Air Operations, Europe

• 197 aircraft including 105 Wellingtons, 31 Stirlings, 29 Halifaxes, 15 Hampdens, 13 Lancasters and 4 Manchesters are sent to bomb Mannheim. 155 aircraft claim to have hit the target area, but bombing photographs show most of the bomb loads landing in forests or open country. A concentrated group of incendiaries do hit in the harbor area on the Rhine. 4 small industrial installations are burned out. Only light damage is caused elsewhere. 2 firemen are the only fatal casualties. 4 Halifaxes, 4 Stirlings and 3 Wellingtons are lost on this raid.
• In minor operations, 65 'freshmen' crews are sent to bomb St Nazaire, but the results are poor. 9 aircraft lay mines off Lorient and near Heligoland and 13 are on leaflet flights over France. 1 Wellington is lost on the St Nazaire raid.
• The RAF heavily bomb Mannheim in a night raid.

Air Operations, Pacific

Lt-Col James H. Doolittle is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for leading the Tokyo Raid of April 18, 1942.

President Roosevelt bestows Congressional Medal of Honor on Brigadier General James Doolittle for a successful raid on Tokyo.

President Roosevelt and Brig-Gen James Doolittle

Allied Planning

The UN Air Training Conference is held in Ottawa lasting 4 days. The enlarged Empire Air Training Scheme will be signed at Ottawa on June 5, 1942.

Caribbean

The unarmed US freighter Isabela (3110t) is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by U-751 35 miles south of Navassa Island Light with the loss of three crewmen. Survivors reach Cape Briton, Haiti in lifeboats.

Eastern Front

After strongly resisting the Russian attacks for several days, the Germans mount a major counterattack 80 miles southeast of Kharkov, in the Ukraine. This battle will continue until the end of June.

The Soviet 28th and 38th Armies try yet again to resume their attacks but are stopped in their tracks by German artillery. As the German XLIV Corps approaches Izyum, Red Army units inside the Barvenkovo salient are in danger of being encircled, particularly the 57th Army. In response the Soviets attempt fo form defensive positions, the XXI and XXIII Tank Corps having been ordered east. To the north, the Soviet 6th Army continues its attacks, although with few gains. Timoshenko asks Stalin for permission for the Southwestern Front to go on to the defensive, but it is too late. Hitler orders Kleist to drive for Balakleya to complete the encirclement of all Soviet forces in the pocket.[MORE]

May 19, 1942: German troops attack Soviet battery near Sevastopol

Gulf of Mexico

• The US freighter Heredia (4732t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-506 two miles south of the Ship Shoal Buoy, Louisiana. The ship sinks rapidly losing 37 of those on board. 26 survivors are rescued by shrimp boats and a seaplane.
• The US freighter Ogontz (5037t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-103 losing 19 men in the attack.