 During the last days of May the 9th Division embarked at Morotai onto the ships which would transport it to Brunei Bay , and undertook rehearsals for the landing . Due to a shortage of shipping , the available vessels were heavily loaded and many soldiers were forced to endure cramped and hot conditions during the ten days before the landing . Australian official historian Gavin Long later wrote that for many troops these conditions " were as uncomfortable as any of the experiences that followed " during the campaign . The 24th Brigade Group was carried by a variety of landing ships : the two large Australian LSIs HMAS Manoora and Westralia , as well the attack cargo ship USS Titania , LSD USS Carter Hall , ten LSTs , five LCIs and seven LSMs from the United States Navy . A total of 38 small LCVPs and 26 LCMs were also assigned to land the brigade once it arrived off Labuan . Due to the coral reefs surrounding the island , the assault waves landed in LVTs of the US Army 's <unk> Amphibious Tractor Battalion . The convoy carrying the 9th Division left Morotai on 4 June and arrived in Brunei Bay before dawn on 10 June . The main body of the convoy anchored off Labuan , and the remainder proceeded to the Brunei area . A Japanese aircraft dropped a bomb near two of the transport ships off Labuan at 6 : 51 am , but caused no damage . 
