Post-blogging 1940

Battle of Kharkov. German 1st Panzer Army attacks into the base of the Izium salient, aiming to halt the Soviet offensive and encircle their Armies. After a 90 minute artillery barrage, tanks of Kleist’s 3rd Panzer Corps attack with air support and crush the Soviet defenses on the edge of the salient, opening a 12 mile wide breach and advancing 10 miles to capture Barvenkovo. Despite this, Soviet forces continue pushing West, deeper into the pocket.

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Gulf of Mexico. At midnight, U-507 sinks Honduran SS Amapala (1 killed, 56 survivors). At 11 AM off the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana, U-506 badly damages US tankers MV Sun and MV William C. McTarnahan. MV Sun reaches New Orleans for repairs under her own steam 14 hours later (all 48 hands survive). MV William C. McTarnahan (18 killed) is towed to Southwest Pass for repairs and 27 survivors on lifeboats and rafts are rescued by shrimp trawlers.

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British cruiser HMS Trinidad is scuttled in the Barents Sea 170 miles North of Norway, to prevent further attacks on the stationary cruiser and her destroyer escort after being hit several times yesterday by German dive bombers and torpedo bombers (63 killed). After the crew is taken off by destroyers HMS Matchless, Foresight and Forester, the burning wreck of HMS Trinidad is sunk at dawn by 3 torpedoes from HMS Matchless.

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In the Gulf of Mexico, U-506 torpedoes US tanker SS David McKelvy, carrying 81,000 barrels of crude oil which explodes (17 killed, 25 survivors many horribly burned, 2 men survive in fresh water tanks in the ship´s bottom until the fire burns out). SS David McKelvy will be beached on the Louisiana coast but declared a total loss. U-564 sinks neutral Mexican tanker SS Potrero del Llano by mistake off the Southeast tip of Florida (13 dead, 22 survivors picked up by American patrol vessel USS PC-536 and taken to Miami). This incident will contribute to Mexico’s declaration of war against Germany in June. US Commander in Chief United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations (COMINCH-CNO) Admiral Ernest King recognises the unacceptable losses on the US East coast (109 ships in 4 months) and begrudgingly allows Vice-Admiral Adolphus Andrews, in command of Eastern Sea Frontier, to organise an interlocking convoy system running from Newport, Rhode Island, to Key West, Florida, consisting in part of small cutters and private vessels.

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Overnight, German armed merchant cruiser Stier attempts to break out into the Atlantic through the English Channel, escorted by torpedoboats Iltis, Kondor, Falke and Seeadler. 14-inch batteries at Dover fire on the convoy, without effect. British motor torpedo boats sneak up in dense fog off Cap Gris Nez and attack (MTB220 is hit and sinks). Torpedoboat Iltis is torpedoed by MTB.221 and sinks (115 killed) and MTB.219 sinks torpedoboat Seeadler (85 killed, some by machinegun fire from Stier as she passes in the confusion). Stier reaches Boulogne undamaged and torpedoboats Kondor and Falke return to the battlescene for survivors, rescuing 88 Germans and 3 from British MTB220.

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At 5.40 AM 35 miles South of Cape Fear, North Carolina, U-558 sinks British anti-submarine trawler HMS Bedfordshire, which is on loan to the US Navy (all 37 hands lost).

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At noon, British destroyers HMS Kipling, Jackal, Jervis and Lively, which are searching for an Italian convoy to Benghazi, are detected by German reconnaissance aircraft from Crete. At 2.30 PM, 14 Ju88 bombers attack, carrying two 500kg and two 250kg bombs each. HMS Lively is hit and sinks at 3.30 PM 120 miles North of Sidi Barrani, Egypt (76 killed). At dusk, another 7 Ju88s attack 60 miles North of Sidi Barrani, sinking HMS Kipling (25 killed) and setting HMS Jackal on fire (15 killed). HMS Jervis rescues 630 survivors from the 3 ships and takes the burning HMS Jackal in tow.

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At 2.30 PM 1500 miles West of Australia, German armed merchant cruiser Thor stops Australian liner SS Nankin (carrying general cargo, 180 crew and 162 passengers, including 23 naval and military passengers and 38 women and children) with shellfire (2 crew killed). Nankin’s Captain abandons ship to prevent loss of life and attempts to scuttle by opening the sea cocks. Nankin is captured by a boarding party from Thor and renamed Leuthen.

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Battle of the Coral Sea. While a tactical victory for the Japanese (having sunk US carrier USS Lexington and damaged carrier USS Yorktown for the loss of light carrier Shōhō), it is also a strategic success for the US. Japanese fleet carrier Shōkaku sets sail for Japan to repair serious bomb damage and the other fleet carrier Zuikaku is also forced to return to Japan as she has too few operational aircraft to be battleworthy. The absence of these carriers will cost Japan dearly in the battle at Midway that they are currently planning.

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