Behind The Rust: The Naval Battle of Malaya and Pearl Harbour

These rusty things are parts of the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse battleship/battlecruiser owned by the Royal Navy (British). Those battleships were known as the most sophisticated war machine back in those days.

During the World War ll; on the Naval Battle of Malaya, those battleships were bombed by the Imperial Japanese air force on 10th December 1941 and sunk in to the South China Sea near Tanjung Gelang, Kuantan, Pahang. What caught my attention; the Japs’ air force that attacked those battleships was the same force that was responsible for the surprise military attack of Pearl Harbour (7th December 1941), and the Naval Battle of Malaya happened two days later.

At first, these parts were lost as they were stolen by the Vietnamese fishermen. However, after getting information from the Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (APMM), they were then saved by Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM); KD Ledang and CB90 combat-boat were used during the operation.

Even though those battleships sank in the Malaysian territory for about 70 years plus, they are still the property of the British government. In spite of that, to commemorate the Naval Battle of Malaya; they were later handed over to Muzium Tentera Darat Malaysia for exhibition with the authorisation from the British Embassy in Malaysia.

During my visits back then, these things were not shown in the museum yet. It is still in the process of cleaning and research I think. I was lucky that during my visits, I met my father’s ex-colleague (Lt. Kolonel Abdullah Sani) who’re in charge of taking care of the museum, and told me some stories about it.

Until now, I’m not sure whether these parts have been put in the gallery or not. Will check it out later when I got some free time.

Have any of you visited the Muzium Tentera Darat Malaysia? It’s a nice place, filled with military and war histories; predominantly that related to our country. Also, there is various kind of war machine, from guns to fighter aircraft.

The admission is free and open daily except for Monday and Tuesday, from 10.00 a.m – 5.00 p.m. I bet you won’t regret your existence if you step over your feet into that place.