Battle of Makassar Strait The Battle of Makassar Strait , also known as the Action of Madura Strait , the Action North of Lombok Strait and the Battle of the Flores Sea , was a naval battle of the Pacific theater of World War II . An American - British - Dutch - Australian ( ABDA ) fleet — under " Schout by - nacht " ( Rear Admiral ) Karel Doorman — was on its way to intercept a Japanese invasion convoy bound for Surabaya , when it was attacked by 36 Mitsubishi G4M 1 " Betty " and 24 Mitsubishi G3M 2 " Nell " medium bomber s , which forced the fleet to retreat . Background . At the end of January , Japanese forces had conquered the north and west coast of Borneo and large parts of Maluku ( Moluccas ) . On Borneo ' s west coast , Japanese forces occupied the oil facilities and ports of Balikpapan and Tarakan , and on Celebes the cities of Menado and Kendari had also fallen . To gain full control of Makassar Strait , the Japanese needed to capture the cities of Makassar and Banjarmasin . On 1 February , Allied commanders received word from a reconnaissance plane : at Balikpapan , a Japanese invasion force — consisting of 20 troop transport ships , three cruiser s and 10 destroyer s — was preparing to sail . On 2 February , Admiral Thomas C . Hart , " Vice - Admiraal " ( Vice Admiral ) Conrad Helfrich , Rear Admiral William A . Glassford and " Kommodore " ( Commodore ) John Collins met at Palembang ; Helfrich ' s suggestion that a strike force be formed was approved . It was formed the following day under " Schout by - nacht " ( Rear Admiral ) Karel Doorman , and began on supplies at the Gili Islands , south of Madura . The ABDA force consisted of four cruiser s ( ( flagship ) , and , and ) escorted by seven destroyer s ( , , , , , , and ) . Battle . On the morning of 3 February , the ABDA strike force was spotted by a squadron of about 30 Japanese bombers heading toward Surabaya . Seven of the bombers showed special interest in the strike force and started circling above the ships . The ships initially dispersed to deeper water , but the planes left without attacking , and the strike force resumed taking on supplies . At about midnight , the ships sailed for " Meinderts Droogte " ( Meinderts Reef ; later Karang Mas ) , off the north east tip of Java . The last ship arrived around 05 : 00 on 4 February . At 09 : 30 , the strike force received word that air patrols from Makassar had spotted the Japanese heading for Surabaya . On the morning of 4 February , the ABDA strike force headed out for Makassar Strait , in search of the Japanese invasion force , which was reported to be passing through the straits and was now said to include three cruisers and 18 destroyers , escorting transports and other ships , under " Sho - sho " ( Rear Admiral ) Takeo Takagi . At 09 : 49 , while Doorman ' s strike force was south of the Kangean Islands , Japanese bombers were sighted to the east by sailors on the ABDA ships . The Japanese planes where flying in four " v " - formations at an altitude of about . The planes attacked the Allied cruisers . The first to be targeted was " Marblehead " , and the bombs landed about in front of the ship . During a second attack , " Marblehead " sustained two direct hits and a damaging near miss . The two direct hits penetrated the deck , killed 15 crew directly and destroyed the ship ' s ability to manoeuver ; " Marblehead " was now able only to sail in circles . The near miss also caused a hole , near the bottom of the ship . However , subsequent attacks on " Marblehead " were less intense . " Houston " initially evaded bombs successfully , but suffered a severe hit during a final attack ; a bomb hit the deck near the aft gun turret , and killed 48 crew . The rear guns were rendered useless . After the hits on " Houston " and " Marblehead " , the planes focused on " De Ruyter " , which evaded four attacks and sustained only minor damage to fire control for its 40 mm guns . At about 13 : 00 , Doorman ordered his ships to return west and signalled Hart that — without fighter protection — it would not be possible to advance to Makassar Strait , due to the threat from bombers . " Houston " and " Tromp " had already gone south through Alas Strait , and were south of the strait . " Marblehead " and the five U . S . destroyers went south through Lombok Strait . " De Ruyter " and the Dutch destroyers also stayed with " Marblehead " until the Lombok Strait . Both U . S . cruisers headed for Tjilatjap , to get repairs and medical attention for their wounded . Aftermath . Japanese aircrews reported three cruisers sunk during the attack : one " " Augusta " class cruiser " , one " Tromp " - class cruiser type and one " Java " - class cruiser . However , no ships of the latter class were present during the attack , and only " Marblehead " and " Houston " were damaged . At Tjilatjap , " Houston " and " Marblehead " transferred their wounded to a hospital and buried their dead . " Marblehead " would not fit in the dry dock , but the hole in the hull was temporarily repaired , and the ship sailed for the east coast of the U . S . — by way of Ceylon and South Africa — for repairs . " Houston " was able to continue service with the ABDA fleet . The retreat of the strike force resulted in the Japanese taking control of Makassar Strait and thereby tightening their grip on the western part of the Dutch East Indies .