We became the target of German U Boat operations off the Australian Coast, however becaue of U Boat losses in the Pacific it never fully came about and all U Boats in our area were recalled. One was sunk by a Dutch submarine operating out of Fremantle, WA. Another was recalled to Penang Jap sub pens.
Jap subs were still active around Australia, besides the Jap Mini Sub attack on Sydney Harbour, a surfaced Jap sub shelled Port Gregory (just south of Kalbarri) WA, but only destroyed a fish factory with no loss of life. Another Jap sub was sighted off Fremantle. The allied Naval base at Garden Island, WA had it's beaches patrolled by soldiers of an Australian Army unit. Two Australian soldiers were found on the beach with their throats cut, suspected by enemy commando's recon from an enemy sub.
With the Jap bombings of Darwin (64 bombing raids) and bombings of Broome and Derby etc, if the war had not turned due to the Yanks entering the war after Pearl Harbour we would more than likely been invaded and occupied IMHO, despite our government denying this was on the cards.
-- Edited by Weevil on Monday 7th of January 2019 04:10:39 PM
yogi said
07:05 PM Jan 7, 2019
so ?
Goldfinger said
07:45 PM Jan 7, 2019
G'day Vic, great to hear from you again mate.....I have copy's of Japanese maps captured at Balakpapan 1945, that depict the bottom half of Australia more accurately than our own maps of
that period...grid ref's every Town/Inlet/ Island all in Japanese characters....they knew everything about us had they been able to make a stronghold in Australia..my late father was at
Balakpapan and as a Signaller went ashore minus hours to invasion time....a precarious position for signallers to hit the beach before still occupied by the Japs and before shelling
commenced.. ....remember when we considered the Brisbane line?....to try and hold them at that point?...what madness.....the US/Coral Sea Battles turned the tide for us in our darkest hour...
How's you health holding up mate?....Hoo Roo
rockylizard said
07:48 PM Jan 7, 2019
Gday...
Vic, given war time 'censorship' "for our own good" there was considerable 'enemy' activity around our coastline that was never publicised then or even post-war.
Protection of Coastal Shipping
In 1917 German raiders laid mines in Bass Strait (near Cape Howe) and recognising its strategic importance, returned to the area in 1940.
Between June 1942 and June 1943 the 13 Japanese submarines operating off the east coast of Australia claimed 22 Allied ships, of which twelve were Australian owned, with the loss of 194 lives. These submarines were capable of carrying a midget submarine or a floatplane.
These aircraft were launched at sea using a catapult and carried out surveillance flights over Australia. Wartime censorship meant that these events were not reported.
Two ships were sunk off Gabo Island. The freighter Iron Crown was the only vessel torpedoed by a submarine in Victorian waters (70 km SW of Gabo Island) with a loss of 38 lives. A memorial is located near the RSL Cenotaph in the Mallacoota town centre.
A RAAF Landing Ground was located adjacent to the Operations Bunker. This extended the range of aircraft engaged in coastal reconnaissance by providing staging facilities for refuelling, re-arming and maintenance.
The aerodrome was used initially by Avro Anson aircraft, and later by Beaufort aircraft after a third runway was built.
A Seaplane Depot was also located on the lake at Mallacoota. No 9 SQD Detachment Operations was based at Mirrabooka House.
Thanks Rocky, I read somewhere about one of the Jap surveillance aircraft from a sub flying over Melbourne, nobody took any notice as they thought it was impossible for one to be there. Yes, a lot was covered up from the general population during and post war.
Weevil said
01:38 AM Jan 8, 2019
Goldfinger wrote:
G'day Vic, great to hear from you again mate.....I have copy's of Japanese maps captured at Balakpapan 1945, that depict the bottom half of Australia more accurately than our own maps of
that period...grid ref's every Town/Inlet/ Island all in Japanese characters....they knew everything about us had they been able to make a stronghold in Australia..my late father was at
Balakpapan and as a Signaller went ashore minus hours to invasion time....a precarious position for signallers to hit the beach before still occupied by the Japs and before shelling
commenced.. ....remember when we considered the Brisbane line?....to try and hold them at that point?...what madness.....the US/Coral Sea Battles turned the tide for us in our darkest hour...
You too Goldfinger, interesting stuff, and thank goodness for the Yanks entering the war, saved Britain also among others. Holding my own, hope you are well also. Vic
How's you health holding up mate?....Hoo Roo
Weevil said
01:40 AM Jan 8, 2019
yogi wrote:
so ?
So this is "I digress", don't know what you are on about, some of us are interested in this stuff.
The Belmont Bear said
09:48 AM Jan 8, 2019
Weevil wrote:
We became the target of German U Boat operations off the Australian Coast, however becaue of U Boat losses in the Pacific it never fully came about and all U Boats in our area were recalled. One was sunk by a Dutch submarine operating out of Fremantle, WA. Another was recalled to Penang Jap sub pens.
Jap subs were still active around Australia, besides the Jap Mini Sub attack on Sydney Harbour, a surfaced Jap sub shelled Port Gregory (just south of Kalbarri) WA, but only destroyed a fish factory with no loss of life. Another Jap sub was sighted off Fremantle. The allied Naval base at Garden Island, WA had it's beaches patrolled by soldiers of an Australian Army unit. Two Australian soldiers were found on the beach with their throats cut, suspected by enemy commando's recon from an enemy sub.
With the Jap bombings of Darwin (64 bombing raids) and bombings of Broome and Derby etc, if the war had not turned due to the Yanks entering the war after Pearl Harbour we would more than likely been invaded and occupied IMHO, despite our government denying this was on the cards.
-- Edited by Weevil on Monday 7th of January 2019 04:10:39 PM
One of the best known attacks by a Japanese submarine on Australia during WW2 (other than Sydney harbour) was on Newcastle on 8 June 1942 which was then home to BHPs steelworks & critical to the Australian war effort. The I-21 fired 34 times at the city including 8 illumination shells luckily only one of them caused any real damage which was to a local residence in Newcastle's east end. Apparently this has been the only time that an Australian fort has engaged an enemy as the gun battery located at Fort Scratchely opened up and fired 4 rounds at them before they took off. Seaplanes from Jap subs flew over both Newcastle and Sydney looking for possible shipping targets in the harbours and there were also a few attacks reported by submarines on shipping off the coast near both of these cities..
Cheers
BB
moamajohn said
10:17 AM Jan 8, 2019
Hi Goldfinger. My dad was also at Balakpapan ,he was a commando and he was a radio operator .He and an offsider would sneak out to a vantage point to observe aircraft and shipping of the enemy.I still have his army issue binoculars that have all the markings etc to radio back the info . His diary was most detailed of his exploits .However not long before he died the war came bck to haunt him and sadly he burnt the diary .Lest we forget ! Cheers mate .
Goldfinger said
11:37 AM Jan 8, 2019
G'day Westy, what Commando Unit was your late Dad with? My close mate Trevor Ball/Lismore is Military Historian for Australian Commando Units ..his father, Captain Ball was 2/6th
Commandos at Balakpapan and was awarded the Military Cross for action there July 1945....my late Uncle was 2/12th Commandos at Labuan/Borneo....my late father did 37 years with Australian Infantry and was
Command Sar Major, Central Command Keswick SA, during the Vietnam years....I have his 7th Divvy papers, 2/2nd, that show he got 'Distinction' at School of Marconi prior to departing for
Balakpapan as Signaller...previously 7th Divvy Middle East, Milne Bay etc etc..... sadly, sounds like your Dad passed the same way as my father....and before their time....Hoo Roo
Weevil said
03:18 PM Jan 8, 2019
The Belmont Bear wrote:
Weevil wrote:
We became the target of German U Boat operations off the Australian Coast, however becaue of U Boat losses in the Pacific it never fully came about and all U Boats in our area were recalled. One was sunk by a Dutch submarine operating out of Fremantle, WA. Another was recalled to Penang Jap sub pens.
Jap subs were still active around Australia, besides the Jap Mini Sub attack on Sydney Harbour, a surfaced Jap sub shelled Port Gregory (just south of Kalbarri) WA, but only destroyed a fish factory with no loss of life. Another Jap sub was sighted off Fremantle. The allied Naval base at Garden Island, WA had it's beaches patrolled by soldiers of an Australian Army unit. Two Australian soldiers were found on the beach with their throats cut, suspected by enemy commando's recon from an enemy sub.
With the Jap bombings of Darwin (64 bombing raids) and bombings of Broome and Derby etc, if the war had not turned due to the Yanks entering the war after Pearl Harbour we would more than likely been invaded and occupied IMHO, despite our government denying this was on the cards.
-- Edited by Weevil on Monday 7th of January 2019 04:10:39 PM
One of the best known attacks by a Japanese submarine on Australia during WW2 (other than Sydney harbour) was on Newcastle on 8 June 1942 which was then home to BHPs steelworks & critical to the Australian war effort. The I-21 fired 34 times at the city including 8 illumination shells luckily only one of them caused any real damage which was to a local residence in Newcastle's east end. Apparently this has been the only time that an Australian fort has engaged an enemy as the gun battery located at Fort Scratchely opened up and fired 4 rounds at them before they took off. Seaplanes from Jap subs flew over both Newcastle and Sydney looking for possible shipping targets in the harbours and there were also a few attacks reported by submarines on shipping off the coast near both of these cities..
Cheers
BB
Thanks BB, interesting stuff. How lucky we were the war turned against the Japs (and previously the Germans) and their supply lines, otherwise things could have been a lot different.
And so what? These are reminders of Oz wartime history. They were posted in the correct forum. The "I digress" forum is for discussing campfire type discussions. What's your problem? If you don't like the subject then just but out.
We became the target of German U Boat operations off the Australian Coast, however becaue of U Boat losses in the Pacific it never fully came about and all U Boats in our area were recalled. One was sunk by a Dutch submarine operating out of Fremantle, WA. Another was recalled to Penang Jap sub pens.
See: http://www.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/german-u-boat-operations-australian-waters
Jap subs were still active around Australia, besides the Jap Mini Sub attack on Sydney Harbour, a surfaced Jap sub shelled Port Gregory (just south of Kalbarri) WA, but only destroyed a fish factory with no loss of life. Another Jap sub was sighted off Fremantle. The allied Naval base at Garden Island, WA had it's beaches patrolled by soldiers of an Australian Army unit. Two Australian soldiers were found on the beach with their throats cut, suspected by enemy commando's recon from an enemy sub.
With the Jap bombings of Darwin (64 bombing raids) and bombings of Broome and Derby etc, if the war had not turned due to the Yanks entering the war after Pearl Harbour we would more than likely been invaded and occupied IMHO, despite our government denying this was on the cards.
-- Edited by Weevil on Monday 7th of January 2019 04:10:39 PM
so ?
that period...grid ref's every Town/Inlet/ Island all in Japanese characters....they knew everything about us had they been able to make a stronghold in Australia..my late father was at
Balakpapan and as a Signaller went ashore minus hours to invasion time....a precarious position for signallers to hit the beach before still occupied by the Japs and before shelling
commenced.. ....remember when we considered the Brisbane line?....to try and hold them at that point?...what madness.....the US/Coral Sea Battles turned the tide for us in our darkest hour...
How's you health holding up mate?....Hoo Roo
Gday...
Vic, given war time 'censorship' "for our own good" there was considerable 'enemy' activity around our coastline that was never publicised then or even post-war.
Protection of Coastal Shipping
In 1917 German raiders laid mines in Bass Strait (near Cape Howe) and recognising its strategic importance, returned to the area in 1940.
Between June 1942 and June 1943 the 13 Japanese submarines operating off the east coast of Australia claimed 22 Allied ships, of which twelve were Australian owned, with the loss of 194 lives. These submarines were capable of carrying a midget submarine or a floatplane.
These aircraft were launched at sea using a catapult and carried out surveillance flights over Australia. Wartime censorship meant that these events were not reported.
Two ships were sunk off Gabo Island. The freighter Iron Crown was the only vessel torpedoed by a submarine in Victorian waters (70 km SW of Gabo Island) with a loss of 38 lives. A memorial is located near the RSL Cenotaph in the Mallacoota town centre.
A RAAF Landing Ground was located adjacent to the Operations Bunker. This extended the range of aircraft engaged in coastal reconnaissance by providing staging facilities for refuelling, re-arming and maintenance.
The aerodrome was used initially by Avro Anson aircraft, and later by Beaufort aircraft after a third runway was built.
A Seaplane Depot was also located on the lake at Mallacoota. No 9 SQD Detachment Operations was based at Mirrabooka House.
https://www.mallacootabunker.com.au/about-the-bunker
cheers - John
And Queenscliff had a fort to protect us from the Russians. www.traveller.com.au/queenscliff-5zm4
Thanks Rocky, I read somewhere about one of the Jap surveillance aircraft from a sub flying over Melbourne, nobody took any notice as they thought it was impossible for one to be there. Yes, a lot was covered up from the general population during and post war.
So this is "I digress", don't know what you are on about, some of us are interested in this stuff.
One of the best known attacks by a Japanese submarine on Australia during WW2 (other than Sydney harbour) was on Newcastle on 8 June 1942 which was then home to BHPs steelworks & critical to the Australian war effort. The I-21 fired 34 times at the city including 8 illumination shells luckily only one of them caused any real damage which was to a local residence in Newcastle's east end. Apparently this has been the only time that an Australian fort has engaged an enemy as the gun battery located at Fort Scratchely opened up and fired 4 rounds at them before they took off. Seaplanes from Jap subs flew over both Newcastle and Sydney looking for possible shipping targets in the harbours and there were also a few attacks reported by submarines on shipping off the coast near both of these cities..
Cheers
BB
Commandos at Balakpapan and was awarded the Military Cross for action there July 1945....my late Uncle was 2/12th Commandos at Labuan/Borneo....my late father did 37 years with Australian Infantry and was
Command Sar Major, Central Command Keswick SA, during the Vietnam years....I have his 7th Divvy papers, 2/2nd, that show he got 'Distinction' at School of Marconi prior to departing for
Balakpapan as Signaller...previously 7th Divvy Middle East, Milne Bay etc etc..... sadly, sounds like your Dad passed the same way as my father....and before their time....Hoo Roo
Thanks BB, interesting stuff. How lucky we were the war turned against the Japs (and previously the Germans) and their supply lines, otherwise things could have been a lot different.
Gday...
Vic - it mighta ended up like this -
Cheers - John
Gday...
Ain't technology great ...
https://www.google.com/search?q=translate+english+to+japanese&oq=translate+english+to+japanese&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j69i60l2j69i65j69i60.4080j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Ya can't trust none of em.
Cheers - John
And so what? These are reminders of Oz wartime history. They were posted in the correct forum. The "I digress" forum is for discussing campfire type discussions. What's your problem? If you don't like the subject then just but out.
Thanks for the history lesson from you blokes.
Yes, we were very lucky it didn't John