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Battle for Australia
Air raids – Darwin – Broome – Coral Sea – Naval attacks – Sydney & Newcastle – Kokoda – Milne Bay

Between February 1942 and November 1943, during the Pacific War, the Australian mainland, domestic airspace, offshore islands and coastal shipping were attacked at least 97 times by aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. These attacks came in various forms, from large scale raids by heavy bombers, to torpedo attacks on ships, to strafing runs by fighter planes.

In the first — and deadliest — attacks, 242 planes hit Darwin on the morning of February 19, 1942, killing at least 243 people, causing immense damage, making hundreds of people homeless and causing the abandonment of Darwin as a major naval base. (See the main article: Air raids on Darwin, February 19, 1942.)

These attacks were opposed by — and often aimed at — units and personnel from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, United States Army Air Forces, US Navy, British Royal Air Force and Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force. Japanese aircrews also targeted civil infrastructure, including harbours, civil airfields, railways and fuel tanks. Many civilians were also killed.

Contents 1 List of attacks by date 1.1 1942 1.1.1 February 1.1.2 March 1.1.3 April 1.1.4 May 1.1.5 June 1.1.6 July 1.1.7 August 1.1.8 September 1.1.9 October 1.1.10 November 1.1.11 December 1.2 1943 1.2.1 January 1.2.2 February 1.2.3 March 1.2.4 April 1.2.5 May 1.2.6 June 1.2.7 July 1.2.8 August 1.2.9 September 1.2.10 October 1.2.11 November 2 References

19th (10.00 a.m.) Darwin, Northern Territory (NT)
19th (11.55 a.m.) Darwin, NT
19th Bathurst Island, NT

3rd (9.20am) Broome, Western Australia (WA). Attack on Broome: a strafing raid by nine Mitsubishi Zeroes. At least 88 people were killed and 24 Allied aircraft were destroyed.
3rd (~10.30am) Carnot Bay, WA. PK-AFV (Pelikaan), a Douglas DC-3 airliner owned by KLM, was shot down by Zeroes returning from the attack on Broome. It crash-landed on a beach 80km (50 mi) from Broome. Four passengers were killed. Its cargo included diamonds worth more than £150,000-300,000, and these were lost or stolen following the crash.
3rd Wyndham, (meatworks), WA
3rd Wyndham Airfield, WA

4th (2.00 p.m.) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

14th Horn Island, Queensland (Qld)

16th (1.30 p.m.) Darwin RAAF Airfield and Bagot, NT

17th Darwin, NT

18th Horn Island, Qld

19th (11.40 a.m.) Darwin (Myilly Point and Larrakeyah), NT

20th Cape Londonderry, WA. MV Koolama severely damaged.
20th Broome Airfield, WA. Attack by Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" heavy bombers. One civilian killed. Minor damage to airfield.
20th Derby, WA

22nd (00.51 a.m.) Darwin, NT
22nd Katherine, NT

23rd Darwin, NT
23rd Wyndham, WA
23rd Wyndham, WA

28th (12.30 pm) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

30th (05.40 a.m.?) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
30th Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

31st (1:20 pm) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
31st (10:19 pm) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

2nd (3:30 pm) Darwin (Harvey St, McMinn St, Shell Oil Tanks), NT
2nd Sattler Airfield, NT

4th (1:48 pm) Darwin Civil Airfield and Parap Hotel, NT

5th (12:29 pm) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

25th (2:00 pm) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

27th (12:07 pm) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

30th Horn Island, QLD

13 (11:52 am) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
14 (1:14 pm) Darwin (town area), NT
15 (12:20 pm) Darwin (Larrakeyah to Stokes Hill), NT
16 (12:01pm) Darwin (town area), NT
26 (8.50 p.m.) Darwin, NT

7 Horn Island, Qld
25 (8:50 pm) Darwin (town area), NT
26 Townsville, Qld
26 (9:39-10:54 pm) Darwin (Vesteys Meatworks), NT
27 (10:27 pm) Knuckey's Lagoon, Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
28 (00:45 am) Darwin RAAF airfield, NT
28 Townsville, Qld
29 (00:59 am) Darwin (town area) and Knuckey's Lagoon, NT.
29 Townsville, Qld
30 (03:58 am) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
30 Horn Island, Qld
30 Port Hedland, WA
30 Cairns, Qld
31 Mossman, Qld
31 (1.33 p.m.) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

1 Horn Island, Qld
21 Wyndham, WA
23 (12:12 pm) Hughes Airfield, NT
24 (9:24 pm) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
24 (10:14 pm) Noonamah, NT
25 (00:05 am) Darwin and Parap, NT
27 (03:45-05:37 am) Darwin (Botanical Gardens) and Cox Peninsula, NT
28 (03:35 am) Darwin (Railway Yards and Port Patterson), NT
30 (02:39 am) Darwin (town area), NT
31 (05:14 am) Darwin (town area) and Cox Peninsula), NT

25 (03:41 am) Darwin (town area) and Knuckey's Lagoon, NT
25 (05:48 am) Darwin (town area and Daly Street Bridge), NT
26 (05:22 am) Livingstone Airfield, NT
27 (04:56 am) Bynoe Harbour, NT
27 (05:44 am) Darwin (town area) (Frances Bay)

10 Horn Island, Qld
24 (04:42 hrs) Batchelor Airfield
24 (04:52 am) Pell Airfield
24 (04:57 am) Cox Peninsula
24 (05:12 am) Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
25 (05:30 am) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
26 (04:54 am) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
27 (02:20 am) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT

23 (03:00-04:39 am) Darwin (town area) and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
23 Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
26 (03.20 a.m.) Darwin (town area), Strauss Airfield and Hughes Airfield, NT
27 (03:56- 04:46 am) Coomalie Creek, Hughes Airfield and Strauss Airfield, NT

20 (10:44 pm-00:15 am) Searchlight station, AWC Camp, Ironstone, NT
21 (9:54 pm) Darwin (Frances Bay), NT
22 (1.30pm) HMAS Patricia Cam sunk, near Wessel Islands, NT.

2 (2:34 pm) Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
15 (11:20 am) Darwin (oil tanks), NT

2 (10:15 am) Darwin RAAF Airfield and Darwin Floating Dock, NT
9 Millingimbi, NT
10 Millingimbi, NT
20 Exmouth Gulf, WA
21 Exmouth Gulf, WA
28 Millingimbi, NT

18 Horn Island, Qld
20 (10:43 am) Winnellie and Darwin RAAF Airfield, NT
28 (11:07 am) Vesteys, NT
30 (12:30pm) Fenton Airfield, NT

6 (12:02pm) Fenton Airfield, NT

13 (9:45pm) Fenton Airfield, NT
13 (11:12 pm) Fenton Airfield and Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
13 (11.42 pm) Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
14 Long Airfield, NT
17 Port Hedland, WA
21 (00:37 am) Fenton Airfield and Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
21 (03:30 am) Pell Airfield, NT

15 (00:25 am) Fenton Airfield and Long Airfield, NT
15 Onslow, WA
18 (03:50 am) Fenton Airfield and Long Airfield, NT
27 Drysdale River Mission (Kalumburu) airfield, WA

10 Coomalie Creek Airfield, NT
12 (03:53-05:30 am) Parap, Adelaide River and Batchelor Airfield, NT

• ozatwar.com, "Japanese Air Raids in Australia During WW2"
• diggerhistory.info "Attacks on the Australian mainland in WW2"
• Australian War Memorial, "Air raids on Australian mainland – Second World War"
• Darwin Defenders 1942-45 Inc, veterans' association's list of 43 air raids (excluding reconnaissance flights)