WWII Naval Clash: Battle of the Java Sea

On 27 February 1942 a fleet of 14 American, British, Dutch and Australian ships engaged Japanese naval forces in the Battle of the Java Sea, with disastrous results. The next day, the HMAS Perth and USS Houston attempted to escape the Java Sea via the Sunda Strait, where they ran into another powerful Japanese fleet. Over half the crew of HMAS Perth died in this action and the survivors became prisoners of war. More than 100 died in captivity. Eighty years on, listen to the stories of those who