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The possibility of invading Australia was discussed by the Japanese Army and Navy on several occasions in February 1942. On 6 February the Navy Ministry formally proposed a plan in which eastern Australia would be invaded at the same time other Japanese forces captured Fiji, Samoa, and New Caledonia, and this
The Japanese Army was making new preparations for combat when, on 11 July, High Command ordered the suspension of Operation FS the projected actions against New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa, after the remaining Japanese carrier strength was destroyed at the Battle of Midway. These battles prevented the Japanese landings against Port Moresby.
The Japanese raid on Darwin of 2 May 1943 was a significant battle in the North Western Area Campaign of World War II. During the raid a force of over 20 Japanese bombers and Zero fighters attacked the Australian town of Darwin, Northern Territory, inflicting little damage on the ground. This attack was the 54th Japanese airstrike over Australia.
In February 1944, the Combined Fleet, the Imperial Japanese Navy's main striking force, withdrew from its base at Truk in the Central Pacific to Palau and Singapore. The appearance of a powerful naval force at Singapore alarmed the Allies, as it was feared that these ships would conduct raids into the Indian Ocean and against Western Australia. [9]
Japanese propaganda was produced at the time to spread the idea of invasion or bombing of southern Australian cities. [12] Authorities were attempting to allay fears a month before the Darwin bombings. [13] The events surrounding the bombings and response by authorities in northern Australia were referred to as "Japanese Scare" tactics. [14] [15]
Attacks on continental Australia during World War II were relatively rare due to Australia's geographic position. However, axis surface raiders and submarines periodically attacked shipping in the Australian coastal waters from late 1940 to early 1945. Japanese aircraft bombed towns and airfields in Northern Australia on 97 occasions during ...
Petty Officer Hajime Toyoshima (豊嶋一, Toyoshima Hajime, 29 March 1920 – 5 August 1944) [1] was a Japanese airman in World War II. His A6M Zero was the first of that type to be recovered relatively intact on Allied territory (after those recovered after the attack on Pearl Harbor) when he crash landed on Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia.
The explosion of the MV Neptuna, hit during the first Japanese air raid on Darwin.In the foreground is HMAS Deloraine, which escaped damage.. The bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 was both the first and the largest attack mounted by Japan against mainland Australia, when four Japanese aircraft carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and Sōryū) launched a total of 188 aircraft from a position in ...