Durban, quayside, halfway unloaded
22 December 1941 Durban is overrun by troops – for many of them their first time abroad- who are having their last few days to relax in a beautiful war free town. For most it will be their last leave...
“mv abbekerk”
Mozambique Channel, speed over 17 knots
27 December 1941 Four ships detach from the convoy and increase speed to over 17 knots. The troopships Aorangie and Narkunda and freighters Sussex and Abbekerk now sail unescorted, Northeast bound, away from the African shores, on their way to...
400 NM off the coast of Mombasa
1 January 1942 Leaving from Mombasa, the huge American troopship USS Mount Vernon joins the convoy. Even before the US was at war this ship was ‘on loan’ from the US and sailing in convoy WS.12x with British troops bound...
Secret “Port T”: supply stop at Addu Atoll
5 January 1942 The ships anchor briefly in Addu Atoll’s bay, the most Southern island of the Maldives. Since several months the natural, well protected anchorage is being used by the Navy and known as Port T. Strategic of great...
Three days from Singapore: tension rises, the escort grows
10 January 1942. The 5 merchant ship are now protected by eight more warships: The cruisers Hr.MS De Ruyter (commanded by rear admiral Karel Doorman), Hr.MS Tromp, HMS Durban, the destroyers Hr.Ms Backert, Hr.Ms Piet Hein, HMS Encounter, HMS Jupiter,...
Banka Straits: Japanese bombers approaching
12 January 1942 HMS Emerald is informed that large formations of Japanese bombers are on the way to the convoy. Over time it has become abundantly clear what they are capable off and on board Abbekerk the crew is under...
Singapore under attack, Abbekerk lucky again
13 January 1942 During the night speed is reduced to 9 knots because the mines that could have been laid by a Japanese submarine. De warships set out paravanes as protection. Also several Dutch minesweepers are busy clearing the route...
They can’t be that stupid!
17 January 1942 Abbekerks crew find themselves in a nerve wrecking position. The engine room staff do not follow the normal routine of repairs in the engine room: the engines must be ready at anytime. Assistant engineer Adriaan Kik has...
Still at anchor and miraculously unscathed
22 January 1942 And so we just floated around a bit. Every day the bombardments were getting heavier and the smoke of the fires ashore now continued to billow up all day. And all those planes continued to fly exactly...
Escaping Singapore at last
30 January 1942 Abbekerk has been anchored for almost three weeks and nothing much has happened on board for the last 2 weeks. Still bombers fly over the ship every day and more and more smoke is erupting from the...
Peter
