5 Oct 1942

- George Kenney ordered Kenneth Walker to stop personally participating on missions. This order would be disobeyed. ww2dbase [George Kenney | CPC]
- 6 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of US 30th Bomb Squadron from Port Moresby, Australian Papua attacked Vunakanau airfield at Rabaul, New Britain. Simultaneously, 8 B-17 bombers of 28th Bomb Squadron attacked nearby Lakunai airfield. The attacks caused very minor damage. ww2dbase [Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]
- Task Force 17 (USS Hornet, Northampton, Pensacola, Juneau, San Diego, 3 destroyers) struck Japanese installations around the southern end of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands (Buin-Faisi-Tonolai Raid). ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | Hornet (Yorktown-class) | Pensacola | San Diego | Juneau | Northampton | CPC]
- Heinrich Himmler ordered that all Jews in concentration camps in Germany were to be transferred to Auschwitz or Majdanek concentration camps. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Heinrich Himmler | CPC]
- USS S-38 spotted a Japanese tanker at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands and fired three torpedoes at it. The torpedoes struck a lagoon and detonated before they could reach the target. ww2dbase [S-38 | Tarawa | CPC]
- USS Wahoo sighted a Japanese carrier and mis-identified her to be Ryujo. Lieutenant Commander Marvin Kennedy took a conservative attack approach that ultimately failed to intercept the carrier. ww2dbase [Wahoo | CPC]
- USS S-44 suffered leaks from damage sustained; her crew attempted repairs while escaping an attack by Japanese destroyers. ww2dbase [S-44 | CPC]
- The Soviet STAVKA arrested Major General Ivan Rukhle, recent deputy chief of the headquarters of the Stalingrad Front, and falsely charged him with treason. Rukhle would be kept at the Lubyanka prison near Moscow, Russia until 1952. ww2dbase [Lubyanka Building | Moscow | CPC]


5 Oct 1942 Interactive Map
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Please help us spread the word: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Search WW2DB
News
- » Wreck of M-49 Found (10 Apr 2025)
- » Japanese Emperor Visited Iwoto (Iwo Jima) (8 Apr 2025)
- » Race, Holocaust, and African-American WW2 Histories Removed from the US Naval Academy Library (7 Apr 2025)
- » US Government Plans to Purge WW2 Information (17 Mar 2025)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Hitler Youth members visiting Yasukuni Shrine with a wreath, Tokyo, Japan, Oct 1938, photo 1 of 2Current Site Statistics
- » 1,167 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 44,606 timeline entries
- » 1,243 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 376 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 261 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,498 photos
- » 365 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us... they can't get away this time."Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, at Guadalcanal
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!