Friday, May 26, 2017

No Free Cigarettes 75 Yrs. Ago Today

MON 26 MAY 1942
General
Anglo-American air conference opens in London to discuss allocation of aircraft; U.S. Navy representative is Rear Admiral John H. Towers, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics.

Pacific
Aircraft ferry Kitty Hawk (AKV-1) arrives at Midway with reinforcements for MAG 22, as well as the 3-inch antiaircraft group (3d Defense Battalion) and a light tank platoon earmarked for a mobile reserve.

Submarine Salmon (SS-182) sinks Japanese repair ship Asahi about 180 miles south-southeast of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, 10°00'N, 110°00'E.

Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-9 reconnoiters Kiska.

Atlantic
Eight survivors from U.S. freighter Quaker City, sunk by German submarine U-156 on 18 May reach safety on Dominica.

Coastal yacht Sapphire (PYc-2) rescues the 30 survivors of U.S. freighter Plow City, sunk by German submarine U-588 on 21 May.

German planes attack Reykjavik, Iceland-bound U.S. freighter Carlton (detached from convoy PQ 16 for repairs), under tow of British trawler HMS Northern Spray, but cause no additional damage. As in the previous day's attack, there are no casualties.

Arctic
U.S. freighter Syros, in convoy PQ 16, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-703 approximately 200 miles southwest of Bear Island, 72°35'N, 05°30'E. Of the 39 souls on board (37 merchant seamen and two Navy signalmen), 27 civilians and one signalman survive, rescued by British minesweeper HMS Hazard.

Gulf of Mexico
Unarmed U.S. tanker Carrabulle is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-106 at 26°18'N, 89°21'E. Reportedly, the submarine's commanding officer, Kapitanleutnant Herman Rasch, asks survivors if all men are clear of the ship. When told no, he laughs and orders a second torpedo launched that strikes the ship directly beneath a lifeboat as it is being lowered, killing 22 of the 24 men in it. U.S. freighter Thompson Lykes rescues the 18 survivors. Later the same day, U-106 shells U.S. freighter Atenas at 25°50'N, 89°05'E, but accurate Armed Guard gunfire drives off the U-boat before she can cause much damage. There are no casualties on board Atenas among the 54-man crew, eight-man Armed Guard and ten passengers.

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