30 May 1941
- Erich Raeder recommended Adolf Hitler an attack on the Suez Canal in Egypt. ww2dbase [Erich Raeder | CPC]
- Before dawn, a force of British cruiser and destroyers embarked 6,029 troops and departed Sphakia, Crete, Greece for Egypt. En route, they were attacked by Axis aircraft; a bomb hit on cruiser HMS Perth killed 13, but RAF fighter escorts prevented Axis aircraft from dealing the kind of damage they did on the previous day against a different evacuation convoy. Destroyer HMS Kelvin, sailing north from Egypt, was damaged by a bomb en route, killing 1. On land, German aircraft strafed evacuation beaches at and near Sphakia. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | CPC]
- British and Indian forces reached the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, causing Rashid Ali's government to collapse. ww2dbase [Campaigns in the Middle East | CPC]
- German submarine U-106 sank British ship Silveryew near Cape Verde Islands at 0036 hours, killing 1. ww2dbase [CPC]
- German submarine U-38 sank British ship Empire Protector off Sierra Leone, British West Africa at 1407 hours, killing 5. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Guglielmo Marconi sank British tanker Cairndale 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of Gibraltar; four were killed. ww2dbase [Guglielmo Marconi | CPC]
- Soviet spy Richard Sorge, a reporter in the German Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, informed Moscow that the Germans planned to invade in late June. Joseph Stalin, as he had done in so many other reports by his agents, still refused to believe this important intelligence. ww2dbase [Operation Barbarossa | Tokyo | AC]
30 May 1941 Interactive Map
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Search WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » Wreck of USS Mannert L. Abele Found (29 May 2023)
- » Wreck of Montevideo Maru Found (25 Apr 2023)
- » Detonation of a WW2-Era Naval Mine (21 Mar 2023)
- » Wreck of USS Albacore Found (23 Feb 2023)
- » Accidental Detonation of a WW2-Era Bomb in Great Yarmouth (10 Feb 2023)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,131 biographies
- » 336 events
- » 41,830 timeline entries
- » 1,210 ships
- » 347 aircraft models
- » 206 vehicle models
- » 370 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 249 facilities
- » 469 book reviews
- » 28,988 photos
- » 401 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."Winston Churchill
Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!