CASUALTY RECORD // February 28, 1942
Battle of Sunda Strait
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
1 sides catalogued · combined 1,071 estimated
United States
1,071
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
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.
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