Singapore
Deibel arrived in Singapore with his squadron on 9 December 1941 with 9-12 Brewster Buffaloes and was stationed at Kallang Airfield.
He first saw action on January 12, 1942, during a Japanese air raid over Singapore. A formation of Japanese bombers escorted by five Ki-27 Nates were sighted at 1000 hours. They were intercepted by three Dutch Buffaloes, who succeeded in chasing them away, damaging one of the bombers. When they returned in the afternoon, Deibel and two other pilots were scrambled to intercept them, encountering nine Ki-27s. Deibel claimed two of them before being shot down himself. He was hospitalised for four days after suffering a wounded head.
His squadron returned to Java on 18 January, missing out on the Battle of Singapore. Deibel followed eight Buffaloes to Semplak, while 23 others flew to Andir and Tjilitian.
Read more about this topic: August Deibel, World War II