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• Nicholas Winton was born in Hampstead, London, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Nicholas Winton | London, England | CPC]

• Maynard Smith was born in Caro, Michigan, United States. ww2dbase [Maynard Smith | Caro, Michigan | CPC]

• The Turkish War of Independence began. ww2dbase [AC]

• Joseph Rochefort was assigned to minesweeper Cardinal based at San Pedro, California, United States as the ship's chief engineer. ww2dbase [Joseph Rochefort | San Pedro, California | CPC]

• He Yingqin crossed the Yangtze River in China during the Northern Expedition campaign. ww2dbase [He Yingqin | CPC]

• Oswald Mosley stepped down as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. ww2dbase [Oswald Mosley | CPC]

• The German pocket battleship Deutschland was launched by Deutsche Werke Kiel, Germany. ww2dbase [Deutsche Werke Kiel | Deutschland | Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein | AC]

19 May 1931 Interactive Map

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

• A military coup d'état in Bulgaria seized power and abolished political parties. King Boris III was reduced to the status of a puppet king, but within a year he would lead a successful counter coup that would overthrow the military leaders. ww2dbase [Boris III | AC]

• T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) died after being involved in a motorcycle accident six days earlier. ww2dbase [AC]

19 May 1937 Interactive Map

• Two B-10 (pilots Xu Huansheng and Tong Yanbo) and one He 111A (pilot Chen Yifan) bombers of Chinese Air Force took off from Hankou, Hubei Province, China for a leaflet mission over Kumamoto, Fukuoka, and other southern Japanese cities. The leaflets detailed atrocities commited by Japanese troops in China. This was Chinese Air Force's first mission over foreign territory. All three aircraft evaded Japanese air defenses and returned to Hankou safely. ww2dbase [Hankou, Hubei | CPC]

• Chinese troops captured Zaoyang, Hubei Province, China. ww2dbase [Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang | Zaoyang, Hubei | CPC]

• Cruiser USS St. Louis was commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia with Captain Charles Morrison in command. ww2dbase [St. Louis | Norfolk, Virginia | CPC]

19 May 1939 Interactive Map

• French Army General Maxime Weygand replaced General Maurice Gamelin as Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief; Marshal Philippe Pétain was made Deputy Prime Minister. ww2dbase [Maxime Weygand | TH]
• German General Guderian resumed his attack, capturing territories between Saint-Quentin and Péronne. His troops were now within 50 miles of the English Channel and had cut off the Allied troops in Belgium. British Expeditionary Force commander General Lord Gort issued the order to withdraw toward port cities, including Dunkirk, while Colonel de Gaulle's French 4th Armored Division made a failed attempt to attack Guderian's flank at Montcornet. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | TH]
• The British Royal Air Force had lost over half of the aircraft it had deployed to France and Beligum by this date. To retain strength for a potential invasion of Britain, the RAF began recalling remaining squadrons back home. ww2dbase [CPC]

• German submarine U-37 (Victor Oehrn) hit the unescorted 5,066-ton Swedish motor merchant Erik Frisell with one G7a torpedo in the Atlantic Ocean west of Scotland, United Kingdom at 0631 hours. The crew of 34 abandoned ship only after the submarine fired a shot across the bow and the Germans had to order them back to the ship to take the last two men off. Afterwards the ship was sunk by gunfire. She had originally been en route to Stockholm, Sweden with a cargo of animal fodder but was ordered to Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. The survivors were picked up by the British armed trawler HMS Cobbers and landed at Stornoway, Scotland, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | U-37 | CPC, HM]

• A German Heinkel bomber bombed the 263-ton SS Belgica, an ex-barque Norwegian whaler and whale processing ship that was currently being used by the British as an ammunition depot ship, in Isfjorden, Svalbard, Norway. It was thought at the time that a near miss sprang some of her plates and this caused her to sink. However it was later generally accepted that the British scuttled her to prevent capture as the wreck was found to be relatively unharmed and that next to her was a barge, intact with scuttling charges placed in her bilges. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | Svalbard | HM]

• The 2,197-ton HMS Princess Victoria, an old steam ferry requisitioned by the British Admiralty for use as an auxiliary-minelayer, part of the Humber Force, struck a mine at the River Humber entrance on the east coast of England, United Kingdom and sank quickly taking over 30 of her crew with her. She was equipped with an outfit of up to 244 mines, one single 10.16-centimeter QF (4-inch Quick-Firing) gun and two single 5.44-kilogram (12-pounder) anti-aircraft guns. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | England | HM]

19 May 1940 Interactive Map

• Iraqis surrender the town of Fallujah after it was subjected to aerial and artillery bombardment by the British; 300 Iraqi troops were taken prisoner. On the same day, German bombers attacked RAF Habbaniya in Iraq. ww2dbase [Campaigns in the Middle East | CPC]
• German aircraft attacked British airfields on Crete, Greece. To prevent destruction, the British RAF evacuated all aircraft from Crete to Egypt. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | TH]
• Vichy France announced the repatriation of 100,000 French prisoners of war. ww2dbase [TH]
• Heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen made rendezvous with battleship Bismarck off Rügen Island at 1200 hours. ww2dbase [Prinz Eugen | CPC]
• German submarine U-96 sank British ship Empire Ridge 50 miles northwest of Ireland at 0324 hours; 31 were killed, 2 survived and rescued by destroyer HMS Vanquisher. ww2dbase [CPC]
• "Guidelines for the behaviour of the troops in Russia" demanded that German troops use "ruthless and energetic action against Bolshevik agitators, guerrillas, saboteurs (and) Jews" and approved the complete liquidation of any "active or passive resistance". ww2dbase [AC]

• Alessandro Malaspina sighted an aircraft in the Atlantic Ocean at 1140 hours at the range of 1,000 meters and identified it as a German seaplane. At 1640 hours, another aircraft was sighted at the distance of 5,000 meters. After the distance closed to 3,000 meters, it was recognized as an Allied Sunderland aircraft, and the Italians opened machine gun fire. The aircraft was of No. 10 Squadron RAAF piloted by Flight Lieutenant J. Costello, and it would be unable to hit the submarine before she escaped. ww2dbase [Alessandro Malaspina | CPC]

• 4,777 Italian and colonial troops formally surrendered at Amba Alagi, Ethiopia at 1115 hours, parading out of the fortress with rifles on their shoulders. ww2dbase [Invasion of Italian East Africa | Amba Alagi | CPC]
• British Army Sergeant Nigel Leakey was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross after being killed in action single-handedly knocking out Italian tanks in Ethiopia. ww2dbase [AC]

• British Force H, consisting of the battlecruiser HMS Renown, the carriers HMS Ark Royal and HMS Furious, the cruiser HMS Sheffield and six destroyers proceeded to the area south of Sardinia, Italy. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | Renown | Ark Royal | Furious | CPC]

• Battleship Bismarck departed Gotenhafen (Gdynia), occupied Poland at 0200 hours and made rendezvous with heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and destroyers Z-16 Friedrich Eckoldt and Z-23 off Rügen Island at 1200 hours. At 2230 hours, destroyer Z-10 Hans Lody joined the group. ww2dbase [Deutsche Werke Gotenhafen | Bismarck | Gdynia, Pomorskie | CPC]

• Henry Kaiser’s Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard laid down its first keel in Way #8. The ship would go on to become Liberty-ship Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark fame). ww2dbase [Kaiser Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation | Henry Kaiser | Liberty-class | Portland, Oregon | DS]

19 May 1941 Interactive Map

• German submarine U-506 sank US freighter Heredia 100 kilometers southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States at 0856 hours, killing 36 of 62 aboard. Between Jamaica and Haiti at 1040 hours, U-751 sank US ship Isabela, killing 3 of 36 aboard. 200 kilometers southeast of New Orleans and 200 kilometers west of Havana, Cuba, U-103 sank US freighter Ogontz, killing 19 of 41 aboard. ww2dbase [Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico Campaigns | CPC]
• Tatsuta Maru arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Tatsuta Maru | CPC]
• Italian submarine Cappellini sank Swedish ship Tisnaren 600 miles north of Natal, Brazil at 0030 hours; all 40 aboard survived. Sweden was a neutral nation, and Tisnaren had large Swedish flags painted on both sides of the ship. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• British submarine HMS Thrasher sank Italian merchant ship Penelope 20 miles east of Bari, Italy at 1153 hours. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Leonardo da Vinci sighted a freighter in the Atlantic Ocean at 1440 hours, but would eventually lose contact. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | Leonardo da Vinci | CPC]
• Comandante Cappellini fired a bow torpedo and fired her guns at Swedish cargo ship Tisnaren of convoy OS 27 in the Atlantic Ocean at 0041 hours. The torpedo struck the cargo ship under the bridge, while the guns scored several hits on the hull. Gunfire ceased briefly to allow the Swedish crew to board lifeboats, and then the guns resumed firing at 0057 hours, sinking her shortly after. The entire crew of 42 survived and were later picked up by a freighter. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | Comandante Cappellini | CPC]

• Japanese submarine-based seaplanes conducted a scouting mission over Fiji and Zanzibar. ww2dbase [CPC]

• All but 40 of the Polish prisoners at Oflag IV-C prisoners of war camp at Colditz Castle in Germany were transferred to another camp. ww2dbase [Colditz Castle | Colditz, Sachsen | CPC]
• 198 British bombers (105 Wellington, 31 Stirling, 29 Halifax, 15 Hampden, 13 Lancaster, and 4 Manchester aircraft) attacked Mannheim, Germany; most bombs would miss the target. 11 bombers were lost on this attack. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Mannheim, Baden | CPC]
• Alexander Löhr was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report. ww2dbase [Alexander Löhr | CPC]

• US Navy intelligence officer Lieutenant Commander Jasper Holmes arrived at the idea that Midway Atoll could send out a fake message regarding the water distiller breaking down, thus the base desperately needed a supply of fresh water. Holmes' superior Joseph Rochefort gave him the permission to execute this idea in the hopes that the Japanese would pick up this message and provide Rochefort's team a clue on whether the Japanese Navy's reference of AF pointed at Midway Atoll. Rochefort's team also began to find the mention of a new code name, MI, in Japanese messages starting on this date; Rochefort quickly determined it to be the operational code name for the strike on Midway Atoll. ww2dbase [Battle of Midway and the Aleutian Islands | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• Yamato departed Kure, Japan for battle training. The new light carrier Junyo, under Captain Shizue Ishii, almost sidewiped Yamato. ww2dbase [Yamato | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]

• Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down a P-40 fighter piloted by Australian Flight Sergeant Ivan Young at 0720 hours near Fort Acroma, Libya and damaged another P-40 fighter. The kill he scored might had actually been scored by his wingman Reiner Pöttgen. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | Acroma | CPC]

• A surprise German pincer movement threatened to trap a large contingent of Soviet troops at Izium near Kharkov, Ukraine. Joseph Stalin belatedly granted permission for the troops to withdraw. ww2dbase [Second Battle of Kharkov | Izium, Kharkov | CPC]

• German bombers attacked Hull, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | Hull, England | CPC]

• USS Honolulu departed Pago Pago, Samoa bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ww2dbase [Honolulu | Pago Pago, American Samoa | DS]

19 May 1942 Interactive Map

• German propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels declared Berlin Judenfrei ("Free of Jews"). In truth, about 2,000 to 3,000 Jews were in hiding in Berlin, while another 18,000 Germans of mixed Jewish heritage were living in Berlin legally. ww2dbase [Joseph Goebbels | CPC]
• USS Gar reported sinking a Japanese sampan in daylight with her deck gun. ww2dbase [Gar | CPC]
• In the North Atlantic, as German submarines began to form an attack formation against Allied convoy SC 130, Liberator bombers of No. 120 Squadron RAF pre-emptively struck them, breaking up the attack. The convoy was met by additional 3 frigates and 1 sloop as reinforcement. ww2dbase [Black May | CPC]
• Sproston was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Sproston | CPC]
• 30 TBF Avenger aircraft of US Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 143 and US Navy Tropedo Squadron 11 mined waters off Buin, Bougainville, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | CPC]
• USS Pollack sank Japanese ship Bangkok Maru in the Gilbert Islands with three of four torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Pollack | CPC]
• Robert Johnson engaged in combat with German fighters over Europe. ww2dbase [Robert Johnson | CPC]

• Japanese 3rd Corps gathered at Chayuansi, Hunan Province, China, preparing for a planned offensive. On the Chinese side, Chen Cheng, commanding officer of the Chinese 6th War Area, returned to the region and reassumed command. ww2dbase [Battle of Exi | Chayuansi, Hunan | CPC]

• Kamoi departed Sibolga, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies; she would arrive at Padang to the south later on the same day. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Sibolga, Sumatra | CPC]

• US B-17F bomber 'Memphis Belle' became the second aircraft to complete 25 combat missions after attacking Kiel, Germany. ww2dbase [B-17 Flying Fortress | Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein | CPC]
• Fanni Luukkonen was awarded Order of the German Eagle by Adolf Hitler. ww2dbase [Fanni Luukkonen | CPC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against the shipbuilding yards at Kiel, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Kiel | DS]

• Destroyer USS Cummings arrived at Caliope Dock, Devonport Navy Yard, Auckland, New Zealand for a brief overhaul. ww2dbase [Cummings | Auckland | DS]

• USS Alabama arrived at Scapa Flow, Scotland, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Scapa Flow | Alabama | Scapa Flow, Scotland | CPC]

• Gato-class submarine USS Silversides put into Johnson Island, took aboard 11,000 gallons of fuel oil, and departed again on her way to her patrol area. ww2dbase [Silversides | Johnson Island | DS]

19 May 1943 Interactive Map

• I. von Heider was named the civilian administrator of the Channel Islands. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Frank Merrill finally arrived at Myitkyina Airfield in Burma, but would suffer another minor heart attack; rather than appointing Charles Hunter, who had spearheaded the recent successes for US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), to take Merrill's place, Stilwell chose Colonel John McCammon; McCammon had a history of going along with Stilwell's orders without any questions. Meanwhile, M Force (Lieutenant Colonel George McGee, Jr.) of US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) arrived at Namkwi, four miles northwest of Myitkyina, Burma; 25 men were ordered to be sent to Myitkyina Airfield for evacuation by air due to sickness. ww2dbase [Battle of Myitkyina | Frank Merrill | Charles Hunter | George McGee | John McCammon | Myitkyina | CPC]

• The 492nd Bomber Group of USAAF 8th Air Force were part of the 2nd Air Division's raid on Waggum airfield and its attached assembly plant in Braunschweig, Germany. Twenty-six B-24 Liberator bombers were dispatched from their base at North Pickenham in Norfolk County on England's east coast. In all 888 bombers assembled for the raid being protected by 700 fighters. As the separate wings flew into the bombing zone some had to circle to avoid missing the target with the result that many bombers had to leave the target to avoid colliding with each other. Marshalling yards of Braunschweig were targeted instead. With the scattering of the various wings the 492nd lost fighter protection and in all lost eight aircraft. The B-24J Liberator bomber "Lucky Lass" flown by Lieutenant Wyman Bridges had its tail severely damaged in collision with an enemy fighter that lost a wing and crashed. Bridges managed to get the aircraft back to base, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He and his crew completed their tour of 31 missions. The results of the raid were classed as fair. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Braunschweig, Südhannover–Braunschweig | HM]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Berlin | DS]

• An Anglo-Indian attack on Naga, India was repulsed with heavy casualties. ww2dbase [Battle of Imphal-Kohima | Nagaland | CPC]

• British troops captured the airfield at Aquino outside of Rome, Italy. ww2dbase [Battle of Anzio | Aquino, Lazio | TH]
• French Moroccan colonial troops plundered villages near Cassino, Italy. ww2dbase [Battle of Monte Cassino | Cassino, Lazio | CPC]
• "Barbarigo" naval infantry battalion of Italian Navy reported a strength of 714 men. ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS Wasp's aircraft attacked Japanese positions in support of the upcoming Mariana Islands invasion. ww2dbase [Wasp (Essex-class) | CPC]

• USS Hoe claimed damaging a Japanese ship and sinking another in the South China Sea after scoring 2 torpedoes on each of the ships; a total of 10 torpedoes were fired. ww2dbase [Hoe | South China Sea | CPC]
• USS Parche attacked a Japanese trawler in the Pacific Ocean with her deck gun, scoring no hits. ww2dbase [Parche | CPC]

• Tanikaze completed escorting a convoy from Saipan, Mariana Islands to Tawi-Tawi, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Tanikaze | Tawi-Tawi | CPC]

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Singapore. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]

• Joel Brand of the Hungarian Zionist Relief and Rescue Committee and Gestapo Agent Bandi Grosz (alias Andre Gyorgy) arrived in Istanbul, Turkey to deliver a message for the Allied powers: Germany would spare the lives of 700,000 Hungarian Jews if the Allies would provide Germany with 10,000 trucks, 2 million bars of soap, 800 tons of coffee, 200 tons of cocoa, and 800 tons of tea. The British government concluded that it was a German scheme to install suspicion in the Soviet Union toward the Western Allies. ww2dbase [Istanbul | CPC]

• USS Franklin arrived at San Diego, California, United States. ww2dbase [Franklin | San Diego, California | CPC]
• James Forrestal became the Secretary of the Navy of the United States. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS Marcus Island embarked aircraft on the west coast of the United States for ferrying to the South Pacific. ww2dbase [Marcus Island | CPC]
• Submarine Spot was launched at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States, sponsored by Mrs. A. A. Gieselmann. ww2dbase [Mare Island Navy Yard | Spot | Vallejo, California | CPC]
• USS Ranger arrived at Norfolk, Virginia for extended repairs and upgrades to make Ranger into a night-fighter training carrier, including strengthening her flight deck and installing one catapult. This is also when Ranger received her Measure 33, Design 1A Dazzle paint scheme. ww2dbase [Norfolk Navy Yard | Ranger | Norfolk, Virginia | DS]

19 May 1944 Interactive Map

• French troops landed in Syria and Lebanon. Arab nationalists launched protest demonstrations against the landing. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Alfred Rosenberg was captured at Flensburg, Germany. ww2dbase [Alfred Rosenberg | CPC]
• Stalin denied that his troops had been arresting Polish leaders for political reasons. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | CPC]
• US 43rd Division secured the Ipoh dam area north of Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands. US 25th Division began mopping up operations at Santa, Romblon, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Philippines Campaign, Phase 2 | CPC]
• US 77th Division withdrew near the Ishimmi Ridge at Okinawa, Japan after suffering heavy casualties. ww2dbase [Okinawa Campaign | CPC]
• 272 B-29 Superfortress bombers struck Hamamatsu, Japan. ww2dbase [Bombing of Tokyo and Other Cities | CPC]
• Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Maizuru, Japan. ww2dbase [Yukikaze | CPC]
• USS Ray attacked a three-ship Japanese convoy west of Japan, missing with all three torpedoes fired. The Japanese freighters, actually armed Q-ships, fought back with depth charges, forcing Ray to surface. Ray was able to escape on the surface, deck gun firing to discourage pursuit. She claimed that one of the Q-ships were sunk by gunfire. ww2dbase [Ray | CPC]
• USS Bailey departed Tarakan Roads bound for Morotai, Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [Bailey | DS]

• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Sasebo, Japan. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Sasebo, Nagasaki | CPC]

• Destroyer USS Shaw arrived in San Francisco, California and entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard for repairs. ww2dbase [Mare Island Navy Yard | Shaw | Vallejo, California | DS]
• R-14 was struck from the US Naval Register. ww2dbase [R-14 | CPC]

19 May 1945 Interactive Map

• Chinese Nationalist troops captured Siping, Liaobei Province, China. ww2dbase [Siping, Liaobei | CPC]

• Chen Cheng announced martial law in the Republic of China, which was effectively the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, and other surrounding islands under Chinese control. ww2dbase [Chen Cheng | CPC]

• USS Corregidor was recommissioned into service and was assigned to the US Navy Military Sea Transportation Service. ww2dbase [Corregidor | CPC]

• Alfried Krupp married Vera Hossenfeldt. ww2dbase [Alfried Krupp | CPC]

• Nicholas Winton was given the honorary rank of flight lieutenant. ww2dbase [Nicholas Winton | CPC]

19 May 1955 Interactive Map

19 May 1956 Interactive Map

• Seventeen days following aircraft transport USNS Card being sunk in 20 feet of water at Saigon, Vietnam, the ship was raised after being patched and pumped out. ww2dbase [Card | Saigon, Vietnam | DS]