Singora airfield under Japanese occupation, 1941

Singora airfield, in what is today Thailand, after it was occupied by Japanese forces in December 1941. Singora was the airfield that Squadron Leader Arthur Stewart King Scarf attacked on 9 December 1941 as part of the operation for which he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

On 9 December 1941, Scarf was the first member of No. 62 Squadron to take-off from RAF Butterworth. The remainder of his squadron was destroyed on the ground. In the single surviving aircraft, Scarf proceeded to No. 62 Squadron’s target, a Japanese occupied airfield at Singora. After his successful attack, Scarf was mortally wounded by enemy fighters. Despite his injuries, Scarf returned his Bristol Blenheim to RAF Alor Star. Scarf’s crew survived.