March 7, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SATURDAY, 7 MARCH 1942

BURMA: British Army retreats from Rangoon (Yangoon) moving along Prome road except for demolition forces, which are removed by sea. Loss of Rangoon seriously handicaps supply and reinforcement of Burma Army, which must now depend on air for this. Withdrawal from Rangoon is halted at Taukkyan by enemy roadblock. Bypassed force in Pegu is ordered to withdraw.

NEI: Japanese conquest of Java is virtually completed. Radio and cable communications with Bandoeng cease. Final reports indicate that enemy is still advancing on all fronts, that the defenders are completely exhausted, and that all Allied fighter planes have been destroyed.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): 22nd Bombardment Group (Medium), Headquarters (HQ) transfers from Brisbane to Ipswich.

U.S. Army: Major General Alexander M. Patch, commander-designate of New Caledonia Task Force arrives at Noumea on New Caledonia.

IJA: During night a Japanese convoy enters Huon Gulf to land assault forces at Lae and Salamaua on the north coast of New Guinea.

IJN: At 4:00am Japanese submarine I-25 surfaces in Cook Strait off the southern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and prepares to launch her E14Y Glen for a reconnaissance flight over Wellington but while suspended from the deck crane, the floatplane begins to swing and the wings are slightly damaged and the launch aborted with the plane stowed and submarine returns to the open sea.

U.S. Navy: USS Grenadier (SS-210) torpedoes Japanese transport Asahisan Maru south of Shioyasaki, 36°27'N, 141°06'E.

Patrol Wing 10 (PatWing 10) completes their withdrawal from the Philippines and Netherlands East Indies (NEI) to established their new Headquarters in Perth and will begin patroling Western Australia.

The practicability of using a radio sonobuoy in aerial anti-submarine warfare was demonstrated in an exercise conducted off New London when K-5 blimp and USS S-20 (SS-125) submarine. The buoy could detect the sound of the submerged submarine's propellers at distances up to three miles, and radio reception aboard the blimp was satisfactory up to five miles.

RAAF: Lost is P-40E Kittyhawk A29-3 pilot P/O James W. Norton (KIA) crashed at Wauchope, NSW.