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February 27, 1942
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Battle of Java Sea. Allied air and naval units try to stop convoy of some 80 ships approaching Java from northeast. All available B-17's, A-24's, P-40's and LB-30's are put into the air but achieve only insignificant results. An Allied naval force, 5 cruisers and 11 destroyers, under Admiral Doorman, Royal Netherlands Navy, meets the enemy near Surabaya and is decisively defeated, losing 5 ships. Most of the Fifth Air Force ground echelon in Java is evacuated by sea. The Sea Witch delivers 27 crated P-40's to Tjilatjap, Java, but these will be destroyed to prevent their falling into Japanese hands. 32 P-40's aboard the USS Langley, which sailed from Australia for India on February 23, are lost when the Langley is sunk by aircraft 100 miles south of Tjilatjap. The pilots are rescued by other vessels in the convoy, but the enemy sinks these ships with the exception of a destroyer, which delivers 2 of the pilots to Perth.
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