WW2 in Australia | Bombing Of Darwin (1942)

My father was a gunner stationed at East Point, he told me that RAAF personell were instructed to go bush and get to Adelaide River (south of Darwin) There was no longer an airfield, and more raids were expected.

5 warhawks vs a lonely zero pilot. The zero pilot: I like those odds

My father was based in Darwin and told me a lot about the attacks in the mid 80s before it really ever publicly surfaced .. he said there were multi attacks during the time he was there and plenty of fatalities. . .showed me photos he took of downed mangled zeros ..twas a shock as it was never spoke about in history at school .

When I was at school in Australia during the 60's, the bombing of Darwin was taught as just a side event to WW2. A couple of bombs, 1 ship sank and and I think 3 people killed. We all learned about Pearl Harbour. The bombing of Darwin was top secret and not released until the 1970's. I was a bit pissed off when I found out the truth,as the men who served in Darwin were not given the recognition the were due. More bombs fell on Darwin than Pearl harbour, but Darwin was not recognised as a war zone for returned servicemen purposes.

I am a 62 year old Australian who served twenty years in the Australian Air Force. My brothers were both also in the Military, one was in the Army for six years and the eldest also did twenty years in the Airforce retiring as a Wing Commander. Our Father was a WWII vetran and former Argyle and Sutherland Highlander who was a POW in Germany after being captured on Crete. As you can imagine, with this sort of exposure to the military and being a keen amateur historian of WWII, I can honestly say I have never heard the bombing of Darwin referred to as "Australia's Pearl Harbor".

I am a Canadian who spent a few weeks in Darwin in 2015. I used to go to the park almost every day on the bluff overlooking the harbor. There is a nice memorial dedicated to this battle which I never even heard about until I arrived.

as an australian born in 1949 i found this video most enlightening indeed. during my schooling through the 50's & 60's we were taught next to nothing about the bombing of darwin. very sad really.

Thanks for the video.It was very detailed.My uncle,Charlie Stover ,was in this battle.He crossed over in 2004.He said whenever the major wanted fresh fish,3 of them would take a landing craft,1 guy on each side,1 guy driving and toss grenades over each side.He told me there were always an abundance of fish wherever they went.He was in also in New Guninea,and the battle of the Philippines.

Thank you for this. My dad was there but didn't talk about it much when I was growing up. He was Floyd Oscar Tacklind, a captain at the time with the American 148th Idaho Artillery. He and his battalion were on the MC Tulage with the Timor convoy and at Darwin on the day of the attack. His Battery stayed on board the Tulage the night before the attack. When a crew gunner was wounded my dad and his C.O. took over the gun and fired on the enemy until they left. At least that's what his citation stated. Soon after he was awarded the Silver Star.

In the 70’s & 80’s I got in trouble at school for talking about this and other actions around Australia, such as the mini submarines in Sydney and the war in bass strait. Teachers yelled at me and told me how wrong I was. I’d been to the National war museum in Canberra, several times as a kid. I’d climbed on the mini sub there, had photos, etc. They still did not want to believe it, or allow others to hear about it! I guess they grew up in the generation that still had this and other information suppressed from them. The only thing they believed about the whole of WW2 & Australia, was that “just a few planes bombed Darwin and very few people were killed”. One of them was supposed to be the HISTORY TEACHER!

The bombing of Darwin was a bigger event than most historians mention. Thanks for a very educational video. It was a repeat of the Pearl Harbor attack. The valiant USS Houston deserves greater attention.

My grandfather was stationed at Darwin then. He left the post office moments before it was bombed. He was lucky!

Recently reading my great grandfathers auto biography, he was there when it was bombed and helped collect injured and dead men put of the water. He was on one of the ships that got sunk.

this is phenomenal - I just discovered your channel. I love the strategic storytelling you present here. The graphics and animation are so helpful in understanding the events. Thank you so much for putting this together.

This would be the best doc that I have seen about the W2 Bombing of Darwin

My Grandparents were only kids when the Bombing of Darwin happened back in 1942. They were 5 and 6 Years old. My Grandmothers Father fought in the War. and returned home in Geelong 1945. My Grandparents are now aged in their nearly mid 80s. They remember the shocking things that happened during World War II on Newspaper and in person.

LOVE your channel ! Please keep up the great work,it's very important history,never to be forgotten

In 1940, Australia's northern half was an empty void of nothingness. Nobody had any idea of its mineral resources and nobody cared. In fact the Australian government was only committed to defending a line drawn from Sydney to Adelaide, which was in reality the productive part of the country. the rest of the country was a place to die. My grandfathers brother, "Snowy" Robertson was stationed at Darwin and bombed something like 36 times.

If you ever visit Darwin please drop into the 1934 QANTAS hanger and view the bullet holes left over from an attack by a Japanese Zero. There is a length of wooden dowel next to a thick I-beam that you can push the dowel through and visualise the angle of the attack. The holes are clean through the steel like someone let loose with a big drill bit.

I live in Darwin, and I must say, there is LOTS of memorials and historical sights for the bombing of Darwin.