The Sinking of HMAS Perth and USS Houston

[Kevin Denlay]

................and Hr Ms Evertsen, HMS Exeter, HMS Encounter and USS Pope took place 67 years ago today, March 1st 1942.

A couple of prints of Houston by Japanese artists from my own collection (and two of Perth from Australian War Memorial Archives) in remembrance and honour of them all.

And, just for good measure, one of the abandonment/sinking of Exeter by the notable English artist Montague Dawson, which came to me courtesy of a previous post by Astraltrader if I am not mistaken. (The original painting now belongs to John Michel, an officer from USS Pope and author of Mr Michels War who, as of last year, was still alive I believe). However there is one thing wrong with Dawson depiction, which I wonder who will be first to notice.

[astraltrader]

The funnels look too far forward to me. There should be a sizeable gap between the bridge superstructure and the first funnel which even allowing for perspective does not seem to have been allowed for...

Altogether the ship does appear to be too short and squat to my eyes...

[It is Terry btw]:)

[John Odom]

At one of the USS Oklahoma reunions, I met a man who had served on the USS Pope. He came with a man who went to the USS Stewart after the sinking of USS Oklahoma and was with the USS Stewart when she was lost at Surabaya. I loved to hear those men tell sea stories!

[Kevin Denlay]

Terry, your reply was not exactly the answer I was looking for re the image. Thanks for trying though. I'll give it another day and if no one gets it I'll post the answer tomorrow.

And Joe, how right you are, meeting survivors from those WW11 ships is a truly memorable experience. Often, for me, having dived on some of their ships, I find meeting the survivors even more memorable/moving than the dives, as it gives you a real tangible link to the ship and the past. And yes, if only their stories could be recorded/preserved for all to hear, as sadly it wont be too many more years before most, if not all, of those men will be gone.

[kookaburra]

At one of the USS Oklahoma reunions, I met a man who had served on the USS Pope. He came with a man who went to the USS Stewart after the sinking of USS Oklahoma and was with the USS Stewart when she was lost at Surabaya. I loved to hear those men tell sea stories!

Sorry to remain off topic (but truthfully I feel there are at least a couple of other threads dealing with loss of Perth and Houston already. Anyway, no matter, it's a gallant story that bears repeating)...

John, when I was posted in Tokyo (1970s) there were several older guys in the FCCJ with wonderful stories. Al Cullison had been on one of the destroyers (pic below) that took the survivors off HMAS Canberra after she was taken by surprise and hit by 28 8inch shells in the opening minutes of the night Battle of Savo Island. 'Tubby' Abrahams was a very known press photographer who was a HMS Repulse survivor.

Both these guys (deceased now) were Occupation era
correspondents, a quite different breed to those who of us who came later, during the period of the Japanese economic miracle. Their attitudes sometimes seemed a little stranded in those privileged earlier times, when the Occupation forces had absolutely ruled Japan - and they were served hand and foot. But could they tell some yarns.

Another frequent returnee was the distinguished Australian correspondent Denis Warner, who was on the bridge of HMS Formidable when she was hit by kamikaze off Okinawa (or was it Indomitable, both were hit - he and his wife Peggy wrote a book about it later 'Kamikaze: The Sacred Warriors' 1944-45,' Oxford University Press, Australia, 1983).

And finally the legendary Richard (Dick) Hughes, another Australian, with the Economist when I knew him, the connection being that we started out with the same company, as did Denis Warner. Dick Hughes was was portrayed as 'Craw' in John LeCarre's novel 'The Honourable Schoolboy,' and was also a great friend of Ian Fleming's (007). His experiences spanned pre-war Japan, when he rubbed shoulders with the spy Richard Sorge, to Hiroshima and the decades of recovery afterwards. Hmmm, 'The Man Who Read The East Wind' - that was Dick Hughes's memoir.

The bar at the FCCJ, in Maranouchi then, had a curved arrangement that promoted group conversations: served a wonderful chilled vichyssoise soup, almost pure white, and noisey games of balout rang from the tables behind. The correspondents coming to Japan then were, of necessity, mainly economic literates, but people still stood in some awe of these these older WW11-era guys - never boastful, they'd seen too much for that, but raconteurs all when they could be persuaded.

They carried themselves with a certain style.

Anyway, back to Perth and Houston ...

[tjstoneman]

Back to the topic ....

Picture 5 in Kevin's post #1 appears to show EXETER in her prewar configuration, with a pole foremast (rather than the tripod she had when sunk), no light AA gun position on 'B' turret, no twin 4" abreast bridge etc. Also, I'm not sure whether she was ever as close to either of the Japanese four-funnelled cruisers (JINTSU - or possibly NAKA) as shown in the painting - although I don't have any track charts to hand.

Kookaburra - not sure where Denis Warner may have been, but the second photo in your post #5, titled "formidable or indomitable...." is actually FORMIDABLE (INDOM had a pole mainmast at that stage, and the ship in the photo has a tripod. The fire damage matches that visible in other photos of FORMID).

Tim

[astraltrader]

I also stand by my comments made in post number #2!

[Kevin Denlay]

The funnels look too far forward to me. There should be a sizeable gap between the bridge superstructure and the first funnel which even allowing for perspective does not seem to have been allowed for...
Altogether the ship does appear to be too short and squat to my eyes...
:)

Terry, you were on the right track with referring to Exeter herself, but Tim hit the nail right on the head.

See images below for a comparison. Exeter1 is pre Graf Spee / 1939, Exeter2 after construction and as she looked when sunk in 1942. Certainly a difference.

Please note. Image Exeter2 has been ‘flipped’ horizontally to give same perspective as image Exeter1. For anyone downloading/saving this image the true perspective is reversed, that is we are really looking at the stbd side.

And yes Terry, the gap does appear a touch small between the forefunnel and bridge in that painting - for her original design construction, and you certainly wouldn’t be alone in your comment that Exeter at times (or angles) looks ‘squat’. (See image Exeter3). But it was Tim’s answer I was after, i.e. wrong configuration for date.

Back to the topic ....Also, I'm not sure whether she was ever as close to either of the Japanese four-funneled cruisers (JINTSU - or possibly NAKA) as shown in the painting - although I don't have any track charts to hand.
Tim

Congrats Tim, yours was the answer I was looking for!

I must say that I found it very surprising that an artist of Dawsons caliber would paint that 1942 action using Exeter’s ‘old’ configuration (i.e. pre Graf Spee 1939 action) and not as she was after her rebuild.

Re you above sentence. I assume you refer to the ship just abaft Exeter’s stern as it were, with what appears to be four funnels? I took that to be an impression of one of Exeter’s escorts, USS Pope, which did have four funnels, but that ‘cruiser’ bow as shown on that vessel is certainly not ‘Pope-ish’, so maybe it is meant to be a Japanese light cruiser. (See comparisons below.) However, there were no Jap four funnel light cruisers present when Exeter was sunk, just four heavies and four or possibly five DD’s. The four stack cruisers you mention were only present on 28th (Battle of the Java Sea), but not on 1st March (Battle off Bawean Island, or as some refer Battle South of Borneo) when Exeter was sunk.

Interestingly though, the Japanese themselves thought/reported that they were engaging a US light cruiser (but was actually Pope at the time) and hence directed some of their 8” fire at her for some time, which at least drew it away from Exeter for a while.

As for the attackers being close in, when the wreck of Exeter was discovered we found many of the guns at a very flat trajectory/elevation, indicating it would seem that whatever they were firing at must have been pretty close (i.e. the Japanese DD’s one would assume, as from official IJN track charts the CA’s never come in close).

Sorry to remain off topic (but truthfully I feel there are at least a couple of other threads dealing with loss of [I]Perth and Houston already. Anyway, no matter, it's a gallant story that bears repeating)...
Anyway, back to Perth and Houston ...

Kooks, have now looked through the three pages of Battles and Events threads twice and I can’t see any others that relate to Perth and Houston? If you mean on other sections of the forum, given the gist of my post I thought it better posted under Battles and Events as it was about the named ships being lost in battle, i.e. Battle of Sunda Strait and the others (except Evertsen) being lost in the Battle off Bawean Island on March 1st, the day of my starting the thread.

[kookaburra]

Kooks, have now looked through the three pages of Battles and Events threads twice and I can’t see any others that relate to Perth and Houston? If you mean on other sections of the forum, given the gist of my post I thought it better posted under Battles and Events as it was about the named ships being lost in battle, i.e. Battle of Sunda Strait and the others (except Evertsen) being lost in the Battle off Bawean Island on March 1st, the day of my starting the thread.

Kevin, without having a specific thread in mind I was speaking from a general impression of a lot about HMAS Perth (three threads actually, I now find) in the Australian ships forum. She's Herakles favourite ship I think, and he seems to jump at any chance for some discussion about her. I also had a feeling there was some discussion on the Sunda Strait battle in that 'Force Z' (Prince of Wales and Repulse) thread in the RN forum, that developed into a whole wide-ranging discussion of events around the the fall of Singapore.

Anyway, as I said ...no matter ...this is a good thread in an appropriate location. Well done.

[herakles]

Perth is my special ship. I spent some time with survivors a few years ago and learned a great deal that I didn't know before.

I posted one such story here at the forum.