The second and final part of the publication dedicated to American efforts to strengthen the defense of the Dutch East Indies, threatened by the Japanese advance at the beginning of 1942, through the delivery of Curtiss P-40E fighters describes the tragic finale of a naval operation. During this operation, two American vessels attempted to break through the dangerous waters of the Indian Ocean to Java: the old tender (originally the first aircraft carrier of the US Navy) USS Langley and the modern transport ship SS Sea Witch. In total, they were carrying 59 Curtiss P-40E fighters and 33 American pilots. While Langley ended up on the ocean floor after an attack by Imperial Navy bombers along with 32 of the transported fighters, Sea Witch managed to deliver its precious cargo of 27 P-40Es to the Javanese port, but too late for the planes to engage in combat before the Dutch capitulation. The fate of the 33 American fighter pilots accompanying the fighters on the tender Langley was particularly tragic. Although all survived the sinking of the ship, all but two perished in the subsequent sinking of the destroyer USS Edsall on March 1, 1942, or in Japanese captivity. The publication sheds light on the fates of the fighter pilots of the US Army Air Forces and sailors from the US Navy ships during the dramatic...
