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American Spirit II - Day 234; Important Projects , Why Darwin was Bombed by the Japanese in WW II and Sightseeing in Darwin; Wednesday, August 27, 2014



Up at 8:00 AM.



Breakfast at 9:00 AM. Scrambled eggs, potato, bacon and bread.



Drove to Bosch propane company and had them fill our empty propane tank. Didn't know if they could do so because some countries don't have fittings that fit American propane tanks. The company we went to, fortunately, did. We also talked to Michael at Bosch about our other propane tank, advising him that it leaked; and asked if they could install a new valve. He checked and told us that they did have a valve they could install. We told him that we'll see if we'll have him install the new valve or if we'll just buy it and use it only if our leak gets worse.



We then took 9 empty jerry cans to a gas station and filled them with diesel fuel; then back to the boat to load them and tie them aboard.



We stopped at the Wharf for lunch, then off to the World War II Oil Tunnels in nearby downtown. These tunnels were built so oil could be stored underground. The above ground oil tanks were bombed by the Japanese on February 19, 1942. Though 5 such tunnels were built, no oil was ever stored in them. The tunnels themselves were interesting in that some of the walls had photos with captions printed under them that were taken during early 1942 during the 64 bombing raids that the Japanese made on Australian soil during the war. Some of the bombing raids were as far away as Cairns on the eastern coast of Australia. The photos were quite good. One in particular struck my fancy. It was a picture of a Japanese pilot captured by Aboriginals on Melville Island during the February 19 raid.



The first time that the Japanese bombed Darwin was on February 19, 1942 at 9:48 AM. This was also the first time in the history of Australia that their country had been bombed. The attack was primarily conducted from 4 aircraft carriers, the same 4 that had bombed Peal Harbor. Eight ships were sunk. The number killed in the raid totalled 248, with half of the dead coming from the sinking of the United States destroyer USS Perry which was anchored in Darwin harbor. Why was Darwin bombed? The attacks were planned to employ a 'sledgehammer...used to crack an egg'; so said the Japanese air group commander. Japan feared that Darwin might be used to launch attacks on them as they continued their conquest south. Unfortunately, just like Pearl Harbor, the Australians spotted the carrier task force before it launched its planes, but that information was either not relayed to headquarters, or what was relayed was not believed. There were 10 American fighter planes flying back to Darwin and it was thought that reports on incoming Japanese planes was mistaken for the American planes.



We visited an outdoor theater next to the Oil Tunnel exhibit. This theater has movies every evening at 7:30 PM. We're considering catching a show one of the nights before we leave Darwin September 2nd. For the price of admission you are provided with either a lounge type chair or straight back chair. Dinner,snacks and alcohol can be purchased. The theater is located on a hill top.



After lunch we toured the Darwin Military Museum. The grounds were covered with military vehicles and one large 9.5 inch shore battery gun. The whole presentation of the displays in the museum building and outside were done quite well. Worth a visit. Too bad the museum closed at 5:00 PM because we could have spent another hour there easily.



Back on the boat, we watched a vampire movie, a British spoof on female vampires; then went out for dinner at McDonald's. After that, we watched the movie Looper, a very good movie with Bruce Willis in it. The movie ended at 11:30 PM. Then lights out.



Brian Fox


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