HMS Scorpion escaped Singapore after enduring air attacks, but her 17-knot river design and low-angle 4-inch guns were poorly suited to an open-sea encounter. She fought back when she met the Japanese cruiser Yura and two destroyers, yet was sunk with only small groups of survivors later recovered. Dragonfly and Grasshopper sailed together on 13 February 1942 carrying about 325 troops toward Sumatra. Aircraft struck both in the Bangka Strait: Dragonfly sank quickly after three hits, while Grasshopper was hit twice, caught fire, and was beached. The resulting deaths, wounds, and captures show how small imperial-presence vessels became improvised evacuation transports once Japan's advance turned the regional crisis into full-scale war. Their fate is a practical warning against judging river armament or nominal speed as adequate for an ocean withdrawal under air and surface attack.
Notable Point · 43:52-46:35
Scorpion, Dragonfly, and Grasshopper lost in the Far East
The three Far East losses show shallow-draft presence craft confronting cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft during the collapse of Singapore and the escape toward Sumatra.