The MV Krait is a wooden hulled vessel famous for its use during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 by the Z Special Unit

Z Special Unit

Z Special Unit was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia...

 (Z Force) of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 during the raid against Japanese ships anchored in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 Harbour. The raid was known as Operation Jaywick

Operation Jaywick

Operation Jaywick was a special operation undertaken in World War II. In September 1943, 14 commandos and sailors from the Z Special Unit raided Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour, sinking seven ships.- Background :...

.

History

Krait was originally a Japanese fishing vessel based in Singapore called Kofuku Maru. Following the outbreak of war the ship was taken over by Allied forces and used to evacuate over 1,100 people from ships sunk along the East Coast of Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

. The ship eventually reached Australia via Ceylon and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 in 1942 and was handed over to the Australian Military. In Australian service she was renamed Krait after the small but deadly snake.

In September 1943 Krait transported members of Z Special Unit to Singapore where they successfully raided the city's harbour, sinking seven ships. She returned to Australia in October. Krait was used by the Australian military throughout the war and was present at the surrender of the Japanese forces on Ambon

Ambon Island

Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...

 in September 1945.
Krait was sold following the war and was operated off Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

 until she was purchased for use as an Australian Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol vessel in 1964. She was acquired by the Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...

 in 1985 and is currently on loan to the Australian National Maritime Museum

Australian National Maritime Museum

The Australian National Maritime Museum is a federally-operated maritime museum located in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After consideration of the idea to establish a maritime museum, the Federal government announced that a national maritime museum would be constructed at Darling Harbour, tied into...

where she has been displayed to the public since 1988.

Since the success of Krait on Operation Jaywick, Australian Commando Unit vessels have traditionally used the names of venomous snakes. This tradition continues today with Red Viper and Coral Snake as current examples.