3 May in WW2 History | World War II Database

3 May 1886

Kurt von Briesen was born.
» In-depth article

3 May 1906

Franklin Roosevelt's daughter Anna was born.
» In-depth article

3 May 1919

USS Arizona departed Brest, France.
» In-depth article

3 May 1926

In the United Kingdom, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called a general strike after one million mine workers were locked out for refusing to accept longer working hours and reduced wages.

3 May 1928

Japanese and Nationalist Chinese troops clashed in Jinan, Shandong Province, China; 12 Japanese civilians and 18 Chinese government officials were killed.
» In-depth article
Photos dated 3 May 1928

3 May 1934

Tatsuta Maru arrived at Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement

3 May 1937

Zhang Jinghui, temporarily shedding his government title and acting only as a civilian, oversaw the funeral service and the re-internment of his sworn brother Zhang Zuolin, assassinated by the Japanese in 1928, in northeastern China.
» In-depth article

3 May 1938

Construction began in Germany for the Flossenburg Concentration Camp.
» In-depth article
HMS Afridi was commissioned into Royal Navy service with Captain G. H. Creswell as her first commanding officer.
The German diplomats in London, England, United Kingdom reported that the British and the French were likely to support the German bid for the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia in order to avoid war.
» In-depth article

3 May 1939

Molotov replaced Litvinov as the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union.
» In-depth article
Fighters of the Chinese 4th Air Group intercepted 54 Japanese bombers en route to attack Chongqing, China, shooting down 7 Japanese bombers.
» In-depth article

3 May 1940

Dutch intelligence detected further hints of German troop gathering near its border; this information was forwarded on to Belgium. Meanwhile, in Germany, forecast of bad weather caused a postponement of the invasion.
» In-depth article
Danish constituent country of Greenland sought American protection as her mother country was now occupied by Germany.
Norwegian troops south of Trondheim surrendered to the Germans. The Allies completed the evacuation at Namsos, Norway. The British destroyer HMS Afridi, left behind to shell British vehicles on the dock that could not be evacuated, departed at 0445 hours. German aircraft found part of the evacuation fleet and attacked the convoy at 0945 hours, sinking French destroyer Bison at 1010 hours, killing 103. HMS Afridi was bombed at 1400 hours and sank 45 minutes later, killing 49 men of the crew, 13 men of 146th Brigade, and 30 rescued men of Bison.
» In-depth article
British and French troops evacuated from Åndalsnes, Norway arrived safely at Scapa Flow, Scotland. The French troops were transferred onto French passenger ships bound for Brest.
British RAF aircraft attacked German airfields in Denmark and Norway.

3 May 1941

Allied and Italian troops engaged in heavy fighting at Amba Alagi, Abyssinia.
» In-depth article
Australian troops launched a counterattack at Tobruk, Libya. Italian troops repulsed the counterattack, losing only one bunker.
» In-depth article
The Panama Canal Zone was placed under the Panama Sector of the US Caribbean Defense Command.
General Jan Smuts announced to the House of Assembly the deployment of South African troops to Egypt.

3 May 1942

Japanese 3rd Kure Special Landing Force captured Tulagi Island and Gavutu Island in the Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Adolf Hitler spoke of his habit of keeping an irregular schedule to throw off any potential assassination attempts.
» In-depth article
90 German bombers attacked Exeter, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
Robert Johnson began advanced flying training at Kelly Field, Texas, United States.
» In-depth article
81 British bombers (43 Wellington, 20 Halifax, 13 Stirling, 5 Hampden) attacked Hamburg, Germany. The attack killed 77 civilians and wounded 243 at the cost of 5 bombers destroyed.
» In-depth article
German submarine U-455 sank British tanker British Workman 120 miles south of Cape race, Newfoundland at 0638 hours; 6 were killed, 47 survived. At 0824 hours, German submarine U-564 sank British ship Ocean Venus 12 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States; 5 were killed, 42 survived. At 1054 hours, U-109 sank Dutch ship Laertes also off Florida; 18 were killed, 48 survived.
» In-depth article
German submarine U-506 sank Nicaraguan ship Sama 60 miles southwest of Miami, Florida, United States at 0812 hours; all 14 aboard survived. German submarine U-125 sank Dominican ship San Rafael with 1 torpedo and 32 rounds from the deck gun 50 miles west of Jamaica at 1723 hours; 1 was killed, 37 survived.
» In-depth article
The Japanese continued to bombard Corregidor in the Philippine Islands by artillery and aircraft.
» In-depth article
Having fought off the attack by the 1st Burma Division at Monywa, Burma, Japanese 33rd Infantry Division went on the offensive pushing 1st Burma Division back toward Alon.
» In-depth article
Destroyer Yuzuki supported the invasion of Tulagi, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Junyo was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
USS Wasp departed Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom with 47 Spitfire fighters aboard, embarking on Operation Bowery aiming to resupply Malta.
» In-depth article
USS Spearfish arrived at Corregidor, Philippine Islands and evacuated 27 military, nursing, and civilian personnel. This would be the last US Navy evacuation mission out of Corregidor before the surrender.
» In-depth article
USS Yorktown was dispatched toward Tulagi, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
Photos dated 3 May 1942

3 May 1943

487 Squadron of the New Zealand air force attacked a power station in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. All 10 bombers dispatched were lost to German fighters. Squadron Leader Leonard Trent won the Victoria Cross for his leadership in this attack.
» In-depth article
Royal Navy began bombarding Pantelleria Island near Sicily, Italy.
» In-depth article
US troops captured Mateur, Tunisia.
» In-depth article
The British 6th Airborne Division was established with Major General Richard Gale in command.
Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kavieng, New Ireland departing later on the same day.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
Destroyer Yukikaze departed Truk, Caroline Islands to escort carrier Zuikaku and Zuiho to Japan.
» In-depth article
Photos dated 3 May 1943

3 May 1944

Soemu Toyoda was named the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet.
» In-depth article
7 B-25 bombers of the Chinese-American Composite Wing attacked Japanese troop concentrations near Mihsien and Yueyang in Hunan, China and strafed the town of Hsiangcheng. On the same day, 10 P-40 fighters of the Chinese-American Composite Wing damaged the bridge on the Yellow River and destroyed 15 Japanese trucks northwest of Chenghsien near Luoyang, Henan, China.
Indian 4th Brigade attacked GPT ridge near Kohima, India, which failed to capture all Japanese positions.
» In-depth article
Yamato was designated the flagship of Battleship Division 1 under Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement

3 May 1945

400 American B-17 bombers dropped food and other supplies over the Netherlands.
A German delegation met with British Field Marshal Montgomery on Luneberg Heath, outside Hamburg, Germany, offering the surrender of all their forces in northwestern Germany - A total of more than one million men.
» In-depth article
Hamburg, Germany was declared an open city and surrendered to British Second Army. In the harbor, the Germans scuttled 59 merchant ships and 600 smaller craft to prevent capture.
US Third Army crossed the Inn River in Germany.
US Ninth Army made contact with Soviet forces near Wismar, Germany.
Rangoon, Burma was captured by Indian 26th Division with little resistance. Fleeing Japanese were slaughtered not just by British and Commonwealth troops but by Burmese guerrillas and tribesmen who rose up against their former occupiers.
» In-depth article
97 USAAF B-29 bombers dropped mines off of a number of Japanese coastal industrial centers.
Operation Kikusui No. 5 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 75 Japanese Navy and 50 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft; they sank one destroyer and damaged four other ships. On the same day, a special attack boat damaged a transport also off Okinawa.
» In-depth article
Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki maintained "faith in certain victory" in a public statement despite Germany defeat.
» In-depth article
The Allied military government in western Germany began to form.
Admiral Dönitz established the seat of his government in Denmark.
» In-depth article
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio de Oliveira Salazar sent a Foreign Ministry official to the German Embassy offering his condolences over the death of Adolf Hitler. Meanwhile, the Portuguese government declared two days of mourning for the recently deceased German leader.
RAF Typhoon fighter-bombers, looking for ships transporting German troops to Norway where it was believed they planned to make a last stand, attacked and sank the troopships Cap Arcona and Thielbek, which were actually loaded with concentration camp inmates under transportation. The full death toll had never been established but could be as high as 8,000 from the two ships, including crews and SS guards.
» In-depth article
Oliver Leese and Louis Mountbatten met at Kandy, Ceylon; Leese recommended William Slim be relieved now that the Burma campaign was effectively completed.
» In-depth article
A group of prominent prisoners of war were allowed to move toward American lines, with SS guards in escort, from Markt Pongau near Salzburg in occupied Austria per the orders of SS-Obergruppenführer Gottlob Berger who wished to curry favor with the Allies as the European War neared its end.
Submarine I-369 departed Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
USS Baya fired six torpedoes at a Japanese oiler in the Gulf of Siam; all torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
USS Dragonet departed Guam, Mariana Islands.
» In-depth article
Photos dated 3 May 1945

See all photos dated 3 May 1945