Japans Campaign Against Australia Begins

[Troy Tempest]

Today marks the 66th anniversary of the first Japanese attack on mainland Australia, the first of over 60 more to come. More bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbour, although most people don't know that. It was attacked a further 62 times, and the Japanese also attacked by air several other towns and military targets. A total of 111 separate Japanese air attacks on Australia took place until the last in November 1943, an almost two year campaign by the Japanese. The IJN carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and Sōryū launched 188 aircraft for the initial raid, with severe casualties and damage, both to shore locations and ships sunk.

The First Darwin Attack:

Bombing of Darwin (February 1942) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History of Japanese Air Campaign Against Australia:

Air raids on Australia, 1942-43 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Darwin raid was followed by an IJN attack on Sydney Harbour on 31.5.42:

Attack on Sydney Harbour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Australia Attacked:

Australia Attacked; all the details

This last site is an excellent one, not just for it's Australian content, it has a fantastically detailed database covering all combatants and all aspects of military history - check it out.

[Jim O]

Thanks Troy, and good to see you.

I was aware of the bombings of Darwin but not their extent. Of course we Yanks are taught history a very US-centric way and need to search for morsels of truth elsewhere.

That last site is very informative. Lots to read and digest...

[Panzermacher]

I've got a mate who lives in Darwin...he tells me if I ever get there, he will take me to see some of those sites!Just wish I had money!

[Troy Tempest]

Not only will you need money to get to the Northern Territory, Darwin is VERY hot, and humid! You will need loads of money for beer!

[Panzermacher]

I have been to Darwin years ago...it was hot, but my mate didn't live there yet. And yes beer money IS essential! If I was to go now I think me mate would help on that account, while we go see the sites!

[Ghost Rider]

I have been looking for some things about this. Thank you Troy.

[Geek44]

I was in Darwin in September of 2007. It's changed since 1976 when almost every building was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy. It remains one of Australia's worst natural disasters. Nevertheless, there's still plenty there for the WW2 buff. There are several wrecks of Zero aircraft that have been salvaged from the Timor Sea and parts of Japanese bombers that took part in the raids. There's also a spot where junk and rubbish have been dumped over a cliff onto the beach. From the top of the cliff, serial numbers can still be discerned on Allison engine blocks.
There are several museums in Darwin including an aviation museum that has many aircraft including a B-52 and a Cobra gunship. There's a shot-up B-25 and parts of B-24s including a ball turret. I never knew that the gunner sat with the breeches of the guns next to his ears! The highlight for me was a nearly complete Mitsubishi Zero.
For those wishing to visit, I highly recommend it. It has a certain 'Asian' flavour to it and is probably Australia's least 'Anglo' capital city. Visiting during our winter is probably the most comfortable time as far as heat and humidity is concerned. Having said that, it's still way too hot and sticky for my tastes. I've experienced 'wet season' at similar latitudes and in my opinion, humans weren't meant to live under such conditions. Try sleeping in a wet bed with 85% humidity in 30C heat.

[MAGNA]

I was lucky enough to work in an aged care facility for a few years and met some interesting people who were involved in WWII. One was a transport driver in Darwin during the period of Japanese attacks.

He said the most dangerous part was driving along the jetty to and from the ships. There were American transport troops there as well. That was the bit that was more dangerous than the bombing according to this bloke.

When I asked him why he laughed and said the jetty was just wide enough for two trucks. The problem was he and his mates would be driving down the left hand side of the jetty while the American drivers would travel down the right. You went around large containers unloaded on the wharf and then there would be a large truck coming straight at you. Must have been fun. He said there were a lot of near misses until everyone worked themselves out, then some new drivers would turn up and the whole mess would start again.

He said in the end everything went very smoothly and he and his mates made some great friends among the Americans.

Many of the containers which ended up not used or on the bottom of Darwin harbour were salvaged and sold off at the end of the war. There is a place called Newdegate which is a couple of hours drive from Albany (Wheatbelt town). A farm sold up there about twenty years ago and had belonged to an old fellow who passed away. Apparently his family weren't interested in his possessions so most went with the farm. The new owners found two very large containers in the shed.

When opened the containers had a lot of parts covered in grease and wrapped up. The parts in one proved to be a complete jeep (shades of radar O'reilly?) and the other contained most if not all the parts for three complete Harley Davidson WLA motor bikes - the ones with the hand gear lever.

I wonder if the relatives would have shown more interest had they known about this, as well as the straight eight Oldsmobile which a friend of mine bought later - it is still on the road - the bonnet (hood) gets to where you are going about 20 minutes before the rear bumper - it's one long car.

[Geek44]

Thanks mate...that's a cool post.