AUSTRALIAN COMMANDOS

Evening Star, Issue 25566, 20 August 1945, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN COMMANDOS

RAID ON SINGAPORE SIX ENEMY SHIPS . SUNK SYDNEY, August 19. Paddling native canoes into Singapore harbour one dark night, a party of 16 Australians, led by a Scottish Army officer, made a commando raid and sank six Japanese ships and escaped unscathed. This most daring raid on the strongest base seized by Japan was made in September, 1943, when .she was at the zenith’ of her achievement in the Pacific struggle. It was organised in Australia when invasion by the Japanese seemed imminent. The raid was suggested in August 1943, by a 28-year-old Highland officer who had escaped from Malaya. The Australian Army badked the project, and 15 men of the many who volunteered for “ a hazardous enterprise ” were, selected. An officer ,of the staff of Lieutenant-general Gordon Bennett also volunteered to join. The 17 men became the crew of a small sailing boat of the type used by the Malays in the Java Sea. They sailed from Fremantle. After some weeks at sea the boat reached the Rhio Archipelago, south of Singapore. Here it was hidden among mangroves. The crew secured several native canoes and, travelling always at night, they paddled from island to island, and finally entered Singapore harbour, progressing unobserved among the fleet of native fishing craft. (Riding at anchor in the harbour were a number of Japanese merchant ships. So confident were the Japanese that few sentries were posted. The canoes were allowd to drift slowly against the siddS of the ships which had been selected as targets. Silently the raiders dropped over the sides of the canoes, carrying in their arms “ Limpet ’’ bombs with time fuses attached. These they fixed to the hulls of the ships. sft below the water line.

The raiders then paddled their canoes to an island. At daybreak they heard in quick succession six loud explosions and the six ships sank at their moorings. The commandos, after a series of night crossings from island to island, regained their sailing craft and eventually returned to Australia.