Bombing of Darwin

Harry your too on to it nice one i've got more info from these forums in the last month than i have in the last year finally the internet proves useful { I'm a bit of a luddite still dont have a digital camera for example}
Thanks for the links Harry

 

I recall reading a poem written by a GI who was less than enthused about being stationed in Darwin early in the war. He wrote. "Red dust in your navel, red dust in your shirt. See beautiful Darwin, see beautiful dirt."

 

Where did you get the information about:

Best and Warm Regards
Adrian Wainer

 

JD,

"I recall reading a poem written by a GI who was less than enthused about being stationed in Darwin early in the war. He wrote. "Red dust in your navel, red dust in your shirt. See beautiful Darwin, see beautiful dirt."


Darwin is in fact 'tropical' and generally quite lush, he would have had something to complain about if he was stationed at Alice Springs, about 1500 kms south. There EVERYTHING is red and dusty, and dry and HOT !!!!!!

SWPV will confirm that description.


John.

 

I don't think you'll get any kind of response from him. I've asked Herakles for sources to support several of his assertions that are questionable, and he has never responded.

 

Casualties, damage and consequences


A sunken ship and burnt-out wharf in Darwin Harbour following the attack (AWM 027334)





According to official figures, 243 civilians and military personnelwere killed on 19 February, most of them on the ships which were sunk.[7] Over 400 people were wounded and 200 of these were seriously injured.
Eight ships were sunk in Darwin Harbour:

• USS PearyTemplate:WP Ships USS instances, a United States Navy destroyer
• USAT Meigs, a large US Army troop transport ship
• Two Australian passenger ships, being used as merchant troop transports:
  • MV Neptuna
  • SS Zealandia
• HMAS MavieTemplate:WP Ships HMAS instances, a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat
• SS Mauna Loa, a 5,436-ton US merchant freighter[8]
• British Motorist, a UK-registered merchant refuelling oiler[9]
• Kelat, a 1,849-ton coal storage hulk[10]

Among the ships damaged but not destroyed was a hospital ship, AHS Manunda.[11]
The USAAF lost ten P-40s, one B-24 bomber, and three C-45 transport planes. The US Navy lost three PBY Catalina flying boats, and moorers outside the harbour. The RAAF lost six Lockheed Hudsons.
The air raids caused chaos in Darwin, with most essential servicesincluding water and electricity being badly damaged or destroyed.[12]Fears of an imminent invasion spread and there was a wave of refugees,as half of the town's civilian population fled. There were reports oflooting, with Provost Marshals being among the accused.[13] According to official figures, 278 RAAF servicemen were considered to have desertedas a result of the raids, although it has been argued that the'desertions' were mostly the result of ambiguous orders given to RAAFground staff after the attacks.[14] Following the second Japanese air raid, the local RAAF wing commander Sturt Griffith:
“"... summoned his senior administrative officer, Squadron LeaderSwan, and gave a verbal order that all airmen were to move half a miledown the main road and then half a mile inland. At this vaguerendezvous point ... arrangements would be made to feed them. The orderled to utter chaos. In being passed by word of mouth from one sectionto another, sometimes with officers present and sometimes not, itbecame garbled to the extent it was unrecognisable against theoriginal. In its ultimate form it was interpreted, especially by thosedesiring such an interpretation, of an impending order for immediateand general evacuation of the area. Highly exaggerated rumours of animpending Japanese invasion had already reached the base from the townand spread quickly among those wanting to believe them. In the absenceof restraint, men gathered their belongings" and abandoned theirstations.[15]”While the Northwest area staff could see what was happening andissued countermanding orders, "the damage was done and hundreds of menwere already beyond recall".[16]
The Australian army faced difficulty controlling its own troops fromlooting private property including "furniture, refrigerators, stoves,pianos, clothes [and] even children's toys" due to the breakdown of lawand order after the bombing and the ensuing chaos.[17]Many civilian refugees never returned, or did not return for manyyears, and in the post-war years some claimed that land they owned inDarwin had been expropriated by government bodies in their absence.[citation needed]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Darwin_(February_1942)




Although it is wiki, it does have citations and a few books I have on "Australians At War" agrees with it.

 

Although an old post, to clarify it they were United States Catalina's.


For all those curious



The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police (often called the provost). There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation,responsible for the provision of fire and ambulance services as well aslaw enforcement. A Provost Marshal may also be in charge of theexecution of punishments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provost_Marshal

 

Losses at Darwin...
Patrol Wing TEN, U. S. Asiatic Fleet, had seaplane tender WILLIAM B. PRESTON (AVD 7) basing five PBY Catalina flying boats in Darwin harbor. She sent two on patrol assignments that morning, #10 LTjg Buzz Lefever and #10 LT Thomas Moorer. The other three, #4, #8, and #41 were anchored in the bay. At the approach of enemy aircraft PRESTON was quickly underway and headed for the open sea. She was only 700 yards from destroyer PEARY when that ship took a bomb and exploded and sank. PRESTON was hit seconds later, aft, but survived and cleared the harbor for Derby on King Sound further west. The three PBYs on the water were set afire by strafing fighters and sunk. PRESTON lost nine men in the bomb blast, but there were no other casualties during the attack at Darwin. However, during their approach to Darwin a lead fighter element from KAGA spotted a PBY outbound on patrol NW of Bathurst Island and shot it down. This was Moorer's #18. The crew survived, loosing one man in the bombing of a ship that rescued them later. The 19 Feb raid caused the U. S. Navy to withdraw from Darwin altogether... until better days.

 

Several northern Australian towns were bombed by the Japanese, not just Darwin. The Japanese even launced midget-submarine attacks on Sydney and Newcastle Harbours and sank shipping off the eastern Australian coast.

 

Yes we know, there is a post here somewhere with the stats on the cities bombed by the IJA and the midget attacks on the Eastern coast.

 

was there really a mission island off darwin (from the nicole kidman movie australia?) did the japanese really bomb that island and did they land troops momentarily?

 

mac,

Yes there is a Mission and aboriginal settlement on Bathurst Island and a couple of others I believe. They are aboriginal land held in perpetuity.

The only instance of jap landings in Australia are the evidence found after the war that indicated that some small reco parties had looked the place over.

I am certain they sent back the message - "FORGET IT"!

100,000 unopposed troops landing on the Kimberley coast would have been dead long before they reached Alice Springs, about 1500 kms south.


John.

 

Well, good, as long as you know.

 

Hi - new here sorry if old threads are off-limits - but the subject is one that has long interested me and other research finally led me here only a few days ago, and having just seen this thought it may be appreciated ...
(the chance that father-in-law was in Darwin with a Dock Operating Coy. before joining 6th and training in Rum Jungle and on Atherton Tablelands - 1 hr from here - is what I'm currently interested in)

 

Red dirt for sure. Here is a picture of the road from Adelaide to Darwin I took in the 70's.



I am surprised to hear that any military action (bombing,etc.) took place in the Atherton Tablelands, kind of inland and not much there, but some very good scones back then.

When in New Guinea I saw lots of wreckage from WWII, some I believe was abandoned type of stuff, just all shoved in the ocean in 1 spot, which maybe would lead some to believe that it was lashed together?

KTK

 

AFAIK closest bomb to Tablelands was a Bamboo Creek (near Miallo) farmhouse that got unlucky from IIRC a Betty on either just a recce or maybe looking for Mareeba (Hoevet Field) but hadn't got over the Dividing Range from the coast. it's really not far as the crow flies.
the Tablelands were crawling with camps and exercises for years but Townsville was probably er, safer ...
steven

 

There were 2 raids on 19th Feb , 10am and about Noon .

Here is the reason why it was kept quiet, see attached file



.

 

Sorry....that IS NOT the Stuart Hwy Adelaide/Darwin, that is the from the road near the Olga's, probably between Ayres Rock and the Olga's,

 

Casualties figures quoted here have been shown to have been far worse than stated here.

Locals in this area have unearthed many grave sites, burials en masse that push the true figure well above 500 people. Japanese fighters and dive bombers strafed civilians, causing untold chaos. The true figure for losses may never be known.

Compared to the assets thrown against Darwin, (these air assets were the premier air group in the Pacific at the time), the IJN must have been disappointed at the general lack of targets. Darwin was hardly a bustling port by wartime standards, nor was it ever to become one, due to lack of facilites. It was a great propaganda victory, however, that certainly put the wind up the entire country.

The general public did not know that the Japanese military were vastly over-extended, and that invasion fever was purely in the minds of the Allies. Tentative plans had been produced by the Japanese, but their targets were Sydney and Brisbane. A quick look at any half decent map of the country quickly tells the story. Once you have captured Darwin, there are 3500 km of both rugged and desert country, with water sources a particular problem, never mind the poor communications network of the day.

Any landing force unfortunate enough to have been tasked to cross this wasteland would have been swallowed up in short order.

 

Amazing what some people believe when they watch movies, the Movie was over rated and to much fiction.