April 16, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

THURSDAY, 16 APRIL 1942

(10th Air Force): B-17's take off from Dum Dum Airfield near Calcutta to bomb Rangoon. Six B-17's, guided by flares, bomb the target; numerous searchlights make it impossible to estimate the bombing results.

U.S. Army: A direct hit on Battery Grubbs on Corregidor disables the No. 2 gun and destroyed the battery commander's station. Afterwards, the battery was abandoned.

General Wainwright places General Sharp in command of Visayan garrisons and orders him to reorganize Visayan-Mindanao Force for a stand on Mindanao. Cebu is thus conceded to be lost.

At dawn, a Japanese force of 4,160 land unoposed on Panay with the main landing at Iloilo and the remainder of the force landing at Capiz (Roxas City). The defending Panay Force of roughly 7,000 led by Col Albert F. Christie retires into the mountains to wage guerrilla warfare.

(SWPA, 5th Air Force): Headquarters (HQ), 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) transfers from Bankstown to Batchelor.

U.S. Navy: USS Tambor (SS-198) torpedoes and sinks Japanese stores ship Kitami Maru roughly 50 miles southeast of Kavieng on New Ireland, 03°00'S, 152°00'E.