Axis naval activity in Australian waters

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Ships, ports and other targets in Australian waters and on shore were attacked by German and Japanese raiding ships and submarines throughout World War II.

Among the best-known attacks are the sinking of HMAS Sydney by the German raider HSK Kormoran in November 1941, the attack on Darwin in February 1942 and the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. In addition, many Allied merchant ships were torpedoed or sunk by naval mines planted in shipping lanes off the Australian coast. 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 Pacific Ocean to 80 degrees east in the Indian Ocean and from north to south it stretched from the Equator to the Antarctic. A map of the Australia Station is available between [pages 52 and 53] of the first volume of the Official History of the RAN in World War II.

This entry will not discuss Japanese operations in New Guinean waters as these operations would be better covered in the New Guinea Campaign entry.

Australian defences

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 number of heavier warships, such as light cruisers and armed merchant cruisers, for protection against surface raiders.

The naval forces assigned to the Australia Station were considerably increased 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. By the end of the war the RAN had escorted over 1,100 convoys along the Australian coastline.[RAN in the Second World War]. Seapower Centre - Australia. Accessed 18 June 2006. 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.

In addition to the naval and air forces assigned to protect shipping in Australian Waters, fixed defences were constructed to protect the major Australian ports. The Australian Army was responsible for developing and manning coastal defences to protect ports from attacks by enemy surface raiders. These defences commonly consisted of a number of fixed guns defended by anti-aircraft guns and infantry. The Royal Australian Navy was responsible for developing and manning harbour defences in many major ports. These defences consisted of fixed-anti submarine booms and mines supported by small patrol craft.

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.

1940

While German surface raiders operated in the western Indian Ocean in 1939 and early 1940 they did not enter Australian waters until the second half of 1940.

Orion

The German surface raider HSK Orion was the first Axis warship to enter Australian waters during World War II. After operating off the northern tip of New Zealand and the South Pacific, the Orion entered Australian waters in the Coral Sea in August 1940 and closed to within 120 miles north-east of Brisbane on 11 August.G. Herman Gill (1957). [Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Volume I – Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942]. Australian War Memorial, Canberra. Page 261. Following this the Orion operated off New Caledonia before sailing south into the Tasman Sea, sinking the merchant ship Notou south-west of Noumea on 16 August and the British merchant ship Turakina in the Tasman Sea four days later. Following this the Orion sailed west, passing south of Tasmania, and operated without success in the Great Australian Bight in early September. While the Orion laid four dummy mines off Albany, Western Australia on 2 September she departed to the south-west after being spotted by an Australian aircraft the next day. After unsuccessfully patrolling in the Southern Ocean the Orion sailed for the Marshall Islands to refuel, arriving there on 10 October.Gill (1957). Page 262.

Pinguin

The HSK Pinguin was the next raider to enter Australian waters. The Pinguin entered the Indian Ocean from the South Atlantic in August 1940 and arrived off Western Australia in October. The Pinguin captured the Norwegian tanker Storstad off North West Cape on 7 October and proceeded east with the captured ship. The Pinguin laid mines between Sydney and Newcastle on 28 October. The Storstad laid mines off the Victorian coast on the nights of 29-31 October and the Pinguin laid further mines off Adelaide in early November. Following this the ships sailed west for the Indian Ocean. The two ships were not detected during their operations off the eastern and southern coasts, and the mines laid by the Storstad sank two ships off Wilson's Promontory in early November. The mines laid off Sydney by the Pinguin sank one ship and a merchant ship was damaged after striking a mine off Adelaide. The Pinguin added to her tally of successes in Australian waters by sinking three merchant ships in the Indian Ocean during November.Gill (1957). Pages 270-275.

The raids on Nauru

On 7 December 1940 the German raiders Orion and Komet arrived off the Australian protectorate of Nauru. During the next 48 hours the two ships sank four merchant ships off the undefended island.Gill (1957). Pages 276-279.. Heavily loaded with survivors from their victims the two ships departed for Emirau where they unloaded their prisoners. After an unsuccessful attempt to lay mines off Rabaul on 24 December the Komet made a second attack on Nauru on 27 December, shelling the island's dock facilities.Gill (1957). Page 281. This attack was the last Axis naval attack in Australian waters until November 1941.Gill (1957). Page 410.

1941

Following the raids on Nauru the Komet and Orion sailed for the Indian Ocean, passing through the Southern Ocean well to the south of Australia in February and March 1941 respectively. The Komet re-entered the Australia station in April en-route to New Zealand and the HSK Atlantis sailed east through the southern extreme of the Australia Station in August.Gill (1957). Pages 446-447. The German raider HSK Kormoran was the only Axis ship to actually conduct attacks in Australian waters during 1941. There is no evidence to support claims that a Japanese submarine participated in the sinking of the HMAS Sydney.Tom Frame (1993). HMAS Sydney. Loss and Controversy. Hodder & Stoughton, Sydney. Page 177.

Kormoran

On 19 November 1941 the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney encountered the disguised German raider HSK Kormoran off the coast of Western Australia approximately 150 miles south west of Carnarvon. The Sydney intercepted the Kormoran and demanded that she prove her assumed identity as the Dutch freighter Straat Malakka. In doing this, however, the Sydney’s commander, Captain Joseph Burnett, brought his ship within an unsafe distance of the Kormoran. As a result, when the Kormoran was unable to prove her identity, and thus avoid a battle she had little hope of surviving, the raider was able to use all her weaponry. In the resulting battle the Kormoran and Sydney were both crippled, with the Sydney sinking with the loss of all her 645 crew and over 70 of the Kormoran's crew being either killed in the battle or dieing before being rescued by passing ships.[The action between HMAS Sydney and the auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, 19 November 1941], Australian War Memorial, accessed 12 June 2006. The Kormoran was the last Axis surface raider to enter Australian waters until 1944.

1942

Following the outbreak of war in the Pacific the naval threat to Australia increased dramatically. During the first half of 1942 the Japanese mounted a sustained campaign in Australian waters, with Japanese submarines attacking shipping and Japanese aircraft carriers mounting a devastating attack on the important port of Darwin.

Early submarine 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.David Stevens (2005), [RAN Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs No. 15 A Critical Vulnerability: The impact of the submarine threat on Australia's maritime defence 1915 - 1954]. Seapower Centre - Australia, Canberra. Page 183

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 corvettes 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.Stevens (2005). Pages 183-184.

The initial air raid on Darwin

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

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, or attempted to overfly, Perth, Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney, to investigate the defences and Allied forces located in each city. 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.David Jenkins (1992), Battle Surface! Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942-44. Random House Australia, Sydney. Pages 261-262. Sydney was also overflown on a third occasion by a submarine launched floatplane (launched from I-21) on 19 February 1943.Jenkins (1992). Pages 268-272.

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.Stevens (2005). Pages 185-186.

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

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. Although two of the submarines (Midget No. 22 and Midget A, also known as Midget 24) successfully penetrated the harbour defences, only Midget A actually attacked Allied shipping in the harbour, firing two torpedoes at the United States heavy cruiser USS Chicago. These torpedoes missed the Chicago but sank the depot ship HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 seamen on board, and seriously damaged the Dutch submarine K IX. All of the Japanese midget submarines were lost during this operation (Midget No. 22 and Midget No. 27 were destroyed by the Australian defenders and Midget A 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.G. Herman Gill (1968). [Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Volume II – Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945]. Australian War Memorial, Canberra. Pages 77-78.

Later submarine 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.Stevens (2005). Page 201.

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).Stevens (2005). Pages 206-207. These convoys were effective, however, with no ship traveling as part of a convoy being sunk in Australian waters during 1942.Stevens (2005). Page 205.

1943

Japanese submarines returned to Australian waters in January 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.Jenkins (1992). Pages 266-267.

The sinking of the AHS Centaur

The single greatest loss of life resulting from a submarine attack in Australian waters occurred in the early hours of 14 May 1943 when the Japanese submarine I-177 torpedoed and sank the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur off Point Lookout in Queensland. After being hit by a single torpedo the Centaur sank in less than three minutes with the loss of 268 lives. While hospital ships such as the Centaur were legally protected against attack under the terms of the Geneva Conventions it is unclear whether Commander Hajime Nakagawa of the I-177 was aware that the Centaur was a hospital ship during the attack. While the Centaur was clearly marked with a red cross and was fully illuminated, the light conditions at the time may have resulted in Nakagawa not being aware of the Centaur's status, making her sinking a tragic accident. However, as Nakagawa had a poor record as a submarine captain and was later convicted of machine gunning the survivors of a British merchant ship in the Indian Ocean it is also possible that the sinking of the Centaur was due to either incompetence or Nakagawa's indifference to the laws of warfare.Jenkins (1992). Pages 277-285.

1944

The Axis naval threat to Australia declined in line with the Allied successes in the Pacific Theatre in 1944 and only two ships were sunk by Axis naval vessels on the Australia Station during the year. While the Japanese conducted their only landing on the Australian mainland during 1944 this was a small reconnaissance operation. As the threat from Axis attacks declined the Australian military greatly reduced the forces assigned to protecting shipping in Australian waters.

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.Gill (1968). Pages 388-390.

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.Gill (1968). Page 390

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.George Odgers (1968) [Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 - Air. Volume II – Air War Against Japan, 1943–1945.] Australian War Memorial, Canberra. Pages 136-139.

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.Gill (1968). Pages 390-391.

The Japanese landing in Western Australia

While Japan never intended to invade Australia during the war,Dr. Peter Stanley (2002).[He's (Not) Coming South: The Invasion That Wasn't] a single reconnaissance landing was made on the Australian mainland. Between January 17 and 20, 1944, members of a Japanese intelligence unit named Matsu Kikan ("Pine Tree") made a reconniassance mission to a sparsely-populated part of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/japsland/land09.htm Visited on June 29, 2006. It was to include the only landing by Japanese personnel on the Australian mainland during the war. The unit, operating from Kupang, Timor, used a converted 25-ton civilian vessel called Hiyoshi Maru, and posed as a fishing crew. The mission was led by Lt Susuhiko Mizuno of the Japanese Army. It included another three Japanese soldiers, six Japanese sailors and 15 Timorese sailors. Their orders, from Japanese 19th Army headquarters at Ambon, were to verify reports that the U.S. Navy was building a base in the area. In addition to looking for Allied units, the Matsu Kikan personnel were to collect information which would assist any guerrilla attacks against the Australian mainland.Henry P. Frei (1991), Japan's Southward Advance and Australia. From the Sixteenth Century to World War II. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. Page 173

The Hiyoshi Maru left Kupang on January 16, and was given air cover for the outward leg by an Aichi D3A dive bomber, which attacked an Allied submarine on route. At 9 am on January 17, the Hiyoshi Maru visited the Ashmore Reef area. The following day they landed on the tiny and uninhabited Browse Island, about 160km (100 mi) north west of the mainland. On the morning of January 19, the Hiyoshi Maru entered an unidentified inlet on the mainland. Although the crew saw smoke emanating from hills to the east of their location, they anchored the ship and camouflaged it with tree branches. Landing parties went ashore and explored the area for about two hours. Some members of the mission filmed the area using an 8 mm camera. They spent the night on the boat, reconnoitred the shore area again the following day, before leaving for Kupang. The Japanese did not sight any people or signs of recent human activity, and little of military significance was learnt from the mission.Frei (1991). Page 173 Somewhat ironically, the only witnesses to the Japanese party were members of a small RAAF construction party, working on the planned Truscott Airfield, 25 km (15.5 mi) away. The RAAF personnel reported hearing marine engines nearby.

The German submarine offensive

On 14 September 1944 the commander of the Kriedsmarine, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, approved a proposal to deploy two U-Boats in Australia waters, with the objective of tying down Allied anti-submarine assets in a secondary theatre.[link] The unit involved was to be code-named Monsun (German for "monsoon') and the two submarines selected for this operation were U-168 and U-862. An additional vessel, U-537, was added to this force at the end of September.The main source for this section is David Stevens (1997), U-Boat Far from Home. Allen & Unwin, Sydney.

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 sent to replace U-168. However, U-196 disappeared without trace some time after departing from Penang on November 30, and its fate remains unknown.

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 December 9, with bad weather spoiling both the attack and subsequent Australian efforts to locate the submarine.

Following its attack on the Ilissos, U-862 continued east along the Australian coastline, becoming the only German submarine to operate in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.uboat.net [The Monsun boats] After entering the Pacific U-862 scored her first success on this patrol when she successfully attacked the US-registered Liberty Ship Robert J. Walker off the south coast of New South Wales on 24 December, 1944. The ship sank the following day. Following this attack U-862 departed for New Zealand.

1945

The U-862 was the only Axis ship to operate in Australian waters during 1945. In recognition of the end of the naval threat Australian naval defences were further reduced during the year and were almost non-existent by the time of the Japanese surrender.

The U-862's homeward voyage

The U-862 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 its mission and return to Jakarta. On its return voyage the submarine sank another US Liberty Ship, Peter Silvester, approximately 1,520 kilometres (820 nautical miles) south west of Fremantle, on 6 February 1945, with the loss of 32 lives. Peter Silvester was the last Allied ship to be sunk by enemy action in the Indian Ocean during the war.Gill (1968). Page 557. U-862 arrived in Jakarta in mid February 1945. No further Axis submarines entered Australian waters.

While Allied 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.Stevens (2005). Page 258. 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.

Date	Submarine	Ship	Tonnage	Location	Remarks
20/1/42	I 159	Eidsvold	4184	Christmas Island
1/3/42	I 154	Modjokerto	8806	South of Christmas Island
1/3/42	I 2	Parigi	1172	Off Fremantle
3/3/42	I 1	Siantar	8867	200nm NW of Shark Bay
4/3/42	I 7	Le Maire	3271	NW of Cocos Islands
5/5/42	I 21	John Adams	7180	120nm SW of Noumea
6/5/42	I 21	Chloe	4641	35nm from Noumea
31/5/42	M 24	HMAS Kuttabul	?	Sydney Harbor	Midget launched from I 24
3/6/42	I 24	Iron Chieftain	481	27nm E of Sydney
4/6/42	I 27	Iron Crown	?	40nm SW of Gabo Island
12/6/42	I 21	Guatemala	5527	40nm NE of Sydney	Straggling from a convoy
20/7/42	I 11	G. S. Livanos	4883	15nm E of Jervis Bay
21/7/42	I 11	Coast Farmer	3290	25nm E of Jervis Bay
22/7/42	I 11	William Dawes	7176	15nm E of Tathra Head
24/7/42	I 175	Murada	?	85nm NE of Newcastle
25/7/42	I 175	Cagou	2795	NE of Sydney
25/7/42	I 169	Tjinegara	9227	92nm SE of Noumea
30/8/42	I 175	Dureenbee	233	20nm off Moruya	Trawler
18/1/43	I 21	Kalingo	2047	110nm E of Sydney
18/1/43	I 21	Mobilube	10222	60nm E of Sydney	Tanker
22/1/43	I 21	Peter H. Burnett	7176	420nm E of Sydney
29/1/43	I 10	Samuel Gompers	7176	500nm NE of Brisbane
30/1/43	I 21	Giang Ann	?	30nm E of Newcastle
8/2/43	I 21	Iron Knight	4812	21nm off Montagu Island
10/2/43	I 21	Starr King	7176	150nm E of Sydney
11/4/43	I 26	Recina	4732	20nm off Cape Howe
24/4/43	I 26	Kowarra	2125	160nm N of Brisbane
26/4/43	I 177	Limerick	8724	20nm SE of Cape Byron
27/4/43	I 178	Lydia M. Childs	7176	90nm E of Newcastle
29/4/43	I 180	Wollongbar	2239	Off Port Macquarie
5/5/43	I 180	Fingal	2137	Off Nambucca Heads
14/5/43	I 177	Australian Hospital Ship Centaur	3222	24nm ENE of Point Lookout	Hospital ship
16/6/43	I 174	Portmar	5551	250nm NE of Sydney
22/6/43	I 17	Stanvac Manila	10245	Off Noumea	Two PT boats also destroyed
24/12/44	U 862	Robert K. Walker	7180	Off Moruya
6/2/45	U 862	Peter Silvester	7176	820nm SW of Fremantle

References

Bibliography

• Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945
• * G. Herman Gill (1957). [Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Volume I – Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942]. Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
• * G. Herman Gill (1968). [Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Volume II – Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945]. Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
• * Douglas Gillison (1962) [Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 - Air. Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942.] Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
• * George Odgers (1968) [Official History of Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 3 - Air. Volume II – Air War Against Japan, 1943–1945.] Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
• Tom Frame (1993), HMAS Sydney. Loss and Controversy. Hodder & Stoughton, Sydney.
• Henry P. Frei (1991), Japan's Southward Advance and Australia. From the Sixteenth Century to World War II. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
• Tanaka Hiromi ['The Japanese Navy's operations against Australia in the Second World War, with a commentary on Japanese sources'] in The Journal of the Australian War Memorial. Issue 30 - April 1997.
• David Jenkins (1992), Battle Surface! Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942-44. Random House Australia, Sydney.
• Robert Nichols 'The Night the War Came to Sydney' in [Wartime] Issue 33.
• David Stevens (1997), U-Boat Far from Home. Allen & Unwin, Sydney.
• David Stevens (2005), [RAN Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs No. 15 A Critical Vulnerability: The impact of the submarine threat on Australia's maritime defence 1915 - 1954]. Seapower Centre - Australia, Canberra.
• U-Boat.net [Monsun boats U-boats in the Indian Ocean and the Far East]

See also

• Battle for Australia
• Planned invasion of Australia during World War II (note warning about accuracy though)
• New Guinea campaign
• Battle of the Coral Sea
• South West Pacific Area
• Imperial Japanese Navy submarines
• Japanese raiders in Indian Ocean Campaign
• Armed merchantmen

 

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