HMAS
Light Cruiser
Sunk
February 28, 1942
Wartime History
HMAS Perth and USS Houston returned
to Tanjong Priok at 2.30pm on Saturday 28th February, 1942 after the Battle
of the Java Sea. There they received orders to escape through
Sunda Strait, which runs between Java and Sumatra, and make for Tjilitap
on the south coast of Java. At the start of the Battle
of Sunda Strait, HMAS Perth only had about 20 rounds per gun left.
Battle of Sunda Strait & Sinking
At 10.30pm Perth and USS Houston were sighted by the destroyer FUBUKI which quietly shadowed them for
the
next
half
hour.
At 11.06
Perth lookouts sighted HARUKAZE about 5 miles ahead just of the entrance
to the strait.
HARUKAZE about 5 miles ahead just of the entrance to the strait. When challenged she made an unrecognized reply and then sped off making smoke to cover the Jap transports. Perth immediately turned to starboard and opened fire. A few minutes later Perth sighted FUBUKI and, illuminating her, opened fire. FUBUKI fired her torpedoes at Perth and HOUSTON but missed, instead hitting the Jap transports.
Destroyers of the 5th and 11th Destroyer Squadron now made torpedo attacks on the allied cruisers and an urgent call was sent to the 8" cruisers MOGAMI and Mikuma to assist. Perth exchanged fire with HATAKAZE as the other destroyers continued to attack. The light cruiser NATORI and her destroyers now joined in the attack but the fire from Perth and USS Houston was so intense that the Japanese were forced to break off under a smokescreen.
By now MOGAMI and Mikuma had commenced firing at our ships. Another attempt was made by the Jap destroyers to mount a torpedo attack but they were driven off by the sheer ferocity of the gunfire from Perth and HOUSTON. At 11.50pm Perth was hit by a shell from HARUKAZE which did little damage. Our cruisers were still exchanging fire with the enemy cruisers.
Perth was low on 6" and the 4"AA were firing star shells and practice rounds to make it look like they had plenty of ammunition left. At 11.55pm Perth started to turn to make a run for Sunda Strait. At the same time MURAKUMO, HARUKAZE and HATAKAZE all fired torpedoes toward her. Perth was hit by four torpedoes over the next 15 minutes and at 0025 on 1st March 1942, she finally sank a few miles north of St Nicholas Point at the entrance to Sunda Strait.
Shipwreck
HMAS Perth lies in about 120' of water
at position 05.51.42S 106.07.52E about 3 miles north of St. Nicholas
Point on
the NW tip
of Java. Of her crew of 682 men, only 229 returned to Australia at
the end of the war.
120'
