On This Day

1942 > WW2

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.

February 13, 1942

HMS SCORPION, (gunboat), was sunk south of Singapore. Among her crew who were killed was AB Daniel Ingram of the RAN. Ingram had been serving in HMAS BENDIGO when he was caught ashore in Singapore during an air raid in early February, and missed the ships sailing. He was then allotted to SCORPION and lost his life when that ship was sunk.

Japanese bombers attacked a convoy escorted by HMA Ships BALLARAT, TOOWOOMBA, and WOLLONGONG, (corvettes), in Banka Straits. The aircraft were driven off by fire from the escorts.

February 12, 1942

Garden Island, Sydney, the RAN’s main base, was joined to the mainland by coffer-dams in the course of the building of the Captain Cook Graving Dock. A temporary road laid on the earth fill supporting the dams was known as the “Burma Road”.

February 7, 1942

HMAS WARRAMUNGA, (Tribal class destroyer), was launched at Cockatoo Island, Sydney.

HMAS TOOWOOMBA, (minesweeper), picked up survivors from the merchant ship BRITISH AIRMAN, marooned on an uninhabited island near Sumatra.

February 6, 1942

A Carley float containing the remains of Able Seaman Thomas Welsby Clark from HMAS Sydney II was discovered off Christmas Island. The body was brought ashore and buried in the European Cemetery at Flying Fish Cove. He was identified by DNA in 2021.

HMA Ships WOLLONGONG and BENDIGO were subject to air raids two or three times daily, starting on 1 February, whilst in Singapore harbour.    HMAS WOLLONGONG sailed from Singapore with refugees for Sumatra. She was the last ship of the RAN to leave the port before it was occupied by the Japanese.

HMAS HAWKESBURY was the first ship of the RAN to enter the port after the Japanese surrender in 1945.

 

February 5, 1942

HMAS YARRA, (sloop), took off 1304 troops from the burning troop transport EMPRESS OF ASIA near Sultan Reef, Singapore. The rescue was effected under heavy air attack. LCDR W H Harrington, RAN, captain of YARRA recorded: “I was becoming a little dubious of the stability of HMAS YARRA and on getting clear gave orders for all hands to sit”. YARRA shot down one aircraft confirmed and was credited with two probables.

February 4, 1942

While escorting the troopship AQUITANIA to Batavia, Netherlands East Indies, HMAS CANBERRA, (cruiser), sighted a Japanese submarine directly ahead of the troopship. The submarine dived and escaped before CANBERRA could launch an attack.

HMAS YARRA, (destroyer), was bombed in Banka Strait whilst escorting a convoy.

February 3, 1942

HMAS TOOWOOMBA, rescued the crew of the bombed merchant vessel LOCH RANZA in the Rhio Strait, Malaya.

The United States Navy transferred its submarine base from Darwin to Fremantle.

The Cruiser HMAS HOBART, (CAPT H. Howden, RAN) rescued 57 women and children from the sinking merchant ship NORAH MOLLER near Banka Island. The merchant ship had been attacked and set on fire by Japanese aircraft. The civilian survivors were off loaded at Tanjong Priok (Java) the following day.

February 2, 1942

HMAS VENDETTA, (destroyer), was towed by HMS STRONGHOLD from Singapore to Java. VENDETTA was in the middle of an extended refit and was immobilised.

The former Chinese river boats PING WO and WHANG PU sailed from Singapore to Australia. PING WO later took over the tow of the destroyer HMAS VENDETTA from HMS STRONGHOLD and despite encountering adverse weather conditions and breakdowns, delivered the destroyer to Fremantle. Both river boats were later commissioned into the RAN and served as workshop vessels in New Guinea waters. They were paid off in 1946 and returned to China.

February 1, 1942

Twenty Australian built corvettes, (or ocean minesweepers), were in commission with the RAN. The 650 ton ships were being launched at the rate of one a month.

January 31, 1942

The British Far Eastern Fleet, which included HMA Ships NAPIER, NIZAM and NESTOR, (destroyers), passed within 90 miles of a superior Japanese fleet in the Indian Ocean.

January 30, 1942

HMAS GYMPIE, (minesweeper), was launched at Evans Deakin Yard, Brisbane.

January 28, 1942

HMA Ships NIZAM, NAPIER, and NESTOR, (destroyers), escorted HMS INDOMITABLE, (aircraft carrier), which was carrying 48 pilots and their Hurricane fighter aircraft, bound for Malaya. The aircraft were flown off the INDOMITABLE south of Java.

A Japanese destroyer landed two parties on Tabar Island to capture Coastwatcher SBLT C.L. Page, RANVR. Page eluded the search parties.

January 27, 1942

HMAS VAMPIRE and HMS THANET, (destroyers) launched a night attack on a superior Japanese force landing troops at Endau, Malaya. The destroyers penetrated the enemy line and engaged vessels on both quarters at point-blank range. HMS THANET was lost in the engagement, VAMPIRE escaped reaching Singapore naval base some hours later.

The Fremantle-based USS HAKE, (submarine), sank the Japanese tanker YAMAMIZU MARU in the Java Sea off Borneo.

HMA Ships HOBART, PERTH, VAMPIRE, YARRA, and WARREGO, joined ABDA Command in Java.

January 26, 1942

The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS CESSNOCK, (A/LCDR Marchington, RNR),was commissioned at Sydney. Lady Gordon, (Wife of a Director of Cockatoo Dockyard), performed the commissioning ceremony. CESSNOCK was laid down in Cockatoo Dockyard, Sydney, and launched on 17 October 1941.   HMAS Sirocco (Q21) , a channel patrol boat operated by the Naval Auxiliary Patrol of the RAN was destroyed by fire at Hobart.

January 25, 1942

HMA Ships CANBERRA, (cruiser), and VAMPIRE, (destroyer), arrived in Singapore, having escorted the liner AQUITANIA, which was carrying troops from Australia.

HMAS NIZAM, (destroyer), on an early morning anti-submarine sweep off Trincomalee, Ceylon, in poor visibility, was challenged by a Dutch cruiser. “Have been watching you for the last ten minutes”, the Dutch vessel signalled. NIZAM replied: “Thanks. We have had our guns trained on you for the last half hour.”

January 23, 1942

HMAS ARMIDALE was launched at Mort’s Dock, Sydney.

ADML Royle informed the Australian War Cabinet that an invasion of Australia by the Japanese was a distinct possibility.

January 22, 1942

HMAS Katoomba was involved in a collision with the US tanker Pecos just outside Darwin Harbour. Holed on the port side and taking water, she was in danger of sinking. She was subsequently secured alongside her sister ship HMAS Lithgow and towed into Darwin Harbour where she was immediately taken into the floating dry dock (AD1001) during the afternoon of 23 January. She was still in teh floating dock being repaired during the japanese raid on Darwin on 19 Feb 1942.

January 21, 1942

Off Darwin, NT, HMA Ships DELORAINE, KATOOMBA, and LITHGOW, (corvettes), with the USS EDSALL, (destroyer), took part in depth-charge attacks which destroyed the Japanese submarine I124, the first warship of the Japanese navy to fall victim to the RAN in WWII.

The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS ROCKHAMPTON, was commissioned.

January 17, 1942

HMAS ECHUCA was launched at Williamstown Naval Dockyard, VIC. The lugger, HMAS ST. FRANCIS, (LEUT (Brother) Andrew Smith, RANVR), sighted a Japanese submarine on the surface off Melville Island. In 1914 the ST. FRANCIS, a 15 metre mission lugger was blown 400 miles out into the Indian Ocean on her maiden voyage and was found by HMAS SYDNEY. HMS QUEENBOROUGH later HMAS QUEENBOROUGH, was launched at Swan and Hunter’s Yard, England. CAPT J. A. Collins, CB, was appointed Commodore Commanding China Force.

January 16, 1942

The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS GEELONG, (LCDR C. G. Hill, RANR(S)), was commissioned. GEELONG was laid down at Williamstown Dockyard, VIC, on 16 October 1940. Lady Dugan, (Wife of the Governor of Victoria), performed the launching ceremony on 22 April 1941. GEELONG was sunk in action on 18 October 1944.

HMAS MARYBOROUGH, (minesweeper), picked up 37 survivors from a Dutch merchant ship sunk by a mine in the Rhio Straits, Malaya.