The Navy In Darwin, 1941-1943

A Graphic Record from a Sailor's sketchbooks

Plot

The bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 was both the first and the largest single attack mounted by a foreign power against Australia. On this day, 242 Japanese aircraft attacked ships in Darwin’s harbour and the town’s two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasions of Timor and Java. The town was only lightly defended, and the Japanese inflicted heavy losses upon the Allied forces at little cost to themselves. The urban areas of Darwin also suffered some damage from the raids, and there were a number of civilian casualties.

This event is often called the “Pearl Harbor of Australia”. Although it was a less significant military target, a greater number of bombs were dropped on Darwin than were used in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The raids on Darwin represented a psychological blow to the Australian population, several weeks after hostilities with Japan had begun. The raids were the first and largest of almost 100 air raids against Australia during 1942–43.

Sketches of the time by Pat Forster with recollections of Darwin 1941-1943 as told to Ted Egan. A pictorial and verbal account of the Royal Australian Navy in Darwin during the Darwin bombings.