On This Day
1942 > WW2
On This Day - 1942
- February 25, 1942
HMAS KUTTABUL, a former Sydney Harbour ferry, was commissioned as an accommodation vessel.
HM Submarine P38 was sunk by the Italian torpedo boats, CIRCE and USODIMARE, off Tunisia. The First Lieutenant of P38 was Australian LEUT S. A. Pigeon, RNR, who entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1926, but did not graduate. Pigeon went to sea in the sailing barque VIKING, was a crewman of the Antarctic exploration ship Discovery, and saw action in the Spanish Civil War in the Merchant Service. He was MID in 1940 for service in HMS SUNFISH, (submarine), and was the first Australian RNR officer to be so honoured.
HMAS PERTH, (cruiser), with HM Ships EXETER, ELECTRA, ENCOUNTER, JUPITER, left Tanjong Priok for Sourabaya, to pursue a large convoy which had been sighted 320 kms to the northeast. HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), would have joined in, but was unable to be refuelled in time.
The ABDA was command was dissolved, and command was taken over by the original Dutch organization, with CDRE John Collins, RAN, in command of all British naval forces in the area.
- February 24, 1942
HMAS YARRA, (sloop), passed her last mail to HMAS VENDETTA, (destroyer), 200 miles south of Christmas Island. VENDETTA was being towed south from Singapore to Australia for repair. YARRA returned to the Netherlands East Indies, and was sunk eight days later defending a convoy en-route to Australia.
- February 23, 1942
HMAS WARRNAMBOOL rescued 40 survivors from the bombed merchant vessel FLORENCE D and the crew of a downed Catalina flying boat from Bathurst Island.
The veteran cruiser HMAS ADELAIDE, rendezvoused with HMAS YARRA 200 miles south of Christmas Island, and took over her convoy of six merchant ships loaded with refugees fleeing the East Indies for Fremantle.
Lieutenant Francis G. Gordon (O) RAN was lost. He was in RN 817 Squadron flying Albacore torpedo aircraft and was one of three that took off from HMS Victorious on a night search for enemy vessels, including the German battleship Tirpitz. The aircraft did not return to the carrier and was presumed lost in snow storm 30 miles east of the Shetlands.
- February 20, 1942
HMAS PLATYPUS, (depot ship), made the following signal to all RAN units in northern waters:- “Intention is to hold Darwin”. The signal was repeated during all subsequent Japanese air attacks on Darwin.
HMAS BALLARAT, (minesweeper), returned to Oosthaven after the port had been evacuated and salvaged vital aircraft spares and ammunition.
HMAS WARRNAMBOOL, (minesweeper), rescued 73 survivors from the bombed merchant ship DON ISIDRO on Bathurst Island.
The merchant ship KOOLAMA was bombed by Japanese aircraft and driven ashore west of Darwin.
The auxiliary boom defence vessel HMAS KURAMIA was requisitioned as an auxiliary boom defence vessel, and commissioned on 30 June 1942. KURAMIA was built in 1914, and served as a Sydney Harbour ferry. The ship was sunk as a target by aircraft from HMAS SYDNEY, (aircraft carrier), in 1953.
- February 19, 1942
Japanese bombers attacked Darwin. HMA Ships MAVIE and KELAT, USS PEARY, and merchant ships BRITISH MOTORIST, NEPTUNA, ZEALANDIA, MAUNA LOA, and MEIGS, were sunk. HMA Ships PLATYPUS, SWAN, GUNBAR, WARREGO, KARA KARA, KOOKABURRA, KANGAROO, BAROSSA, and COONGOOLA, the hospital ship MANUNDA, USS WILLIAM B PRESTON, and five merchant ships were damaged. One hundred and seventy of the 250 dead in the attack were ships’ complement.
The Walrus from HMAS Australia crashed on landing. “Shortly before noon, and after circling the Walrus came down to land on an oilslick. Owing to some as yet unknown cause, he came in too close to the ship, and crashed head-on into the ship’s port quarter just above the water line, breaking up and bursting into flames immediately. The second whaler as crash boat was immediately lowered, and the first whaler was also sent away as a lifeboat. A motor surf-boat from USS Chicago reached the spot where the aircraft had sunk first, and succeeded in saving the Observer, Sub-Lieutenant Jackson, and the Air Gunner. The pilot, Flying officer E. J. Rowan RAAF, was not seen.
- February 18, 1942
HMAS WALLAROO, (minesweeper), was launched at Poole and Steel, Sydney.
- February 17, 1942
Waves of Japanese aircraft bombed a convoy escorted by HMA Ships SWAN, WARREGO, VOYAGER, ARMIDALE, and CASTLEMAINE, in the Timor Sea. Despite the concerted attack the convoy reached Koepang, (Dutch Timor), with urgent supplies and troop reinforcements.
HMAS VENDETTA, (destroyer), left Tanjong Priok under tow by HMAS PING WO, for Fremantle, WA.
HMA Ships MARYBOROUGH, BENDIGO, BALLARAT, BURNIE, GOULBURN, and TOOWOOMBA, (corvettes), were set up as an auxiliary naval patrol, by CDRE J. Collins, RAN, in Sunda Strait.
Survivors from HMS KUALA were rescued from Pompong Island, Rhio Straits, by the ex Japanese fishing boat KOFUKO MARU. This vessel was commanded by an Australian Merchant Navy Officer, Bill Reynolds. KOFUKO MARU was later to be used by Z Special Force, and was renamed KRAIT.
HMAS BURNIE, (corvette), landed parties to carry out demolitions at Oosthaven, Java. The ship later bombarded port installations, oil tanks, ammunition dumps and the bridge to Tanjon Karang.
- February 16, 1942
The naval tug HMAS FORCEFUL was commissioned. FORCEFUL was laid down in Alex Stephen & Sons, Govan, Scotland, and launched on 20 November 1925, for MacDonald Hamilton & Co. She transferred to William & Co Pty, Brisbane, in October 1927. FORCEFUL was requisitioned for the RAN on 31 January 1942. The vessel was preserved by the Queensland Maritime Museum in 1970.
HMA Ships SWAN and WARREGO, (sloops), and the US Ships HOUSTON and PEARY, fought off determined attacks by waves of Japanese bombers between Darwin and Timor. The convoy was recalled to Darwin when it was learnt that enemy surface forces were in the area.
LCDR R. W. Rankin, RAN assumed command of the Australian Flotilla in the Dutch East Indies at Oosthaven. The flotilla consisted of HMA Ships YARRA, (sloop), GOULBURN, and BURNIE, (corvettes).
- February 15, 1942
The cruiser, HMAS HOBART, (CAPT H. L. Howden, RAN), was attacked by 109 Japanese aircraft in 13 attacks in the Dutch East Indies. HOBART escaped.
The Island of Singapore was surrendered to the Japanese. After a campaign lasting only 70 days, the Japanese overran Malaya and Singapore, and some 22,000 Australian soldiers were made POW’s. Most of the RAN ships and personnel involved in the campaign managed to escape, however, a small number of men left behind in hospital in Singapore were captured and subsequently executed by the Japanese.
USS HOUSTON, USS PEARY and HMA Ships SWAN and WARREGO departed Darwin escorting US Army transports MEIGS, MAUNA LOA, PORT MAR and Australian coaster TULAGI, carrying 1800 troops to reinforce Timor. Shortly after sailing, the convoy came under air attack, all four transports suffered damage from near misses, and it returned to Darwin.
- February 14, 1942
The cruiser, HMAS HOBART, (CAPT H. L. Howden, RAN), joined an Allied naval striking force at the western end of Java, organized by ABDA, (Australian-British-Dutch-American), but the enemy had carried out landings before the force arrived, so they returned empty-handed to Tanjong Priok, being subjected to heavy air attacks.
HMAS BALLARAT, (minesweeper), rescued 215 survivors from the MV DERRYMORE, which had been sunk by a Japanese submarine 60 miles west of Batavia, (Jakarta). Among those rescued was Flying Officer J. G. Gorton, RAAF, who was later to become Minister for the Navy, and Prime Minister of Australia.