Friday, 27 February 1942

US NAVY 

PACIFIC—Battle of Java Sea is fought as Allied naval force (Rear Admiral Karel W.F.M. Doorman, RNN) of five cruisers and11 destroyers in Java Sea near Surabaya attacks Japanese support force (Rear Admiral Takagi Takeo) covering Java invasion convoy. Japanese gunfire proves ineffective, as heavy cruisers Nachi and Haguro expend 1,271 8-inchrounds but achieve only five hits. Of those five, four are duds: one each on Houston (CA-30) and British heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, and two on Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter. The only shell that does explode reduces Exeter's speed. Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro torpedoes and sinks Dutch destroyer Kortenaer; survivors are rescued by British destroyer HMS Encounter. Japanese destroyer gunfire sinks British destroyer HMS Electra (see 28 February); while British destroyer HMS Jupiter is sunk by mine laid earlier that day by Dutch minelayer Gouden Leeuw. Allied gunfire damages Japanese destroyers Asagumo and Minegumo; U.S. destroyers' torpedo attack proves ineffective (see 28 February).

           Seaplane tender Langley (AV-3), carrying 32 USAAF P-40s earmarked for the defense of Java, is bombed by Japanese naval land attack planes (Takao Kokutai) 75 miles south of Tjilatjap, Java, 08°58'S, 109°02'E. Irreparably damaged, the ship that had once been the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier (she had been converted to a seaplane tender in 1936) is shelled and torpedoed by destroyer Whipple (DD-217). Necessity to clear the area precludes knowing exactly when Langley sinks.

           U.S. freighter Sea Witch delivers 27 crated USAAF P-40s to Tjilatjap, Java, but the planes will be destroyed on the docks to deny their use by the victors.

           Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) damages Japanese fleet tanker Manju Maru 28°55'N, 138°15'E.

ATLANTIC—Joint U.S.-Mexican Defense Commission is established.

US ARMY AIR FORCE

FIFTH AF—Battle of Java Sea. Allied air and naval units try to stop convoy of some 80 ships approaching Java from NE. All available B‑17’s, A‑24’s, P‑40’s and Light Bomber-30’s are put into the air but achieve only insignificant results. An Allied naval force, 5 cruisers and 11 destroyers, under Adm Doorman, Royal Netherlands Navy, meets the enemy near Surabaya and is decisively defeated, losing 5 ships. Most of Fifth AF ground echelon in Java is evacuated by sea. The Sea Witch delivers 27 crated P‑40’s to Tjilatjap, Java, but these will be destroyed to prevent their falling into Japanese hands. 32 P‑40’s aboard the USS Langley, which sailed from Australia for India on 23 Feb, are lost when the Langley is sunk by aircraft 100 mi S of Tjilatjap. The pilots are rescued by other vessels in the convoy, but the enemy sinks these ships with the exception of a destroyer, which delivers 2 of the pilots to Perth. The Langley, America’s first aircraft carrier, was sunk.

US ARMY

UNITED STATES—President Roosevelt, by executive order, authorizes creation of joint Mexican–U.S. Defense Commission. Brigadier General Raymond A. Wheeler, now in Iran, is named commander of SOS CBI; General Wheeler is also to continue as chief of Iranian Mission.

PHILLIPINE ISLANDS—Japanese force lands on NE Mindoro, where a town and airfield are overrun. No effort is made to secure rest of island. Enemy blockade about the Philippines is thus tightened.

JAVA SEA—Organized Allied naval resistance collapses during Battle of Java Sea. Combined naval TF under Rear Admiral Doorman attacks Japanese convoy approaching Java and is decisively defeated. British DD’s Electra and Jupiter and Dutch DD Kortenaer are sunk, as are Dutch cruisers De Ruyter and Java. Japanese sustain some damage but not enough to interfere with their plan for completing conquest of Netherlands East Indies.

INDIA—General Wavell arrives in New Delhi from Java.

FRANCE—British successfully raid radio location station at Bruneval during night 27–28, dropping parachute force of 120.

US MARINE CORPS

Battle of Java Sea