April 5 in History
1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island
Photo Caption – Royal Canadian Air Force Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall, the “Saviour of Ceylon”, aboard a Catalina aircraft before being shot down and captured near the island of Ceylon by the Japanese in 1942. Before being shot down, Birchall warned of a Japanese attack on Ceylon – Wikipedia