USS Houston and HMAS Perth: Heroic Last Stand of the Allied Cruisers, 1942 (Documentary)

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In February 1942, the Allies had faced the Japanese invasion forces at Badung Strait and the Java Sea. Having severely lost the Battle of the Java Sea, the remaining Allied fleet prepared to leave Java behind and sail to Australia. Among the departing ships were the USS Houston and HMAS Perth. The cruisers attempted to circumvent any Japanese naval presence, but accidentally sailed straight into a major amphibious landing operation at the Sunda Strait...
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🧾 Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
📚 Sources:
Written by House of History
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🖼 Photos, paintings and imagery: Public Domain, Wikicommons
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#HouseofHistory #History

[@HoH]

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[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

You're the Best! Thanks For this 😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@doncao6838]

I love these videos you should do more I will subscribe to you.

[@ondrejdobrota7344]

Of the Perth's company of 686, which included four civilian canteen staff and six RAAF personnel for operating and servicing her aircraft, only 218 (including one civilian and two RAAF) were eventually repatriated; the remainder were killed during, or soon after, the action, or died as prisoners of war. So 468 died.

[@lancaster5077]

Even the ships were made of steel 😉

[@michaelking2519]

Is that blitz to

[@thedestroyerlikeme6347]

I swear crusiers and destroyers have nerves of steel. The amount of last stands and final battles these ships types have faced is truly remarkable. Their captains and admirals have literal balls of steel. Even when they outnumbered and outgunned they still keep fighting. It is truly extraordinary!

[@Cba409]

Its part of the nature of naval combat, if you lose you can’t run. And unlike the war in the Atlantic, prisoners were rarely taken in the Pacific and the smaller ships are the more numerous.

[@Boundraries]

HMS Glowworm, All destroyers in the battle of samar just to mention a few.

[@guru47pi]

They seem to pick the best captains; also they most know that it's their small ship's job up protect the other ships at any cost. Ideally they can sink the opposing ships, but failing that, their job is to buy time for their convoy. It's the same as Ataturk at Gallipoli ordering his infantry: "I don’t order you to fight, I order you to die. In the time it takes us to die, other troops and commanders can come and take our places."

[@Chriscers]

So if they survived and alive, ye gonna call them Coward? Disgrace ? Traitor? Scaredy Rats?? Even their captains had lgbt mutatuions? Yeah nice

[@Boundraries]

Some situations are unwinnable, but if theres something at risk like in the case of the HMS Jarvis bay you gotta stall em as long as possible. And for the HMS Rapawaldi it action almost caused the 2 german battleships to be sunk early in the war had it not been bad weather that saved them.

[@oldrabbit8290]

10:20 certified Imperial Navy moment.. "Sir, there're Army transport nearby!" "Even better"

[@TellenJones]

"When the Houston sunk, I made it ashore with an officer, a real commander. Later on we ran into a Japanese patrol, and he was killed. I figured it's just a matter of time before I was captured ...”

[@alexanderleach3365]

I love watching these naval battle videos. Both the USS Houston and HMAS Perth fought to the last shell.

[@andrewstackpool4911]

Perth was reduced to firing star shells from her main battery, all other ammunition expended. In her last gasp, survivors later said that Japanese destroyers came so close they were firing both their 5-inch guns and machine guns at Perth, adding to the growing number of bodies on deck. What makes the story more tragic was that naval intelligence had reported that there were no Japanese forces ivo Sunda.

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

What is tragic is that both of the War Graves of USS Houston and HMAS Perth have been illegally salvaged and likely nothing remains. The RAN were recently denied permission by Indonesia to do another survey of the wrecks.

[@arjenh7214]

Same for the De Ruijter

[@daveweiss5647]

That's tragic and infuriating, was it the Indonesians? Their government?

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

@@daveweiss5647Both turn a blind eye to the Chinese company that did it to HMS Prince Of Wales and HMS Renown as well. Some Indonesian vessels did plunder USS Houston and HMAS Perth. The Royal Australian Navy asked to monitor the wrecks reguarly and got denied. "Chuan Hong 68" is a Chinese state owned ship mostly responsible, the Malaysian government attempted to impound it.

[@daveweiss5647]

​@@goodshipkaraboudjan damn, I should have guessed... thanks for the response. That's engaging, they did it for what... scrap metal? Ridiculous.

[@Glund117]

The scrap steel as its more valuable and rare, as pre atomic steel is stronger than its modern equivalent ​@daveweiss5647

[@manuelacosta9463]

That Marine firing away with his rifle is legendary. ABDACOM fell hard but but fought harder and they sure gave the IJN quite the startle here. Of all the allied vessels involved in this campaign only the humble Dutch minesweeper HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen survives to the present as a museum ship, her crew disguised her in jungle foliage to escape to safety.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

This Januari I paid her a visit, with a branch hidden in my backpack. With the approval of the old officers on board, I recreated that special moment on a small scale

[@Shitbird3249]

@@sjonnieplayfull5859if true that’s Damn nice.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

@@Shitbird3249 Took a picture, with the branch wrapped around a railing. The ship itself is part of a museum, easy to visit when you are in the Netherlands.

[@krismurphy7711]

It was GROSS NEGLIGENCE that the Allied Naval Forces had not exercised with each other....training for the INEVITABLE.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

@@krismurphy7711 inevitable? The destruction of the US fleet at Pearl was inevitable and they should have known about it? The refusal of McArthur to carry out orders, leading to the destruction of the US air force on the Philippines was inevitable? Scraping together whatever ships they could find was inevitable and they should have prepared for exactly this combination of ships?

[@DV1287]

Small correction at 13:15 . Rentz actually was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the only US Navy Chaplain to do so in WW2. It was Captain Rooks that was posthumously awarded the MoH for his actions mentioned in commanding USS Houston.

[@HoH]

Thanks!

[@GeoffEnns]

The USS RENTZ (FFG-46) was my first ship in the Navy, named in honor of the chaplain. We visited the Sunda Strait in 1995 on deployment and conducted a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of those brave men.

[@buntysinghal1487]

The destroyer Evertsen has nerves if steel to go into a losing battle she could have easily saved herself not for the selfless act of saving allies though she was outnumbered and outgunned. Extraordinary ❤

[@agnyr]

No, she coudn't. She was trailing the two cruisers sailing from Batavia, not Tjilatjap, as shown here. So she had no chance to avoid Japanese forces... Unfortunately the movements of ships in this video are again wrong on so many levels... :(

[@buntysinghal1487]

@@agnyr Oh I didn't knew that Thanks for correcting me

[@brokenbridge6316]

I remember once hearing about a Dutch ship escaping this area at this time while disguising itself as a small island. I think it made it to Australia. Just forgot the ships name.

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@goodshipkaraboudjan---thank you

[@daveweiss5647]

I saw a documentary on that as well! Great story!

[@GM-fh5jp]

Those 8 inch Heavy Cruisers of the IJN were like ravenous predators of the southern seas in those days. They also had the best optics early in the war and could land destructive salvoes of 8-inch armor piercing rounds which could kill a light cruiser or destroyer. Many of them could do 35 knots, were well armored against 6-inch light cruisers and had a fearsome battery of Long Lance topedoes. Housten and Perth never stood a chance.

[@ronjohnson1658]

Excellent video - huge respect for HMAS PERTH and USS HOUSTON. RIP. LEST WE FORGET

[@lightravenn]

Regarding the troop transport being hit by own torpedo screens.. Its hard for me not to think about how bad the navy/army relationship was back then.. like water and oil

[@MarcusAgrippa390]

Have you considered doing the battles of Jutland or Doggerbank in WW1? Of course Jutland alone would be a huge undertaking given the sheer number of encounters and their consequences, not to mention the many contrasting examples of incompetence and brilliance of the senior commanders. (I'm especially looking at you Beatty) I'd love to see your take on those.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love these naval battles! Thanks For this 😊😊😊❤❤

[@DesertAres]

It was a real charge into death by the two Allied ships. The captains had to know that the inevitable result would be the sinking of both ships and loss of many of the crews.

[@davidforbes7772]

My father met a survivor of the USS Houston in a POW camp on Formosa (Taiwan).

[@KHK001]

Always great to see more naval battles!

[@ISAF_Ace]

I forget which, but I remember someone remarked Royal Navy destroyer captains were true death or glory types. It seems it spreads to cruiser captains as well.

[@catsnads01]

Amazing content, thank you!

[@dimosthenistserikis5901]

Terrific job as always

[@robbabcock_]

Great video!⚔🔥👏

[@rollosnook3031]

Good video, not a battle I've come across before.

[@richardstone5552]

Thanks

[@kamikaze2009]

I already read some books and reports about those incidents but this new graphics gives me a whole new insight overviewing the battles

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

It was an informative and wonderful historical coverage video about two allies vessels ( US + UK ) mobilized to Japanese fleets naval ambushed.. thank you 🙏 ( House of History) channel

[@hellas_crater]

Not UK - Royal Australian Navy (just because it has "Royal" in front, doesn't make it British) ......

[@davidhobson7652]

theres not many videos besides one other to do with this battle that mention anything about the dutch destroyer that tried to enter the battle to assist USS Houston and HMAS Perth so congrat on that extra info cant ignore the courage the crew of the dutch destroyer had to choose to fight

[@vermicelledecheval5219]

A movie should be done on this.

[@tomo-gq2tq]

Can we have a video on HMAS Hobart & Adelaide, so little attention is given to them but if anyone has mentions for them.

[@nnoddy8161]

Small correction, Evertsen left from Batavia with Perth and Houston, albeit some hours behind, not Cilicap. Shame you did not mention the deaths of the survivors as POWs under the Japanese.

[@nnoddy8161]

You need to do the Battle of Savo Island

[@cptnbinky]

So... were the port batteries of Perth and Houston firing at the transports during all of this?

[@Shakeelkhan-qz3ob]

Please make video on pearl harbor 1941 and Battle of Leyte gulf of ww2

[@Hype409]

HoH hello Pak HoH ...

[@tome7998]

A very unusual/interesting battle. But one thing stood out to me: The japanese only lost a handful of men despite loosing 4 ships to torpedoes? Especially with those 4 being troop carriers I would have expected WAY WAY WAY more losses there oO

[@Antmann71]

Yeah... Well weird

[@lightravenn]

And here's when Binford DD group would have been of big help to screen the CAs

[@RoboticDragon]

So the transports were already evacuated when they got torpedoed. Thats a wild battle and shows how anything can happen in the heat of it. The general being chucked into the water as well. Nobody is exempt from the chaos of war. Pretty ballsy to be launching torpedos towards enemy ships when yours are on the other side too.

[@joevicmeneses8918]

How about the Battle of Leyte gulf or the Battle of the Philippine sea ??

[@yoshinorikw]

Rear Admiral Takeo Kurita is 栗田 健男 in Japanese. Kurita=栗田、Takeo=健男。

[@aaroncabatingan5238]

10:39 That's a bruh moment. Pretty sure that did more damage than the Allies lol. There is way too many friendly fire in this battle

[@jacksonlee3771]

Mogami was sunk during the Battle of Midway.

[@johnnyg3166]

They attack on situations where they know they all are going to die

[@notthefbi7932]

For the algorithm 👍😉

[@HoH]

Thank you!

[@notthefbi7932]

@@HoH You do great work

[@t.r.4496]

I never realized that Japanese type 93 torpedoes in 1942 had an effective range of 25 miles. The US Mark 14 only had a 5 mile range coupled with the problems of duds and being out of control at times it's no wonder the Japanese dominated the Pacific for 2 years. A good Japanese destroyer Captain could be just as effective as a main Battleship at range.

[@isilder]

I didnt understand why the two allied cruisers didnt just continue south through the transports ???

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

They had been damaged reducing their speed, and the Japanese Heavy Cruisers were both faster by 10% even if the American ship had NOT been damaged. They were incapable of running clear.

[@krismurphy7711]

I think it is important to understand what was going on in the minds of the Allied Ships at this time. My Dad was aboard ship in the Asiatic Fleet and he said it was just crazy after the Attacks started. He was in the Philippines ...and his ship was ordered to get the hell out of there. WHEN Allied ships happened upon this Convoy, I'm certain that the Captains KNEW they were outnumbered, outgunned and outclassed.....so....FUCK IT!!!...ATTACK!!!! "Take some of them with us!!!" Both the US Navy and Brits wanted REVENGE for significant losses to their Navies.

[@facubeitches1144]

Poor ABDA - their units were basically the Washington Generals of WWII.

[@burnstick1380]

Will you continue the Prussian wars?

[@leapdrive]

There are times when bravery becomes too overrated. There was a way of escaping for the two allied warships so these assets can fight more effectively for another day. Heading south of the Straight by passing starboard of the Japanese cargo ships lined in tandem on the eastern side of the Straight could have effectively used them as torpedo shields from Japanese torpedos coming from the westside of the Straight. At the end of the Straight is a clear path home to Australia.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

They were damaged, with reduced crew, and the Japanese Heavy Cruisers were ten percent faster than USS Houston. So your idea was not possible.

[@leapdrive]

@@uncletiggermclaren7592 , where did you get your information?

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

@@leapdriveThe damage, well it states as much here in this video, but also I already knew the two vessels were supporting each other because they had both been in battles and air attacks for 20 days, had been in a surface battle just the day before, and were damaged. They also were short on ammo AND fuel, as they had not been able to resupply for a week. As for their max speeds, this is a fact, that if you go looking by googling their names and speeds, you will find out.

[@leapdrive]

@@uncletiggermclaren7592 , yes, they may have been damaged and traveling below max speed, but in a dark, dark night at sea and in the direction I suggested, they could have been unnoticed from the other side of the Straight. Those cargo ships they would have passed would not even know if their ships were friend or foe since their crew were the least trained in identification.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

@@leapdriveYeah, they could have taken the chance. Hard to know what the real situation was of course, we were not there. They had been detached from another force, and directed to interdict a landing attempt, and had to retreat when they got intercepted themselves. In fact they were out numbered, and out classed by bigger and newer vessels. In 1942 the IJN Pacific Fleet was the bigger than the US navy Pacific Fleet you understand, and had bigger battleships, and faster heavy cruisers. And more aircraft carriers.

[@niesenjohn]

As they left port where the ships cats kept trying to abandon ship so much they had to be tied down, the crew claimed they heard a gate shut as they left the harbor. The Houston was a great example of an inter war ship. Had a mess crew of Philippinos. One was chubby and nicknamed Buddha. Buddha couldn’t swim and as the ship was sinking he was seen cradling his dying captain in his lap repeating over and over to anyone who tried to get him to abandon ship, “Captain dead, Houston dead, Buddha die, too!” Also famously an old hand China marine kept firing his 50 caliber machine gun from the upper works as the ship plowed itself under the sea, defiant to the last. And for one fleeting moment all that was left was the Stars and Stripes flapping in the wind and spotlighted by the Japanese. One last salute before diving to the depths. A tragic end for a brave ship and crew that virtually no modern Americans today know anything about.

[@kyleallenalcantara2364]

13:49 "Let Houston have the Credit" General Inomura's reply to Japanese Admiral after sinking her ship.

[@eine52]

Imamura. FYI, he is regarded as one of the best generals of Japanese Imperial Army. He was successful in the conquest of Dutch East Indies and forced the Americans to give up on capturing Rabaul thanks to his leadership.

[@theofficialsikris]

Forced the Japanese to shoot their own ships, I was beginning to wonder, considering the position of the ships at the start of the battle, if that would happen, I was not disappointed.

[@sandville2396]

❤

[@fedda9999]

10:29 Japan: oops

[@janlindtner305]

👍👍👍

[@johanstahl1497]

Funfact: One of the Japanese sinking transport carried the early (possibly the first ever) phonograph record of Indonesian anthem recorded in Tokyo. It's planned this record along with the other lost Japanese made indonesian flag will be used for propaganda purposes.

[@naturschnitzel]

Did he call WoT historically accurate? 😂😂😂

[@MaxMustermann-kn8pd]

Hello

[@Oldman5261]

Houston and Perth were extremely lucky to have made it unscathed to the entrance to the Sunda Strait. Their ships were damaged, their ammunition low, and their crew was exhausted. They were heavily outnumbered and out gunned. Why in God’s name did they turn around and head north instead of heading south through the Japanese transport ships and into the safety of the open ocean? Perhaps a death wish?

[@commonwombat9171]

Orders from Ship A Day Helfrich. Waller had some very harsh words with Helfrich's chief of staff (curiously a RAN officer John Collins) about their orders and lack of ammunition before leaving Batavia. Certainly in hindsight given the dissolution of ABDACOM, the more sensible move for both Perth & Houston would've been on of sailing east and making a run for Darwin. As a footnote, both Helfrich and Collins were able to leave Java for Australia with Helfrich later moving on to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to run a pseudo NEI govt in exile. Collins (who did have an otherwise highly distinguished war) later rose to the rank of Vice Admiral and head of the RAN during the 50's.

[@dariusghodsi2570]

RIP classical warfare videos

[@estebancastellino3284]

👍

[@mebeasensei]

2:26

[@jmanj3917]

*THE TEXT IS WAY TOO SMALL!* 🙂

[@irrelevant9023]

World of tanks "historically accurate" 💀

[@Harry-yx2on]

Petty officer George Henry Harris great great grandfather who died in Burma after the HMAS PERTH sank

[@Hype409]

Merdeka Independence lndonesia Freedom US UK Australia

[@carloseduardodias3014]

Nem de graça temos q aceitar pois a manutenção é cara, investir na indústria nacional seria mais inteligente. Mas no Brasil a corrupção impera em detrimento a indústria nacional.

[@Hype409]

Majapahit x Zamrud : SON baby lndonesia son

[@matthewcaughey8898]

With the mod to the game I played in this game and saved both Houston and Perth. I shocked the IJN by having 2 carriers in the area to provide cover and I deployed a pair of Dutch submarines to assist. In the pullout the Dutch subs had a good ole time. They crippled the cruisers and my carriers were able to keep the DDs busy strafing them constantly

[@Hype409]

lndonesia military Rank evolution

[@MCorpReview]

Accidentally clicked on wrong one. Thought it was bazbattles. Even the voice sounds the same😂

[@KUNALBISWAS-NEWS-TECH-SHORT]

December 1961 Indian Liberating of the Portuguese colony of Goa : Sinking of Portuguese frigate Alfonso de Albuquerque

[@pj2123]

The painful background music is totally unnecessary in my opinion and spoils your good work.

[@jcooks1974]

They no longer make men like these with balls of steel

[@jameswaterfield]

This only happened because the Port Admiral of Batavia was an arsehole

[@spidos1000]

Conrad Helfrich

[@Hype409]

Majapahit Winner 🏆 start lndonesia Win winner 🏆 start

[@Hype409]

Commun 1st When ln lndonesia PKI NOT 🚫

[@Hype409]

Batavia Ohio FBI join us Asean lndonesia - Malaysia

[@kazuhassideprofileswifey2179]

World of Tank's suck

[@leexingha]

ur use of terms (heroic) is pretty distasteful. putting on DONT RECOMMEND CHANNEL. alas

[@Muddybagclean]

Jesus Loves You