The following events occurred in May 1942:
May 1, 1942 (Friday) The British evacuated Mandalay. Joseph Stalin published a message on International Workers' Day in which he stated that the Soviet Union was fighting a "patriotic war of liberation" and had no aim of "seizing foreign countries" or "conquering foreign peoples." The British destroyer Punjabi sank in the Greenland Sea after a collision with the battleship King George in foggy conditions.
May 2, 1942 (Saturday) Mandalay fell to the Japanese. German destroyers Hermann Schoemann, Z24 and Z25 attacked the damaged British cruiser Edinburgh off Bear Island. Edinburgh was struck by a torpedo and sunk but not before damaging Hermann Schoemann so severely that she was scuttled. German submarine U-573 entered port at Cartagena, Spain for repairs after being severely damaged on April 29 by depth charges from RAF Lockheed Hudsons. Spanish authorities granted U-573 a three-month period for repairs despite protests from the British embassy. Japanese seaplane carrier Mizuho sank off Omaezaki the day after being torpedoed by the submarine USS Drum. The Polish submarine Jastrząb was sunk in the Barents Sea by friendly fire. The American patrol yacht USS Cythera was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of North Carolina by the German submarine U-402. Shut Out won the Kentucky Derby. Born: Jacques Rogge, 8th President of the International Olympic Committee, in Ghent, Belgium (d. 2021) Died: José Abad Santos, 56, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
May 3, 1942 (Sunday) The Japanese Invasion of Tulagi began. Japanese troops captured Bhamo, Burma. Presidential elections were held in Colombia, won by Alfonso López Pumarejo of the Liberal Party. Born: Věra Čáslavská, gymnast, in Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (d. 2016) Died: Elías Isaac Alippi, 59, Argentine actor and theatrical impresario; Thorvald Stauning, 68, Prime Minister of Denmark
May 4, 1942 (Monday) The Battle of the Coral Sea began. In the Burma Campaign, the British evacuated Akyab. The Invasion of Tulagi was completed with the Japanese occupation of Tulagi and nearby islands in the Solomons. Thamshavn Line sabotage: Company Linge in occupied Norway blew up the transformer station for the railway at Bårdshaug. Vilhelm Buhl became Prime Minister of Denmark two days after Thorvald Stauning died in office. Hungary broke off diplomatic relations with Uruguay. The Japanese destroyer Kikuzaki was torpedoed in Tulagi harbor by U.S. Navy aircraft and sank the next day. The submarine rescue ship USS Pigeon and the minesweeper Tanager were sunk at Corregidor by a Japanese dive bomber and shore guns, respectively.
May 5, 1942 (Tuesday) The Battle of Madagascar began when the port of Diego-Suarez (now Antsiranana) was seized as part of Operation Ironclad. The Battle of Corregidor began. The Germans relieved the Kholm Pocket. Japanese forces advancing up the Burma Road crossed into China. Japanese destroyer Kikuzuki was torpedoed and sunk in Tulagi harbor by American aircraft. The French submarine Bévéziers was depth charged and sunk by Swordfish torpedo bombers at Diego Suarez, Madagascar. German submarine U-758 was commissioned. Born: Tammy Wynette, country singer-songwriter, in Tremont, Mississippi (d. 1998)
May 6, 1942 (Wednesday) The Battle of Corregidor ended when 10,000 U.S. and Filipino troops surrendered to the Japanese. Chinese forces recaptured Maymyo in Burma. The American cargo ship Alcoa Puritan was torpedoed and sunk in the Gulf of Mexico off the mouth of the Mississippi River by German submarine U-507. The British cargo ship Empire Buffalo was torpedoed and sunk west of the Cayman Islands by German submarine U-125. The American gunboats Luzon, Oahu and Quail were scuttled in Manila Bay to prevent capture. German submarine U-263 was commissioned.
May 7, 1942 (Thursday) Diego Suarez in northern Madagascar surrendered to the British. In the Battle of the Coral Sea, Japanese aircraft carrier Shōhō and the American destroyer Sims were sunk, while the American oiler Neosho was crippled by bombing and had to be scuttled four days later. German submarines U-519 and U-621 were commissioned. Died: Felix Weingartner, 78, Austrian conductor, composer and pianist
May 8, 1942 (Friday) The Philippines Campaign ended in decisive Japanese victory. The Japanese occupation of the Philippines began. The Battle of the Coral Sea ended in Japanese tactical victory but Allied strategic victory. The aircraft carrier USS Lexington was scuttled due to battle damage. Japanese forces took the northern Burmese city of Myitkyina. The British submarine Olympus was sunk by a mine off Malta. The failed Cocos Islands mutiny took place when Ceylonese soldiers tried to rebel against their British officers. The drama film In This Our Life starring Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Charles Coburn and George Brent was released. Born: Terry Neill, footballer and manager, in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2022)
May 9, 1942 (Saturday) The Allies began the series of Raids on Deboyne in the Deboyne Islands of the Louisiade Archipelago. Japanese forces took Dalirig on Mindanao. German submarine U-352 was depth charged and sunk off Morehead City, North Carolina by the Coast Guard ship Icarus. Alsab won the Preakness Stakes. German submarines U-181, U-221, U-301, U-444 and U-626 were commissioned. "Tangerine" by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra hit #1 on the Billboard singles charts. Born: John Ashcroft, attorney and politician, in Chicago, Illinois Died: Graham McNamee, 53, American radio broadcaster
May 10, 1942 (Sunday) The Allies executed Operation Bowery, a repeat of the earlier Operation Calendar delivering Supermarine Spitfire fighter planes to Malta. This time, the newly arrived fighters got back into the air quickly before an air raid could destroy them. Winston Churchill gave a radio broadcast on the second anniversary of his being appointed British Prime Minister. Churchill warned the Germans that "we shall treat the unprovoked use of poison gas against our Russian ally exactly as if it were used against ourselves and if we are satisfied that this new outrage has been committed by Hitler we will use our great and growing air superiority in the West to carry gas warfare on the largest possible scale far and wide against military objectives in Germany. It is thus for Hitler to choose whether he wishes to add this additional horror to aerial warfare." The British hospital ship Ramb IV was bombed and sunk off Alexandria by the Luftwaffe. Died: Joe Weber, 74, American vaudevillian
May 11, 1942 (Monday) The three days of Raids on Deboyne ended as the Japanese withdrew from Deboyne. The British destroyers Jackal, Kipling and Lively were all bombed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by the Luftwaffe. The armed naval trawler Bedfordshire was torpedoed and sunk off Ocracoke Island, North Carolina by German submarine U-558.
May 12, 1942 (Tuesday) The Second Battle of Kharkov began. Japanese forces crossed the Salween River and headed for Kengtung. The wartime romance film This Above All starring Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine was released. U-124 sank four British ships in one night Born: Ian Dury, rock singer, in Harrow, London, England (d. 2000)
May 13, 1942 (Wednesday) Action of 13 May 1942: Motor Torpedo Boats of the Royal Navy attempted to stop the German auxiliary cruiser Stier from reaching Gironde, France. Although Stier made it through the English channel, two German torpedo boats were sunk with one British MTB lost in return. Operation Trio concluded. The American cargo ship SS Norlantic was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by the German submarine U-156. Born: Jeff Astle, footballer, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England (d. 2002); Richard Butler, diplomat and Governor of Tasmania, in Coolah, New South Wales, Australia
May 14, 1942 (Thursday) British forces withdrawing from Burma reached Tamu. U.S. intelligence partially decoded a Japanese message indicating that a large force was preparing to invade "AF". Cryptanalyst Joseph Rochefort suspected that AF represented Midway Island, but officials in Washington believed it stood for the Aleutians. The matter was settled by planting an easily readable message from Midway saying that their desalination plant had broken down. When a Japanese message was then transmitted reporting that "AF" was short of water, Rochefort's belief was confirmed. The Mexican tanker Potrero del Llano was torpedoed and sunk off Cape Florida by German submarine U-564. Gas rationing along the U.S. eastern seaboard went into effect. German submarines U-622 and U-663 were commissioned. Aaron Copland's classical composition Lincoln Portrait was performed for the first time by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Born: Tony Pérez, baseball player, in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba Died: Frank Churchill, 40, American film composer; Harry M. P. Huse, 83, American admiral; Robert Hunter, 68, American sociologist, author and golf course architect
May 15, 1942 (Friday) The Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign begins The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was created in the United States. Costa Rica broke off diplomatic relations with Hungary and Romania. The first seventeen U.S. states put gasoline rationing into effect after it became apparent that voluntary rationing was insufficient. The British cruiser HMS Trinidad of convoy PQ 13 was bombed and damaged in the Atlantic Ocean by Junkers Ju 88 aircraft of the Luftwaffe and had to be scuttled. The Slovak parliament retroactively legalized the deportation of Jews from Slovakia.
May 16, 1942 (Saturday) Sobibór extermination camp became operational in occupied Poland. The Soviet guerrilla campaign known as the Defense of the Adzhimushkay quarry began. German submarine U-180 was commissioned. Died: Bronisław Malinowski, 58, Polish anthropologist
May 17, 1942 (Sunday) On the Eastern Front, the Germans began a counteroffensive against the Barvinkove salient. Japanese submarine I-28 was torpedoed and sunk off Truk by the American submarine Tautog. Red Star Olympique defeated FC Sète 2–0 in the Coupe De France Final. Born: Taj Mahal, blues musician, in Harlem, New York
May 18, 1942 (Monday) The biggest contingent of U.S. troops yet to arrive in Europe landed in Northern Ireland. Japanese forces in Burma reached Pantha on the Chindwin River. An information appliances equipment brand, Epson was founded in Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Its predecessor's name was Daiwa Kogyo. The espionage drama radio series Counterspy premiered on the NBC Blue Network. Born: Nobby Stiles, footballer, in Collyhurst, Manchester, England (d. 2020)
May 19, 1942 (Tuesday) The Battle of the Kerch Peninsula ended after 4 months and 23 days with an Axis victory. Died: A. E. Waite, 84, American-born British poet
May 20, 1942 (Wednesday) The Demyansk Pocket was relieved. The United States Navy signed up its first African-American recruits. The Liberty ship George Calvert was torpedoed and sunk in the Caribbean Sea off Cuba by German submarine U-753. German submarine U-465 was commissioned.
May 21, 1942 (Thursday) The Philippine city of Bacolod was occupied by the Japanese. Allied convoy PQ 16 departed Iceland for the Soviet Union. The Mexican oil tanker Faja de Oro was torpedoed and sunk in the Gulf of Mexico by German submarine U-106. This incident along with the Potrero del Llano sinking on the 14th provided a casus belli for Mexico to declare war on the Axis. German submarines U-197 and U-623 were commissioned. The comedy-drama film Tortilla Flat starring Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield was released. Died: George Antonius, 50, Lebanese-Egyptian author and diplomat; Guttman Landau, 63 to 65, Bessarabian Jewish leader (suicide)
May 22, 1942 (Friday) Mexico declared war on Germany, Italy and Japan.