AMAZING RESCUE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 June 1943, Page 5

AMAZING RESCUE

STORY OF THE JAVA SEA

One of the most amazing rescues in the history of this, or any war, concerns three flying-boats of a Netherlands squadron now based in Ceylon. While on routine patrol over the Java Sea during the battle for Java the three aircraft, a Catalina and two Dorniers, spotted hundreds of men struggling in the water below. One of the participating Dutchmen, telling the story lor the first time, said: “There were no signs or traces of a ship anywhere when we sighted the men. We decided to come down. When we did so we found j them to be Javanese seamen—over 200 of them —some seriously wounded by bomb splinters, and all of them only semi-conscious. Their ship had been sunk by Japanese bombs and the men had been in the sea for three days, without food or water, and scorched by the tropic sun. We jettisoned all heavy equipment and our Catalina took aboard 84, while 64 went in one Dornier and 49 in the other. We had no difficulty in taking off, as the sea was calm, and an hour later we safely landed the survivors.” The flight commander and crews of the squadron, all Dutch, are operating with Canadian and British squadrons. They have since flown many thousands of miles in the same three 1 aircraft, patrolling vast stretches of the Indian Ocean, and partaking in other, if less spectacular flights.