Sunday, May 20, 2012

Day 994 May 21, 1942

Battle of Kharkov. German 6th Army and 1st Panzer Army continue closing the gap in the Izium salient, to prevent Soviet forces escaping from the pocket.

At 3.23 AM, U-159 attacks convoy OS-28 140 miles East of the Azores sinking British SS New Brunswick (3 dead and 59 survivors) and badly damaging British fleet oiler RFA Montenol (3 dead, 61 survivors picked up by British sloop HMS Wellington), which is abandoned and later scuttled.

In the Gulf of Mexico 40 miles West of Cuba, U-103 sinks American steamers SS Clare at 3.48 AM (all 40 hands reach Cuba) and SS Elizabeth at 04.15 hours (6 killed, 36 survivors). 75 miles further North at 4.21 AM, U-106 sinks neutral Mexican tanker SS Faja de Oro (10 killed, 27 survivors) which will, along with the sinking of Potrero del Llano by U-564 on May 14, lead to Mexico declaring war on Germany.

In the Caribbean, U-69 sinks Canadian SS Torondoc 60 miles Northwest of Martinique at 7.53 AM (all 21 hands escape in a 4 lifeboats and 2 rafts and are questioned by the U-boat but never seen again) and U-558 sinks Canadian SS Troisdoc 40 miles Northwest of Jamaica with shellfire at 7.17 PM (all 18 hands picked up by US Coast Guard cutter USS Mohawk). At 6.29 PM, U-156 sinks Dominican SS Presidente Trujillo just after leaving Fort de France, Martinique (24 dead, 15 survivors).

Japanese occupy Leyte Island and Samar Island, in the central Philippine Islands, unopposed following the US surrender on May 6.

2 comments:

  1. Some mistake in the 4th paragraph I think. (Unless there were 2 "SS Torondoc" sunk on the same day)

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  2. No mistake. By some strange chance, Canadian steam merchants SS Torondoc and SS Troisdoc were both sunk on the same day.

    ReplyDelete