Last Stand In Singapore by Graham Clayton

Author:Graham Clayton [Graham Clayton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781775530770
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

The big guns

A lot of talk at the time, and for many years since, has been about the big naval defence guns pointing out to sea and this being the reason the Japanese managed to take Singapore with relative ease. While the siting of the guns contributed to the loss of Singapore, it was more the Japanese planning circumventing their effectiveness by not attacking from the sea that made the invasion so successful. Churchill had effectively put all his eggs in one basket by declaring that the naval task force combined with coastal defences was all that would be required to protect the area.

British arrogance in assuming the Japanese had no experience of jungle fighting and that they could not use tanks or armoured vehicles in such conditions was a big factor. The Japanese achieved both, and the early loss of the Repulse and the Prince of Wales ended any British capacity to defend Malaya and Singapore successfully. The big coastal guns were used in defence of the island, as they had a 360-degree traverse, but were in effect shooting blind. A further factor was a total loss of effectiveness as they were only set up with armour-piercing shells and these simply buried themselves into soft jungle ground. Those at Kallang worked under the trajectory of these shells, which had a massive muzzle explosion, followed by the whine of the shell passing over. As Bert said it was just more interruption to what little sleep they were getting at night.

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