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• British forces seized the Egyptian royal palace in Cairo to force the abdication of the 22-year old King Farouk who was sympathetic to the Axis Powers. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kwajalein to tend to personnel wounded on an American strike on 1 Feb; departed later on the same day. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
• Believing that reinforcements were on their way, the British Authorities in Singapore turned down a Japanese demand for the unconditional surrender. ww2dbase [Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | AC]
• German submarine U-103 sank US tanker India Arrow 50 kilometers east of Delaware, United States, killing 26 of 38 aboard. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]

• Japanese troops under Lieutenant Tadaichi Noda executed 130 Australian prisoners of war by bayoneting and machine gunning at the Tol Plantation on the southern coast of Gazelle Peninsula in New Britain; there were only 6 survivors; Noda ordered a message to be posted on the door of Tol noting that Australian Lieutenant Colonel J. J. Scanlan was responsible for these deaths for not having surrendered his command to the Japanese. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 1, Bismarck Islands | New Britain | CPC]

• 9 Japanese flying boats from Rabaul, New Britain attacked Port Moresby, British Territory of Papua, destroying one house and two commercial buildings. ww2dbase [Port Moresby | CPC]

• The American-Dutch fleet which departed Surabaya, Java, Dutch East Indies on the previous day was detected by the Japanese aircraft at 0949 hours in the Bali Sea. The Japanese aircraft, originally flying to bomb Surabaya, attacked the fleet instead, hitting US cruiser USS Marblehead with 2 bombs (killing 15), US cruiser USS Houston with 1 bomb (killing 48), and Dutch destroyer HNLMS De Ruyter (7 killed); 4 Japanese aircraft were lost during the attack. The Allied fleet abandoned its original plans to intercept a Japanese invasion convoy due to the damage suffered. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | CPC]
• US submarine USS Sculpin attacked Japanese destroyer Sukukaze at mouth of Staring Bay near Kendari, Celebes, Dutch East Indies, causing damaging to the destroyer and killing 9 of her crew. ww2dbase [Sculpin | Staring Bay, Celebes | CPC]
• USS Marblehead suffered two bomb hits and one near miss during the Battle of Makassar Strait, killing 15 men and wounding 84. She suffered a list to starboard, a few fires, and jammed rudder, but survived the battle. USS Stewart and USS Edwards escorted damaged USS Marblehead and USS Houston toward Tjilatjap, Java, Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | Houston | Marblehead | Stewart | Bali Sea | CPC]
• USS S-41 departed Surabaya (Soerabaja), Java, Dutch East Indies, starting her second war patrol. ww2dbase [S-41 | Surabaya, Java | CPC]

• Morosini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0840 hours, starting her nineth war patrol. ww2dbase [Morosini | La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes | CPC]

• Submarine USS Thresher arrived off Guam in the Mariana Islands. About two hours after arrival, Thresher made her first attack of the war by firing three torpedoes at a 5,000-ton freighter and scoring one hit. The freighter went dead in the water. Thresher fired three more torpedoes but they all missed. When last seen, the freighter was down by the bow and up by the stern. The ship was not seen in Thresher's next observation and presumed sunk. ww2dbase [Thresher | DS]

• Tatsuta Maru arrived at Busan, Korea. ww2dbase [Tatsuta Maru | Busan, Gyeongsangnam | CPC]

• US submarine Seadragon evacuated 21 military personnel, 23 torpedoes, spare submarine parts, and radio equipment from Corregidor, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Seadragon | CPC]
• US tanks once again attacked the Japanese beachheads at Quinauan Point, Bataan, Luzon, Philippine Islands, nearly successfully in wiping out several positions. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | CPC]

4 Feb 1942 Interactive Map