On this day:
1942 > WW2
There are 218 entries in this era
- 02 Jan 1942
HMA Ships AUSTRALIA, CANBERRA, and PERTH, (cruisers), with HMS ACHILLES escorted the first large troop reinforcement convoy to Port Moresby.
- 03 Jan 1942
HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), arrived in Singapore with a convoy under escort, and was subjected to Japanese air attack at the naval base.
A signal from the Dutch destroyer HMNS ISAAC SWEERS to HMA Ships NAPIER, NESTOR, and NIZAM, (destroyers), on their departure from the Mediterranean: “Goodbye and a dinkum bonzer time with good hunting”.
- 04 Jan 1942
Coastwatcher SBLT C. L. Page, RANVR, reported 22 Japanese heavy bombers passing over Tabar Island bound for Rabaul.
- 05 Jan 1942
CMDR S. H. K. Spurgeon, DSO, RAN, assumed command of HMAS STUART, (destroyer), at Williamstown, VIC. He commanded HMS ECHO in 1940, and took part in the Norwegian Campaign, He was the first RAN officer to receive a gallantry award in WWII, being admitted to the DSO in December 1939.
- 06 Jan 1942
The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS COLAC, (LCDR D. C. Northern, RANR(S)), was commissioned at Sydney. Miss M. Heady Sr, (staff of Morts Dock), performed the launching ceremony. COLAC was laid down on 18 April 1941 in Morts’s Dock, Sydney, and launched on 30 August 1941.
- 07 Jan 1942
HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), joined the ABDA Fleet at Batavia. The cruiser was returning to Australia after service in the Mediterranean when she was diverted to the Far East.
- 08 Jan 1942
Event #1
The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS WHYALLA, was commissioned at Whyalla, SA. Lady Barclay-Harvey, (wife of the Governor of South Australia, Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey), performed the launching ceremony. WHYALLA was laid down on 27 July 1940 in the Broken Hill Pty shipyard at Whyalla, and launched on 12 May 1941. She was to be called Glenelg, but that was changed to WHYALLA before completion.Event #2
The following gallantry awards were announced for HMAS PARRAMATTA, (sloop);
DSC Surgeon LEUT C.F. Harrington, RANR: DSC Commissioned Gunner A.J. Brown: DSM CPO Stoker W.O. Earl: DSM CPO Writer E. Purtell: DSM Yeoman of Signals W.J. Allsop: DSM Acting LS H.F. Bates: MID LEUT G.W. Langford: MID PO Steward J. Lewis: MID Leading Steward R.J. Brampton: MID Leading Writer S.E. Whear: MID AB C. Goldie: MID Stoker 2nd class H.C. Fox.Unfortunately in the bitter irony of war only CPO Earl and Leading Writer Whear lived to be presented with their awards as the rest of the men were killed when HMAS PARRAMATTA was sunk off Tobruk in November 1941.
- 16 Jan 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.
- 17 Jan 1942
HMAS ECHUCA, (minesweeper), was launched at Williamstown Naval Dockyard, VIC.
HMA Ships DELORAINE, KATOOMBA, and LITHGOW sank the Japanese submarine I-124 in the Arafura Sea. LCDR D. A. Menlove, RNR, was admitted to the DSO for gallantry while commanding DELORAINE in the action.
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, (destroyer), later HMAS QUEENBOROUGH, was launched at Swan and Hunter’s Yard, England.
CAPT J. A. Collins, CB, was appointed Commodore Commanding China Force.
- 21 Jan 1942
Event #1
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.Event #2
The Bathurst class minesweeper, (corvette), HMAS ROCKHAMPTON, was commissioned.- 23 Jan 1942
Event #1
HMAS ARMIDALE, (minesweeper), was launched at Mort’s Dock, Sydney.Event #2
HMAS KATOOMBA, (corvette), was severely damaged when struck by the U.S. oiler PECOS at Darwin.Event #3
ADML Royle informed the Australian War Cabinet that an invasion of Australia by the Japanese was a distinct possibility.- 25 Jan 1942
Event #1
HMA Ships CANBERRA, (cruiser), and VAMPIRE, (destroyer), arrived in Singapore, having escorted the liner AQUITANIA, which was carrying troops from Australia.Event #2
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.”- 26 Jan 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.
- 27 Jan 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.
- 28 Jan 1942
Event #1
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.Event #2
A Japanese destroyer landed two parties on Tabar Island to capture Coastwatcher SBLT C.L. Page, RANVR. Page eluded the search parties.- 30 Jan 1942
HMAS GYMPIE, (minesweeper), was launched at Evans Deakin Yard, Brisbane.
- 31 Jan 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.
- 01 Feb 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.
- 02 Feb 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.
- 03 Feb 1942
Event #1
HMAS TOOWOOMBA, rescued the crew of the bombed merchant vessel LOCH RANZA in the Rhio Strait, Malaya.Event #2
The United States Navy transferred its submarine base from Darwin to Fremantle.Event #3
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.- 04 Feb 1942
Event #1
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.Event #2
HMAS YARRA, (destroyer), was bombed in Banka Strait whilst escorting a convoy.- 05 Feb 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.
- 06 Feb 1942
A Carley float containing the remains of a corpse was discovered off Christmas Island. The body was brought ashore and buried in the European Cemetery at Flying Fish Cove. It was believed at the time that the float and the body were from the cruiser HMAS SYDNEY, sunk the previous November, but the evidence could not be verified. Christmas Island was taken over by the Japanese in March 1942 and the Carley float and all records concerning it and the body were destroyed during the war. A search conducted by the RAN for the grave site in the late 1990’s failed to find the grave and thus the mystery remains.
HMAS WOLLONGONG, (minesweeper), 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, (frigate), was the first ship of the RAN to enter the port after the Japanese surrender in 1945.
HMA Ships WOLLONGONG and BENDIGO, (corvettes), were subject to air raids two or three times daily, starting on 1 February, whilst in Singapore harbour.
- 07 Feb 1942
Event #1
HMAS WARRAMUNGA, (Tribal class destroyer), was launched at Cockatoo Island, Sydney.Event #2
HMAS TOOWOOMBA, (minesweeper), picked up survivors from the merchant ship BRITISH AIRMAN, marooned on an uninhabited island near Sumatra.- 12 Feb 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”.
- 13 Feb 1942
HMS SCORPION, (destroyer), 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.
- 14 Feb 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.
- 15 Feb 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.
An Allied convoy of four ships, escorted by HMA Ships WARREGO and SWAN, (sloops), and US Ships HOUSTON, (cruiser), and PEARY, (destroyer), left Darwin for Koepang, Timor, carrying Australian infantry and American artillery units.
- 16 Feb 1942
Event 1
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.Event 2
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.Event 3
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).- 17 Feb 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.
- 18 Feb 1942
HMAS WALLAROO, (minesweeper), was launched at Poole and Steel, Sydney.
- 19 Feb 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.
- 20 Feb 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.
- 23 Feb 1942
HMAS WARRNAMBOOL, (minesweeper), 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..
- 24 Feb 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.
- 25 Feb 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.
- 26 Feb 1942
RADM Karl Doorman, (Dutch Navy), sailed with his fleet of five cruisers, including HMAS PERTH, and nine destroyers, from Sourabaya. At the same time a striking force formed on HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), sailed from Tanjong Priok, to attempt the interception of a Japanese convoy approaching western Java.
- 27 Feb 1942
LCDR F. N. Cook, RAN, was Senior Naval Officer at the beach-head during the British Commando and parachute raid on German radio location stations at Bruneval, France. Cook was awarded the DSC for conspicuous gallantry in the operation.
The Battle of the Java Sea - HMAS PERTH, HM Ships EXETER, ELECTRA and JUPITER, USS HOUSTON and the Dutch ships DE RUYTER, JAVA and KORTENAER, engaged a superior Japanese fleet in the Java Sea. All the Allied ships except PERTH and HOUSTON were sunk in this disastrous engagement. CAPT H. M. L. Waller, DSO and Bar, RAN, commanded HMAS PERTH during this battle and made the decision to break off the engagement after the Dutch Admiral was killed when the cruiser DE RUYTER was sunk.
The cruiser HMAS HOBART, (CAPT H. L. Howden, RAN), with HM Ships DRAGON and DANAE, (cruisers), and two destroyers, were ordered by CDRE J. Collins, RAN, to attack an approaching western invading force. HOBART was later attacked by enemy aircraft in Tanjong Priok, and five ratings were wounded. HOBART left Tanjong Priok that night for Padang, Sumatra, to pick up refugees and proceed to Ceylon.
- 28 Feb 1942
Engaged in the Battle of the Sunda Strait, HMAS PERTH, (cruiser), and USS HOUSTON, (cruiser), were attempting to force their way through the Sunda Strait when they encountered a Japanese invasion force protected by several warships. In the ensuing battle a number of Japanese ships were sunk or damaged, but PERTH and HOUSTON were also sunk, with heavy loss of life. PERTH’S Commanding Officer, CAPT H.M.L. Waller, DSO and Bar, RAN, was killed in this action. He was later awarded a posthumous MID. Over half of PERTH’s ships company lost their lives in the battle and the rest were captured and made POWs in the ensuing weeks, including PERTH’s navigator LCDR J.A. Harper, RN.
HMAS WOLLONGONG, (minesweeper), attempted to tow the British tanker WAR SIRDAR off Jong Reef, Agentium Island. The tanker was later abandoned.
CMDR G.L. Cant, RAN, in HMAS MARYBOROUGH, commanding the six corvette strong auxiliary naval patrol in Sunda Strait, decided to return to Tjilatjap to refuel, but was ordered to return to Sunda Strait with MARYBOROUGH, TOOWOOMBA, BALLARAT, and GOULBURN.
- 01 Mar 1942
HMAS PERTH, (cruiser), was sunk by enemy action. 23 officers and 333 ratings lost their lives.
HMAS HOBART, (cruiser), evacuated 512 refugees from Padang and landed them at Colombo.