Bombing of Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
What happened
Japanese carrier and land-based aircraft, led by Mitsuo Fuchida under the overall command of Chūichi Nagumo, attacked the Australian port and airfields of Darwin. Four days after the fall of Singapore, Japanese aircraft attacked Darwin in two raids on the morning of 19 February 1942. They struck ships in the harbour, the town and the airfields. Darwin was lightly defended, and the air-raid sirens sounded only after the first raid had begun.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the largest single attack ever made by a foreign power on Australia. It was meant to stop Darwin being used to block Japanese landings on Timor and Java.
What came next
Japanese aircraft raided northern Australia about 100 more times until November 1943. The four carriers involved were sunk at the Battle of Midway in June 1942.
Did you know?
Each year at 9:58 am on 19 February, the time the first raid began, a wartime air-raid siren sounds at the Cenotaph in Darwin.
Timeline
- 15 February 1942Singapore falls to Japan.
- 19 February 1942Japanese aircraft bomb Darwin.
- June 1942The carriers that attacked Darwin are sunk at Midway.
- 12 November 1943The last Japanese raid on northern Australia.