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The Battle of Badung Strait (Bali Sea Battle) happened during the night of February 19, 1942–February 20, 1942 in the Badung Strait between the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA) and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and resulted in a Japanese victory.
Wartime History
On February 18, 1942 Japanese forces landed on Bali. In response, Dutch Admiral Karel Doorman's sent all available ABDA warships to engage the enemy but his forces were scattered. The first to engage the Japanese convoy were submarines USS Seawolf and HMS Truant spotted the Japanese convoy but were driven off by depth charges from Japanese destroyers. Later that same day, roughly twenty U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) planes attacked the convoy and damaged Sagami Maru.
After the landing, the Japanese force withdrew northward. Cruiser Nagara and the destroyers Wakaba, Hatsushimo and Nenohi departed and did not participate in the battle. The last ships to leave were the transports, escorted by two destroyers. Sasago Maru was escorted by Asashio and Oshio while damaged Sagami Maru was escorted by Michishio and Arashio.
On February 19, 1942 at 10:00pm, the first group of Allied warships
including Hr. Ms. De Ruyter and Hr. Ms. Java with destroyers USS John D. Ford (DD-228), USS Pope (DD-225) and Hr. Ms. Piet Hein spotted the Japanese in Badung Strait. At 10:25pm they open fire at but cause no damage and the two Dutch cruisers continued through Badung Strait to the northeast, to allow the destroyers to engage with torpedoes. At 10:40pm, the Allied destroyers came into range. Meanwhile, Asashio fired a torpedo that hit and sank Hr Ms Piet Hein. Next, Asashio and Oshio then exchanged gunfire with USS Pope and USS John D. Ford, forcing them to retire to the southeast instead of northeast in further pursuit. Accidentally, Asashio and Oshio mistook each other for enemy ships and fired on each other for several minutes, but failed to cause any damage.
On February 20, 1942 around 1:00am, the second group of Allied warships cruiser Hr Ms Tromp and destroyers USS John D. Edwards, USS Parrott, USS Pillsbury, and USS Stewart entered Badung Strait. At 01:36, Stewart, Pillsbury and Parrott launched torpedoes but did no damage. Next, Oshio and Asashio returned gunfire and Hr Ms Tromp was hit by eleven 12.7cm shells from Asashio, severely damaging her. The Japanese destroyers were also hit with four dead aboard Asashio and seven dead on Oshio. Meanwhile, Arashio and Michishio turned back to join the battle. Michishio was hit by shells from Pillsbury, John D. Edwards and Tromp, killing 13 of her crew and wounding 83. She lost speed and had to be towed after the battle. USS Stewart was damaged with a shell hit below the waterline the caused flooding. Afterwards, both the Japanese and Allies turned away ending the engagement.
Finally, at 6:00am a third group of Allied warships, seven torpedo boats arrived in
Badung Strait but failed to find any Japanese. The battle was a Japanese victory with Asashio and Oshio driving off a large force of Allied warships and the Japanese sustained less damage.
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Last Updated
August 18, 2024
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