Shelling of Port Gregory

Shelling of Port Gregory Part of the Battle for Australia during World War II Date 28 January 1943 Location Port Gregory, Western Australia, Australia Belligerents  Australia  Empire of Japan Commanders and leaders None Commander Tatenosuke Tosu Strength Coastwatchers One submarine (I-165) Casualties and losses None None

Axis naval attacks against Australia German surface raiders Nauru HMAS Sydney–Kormoran Darwin Sydney & Newcastle AHS Centaur Convoy GP55 Indian Ocean raid U-862

On 28 January 1943, the Japanese submarine I-165 under the command of Tatenosuke Tosu arrived at a position of about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) off the small town of Port Gregory in Western Australia. Commander Tatenosuke fired approximately 10 shells towards Port Gregory, causing no damage. While the bombardment was spotted by Australian coast-watchers, Allied naval authorities only learned of the attack when the submarine's battle report radio signal was intercepted and decoded a week later.

The purpose of this attack was to draw the Allied attention away from the evacuation of Guadalcanal.^[1]

The attack on Port Gregory was one of three submarine shellings on Australian cities, the other two being Newcastle and Sydney.

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