World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Sunday January 25, 1942
Day 878

January 25, 1942: Front page of The People, London, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
Note the report in column 5: "Dutch Sink Jap Liner"
(The unnamed ship was the 6,764-ton Nana Maru.)


January 25, 1942: Front page of the Sunday Pictorial, London, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


January 25, 1942: Front page of The Sunday Post, Glasgow, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
Note the headline report: "U.S. Destroyers Attack Jap Convoy"
(The report is about the Battle of Balikpapan. U.S. destroyers and Dutch forces attacked a Japanese convoy en route to invade Balikpapan, Borneo. U.S. ships sank the 5,175-ton Kuretake Maru, the 7,064-ton Tatsukami Maru, the 3,519-ton Sumanoura Maru and the 4,124-ton Myoken Maru, Dutch aircraft sank the 6,764-ton Nana Maru and the Dutch submarine HNLMS K-XVIII sank the 6,988-ton Tsuruga Maru. While the number of ships sunk was large, the casualties to Japanese personnel were small in comparison. Only about 120 were killed, including those on Patrol Boat 37, which was sunk by both U.S. and Dutch forces. Even though this was a great success for the allies, the losses failed to stop the Japanese from making their landings on Borneo.)


January 25, 1942: Front page of The Sunday Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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January 25, 1942: Front page of The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
Note the headline report: "Kimmel, Short Blamed For Pearl Harbor"
(The only comment I will make about this, is that this was a typical Washington investigation, the conclusion of which had already been decided before the committee first met.)
 
Also note the report in column 7: "Pound-a-Week Sugar Ration Order Issued"


January 25, 1942: Front page of The Charleston Gazette, Charleston, West Virginia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
Note the report in column 8: "Board Reveals Jap Sub Sunk Before Attack"
(The report states that a Japanese submarine was sunk off Pearl Harbor an hour before the attack. This was true. USS Ward DD-139, fired on and sank one of the Japanese midget submarines that was to enter Pearl Harbor and torpedo the battleships. While this was reported, it was not confirmed, or believed, until the wreck was found on Aug. 28, 2002. When the wreck was examined, a shell hole was found just below the sail, exactly where Ward's officers said it was. Ironically, USS Ward, after being converted into a high-speed transport and designated APD-16, was sunk exactly three years later, on Dec. 7, 1944 by a Kamikaze attack.)


January 25, 1942: Front page of the Detroit Times, Detroit, Michigan.
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January 25, 1942: Front page of The Hammond Times, Hammond, Indiana.
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January 25, 1942: Front page of The Kingsport Times, Kingsport, Tennessee.
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January 25, 1942: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
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January 25, 1942: Front page of The Ogden Standard Examiner, Ogden City, Utah.
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January 25, 1942: Front page of the Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California.
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January 25, 1942: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. 125.000 BRT. an der nordamerikanischen Küste versenkt.
(125,000 GRT. sunk off the North American coast.)
2. Kapitänleutnant Hardegen vernichtete allein 53.000 BRT.
(Lieutenant Captain Hardegen alone destroyed 53,000 GRT.)
[Reinhard Hardegen, commanding officer of U-123, sank 8 ships for a total just over 49,000 tons during his patrol off the U.S. coast.]




   
Page published January 25, 2023