Note: Baz Luhrman's movie “Australia” is due to be released in Australia next week. So I thought I would tell this particular family story before its' release and then see if any part of the movie relates to my/our father’ s small part. I saw just yesterday that this epic takes place partly in Darwin during the Japanese bombing and I think our story of our father “who art in Heaven” is a little ripper! I cannot attest to the total accuracy of which naval ships were where, although I am endeavouring to follow up to get to the real facts. Please feel free to comment and correct - however what I do know for sure, is that the "little Swan" was there.

The Japanese air raid on Darwin occurred on the 19th February 1942,and came 12 days after the fall of Singapore on 7th February 1942; it also came close on the heels of the bombing of Pearl Harbour only three months before - 243 people were killed and over 300 wounded as a result of 188 Japanese planes dropping over 300 bombs. Before the raid there were 44 ships in the harbour; after the raid 36 remained.

Prior to the bombing of Darwin by Japanese aircraft my father, Surgeon Lt. Commander L. A. Hardy had been serving on board the HMAS Swan - a minesweeper affectionately known as the little Swan; which now in company of some 44 ships including two corvettes the HMAS Deloraine and the HMAS Katoomba; USS Peary - a United States Navy destroyer; USAT Meigs - a large US Army Troop transport ship; two Australian passenger ships which were being used as merchant troop transports these being the MV Neptuna and SS Zealandia; HMAS Mavie - a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat; AA Mauna Loa - a 5,436-ton US merchant freighter; British Motorist - a UK-registered merchant refuelling oiler; Kelat - a 1,849-ton coal storage hulk; were moored in the Darwin Harbour. Among the ships damaged by the bombing but not destroyed was a hospital ship, AHS Manunda and HMAS Vigilant which was at this time undertaking rescue work.

There had been intense Japanese bombing out at sea which when coupled with an extremely bad storm and rough weather had resulted in these and other ships seeking shelter.

My father had been out at sea serving on various war ships for quite some time, and he could easily recoqnise Japanese aircraft, the colours they flew, the types of planes flown etc. And so in February 1942 when the rough weather had caused a sailor to fall and do serious damage to his leg my father found himself temporarily in the Darwin Hospital; just in time for further bombing by the Japanese.

The choppy seas and unsafe conditions onboard ship had caused my father to make the decision to air lift his patient off the ship and take him to dry land to perform this operation - an operation he had been unable to perform in his own ship’s medical facilities. ( 1.see below)

My father had arranged admission for his patient to the Darwin Hospital plus the transport to take them both there and his patient was duly admitted to the designated naval ward. X-rays were taken of the offending leg prior to surgery commencing; and it was while my father was standing at a window looking up into the sunlight checking out the x-rays for fractures and breakages that he saw the Japanese war planes coming in to bomb Darwin. He had seen these planes so often it was instant recognition.

For some peculiar reason the city alert had not been sounded across Darwin, although some hours earlier a coast watcher on Melville Island and then a catholic priest from a neighbouring Bathurst island had sent warning messages through although these were not acted upon. The mix up it seems was due to the fact that two kitty hawks had flown out of Darwin at around this same time; and so the large flying formations seen to be bearing down on Darwin were taken by the air craft surveillance team to be one and the same flight group . Therefore no one was prepared for what followed. Important time was lost, and Darwin lost any time it may have had to to prepare for the Japanese onslaught.

As my father's former official nurse Joy Anderson, who at the time was a nursing member of staff at the Darwin Hospital (later went on to become Matron of this hospital) told us that he immediately sounded the alert for the hospital to be cleared.The heavy bombing, the evacuations, and people fleeing for their lives to safety. So the alert was given, sirens rang and the medical and hospital staff bravely acted quickly to move patients out of range of the bombers. My father remained at the hospital and subsequently rendered medical help where and when it was required. Quite a number of patients who could walk, run or be assisted left the hospital and sought shelter on the headland where they stayed until it was safe to return to the hospital.

Meanwhile as he was busy giving medical assistance the Japanese bombers struck and hit some 10 ships (see 3 & 4 below) sinking and damaging others lying at anchor in the Harbour - before heading inland to inflict further damage to other buildings including the Darwin Hospital. Some ships were able to head back out to sea - although by this time huge damage had been inflicted and while some were limping quite badly, in reality all of them were endeavouring to put a safe distance between themselves and the supply ship British Motorist, a UK-registered merchant refuelling oiler. Any interaction caused by the bombing of this refueller ship and other ships moored in the harbour would certainly resulted in one almighty blow. One resulting explosion from the Japanese bombing was that of the SS Neptuna which was hit by depth charges and exploded at Stokes Hill Wharf. The HMAS Deloraine which was moored close by to the SS Neptuna managed to escape major damage. (see 3. see below for facts and figures from wikipedia.)

The HMAS Swan was quite badly damaged in this interaction and her Lt. Commander Peter Hodges guided her around the coast to Cairns to have a refit carried out. (see 2 )

Further Information: In Douglas Lockwood’s book “Australia’s Pearl Harbour” Darwin 1942 my father is mentioned as being at the hospital at this time, but not obviously as a permanent member of staff. Mr. Lockwood did not specify the part played by him but later when he met my brother at a naval function he said that yes – although he had heard this story before he had not known to whom he should attribute these actions so he hadn’t made mention in his book. He said that he wished he had known prior to publication of this book.

copyright a.a.gallagher 2/12/2008

For further tales of my father and his naval exploits .....please links below

http://hubpages.com/hub/My-Dad---The-Hero

http://hubpages.com/hub/WWII---Somewhere-In-The-Pacific

Notes:

1. In "Australia" Pearl harbour Darwin 1942" by Douglas Lockwood the writer/journalist refers to the first operation after the bombing as being a "leg amputation"; so whether this is our sailor with the "broken leg" I do not know. Ref Sgn LT. Cmdr. L.A.Hardy page 129.

2.For an instance of life's synchronicity, and many years after we left Melbourne to live in Canberra; my eldest brother (son of Surgeon Lt. Commander L.A.Hardy) went on to marry the eldest daughter of his father's ships' captain (daugher of Lt. Commander Peter Hodges). It was Cmdr. Peter Hodges who some time later told my brother about the effort involved in getting the badly damaged HMAS Swan (affectionately known then as the "little Swan") safely out of range of the bombing and around the coast to Cairns for her refit so that she could engage in wartime activities once more.

3. Taken From Wikipedia 2/12/08: which does not claim to be 100% correct in all it's detail - and as you can see below from the information on offer the number of ships actually sunk in Darwin Harbour differs..... Date 19 February 1942 Location Darwin, Australia Result being a Decisive Japanese victory. Belligerents Australia and The United States versus Empire of Japan Strength 30 planes 242 ;Casualties and losses 251 killed; 23 planes destroyed; 10 ships sunk; one aircrew confirmed killed; several missing in action; six airmen taken prisoner; six Japanese aircraft confirmed destroyed, four probably destroyed

4.Taken From Wikipedia 2/12/08: which does not claim to be 100% correct in all detail the following eight 8 ships were sunk in Darwin Harbour:

• USS Peary, a United States Navy destroyer
• USAT Meigs, a large US Army Troop transport ship
• Two Australian passenger ships, being used as merchant troop transports were the:the MV Neptuna and SS Zealandia.
• HMAS Mavie, a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat.
• AA Mauna Loa, a 5,436-ton US merchant freighter
• British Motorist, a UK-registered merchant refuelling oiler
• Kelat, a 1,849-ton coal storage hulk
• Among the ships damaged but not destroyed was a hospital ship, AHS Manunda.

5.From the Australian Navy Archives:

The Story of The Swan.

Type: Grimsby Class Sloop Laid down 1 May 1935

Launched::21 January 1937

Builder: Cockatoo Island, Sydney, Australia

Displacement: 1,060 tons (standard) 1,500 tons (full load)

Length: 266 feet81.077 m 8,107.68 cm 0.0811 km 0.0504 mi 3,192

in Beam: 36 feet10.973 m 1,097.28 cm 0.011 km 0.00682 mi 432

in Draught: 10 feet3.048 m 304.8 cm 0.00305 km 0.00189 mi 120 in Armament :

• Original
• • 3 x 4-inch guns
  • 4 x 3-pounder guns
• Training ship
  • 1 x 4-inch guns
  • 1 x 40mm anti-aircraft guns

Main Machinery

• Parsons geared turbines, twin screws
• Horsepower 2,000 Speed 16½ knots

In December 1941, following the outbreak of war in the Pacific, Swan (II) was engaged in sweeping operations off Port Moresby in New Guinea and as a convoy escort. In January 1942 she proceeded to Amboina in the Moluccas to assist the civilian evacuation. There she experienced her first enemy attack when she was targeted by Japanese bombers. She escaped undamaged in spite of several near misses.

In February 1942 Swan (II) was based at Darwin for anti-submarine patrols and on escort duties. On 15 February she departed Darwin as part of the escort of a convoy of four transports carrying troops for the reinforcement of Allied forces in Timor. Some 300 miles west of Darwin, however, the convoy and escorting warships were attacked by a force of forty-five Japanese aircraft and though no serious damage resulted, all ships were ordered to return to Darwin.

On 19 February 1942 Swan (II) was at Darwin when the port was attacked by a large force of aircraft flown from the Japanese aircraft carriers AKAGI, KAGA, SORYU and HIRYU, operating in the Timor Sea under the command of Vice Admiral Nagumo. This was the first and most severe air raid on Australian soil. Fortunately Swan (II) was able to get under way without being hit but she experienced seven attacks and several near misses damaged her, killed three of her complement and wounded nineteen others. The following day she proceeded to Brisbane for repairs and a general refit.

Further Notes As Taken From Wikipedia 2/12/08

1. Lockwood, Douglas (1992 (reprint)). Australia's Pearl Harbour. Darwin 1942.. Melbourne: Penguin Books. pp.Pages xiii and 5. ISBN 10987654321. Ref Sgn Lt. Cmdr. L.A.Hardy page 129.
2. Tom Hall Darwin 1942 Australia's Darkest Hour, pages 104–105, Methuen 1980.
3. Lockwood, op. cit., p. 23.
4. "Japanese Air Raids On Darwin" cites this to the book Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, referenced below.
5. Lockwood, op. cit., p. 84.
6. Tom Lewis (2003). A War at Home: A comprehensive guide to the first Japanese attacks on Darwin. Tall Stories, Darwin. pp. 63–71.
7. Mauna Loa was formerly known as the West Conob, a steel hulled, single propellor ship, built in 1919 at San Pedro, California and owned by the Matson Navigation Line. (Dictionary of Amercian Naval Fighting Ships, "West Conob" Access date: September 14, 2007.)
8. British Motorist was 145 m (440 ft) in length. It was refuelling the Peary at the time of the attack. (Darwin Dive Centre, 2007, WWII Wrecks" Access date: September 14, 2007.)
9. Kelat was built in Stockton, England in 1881, as an iron-hulled sailing ship. Formerly the Norwegian merchant ship SV Hovding. (NT, Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, 2007, "Wreck of the Kelat". Access date: September 14, 2007.
10. Smith, A.E. (May 1992). Three Minutes of Time — the torpedoing of the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur (Second Printing ed.).Miami: Tasman Press.pp.p.19. ISBN 0-646-07631-0.

14 February 1942 - 12 November 1943

Darwin, the largest population centre in northern Australia, was considered a vital asset in Australia's defences against an increasingly aggressive Japanese Empire in the 1930s. Its port and airfield facilities were developed, coastal defence batteries constructed and its garrison steadily enlarged. The outbreak of war in the Pacific resulted in the rapid enlargement of the military presence in Darwin and it was used as a base from which to deploy forces for the defence of the Dutch East Indies. In January and February these forces were overwhelmed by Japanese landings, usually preceded by heavy air attacks. On 19 February 1942 Darwin itself was bombed. Japanese fighters and bombers attacked the port and shipping in the harbour twice during the day, killing 252 Allied service personnel and civilians. On 3 March Broome, in Western Australia, was strafed. In succeeding months air attacks were made on many towns in northern Australia including Wyndham, Port Hedland and Derby in Western Australia, Darwin and Katherine in the Northern Territory, Townsville and Mossman in Queensland, and Horn Island in the Torres Strait. Despite popular fears these raids were not the precursor to an invasion but they did serve to interrupt the use of Darwin's port facilities. The raids also tied up anti aircraft defences and air force units that would have otherwise been sent to more forward areas. The Japanese air raids on Darwin on 19 February involved, collectively, over 260 enemy aircraft. Subsequent raids in April, June, July and November 1942, and March 1943 where carried out with forces of 30 to 40 fighters and bombers. Between the large raids there were smaller operations by groups of under a dozen Japanese aircraft. Most of the raids occurred in daylight but there were some small scale night attacks. The 64th, and last, air raid on Darwin occurred on 12 November 1943. In total there were 97 air attacks on northern Australia and enemy air reconnaissance over the region continued through much of 1944.

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