Johore Battery

You all can see how big the guns were. This is how big the guns were in that time. During the Japanese Invasion, the guns were used in fact. It is inaccurate to say that they remained silent. Maybe they were ineffective but they were used during the war. The Japanese were just better strategists and tacticians :(

The picture above is Samuel lifting the 800Kg missile. Don't be fooled, he ain't so strong. Levers were made use of during the war in the British camp, soldiers had to do this everytime to get the ammunition in.
Me, looking r-tarded.


See, 800Kg!

What's under there? Scroll down to find out!
We had no means of finding out what the white things were. O.o





The following are pictures of what the secret tunnel looked like during the time.









The guns
During routine cleaning at its Abingdon Centre in April 1991, the Prisons Department made a most astonishing and remarkable discovery. At the site was a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Work by the Ministry of Defence revealed that the tunnels led to a concrete bunker some three storeys down. After further research into historic records, it was ascertained that this gun battery was the Johore Battery. In the 12 February 1992 issue of the Straits Times, Dr Ong Chit Chung, then Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and a military historian himself, hailed the discovery as "the most significant discovery in Singapore's war history in recent years". From http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/maturing_saf/v08n04_history.html

The British knew that Japan was expanding its naval rapidly and at that time, they assumed that any possible attack on Singapore would come from the sea, as such, these guns were put in place to guard Singapore. The locals thought it the "impregnable fortress". This was one of the follies of the British, she underestimated her opponent. The Japanese came from the North on bicycles!

These guns were also known as Monster Guns because they were very big. The ammunition which was 800Kg was hard enough to pierce through extremely hard metal. Some three storeys below the gun emplacement is a labyrinth of tunnels that was used to store ammunition to support the three monster guns. The lights were spoilt and so we did not dare go down. Besides, it was raining and we did not bring a torch of our own. "Before the British surrendered, orders were sent out to destroy the guns to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. The tunnels were sealed up after the war."
From: http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/about_us/history/maturing_saf/v08n04_history.html


Note: The Sultan of Johore donated 500,000 in support of Britain's war campaign.
Tourists are encouraged to view this informational side as there is no entry fee.