Pasir Panjang Pillbox

Pasir Panjang Pillbox
Part of World War II Singapore Defences
Singapore

Pasir Panjang Pillbox in 2006
Coordinates 1°17′20″N 103°46′41″E / 1.289°N 103.778167°E / 1.289; 103.778167
Site information
Open to
the public		 Yes
Condition Good

Pasir Panjang Pillbox is a concrete defensive structure in southwestern Singapore

History

In advance of the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Singapore during World War II, a number of concrete pillboxes were built along Singapore's eastern and western coasts. These pillboxes had machines guns installed that could fire in any direction. Typically oriented seaward, they were positioned at strategic intervals so that their fields of fire would overlap, thereby reinforcing each other and covering almost the entire southern coastline.

The machine gun pillbox at Pasir Panjang is one of the few that have survived to the present day. It lies within the area defended by the First Malaya Brigade, and may have been used by the Malay Regiment in their battle against the 18th Japanese Division on Pasir Panjang Ridge in February 1942.[1]

Notes

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  1. ↑ National Heritage Board, Singapore's 100 Historic Places, p. 122, Archipelago Press, Singapore, 2007.
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