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• Weather data for 4 May 1945

• Deutschland was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Cero sank a Japanese transport east of Japan, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes fired; an additional 3 torpedoes were expended (but missed) in attacking other ships in the same convoy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The US submarine Lagarto was sunk by the Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka in the Gulf of Siam. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]
• Orion was sunk off Swinemünde, Germany (now Swinoujscie, Poland) by bombs. About 4,000 people, most of whom refugees, were killed. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• HMS King George V bombarded airfields in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Fedor von Bock passed away. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Charles Sweeney became the commanding officer of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, Heavy which was a part of the USAAF 509th Composite Group designated to deliver the atomic bombs when they are ready. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German forces in Denmark, the Netherlands, and northwestern Germany surrendered to British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, to be in effect at 0800 hours on the next day. Meanwhile, in Germany, US Ninth Army accepted surrender of German Ninth and Twelfth Armies and US Third Army accepted the surrender by Feldmarschall Paul von Kleist. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH, CPC]
• Operation Iceberg II was commenced by the Allies to support the campaign on Okinawa, Japan. Meanwhile, Japanese special attack aircraft sank two destroyers and damaged a number of other warships off the island, including British carrier HMS Formidable and American minesweeper USS Shea (hit by 1 of 7 Ohka special attack aircraft launched on this day). ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The Fletcher-class destroyer USS Morrison was sunk by a Japanese special attack aircraft off Okinawa, Japan. ww2dbase [AC]
• Kurt Schuschnigg was liberated by American troops. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Pastor Hornig, Dr. Konrad, Bishop Ferche, and Canon Kramer, the three leading religious leaders in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), unsuccessfully attempted to persuade German General of the Infantry Hermann Niehoff to surrender the city to the Soviets. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German pilot Leutnant Rudolf Schmitt shot down a British Tempest fighter while flying a He 162 jet fighter. ww2dbase [CPC]

• US Seventh Army occupied Innsbruck, Berchtesgaden, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• British troops entered Neuengamme Concentration Camp near Hamburg, Germany. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Hans Fritzsche was brought to the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany to identity the body of Joseph Goebbels. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• US Fifth Army moved up to the Brenner Pass on the Italo-Austrian border. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• Prince Philipp was arrested by US troops at Niederdorf in Sudtirolo (South Tyrol), Italy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Luce was attacked by two Japanese special attack aircraft off Okinawa, Japan. The first was shot down near the port side of the ship, and the blast of the explosion caused power failures throughout the ship. The second aircraft crashed into the aft portion of the destroyer, knocking out the port engine, jamming the rudder, and flooding engineering spaces. The commanding officer gave the order to abandon ship at 0814 hours. Of the 312 on board, 126 were killed in the attack and the sinking. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | CPC, DS]
• USS Haddock fired 6 torpedoes at a ship 5 miles south of Suruga Bay in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan; all torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Spot arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands, ending her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Trepang sank Japanese Minesweeper Number 20 in the Yellow Sea. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Springer set sail toward waters south of Japan on lifeguard duty. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Mingo entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

4 May 1945 Interactive Map