World War II Timeline: May 1942
A dated guide to 3 documented events in May 1942, with links to individual historical records.
Dated historical records
Entries below follow the dates recorded in the WWII CHRONOS archive. Each linked title opens the original historical entry, including its source reference.
- — Battle of the Coral Sea — US and Japanese carrier forces fight a battle in which the opposing surface fleets never directly exchange gunfire.
- — First Commercial Fluid Catalytic Cracking Reactor Starts Up — Feed throughput: about 2.23 million litres per day.
- — First British Thousand-Bomber Raid on Cologne — In 1942, RAF Bomber Command intensified strategic air attacks on Germany's industrial cities.
For wider context, explore the interactive historical timeline and compare events across theaters.