Scuttling & Submarines

SAT 2 MAY 1942
Pacific
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz visits Midway to informally inspect defenses and present decorations. He will leave the following day.

Japanese special landing force (3d Kure Special Landing Force) lands on Florida Island, Solomons.

SBDs (VS 5) and TBDs (VT 5) from carrier Yorktown (CV-5) bomb Japanese submarine I-21 in the Coral Sea. I-21 reports being attacked by planes, but significantly fails to specify whether or not her attackers are land- or carrier-based; TF 17's approach to the Solomons thus remains undetected.

River gunboat Mindanao (PR-8) is scuttled off South Harbor, Corregidor.

Submarine Drum (SS-228) torpedoes and sinks Japanese seaplane carrier Mizuho off south coast of Honshu, 34°26'N, 138°14'E.

Submarine Trout (SS-202) torpedoes and sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Uzan Maru off southeast coast of Honshu, 33°26'N, 135°52'E.

Atlantic
Yacht Cythera (PY-26) is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-402 off the coast of North Carolina; 66 men perish with the ship. U-402rescues the two survivors and transports them back to Germany as POWs.

Submarine chaser PC-490 rescues all 52 survivors of U.S. tanker Mobiloil, sunk on 29 April by German submarine U-108.