William Henry Beale Jr. was a US military and paramilitary aviator. In the Second World War, he was in the USAAF and flew bombing missions in the northern Pacific theater. In the Permesta rebellion in Indonesia in 1958 he flew bombing missions for the CIA. His career ended on a CIA covert mission in Laos in 1962 when he was killed in a plane crash.
On April 28, 1958, Beale bombed and sank the Indonesian Navy corvette KRI Hang Tuah, killing 18 crew and wounding another 28. This photo shows Hang Tuah in her original guise as the RAN Bathurst-class corvette HMAS Ipswich.
Permesta was a rebel movement in Indonesia that was declared on 2 March 1957 by civil and military leaders in East Indonesia. Initially the center of the movement was in Makassar, which at that time was the capital of the province of Sulawesi. However, support for the movement in South Sulawesi gradually dissipated, forcing the headquarters to move to Manado in North Sulawesi.
Clockwise from top left: Indonesian Navy Commando Corps in Amurang Indonesian Navy in swamps chasing PERMESTA troops Indonesian marines moving toward Amurang Col. Sunandar Prijosudarmo salutes Permesta soldiers in a military ceremony on 4 April 1961 Langowan airfield occupied by the Indonesian marines Indonesian marines on Morotai Island
Image: Indonesian Navy Commando Corps in Amurang, Jalesveva Jayamahe, p 153
Image: Indonesian Navy Commando Corps in swamps chasing PERMESTA troops, Jalesveva Jayamahe, p 154
Image: Indonesian Navy Commando Corps on Morotai Beach, Jalesveva Jayamahe, p 154
