Air raid on Ceylon (5 April 1942)

See also: Indian Ocean raid

Air raid on Ceylon (5 April 1942)
Part of the Indian Ocean raid of the Second World War
Map of Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Date 5 April 1942 Location Colombo, British Ceylon 06°57′10″N 79°50′41″E Result Japanese victory
Belligerents
Japan	United Kingdom British Ceylon Canada Netherlands
Casualties and losses
7 aircraft	37 RN personnel killed 23 merchant sailors killed 37 civilians killed 26 aircraft destroyed 3 ships sunk 3 ships damaged
Colombo Harbour Colombo Harbour on the south-western coast of Sri Lanka

The Air raid on Ceylon (5 April 1942) also known as the Easter Sunday raid, was an air attack on Colombo, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft from the aircraft carriers of the 1st Air Fleet (Kidō Butai) during the Indian Ocean raid (31 March – 10 April 1942). The Japanese plan was to destroy the British Eastern Fleet in harbour.

The British received warning of the raid in March through decoded Japanese wireless messages and from air reconnaissance. The British forestalled the Japanese by dispersing shipping from the harbours in Ceylon before the attack. The Japanese aircraft were met by fighters of 222 Group, Royal Air Force, the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy and anti-aircraft guns.

Port facilities were damaged and ships in Colombo harbour were sunk or damaged. The bulk of the Eastern Fleet was not found and survived but several ships were sunk at sea after the raid. The Eastern Fleet moved temporarily to East Africa, from where it sent carrier forces into the central and eastern Indian Ocean. The Japanese Navy was unable to repeat the raid because of its commitments in the Pacific.