World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » Today in WW2 History

• Theodor Osterkamp was born. ww2dbase [Theodor Osterkamp | CPC]

• Kiichi Hasegawa was born. ww2dbase [Kiichi Hasegawa | CPC]

• Kasuga bombarded Russian positions near Port Arthur in Manchuria Region, China at a range of 9.5 kilometers (5.9 miles). ww2dbase [Kasuga | CPC]

• General Viscount Samata Sakuma was named the governor-general of Taiwan. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Karl Burk joined the German Army and was given the rank Fahnenjunker. ww2dbase [Karl Burk | CPC]

• New York was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [New York | CPC]

• Harold George joined the Aviation Section of US Army Signal Corps as a cadet. ww2dbase [Harold George | CPC]

• USS R-5 was commissioned into service at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts, United States with Lieutenant Commander Eric L. Barr in command. ww2dbase [Boston Navy Yard | R-5 | Boston, Massachusetts | CPC]

15 Apr 1919 Interactive Map

• Kitakami was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Kitakami | CPC]

• Joseph Bech was appointed to Émile Reuter's cabinet as the Director-General for the Interior and Director-General for Education. ww2dbase [Joseph Bech | CPC]

• Commander Choji Inoue was named the chief equipping officer of Naka. ww2dbase [Naka | CPC]
• Prince Hiroyasu was named a member to the Supreme War Council. ww2dbase [Hiroyasu | CPC]
• Masafumi Arima was assigned to Hiei. ww2dbase [Masafumi Arima | CPC]

• Vice Admiral Taro Inutsuka was named the commanding officer of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea. ww2dbase [Chinkai Guard District | Chinkai, Gyeongsangnam | CPC]

• Retired German Colonel Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen signed a contract to establish a fighter pilot school in Russia. ww2dbase [Treaty of Rapallo | CPC]

15 Apr 1925 Interactive Map

• USS S-25 departed San Diego, California, United States. ww2dbase [S-25/Jastrzab | San Diego, California | CPC]

• The Manchukuoan Armed Forces Act was passed, establishing an army, a navy, and a 200-strong Imperial Guard unit for the Japanese-sponsored puppet state. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Franklin Roosevelt exercised a new power given to his office by the United States Congress and force-purchased gold from gold hoarders. This was among his first steps in removing the US currency from the gold standard and to impose tighter control over the US currency. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | CPC]

• USS Ranger arrived at San Diego, California. ww2dbase [Ranger | San Diego, California | DS]

15 Apr 1935 Interactive Map

• Viktor Abakumov was assigned to the 4th Department of the GUGB of the Soviet NKVD. ww2dbase [Viktor Abakumov | CPC]

• Emden arrived at Algeciras, Spain. ww2dbase [Emden | Algeciras, Andalusia | CPC]

• Vinaroz, a village about half-way between Valencia and Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, was captured by Spanish Nationalist forces, thus cutting Republican Spain in half. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]

• Cruiser St. Louis was launched at Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News, Virginia. ww2dbase [Newport News Shipbuilding | St. Louis | Newport News, Virginia | DS]

15 Apr 1938 Interactive Map

• The British and French responded negatively to the Soviet offer of alliance to protect Poland and Romania, noting that they would only engage in an alliance only for the protection of the three nations in question. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Emden ended her role as a fishery protection ship in the North Atlantic. ww2dbase [Emden | CPC]

• Hermann Göring arrived in Rome, Italy to meet with Benito Mussolini. ww2dbase [Hermann Göring | Rome | CPC]

• Minoru Ota was made the executive officer of Kure Sailor Corps. ww2dbase [Minoru Ota | CPC]

• USS S-26 entered a period of partial duty while at New London, Connecticut, United States. ww2dbase [S-26 | New London, Connecticut | CPC]

• British unemployment figure decreased to 973,000, which was the lowest figure since 1920. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British destroyers Fearless and Brazen sank German submarine U-49 with depth charges near Narvik, killing 1. 41 Germans were taken prisoner. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The British 15th Brigade boarded transports in France and were sent for Norway. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Vidkun Quisling was removed from power in Norway. ww2dbase [Vidkun Quisling | CPC]

• Edmund Herring departed Australia for Palestine as a part of Major General Iven Mackay's headquarters. ww2dbase [Edmund Herring | CPC]

• Walter Grabmann was named the commanding officer of the Zerstörergeschwader 76 wing. ww2dbase [Walter Grabmann | CPC]

• Admiral Nishizo Tsukahara was named the commanding officer of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea. ww2dbase [Chinkai Guard District | Chinkai, Gyeongsangnam | CPC]

• British troops landed in the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway in response to German invasion; their original objective was to secure the rail line to Swedish iron ore fields. Also in northern Norway, instead of making a landing directly at Narvik against an unknown number of German defenders, British Major General Pierse Mackesy decided to land his troops north of the city at an undefended location; due to the large amounts of snow on the ground, his troops would have to wait before making a major advance at Narvik. Further south, the British 146th Territorial Brigade landed at Namsos and was immediately ordered to march south toward Trondheim, which saw attacks by RAF Blenheim bombers based in the United Kingdom; it was the first time the Bomber Command sent aircraft based in the UK against targets overseas. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | CPC]

• Italian "Barfile" naval infantry battalion landed on Krk (Italian: Veglia), Croatia, Yugoslavia. ww2dbase [Krk, Croatia | CPC]

15 Apr 1940 Interactive Map

• Yugoslavian 2nd Army surrendered Sarajevo to the Germans, effectively ending the country's official resistance; many fighters, however, fled into the mountains and would later fight as guerrillas. In Greece, German aircraft bombed the British RAF airfield at Larisa at dawn, destroying 10 Blenheim aircraft on the ground. Troops of Leibstandarte SS Regiment took the road to Greneva, isolating the Greek Epirus Army which was attempting to move from Albania back into Greece. This move also exposed the flank of the Allied Mount Olympus Line; in response, British General Wilson ordered the Mount Olympus Line abandoned at 1000 hours, with Australian and New Zealand troops acting as rear guards for several more days as the remaining Allies fell back to the Thermopylae Line. As the situation grew dire, British Admiral Cunningham begins began considering a general evacuation from Greece. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | TH]
• Starting at 2300 hours, a heavy German air raid by 200 Luftwaffe bombers attacked Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The attack would last until 0500 hours on the next day. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | TH]
• Franklin Roosevelt approved the formation of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) of combat pilots in China. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | CPC]
• Italian submarine Tazzoli sank British ship Aurillac 500 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal, killing 1. ww2dbase [CPC]
• 1,000 Italian troops attacked Tobruk, Libya at 1730 hours, overrunning Australian defensive lines, but they were driven back at 1815 hours the arrival of an Australian reserve company and heavy artillery. 250 Italians were killed and 113 were captured in this failed attack. ww2dbase [Siege of Tobruk | CPC]
• Flying in a Bf 109 fighter en route to Theo Osterkamp's birthday party, Adolf Galland took a detour toward Britain in search of targets. After shooting down one Spitfire fighter, he was shot down by another Spitfire. He was rescued from the water a few hours later. ww2dbase [Adolf Galland | CPC]

• Alessandro Malaspina departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 0805 hours and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1650 hours. ww2dbase [Alessandro Malaspina | Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine | CPC]
• Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0738 hours for exercises and returned at 1115 hours. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes | CPC]

• HMS Edinburgh completed escort duties with Allied convoy SL.69 and arrived at Scapa Flow, Scotland, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Scapa Flow | Edinburgh | Scapa Flow, Scotland | CPC]
• British destroyer HMS Achates departed Greenock, Scotland, United Kingdom at 0840 hours for Scapa Flow to the north, but was rerouted to Loch Alsh at 1400 hours. ww2dbase [Greenock, Scotland | CPC]

15 Apr 1941 Interactive Map

• German headquarters at Arras, France was attacked by members of the French Resistance. ww2dbase [The French Resistance | TH]
• Orde Wingate returned to Maymyo, Burma from China. ww2dbase [Orde Wingate | CPC]
• Wickes was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Wickes | CPC]
• Alexander, Slim, and Stilwell met at Maymyo, Burma. ww2dbase [William Slim | CPC]
• USS Lexington was assigned to US Navy Task Force 11. ww2dbase [Lexington (Lexington-class) | CPC]
• Allied convoy PQ-14, how down to 6 cargo ships and 2 tankers, was spotted by a German BV 138 flying boat. Later in the day, Fw 200 Condor aircraft relieved the BV 138 aircraft in keeping track of this convoy. They called in several air attacks, but none of them succeeded in sinking any ships. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | CPC]

• German submarine U-575 sank US freighter Robin Hood 250 kilometers east of New Jersey, United States at 0338 hours, killing 14 of 38 aboard. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]

• USS S-44 arrived at Brisbane, Australia. ww2dbase [S-44 | Brisbane, Queensland | CPC]
• USS S-43 arrived at Brisbane, Austalia. ww2dbase [S-43 | Brisbane, Queensland | CPC]

• As Japanese troops began to push through the British Minhia-Taungdwingyi-Pyinmana defensive line along the Irrawaddy River in Burma and approached the oil-producing region of Yenangyaung, William Slim gave the order to destroy 1,000,000 gallons of crude oil to prevent Japanese capture while the British 7th Armoured Division pushed through Japanese road blocks to prepare men on the line to fall back. ww2dbase [Invasion of Burma | CPC]

• 152 British bombers (111 Wellington, 19 Hampden, 15 Stirling, and 7 Manchester) attacked Dortmund, Germany for a second night in a row, destroying 1 home and killing 1 civilian. 4 bombers were lost on this attack. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Dortmund, Westfalen-Süd | CPC]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station commissioned ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Nachi departed Akkeshi Bay, Hokkaido, Japan. ww2dbase [Nachi | Akkeshi Bay, Hokkaido | CPC]
• Yugure departed Sasebo, Japan at 1500 hours. ww2dbase [Yugure | Sasebo, Nagasaki | CPC]

• King George awarded Malta the George Cross for heroism and devotion. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | TH]

• A tunnel near the James and Morrison coastal gun batteries at Corregidor island, Philippine Islands collapsed from Japanese artillery bombardment, killing 70. To the north, the Japanese continued to transfer US and Filipino prisoners of war from Balanga to Orani and Lubao on the Bataan Peninsula, while the first arrivals at Orani and Lubao were now being marched north for San Fernando; en route, the prisoners continued to die from heat, dehydration, disease, and murders. At the southern island of Mindanao, motor torpedo boat PT-41 was scuttled by her own crew to prevent capture. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | CPC]

• USS Marblehead departed Simon's Town, South Africa. ww2dbase [Marblehead | Simon's Town | CPC]

• USS Impulse (Lieutenant Commander M. Lyons) departed Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom for New York, United States. ww2dbase [Londonberry, Northern Ireland | AC]
• German bombers attacked Middlesbrough in northeastern England, United Kingdom after dark, lasting until the next date. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | Middlesborough, England | CPC]

• Henry Kaiser’s Vancouver Shipyard laid down its first keel. The ship would go on to become the Liberty-ship George Vancouver. ww2dbase [Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard | Henry Kaiser | Liberty-class | Vancouver, Washington | DS]

15 Apr 1942 Interactive Map

• Major General Hastings Ismay reported to Prime Minister Winston Churchill on German experiments with rockets. ww2dbase [Hastings Ismay | CPC]
• RAF bombers conducted a raid on La Spezia, Italy. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS Tunny set sail for Saipan, Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Tunny | CPC]
• Baltimore was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Baltimore | CPC]
• The American airfield on Banika Island of Russell Islands, Solomon Islands became operational. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Flight Lieutenant Mathews and Flying Officer H. D. Johnson (No. 91 Squadron RAF based at Hawkinge), acting as spotters to a USAAC sweep over Europe, came across a dinghy in the English Channel with two Thunderbolt aircraft circling around above. An Air-Sea-Rescue Walrus was duly scrambled which picked up Lieutenant Colonel Chesley G. Peterson, the most decorated officer in the USAAC. ww2dbase [English Channel | AC]

• William Halsey traveled to Brisbane, Australia aboard a PB2Y Coronado aircraft. ww2dbase [William Halsey | Brisbane, Queensland | CPC]

• 7th Fighter Squadron and 8th Fighter Squadron (both flying P-40 aircraft) of USAAF 49th Fighter Group were transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. ww2dbase [Dobodura Airfield | Dobodura | CPC]

• USS S-28 departed Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada for the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States for overhaul. ww2dbase [S-28 | Esquimalt, British Columbia | CPC]

• Yugure arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands at 1500 hours and began receiving repairs. ww2dbase [Yugure | Truk | CPC]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) departed. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• USS Flying Fish damaged a Japanese freighter off Japan, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired; the Japanese ship beached to prevent sinking. ww2dbase [Flying Fish | CPC]

• Viktor Abakumov was summoned to meet with Joseph Stalin. ww2dbase [Viktor Abakumov | CPC]

• US 17th Airborne Division was activated at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, United States under the command of the newly-promoted Major General William M. Miley. ww2dbase [Camp Mackall, North Carolina | AC]
• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) was commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia, United States, Capt. Joseph J. "Jocko" Clark in command. ww2dbase [Norfolk Navy Yard | J. J. Clark | Yorktown (Essex-class) | Norfolk, Virginia | DS]
• USS S-38 departed San Diego, California, United States. ww2dbase [S-38 | San Diego, California | CPC]

15 Apr 1943 Interactive Map

• Marshal Nikolai F. Vatutin died in hospital from wounds suffered when his car was ambushed by Ukrainian guerrillas on 28 Feb 1944. ww2dbase [Nikolai Vatutin | AC]
• Fleet aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CV-19) was commissioned with Captain Fred C. Dickey in command. ww2dbase [Hancock | AC]
• Hans Speidel became Erwin Rommel's chief of staff. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The support units of United States Marine Corps' I Marine Amphibious Corps (IMAC) were transferred to the V Amphibious Corps Administrative Command, and the tactical units are redesignated as III Amphibious Corps (IIIAC) with the mission of seizing Guam, Mariana Islands in Jul 1944. ww2dbase [AC]

• Patrol Boat No. 102 arrived at Tolitoli, Celebes, Dutch East Indies at 0835 hours. ww2dbase [Stewart | Tolitoli, Celebes | CPC]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of 116th Construction Battalion (116th SeaBees) arrived on board. Part of 72nd Construction Battalion (72nd SeaBees) departed. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• Japanese authorities in Hong Kong completed the liquidation of Generale Belgian Bank, Hong Kong branch of Central Bank of the Republic of China, E.D. Sassoon Banking & Co., Agricultural and Industrial Bank of China, and China Guohuo Bank. ww2dbase [CPC]

• The Indian 44th Airborne Division was established at Secunderabad, India under the command of Major General Ernest Down. ww2dbase [Secunderabad | AC]

• The German defensive Gustav Line in Italy began to fall. ww2dbase [Battle of Monte Cassino | CPC]

• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched a raid on Chichi Jima and Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. ww2dbase [Mariana Islands Campaign and the Great Turkey Shoot | Yorktown (Essex-class) | Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands | DS]
• The keel of landing ship. No. 107 was laid down by Osaka Zosen. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• Kamoi was reclassified as an oiler after her seaplane hanlding equipment were removed at Singapore. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Singapore | CPC]

15 Apr 1944 Interactive Map

• Allied troops captured Zutphen, Leeuwarden, and Zoutkamp in the Netherlands. ww2dbase [CPC]
• US First Army captured Leuna and Merseburg, Germany. ww2dbase [TH]
• In Czechoslovakia, Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front assaulted toward the Mührisch-Ostrau industrial region of Moravia, while Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front moved towards Brno. ww2dbase [TH]
• USAAF bombers dropped napalm bombs on the German stronghold in Royan, France. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German ships evacuated 20,000 people from East Prussia, Germany. ww2dbase [East Prussian Offensive | CPC]
• USS Charr completed minelaying off Pulo Island, Vietnam. ww2dbase [Charr | CPC]
• Troops of F Company, 2nd Battalion, 405th Regiment, US 102nd Infantry Division discovered the aftermath of the massacre committed by German SS and Luftwaffe troops two days prior near Gardelegen, Saxony, Germany. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Operation Kikusui No. 3 was launched off Okinawa, Japan, participated by about 120 Japanese Navy and 45 Japanese Army special attack and escorting aircraft. ww2dbase [Okinawa Campaign | CPC]
• About 200 aircraft of the US 14th Air Force attacked Japanese targets across a large area of eastern China, targeting bridges, river traffic, railroads, gun positions, warehouses, and troop concentrations. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Field Marshal Model, Commander-in-Chief of German Army Group B, ordered all young soldiers and old soldiers to be discharged from the army. As civilians they were to make their own way home. ww2dbase [Walter Model | AC]
• Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front advanced toward Graz in occupied Austria. ww2dbase [Battle of Vienna | CPC]
• USS Iowa arrived at Okinawa, Japan. ww2dbase [Iowa | CPC]
• Pierre Barjot was promoted to the rank of counter admiral. ww2dbase [Pierre Barjot | CPC]
• Cruiser USS Phoenix with destroyers USS Nicholas and USS O’Bannon conducted a pre-invasion bombardment of Carabao Island at the entrance to Manila Bay, Philippines. ww2dbase [Philippines Campaign, Phase 2 | Phoenix | Nicholas | DS]

• King Christian X secured the release of 423 Danish Jews from Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in occupied Czechoslovakia. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Theresienstadt Concentration Camp | Christian X | Terezín, Cechy | CPC]

• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against shore batteries at the mouth of the Garenne River in Royan, France in advance of French troops landing there. ww2dbase [Bombing of Cities in France and Low Countries | RAF Thurleigh | Royan | DS]

• French First Army captured Kehl and Offenburg, Germany. On the same day, Dwight Eisenhower ordered US 3rd Army under George Patton and US 6th Army Group under Jacob Devers to make a thrust toward Austria. ww2dbase [Southern Germany Campaign | TH, CPC]
• British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany, which had about 40,000 prisoners at the time. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp | Bergen, Ost-Hannover | CPC]
• Eva Braun arrived in Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Eva Braun | Berlin | CPC]
• Oberstleutnant Gerhard Prawitt, the commandant of the Oflag IV-C prisoner of war camp at Colditz Castle in Germany, received the order to transfer the prisoners in his charge toward the east. As he moved to carry out the order, the prisoners refused to cooperate as they knew the European War was coming to an end. By the evening, as US 9th Armored Division neared Colditz, SS guards began to flee without orders. ww2dbase [Colditz Castle | Colditz, Sachsen | CPC]
• Hermann Florstedt, former Majdanek Concentration Camp commandant, was executed at Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany by a SS firing squad. He had been found guilty for having embezzled wealth left behind by murdered Jews. ww2dbase [Buchenwald Concentration Camp | Hermann Florstedt | Weimar | CPC]
• Oberleutnant zur See Heinrich Niemeyer was named the commanding officer of U-1233, relieving Hans-Joachim Kuhn. ww2dbase [U-1233 | CPC]

• USS Capitaine arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Capitaine | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• US II Corps advanced toward Bologna, Italy in two columns along Highway 64 and Highway 65. British troops launched another attack across the Fossa Marina canal east of Argenta, Italy. ww2dbase [Operation Grapeshot and Operation Roast | Emilia-Romagna | CPC]

• American carrier aircraft struck Japanese airfields in southern Kyushu, Japan while 300 US Army B-29 bombers conducted raids on Kawasaki and Tokyo. ww2dbase [Preparations for Invasion of Japan | CPC]
• Harold Gonsalves was killed on Okinawa, Japan. ww2dbase [Harold Gonsalves | Okinawa | CPC]

• Rear Admiral Haruo Katsuta was named the chief of staff of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea. ww2dbase [Chinkai Guard District | Chinkai, Gyeongsangnam | CPC]

• USS Ancon arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Ancon | Saipan | CPC]

• USS Shamrock Bay launched four FM-2 Wildcat fighters, which shot down six Japanese aircraft 50 miles north of Okinawa, Japan; some of the six aircraft might have been special attack aircraft aiming for destroyer USS Laffey. ww2dbase [Shamrock Bay | CPC]

• Destroyer USS Shaw entered Auxiliary Repair Dock ARD-2 for underwater inspection and removal of port propeller. ww2dbase [Shaw | San Pedro Bay, Leyte | DS]

• At a conference in Moscow, Russia to discuss the war in the Far East, Joseph Stalin told Ambassador Averell Harriman that the forthcoming Soviet offensive will be aimed at Dresden, not Berlin, as he had already told Dwight Eisenhower. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | Moscow | AC]

• US B-24 bombers based in the Philippine Islands struck Shinchiku Airfield (now Hsinchu), Taiwan. ww2dbase [Shinchiku Airfield | Shinchiku | CPC]

• USS Nashville departed Hunters Point, San Francisco, California, United States for US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Nashville | San Francisco, California | CPC]

15 Apr 1945 Interactive Map

• Haroki Isayama was arrested in Taiwan. ww2dbase [Haruki Isayama | CPC]

• USS Sea Cat arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul. ww2dbase [Mare Island Navy Yard | Sea Cat | Vallejo, California | CPC]
• USS Maryland arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and was placed in an inactive status. ww2dbase [Puget Sound Navy Yard | Maryland | Bremerton, Washington | DS]

15 Apr 1946 Interactive Map

• Jozef Tiso was found guilty of German collaboration and was sentenced to death. ww2dbase [Jozef Tiso | CPC]

15 Apr 1953 Interactive Map

• USS Preston arrived at Long Beach, California, United States. ww2dbase [Preston (Fletcher-class) | Long Beach, California | CPC]

• USS Nicholas arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii after a tour in Vietnam. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]

• At Westwego, Louisiana, the Knox-class frigate Ainsworth was christened by Vice-Admiral Walden Ainsworth’s widow, Katherine Gardner Ainsworth, one year before her death. ww2dbase [Walden Ainsworth | DS]

• John Fox was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. ww2dbase [John Fox | CPC]