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• HMS Indomitable launched the Hurricane fighters of No. 261 Squadron for Colombo, Ceylon, then sailed for Aden. ww2dbase [Indomitable | CPC]
• USS Grenadier attacked Japanese transport Asahisan Maru 82 miles northeast of Tokyo, Japan at 1500 hours, hitting her with four torpedoes but only one detonated; Asahisan Maru was damaged but was able to return to Yokohama, Japan for repairs. ww2dbase [Grenadier | CPC]
• HMS Eagle launched 15 Spitfire fighters to reinforce Malta. ww2dbase [Eagle | CPC]
• RAAF Hudson aircraft detected Japanese transports 55 miles north of the coast of New Guinea. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 2 | CPC]

• The 2,815-ton Russian passenger-cargo vessel Ijora went missing near the Kola Inlet. It was reported to have been sunk by the German destroyer Friedrich Ihn during operations against Convoy QP-8. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Barents Sea | HM]

• German submarine U-126 sank US freighters Barbara and Cardonia between Cuba and Haiti. ww2dbase [Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns | Caribbean Sea | CPC]
• At 1759 hours the unescorted 9,755-ton South African whale factory ship Uniwaleco was hit by one of two torpedoes from German submarine U-161 (Kapitänleutnant Albrecht Achilles) in the Caribbean Sea 45 miles west of St. Vincent Passage. The ship apparently went out of control because she ran in circles and settled but did not sink. At 1814 hours, the submarine fired a coup de grâce which hit aft and caused her to sink within three minutes after breaking in two. 18 crew members were lost. The master and 32 crew members landed on St. Vincent. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | Caribbean Sea | HM]
• Toward the end of the day, at 2314 hours, German submarine U-701 (Kapitänleutnant Horst Degen) sank 349-ton Danish steam trawler Nyggjaberg from the Faroe Islands, killing all 21 aboard. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | HM]
• U-155 sank Brazilian ship Arabutan 50 kilometers off North Carolina, United States. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]

• USS Honolulu departed Melbourne, Australia bound for Nouméa, New Caledonia. ww2dbase [Honolulu | Melbourne | DS]

• £11,000,000 worth of oil installations of Burmah Oil Company in southern Burma near Rangoon were destroyed as British retreated from the city, preventing Japanese capture; this destruction would result in 20 years of High Court litigation after the war. Also destroyed were 972 unassembled Lend-Lease trucks and 5,000 tires. From Rangoon, 800 civilians departed aboard transports for Calcutta, India. The Anglo-Indian troops in the Rangoon region were held up by a Japanese roadblock at Taukkyan, which was assaulted repeatedly without success. ww2dbase [Invasion of Burma | Rangoon | TH, CPC]
• The 382-ton British merchant ship Nyounghla was scuttled at Rangoon, Burma. ww2dbase [Rangoon | HM]

• British and Indian troops on Christmas Island mistake the latest heavy naval bombardment as a precursor to an invasion and hoisted white flags to indicate surrender. The warships would depart, however, and the troops lowered the white flags and sent British flags back up poles. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Tanikaze covered battleships Kongo and Haruna while they bombarded Christmas Island. ww2dbase [Tanikaze | CPC]

• Japanese troops reached Tjilatjap, Java, Dutch East Indies during the day and captured Lembang in the evening, which overlooked Bandoeng. Dutch sailors scuttled minelayer Gouden Leeuw at Surabaya, Java to prevent capture. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Java | Java | CPC]

• A number of Go 242 glider transports arrived at Faßberg, Germany and joined German Luftwaffe III./KG 4. ww2dbase [Faßberg, Ost-Hannover | CPC]

• 150 miles southwest of Tjilatjap in Java, Dutch East Indies, the Norwegian Merchant steamer Woolgar, carrying 4,500 tons of coal and 450 tons of ammunition and explosives, was attacked by Japanese bombers. Three bombs were direct hits and lifeboats were launched. These survivors were machine-gunned and some Chinese crew were killed. A fourth bomb hit the vessel which resulted in the explosion of the TNT in the hold, which ripped the ship apart. The lifeboat with remaining crew in it was 88 days at sea before reaching the Andaman Islands where they were taken prisoner by the Japanese. ww2dbase [HM]

• Shokaku departed Yokosuka, Japan. ww2dbase [Shokaku | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• The 3rd Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy was transferred from Antelat to Benghazi in Libya for coastal defense duty. ww2dbase [Benghazi | CPC]

7 Mar 1942 Interactive Map