Infamy At Ceylon

[Dave Homewood]

It is almost unknown these days in this part of the world it seems that on Easter Sunday, the 5th of April 1942, Ceylon, nowadays Sri Lanka, was attacked by Admiral Nagumo's same Japanese fleet that had attacked Pearl Harbor a few months before, with the same intention - sink the fleet. Ceylon was home base to the British Eastern Fleet which controlled the seaways around the Indian sub-continent and into the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Another attack was made on the 9th of April at the Royal Navy port of Trincomalee, on the south-eastern tip of Ceylon, and the Royal Air Force/Fleet Air Arm station at China Bay, Trincomalee. In this attack the fleet lost the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, and destroyers HMS Hollyhock and HMAS Vampire. Hermes was attacked by 70 aircraft and was hit 40 ties before it sank with the loss of 307 men. As well as the ships the Japanese attacked aircraft at the RAF base, and the fuel tanks around the harbour with great affect. The RAF lost

Hamilton veteran Don Mackenzie was there at Trincomalee, flying a Vickers Vildebeest reconnaissance bomber that morning of 9th of April 1942, hunting the Japanese fleet that had attacked Colombo. He never sighted the fleet and landed back at China Bay just as the attack commenced. He grabbed his trusty camera - he was an avid photographer - and snapped some photos of the aftermath.

Here are some of his photos, first up showing the area before the attack:


New barracks at China Bay, Trincomalee



Trincomalee Harbour with the fleet in port



Trincomalee Harbour


Trincomalee again



This one is the RAF station at Ratmalana, near Colombo



Colombo from the air, showing Galle Face Green, the business district and the harbour.



The troop ship Queen Mary arriving in Trincomalee harbour



A carrier and escorts at rest in the harbour

And now the photos Don took of the aftermath of the attack:

Oil tanks burning, over 100 tanks were set ablaze he said



The Mess Room



Another direct hit



View from the barracks



Hangars burning






What's left of the Ante Room

Don said the attack occurred just after he finished his dawn patrol, around 7.00am. he spent the attack in a trench alongside the runway. He reckoned despite much damage being done to a lot of new buildings around the station one saving grace was rather than attack the many small aircraft they had there, most of the bombers were going for a USAAF Boeing B-17 that was on the far end of the aerodrome at the time, having broken down there and been abandoned some days or weeks before.

I find it interesting how this attack is so unknown against the similar attacks on Pearl Harbor and Darwin by the same enemy fleet.

[Dave Homewood]

This page has a little more on these attacks:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean_raid

[davidd]

Great shots there Dave! I see a battleship in two of the photographs along with the carrier, a cruiser, destroyer etc. And the Queen Mary too! Also what kind of aircraft were some of those photos taken from? A biplane with tapered ailerons? Cannot think of any offhand that might have been on Ceylon at that time. Maybe a civilian aircraft?
David D

[Dave Homewood]

The aircraft types that Don flew in his little unit were up to half a dozen Vickers Vildebeests, and one or two very worn out Fairey Seafox's.

Now interestingly he told me there was a Fleet Air Arm Swordfish squadron also based at China Bay at this time, all the crews lived in the same barracks as he did, he said, so he got to know them pretty well. He said that sometimes all the aircraft of his little RAF unit would be either in use or in maintenance, so he'd borrow a Swordfish from the FAA squadron sometimes.

He said on the morning that China Bay was attacked, after the enemy had gone and the dust was settling he wondered where all the Navy boys were. He made enquiries and discovered that the entire squadron had been sent out on early dawn patrol, as had Don and his mates in his own unit. However Don and the other RAF Vildes made it back, one of them being chased and forced to land on a beach safely! But no-one had heard from the Swordfish who'd been sent to hunt the Japanese fleet.

So Don says he was sent out in his Vilde to search, and after some time he found the wreckage. All twelve Swordfish which had been flying in formation on the hunt for the Japanese ships with the intention of torpedoing or bombing the fleet had been shot down. His wireless operator get a rescue boat on the scene and they pulled three men from the water. Three survivors from 36 men. The survivors told that all 12 aircraft had been downed by one Japanese Zero.

Oddly I cannot find any mention of this anywhere. I have absolutely no reason to doubt Don at all, and everything else he told me seems to be pretty verifiable, but this whole story of the lost Swordfish squadron has either been completely forgotten or whitewashed over perhaps?

[suthg]

It's a neat untold story Dave - thanks for sharing what you have found so far!

[baronbeeza]

vernoncorea.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/the-easter-sunday-raid-on-colombo-ceylon/

www.combinedfleet.com/ThreeMoreWhoppers.htm

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks for those links, especially the second one. So there was indeed apparently a number of Swordfish destroyed by Zero fighters in one hit but it looks like there was a lot of conflicting evidence here, and some researchers with bruised egos. It's interesting that actual eye witness Don's account backs up that of veteran Fuchida who says twelve were shot down. Yet according to that page the Swordfish shoot down was on the 5th, not the 9th. All a bit confusing.

[machpants]

Very interesting stories thanks, not sure about the 'infamy' though. A surprise attack on a nation you are at war with is fair game, Pearl Harbour was not quite so.

[Dave Homewood]

"Infamy, infamy. They've all got it in for me"
Kenneth Williams

[nuuumannn]

"Infamy, infamy. They've all got it in for me"

look's like I'm no longer banned!!!

I see a battleship in two of the photographs along with the carrier, a cruiser, destroyer etc.

Fantastic images, would like to see more. The carrier is probably HMS Indomitable, which was part of the Eastern Fleet at that time and was supposed to be part of Force X, joining Repulse and Prince of Wales, but owing to running aground in Jamaica was sent to the USA for repairs and missed out on being sunk by Japanese aircraft. With the invasion of Singapore, the Eastern Fleet was sent to Ceylon; Indom was at sea at the time Hermes was sunk and was specifically ordered not to engage the Japanese fleet by the British commander, fearing the carrier would also be sunk. Also sunk on the 5th were the cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire - the latter having taken part in the sinking of the Bismarck in mid 1941.

The battleship is most likely HMS Ramillies, which was stationed in the East from early 1942; its small superstructure layout makes it likely that it's a Revenge (often called Royal Sovereign) Class battleship. Ramillies was later torpedoed by a Japanese midget sub. The cruiser in the 8th photo from top is, based on my dodgy ship recognition likely to be an Emerald Class light cruiser, possibly Enterprise.

The aileron is proving a bit of a mystery; it's not a Vildebeest or a Seafox; I thought it might be a Swordfish, as 814 Sqn was based at Trincomalee.

[Dave Homewood]

Good to see you back Grant. You were never 'banned' as you know, I have no idea why the forum was not letting you log in.

Weren't HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales in Force Z, not Force X?

If that is Indomnitable in the photo it is probably just days before the attack, she joined the fleet there on the 31st of March 1942 and left Ceylon to hunt the Japanese fleet on the 5th of April, the day the Japanese hit Colombo.

I wonder, had HMS Indomnitable been at Singapore as planned, what aircraft types would have been onboard? Swordfish or Albacore as the torpedo bombers I guess, but what sort of fighters? Perhaps the Royal Navy may have had a bit more luck with proper air cover over their fleet there, if it was Hurricanes, Martlets or Seafires? Or would it have been Skuas and other such aircraft that would have become mincemeat to the Zeros?

[nuuumannn]

Oddly I cannot find any mention of this anywhere. I have absolutely no reason to doubt Don at all, and everything else he told me seems to be pretty verifiable, but this whole story of the lost Swordfish squadron has either been completely forgotten or whitewashed over perhaps?

Interesting. I've been doing a bit of looking about and it sounds interesting, but your man might have his recollections muddled up. On the 9th, 814 Sqn from Hermes were on the ground during the raid on Trincomalee and China Bay. The squadron lost seven Swordfish on the ground in the attack and was later disbanded at the end of the year.

On the 5th, a force of six Swordfish was sent to Colombo as an advanced strike force and on the way encountered aircraft from the Japanese fleet; all six Swordfish were shot down. Maybe this is what he remembers?

The carrier in the photos might also be Formidable.

[nuuumannn]

Hi Dave, yes, I know I wasn't banned! I've been busy for a few days, so haven't looked for awhile, although the page keeps timing out on me. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I live in the middle of nowhere and have the slowest broadband in the country.

As for Force Z, yes, oops, my mistake. Indomitable had Sea Hurricanes and Fulmars with Albacores also, had it been at Singapore the result might have been the same - although this is arguable - the battleships were attacked by a large force of long range land based torpedo bombers; Mitsubishi G3Ms and G4Ms - Bettys. Part of the problem was a lack of early warning; I guess if the FAA was carrying out standing patrols over the ships at the time the Japanese aircraft might not have gotten off so lightly. Buffaloes were sent to shadow the British ships, but arrived too late to do anything to help.

During the attack on the 9th, Fulmars of 806 Sqn were scrambled to assist Hermes, but arrived only to see the carrier go down; three Aichi D3As were claimed. Indom's Sea Hurricanes were put on alert, but, as I said earlier, the British Commander recommended that Indom not engage the Japanese.

[rstuart]

Dave,

Thanks very much for posting these pictures. I have been researching the attack on Ceylon for nine years and this is the best collection I’ve ever seen.

I can add a few things to your comments:

China Bay was opened on 1 August 1939. On the same day 273 Squadron reformed at China Bay with an establishment of six Vildebeests, supplemented by four Seals alloted to the station but flown by 273. On 6 December 1941, 273 Sqn, with only one flight, had 3 or 4 Vildebeest III, and the China Bay station flight had 4 Seals. On 24 February 1942 273 Sqn reportedly had 3 Vildebeestes and 1 Swordfish but only two crews. The 3 Vildebeests reportedly moved to Ratmalana on 11 March. Perhaps they joined the Ratmalana station flight, because on 26 March it was reported that 273 Sqn, still based at China Bay, had 9 Swordfish, 3 Albacore and 2 Seal (plus 16 Fulmars). The next day it was decided that the Swordfish, Albacores and Seals would be be handed over to 788 Sqn and that 273 Sqn would be a fighter unit, and this change was affected by time the Japanese arrived. I would guess that Don Mackenzie may have been a member of 788 Sqn, or of the Ratmalana or China Bay station flight, when the Japanese attacked, if he was still flying one of the few remaining Vildebeestes at that time.

The collection you’ve posted includes eight pictures taken before the Japanese attacks and seven taken during the attack on China Bay/Trincomalee. The picture of the Queen Mary gives us a clue as to when Don arrived in Ceylon. According to the site at www.skylighters.org/special/queenmary/qmvoy2.html, Queen Mary did not visit Ceylon in 1942. It’s last visit to Trincomalee prior to April 1942 was 30 November to 19 December 1941, so Don must have arrived by then. As noted above, air strength on Ceylon at that time reportedly consisted of just 3 or 4 Vildebeest III and 4 Seals.

The aircraft carrier in photos 2, 4 and 8 is obviously an Illustrious class ship, so it has to be Indomitable, as it was the only carrier of that class to visit Trincomalee prior to April 1942. Photos 4 and 8 appear to have been taken during the same flight. Photo 2 seems to have been taken on another occasion.

I agree that the cruiser in photo 8 is probably Enterprise. As far as I can make out the ship in the photo has a single twin forward turret, and it that is right then it has to be Enterprise. Emerald had only single turrets.

The shots of Ratmalana and Colombo are excellent.

In photo 9, is that a Lewis gun in the foreground? As for the caption, it’s not true that over 100 tanks were set ablaze. The tank farm did have more that 100 tanks, but only No. 91 was set ablaze, when a B5N “Kate” bomber crashed into it.

You comment after the last photo that “Don said the attack occurred just after he finished his dawn patrol, around 7.00am. he spent the attack in a trench alongside the runway.” Bloody Shambles vol.2 refers to a flight of four Fulmars being sent from China Bay early on 9 April to search for the Japanese. Three of them returned to China Bay before the Japanese attacked and the fourth was missing. I have to wonder if perhaps Don flew one of these Fulmars and not, on this occasion, a Vildebeest, which would have been a very poor aircraft to send out to look for a Japanese fleet 200 miles offshore. Does Don still have his log book?

This is a very interesting thread and I hope to be able to make some more posts soon.


Thanks very much,

Rob Stuart
Ottawa

[nuuumannn]

Please do, very interesting information, Rob. Photos are also welcome.

[Dave Homewood]

Welcome Rob,

Ah yes, it was indeed Fairey Seals that Don said, not Seafox's. That was my error.

The mistake over the tanks was from the writing on the caption, no doubt it felt like over 100 were hit.

It's possible Don was in a Fulmar on the day of the attack, maybe the one that didn't return was his mate (also a kiwi from memory) who put down on a beach and was safe.

Don's first logbook was missing when I went back to see him last time, he'd found his second logbook and I have photographed it but sadly it all starts about a month after this happened. I should see if his first logbook has shown up. He had it when he wrote his book.

I have some more photos - hang on and I'll upload them - of Don with a Fulmar and one of the Vildebeests after the CO stacked it while flying drunk and clipping a fence.

I might have to upload Don's interview to the WONZ Show if people are interested. I'll try to locate where I have put his book too and see what he says. it may well be a little of my own memory clouding things here too.

[Dave Homewood]

Having left New Zealand Don's postings in the back of his second logbook were thus:

No. 100 Squadron (Vildebeest) - Seletar, Singapore: 12 March 1941 - 17 July 1941
No. 273 Squadron (Vildebeest, Seal) China Bay, Ceylon: 30 July 1941 - 26 Dec 1941
No. "X" Fleet Air Arm Squadron, China Bay, Ceylon: 27 Dec 1941 - 15 Feb 1942
No. 273 Squadron (Vildebeest, Seal) China Bay, Ceylon: 16 Feb 1942 - 11 March 1942
No. 273 Squadron (Vildebeest, Seal) Detachment Ratmalana - 12 Feb 1942 - 18 May 1942
Ratmalana Station Flight 19 May 1942 - 21 Nov 1942
No. 217 Squadron, Minnereya, Ceylon - 21 Nov 1942 - 21 Jan 1943
Air Reinforcement Centre, Karachi, India - 22 Jan 1943 - 24 April 1943
No. 21 Ferry Command, Mauripur Sind, India - 24 April 1943 - 30 June 1943
No. 2 Reserve Aircraft Pool, Dum Dum, India - 1 July 1943 - 10 Dec 1943
Ferry Flight, Dum Dum - Calcutta - 11 Dec 1943 - 29 Jan 1944
Ferry Flight, Dhubalia - Benghal - 30 Jan 1944 - 24 Feb 1944
Ferry Flight, Red Road, Calcutta - 25 Feb 1944 - 31 May 1944
En Route to UK, and Leave - 1 June 1944 - 26 July 1944
Refresher Course, AFU, No. 17 SFTF Caistor 26 July - 5 Sept 44
No. 510 Squadron, Hendon, London - 10 Sept 1944 - 10 April 1945
No. 10 PDRC, Brighton (Final Leave) 11 Apr 1945 - 31 May 1945
En route to New Zealand - 1 June 1945 - 29 Aug 1945

[Dave Homewood]

Here's a shot of the Vildebeest mentioned (which has appeared on the forum before) and also Don with a Fulmar, not sure what point in his flying that was though.

[machpants]

So cool to see Fulmars, my Grandad flew them off the Ark.

[baz62]

Dec 24, 2013 21:41:41 GMT 12 machpants said:

So cool to see Fulmars, my Grandad flew them off the Ark.

Really? Didn't it freak out the animals? (Sorry mate could NOT resist! Merry Christmas!)