Military history of Singapore
Encyclopedia
World War II
- Battle of Bukit TimahBattle of Bukit TimahThe Battle of Bukit Timah, which took place on 11 February 1942, was part of the final stage of the Empire of Japan's invasion of Singapore during World War II....
- Battle of KranjiBattle of KranjiThe Battle of Kranji was the second stage of the Empire of Japan's plan for the invasion of Singapore during the Second World War. On 9 February 1942 the Imperial Japanese Army assaulted the north-western front of the British colony of Singapore...
- Battle of Sarimbun BeachBattle of Sarimbun BeachThe Battle of Sarimbun Beach was the first stage of the Japanese assault on Singapore in February 1942 during World War II. Sarimbun, in the west of Singapore Island, was the area in which Japanese troops, under the overall direction of Lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yamashita, first attacked Allied...
- Battle of SingaporeBattle of SingaporeThe Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
- Japanese Occupation of SingaporeJapanese Occupation of SingaporeThe Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...
- The Battle BoxThe Battle BoxThe Battle Box is a popular name of the underground command centre constructed under Fort Canning, Singapore as an emergency, bomb-proof command centre during the Malayan campaign and the Battle of Singapore...
Konfrontasi
Konfrontasi was a policy of confrontation by IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
from 1963 to 1966, in opposition to the formation of Malaysia from the Federation of Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
, Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, and Singapore. While there was no all-out war, there were numerous raids by Indonesian volunteers on targets within then-Malaysia, which included Singapore. The Philippines were aligned with Indonesia due to its claim for Sabah. It broke off diplomatic relations with Malaysia, but did not participate in the hostilities.
One of the raids the MacDonald House bombing
MacDonald House bombing
The MacDonald House bombing occurred on 10 March 1965, at the then Hongkong and Shanghai Bank building along Orchard Road of Singapore. The time bomb was planted by a duo of Indonesian saboteurs, during the period of Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation...
on 10 March 1965 by two Indonesian saboteurs. Two people were killed and thirty three were injured. The saboteurs were caught, and they turned out to be from the Korps Marinir
Korps Marinir
The Indonesian Marine Corps is the Indonesian National Navy's ground troops. It was created on 15 November 1945, and is the country's main amphibious warfare force and quick reaction force against enemy invasion.-History:...
. They were subsequently tried and executed, despite great pressure from Indonesia. In later years, the executions remained a source of unhappiness in Singapore-Indonesian relations. Lee Kwan Yew later sprinkled flowers on the graves of the Marines, helping heal the rift between the two countries.
During Konfrontasi, the First and Second Singapore Infantry Regiments (1 SIR and 2 SIR) were placed under Malaysian command and deployed in various parts of Malaya to fight the saboteurs. Local defence was the responsibility of the Singapore Volunteer Corps
Singapore Volunteer Corps
The Singapore Volunteer Corps was a militia unit established in 1854 as the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps. The Corps underwent several reorganisations and was known by various names through its history...
and the Vigilante Corps.
Hostilities ended with the overthrow of President Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
in October 1965.
Post-independence
After Singapore's independence on 9 August 1965, strained ties with the two immediate neighbors, Malaysia and IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
made defense a high priority. Then-PM Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
appointed Goh Keng Swee
Goh Keng Swee
Goh Keng Swee was the second Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1973 and 1984, and a Member of Parliament for the Kreta Ayer constituency for a quarter of a century. Born in Malacca in the Straits Settlements into a Peranakan family, he came to Singapore at the age of two years...
to head the new Ministry of Interior and Defence
Ministry of Interior and Defence
The Ministry of Interior and Defence of Singapore was set up in 1965, with Dr. Goh Keng Swee as the first Minister. The Ministry was responsible for both internal and external security, controlling both the Police Force and the Armed Forces....
. In 1966, drawing from the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i model, National Service was determined the best way to provide for a deterrent to potential aggressors. A Brigadier T. J.D. Campbell was appointed as the first Director of the General Staff.
The first cohorts of officers and non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s (now Specialist
Specialist (Singapore)
In the Singapore Armed Forces , Specialists are the group of ranks equivalent to non-commissioned officers in other armed forces. This term was introduced in 1993, for a more "positive" rank classification. In the SAF, Warrant Officers are not considered Specialists.Like many other modern...
s), taught by Israeli instructors, graduated from Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute
Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute
Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute or SAFTI was where officers of the Singapore Armed Forces were trained in the past. SAFTI per se does not exist anymore...
(SAFTI) in 1967. With this new cadre of leaders, army was expanded from the existing two infantry battalions to two brigades between 1967 and 1970. Efforts were made to ensure unit integrity by keeping the officers, NCOs, and men of reservist battalions together.
The Air Defence Command (now Republic of Singapore Air Force
Republic of Singapore Air Force
The Republic of Singapore Air Force is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command...
) was formed with the help of Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1968. The first class of pilots receiving basic military training and general flying instructions in the new Flying Training School at Tengah Air Base, and fighter training in the UK.
The Maritime Command (now Republic of Singapore Navy
Republic of Singapore Navy
The Republic of Singapore Navy is the naval component of the Singapore Armed Forces , responsible for the defence of Singapore against sea-borne threats and protection of its sea lines of communications. Operating within the crowded littoral waters of the Singapore Strait, the RSN is regarded as...
) was based at Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
temporarily until permanent facilities at the now-defunct Brani Naval Base were ready. Two gunboats were built by the British and Germans in 1969; subsequent models were built locally, entering service in 1970. The ex-USS Thrasher and USS Whippoorwill (commissioned RSS Jupiter and RSS Mercury) minesweepers
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
and County-class tank landing ship
Tank landing ship
Landing Ship, Tank was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore....
s were purchased from the United States subsequently.
Start of the defense industry
In 1967, the Sheng-Li Holding Company (Simplified Chinese: 胜利; pinyinPinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: sheng li; translated: victory) was established under the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (Singapore)
The Ministry of Defence is a ministry of the Government of Singapore entrusted with overseeing the national defence needs of the Republic of Singapore. It is the headquarters of the Singapore Armed Forces...
to promote the local defense industry. By the 1970s, Singapore was producing small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
(the M-16
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
) through Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS) and small arms, mortar, and artillery ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
through Chartered Ammunition Industries for local use and export. Sheng-Li Holdings was later restructured into Singapore Technologies (now ST Engineering) in 1989, the parent of ST Kinetics.
ST Kinetics produces the indigenous SAR-21
SAR-21
The SAR 21 is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in Singapore. First revealed and subsequently adopted by the Singapore Armed Forces in 1999, it was designed & developed over a four year period and was intended to replace the locally license-built M16S1 by the Singaporean Ministry...
and Bionix AFV
Bionix AFV
The Bionix is a family of tracked Singaporean armoured fighting vehicles developed by Singapore Technologies Kinetics . Intended to augment the Singapore Army's aging M113 armoured personnel carriers, it is the first indigenous armoured vehicle to be developed in Southeast Asia...
today. Others, either locally designed or locally-owned designs, such as the Ultimax 100
Ultimax 100
The Ultimax 100 is a Singaporean 5.56mm light machine gun, developed by the Chartered Industries of Singapore by a team of engineers under the guidance of American firearms designer L. James Sullivan. The gun is extremely accurate due to its low recoil.Work on a new light support weapon for the...
, SAR-80
SAR-80
The Singapore Assault Rifle 80 is an indigenously built, conventional assault rifle from Singapore.-History and development:In the late 1960s, the Singapore Armed Forces adopted the AR-15 as their main service rifle...
, SR-88
SR-88
The SR-88 is an assault rifle designed and manufactured in Singapore by Chartered Industries of Singapore .-Development:...
, FH-88
FH-88
The FH-88 or Field Howitzer 88 was the first locally-designed howitzer developed for the Singapore Army. It is a 155 mm/39-calibre towed howitzer gun.-Development:...
, and FH-2000
FH-2000
The FH-2000 or Field Howitzer 2000 was developed by Singapore Technologies for Singapore Army. It is a 155 mm/52-calibre towed howitzer gun. It fires projectiles to a maximum range of 42 kilometers using special extended range ammunition, that was field tested in New Zealand...
were also produced.
Peacetime emergency
- Hotel New World disasterHotel New World disasterThe Hotel New World emergency occurred on 15 March 1986, and was Singapore's deadliest civil disaster since the Spyros disaster of 12 October 1978. The six-story building situated at the junction of Serangoon Road and Owen Road rapidly collapsed, trapping 50 people beneath the rubble...
- Cable Car Tragedy, SingaporeCable Car Tragedy, SingaporeAn accident on the Singapore Cable Car system occurred at about 6 p.m. on 29 January 1983, when the derrick of the Eniwetok, a Panamanian-registered oil rig, passed under the aerial ropeway and struck the cable that stretched over the waterway between the Jardine Steps Station and the Sentosa...
- Singapore Airlines Flight 117Singapore Airlines Flight 117On March 26, 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was hijacked in flight by four male passengers who claimed to be Pakistanis. The aircraft landed at Singapore...
- The Laju Incident (1974)
Humanitarian aid
- The Taiwan Earthquake (1999)
- 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
- Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts (2005)
- SAF's Efforts in Tsunami-Hit Countries (2005)
- SAF's Humanitarian Assistance for Sumatra Earthquake (2005)
- Central Java Earthquake Relief Efforts (2006)