On 13 February 1942, Japanese submarine I-55 sunk the UK merchant ship "MV Derrymore" at 05° 18' S, 166° 20' E about 50 miles north of Batavia, when it was on a passage between Singapore and Batavia. It was carrying six crated Hurricane aircraft, ammunition, military equipment and 218 RAAF personnel, plus its crew of 26 seamen. One of the RAAF personnel was Pilot Officer John Grey Gorton (400793), the future Prime Minister of Australia. The survivors were rescued by the RAN Corvette HMAS Ballarat.

On 21 January 1942, John Gorton had suffered severe facial injuries when his Hurricane of 135 Squadron RAF, overturned during a crash landing on Bintan Island south of Singapore after his engine failed during aerial combat with Japanese aircraft over the South China Sea. He was thrown heavily into the instrument panel during the crash. He was being evacuated to Fremantle, in Western Australia when the "MV Derrymore" was sunk.

Photo:- AWM 126196

Flying Officer John Gorton and other
survivors being taken aboard HMAS Ballarat

John Gorton was later involved in a forced landing of a P-40 Kittyhawk on Melville Island on 7 September 1942.

Flying Officer John Grey Gorton (400793) of 77 Squadron RAAF was involved in a later incident when the engine in his P-40 Kittyhawk A29-192 failed on take-off during a test flight at Gurney Airfield at Milne Bay in New Guinea. The P-40 continued on and struck a bog off the end of the runway and turned over on its back. Flying Officer Gorton was not injured.