This painting of the nocturnal Battle of the Java Sea shows the torpedoed Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter burning as the cruiser HMAS Perth turns to avoid a collision, followed by the heeling USS Houston (CA-30), on February 27, 1942. One night later, the Perth, along with the USS Houston would go down in the Battle of the Sunda Strait. Aerial starboard bow view of the cruiser HMAS Sydney (II) (ex HMS Phaeton). Note the spar projecting forward of the bridge and single 4-inch AA guns amidships, which distinguished the Sydney from her two sisters. Her Seagull amphibian is embarked (Seagull was an early name for the Walrus). Minesweeper HMAS Cairns J183 seen in early 1945. Ammunition ship Neptunia explodes at her wharf at Port Darwin during a Japanese air raid. A second ammunition ship, Zealandia, is seen at right, with a floating dry dock in the middle distance. August 3, 1942: After hammering Port Moresby for two days, Japanese bombers finally sank this Australian transport which sends up...