Battle of the Atlantic

The unarmed US freighter Quaker City (4961t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-156 about 300 miles east of Barbados with the loss of 10 of her crew.

Britain, Command

Adm Sir Henry Harwood is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean area. Adm Sir Andrew Cunningham will head up the naval delegation to Washington.

All-Norwegian Fighter Squadron

An all-Norwegian Fighter Squadron equipped with Spitfires is now flying with the Royal Air Force. It has been in action since March this year and is doing fine work. Many members of the Squadron can tell thrilling stories of their escapes from their native country to take up arms again in Britain. The Norwegian Air Force, which is commanded by Rear Admiral Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen, the famous explorer, is trained in Canada, and then comes to this country for final training and to take up operational duties. Men of the Norwegian ground staff line up for refreshments at the mobile N.A.A.F.I. (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) canteen in the Spitfire dispersal area, May 18, 1942.

Britain, Planning

Air Marshal A. T. Harris, head of the RAF Bomber Command, submits a detailed plan for an air assault on Germany based on the assumption that it will be possible to send 1,000 bombers over Germany in a single night.

Burma

Chiang Kai-shek orders the Chinese 5th Army, which has been reduced to basically the Chinese 22nd and 96th Divisions, to take up positions between Myitkyina and Fort Hertz. The survivors of the 22nd Div eventually reach the Ledo area between July and August. Later the remainder of the 96th Div returns to China from Fort Hertz.

Caribbean

• The unarmed US tanker Mercury Sun (8893t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-125. Six crewmen are lost in the attack and the ship abandoned.
• U-125 torpedoes and sinks the unarmed US freighter William J. Salman (2616t) en route to Antigua, BWI with the loss of six of her crew.

Eastern Front

North of Kharkov, the 38th Army launches a limited action, but is soon under heavy German counterattack and is forced to pull back to its start lines. Later in the morning, the 28th Army also attempts an attack but achieves only limited success.

Throughout the day, Group Kleist continues to pound the 57th and 9th Armies. Forward units of the XLIV Corps close upon Izyum, but strong resistance by the V Cavalry Corps prevents the early capture of the town.

The Soviet 6th Army continues to attack, but its XXIII and XXI Tank Corps are, during the day, ordered to disengage and march east to deal with the threat to the 57th and 9th Armies. Bobkin's advance is now fully stalled around Krasnograd, the Soviet force no longer having the strength to overcome the increasingly strong German forces in the town. Timoshenko resists requests by his army commanders to abandon the offensive and orders them to press on.

Japan, Planning

The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters designates New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa as objectives for the 17th Army and the Combined Fleet.

Mediterranean

The carriers HMS Argus and Eagle of Force H ferry 18 Spitfires to Malta.

Soviet Union, Politics

Jacob Malik is appointed as the Soviet Ambassador in Tokyo.