Bombing of Darwin, February 19, 1942
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| Air raids on Darwin, February 1942 | |||||||
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| Part of World War II, Pacific War | |||||||
 The explosion of an oil storage tank, hit during the first Japanese air raid on Darwin, 19 February 1942. In the foreground is HMAS Deloraine, which escaped damage. |
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Australia; United States |
Japan | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| David V. J. Blake | Chuichi Nagumo | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 30 planes | 242 planes | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 251 killed 23 planes destroyed 10 ships sunk |
1 killed ? missing; 6 POW Four planes destroyed in Australian airspace; ? failed to return. |
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| Battle for Australia |
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| Air raids – Darwin – Broome – Coral Sea – Naval attacks – Sydney & Newcastle – Kokoda – Milne Bay |
| South West Pacific campaign |
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| Philippines 1941-42 – Dutch East Indies 1941-42 – Portuguese Timor – Australia – New Guinea – Philippines 1944-45 – Borneo 1945 |
The two Japanese air raids on Darwin, Australia, on 19 February 1942 were by far the biggest ever attack by a foreign power against Australia. They were also a significant action in the Pacific campaign of World War II and represented a major psychological blow to the Australian population, several weeks after hostilities with Japan had begun. The raids were the first of about 100 air raids against Australia during 1942-43.
This event is often called the "Pearl Harbor of Australia." Although it was a less significant target, a greater number of bombs were dropped on Darwin than were used in the attack on Pearl Harbor. As was the case at Pearl Harbor, the Australian town was unprepared, and although it came under attack from the air another 63 times in 1942 and 1943, the raids on 19 February were massive and devastating by comparison.
At the time, Darwin had a population of about 2,000 — the normal civilian population of about 5,000 had been reduced by evacuation. It was a strategically-placed naval port and airbase, and there were about 15,000 Allied soldiers in the area.
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[edit] The forces
Most of the attacking planes came from the four aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Carrier Division 1 (Akagi and Kaga) and Carrier Division 2 (Hiryū and Sōryū), commanded by Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. Land-based heavy bombers were also involved. The Japanese launched two waves of planes, comprising 242 bombers and fighters.
Darwin was relatively well covered by anti-aircraft guns. However, the only operational Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter squadrons were in Europe, North Africa or the Middle East; the only modern fighters based in Darwin were 11 P-40s from the US Army Air Force's 33rd Pursuit Squadron, in addition to lightly armed and/or obsolescent training and patrol aircraft belonging to the RAAF. An experimental radar station was not yet operational.
[edit] The attacks
The first wave of 188 Japanese planes, led by naval Commander Mitsuo Fuchida took off at 8:45 a.m. At about 9:15 a.m., it was spotted by civilians on Bathurst and Melville Islands, and Darwin was warned at least twice by radio, no later than 9:35 a.m. However, the warnings were not taken seriously, and the attackers arrived at their target just before 10:00 a.m.
Fuchida later wrote of the raid:
- [T]he job to be done seemed hardly worthy of the Nagumo Force. The harbour, it is true, was crowded with all kinds of ships, but a single pier and a few waterfront buildings appeared to be the only port installations. The airfield on the outskirts of the town, though fairly large, had no more than two or three small hangars, and in all there were only twenty-odd planes of various types scattered about the field. No planes were in the air. A few attempted to take off as we came over but were quickly shot down, and the rest were destroyed where they stood. Anti-aircraft fire was intense but largely ineffectual, and we quickly accomplished our objectives.
In fact, the Japanese encountered five of the USAAF P-40s, which had recently returned from an aborted mission over Timor and were still carrying drop tanks — with both numbers and surprise on their side, Japanese fighters shot down all of the US planes, except one piloted by Lt Robert Ostreicher.
A total of 81 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers then attacked shipping — at least 45 vessels — in the harbour, while 71 Aichi D3A "Val" dive-bombers, escorted by 36 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter planes attacked Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases, civil airfields, and a hospital. Ostreicher shot down two Vals, and managed to survive the attack, but no Allied planes successfully took off, and all were destroyed or rendered unable to fly after the first attack. By about 10.40 the first wave of Japanese planes had left the area.
Just before midday, there was a high altitude attack by land-based bombers, concentrated on the Darwin RAAF Airfield: 27 Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" bombers flew from Ambon and 27 Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" from Kendari, Sulawesi. This second raid lasted for 20–25 minutes.
In spite of Fuchida's assessment of the anti-aircraft fire as "largely ineffectual", the lack of armour and self-sealing fuel tanks in many Japanese planes, as well as the prolonged low-level strafing runs carried out, made pilots and planes exceptionally vulnerable to ground fire. Most Australian sources say that four Japanese planes were destroyed in Australian airspace; it has been suggested that several more failed to return to their carriers or bases.[citation needed]
[edit] Casualties, damage and consequences
251 civilians and military personnel were killed on 19 February, most of them on the sunken ships.[1]. At least 330 people were wounded and 200 of these were seriously injured. The total number of these people who died from their wounds was not recorded.[citation needed]
The air raids caused chaos in Darwin.[citation needed] Most of the essential services were destroyed. Fear of an imminent invasion spread and there was a wave of refugees, as half of the town's civilian population fled. There were reports of looting and in some cases — it was alleged — the culprits were Provost Marshals.[citation needed] Many civilian refugees never returned, or did not return for many years, and in the post-war years some claimed that land they owned in Darwin had been usurped by government bodies in their absence.[citation needed]
According to official figures, 278 servicemen were considered to have deserted as a result of the raids, although it has been argued that the "desertions" mostly resulted from ambiguous orders given to RAAF ground staff during the attack.[citation needed]
Eight ships were sunk in Darwin Harbour: the United States Navy destroyer USS Peary, the large US Army transport ship USAT Meigs, the Australian patrol boat HMAS Mavie and the merchant ships British Motorist, Kelat, Mauna Loa, Neptuna, and Zealandia.
The USAAF lost 10 P-40s, one B-24 bomber, and three C-45 transport planes. The US Navy lost three PBY Catalina flying boats. The RAAF lost six Lockheed Hudsons.
The success of the Darwin raid led to calls within the Japanese Navy for an invasion of Australia. Admiral Osami Nagano, the Chief of the Navy General Staff, was in favour. But the Imperial Japanese Army lacked the troops for such an undertaking and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's plan for an attack on Midway Island was preferred.
The Allied navies largely abandoned the naval base at Darwin after the attack, dispersing most of their forces to Brisbane, Fremantle and smaller ports. Conversely, Allied air commanders launched a major build-up in the Darwin area, building more airfields and deploying many squadrons.
A memorial ceremony is held every year on 19 February at the Cenotaph in Darwin. It starts at 9:58am, the precise time of the first attack.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Tom Lewis (2003). A War at Home. A Comprehensive guide to the first Japanese attacks on Darwin. Tall Stories, Darwin. Pages 63–71.
[edit] References
- Mitsuo Fuchida and M. Okumiya, Midway: the Battle that doomed Japan, Hutchinson, 1957.
- Tom Lewis (2003). A War at Home. A Comprehensive guide to the first Japanese attacks on Darwin. Tall Stories, Darwin. ISBN 0957735103
[edit] External links
- Peter Dunn's AUSTRALIA @ WAR, 2004, "Two Japanese Air Raids at Darwin, NT on 19 February 1942"
- Tom Womack, 2005, "Australia's Pearl Harbor: the Japanese air raid on Darwin"
- National Archives of Australia, 2000, "Fact Sheet 195 The bombing of Darwin"
- "A Darwin Eyewitness Account – Stoker 2nd Class Charlie Unmack"
- "A Darwin Eyewitness Account – Leading Aircraftman Stanley Hawker, No 2 RAAF Squadron."
- Taminmin High School, "Defending the Darwin Fortress"
- Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc, an association for veterans, their families and friends
[edit] See also
- Japanese air attacks on Australia, 1942-43
- Christmas Island Invasion
- Planned invasion of Australia during World War II
- Axis naval activity in Australian waters
- Military history of Australia during World War II
- Military history of Japan during World War II
