| Place | Oceania: Australia, Northern Territory, Melville Island |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL/02094 |
| Collection type | Technology |
| Object type | Aircraft component |
| Physical description | Aluminium |
| Maker |
Unknown |
| Place made | Japan |
| Date made | 1941 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Piece of Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighter plane : Melville Island
Description
Aluminium plate with Japanese inscriptions. The plate lists instructions for an hydraulic front shock absorber.
History / Summary
Piece of aluminium taken from Imperial Japanese Navy A6M2 Zero, serial 5349, tail code BII-124, flown by Flight Sergeant Toyoshima Hajime, which made a forced landing on Melville Island on 19 February 1942. The fragment bears six Japanese sentences.
Toyoshima force landed on Melville Island after the aircraft's oil tank was struck by a single .303 calibre bullet during one of his low passes over Darwin Harbour in the first raid of 19 February 1942. He was the first Prisoner of War taken on Australian territory and he was one of the ring leaders of the infamous Cowra 'breakout' in August 1944. Toyoshima was seriously wounded by Australian rifle and machine gun fire and then took his life. He is buried under his false name of Tadao Minami at Cowra war cemetery.