MONDAY, 29 MAY 1944
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): At dawn two B-25s photograph and bomb Shimushu and Matsuwa (secondary). During the early afternoon two B-25s escorted
by four P-38s strafe, bomb and sink a patrol boat in the Kuriles. Later
4 other B-25s unsuccessfully attack two vessels off Shimushu.
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 27 B-25s and 40+ fighter-bombers pound
troops and positions at Bhamo and Mohnyin, the railroad at Mogaung and warehouses
at Sahmaw.
CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): Seven B-24s pound areas along the Burma Road, three
bomb the town of Wanling, Burma, and two B-24s attack a convoy of Hainan claiming a 250' freighter sunk. In China, 26 P-40s and P-38s attack
troops at Lushan, pound barracks and demolish 7 trucks at Yuanchu, bomb and
strafe the general area at Nanchang and destroy several buildings along the
Hsiang River N of Changsha; and 19th Liaison Squadron, Fourteenth Air Force,
attached to Y Force, moves from Ondal, India to Kunming with L-1s and L-5s.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): Operations are restricted to photo
missions over Wotje, Mille and Jaluit. Lost is B-24J "Cloudy Joe" 42-73499 escorting U.S. Navy (USN) PB4Y-1 Liberators from VD-4 on a photo mission over Saipan.
SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): Major General James T Moore,
USMC, takes over as Commander Air Solomons (COMAIRSOLS). On New Britain,
almost 100 B-25s, P-38s, P-39s and a variety of USN aircraft pound the Rabaul
area, with AAF aircraft concentrating on the Nordup supply area and the others
concentrating on Hospital Point AA positions. On Bougainville, 24 P-39s
and 16 P-40s blast occupied areas west of Tinputs Harbor and at Arigua Plantation.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea, B-24s pound
gun positions, defense areas and troops, as the first tank battle of the SWPA
is fought west of Parai on Biak; other B-24s pound Timoeka Airfield and Babo Airfield; A-20s, B-25s and P-47s, along with RAAF aircraft and a
few B-24s from the Biak strike, saturate the Wewak area with continuous air
strikes; in the Wakde-Sarmi battle zone, B-25s and P-40s hit forces in
the Mount Saskin area; B-24s of the Thirteenth Air Task Force bomb Woleai and other nearby islands in the Caroline Islands.
U.S. Army: West of west of Parai on Biak, three U.S. Army M4 Sherman tanks were advancing on the road towards Mokmer Drome. They were engaged by four Type 95 Ha Go tanks from the Japanese Army, 222nd Infantry Regiment, Tank Company under the command of 1st Lt. Iwasa but all were destroyed. Next, three more Type 95 Ha Go tanks attacked but were also destroyed and 1st Lt. Iwasa was killed. The Tank Company's last two tanks were destroyed when the U.S. Army attacked the airfield on June 15, 1944. These engagements were the first tank versus tank battles in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA).
USN: Destroyers from Destroyer Squadron 41 bombard Japanese installations on the north coast of New Ireland, shelling the Medina Plantation area.
USS Rasher (SS-269) attacks Japanese convoy in the eastern Celebes Sea damaging gunboat Anshu Maru about 110 miles north-northwest of Halmahera, 03°32'N, 127°07'E.
USS Silversides (SS-236), despite the proximity of four escort vessels and aircraft, sinks Japanese transports H_raisan Maru and Sh_ken Maru about 100 miles north-northwest of Saipan, 16°23'N, 144°59'E.
Japanese convoy no. 3530 departs Yokohama, bound for Saipan. The seven transports/cargo ships carry men and equipment of the Japanese Army's 118th Infantry.
