to provide assistance to the resistance movements. Allied navy units, particularly submarines, attacked Japanese shipping throughout the occupation and on occasion brought Force 136 operatives to Malaya. Air action was primarily confined to B-24 Liberators or Navy PB4Y Privateers supplying the resistance with arms and supplies, until late 1944 when B-29's of the US Twentieth Air Force carried out raids on installations at Penang and Kuala Lumpur. In May 1945 a British task force sank the Japanese cruiser Haguro in the Battle of the Malacca Strait. Tun Ibrahim Ismail landed in Malaya in October 1944 as part of a Force 136 operation to convince the Japanese that the Allies were planning landings on the Isthmus of Kra, 650 miles to the north to establish a beachhead in Malaya under Operation Zipper. This was to be followed by a drive south to liberate Singapore, Operation Mailfist, and an offensive to retake northern Malaya designated Operation Broadsword. In preparation for the landings, a British task force sailed through the Straits of Malacca in July 1945 clearing mines and attacking Japanese facilities. British carrier borne aircraft attacked targets along the West Coast of Malaya and aircraft of the United States Seventh Fleet attacked targets on the East Coast as a prelude to Operation Zipper. Before the Operation could commence the war ended. Surrender On 15 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito gave a recorded radio address to the Empire announcing acceptance the terms for ending the war that the Allies had set down in the Potsdam Declaration. British B-24 and Mosquito bombers then undertook reconnaissance and leaflet drops over Malayan cities after the surrender announcement. One Mosquito bomber developed engine problems and was forced to land at the Japanese held Sungai Besi aerodrome near Kuala Lumpur. The Japanese provided assistance to the aircrews until they were picked up by another Mosquito. In the period between the Emperor's announcement and the arrival of Allied forces in Malaya sporadic fighting broke out between the Chinese and Malay communities, particularly in Perak. The MPAJA launched reprisals against collaborators in the Malay police force and the civilian population and began to forcibly raise funds. Many in the rank and file advocated revolution. The cautious approach prevailed among the majority of the leadership at Lai Teck's instigation, a decision which would later be viewed as a major missed opportunity. A few of the Japanese occupation troops also came under attack