Between February 1942 and November 1943, during the Pacific War of World War II, the Australian mainland, domestic airspace, offshore islands, and coastal shipping were attacked at least 111 times by aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. These attacks came in various forms; from large-scale raids by medium bombers, to torpedo attacks on ships, and to strafing runs by fighters.
The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in Darwin's harbour and the town's two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasion of Timor and Java during World War II.
RAAF Base Darwin is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located in the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory, Australia. The base shares its runway with Darwin International Airport, for civil aviation purposes. The heritage-listed RAAF Base Darwin is a forward operating base with year-round activity with approximately 400 personnel.
RAAF Base Tindal is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base and civil aviation airfield located 8 nautical miles east southeast of the town of Katherine, Northern Territory in Australia. The base is currently home to No. 75 Squadron and a number of non-flying units, and also hosts the civilian Katherine Tindal Airport. First constructed in 1942, it was refurbished in the late 1960s as a bare base capable of being utilised when required. It was opened as a permanently manned RAAF base in 1989.
No. 452 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air traffic control unit. It was established in 1941 as a fighter squadron, in accordance with Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme during World War II. The squadron flew Supermarine Spitfires for the entire war, initially over the United Kingdom and Nazi-occupied Europe. It was later based in Australia and the Netherlands East Indies, before being disbanded in 1945. It was re-raised in its current role in February 2011.
Mungalalu Truscott Airbase or Truscott-Mungalalu Airport, which during World War II was known as Truscott Airfield is today a commercial airport in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Parap Airfield was the civilian aerodrome of Darwin, Northern Territory, in Australia between 1919 and 1946. Located in the coastal suburb of Parap, it was also known as Darwin Aerodrome and Ross Smith Aerodrome.
Coomalie Creek Airfield was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airfield built in 1942 in what is now the locality of Coomalie Creek, Northern Territory, Australia during World War II. The airfield fell into disuse after the war ended. Since purchasing the surrounding land in 1977, private owners have restored the runway and rebuilt some wartime buildings to preserve the airfield's history. It was listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register in 2011, along with a nearby anti-aircraft battery that was used for airfield defence.
The Daly Waters Airfield, also RAAF Base Daly Waters, is a former commercial and sporadically-used military airfield located at Daly Waters, Northern Territory, Australia. As an airfield on Australia's earliest international routes, Daly Waters was used throughout the 1920s and 1930s as a stop over for commercial airlines operating on the domestic route to Western Australia and international carriers flying from Australia into south-east Asia via Darwin. During World War II, the airbase was used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the United States Army Air Force to undertake combat operations against the Japanese in New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies and the islands to Australia's north. Following the war, the airbase was used commercially again up until the 1970s when the airfield was sporadically-used by the RAAF.
Fenton Airfield was a World War II military airfield in the Northern Territory of Australia located at Tipperary Station in what is now the locality of Douglas-Daly and named after flight lieutenant Clyde Fenton.
Livingstone Airfield was an airfield at what is now Livingstone, Northern Territory, Australia during World War II.
Pell Airfield was an airfield in the Northern Territory of Australia located southeast of Batchelor Airfield near the Stuart Highway in what is now the locality of Adelaide River and which was in use during World War II.
MacDonald Airfield was an airfield built alongside the former northern road, west of Stuart Highway, north of Pine Creek, Northern Territory, Australia during World War II.
No. 549 Squadron RAF was a fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) operating in Australia from 1943 to 1945.
Long Airfield was a World War II military airfield located in the locality of Douglas-Daly, Northern Territory, Australia.
Hughes Airfield is an airfield in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Hughes. It was constructed during World War II for military use. The airfield now functions as a base for aerial firefighting aircraft to protect the outer rural suburbs of Darwin.
Manbulloo Airfield was a World War II airfield built at Manbulloo Station, near Katherine, Northern Territory.
No. 1 Wing was an Australian Flying Corps (AFC) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing active during World War I and World War II. The wing was established on 1 September 1917 as the 1st Training Wing and commanded the AFC's pilot training squadrons in England until April 1919, when it was disbanded. It was reformed on 7 October 1942 as a fighter unit comprising two Australian and one British flying squadrons equipped with Supermarine Spitfire aircraft, and a mobile fighter sector headquarters. The wing provided air defence to Darwin and several other key Allied bases in northern Australia until the end of the war, and was again disbanded in October 1945.
Sattler Airfield is an abandoned airfield in the Northern Territory of Australia that was constructed 32 km (20 mi) to the south of Darwin during World War II in what is now the locality of Bees Creek. It was named after Flight Lieutenant Geoffery Sattler, the commander of a Lockheed Hudson A16-7, who died on 12 January 1942 at Keema Bay, North Celebes with the rest of his crew. On 2 April 1942, the then new Sattler RAAF airfield was bombed by the Japanese Imperial Forces. There was minimal damage. There were no Allied planes at the base as it was still under construction.
North-Western Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Its wartime sphere of operations included the Northern Territory, adjacent portions of Queensland and Western Australia, and the Dutch East Indies. The command was formed in January 1942, following the outbreak of the Pacific War, from the western part of Northern Area Command, which had covered all of northern Australia and Papua. Headquartered at Darwin, North-Western Area Command was initially responsible for air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries.
