The Tiny Ship that Drove Japan Insane
In the turbulent waters of the Indian Ocean, by March 1942, the Allies’ time was rapidly running out. The Battle of the Java Sea had ended in disaster, and now, as the Imperial Japanese Navy continued its trail of destruction, the tiny Australian sloop HMAS Yarra was tasked with escorting a convoy consisting of three of the last few British vessels left in the region through the danger zone to the safety of Fremantle, Australia. As dawn broke on March 4, Yarra’s lookout made a horrifying discovery: the topmasts of three enormous Japanese heavy cruisers bearing down on them, accompanied by four destroyers. Under the command of the ruthless Admiral Nobutake Kondo, the enemy fleet towered over the humble sloop in number, size, firepower, range, and speed. As the alarm bells rang out on board Yarra, Lieutenant Commander Robert Rankin knew the odds of making it out alive were almost zero. But the sloop had a convoy to protect, and it wasn’t going to go down without a fight…
Credit to : Dark Seas