The following events occurred in June 1942:
June 1, 1942 (Monday) Adolf Hitler visited Army Group South's headquarters at Poltava to confirm plans for the upcoming summer offensive. Hermann Hoth assumed command of the German 4th Panzer Army while Richard Ruoff took command of the 17th Army. The Australian depot ship Kuttabul was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine M-24 during the attack on Sydney Harbour. The Grand Coulee Dam opened on the Columbia River. Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, as predecessor of metals and mining manufacturing brand, Vale was founded in Brazil.
June 2, 1942 (Tuesday) During the Siege of Sevastopol, the German 11th Army began a massive five-day artillery barrage on the fortress city using 620 guns including the enormous 800mm Schwerer Gustav "Dora" gun. German submarine U-652 was depth charged and damaged in the Gulf of Sollum by Fairey Swordfish aircraft and had to be scuttled. Born: Eduard Malofeyev, footballer and coach, in Kolomna, USSR; Died: Bunny Berigan, 33, American jazz trumpeter and bandleader (hemorrhage)
June 3, 1942 (Wednesday) The Battle of Midway began. The Japanese sought to deliver another crushing blow to the U.S. Navy to ensure Japanese dominance in the Pacific, but American codebreakers had uncovered the time and place of the Japanese attack in advance, enabling the U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush. The Battle of Dutch Harbor began at Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears at Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island, Alaska. The American passenger ship Northwestern was bombed and sunk. The British government announced that it would be taking over the country's coal mines and milk industry. The Australian ore carrier Iron Chieftain was torpedoed and sunk in the Tasman Sea by the Japanese submarine I-24. German submarines U-413 and U-521 were commissioned. British Commandos executed Operation Bristle, an overnight raid on a German radar site at Plage-Ste-Cecile, France. The stage musical By Jupiter by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers and starring Ray Bolger premiered at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway. Born: Curtis Mayfield, soul, R&B and funk singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1999)
June 4, 1942 (Thursday) The Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga and Sōryū were crippled in the Battle of Midway and scuttled. The Battle of Dutch Harbor ended in Japanese tactical victory. The Hitler and Mannerheim recording is made when Hitler paid a secret visit to Marshal Mannerheim, ostensibly to congratulate him on his 75th birthday. The recording is the only existing one of Hitler speaking in an ordinary tone of voice. The Australian ore carrier Iron Crown was torpedoed and sunk in Bass Strait by the Japanese submarine I-27. German submarine U-625 was commissioned. The wartime romantic drama film Mrs. Miniver starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon was released. Died: Reinhard Heydrich, 38, German SS-Obergruppenführer (died of wounds sustained in May 27 assassination attempt); Died: (in the Battle of Midway) Robert Boyd Brazier, 25, American aviation radioman (killed in the Battle of Midway); Delbert W. Halsey, 22, American naval officer (killed in the Battle of Midway); Lofton R. Henderson, 39, American marine aviator (killed in the Battle of Midway); Severin Louis Rombach, 27, American naval aviator (killed in the Battle of Midway); Lloyd Thomas, 30, American aviator (killed in the Battle of Midway); Albert William Tweedy, Jr., 22, American Marine Corps aviator (killed in the Battle of Midway); John C. Waldron, 41, American aviator (killed in the Battle of Midway)
June 5, 1942 (Friday) Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū was crippled by American dive bombers on 4th June and scuttled on 5th June. Japanese destroyer Tanikaze dodges bombs from 66 American aircraft during the Battle of Midway. The United States declared war on the Axis satellite states of Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. During the Battle of Gazala the British Eighth Army began Operation Aberdeen, an attempt to encircle Erwin Rommel's forces occupying the "Cauldron". The Panamanian tanker C.O. Stillman was torpedoed and sunk in the Caribbean Sea by German submarine U-68. The 1942 Birthday Honours of King George VI were published. Born: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 2nd President of Equatorial Guinea, in Acoacán, Spanish Guinea Died: Virginia Lee Corbin, 31, American actress; Richard E. Fleming, 24, United States Marine and Medal of Honor recipient (killed in the Battle of Midway) Tamon Yamaguchi, 49, Japanese admiral (killed in the Battle of Midway)
June 6, 1942 (Saturday) During the Battle of Midway, Japanese cruiser Mikuma was bombed and sunk by Douglas SBD Dauntless aircraft. American destroyer Hammann was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-168. The Action of 6 June 1942 was fought off Recife, Brazil. The German commerce raider Stier sank the American Liberty ship Stanvac Calcutta. In the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Japanese occupation of Attu and Kisa began. Shut Out won the Belmont Stakes. German submarines U-223, U-265 and U-383 were commissioned. Born: Klaus Bednarz, German journalist and writer, in Falkensee (d. 2015)
June 7, 1942 (Sunday) The Battle of Midway ended in a decisive American victory, marking a turning point in the Pacific War. The American aircraft carrier USS Yorktown sank the day after being torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-168 at Midway. The American seaplane tender Gannet was torpedoed and sunk in the Caribbean Sea by German submarine U-159. British Commandos executed Operation Albumen, an overnight raid on German airfields on Axis-occupied Crete. The British managed to destroy 5 aircraft, damage 29 others and set fire to several vehicles and significant quantities of supplies. The Chicago Tribune published a front-page article titled "Navy Had Word of Jap Plan to Strike at Sea", providing clues from which the Japanese might have figured out that the Americans had broken their codes ahead of the Battle of Midway. Navy Secretary Frank Knox demanded that the Tribune be prosecuted, but once the Navy realized that the Japanese did not change their codes after the article appeared, the case was quietly dropped to avoid bringing the enemy's attention to the story. Born: Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan politician and revolutionary, dictator of Libya (official date of birth) (d. 2011) Died: Alan Blumlein, 38, English electronics engineer and inventor (plane crash)
June 8, 1942 (Monday) Shelling of Newcastle: Japanese submarine I-21 shelled the Australian city of Newcastle, New South Wales but did little damage. The nine-day long Attack on Sydney Harbour by Japanese submarines ended indecisively. The United States Department of War created the European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA). Douglas MacArthur suggested to Army Chief of Staff George Marshall that an offensive be taken in the Pacific with New Britain, New Ireland and New Guinea as the objective.
June 9, 1942 (Tuesday) The Combined Production and Resources Board was set up to allocate the combined economic resources of the United States and Britain. A lavish funeral was held for Reinhard Heydrich in Berlin. He was posthumously awarded the German Order. British aircraft attacked the Italian naval base at Taranto.
June 10, 1942 (Wednesday) The Germans crossed the Donets near Izium. Axis forces launched the Kozara Offensive against the Yugoslav Partisans in northwestern Bosnia. Lidice massacre: Units of the Nazi Ordnungspolizei and Sicherheitsdienst shot all 173 male residents of the Czech village of Lidice aged over 15 in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich (mistakenly believed to have been carried out by residents). Of 503 inhabitants, a total of around 340 were killed, including 82 children deported to Chełmno extermination camp, and the remainder were removed. All domestic animals were killed and graves despoiled, the village was burned, remains blown up and the site landscaped out of existence; Nazi propaganda (which was open about the event) stated "The name of the village was immediately abolished." Free French forces (some 2,700 men) evacuated Bir Hakeim and escaped through a minefield, where they were picked up by British patrols of the 7th Armoured Division. British cargo ship Empire Clough was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean on her maiden voyage by German submarine U-94. British economist John Maynard Keynes was made a peer. Born: Gordon Burns, journalist and broadcaster, in Belfast, Northern Ireland; Preston Manning, politician, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
June 11, 1942 (Thursday) The Battle of Bir Hakeim ended. German and Italian forces captured Bir Hakeim although most of the defenders had been evacuated. German submarine U-522 was commissioned. Born: Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, activist, in Wiikwemkoong, Ontario, Canada Died: Michael Kitzelmann, 26, German soldier (executed for condemning Nazi atrocities)
June 12, 1942 (Friday) Rommel broke out of the Cauldron and trapped British forces between Knightsbridge and El Adem. The Allies launched Operation Harpoon and Operation Vigorous, two simultaneous convoys sent to supply Malta. Operation Pastorius: German submarine U-202 landed four saboteurs on American soil at Amagansett, New York, the first of many intended operations to sabotage economic targets within the United States. The British destroyer Grove was torpedoed and sunk off Egypt by German submarine U-77. Anne Frank received a diary for her thirteenth birthday. After a crow strikes the starboard radial engine, Royal Air Force pilots Group Captain Ken Gatward and navigator Flight Sergeant George Fern, successfully conduct The Beaufighter Raid in Nazi-occupied Paris. Born: Bert Sakmann, cell physiologist and Nobel laureate, in Stuttgart, Germany
June 13, 1942 (Saturday) Black Saturday: After taking heavy losses, British and South African forces began to evacuate the Gazala Line. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9182, creating the Office of Strategic Services and Office of War Information. The Soviet troop transport Gruzyia was bombed and sunk in the Black Sea by the Luftwaffe. German submarine U-157 was depth charged and sunk northeast of Havana, Cuba by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Thetis. German submarine U-185 was commissioned. Born: Abdulsalami Abubakar, army general and 11th President of Nigeria, in Minna, Niger State
June 14, 1942 (Sunday) During the Battle of Gazala the Germans struck north to the Libyan coast in an effort to cut off British forces in the Gazala sector, but General Ritchie effected their withdrawal. During Operation Harpoon the British destroyer HMS Hasty was torpedoed off Sirte by a German motor torpedo boat and so badly damaged that she was scuttled the next day. The British cruiser Liverpool was severely damaged in the Mediterranean by Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bombers and knocked out of action until July 1943. Mexico and the Philippines signed the Declaration by United Nations. The General Electric Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut finished production on the new M1 rocket launcher, commonly known as the bazooka.
June 15, 1942 (Monday) The 21st Panzer Division reached Sidi Rezegh. In the Battle of Gazala, British forces withdrew from Knightsbridge. Exiled Greek King George II addressed the U.S. Congress in Washington. Operation Harpoon ended with only two of the original six merchant ships completing the journey. The British destroyer Bedouin was attacked by Italian cruisers and aircraft and sunk off the island of Pantelleria. The British destroyer Hasty was scuttled near Crete the day after being torpedoed by German E-boat S-55. The British light cruiser Newcastle was torpedoed in the Mediterranean by the German E-boat S-66 and knocked out of the war until March 1943.