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Reading list
Darwin Air Raids
Further online resources
Darwin air
raids
The bombing of Darwin,
19 February 1942
Frank X. Alcorta, Australia's frontline : the Northern Territory's war (North Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1991). [Retells the experiences of 250,000 Allied personnel and the citizens of the Territory who were part of Australia’s home front]
R. N. (Robert Neville) Alford, Darwin's air war, 1942-1945 : an illustrated history (Darwin, Northern Territory: Colemans Printing, 1991). [Produced by the Aviation Historical Society of the Northern Territory and includes pilot profiles, major operational squadrons and a listing of the 64 official air raids]
Australia Dept. of Veterans' Affairs, Darwin and the Northern Territory : 1942-1945 (Canberra: Dept. of Veterans' Affairs, c2002). [Pictorial account of the contribution of the Northern Territory to the defence of Australia during the Second World War]
John Binning, Target area (Sydney: Australasian Publishing, 1943). [Personal account of life in Darwin over a 12 month period whilst serving with the AIF]
Coleen Bower, Frank Beale, Syd James, No. 1 Mobile Works Squadron, February 26th-October 6th 1942 : an oral history (Blackburn, Vic: C. Bower, 1993). [Recollections of Frank Beale and Syd James who served with the unit in Darwin, includes a list of personnel for March 1942]
John Bradford, In the highest tradition : RAN heroism Darwin 19 February 1942 (Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, 2000). [Discusses the lack of torpedo bombers in the Japanese strike force which meant less loss of life and damage. Raises concerns about the inadequate recognition of acts of gallantry. Also, lists names and citations for military personnel recommended for awards in the first air raid on Darwin]
June Collins, Bandy's boys : the Darwin Mobile Force (Melbourne: J. Collins, 1989). [History and stories of the unit including; nominal roll, honours and awards, and contact details of surviving unit members]
Commission of Inquiry concerning the circumstances connected with the attack made by Japanese aircraft at Darwin on 19th February, 1942 (Canberra: Commonwealth Government Printer, 1945). [Includes official reports by Commissioner, Mr Justice Lowe, together with observations by the Department of the Navy, Army, Air and Interior]
Pat Forster, Ted Egan, Northern Territory. Museums and Art Galleries Board, The Navy in Darwin, 1941-1943 : a graphic record from a sailor's sketchbooks with photographs from the early 1940s (Darwin: Museums and Art Galleries of the NT, 1992). [Wartime sketches by Pat Forster ; with recollections of Darwin 1941-1943 as told to Ted Egan]
Owen E. Griffiths, Darwin drama (Sydney: Bloxham & Chambers, 1947). [A first-hand account of the Darwin air raids]
Timothy Hall, Darwin 1942 Australia's darkest hour (Sydney: Methuen Australia, 1981). [The news blackout and subsequent propaganda released by the War Cabinet was used to hide those events which occurred on 19 February, 1942. Official reports of the time are used to reveal what happened that day]
Tom Lewis, A war at home : a comprehensive guide to the first Japanese attacks on Darwin (Darwin: Tall Stories, 1999). [Appendices include: Casualty Roll by Service; list of Army and Air units present in the Northern Territory through the war; and a list of air raids. Also has a guide to today’s Sites of Significance]
Douglas Lockwood, Australia's Pearl Harbour: Darwin 1942 (Bayswater: Ian Drakeford Publishing, 1988). [Author was correspondent for the Melbourne Herald in Darwin at the time of the raids and through interviews with survivors and participants has reconstructed events of 19 February 1942]
William Mann, Search and destroy : the role of the Beaufighters against the Japanese forces set to invade Australia, and the young men who held the Japanese at bay (Benowa, Qld: William Mann, 2001). [An account of events and the experiences of members of No. 31 Beaufighter Low Attack Squadron whilst based at Coomalie Creek in the Northern Territory, 1943-1944. Includes the Roll of Honour]
Sophie McCarthy, Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, World War II shipwrecks and the first Japanese air raid on Darwin, 19 February 1942 (Darwin: Northern Territory Museum of Arts & Sciences, 1992). [Information about the 10 ships sunk by the Japanese during the first air raid on Darwin, including operational histories, wreck sites and salvage operations. Appendix 1: Crew lists]
Jack Mulholland, Darwin bombed : "use the 1916 ammo first" (Loftus, NSW: Australian Military History Publications, 1999). [Unit history of the 14 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery which was stationed in Darwin. Includes nominal roll of foundation members]
Alan Powell, The shadow's edge: Australia's northern war (Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Press, 1988). [Examines Northern Territory’s involvement in the Second World War. Contains extensive research notes and bibliography]
Robert J. Rayner, The army and the defence of Darwin fortress : exploding the myths of the critical phase 'til September 1942 (Sydney: Rudder Press, 1995). [Examines the Army’s development of Darwin’s defence, eyewitness accounts of the men and women involved and the activities of the smaller army units]
Ron Brown, Pat Studdy-Clift, Darwin dilemmas (Carlisle, WA: Hesperian Press, 1992). [Based on Brown’s police and personal diaries and memories whilst in Darwin from 1939-1945]
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