Air raids on Australia, 1942–1943
Between February 1942 and November 1943, during the
In the first and deadliest set of attacks, 242 aircraft hit Darwin on the morning of 19 February 1942. Killing at least 235 people and causing immense damage, the attacks made hundreds of people homeless and resulted in the abandonment of Darwin as a major naval base.
These attacks were opposed by, and often aimed at, units and personnel from the
Although the main defence was provided by RAAF and Allied fighters, a number of Australian Army anti-aircraft batteries in northern Australia also defended against Japanese air raids.[1]
Early Japanese air raids
The Japanese conducted a series of air raids on Australia during February and March 1942. These raids sought to prevent the Allies from using bases in
The first air raid on Darwin
The attack on Broome
On 3 March 1942, nine Japanese
Attacks on north Queensland, July 1942
Japanese naval flying boats conducted four small air raids on the
List of attacks by date
1942
February
- 19
- Bombing of Darwin
- (10:00) Attack by 188 carrier-based aircraft at Darwin, Northern Territory (NT)
- (11:55) Attack by 54 land-based high-level bombers at Darwin, NT
- Bathurst Island, NT
- 20
- (11:30) Off Koolama damaged by a Kawanishi H6K5 flying boat. Attacked again at 13:30 and severely damaged, with injuries to three passengers.
- 21
- Rulhieres Bay, WA (later known as Koolama Bay) Koolama attacked again, no damage or injuries.
March
- 3
- (09:20) strafing raid by nine A6M2 Zeros. At least 88 people were killed and 24 Allied aircraft were destroyed. A Sikh pilot of the Royal Indian Air Force Flying Officer Manmohan Singh, in one of the RAF Catalina flying boats died. He was the first Indian casualty on Australian soil.
- (~10:30) PK-AFV (Pelikaan)—a Douglas DC-3 airliner owned by KLM—was shot down by Zeros returning from the attack on Broome. It crash-landed 50 mi (80 km) north of Broome. Four passengers were killed. Diamonds worth £150,000–300,000 were lost or stolen following the crash.
- Wyndham, WA. Strafing attack by Zeroes. No casualties. Koolama, which is in port by this time (see above), sinks as an indirect result of the attack.
- Wyndham Airfield, WA[6]
- 4
- Wreckage and passengers from PK-AFV attacked again by a Kawanishi H6K5 flying boat, no damage or casualties.
- (14:00) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 14
- Horn Island, Queensland (Qld)[7]
- 15
- Darwin, NT. Sgt. Albert Cooper, 28, (RAF, 54 Squadron) from Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, shot down, and killed, in his Spitfire over Darwin harbour[8]
- 16
- (13:30) Darwin RAAF Airfield and Bagot, NT
- 17
- Darwin, NT
- 18
- Horn Island, Qld
- 19
- (11:40) Darwin (Myilly Point and Larrakeyah), NT
- 20
- Broome Airfield, WA. Attack by Mitsubishi G4M2 "Betty" medium bombers. One civilian killed. Minor damage to airfield.
- Derby, WA[9]
- 22
- (00:51) Darwin, NT
- 22
- Katherine, NT.[10] One civilian killed. (Furthest air raid into the Australian interior – over 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the coast).
- 23
- Darwin, NT
- Wyndham, WA (two raids)[6]
- 28
- (12:30) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 30
- (05:40?) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 30
- Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 31
- (13:20) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- (22:19) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
April
- 2
- (15:30) Darwin (Harvey St, McMinn St, ShellOil Tanks), NT
- Sattler Airfield, NT
- 4
- (13:48) Darwin Civil Airfield and Parap Hotel, NT
- 5
- (12:29) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 25
- (14:00) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 27
- (12:07) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 30
- Horn Island, QLD
June
- 13
- (11:52) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 14
- (13:14) Darwin (town area), NT
- 15
- (12:20) Darwin (Larrakeyah to Stokes Hill), NT
- 16
- (12:01) Darwin (town area), NT
- 26
- (20:50) Darwin, NT
July
- 7
- Horn Island, Qld
- 25
- (20:50) Darwin (town area), NT
- 26
- Townsville, Qld
- (21:39–22:54) Darwin (VesteysMeatworks), NT
- 27
- (22:27) Knuckey's Lagoon, Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 28
- (00:45) Darwin RAAF airfield, NT
- Townsville, Qld
- 29
- (00:59) Darwin (town area) and Knuckey's Lagoon, NT.
- Townsville, Qld
- 30
- (03:58) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- Horn Island, Qld
- Port Hedland, WA.[11]
- 31
- Mossman, Qld[11]
- (13:33) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
August
- 1
- Horn Island, Qld
- 21
- Wyndham, WA
- 23
- (12:12) Hughes Airfield, NT
- 24
- (21:24) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- (22:14) Noonamah, NT
- 25
- (00:05) Darwin and Parap, NT
- 27
- (03:45–05:37) Darwin (Botanical Gardens) and Cox Peninsula, NT
- 28
- (03:35) Darwin (Railway Yards and Port Patterson), NT
- 30
- (02:39) Darwin (town area), NT
- 31
- (05:14) Darwin (town area) and Cox Peninsula), NT
September
- 25
- (03:41) Darwin (town area) and Knuckey's Lagoon, NT
- 25
- (05:48) Darwin (town area and Daly Street Bridge), NT
- 26
- (05:22) Livingstone Airfield, NT
- 27
- (04:56) Bynoe Harbour, NT
- (05:44) Darwin (town area) (Frances Bay)
October
- 10
- Horn Island, Qld
- 24
- (04:42) Batchelor Airfield
- (04:52) Pell Airfield
- (04:57) Cox Peninsula
- (05:12) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 25
- (05:30) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 26
- (04:54) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 27
- (02:20) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
November
- 23
- (03:00–04:39) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
- 26
- (03:20) Darwin (town area), Strauss Airfield and Hughes Airfield, NT
- 27
- (03:56–04:46) Coomalie Creek, Hughes Airfield and Strauss Airfield, NT
1943
January
- 20
- (22:44–00:15) Searchlight station, AWC Camp, Ironstone, NT
- 21
- (21:54) Darwin (Frances Bay), NT
- 22
- (13:30) HMAS Patricia Cam sunk, near Wessel Islands, NT.
March
- 2
- (14:34) Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
- 15
- (11:20) Darwin (oil tanks), NT
May
- 2
- (10:15) Darwin RAAF Airfield and Darwin Floating Dock, NT
- 9
- Millingimbi, NT
- 10
- Millingimbi, NT. The cutter HMAS Maroubrawas sunk.
- 20
- Exmouth Gulf, WA
- 21
- Exmouth Gulf, WA
- 28
- Millingimbi, NT
June
- 18
- Horn Island, Qld
- 20
- (10:43) Winnellie and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
- 28
- (11:07) Vesteys, NT
- 30
- (12:30) Fenton Airfield, NT
July
- 6
- (12:02) Fenton Airfield, NT
August
- 13
- (21:45) Fenton Airfield, NT
- (23:12) Fenton Airfield and Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
- (23:42) Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
- 14
- Long Airfield, NT
- 17
- Port Hedland, WA[11]
- 21
- (00:37) Fenton Airfield and Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
- (03:30) Pell Airfield, NT
September
- 15
- (00:25) Fenton Airfield and Long Airfield, NT
- 15
- Onslow, WA.
- 16
- Exmouth Gulf, WA (The southernmost air raid in Australia.)
- 18
- (03:50) Fenton Airfield and Long Airfield, NT
- 27
- Drysdale River Mission(Kalumburu) airfield, WA. Six fatalities; Father Thomas Gil, the superior of the mission, and five Aboriginal Australians.
November
- 10
- Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
- 12
- (03:53–05:30) Parap, Adelaide River and Batchelor Airfield, NT
See also
- 3rd Air Group
- Takao Air Group
- No. 1 Wing RAAF
- Military history of Australia during World War II
- Battle for Australia
Notes
- ^ Horner 1995, p. 379.
- ^ Tom Lewis (2003). A War at Home. A Comprehensive guide to the first Japanese attacks on Darwin. Tall Stories, Darwin. Page 16.
- ^ David Jenkins (1992), Battle Surface! Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942–44. Random House Australia, Sydney. Pages 118–120 and Lewis (2003). Pages 63–71.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark (2001), pp. 211–212.
- ^ Gillison (1962). Pages 562–563.
- ^ a b Coulthard-Clark, Chris (2001). The Encyclopedia of Australia's Battles. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. p. 212
- ^ Crowdey, Vanessa (1999). "The day the bombs fell" (PDF). Wartime (8): 46–49. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
- ^ Cooper, Anthony, (2011), Darwin Spitfires: The Real Battle for Australia, University of New South Wales Press.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark (2001), p. 214
- ^ Coulthard-Clark (2001), p. 215
- ^ a b c Coulthard-Clark (2001), p. 224
References
- Clayton, Mark (April 1986). "The north Australian air war, 1942–1944". Journal of the Australian War Memorial (8). Canberra: Australian War Memorial: 33–45. ISSN 0729-6274.
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (2001). The Encyclopedia of Australia's Battles. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
- Gillison, Douglas (1962). History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 – Air. Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
- Horner, David (1995). The Gunners: A History of Australian Artillery. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-917-3.
- Lewis, Tom. (2003). A War at Home. A Comprehensive guide to the first Japanese attacks on Darwin. Tall Stories, Darwin. ISBN 0-9577351-0-3
- Odgers, George (1968). History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 – Air. Volume II – Air War Against Japan, 1943–1945. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
External links
- ozatwar.com, "Japanese Air Raids in Australia During WW2"
- diggerhistory.info "Attacks on the Australian mainland in WW2"
- Australian War Memorial, "Air raids on Australian mainland – Second World War"
- Darwin Defenders 1942–45 Inc, veterans association's list of 43 air raids (excluding reconnaissance flights)
- Kalumburu Community-ABC Open, "The secret bombing of Australia"