Attack on Sydney Harbour: June 1942
On the night of 31 May 1942, Sydney Harbour was attacked by midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy. A vessel of the Royal Australian Navy was torpedoed, and 21 sailors died. The midget submarines were hunted down, and two sunk, while another was found in more recent times.
War had already come to northern Australia, and now the southern cities were to be made bitterly aware the world-wide conflict had reached them. The midget submarine attack was only the beginning: gun strikes were made against land targets, and more enemy submarines came south, attacking freighters up and down the continent’s eastern coast.
This accounting of the night, by one of Australia’s leading military historians who has served in warfare himself, reveals new details of the fight, and sets some of the previous stories right. Illustrated with not only photos, the book carries extensive plans of the midget submarines, and details of the curious stories following the war, including the discovery of the third midget submarine, sunk off the NSW coast. Most importantly, it also argues that two senior naval officers bear most of the responsibility for the enemy’s successes, while shamefully, those naval men who fought valiantly on the night have been neglected in being honoured for their actions.
