Battle of Sunda Strait

Overview

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. On the night of 28 February – 1 March 1942, the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth, American heavy cruiser USS Houston, and Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen faced a major Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) task force. After a fierce battle lasting several hours, all Allied ships were sunk. Five Japanese ships were sunk, three of them by friendly fire.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Sunda Strait resulted in the total destruction of the Allied surface force committed to the action. HMAS Perth, USS Houston, and HNLMS Evertsen were all sunk after engaging a major Imperial Japanese Navy task force in the strait between Java and Sumatra on the night of 28 February–1 March 1942. The loss of these ships, with 1,071 U.S. casualties recorded, further stripped Allied naval power in the Southwest Pacific at a moment when Japanese forces were completing their conquest of the Dutch East Indies. The engagement followed closely on the Battle of the Java Sea and confirmed that organized Allied naval resistance in the region had effectively collapsed, leaving Java open to Japanese invasion. Notably, five Japanese ships were also sunk during the battle, three by friendly fire, reflecting the confusion of a night action against a large and densely deployed task force.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)