Calendar and Summary for WW2 Related Events for May 1942

Calendar and Summary for May 1942

SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT

					1	2

3	4	5	6	7	8	9

10	11	12	13	14	15	16

17	18	19	20	21	22	23

24	25	26	27	28	29	30

31

April 1942

June 1942

Summary of Significant Events for May 1942

The Japanese occupied Mandalay, Burma.

Japanese troops occupied Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo in the Solomon Islands.

The USAAF Flying Tigers shifted their base of operations to Kunming, China, and out of Japanese-occupied Burma.

The Battle of the Coral Sea began when aircraft from the USS Yorktown launched strikes against the Japanese invasion force off Tulagi.

The British landed troops in northern Madagascar at the naval base at Diego Suarez in "Operation Ironclad."

Lt. General Wainwright surrendered the American forces at Corregidor.

American aircraft severely damaged the aircraft carrier IJN Shōhō in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

The IJN Shokaku was damaged by American planes and the USS Lexington was sunk and the USS Yorktown was damaged by Japanese planes in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

The Japanese Port Moresby invasion convoy was recalled because of Allied naval presence in the Coral Sea.

Operation Bowery successfully delivered 64 Spitfires to Malta.

Major General William F. Sharp, commanding the few remaining resisting American forces in the Philippines issued orders of surrender.

The Red Army began an offensive aimed at liberating Kharkov.

Kapitänleutnant Johann Mohr U-124 attacked and sank 4 merchant ships of Convoy ONS-93 on May 12.

The Soviet positions on the Kerch Peninsula collapsed and the Soviets were in a panicked retreat.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation establishing the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.

Gasoline rationing began in 17 eastern states in the United States.

The Allied army in Borneo surrendered.

The Battle of the Kerch Peninsula ended with the near complete destruction of the Soviet defending forces.

The Soviet offensive at Kharkov was called off.

The Japanese conquest of Burma was completed as the Japanese forces took up defensive positions on the border with India.

German Chancellor Adolf Hitler called off Operation Herkules, the planned invasion of Malta.

The Germans launched a major anti-partisan offensive, Operation Hanover, to clear the Bryansk-Vyazma railway region.

Lt. General Joseph Stilwell arrived in Delhi after a 140 mile retreat through the Burma jungle.

The Japanese Combined Fleet began sailing for the planned action at Midway Island.

The damaged USS Yorktown arrived at Pearl Harbor from its engagement in the Battle of the Coral Sea and repairs began immediately so that it could participate in the Battle of Midway.

A Czechoslovak commando team from England made an assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich in Prague.

The aircraft carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-12) set sail for Midway.

Operation Millennium began when the first air raid using over 1,000 bombers attacked Cologne.

The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown set sail for Midway.

Three two-man midget submarines tried to enter Sydney Harbor.

127 ships (599,426 tons) were sunk and 19 ships (117,584 tons) were damaged by U-boats during May 1942.

Events occurring in May 1942 with no specific dates

The objective of WW2Timelines.com is to provide a day by day account of the events that lead up to and were part of the greatest conflict known to mankind. There are accounts for the activities of each particular day and timelines for subjects and personalities. It is the of this website intent to provide an unbiased account of the war. Analysis, effects caused by an event, or prior or subsequent pertinent events are presented separately and indicated as text that is italicized.