War Stories: The first bombing of Singapore

A replica of a makeshift bomb shelter in Singapore. It was merely a table surrounded by sandbags

On 8 December 1941, seventeen Japanese bombers hit Seletah, Tengah and Raffles Place, killing 61 and wounding more than 700 people. This was the first time than the populace of Singapore was hit by the horrors of  World War 2. It took two years after the German invasion of Poland and four years after the Japanese invasion of China for Singaporeans to finally realise there was a global war going on.

The Japanese planes involved were the G3M bombers. Manufactured by Mitsubishi (yes, that Mitsubishi), the planes were designed for long-range targeting. Launched from Thu Dau Mot, the pilots had to fly over 1000 km to reach Singapore. It would be a feat, if not for the fact that the bombers had been designed to sacrifice armour and safety for distance and speed.

The targets were Seletah airbase, Tengah airbase, Sembawang naval base and Keppel Harbour.The aim was to damage Singapore's military assets before the eventual invasion of Singapore. Despite staring out with 34 bombers, poor weather conditions ensured only 17 G3M bombers continued to Singapore.

Location of Singapore and Thu Dau Mot

Despite being detected at 0300 - 0330 (an hour before they reached Singapore), the British command under Air Chief Marshal Robert Brooke-Popham did not scramble his fighters to engage the Japanese. He had feared anti-aircraft fire may accidentally hit his own planes.

As the bombers flew over Singapore, anti-aircraft defences (including those from capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse) engaged the Japanese but none of the planes were shot down. By 0500, the Japanese pilots had left Singapore. They would return to Thu Dau Mot without incident.

A G3M bomber

But the suffering of the Singaporeans had just began. While the damage to military and civilian assets were minimal, the psychological effects were massive. It was clear now that Singapore was not far away from the war.

Women mourning for the loss of their children