World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Wednesday May 20, 1942
Day 993

May 20, 1942: Front page of the News and Chronicle, London, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the photo at top: "Picture Story Of R.A.F. Attack On Prinz Eugen"
(The attack by aircraft of 42 Squadron and 86 Squadron Coastal Command took place on May 17, but no hits were scored on the cruiser or the escorting destroyers. Prinz Eugen made it to Deutsche Werke in Kiel on the 18th where it took until late October to fit a new stern to the ship. [Prinz Eugen had been torpedoed by HMS Trident on Feb. 23, 1942 which caused the stern to collapse. From Feb. until May was spent removing the damaged stern and rigging a new rudder on the ship.)
Over the wireless:


May 20, 1942: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury, Leeds, England.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of the Western Mail and South Wales News, Cardiff, Wales.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
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Note the report in column 4: "5 Hostages Die in Paris"
(The 5 hostages were Jews, shot because of attacks against German troops, which they did not commit. The Germans announced that more Jews would be shot if the perpetrators of the attacks were not given up.)


May 20, 1942: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
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Note the report in columns 1-2: "Doolittle Denies 9 Bombers Lost In Raid On Japan"
(Brig. Gen. Doolittle was not exactly telling the truth, rather he was engaging in "honest propaganda." He is quoted as saying "all the bombers reached their destination," which was a stretch. One landed in Soviet territory, the plane was never returned to the U.S.A., but the crew was allowed to "escape" and finally returned home. The rest of the squadron, 15 B-25's, made it to China, which was the destination, but the all crash landed and none of them were useable by Chang Kai-Shek and his forces. He also said that all American fliers were back safely, which was also not true. None of the planes were shot down by the Japanese, but three men died when their ships crash-landed. Eight were captured by the Japanese in China, three of which were later executed.)


May 20, 1942: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
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Note the report in column 1: "Gas Rationing For Entire U.S. Likely July 1"


May 20, 1942: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
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Note the report in column 4: "33 Lost In 2 Sinkings; 46 Survive"
(The unidentified ship was the 8,862-ton tanker Gulfpenn, which was sunk by U-506. The second ship mentioned may have been the 6,561-ton tanker Gulfprince, which was torpedoed by U-507, but did not sink.)


May 20, 1942: Front page of the Tucson Daily Citizen, Tucson, Arizona.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
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May 20, 1942: Front page of the Teltower Kreisblatt, Kreis Teltow, Brandenburg, Germany.
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1. 150 000 Gefangene auf Kertsch - Die große Durchbruchsschlacht siegreich beendet - Drei Sowjetarmeen vernichtet. Die Meerenge von Kertsch wurde in breiter Front erreicht.
(150,000 prisoners at Kerch - The great breakthrough battle ended victorious - Three Soviet armies destroyed. The Kerch Strait was reached in a broad front.)


May 20, 1942: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
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1. Gewaltige Ausmaße des Sieges von Kertsch - 3 Armeen vernichtet - 149.256 Gefangene, 1133 Geschütze, 372 Granatwerfer, 258 Panzerkampfwagen - Meerenge von Kertsch in ganzer Breite erricht.
(Massive dimensions of the victory of Kerch - 3 armies destroyed - 149,256 prisoners, 1133 guns, 372 grenade launchers, 258 armored fighting vehicles - The Kerch Strait was reached in a broad front.)



   
Page published May 20, 2023