Authors: Mike Carlton
Perth under air attack in the Mediterranean, 1941.
(W
ATERCOLOUR BY
R
AY
P
ARKIN
)
A German bomb lands near
Perth
off Crete, in the Mediterranean.
(
AWM
P01915.005)
Isoroku Yamamoto, architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor
(seen here as a vice-admiral).
Commodore John Collins, who gave
Perth
her last sailing orders.
(
AWM
014113)
Dutch Rear-Admiral Karel Doorman, a brave commander tragically out of his depth.
(K
ONINKLIJKE
M
ARINE
)
The Japanese light cruiser
Jintsu,
a destroyer-flotilla leader in the Java Sea Battle.
(US N
AVY
H
ISTORICAL
C
ENTER
)
The British heavy cruiser HMS
Exeter,
a hero of the Battle of the River Plate, lost after the Java Sea Battle.
(R
OYAL
N
AVY
)
The Dutch light cruiser HNLMS
De Ruyter,
Admiral Doorman's flagship at the Battle of the Java Sea.
(K
ONINKLIJKE
M
ARINE
)
Captain Albert Rooks, Commanding Officer of the USS
Houston,
won a posthumous Medal of Honor for the Battle of the Sunda Strait.
(US N
AVY
H
ISTORICAL
C
ENTER
)
The heavy cruiser USS
Houston
in 1938. The flags at her mastheads signify that President Franklin D. Roosevelt is on board.
(US N
AVY
H
ISTORICAL
C
ENTER
)
The Japanese destroyer
Fubuki
(the name means âblizzard'). She was the first enemy ship to sight
Perth
and
Houston
heading for the Sunda Strait.
(I
MPERIAL
J
APANESE
N
AVY
)
Perth
with her final camouflage coat. There was never any proof that it confused the enemy.
(N
AVAL
H
ISTORICAL
S
OCIETY OF
A
USTRALIA
)