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Ships, ports and other targets in Australia n waters and on shore were attacked by German and Japan ese Raiding Ships and Submarines throughout World War II . Among the best-known attacks are the Sinking Of HMAS ''Sydney'' by the German raider ''Kormoran'' in November 1941 , and the Japanese Midget Submarine Attack On Sydney Harbour in May 1942 . In addition, many Allied Merchant Ship s were Torpedo ed or sunk by Naval Mine s planted in shipping lanes. There were also instances of Japanese submarines Shelling ports, and submarine-based reconnaissance aircraft flew over most of the Australian Capital Cities . THE AUSTRALIA STATION The definition of 'Australian waters' used throughout this entry is, broadly speaking, the area which was designated the 'Australia Station' prior to the outbreak of war. This vast area consisted of the waters around Australia and eastern New Guinea down to the Antarctic. From east to west it stretched from 170 degrees east in the entry. Australian defences . This class of ship was commonly used to escort convoys in Australian waters (AWM 044738)]] The defence of the Australia Station was the Royal Australian Navy 's main concern throughout the war. While RAN ships frequently served outside Australian waters, light escort vessels were at all times available to protect shipping in the Australia Station. These light escorts were generally supported by a small heavier of heavier warships such as the obsolete light cruiser HMAS ''Adelaide'' and armed merchant cruisers. The naval forces assigned to the Australia Station were reinforced following Japan's entry into the war and the beginning of the American build-up in Australia. These naval forces were supported by a large increase in the Royal Australian Air Force 's maritime patrol force. Following the initial Japanese submarine attacks a Convoy system was instituted between Australian ports. As the battlefront moved to the north and attacks in Australian waters became less frequent the number of ships and aircraft assigned to shipping protection duties within the Australia Station was considerably reduced. While the naval and air forces available for the protection of shipping in Australian waters were never adequate to defend this shipping against a heavy or co-ordinated attack, they proved to be sufficient to mount defensive patrols against the sporadic and generally cautious attacks mounted by the Axis navies during the war. SURFACE RAIDERS German surface raiders ''Kormoran'' See Also: Battle between HMAS Sydney and HSK Kormoran Japanese surface raiders On 1 March 1944 a Japanese squadron consisting of the heavy cruisers ''Aoba'' ( Flag ), ''Tone'' and ''Chikuma'' sortied from the Sunda Strait to attack Allied shipping sailing on the main route between Aden and Fremantle . The only allied ship this squadron encountered was the British steamer ''Behar'' which was sunk about midway between Ceylon and Fremantle, Western Australia on 9 March 1944 . Following this attack the Squadron broke off its mission and returned to Batavia as it was feared that Allied ships responding to the ''Behar's'' distress signal posed an unacceptable risk to the Japanese ships. While 102 ''Behar'' survivors were rescued by the ''Tone'' , 82 of these survivors were murdered on board the ''Tone'' following her arrival in Batavia on 16 March . Following the war the squadron commander and the captain of the ''Tone'' were each sentenced to seven years imprisonment for this War Crime . The sortie mounted by the ''Aoba'' , ''Tone'' and ''Chikuma'' was the last raid mounted by Axis surface ships against the Allied lines of communication in the Indian Ocean, and elsewhere, during World War II. JAPANESE NAVAL AVIATION ATTACKS ON AUSTRALIA The initial air raid on Darwin See Also: Air raids on Darwin, February 19, 1942 The bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 was the heaviest attack mounted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against mainland Australia. On 19 February four Japanese aircraft carriers (the ''Akagi'' , ''Kaga'' , ''Hiryu'' and ''Soryu'' ) launched a total of 188 aircraft from a position in the Timor Sea . Accompanied by 54 land-based bombers, these aircraft inflicted heavy damage on Darwin. The attackers sank 8 ships and destroyed 20 military aircraft and destroyed most military installations in the town. Allied casualties were over 243 killed and between 300 and 400 wounded. Only 4 Japanese aircraft were confirmed to have been destroyed by Darwin's defenders. Subsequent overflights and attacks See Also: Japanese air attacks on Australia, 1942-43 While Australia was not subsequently attacked by Japanese aircraft carriers, the IJN operated aircraft over the Australian mainland on a number of occasions. Prior to the attack on Sydney harbour in May 1942 aircraft launched from the Japanese submarines overflew Hobart , Melbourne and Sydney to investigate the Allied shipping in each port. In addition, IJN land-based aircraft raided Darwin on a number of occasions in 1942 and long-range Seaplanes operating from bases in the Solomon Islands made a number of small attacks on towns in Northern Australia , including the bombing of Townsville and Cairns in July 1942. Sydney was also overflown on a third occasion by a submarine launched floatplane in 1943. SUBMARINES Japanese submarine operations in 1942 Early patrols The first Japanese submarines to enter Australian waters were three boats from the IJN's Submarine Squadron 6. In order to support the Japanese offensive in the Netherlands East Indies these boats laid minefields in the approaches to Darwin and the Torres Strait between 12 and 18 January 1942 . These mines did not sink or damage any Allied ships. Following the completion of their minelaying mission the three Japanese boats took station off Darwin where they performed picket duties. On 20 January 1942 the Australian Bathurst Class Corvette s HMAS ''Deloraine'' , HMAS ''Katoomba'' and HMAS ''Lithgow'' sank the submarine ''I-124'' near Darwin. This was the only full-sized submarine sunk by the Royal Australian Navy in Australian waters during World War II. Reconnaissance patrols Following the conquest of the western Pacific the Japanese mounted a number of reconnaissance patrols into Australian waters. The ''I-25'' conducted a reconnaissance patrol down the Australian east coast in February and March, with its aircraft flying missions over Sydney , Melbourne and Hobart . In addition, three submarines operated off Western Australia in March 1942, sinking the merchant ships ''Parigi'' and ''Siantar'' on 1 and 3 March respectively. In May 1942 the ''I-29'' began a further reconnaissance patrol of the east coast. This submarine made an unsuccessful attack on the Soviet freighter ''Wellen'' off Newcastle on 16 May . More significantly, the ''I-29'' also investigated whether Sydney was a suitable target for a Midget Submarine raid. The attack on Sydney and Newcastle See Also: Attack on Sydney Harbour An overflight by the ''I-29's'' floatplane on 23 May 1942 detected a large number of Allied warships in Sydney Harbour . Based on this evidence, it was decided to commit the Eastern Detachment of the Second Special Attack Flotilla (''I-21'', ''I-22'', ''I-24'' and ''I-27'') against Sydney. While each of these four submarines carried a midget submarine, one of the midgets was crippled by an explosion shortly after the force left Truk . On 31 May 1942 three midget submarines were launched from the Japanese force outside the Sydney Heads . Though two of the submarines (the ''M22'' and ''M24'') successfully penetrated the harbour defences, only the ''M24'' launched torpedoes against the Allied shipping in the harbour, firing two torpedoes at the United States Heavy Cruiser USS ''Chicago'' . These torpedoes, however, missed the ''Chicago'' sinking instead the converted ferry HMAS ''Kuttabul'' and damaging the Dutch submarine ''K IX'' . All of the Japanese midget submarines were lost during this operation (''M 22'' and ''M 27'' were destroyed by the Australian defenders and ''M 24'' disappeared after leaving the Harbour). Following this raid the Japanese submarine force operated off Sydney and Newcastle, sinking the coaster ''Iron Chieftain'' off Sydney on 3 June . On the night of 8 June ''I 24'' conducted a bombardment of the eastern suburbs of Sydney and ''I 21'' bombarded Newcastle. Neither bombardment caused any casualties or serious damage. The Japanese submarine force left Australian waters in late June 1942. Later operations in 1942 The Australian authorities enjoyed only a brief break in the submarine threat. In July 1942 a division of the Japanese Submarine Squadron 3 commenced operations off the East Coast, sinking five ships (including a small trawler) in July and August. In addition, ''I 32'' conducted operations off the southern coast of Australia while en-route from New Caledonia to Penang though the submarine was not successful in sinking any ships in this area. Following the withdrawal of this force in August no further submarine attacks were mounted against Australia until January 1943. While Japanese submarines sank 17 ships in Australian waters in 1942 (14 of which were near the Australian coast) the submarine offensive did not have a serious impact on the Allied war effort in the South West Pacific or the Australian economy. Nevertheless, by forcing ships sailing along the east coast to travel in convoy the Japanese submarines were successful in reducing the efficiency of Australian coastal shipping. This lower efficiency translated into between 7.5% and 22% less tonnage being transported between Australian ports each month (while no accurate figures are available, the estimated figure varied between months). These convoys were effective, however, with no ship traveling as part of a convoy being sunk in Australian waters during 1942. Japanese submarine operations in 1943 The bombardment of Port Gregory On 21 January 1943 , ''I 165'' left its base at Surabaya , in East Java , destined for Western Australia . The submarine, under Commander Tatenosuke Tosu, was tasked with creating a diversion at a vast distance from the Battle Of Guadalcanal , to assist the evacuation of Japanese land forces from Guadalcanal, following their defeat there. ''I 165'' surfaced off Port Gregory, Western Australia (about 65 km north of the port of Geraldton ) towards midnight on January 28 . The submarine's 100 mm deck guns were fired about 10 times at the town. The shells caused no injuries or fatalities and there was little or no damage to property. The German submarine offensive On and ''U 862'' . An additional boat, ''U 537'' , was added to this force at the end of September. Due to the difficulty of maintaining German submarines in Japanese bases the German force was not ready to depart from its bases in Penang and Jakarta until early October. By this time the Allies had intercepted and decoded German and Japanese messages describing the operation and were able to vector Allied submarines onto the German boats, with the Dutch submarine '' Zwaardvisch '' sinking ''U-168'' on 6 October and the USS ''Flounder'' sinking ''U 537'' on 10 November . Due to the priority accorded to the Australian operation ''U 196'' was ordered to proceed to Australia to replace ''U 168''. ''U 196'', however, disappeared without trace some time after departing from Penang on 30 November and its fate remains unknown. ''U 862'' The only surviving submarine, U-862 , departed Jakarta on 18 November 1944 and arrived off the south west tip of Western Australia on 26 November . The submarine had great difficulty finding targets as the Australian naval authorities, warned of U-862's approach, had directed shipping away from the routes normally used. U 862 unsuccessfully attacked the Greek freighter ''Ilissos'' off the South Australian coast on 9 December with bad weather spoiling both the attack and subsequent Australian efforts to locate the submarine. Following her attack on the ''Ilissos'' ''U 862'' continued along the Australian coastline and successfully attacked the US Liberty Ship ''Robert J. Walker'' off the south coast of New South Wales on 24 December 1944. Following this attack ''U 862'' departed for New Zealand . The Germans, however, did not find any worthwhile targets off New Zealand. While the captain of ''U 862'' planned to return to Australian waters in January 1945 with the objective of operating to the north of Sydney , in mid January the submarine was ordered to break off her voyage and return to Jakarta . On the return voyage the submarine sank another American Liberty Ship, ''Peter Silvester'', off the West Australian coast on 6 February 1945 . This was the last Allied ship to be sunk by enemy action in the Indian Ocean during the war. U-862 arrived in Jakarta in mid February 1945. No further Axis submarines entered Australian waters. While the Australian naval authorities were aware of the approach of the German strike force and were successful in sinking two of the four submarines dispatched, efforts to locate and sink ''U 862'' once she reached Australian waters were continually hampered by a lack of suitable ships and aircraft and a lack of personnel trained and experienced in anti-submarine warfare. As the southern coast of Australia was thousands of kilometres behind the active combat front in South-East Asia and had not been raided for several years it should not be considered surprising that few assets were available in this area in late 1944 and early 1945. Summary list of ships sunk by submarines in Australian waters The following table has been adapted from Appendix V of ''A Critical Vulnerability: The impact of the submarine threat on Australia's maritime defence 1915 - 1954'' by David Stevens. Stevens' appendix lists all known Axis submarine activity in Australian waters during WWII and includes data on unsuccessful submarine attacks on Allied shipping, attacks made in Papuan and Netherlands East Indies waters and Japanese patrols in Australian waters which did not result in any attacks on Allied ships. OTHER JAPANESE OPERATIONS IN 1944 The Japanese landing in Western Australia While Japan never intended to invade Australia during the war, a single reconnaissance landing was made on the Australian mainland. On 19 January 1944 a party of four Japanese Army officers landed from a small fishing boat at York Sound in the extremely remote and lightly populated Kimberley Region Of Western Australia . The party spent a day and night conducting a reconnaissance of the terrain in this remote area before returning to Kupang . While the purpose of this operation is unclear, it appears to have either been an attempt to determine whether the Allies were building large bases in Northern Australia or preparation for a Guerrilla Warfare campaign against the Australian mainland. The 1944 West Australian bombardment scare In February 1944 the Japanese Combined Fleet withdrew from its base at Truk and was divided between Palau and Singapore . The appearance of a powerful Japanese squadron at Singapore concerned the Australian Government as it was feared that this force could potentially conduct raids in the Indian Ocean and against Western Australia . In early March 1944 Allied intelligence reported that two battleships escorted by destroyers had left Singapore in the direction of Surabaya and an American submarine made radar contact with two large Japanese ships in the Lombok Strait . The Australian Chiefs of Staff Committee reported to the Government on 8 March that there was a possibility that these ships could have entered the Indian Ocean with Fremantle as their objective. In response to this report, all ground and naval defences at Fremantle were fully manned, all shipping was ordered to leave Fremantle and a large number of RAAF squadrons were re-deployed to bases in Western Australia . This alert, however, proved to be a false alarm. The Japanese ships detected in the Lombok Strait were actually the light cruisers ''Kinu'' and ''Oi'' which were covering the return of the surface raiding force discussed above from the central Indian Ocean. The alert was lifted at Fremantle on 13 March and the RAAF Squadrons began returning to their bases in eastern and northern Australia on 20 March . REFERENCES
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