 From 9 until 18 December 1941, Japanese warplanes indiscriminately strafed and bombed George Town, in the process eliminating the obsolete Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force squadrons based in RAF Butterworth and the Bayan Lepas Aerodrome (now Penang International Airport).It was estimated that 600 civilians were killed as a result of the Japanese bombardment, with an additional 1,100 wounded.Notwithstanding the fact that the British Army had earlier designated Penang Island as a fortress, Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival then ordered a withdrawal from Penang.