1942 - Seaplane tender USS Langley, carrying 32 Army Air Force P-40 aircraft for the defense of Java, is bombed by Japanese naval land attack planes 75 miles south of Tjilatjap. Due to the damage, Langley is shelled and torpedoed by USS Whipple.
1942 - The Battle of the Java Sea begins, where the 14-ship Allied forces attempt to stop the 28-ship Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies colony of Java. The Japanese, during battles over three days, decimates the Allied forces, sinking at least 11 ships, killing more than 3,370 and taking nearly 1,500 prisoners.