Air Operations, Aleutians

• All aircraft sent to attack Kiska abort in the face of bad weather, but several 11th Air Force aircraft attack various targets at Attu.
• The 28th Composite Group’s 36th Bomb Squadron mounts its first operational missions from the airfield at Amchitka.

Air Operations, Bismarcks

90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s mount individual attacks against barges off New Britain.

Air Operations, CBI

• In their unit’s combat debut, 18 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack an airfield, an oil refinery, a coal yard, and docks at Hainan Island’s Samah Bay. 1 damaged B-24 is abandoned during the return flight across French Indochina at the cost of 1 crewman killed.

• 12 11th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s (crewed with Chinese Air Force co-pilots) attack the port area at Haiphong. Following the bombing attack, 19 23Rd Fighter Group P-40 escorts strafe the port area.

Air Operations, Europe

P-47s escort B-17s during a raid on an automobile factory in Antwerp.

• 12 Venturas attack the railway yards at Abbeville. 3 Mosquitos out of 6 sent bomb the power stations at Haarlem ant The Hague.
• There are no losses.

• 596 aircraft are sent on the first major raid on Dortmund. Included in this total are 255 Lancasters, 141 Halifaxes, 110 Wellingtons, 80 Stirlings and 10 Mosquitos.
• The initial Pathfinder marking is accurate, but some of the backing-up marking falls short. A decoy fire site also attracts many bombs. Regardless, half the bomb force do bomb within 3 miles of the aiming point. Severe damage is caused in the central and northern parts of Dortmund.
• 12 Halifaxes, 7 Stirlings, 6 Lancasters and 6 Wellingtons are lost. 7 more planes crash in bad weather upon their return to the bomber bases.

Photograph taken from one of the aircraft attacking Dortmund during Bomber Command's first major attack on the city. The white streaks are the tracks of fires and incendiaries.

First Attack on Dortmund

Air Operations, New Guinea

90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Babo and Wewak.

Air Operations, Solomons

USN fighters and dive-bombers, and USAAF fighters attack Vangavanga.

Aleutians

After a day's delay due to bad weather, the convoy sails for the landing on Attu. Strong unfavorable winds on the voyage make it necessary to put back Day X by three more days, i.e. to May 11.

Battle of the Atlantic

East-bound Convoy ONS-5, protected by 18 escorts, is threatened by 60 U-boats in 4 groups. During a battle which extends over 3 nights, 13 merchantmen are lost and 1 is damaged, but the escorts sink 6 U-boats and badly damage 4 more. Another 2 collide and are lost. This result is achieved without the normal level of air support.

Burma

The Japanese, with their technique of infiltrating in small groups, have now infiltrated between Buthidaung and Maungdaw, disrupting British communications. The British attacks to dislodge them are easily repulsed.

China

The Japanese advance south of the Yangtze River.

Eastern Front

Hitler postpones the launching of Operation ZITADELLE (CITADEL) from May 9 to mid-June.

Hitler decided to postpone Operation CITADEL—an attack on the city of Kursk—so more Tiger and Panther tanks could be deployed in the offensive. This was against the advice of a number of leading generals, who feared that the Russian defenses would become too strong if the offensive was delayed any further.

Tanks Moving Up for the Operation

The air war intensifies as the Soviets launch a large raid upon the German railway yards at Orsha. A lucky strike by one aircraft hits an ammunition train, the resulting explosions destroying the surrounding area and more than 300 freight wagons.

Germany, Strategy

Hitler decides to delay Operation CITADEL to June 13 so that more Tiger and the new Panther tanks can take part in the coming offensive.

North Africa

The Germans put up a more stubborn defense that ever on the defensive line at Mateur.

The US II Corps pushes forward in preparation for its full-scale drive on Bizerte on the 6th. On the northern flank, the 9th Div and the Corps Franc d'Afrique get into position for the advance on Bizerte over the hills north of Garaet Achkel. The Corps d'Afrique improves its positions west of Djebel Cheniti, the commanding ridge just north of Gararet Achkel. To the right, the 1st Armored Div, whose next objective is Ferryville, patrols actively from Mateur. The enemy is subjecting Mateur to heavy air attacks. The 91st Reconnaissance Squadron begins a limited offensive for Djebel Achkel, a precipitous hill just south of Garaet Achkel commanding the Mateur-Ferryville area, and meets strong opposition. On the southern flank of the II Corps, the 34th Div patrols uneventfully to Eddekhila in preparation fo the attack on the Chouïgui Pass.

A damaged Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 (KM+EY) of III./SKG 10 (Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 - Fast Bomber Wing) at El Aouina airport, Tunis, Tunisia, May 1943.

Damaged Focke-Wulf Fw-190