Air Operations, Europe

• 12 Bostons accurately bomb the Boulogne docks without a loss.
• 32 Stirlings and 28 Wellingtons are sent on mine-laying missions in the Frisians and Heligoland areas. German night fighters are active and account for the loss of 5 Stirlings and 2 Wellingtons.
• In minor operations, 27 aircrafter are sent to bomb Boulogne and 1 Stirling flies a leaflet mission over France. 1 Wellington is lost on the Boulogne raid.

Air Operations, New Guinea

An 8th Fighter Group P-39 shoots down an A6M Zero over Port Moresby/Seven-Mile Drome at 1030 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US freighter Challenger (7667t), en route to Trinidad for voyage repairs, is torpedoed and sunk by U-155 with the loss of 8 men on board. 56 survivors are rescued by the yacht Turquoise (PY-19).

Eastern Front

The German Army Group South counterattacks against the Izyum salient and east of Kharkov, stopping the Soviet offensive and forcing them to abandon thrusts towards Kharkov and the Donbas. The fighting grows more intense as the Germans eventually push the front eastward 25 miles.

Under German pressure the Soviet 21st, 28th and 38th Armies north of Kharkov are falling back. To the south of the city the German Group Kleist (III Panzer, XLIV and LII Corps) begins its counterattack between Barvenkov and Slavyansk, hitting the Soviet 9th Army head on. By the evening the Germans have captured Barvenkovo and created a 9-mile hole between the 9th and 57th Armies and pushed 20 miles into the Soviet rear. To the west, meanwhile, Red Army units continue to attack, the XXI and XXIII Tank Corps advancing through the Soviet 6th Army's positions.[MORE]

India, Home Front

Moslem fanatics, Hurs, derail the Punjab Mail Train near Karachi, killing 25 passengers and injuring 140. 4 days later Hurs stop a bus at Mirpukhas and slaughter 13 passengers. (see June 1, 1942)

Pacific

• The US submarines Tautog (SS-199) and Triton (SS-201) sink the Japanese submarines I-28 and I-164 of Truk and Kagoshima respectively.
• The US submarine Skipjack (SS-184) sinks the Japanese army transport Taizan Maru (3149t) near the mouth of the Gulf of Siam.

Secret War

In Operation Kremlin the German High Command makes an unsuccessful attempt to mislead Red Army Intelligence into believing the Wehrmacht is about to launch a major driver to capture Moscow.

Flight From Connecticut to Ohio

On this date Igor I. Sikorsky's XR-4, flown by Sikorsky and Les Morris, landed at Wright Field, Ohio, to complete delivery of the first Army Air Forces helicopter. It took more than 16 hours of flight time and 17 refueling stops to fly this fabric-covered, two-seat helicopter from Stratford, Connecticut to Riverside, Ohio.

First Army Helicopter Delivered

After a 761 mile (1,224.7 kilometer) flight over five days, test pilot Charles Lester (“Les”) Morris and Igor Sikorsky arrived at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, to deliver the U.S. Army’s first helicopter, the Sikorsky XR-4. Morris hovered directly up to the base administration building and landed there. He and Sikorsky were greeted by a large group of people which included Lieutenant Colonel Hollingsworth Franklin (“Frank”) Gregory, the Army’s designated rotorcraft expert, and pioneer aviator Orville Wright.