Pips wrote:I'm particularly interested in any information on the seven PT Boats that were supposedly present at the Battle of Badoeng Strait. Also any book suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
To quote from Tom Womack's "Battle of Badoeng Strait: World War II Naval Duel off Bali":
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-bad ... f-bali.htm
"With his forces so badly scattered, Dutch Rear Adm. Karel W. Doorman could do little when he received word that the Japanese were on the move. Still, once air reconnaissance confirmed that the convoy's destination was Bali, Doorman ordered his ships to raise steam and make for Badoeng Strait while he formulated a battle plan. Unavoidably, it was a bad plan, dictated by grim necessity. Because time was critical, Doorman could not group his widely scattered ships into a single force. As a result, his attack would have to consist of three elements beginning from three different points around Java and southern Sumatra. The ensuing clash has been called both the Battle of Badoeng Strait and the Battle of Lombok Strait.
The first wave, consisting of De Ruyter and Java with their destroyers, left Tjilitjap on the evening of February 18. Bad luck struck immediately when Kortenaer temporarily lost rudder control and ran aground in Tjilitjap's treacherous, narrow harbor channel. The destroyer could not be pulled off until the morning tide came in, and then was forced to sail to Soerabaja for repairs. Unable to wait, Doorman continued on with only Piet Hein, Pope and John D. Ford to screen his cruisers.
The second wave consisted of the American 58th Destroyer Division, under the command of Commander T.H. Binford, and the Dutch light cruiser Tromp. Stewart, Parrott, John D. Edwards and Pillsbury had orders to leave Ratai Bay at full speed and join Tromp at Soerabaja. They joined the light cruiser on the 18th, and the force sortied that afternoon.
The third wave consisted of seven Dutch motor torpedo boats (MTBs). Eight were originally detailed to participate in the attack, but while leaving Soerabaja, MTB-6 hit a buoy, forcing her into dry dock. That left torpedo boats MTB-4, -5, -7, -9, -10, -11 and -12 to carry on. They departed Soerabaja on the morning of February 19, headed for Pangpang Bay on Java's east coast. There, they refueled from the Dutch minelayer Krakatau and then covered the short distance from Java to Bali."
...major portion of article removed for brevity...
"Heading west-southwest, Arashio and Michishio plowed into the middle of this haphazard formation and immediately found themselves in a tight spot. John D. Edwards and Stewart were to starboard, with Tromp and Pillsbury to port. At 2:47 a.m., Stewart opened her searchlights and launched torpedoes, followed by gunfire. Taking fire on both port and starboard, Michishio veered hard to starboard to escape Stewart's searchlight. Attempting to turn north, Michishio ran into a rain of shells from John D. Edwards, which crippled her. With her engine room wrecked, Michishio went dead in the water with 96 killed and wounded. She was raked several more times as the remaining ABDA ships passed by.
After that brief engagement, both sides continued on their respective courses at high speed. The Allies were through and showed no inclination to finish off the crippled Michishio as they withdrew. The Japanese continued searching to the south for more enemy ships. Approximately three hours later, the seven Dutch MTBs came up the strait. They split into a group of three boats, which came in close to shore, and a second group of four, which came in about four miles out. Despite seeing signs of a heated battle during their approach, the MTBs encountered no ships in the strait.
One of the boats reported a ship to the south, but was unable to close as it retired at high speed. Because the low profile of the MTBs resulted in a poor field of vision, they were able to see little else. They then returned to Pangpang Bay and refueled from Krakatau before heading home to Soerabaja."
For technical details on the TM4 class MTBs themselves:
http://www.warshipsww2.eu/lode.php?lang ... dtrida=910
http://www.netherlandsnavy.nl/TM4class.htm
David
