On this day, 83 years ago, Australians came under fire on their home soil.
Before the outbreak of war in the Pacific, Darwin’s port, its airfield facilities, its coastal defence batteries and steadily growing garrison, were of vital strategic
importance. The Japanese Empire was becoming increasingly aggressive in the region, and Darwin played an important role as a deployment base for the defence of the Dutch East Indies.On the 19 February 1942, Darwin was targeted by two waves of Japanese air raids.
It was the first time mainland Australia had come under direct attack during the Second World War.
More than 240 Japanese fighters and bombers overwhelmed the port city’s defences, leaving a path of destruction in their wake, killing more than 250 Allied service personnel, civilians, and merchant seamen.
Darwin endured a further 63 attacks during the war, until the final air raid on 12 November 1943.
Many other towns and locales in northern Australia suffered similar hostilities, though none paid as devastating a price as Darwin did on 19 February 1942.
Today, our thoughts are on those who lost their lives in the attacks on Darwin in 1942, those who died in the further attacks across northern Australia, and all who served in the defence of our nation during the Second World War.
Lest we forget.
To learn more about the Bombing of Darwin, visit our Anzac Portal.
Australian servicemen in Darwin repairing a bombed building after the second air raid by Japanese warplanes on 19 February 1942. These were possibly huts at the RAAF base.
Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial.
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