After taking some time off (ok, a lot of time off) yesterday to go see Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, I had a few questions about the Japanese attacks on Australia. I’ve taken several 20th century history courses in both high school and college, yet these events had never been mentioned. So, I did a little research and found out just what actually happened.
As it turns out, the Australian mainland was attached over 90 times over the course of the war. 64 of those raids were on Darwin, the first of which, occurring on February 19th, 1942, was shown in the film. Apparently, Darwin was a key defensive position against the Japanese onslaught in the Pacific, and on the day the Japanese attacked, there were 46 ships, both Australian and allied, in the bay. 8 ships were lost and many damaged, and the casualties are somewhere between 900 and 1100 people, just from the first attack. It is said that the Australian government suppressed this information in order to keep public moral up. Later in the day, the Japanese would attack again, destroying the Royal Australian Air Force base.
The Japanese attack was lead by a man named Mitsuo Fuchida, the pilot that also lead the attacks on Pearl Harbor (Fuchida was the one who radioed “Tora! Tora! Tora!”). They attacked with 188 planes and destroyed all but one (out of the ten) of the Australian fighters located there.
Darwin was attacked again and again until November 1943. I found a list of the attacks here.
For more information about the Japanese attacks, check out this site
As it turns out, the Australian mainland was attached over 90 times over the course of the war. 64 of those raids were on Darwin, the first of which, occurring on February 19th, 1942, was shown in the film. Apparently, Darwin was a key defensive position against the Japanese onslaught in the Pacific, and on the day the Japanese attacked, there were 46 ships, both Australian and allied, in the bay. 8 ships were lost and many damaged, and the casualties are somewhere between 900 and 1100 people, just from the first attack. It is said that the Australian government suppressed this information in order to keep public moral up. Later in the day, the Japanese would attack again, destroying the Royal Australian Air Force base.
The Japanese attack was lead by a man named Mitsuo Fuchida, the pilot that also lead the attacks on Pearl Harbor (Fuchida was the one who radioed “Tora! Tora! Tora!”). They attacked with 188 planes and destroyed all but one (out of the ten) of the Australian fighters located there.
Darwin was attacked again and again until November 1943. I found a list of the attacks here.
For more information about the Japanese attacks, check out this site
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