Potshot & Krait Memorial - WA

KRAIT MEMORIAL "The monument marks the place where members of Operation Jaywick departed from Australia in the MV Krait .The MV Krait (originally known as the Kofuku Maru) was formerly the property of a Japanese fishing firm in Singapore. After the fall of Singapore, she was employed in the rescue of evacuees from ships which had been sunk along the East Coast of Sumatra. Some 1100 people were transported in the Krait during this period. When the Netherland East Indies surrendered, the Krait was sailed to India by a civilian, Mr W. R. Reynolds.It eventually reached Australia and, because it was a former Japanese vessel, was selected to transport members of Operation Jaywick conducted by Z Special Unit, Australian Services Reconnaissance Department, into Japanese-occupied waters near Singapore. On the night of 26th September 1943, six British and 11 Australian army and naval personnel on the Krait placed limpet mines on ships in Singapore harbour. In this operation, seven ships were sunk and the men returned to Australia on the Krait on 19 October 1943."POTSHOT MEMORIAL "The monument commemorates the submarine base "Operation Potshot."In 1942 the United States Navy established a submarine base under the code name “Operation Potshot”. Extensive facilities were built adjacent to where Learmonth Airforce Base now stands. Although the submarine tenders only stayed in the area for a very short period, the base continued to operate as a refuelling facility. Australian Army, Navy and Airforce personnel operated early warning radar, radio stations, anti-aircraft guns and provided fighter cover for submarines.The famous Operation Jaywick which attacked shipping in Singapore Harbour departed from Exmouth Gulf. The Japanese bombed the location in 1943. A cyclone in 1945 extensively damaged the base and troops were withdrawn."