Battle of Sunda Strait

This article is about the World War II battle in 1942. For French Revolutionary War engagement, seeBattle of the Sunda Strait (1794).

Battle of Sunda Strait
Part ofWorld War II,Pacific War
HMASPerthin February 1942
Date 28 February – 1 March 1942 Location Sunda Strait,Dutch East Indies Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
United States Australia Netherlands	Japan
Commanders and leaders
Hector Waller† Albert H. Rooks†	Kenzaburo Hara Takeo Kurita
Strength
American: 1 heavy cruiser Australian: 1 light cruiser Dutch: 1 destroyer	1light carrier 1seaplane carrier 5cruisers 12destroyers 1minelayer 1minesweeper 58troopships
Casualties and losses
1 heavy cruiser sunk 1 light cruiser sunk 1 destroyer sunk 1,071 killed 675 POWs	1 minesweeper sunk (friendly fire) 4 troopships sunk or grounded(friendly fire) 1 cruiser damaged 3 destroyers damaged 10 killed 37 wounded

TheBattle of Sunda Straitwas anaval battlewhich occurred duringWorld War IIin theSunda Straitbetween the islands ofJava,andSumatra.On the night of 28 February – 1 March 1942, theAustralianlight cruiserHMASPerth,Americanheavy cruiserUSSHouston,and DutchdestroyerHNLMSEvertsenfaced a majorImperial Japanese Navy(IJN) task force. After a fierce battle lasting several hours, allAlliedships were sunk. Five Japanese ships were sunk, three of them byfriendly fire.

Background

Main article:Battle of the Java Sea

In late February 1942, Japaneseamphibious forceswere preparing to invadeJava,in theDutch East Indies.On 27 February, the mainAmerican-British-Dutch-Australian Command(ABDACOM) naval force, under AdmiralKarel Doorman–a Dutch officer–steamed northeast fromSurabayato intercept anImperial Japanese navyinvasion fleet. This part of the ABDA force consisted of twoheavy cruisers,includingUSSHoustonunder the command ofCaptainAlbert H. Rooks,threelight cruisers,includingHMASPerthunder CaptainHector Waller,and ninedestroyers.Only six out of nine of USSHouston's 8-inch (203 mm)heavy gunswere operational because her aftgun turrethad been knocked out in an earlier Japaneseair raid.TheABDAforce engaged the Japanese force in theBattle of the Java Sea.The Allied ships were all sunk or dispersed.HoustonandPerthboth retreated toTanjung Priok,Java, the main port ofBatavia, Dutch East Indies,where they arrived at 13:30 on 28 February.

Prelude

In the early evening on 28 February,Houston,Perthand the DutchdestroyerHNLMSEvertsenreceived orders to depart Tanjung Priok and head throughSunda StraittoTjilatjap,on the south coast of Java.Waller, who had seniority, was de facto commander of this force. The only ships they expected to encounter were Australiancorvetteson patrol, in and around the strait itself. WhileHoustonandPerthleft at 19:00,Evertsenwas not ready and followed the cruisers two hours later.

By chance, just after 22:00, a Japanese invasion convoy bound for West Java – including the entireSixteenth Army,under Lieutenant GeneralHitoshi Imamura,in over 50 transport ships – was enteringBantam Bay,near the northwest tip of Java. The Japanese troop transports were escorted by the 5th Destroyer Flotilla, led byRear AdmiralKenzaburo Hara,and the 7th Cruiser Division, underVice AdmiralTakeo Kurita.Light cruiserNatori(with Admiral Hara aboard), with the destroyersHarukaze,Hatakaze,Asakaze,Fubuki,Hatsuyuki,Shirayuki,Shirakumo,andMurakumowere closest to the convoy. Flanking the bay to the north were the heavy cruisersMogamiandMikuma,accompanied by the destroyerShikinami.

Slightly further north, though not involved in the action, was the aircraft carrierRyūjō,with the heavy cruisersSuzuyaandKumano(with Admiral Kurita aboard), along with theseaplane tenderChiyoda,and the destroyersIsonamiandUranami.

Some time around 23:15,the Allied ships were sighted by the patrollingFubuki,which followed them surreptitiously. At 23:06, when they were about halfway across the mouth of Bantam Bay,Perthsighted a ship about 5mi(4.3nmi;8.0km) ahead, near Saint Nicolaas Point. It was thought at first that the ship was an Australian corvette, but when challenged, she made an unintelligible reply, with a lamp which was the wrong color, fired her nine Long Lance (Type 93) torpedoes from about 3,000 yards (2,700 m) and then turned away, making smoke. The ship was soon identified as a Japanese destroyer (probablyHarukaze). Waller reported the contact and ordered his forward turrets to open fire.

Main action

During a ferocious night action, the Allied cruisers were surrounded. The cruisers opened fire on the transports in their way as they diverted to the west. Their intended path was blocked so they went west then north west. However the return to Java Sea was now blocked by the heavy cruisers. Following severe damage from torpedo and shell impacts,PerthandHoustonwere abandoned after midnight and sank.

About four Japanese transports and the minesweeperW-2were sunk by friendly torpedoes that had missed their target. (Two of these transports were later refloated.) One of the Japanese transports sunk wasRyujo Maru,carrying Lieutenant General Imamura, who had to jump overboard. He was later rescued by the crew of a small boat and taken ashore.

Destroyer action

Meanwhile, asEvertsenwas trying to catch up withHoustonandPerth,her crew spotted thetracersand intense shellfire of the main action. Her captain ordered a course northwest towards Pulau Mundu island, off the east coast ofSumatra,then hugged the Sumatran coast asEvertsenturned south to head through Sunda Strait.

However,Evertsenwas spotted byMurakumoandShirakumo,looking for more escaping Allied ships. Both immediately illuminatedEvertsenwith their searchlights and took her under fire.Evertsenattempted to evade by turning west, but after turning southward again, the Dutch destroyer again encountered the Japanese destroyers.Evertsenwas hit repeatedly, but temporarily disengaged under a smokescreen. By then, however,Evertsen's stern was on fire. Still taking Japanese fire, the captain ordered his crew togroundEvertsenon a coastal reef. Firing all her torpedoes, the remaining crew escaped ashore before the fire reached the aft magazine, causing an explosion that blew off most of the stern.

Aftermath

Commemorative plaque for HMASPerthand USSHoustonatRockingham Naval Memorial ParkinRockingham, Western Australia.

Officially the Allied personnel killed during the battle included 696 members of the crew ofHoustonand 375 fromPerth,including the captains of both vessels, Rooks and Waller. The survivors were picked up by Japanese vessels and taken prisoner, included 368 fromHoustonand 307 fromPerth.Rooks was posthumously awarded theMedal of Honorfor his actions. The majority ofEvertsen's crew was taken prisoner on 9–10 March 1942 and were held by the Japanese for three and a half years.

The crew of the Japanese cruiserMikumasuffered six killed and 11 wounded, as a result of damage caused byHouston.A direct shell hit to thebridgeof the destroyerShirayukikilled one crew member and wounded 11;Harukazesuffered hits to her bridge, engine room and rudder, killing three and wounding more than 15 others.

See also

• Burma Railway
• Houston Volunteers
• Lost Battalion (Pacific, World War II)

References

• Dull, Paul S. (1978).A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945.Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-097-1.
• Hackett, Bob; Kingsepp, Sander (2019)."IJN Mikuma: Tabular Record of Movement".CombinedFleet.Retrieved21 December2020.
• Hornfischer, James D. (2009).Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors.Random House.ISBN9780307490889.Retrieved21 December2020.
• Muir, Dan (9 January 2020)."Order of Battle, Battle of the Sunda Strait".Retrieved21 December2020.
• L, Klemen (2000)."Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942".

Further reading

• D'Albas, Andrieu (1965).Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II.Devin-Adair Pub.ISBN0-8159-5302-X.
• Gill, G. Hermon (1957)."Chapter 16 – Defeat in Abda".Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942.Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy.Vol. I. Canberra: Australian War Memorial.OCLC848228.
• Lacroix, Eric; Wells, Linton (1997).Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War.Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-311-3.
• Lewis, Tom (2011).The Submarine Six: Australian Naval Heroes.Kent Town, South Australia: Avonmore Books.ISBN9780987151919.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot(2001) [1958].The Rising Sun in the Pacific: 1931 – April 1942.History of United States Naval Operations in World War II.Vol. III. Castle Books.ISBN0-7858-1304-7.
• Schultz, Duane (1985).The Last Battle Station: The Story of the USS Houston.St Martins Press.ISBN0-312-46973-X.
• Skeels, Fred (2008).Java Rabble: A Story of a Ship, Slavery and Survival.Victoria Park: Hesperian Press.ISBN978-0-85905-419-5.
• van Oosten, F. C. (1976).The Battle of the Java Sea (Sea battles in close-up; 15).Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-911-1.
• Spector, Ronald(1985). "The Short, Unhappy Life of ABDACOM".Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan.Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-394-74101-3.
• Whiting, Brendan(1995).Ship of Courage: The Epic Story of HMAS Perth and Her Crew.Australia: Allen & Unwin Pty.ISBN1-86373-653-0.
• Winslow, Walter G. (1984).The Ghost that Died at Sunda Strait.Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-218-4.– Firsthand account of the battle by a survivor from USSHouston
• Winslow, Walter G. (1994).The Fleet the Gods Forgot: The U.S. Asiatic Fleet in World War II.Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-928-X.

External links

• Naval History(no date), "1942 03 01 0100 Surface Action Battle Of Sunda Strait"
• "US Navy report of the battle from 1943".Archivedfrom the original on 15 May 2006.Retrieved17 May2006– via HyperWar Foundation.
• United States Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific) – Naval Analysis Division (1946)."Chapter 3: The Japanese Invasion of the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, and Southeast Asia".The Campaigns of the Pacific War.United States Government Printing Office.Retrieved20 November2006– via HyperWar Foundation.