The British had predicted, by late 1930s, that Japan would attack resource-rich South-east Asia following its protracted military hostility towards China. Malaya and Singapore’s geographical locations made them ideal launch pads for Japan to perpetuate its southward expansion ambitions. This kick-started Singapore’s seaward defences in 1936.
WINSTON CHURCHILL,IN HIS EVALUATION OF THE JAPANESE THREAT IN 1939
It (Singapore) could only be taken after a siege by an army of at least 50,000 men... It is not considered possible that the Japanese... would embark upon such a mad enterprise.
A looming threat
Singapore’s governor, Sir Shenton Thomas, was con�dent that the island’s sea, air and land defences were able to repel enemy advancesSINGAPORE DEFENCES – A PSEUDO-FORTRESS
LAND DEFENCES
Ammunition supply• Shells and propellant cartridges are transported on carriages to the gun site
• A steam crane onan adjacent track then lowers the cartridges into the magazines
Davit craneFor manual loading of shells
Cartridge store
Shell store
Exhausts
Clear fumes from
the power room and
maintain air �ow
Power room
ShellsCartridges
Oil store
Dry passageIsolates the underground area from damp earth
Changi Railway tracks2.4km-long tracks transport ammunition from Fairy Point Pier to the three 15-inch guns
Entrance for gun crew
Sources: NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD, NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF SINGAPORE, NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD, FORTSILOSO.COM, PETER W STUBBS, BETWEEN TWO OCEANS: A MILITARY HISTORY OF SINGAPORE FROM 1275 TO 1971, REFLECTIONS & MEMORIES OF WARPHOTOS: IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA, ST FILE STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS: TIEN CHUNG PING, LIM YONG
SEA DEFENCES• Arrived in Singapore on Dec 2, 1941• Comprised two capital ships and four destroyers• Presence served as a deterrent against Japanese aggression
• Opened in 1938 and cost £60m• Designed to protect Singapore from a “back door” attack from sea• The base, a lynchpin in the British defence strategy in the Indian and Paci�c Oceans, held no permanent naval �eet as the plan was to send one down from the Royal Navy’s main �eet in the Atlantic only in the event of a threat
HMS Repulse• Battle cruiser built in 1916• Rehauled between 1936 and 1939• Part of the British Eastern Fleet with the HMS Prince of Wales as the �agship
LengthWeightSpeed
Crew
794 feet (242m)32,000 tons29 knots (54kmh)1,200
6-inch9.2-inch15-inch
Gun size comparison
A brief history of Japan’s march towards imperial supremacy in East Asia and the factors that prompted its military aggression against Singapore and other Asian territories.
1868 to 1869• The Boshin civil war restores power to the Japanese Emperor, ushering in a new imperialism in the country• This kick-starts the country’s modernisation and Westernisation to catch up to the Western powers
1937Second Sino-Japanese War erupts and by 1940 the �ghting is locked in a stalemate
Maximum speedMaximum range
483kmh1,530km
Armament 4 x 7.7mmmachine guns
Brewster Buffalo Fighter
AIR DEFENCESAircraft were outdated, in poor condition and vastly inferior to modern ones such as the Japanese Zero �ghter. Communication and coordination among the British armed forces were also hugely lacking.
FORCE ‘Z’
Maximum speedMaximum range
456kmh1,800km
Armament 2 x 7.7mm machine guns and 454kg bombload
Bristol Blenheim 1 Bomber
1940Sept 22Japan takes control of French Indochina (present-day Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam)Sept 27Japan signs the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy to form the Axis powers
LAOS VIETNAM
SOVIET UNION
KOREA
FORMOSA(TAIWAN)
HONG KONG
PHILIPPINES
JAPAN
SINGAPORE
CHINA
CAMBODIASIAM(THAILAND)
BURMA(MYANMAR)
MALAYA
D U T C H E A S T I N D I E S( I N D O N E S I A )
MANCHURIATerritories occupied or controlled by Imperial Japan
Prior to WWII
During WWII
1941August• Japan is slapped with oil and steel embargos after ignoring US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ultimatum on the withdrawal of its troops from China and French Indochina• This forces the military to look south tothe oil- and rubber-rich Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) and British Malaya• War plans are drawn up against theUS Paci�c Fleet at Pearl HarbourDecember• Japan invades Hong Kong
Changi outerAMTB battery*
Fairy PointPier
Changi innerAMTB battery*
Gun 1180° arcof fire
Gun 2
Gun 3
Changibattery
SelarangBarrack
Teloh PalouCamp
280°arcof fire
ChangiRailway
Changi Gaol(prison)
Johorebattery
BetingKusahbattery
TAMPINES ROAD
*Armed with rapid �ring guns designed to engagefast-moving targets such as torpedo or gunboats.
TypeLengthWeight
ElevationRange
Rate of �re(per minute)
Coastal defence gun16.52m101.6 tonnes45 degAbout 34km*
Two rounds
SPECIFICATIONS
*Further if not for the limitation of ranging instrumentation
CHANGI’S MONSTER 15-INCH GUNSThe 15-inch gun emplacements were constructed during the mid-1930s, and the last of the three guns was mounted in 1938. The graphics below depict Gun 3 of the Johore Battery, named in 1935 in recognition of the Sultan of Johore’s contribution of £500,000 to the British government.
Gun crewAbout 20 men
SINGAPORE NAVAL BASE AND THE SINGAPORE STRATEGY
Defence structures and gun batteries, built along Singapore’s coastline, were only partially completed when the Japanese attacked.
Reach of the 15-inch guns
Buona Vistabattery
Batam
I N D O N E S I A
MALAYA
Bintan
Johorebattery
Northern shoreLacking in defence works
Beaches on theeast and south coastsWell forti�ed with barbed wires, pillboxes, anti-tank obstacles and heavy artillery batteries
RAF Tengahairfield
Causeway
Pulau Ubin
Pulau Tekong
Pasir Lababattery
Buona Vistabattery
S I N G A P O R E
MALAYA
Labradorbattery
FortSilingsing
battery
Serapongbattery
KeppelHarbour
BetingKusahbattery
Refer toenlarged areaon the right
Sphinxbattery
Siloso battery
Johorebattery
Fort Connaughtbattery
TekongBesarbattery
Changibattery
Pulau Blakang Mati (Sentosa)
KallangCivil Airport
SingaporeNaval Base
Sembawangairfield
RAFSeletarairfield
Pengerang batteryLocated at the south-eastern tip of Malay Peninsula, it came under the Changi Command
Singapore’s main defences as at Dec 1941The 29 coastal artillery guns wereorganised into two �re commands:
Defended the eastern approach to the Naval BaseGuarded Keppel Harbour against landings on the southern coast
Changi
Faber
Three turrets withtwo 15-inch guns each
12 four-inch guns
Carries four aircraft
Six- to nine-inch armour plate on waterline
Ten 14-inch guns
Carries four aircraft
HMS Prince of Wales• Battleship built in April 1941• Nicknamed “HMS Unsinkable” as she was cladded with the most advanced protective armour
NOTE: The Japanese controlled the sea as well as the air during the Malayan Campaign after the sinking of these two capital ships off the coast of Kuantan, Malaya on Dec 10, 1941.
LengthWeight
739 feet (225m)35,000 tons
SpeedCrew
30 knots (56kmh)1,422
Hoist cage
Breech
Overhead crane
Barrel atloadingposition
Barrel atmaximumelevation
Cartridges on trolleyFour cartridges, each weighing 49kg, make up a full explosive charge for blasting
Shell• Weighs 879kg• Armour-piercing(for use against warships)
Handlingroom
Groundlevel
4
1
2
Hydraulicrammer
3
Cartridges Hoistcage
Shell
1
2
3
4
The hoist cage, containing the shell and cartridges, is lifted though a �ash door.
• It then rotates to a horizontal orientation asit is conveyed up to the breech at the top.• The breech door opens up to receive the ammunition.
A hydraulic rammer pushes the shell, followed by the four cartridges, into the breech.
• The breech door closes and the gun barrel swivels to its pre-determined �ring position and angle.
• The gun is �red remotely, via electric signal, from the Battery Observation Post or manually by a gunner.
FIRING THE GUN