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
- 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 1939
- 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.
- US passenger liner Manhattan departed Genoa, Italy with 1,905 passengers fleeing the European war zone.
- 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.
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 - Hitler and Mussolini met again at the Brenner Pass.
- 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
2 Jun 1942
- German forces began a 5-day bombardment of Sevastopol; large weapons such as the 600mm Mörser Karl mortars and the 800mm "Gustav" railway gun were used.
» 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 - 956 British bombers (though billed as a 1,000) conducted a raid on Essen, causing minimal damage.
» 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 - Battle of Gazala: German and Italian troops mounted a new attach on the French-held fort of Bir Hakeim, Libya. French General Kœnig refused to surrender.
» In-depth article - 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 - USS Yorktown rendezvoused 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 rendezvoused 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 rendezvoused with USS Yorktown and USS Enterprise 350 miles northeast of Midway. Rear Admiral Fletcher took overall tactical command of this fleet.
» In-depth article - I-168 observed Sand Island, Midway Atoll with her periscope, reporting heavy aircraft activity.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - 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 - Photos dated 2 Jun 1942
2 Jun 1943
- Soviet aircraft attacked Kiev, Ukraine and Roslavl, Russia; their counterparts, Luftwaffe bombers, attacked Kursk, Russia.
- Shokaku arrived at Kure, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - 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
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.
- Secret peace talks began between Romania and the Soviet Union in Stockholm, Sweden.
- 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.
- 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 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
2 Jun 1945
- 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 - 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 Tunny arrived in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
» In-depth article - USS Wake Island received supplies at Kaika Harbor, Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1946
- Louis Slotin was buried in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
» In-depth article
2 Jun 1951
- Light carrier La Fayette (R96) was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article - Photos dated 2 Jun 1951
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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