As the Japanese campaign developed, the Supreme Commander of the
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA),
General Wavell, sent some of the AA reinforcements from Singapore on to the
Dutch East Indies. RHQ, 12 and 15 HAA Btys of 6th HAA Rgt went to
Sumatra, while 3 HAA Bty remained at Singapore City with eight borrowed 3.7-inch guns deployed on a golf course inland from
Keppel Harbour. On Sumatra, 6th HAA Rgt was sent to guard two airfields known as P1 and P2, and the Pladjoe and Soengei Gerong oil refineries and tank farm situated in dense jungle at
Palembang. The journey involved ferry crossings and a combined road and rail lift of equipment. On arrival the batteries had six 3.7-inch guns with them, but no instruments or communication equipment. Much ammunition had been lost when one of the ships was sunk by Japanese bombers. Another 10 x 3.7-inch guns were aboard SS
Subadar when she was attacked and damaged, but the guns were landed. 15 HAA Bty deployed with eight guns of at P1, while 12 HAA Bty had four at P2 and two each at Pladjoe and Soengei Gerong. Each HAA site also had a few LAA guns from 78 and 89 LAA Btys of
35th LAA Rgt. The batteries were in position by 3 February 1942, with RHQ alongside that of the RAF commander.
Singapore The
Battle of Singapore began at the end of January when the last Allied troops retreated onto the island from Malaya. 3 HAA Battery's positions came under daily air attack, and some of the gunners were shifted to AA positions at airfields in the north of the island. Once their guns were out of action they manned trenches as infantry or joined anti-tank gunners as the defensive perimeter shrank. The survivors became
Prisoners of War (PoWs) when the city surrendered on 15 February.
Sumatra The Japanese attack on Sumatra began with air raids on P1: low-level
Strafing attacks by
Mitsubishi Zero fighters were an impossible HAA target, while without instruments the gunners could only put up barrage fire against high level bombers, and had no success. Palembang was also raided. On the same day that Singapore fell (14 February) the Japanese launched their invasion of Sumatra. This began with a
paratroop drop at P1 and Pladjoe – until the actual drop the approaching
Kawasaki Ki-56 transports were thought to be friendly
Lockheed Hudsons (both aircraft were developed from the
Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra). Once the paratroop drop began, the AA batteries opened fire, shooting down one aircraft, causing another to force-land and others to veer off course (including the fighters and bombers that accompanied the transports, 15 HAA Bty shot down three aircraft). The transports gained height to avoid the gunfire, and the paratroops dropped from too high, making them vulnerable to airburst fire. However the drop was successful, and the paratroops began working through the jungle to the installations. One 3.7-inch Troop was rescued by a party of RAF pilots and ground crew with a Vickers machine gun and rifles, who cleared a drop zone. A 3.7-inch shell fired with minimum
fuze over
open sights cleared a nest of
snipers from a tree, while another destroyed a captured
Bofors LAA gun. As the airfield was overrun, the gunners attempted to pull back to Palembang, but there were only two serviceable
AEC Matador gun tractors left. The remaining guns were disabled and a convoy of gunners and RAF personnel attempted to retreat. The road was under fire and the convoy ran into a road block, so the HAA and LAA gunners and RAF men made their way in small parties to Palembang, having taken heavy casualties along the way. Only one 3.7-inch gun was recovered, which was sited at the ferry site at Palembang At the refinery the commander of 12 HAA Bty had formed a party from his battery HQ to attack another drop zone, and engaged the Japanese in a five-hour fire-fight with small arms. The battery's guns were in action all day, claiming 16 'kills' in conjunction with 78/35 LAA Bty. As Japanese invasion barges approached next day, the Dutch commander destroyed the refinery and evacuated to P2, which was still operational. Once again, the AA gunners at the refinery had to disable most of their guns; two 3.7s were ferried across the river to cover the railway and bridges, then on to P2, but the gun of 15 HAA Bty at the ferry had to be abandoned. Once the last aircraft had flown out of P2, the decision was made to evacuate southern Sumatra. The force retreated to
Oosthaven by road and rail, destroying the remaining AA guns which could not negotiate the bridges on the route. From Oosthaven the surviving RAF personnel and AA gunners were shipped to
Java.
Java By mid-February, Java was the only part of the Dutch East Indies holding out.
77th (Welsh) HAA Rgt had been defending the naval base of
Surabaya against air attack for several weeks. Brigadier H.D.W, Sitwell of
16 AA Bde was promoted to command all British troops on the island, of which his brigade represented the majority. It was not in good shape, the units having arrived piecemeal, some without their equipment: 12 and 15 Btys of 6 HAA Rgt from Sumatra had no guns and were employed as infantry to defend the airfields, with the men of 78/35 LAA Bty and two Troops of 89/35 LAA Bty also under command with some Bofors guns.
Japanese landings on Java began on 1 March with the airfields as their primary target. The survivors of 12 HAA Bty, with some RAF defence troops and Bofors gunners, and some light Dutch armoured vehicles, defended Kalidjati airfield, while 15 HAA Bty were deployed to
Tjililitan and other airfields. The defence forces at Kalidjati set up roadblocks and mobile patrols, but were caught be surprise when a Japanese motorised column arrived and destroyed many of the aircraft. Nevertheless, they put up a vigorous defence before the airfield was overrun. The survivors of 12 HAA Bty joined 15 HAA Bty, which had been under air but not ground attack. Major-General Sitwell relieved the regiment's CO, Lt-Col Baillie, of his command and sent him back to
Ceylon. 'Blackforce', a mixed force of Australians and British commanded by Brig
Arthur Blackburn,
VC, kept up an active defence for several days, but the Dutch commander ordered his units to cease fire on 8 March, and the remnants of 16 AA Bde including 6th HAA Rgt surrendered on 12 March. ==Imprisonment==