March 4, 1942 2154 north coast of Timor
The smoking lamp had been out for hours. Every gun was manned, every director ready, every radar pinging the horizon and every eye open and alert. Ten cruisers were advancing forward. Java had been severely damaged by a torpedo bomber attack launched from Shoho and Ryujo. She was limping to Kupang where she would eventually be declared a total constructive loss, although her guns would be part of the harbor’s defenses. The four P-40s covering the striking force managed a pair of kills before getting swarmed by the six Zeros that escorted the strike.
B-17s from Java managed to launch a single accurate attack against the Japanese carrier group. The carriers were even aware that they were under attack. The closest bomb missed by several hundred yards. Attacks from 20,000 feet were safely ineffective.
Australian Hudsons and American A-24 dive bombers each made a single run against the invasion force. A light cruiser was down by the bow and a trio of transports were wrecked. The Japanese division ashore had most of their artillery and the were able to unload a reinforced tank company before the rest of the tank battalion went under the waves.
After the Japanese air attack on the cruisers, the ships shifted formation. The two remaining Dutch cruisers moved forward to support the destroyer screen while the eight remaining cruisers, two American and six Royal Navy, formed a single column. The Americans led, their numerous six inch guns and radar fire control would be useful in brushing aside Japanese torpedo attacks. The four eight inch gun cruisers held the middle of the line while the two light cruisers took up the rear. The main cruiser line was commanded by Admiral Crace aboard Australia. Once the formation had been reset, crews were released from their guns in shifts for a meal and a rest. As night fell, every man had eaten and most had been able to sleep for an hour.
As night fell, USS Boise, USS Norfolk, HMS Cornwall and HMS Exeter each launched a single seaplane. The American planes searched north of the established beach head while the British scouted the anchorage. A Japanese cruiser force was sighted thirty miles to the west of the Dili, at least half a dozen ships including destroyers were patrolling the narrow passage between Timor and Pulau Alor. The Seagulls circled the Japanese cruiser force and observed.
Over the anchorage, the anti-aircraft gunners were active and inaccurate. The transports were only lightly covered by second rate escors and auxiliaries, the real warships were nowhere to be seen. The Walruses turned back to the cruiser force the Americans spotted and the four aircraft began to drop infrequent flares to mark the position.
A sharp eyed look-out aboard HMLNS Kortenear spotted a fuzzy outline of an enemy dimly illuminated by a falling parachute flare. The range was still too far for a gun battle but the Dutch destroyers started to shift their positions as orders began to fly about. Admiral Doorman had a problem. The Japanese covering force was patrolling a twenty mile wide passage that was the most direct route to the beach head. A ship in the middle of the narrow strait could shoot shore to shore. The Japanese cruisers were steaming in a race track pattern with their broadsides to the direction of the Combined Striking Fleet’s line of advance. If he did nothing, the Japanese would cross his T without any strenuous effort. The American "light" cruisers and HMS Liverpool might be able to take a beating, but his ships could not.
As he was deciding to engage in a caracole, a Japanese float plane flew overhead. It did not drop flares, but the radio interception team aboard De Ruyter heard a transmission. Surprise was not going to be achieved, despite that being the slimmest of hope. Radio operators soon started to hammer out messages to the rest of the fleet and battle flags were rung up on the yards.
Ten Japanese destroyers departed from the safety of their tight escort position to the six heavy cruisers and two light cruisers of the near covering force. They began to close the distance between the two forces. Eleven Allied destroyers headed out to meet them even as every cruiser’s guns shifted towards targets. The ships with good radars were waiting for targets to come within range; USS Norfolk wanted to fire at no more than 18,000 yards while HMS Liverpool and HMS Mauritius had captains wishing to fire at 20,000 yards. The order to commence firing had not yet been given even as De Ruyter began a port side turn that would bring her 135 degrees around.
HMS Electra started the battle as her guns were tracking a large Japanese destroyer 13,000 yards away. The first salvo was only star shells that lit up the night in an eerie glow while the rest of her compatriots chose a target. The Japanese destroyers held their fire for a minute as the destroyers raced towards each other at a combined closing speed of almost 2,000 yards a minute. As the ranged closed, the leading Japanese destroyer fired a green flare and the ships began to launch their heavy torpedoes. Roughly half the 82 torpedoes were aimed at the Allied destroyers, the rest were reaching for the cruiser line that was beginning to present their broadside to the swirling melee developing between the scouts and skirmishers.
USS Grau and USS Watkins had the heaviest guns amongst the Allied destroyers. The heavy five inch shells broke through the splinter armor aboard a Japanese destroyer that protected the torpedo crews and ripped open the oxygen bottles aboard the torpedoes that the crew was frantically reloading. That ship broke in half even as the Japanese destroyer line began to fight back. The Allied destroyers pressed in, trying to close the range so that their torpedoes could be effectively used against the Japanese cruisers.
Liverpool began the second phase of the battle just as a torpedo blew out the keel of Kortenear. Shells arced overhead of the destroyer scrum and reached for the Japanese cruiser Haguro. The first salvo was a clean miss while the second, third and fourth salvos were fired in a ladder ranging pattern. By the time that the fifth salvo was fired, a general cruiser action was starting as every ship in range began to fire at gun flashes or silhouettes or radar images. Liverpool scored the first hit, a pair of shells tore open the C turret aboard Haguro. And then two more torpedoes broke the back of Gerard Callenbach. Gunfire was starting to light destroyers on both sides afire and slow them down even as the Allied cruiser line presented their full broadsides to the Japanese cruisers 15,000 yards away.
Shells from both fleets landed solid hits, some defeated by armor, some punching through and wrecking compartments and bodies. Chokai was on fire near her aft magazine while Exeter could only use two turrets. The Japanese light cruisers were moving forward to first support their own destroyers and then to launch another wave of torpedoes. By now, the first wave of Japanese torpedoes had gone through the Allied destroyer line which was now just launching their torpedoes at long range. A second wave was being launched, much smaller as two destroyers were already catastrophic losses and another three had damage to at least some of their tubes. Their guns still worked though, as Pope was pounded into scrap metal and Express would need a month in a yard.
USS Norfolk had chosen Maya as her opponent, and Maya had chosen USS Norfolk. It was a contrast in design philosophies as USS Norfolk was firing fifteen shells every five or six seconds while the Japanese cruiser could lob ten much heavier shells every twenty seconds or so. The thick armor on each ship was often sufficient to deflect glancing blows. Norfolk scored a trio of hits with her super heavy shells near the enemy’s bridge. That success was not followed up as a pair of Long Lance torpedoes ripped open the cruiser. The rest of the Allied cruiser line hit their rudders hard to avoid the sudden obstacle.
Mauritius claimed retribution, four rapid salvos landed square on the light cruiser Kuma. Eleven shells penetrated the very thin armor, one detonated in the forward magazine and two destroyed a boiler room. The cruiser stopped her movement and was coasting dead in the water for a minute before an explosion broke the ship in half. Even as this victory was momentarily noticed, the battle raged as Encounter’s torpedoes scored twice on an enemy destroyer and the heavy dual purpose guns of Isaac Swears foundered another destroyer.
De Ruyter had fired a few desultory shots from her twin aft turrets as she was opening the range. After steaming away from the battle for seven minutes, she turned hard again to port to a heading almost due south and her guns began to bark out at the Japanese destroyers so that Allied destroyers could retire. The rest of the cruiser line followed the fleet flag and they began to make their turn. HMAS Australia had only three working turrets now as B turret was jammed from a hit. Her gunners had wounded Nachi in retaliation but both ships were still pounding on each other. The Allied line slowed to eighteen knots and both fleets exchanged broadsides on almost reciprocal courses for the next twenty minutes. Little critical damage was done. Liverpool had the most Allied success, four hits on an unidentified heavy cruiser while Tromp was hit three times with eight inch shells. As De Ruyter came to the end of the southbound leg, Admiral Doorman decided to break off. The threat of torpedoes in the narrow waters between Timor and Pulau Alor was too much. They could not bull through the covering force. The losses were too high already, and a frontal attack guaranteed more losses without corresponding results. The Americans and the British might be able to afford losses that they could replace, but his Navy had to protect his ships like a debutante her virginity.
De Ruyter turned away. The Japanese did not pursue and gunfire was desultory until it ceased as the fleets increased the distance between them to twenty seven thousand yards.
Now the battle of Timor would be determined on land.