The two Japanese air raids on Darwin, Australia on February 19, 1942 were by far the biggest ever attack by a foreign power against the Australian mainland. 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.

Darwin, which in 1942 had an official population of about 2,000, was a strategically-placed naval port and airbase. Although it was a relatively less significant target, a greater number of bombs were dropped than in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Darwin was unprepared, and although it came under attack from the air another 63 times in 1942–1943, these first two raids were massive and devastating by comparison.

The attacks

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 (Hiryu and Soryu), commanded by Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. Land-based heavy bombers were also involved.

The Japanese launched two waves of planes: 242 bombers and fighters. The first wave of 188 planes, led by naval Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, arrived just before 10.00am. As it happened, they encountered the only Allied fighters based at Darwin, 10 US Army Air Corps P-40s, which were returning from a mission over Timor — with the benefit of surprise, Japanese fighters shot down all of the US planes. A total of 71 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers then hit shipping in the harbour, while 81 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. No Allied planes successfully took off during the attack and virtually all aircraft in the area were destroyed. This first attack lasted 40 minutes.

Just before midday, there was a high altitude attack by land-based bombers, concentrated on the Darwin RAAF Airfield : 28 Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" bombers flew from Ambon and 27 Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" from Kendari , Sulawesi. This second raid lasted for 20-25 minutes.

At least ten ships were sunk in Darwin Harbour, including the United States Navy destroyer USS Peary, the large US Army transport ship General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) and the merchant ships British Motorist, Kelat, Mauna Loa, Neptuna, and Zealandia.

Casualties, damage and consequences

At least 243 civilians and military personnel were killed — it has been argued that the real toll was much higher as authorities probably did not count the numerically significant Aboriginal population of the area. Most of the essential services in Darwin were destroyed. As fear of an imminent invasion spread, 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. 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 ursurped by the government in their absence. 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.

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.

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.

See also

• Japanese air attacks on Australia, 1942-43
• Military history of Australia during World War II
• Military history of Japan during World War II

References

• Mitsuo Fuchida and M. Okumiya, Midway: the Battle that doomed Japan, Hutchinson, 1957.

External links

• Peter Dunn's AUSTRALIA @ WAR, 2004, "Two Japanese Air Raids at Darwin, NT on 19 February 1942"

• 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."