Hi Guys,
Recently i had the opportunity to spend some time far north in Darwin/Australia, while i was there i had a look at the area's of attacks/bombings carried out by the Empire of Japan on february 19..1942 during WWII on Australia's mainlaid, a lot of my time went into photography within those damaged area's of Darwin and also had a little time to investigate the Australian defence area's at East point military reserve which include gun emplacement, bunkers,observation towers and ammunition storage bunkers as well.There is also a great museum at East point military reserve as well as the WWII Oil storage tunnels on the other side of Darwin near Stokes Hill Wharf.
A little info you might find interesting from Wikipedia........
In early 1942, Darwin was used as a military base and as a transit point for forces and aircraft being sent to Timor, Ambon and Java in the Netherlands East Indies (modern Indonesia) before these islands fell to the Japanese.
The military garrison at Darwin was strengthened ahead of Japan’s entry into the war. Northern Australia was considered vulnerable. Even before the war, the Army had raised a special Darwin Mobile Force to defend the north and then boosted defences with artillery batteries and other units. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) sent squadrons north but had no fighters available to combat enemy aircraft. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) established a shore base and a long-range wireless station, had vessels patrolling, and laid an anti-submarine boom across Darwin’s outer harbour to obstruct enemy submarines.
On 19 February 1942, Darwin suffered its first and most devastating air raid. The Japanese had assessed that the base threatened the success of their operations against Timor and Java (they had captured Ambon already). Darwin’s strategic importance was probably over-rated by the Japanese, but the 47 Allied naval and merchant ships in the harbour presented a desirable target nevertheless. The raid was intended to inflict considerable damage on the ships, township and military facilities.
Aircraft carriers in the Arafura Sea launched the first wave of aircraft to hit Darwin. The second wave took off later from Ambon. Area Combined Headquarters at Darwin disregarded early warnings of the impending attack from a Catholic missionary on Bathurst Island and a naval coastwatcher on Melville Island. Air raid alerts were not sounded until just before the first wave of aircraft appeared over Darwin. The pilots of several American fighters on patrol were taken by surprise, with most shot down. In and around the harbour, ships, wharves and parts of the town suffered great damage. Three Allied naval ships and five merchant ships were sunk and another ten ships were damaged. Most of the 280 or so people killed that day were victims of this first wave, mainly Allied service personnel, merchant seamen and wharf labourers (‘wharfies’) in and around Darwin harbour.
The first attack ended 42 minutes after it began. There was a lull of just over an hour before the second wave arrived. This time the military airfield was the main target. Six RAAF servicemen were killed and nine aircraft on the ground were destroyed. Most of the base’s buildings were destroyed or damaged. Civilians in the township also died during the attacks, including several killed when the Post Office and a bomb shelter next to it received a direct hit.
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. After the massive 19 February 1942 Japanese raid, the Northern Territory and parts of Western Australia's north were bombed 62 more times between 4 March 1942 and 12 November 1943.[43] One of the heaviest attacks took place on 16 June 1942 when a large Japanese force set fire to the oil fuel tanks around the harbour and inflicted severe damage to the vacant banks, stores and railway yards. The Allied navies largely abandoned the naval base at Darwin after the initial 19 February attack, dispersing most of their forces to Brisbane, Fremantle and other smaller ports. Conversely, Allied air commanders launched a major build-up in the Darwin area, building more airfields and deploying many squadrons.
Some pics- now & then theme , hope you enjoy.................ART22720large.jpg
Recently i had the opportunity to spend some time far north in Darwin/Australia, while i was there i had a look at the area's of attacks/bombings carried out by the Empire of Japan on february 19..1942 during WWII on Australia's mainlaid, a lot of my time went into photography within those damaged area's of Darwin and also had a little time to investigate the Australian defence area's at East point military reserve which include gun emplacement, bunkers,observation towers and ammunition storage bunkers as well.There is also a great museum at East point military reserve as well as the WWII Oil storage tunnels on the other side of Darwin near Stokes Hill Wharf.
A little info you might find interesting from Wikipedia........
In early 1942, Darwin was used as a military base and as a transit point for forces and aircraft being sent to Timor, Ambon and Java in the Netherlands East Indies (modern Indonesia) before these islands fell to the Japanese.
The military garrison at Darwin was strengthened ahead of Japan’s entry into the war. Northern Australia was considered vulnerable. Even before the war, the Army had raised a special Darwin Mobile Force to defend the north and then boosted defences with artillery batteries and other units. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) sent squadrons north but had no fighters available to combat enemy aircraft. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) established a shore base and a long-range wireless station, had vessels patrolling, and laid an anti-submarine boom across Darwin’s outer harbour to obstruct enemy submarines.
On 19 February 1942, Darwin suffered its first and most devastating air raid. The Japanese had assessed that the base threatened the success of their operations against Timor and Java (they had captured Ambon already). Darwin’s strategic importance was probably over-rated by the Japanese, but the 47 Allied naval and merchant ships in the harbour presented a desirable target nevertheless. The raid was intended to inflict considerable damage on the ships, township and military facilities.
Aircraft carriers in the Arafura Sea launched the first wave of aircraft to hit Darwin. The second wave took off later from Ambon. Area Combined Headquarters at Darwin disregarded early warnings of the impending attack from a Catholic missionary on Bathurst Island and a naval coastwatcher on Melville Island. Air raid alerts were not sounded until just before the first wave of aircraft appeared over Darwin. The pilots of several American fighters on patrol were taken by surprise, with most shot down. In and around the harbour, ships, wharves and parts of the town suffered great damage. Three Allied naval ships and five merchant ships were sunk and another ten ships were damaged. Most of the 280 or so people killed that day were victims of this first wave, mainly Allied service personnel, merchant seamen and wharf labourers (‘wharfies’) in and around Darwin harbour.
The first attack ended 42 minutes after it began. There was a lull of just over an hour before the second wave arrived. This time the military airfield was the main target. Six RAAF servicemen were killed and nine aircraft on the ground were destroyed. Most of the base’s buildings were destroyed or damaged. Civilians in the township also died during the attacks, including several killed when the Post Office and a bomb shelter next to it received a direct hit.
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. After the massive 19 February 1942 Japanese raid, the Northern Territory and parts of Western Australia's north were bombed 62 more times between 4 March 1942 and 12 November 1943.[43] One of the heaviest attacks took place on 16 June 1942 when a large Japanese force set fire to the oil fuel tanks around the harbour and inflicted severe damage to the vacant banks, stores and railway yards. The Allied navies largely abandoned the naval base at Darwin after the initial 19 February attack, dispersing most of their forces to Brisbane, Fremantle and other smaller ports. Conversely, Allied air commanders launched a major build-up in the Darwin area, building more airfields and deploying many squadrons.
Some pics- now & then theme , hope you enjoy.................ART22720large.jpg
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