Lat
3° 43' 0S Long 128° 11' 60E Known as Amboyna by the Japanese.
History
The island was one of the Portuguese
settlements founded in 1521, taken over by the Dutch in 1605,
alternating between British and Dutch administration, until in
1814 restored to the Dutch. Occupied by the Japanese on January
30, 1942.
Japanese Air Raids
The last remaining Dutch fighters were
shot down on 15 January. On the 16 January in a daylight raid
some of the Hudsons were destroyed plus ground casualties inflicted.
On the day of the Japanese landing at Kendari, 24 January, the
carriers Soryu and Hiryu attacked Ambon with thirty-five aircraft.
Two other carriers, Shokaku and Zuikaku, of the carrier Fleet
were supporting the assault on Rabual.
The last few remaining serviceable Hudsons evacuated after 28
January, soon no air or naval support would remain for the defense
of Ambon.
Japanese Landings
During the night of 30 January two
Japanese landings were launched, by marines at Hitu-Iama and
by an army regiment on the southern coast of Laitimor. The defenders
were at a disadvantage to contest the landings, only a few Dutch
detachments were in the area. At Hitu-Iama on the north coast
the defenders were quickly overwhelmed. Other landings occurred
around Hutumori, here the Japanese split westward to the town,
and northward to Paso using captured Ambonese compelled to act
as guides. By the 2 February the defenders had been pushed down
upon the coastline of the bay with Japanese naval ships and seaplanes
machine-gunning the roads and it became apparent that officers
and men were exhausted from continual fighting. On the morning
of 3 February the Japanese flag could be seen over Laha and Scott
concluded that if he stayed in this position he would be bombed
and strafed, he therefore dispatched the battalion medical officer,
Captain Aitken, to obtain terms of surrender with the enemy.
Paso
Principal Dutch defensive fortifications were located
here.
Ambon War Cemetery
Commonwealth Cemetery at Ambon and memorial.
Bennet
Battery of guns operated by Dutch permanent artillerymen and was
emplaced in concrete with accommodation, underground telephone
system that ranged the Bay of Ambon and Laha airfield.
Sirimau
WWII era circular
concrete "pillboxes" and trenches remain to this day.
Ambon Airfield
Built by the Dutch prior to the war, occupied by the Japanese for the duration of the war.
PBY-5 Catalina Bureau
Number 2309 Number 16
Shot down February 15, 1942 over Ambon by Japanese fighters
Halong
Lat
3° 38' 60S Long 128° 13' 0E Island
to the SW of Ceram.
| Halong
Seaplane Station (Ambon Bay) |
Pre-War
Marinevliegkamp
Halong (MVK-H, naval air facility Halong), on Ambon
Bay adjacent to the settlement of Ambon, was under development
by the Marineluchtvaartdienst RNNAS as one of four
medium capacity seaplane operating bases in the East
Indies. Construction was incomplete by the start of the Pacific war on December 8, 1941. The facility supported GVT 17 (3 Y-boats, Catalinas)
and GVTs 2 and 5 (3 each Dornier
Do 24K) at more advanced
bases in Celebes and New Guinea.
US Navy
The U. S. Navy's Patrol Wing
TEN based there December 23 - January 8, 1942, when Wing HQ moved to Java. PW10 Catalinas continued to be based
there for patrol purposes until the Japanese air raid on 15 January, when two
PBYs were lost and third damaged. Both the RNNAS and PW10 abandoned Halong
for Java the following day. Attempting to
base there again temporarily, Patrol Wing ten lost more PBYs there 25 January
(two plus the one damaged earlier) when the Japanese carriers struck a
devastating blow, and thereafter the position was abandoned
as too dangerous. Two Patrol Wing TEN Catalinas from Java
flew in at dawn 28 January only to evacuate American and Dutch personnel
and departed without interference. The Dutch ground crew
had already destroyed the remaining fuel stocks. The base consisted of three large hangers, three underground fuel tanks, workshops and barracks all still under constrcution when the base fell to the Japanese at the end of January 1942.
U. S. Navy planes lost at Halong / Ambon Bay:
PBY-5 22-P-8 (BuNo 2303)
Crippled on the water upon
arrival from Darwin by air attack, grounded on a mud
bank, abandoned - 15 Jan.
PBY-5 22-P-7 (BuNo 2291)
Damaged by air attack and
fire , beached, considered repairable- 15 Jan. Destroyed
by air attack 25 Jan.
PBY-5 22-P-10 (BuNo 2301)
Sunk at a buoy by air attack- 15
Jan.
PBY-5 VP 101's #15 (ex-22-P-5, BuNo
2293)
Sunk at
a buoy by air attack- 25 Jan.
PBY-5 VP 101's #11 (ex-22-P-11, BuNo
2302)
Badly damaged
on the seaplane ramp by air attack, and abandoned as
beyond salvage - 25 Jan.
Japanese Units at Halong
934th Kokutai (A6M2N Rufes)
References
Thanks
to Lou Dorny / The Baltic Group Archive for this information.
|
Kairatoe
Located on the Northeast end of Ambon
Island. 14 miles north of Liang.
| Kairatoe
Drome |
Japanese wartime aerodrome. Located
35 miles west of Amahai Drome.
|
Liang
Lat
3° 30' 0S Long 128° 19' 0E
| Liang
Drome |
Unclear if this airfield was an alternate name for Lahang Drome.
|
Laha
Located 20 miles south-east
of Liang Drome.
| Laha
Drome (Ambon East) |
Construction
One of two strips built prior to the war. The second was at Lahang. Prior to the Japanese landings,
Dutch & Australians destroyed naval oil
reserves, bomb dumps, hangers and other equipment
at Laha, and sought to make the airfield unusable.
Japanese Air Raids
On the night January 6, 1942 seven
Japanese flying boats dropped thirty-three
bombs on three targets, two Hudson bombers,
a Buffalo fighter and workshop facilities
at Laha airfield were damaged with three native
civilians killed.
Wartime History
Australian and Dutch troops defended by It was defended by 1,100 Australians, 400 Dutchmen and about 5,000 native troops. They battled for the airfield fiercely for over nine hours of continuous close combat fighting. By mid-morning of February 2, 1942 the battle for the airfield was over.
 The surviving Australians at Laha approached the Japanese with surrender negotiations at Laha waving a white flag. Upon capture by the Japanese forces, Imperial Naval Forces murdered over 200 prisoners by beheading. The Japanese then used the airfield for the rest of the war.
|
| Lahang
Drome |
Construction
One of two strips built prior to the war. The second was at Laha
|
Amahai
Island
Small island to the south of
Ceram with airfield
Haroekoe
Island
Island off Ambon
Haroekoe POW Camp
Labor camp of mostly British, Australian
captured in Malay, and Dutch from Ceram, they were used
to work on airfields, including Liang.
After surrender, the Japanese executed 400 Australian POWs to prevent their
crimes from being known.
 Veteran
Cyril Morris,
RAF recalls:
"Dawn to dusk hard labor building an airstrip. The
brutality, disease and malnutrition resulting in a death
rate of 10 burials a day."
Tantoei POW Camp
Australian POW camp
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