May 4, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

FRIDAY, 4 MAY 1945

ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Brigadier General Isaiah Davies replaces Major General Davenport Johnson as Commanding General 11th Air Force (11th AF) on an interim basis.

CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 12 B-25s and 180+ fighter-bombers, mostly operating in flights of 2 to 4 aircraft, attack town areas, storage, troops, horses, trucks, river shipping, airfields, and many other targets of opportunity scattered over the vast expanse of S and E China.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): The 792d, 793d and 794th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy), 468th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), begin a movement from Kharagpur to Tinian Island with B-29s.

INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in Burma: 83d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 12th Bombardment Group (Medium), based at Fenny with B-25s, begins operating from Magwe, Burma; 164th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, from Sinthe to Magwe with UC-64s and L-5s.

AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): Twenty-two B-24s from Angaur Airfield bomb AA positions on Koror. Lost is B-24M "Brief" 44-42058. Eleven B-24s from Guam hit Marcus Airfield.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Missions 140 to 143: 47 B-29s attack airfields at Oita Airfield, Omura, Saeki, and Matsuyama on Kyushu and Shikoku; two others attack targets of opportunity; 1 B-29 is lost.

USN: USS Lagarto (SS-371) was sunk by minelayer Hatsutaka.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s bomb the Tuguegarao area while other B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers, in spite of bad weather, support ground forces in N and S Luzon and on Negros. P-38s pound Itu Aba Island, China. B-24s heavily damage oil installations at Saigon. B-25s and P-38s support ground forces on Tarakan and B-24s hit Sandakan and Kota Baru. On Celebes Island, bomb Mandai Airfield and Masamba Airfield. HQ 18th Fighter Group and 12th and 70th Fighter Squadrons move from San Jose to Zamboang with P-38s.