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Darwin NT : 19th Feburary 1942 - Bombing

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  • Darwin NT : 19th Feburary 1942 - Bombing





    Contrary to widespread belief at the time, the attacks were not a precursor to an invasion. The Japanese were preparing to invade Timor, and anticipated that a disruptive air attack would hinder Darwin's potential as a base from which the Allies could launch a counter-offensive, and at the same time would damage Australian morale. With Singapore having fallen to the Japanese only days earlier, and concerned at the effect of the bombing on national morale, the government announced that only 17 people had been killed.The air attacks on Darwin continued until November 1943, by which time the Japanese had bombed Darwin 64 times. During the war other towns in northern Australia were also the target of Japanese air attack, with bombs being dropped on Townsville, Katherine, Wyndham, Derby, Broome and Port Hedland.

    The response

    In the hours following the air raids on 19 February, believing that an invasion was imminent, Darwin's population began to stream southwards, heading for Adelaide River and the train south. Approximately half Darwin's civilian population ultimately fled. The panic in the town was repeated at the RAAF base, where servicemen deserted their stations in great numbers. Three days after the attack 278 servicemen were still missing. The exodus south (which later became known as 'The Adelaide River stakes'), and the looting and disorder which subsequently occurred, led the government to hurriedly appoint a Commission of Inquiry led by Mr Justice Lowe which issued two reports, one on 27 March and the other on 9 April 1942.

    The records

    The National Archives and the Australian War Memorial hold a wide range of records relating to the bombing of Darwin. A selection of these records is listed in the table below.

    See Link : http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs195.aspx

    naa.gov.au
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  • #2
    The Japanese bombing of Darwin, Broome and northern Australia


    Merchant vessels Barossa and Neptuna burning in Darwin Harbour near the jetty after receiving direct hits during the first Japanese air raid on 19 February 1942. SS Neptuna later exploded and sank while the Barossa was towed clear of the explosion and was later salvaged.
    Photograph courtesy of A Oliver and the Australian War Memorial: P02759.011.

    During the Second World War, the Japanese flew 64 raids on Darwin and 33 raids on other targets in Northern Australia.

    On 19 February 1942, 188 Japanese planes were launched against Darwin, whose harbour was full of Allied ships. It was the largest Japanese attack since Pearl Harbour, 7 December 1941, and followed a reconnaissance flight on 10 February 1942. On that day there were 27 Allied ships in the harbour and approximately 30 aircraft at the Darwin Civil and RAAF airfields.

    The USS Houston convoy departed Darwin on 15 February 1942, followed by a Japanese flying boat which later engaged in an air strike.

    The USS Peary returned to Darwin on 19 February after an encounter with a possible Japanese submarine. On 19 February 1942 there were 46 ships packed into Darwin Harbour.

    From the first raid on 19 February 1942 until the last on 12 November 1943, Australia and its allies lost about 900 people, 77 aircraft and several ships. Many military and civilian facilities were destroyed. The Japanese lost about 131 aircraft in total during the attacks.
    At the time, there were many rumours alluding to the Australian Government's suppression of information about the bombings - it was thought that reports of casualties were intentionally diminished to maintain national morale.

    Local sources estimated that between 900 and 1100 people were killed. For many years, government censorship limited coverage of the event to protect public morale in the southern states of Australia.

    What led to the attacks?

    During the 1930s, Japan invaded and occupied large parts of China. By 1941 Japan also controlled Indochina (a federation of French colonies and protectorates in South East Asia). In December 1941, Japan bombed the Americans at Pearl Harbour and entered the Second World War. Within ten weeks, Japan controlled Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and the Australian territory of New Britain (Rabaul).


    Darwin 1943, members of an RAAF Spitfire squadron race to their planes for an interception flight against Japanese raiders.
    Photograph courtesy of the Australian War Memorial: 014491.

    On 16 December 1941 an official order was issued by the Administrator to evacuate women and children from Darwin. The evacuation was primarily organised by the A.R.P. (Air Raid Precautions) with assistance from Police and Military personnel. Most of the 1066 women and 900 children went by sea, with the first group leaving Darwin on December 19 aboard the Koolinda. The troop carrier Zealandia, USS President Grant, Montoro, and Koolama also evacuated civilians with the last ship sailing on February 15, just before the bombing of Darwin. Others left by plane, road and train.

    Civilians were evacuated on short notice, often less than 24 hours notice, and were allowed little luggage. Ships were hot, overcrowded, and short on food and water supplies. They were continually on the watch for enemy mines and, at night, blacked out to avoid detection.

    The first attacks, 19 February 1942


    Wrecked Lockheed Hudson, February 1942.
    Photograph courtesy of the Charles Eaton Photographic Collection and Peter Dunn's Australia @ War.

    The Japanese first attacked Darwin on the morning of 19 February 1942. This was the first time since European settlement that mainland Australia had been attacked by a foreign enemy.

    This first attack (and the one that was to follow later that day) was planned and led by Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese commander responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbour. It was the largest Japanese attack since Pearl Harbour.

    The Japanese attacked with around 188 planes that had been launched from Japanese land bases and aircraft carriers in the Timor Sea. The Japanese fighters strafed land targets and shipping. Dive bombers attacked the ships in the harbour, the military and civilian aerodromes and the hospital. The dive bombers were escorted by fighter planes to protect them from Australian and allied planes. Eight ships were sunk and most of the others were damaged by bombs or machine gunfire.

    The only air defences the allies had were ten fighter planes that engaged the Japanese planes. Only one allied fighter survived the first attack, with the Japanese suffering only one or two losses.


    War correspondent Robert Sherrod, of Time Magazine, in front of the remains of the Darwin Post Office, June 1942.
    Photograph courtesy of Peter Dunn's Australia @ War.Darwin after the first attack

    With much of the town destroyed and hundreds of people killed and wounded, Darwin's remaining population feared that the Japanese were about to invade.

    There was widespread panic and about half of Darwin's remaining civilian population fled. Many servicemen also left their posts and fled in the confusion and panic. Three days after the attack, 278 servicemen were still missing. The majority of women and children had been evacuated previously under government orders during December 1941 and January 1942.

    Order was restored to the town within a few days. The military defences were eventually rebuilt and strengthened.

    Although these first two raids were the largest, the Japanese were to undertake many more raids on Darwin and other northern Australian towns over the next 20 months.

    The bombing of Broome, 3 March 1942


    A Dutch crew from a visiting Dornier Do 24 flying boat in Roebuck Bay being taken into Broome by launch in 1941. AWM 044613

    Two weeks after the Darwin bombing, on 3 March 1942, the Western Australian town of Broome suffered Australia's second-worst air raid. The attack killed an estimated seventy people, perhaps as many as one hundred, and injured another forty, as well as eight large aircraft and 16 flying boats, 24 aircraft in total. Another aircraft, a DC3 type, carrying refugees and a parcel of diamonds towards Broome met the departing Japanese flight, and after being extensively damaged, was forced to crash-land in the shallows north of the town.

    At that time, Broome was a significant military and civilian staging post for air evacuees from Java, then part of the Dutch East Indies (part of latter day Indonesia), both military and civilian. Evacuees were ferried in Dutch, American and Australian military and civil aircraft, including flying boats of Qantas Empire Airways. In the last two weeks of February, 8,000 mostly Dutch refugees, including many women and children, passed through Broome on their way south.


    On the day of the attack, Japanese fighter planes attacked without warning. Nine Mitsubishi Zero fighters arrived over Roebuck Bay at 9.30 am, and promptly destroyed the targets they found. As there were no Allied fighters in the area, the Japanese faced minimal opposition.
    The Japanese raid on Broome, Australian War Memorial



    Darwin, 1943. Japanese Mitsubishi plane photographed from an RAAF Spitfire during the 58th Japanese air raid on Darwin.
    Photograph courtesy of the Australian War Memorial: P02822.001.

    Japanese planes also flew several reconnaissance missions over Australia until 1944.

    The other airport base areas in Townsville, Katherine, Wyndham, Derby and Port Hedland were targeted, with loss of military and civilian lives. In late 1942, three raids were made against Townsville, Queensland, as well as Millingimbi, Northern Territory and four raids on the Exmouth Gulf.

    There were three Japanese raids on Townsville between 25 and 29 July 1942. The raids were undertaken with two Emily flying boats (W45 and W46) captained by Asai and Mizukura who dropped 15 bombs of 250 kg near the Townsville wharves where three vessels were berthed, believed to be: the SS Bantam, SS Burwah and the HMAS Swan. The second raid dropped eight bombs near the Garbutt airfield. With warning of the raid, three American anti-aircraft batteries fired 72 rounds.

    Given a 30 minute early radar warning prior to the third raid, four American Airacobras from the 8th Fighter Group were able to engage in air combat with the Japanese. A translated Japanese log report (held at the Townsville Aviation Museum) records what happened with the Japanese Emily flying boat

    Hit more than 10 times by two Hurricanes. Dropped three bombs near the aerodrome causing three fires, and five more on the city, igniting two more.
    Kingo Shoji, pilot log, 29 July 1942)

    The Emily dumped seven bombs in Cleveland Bay, between the shore and Magnetic Island.

    Nine raids were made on Horn Island. After the bombing of Darwin until 1944 the airstrip at Horn Island was the nearest operational airbase to the Japanese forces in New Guinea. It was used by Allied heavy bombers as the take-off point for attacks and to refuel on their return. In the bombing raid on Horn Island on 14 March 1942 there were eight Mitsubishi G4M1 heavy bombers escorted by twelve A6M2 Zeros of the 4th Kokutai. 9 US Kittyhawks were scrambled at 1145 hours under order of Captain Bob Morrissey, Commanding Officer.

    A dog fight persisted for 10 minutes above the Torres Straits. Morrissey shot down a Zero in flames when he fired on it from 200 yards. The Kittyhawks of 2nd Lts. Burtnette and Andrews were both riddled by machine gun fire. They both returned to Horn Island.
    Japanese Bombing Raid On Horn Island 14 March 1942

    By the end of 1942, there were 5000 troops stationed on Horn Island and a further 2000 on nearby Thursday Island. 190 Australian and Allied personnel were killed in Torres Strait and 124 wounded. (Former gunner Gordon Cameron, President of the 34th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery Association in The Australian, 18 February, 2012 )

    In 1997, a Japanese fighter plane, a Mitsubishi Zero shot down in World War II in Torres Strait was found relatively intact near Thursday Island. (Courier Mail, 28 January 1997)

    In the final Japanese attack, a raid on Darwin on 12 November 1943, there were no casualties and only minor damage was caused around the town. In all, there were 64 air raids on Darwin.

    Useful links

    Listen, look and play



    Darwin bombing




    Stories from the bombing of Darwin




    Exhibitions and images




    Broome bombing




    References




    Last updated: 9 June 2015
    Creators: Kathryn Wells, Jack Mulholland

    australia.gov.au
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    • #3
      More Japanese bombs fell on Darwin than on Pearl Harbour.

      http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-...ww2/darwin.htm
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      • #4
        The Bombing Of Darwin


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        • #5
          Bombing of Darwin


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          • #6
            Lest We Forget
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