SS ' s Jacob ( 1907 ) SS " ' s Jacob " Dutch freighter built by Maatschappij Fijenoord , Rotterdam , Netherlands , in 1907 , of and operated by " Koninklijke Paketvaart - Maatschappij " ( KPM ) in the Dutch East Indies trade . The ship , after seeking refuge in Australia during the Japanese invasion of the islands , became part of the Southwest Pacific Area ( SWPA ) command ' s permanent local fleet . " ' s Jacob " was sunk off Papua New Guinea on 8 March 1943 during World War II by Japanese air attack . World War II service . The ship was engaged in logistics support for Allied forces in the efforts to hold the Malay Barrier by the American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDA ) . During the final days before Java fell the ship was in convoy MS . 4 of four tankers and another cargo ship departing Sydney 31 January bound for the ABDA area taking a route south of Australia and up the west coast . On 15 February , the day Singapore fell and as took over the escort , ports in Sumatra were falling and the tankers and other cargo vessel were ordered to return to Fremantle . " ' s Jacob " and " Perth " continued to be later joined by the Dutch ships " Swartenhondt " and " Karsik " until , on the evening of 21 February and some 600 miles south of the Sunda Strait , they too were ordered to return to Fremantle . " ' s Jacob " was one of the 21 KPM ships that sought refuge in Australia on the fall of Java that the Commanding General , United States Army Forces in Australia ( USAFIA ) was instructed to purchase or charter for the SWPA ' s permanent local fleet . On 26 March 1942 the Chief Quartermaster , USAFIA arranged interim charters pending final negotiations with the Netherlands Government in London . Final negotiations between the War Shipping Administration ( WSA ) and the Dutch government resulted in their being placed under U . S . Army control through a complex charter arrangement in which the British Ministry War Transport ( BMWT ) chartered the KPM vessels and with WSA allocated them to SWPA with the stipulation they be under total control of the U . S . Army . They typically were crewed by KPM ' s Dutch officers and Javanese crew . As part of the war effort , " ' s Jacob " was upgraded and a 4 - inch naval gun was mounted aft . The ship was involved in the early days of reinforcements for Port Moresby and Milne Bay in New Guinea . In early September 1942 " ' s Jacob " and MV " Anshun " left Townsville for Milne Bay in a convoy designated Q2 escorted by and later . On 5 September the convoy was holding south of China Strait as Japanese naval forces were expected in Milne Bay that night . " Arunta " escorted " Anshun " into the port the next day with " Swan " and " ' s Jacob " awaiting orders south of the strait where they were joined in the night by " Arunta " . Meanwhile " Anshun " was discharging cargo by lights when the port was attacked by Japanese surface forces and she was shelled and capsized by the Japanese cruiser Tenryū . " ' s Jacob " entering Milne Bay was considered unnecessary risk with the ship and the escorts being ordered to Port Moresby until the situation stabilized . The " ' s Jacob " escorted by the Australian corvette , as part of Operation Lilliput , was transporting troops , weapons , and supplies from Milne Bay to Oro Bay . On 8 March 1943 , as " ' s Jacob " rounded Cape Nelson , nine high - flying Imperial Japanese bombers escorted by 12 fighters attacked her near Porlock Bay . The aircraft scored three direct hits and at least 15 near misses which caused serious structural damage and wounded several crewmen . A large fire started on the foreship and with the water pumps shutting down preventing any effort to extinguish the fire , the order was given to abandon ship . All those aboard had to jump overboard and clung to wreckage . 158 men were picked up by " Bendigo " , two of which died on the way to Milne Bay . Within 18 minutes of the attack " ' s Jacob " slid under the waves at 1 : 16 p . m . off Porlock Harbour . Five men were lost in the sinking , including Private George Watson , who remained in the water and instead of trying to save himself , assisted soldiers who could not swim into life rafts . George Watson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . In 1986 the wreck of " ' s Jacob " was found by divers off Porlock Harbor in of water . The ship ' s bell was recovered and later donated to the Lae Yacht Club .