Operation Python was carried out by the Allied

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

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. Predominantly Australian, Z Special Unit was a specialist clandestine operation, direct action, lo ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The objective of the mission was to set up a wireless station near Labian Point in

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo wa ...

and undertake covert operations reporting on the sea lane of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

in the

Sibutu Passage Sibutu Passage is a deep channel some wide that separates Borneo from the Sulu Archipelago. It has a deep sill allowing entry of deep water into the Sulu basin while connecting the Sulu Sea with the Sulawesi Sea that feeds from the Pacific Ocean ...

and the

Balabac Strait The Balabac Strait (; ) is one of the straits that connects the South China Sea with the Sulu Sea. It separates Balabac Island (Palawan province), Philippines, from Balambangan and the Banggi Islands north of Borneo that are a part of Malaysi ...

of the

Sulu Sea The Sulu Sea (; Tausug: ''Dagat sin Sūg''; ; ) is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipela ...

. The operation was split into ''Python I'' and ''Python II''. Their first task was to plant three of their fellow operators with their radio transmitter at a safe distance, so that coded intelligence could be sent back to Australia. In their information forays and reconnaissance, they traveled many hundreds of miles at great risk using Hoehn military

folboat A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin m ...

s along the coast and accessible inland waters.

Operation Python I

Led by Major F. G. L. Chester, the Z Special Unit operatives landed along Labian Point in early October 1943. They also supported and provided equipment and stores for Filipino guerrillas under the command of an American officer, Captain J. A. Hamner.

Operation Python II

In January 1944, Bill Jinkins led Z Special Unit operatives with the objective of organising the native population for guerrilla warfare. These early efforts did not bear any significant results.

References

*Feuer, A. B. (2006). ''Australian Commandos: Their Secret War against the Japanese in WWII'', Stackpole Books, . *Hoehn, John. (2011). ''Commando Kayak: The use of Australian folboats during the Pacific Campaign''. hirschbooks.net & ozatwar.com/hoehn .

External links

Covert operations in Northwest BorneoOperation Python
at Z Special Unit {{DEFAULTSORT:Python Conflicts in 1943 Conflicts in 1944 20th century in Brunei Special forces of Australia Battles of World War II involving Australia