Subject: Re: Fall of Singapore on February 15 - Ki27 Nate fighter
From: "Steve Bamford ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 12:51:32 -0800

Gallery Template  02Hi Mike,
Thanks for sending in your IJN Assualt article.  I'll load this as the lead article for Feb 15.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com
 
Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Chi Ming Yeo 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 11:15 AM
  Subject: Fall of Singapore on February 15 - Ki27 Nate fighter

  Hi Steve,

  attached are the articles and photos for the third of my contributions to ARC for Febrary 15.

  Mike

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  Imperial Japanese Navy Air

  Assault on Singapore 

  by Mike Yeo of Horizon ModelTech
  --------------------

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here

       

  The island of Singapore, with a land of area of less than 600 square kilometres, lies off the southern tip of the Malayan Peninsula. With its strategic location and natural deep water harbour straddling the lucrative trade route between Asia and Japan, its small size and lack of natural resources makes it a natural objective for anyone with intentions of controlling the trade in the region. As such, colonial power Britain, which has controlled the island and its Malayan hinterland since the mid-19th century, saw Singapore as a vital interest and the best choice to build a naval base in the 1930s. With war clouds looming, the Sembawang Naval Base was completed with great fanfare in the 1930s.

  Imperial Japan, with territorial ambitions over all of Asia, saw the Naval Base as a significant threat and Singapore as a vital piece of its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. With the threat of war approaching the late 1930s, plans were drawn up to mount an land assault on Singapore via it's Malayan hinterland. When war broke out in December 1941, attacks were launched across a wide swath of Asia, including Malaya, Singapore, Burma, Borneo and the Philippines. A significant amount of Imperial Japanese Army and Navy resources were devoted to the invasion of Malaya and Singapore alone, underscoring how important the Japanese viewed the capture of the strategic island.

  The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force (IJNAF) was heavily involved in the assault on Singapore, beginning on the 8th of December 1941 to the 15th of February 1942. The unit involved was the IJNAF's 22nd Air Flotilla based in newly-occupied Indo-China. Beginning in November 1941, 3 Kokutais (Flying Groups/Regiments) of long-range land-based attack bombers were based around the Saigon area to prepare and support the forthcoming invasion of Malaya, Singapore and Borneo. Each Kokutai usually consisted of 30+ aircraft, subdivided into Chutais (Companies) of 8-9 aircraft each and then further subdivided into flights of 3 aircraft. As of 7 December 1941, the strength of the 22nd Air Flotilla comprised of:

  Genzan Kokutai - 36 Mitsubishi G3M2/3 Nells (Type 96 Rikko or Land-Based attack bomber) based at Saigon

  Mihoro Kokutai - 36 Mitsubishi G3M2/3 Nells (Type 96 Rikko) based at Thu Dau Moi

  Kanoya Kokutai (Detachment) - 27 Mitsubishi G4M1 Bettys (Type 1 Isshikirikko) based at Thu Dau Moi

  Attached Fighter Unit - 25 Mitsubishi A6M2 Zeros based at Soc Trang, 12 Mitsubishi A5M4 Claudes at Saigon

  In addition 12 Mitsubishi C5M Babs reconnaisance/observation aircraft were also based at Soc Trang.

  It was a testimony to the design of their aircraft and propulsion systems (along with the sacrificing of weight such as armour) that the Nells, Bettys and Zeros were able to fly the 600+ miles to Singapore and back without any problem. In fact, the Genzan Kokutai Nell that located and directed all 3 bomber Kokutais to attack the HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse stayed aloft for a total of 12 hours without refueling!

  In addition to interdicting the sea lanes around Singapore as well as long range patrols in the South China Sea (which they encountered and shot down a number of Allied patrol planes), the 3 bomber Kokutais, with their escort and reconnaisance elements, were heavily involved in attacking Singapore proper. The following is a summary of IJNAF operations over Singapore, during the combined aerial blitz by the Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces in January 1942.

        Date
       Unit
       Type
       No. of aircraft
       Target/Mission
       
        08/12/41
       Genzan Ku
       G3M Nell
       34
       Singapore (Aborted due to weather)
       
        08/12/41
       Mihoro Ku
       G3M Nell
       31 (14 aborts)
       Tengah and Seletar Airfields; Sembawang naval base; Keppel Harbour. First raid on Singapore
       
        01/01/42
       Mihoro Ku
       G3M Nell
       Unknown
       Singapore
       
        02/01/42
       Mihoro Ku
       G3M Nell
       25
       Sembawang and Seletar Airfields
       
        03/01/42
       Kanoya Ku
       G4M Betty
       27
       Tengah Airfield; Royal Navy arsenal
       
        12/01/42
       All 3 Ku
       G3M Nell/ G4M Betty
       81
       Singapore (Aborted due to weather)
       
        13/01/42
       All 3 Ku
       G3M Nell/ G4M Betty
       81
       Keppel Harbour (8-9 a/c of Kanoya Ku); Unknown target (30 a/c of Mihoro Ku) - Others aborted due to weather
       
        14/01/42 
       Unknown
       G3M Nell/ G4M Betty
       51
       Singapore (Aborted due to weather)
       
        14/01/42
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero
       Unknown
       Fighter sweep
       
        15/01/42
       Kanoya Ku
       G4M Betty
       27
       Tengah and Kallang Airfields (Original target: "Carrier" spotted by IJAAF 11 Sentai Ki-27s in harbour)
       
        15/01/42 
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero
       3
       Escort
       
        16/01/02
       Genzan Ku
       G3M Nell
       24
       Seletar Airfield
       
        16/01/42 
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero
       12
       Escort/Fighter sweep over Tengah Airfield
       
        16/01/42 
       22 Flotilla
       C5M Babs
       2
       Recon
       
        17/01/42
       Mihoro Ku
       G3M Nell
       24
       Sembawang Airfield
       
        17/01/42
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero
       8
       Tengah Airfield
       
        18/01/42
       Kanoya Ku
       G4M Betty
       26
       Oil tanks at west end of Naval Base
       
        18/01/42 
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero/C5M Babs
       11/2
       Escort/Recon
       
        20/01/42
       Mihoro Ku
       Mitsubishi G3M Nell
       26
       Sembawang Airfield
       
        20/01/42
       Genzan Ku
       Mitsubishi G3M Nell
       18
       Singapore City/Keppel Harbour
       
        20/01/42
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero/C5M Babs
       18/2
       Escort/Recon
       
        21/01/42
       Kanoya Ku
       G4M Betty
       27
       Tengah Airfield
       
        21/01/42
       Genzan or Mihoro Ku
       G3M Nell
       25
       Keppel Harbour
       
        21/01/42 
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero/C5M Babs
       9/1
       Escort/Recon
       
        22/01/42
       Kanoya Ku
       G4M Betty
       27
       Sembawang Airfield
       
        22/01/42
       Genzan Ku
       G3M Nell
       25
       Kallang Airfield
       
        22/01/42 
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero/C5M Babs
       9/2
       Escort/Recon
       
        27/01/42
       Kanoya Ku
       G4M Betty
       24
       Kallang Airfield
       
        27/01/42 
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero/C5M Babs
       19/2
       Escort/Recon
       
        29/01/42
       Genzan Ku
       G3M Nell
       26
       Seletar Airfield
       
        29/01/42 
       22 Flotilla
       A6M Zero/C5M Babs
       18/1
       Escort/Recon

  Due to a lack of information as well as conflicting reports, there is no way to tally the results of each raid with the resources on hand. 

  Sources

  - Bloody Shambles Vol 1, Christopher Shores, Brian Cull and Yasuho Izawa (Grub Street Books) 
  - Mitsubishi Type 1 Rikko Betty Units of World War 2(Combat Aircraft 22), Osamu Tagaya (Osprey Publishing)

  Map of Singapore Island scanned from "British Combat Aircraft in Action since 1945", David Oliver (Ian Allan Printing Ltd)

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 02.jpg here

       

  Photos and text © 2004 by Mike Yeo