In Berlin, Hitler sets the new launch date for Operation BARBAROSSA for June 22.
As Hitler will tell Finish Field Marshal Mannerheim during their June 1942 meeting, his great fear is that the Allied air forces will destroy his Rumanian oil supplies (“I have nightmares of seeing them on fire”). Hitler thereafter claims that the report of the air ministry engineers was the final factor underlying his decision to authorize Operation BARBAROSSA. Taken together, the two separate incidents serve as support for each other in suggesting that Hitler’s driving goal behind Operation BARBAROSSA was to eliminate the Red Air Force as a threat.
Hitler confers with OKW operations director General Jodl. Hitler sets 22 June 1941 as the date for the invasion, though, as always, this is subject to change.
The Wehrmacht mops up on the Peloponnesus on 30 April 1941, taking thousands of British, New Zealand, Australian, and of course Greek captives who couldn’t be evacuated in Operation DEMON. The evacuation is often called a “second Dunkirk,” as the British took off 50,732 men, but, as at Dunkirk, all of the heavy weapons had to be left behind. While this proved inconsequential at Dunkirk because the Wehrmacht stopped at the Channel coast, it won’t in the upcoming campaign in Crete. In comments to the House, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill notes that the British landed 60,000 men in Greece, and “at least 45,000 have been evacuated.” After dark, Royal Navy destroyers HMS Isis, Kimberley and Hero return to Kalamata and take off another 200 soldiers, while destroyers Havock and Hotspur take 700 men off of Milos. After that, the only men to escape from the mainland do so in small groups or singly.
The last British, Australian, New Zealand and Polish troops were taken on board ship today from Kalamata in the Peloponnese after a fighting ten-day retreat from Thermopylae. About 7,000 men were captured at Kalamata by a German Panzer force before they could be evacuated. However, 50,732 men were taken from harbors and beaches in this “second Dunkirk”, called Operation DEMON, and many have been transported to Crete for the island’s defense. There was too little time however, to take off all their heavy weapons, trucks and aircraft. As the Allies left the Germans began occupying islands in the Aegean.
While Allied soldiers continue to find any way off the mainland that they can find, for all intents and purposes Operation Demon is over and those left on the Peloponnesus will be captured or killed. That said, the general attitude to this information is one of relief, for those “in the know” expected much worse.
The Germans quickly set up a puppet collaborationist government in Greece. It is led by Georgios Tsolakoglou. They also set up a government in Serbia, known as the Commissioner Government, under Milan Acimovic.
The Germans and Italians quickly occupy the islands of the Aegean abandoned by the British. The Italians send their 2nd Paratroop Battalion to take Zante, Cephalonia and San Mauro, taking 250 Greeks as prisoners, while a black shirt (fascist) division lands on Corfu. These islands will change hands several times during the conflict. The Germans also seize numerous ships in Greece, including 190-ton Panamanian freighter Ines.
The German press announces that Crete is the next objective. Churchill, noting this in a memo to General Ismay, comments that, “Although our evidence points the other way, we must not exclude the possibility that Crete is a blind, and Syria or Cyprus the quarry.” This is a great example of how openly telling the plain truth about future military strategy can be an effective way to create doubt in an opponent. Meanwhile, New Zealand General Bernard Freyberg VC is confirmed as the Allied commander in Crete. He commands 29,000 Anzac forces and 9000 Greek troops. General Wavell, Middle East Commander, flies in and briefs Freyberg on Ultra decrypts citing Crete as the next target of German paratroopers (though Freyberg is not told the source).
Count Ciano writes on a meeting with the King on “the Croatian question”, “He is very happy, on the other hand, about the bestowal of a crown on a prince of his house. If the Duke of Aosta had been in Italy the King would have designated him without hesitation; as things stand, the only choice is between the Duke of Spoleto and the Duke of Pistoia. The King favors the first, because of his physical appearance and also, up to a certain point, because of his intellectual capacities. The Duke replies to Pavelich’s letter, accepting the crown.”
The Pavelic government in Croatia strips Jews of citizenship and passes other restrictive laws. The new state of Croatia introduces its first racial laws, removing all Jews from public office and ordering all Jews to wear a yellow badge.
Friedrich Paulus gave Erwin Rommel the authorization to begin a ground assault on Tobruk, Libya, which was launched at 2000 hours after an entire day of artillery shelling at Ras el Madauar near Tobruk. German tanks broke through the defensive perimeter, and infantry overran several Australian positions, penetrating as far as 3 kilometers. The artillery bombardment is supplemented by Stuka raids. This is the heaviest attack yet. The defense is not to be overcome.
Visiting Major-General Friedrich Paulus finally has allowed General Erwin Rommel to attack the Tobruk perimeter after some indecision. The defenders have had time to sow minefields and even to bring in a dozen infantry tanks, but the Germans now have had time to settle their dispositions as well. At the War Cabinet today, Churchill comments that “sufficiently vigorous steps were not being taken by any of the three Services to strike the Germans before they became stronger,” so this attack will prove the acid test for that judgment.
Rommel plans his attack to hit the southwest salient, defended by the 26th Australian Brigade. The attack begins at 20:00, led by the 15th Panzer Division and the 5th Light Division. The Axis dispositions have been disrupted by Allied artillery fire — troop movements in the desert are hard to conceal, especially during the day. The panzers make a small breakthrough, but the defending Australians hold tight at several outposts. The Italian troops of the Ariete and Brescia divisions make little progress following the lead panzers, and the offensive deteriorates into a melange of local actions. As the day ends, it is unclear which side has the advantage.
The Germans and Italians mount a supply convoy from Messina and Augusta with five freighters and several escorts. The Luftwaffe bombs HMS Gloucester while it is trying to intercept the convoy. The bomb passes through the ship without exploding, so the damage is very minor. Another convoy departs from Tripoli.
Royal Navy gunboats HMS Aphis and Ladybird bombard Sollum and Gazala, respectively.
German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop replies to an inquiry by King Farouk of Egypt, saying that Germany has no designs on Arab nations. This, of course, is patently false.
Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies notes in his diary a “Great argument in the War Cabinet” about Churchill suggesting to the USA that it move its Pacific fleet to the Atlantic, with Menzies firmly opposed to this.
In Munich, Bavarians are outraged by a ban on crucifixes in their schools. The state culture minister, Adolf Wagner, has declared that crucifixes, church decorations and religious pictures “have no place in our schools” and ordered their gradual removal. Bavaria was the breeding ground of Nazism, but it is also intensely Catholic. Farmers have refused to deliver milk in protest, and parents have blocked school entrances or withdrawn their children. Michael von Faulhaber, the cardinal of Munich and Freising, has protested about the Nazis’ continued “destruction of Christianity in public life.”
The troop transport Nerissa was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-552. Nerissa was the only transport carrying Canadian troops to be lost during the war.
In Abyssinia, the Indian 9th Infantry Brigade launches small attacks against Italians at Amba Alagi.
The standoff continues in Iraq, with Iraqi ground forces threatening the RAF Habbaniyah airfield and the RAF planes based there launching strikes against them (authorized by Churchill himself).
6,000 Iraqi troops with 30 artillery pieces departed Baghdad, Iraq on an ostensibly training exercise before dawn. At first light, they reached a plateau overlooking the RAF airbase at Habbaniyah 45 miles west of Baghdad. British Ambassador Kinahan Cornwallis warned British civilians to leave Baghdad; 230 of them would soon flee to Habbaniyah while 350 and 150 would seek shelter in the British Embassy and the American Legation, respectively.
The British have 2,000 troops in the airfield and 9000 civilians there as well. Additional troops are being airlifted from RAF Shaibah to Habbaniyah by the RAF on a piecemeal basis, with civilians being taken out on the return flights. The Iraqis have told the British to cease all flights, but they continue.
Soviet Russia reported today that Germany had landed 12,000 troops with tanks and big guns in Southwestern Finland, within fifty miles of the Hango military base that the U.S.S.R. won in her conqueror’s peace with the Finnish Republic.
Alexander Korda’s “That Hamilton Woman” is released. Starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, who are newlyweds, the film reportedly was made at Winston Churchill’s urging as a propaganda tool (the film depicts romance during the Napoleonic Wars). “That Hamilton Woman” goes on to become the fifth most popular film at the British box office for 1941 and wins an Oscar for Best Sound. Korda, incidentally, came under suspicion in the United States congress for using his film operations as a cover for British spy operations in the United States. While that investigation was dropped after Pearl Harbor, a modern scholar (film historian Stacey Olster) claims that the charge was accurate.
The Luftwaffe bombs Cardiff before dawn, causing great damage with land mines.
An RAF Wellington crashes in St. Andrews Park, Bristol. Three of the six man crew die, but three are saved by among others a young probationary police officer, Bruce Westlake, who entered the burning plane.
RAF Bomber Command: Day of 30 April 1941
13 Blenheims on sweeps of Dutch and German coasts. 3 aircraft attacked a convoy off Holland. The defences of the convoy — 8 Flak-ship escorts for just 1 tanker, together with an Me 110 air cover — illustrate how the recent Blenheim operations forced the Germans to increase their protection of coastal shipping. 1 Blenheim was shot down attacking this convoy and another badly damaged; no hits were scored on the tanker.
RAF Bomber Command: Night of 30 April/1 May 1941
Kiel
81 aircraft — 43 Wellingtons, 25 Whitleys, 13 Hampdens. No losses. The Kiel area was found to be completely cloud-covered and only 49 aircraft bombed the estimated position of the target. Kiel reports no bomb damage and no casualties. 28 aircraft bombed alternative targets.
Minor Operations: 10 Stirlings to Berlin but only 3 reached the city, 2 Wellingtons to Rotterdam. No losses.
German aircraft bombed Malta; a bomb passed through British cruiser HMS Gloucester without detonating. The Luftwaffe continues to be active over Malta. The raids begin at 08:00 when a couple of Junkers Ju 88s escorted by fighters bomb St. Angelo and shipping in Grand Harbour. Around sunset, half a dozen Heinkel He 111s with fighter escort make another raid, followed by a much larger raid around 20:30. The last raid starts major fires and includes large parachute mines. Included in the targets are the airfields at Luqa and Ta Qali, and shipping damage includes a hit on HMS Encounter and the loss of minesweeper HMS Coral Trusty Star (later refloated and repaired). Minesweeper HMS Fermoy is operating off Valletta when it, too, is bombed and sunk (though later raised for scrap). In addition, minesweeper HMS Abingdon is damaged while sweeping, which, with the sinking of the Coral Trusty Star, leaves the Royal Navy with no usable dedicated minesweepers.
This is considered one of the worst raids of the year on Malta, with banks, the law courts and numerous other businesses and residences obliterated. There are dozens of casualties, both military and civilian, including several children as young as age 4, 5, 9, 10 and 11. The German High Command quickly pushes out a press release touting the Luftwaffe’s successes in Malta and at Tobruk.
The Wehrmacht High Command announced: “During the evening and night hours of 29 April, German bombers and dive bombers made a very effective raid on the port of Valetta on the island of Malta. They scored direct hits on a light cruiser and on antiaircraft positions, wharves and fuel tank depots, and set a destroyer on fire. Additional raids were made on the Luqa and Valetta airfields. The enemy lost two Hurricane fighters in aerial combats over the island. There were no German losses. In North Africa German and Italian dive bombers bombed Tobruk harbor, artillery positions at Fort Pilastro, and fortifications south of Via Balbia, with the heaviest caliber bombs.”
A small Argus pulse-jet of 265lb static thrust flies for the first time suspended beneath a Gotha Go 145 biplane. The Luftwaffe is busy developing advanced engines, including jets, rockets, and assorted other concepts. Today, a test pilot takes aloft a Gotha Go 145 biplane with an Argus pulse-jet of 265lb static thrust suspended below it. The engine test is a success. This engine, after further development, will evolve into the powerplant on the V-1 cruise missile (Fieseler Fi 103 flying bomb).
Around this time, a party of air ministry engineers returns to Germany following a tour of Soviet aircraft factories. They report to Hitler that the Soviet factories dwarf German factories, with more under construction. They further relate that Soviet aircraft designer Artem (Artyom) Ivanovich Mikoyan, perhaps under the influence of alcohol, had rather imprudently stated:
“Now you have seen the mighty technology of the Soviet fatherland. We shall valiantly ward off any attack, whatever quarter it comes from.”
Winston Churchill sends a note to Air Vice Marshal William Sholto Douglas congratulating him on the progress of Operation MUTTON. This is a project being experimented with to use six specially equipped Harrows of RAF No. 93 Squadron (at this time still No. 420 Flight) to tow Long Aerial Mines (LAM) in the path of German bombers. The LAMs are cylindrical containers 14 inches long and 7 inches in diameter, weighing 14 pounds and towed at the end of long cables. Churchill places great stock in this concept, and comments to Douglas that “It seems possible that this will enable us to make bags in the dark period as heavy as those we can get on the best moonlit nights.” The Harrows, however, are clumsy aircraft, and the interceptions (guided by ground controllers using radar) are a bit like fishing — either the Luftwaffe plane blunders into the mines, or it doesn’t, and multiple factors such as wind and angle of approach are extremely difficult to get just right. That said, Operation MUTTON Harrows do have some success during early trials.
U-107, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günter Hessler, sank British steamer Lassell (7417grt) at 12-55N, 28-56W. At 2155 hours on 30 April 1941 the unescorted Lassell (Master Alfred Ryder Bibby) was hit on the port side in the engine room by one torpedo from U-107 about 250 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The ship had been in convoy OB-309, which was dispersed on 19 April in 50°00N/23°50W. Her engines stopped immediately and the ship sank by the stern after about 8 minutes. Two crew members on watch below were lost. One lifeboat had been destroyed by the explosion and another was damaged during launching, so the survivors had to be distributed between the two remaining boats, which lost contact to each other after 3 days. The master, second officer, 22 crew members and one lady passenger were picked up from their lifeboat on 9 May by the Benvrackie, which was herself sunk four days later by U-105 (Schewe). 15 survivors from Lassell were lost. The master, nine others and the survivors of Benvrackie were rescued after 13 days in lifeboats by the British hospital ship HMHS Oxfordshire and landed at Freetown. The chief officer H.W. Underhill, four officers, 13 crew members and eight gunners in the other lifeboat were picked up on 10 May in position 10°57N/29°13W by the British steam merchant Egba (Master G.D. Simpson, OB.E) and landed at Freetown five days later. The 7,417-ton Lassell was carrying general cargo and was bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Dutch submarine HNLMS O.13 arrived at Scapa Flow to act as an anti-submarine training ship.
Destroyers HMS Cossack and HMS Zulu departed Scapa Flow at 1700 for Plymouth to join the Plymouth Command.
Destroyer HMS Impulsive departed Scapa Flow at 1930 for Aberdeen to escort the steamer Amsterdam for Aberdeen to Lerwick. The two ships departed Aberdeen at 0200 on 1 May and arrived at 1520 at Lerwick. On 3 May at 0035, the two ships departed Lerwick and proceeded to Aberdeen. Steamer Archangel joined at 0500 off Duncansby Head. The three ships proceeded to Aberdeen. Delivering the steamers, destroyer Impulsive returned to Scapa Flow arriving at 1830 on 3 May.
Sloop HMS Erne (Lt Cdr HM Darell-Brown) was seriously damaged by a bombing near miss, while still in her builder’s yard at Westgarth. The sloop was repaired in the Tyne completing on 21 June 1942.
British Banff class escort ships built in the United States were commissioned with crews from battleship HMS Malaya, under repair. Commissioned were escort ships HMS Banff (Lt Cdr P. S. Evans), HMS Culver (Lt Cdr R. T. Gordon-Duff), HMS Fishguard (Lt Cdr H. L. Pryse RNR), and HMS Hartland (Lt Cdr G. P. Billot RNR).
Naval minesweeping drifter HMS Trusty Star (96grt) was sunk by German bombing at Malta. The drifter was later salved and recommissioned at Malta.
German raider Thor arrived in port after sinking eleven ships for (83,000grt). The raider was met in Biscay by destroyers Ihn, Heinemann, and Steinbrinck.
On the 30th, destroyers HMAS Nizam and HMAS Napier arrived at Aden after duty in convoy WS.7. The destroyers departed Aden escorting liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth which arrived at Suez on 3 May. Destroyer Napier arrived at Port Said on 2 May. Destroyer Nizam arrived at Suez on 2 May. The destroyers, which carried LL gear for minesweepers, arrived at Alexandria on 4 May for duty with the Mediterranean Fleet.
Light cruiser HMS Gloucester was damaged by German bombing in the Mediterranean. The bomb passed through the ship without exploding. The damage required one day for temporary repairs.
During the night of 30 April/1 May, destroyers HMS Isis, HMS Kimberley, and HMS Hero lifted twenty four officers and 176 other ranks from Kalamata. The destroyers joined light cruiser HMS Phoebe during the afternoon of 1 May and proceeded to Alexandria. Destroyers HMS Hotspur and HMS Havock lifted 700 troops from Milos and returned to Alexandria. These ships all arrived at Port Said on 2 May to refuel, as Alexandria Harbour had been closed earlier that day due to a mine being detonated in the Channel. Operation DEMON was completed. Some 50,672 troops from evacuated from Greece.
Gunboat HMS Aphis bombarded Sollum on the 30th.
Gunboat HMS Ladybird bombarded Gazala on the 30th.
At the end of March, Mexican tankers Minatitlan (10,000grt), Panuco (7800grt), and Tacona (10,000grt), building at Genoa for Mexico, were seized by Italian authorities.
Panamanian steamer Ines (190grt) was taken over by the Germans in Greece. The steamer was rammed and cut in two by an Australian warship in Cretan waters in May.
Battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth, escorted by destroyers HMS Fearless, HMS Fury, and HMS Wrestler, arrived at Gibraltar from Freetown to join Force H
Light cruiser HMS Mauritius departed Gibraltar to rendezvous with convoy WS.8A and escort the convoy to Freetown.
Battlecruiser HMS Repulse, light cruiser HMS Naiad, and destroyers HMS Havelock, HMS Hesperus, and HMS Harvester departing the convoy with steamers Clan Lamont, Clan Chattan, Clan Campbell, Empire Song, and New Zealand Star for Gibraltar for the TIGER operation.
Corvettes HMS Gardenia and HMS Columbine departed Gibraltar for Freetown.
Armed boarding vessel HMS Loch Oskaig captured French steamer Cap Cantin, which had departed Bayonne on the 25th for Casablanca, in 38-10N, 10W, twenty five miles from Cape Espichel. The steamer was sent to Gibraltar under armed guard and was met by battlecruiser HMS Renown and destroyers HMS Faulknor, HMS Foresight, HMS Fury, HMS Forester, and HMS Fortune on 2 May. Battlecruiser Renown and the destroyers returned to Gibraltar that evening. Destroyer Foresight was detached to escort the steamer and both ships arrived at Gibraltar on 3 May.
Convoy OB.317 departed Liverpool, escorted by destroyers HMS Boadicea, HMS Columbia, HMS Niagara, and HMS St Clair, sloop HMS Egret, corvettes HMS Heather, HMS Hepatica, HMS Orchis, HMS Snowberry, HMS Trillium, and HMS Windflower, and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Ayrshire, HMS Lady Madeleine, and HMS St Loman. The escort was detached on 6 May when the convoy was dispersed.
Convoy SA.1 of British steamers Empire Condor, Empire Curlew, Empire Egret, and Empire Widgeon was formed at sea and escorted by destroyers HMS Legion, HMCS Ottawa, ORP Piorun, and HMCS Restigouche. The convoy arrived in the Clyde on 3 May.
A German supply convoy for the Afrika Korps departed Messina and Augusta with German steamers Marburg (7564grt), Reichenfels (7744grt), Kybfels (7764grt) and Italian steamers Birmania (5305grt) and Rialto(6099grt) escorted by destroyers Euro and Fulmine and torpedo boats Castore, Orione, and Procione. Distant cover was given the convoy by heavy cruisers Trieste and Bolzano, light cruiser Eugenio de Savoia, and destroyers Ascari, Carabiniere, and Gioberti. Attacks on this convoy on 1 May by submarines and aircraft are unsuccessful. Light cruiser HMS Gloucester and destroyers HMS Kelly, HMS Jackal, HMS Kelvin, HMS Jersey, HMS Kipling, and HMS Kashmir departed Malta on 1 May to intercept, but could not make contact, and arrived safely at Tripoli. At the same time, a return convoy of German Castellon (2086grt), Arcturus (2596grt), Leverkusen (7386grt), and Wachtfels (8467grt) and Italian steamer Giulia (5921grt) escorted by destroyers Folgore, Saetta, Strale, and Turbine departed Tripoli for Naples. On 1 May, submarine HMS Upholder successfully attacked this convoy two miles south of Kerkenah and sank steamer Arcturus and badly damaging steamer Leverkusen. Nine hours later, the submarine was able to return after the destroyer counterattacks and sank steamer Leverkusen four miles southeast of Kerkenah. The convoy put into Trapani to avoid further attacks. The convoy departed Trapani on 5 May for Naples.
Convoy HX.124 departed Halifax, escorted by armed merchant cruiser HMS Circassia and corvettes HMCS Cobalt and HMCS Collingwood. The corvettes were detached later day. Destroyer HMS Broadway and corvettes HMS Aubretia, HMS Hollyhock, and HMS Nigella joined on 11 May. Destroyers HMS Amazon, HMS Burwell, HMS Malcolm, HMS Scimitar, and HMS Watchman, corvettes HMS Heliotrope, HMS Mallow, and HMS Violet, and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Northern Gem, HMS Northern Wave, HMS Notts County, and HMS Vizalma joined on 12 May. Corvettes HMS Anemone, HMS Clarkia, HMS Verbena, and HMS Veronica joined on 14 May. Destroyers Burwell, Malcolm, and Scimitar, corvettes Aubretia, Heliotrope, Hollyhock, Mallow, Nigella, Verbena, and Veronica, and the anti-submarine trawlers were detached on 14 May. The armed merchant cruiser and destroyer Watchman were detached on 15 May. Destroyers HMS Burnham, HMS Eridge, HMS Leamington, and HMS Salisbury, minesweepers HMS Hussar and HMS Niger, and catapult ship HMS Ariguani joined on 15 May. Destroyer HMS Roxborough joined on 18 May and HMS Saladin on 19 May. Destroyer Leamington and corvette Anemone were detached on 18 May. The remainder of the escort was detached when the convoy arrived at Liverpool on 20 May.
Today in Washington, President Roosevelt talked with Anna Rosenberg, Budget Director Harold Smith, Charles Palmer, Administrator of Defense Housing; Maritime Commissioner Rear Admiral Emory S. Land and Harry Hopkins. Lunch at the White House was in honor of President Elie Lescot of Haiti and his staff.
The Senate was in recess. Its Foreign Relations Committee refused to report either of two anti-convoy resolutions, while the Banking and Currency Committee received the President’s request to extend his authority to devalue the dollar and operate a stabilization fund.
The House heard Representative Hamilton Fish, Republican of New York, attack the President and the neutrality patrol; received the Gerlach bill authorizing transfer of fifty more destroyers to Britain; received the Sauthoff easy-payment tax plan and adjourned at 4:55 PM until noon tomorrow. The Rules Committee gave right-of-way to the Vinson strike bill and the Appropriations Committee approved the $177,019,078 Interior Department appropriation bill.
President Roosevelt asked the maritime commission tonight to obtain service of “at least 2,000,000 tons of merchant shipping” to be used to supply “all out aid to the democracies.” In a letter to the commission’s chairman, Rear-Admiral Emory S. Land, the president indicated that cargo vessels of all types might be taken from their existing or proposed trade routes to haul vital war supplies and food across the seas. He said also that the American merchant fleet must be expanded faster than was planned “so that ships and more ships will be available to carry the food and the munitions of war to the democracies of the world.”
President Roosevelt bought the first defense savings bond and stamp tonight and appealed to his fellow Americans, through similar investments, to “demonstrate again your faith in America.” The defense savings program, he said, offers an opportunity “to share in the defense of all things we cherish against the threat that is made against them.” That threat must be fought wherever it appears, he said, “and it can be found at the threshold of every home in America.” The chief executive spoke from the White House over all major radio networks in a program officially opening a campaign to bring billions of dollars into the treasury through the public sale of defense savings bonds and defense postal savings stamps.
By a six to five vote, the House Rules Committee today gave right of way to the Vinson Compulsory Mediation Bill affecting labor in defense industries, and the measure is expected to come to the House floor next week for two days of debate during which any amendments will be in order.
Former C.I.O. Chieftain John L. Lewis described Defense Commissioner William S. Knudsen tonight as a labor-baiter, “who is doing his country a disservice, and who should be restrained, or be removed.” Lewis spoke at a testimonial dinner for C.I.O. President Philip Murray. He cut short negotiations with bituminous coal operators In Washington today to attend the dinner and honor his successor. Lewis complained that there is no place in the cabinet, the O.P.M. or the war or other departments for the representatives of labor.
Bituminous coal operators of the Southern Appalachian area and officers of the United Mine Workers of America notified their representatives today to reopen the mines which have been closed by a strike since April 1.
Brigadier General Hugh S. Johnson was denied a renewal of his army reserve corps commission by President Roosevelt today and quickly replied that the White House had given “misleading, so-called reasons” for that action. At the same time Johnson, a critic of many administration policies, including the lend-lease bill, made public a letter to the president saying that withholding the commission was “neither very wise nor very consistent with what at least used to be a very close and precious friendship.” Johnson, 58-year-old columnist whose commission expired April 10, applied for reappointment. The War Department approved, but President Roosevelt turned him down after an exchange of correspondence. Stephen T. Early, presidential secretary who announced the decision today, read parts of a letter sent to Johnson by Major-Gen. E. M. Watson, the president’s military aide. It said the president felt the reappointment of general officers should be restricted to those whom the army expects to call to active service, and that only after army doctors have determined the officer’s physical fitness. Early added that Johnson was eligible by age and the War Department had waived the question of physical fitness and recommended the reappointment. (Early emphasized later that he had not said Johnson was physically unfit.) At a press conference the general, not in the best of spirits, agreed that he had no more “right to demand such an appointment” than a man had “to be consecrated as a bishop.” But he said it was his duty to “correct” any implications that he was physically unfit.
A spokesman for the American aircraft industry reported to the United States chamber of commerce today that “according to the best obtainable estimates” half of the United States airplane production plus Britain’s output now exceeds the total plane production of the axis powers.
Thomas Hart Benton, blunt-speaking, sharp portrayer of life, was requested today to efface two “offensive” scenes of his mural “Social History of Missouri” from the walls of the state capital. Representative David A. Hess, a St. Louis Democrat, introduced a bill asking the painter to remove the scene in which one boy thumbs his nose at another and the one depicting a farm wife pinning a diaper on a baby. Hess objected to the latter because the mother’s task “should In all cases be performed in more private surroundings.”
The first four “Lake”-class U.S. Coast Guard cutters were turned over to the Royal Navy: The USCGS Pontchartrain became the HMS Hartland (Y 00), the USCGS Tahoe became the HMS Fishguard (Y 59), the USCGS Mendota became the HMS Culver (Y 87), and the USCGS Itasca became the HMS Gorleston (Y 92).
The American Navy needs every ship it has afloat at this time and contemplates no further transfers to Great Britain, Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy, said at a press conference today. He stated, however, that small craft of the torpedo-boat type would be supplied out of new construction for Britain. A request for twenty-four such speedy small craft was expected “hourly” from the British Government, it was added by Rear Admiral S. M. Robinson, chief of the Bureau of Ships, who assisted Secretary Knox at today’s conference. Mr. Knox declined to reply to a question whether maintenance of the status quo of the fleet was due to implications of vital need by this country for its defense forces, but he added: “Everybody in this room is thoroughly familiar with the fact that there is a possibility of war. There is always a possibility of war. I am not commenting on its imminence.”
The Boston Evening Transcript ceased publication after 111 years.
The motion picture “My Gal Sal” is released in the U.S. Directed by Irving Cummings, this musical stars Rita Hayworth, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, James Gleason and Phil Silvers. Gay 90s musical of songwriter Paul Dresser (Mature) in love with singer Hayworth. The film was nominated for two technical Academy Awards and won one.
The motion picture “That Hamilton Woman” is released in the U.S. Directed by Alexander Korda. This action adventure film stars Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Alan Mowbray and Gladys Cooper and depicts the ill-fated romance of Lord Admiral Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton. The film was nominated for four technical Academy Awards and won one.
Major League Baseball:
The Dodgers, down 3–0, score 4, including a run in the 9th on doubles by Mickey Owen and Peewee Reese to beat Johnny Vander Meer and the Reds. For the Dodgers, it is their 9th straight win, but they drop to 2nd place behind the Cards. Dixie Walker and Joe Medwick had homered in the eighth to tie the game.
The Cubs, who had dropped six of their seven previous starts, ruined the Braves’ rechristening party today by belting three of their pitchers for a 9–4 triumph. Although the temperature, due to a sudden shift of the wind; dropped 33 degrees in 12 minutes just before game time, the Cubs opened in heated fashion and clinched the contest by driving Manny Salvo from the box in the first inning. They scored four runs on two hits and three passes and added a fifth tally in the third. Nick Strincevich, Boston’s third hurler, was pounded for four more runs in the eighth.
The White Sox, winners of four straight games by one-run margins, were headed for another close finish today until wildness in the eighth inning by Washington’s pitcher, Ken Chase, helped them to four runs and a fifth-straight triumph. The score was 5–1. Chase, who walked ten men, issued three of the passes in the eighth. He also committed an error and two wild pitches, which with Joe Kuhel’s single and Larry Rosenthal’s double accounted for the run making.
The fans were walking out because the Ieague-leading Indians were two runs behind, had nobody on base and two were out in the ninth. But the Athletics never got that last man and the Tribe won, 6–5. Ken Keltner’s 400-foot home run into the left-center wooden bleachers at League Park broke up the game and defeated Lester McCrabb, rookie pitcher, after he had been ahead all the way. Philadelphia had a 5–3 lead and the first two Indians in the ninth went out so tamely that every one was certain they didn’t have a chance. But, thanks partly to earlier homers by Roy Weatherly and Jeff Heath, the game was salvaged into their sixth straight triumph.
The Tigers’ batting power, in hiding most of this season, broke loose today to smash the Red Sox, 12–8, and carry Buck Newsom to his first victory after he had been beaten three times in a row. With Rudy York slugging his fourth homer and two doubles to drive in five runs, the Tigers walloped four pitchers for eighteen hits for their second straight in the series. York hit his homer in the second with two aboard.
The Giants forgot to change the script. Again their pitcher bogged down for one big inning; again they came through with a late rally and again they lost. The Cardinals beat the New Yorkers for the second day in a row at the Polo Grounds yesterday, 6–4. It was the fourth straight defeat for the once high-riding but now bewildered Clan Stoneham. Those Cards looked mighty formidable. They clouted Hal Schumacher for twelve hits, including home runs by Enos Slaughter and Johnny Mize. Furthermore, they received some handsome pitching from Sam Nahem, once part of a reversible brother battery for Brooklyn College.
The Phillies rallied in the seventh inning today to score four runs and take their second straight game from the Pirates, 8–4. Cy Blanton went the route against his former Pittsburgh teammates. keeping ten hits well scattered and fanning six. Outfielder Bob Elliott clouted his first home run of the year in the fifth with one aboard. Relief Pitcher Dick Lanahan was charged with the loss. He went in after Bob Klinger was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth and yielded four hits, which the Phillies turned into the same number of runs. Elbie Fletcher, Pirates’ first baseman, led both clubs at the plate with three hits in four times at bat, but it was his wild throw in the seventh that let in what proved to be the winning run.
The Yankees went on a rampage today at Sportsman’s Park and put the lowly Browns right back in their place. Irked no end by their defeat yesterday, Joe McCarthy’s clubbers smacked Johnny Niggeling for fourteen hits and, in the gloom of a cloudy afternoon, won from the St. Louis club by 7–1. Joe Gordon led the Yankee firing. He and George Selkirk hit homers. In addition, Gordon smacked three solid singles, hammering in four of the runs that brought the Yanks their first victory in the West and gave Marius Russo his third triumph despite a spotty pitching performance. Russo discovered that Yankee hitting at times covers a multitude of sins. The Long Island southpaw was not impressive. He issued six passes and was clubbed for eight blows, three of them for extra bases. He gave up four passes in the first two innings and four hits in the first three.
Cincinnati Reds 3, Brooklyn Dodgers 4
Chicago Cubs 9, Boston Braves 4
Washington Senators 1, Chicago White Sox 5
Philadelphia Athletics 5, Cleveland Indians 6
Boston Red Sox 8, Detroit Tigers 12
St. Louis Cardinals 6, New York Giants 4
Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Philadelphia Phillies 8
New York Yankees 7, St. Louis Browns 1
Indian patrol ship HMIS Parvati (1548grt, Lt H M S Choudri RIN) was sunk on a mine in 13-11N, 42-54E. One warrant officer and fifteen ratings were missing. The commanding officer, a warrant officer, and twelve ratings were wounded. The twenty one survivors were picked up by a British warship.
Permission to operate a service between Manila and Singapore in connection with its trans-Pacific service was granted the Pan American Airways today by the Civil Aeronautics Board.
The proposal that Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka should visit the United States in an effort to ease the tension in the Pacific received official cognizance today when Koh Ishii, spokesman of the Cabinet Board of Information, told correspondents at his press conference that he would approach the Foreign Minister himself to ascertain whether the latter was willing to make a statement of his own views on that question.
Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia departed Singapore with the Australian delegates of the ABDA conference. The cruiser arrived at Sydney on 3 May.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 115.54 (-1.19)
Born:
Johnny Farina, American rocker (Santo & Johnny), in Brooklyn, New York, New York.
Joseph “Coke” Escovedo, Mexican-American percussionist (Santana; Malo; Azteca), in Los Angeles, California (d. 1986).
Jerry Stovall, NFL safety and punter (Pro Bowl, 1966, 1967, 1969; St. Louis Cardinals), in West Monroe, Louisiana.
Vern Burke, NFL split end and tight end (San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints), in San Luis Obispo, California.
Died:
Edwin S. Porter, 71, American filmmaker.
Naval Construction:
The U.S. Navy 77′ Elco patrol motor torpedo boat USS PT-41 is laid down by the Electric Launch Company Ltd. (Elco), (Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.A.).
The Вое́нно-морско́й флот СССР (ВМФ) (Soviet Navy) “M” (Malyutka)-class (4th group, Type XV) submarines M-215, M-216, M-217, M-218, and M-219 are laid down by Krasnoye Sormovo (Gorkiy, U.S.S.R) / Yard 112.
The Royal Navy Flower-class corvette HMS Thyme (K 210) is laid down by the Smiths Dock Co., Ltd. (South Bank-on-Tees, U.K.).
The U.S. Navy Fletcher-class destroyers USS Chevalier (DD-451) and USS Strong (DD-467) are laid down by the Bath Iron Works (Bath, Maine, U.S.A.)
The U.S. Navy 77′ Elco patrol motor torpedo boat USS PT-24 is launched by the Electric Launch Company Ltd. (Elco), (Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.A.).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boats U-453 and U-454 are launched by .
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boats U-575 and U-576 are launched by .
The Royal Navy MMS I-class motor minesweeper HMS MMS 16 (J 516) is commissioned.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-501 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Korvettenkapitän Hugo Förster.
The Royal Navy Banff-class sloop HMS Hartland (Y 00) [ex-USCGC Ponchartrain] is commissioned. Her first commanding officer in British service is A/Commander David Edward Gillespie Wemyss, RN.
The Royal Navy Banff-class sloop HMS Banff (Y 43) [ex-USCGC Saranac] is commissioned. Her first commanding officer in British service is Lieutenant Commander Philip Sydney Evans, RN.
The Royal Navy Banff-class sloop HMS Fishguard (Y 59) [ex-USCGC Tahoe] is commissioned. Her first commanding officer in British service is Lieutenant Commander Henry Leslie Pryse, RNR.
The Royal Navy Banff-class sloop HMS Culver (Y 87) [ex-USCGC Mendota] is commissioned. Her first commanding officer in British service is Lieutenant Commander Randall Thomas Gordon-Duff, RN.
The Royal Navy Flower-class corvette HMS Celandine (K 75) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is T/Lieutenant Commander Aislabie Harrison, RNR.
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Trail (K 174) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is T/Lieutenant George Stanley Hall, RCNR.
The ex-Marine Nationale (French Navy) Bourrasque-class destroyer (torpilleur d’escadre) Ouragan is recommissioned into the Forces Navales Françaises Libres (Free French Naval Forces) .
For the month of April 1941, German U-boats sink 44 ships (total 247,758 tons) and damage 4 more ships (28,792 tons).
During the month of April 1941, Axis sinkings spike, largely due to increased success by the long-range Luftwaffe group previously authorized by Adolf Hitler. There are a total of 88 Allied ships sunk with 381,289 tons in Atlantic, 107 Allied ships with 306,512 tons sunk elsewhere (primarily the Mediterranean, where 32 Axis ships with 152,129 tons are sunk. Overall, total Allied shipping losses rise from 474,879 tons in March to 616,469 tons in April (figures will not match up because they come from different sources and calculating such totals is more of an art than a science — even seemingly exact figures are best taken as crude approximations).
The Kriegsmarine loses two U-boats sunk in the Atlantic, Arctic or Baltic. There are 32 serviceable U-boats in Atlantic, a continuing increase over those available at the start of the war. The Allied shipping losses will decline from here until the peak months of 1942, though, because Admiral Doenitz’ U-boat fleet has lost some of its best commanders recently.
History Diaries 