Japan
enters the War The Campaign in the Far East: December 1941 -
December 1942
References
Appendix
X Organisation of British and Allied submarines Mar-Apl 1942
Patrolgram
10 S/M War Patrols in Far East on outbreak of war with Japan
Patrolgram
11 S/M War Patrols in Far East May-Dec 1942
Map 22 Japanese invasion of South
East Asia Dec 41-Mar 42
Map 23 Far East at loss of Singapore
and Dutch East Indies Apl-Dec 1942
SCARCELY HAD
THE LAST of the British submarines in the Far East left for
the Mediterranean in July 1940 when the attitude of the Japanese
began to change for the worse. The defeat of France and the
Netherlands by Germany prompted them to look with avarice towards
French Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies. The position of
Great Britain, standing alone against Italy and Germany, and
herself in imminent danger of invasion, gave them confidence
to demand the closure of the Burma Road which was China's main
line for war supplies, and to insist on the withdrawal of the
few British troops left in China. The British response was to
try and reach some accommodation with Japan but at the same
time small re-inforcements were sent to Singapore. It does not,
however, seem that there was any suggestion that the submarines,
for twenty years stationed in the Far East for just such an
emergency, should be sent back. In October 1940 a Tri-service
C-in-C Far East was appointed, and in February 1941 an agreement
was reached with the Australians and the Dutch for the defence
of the area. Part of this ADA agreement, as it was called, allowed
for some of the Dutch submarines stationed in the Netherlands
East Indies to come under British operational control in the
event of war. The Royal Netherlands Navy had fifteen submarines
in the Far East. Four of these were elderly and only fit for
local defence and anti-submarine training but the rest, although
middle aged, were operational and organised in four divisions.
All were based ashore at Surabaya in Java. The war plan was
to deploy them defensively in the various Straits through which
an invasion force would have to pass to land in Java or to attack
the oil ports at Tarakan, Balik Papan and Palembang.
Throughout
the rest of 1941, relations with Japan continued to deteriorate
as they made their preparations for war. British intelligence,
which included the breaking of certain Japanese ciphers, concluded
that Japan wished to continue her expansion southwards, probably
occupying Thailand and even invading Malaya, but had no intention
of attacking Russia and did not wish to provoke the United States.
The British slowly built up their defences mainly from India
and Australia, but there was no question of sending any submarines:
they were far too busy attacking Rommel's supply line in the
Mediterranean, and trying to deal with the German attacks by
their heavy units on trade in the Atlantic. In April 1941, Japan
signed a neutrality pact with Russia so protecting her rear
for operations to the south. In the same month a conference
was held in Singapore, which included the United States, and
many questions of naval importance were settled. The US Navy
had maintained a squadron of six submarines in their Asiatic
Fleet for many years. This unit was there for the same strategic
purpose as the British submarines in China between the wars:
it was to delay an enemy attack on the Philippines until the
American Pacific Fleet could arrive to restore the situation.
In September 1939 a division of six modern fleet type submarines
was sent from San Diego to reinforce the Asiatic Fleet and in
1940 five more fleet submarines arrived making a total of seventeen
boats. In June when Germany invaded Soviet Russia, the Japanese
decided it was safe to secure control over French lndo-China.
By the end of July they had occupied Cam Ranh Bay and Saigon,
and the US Government took trade sanctions in reprisal that
included an oil embargo. The British Admiralty proposed to build
up an Eastern Fleet based on seven battleships, four of which
were elderly, but there was still no suggestion of including
any submarines in it. Later the Prime Minister entered the discussion
and it was decided to sail Prince of Wales and Repulse to operate
in the Indian Ocean. He hoped that such a squadron would deter
Japanese aggression. In October these ships sailed for the Far
East. The US Navy then decided to reinforce their submarines
in the Philippines again and in November sent another full squadron
or twelve modern fleet boats to Manila. The US Submarine Force
of their Asiatic Fleet now consisted of a total of 29 submarines
based on three tenders or depot ships and the shore base at
Cavite in Manila Bay. The British had only one submarine at
Singapore and this was Rover,
towed there for repair after being seriously damaged in Crete.
She was in Singapore Dockyard with all her main machinery removed.
Two of the US submarines were also refitting in Cavite Navy
Yard, and one of the Netherlands submarines in Surabaya, leaving
a force of forty-one Allied boats to meet any Japanese offensive
to the south.
When, on 7th
December, the Japanese attacked, they not only sent an Invasion
force to Malaya from Indo-China, as had been expected, but
made an all-out assault on the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbour
and sent forces to invade the Philippines as well. The British
and Netherlands Forces were ready. The British air patrols
sighted the Japanese landing forces entering the Gulf of Siam,
and ten Netherlands submarines were already out on patrol.
The American submarines were prepared for war and some or
them were lying in harbours near their war stations, but the
majority of them were in Manila Bay. On 7th December, two
Dutch submarines of the First Division, O16 and KVII had been
under British operational control since 1st December and had
been sent to patrol in the Gulf of Siam. The Second Division
consisting of KXI, KXII and KXIII, patrolling off the Anamba
and Natuna Islands in the southern part of the South China
Sea under Netherlands control, were at once transferred to
the C-in-C Eastern Fleet. These five submarines were then
redisposed across the entrance to the Gulf of Siam to intercept
the Japanese invasion forces, but they were too late. The
Japanese passed to the north of them before they were in position.
After the sinking of the Prince Of Wales and Repulse on 10th
December, these five submarines were ordered to sweep westwards
to attack any transports encountered between Kota Bahru and
Singora. On 12th December, O19 and O20 of the Fourth Division,
which had been on patrol in the Karimata Strait, south east
of Singapore, as the main attack seemed to be on Malaya, were
also placed under British command. After refuelling at Singapore
they were also despatched to the east coast of Malaya. On
12th December, KXII (Luitenant ter zee 1e KI HCJ Coumou) torpedoed
and sank Toro Maru of 1939 tons off Kota Bahru and next day
sank the tanker Taizan Maru of 3525 tons in the same area.
O10 (Luitenant ter zee 1e Kl AJ Bussemaker) on the night of
12th December destroyed four Japanese transports in shallow
water off Sungei Patani1
but on her return passage to Singapore ran into a newly laid
Japanese minefield off Pulau Tioman and was sunk. KXVII (Luitenant
ter zee 1e Kl HC Besancon) was also lost on her way back to
Singapore and almost certainly ran into this same minefield.
O19 (Luitenant ter zee 1e Kl FJA Knoops) sighted the Japanese
cruiser Yubari on 18th December and missed three merchant
ships on 23rd subsequently returning to Singapore. O20 (Luitenant
ter zee 1e KI PGJ Snippe) was detected and heavily depth charged
by Japanese destroyers on 19th December. In trying to escape
on the surface after dark she fired torpedoes at one of her
pursuers and engaged with her gun, but was hit by them and
sunk. The Japanese picked up thirty-two survivors. KXI, KXII
and KXIII returned to Singapore without success, and KXIII
was badly damaged by a battery explosion after arriving in
harbour and had to be sent back to Surabaya for repairs. Of
the seven Netherlands submarines placed under British operational
control, only three now remained. On 17th December C-in-C
Eastern Fleet signalled to the Admiralty that an 'urgent need
is submarines and yet more submarines'. At the time the submarines
on the Home Station were at full stretch to blockade Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau in Brest, and those in the Mediterranean were
very busy cutting Rommel's supply line during an important
phase of the 'Crusader Offensive'. Nevertheless the Admiralty,
as we have already seen, ordered C-in-C Mediterranean to send
two T-class east, and Truant
and Trusty
left Alexandria at the turn of the year.
The submarines
of the US Asiatic Fleet lost no time in getting to sea. Eight
boats were sent out on offensive patrols to the coasts of
Indo China, Hainan and Formosa to the westwards and the Pelew
Islands to the east2.
Sixteen boats were disposed for defence round Luzon, especially
Lingayen Gulf where landings were expected, and in straits
to the south of the island3.
On 10th December the Japanese made a devastating air raid
on Cavite Navy Yard and practically destroyed it, sinking
the submarine Sealion
and damaging Seadragon, both of which were refitting there.
They also destroyed the main reserve of 230 submarine torpedoes.
It was at once decided to move the submarine tenders Holland
and the partially converted Otus
south to Darwin in Australia, and to shift the main submarine
base to Surabaya in Java. The tender Canopus remained in Manila
Bay to serve the submarines that returned from patrol. When
the main Japanese landings were made in Lingayen Gulf in December,
there were six US submarines in the area, which were S38,
S40, Stingray, Saury, Salmon
and Seal.
They sank two ships but this totally failed to stop the invasion.
The powerful submarine force of the Asiatic Fleet, to use
the words of the official US Naval historian4
'did not even hamper the Japanese advance and certainly failed
to prevent any of the nine Japanese amphibious operations
landing in the Philippines'. They made thirty-one torpedo
attacks during December firing 66 torpedoes but they only
sank three ships of 14,963 tons. It is only fair to say that
they had trouble with the depth keeping of their torpedoes
and many ran under5.
The submarines were also used to evacuate senior personages
to the south. Captain Wilkes, commanding the submarine force,
went in Swordfish;
Captain Fife in Seawolf;
Admiral Hart, the C-in-C, in Shark;
and President Quezon in a second trip in Shark.
The Netherlands
Third Division of submarines consisting of KXIV, KXV and KXVI,
had originally been sent to patrol the Macassar Strait. Soon
after war broke out, however, the division was recalled to
Surabaya to fuel, and was then sent to the north west coast
of Borneo where Japanese landings were expected in British
North Borneo to seize the oil port at Lutong, and to occupy
the airfield further south at Kuching in Sarawak. The Japanese
landing force left Cam Rahn Bay on 13th December and arrived
off Miri on 15th. On 22nd they moved down to Kuching. On 23rd
December, in a night attack off Kuching, KXIV (Luitenant ter
zee 1e Kl CAJ van Well Groeneveld) sank the transports Katori
Maru of 9849 tons and Hie Maru of 4943 tons and damaged two
other ships. KXIV was in only 40 feet when she fired and she
had to escape over a five-fathom bank. Having expended all
his torpedoes, Luitenant Groeneveld then returned to Surabaya.
On 24th December KXVI (Luitenant ter zee 1e Kl LJ Jarman)
met a force of Japanese destroyers off the north west coast
of Borneo and torpedoed and sank Sagiri. The very next day,
however, she herself was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese
submarine I66. The third submarine of this division, KXV,
sighted nothing but then had to return to Surabaya to change
her battery.
By the end
of the year, Hong Kong and Manila had surrendered and the US
forces in the Philippines held only Corregidor and the Bataan
peninsula. Penang and northern Malaya had been overrun and the
British in Borneo had retreated into Dutch territory. O10 (Luitenant
ter zee 1e Kl HF Bach KolIing), still under British operational
control, left Singapore to patrol in the Gulf of Siam. On 7th
January she sighted a convoy but her attack was frustrated when
she was forced deep by one of the escorts. On 10th she attacked
another convoy of two ships and fired three torpedoes at a range
of 3000 yards sinking Akita Maru of 3817 tons. She returned
to Singapore on 15th January and then to Surabaya reverting
to Netherlands operational control. KII and KXII continued to
operate from Singapore during January but without success. They
too then reverted to Dutch control. Soon after the Third Division
had been withdrawn in December from the Macassar Strait to operate
on the other side of Borneo, a Japanese threat to the area became
apparent. The elderly KX (Luitenant ter zee 1e Kl PG de Back),
which had been commissioned from reserve in December, was sent
north to patrol off Davao, but before she could get there she
was diverted to Tarakan where she developed engine defects.
The Japanese attack force then arrived and she had to make her
escape back to Surabaya. KXIV on return from northwest Borneo
was then sent to patrol the Gaspar and Macassar Straits, followed
on 15th January by KXVIII after completion of her refit at Surabaya.
Six US submarines from Surabaya were also sent to the Macassar
Straits area and these were Saury, Pickerel, Sturgeon,
Porpoise,
Spearfish
and S40. Sturgeon
(Lieutenant Commander WL Wright USN) contacted the invasion
force on the night of 22nd/23rd January and fired a salvo of
torpedoes by sonar but it missed. The next night, KXVIII (Luitenant
ter zee 1e KI CAJ van Well Groeneveld) missed a destroyer but
damaged Buruga Maru of 6987 tons and also the patrol vessel
P37.
She was at once counter attacked while she had a torpedo running
hot in one of her tubes. Forty tons of water entered the after
compartment, causing serious damage and she subsided onto the
bottom. She remained there until the following night when she
was able to surface and get back to Surabaya. On 24th, KXIV
(Luitenant ter zee 2e Kl T Brunsting) was in the vicinity during
the US destroyer attack on the Japanese transports off Balik
Papan, but a torpedo attack that she made on the light cruiser
Naka did not succeed.
During January
the main base of the US submarines was Surabaya. Although at
the time it was ideal to rest the submarine crews, the base
itself was fully occupied with the Dutch submarines. Spares
were short and artificers were, in any case, ignorant about
American machinery and its maintenance. If any important repairs
were needed, submarines had to go south to Darwin to the tenders
Holland and Otus.
The submarines continued to operate as far north as Hainan and
in the Philippines, although most of them worked in East Indies
waters. They sank the destroyer Natsushio and three ships of
12,220 tons in some fifteen attacks expending about 40 torpedoes.
One submarine, S36, was lost during January when she ran ashore
in the Macassar Strait on her way back to Surabaya. The Japanese
destroyer Amatsukaze sank another submarine, Shark,
on 14th February off Menado on the north coast of Celebes.
The British
Army had retreated south and had lost central Malaya by the
middle of January. By the end of the month it had retired on
to Singapore Island itself and the end was in sight. On 31st
January, Trusty
(Lieutenant Commander WDA King DSO DSC RN) arrived from the
Mediterranean and was damaged in an air raid as soon as she
entered Keppel Harbour. Nevertheless after two days she was
sent north to the Gulf of Siam to try and cut the enemy's supply
lines. She made a gun attack on a merchant ship but was herself
damaged and had to desist. By this time Singapore had fallen,
and she made her way to Surabaya where she arrived on 10th February.
Truant
(Lieutenant Commander HAV Haggard DSC RN) was following Trusty
and was about a week behind. She arrived at the Sunda Strait
as the last convoys were escaping from Singapore and was diverted
to Batavia, and was then sent on to Surabaya where she arrived
on 11th February. Rover,
refitting in Singapore, was made fit for sea and had all her
machinery dumped back on board whether it had been repaired
or not. She was then towed first to Colombo and then to Bombay
to continue her refit.
Heavy air
raids began on Surabaya on 3rd February and on 4th the American
tenders at Darwin were called forward to Tjilatjap on the south
coast of Java. Already the Japanese were starting to advance
again and invasion forces were on their way to the oil port
of Palembang in Sumatra and to Bali and Timor to cut off Java
from Australia. The Netherlands submarines were now reduced
to seven boats fit for operations. KVII was bombed and sunk
in Surabaya on 18th February and KXVIII, KIX and KXIII were
under repair in the dockyard and O19 was replenishing. Work
could only be done at night and the submarines spent daylight
hours submerged on the bottom of the harbour. The old submarines
KVIII and KX patrolled north of Surabaya, KXV was off the Anamba
Islands in the South China Sea, KXIV was in the Karimata Strait
and KXI and KXII were north of Sanka Island. These last four
boats were hoping to intercept the Japanese invasion force heading
for Palembang. Of the American submarines, those that needed
serious repairs had to go to the tender Holland at Tjilatjap
and five had to do so6.
A number of submarines were used to ferry food and ammunition
to Bataan and Corregidor, still holding out in the Philippines
and these included Seawolf,
Seadragon, Sargo, Swordfish
and Permit. These boats also evacuated key personnel with any
submarine spare gear or torpedoes they could lay their hands
on. Other US submarines were disposed to try and intercept invasion
forces in the Java Sea. Salmon
(Lieutenant Commander EE McKinney USN) torpedoed the destroyer
Susukaze off Kendari and S37 (Lieutenant JC Dempsey USN) sank
the destroyer Natsushio. The most immediate problem was Bali,
where a Japanese force landed on 19th February to take the airfield.
Truant
had left Surabaya the day before for Bali. On 24th in a night
attack she fired six torpedoes at a range of 1200 yards at a
Japanese heavy cruiser but without result. Three days later
her starboard engine clutch seized and she returned to Surabaya.
There was no hope of rectifying this defect there at this stage
and Truant
was ordered to proceed to Colombo with her defective clutch
unrepaired. While diving through the Sunda Strait on 1st/2nd
March, Japanese destroyers hunted Truant,
but she managed to shake them off and made a surface passage
to Colombo with her other engine clutch threatening to fail
as well7. Trusty,
with fuel leaks and damage from the near misses by bombs when
in Singapore as well as damage in her unsuccessful gun action
in the Gulf of Siam, could not be repaired in Surabaya either
and on 26th February she too was sailed by the Sunda Strait
to Colombo where she arrived on 8th March, the same day as Truant.
The Dutch
submarines on patrol trying to intercept the Palembang landings
failed to do so and two of them, KXI and KXII had to return
to Surabaya with engine defects. When Java itself was threatened,
all returned to patrol the Java Sea and these included the
American S37, S38, S39, Perch, Seal,
Saury and Sailfish and the Netherlands KXIV, KXV, KX and O19.
On 1st March, KXIV (Luitenant ter zee 1e K1 Mulock van der
Vlies Bik) made an attack on a Japanese Kijma-class cruiser
but the cruiser sighted the torpedo tracks and took avoiding
action. On the same day KXV (Luitenant ter zee 1e Kl CW The
Baron van Boetzelaer) attacked a large tanker in Bantam Bay
west of Batavia and fired at 600 yards in spite of a strong
escort. She hit and damaged the 14,000-ton Tsurumi Maru and
was heavily counter attacked with 40 depth charges causing
an oil leak, and then another counter attack with 22 depth
charges. She was, however, able to escape through the Sunda
Strait and make for Colombo. After the Battle of the Java
Sea and the Japanese landings in Java on 28th February, it
was clear that Surabaya would soon be in the enemy's hands.
On 1st March S37 was the last US submarine to leave and on
3rd the Dutch destroyed the base. Three submarines, KXVIII,
KX and KXIII also had to be sunk as their repairs were incomplete
and they were unable to put to sea. Three more submarines,
KVIII, KIX and KXII, carrying the port Admiral and base personnel,
escaped and arrived safely at Fremantle in Australia. KXI
carrying the Captain of the submarine base made for Colombo
and rescued some of the ship's company of the Australian sloop
Yarra on the way. KXIV and O19 left patrol in the Java Sea
after the loss of Java and also made their way to Colombo.
The six US
submarines had done their best north of the Malay barrier
but they were quite unable to prevent the landings in Java.
Saury (Lieutenant Commander JL Burnside USN) had reported
the approach of the Japanese western attack force and S38
(Lieutenant WG Chapple USN) and Seal
(Lieutenant Commander KC Hurd USN) had reported the approach
of the Japanese eastern attack force, but that was all. In
February and March the US submarines had made a number of
attacks including one on a destroyer and more than one on
a light cruiser, but only succeeded in sinking three ships
totalling 13,782 tons. Another submarine, Perch (Lieutenant
Commander DA Hurt USN) was lost north of Java and she was
sunk by Japanese destroyers when making a determined attempt
to close the invasion convoys. The tender Holland left Tjilatjap
on 19th February for Exmouth Gulf In Australia. She soon went
on south to Fremantle where she met two supply ships from
the USA with torpedoes, provisions, spare gear and fuel of
which she was much in need. The submarines of the US Asiatic
Fleet then became the Submarine Force, South West Pacific
Area and were given the task of attacking the Japanese communications
between Japan and their new territories in the East Indies,
Malaya, the Philippines and lndo China, and at this point
we must leave them to follow the fortunes of the British and
Dutch submarines which retired to Ceylon.
NO SOONER
HAD SINGAPORE FALLEN than future submarine strategy was being
discussed at the highest level. Early in March, the Prime
Minister wrote to the President saying that Ceylon was now
the key place in the area and that he was building up an Eastern
Fleet to be based there with which to prevent a Japanese amphibious
attack on India. He intended to use the two British submarines
and the Netherlands boats that were expected to retire to
Ceylon, to watch the Malacca Strait and he hoped that the
US submarines that retired to Australia would watch the Sunda
Strait and other openings in the East Indies through which
a Japanese raid might sortie.
Two British
submarines therefore, Trusty
and Truant,
and four Netherlands boats KXI, KXIV, KXV and O19, got to
Colombo but all were in need of repair and maintenance. They
were met by the old submarine depot ship Lucia,
which had been on the station since the disbanding of the
Eighth Submarine Flotilla in 1940. They were also met by the
Netherlands converted liner Colombia, which had been sent
out round the Cape from Dundee8.
These ships with the civilian shipyard at Colombo set to work
to get the Allied flotilla operational. A British Eastern
Fleet of five elderly battleships and two modern aircraft
carriers was assembling in the area, and they urgently needed
submarine reconnaissance in the Malacca Strait, as the Prime
Minister had foreseen, to warn them of the approach of any
Japanese forces that might advance into the Indian Ocean.
The two British submarines had had little maintenance since
leaving Alexandria and had arrived at Colombo still carrying
their baggage and extra spare crew. Nevertheless, Truant
(now Lieutenant Commander EF Balston DSO RN) was got away
to patrol in the northern approach to the Malacca Strait on
23rd March. On this date the Japanese occupied the Andaman
Islands. On 28th March C-in-C Eastern Fleet received intelligence
that a Japanese carrier force was on its way to attack Ceylon.
The elderly KXI was got to sea to join Truant
on receipt of this intelligence and, during the week she was
followed by O19 and KXV. Admiral Nagumo with the First Air
Fleet that had attacked Pearl Harbour in fact left Kandari
in the Celebes on 26th March, but entered the Indian Ocean
through the Sape Strait and passed south of Java and so was
not seen by Truant.
The aircraft from the Japanese carriers attacked Colombo on
5th April, scoring a bomb hit on Lucia
but the bomb fortunately did not explode. She was docked in
Colombo to be patched up temporarily, but had to go to Bombay
for permanent repairs. She sailed on 25th April and returned
at the end of July. The Japanese carriers made their way home
through the Malacca Strait on about 12th April and were not
seen by Truant
or any of the Netherlands submarines, the last two of which
were too late to intercept. Nor were there sightings of the
ships of another Japanese Force, which attacked commerce in
the Bay of Bengal. The British Eastern Fleet was so shaken
by the apparition of the Japanese carriers and by the loss
of Dorsetshire, Cornwall and Hermes that it retired first
to Addu Atoll and then to Kilindini in East Africa, leaving
the maritime defence of Ceylon to aircraft and the submarines
which remained based at Colombo.
On 1st April
Truant
intercepted the empty transports returning from landing the
troops in the Andaman Islands. She attacked the leading ship
of a convoy of three, firing six torpedoes9
at a range of 2700 yards hitting with one of them and stopping
the target. An hour later she fired two more torpedoes at one
of the other ships that had gone alongside the damaged vessel,
and hit with one of them. Both these ships, Shunshei Maru of
4939 tons and Yae Maru of 6781 tons sank, but the third ship
escaped in the darkness. Trusty
(Lieutenant Commander WDA King DSO DSC RN) relieved Truant
with a gap of nearly a fortnight and maintained patrol until
the end of the month. In April, KXV (Luitenant ter zee 1e Kl
CW The Baron van Boetzelaer) made one patrol off Sumatra and
O19 (Luitenant ter zee 1e Kl HF Bach Kolling) a patrol in the
Malacca Strait, both without result. KXl (Luitenant ter zee
1e Kl AH Deketh) also made one patrol from Ceylon, but KXIV
had to go to Bombay for repairs before she could be used at
all.
At this point
an attempt was made by C-in-C Mediterranean to take Lucia
from the Far East to act as depot ship for the Tenth Submarine
Flotilla in the Mediterranean, which had had to abandon Malta.
It was indeed possible for Colombia to service the few submarines
left, and C-in-C Eastern Fleet agreed to send her as soon as
her repairs were completed. A few days later, however, C-in-C
Ceylon demanded more submarines to take the offensive in the
Malacca Straits. The Admiralty then reconsidered the matter
and decided that the need of the Far East was greatest. With
the Eastern Fleet based at Kilindini, and the difficulty of
building up a strong enough surface fleet in Ceylon, they suggested
that the whole First Submarine Flotilla should be sent out to
the Far East. C-in-C Mediterranean protested, and in view of
the serious situation in the Middle East the Admiralty decided
to drop the suggestion. Lucia
and Colombia with the two British and four Dutch submarines
remained in the Indian Ocean and the First Submarine Flotilla
remained in the Mediterranean. The Netherlands submarines, however,
were all in need of repair. KXI was only fit to be used for
antisubmarine training and the other three were sent to Bombay,
followed by Colombia, to prepare them for the long voyage to
the USA or the UK for comprehensive refits10.
It had already
been decided to reinforce the Far East with the new depot ship
Adamant
and she arrived at Kilindini early in May where she was at once
'hijacked' by the Eastern Fleet to maintain their destroyers
and smaller warships. Captain RS Warne RN commanded Adamant
with the appointment of Captain(S) Fourth Submarine Flotilla.
Captain Warne was a submarine specialist with experience in
command in the period between the wars. However he remained
in Adamant
at Kilindini and the submarines, both British and Dutch, continued
to be operated from Colombo by Commander Gambier. It was also
decided to send out the Netherlands submarines O21, O23 and
O24 from the Mediterranean. The first of these, O23, reached
the Far East in May, but had to be sent almost at once to dock
in Bombay. In May, with Lucia
and Colombia at Bombay and Adamant
at Kilindini, the river steamer Wuchang and the Dutch steamer
Plancius were taken over as submarine accommodation ships at
Colombo.
Truant
and Trusty
sailed again for the Malacca Straits on 19th and 28th May respectively,
Truant
(again Lieutenant Commander HAV Haggard DSO DSC RN) sighted
and shadowed a southbound convoy off Salang Island but the largest
ship was thought to be a hospital ship and fire was withheld.
Trusty
(now Lieutenant Commander EF Balston DSO RN) made a night attack
on 4th June on a southbound convoy firing three torpedoes at
a range of 2500 yards and sinking Toyohashi Maru of 7030 tons
with two hits. The other ship escaped but a third ship which
then came in sight was engaged with her gun. This ship was armed
and returned the fire and Trusty
had to dive. Next day another convoy was sighted but passed
out of range. On 9th June a northbound ship was attacked with
two torpedoes at a range of 3000 yards in failing light, and
they missed. Patrols in this area now settled down and submarines
were normally at sea for three weeks followed by a fortnight
in harbour. The sea was not as clear as in the Mediterranean
and submarines were unlikely to be seen once submerged11.
Unlike the Mediterranean it was considered safe to make passages
across the Bay of Bengal on the surface by day and night. Submarines
would zigzag by day, and with a good lookout, could normally
dive in time to avoid air attack. The greatest problem was the
temperature that became well nigh unbearable unless the submarine
was fitted with an air conditioning system. All T-class had
an air conditioning system, but many submarine captains considered
it too noisy to use. During rest periods, crews were sent up
to the hills in Ceylon, often to tea plantations where it was
reasonably cool.
The Battle
of Midway was fought on 4th June and the main Japanese carrier
force was destroyed. This greatly decreased the danger of
Japanese incursions into the Indian Ocean as had taken place
in April. The role of submarine patrols in the Malacca Strait
then became more one of cutting the communications of the
Japanese Army in Burma but, of course, they remained the outposts
of the Eastern Fleet as well. Rangoon had fallen on 8th March,
and by 20th May the British Army had crossed the Chindwin
and had retreated into Assam. The main supply line of the
Japanese Army, however, was along the route by which they
had invaded Burma from Siam, and not by sea through the Malacca
Strait to Rangoon. Nevertheless the railway systems of Malaya
and Siam on the one hand, and Burma on the other, were not
connected and it seemed likely at the time that the Japanese
would wish to use the sea route by the Malacca Strait in the
future. In April, too, the Japanese Navy began to operate
submarines in the Indian Ocean, and to use Penang as a base.
Here was another use for the Allied submarines that could
carry out all three functions by patrolling in the same area.
The Japanese submarine operations in the Indian Ocean were,
however, at first only an irritant. After the Battle of Midway
and the loss of Burma, therefore, the Allied submarine operations
in the Indian Ocean from Ceylon cannot be considered as more
than a side-show, and of far less importance than those in
the Mediterranean or in home waters.
Throughout
the rest of 1942, the number of operational submarines did
not exceed three and they were only able to carry out some
three patrols in every two months. Truant
sailed to patrol between Penang and the One Fathom Bank in
the Malacca Strait on 28th June. On 3rd July in a night surface
attack on a small northbound ship, she fired two torpedoes
at a range of 700 yards but one missed ahead and the other
ran under. She at once engaged with her gun and obtained some
five hits but the enemy escaped in the darkness. Two days
later a submerged attack with three torpedoes at a range of
1600 yards on another small ship also failed. That night Truant
was sighted and illuminated by a patrol vessel, which dropped
eleven depth charges after she had dived. Truant
was by now suffering many engine breakdowns and after return
to Ceylon she was sent back to the United Kingdom by the Cape
to refit. Trusty
patrolled north west of Salang Island between 11th and 31st
July but saw nothing. In June O23 (Luitenant ter zee 1e Kl
AM Valkenberg) arrived from Bombay and sailed on 19th July
to patrol off Penang. On 27th she missed a small coaster with
torpedoes and surfaced and engaged with her gun. However the
gun jammed and she had to let the enemy go. Next day, early
in the morning, she sighted two Japanese cruisers escorted
by four destroyers but the four torpedoes she fired were at
long range and missed. She was subsequently hunted for five
hours but sustained no damage. On 2nd August she sighted four
merchant ships leaving Penang for the northwest. She closed
and fired a single torpedo that was a German G7AD, but it
went straight to the bottom and exploded. O23 was able to
turn and fire two Dutch Mark 10*** torpedoes from her training
tubes and to turn again and fire two more German torpedoes
from her stern tubes. She hit and sank both Ohio Maru of 6893
tons and Zenyo Maru of 6441 tons. After this highly successful
attack she left patrol for Colombo examining Sabang harbour
on 5th August on the way. Trusty
patrolled off Sabang between 17th August and 5th September
but saw nothing. O23 was out again on 1st September. She spent
two days off Port Blair in the Andaman Islands and then took
up position off Salang Island on the route from Penang to
Burma. On 9th she missed a southbound ship with two torpedoes
in difficult conditions with rainsqualls. After a short spell
on the Sumatran coast she returned to Colombo. Trusty
left for patrol between Diamond Point in Sumatra and Penang
on 23rd September. She chased a small tanker southbound off
Diamond Point on 5th October but could not catch her, and
two days later sighted a Japanese U-boat in heavy weather
steering towards Penang. She only saw the U-boat's conning
tower and was unable to reach a firing position.
During the
summer the Japanese submarines in the Indian Ocean became
more than an irritant and sank a substantial number of ships
in the Mozambique Channel on the supply route to the Middle
East. It was therefore decided that all submarines patrolling
in the Malacca Straits should be positioned off the northern
entrance to Penang to catch them entering or leaving their
base. O23 left Colombo on 17th October and saw no U-boats
during her patrol. On 25th however, she attacked a convoy
of four ships approaching Penang. She hit one ship and damaged
her but she got into harbour. The other ships escaped because
of the erratic running of the Dutch torpedoes. O24 (Luitenant
ter zee 1e KI WJ de Vries), who had arrived on the station
from the United Kingdom round the Cape, sailed for her first
patrol on 25th October. She also had trouble with her torpedoes
in attacks on 1st and 8th November and missed in consequence.
Trusty
left Colombo on 6th November and on 18th she made a night
surface attack with a low moon on two northbound ships. She
fired five torpedoes at a range of 1000 yards but the submarine
was rolling and yawing heavily and these missed. She was then
able to gain a new firing position at speed on the surface
firing another three torpedoes this time at a range of 800
yards. She missed the leading ship again but scored a hit
on the second ship, Kara Maru of 7000 tons, which was however,
only damaged and managed to beach herself. She was subsequently
salved and repaired. On 27th November after her return to
Colombo, Trusty,
alongside Lucia,
was damaged by a merchant ship that collided with her, and
she was out of action for a month with repairs. O23 left for
patrol again on 28th November but sighted nothing off Penang,
and returned on 20th December with serious engine defects
which kept her out of action until the following May. The
last patrol of the year was by O24 but she was used for a
special operation on 12th/13th off Sabang where she remained
for another three days before returning. None of these patrols
even sighted let alone attacked a Japanese U-boat during the
last three months of 1942. Although a fairly continuous patrol
was maintained off Penang, the Japanese U-boats were using
supply ships to replenish and made few entries and exits.
THE TIME HAS
NOW COME to review the performance of submarines in the Far
East during the first year of the war with Japan. It is of interest
that the Royal Navy, the United States Navy and the Royal Netherlands
Navy all maintained strong submarine forces in the Far East
for just such an emergency as actually occurred in 1941-2.
After the Washington Treaty of 1922, neither the British nor
the American Navies were large enough to maintain battle fleets
of sufficient strength in the Far East to face up to the Japanese.
The Netherlands had no Dreadnought battlefleet at all. It is
therefore understandable that these countries should station
cruisers and destroyers in the area that were fast enough to
avoid action, and submarines which could operate in the presence
of the locally superior Japanese battlefleet. Nevertheless,
as we have seen, these forces were unable to prevent the Japanese
advance. The forty-one operational submarines succeeded in sinking
three destroyers and seventeen ships of some 75,000 tons and
damaging a dozen others, but this was not enough to delay let
alone stop the Japanese thrusts. Admittedly the US submarines
had trouble with the running of their torpedoes, and were also
short of them, which meant that they fired too few at each target
and often missed in consequence. The twenty-eight US submarines
sank two destroyers and twelve ships of some 50,000 tons, whereas
the fifteen Netherlands submarines sank a destroyer and five
ships of some 25,000 tons and damaged a number of others. Four
US submarines were lost and seven Dutch boats. Even if the US
submarines had not had torpedo trouble and had achieved as much
per submarine as the Dutch, and even if the British inter war
force of fifteen boats had been on the station, it is doubtful
if they could have done more than impose a slight delay on the
enemy. Whether this delay would have been enough to allow superior
forces to cross the Pacific or make the voyage from Europe and
save the situation is doubtful. The question is, of course,
academic, as in the event Pearl Harbour prevented a US Fleet
crossing the Pacific, and British preoccupation in Europe meant
that the fleet they could send would not be enough. One is,
in any case, forced to the conclusion that even comparatively
large submarine forces used defensively in this way are not
able to defend an area against a well-planned invasion. The
submarine is essentially a weapon of attrition which achieves
its results over a long period and, although possibly the only
type of warship capable of operating in the face of superior
air and surface forces, cannot be effective as a barrier which
will defend an area. It is probable that the British submarines
which had been removed from the Far East before the Japanese
attack, were better used where they had been sent, that is in
the Mediterranean.
From May to
the end of the year, the British and Dutch submarines operating
in the Malacca Strait sank five ships of 31,084 tons and damaged
one of 7000 tons, and these results were achieved without any
casualties. There were never more than three submarines operational,
and often only one or two, and the ships they sank were a useful
bonus to the main American submarine campaign against Japanese
shipping now being waged in the Pacific.
