World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » 4 Feb 1942

• Weather data for 4 Feb 1942

• 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 [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• 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]
• Believing that reinforcements were on their way, the British Authorities in Singapore turned down a Japanese demand for the unconditional surrender. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]
• German submarine U-103 sank US tanker India Arrow 50 kilometers east of Delaware, United States, killing 26 of 38 aboard. ww2dbase [Main Article | 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 [Main Article | CPC]

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

• Tatsuta Maru arrived at Busan, Korea. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

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

4 Feb 1942 Interactive Map