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• The 2,362-ton Norwegian merchant steamer Gunny loaded with 3,100 tons of manganese ore and mahogany was 400 miles south of the Bermudas when she was torpedoed by German submarine U-126 (Kapitänleutnant Ernst Bauer) at 2047 hours. U-126 had missed the Gunny earlier that day although no one on board Gunny had seen the torpedo's track. The Gunny sank within a single minute, 13 survivors managed to climb on a raft but had no food or water and the badly injured chief engineer, Birger Jørgensen died on the fourth day. The surviving 12 men managed to stay alive until they were seen and picked up by the Swedish motor merchant Temnaren and landed at the Mexican port of Progreso where the Norwegian Vice Consul, Felix Lejeune, came on board and took them to Merida, as there were no hotels in Progreso. 4 men were admitted to hospital, while the rest were treated by a doctor who came to the hotel. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC, HM]
• A lifeboat containing the master and nine survivors of Norwegian motor merchant Leif, sunk by German submarine U-653 two days prior, was picked up by the Swedish steam tanker Sveadrott about 185 miles west of Bermuda. ww2dbase [HM]
• Leonardo da Vinci made rendezvous with fellow Italian submarine Morosini in the Atlantic Ocean at 2250 hours and attempted to transfer 20 tons of fuel in rough seas. After both 80-meter hoses broke, the fuel transfer attempt was abandoned. ww2dbase [Morosini | Leonardo da Vinci | CPC]

• Australia declared war on Thailand. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Japanese 33rd and 55th Infantry Divisions crossed Sittang River at Kunzeik and Donzayit, Burma, forcing the British 2nd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment to fall back 20 miles as the Japanese troops captured the village of Waw. ww2dbase [Invasion of Burma | Waw | CPC]

• Destroyer Yuzuki departed Truk, Caroline Islands with Destroyer Division 23, supporting invasion operations at Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea, northern Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands. ww2dbase [Yuzuki | Truk | CPC]
• Tenryu departed Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Tenryu | Truk | CPC]

• USS Marblehead departed Trincomalee, Ceylon. ww2dbase [Marblehead | Trincomalee | CPC]

• Japanese troops advancing toward Batavia, Java, Dutch East Indies were halted by Australian troops at Leuwiliang. At Soebang, 250 Dutch troops with 20 tanks attacked Kalidjati airfield, but the attack was repulsed. East of Batavia, Japanese troops captured the oilfields at Tjepoe (now Cepu). As the Japanese troops approached, the Dutch colonial government relocated to Bandoeng, US personnel began evacuation by aircraft, and the Dutch Navy continued to scuttle destroyers, submarines, minesweepers, and other warships at Surabaya to prevent capture. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | Java | CPC]
• USS Sailfish sank Japanese transport Kamogawa Maru east of Bali in the Lombok Strait in the Dutch East Indies at 2100 hours, killing 326. ww2dbase [Sailfish | CPC]
• Naka patrolled off Kragan, Java, Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [Naka | Kragan, Java | CPC]
• Conrad Helfrich escaped Java, Dutch East Indies by Catalina aircraft. ww2dbase [Conrad Helfrich | Java | CPC]
• Americans evacuated from the city of Surabaya, Dutch East Indies. The scuttled wreck of USS Stewart remained there to be captured by the incoming Japanese. ww2dbase [Stewart | Surabaya, Java | CPC]

• Joseph Rochefort reported that intercepted Japanese Navy radio messages revealed a planned air attack on a location code named AK, which was soon interpreted as Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Joseph Rochefort | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• Japanese cruiser Maya, destroyer Arashi, and destroyer Nowaki sank British destroyer HMS Stronghold in the Indian Ocean at 1900 hours, killing 75. ww2dbase [Maya | CPC]
• Japanese cruisers Takao and Atago sank US destroyer USS Pillsbury 500 miles south of Java, Dutch East Indies at 2100 hours, all 173 aboard were killed. ww2dbase [Takao | CPC]

• 16 British RAF Wellington bombers from Malta attacked Palermo, Sicily, Italy, destroying ammunition ship Cuma, whose explosion damaged five warships and eight freighters nearby. ww2dbase [Palermo, Sicilia | CPC]

• Japanese Navy Minister Admiral Shimada removed previously recognized rules of engagements in naval warfare due to "Allied retaliation and hatred". ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS Perch surfaced at 0200 hours, only to be forced to dive by Japanese destroyers. Her leaking oil and air made the Japanese destroyer to believe she had already broken up, and the Japanese destroyers departed the area. ww2dbase [Perch (Porpoise-class) | CPC]
• Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi rescued 442 survivors of HMS Exeter, HMS Encounter, and USS Pope which had been sunk during the Second Battle of the Java Sea on the previous day. ww2dbase [Ikazuchi | Java Sea | CPC]
• USS S-38 spotted Japanese light cruiser Kinu in the Java Sea before dawn. She fired four torpedoes and claimed one hit, but Japanese records showed no damage to Kinu on that date. Japanese destroyers counterattacked with depth charges, causing no damage. S-38 escaped the area in the mid-afternoon. In the evening, she came upon a Japanese destroyer and fired two torpedoes at the target; both torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | S-38 | Java Sea | CPC]

• Ed Dyess, flying a P-40 fighter, led a raid on Japanese shipping in Subic Bay, Luzon, Philippines. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | Ed Dyess | Subic Bay | CPC]

• US Army General John L. DeWitt, responsible for the defense of the west coast of the United States, issued Public Proclamation No. 1 to create Military Areas 1 and 2 which covered the entire length of the coast. ww2dbase [Internment of Japanese-Americans and Japanese-Canadians | CPC]
• US Navy acquired excursion steamer Seeandbee. ww2dbase [Wolverine | DS]
• Japanese submarine I-17 attacked a merchant ship estimated at 7,000 tons off Cape Mendocino and claims the ship is sunk. No Allied records correspond to this attack so it is likely the ship was undamaged and perhaps even unaware of the attack. ww2dbase [Japanese Attacks on the Continental United States | Cape Mendocino, California | DS]

2 Mar 1942 Interactive Map