Darwin Remembers

The city itself received substantial damage and the cost to the military was high. The RAAF aerodrome at Darwin was heavily damaged and 23 aircraft were destroyed on the ground and in theair,while in Darwin Harbour, eight ships were sunk and 13 others of the 45 moored there were badly damaged. Most others suffered damage of some kind and two more were destroyed near Bathurst Island. Worse was the fact that the two raids cost the lives of 238 people and a further 355 were injured. The Japanese lost only five aircraft, two in aerial combat and three to anti-aircraft guns.

Darwin was raided on a further 62 occasions between then and November 1943. None of those which followed though provided the devastation of the first although they did cost another 32 lives and 50 aircraft against Japanese losses of 127 aircraft. Of course itwasn’t just Darwinwhich suffered from Japanese air raids in 1942 and 1943. The raiders struck targets as far apart as Katherine, 300 kilometres to the south, Broome on the coast of Western Australia (refer following story) and Townsville in northern Queensland.

Australia Attacked

The Japanese aircraft which attacked Darwin came from the First and Second Attack fleets from the carriers Soryu, Hiryu, Kaga and Akagi, all of which had been involved in the attack on Pearl Harbour the previous December. The raidwas led by Commander Mitsui Fuchida and comprised a mixed force of ‘Zero’ fighters, and ‘Val’ and ‘Kate’ single engined attack aircraft.

A reconnaissance flight on 18 February had revealed a large number of ships in Darwin Harbour, many of them neatly lined up in rows which were easy to attack. Some of these ships were those involved in a reinforcing convoy which had left Darwin for Timor on 15 February but had returned in the face of attacks by Japanese aircraft.

There was some warning of the impending raid on the fateful morning from the islands to the north of Darwin. A Coastwatcher based on Melville Island, John Gribble, and Father John McGrath at the Bathurst Island Mission both spotted the enemy formation. Gribble reportedly signalled Naval Intelligence at 0915 hours but the officer who received the message was overruled when he wanted to sound the air raid alarm. Father McGrath contacted Darwin at 0939 hours but his report was ignored. Darwin therefore, remained unprepared for what would soon follow. The Japanese aircraft crossed the Australian coast east of Darwin at 0945 hours and at 0958 the bombing started.

At that time, the Royal Australian Air Force incredibly had no fighter aircraft based in Australia, so obviously there were none to defend Darwin. What aerial defence existed was provided by the USAAF’s 33rd Pursuit Squadron and its ten Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawks. The RAAF’s strength in and around Darwin comprised 17 Lockheed Hudson patrol bombers of Numbers 2 and 13 Squadrons and 14 CACWirraway general purpose/advanced trainers of 12 Squadron. Of the Hudsons, nine were at RAAF Darwin and the remainder were at Daly Waters, some 750 kilometres to the south. Of the Wirraways, five were standing unserviceable at Darwin’s civil aerodrome and the remainder were at Batchelor, 100 kilometres to the south. Other aircraft at Darwin included a USAAF B-24 Liberator (in transit at RAAF Darwin) plus a Fairey Battle, three Moth Minors and two US Beech 18s at the civil aerodrome:

The USAAF P-40s, under the command of Major Floyd Pell, were only in Darwin due to providence. The aircraft were supposed to have been in Timor earlier that morning but had been turned back by bad weather. By further coincidence, Pell had ordered five of the P-40s to remain in the air on patrol whilst the others landed at Darwin to refuel. Darwin’s ground defences were also meagre. A couple of dozen twin Vickers and 50 calibre machine guns (the latter “borrowed” from the US Army) plus the odd Lewis gun, about 60 rifles and officers’ revolvers, was about it on the RAAF Station although proper anti aircraft guns were placed at various points in the town and at East Point, protecting the harbour.

Darwin Devastated

The first to engage the enemy formation were the airborne USAAF P-40s, led by Lt Robert Oestreicher. He spotted the aircraft and shouted a warning to his fellow pilots, but by then Lt Jack Peres had already been shot down, quickly followed by Lt Perry. Both pilots died, although a third P-40’s pilot survived, while another managed to land at Darwin despite being wounded. Oestreicher remained in the air during the raid and shot down two ‘Vais’, although only one could be confirmed.

The other five P-40s attempted to takeoff and help. Major Pell got into the air but was shot down and killed shortly afterwards, while Lt Hughes was killed during his takeoff run. The other three got airborne but were quickly intercepted and shot down – all three pilots survived.

The cost to allied aircraft was great. Apart from the nine USAAF P-40s shot down during the action, a tenth was destroyed when the RAAF’s No 12 Squadron hangar was bombed. Oestreicher’s P-40 was flown south to Daly Waters the following day. Other American losses on the day were a Consolidated LB30 Liberator of the USAAF’s 7th Bomb Group, a DouglasA-24 (a variant of the SBD Dauntless naval dive bomber) of the 27th Bomb Group (Light) USAAF, three USAAF Beech C-45 light transports, three US Navy Consolidated PBY Catalinas of Patrol Wing 10 (at their moorings in the harbour), another USN PBY (from Patrol Wing 22) en route to Bathurst Island from Darwin (actually the first victim of the raid) and a Douglas C-53 of the USAAF’s 22nd Transport Squadron which was strafed and destroyed by ‘Zeros’ .

The Royal Australian Air Force also did not escape lightly. Six Hudsons (A16-6, 57, 63, 72, 78 and 135) were destroyed at the RAAF Station and two Wirraways (A20-180 at the RAAF Station and A20-232 at the civil aerodrome were damaged. Also destroyed at the civil aerodrome was a de Havilland Puss Moth (VH-UPN) owned by pioneer aviator Roy Edwards.

The town suffered badly, with many buildings reduced to rubble, among them the Telegraph Station and Post Office. The latter suffered a direct hit, killing the staff including the Postmaster and several members of his family who also worked there. Darwin’s services were cut and the civilian casualty count was high. As if the morning raid wasn’t enough, another one hit the town exactly two hours after the first. At 1158 hours the land based bombers came, 27 ‘Neils’ from Ambon and a similar number of ‘Bettys’ from Kendari in the Celebes. The bombers had no fighter protection this time, but it wasn’t needed as there were no Allied aircraft to take them on. With Darwin in ruins, the ‘Bettys’ and ‘Neils’ concentrated on the RAAF Station, dropping some 300 bombs on it, putting it out of action and accounting for many of the aircraft losses listed above. With the raids came some heroism, notably that of the American pilots and of Wing Commander Arch Tindal, who had operated a Vickers machine gun from a slit trench but was killed by the strafing Japanese. Tindal’s name lives on at RAAF Base Tindal, near Katherine.

Aftermath

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all heroics. The raids caused confusion and alarm among civilians and servicemen alike, with many of both deserting Darwin and heading south as quickly as they could in what became known as the “Great Stampede” or “The Adelaide River Stakes”. For the servicemen, this was as much the result of a misunderstood order as anything. An order that all airmen should move “half a mile down the road and then half a mile inland” developed into an assumed instruction for a general evacuation as it was passed from mouth to mouth with ever increasing alarm, exaggeration and modification.

A Commission of Inquiry was set up to investigate what was seen internally to be a national disgrace, although at the time it was kept from the general publics’ ears in the interests of national morale. It wasn’t until 1972 that the findings of the Commission were finally made public and were heavily critical of the RAAF ‘system’ of the time generally. At Darwin, morale was generally low, there was a shortage of equipment and numerous other problems which had all contributed to the disaster.

Not the least of which, of course, was the RAAF’s lack of fighter aircraft. The Darwin raids of 19 February resulted in the USAAF sending a detachment of P-40s and their pilots from the 49th Fighter Group along with the immediate availability of useful numbers of similar aircraft for the RAAF. By the end of 1942 Spitfires were arriving from Britain as well, although by then Darwin had suffered 49of the 64raidsit was to endure and the worst of it was over.

The Northern Territory’s War Service Memorial Year

Commemorative and other events to be held in the Northern Territory are not just associated with the first raids on Darwin but rather emphasise the Territory’s substantial role in the war effort generally, a vital role which generally isn’t fully appreciated by the Australian public.

Events begin in December 1991(the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbour) and continue through to November 1992, encompassing numerous activities. For the visitor, there is plenty of choice, from visiting historical and interesting sites within Darwin itself (like the aviation and military museums) or travelling south to former RAAF and USAAF air bases and other military establishments. The Battle of Australia is the overriding theme of the year’s activities; it is emphasised however, that although there will be commemorative events, many are in a much lighter vein and suitable not just for those involved in Australia’s northern war but any members of the public who want to be involved or indeed would just like to visit the Territory at a special time.

Each month between December 1991 and November 1992 has its own theme and associated special activities. December is Launch Month and sees the issuing of the Battle of Australia 50th Anniversary Medallion. Then follows Australia Day Month (January), Commemoration Month (February- the 50th anniversary of the first raid), Batchelor/Katherine Month (March), Heritage Month (April), Coral Sea Month (May – the 50th anniversary of that vital sea battle), Festival Month (June- including Darwin’s famed Bougainvillea Festival); Show Month (July), Asian Month (August), Papua New Guinea Month (September), Masters Games Month (October) and Remembrance Month (Novemberwith a special Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Adelaide River War Cemetery).

Several organised tours have been put together including day trips to various military sites throughout the Territory and multi day tours covering Darwin, military sites, airfields and other points of interest.

The famous Hotel Darwin (opposite the Post Office destroyed in the first day’s raids) is being restored to its former glory in time for the year’s activities. The pub will return to its 1940s decor, staff will be dressed in WWII uniforms, an especially commissioned wall mural by noted artist James Baines will be on display as will various other displays appropiate to the occasion.

For further details of tours and activities contact the Northern Territory Government Tourist Bureau in your capital city.