Air Operations, Europe

Despite the progress of the Allies ground forces the efforts of the British and American Strategic Air Forces continue until almost the end of the month. The 8th Air Force flies 18,900 sorties to drop 46,600 tons of bombs. The targets include jet airfields and communications centers. Nuremberg, Bayreuth, Neumark and Berlin are all hit. RAF Bomber Command drops 38,400 tons particularly against ports and shipping including Hamburg, Kiel, and Bremen. Leipzig is also attacked. Heavy bombers are used to drop food to parts of Holland and to evacuate freed prisoners of war from Germany. Tactical targets are attacked by the heavy bomber forces and other units. On April 16 American and Soviet ground attack forces meet near Dresden when they try to attack the same German train. On April 30 the British and American authorities announce that the strategic bombing offensive is over.

Air Operations, Far East

The fire bombing attacks on Japanese cities go on. Tokyo is heavily attacked on 6 occasions during the month, and after April 6 land based escorts can be provided for the bombers. Kawasaki and Nagoya are among the other city targets. Also attacked are airfields in the Home Islands used by kamikaze aircraft involved in the Okinawa operation. At the very end of March a major mining campaign in Japanese home waters was begun by the B-29 forces and this now gets fully under way.

There are many air operations in support of the land forces in Southeast Asia Command and 14th Air Force in China is active against rail targets particularly.

Air Operations, CBI

• 10 10th Air Force B-25s attack roads and bridges in central Burma.

• 7 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack stores at Fort Bayard.
• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 6 14th Air Force P-51s attack warehouses and river traffic near Puchi and Sienning.
• 5 B-25s attack warehouses at Hsuchang.
• 3 B-25s attack a bridge at Changtuikuan.
• B-25s mount single-plane attacks against targets of opportunity at 4 locations.
• More than 70 fighter-bombers attack troops, transportation targets and targets of opportunity across southern and eastern China.
• 23 P-51 attack airfields in the Shanghai area.
• 3rd CACW Fighter Group P-51s down 5 twin-engined aircraft over Shanghai's Tachang airfield between 1215 and 1230 hours.

• 4 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack rail targets.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Oelin airfield on Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

• 4 Mosquitos of No. 100 Group, operating from a forward airfield in France, patrols airfields in Southern Germany.
• 1 Mosquito is lost, hit by flak and seen to crash at Leipheim, a small airfield near Ulm.

Air Operations, Formosa

• 30 22nd and 43rd Heavy Bomb Group attack the Giran airfield.
• 18 38th Medium Bomb Group attack the airfield at Karenko.
• V Fighter Command sweep the island.

Air Operations, Japan

• During the night 115 of 121 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft plant in Tokyo.
• 6 B-29s are lost.
• 6 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s sow mines in the harbor at Kure.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Following an intense naval and air bombardment US 6th Army troops make an unopposed landing on Luzon's Legaspi Peninsula and quickly secure the town and airfield there. FEAF B-25s and A-20s support US 8th Army ground forces on Negros and near Cebu City.
• In anticipation of an amphibious landing by US 8th Army ground forces F4Us from Marine Air Group 12's VMF-115 and VMF-313 bombard Sanga Sanga and Bongao islands in the Sulu Archipelago's Tawi Tawi group, only 30 miles from Borneo.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US 10th Army invades Okinawa. More than 500 US Navy and Marine Corps carrier aircraft cover and support the invasion forces. Task Force 57 Royal Navy carrier aircraft attack targets in the Sakishima Islands.
• A VF-6 F6F downs and A6M Zero over Okinawa at 0013 hours and another over Okinawa at 0115 hours.
• A VF-10 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 0145 hours.
• A VF-84 F4U downs 2 Ki-57 'Topsy' transport aircraft at sea at 0445 hours.
• 2 VC-85 FMs down a Ki-61 'Tony' fighter near Kerama Retto at 0600 hours.
• A VF-84 F4U downs a Ki-61 'Tony' fighter at sea at 0620 hours.
• VF-83 F6Fs down a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter and a Ki-84 'Frank' fighter off Okinawa at 0750 hours.
• A VF-82 F6F downs a B6N 'Jill' torpedo bomber over Okinawa at 1830 hours.
• During the evening 2 US Navy transports are damaged by kamikazes.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-747 is sunk at Hamburg during a bombing raid by the US 8th Air Force.

U-747

Burma

British Command Headquarters revises its plans and reorganizes its forces. The IV Corps, 15th and 17th Indian Divisions and 255th Tank Brigade, is to move toward Mandalay and Rangoon; the XXXIII Corps, British 2nd Division, 7th and 20th Indian Divisions and the 268th Indian Brigade of Infantry, will advance southwest along the Irrawaddy valley toward Prome. The 19th Indian Division will carry out mopping-up operations in the rear of the IV Corps.

Eastern Front

The 3rd Ukraine Front captures Sopron, a major road junction between Budapest and Vienna, near the Austrian frontier southwest of Lake Neusiedler. The Soviet High Command orders the 2nd Ukraine Front to take Bratislava by April 5 or 6 and go on to the Morava, while the 3rd Ukraine Front marches on Vienna.

There is fierce fighting in the sector defended by the German Army Group Center, where the Germans claim to have destroyed 1,002 Soviet tanks in the last 10 days of March. Savage fighting continues at Breslau. The German garrison at Glogau is ordered to fight its way out to the west.

In East Prussia, the German 2nd Army contains the massive pressure of the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts. The last remaining ships of the German navy take part in the operation, namely the cruisers Prinz Eugen, Emden, Lützow, Scheer and Hipper. Naval and merchant ships have transported 85,000 men, including 70,000 wounded to Pomerania in the last 14 days.

Glogan falls to the 1st Ukrainian Front's 13th Army.

The Soviet 6th Guards Tank Army captures Sopron after a short engagement.[MORE]

Task Force 51, commanded by Vice-Adm Richmond K. Turner, begins the landing of the US 10th Army, Gen Simon B. Buckner, on the southwest coast of Okinawa, near Hagushi. The landing takes place at 8:30am. The 10th Army is made up of the XXIV Corps of the US Army under Gen John R. Hodge, with the 7th, 27th, 77th and 96th Divisions of infantry and the III Amphibious Corps of Marines under Gen Roy S. Geiger, with the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th Marine Divisions. The 7th and 96th Divisions and the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions take part in the first phase. The operation is code-name ICEBERG.

The operation is carried out by 180,000 combatant troops, 1,320 ships of all types, the 20th Air Force and the Marines tactical air force. These supporting services add another 368,000 men to the 180,000 on the ground, bringing the total to 548,000; it is the biggest amphibious operation so far carried out in the Pacific.

On the Japanese side, under Gen Mitsuru Ushijima, who has been in command of the Japanese 32nd Army since August 1944, the Ryukyu Islands are garrisoned by a total of 130,000 men. Of these 85,000 are stationed in Okinawa, made up as follows: the 24th Division of infantry, recently formed and not fully trained, the 62nd Division of infantry, brought over from China, experienced and aggressive, the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade, half-destroyed during its transportation from Japan, and 1 tank regiment whose tanks have been dug in to act as so many block-houses. In the Motobu and Oroku peninsulas there are 3,500 seamen and 7,000 militarized citizens under command of Adm Minoru Ota, and another 20,000 men form the territorial militia. The Japanese are relying heavily on the navy's explosive boats and kamikaze pilots, organized by Vice-Adm Matome Ugachi, once Yamamoto's chief of staff. But while in the past there have been good pilots available, now Ugachi has to be content with cadets with few hours of active service flying. In the south of the island, the part assigned to Gen Hodge's XXIV Corps, a formidable defensive line has been prepared, the Shuri line.

In accordance with their accustomed tactics, never abandoned although demonstrated to be wrong, the first stage of the landings are unopposed. The landings are in the Hagashi area in the southwest of the island. Geiger's III Corps lands on the left with 6th and 1st Marine Divisions providing the assault units. Hodge's forces on the right are 7th and 96th Infantry Divisions. Hodges is to deal with the south end of the island and Geiger to advance to the north. By the evening a solid beachhead 3 miles deep and 9 miles wide is established. Okinawa is 66 miles long and between 3 and 10 miles across, so that the penetration if very substantial.

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.

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.

Air Operations, CBI

• Most of the 10th Air Force is grounded by bad weather, but a small number of fighter-bombers are able to attack troops near Kenglong.

• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack the airfield at Yangtong, bridges at several locations, and a number of targets of opportunity.
• 43 22nd and 43rd Heavy Bomb group B-24s attack the Hong Kong port area, where at least 2 ships are sunk.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack North Hainan Island.

• 17 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack bridges at 3 locations, rail yards at Ninh Binh, and the town area at Pinglo, China.
• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack rail yards at Hai Duong and several targets of opportunity.

• 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s destroy a bypass bridge (the 'Bridge on the River Kwai') with Azon bombs.

Air Operations, East Indies

V Bomber Command A-20s attack Tarakan Island.

Air Operations, Europe

• 247 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups are sent to attack what is believed to be military barracks near Nordhausen. Unfortunately, the barracks house a large number of concentration camp prisoners and forced workers of many nationalities who work in a complex of underground tunnels where various secret weapons are made. The camp and the tunnel workshops had been established immediately after Bomber Command attacked the rocket research establishment at Peenemünde in August 1943.
  The bombing is accurate and many people in the camp are killed, the exact number is not known. The men working in the tunnels are unhurt.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 95 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 8 to Plauen and 5 to Magdeburg, 9 Lancasters are sent to lay mines in the Kattegat but are recalled because of weather conditions, and there are 17 Mosquito patrols.
• 1 Mosquito is lost on the Magdeburg raid.

Air Operations, Formosa

• V Bomber Command B-24s and 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the airfield at Kagi.
• V Bomber Command A-20s sweep the island’s rail lines.
• 35th Fighter Group P-47s down 2 A6M Zeros and 1 Ki-45 'Nick' fighter near Takao at 1500 hours.

Air Operations, Japan

During the night 61 of 115 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft plant at Tachikawa, and 49 B-29s attack other targets. 43 of 78 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft factory at Koizumi, and 18 B-29s attack other targets. 48 of 49 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack an aircraft plant at Shizuoka. 1 73rd Wing B-29 is lost. 9 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s sow mines off Hiroshima.

Air Operations, Philippines

V Bomber Command A-20s and FEAF fighter-bombers attack numerous targets on Luzon and in the central Philippines.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• During the wee hours of April 3, a US Navy radar picket destroyer due north of Okinawa comes under continuous air attack by Japanese aircraft no doubt testing the responsiveness of the picket barrier around the invasion fleet. US Navy night fighters twice drive off the attackers and possibly down 2 of them.
• Despite bad weather and heavy seas, US carrier aircraft cover and support the invasion forces. Task Force 57 Royal Navy carrier aircraft attack targets in the Sakishima Islands.
• An LST bearing equipment for a US Marine Corps fighter squadron is struck by a kamikaze, and most of the aviation equipment is consumed in fires. Also, the escort carrier USS Wake Island is damaged when a kamikaze near misses her at about 1745 hours, and she must retire to Guam for repairs. VOC-1, whose special capabilities are required by the fleet, transfers to USS Marcus Island while VC-87 takes its place aboard the retiring USS Wake Island.
• VMF-451 carrier-based F4Us down 1 A6M Zero at sea at 1400 hours and 10 A6Ms over the Wan airfield on Kikai Shima during the afternoon.
• US carrier-based F6Fs, F4Us, and FMs down 45 Japanese aircraft over the Ryukyus between 1610 and 1845 hours.

Baltic Sea

• U-1221 is bombed and sunk while secured to Buoy A7 in Kiel Bay.
• U-2542 and U-3505 are destroyed while under construction at Kiel in a raid by the US 8th Air Force.

U-1221

Battle of the Atlantic

• US Army aircraft sink the German submarines U-1221, U-2542 and U-3505 at Kiel, Germany.
• U-1276 is sunk in a joint attack by Liberator 'U' of No 224 Squadron and the British sloop Amethyst.

U-1276

Air Operations, CBI

• Despite bad weather, 10th Air Force fighter-bombers are able to mount light attacks against Japanese Army troops and supplies in central Burma.

• 41 22nd and 43rd Heavy Bomb group B-24s attack the port area and Royal Navy Yard at Hong Kong. 2 vessels are declared destroyed in a dry-dock area and bombs also hit a power plant and oil stores.

• 2341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a junk in the Gulf of Tonkin.
• 6 P-38s strafe motor vehicles in the Dien Bien Phu area.

Air Operations, Europe

• 243 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No. 5 Group, with 8 Pathfinder Mosquitos, attack the barracks and the town of Nordhausen, which is severely damaged.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

• 327 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos of Nos. 3, 6 and 8 Groups attack the synthetic oil plant at Leuna. The target is cloud-covered and the bombing is scattered and only minor damage is caused.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.
• 327 aircraft including 277 Halifaxes, 36 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups attack the Rhenania oil plant in Harburg. The target is easily identified and severe damage is caused to it.
• 2 Lancasters and 1 Halifax are lost.
• 258 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups attack the oil refinery at Lützkendorf. Bomber Command claims 'moderate damage'.
• 6 Lancasters are lost.

• 35 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 31 to Magdeburg, 30 Lancasters lay mines in the Oslo Fjord and the Kattegat and there are 66 Mosquito patrols and 70 RCM sorties.
• 5 aircraft are lost: 2 Mosquitos on the Magdeburg raid and 3 mine-laying Lancasters of No. 1 Group from the Kattegat operation. The 136 aircraft dispatched by No. 100 Group on this night are that group's largest effort of the war.

Air Operations, Formosa

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfield at Toyohara and Tokochito Island.
• 12 V Bomber Command B-25s attack the Mako naval base in the Pescadore Islands, where they destroy 2 small tankers.
• V Bomber Command A-20s attack rail yards and factories at Shinchiku, and a factory at Suan Tau.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 24 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Bunawan.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack targets in central Mindanao.
• V Bomber Command A-20s attack targets on Luzon and northwestern Negros.
• V Fighter Command P-38s and P-51s attack targets on Luzon.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• Despite bad weather, US Navy carrier aircraft support US 10th Army ground forces on Okinawa.
• A VF-84 F4U downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber northwest of Okinawa at 0215 hours.
• A VF-83 F6F downs a Ki-51 'Sonia' bomber over Okinawa at 0415 hours.
• VBF-6 F4Us down 2 A6M Zeros southwest of Okinawa at 0745 hours.
• A VF-6 F6F downs a utility airplane at sea at 0753 hours.
• A VF-29 F6F downs a B6N 'Jill' torpedo bomber at sea at 1815 hours.

Baltic Sea

• U-237 is destroyed while under construction at Kiel in a raid by the US 8th Air Force. U-237 had been sunk once before at Kiel on May 14, 1943 and was refloated October 8, 1943.

U-237

Class	Type VIIC/41
CO	Kapitänleutnant Karl Heinz Menard
Location	Baltic, Kiel
Cause	Air attack
Casualties	Unknown
Survivors	Unknown

U-749 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Huisgen Location Baltic, Kiel Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors Unknown

U-3003 Class Type XXIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Ludo Kregelin Location Baltic, Kiel Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors Unknown

• U-749 and U-3003 (under construction) are also destroyed in this same raid.

Battle of the Atlantic

US army aircraft sink more German submarines including U-237, U-749 and U-3003 at Kiel, Germany.

Eastern Front

Advancing from positions southwest of Nowy Targ, in Poland, the 4th Ukraine Front, supported by Czechoslovak units, opens the offensive along the Polish-Czech frontier in the direction of Bohemia; the 2nd Front takes the important road and rail junction of Bratislava.

In Austria, advance guards of the 3rd Ukraine Front and Bulgarian troops are now only two miles from Vienna. The 2nd and 3rd Ukraine Fronts have together completely liberated Hungary and the 3rd Ukraine Front is advancing in Yugoslavia. The Germans admit the loss of Baden and announce that they are counterattacking in the are of Moravska-Ostrava and Nitra.

In East Prussia the Germans form the Silesia battle group at Swinemünde (Swinoujscie). Gen Gotthard Heinrici has taken over command of the Vistula Army Group.

The final reduction of Königsberg begins as the Soviet 11th Guards, 39th, 48th and 50th Armies probe the perimeter defenses.

The 7th Guards Army takes Bratislava.[MORE]

Air Operations, Carolines

18 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based at Guam attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 27 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack various targets in southern China and northern French Inochina.
• 20 V Bomber Command B-24s attack port facilities and an airfield at Kowloon.
• Preceded by V Bomber Command B-25s, 3 3rd Light Bomb Group A-20s fitted with wing tanks fly from their base on Luzon to attack a small convoy off Hong Kong. The A-20s sink a small cargo ship.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack Tawau and Tarakan Island.

Air Operations, Formosa

38 V Bomber Command B-24s attack the harbor at Kiirun.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 22 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Bunawan.
• 5th Air Force bombers and fighter-bombers mount more than 180 effective sorties in support of US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• A-20s and P-61s support US 8th Army ground forces on Cebu and Negros.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• Despite bad weather, US Navy carrier aircraft support US 10th Army ground forces on Okinawa.
• VF-9 F6Fs down 1 G4M 'Betty' bomber and 2 Ki-45 'Nick' fighter over the Nobara airfield in the Sakishima Islands at 0545 hours.
• VF-23 F6Fs down 2 A6M Zeros near Tarama Shima at 0720 hours.
• A VF-45 F6F downs a Ki-57 'Topsy' transport plane at sea at 1529 hours.
• A VF-33 F6F downs an E16A 'Paul' reconnaissance plane off northern Okinawa at 1830 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-1055 is lost this date or later due to unknown circumstances, possibly a mine, mechanical or drill failure.

U-1055 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Rolf Meyer Location Unknown Cause Unknown Casualties 49 Survivors Unknown

U-242 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Heinrich Riedel Location Irish Sea, St George's Channel Cause Mine Casualties 44 Survivors None

• The British trawler Willow observed an explosion within a British minefield in the Irish. It was later to be determined U-242.

• U-677 is destroyed in the Finkenwerder Bunker in Hamburg during an RAF bombing raid.

U-677 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Gerhard Ady Location North Sea, Hamburg Cause Air attack Casualties None Survivors Unknown

U-1169 Class Type VIIC/41 CO Oberleutnant zur See Heinz Goldbeck Location English Channel Cause Unknown Casualties 49 Survivors Unknown

• U-1169 had been ordered into the English Channel and later disappeared. She may have been the victim of a mine or lost as a result of an accident arising from mechanical or drill failure.
• The US tanker Atlantic States (8537t) is torpedoed by U-857 off Cape Cod. There are no casualties and the ship is towed to Boston where she is repaired.

Czechoslovakia, Politics

At Kosice, the National Front government of Czechs and Slovaks announces its program and proclaims the democratic principles of the Czech Republic. Stating that the liberation of the country is the first priority, it calls on the population to undertake a broad and active struggle against the Germans.

Diplomatic Relations

Vyacheslav Molotov tells the Japanese ambassador in Moscow that the USSR plans to denounce the 1941 Non-Agression Pact between the two nations. The announcement opens the possibility of Japan fighting against the Russians in Manchuria. Molotov says the change in policy is a consequence of the Japanese alliance with Germany.

Eastern Front

While fighting continues on the outskirts of Vienna and south of the Austrian capital, the German Army Group Center launches a series of counterattacks in Czechoslovakia to relieve Russian pressure on Moravska-Ostrava. In East Prussia, the Russians prepare to launch a massive attack on Königsberg after four days of heavy air and artillery preparation. Taking part in the operation are the 48th, 50th 11th and 39 Guards Armies, with the Keilsberg group, supported by 2,500 aircraft. The Germans in this sector can put up 200 fighters. Defending the city is the German 4th Army under Gen Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller, which also holds open the only escape route for the German forces in northern Latvia.

The 46th Army begins its attack toward Vienna, crossing the Danube west of Bratislava in order to envelop the city from the north. The 4th Guards Army is already attacking to the southeast. Dietrich's 6th SS plans to make a stand in Vienna and fight for every street.

Germany, Home Front

Schwarze Korps, the official organ of the Gestapo, admits that Germany is 'only days or perhaps weeks from absolute collapse.'

Italy

In the US 5th Army sector, the 92nd Division launches an attack in the direction of Massa.

Japan, Politics

Gen Kuniaki Koiso and his cabinet resign. Adm Kantaro Suzuki froms the new government. Shigenori Togo is Foreign Minister and Hiranuma Kiichiro President of the Privy Council. There is less military influence in this Cabinet than in Koiso's and all its members are agreed that no reasonable offer of peace should be turned down. Some even go as far as to think that any offer should be accepted if this is the only way that invasion can be avoided.

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 70 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets across central Burma.

• 3 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Bakli Bay area.
• 8 14th Air Force P-51s attack rail targets of opportunity in the Yellow River area.
• 23 V Bomber Command B-24s attack port facilities and oil stores at Yulin, Hainan.
• 24 345th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a Japanese destroyer and 2 frigates off Amoy. All 3 warships are sunk against the loss of 2 B-25s.

Air Operations, Europe

• 54 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No. 5 Group are sent to attack a ship or ships which had broken the naval blockade around that large part of western Holland where German forces have been cut off. The raid is abandoned because of bad weather.

Air Operations, Formosa

38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Hokko.

Air Operations, Japan

• 8 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kurabu Cape airfield and nearby targets.
• 8 B-25s armed with napalm bombs attack radar stations at 3 locations in the Kurile Islands.

Air Operations, Pacific

In Operation KILUSUI (FLOATING CHRYSANTHEMUM) the first of 10 massed kamikaze attacks on the US invasion fleet off Okinawa takes place. The last will take place June 21.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Jolo Island and Cebu.
• 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Bunawan.
• V Bomber Command A-20s support US 8th Army ground forces on Negros.
• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack Carabao Island and Infanta, and support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Western Pacific

24 345th Medium Bomb Group B-25s sink a Japanese destroyer and 2 frigates sailing from Canton to Japan. 2 B-25s are lost.

Air Operations, Rykyus

• As the weather clears, USN carrier aircraft support U.S. Tenth Army ground forces on Okinawa and intensify preinvasion strikes against Ie Shima.
• The Japanese, who have amassed 303 kamikazes and approximately 430 other aircraft within range of Okinawa, inaugurate Operation TEN-GO. More than 400 Japanese aircraft based in Japan take part in an all-out one-day effort against the Okinawa invasion fleet. While many attackers are kamikaze aircraft, the majority are escorts or bombers launched with intention of returning to their bases. The 22 kamikazes that manage to penetrate the fighter umbrella and anti-aircraft barrage each strike a different ship, of which 2 radar picket destroyers, a minesweeper, 2 ammunition ships, and an LST are sunk or mortally damaged. 10 other vessels are severely damaged, and others, including the fleet carrier USS Belleau Wood, suffer lesser damage in the attacks. An estimated 300 Japanese planes are expended or downed.

• All Task Force 58 ground-support operations are terminated for the day, and all fast-carrier light bombers are struck below to make way for intense fighter operations. As a result, US Navy carrier-based F6Fs, F4Us, and FMs down 257 Japanese aircraft over the northern Ryukyus between 0600 and 2015 hours and US Marine Corps carrier-based aircraft down 2 Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance planes, 4 B6N 'Jill' torpedo bomber, and 12 fighters between Okinawa and Kyushu between 0845 and 1630 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-1195 torpedoes and sinks the British transport Cuba from Convoy VWP-17. After screening the convoy into Portsmouth, the escorting ships returned to look for the culprit. The British frigate Monnow delivered a Hedgehog attack which resulted in the sinking of U-1195.

U-1195

Eastern Front

The battle of Vienna begins. The Germans blow up all the bridges across the Danube except one. The German 2nd Panzer Army and 6th SS Panzer Army manage to drive back the Russian forces in the Wiener Wald and counterattack northwest toward Klosterneuburg. The Russian 46th Army outflanks Vienna from the south. Gen Lothar Rendulic takes over command of the German Army Group South (600,000 men) from Gen Otto Wöhler.

Army Group Center renews its attacks against the 4th and 2nd Ukraine Fronts in Czechoslovakia. Breslau still holds out against the Russians.

In the Danzig area the Russians break through the German 2nd Army's line in several places. In East Prussia after several days of preparatory bombardment and air raids, the 2nd Belorussian Front opens the major attack against Königsberg and penetrates into the city.

Yugoslavian forces expel the Germans from Sarajevo.

The offensive against Königsberg begins, the 3rd Belorussian Front deploying 138,000 troops against the 35,000 of the garrison. Overhead, the Soviet 1st and 15th Air Armies pound the city as the Soviets break into the suburbs.

The defense of Vienna begins as the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts launch their offensive. Defended doggedly by the 6th SS Panzer Army, the 4th Guards and 6th Guards Tank Armies suffer heavy casualties as they attack.[MORE]

Italy

The US 92nd Division continues its offensive against Massa. The British 56th Division moves in force across the Reno River.

Occupied Yugoslavia

Sarajevo is liberated.

Air Operations, CBI

• 95 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets across central Burma.

• 4 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack port facilities at Bakli Bay, Hainan, Haiphong, French Indochina, and Samah Bay, Hainan.
• 14 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack targets of opportunity.
• 24 14th Air Force P-51s attack road, rail, and river traffic in the Yellow River area.
• Due to bad weather, 17 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s dispatched against a large convoy in the South China Sea are unable to locate the ships, and the convoy soon sails beyond range of American land-based aircraft.

• 8 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack targets of opportunity around Dien Bien Phu and Nam Hon.

Air Operations, Europe

Mosquitoes raid Berlin for the first time from a continental base. French paratroopers are dropped north of the Zuider Zee. US bombers make wide-ranging attacks on German airfields and railways.

• 15 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron and 2 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group carry out an accurate attack on ships at Ijmuiden.
• There are no losses.

• 175 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack the benzol plant at Molbis, near Leipzig. The weather is clear and the bombing is so effective that all production at the plant ceases.
• There are no losses.

• There are 14 Mosquito patrols and 6 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

Due to bad weather over their assigned targets, V Bomber Command B-24s and V Fighter Command P-38s attack various targets of opportunity.

Air Operations, Japan

• 153 of 194 313th and 314th Very Heavy Bomb wing B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft plant in Nagoya. 101 of 107 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft plant in Tokyo. 31 B-29s attack various targets of opportunity and last resort.
• 5 B-29s are lost.
• This is the first mission to Japan to be escorted by VII Fighter Command P-51s (91 in this case) based on Iwo Jima.
• The VII Fighter Command’s 15th Fighter Group, which opposed Japanese Navy aircraft at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, mounts its first bomber-escort mission of the war from its new base at Iwo Jima. The group’s P-51 pilots earn a Distinguished Unit Citation when they down a total of 19 Japanese airplanes while escorting 20th Air Force B-29s against an aircraft factory near Tokyo. Several 21st Fighter Group P-51 pilots who also participate in the escort mission down 7 additional Japanese aircraft.

Air Operations, Malaya

FEAF B-24s attack the airfield at Bima.

Air Operations, Pacific

107(108?) Iwo-based P-51 Mustangs escort B-29s to Tokyo. They are the first US land-based fighters to reach mainland Japan.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s and 24 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Bunawan.
• FEAF B-24s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack Jolo Island.
• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers complete more than 130 effective sorties in the northern Philippines.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• Ending what turns out to be the Combined Fleet’s final sally of the war—known as the Battle of the East China Sea—Task Force 58 carrier aircraft intercept and sink the heavy battleship Yamato, a light cruiser, and 4 of 8 accompanying destroyers just south of Kyushu.
• US Navy carrier aircraft support US 10th Army ground forces on Okinawa.
• During an attack by kamikazes against Task Force 58, US Navy fighter pilots and ships’ gunners down 54 Japanese aircraft against a loss of 10 fighters, but a kamikaze damages the fleet carrier USS Hancock. Also, 2 US radar picket destroyers are severely damaged by kamikaze hits.
• In all through the day, US carrier-based F6Fs, F4Us, and FMs down 48 Japanese aircraft in the area.
• VMF-221 carrier-based F4Us down a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber off Kikai Shima at 0639 hours, 5 N1K 'Rex' fighters between Okinawa and Kyushu at 0800 hours, and a P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber north of Okinawa at 1530 hours.
• Early in the afternoon, as VMF-311 is being launched from the escort carriers USS Breton and USS Sitkoh Bay, the latter ship is attacked by a Ki-48 'Lily' bomber kamikaze. 5 VMF-311 F4Us covering the launch down the Ki-48 within 50 yards of the ship, making the first use in combat of 20mm wing cannon mounted in F4Us. Later, at 1530 hours, a VMF-311 F4U based at Yontan Field on Okinawa shares with a VMF-221 carrier-based F4U in the downing of a P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber 100 miles north of Okinawa. This is first land-based aerial victory of the Ryukyus campaign.

Battle of the Atlantic

The German submarine U-857 is sunk by the US destroyer escort Gustafson (DE-182) off Cape Cod, Mass.

U-857

Battle of the East China Sea

Despite Japanese attempts to deceive the Americans by diversions and decoys the Japanese 2nd Fleet is sighted by the American submarine Hackleback (SS-295) in the Bungo Strait, which separated Kyushu from Shikoku. The planes from Task Force 58 intercept the Japanese fleet. Virtually without air cover, the Japanese ships are attacked by hundreds of American aircraft at 12:38p.m., by a second wave at 1:30p.m. and by further waves until after 2:00p.m. The cruiser Yahagi, hit by bombs and torpedoes, is the first to sink. At 2:23p.m., after 3 hours of bombing and torpedo attacks, hit by 5 torpedoes and by countless bombs, the great Yamato goes down with only 269 survivors from the 3,292-man crew. 4 Japanese destroyers are also sunk and 2 damaged. Of 376 American aircraft taking part in the operation, only 10 are lost.

Burma

British 14th Army forces isolate a large Japanese force between Mandalay and Meiktila.

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 50 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack numerous targets across central Burma.

• 4 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack port facilities at Kowloon and shipping in the South China Sea.
• 31 14th Air Force P-51s attack a bridge, rail lines, and road targets of opportunity along and south of the Yellow River.

Air Operations, Europe

RAF BOMBER COMMAND
Evening Ops:

• 440 aircraft including 263 Halifaxes, 160 Lancasters and 17 Mosquitos of Nos. 4,6 and 8 Groups are sent to Hamburg. This attack is intended for the shipyard areas, but partial cloud causes the raid to become dispersed. Some damage is probably caused to the shipyards, but as an American raid on the yards had taken place a few hours earlier, damage seen in photographs can not be allocated between the two forces. This is the last major Bomber Command raid of the war on Hamburg.
• 3 Halifaxes and 3 Lancasters are lost.
• 231 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack the Lützkendorf oil refinery, which had escaped serious damage the previous night. The refinery is rendered 'inactive'.
• 6 Lancasters are lost.

• 22 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group make a diversionary raid on Travemünde, 71 Mosquitos are sent to Dessau, 28 to Berlin where Oboe from forward ground stations are used for the first time and 8 to Munich, and there are 43 Mosquito patrols and 64 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.
• ??RAF Bomber Command sinks 6 U-boats in Hamburg.

Air Operations, Formosa

Due to bad weather over their assigned targets— the airfields at Kagi, Okayama, and Tainan—many V Bomber Command B-24s and 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the Chomosui airfield in the Pescadore Islands as well as rail yards and town areas at 3 locations on Formosa.

Air Operations, Japan

• 48 73rd and 313th Very Heavy Bomb wing B-29s attack 2 airfields in the Kanoya area with 192 tons of bombs.
• 1 B-29 is lost.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s support US 8th Army ground forces on Cebu and attack Jolo Island and northern Davao Bay.
• 24 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Bunawan.
• Despite bad weather, V Bomber Command A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers are able to support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• A-20s and fighter-bombers support US 8th Army ground forces on Cebu.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US Navy carrier aircraft support US 10th Army ground forces on Okinawa.
• Aircraft from Task Unit 52.1.3 attack airfields in the Sakishima Islands.
• 2 VC-84 FMs down a D3A 'Val' dive bomber near Kerama Retto at 0635 hours.
• A VF-84 F4U downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane at sea at 0805 hours.
• A VF-84 F4U downs an E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance plane off southern Kyushu at 1155 hours.

• A VBF-9 F6F downs a P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber 15 miles from Task Force 58 at 1445 hours.
• A VF-83 F6F downs a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter over Task Force 58 at 1530 hours.
• VMF-224 F4Us down 3 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters near Okinawa at 1810 hours.
• A radar picket destroyer is severely damaged by a kamikaze hit.

Baltic Sea

U-3412 is bombed and sunk during an Allied air raid on Kiel.

U-3512

Battle of the Atlantic

• U=boats U-2509, U-2514 and U-2516 are all bombed and sunk at Hamburg during an RAF bombing raid. U-2550 was bombed and damaged beyond repair while under assembly during an Allied air raid while under construction in Hamburg.

U-2509 Class Type XXI CO Kapitänleutnant Rudolf Schendel Location North Sea, Hamburg Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors Unknown

U-2514 Class Type XXI CO Kapitänleutnant Rolr Bilger Wahlen Location North Sea, Hamburg Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors Unknown

U-2516 Class Type XXI CO Oberleutnant zur See Fritz Kallipke Location North Sea, Hamburg Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors Unknown

U-2550 Class Type XXI CO None appointed Location North Sea, Hamburg Cause Air attack Casualties None Survivors -

• U-774 is sunk by the British frigates Calder and Bentinck in the North Atlantic.

U-774 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Werner Sausmikat Location Atlantic, SW of Cape Clear Cause Depth charge Casualties 44 Survivors None

U-1001 Class Type VIIC/41 CO Kapitänleutnant Ernst-Ulrich Blaudow Location North Atlantic Cause Depth charge Casualties 49 Survivors None

• U-1001 is also sunk by British frigates, the Fitzroy and the Byron.
[ | ]


---

Burma

The British forces have regrouped following their success at Mandalay and Meiktila and are now ready for a rapid armored and motorized advance to finish the campaign in Burma. The British IV Corps is to advance down the Sittang Valley and XXXIII Corps by the Irrawaddy Valley. All units have been specially organized to make them more mobile.

[ | ]


---

China

The Japanese test the Chinese positions west of Pao-ching with a view to an offensive against Chihchiang, southeast of Chungking, where there is a US air base.

[ | ]


---

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 70 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack numerous targets across central Burma.

• 9 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack port facilities at Canton and Kowloon, and targets of opportunity at Bakli Bay.
• 13 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge and various targets of opportunity.
• 8 B-25s attack rail yards at Sinyang and various targets of opportunity; and 19 14th Air Force P-51s attack targets of opportunity.
• A small number of FEAF B-24s attack coastal targets in China and French Indochina.

• 2 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack motor vehicles at Dien Bien Phu.

Air Operations, Europe

The 8th Air Force attacks jet fighter bases in the Munich and Berlin areas over the next 2 days. 367 German fighters are destroyed on the ground.

Daylight Ops:

• 57 Lancasters of No. 5 Group attack oil-storage tanks (40 aircraft) and U-boat shelters (17 aircraft of No. 617 Squadron with Grand Slams and Tallboys) at Hamburg. Both attacks are successful.
• 2 Lancasters are lost on the raid on the oil tanks.

• 591 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3 and 8 Groups are sent to Kiel. This is an accurate raid, made in good visibility on two aiming points in the harbor area. Photographic reconnaissance show that the Deutsche Werke U-boat yard is severely damaged, the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is hit and capsizes, the Admiral Hipper and the Emden are badly damaged. The local diary says that all 3 shipyards in the port were hit and that the nearby residential areas were severely damaged.
• 3 Lancasters are lost.

• 22 Halifaxes make a diversionary raid to Stade, 44 Mosquitos are to Berlin, 37 to Plauen and 24 to Hamburg, 70 Lancasters and 28 Halifaxes lay mines in Kiel Bay and the Little Belt, and there are 37 Mosquito patrols and 45 RCM sorties.
• 1 Halifax on the diversionary raid crashes in France.

Air Operations, Japan

16 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s sow mines in Shimonoseki Strait.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 22 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack troops at Kabacan.
• FEAF B-24s and XIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 8th Army ground forces on Cebu and Negros.
• V Bomber Command A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• US 8th Army ground forces from Mindanao conduct a shore-to-shore amphibious assault of Jolo Island in the Sulu Archipelago. 1st Marine Aircraft Wing F4Us and SBDs based at Moret Field on Mindanao cover and support the landing with 15 tons of bombs, 7,000 pounds of napalm, and more than 18,000 rounds of machine-gun ammunition.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US Navy carrier aircraft support US 10th Army ground forces on Okinawa.
• Aircraft from Task Unit 52.1.3 attack airfields in the Sakishima Islands.
• A VF(N)-90 F6F downs a D3A 'Val' dive bomber at 1908 hours.
• A US picket destroyer is damaged by a kamikaze.
• 11 Marine Air Group 31 F4Us are lost in operational accidents through the day, largely the result of bad-weather operations. 12 TBMs and F6Fs are lost aboard the USS Chenango as a result of a landing accident. The ship is badly damaged, but she will be repaired at sea within forty-eight hours.

Baltic Sea

• U-4708 is sunk in a bombing raid while fitting out alongside the Germaniawergt Wharf at Kiel.

U-4708

Class	Type XXIII
CO	None appointed
Location	North Sea, Hamburg
Cause	Air attack
Casualties	Unknown
Survivors	Unknown

• U-804, U-1065 and U-843 are sunk in anti-submarine raid by Mosquito aircraft in the Skaggerak area.

U-804 Class Type IXC CO Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Meyer Location Baltic, Little Belt Cause Air attack Casualties 55 Survivors None

U-1065 Class Type VII/41 CO Oberleutnant zur See Johann Panitz Location Kattegat Cause Air attack Casualties 45 Survivors None

U-843

Class	Type IXC
CO	Kapitänleutnant Oskar Herwartz
Location	Baltic, Little Belt
Cause	Air attack
Casualties	44
Survivors	None

[ | ]


---

Battle of the Atlantic

U-982 and U-1131 are sunk at Hamburg during a bombing raid by the US 8th Air Force.

U-982 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Kurt Hartmann Location North Sea, Hamburg Cause Air attack Casualties None Survivors Unknown

U-1131 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Günther Fiebig Location North Sea, Hamburg Cause Air attack Casualties Unknown Survivors Unknown

[ | ]


---

Eastern Front

In East Prussia, the 3rd Belorussian Front finishes off the operations against Königsberg. In the evening the fortress commander, Gen Otto Lasch, orders his troops to surrender. He is condemned to death in absentia, and the German High Command also dismisses Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller. The defense of the city has cost the Germans 42,000 dead and 92,000 prisoners, and the Russians have captured 3,675 guns and mortars. Part of the German 4th Army prepares to resist to the last man on the Samland peninsula, north of the city. The battle continues in Vienna, where Tolbukhin's troops take one isolated post after another. The German 6th Army and 6th SS Panzer Army try in vain to stop the Russians from spreading out toward southern and western Austria.

The units of Army Group E under Alexander Löhr, already cut off, still go on fighting against Tito's forces in Yugoslavia.

CENTRAL SECTOR


With his force on the verge of total annihilation, Gen Otto Lasch surrenders Konigsberg. More than 92,000 Germans soldiers are captured while 42,000 soldiers and 25,000 civilians have died during the battle. Hitler descends into a furious rage at news of Lasch's surrender and orders the arrest of his family and relatives. Lasch is sentenced to death in absentia and Friedrich-Wilhelm Muller, commander of the defunct 4th Army, dismissed, The last vestiges of the 4th Army continue to resist in Samland.

[ | ]


---

Air Operations, CBI

• Nearly 30 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops throughout the central Burma battle area.

• 23 308th Heavy Bomb Group attack stores at Yungcheng.
• More than 50 14th Air Force B-25s and more than 180 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack a wide array of targets in southern and eastern China.
• Among these attacks, the 3rd and 4th CACW Medium Bomb squadrons and the entire 5th CACW Fighter Group are committed to supporting Chinese Army ground troops in thwarting the drive by Japanese Army ground forces from Paoching against the 14th Air Force’s Chihchiang airfield.

• 347th Fighter Group P-38s down a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter and a Ki-44 'Tojo' fighter near Saigon between noon and 1210 hours.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Bingkalapa airfield on Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

A Luftwaffe Ar-234 reconnaissance jet makes the last German sortie over Britain.

30 of 50 German Me-262 jet fighters are shot down by US bombers and their P-51 escorts in the Berlin area. The attacking force of 1,232 B-17s and B-24s is able to beat off the largest jet effort of the war. Only 10 of the bombers are lost.

Daylight Ops:

• 230 aircraft including 134 Lancasters, 90 Halifaxes and 6 Mosquitos attack the Engelsdorf and Mockau railway yards at Leipzig. The weather is clear and the bombing is accurate.
• 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster are lost.

• 307 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups are sent to Plauen. The bombing falls around the railway yards in the northern half of the town. The railways are hit and 365 acres, 51 per cent, of the town's built-up area are also destroyed.
• There are no losses.
• 76 Lancasters and 19 Mosquitos of Nos. 5 and 8 Groups attack the Wahren railway yards in Leipzig. The eastern half of the yards is destroyed.
• 7 Lancasters are lost.

• 77 Mosquitos are snet to Berlin, 21 to Chemnitz and 7 to Bayreuth, and there are 26 Mosquito patrols and 53 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito is lost on the Berlin raid and 1 RCM Halifax is also lost.

Air Operations, Formosa

After being weathered out of the airfield at Tainan, 23 V Bomber Command B-24s attack Koshun with 100-pound fragmentation clusters.

Air Operations, Japan

• US Navy aircraft and 7 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kataoka naval base with napalm.
• 4 B-25s abort over the target while attacking a radar site at Minami Cape.
• 3 B-25s attack a cannery.

Air Operations, Philippines

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s and XIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 8th Army ground forces on Cebu.
• V Bomber Command A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• Despite bad weather, US Navy carrier aircraft and US Marine Corps land-based aircraft support US 10th Army ground forces on Okinawa.
• TBMs and F6Fs from Task Unit 52.1.3 attack airfields in the Sakishima Islands.
• A VF-17 F6F downs a D3A 'Val' dive bomber at 0630 hours.
• A VMF-112 F4U downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber over the Tokuna Shima airfield at 0700 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-878 is sunk by the British destroyer Vanquisher and the corvette Tintagel Castle, part of the escort for Convoy ONA-265.

U-878

Britain, Home Front

Churchill announces that total Commonwealth and Empire casualties thus far were 1,126,802 military and 34,161 merchant marine. In addition, British civilian casualties were 144,542.

Burma

Thazi, east of Meiktila, is captured by the British IV Corps. Indian and British troops take Pyawbwe, a key point on the Mandalay-Rangoon rail line.

Gen William Slim's 14th Army commences an offensive to capture Rangoon. It is a race against time to take the city before the monsoons begin in mid-May. He must also stop the Japanese forming a defensive line north of Rangoon and halting his advance.

Eastern Front

While the battle for Vienna rages, the 6th SS Panzer Army repulses strong attacks in the area of Wiener Neustadt and west of Baden. In the sector of the Army Group Center, the troops besieged in Breslau are still holding out against continuous attacks. The German communiqués admit that resistance has ended at Königsberg but deny that there has been a capitulation.

The 6th SS Panzer Army begins to pull out of Vienna city center while the remnants of the 6th Army and other units of the 6th SS fight on near Wiener Neustadt and Baden.

Air Operations, Carolines

18 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, CBI

• 54 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Japanese Army troops and supplies at Ming Kung and Mong Nim, and targets of opportunity across central Burma.

• 7 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Hsihhsiassuchi.
• 5 B-25s attack barracks and stores at Pinglo.
• several B-25s attack rail yards at Yanglowtung and targets of opportunity near Paoching.
• More than 150 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets across southern and eastern China and northern French Indochina.

Air Operations, Europe

• 129 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group and 14 Pathfinder Lancasters attack the railway yards at Nuremberg with great accuracy.
• There are no losses.
• 100 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group and 14 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of No. 8 Group carry out a very good attack on railway yards on Bayreuth.
• There are no losses.

• 107 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin in 3 waves, and 8 are sent to Munich.
• 1 Mosquito is lost on the Berlin raid.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack artillery positions at Tarakan.

Air Operations, Formosa

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfield at Okayama.
• 13 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack several industrial targets, including a sugar refinery.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s and 24 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Cotabato and Japanese Army positions near Guadalupe.
• V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s, V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack targets throughout Luzon.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US Navy carrier aircraft and US Marine Corps land-based aircraft support US 10th Army ground forces on Okinawa. TBMs and F6Fs from Task Unit 52.1.3 attack airfields in the Sakishima Islands.

• Japanese aircraft open a two-day effort against the Okinawa invasion fleet, especially Task Force 58. Forewarned by a captured kamikaze pilot, Task Force 58 is prepared to defend the invasion fleet from these attacks. All light bombers are struck below, all fighters are made ready to swamp the oncoming kamikaze waves, and the fighter patrols over the fleet and radar pickets are beefed up. The first day’s attacks are light, but the USS Enterprise is hit by a kamikaze, as are the battleship USS Missouri and several picket destroyers. During an evening bombing attack, the USS Essex is damaged by a near miss.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-2547 is sunk while fitting out during an Allied air raid on Hamburg.

U-2547

Burma

In the British IV Corps sector, the 5th Indian Division, relieving the 17th Indian Division at Pyawbwe, advances, led by armored units, as far as Yamethin. The armored advance guard takes the town, but the infantry are held up in the built-up area by strong Japanese resistance.

Diplomatic Relations

A treaty of friendship and collaboration between the USSR and Yugoslavia is signed in Moscow. Spain breaks diplomatic relations with Japan.

Eastern Front

The battle of Vienna goes on. The 3rd Ukraine Front puts strong pressure on the left wing of the German 2nd Panzer Army and drives on between the Mur and Raab Rivers. The Russians make a deep penetration west of Neuenkirchen. In the capital itself the Russians reach the city center, and capture the Parliament building and the City Hall.

The German Army Group Center withdraws under stong enemy pressure along the course of the Vah River in the Low Tatra area. The Russians, says the German communiqué, are marching toward Zilina, south of Moravska-Ostrava.

The Russians announce that, in the period of April 6-10, they have captured 142,000 Germans in East Prussia alone, including 1,819 officers 4 of whom were generals.

The 3rd Ukrainian Front's 27th Army is nearing Graz. Inside Vienna, the Parliament building and City Hall are captured by the 4th Guards Army.[MORE]

Indian Ocean

Sabang is shelled by the battleships Queen Elizabeth and Richelieu of Adm H.T.C. Walker's British Eastern Fleet. Two escort carriers give air cover and attack installations and shipping at Port Blair and Emmahaven.

Okinawa

There is savage fighting in the Motobu peninsula, where the Japanese occupy strong positions. Fighting also continues on Kakazu Ridge. There is a virtual stalemate, though the 1st Marine Division, advancing northward along the east coast, has reached Taira, and units of the 6th Marine Division are even farther north on the west coast. Gen Buckner is undecided whether to persist with the frontal attack on the Shuri line or to try a landing in the rear of it; in the latter case it would be necessary to weaken the forces engaging the line from the north.

Air Operations, CBI

• 75 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets across central Burma.

• 12 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and 14 14th Air Force P-51s attack rail yards at Wuchang and the airfield there.
• 7 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack rail yards at Hsuchang.
• Other B-25s mount light attacks against at least 5 other locations.
• More than 100 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets across southern and eastern China and northern French Indochina.

Air Operations, Europe

• 97 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 3 to Munich, and there are 13 Mosquitos on Intruder patrols.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

Commencing at dawn, 48 Royal Navy carrier bombers and 41 carrier fighters from Task Force 57 attack airfields in two waves, but afternoon strikes run into bad weather and are diverted against a chemical plant, shipping, and port facilities at Kiirun. V Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfields at Tainan and Okayama.

Air Operations, Japan

• 136 313th and 314th Very Heavy Bomb wing B-29s attack two chemical plants at Koriyama with 446 tons of bombs.
• 94 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack an aircraft plant in Tokyo with 490 tons of bombs.
• 32 B-29s attack various targets of opportunity.
• 11 B-29s attack an engine factory (secondary target) at Shizuoka.
• 2 B-29s are lost.
• During an attack by 29th Very Heavy Bomb Group B-29s against Koriyama, a phosphorous smoke bomb explodes in one bomber’s launching chute and is shot into the airplane’s fuselage. SSgt Henry E. Erwin carries the burning bomb to a hatch and ejects it into the air, for which he is awarded a Medal of Honor.
• The 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing’s 39th and 330th Very Heavy Bomb Groups make their combat debuts in an attack on a chemical plant at Koriyama. 15th and 21st Fighter group P-51 pilots down 15 Japanese fighters over the Tokyo area between 1130 and 1230 hours.
• During the night, 5 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s sow mines in the Shimonoseki Strait.

Air Operations, Philippines

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Davao Bay, Kabacan, and Sapakan areas.
• 24 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Kabacan.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s sweep highways and roads on Mindanao.
• V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack numerous targets on Luzon.
• V Bomber Command A-20s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s support US 8th Army ground forces on Cebu.
• XIII Fighter Command P-38s at attack Cotabato and Kabacan.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• Japanese aircraft based on Kyushu mount light attacks against aircraft parked at Okinawa's Kadena airfield about 0400 hours. Also, Japanese artillery mount a light barrage against Yontan field, where 5 F4Us are slightly damaged.

• Heavy Japanese air attacks are shifted from Task Force 58 against US destroyers on radar picket duty and several US battleships off Okinawa. 17 of an estimated 185 kamikaze aircraft get through the US Navy and Marine Corps fighter umbrella to sink 2 picket destroyers and damage several other US warships. During the afternoon, a US picket destroyer already damaged by a kamikaze is sunk by the first G4M 'Betty' bomber-launched MXY7 'Oka' manned rocket-propelled suicide bomb known to have been successfully expended in combat.
• US carrier-based F6Fs, F4Us, and FMs down 144 Japanese aircraft between 0010 and 2335 hours. Also, in their service’s best day of the war, US Marine Corps land- and carrier-based F4Us down 77 Japanese aircraft from Okinawa northward between 0535 and 1915 hours.
• US Marine Corps land-based F4Us conduct their first ground-support operations of the Okinawa campaign—two missions totaling 36 effective fighter-bomber sorties against Japanese artillery positions.

Atlantic

The US tank landing ship LST-493 sinks after running aground off Plymouth, England.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-486 surfaces near the island of Hellisøy. Her noisy diesels are picked up by the British submarine Tapir which launches a torpedo attack sinking the U-boat.

U-486

Burma

The IV Corps advance is beginning to make progress in the Sittang Valley. There is fighting at Pyaubwe and Yamethin. To the west of Meiktila 7th Indian Division from XXXIII Corps takes Kyaukpadaung, an important communications center between Chauk and Meiktila.

Diplomatic Relations

Spain breaks off diplomatic relations with Japan.

Eastern Front

With support from Rodion Malinovsky's 2nd Ukraine Front, the 3rd Ukraine Front is overcoming the defenders of Vienna. The Russians advance on Graz and reach the Vienna-Lundenburg road. The battle still continues at Breslau.

The Russians carry out heavy air raids on the Hela peninsula. The German communiqué admits the capitulation of Königsberg and announces the death sentence on the garrison commander, Gen Otto Lasch.

In Yugoslavia, the Germans are force to evacuate Zenica. The Yugoslavs and Bulgarians make a deep penetration south of the Drava.

The 3rd Belorussian Front unleashes a massive attack against Group Samland. Two divisions on the German left wing come under intense pressure but hold on.

Soviet forces in Austria begin to advance south of Vienna, the 26th, 27th and 57th Armies pushing forward on a broad front. Inside the city the Germans are fighting around Florisdorf Bridge, the defenders having just 6 panzers left. Strong Soviet attacks quickly destroy 4 tanks but the SS continue to hold.

Italy

The US 5th Army has to postpone the offensive planned for this date by 24 hours on account of bad weather.

The advance of the units of the V Corps, British 8th Army, toward Bastia, on the north bank of the Reno River, continues. 8th Army has three separate bridgeheads over the Santerno.

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 30 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack targets across central Burma.

• 11 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack rail yards and warehouses at Kaifeng.
• 7 B-25s attack shipping in the South China Sea and Bakli Bay, and town areas at Liuchow and Tenghsien.
• 6 B-25s attack a bridge near Ningming.
• 4 B-25s and 6 P-51s attack a bridge, town areas, and shipping at Puchi.
• Nearly 140 Fourteenth Air Force fighter-bombers attack various targets across southern and eastern China.
• FEAF B-24s attack stores at Canton and port areas at Hong Kong.

• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a fort at Bac Ninh.
• 24 51st Fighter Group P-51s and 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack 4 bridges and targets of opportunity in northern French Indochina.

Air Operations, Europe

• 34 Lancasters of No. 5 Group (Nos. 9 and 617 Squadrons) set out to attack the warships Prinz Eugen and Lützow in Swinemünde harbur, but the raid is abandoned because of cloud over the target. All aircraft return safely.

• 377 Lancasters and 105 Halifaxes of Nos. 3, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to attack Kiel. This raid is directed against the port area, with the U-boat yards as the main objective. Bomber Command rates this effort as 'a poor attack' with scattered bombing.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 20 Halifaxes and 8 Mosquitos make a diversionary raid on Boizenburg, 87 Mosquitos are sent to Hamburg, 20 to Stralsund and 12 to Reisa, 82 Lancasters and 27 Halifaxes lay mines in Kiel Bay and the Kattegat, and there are 55 Mosquito patrols and 62 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito of No. 100 Group is lost.

Air Operations, Formosa

• Royal Navy carrier aircraft from Task Force 57 attack airfields.
• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the airfields at Tainan and Okayama.
• 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s sweep rail lines.

Air Operations, Japan

During the night 327 XXI Bomber Command B-29s attack the Tokyo Arsenal with 2,120 tons of bombs. 7 B-29s are lost.

Air Operations, Pacific

327 B-29 Superfortress bombers carry out a massive raid on Tokyo dropping 2,139 tons of incendiaries, razing the northwest part of the city to the ground over an area of 7 square miles.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 23 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Kabacan.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Davao area.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s sweep highways and roads on Mindanao and targets in the Sulu Archipelago.
• FEAF B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers mount intense attacks throughout Luzon, Cebu, and Negros.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• The air and naval pre-invasion bombardment of Ie Shima is intensified.
• US Navy carrier-based F6Fs and F4Us down 9 Japanese light bombers at sea between 0925 and 1742 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-1024 is captured in the Irish Sea by the British frigates Loch Glendhu and Loch More but sinks the following day while being towed.

U-1024

Burma

The 20th Indian Division, British XXXIII Corps, takes Taungdwingyi.

China

The Japanese open a large-scale offensive in Honan and Hupei provinces. They start with a drive against Chihchiang, putting in their main effort along the road leading from Paoching.

Diplomatic Relations

Chile declares war on Japan.

Eastern Front

Following a new breakthrough by the 3rd Ukraine Front west of Vienna, at 2:00pm, after the most savage fighting, the city is in the hands of Fyodor Tolbukhin's and Rodion Malinovsky's troops. The 2nd Front now heads for St Pölten and threatens the Army Group Center from the south, attacking toward Brno, in Czechoslovakia.

Air Operations, CBI

• 41 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops, fuel dumps, and supplies at 4 locations in central Burma.
• 8 P-38s attack bridges at 2 locations.

• 24 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and 12 14th Air Force P-51s attack Loyang and a bridge spanning the Yellow River.
• 30 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and more than 130 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, bridges, transporation targets, stores, and other targets across southern and eastern China.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack ships and other targets while sweeping waterways in the Canton and Hong Kong areas.
• Responding to the dire threat to Japan posed by the successful Allied landings in the Ryukyu Islands, 4 Japanese Army infantry divisions in eastern China are shifted to northern and central China in such a way as to allow for their eventual return to Japan. In the first move, the rail line linking several former 14th Air Force bases is abandoned, which will in time lead to the loss or abandonment of those bases by the Japanese.

Air Operations, Europe

• ;20 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron again find their target at Swinemünde covered by cloud and return without bombing.
• There are no losses.

• 500 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3 and 8 Groups attackePotsdam. This is the first time that Bomber Command 4-engined aircraft have entered the Berlin defense zone since March 1944, but the approach, across parts of Germany recently captured by Allied troops, and the Cuxhaven diversion leads to only 1 Lancaster being lost. It is shot down by a night fighter.
• This is the last raid of the war by a major Bomber Command force on a German city. The aiming point is the center of Potsdam and the intention is to destroy the local barracks, a depot of the old German Guards regiments, and the railway facilities. The attack is reasonably successful and severe damage is caused in Potsdam, but bombs also fall in the nearby northern and eastern districts of Berlin.

• 24 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos make a diversionary raid to Cuxhaven, 62 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 10 to Wismar, and there are 50 Mosquito patrols and 54 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

V Bomber Command B-24s attack 4 airfields.

Air Operations, Philippines

FEAF and 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s, and FEAF B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers support US Army ground forces and attack numerous targets throughout the Philippines.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft support the US 10th Army on Okinawa and mount pre-invasion attacks against Ie Shima.
• Task Unit 52.1.2 TBMs and FMs attack airfields in the Sakishima Islands.
• An estimated 15 kamikazes attacking Task Force 58’s picket ships severely damage one US destroyer and superficially damage another.

• US Navy carrier-based F6Fs, F4Us, and FMs down 45 Japanese aircraft, mainly in the vicinity of Task Force 58, between 0505 and 2030 hours.
• VMF-112 carrier-based F4Us down a B6N 'Jill' torpedo bomber, 3 D4Y 'Judy' dive bombers, and 6 fighters near Heya Shima at 1625 hours.
• 2 VMF-312 F4Us down a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber near Okinawa at 1900 hours.

Allied Planning

Gen Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Armies in the West, informs the Combined Chiefs-of-Staff that the Allied thrust against Berlin take second place to the securing of the northern (Norway and Denmark) and southern (south Germany and Austria) flanks. The British Chiefs-of-Staff are dissatisfied, but acknowledge Eisenhower's reasoning, and approve his plans on the 18th.

Atlantic

In Operations TEARDROP 2 carrier Task Groups carry out an urgent search for the Seewolf U-boat group suspected of transporting V-2 rockets to be launched against New York.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-235 is heading toward Norway accompanied by U-1272. They cross the path of a German convoy and U-1272 dives deep to avoid the convoy. An escorting torpedo boat, T-17 drops a pattern of depth charges in the area of U-235 sealing the U-boat's fate.

U-235 Class Type VIIC CO Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Huisgen Location Kattegat Cause Depth charge Casualties 45 Survivors None

U-1206 Class Type VIIC CO Kapitänleutnant Karl-Adolf Schlitt Location North Sea, off Peterhead Cause Accident Casualties 4 Survivors 46

• U-1206 is grounded off Buchan Ness and sustained such damage that she could not continue her patrol. The boat is scuttled and survivors are picked up by the British trawler Nodzu.
[ | ]


---

China

The Japanese Imperial General Staff orders the expeditionary force in China to move 4 divisions into central and north China. As a result the Japanese abandon the railway linking Hengyang with Kweilin, Liuchow and Yungning, where several American air bases had been sited. The Chinese plan to halt the Japanese advance on Chihchiang by threatening the advancing columns from the flanks. This proves to be an effective strategy.

[ | ]


---

Eastern Front

The German war communiqué reports that the 1st Belorussian Front is putting severe pressure on the Vistula Army Group in the areas of Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, Küstrin (Kostrzyn) and Zehden, south of Stettin. In Austria the Russians advance west of Vienna.[MORE]

[ | ]


---

Germany, Home Front

Himmler orders that no prisoners at Dachau 'shall be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy alive.'

[ | ]


---

Air Operations, CBI

• 62 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops and supplies at 4 locations in central Burma.

• 1 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24 attacks the port area at Canton.
• 7 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a storage depot.
• 4 B-25s attack Tunganhsien.
• 3 B-25s attack a pontoon bridge.
• 3 B-25s attack Paoching.
• More than 200 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets across southern and eastern China.

Air Operations, Europe

• 106 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 8 to Oranienburg airfield and 4 to Lechfeld airfield, and there are 19 Mosquito patrols and 27 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito of No. 100 Group is lost.

Air Operations, Formosa

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Shinchiku, Shinshoshi, and Toyohara airfields.
• 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack rail yards at Shoka.
• During the night 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack Taihoku.

Air Operations, Japan

• Task Force 58 carrier aircraft attack airfields on Kyushu, where an estimated 59 aircraft are destroyed on the ground. US Navy carrier-based F6Fs and F4Us down 2 bombers and 25 fighters over southern Kyushu between 1500 and 1545 hours. US Marine Corps carrier-based F4Us down 2 A6M Zeros and a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber near the Kanoya East airfield on Kyushu between 1505 and 1630 hours.
• During the night 194 313th and 314th Very Heavy Bomb wing B-29s attack Kawasaki, and 8 B-29s attack other targets. 109 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack Tokyo.
• 13 B-29s are lost.

Air Operations, Pacific

• The B-29 Superfortresses renew their attacks on Tokyo, dropping 754 (1,930?) tons of bombs on the industrial district of Kawasaki, in the south of the city.
• Fast Ki-84 fighters strafe US air bases on Okinawa.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s and XIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers drop 107 tons of bombs in support of US 8th Army ground forces on Negros and attack targets on Cebu.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s, 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s, and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing SBDs and F4Us attack highways and motor vehicles in the Davao area.
• V Bomber Command B-24s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack fortified islands in Manila Bay and support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft support the US 10th Army on Okinawa and mount pre-invasion attacks against Ie Shima.
• Task Unit 52.1.2 TBMs and FMs attack airfields in the Sakishima Islands.
• VMF-323 F4Us and a VMF(N)-543 F6F down a D3A 'Val' dive bomber and 6 Japanese fighters from Okinawa northward between 1830 and 1900 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-285 is sunk in a depth-charge attack by the British frigates Grindall and Keats.

U-285

Burma

In XXXIII Corps' advance Taungdwingyi falls to 20th Indian Division. Other units of XXXIII Corps are still fighting farther up the Irrawaddy than the next objectives for 20th Indian which now moves toward Magwe and Thayetmyo.

Eastern Front

In Austria the 3rd Ukraine Front takes Radkesburg, southeast of Graz. The 2nd Ukraine Front attacks northward towad Brno. The Führer, in an Order of the Day to the troops fighting on the Eastern Front, declares: 'Berlin is still German, Vienna will return to Germany.'

Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts are getting ready to unleash the great offensive against Berlin. The 3 fronts contain 19 armies, 4 armored armies and 3 air armies, making a total of 1,600,000 men with 3,827 tanks and 2,334 self-propelled guns, 4,520 anti-tank guns, 15,654 field guns and 3,411 anti-aircraft guns, 6,700 aircraft and 96,000 vehicles. To oppose this enormous force the Germans have the 3rd Panzer Army, the 9th Army and the reserve of the Vistula Army Group, plus the 4th Panzer Army of the Army Group Center, making a total of 47 divisions, of which 3 are armored and 8 motorized, plus an infantry brigade.

Italy

In the US 5th Army sector the IV Corps goes ahead in the sectors of Suzzano and Vergato, and during the night the II Corps launches an attack in the direction of Bologna, east of Highway 64, after an intensive air bombardment. The Italian Legnano Combat Group also takes part in the attack.

On the east of the Allied line, the units of the Polish II Corps, British 8th Army, begin to cross the Sillaro River.

Occupied France

In Operations VENERABLE, after heavy napalm bomb attacks by the 8th Air Force and shelling by the battleship Lorraine, French and US forces attack the Royan 'Pocket' (Gironde). All resistance ends on April 20.

Air Operations, CBI

• 22 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops around Ke-hsi Mansam.
• 19 fighter-bombers attack bridges immediately behind the Japanese Army battle lines.

• 18 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack stores at Linfen.
• 3 B-24s attack targets of opportunity in the Bakli Bay and Canton areas.
• 10 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge, buildings, and river and rail traffic at Kweilin, Shanhsien, and Yungfengshih.
• Nearly 120 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets across southern and eastern China.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack Tarakan and a tank farm at Lingkas, Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

Russian and RAF fighter planes join together from the east and west for the first time while attacking a train near Dresden.

Daylight Ops:

• 18 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron fly to Swinemünde to attack the pocket battleship Lützow. The force flies through intense flak. 15 aircraft manage to bomb the target with Tallboys or with 1,000-pounders. The effects of one near miss with a Tallboy tear a large hole in the bottom of the Lützow and she sinks in shallow water at her moorings.
• 1 Lancaster is shot down, No. 617 Squadron's last loss of the war, and all but 2 aircraft are damaged.

• 222 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group carry out an accurate attack on the railway yards at Pilsen.
• 1 Lancaster crashes in France.
• 167 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups attack the railway yards at Schwandorf causing severe damage.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

• 19 Halifaxes of No. 6 Group and 4 Pathfinder Mosquitos are sent to Gablingen airfield, 64 Mosquitos to Berlin and 23 to Munich, and there are 35 Mosquito patrols and 57 RCM sorties.
• 2 Halifaxes and 1 Fortress of No. 100 Group are lost.

Air Operations, Formosa

• 22nd, 43rd, and 90th Heavy Bomb group B-24s attack the airfield at Matsuyama and aircraft dispersed from the base in a nearby town.
• 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Giran airfield.
• 36 38th and 345th Medium Bomb group B-25s attack the airfield at Nanseiho and Osono, then strafe targets of opportunity as they traverse Formosa lengthwise from north to south.

Air Operations, Japan

• Guided by XXI Bomber Command B-29 navigational escorts, VII Fighter Command P-51s based on Iwo Jima strafe and bomb the Kanoya airfield comples on Kyushu. Also, VMB-612 PBJs, escorted by a squadron of the 21st Fighter Group P-51s, mount a rocket attack against the same airfield complex.
• No Japanese aircraft are encountered, but 4 P-51s and 2 of their pilots are lost to ground fire.
• 6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kataoka naval base with the aid of radar guidance.

Air Operations, Philippines

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack Carabao Island.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s sweep highways on Mindanao.
• FEAF fighter-bombers attack numerous targets throughout the Philippines.
• ;While providing air support for US 8th Army troops on Jolo Island in the Sulu Archipelago, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing SBDs and F4Us based at nearby Mindanao's Moret Field join land-based artillery in attempting to help the infantry breach the island’s main defensive sector on Mount Daho. Such attempts prove futile.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft support the US 10th Army on Okinawa and mount pre-invasion attacks against Ie Shima.
• Task Force 57 aircraft attack airfields in the Sakishima Islands.
• 12 VOC-1 FMs attack Minami Daito and Kita Daito, 200 miles east of Okinawa.
• As Task Force 58 carrier aircraft attempt to neutralize airfields on Kyushu, an estimated 400 Japanese aircraft mount a major attack against the carriers and numerous ships off Okinawa. Kamikaze aircraft sink 1 US destroyer and damage 11 other ships, including the fleet carrier USS Intrepid, which suffers structural damage and must return to the United States for repair. The picket destroyer USS Laffey is attacked by up to 50 Japanese aircraft. During an epic 80-minute battle beginning at 0827 hours, the ship undergoes direct attack by 22 aircraft and is struck by 4 bombs and 6 kamikazes. US carrier aircraft shoot down or chase off many of the attackers, but the Laffey’s own guns account for 8 or 9, and a support landing craft, LCS-51, accounts for 5 or 6 others. Despite grievous harm and serious crew losses (31 killed and 72 wounded), the plucky destroyer is towed to safety, patched, and ultimately sails for Guam under her own power.
• US Navy carrier-based F6Fs, F4Us, and FMs down 157 Japanese aircraft between 0400 and 2115 hours.
• US Marine Corps land- and carrier-based F4Us down 28 D3A 'Val' dive bombers, 2 G4M 'Betty' bombers, 1 Ki-48 'Lily' bomber, 1 Ki-49 'Helen' bomber, 2 B5N 'Kate' torpedo bombers, and 4 fighters in ongoing engagements between 0740 and 1040 hours.
• VMF-451 F4Us down 2 D3A 'Val' dive bombers near Okinawa at 1357 hours.
• VMF-221 F4Us down 4 fighters at sea between 1500 and 1530 hours.
• VMF(N)-542 F6Fs down 1 A6M Zero and 1 Ki-84 'Frank' fighter 45 miles west of Okinawa at 1845 hours.

Allied Planning

Gen Carl A. Spaatz, commander of US Strategic Air Forces in Europe, announces that all strategic operations have ceased and air units will henceforth merely engage in mopping-up action against Germany.

Baltic Sea

• In the greatest maritime loss in history, during the night 6,220 refugees from Danzig drown when the German 5,230-ton transport Goya is sunk by the Soviet submarine L-3. The ship is torpedoed near Cape Rixhöft (Rozewie) and quickly sinks. A total of 18,000 Germans were lost when the refugee ships in the Baltic were subjected to constand Allied air and naval attack. 16 such vessels were sunk between January and May.
• U-78 was never fully operational, but spent her entire service as a generating plant or a training submarine. She is shelled and sunk by Soviet field artillery as the Germans evacuate Pillau.

U-78

Battle of the Atlantic

• Escort Group 17, consisting of the British frigate Loch Killin, the frigate Cranstown and the frigate Burges, are trailing a convoy when Loch Killin obtains an asdic contact. Three Squid attacks are made before the U-boat surfaces and is finished off by depth charges and gunfire.

U-1063 Class Type VII/41 CO Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Stephan Location English Channel, off Start point Cause Squid Casualties 29 Survivors 17

U-1274 Class Type VIIC/41 CO Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Hermann Fitting Location North Sea, E of Sunderland Cause Depth charge Casualties 44 Survivors None

• U-1274 had attacked and sunk the tanker Athelduke (8966t) in Convoy FS-1784. The British destroyer Viceroy counterattacks, but sees no results for her effort. She returns eight days later finding the target in the same area. A series of attacks result in much wreckage coming to the surface.
• The German submarines U-880 and U-1235 are sunk by the US destroyer escorts Frost (DE-144) and Stanton (DE-247) in the North Atlantic area as part of the increased anti-submarine campaign of Operation TEARDROP.

U-1235 Class Type IXC CO Oberleutnant zur See Frits Barsch Location North Atlantic Cause Depth charge Casualties 57 Survivors None

U-880 Class Type IXC CO Oberleutnant zur See Gerhard Schotzau Location North Atlantic, 520m E of Flemish Cape Cause Depth charge Casualties 53 Survivors None

• U-190 sinks the Canadian minesweeper Esquimalt (590t) near Halifax, Nova Scotia with the loss of 44 of her crew. 26 survivors are picked up by the British minesweeper Sarnia.

Eastern Front

After receiving Eisenhower's March 28 message Stalin has become convinced that the British and Americans will not head for southern Germany but go for Berlin. He has, therefore, ordered preparations for the last great offensive to take the German capital to be hurried forward. Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front and Ivan Konev's 1st Ukraine Front are to lead the attack with support from Konstantin Rokossovsky in the north. Perhaps in an effort to divide the glory and retain credit for himself and not the army or any one of its leaders, Stalin has not made it clear whether Zhukov or Konev has to make the final assault on the city. Between them the two Soviet marshals have well over 2,000,000 men, more than 6,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, a similar number of aircraft and almost 16,000 guns, one gun for every 13 feet of the front on which the assault will take place. Although the Germans have about 1,000,000 men deployed in fairly strong and well-prepared positions overlooking the west bank of the Oder and Neisse, they are totally outmatched in the air and on the ground they have nothing to compare with the lavish scale of Soviet equipment. The German troops are organized in Gen Gotthard Heinrici's Army Group Vistula and Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner's Army Group Center.

At 5:00am the 1st Ukraine Front opens the offensive against Berlin with a massive bombardment of the positions of the German 4th Panzer Army, Army Group Center, on the Neisse River in the Triebel area. At 7:00am the tanks and infantry go in, taking a bridgehead over the river. There are powerful attacks also in the area of Ratibor. At 6:15am the 1st Belorussian Front attacks the sector held by the Vistula Army Group north and south of Frankfurt-on-the-Oder. The Russian 33rd Army, south of the town, makes the most progress, advancing several miles.

In Austria the 3rd Ukraine Front presses on west of Vienna, taking St Pölten and Fürstenfeld. The 2nd Ukraine Front gains ground in Czechoslovakia southeast of Brno. Hitler sends his last Order of the Day to his Eastern Front armies: 'He who gives the order to retreat is to be shot on the spot.'

The Soviet Berlin Offensive begins. For this assault the Soviets have amassed 2.5 million troops, 41,000 artillery pieces, 6,200 tanks and assault guns, 100,000 motor vehicles and 7,200 aircraft, divided between the 1st Belorussian, 2nd Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts. Facing this host is Army Group Vistula (3rd Panzer and 9th Armies with the LVI Panzer Corps in reserve: 200,000 troops, 750 tanks and assault guns and 1,500 artillery pieces) and the northern flank of Army Group Center (4th Panzer Army; 100,000 troops and 200 tanks and assault guns).

Air Operations, CBI

• 18 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops and supplies at 1 locations.
• 12 fighter-bombers attack road targets immediately behind the Japanese Army battle lines.

• 2 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Bakli Bay port area.
• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Liang-feng.
• 4 B-25s and 4 14th Air Force P-51s attack river shipping near Yiyang.
• More than 70 fighter-bombers attack targets across southern and eastern China.

Air Operations, Europe

• 90 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack the railway yards in the small town of Cham deep in southeastern Germany. The attack is completely successful with tracks torn up and rolling stock destroyed.
• There are no losses.

• 61 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 43 to Ingoldstadt airfield, and there are 40 Mosquito patrols and 28 RCM sorties.
• 2 Mosquitos are lost on the Berlin raid.
• ??Mosquitoes bomb the Gestapo Headquarters at Odense, Denmark.

Air Operations, Formosa

• 22nd, 43rd, 90th, and 380th Heavy Bomb group B-24s attack the airfields at Okayama, Shinshoshi, Taichu, and Toyohara.
• 18 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the Taito airfield.

Air Operations, Japan

In an effort to defeat the kamikaze campaign at its sources, 118 XXI Bomber Command B-29s attack the Izumi airfield on Honshu and the Kanoya, Kokubu, Nittagahara, and Tachiarai airfields on Kyushus. This interdiction campaign will account for nearly 75 percent of all XXI Bomber Command B-29s sorties through May 11, 1945.

Air Operations, Pacific

B-29s carry of the first of a series of raids on 17 kamikaze bases in southern Japan. These raids continue until May 11.

Air Operations, Philippines

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Cotabato and Kabacan on Mindanao.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s sweep highways and roads on Mindanao.
• FEAF B-24s, B-25s A-20s, and fighter-bombers, and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing SBDs and F4Us attack targets throughout the Philippine Islands and Sulu Archipelago.
• Following an intense 6-day air and naval bombardment of the region, the US 8 Army’s X Corps lands without opposition at Parang on Mindanao’s west coast. Cover is provided by 35 1st Marine Aircraft Wing SBDs and 30 F4Us, which also sweep highways ahead of the advancing troops.

Air Operations, Ryukyus

• US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft support the US 10th Army on Okinawa and Ie Shima.
• Task Force 57 aircraft attack airfields in the Sakishima Islands before retiring to refuel.
• A VF-17 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea at 0015 hours.
• VF-83 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' at sea at 0130 hours.
• VF-9, VF-12, and VF-47 F6Fs down 34 Japanese fighters at sea and near Kikai Shima at 0830 hours.
• VBF-9 F6Fs down 4 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters 42 miles from Task Force 58 at 0855 hours.
• VF-46 F6Fs down 3 D4Y 'Judy' diver bombers 40 miles from Task Force 58 at 0900 hours.
• A VMF-311 F4U and a VBF-83 F4U each downs an A6M Zero at sea at 0915 hours.
• VF-84 F4Us down a G4M 'Betty' bomber and a Ki-84 'Frank' fighter near US picket destroyers at 0930 hours.
• VBF-9 F6Fs down 2 Ki-61 'Tony' fighters and a VF-84 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber 43 miles from Task Force 58 at 0945 hours.
• A VBF-9 F6F downs a P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber 13 miles from Task Force 58 at 1425 hours.
• A VMF(N)-543 F6F downs a Ki-21 'Sally' bomber over Naha, Okinawa, at 2130 hours.

Diplomatic Relations

The US promises the Soviet Union an additional 5,700,000 tons of supplies.

Eastern Front

The great battle for Berlin develops. The biggest breakthroughs are made by the 1st Ukraine Front over the Neisse, where 3 Russian armies are advancing rapidly toward the Spree River, driving back the 4th Panzer Army. The Army Group Center loses ground in the south where the Russians advance on Brno, but contains the enemy near Ratibor and Loslaw. On the front held by the Vistula Army Group there are violent clashes south of Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, where the Russian 33rd Army, 1st Belorussian Front, is advancing.

In East Prussia, the remains of the German 2nd and 4th Armies have succeeded in retiring west of Königsberg in the area of Pillau, where they suffer heavy casualties from Russian air attacks.

On the Austrian front, the position of the 6th SS Panzer Army grows steadily worse south of St Pölten. Russian troops capture Wilhelmsburg.

Although the Soviet 8th Guards Army captures Seelow late in the afternoon, the German 9th Army retires to another defense line. The Soviets have suffered heavy casualties. The 1st Ukrainian Front is across the Neisse and has pushed back the 4th Panzer Army. Its 3rd Guards Tank and 4th Guards Tank Armies are now heading toward Zossen and Potsdam.[MORE]

Italy

All 8th Army units are now making fine progress in the continuing Allied offensive. On the right Argenta falls to V Corps with help from an amphibious move across Lake Comachio. North and east of Argenta there are no more rivers before the Po and the British units are soon passing through this 'Argenta Gap'. West of Argenta XIII Corps has now come into the line between V Corps and the Poles who are themselves moving northwest toward Bologna. 5th Army attacks are also continuing, but with slightly slower progress because of the more difficult terrain south and west of Bologna. In the western sector, the 92nd Division, US 5th Army, makes for Sarzana, while the IV Corps reaches Monte Ferra and Monte Moscoso.

Air Operations, CBI

• 21 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops, tank, artillery positions, and bivouacs near Kongsam and Man Li.
• 5 427th Night Fighter Squadron P-61s attack supplies at Laihka.

• 3 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack targets of opportunity near Siangtan.
• 52 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets across southern and eastern China.

Air Operations, East Indies

42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack Sandakan and Tarakan.

Air Operations, Europe

Oberst Johannes Steinhoff, with 176 victories, suffers hideous burns when his Me-262 crashes near Munich. He recovers to become C-in-C of the post-war West German Luftwaffe.

Daylight Ops:

• ;969 aircraft including 617 Lancasters, 332 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitos of all groups attack the naval base at Heligoland, the airfield and the town on this small island. 5,000 tons of bombs are dropped. The bombing is accurate and the target areas are turned almost into crater-pitted moonscapes.
• 3 Halifaxes are lost.

• 114 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack the railway yards in the Czechoslovak town of Komotau, now known as Chomutov. This is the last major raid in the long communications offensive to which No. 5 Group has made a particularly effective contribution. The raid is completely successful and all the aircraft involved return safely.

• 57 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 36 to Schleissheim airfield near Munich, and there are 33 Mosquito patrols and 35 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito of No. 141 Squadron is lost while carrying out a napalm attack on an airfield in northern Germany. This is a new form of weapon being used by the Mosquito squadrons of No. 100 Group.

Air Operations, Formosa

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack airfields at Giran, Hobi, Soton, Tainan, and Toyohara.
• 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the airfield at Karenko.
• V Fighter Command P-38s attack road and rail targets.
• An 18th Fighter Group P-38 downs a Ki-21 'Sally' bomber near the Toyohara airfield at 1300 hours.

Air Operations, Japan

112 XXI Bomber Command B-29s attack the following airfields: Izumi on Honshu, Kanoya, Kokubu, Nittagahara, and Tachiarai on Kyushu. 13 B-29s attack other targets. 2 B-29s are lost.