12 Mar 1945 Aden
  • Air Vice-Marshal Harold Lydford was made the commanding officer of British Forces Aden, succeeding Frank McNamara. ww2dbase [CPC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • German submarine U-296 (Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Rasch) sent no messages after leaving Bergen, Norway to operate in the Firth of Clyde area in Scotland, United Kingdom and was posted as missing after she failed to return from patrol. The U-296 was possibly lost in the British deep anti-submarine minefields T1 and T2 laid on its route to the operational area. All 42 aboard were lost. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | HM]
  • German Type VII-C submarine U-260 was scuttled by her crew at 2230 hours after being mined at 80 metres depth, off the coast of County Cork, southern Ireland. The entire crew were interned in Ireland. The Irish recovered papers and code books from the commanding officer Oberleutnant zur See Klaus Becker together with his personal logbook. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | HM]
  • The 1,743-ton steam passenger ship Paris, seized by the Germans and used as troop transport for the Kriegsmarine since 21 Aug 1940 and then a minesweeper mother ship since 3 Jun 1941, was hit by two torpedoes from the Shetland-based motor torpedo boat MTB-711 (with Norwegian crew) and sank in seconds off KvaløytĂĄ light, Haugesund, Norway. 86 were killed, some of whom were Norwegian, 70 were rescued. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | North Sea | HM]
Baltic Sea
  • The 1,845-ton German steamship Rolandseck, used as a troop transport, was bombed by British aircraft and sank near Skagen on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Denmark. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | Kattegat | HM]
  • The 1,761-ton German steamship Gerrit Fritzen (formerly the Swedish Bohus, captured in 1940 by German destroyer Paul Jacobi and renamed) was bombed by Russian aircraft and sank off Schlopin, Fehmarn Island in the Baltic Sea. ww2dbase [HM]
Burma Canada
  • Parts of a Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb including the paper envelope, shroud lines, and ballast dropping equipment were found near Oxford House, Manitoba, Canada. This was the farthest east any signs of the Fu-Go campaign were found in Canada. ww2dbase [Fu-Go | Oxford House, Manitoba | DS]
  • RCAF No. 6 Squadron Flight Lieutenant Moodie and his crew flying in a Vickers PBV-1A Casno (Canadian built version of the PBY Catalina) observed a low flying Japanese paper Fu-Go balloon at about 500 feet near Rupert Inlet, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. By making passes over the balloon, F/Lt Moodie forced the balloon downward until it was caught in some trees on the south side of the inlet. The balloon was later recovered and examined. F/Lt Moodie’s crew also saw a second balloon but it escaped. ww2dbase [Fu-Go | Vancouver Island, British Columbia | DS]
Danzig
  • German patrol boat V-315 sank in collision with cargo steam ship Henrik Fisser in the Gulf of Danzig. ww2dbase [HM]
French Indochina
  • The 540-ton La PĂ©rouse, the largest vessel of the French Indochina hydrographic group, became the was the last ship to be scuttled in Can Tho, Cochinchina, French Indochina (now Vietnam) during the Japanese invasion. ww2dbase [Can Tho, Cochinchina | HM]
Germany
  • Soviet and Polish troops launched a renewed assault on Kolberg, Germany (now Kolobrzeg, Poland). ww2dbase [East Pomeranian Offensive | Kolberg | CPC]
  • SS General Ernst Kaltenbrunner agreed to allow Red Cross delegates to visit concentration camps. ww2dbase [Ernst Kaltenbrunner | AC]
  • German steam merchant ships Hilde (384-ton) and Adross (2,995-ton) were sunk in an air raid on SwinemĂĽnde, Germany. 570 people were killed by the fires or went down with the ships. ww2dbase [SwinemĂĽnde, Pommern | HM]
  • The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against dock facilities at Swinemunde, Germany (now ĹšwinoujĹ›cie, Poland). ww2dbase [RAF Thurleigh | Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Swinemunde | DS]
Pacific Ocean
  • Japanese guard boats Hinode Maru No. 1 and Shosei Maru, were sunk by US aircraft east of the Ryukyu Islands. ww2dbase [HM]
  • The paper envelope of a Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb was recovered by from the Pacific Ocean 950 miles WSW San Diego, California, United States, about one-third of the way from San Diego to Hawaii. ww2dbase [Fu-Go | DS]
Philippines United Kingdom United States Photo(s) dated 12 Mar 1945
B-17 Fortresses of the 301st Bomb Group over the Italian Alps on their way to the rail yards in Vienna, Austria, 12 Mar 1945. Note the B-17 in the center with its ball turret replaced with the H2X ground scanning radar.What is left of an SB2C Helldiver on the heavily damaged flight deck of the USS Randolph after a P1Y Ginga special attack bomber crashed into the ship while at anchor in Ulithi Lagoon, Caroline Islands, 11 Mar 1945.USS Randolph Captain Felix Baker (pointing) showing Admiral Raymond Spruance damage to the flight deck after a P1Y Ginga special attack bomber crashed into the ship at Ulithi, Caroline Islands, 11 Mar 1945.An underside view of the USS Randolph flight deck 12 Mar 1945, the day after a Yokosuka P1Y Ginga (Frances) special attack aircraft crashed into Randolph’s stern as she rode at anchor in the Ulithi lagoon.
See all photos dated 12 Mar 1945

12 Mar 1945 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Famous WW2 Quote
"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!"

George Patton, 31 May 1944


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