Air Operations, Mediterranean

There is another air raid on Valetta, Malta by the German air corps based in Sicily.

Air Operations, North Africa

British aircraft bomb Benghazi.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-75 sinks the British steamer City of Nagpur (10,146t) west of Ireland with the loss of 16 on board. 452 survivors are picked up by the British destroyer Hurricane.
• The British steamer Kalua (722t) is sunk by German bombing near the mouth of the Tyne. The entire crew are rescued.
• German motor torpedo boats sortie against the 57 ships of Convoy EC-13 off Cromer. The British steamer Ambrose Fleming is sunk by S-29 with the loss of 11 crewmen.

The Blitz

Plymouth is again bombed during the night for the fifth time since April 21. 772 tons of high explosives, UXBs and parachute mines are dropped along with 139,000 incendiaries. In the 5 raids not a single part of the city is untouched. The centers of both Plymouth and Devonport are destroyed. Streets are wiped out completely. Among the streets that not longer exist are Union Street, Bedford Street, Courtenay Street and Westwell Street. Property is destroyed in the Hoe and North Road. At Mill Bay, businesses are burned out and buildings such as Drill Hall, Stonehouse Town Hall, the Ballard Institute and the Royal Western Yacht Club are devastated.

Damage to Plymouth from the April Blitz.

50 churches and chapels are destroyed including St Peter's, St James-the-Less, the Salvation Army Congress Hall and the Treville Street Unitarian. Among the schools hit are the Notre Dame Girls School and the Hoe Grammar School. In Devonport, the shopping districts of Queen Street, Catherine Street and Fore Street are severely damaged. Among the buildings hit there are Royal Sailors' Rest, the Post Office and the Alhambre Theater. 10 churches and chapels are destroyed. In spite of the widespread damage, the dockyards are not brought to a halt. Work there and production in the shipyards are only affected temporarily. The damage to the dockyards at Devonport is less severe than anticipated and within 5 months things were back to 90 per cent of its efficiency.

Iraq

Iraqi forces surround the British base at Habbaniyah and sabotage oil pipelines.

Two shiploads of British reinforcements arrive at Basra to aid in what is building up to a military confrontation with the new pro-Axis Iraqi government. Rashid Ali proposes British women and children be evacuated out of Baghdad to the RAF base at Habbaniyah, 50 miles to the west for 'their protection'.

Italian East Africa

Advance forces from 5th Indian Div reach the north side of the Italian position at Amba Alagi, in Abyssinia. Gen Cunningham's troops, advancing further after the capture of Dessie, approach from the south.

Mediterranean

The British convoy service ship Chakla (3081t) is sunk in a German air attack inside Tobruk harbor. 2 of the crew are wounded.