Many of the remaining units of his fleet were subsequently destroyed at the Battle of the Sunda Strait (February 28/March 1) and the Second Battle of the Java Sea (March 1). The Battle of Sunda Strait. The Houston's commanding officer, Captain Albert H Rooks, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism. Share this event with your friends. After a fierce battle of several hours duration, both Allied ships were sunk. The Japanese sank the Houston during the Battle of Sunda Strait on February 28, 1942. The Japanese conducted a pincer attack from sea and land to capture a strategic airfield in Banjarmasin (old spelling: Bandjarmasin or Bandjermasin) in preparation for the capture of Java Island. Sunda Strait, the small stretch of water between the islands of Sumatra and Java was the scene of a number of naval engagements in February and March 1942. Thank you! 0 Interested. Both Houston and Perth survived, but the ABDA fleet was in disarray. On 24 October, he took command of the light cruiser HMAS Perth, berthed in Sydney. The Evertsen was caught in searchlights just off the island of Dwars in de Weg in the Sunda Strait at 2:00 AM on March 1st, 1942. Please replace links to Wikipedia in this article with links to this wiki. HMAS Perth in the Battle of Sunda Strait. This battle was not at all like the battles that had been fought in the previous month, when there were organized squadrons with a general directive facing the enemy. After the two Dutch cruisers were torpedoed and sunk around midnight the … In the ensuing battle of Sunda strait, the Houston and Perth both agressively fired at the attacking Japanese ships at close range, but, outnumbered and outgunned, they were no match for the enemy forces that completely surrounded them. The loss of HMAS Perth, 1 March 1942. On the night of 28 February – 1 March 1942, the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth and the American heavy cruiser USS Houston faced a major Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) task force. Hosted by. HMAS Perth was Waller's final command. After the sinking of the Houston and Perth, the Dutch Destroyer Evertsen was caught by the IJN Destroyers Murakumo & Shirakumo as she tried to avoid contact with the IJN forces in the Sunda Strait. The aftermath of the battle included several smaller actions around Java, including the battle of Sunda Strait and the Second Battle of the Java Sea. The Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II. The Sunda Strait Battle, February-March 1942. Battle of Sunda Strait (February 28, 1942) The final act in the slaughter of ABDA occurred off western Java, as the Houston and Perth, fleeing from the debacle in the Java Sea, tried to break out through the Sunda Strait.And as it happened they came upon a Japanese landing force at Bantam Bay, covered by widely dispersed force of cruisers and destroyers. The Battle of the Java Sea and The Battle of Sunda Strait. The Battle of the Java Sea ( Indonesian: Pertempuran Laut Jawa, Japanese: スラバヤ沖海戦, romanized: Surabaya oki kaisen, lit. ' The Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java, and Sumatra. The Battle of Banjarmasin (31 January – 10 February 1942) took place as part of the Japanese offensive to capture the Dutch East Indies. On 27 February the eight-hour Battle of the Java Sea sank or crippled two Dutch cruisers and three destroyers. "Abandon Ship !" In the Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II. In the short fierce battle both the Houston and the Perth were sunk as were a number of enemy vessels. 1. HMAS Perth was built at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Amphion on 15 June 1936. The Battle in Brief. SUNDA STRAIT – Sailors from mine countermeasures ship USS Chief (MCM 14) attended a wreath laying ceremony to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Sunda Strait aboard the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) ship Kri Usman Harun (359), Mar. Naval Association of Australia. #4. Battle of the Sunda Strait (February 28 - March 1, 1942) The Battle of the Sunda Strait commenced in earnest on 28 February at 11.06pm when the Japanese invasion force assigned to western Java engaged and attacked by HMAS Perth and the USS Houston. Departing the Mediterranean, Waller returned to Australia in August 1941 for service in the South West Pacific. 75th anniversary of the Battle of Sunda Strait and the loss of the HMAS Perth - commemorative address The Honourable Dr Brendan Nelson AO, Director of the Australian War Memorial Last Post Ceremony to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Sunda Strait and the loss of the HMAS Perth, Australian War Memorial 2017.