May 17, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SUNDAY, 17 MAY 1942

AVG: Squadron Leader Lewis Bishop of the 2nd Squadron was shot down in flames by AA fire during a bombing attack on the railway yards at Lackay. Bishop bailed out and landed safely in Lackay and was immediately captured.

During the night of May 17-18, C-47 Skytrain piloted by Lt. William Grube took off on a mission to bomb Hanoi but missed and instead bomb Haiphong. News of the sorties soon reached Colonel Claire L. Chennault, who promptly put a stop to any further such flights.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th Air Force): P-39 Airacobras intercept A6M2 Zeros. Lost is P-39F 41-7122 pilot 2nd Lt. Jessie M. Bland (survived).

IJN: Eighteen A6M2 Zeros from Tainan Kokutai took off from Lae Airfield on a fighter sweep against Port Moresby. Inbound, one Zero aborts. Over the target, intercepted by P-39 Airacobras and fired on by .50 caliber machine gun fire from the ground. Returning, lost is A6M2 Zero pilot Lt(jg) Kaoru Yamaguchi (MIA) and A6M2 Zero 645 pilot PO2c Tsutomou Ito (survived, later captured).

In the evening, damaged Shōkaku anchors in Kure Harbor and is inspected by Admiral Yamamoto and Vice Admiral Ugaki that praise the crew.

U.S. Navy: Submarine Grampus (SS-207) is damaged by gunfire of Japanese patrol craft off Truk, 08°02'N, 151°03'E.

Submarine Silversides (SS-236) damages Japanese transport Tottori Maru and merchant cargo ship Thames Maru off Shionomisaki, southern Honshu, 33°28'N, 135°33'E.

Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) sinks Japanese army transport Taizan Maru near the mouth of the Gulf of Siam, 06°22'N, 108°36'E.

Submarine Tautog (SS-199) torpedoes and sinks Japanese submarine I-28 north of Rabaul, 06°30'N, 152°00'E.

Submarine Triton (SS-201) torpedoes and sinks Japanese submarine I-64 southeast of Kyushu, Japan, 29°25'N, 134°06'E.