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• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Palau and departed later on the same day. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
• The first Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference began and would last until 16 May. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Australian Prime Minister John Curtin, New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser, Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, and South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts were in attendance. They would agree to support the Moscow Declaration and reached agreement regarding their respective roles in the overall Allied war effort. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | TH]
• The Organizational Division of the German Prisoner of War Office reported that a total of 5,165,381 Soviet prisoners were in German captivity. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Submarine Macabi was laid down. ww2dbase [Macabi | CPC]
• Joseph Stalin justified taking the war into German borders by noting "[o]ur tasks cannot be restricted by pushing the enemy out of our Motherland.... We must free our brothers from German Europe who have been conquered by Hitler's Germany." ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | CPC]
• Chiaki Matsuda was made the commanding officer of Carrier Division 4 and 4th Aircraft Squadron. ww2dbase [Chiaki Matsuda | CPC]

• Gato-class submarine USS Silversides arrived at Milne Bay, New Guinea for refuel. ww2dbase [Silversides | Milne Bay, New Guinea | DS]

• Yamato arrived at Lingga Roads, Dutch East Indies south of Singapore. ww2dbase [Yamato | Lingga Roads | CPC]
• Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Lingga Roads, Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [Yukikaze | Lingga Roads | CPC]

• British Squadron Leader Maurice Southgate, whose task it was to coordinate the various Marquis groups between the Loire River and the Pyrenees mountains, was arrested by the Gestapo in Paris, France. ww2dbase [The French Resistance | Paris | AC]

• USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her eighth war patrol. ww2dbase [Finback | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• Anglo-Indian troops attacked Crete West hill near Imphal, India. ww2dbase [Battle of Imphal-Kohima | Imphal, Manipur | CPC]

• Italian Navy formed Divisione Decima (10th Division) with theoretical strength of 11 battalions; in actuality only 4 were operational at this time. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The newly formed Italian parachute regiment formally became a part of the Italian Air Force. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Masafumi Arima was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. ww2dbase [Masafumi Arima | CPC]
• Landing ship No. 103 was completed. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• Patrol Boat No. 102 completed boiler repair work and departed Manila, Philippines at 0400 hours to escort the convoy consisted of Aden Maru, Tajima Maru, Amatsusan Maru, Yozan Maru, Teikai Maru, Kazuura Maru, Brazil Maru, and Mitsuki Maru. Other escorts guarding this convoy included Patrol Boat No. 104, Korei netlayer Maru, Submarine Chaser No. 38, minelayer Shirataka, destroyer Fujinami, and destroyer Shiratsuyu. ww2dbase [Stewart | Manila | CPC]

• Boris Shaposhnikov received the Medal for the Defense of Moscow. ww2dbase [Boris Shaposhnikov | CPC]

• The Yugoslavian partisan leader Tito's mission arrived in London, England, United Kingdom to discuss cooperation with the Allies and gained official recognition. ww2dbase [London, England | TH]
• While in Britain, Robert Johnson was promoted to the rank of major. ww2dbase [Robert Johnson | England | CPC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a raid against rocket launching sites in the Pas-de-Calais region of France but turned back due to the weather. ww2dbase [RAF Thurleigh | Thurleigh, England | DS]

• USS Sterlet departed Key West, Florida, United States. ww2dbase [Sterlet | Key West , Florida | CPC]

1 May 1944 Interactive Map