This day in military history..

May 2
1866 Battle of Callao
1885 Battle of Cut Knife, Canada
1940 Norwiegian Minesweepers Djerv & Dristig scuttled to prevent capture
1941 Anglo-Iraqi War begins
1942 Seaplane Tender Mizuho sunk by USS Drum
1945 Russians announce fall of Berlin. Cruiser Adm. Hipper & 17 U-Boats scuttled.
1964 Escort carrier USS Card sunk @ Saigon, probable V.C. bomb
1982 HMS Conqueror sinks Cruiser Gen. Belgrano
 
Last edited:
May 3
1808 Russians capture Sweden's Sveaborg Fortress
1815 Battle of Tolentino ends
1861 USS Surprise captures Confederate Privateer Savannah
1862 Siege of Yorktown ends
1898 US Marines land @ Cavite
1940 French Destroyer Bison sunk by German aircraft, & Destroyer HMS Afridi sunk by Stukas, both off Norway
1942 Japanese invade Tulagi
1945 U-57 & 58 scuttled
1982 British Lynx helicopters sink Arg. patrol boat Alferez
 
Last edited:
May 4
1471 Battle of Tewksbury
1799 Siege of Serigapatam ends
1862 Union troops occupy Yorktown
1863 Battle of Chancellorsville ends. federal fleet bombards Grand Gulf, Miss., USS Albatross damaged
1910 Royal canadian Navy est.
1912 Italians occupy Rhodes
1940 Polish destroyer Grom sunk off Norway
1942 Battle of the Coral Sea begins. Aux. gunboat Kongosan Maru sunk off Japan by USS Trout
1945 Armored Ship Lutzow had been sunk by the R.A.F. in April in very shallow water leaving the Main Deck 6' above the water surface. Ship used as stationary battery to bombard Soviet troops, but on May 4th she runs out of 11" shells & is destroyed by the crew.
1982 HMS Sheffield damaged by Exocet, sinks May 10
 
May 5
1862 "Cinco de Mayo" Battle of Puebla, Mexico, French invasion repulsed. Battle of Ft. Magruder, Va.
1864 Battle of The Wilderness begins. US Navy ships intercept CSS Albemarle escorting 2 steamers on the Roanoke, steamer Bombshell is captured, USS Sassacus has her bow crushed attempting to ram Albemarle
1936 Italians occupy Adis Ababa
1940 Battle of Vinjesvingen. Battle of the Hegra Fortress ends. Norwiegen Torpedo boat Sild scuttled to prevent capture
1942 Battle of Madagascar begins, Corvette HMS Auricula sunk, Vichy French Aux Crusier Bouganville & sub Le Heros sunk. Battle of the Coral Sea: IJN Destroyer Kikuzaki sunk @ Tulagi by aerial torpedos
1944 USS Fechteler sunk by U-967
1945 Germans surrender in Denmark & The Netherlands. U-17 scuttled
 
May 6
1527 Spanish & Germans sack Rome
1536 Siege of Cuzco begins, ends March 1537
1757 Battle of Prague
1801 HMS Speedy 18 captures Spanish Frigate El Gumo 32
1811 Battle of Fuentes de Onoro ends
1814 R.N. squadron on Lake Ontario captures USS Growler & a fort
1935 1st flight P-35
1941 1st flight P-47. HMS Camito sunk by U-97
1942 Corregidor surrenders, Gunboats USS Oahu & Luzon & Minesweeper USS Quail scuttled to prevent capture.
1944 U-66 & U-473 sunk
1945 Red Army begins Prague Offensive. U-853 & U-881 sunk
 
May 7
1429 Siege of Orleans ends
1763 Pontiac attacks Ft. Detroit
1779 USS Providence captures HMS Diligent(not so diligent?)
1862 Battle of Elthan's Landing
1864 Battle of The Wilderness ends. Battle of Dalton, Ga. Ironclad CSS Raleigh chases off the blockade squadron & then wrecks returning to Wilmington
1915 U-20 sinks Lusitania
1920 Poles capture Kiev
1941 destroyer HMS Hurricane sunk @ Liverpool. Minesweeper HMS Stoke sunk @ Tobruk
1942 Battle of the Coral Sea: USS Sims sunk, USS Neosho damaged, later sunk by USS Henlay May 11. IJN Shoho sunk. 1st fight where the fleets wasn't in visual contact
1944 HMCS Valleyfield sunk by U-548
1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends
 
May 8
1781 Siege of Pensacola ends. HMS Port Royal captured & HMS Mentor destroyed to prevent capture.
1800 USS Constitution captures a French Privateer & its Prize "Nymph"
1846 Battle of Palo Alto
1862 Battle of McDowell
1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse begins
1911 US Navy orders its 1st airplane, a Curtiss A-1
1940 Torpedo boat Skrei scuttled to prevent capture
1941 German Raider Pinguin sunk by HMS Cornwall north of the Seychelles
1942 Cocos Island Mutiny. Battle of the Coral Sea ends & USS Lexington is sunk. Battle of Madagascar: Vichy French sub Monge sunk by HMS Active & Punte
1943 IJN destroyer Kagero sunk off Rendova, Destroyers Kuroshio & Oyashio sunk off Kolombangara
1972 US aircraft mine Haiphong harbor
 
May 9
1763 Siege of Ft. Detroit begins
1800 USS Constitution captures American ship Sally for smuggling
1864 naval Battle of Heligoland
1915 2nd Battle of Artois
1940 U-9 sinks French sub Doris. German Minesweeper M-134 sunk off Norway
1941 Minesweeper HMS Queenworth sunk. U-110 is captured along with her Enigma Machine
1942 USS Wasp launched 47 Spitfires to reinforce Malta
1945 D-E USS Oberrender damaged beyond repair
1982 Arg. Intel trawler straffed by Harriers & sunk by Royal Marine boarding party
1992 Armenians capture Shusha
 
May 11
1690 British capture Port Royal, Arcadia
1745 Battle of Fontenoy
1862 Ironclad CSS Virginia destroyed to prevent capture
1864 Battle of Yellow Tavern, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart killed
1942 R.N. trawler Bedforshire sunk by U-588 off Cape Lookout, N.C. Destroyers HMS Jackal damaged & HMS Kipling sunk north of Mersa Motruh. Destroyer HMS Lively sunk northeast of Tobruk
1943 US troops invade Attu Island
1944 CAM equipped Empire Heath sunk by U-129
1945 USS Bunker Hill severly damaged by Kamakaze
1982 HMS Alacrity sinks supply ship Isla de Estados
 
May 12
1264 Battle of Lewes
1780 british capture Charlestown(Charleston) S.C. along with the Continental Navy Frigates USS Boston & Providence & Sloop Ranger. Frigate USS Queen of France destroyed to prevent capture
1797 Napoleon captures Venice 1862 Union troops occupy Baton Rouge
1863 Battle of Raymond, Miss
1864 Battle of the Bloody Angle
1865 Battle of Palmito Ranch begins
1885 Battle of Batoche, Canada ends
1940 Dutch gunboat Friso sunk by airstrike off Holland. Naval Trawlers HMCS Ypres & Gate Vessel #1 are rammed & sunk by HMS Revenge @ Halifax. Norwiegan troopship Nordnorge sunk by R.N.
1942 2nd Battle of Karkov begins. IJN Salvage ship Shoei Maru sunk off Cape St. George, P.N.G. by USS S-44.
1943 U-89 sunk by aircraft
1944 Soviet Minesweeper SKA-0376 sunk in Black Sea by U-24
1945 USS Swordfish lost off Okinawa. South African Minesweeper Treen sunk in the Mediterranian
1949 Berlin Blockade ends
1975 Mayaguez Incident begins
1982 HMS Glasgow damaged by bomb that was a dud
1986 USS David R. Ray deters Iranian attempt to board a US mechant ship
 
May 13
1568 Battle of Langside
1804 Tripoli recaptures Derne
1864 battle of the Bloody angle ends
1865 Battle of Palmito Ranch ends, last battle of the Civil war is a CS victory
1912 Royal Flying Corp. est
1940 Germany begins the western offensive, invading the Netherlands & Belgium. Dutch Torpedo Boat Chritiaan Cornielis scuttled after severe battle damage. Minesweeper M-2 sunk by mine off Ijmuiden, M-1, 3 & 4 scuttled to prevent capture. French Minesweeper sunk by mine @ Cape Guardia, Algeria
1941 HMS Salopian sunk by U-98
1943 IJN sub I-9 sunk by USS Frazier off Kiska, Alaska. German & Italian forces in North Africa surrender
1944 IJN sub RO-501 sunk by USS Francis M. Robinson off the Azores
 
May 14
1264 Battle of Lewes
1509 battle of Agnadello
1747 1st Battle of Cape Finistere
1863 Union troops occupy Jackson, Miss.
1865 Battle of Spotsylvania courthouse ends
1940 1st flight Soviet Yer-2 bomber. The Netherlands surrender. Minesweepers Abraham VanDerHult & Pieter Florisz, Coastal Battleship Ijmuiden, gunboat Brinio, Destroyer Gerard Callenburgh, Sloop Johan Mauritis Van Nassau, Subs 0-8,11,12, & 25, Torpedo boat Z3 all scuttled.
1941 HMS Minicoy sunk by mine. HMNZS Minesweeper Puriri sunk by mine off Auckland
1943 Australian Hospital Ship Centuar sunk by IJN sub, probably I-177
1944 IJN Destroyer Inazuma sunk by USS Bonefish in the Celebes Sea
1945 Battle of the Malacca Strait. IJN Cruiser Haguro sunk by R.N.
 
May 15
1525 Battle of Frankenhauser
1797 Spithead Mutiny ends
1862 Battle of Ft. Darling
1849 The Two Sicilies capture Palermo
1864 Battle of New Market. Battle of Resaca ends
1904 Siege of Port Arthur: IJN Battleships Hatsuse & Yashima sink in Russian minefield
1919 Greeks invade Izmir
1940 French Minesweepers Duquesne II & Henre Guegan sunk by mines @ the mouth of the Scheldt. Dutch Minelayer Hydra damaged by artillery & beached/scuttled, Destroyer Tjerk Hiddes scuttled. HMS Valentine damaged by Ju-88s, beached, destroyed by HMS Whitley.
1941 Greek Destroyer Leon sunk by German aircraft in Souda Bay
1942 German Flackship V-2002 sunk in North Sea by RAF. HMS Trinidad damaged by Ju-88s off Norway, scuttled by HMS Matchless
1943 IJN sub I-176 sunk off Buka, The Solomons by US Destroyers
1948 Palestine, Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq & Saudi Arabia invade Israel
1969 Sub USS Guitarro sinks @ pierside while under construction, raised & repaired
 
May 16
1811 Battle of Albuera. Little Belt Affair: USS President engages & shoots up HMS Little Belt.
1820 USS President 1st US warship to visit China
1822 Turks capture Souli
1863 Battle of Champion's Hill, miss.
1864 battle of Drewry's Bluff
1919 US Navy NC-4 begins 1st transAtlantic flight
1943 U-182 sunk by USS MacKenzie
1944 U-166 damaged by 3 US Destroyers off Oran
 
May 19
1445 1st Battle of Olmedo
1643 Battle of Rocroi
1652 The 1st Anglo-Dutch War starts when the English fleet fires on the Dutch fleet off Dover
1692 naval Battle of Barfluer
1776 A Continental garrison @ The Cedars, Canada surrender
1835 HMS Challenger is wrecked @ Conception, Chile
1863 Grant assaults Vicksburg but is repelled with heavy losses.
1864 last fighting in the Spotsylavia Courthouse area
1865 Captain of the CSS Stonewall sells the ship to the Captain-General of Cuba
1882 Commodore Shufledt arrives in Korea on USS Swatara to negotiate Korea's 1st Treaty with a Western country
1940 KM Albion sunk by Norwiegan ships @ Sogneford. Norwiegian Depot ship Belgia scuttled by Allies @ Harstad. French Minesweeper Augustin Normand sunk by bombing off Le Harve. Minelayer HMS Princess Victoria sunk @ mouth of the Humber by a mine. Destroyer HMS Whitley bombed, beached, then destroyed by HMS Keith @ Ostend, Belgium
1941 Minesweeper HMS City of Rochester sunk by bombing @ Rochester
1944 U-960 sunk in the Med by USS Ludlow & Niblack
 
Last edited:
May 20
685 Battle of Dun Nechtain
1217 Battle of Lincoln
1521 Battle of Pamplona
1631 Holy Roman Empire captures Magdeburg, massacres inhabitants
1756 naval Battle of Minorca
1813 Battle of Bautzen begins.
1845 Franklin Expedition leaves for the Arctic, HMS Erebus, HMS Terror & all 134 hands are lost.
1845 3 War Junks captured @ DaNang a few days earlier by USS Constitution attempt to escape(how?), but are recaptured.
1863 2nd Siege of Vicksburg begins. US Navy squadron destroys the CS Yazoo City Navy Yard & 3 warships under construction there.
1864 Battle of Ware Bottom Church
1940 French Minesweeper Jaques Coeur bombed & sunk @ Dunkerque. Minesweeper HMS Rifness bombed & sunk @ Ostend.
1941 Battle of Crete begins. R.N. Trawler Kos XXIII damaged beyond repair & Minesweeper HMS Widnes beached as a toatal loss, both @ Suda Bay. Italian destroyer Curatone sunk by mine in Gulf of Athens.
1944 IJN Destroyer Asanagi sunk by USS Pollack
1945 U-963 scuttled off Portugal
1969 Battle of Hamburger Hill ends
1973 R.N. sends ships to protect trawlers in a dispute with Iceland over fishing rights
 
Last edited:
May 21
1809 Battle of Asperling-Esslins
1813 Battle of Bautzen ends
1879 naval Battle of Iquique
1940 R.N. trawler Cape Passaro bombed/sunk off Dunkerque. French Minesweeper Chritiane Cecile scuttled @ Bologne, Destroyer Adroit, Minesweepers Notre Dame de Lorette, Rien Sans Peine, St. Benoit, St. Joachim bombed/sunk off Dunkerque
1941 Italian destroyer Mirabello sunk by mine off Cephalonia. Destroyer HMS Juno sunk by Italian aircraft s.e. of Crete
1943 Italian sub Gorgo sunk off Oran.
1944 @ Pearl Harbor a muntions loading accident onboard LST 353 destroys 6 LSTs, 3 LCTs, & 17 Amtracs, killing 163 & wounding 396
 
Last edited:
May 22
853 Byzantine fleet sacks Damietta
1455 1st Battle of St. Albans
1809 Battle of Aspern-Essling ends
1863 Union assault on Vicksburg fails. Siege of Port Hudson begins
1864 Red River Campaign ends
1941 HMS Fiji sunk by Ju-88s & HMS Glouchester & Greyhound sunk by JU-87s off Crete. Dutch minelayer Nautilus sunk in collision off Saltfleet.
1943 U-569 sunk by aircraft from USS Bogue.
1968 Sub USS Scorpion sinks
1982 Arg. Coast Guard Rio Iguazu strafed & beached
 
May 23
1430 Joan of arc captured by Burgundians
1568 Battle of Heiligerlee
1706 Battle of Ramillies
1793 Battle of Famars
1862 Battle of Front Royal. Battle of Lewisburg
1864 battle of Hanover
1939 Sub USS Squalus sinks
1941 R.N. Trawler Aurora II bombed/sunk off Libya. Destroyers HMS Kashmir & Kelly sunk by JU-87s off Crete. Sub Chaser HMS Kos XXIII, damaged beyond on site repair on the 20th is scuttled @ Suda Bay. She is salvaged by the Germans & enters KM service as UJ-2104. R.N. MTBs 67, 213, 214, 216, 217, & 218 bombed/sunk @ Suda Bay
1944 IJN Destroyer Iki sunk by USS Raton north of the Tambelan Islands in the South China sea
1967 Egypt closes the Strait of Tiran
 
May 24
1667 France invades the Spanish Netherlands
1822 Battle of Pichincha
1846 US captures Monterrey
1915 Italy Declares War on Austria-Hungary
1940 Igor Sikorsky is 1st to fly a single rotor helicopter. Hospital Ship Brighton bombed/sunk off Dieppe, & Destroyer HMS Wessex bombed/sunk off Calais. French Destroyer Chacal bombed/sunk off Boulogne, Minesweeper Etoile de Nord sunk by mine off Dunkerque. Norwiegan Patrol boat Ingrid bombed/sunk @ Bodo
1941 Bismarck & Prinz Eugen sink HMS Hood
1982 Iran recaptures Khorramshar
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top