| United Kingdom Royal Navy cruiser HMS Exeter after engagement with Japanese Cruisers off Java. This Japanese photo was captured by United States Army 7th Infantry Division Intelligence G-2 at Attu in May 1943. February 1942 had seen the beginning of another tragedy for Britain and 1 that would deal another blow to United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) personally. After the Battle of the Java Sea, HMS Exeter, HMS Encounter and 4 American destroyers had returned to Surabaya where they were joined by another American destroyer, USS Pope (DD-225), the engine-room troubles that had kept her out of the previous battles were rectified. Clearly these vessels could not remain at Surabaya and on February 28, 1942, all the American warships except Pope passed through the Bali Strait between that island and Java, ultimately reaching Australia safely. As they left, the American sailors cheered Exeter, knowing that she could not follow them through the narrow Bali Strait without the risk of grounding in its shallow waters. It was suggested that she might use the Lombok Strait further east, but this was rejected for fear of attack by bombers based on Bali. United Kingdom Royal Navy Captain Oliver L. Gordon (January 26, 1896 – January 30, 1973) was therefore ordered to make a wide sweep towards the south coast of Borneo in order to avoid detection, and then proceed through the Sunda Strait where the presence of the Japanese had not then been reported. During her brief stay in harbor, Exeter’s engine-room personnel had worked tirelessly to repair her injuries and enable her to steam at 23 knots. At 1900 Hours on February 28, she set out on her last voyage. USS Pope, being the only American destroyer that still carried torpedoes, had been instructed to help protect her, as had HMS Encounter; the Dutch survivors she had rescued from the 1st Battle of the Java Sea had been put ashore. Exeter and her faithful destroyers were not sighted during the hours of darkness, but daylight brought enemy reconnaissance aircraft that reported their presence to Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi (January 1892 – July 8, 1944) and also to Vice Admiral Ibō Takahashi (April 20, 1888 – March 18, 1947) whose reserve force had so far seen no action, a situation that he was eager to rectify. At 0935 Hours, Exeter’s old opponents, Imperial Japanese Navy heavy cruisers Nachi and Haguro, accompanied by destroyers Yamakaze and Kamakaze, appeared to the south. Immediately afterwards, to the west of and directly ahead of Exeter, Takahashi’s squadron came into view: heavy cruisers Ashigara and Myoko and destroyers Ikazuchi and Akebono. As Encounter and Pope laid down a smokescreen, Exeter turned back to the east, but she had no chance of escaping. By 1000 Hours there were Japanese warships on both her flanks: Nachi, Haguro and all the enemy destroyers to starboard; Ashigara and Myoko to port. Aided by 3 float-planes circling overhead to direct their fall of shot, the 4 Japanese cruisers delivered a heavy and accurate crossfire, scoring an early hit that wrecked Exeter’s fire control system and repeated near misses that caused further damage. Exeter retaliated with every weapon at her command. She launched 6 torpedoes at Ashigara and Myoko, though without success; her main armament fired continuously, and her anti-aircraft gunners, not to be outdone, opened up at the Japanese floatplanes whenever opportunity offered. Yet it was obvious that it could only be a question of time before she suffered a disabling wound, and at 1120 Hours this was inflicted. As in the Java Sea, an 8-inch (203 millimeter) shell found a boiler room, reducing her speed to a mere 4 knots (7.5 kilometers per hour). Thus crippled, she made an easy target for a hail of shells that knocked out all her guns, set her on fire and brought her to a halt. At 1130 hours, Captain Gordon ordered: “Abandon Ship.” As her crew scrambled clear of her, Kazuchi and Akebono dashed in to fire 18 Long Lances. Several of these struck home and at 1140, Exeter rolled over and sank by the stern. Meanwhile, Ashigara and Myoko had turned their fire onto HMS Encounter. She, too, was hit repeatedly and brought to a halt, on fire and with her engine room flooded. United Kingdom Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Eric Vernon Saint John Morgan (September 11, 1908 – October 1983) made a quick tour of his destroyer and “satisfied myself that there was nothing further to be done, and that the ship was sinking.” He gave the order to abandon her and at 1145 Hours, she also went down. USS Pope escaped destruction for a time by taking refuge in a convenient rain squall, but when she emerged from this, she was attacked by aircraft from Imperial Japanese Navy light carrier Ryujo. These made several near misses that caused severe flooding and left her slowly sinking by the stern. The Japanese heavy cruisers finished her off. It was not until the following morning that the survivors of the British warships were taken aboard Japanese destroyers. Captain Gordon, Lieutenant Commander Morgan, 50 other officers and 750 seamen were carried to prisoner of war camps. Japanese contempt for those who surrendered made these dubious refuges and though at 1st the enemy freely acknowledged the courage and determination shown by the crews of Exeter and Encounter, as the long months of war dragged on, this was gradually forgotten by their captors and 152 of them did not live to witness the end of hostilities. This, then, was the latest bad news to reach Churchill. On the previous day, he had for a wonder received some encouragement: a small but brilliantly-executed Commando raid on Bruneval in northern France had seized an example of the latest German radar equipment, knowledge of which would greatly assist future British aerial operations. It might be thought that Churchill would at least have mentioned this in his letter to United State President Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), of March 5, but he did not do so, and it appears that any satisfaction it may have given him could not lift the gloom induced by the sinking of Exeter, the loss of which he seems to have felt deeply. Nor was this surprising. In December 1939, Exeter, accompanied by 2 light cruisers, HMS Ajax and HMINZS Achilles, had engaged the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee near the mouth of the River Plate and driven her to seek shelter in Montevideo, where she was later scuttled. Exeter had been heavily damaged in this action. Burning, listing heavily, her steering gear crippled and all her 8-inch guns out of action, she had made her way painfully to the nearest British base, the Falkland Islands, where it was proposed she should remain for the rest of the war, so great were her injuries. Churchill, who was then 1st Lord of the Admiralty, would have none of this. He insisted that Exeter be brought back to Britain and restored to her full fighting capability and when Exeter finally reached Plymouth in February 1940, he was there to meet her and praise her gallant crew. He declared with truth that: ‘The brilliant action in which you played a memorable part, came like a flash of light and color on the scene, carrying with it an encouragement to ourselves and to our Allies.’ Exeter indeed had become more than just a ship. Her durability, proved by her having got home despite her tremendous punishment, made as great an impression as the skill and courage of her crew. She stood as a symbol of Britain’s determination to fight on whatever the odds and Britain’s capacity to endure suffering and loss and still survive. Now this ship with which Churchill had been so closely associated, this symbol that had meant so much to him, was gone forever. No wonder Churchill was despondent in February 1942. Over a year later, in May 1943, the G-2 Intelligence team on Attu in the Aleutian Islands came across film and still photos in the possessions of the Imperial Japanese Army garrison, which died almost to the last man. The trove of documents on Attu contained this photo and others depicting the sinking of HMS Cornwall. Pictures of HMS Exeter sinking appeared in the April 8, 1942, of Shashin Shūhō (“Photo Weekly”), an Imperial Japanese Government publication that mimicked LIFE Magazine. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1972.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.29 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5246 x 3814 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | March 1, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | Java Sea |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | NH 91772 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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