scout planes are possibly shot down. 1 B-24 crashes at sea; part of its crew is saved.
RAN - Damaged the day before, the MV MacDhui is sunk in Fairfax Harbor near Port Moresby by Japanese bombing raid against
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): Air echelon of 69th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 38th Bombardment Group (Medium), leaves Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii with B-26s and proceeds to New Caledonia to join the ground echelon; the squadron will fly sea-search missions until Dec 42.
AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS ALASKA (11th Air Force): B-24s taking off to bomb Kiska abort due to fog. 1 of them and 2 of its crew are lost when forced to land in the water. A B-17 is dispatched to attack a reported submarine but makes no contact.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s pound shipping and Vunakanau Airfield.
USN - VAdm Ghormley assumes command of South Pacific Area and South Pacific Forces
ALASKA (11th Air Force): 1 LB-30, 1 B-17 and 7 B-24s take off on a search and bombing mission over Kiska . 3 aircraft abort the mission due to weather, 3 bomb through an overcast with unobserved results, and 3 others search in vain for a B-24 lost on the preceding day. 56th and 57th Fighter Squadrons, 54th Fighter Group, based at Harding Field, Baton Rouge, Louisiana begin operating from Nome and Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Alaska respectively with P-39s.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): Major General Willis H Hale becomes Commanding General 7th Air Force, and Colonel Albert Hegenberger becomes temporary commanding officer of the VII Bomber Command.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s bomb the runway at Lae.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): The War Department authorizes the XI Air Force Services Command, hitherto the Provisional Service Command, which is activated at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage. It is charged with maintaining and supplying all of the 11th's bases. Weather cancels all missions except an armed weather sortie over Kiska . Fighters fly local patrols.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): A B-17 weather reconnaissance aircraft flies over Kiska . Fighters fly air base patrols. A bombing mission is cancelled due to weather.
A Japanese submarine shells the military depot at Fort Stevens, Oregon. Damage from the first attack on a U.S. mainland is trivial.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): Weather cancels a bombing mission. A B-17 flies a reconnaissance mission over Kiska . A P-40 on defensive patrol crashes at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage.
RAAF - Wirraway A20-506 is lost on a training excercise.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): Weather cancels bombing. 1 B-17 flies a weather reconnaissance over Kiska . Fighters patrol airfields. ZONE OF INTERIOR: 43d and 52d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 29th Bombardment Group (Heavy), cease flying ASW patrols and move from MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida to Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho with B-17s.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s hit Vunakanau Airfield on New Britain. Bomb loads include several bundles of incendiaries which cause intense fires.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): 2 B-17s, 4 B-24s and 1 LB-30 fly bombing and weather missions over Kiska, bombing the N side of the harbor.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): Brigadier General William E Lynd becomes Commanding General VII Bomber Command.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-25s bomb Salamaua. Lost on a take offf accidnet at 12 Mile Drome is P-39 piloted by Rose.
Washington - President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill conclude conference in Washington; decision reached for combined efforts to develop atomic bomb
ALASKA (11th Air Force): 5 B-24s drop incendiaries and fire bombs on Kiska Harbor installations.
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th Air Force): Brigadier General Earl L Naiden becomes Commanding General 10th Air Force, succeeding Major General Lewis H Brereton who departs for the Middle East with Brigadier General Elmer E Adler, Commanding General X Air Service Command, and several other key subordinates. The aircraft and crews of the 9th Bombardment Squadron follow. This move leaves the 10th Air Force almost a skeleton.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): 3 LB-30s bomb installations on Wake. The raid takes place during the night of 26/27 Jun and is staged through Midway .
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS (10th Air Force): 16th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, moves from Karachi, India to Kunming, China with P-40s.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): 22nd BG B-26s bomb Lae and Salamaua.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): A B-17 weather aircraft flies over Kiska . A solid weather front cancels bombing. On this and the following day US advanced reconnaissance parties land on Adak from submarines.
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th Air Force): 11th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), based at Kunming, China, sends a detachment to operate from Dinjan, India with B-25s.
New Guinea - Four Australian platoons land and attack Japanese position at Salamaua, killing about 100 enemy troops, bringing back three trucks and a portable bridge. Allied morale is boosted, but the attack fails to gain any signifigant ground from the Japanese.
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th Air Force): Colonel Robert C Oliver assumes command of the X Air Service Command. 9th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (attached to USAMEAF) departs India for Palestine with B-17s. Ground echelon leaves from Lahabad, India and air echelon leaves from Baumrauli, India.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s hit Lakunai Airfield and Lae Airfield during the night of 28/29 Jun. 35th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, moves from Port Moresby to Woodstock with P-39s.
ALASKA (11th Air Force): A B-17 flies weather reconnaissance over Kiska .
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th Air Force): 11th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), based at Kunming, China, sends detachments to operate from Kweilin, Hengyang and Nanning, China with B-25s.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): B-17s attack Dili and Koepang on Timor and Kendari; B-25s and 22nd BG B-26s hit Lae. 36th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, moves from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Townsville, Australia with P-39s.