Editing Bombing of Darwin (section)

==Aftermath==
===Consequences===
Of major military consequence was the loss of most of the cargo shipping available to support efforts in Java and the Philippines with Java being effectively sealed off from further surface shipments from Australia.{{sfn|Leighton|Coakley|1995|p=171}}

The air raids caused chaos in Darwin, with most essential services including water and electricity being badly damaged or destroyed.<ref>Lockwood, p. 143.</ref> Fears of an imminent invasion spread and there was a wave of refugees, as some of the town's civilian population fled inland. There were reports of looting, with [[provost marshal]]s being among the accused.<ref>Lockwood, p. 159.</ref> According to official figures, 278 personnel belonging to RAAF [[North-Western Area Command (RAAF)|North-Western Area Command]] (NWA) were considered to have [[desertion|deserted]] as a result of the raids, although it has been argued that the "desertions" were mostly the result of ambiguous orders given to RAAF ground staff after the attacks.<ref>Lockwood, pp. 143–146.</ref> In the words of journalist [[Douglas Lockwood]], after the second Japanese air raid, the commander of RAAF Darwin, [[Wing Commander (rank)|Wing Commander]] [[Sturt de Burgh Griffith]]:
<blockquote> summoned his senior administrative officer, [[Squadron Leader]] Swan, and gave a verbal order that all airmen were to move half a mile down the main road and then half a mile inland. At this vague rendezvous point [...] arrangements would be made to feed them. The order led to utter chaos. In being passed by word of mouth from one section to another, sometimes with officers present and sometimes not, it became garbled to the extent it was unrecognisable against the original. In its ultimate form it was interpreted, especially by those desiring such an interpretation, of an impending order for immediate and general evacuation of the area. Highly exaggerated rumours of an impending Japanese invasion had already reached the base from the town and spread quickly among those wanting to believe them. In the absence of restraint, men gathered their belongings and abandoned their stations.<ref>Lockwood, pp. 143–144.</ref></blockquote>
While the NWA staff could see what was happening and issued countermanding orders "the damage was done and hundreds of men were already beyond recall".<ref>Lockwood, p. 144.</ref>

The Australian Army also faced difficulty controlling some of its own troops from looting private property, including "furniture, refrigerators, stoves, pianos, clothes[,] [and] even children's toys" due to the breakdown of law and order after the bombing and the ensuing chaos.<ref>Lockwood, p. 169.</ref> Many civilian refugees never returned, or did not return for many years, and in the post-war years some land they owned in Darwin had been expropriated by government bodies in their absence, made legal by the ''Darwin Lands Acquisition Act 1945''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ling |first1=Ted |title=Planning for the post-war redevelopment of the north |url=http://guides.naa.gov.au/records-about-northern-territory/part1/chapter4/4.5.aspx |website=naa.gov.au |publisher=National Archives of Australia |access-date=9 June 2020 |archive-date=26 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326015022/http://guides.naa.gov.au/records-about-northern-territory/part1/chapter4/4.5.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The bombing of Darwin resulted in the destruction of 7 of the 11 above ground storage tanks, located on Stokes Hill, in raids on 19 February 16 March and 16 June 1942. This led to the construction of [[Darwin oil storage tunnels|underground oil storage tunnels]] in Darwin in 1943.