The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Robert J. Cressman

      Coast Guard cutter Tiger rescues 14 survivors of U.S. freighter Prusa, sunk by Japanese submarine I 172 on 19 December. A second group of 11 survivors reaches safety after a 2,700-mile voyage, rescued by a Fijian government vessel and taken to Boruin, Gilberts.

      Unarmed U.S. tanker Connecticut is shelled by Japanese submarine I 25 about 10 miles west of the mouth of the Columbia River, between Washington and Oregon.

      Submarine Perch (SS 176) torpedoes Japanese supply ship Noshima in South China Sea, 22°14′N, 115°13′E.

      Six PBYs (VP 101) bomb Japanese shipping at Jolo, P.I. against heavy fighter opposition; four Catalinas are lost.

      Japanese bomb shipping in Manila Bay and Pasig River (Takao Kokutai and 1st Kokutai). Philippine customs cutters Arayat and Mindoro and motor vessel Ethel Edwards are set afire, while lighthouse tender Canlaon is destroyed by a direct hit. Steamship Taurus is scuttled in the Pasig River (see 29 December).

      28 Sunday

      PACIFIC. Destroyer Patterson (DD 392) rescues second of two groups of survivors from U.S. freighter Manini sunk by Japanese submarine (I 175) on 17 December at 21°06′N, 161°55′E. at 21°06′N, 161°55′E.

      Destroyer Peary (DD 226) is damaged when mistakenly bombed and strafed by RAAF Hudsons off Kina, Celebes, N.E.I.

      Japanese bomb and sink Philippine freighter Mauban and lighthouse tender Banahao.

      Japanese destroyer Akikaze and army cargo ships Kamogawa Maru and Komaki Maru are damaged by marine casualties east of Luzon.

      29 Monday

      PACIFIC. Corregidor is bombed for the first time by Japanese naval land attack planes (Takao Kokutai and 1st Kokutai), ending “normal” above-ground living there. During the bombings that day, submarine tender Canopus (AS 9) is damaged in Mariveles Harbor, 14°25′N, 120°30′E; river gunboat Mindanao (PR 8) is damaged by near-misses off Corregidor. Bombs also set fire to Philippine freighter Don Jose and the hulk of U.S. freighter Capillo off Corregidor. Minesweeper Finch (AM 9) puts out the blaze on board both ships; Don Jose is later moved to the south side of the island to ensure a clear shipping channel.⁵⁹ Philippine presidential yacht Casiana is bombed and sunk near the Fort Mills dock; Philippine steamship Bicol and motor vessel Aloha are scuttled in Manila Bay. Finch later assists Navy-commandeered tug Trabajador in dumping unused mines in Manila Bay, an operation these two ships will repeat the following day as well. Cable Censor, Manila (Lieutenant Frederick L. Worcester, USNR) clears Pasig River of interisland shipping and tugs and other ships that have drawn heavy bombing from Japanese planes, thus saving the area from further destruction and the shipping for use in maintaining communications between Bataan and Corregidor and in patrol work. This action is later praised as “commendable assumption of authority and action by non-nautical” district officers.

      Japanese submarine RO 60, returning from the Wake Island operation, is irreparably damaged by grounding, Kwajalein Atoll, 09°00′N, 167°30′E.

      ATLANTIC. TU 4.1.5 (Commander William K. Phillips) assumes guard for east-bound convoy HX 167. U.S. freighter Stonestreet is damaged by evaporator explosion; one man is killed and three injured. Destroyer Simpson (DD 221) puts medical officer and corpsman on board promptly to treat the injured; Stonestreet is directed to return to St. John’s, Newfoundland; U.S. PBY provides cover. During the voyage to Iceland, HX 167 will not encounter any enemy submarines, but poor navigation by the convoy will result in a critical fuel state for the “shortlegged” flush-deck destroyers (see 3 January 1942).

      30 Tuesday

      UNITED STATES. Admiral Ernest J. King assumes duties as Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet. To avoid use of what he considers the pejorative acronym CINCUS (“Sink Us”), he institutes use of COMINCH (“Comm Inch”).

      PACIFIC. Japanese submarine I 1 shells Hilo, Hawaii; seaplane tender (destroyer) Hulbert (AVD 6), moored to a pier adjacent to the one damaged by the bombardment, is not damaged.

      Navy-commandeered tug Ranger lands volunteer raiding party on Sangley Point, Luzon, P.I. The sailors bring out diesel generators and diesel oil needed on Corregidor to provide auxiliary power.

      31 Wednesday

      PACIFIC. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz assumes command of Pacific Fleet in ceremonies on board submarine Grayling (SS 209) at Pearl Harbor.

      Japanese submarines shell Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii.

      While returning from attempting to aid destroyer Peary (DD 226), damaged on 28 December, small seaplane tender Heron (AVP 2) is damaged but fights off, over a seven-hour span, a series of attacks by Japanese flying boats (Toko Kokutai) and land attack planes off Ambon, N.E.I. Heron shoots down one flying boat whose crew refuses rescue.

      Submarine rescue vessel Pigeon (ASR 6) transports armed party [Lieutenant (j.g.) Malcolm M. Champlin, USNR] to Sangley Point, Luzon, P.I., which brings out Luzon Stevedoring Company lighter loaded with 97 mines and eight truckloads of aerial depth charges; Pigeon then tows the barge to a point four and a half miles off Sangley Point and capsizes it in 11 fathoms of water. The sailors also destroy the aircraft repair shop at Cavite and one irreparable PBY.

      Unarmed U.S. steamship Ruth Alexander, en route from Manila to Balikpapan, Borneo, is bombed and irreparably damaged by Japanese flying boat in Makassar Strait, N.E.I., 01°00′N, 119°10′W; one man is killed in the bombing.⁶⁰ Dutch Dornier 24 later rescues the 48 survivors and lands them at Tarakan, Borneo.

      Japanese destroyer Yamagumo is damaged by mine off Lingayen, P.I.

      Philippine steamships Magellanes and Montanes are scuttled, most likely at Manila, P.I., to prevent their use by the Japanese.