Brits, Yanks, Coöperate In Killing

WED 19 APR 1944
Pacific
Allied naval force (Admiral Sir James F. Somerville, RN, Commander in Chief, British Eastern Fleet), including U.S. carrier Saratoga (CV-3) and three U.S. destroyers, strikes Japanese positions and shipping at Sabang, N.E.I., in Operation COCKPIT. In this, the first operation in which Pacific Fleet units operate alongside British units in offensive action in the Indian Ocean, carrier aircraft from Saratoga and HMS Illustrious sink minelayer Hatsutaka, transport Kunitsu Maru and army transport Haruno Maru. Pilot (VF 12) of only plane (from Saratoga) shot down by antiaircraft fire is picked up by British submarine HMS Tactician, which braves shore battery fire to do so.

Submarine Finback (SS-230) sinks Japanese sampan Ryoho Maru at 08°22'N, 151°41'E.

British submarine HMS Tantalus sinks tug Kampung Besar (nationality unspecified) in Strait of Malacca.

Atlantic
TBF (VC 13) from escort carrier Tripoli (CVE-64), in TG21.4, attacks German submarine U-543 with rockets and depth bombs in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire; U-543 escapes.