Posted on 05/21/2012 4:38:12 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1942/may42/f21may42.htm
Hitler gives up plan to invade Malta
Thursday, May 21, 1942 www.onwar.com
From Berlin... Hitler postpones the planned invasion of Malta indefinitely.
From Tokyo... The Japanese allow the Red Cross to visit British prisoners.
In Hong Kong... There are new Japanese landings at Chekiang.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm
May 21st, 1942
UNITED KINGDOM: Rescue tug HMS Bold launched.
Minesweeper HMS Ardrossan commissioned.
Submarine HMS Unshaken commissioned.
(Dave Shirlaw)
NETHERLANDS: The second “Liro” (Lippmann, Rosenthal and Co. Bank) Decree greatly expands the scope of the registration and confiscation efforts aimed at Dutch Jews. They are now forced to declare all of their possessions, from the contents of safety deposit boxes to their dinnerware, and to surrender their valuable objects and collections to Liro. Jews are required to hand over their teaspoons, but may retain their dental fillings made of precious metal (209 p.176). (Peter Kilduff, Jennifer L. Foray)
GERMANY: East Prussia: Rastenburg: Hitler postpones the planned invasion of Malta until after Egypt has been conquered by the Axis.
U-844 laid down.
U-197 launched.
U-623 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: In the opening stages of the attack on Crete, cruiser minelayer HMS Abdiel lays mines off the west coast of Greece, which sink the Italian destroyer ‘Mirabello’ and two transports. In the morning destroyer HMS Juno is sunk and cruiser HMS Ajax slightly damaged as they withdraw SW of Crete. Later that evening HMS Ajax, with Dido, Orion and four destroyers savage a German troop convoy of small craft. More such vessels are sunk over the next few days off the north coast. (Dave Shirlaw)
CANADA: First arrivals at camps at Kaslo, New Denver, Slocan, Sandon and Tashme, British Columbia. (Jack McKillop)
Minesweeper HMCS St Boniface laid down Port Arthur, Ontario.
U.S.A.: The motion picture “Tortilla Flat” is released in the U.S. Based on John Steinbeck’s novel, the film is directed by Victor Fleming and stars Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamar, John Garfield, Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff, Sheldon Leonard, Donald Meek and John Qualen. The plot involves unsavoury characters in a California fishing community. Frank Morgan was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. (Jack McKillop)
German submarine U-588 sinks an unarmed U.S. merchant freighter off the coast of New Jersey. The Germans provide the Americans with rum and cigarettes and help righting a capsized lifeboat. (Jack McKillop)
Submarine USS Pargo laid down.
Minesweeper USS Broadbill launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0348, the unescorted Clare was hit by one torpedo from U-103 about 40 miles off the coast of Cuba. The torpedo struck at the foremast between cargo holds #1 and #2, about six feet below the waterline. The blast created a hole about 15 feet in diameter, demolished the entire front of the ship and scattered the cargo below the above decks. The vessel lost way rapidly and sank 30 minutes later, listing to port about 25° and then going down quickly by the head. The radio operator sent an SOS four times but received no answer and the armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in and two .30cal guns) had no chance to fire at the U-boat because it remained submerged. The entire complement of eight officers, 25 crewmen and seven armed guards abandoned ship in one lifeboat and three rafts. The boat reached Cape Corrientes, Cuba in eight hours and a Cuban gunboat picked up the men on the rafts. (Dave Shirlaw)
ASW trawler HMS Retriever escorted Convoy PQ-16 from 21 May 1942 until 23 May 1942.
Destroyer ORP Garland joins an escort of Convoy PQ-16 from Iceland to Murmansk. From May 25th to May 28, ORP Garland participated in defense of the convoy against numerous attacks of the Luftwaffe. On May 28, she was released from escort duty and sent to Murmansk due to damage and loss of 22 dead and 46 wounded seamen and officers.
About 0415, U-103 fired from about 400 yards a star shell across the bow of the unescorted Elizabeth, which was en route on a zigzag course at 11 knots about 30 miles south of Cape Corrientes, Cuba. Three minutes later a shell struck the stack. At 04.35 hours, one torpedo was fired that struck the port side between the #3 hatch and the engine room. The explosion killed the three men on watch below and destroyed the main steam line, the condenser, the shelter deck and the radio shack. The ship quickly stopped and the radio operator sent distress signals and received acknowledgments. The armed guards fired two shots from the after 4in gun (the ship was also armed with two .30cal guns) at the U-boat but missed. Ten minutes later the complement of eight officers, 27 men and seven armed guards abandoned ship in one lifeboat and one raft. After another ten minutes the vessel sank stern first. Three men on the raft were never seen again. 21 hours after the attack the remaining 36 men landed on the western Cuban coast, halfway between Cape San Antonio and Cape Corrientes. The master Walter Gwynn Hudgins had already experienced a sinking, when his former ship, the Barbara, was sunk by U-126 (Bauer) 7 Mar 1942.
Steam tanker Faja de Oro sunk by U-106 at 23.30N, 84.24W.
At 1829, the unescorted Presidente Trujillo was torpedoed by U-156 and sank within four minutes. The ship was armed with one 75mm gun and three AA machine guns.
At 0323 and 0324, U-159 fired four torpedoes at a group of five ships in Convoy OS-28 about 140 miles ESE of Santa Maria, Azores and heard four detonations and saw a column of fire. Three ships were seen sinking, one of them burning. One of the damaged ships was then hit by another torpedo from a second spread of two torpedoes at 0325. However, only the New Brunswick and Montenol were hit and sunk. Montenol was badly damaged, abandoned and later scuttled by gunfire by HMS Woodruff. Three crewmembers were lost. The master, 52 crewmembers and eight gunners were picked up by HMS Wellington and landed at Freetown. Two crewmembers and one gunner from New Brunswick were lost. The master, 53 crewmembers and five gunners were rescued. Twelve survivors rescued by HMS Totland, ten by HMS Wellington, the master and six crewmembers by HMS Weston, five by HMS Woodruff and 25 survivors by the British merchant Inchanga and landed at Freetown.
SS Torondoc sunk by U-69 at 14.45N, 62.15W.
SS Troisdoc (1,925 GRT) Canadian Paterson Steamships bulk laker was sunk west of Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea, in position 18.15N, 079.20W, by U-588, Kptlt Viktor Vogel, CO. Troisdoc was on route from St Thomas, to Georgetown, British Guyana, in ballast for a load of bauxite. All 19 crewmembers were able to abandon the ship safely into lifeboats. The submarine surfaced and approached the lifeboats and inquired as to the ship’s name, its destination and cargo before departing. The crew was rescued five hours later by the Flower-class corvette HMS Clarkia.
The Canadian Paterson Steamships bulk laker Torondoc (1,927 GRT) was sunk off Martinique in the Caribbean Sea in position 14.45N, 062.15W, by U-69, KptLt. Ulrich Gräf, CO. She was on route from Trinidad for St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, with a load of bauxite for transhipment. All of her 23 crewmembers were lost. (Dave Shirlaw)
Crimea, Soviet Union 1942, Soldiers on leave from the front: from a series of photos taken by Horst Grund.
Crimea, Soviet Union 1942, Soldiers on leave from the front: from a series of photos taken by Horst Grund.
Crimea, Soviet Union 1942, from a series of photos taken by Horst Grund. -Burning trailer which was attacked by partisans in Yalta
Yalta-Crimea, Soviet Union 1942, Soldiers on leave from the front: from a series of photos taken by Horst Grund.
Crimea, Soviet Union 1942, Soldiers on leave from the front: from a series of photos taken by Horst Grund. -Cameraman's auto after a partisan attack in Yalta
Crimea, Soviet Union 1942, Soldiers on leave from the front: from a series of photos taken by Horst Grund. Auto just before it was shot at by partisans
Cholm, Spring 1942 one of the bunkers in the surrounded town.
Summer 1942 on the frontline east of Orel-unit stops for a break.
Orel-Russia-A Heavy flak gun in a direct fight with Soviet tanks -tanks are in the woods to the front (unseen) Of the struggles of our troops north of Orel. Heavy flak Fought down enemy tank in the yesterday to the right..Summer of 1942
German troops rouse village with object of finding hidden Soviet troops from surrounded unit nearby. Summer 1942 was west of Donets area.
General Paulus with officers of Sixth Army HQ on the steppes to the west of Don-Stalingrad area -Summer 1942
Soviet Union.Don-Stalingrad region--German soldiers in a captured Soviet jeep from American production. Summer 1942
German tank top in the Kalmücke Steppe south of Stalingrad September 1942 -Kalmyk Steppes at this time was a virtually empty region near Astrakan close to Caspian sea. Sept 1942
Soviet Union at Stalingrad-West-aircraft of Fieseler Fi 156 "Storch" type on empty steppe air base behind wood construction-Summer 1942
A mill in the steppe before Stalingrad region-September 1942
German forces in Demjansk Pocket attacking to meet German forces to the west -Winter 1942
A Russian village on the Volga river-late summer 1942
Obergruppenführer Dietrich in a crowd of men of the Waffen-SS Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, - Sepp Dietrich with von Westernhagen, Wiesemann, and Rettlinger. Picture was taken in Russia in 1942 -date & place unknown
Russia.-Panzer IV shortly Division "Grossdeutschland", with crew drive over a bridge; By Don River in early summer 1942
Soviet Union.-soldiers of the Luftwaffe with anti-tank gun (5 cm Pak 38 or 7.5 cm PaK 97 / 38?); Region is Rossosh in Summer 1942
Soviet Union. -German soldiers with the Panzerbüchse 39; Photo taken Aug 1,1942 in Ukraine
Soviet Union, South-Don/Stalingrad.-field marshal Erich von Manstein (left) and Colonel-General Hermann Hoth while eating at the table sitting, plate with soup; Summer 1942?
Soviet Union-South (Don, Stalingrad).-Panzer III on unpaved road; Summer 1942
Sowjetunion, South-Don/Stalingrad.-Panzer III and light infantry fighting vehicle (SdKfz 250) the 23rd Panzer Division in town, in the background ruins zerstörter. According to original caption date is June 21, 1942-early to be in Stalingrad region?
Sowjetunion-Süd (Don,Stalingrad).-Panzer III; PK 694-Again date in original is said to be June 21, 1942
Date & region omitted -photo of Soviet KV-1 after being slammed with AT shell.
Soviet Union.-vehicle column of the 24th Panzer Division in driving on unpaved road, front armored? Region not indicated-Summer 1942
Russia-South.-soldier in a position with binoculars observing alongside Panzerbüchse (? Spring 1942
Soviet Union.-light rail? vehicles 1 tonnes (SD.Kfz. 10), Nebelwerfern (heavy throwing unit 41) loaded trailer when driving through town (tactical characters: elephant in district with Nr. 20 -1942-43
Soviet Union, Caucasus-German Gebirgsjäger in the snow, Dec 1942
Soviet Union, Caucasus-convoy of tracked vehicles in hills; Fall 1942
German driver inside unknown armored vehicle nodate-time
Soviet Union, cauldron of Kholm.-dead Red Army men to a wall stacked up for defense/. Winter 41-42
Soviet Union, cauldron of Kholm.-dead Soviets to a wall stacked & piled up; for defensive shield? Winter 1941-42
Russia.-Part of onslaught on the attack on the Kertch peninsula. M.a.n.-bus and truck used as transport May 1942
Stalingrad Sept 1942 overflight of city by bomber
1942 No region photo of so-called Jüdischer_Hilfspolizist (Jewish Order Police)
No date/place but obviously somewhere in Caucasus Mountains in Russia probably 1942-43
Sept 1942 German supply wagons pass by (according to the translation) "the highly competitive airfield and the flying school of Stalingrad" (what looks like a burnt out hangar in the background-possibly the remains of a Red Army aerodrome?
Summer 1942-in the Kuban-Kalmyk Steppes. Armored soldiers standing on Panzer IV (short) in front of thatched House asking for water-According to full translation this photo was taken near the town of Elista near the Caspian Sea leading one to believe this unit belonged to 16th Motorized Infantry Division who was doing reconnaissance in the vast no-man's land between Astrakhan and the Terek river.
Soviet Union -two German soldiers standing on the Panzer VI "Tiger I", standing right beside damaged Russian tanks T-34 without chains on a street; The photo date is 1942-the month and region are missing from photo although it appears the photo was taken in Army Group North. Tiger Tanks in 1942???
Soviet Union, South-Don/Stalingrad.-soldier in the Tower of a tank with binoculars observing in the background factory or industrial buildings
Ukraine, at Lemberg (Lvov)-soldier of the Propaganda kompanien on Krad with side-car is hosted by Soviet women. Obviously early in war and the women were probably Ukrainian.
Soviet Union, South-Don/Stalingrad.-light and medium infantry fighting vehicle (SdKfz 250 and SD.Kfz. 251) and Panzer IV of the 24th Panzer Division driving.
Soldiers (Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS?) with air forces Miniguns in the ditch, sniper rifle K98 with scope. Not sure what Miniguns refers to
wow....thanks for sharing those pics.
Ditrich was probably visiting an Assault gun detachment. You can tell by the panzer type jackets everybody but Dietrich and the guy behind him are wearing.
When first created, there was an intra-service struggle to see who would control these formations. Panzer branch lost, artillery won. Assault gun troops were then refused the right to wear the black panzer blouse when they requested it. Hence the grey version.
In the last photo, of the camouflaged troops, they’re Luftwaffe. Note the Luftwaffe stylized eagle over the right breast pocket. If the were Waffen SS, the SS version of the National Eagle would be on the upper left sleeve.
Generally that description and date agree with the photos, but sometimes the dates are different. When that happens I refer to a hard copy of a book I have that contains catalog numbers, dates, photographers and their units, and descriptions of the events in the photo. This book, which is in German and has no title seems to contain all the war photos in the Bundesarchiv up to about 1970. The book also, in many cases, contains a longer description of the photos than that contained on the German website. When there is some conflict I will normally go with the website but have on occasion used the book when its descriptions appear more valid-it's basically a judgment call.
That being said, I also have another source for photos. These photos are contained in a huge PDF book that I downloaded from a Russian site around 2002 and contains thousands of photos that I believe were taken by ordinary German soldiers. I'm guessing the photos were captured by the Russians. The downloaded book is just photos, no dates or description-no title or author so I have no idea who printed the book or even who scanned it. The site I downloaded it from was a private site in Moscow which is no longer in existence as far as I can tell.
Great photos. Get the sense of the unending vastness of the Russian Steppe.
That's the same, exact impression I get from certain of these photos. I've seen certain photos where there seems to be no horizon, just huge never-ending immensity where you seem to be looking back in time itself.
The photo of the propaganda guy being greeted by Ukrainian farmers makes me think of all the opportunities the Germans wasted by not treating them, and Soviet POWs better.
Thanks for the great photos.
Von Manstein in that picture looks a lot like the current appearance of Prince Charles. I expect that there may be some common German ancestors.
Same here on the Russian steppe. Amazing.
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