The Japanese attack on Darwin on 19 February 1942 stunned the nation and has been a topic of much folklore ever since.
Indeed, it was incredible that the powerful Japanese aircraft carriers that decimated the American Pearl Harbor fleet base in December 1941 turned their attention to tiny Darwin just weeks later.
Such was the strength and ferocity of the Japanese attack that some 236 people were killed, 11 ships sunk, 30 aircraft destroyed and parts of Darwin were left in ruins. It was the deadliest single attack ever suffered on Australian soil.
However, Darwin was a victim of its own geography, being close to the Netherlands East Indies which the Japanese were then in the process of seizing. Darwin's harbour and airfield were of great strategic value and Allied forces utilising these facilities threatened the Japanese operations.
Since 2013 the Bombing of Darwin Day, 19 February, has been commemorated as a National Day of Observance, the third such national date behind Anzac Day and Remembrance Day. Hence the need for educational materials has never been greater.
Darwin Bombed! is a fully illustrated guide for school children of all ages.
Non-fiction, Military History
About The Author
Military historian; public speaker, author of 25 books, and a retired naval officer, Dr Tom Lewis received the Order of Australian Medal (OAM) for services to naval history.
He served in the Iraq War in 2006 as an Intelligence analyst, and also in East Timor. He has worked as a divemaster, high school teacher, and journalist.
Tom is an expert on World War II, especially in the Pacific, but has also written in areas including medieval battle, and the reality of battlefield behaviour.
His latest books are Cyclone Warriors – the Armed Forces in Cyclone Tracy; The Secret Submarine, revealing the RAAF’s sinking of the Japanese I-178 off Sydney in 1943, and Australia’s Coastal War, which brings together all of the submarine, surface, and air attacks around WWII Australia.
The Sinking of HMAS Sydney has just won the 2024 Australian Naval Institute’s Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize.
