Balikpapan

air

U.S. Army photograph

Balikpapan (116.812E 1.283S), on the southeast coast of Borneo, boasted a significant oil field (7.4 million barrels a year) and a port with a refinery and just enough facilities to load tankers.  Like most of Borneo, the climate here is hot and wet with little seasonal variation.

At the time war broke out, Balikpapan was protected by coastal guns and an airfield. U.S. Destroyer Division 57 was in the harbor, en route Singapore, and there was a garrison of about 200 Dutch militia troops in the town itself.

The First Battle of Balikpapan

Some 5500 men of the 56 Regimental Group and elements of 2 Kure Special Naval Landing Force came ashore to capture the town on 23 January 1942. The Dutch garrison responded by firing the oil wells and retreating into the interior. By evening the Japanese had the airfield ready for operations.

ABDA attempted to contest the landings with the few forces available. Three B-17s attacked the Japanese force as it was coming to anchor, slightly damaging two transports. Of eight submarines sent to the area, only K-XVIII managed to reach the anchorage and penetrate the screen, sinking transport Tsuruga Maru (7000 tons) just before midnight. The Japanese screen commander raced his ships to seawards to hunt for the submarine, leaving the transports largely unprotected.

In the early hours of the morning, an American force of four destroyers slipped into the harbor and raked the anchored transports with torpedoes and gunfire. Three transports and a patrol boat were sunk and two other transports damaged.  This was one of the few successes by forces under the ABDA command, though the American destroyers ought to have scored better against anchored, silhouetted, and largely unprotected transports. The battle set back the Japanese time table by not more than a day.

American order of battle

Japanese order of battle

The Second Battle of Balikpapan

Balikpapan was retaken by the Australian 7 Division on 1 July 1945 (Operation OBOE VI) in the last amphibious assault of the Second World War.

Climate Information:

Elevation 23'

Temperatures: Jan 85/73, Apr 85/73, Jul 83/73, Oct 85/74, record 92/60

Rainfall: Jan 14/7.9, Apr 13/8.2, Jul 11/7.1, Oct 9/5.2 == 87.7" per annum

References

Bradley et al. (1992)

Morison_1948

Pearce and Gordon (1990)

Van Royen and Bowles (1952)

Willmott (1982)

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007 by Kent G. Budge.  Index

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