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• Blohm und Voss was founded by Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss in Hamburg, Germany as a shipyard and machinery factory. The shipyard was established on the island of Kuhwarder. Most of this land was swamp and cow pastures and would need months of work to build a firm foundation under the shipyard. The area measured 15,000 square meters with 250 meters of water frontage. There would be four slips initially with the ability to handle ships of 300 feet and they would launch into the North Elbe. ww2dbase [Blohm und Voss | Hamburg | AG]

5 Apr 1877 Interactive Map

• Prince Hiroyasu enrolled in the Japanese Navy Academy. ww2dbase [Hiroyasu | CPC]

• Dixie Kiefer was born in Blackfoot, Idaho, United States. ww2dbase [Dixie Kiefer | Blackfoot, Idaho | DS]

• Shi Siming was born in Tianjin, Qing Dynasty China. ww2dbase [Shi Siming | Tianjing | CPC]

• Overnight, the British No. 100 Squadron RFC, the first British purpose-trained night operations squadron, flew B.E.2E aircraft during its first operation with two raids on Douai airfield in France, at that time home to the notorious Manfred von Richtofen's Jasta 11 "Flying Circus". ww2dbase [Douai, Nord-Pas-de-Calais | AC]

• Chiaki Matsuda departed for a training cruise. ww2dbase [Chiaki Matsuda | CPC]

• A Japanese intervention force of 500 naval infantry disembarked at Vladivostok, Russia on the order of Admiral Kato; the Captain of HMS Suffolk also landed fifty Royal Marines to guard the British consulate. The Soviet government responded by halting all eastward movement on the Trans-Siberian railway and for a while it looked as if the Czech Legion would not be able to reach the port at all. ww2dbase [AC]

• Harold George married Vera McKenna in New York, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Harold George | New York | CPC]

• Rear Admiral Frederic R. Harris retired from the United States Navy after 24 years of service and entered the private sector. For his exemplary service as Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks during World War I, Harris was awarded the Navy Cross. ww2dbase [Frederic Harris | DS]

• Chiang Kaishek declared martial law in Shanghai, China as the first step of a bloody purge against Communists. ww2dbase [Chiang Kaishek | Shanghai | CPC]

• Naka received a new commanding officer. ww2dbase [Naka | CPC]

• Seria Well Number One (S-1) struck oil in Brunei. ww2dbase [CPC]

• A council of German Christians, convened in Berlin, issued a call for a unified Protestant church faithful to the tenets of National Socialism, including the "Aryan cleansing" of the German church. ww2dbase [Berlin | AC]

• Kuniaki Koiso was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class. ww2dbase [Kuniaki Koiso | CPC]

• Japanese cruiser Kumano laid down at Kawasaki's shipyard, Kobe. ww2dbase [Kumano | Kobe, Hyogo | DS]

5 Apr 1934 Interactive Map

• Fleet escort ship F4 was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [F4 | CPC]

• Submarine S-7 was launched at Gorky, Russia. ww2dbase [S-7 | Gorky | CPC]

5 Apr 1937 Interactive Map

• Troops from the Chinese First War Area arrived at Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, and immediately launched a counter offensive toward embattled town of Tai'erzhuang in Shandong Province. ww2dbase [Battle of Xuzhou | Xuzhou, Jiangsu | CPC]

• Vannevar Bush appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of funding for a new aeronautical research laboratory in Sunnyvale, California, United States that later became the Ames Research Center. ww2dbase [Vannevar Bush | DS]

• The keel of Capitano Tarantini was laid down at the Cantieri navali Tosi di Taranto shipyard in Taranto, Italy. ww2dbase [Capitano Tarantini | Taranto, Puglia | CPC]

• British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced that a German invasion of Western Europe would not be successful. ww2dbase [Neville Chamberlain | CPC]
• British submarine HMS Spearfish departed Blyth for the Danish coast in search for potential German invasion fleets for Denmark and Norway. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Song Zheyuan passed away in Mianyang County, Sichuan Province, China. ww2dbase [Song Zheyuan | Mianyang, Sichuan | CPC]

• British RAF aircraft attacked German shipping at Wilhelmshaven. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Wilhelmshaven, Weser-Ems | TH]
• Norwegian ambassador in Berlin warned Danish and Norwegian capitals of a possible invasion, as did British intelligence. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | Berlin | CPC]
• Emden conducted searchlight training at Swinemünde, Germany. ww2dbase [Emden | Swinemünde, Pommern | CPC]
• Blücher conducted searchlight training at Swinemünde, Germany. ww2dbase [Blücher | Swinemünde, Pommern | CPC]

• The United Kingdom informed Norway and Sweden of its intent to mine Norwegian waters; British warships departed Scapa Flow at 1830 hours for this operation. Force WB consisting of two minelaying destroyers sailed for the Norwegian coast between the towns of Bud and Kristiansund. Force WS, consisting of minelayer Teviot Bank and destroyers Inglefield, Ilex, Imogen and Isis sailed for waters off Stadtlandet, but this force would be recalled before laying any mines. Force WV consisting of minelaying destroyers Esk, Icarius, Impulsive and Ivanhoe, escorted by the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of 4 destroyers, set sail for waters near Bodö. The operation had a covering force under Vice-Admiral William Whitworth on battlecruiser Renown and destroyers Hyperion, Hero, Greyhound and Glowworm. Glowworm turned back in heavy weather to recover a rating that was washed overboard. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | Scapa Flow | Scapa Flow, Scotland | TH, HM]

5 Apr 1940 Interactive Map

• At Moscow, Russia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union entered into a non-aggression treaty. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Axis forces advanced toward Msus and Mechili in Libya. ww2dbase [Siege of Tobruk | CPC]
• Before dawn, shortly after midnight, British destroyer HMS Wolverine, corvette HMS Arbutus, and sloop HMS Scarborough, escorting Allied convoy SC-26, forced German submarine U-76 to surface 250 miles south of Iceland. The German crew scuttled the submarine to prevent capture. During the attack on the submarine, 1 German crewman was killed; the 42 survivors were captured by the British. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-105 sank British ship Ena de Larrinaga 800 miles northwest of Natal, Brazil at 0338 hours; 5 were killed, 38 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The US Congress passed the "Fifth Supplemental National Defense Appropriation Act, 1941", which allocated US$14,575,000 for establishing a Marine Corps training ground on the east coast of the United States. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The German embassy in Moscow, Russia reported that Soviet exports to Germany had dramatically increased in the month of Mar 1941, but the flow of goods from Germany to the Soviet Union had slowed. ww2dbase [CPC]
• All British, Australian and New Zealand forces in Greece came under command of the veteran Australian, General (later Field Marshal Sir) Thomas Blamey to form the 1st Australian Corps. ww2dbase [Thomas Blamey | AC]

• Indian 5th Division reached Massawa, Eritrea, Italian East Africa. Italian Admiral Bonetti, the head of the 10,000-strong garrison who had ignored surrender demands previously, asked for surrender terms at 1330 hours. Before the Allies responded, however, his superiors in Rome, Italy ordered him to fight until the last man. ww2dbase [Invasion of Italian East Africa | Massawa | CPC]

• Adolf Hitler ordered a renewed offensive in the Leningrad, Russia region in the Soviet Union. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | CPC]
• Submarine USS Snapper delivered 20 tons of food to Corregidor, Philippine Islands and evacuated 27 personnel. ww2dbase [Snapper | CPC]
• Tatsuta Maru arrived at Tarakan, Borneo. ww2dbase [Tatsuta Maru | CPC]
• Japanese and Chinese troops clashed at Yedashe in central Burma. ww2dbase [Invasion of Burma | CPC]

• German submarine U-585 was posted as missing after she failed to report her position in the Barents Sea. All 44 aboard were lost. ww2dbase [Barents Sea | HM]

• German submarine U-154 sank US tanker Catahoula just off the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic at 2318 hours; 7 were killed, 38 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Tenryu departed Kavieng, New Ireland. ww2dbase [Tenryu | Kavieng, New Ireland | CPC]

• Seven Japanese Type 1 bombers, escorted by 4 Zero fighters, attacked Seven Mile airfield near Port Moresby, Australian Papua. Stores of fuel and ammunition were destroyed at the cost of one Zero fighter, which was shot down by Kittyhawk fighters. ww2dbase [Port Moresby | CPC]

• Commander Mitsuo Fuchida of Akagi commanded a 125-aircraft raid against Colombo, Ceylon. Akagi's aircraft helped in the sinking of HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire. ww2dbase [Akagi | Colombo | CPC]

• Francesco D'Alessandro was made the commanding officer of Morosini, relieving Athos Fraternale while at Bordeaux, France. ww2dbase [Morosini | Bordeaux, Aquitaine | CPC]

• 263 British bombers (179 Wellington, 44 Hampden, 29 Stirling, and 11 Manchester aircraft) attacked the Humboldt Engineering Works Company at Kalk near Köln, Germany; most of the bombs fell far from the Humboldt factories. The British lost 5 aircraft; one of the aircraft shot down crashed in Köln, killing 16 and wounding 30. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Köln, Köln-Aachen | CPC]
• Adolf Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 41, calling for the invasion of the Caucasus region and Stalingrad, both in southern Russia. ww2dbase [Battle of Stalingrad | CPC]

• Shokaku launched air strikes against Colombo, Ceylon from the Indian Ocean. ww2dbase [Shokaku | CPC]
• In the morning, Japanese carriers launched 36 D3A2 dive bombers and 53 B5N2 torpedo bombers, escorted by 36 Zero fighters, against the British naval base at Colombo, Ceylon, sinking merchant cruiser HMS Hector, damaging port facilities, while shooting down 25 British aircraft; 7 Japanese aircraft were lost in this attack. Around noon, cruiser Tone's floatplane spotted British cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire 200 miles southwest of Ceylon; 53 carrier aircraft were launched to attack, sinking Dorsetshire at 1350 hours (234 killed) and Cornwall at 1400 hours (190 killed); 1,122 survived from both ships. ww2dbase [Raids into the Indian Ocean | CPC]
• Following Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa’s force’s attack on the British naval base at Colombo, Ceylon, the force is split creating a Northern Group commanded by Rear Admiral Takeo Kurita consisting of cruisers Kumano and Suzuya; the Center Group consisting of the carrier Ryujo and cruisers Chokai and Yura under Ozawa; and the Southern Group comprised of cruisers Mogami, and Mikuma under Captain Shakao Sakiyama for the purposes of smaller raids against merchant shipping. ww2dbase [Raids into the Indian Ocean | Jisaburo Ozawa | Ryujo | Mogami | Mikuma | Suzuya | Kumano | Chokai | Yura | Amagiri | DS]

• Japanese Navy leadership accepted the planned attack on Midway. ww2dbase [Battle of Midway and the Aleutian Islands | CPC]
• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan for repairs in the drydock. ww2dbase [Yokosuka Naval Arsenal | Hikawa Maru | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• Italian aircraft attacked Valetta Harbour, Malta, causing fatal damage to minesweeper HMS Abingdon and destroyer HMS Gallant and also damaging destroyer HMS Lance. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | CPC]

• Japanese troops defeated the Philippine 21st Division at Mount Samat on the Bataan Peninsula, Philippine Islands. Inside the Allied lines, General Jonathan Wainwright doubled rations for front line troops despite being short in food in order to give the troops strength. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | Bataan | CPC]
• Western Luzon Guerrilla Forces fighter Ramón Magsaysay was made a captain of the Philippine Army. ww2dbase [Ramón Magsaysay | CPC]

• Joseph Stalin ordered the arrest of Moscow Air Defense Corps (PVO) Brigadier Commissar Kurganov for drunkenness, 745th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment commander Zakharov for drunkenness and failure to report to post during an air raid, and 175th Artillery Regiment political officer Andreev and mechanic Military Technician 2nd Rank Kukin for drunkenness and accidental shooting of Lieutenant Kazanovsky. In the same order, he also fired and demoted PVO Main Directorate Chief Major General of Artillery Aleksei Osipov for drunkenness. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | Moscow | CPC]

• Milton Miles departed LaGuardia Marine Terminal, Queens, New York, United States by flying boat. ww2dbase [Milton Miles | Queens, New York | CPC]

5 Apr 1942 Interactive Map

• Theo Osterkemp was appointed the commanding officer of Jagdfliegerführer Sizilien and charged with safeguarding Axis flights between Sicily, Italy and Tunisia, Italian North Africa. ww2dbase [Theodor Osterkamp | CPC]
• Allies launched Operation Flax, a concentrated effort to destroy Axis capability to supply Tunisia by air. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Desert War | CPC]
• William Slim and Noel Irwin met in Calcutta, India. ww2dbase [William Slim | CPC]
• The keel of submarine U-869 was laid down. ww2dbase [U-869 | CPC]
• USS Finback hit a damaged and beached Japanese merchant ship off Wake Island with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Finback | CPC]
• USS Pompon began her journey down the Mississippi River in a floating drydock toward New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. ww2dbase [Pompon | CPC]
• USAAF 325th Fighter Group received orders to move two of its P-40 squadrons to the airfield at Montesquien, Algeria. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Frederick Aikman shot down a German Ju 87 aircraft and damaged a German Bf 109G aircraft. ww2dbase [Frederick Aikman | CPC]

• Seven survivors of American Liberty ship William Pierce Frye, sunk by German submarine U-610 in the North Atlantic five days prior, were rescued by British destroyer HMS Shikari (D 85). ww2dbase [HM]

• Yugure departed Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands at 0600 to make rendezvous with Nichiei Maru at sea. ww2dbase [Yugure | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against the docks at Antwerp, Belgium. ww2dbase [RAF Thurleigh | Antwerp | DS]

• USS Scorpion departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Scorpion | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Theater turned over to station (1200 capacity). ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Shokaku departed Kure, Japan for a series of round trips between Iwaishima and Tokuyama (3 times), Oita, and Beppu. ww2dbase [Shokaku | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]
• Naka completed her repairs at Maizuru, Japan and departed the port. ww2dbase [Maizuru Naval Arsenal | Naka | Maizuru, Kyoto | CPC]

• USS Ranger arrived at Argentia, Newfoundland. ww2dbase [Ranger | Argentia | DS]

• USS S-43 transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. ww2dbase [S-43 | Balboa | CPC]

• Gato-class submarine USS Silversides experienced a fire in her maneuvering room and also burned out her starboard motors. Silversides put into Johnson Island. ww2dbase [Silversides | Johnson Island | DS]

5 Apr 1943 Interactive Map

• USAAF and RAF coordinated to start round-the-clock raids on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. ww2dbase [TH]
• The SS Economic and Administrative Office submitted a report to the Supreme Command of the German SS organization noting the existence of 20 concentration camps with 165 connected labor camps. In Hungary, Jews were required to wear the yellow Star of David. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]
• Soviet troops entered Ternopil, Ukraine. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Escort carrier Makin Island was launched. ww2dbase [Makin Island | DS]
• Oberleutnant Matthias Bermadinger of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Destroyers USS Nicholas, USS Saufley, USS O'Bannon, USS Sigourney, USS Eaton, and USS Fletcher departed Tulagi, Solomon Islands bound for Milne Bay, New Guinea. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]

• Gato-class submarine USS Silversides departed Milne Bay, New Guinea bound for Brisbane, Australia. ww2dbase [Silversides | Milne Bay, New Guinea | DS]

• At Tulagi, USS St. Louis was painted in Measure 32, Design 2C camouflage paint. ww2dbase [St. Louis | Tulagi, Solomon Islands | DS]

• The Japanese launched a frontal assault at Nhpum Ga, Burma before dawn, in multiple waves. The 2nd Battalion of US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) was able to stop the attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese. During the day, the 2nd Battalion received a supply of ammunition by air, though the badly needed drinking water would only come later. Meanwhile, to the north, 3rd Battalion of US 5307th Composite Unit continued their offensive toward Nhpum Ga, gaining 300 yards of jungle. ww2dbase [Battle of Myitkyina | Nhpum Ga | CPC]

• Roza Shanina killed her first German soldier southeast of Vitebsk, Byelorussia. ww2dbase [Roza Shanina | Vitebsk | CPC]

• 26 Japanese A6M Zero fighters of the Sanya Kokutai and the Kaiko Kokutai based in Hainan, China attacked Nanning, Guangxi, China, destroying 2 B-25 bombers and 3 P-40 fighters on the ground and shooting down 7 P-40 fighters in the air. 8 A6M fighters were lost. ww2dbase [Nanning Airfield | Nanning, Guangxi | CPC]

• Loaded with 61 US Army personnel as passengers and 11 P-38 Lightning aircraft, escort carrier USS Card departed Casablanca, French Morocco bound for New York. ww2dbase [P-38 Lightning | Card | Casablanca | DS]

• Soviet patrol craft SKA-099 detected German submarine U-23 just off Poti, Georgia at 0115 hours, and attacked with gunfire. U-23 responded with her 20mm gun and machine guns before escaping. SKA-099 sufered damage and would return to service later, though the Germans thought SKA-099 had been sunk. ww2dbase [U-23 | Poti | CPC]

• Japanese authorities in Hong Kong completed the liquidation of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, better known by their acronym HSBC. ww2dbase [CPC]

• On the Imphal front in India, the Japanese 60th Regiment probed south towards a large store dump, where staff of the British 221st Advanced Ordnance depot, under continuous and heavy fire, repeatedly foiled the Japanese infiltration attacks for three days. Meanwhile, realizing that the movement of Indian 161st Brigade from Kohima to Dimapur was a poorly calculated move, he moved the brigade back; with no room in Kohima for the troops of the brigade, they settled down at Jotsoma 2.5 miles to the northwest to support from a distance. ww2dbase [Battle of Imphal-Kohima | Imphal, Manipur | AC]

• Landing ship No. 130 was launched. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• Siegfried Lederer escaped from Auschwitz-Birkenau camp and made it safely to Czechoslovakia; he warned the Elders of the Council at Theresienstadt about the atrocities being committed at Auschwitz. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]

• Soviet troops captured Dorohoi, Romania. ww2dbase [Jassy-Kishinev Offensive and Romania's Surrender | Dorohoi | CPC]

• UIT-24 departed Penang for Singapore. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | Penang | CPC]

• Violette Szabo boarded a B-24 aircraft at Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom and paradropped near Cherbourg, France. ww2dbase [Violette Szabo | Bedfordshire, England | CPC]

• At Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States, Emilio Segrè received the first sample of reactor-refined plutonium from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. He would soon discover that the spontaneous fission rate of this plutonium was too high for use in a gun-type fission weapon. ww2dbase [Operation Trinity and Manhattan Project | Los Alamos, New Mexico | CPC]

5 Apr 1944 Interactive Map

• 18 US Divisions began to clear the Ruhr Pocket in Germany. ww2dbase [Fall of the Ruhr | TH]
• Soviet foreign minister Molotov informed the Japanese ambassador that the Soviet Union would not renew the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact when it would expire in 1946. ww2dbase [Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact | CPC]
• Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front cut the rail line from Linz to Vienna, occupied Austria. ww2dbase [Battle of Vienna | TH]
• On the fifth day of the Soviet artillery bombardmen on Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany, a break in the weather allowed Soviet aircraft to join in on the attack. By this point, German defenses could offer little opposition to enemy aircraft. ww2dbase [East Prussian Offensive | CPC]
• Allied troops captured Almelo, the Netherlands. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS New Mexico became the flagship of Admiral Raymond Spruance of US Fifth Fleet. ww2dbase [New Mexico | CPC]

• French First Army captured Karlsruhe, Germany. ww2dbase [Southern Germany Campaign | Karlsruhe, Baden | TH]
• SS-Obersturmbannführer Karl-Otto Koch, the notorious, brutal and corrupt former Commandant of Buchenwald Concentration Camp was executed by firing squad at Buchenwald after a trial in which he was convicted of bringing himself and the SS into disrepute. ww2dbase [Buchenwald Concentration Camp | Karl-Otto Koch | Weimar | AC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against Weiden, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Weiden | DS]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Air Group 31 arrived on board. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Kamoi was heavily damaged by a B-24 bomber of USAAF Far East Air Force in Hong Kong harbor. ww2dbase [Kamoi | CPC]

• British 56th Infantry Division attacked German positions near Lake Comacchio in northern Italy. ww2dbase [Operation Grapeshot and Operation Roast | Comacchio, Emilia-Romagna | CPC]

• Americans established an advanced air base on Iwo Jima, Japan. ww2dbase [Battle of Iwo Jima | Iwo Jima | CPC]
• At 1359 hours, while at Mitajiri anchorage in Japan, battleship Yamato's commanding officer Captain Kosaku Ariga received the order to participate in a surface special attack on 7 Apr 1945. Ariga informed the crew at 1500 hours. At 1730 hours, 67 recently arrived cadets from the Naval Academy at Etajima were sent ashore. A farewell party was then held aboard Yamato, with a photographer taking portraits of officers. ww2dbase [Yamato | Hofu, Yamaguchi | CPC]
• USS Marcus Island disembarked US Navy squadron VC-87 and embarked squadron VCO-1 while operating off Okinawa, Japan. ww2dbase [Marcus Island | Okinawa | CPC]
• Yukio Araki visited his home in Gunma Prefecture, Japan for the last time. ww2dbase [Yukio Araki | Gunma | CPC]
• SS Hobbs Victory was struck by Japanese special attack aircraft while at anchor between Kuba and Aka Islands near Okinawa, Japan. She steamed into the East China Sea as the ships in the anchorage dispersed. She was discovered by the Japanese and was struck by another special attack aircraft, destroying her port side boiler and rendering her dead in the water. ww2dbase [Okinawa Campaign | Tokko "Kamikaze" Special Attack Doctrine | Hobbs Victory | Okinawa | CPC]

• The third FR Fireball prototype aircraft was destroyed in a crash over Lindbergh Field, San Diego, California, United States. ww2dbase [FR Fireball | San Diego, California | CPC]
• USS S-43 arrived at San Diego, California, United States. ww2dbase [S-43 | San Diego, California | CPC]

5 Apr 1945 Interactive Map

• Commanding officer Captain Richard Oliver of USS Sargent Bay was relieved by Commander Milton Worley. ww2dbase [Sargent Bay | CPC]
• US 83rd Infantry Division was deactivated. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS Wake Island was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Wake Island | CPC]
• USS Missouri arrived at Istanbul, Turkey with the remains of Turkish Ambassador Mehmet Munir Ertegun. ww2dbase [Missouri | CPC]

• Chinese communist forces attacked a US Marines ammunition depot. ww2dbase [CPC]

• The trial against Albert Forster began at Gdansk, Poland by the Polish Supreme National Tribunal. ww2dbase [Albert Forster | CPC]

• Noor Inayat Khan was posthumously awarded the George Cross. ww2dbase [Noor Inayat Khan | CPC]

• US Congress Representative Joseph William Martin, Jr. revealed a letter from Douglas MacArthur critical of President Harry Truman's limited-war strategy, providing copies of it to the press. On the same day, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff drafted orders authorizing MacArthur to escalate the war by attacking Chinese airfields in Manchuria to the north of Korea and Shandong Province to the west, with nuclear weapons if necessary. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | CPC]

5 Apr 1952 Interactive Map

• Commander David Cummins assumed command of USS Nicholas. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]

• Douglas MacArthur passed away at the Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington DC, United States of biliary cirrhosis. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | Washington | CPC]

5 Apr 1964 Interactive Map

• Having suffered a major heart attack and pneumonia in the previous few months, Chiang Kaishek passed away from kidnay failure and advanced cardiac malfunction at 2350 hours in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. A month of mourning was declared. ww2dbase [Chiang Kaishek | Taipei | CPC]

• TCG Ceryah Botu was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Bergall | CPC]

• Arthur Harris passed away. ww2dbase [Arthur Harris | CPC]