2 Jun 1891
- Takijiro Onishi was born.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1892
- Chen Changjie was born in Fuzhou, Fujian, China.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1895
- Zuoyi Fu was born.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1896
Taiwan
Taiwan
- Lieutenant General Viscount Taro Katsura was named the governor-general of Taiwan.
2 Jun 1912
- In tests completed at College Park, Maryland, United States, Captain Charles Chandler fired a new Lewis machine gun from an aircraft flown by Lieutenant Thomas D. Milling; the results were so encouraging that ten more Lewis guns were requested, but this order could not be met as the US Army Ordnance Department had not then ordered the weapon into production. During World War I the American-designed Lewis became a standard aircraft machine gun.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1936
Photo(s) dated 2 Jun 1936
Photo(s) dated 2 Jun 1936
2 Jun 1937
- A S-43 aircraft operated by Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile disappeared over the Sea of Chile; all 9 aboard were never seen again.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1939
United States
United States
- USS Skipjack arrived at San Diego, California, United States.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1940
- Due to costly air attacks, British Admiralty decided that evacuation from Dunkirk, France would only be undertaken at night, particularly because nearly all British troops had already left Dunkirk by this time. On this date, 19,561 troops were evacuated from the harbor and 6,695 from the beaches.
» In-depth article - The Allies dispatched Polish and French troops to push German troops eastward from Narvik, Norway, while evacuated British troops. Carriers HMS Ark Royal and HMS Glorious provided air cover for the evacuation of 26,000 British troops.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-101 sank British ship Polycarp 41 miles south of Lands End in southwestern England at 0300 hours. The entire crew of 43 were rescued by French ship Espiguette.
- German submarine U-58 sank British coastal defense vessel HMS Astronomer 20 miles off the northeast coast of Scotland at 0600 hours after a six-hour chase and three torpedoe hits. 4 were killed; 52 civilian crewmen, 1 gunner, and 48 Royal Navy sailors were rescued by anti-submarine trawlers HMS Stoke City and HMS Leicester City.
- In Norway, New Zealand Pilot Officer Louis Jacobsen of No. 263 Squadron RAF shot down six enemy bombers while flying a near obsolete Gladiator biplane fighter. Jacobsen himself would be dead in less than a week.
- US ship President Roosevelt departed Galway, Ireland with 720 American citizens fleeing the European war zone.
- US passenger liner Manhattan departed Genoa, Italy with 1,905 passengers fleeing the European war zone.
2 Jun 1941
- Before dawn, German bombers attacked Manchester and Salford in England, United Kingdom in the early hours of the day; 70 were killed and 86 were seriously injured.
» In-depth article - In light of the successful campaign at Crete, Greece, Göring boasted that there was no such thing as an unconquerable island, hinting a similar fate for Britain. As for the killings of German paratroopers by civilians at Crete, Göring officially ordered reprisals to be conducted as if the killers were partisan fighters.
» In-depth article - RAF bombers conducted a raid in the Ruhr region of Germany.
- Vichy French government published anti-Semitic legislation based on German laws; among it was the banning of Jews from holding public office.
- German submarine U-147 attacked Allied convoy OB-329 northwest of Ireland, damaging Belgian ship Mokambo (all 47 aboard survived), but was destroyed by depth charges from British destroyer HMS Wanderer and corvette HMS Periwinkle, killing all 26 German sailors aboard.
- German submarine U-108 sank British catapult-armed merchant ship Michael E. about 1,050 miles west of Land's End, England, United Kingdom at 2043 hours; 4 were killed, 47 survived. The Hurricane fighter aboard was also lost.
- Long Island was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Rochefort reported to the main US Navy building at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii for his new duty heading up a cryptanalysis section.
» In-depth article
- Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met again at the Brenner Pass on the Italian-Austrian border.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1942
- USS Yorktown made rendezvous with USS Enterprise and USS Hornet 350 miles northeast of Midway. Rear Admiral Fletcher took overall tactical command of this fleet.
» In-depth article - USS Enterprise made rendezvous with USS Yorktown and USS Hornet 350 miles northeast of Midway. Rear Admiral Fletcher took overall tactical command of this fleet.
» In-depth article - USS Hornet made rendezvous with USS Yorktown and USS Enterprise 350 miles northeast of Midway. Rear Admiral Fletcher took overall tactical command of this fleet.
» In-depth article - About 50 German Jews from Berlin arrived at Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. They were the first German Jews to arrive at this camp.
» In-depth article - US Navy deployed 25 submarines west of Midway in an attempt to detect the incoming Japanese fleet, while Midway-based US Army B-17 bombers attacked Japanese transports 600 miles west of the atoll, inflicting no damage.
» In-depth article - I-168 observed Sand Island, Midway Atoll with her periscope, reporting heavy aircraft activity.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Vichy French government granted Germany the use of the port of Bizerta, Tunisia to bring in food, clothing, and other supplies not directly related to the military. Troops, military equipment, and ammunition were explicitly forbidden.
- Remy Van Lierde, flying a Spitfire Mk.Vb fighter, damaged a German Do 217 bomber over Skegness, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article - Light carrier Hosho launched aircraft to search for light cruiser Sendai and destroyer Isonami which had fallen out of formation due to heavy fog.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - German submarine U-159 sank US ship Illinois 450 miles southeast of Bermuda at 0253 hours; 32 were killed, 6 survived. In the same general area at 0255 hours, U-558 sank Dutch ship Triton with the deck gun; 6 were killed, 30 survived. Several hours later, U-553 sank British ship Mattawin off northeastern United States at 0718 hours; all aboard survived. Between 0332 and 0705 hours, U-213 gave chase to Norwegian ship Berganger, which evaded all 5 torpedo attacks, but at 2027 hours she would fall prey to U-578 southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States; 4 were killed, 43 survived. Finally, 85 miles south of Freetown, British West Africa, Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci sank Panamanian schooner Reine Marie Stewart.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-158 sank US ship Knoxville west of Cuba at 0257 hours; 2 were killed, 55 survived.
» In-depth article - Australian auxiliary patrol boat HMAS Kuru arrived at Portuguese East Timor from Australia, delivering supplies to the Sparrow Force.
- British Baltimore aircraft of No. 815 Naval Air Squadron attacked German submarine U-652 12 miles northeast of Bardia, Libya; the crew of U-652 abandoned the submarine after sustaining heavy damage; all 46 aboard were later rescued by U-81.
- 195 British bombers (97 Wellington, 38 Halifax, 27 Lancaster, 21 Stirling, 12 Hampden) attacked Essen, Germany, causig little damage; 14 bombers were lost on this attack.
» In-depth article
- Troops of German 90th Light Division and Italian Trieste Division mounted a new attack on the French-held fort of Bir Hakeim, Libya; French General Kœnig refused to surrender.
» In-depth article
- Naka exited the drydock at Keppel Harbor, Singapore.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- German forces began a 5-day bombardment of Sevastopol, Ukraine. One the ground, large weapons such as the 600mm Mörser Karl mortars and the 800mm "Gustav" railway gun were used. From the air, hundreds of sorties delivered 500 tons of high explosives, damaging port facilities, fuel tanks, and water pumps at the cost of only one Ju 87 dive bomber.
» In-depth article
- German bombers attacked Canterbury, England, United Kingdom.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1943
- Soviet aircraft attacked Kiev, Ukraine and Roslavl, Russia; their counterparts, Luftwaffe bombers, attacked Kursk, Russia.
- USS Scorpion refueled at Midway Atoll.
» In-depth article - USS Finback damaged a Japanese ship east of Philippine Islands, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article - USS Flying Fish departed for her sixth war patrol with a new commanding officer, Captain Frank Watkins.
» In-depth article
- Elements of the Chinese 23rd, 55th, 98th, and 121st Division surrounded the rearguard forces of the Japanese 13th Division in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China, inflicting heavy casualties before the Japanese could break out of the envelopment.
» In-depth article
- Shokaku arrived at Kure, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
2 Jun 1944
- The Bulgarian government approached the Western Allies for terms of surrender.
- US launched Operation Frantic, its first shuttle bombing operation. 130 15th Air Force B-17 bombers were launched from Tripoli, Libya to bomb Debrecen, Hungary and to land in Ukraine.
- USS Hoe arrved at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article - USS Guitarro sank frigate Awaii off Taiwan in the early morning, hitting her with three of the six torpedoes fired. At the end of the day, she claimed sinking a Japanese destroyer, hitting her with one of the two torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article - Major General Nobuo Tanaka ordered a final attack at Imphal, India despite overwhelming odds. Near Kohima to the north, Japanese troops evacuated from the village of Naga.
» In-depth article - Shunroku Hata was promoted to the rank of field marshal.
» In-depth article
- USS Cero arrived at Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands, ending her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- 7 P-40N fighters of the 7th fighter Squadron of the Chinese-American Composite Wing attacked the Japanese airfield at Zhengzhou, Henan, China. 7 Ki-44 fighters of the Japanese 9th Sentai rose to intercept, shooting down 5. One Ki-44 fighter was shot down over Bawangcheng.
- Allied forces overran the German Caesar C Line south of Rome, Italy; Adolf Hitler ordered Albert Kesselring that the Italian capital would be abandoned.
» In-depth article
- Secret peace talks began between Romania and the Soviet Union in Stockholm, Sweden.
» In-depth article
- USS Escolar was commissioned into service with Commander W. J. Millican in command.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1945
- USS Tunny arrived in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
» In-depth article - American carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 attacked airfields in southern Kyushu, Japan. On the same day, 12 Japanese ships were sunk or damaged by naval mines in Japanese waters.
» In-depth article - USS Wake Island received supplies at Kaika Harbor, Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
» In-depth article - USS Ray attacked a Japanese transport west of Japan; all 5 torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Jakarta, Java.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Air Group 87 aircraft from USS Ticonderoga struck airfields on Kyushu, Japan in an attempt stop special attack aircraft from taking off.
» In-depth article
- USS Spot departed Saipan, Mariana Islands for her third war patrol.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1946
- Louis Slotin was buried in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
» In-depth article
- Captain C. S. Williams stepped down as the commanding officer of USS ABSD-1.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1947
Russia
Russia
- Stepan Petrichenko, a former spy for the Soviet Union in Finland but had fell out of favor with the leadership, died while in captivity at the Solikamsk Labor Camp in Solikamsk, Perm Oblast, Russia.
2 Jun 1951
France
France
- Light carrier La Fayette (R96) was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
- USS AFDB-1 was recommissioned into service at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii under the command of Captain O. J. Stien.
» In-depth article
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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