Lark Force 1942: A Bolt Action Project
80 Years ago Today
80 years ago today, the Japanese prisoner transport ship, Montevideo Maru, was steaming toward Hainan. Onboard were 1054 prisoners of war. The majority were the survivors of Lark Force, the Australian garrison of Rabaul, New Britain who had been over run and captured earlier that year. Among the prisoners were also 209 civilians who had been interned by the Japanese on New Britain.
Unknown to the crew, guards and POWs they were being followed by the American submarine USS Sturgeon. Not knowing the nature of the ships mission and without identification to indicate that POWs were onboard, the Americans fired four torpedoes at Montevideo Maru just before dawn. The ship sank in just 11 minutes. One Japanese survivor, Yoshiaki Yamaji, recalled that the Australians sang Auld Lang Syne, as the ship went down. There were no survivors from the POWs or interned civilians.
The sinking of Montevideo Maru is considered to be the worst maritime disaster in Australian history. One of those lost that terrible morning was my cousin, Rueben Hanning a Private in 2/22nd Battalion Australian Infantry which formed the greater part of Lark Force.
Lest We Forget
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