Air Operations, CBI

• 4 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the port area at Kowloon and shipping at Bakli Bay and Samah Bay.
• 25 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack rivercraft, tanks, and motor vehicles at 6 locations.
• More than 140 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack various targets across southern and eastern China.
• 32 23rd Fighter Group P-51s attack Shanghai-area airfields.
• 37 V Bomber Command B-24s, escorted by V Fighter Command fighters, attack Hong Kong port facilities.
• 23rd Fighter Group P-51s down a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter and a twin-engine trainer over Shanghai-area airfields between 0825 and 0840 hours.
• A 3rd Air Commando Group P-51 downs an A6M Zero near Hong Kong at 1320 hours, and P-38s of the V Fighter Command’s 49th Fighter Group down 2 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters and 1 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Hong Kong at 1340 hours.

• 28 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack bridges at Kep and That Khe, the town areas at Luc Nam and Vinh, and shipping and coastal targets along the Gulf of Tonkin.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Tawau and shipyards at Sandakan.

Air Operations, Europe

• In minor ops, 59 training aircraft make a sweep over the North Sea, 54 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 50 to Magdeburg, 8 to Lüneburg and 1 each to Hamburg and Lübeck, and there are 26 Mosquito patrols and 55 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito is lost on the Berlin raid.

• Due to bad weather, more than 700 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s are recalled at the Denmark coast while on their way to attack airfields in Denmark.
• 1 B-17 and 1 escort fighter are lost.

• XIX TAC fighter pilots down 17 Luftwaffe aircraft between 0715 and 1600 hours.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack rail bridges on both sides of the Austro-Italian border.
• XXII TAC P-47s attack methane plants and lines of communication in the Po River valley.
• In the last significant air-to-air engangement of the war in the MTO, P-47 pilots of the 12th Air Force's 350th Fighter Group down 13 Bf-109s in the Verona area between 1420 and 1430 hours.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack a marshalling yard at Mantua and communications targets and crossing point in the Po River valley.

• Nearly 600 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards and rail bridges.

Air Operations, Japan

During the night 9 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s sow mines off Hiroshima.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Following an air and naval bombardment of the objective and surrounding islands, elements of the US 8th Army make an unopposed landing at Sanga Sanga Island in the Sulu Archipelago’s Tawi Tawi group, only 30 miles from Borneo. The local airfield is easily captured. Bongao Island, adjacent to Sanga Sanga, is also captured. Air cover and support is provided by Marine Air Group 12 F4Us and Marine Air Group 32 SBDs based at Moret Field on Mindanao.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Sarangani Bay area.
• FEAF B-25s and fighter-bombers attack targets on Cebu, Luzon, and Negros.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US Navy carrier aircraft cover and support the invasion forces. Task Force 57 Royal Navy carrier aircraft attack targets in the Sakishima Islands. Many air missions over Okinawa are guided by FM pilots from VOC-1 and VOC-2, who also spot fire for surface warships.
• Aerial opposition to the Okinawa invasion remains light. Several ships bearing US 10th Army troops who have taken part in the capture of the Kerama Islands are damaged by kamikaze aircraft, including a destroyer-transport that must be scuttled. Loss of life aboard the ships runs to nearly 100.
• A VF-10 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 0500 hours.
• 2 VF-82 F6Fs down a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Task Force 58 at 0545 hours.
• 4 VC-92 FMs down a D3A 'Val' dive bomber at sea at 0600 hours.
• 4 VC-92 FMs down a D3A 'Val' dive bomber at sea at 0715 hours.
• VC-88 FMs down 3 P1Y 'Galaxy' bombers and 1 Ki-45 'Nick' fighter near southern Okinawa between 0830 and 1245 hours.
• VF-17 F6Fs down 2 N1K 'Rex' fighters off northwestern Okinawa at 1840 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-321 is sunk by Wellington 'Y' of No 304 (Polish) Squadron while investigating a radar contact. The snorkel and periscope are spotted upon which six depth charges are dropped which result in the sinking of the U-boat.

U-321

Eastern Front

In Hungary, the Russian 57th Army and Bulgarian 1st Army capture Nagykanizsa, center of the Hungarian oilfields. The 2nd Ukraine Front occupies the industrial town of Mosonmagyarovar and reaches the Austrian border between the Danube and Lake Neusiedler.

There is also hard fighting southwest of Ratibor in the sector of the German Army Group Center.

The 57th Army captures the Nagykanitza oil fields and stops the fuel running to Germany.[MORE]

Germany, Home Front

Martin Bormann issues a proclamation, which calls for 'victory or death'.

Italy

Operation ROAST to liberate Comacchio goes ahead and units of the V Corps, British 8th Army, succeed in establishing a bridgehead in the sector west of Comacchio.

Okinawa

The Americans advance north more easily than they had hoped, and the 6th Marine Div occupies the peninsula northwest of Hagushi. In the east, too, considerable progress, and the 7th Div reaches the east coast in Nagagusuku Bay, cutting the island in two. American losses on the first day have been astonishingly low, 28 dead, 27 missing and 104 wounded, so light that the Americans nickname April 1st, Easter, 'Love Day'. Bulldozers shove the remains of Japanese aircraft off the airfields to make the runways usable; in one hangar they find, intact, one of the new piloted flying bombs, Oka. An American convoy with the 77th Div on board is attacked by Japanese aircraft; 3 destroyers, 4 assault craft and 1 tank landing craft are damaged more or less seriously, and there are many casualties.

As well as normal bombardment and air support missions performed by the US forces there are attacks by the British carriers on Sakashima Gunto Island. In kamikaze attacks 4 US attack transports are badly damaged with many casualties among the troops aboard. The transports hit include Chilton (APA-38), Henrico (APA-45), Goodhue (APA-107) and Telfair (APA-210). Other US ships damaged in the day's action include the destroyer Shaw (DD-373) by grounding, the destroyers Franks (DD-554) and Borie (DD-704) in a collision, the destroyer escort Foreman (DE-633) by a dive bomber and the attack cargo ship Lacerta (AKA-29) accidentally hit by friendly naval gunfire.

Pacific

• US carrier-based aircraft sink the Japanese coast defense vessel No. 186 and the transport No. 17 in the Yellow Sea.
• The US submarine Sea Devil (SS-400) attacks a Japanese convoy in the central Yellow Sea and sinks the army cargo ship Nisshin Maru (1179t), the merchant cargo ship Daijo Maru (6866t) and damages the merchant cargo ship Yamaji Maru.

Philippines

On Luzon the American troops landed at Legaspi dig in to defend their bridgehead, for the Japanese are well trained and determined to deny the Americans access to Highway 1 which runs north from the San Bernardino Strait. In the US XIV Corps sector, the 1st Cavalry Division reaches San Pablo.

On Negros Island the US 185th Infantry takes Talisay and its airfield. The 160th Infantry is held up by violent Japanese fire near Concepción.

In Cebu Island intense fighting takes place between the Americans and Japanese on Bolo Ridge.

US 41st Division troops land on Tawitawi, in the south of the Sulu archipelago near British North Borneo.

Western Front

The Canadian I Corps, 1st Army, moves out from the Nijmegen bridgehead and advances on Arnhem.

In the British 2nd Army sector the XII Corps reaches the Dortmund-Ems Canal at Rheine, while the VIII Corps continues its advance on Osnabrück.

While the XIII Corps takes Münster and pushes on toward the Weser, the XIX Corps is engaged in the Teutoburg forest and the XVI Corps reaches the Dortmund-Ems Canal.

The 3rd Arm Div, VII Corps, US 1st Army, consolidates its positions at Paderborn. The XVIII Airborne Corps takes over responsibility for the sector between the Rhine, Rur, Lenne and Sieg Rivers. The 80th Div, XX Corps, US 3rd Army, reaches the suburbs of Kassel.

In the US 7th Army sector the attacks of units of the XV Corps against Aschaffenburg are still unsuccessful; the city is vigorously defended by units of the German 7th Army.

Images from April 2, 1945

British Tanks Advance Toward Osnabruck

POWs near Munster

Having a Meal during the Advance

T34 Calliope Rocket Launcher

Moving through Wernberg

US Army XXIV Corps on Okinawa

Advancing toward Osnabruck

P-51D Mustang at Ober-Olm