Operation Lentil (Sumatra)

Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers from HMS Indefatigable forming up for a raid on a Japanese oil refinery at Pangkalan Brandan during Lentil.

Operation Lentil was an air raid by British carrier based aircraft on oil installations at Pangkalan Brandan on Sumatra on 4 January 1945. It was part of the larger Operation Outflank. Two aircraft carriers, HMS Indomitable and Indefatigable were escorted by four cruisers (HMS Suffolk), Ceylon, Argonaut and Black Prince and six destroyers, which included the 25th Flotilla's Grenville (leader), Undaunted, Ursa, Undine, and the 27th Flotilla's Kempenfelt (leader), Whelp, and Wager.

Pangkalan Brandan was, and remains, an important centre for Indonesian oil production.

A high proportion of the pilots were New Zealanders.

External links

• Table of actions by Royal Navy
• New Zealand naval history
• HMS Ursa, Destroyer