Operation Rimau was an attack on Japanese

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

 shipping in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 Harbour, carried out by an Allied

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 commando

Commando

In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...

 unit Z Special Unit

Z Special Unit

Z Special Unit was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia...

, during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 using Australian built MKIII folboats. It was a follow-up to the successful Operation Jaywick

Operation Jaywick

Operation Jaywick was a special operation undertaken in World War II. In September 1943, 14 commandos and sailors from the Z Special Unit raided Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour, sinking seven ships.- Background :...

, which had taken place in 1943, and Rimau, a shortened version of the word Harimau which is (Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 for tiger). It was again led by Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Lyon

Ivan Lyon

Lieutenant-Colonel Ivan Lyon DSO, MBE was a British soldier and military intelligence agent during Second World War...

 of the Gordon Highlanders. Originally named Operation Hornbill the aim of Rimau was to sink Japanese shipping by paddling the folboats in the dark and placing limpet mines on ships.