Battle of Sunda Strait
Imamura became the commander of the Sixteenth Army in November 1941, and was directed to lead that army in the invasion of the Dutch East Indies. As his fleet approached Java, during the invasion, his transport, the "Shinshu (Ryujo) Maru", was sunk by torpedoes, probably by friendly fire, in the Battle of Sunda Strait and he was forced to swim to shore.