Darwin 1942: The Japanese attack on AustraliaFollowing the devastating raids on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, lightning advances by Japanese forces throughout the Pacific and the Far East, and a desperate battle by the Allied command in the Dutch East Indies, it became evident that an attack on Australia was more a matter of 'when' and not 'if'. On 19 February, just eleven weeks after the attacks on Pearl Harbor and two weeks after the fall of Singapore, the same Japanese battle group that had attacked Hawaii was ordered to attack the ill-prepared and under-defended Australian port of Darwin. Publishing 75 years after this little-known yet devastating attack, this fully illustrated study details what happened on that dramatic day in 1942 with the help of contemporary photographs, maps, and profiles of the commanders and machines involved in the assault. |
Contents
5 | |
Chronology | 11 |
Opposing Commanders | 13 |
Opposing Forces | 18 |
Opposing Plans | 30 |
The Battle | 34 |
Aftermath | 73 |
Darwin Today | 88 |
93 | |
95 | |
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Common terms and phrases
12 Squadron 13 Squadron 33rd Pursuit Squadron ABDACOM aboard Air Force Akagi Allied Ambon American attack force Australian Bathurst Island Berrimah Bettys Bombardment Group bombers bombs Buel carrier Catalina chutai Civil Drome combat commander convoy crash crew cruiser D3A1 Val damaged Darwin raid defence destroyed destroyer Don Isidro East Point Fannie Bay February 19 fire fleet flew flight flown Floyd flying boat Fuchida Glover Hiryu HMAS Japan Japanese aircraft Japanese attack Java Kaga Kanoya Kanoya Kokutai Kendari killed Koku Koku Sentai Kokutai land land-based Larrakeyah Barracks later Lieutenant machine guns military Moorer Nagahama Nagumo Naval Navy Navy’s Nells Nightcliff Oestreicher Parap patrol PatWing Pearl Harbor Pell Pell’s Philippines pilot plane PO1c Yoshikazu Nagahama Port Darwin Pursuit Squadron Provisional RAAF Station reported ship shot Shotai Soryu strafing Timor Tiwi Islands unit USAAF USS Peary Val dive-bombers vessel Wake Island Wirraway wounded Zekes