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Bombing of Darwin
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==Casualties and damage== {| style="float:right; width:70%; border: 1px solid black; border-spacing: 1; margin: 1em auto;" |- |+'''Casualties in Darwin on 19 February 1942'''<ref>''Lowe Commission'', p. 9: "Mr. Alderman concluded that the following were, as nearly as he could ascertain the correct particulars of the deaths."</ref> |- ! Vessel/service/location !! Alderman's estimates !! Documented deaths !! Notes |- |''Neptuna'' || 45 || 36||<small> Five of the missing seamen were located in Alice Springs in March,<ref>Fung Pak, Leung Kan (Loung R.N.), Tang Yui (Tong Yan), Wong Hing (Waneng W.), Ip Bui (Zip Pui) [http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=334209 National Archives of Australia NAA: F1, 1942/364 Darwin Raids β Casualty Lists and Enquiries]</ref> and four others were evacuated on HMAHS Manunda.<ref>John Hyde, John Knight, Man Loy (Moullay), Ip Yau (Yip You) [http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=423823 NAA:D1976 SB1942/163 Nominal roll hospital ship 2/1 'Manunda']</ref> The Australian War memorial records the names of all 36 killed,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/people/roll-search/commemorative_roll/?preferred_name=&service_number=&unit=neptuna&conflict=0&op=Search |title=Search the Commemorative Roll | Australian War Memorial |publisher=Awm.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014}}</ref> and the Hong Kong Memorial records the names of the 25 Chinese seamen.<ref>[http://www.roll-of-honour.org.uk/Cemeteries/Hong_Kong_Memorial/roll_1939-1945.htm Hong Kong Memorial Roll of Honour 1939β1945]</ref> Brendan de Burca,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://territorystories.nt.gov.au/handle/10070/238731 |title=Darwin, 19th February, 1942 |publisher=Territorystories.nt.gov.au |date=19 February 1942 |access-date=26 September 2013 |archive-date=19 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219052807/http://territorystories.nt.gov.au/handle/10070/238731 |url-status=dead }}</ref> senior surviving Officer and George Boniface,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://territorystories.nt.gov.au/handle/10070/238733 |title=Personal recollections of the bombing of Darwin β 1942 |publisher=Territorystories.nt.gov.au |date=4 May 2012 |access-date=26 September 2013 |archive-date=19 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219050239/http://territorystories.nt.gov.au/handle/10070/238733 |url-status=dead }}</ref> senior surviving Engineer, both record 36 Neptuna crewmen died on 19 February.</small> |- |''Zealandia'' || 3 || 2||<small>Only Masson<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/masson |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : MASSON, James |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327052857/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/masson |url-status=dead }}</ref> and O'Connell<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/oconnell |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : O'CONNELL, Patrick Vincent |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927144923/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/oconnell |url-status=dead }}</ref> died of their wounds. The ship's log also records the names of two other crew who died in later, unrelated incidents: Reginald Forster, who died on 4 March when a truck he was travelling in overturned, and Keith Davern, who died on 19 March as a result of a subsequent air raid.<ref>[http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=1509323 NAA: SP290/2, 1941/ZEALANDIA/4 ZEALANDIA official log book 29 October 1941 β 19 February1942 (Box 26)]</ref></small> |- |''British Motorist'' || 2 || 2|| <small>Bates<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/bates |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : BATES, Gilbert Chase |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=25 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325235619/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/bates |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Webster<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/webster |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : WEBSTER, James Henry |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327053710/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/webster |url-status=dead }}</ref> See the Manunda log for the disposal of the bodies. NAA:SP290/2 1941/MANUNDA/4<ref name="recordsearch.naa.gov.au">[http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=730925 NAA:SP290/2 1941/MANUNDA/4]</ref></small> |- |Manunda || 12 || 12||<small>The Manunda log records the deaths of 12 crew members and 24 patients NAA:SP290/2 1941/MANUNDA/4.<ref name="recordsearch.naa.gov.au"/> Those who died include: 9 crewmen, 3 AIF Hospital staff on board, 9 from the USS ''Peary'', 2 from HMAS ''Kara Kara'', Jack Dee from 2/14 Field Arty, 3 from HMAS ''Swan'', 2 from British Motorist, 1 from HMAS ''Gunbar'', 2 from ''Zealandia'', Rowling from the Post Office and Bauer from the US 148 Field Arty, plus Hynes and Byers from the Wharf.</small> |- |HMAS ''Swan'' || 4 || 3|| <small>Breen,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/breen |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : BREEN, Alwyn John |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=25 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325235759/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/breen |url-status=dead }}</ref> Purdon<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/purdon |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : PURDON, Albert Samuel |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927144810/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/purdon |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Sault.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/sault |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : SAULT, John |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327053330/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/sault |url-status=dead }}</ref> The bodies of these three were delivered to the Manunda and are counted in those buried on 20 February</small> |- |HMAS ''Kara Kara'' || 5 || 2||<small>(''Kara Kara'' is frequently misspelt ''Karakara''.) Emms<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/emms |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : EMMS, Francis Basett |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=26 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326000301/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/emms |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Moore<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/moore |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : MOORE, Frank |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327053015/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/moore |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |HMAS ''Gunbar'' || 1 || 1||<small>(''Gunbar'' is frequently misspelt "''Gunbower''".) "Jack" Shepherd<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/shepherd |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : SHEPHERD, Herbert John (Jack) |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222131538/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/shepherd |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |USS ''Peary'' || 80 || 88||<small>Eight of the crew died aboard the Manunda, and Roy Carlson died in Perth on 1 March.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/carlson |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : CARLSON, Roy Gunnar |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=14 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014064448/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/carlson |url-status=dead }}</ref> Northern Territory Library Roll of Honour.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/location#United |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : Browse Location |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=21 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321070757/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/location#United |url-status=dead }}</ref> Errors on the memorial Plaques in Darwin are noted in Wikipedia<ref>[[:File:USS Peary DD226 - Roll of Honour.jpg]]</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Wilde|editor-first=E. Andrew Jr.|url=http://destroyerhistory.org/assets/pdf/wilde/226peary_wilde.pdf|title=The U.S.S. Peary (DD-226) in World War II, Manila to Darwin, 12/10/41β2/19/42: Documents and Photographs|location=Needham, Massachusetts|year=2007}}</ref></small> |- |USAT ''Meigs'' || 2 || 1|| <small>Cleborne<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/cleborne |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : CLEBORNE, John H |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=25 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325235954/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/cleborne |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |''Port Mar'' || 1 || 1|| <small>Tyrell<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/tyrell |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : TYRELL, Tom |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327053633/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/tyrell |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |''Mauna Loa'' || 5 || 0||<small>Enright and Stindt record that there were no deaths on Mauna Loa except for Manuel da Silva, who died before the attack. see Enright, Francis James. 1990. To leave this port. Orick, Calif: Enright Pub. Co.<ref>{{cite book|title=To leave this port (Book, 1990) |publisher=[WorldCat.org] |oclc = 21969558}}</ref> Stindt, Fred A. 1982. ''Matson's century of ships''. Kelseyville, California (3382 Riviera West Dr., Kelseyville 95451): F.A. Stindt.<ref>{{cite book|title=Matson's century of ships (Book, 1982) |publisher=[WorldCat.org] |oclc = 8714888}}</ref> Tex Tickner, from 2/4 Pioneer Battalion on board, was injured during aerial bombing at sea on 16 February 1942 he was on the Mauna Loa and "got a piece of a bomb fragment in the belly and passed away 25 February 1942 aged 22". Manuel da Silva, a crewman of Mauna Loa was also wounded in the attack. Da Silva died aboard the USS Houston, and was buried in Gardens Road cemetery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://territorystories.nt.gov.au/handle/10070/243579 |title=Tex Tickner |publisher=Territorystories.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=9 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109202525/http://territorystories.nt.gov.au/handle/10070/243579 |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |Australian Army || 2 || 2||<small> Jack Dee, who died of illness aboard the Manunda<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/dee |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : DEE, Jack |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=26 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326000228/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/dee |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Roy Gardiner who was the unnamed soldier who was shot at the Berrimah Hospital<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/gardiner |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : GARDINER, Roy Stewart |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=26 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326000422/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/gardiner |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |RAAF || 6 || 7||<small>Albert Shultz was the "unidentified" seventh body at the RAAF base<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/schulz |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : SCHULZ, Albert Victor Leske |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327053357/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/schulz |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |US Army (including US Army Air Force) || 7 || 9||<small> Corporal Floyd Bauer (39152969) 148th Field Artillery, died of wounds aboard the Manunda on 23 February 1942 and was buried at sea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/bauerf |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : BAUER, Floyd A |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=25 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325235642/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/bauerf |url-status=dead }}</ref> S/Sgt. Hugh McTavish (6549162), 11th Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group, died when his Liberator bomber was destroyed on the ground<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OffcIutYJeIC&q=hugh+mctavish+darwin+1942&pg=PA250 |title=7th Bombardment Group/Wing, 1918β1995|access-date=5 December 2015|isbn=9781563112782|last1=Dorr|first1=Robert F.|year=1997|publisher=Turner Publishing Company }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/mctavish|title=Northern Territory Library Roll of Honour|access-date=5 June 2016|archive-date=30 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630030704/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/mctavish|url-status=dead}}</ref></small> |- |Civilians in the town || 14 || 16||<small> Northern Territory Library Roll of Honour<ref name="ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au">{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/location#Civilians |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : Browse Location |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=21 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321070757/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/location#Civilians |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |Civilians on the wharf || 39 || 23||<small> Northern Territory Library Roll of Honour.<ref name="ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au"/> George Michaels is the often uncounted 23rd Warfie<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/michaels |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : MICHAELS, George |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327052943/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/michaels |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |''Don Isidro''; ''Florence D''; PBY Catalina flying boat (US Navy) || 15 || 16||<small>Lt. Joseph Kane of 453rd Ordnance Company, stationed on the Don Isidro, died of gangrene on 26 February 1942<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/kanej |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : KANE, Joseph F |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=26 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326000812/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/kanej |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |||||||<small>Omitted from Alderman's estimates</small> |- |USS ''William B. Preston'' || || 14||<small>The "fifteenth" crew member was probably Joseph Shuler, Aviation Metalsmith 2nd Class (356-12-85), who died on Moorer's Catalina from Patwing 10/22. The Preston was a seaplane tender for the Patrol Wing 10, which had been reinforced with aircraft from Patwing 22<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/shuler |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : SHULER, Joseph Clifton |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |date=13 May 1939 |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327053427/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/shuler |url-status=dead }}</ref> United States Naval historical Research Centre, Washington Navy Yard. USS ''William B. Preston. Ship's Log in Lewis, Tom'' (1986β1993), Tom Lewis Manuscript Collection, in possession of Northern Territory Library, Darwin</small> |- |HMAS ''Kangaroo'' || || 1||<small>Norman Richard Moore (S3584)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/mooren |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : MOORE, Norman Richard |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327053021/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/mooren |url-status=dead }}</ref></small> |- |Total || 243 || 236||<small>(Most of the authors cited elsewhere in this article do not cite the primary source documents used to annotate this table.)</small> |} The number of people killed during 19 February raids is disputed. The Lowe Commission, which investigated them in March 1942, estimated 243 victims but, assuming a few were unidentified, concluded "I am satisfied that the number is approximately 250 and I doubt whether any further investigation will result in ascertaining a more precise figure." Some researchers and government officials, including John Bradford (author of ''In the Highest Traditions β RAN Heroism Darwin 19 February 1942''),<ref name="home.st.net.au">{{cite web|url=http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/darwin02.htm |title=Two Japanese Air Raids at Darwin, NT on 19 February 1942 |publisher=Home.st.net.au |access-date=19 February 2014}}</ref> Dr. Peter Stanley (the Australian War Memorial's Principal Historian and author of several books about Australian military history),<ref name="http">{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/remembering1942/darwin/transcript.asp |title=Remembering 1942: The bombing of Darwin | Australian War Memorial |publisher=Awm.gov.au |date=19 February 2002 |access-date=19 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/events/talks/oration2006.asp |title=Events | Australian War Memorial |publisher=Awm.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014}}</ref> Tom Womack (author of ''The Dutch Naval Air Force against Japan''),<ref name="netherlandsnavy.nl">{{cite web|url=http://www.netherlandsnavy.nl/Special_darwin.htm |title=Australia's Pearl Harbor: The Japanese air raid on Darwin |publisher=Netherlandsnavy.nl |access-date=19 February 2014}}</ref> Paul Rosenzweig (author of ''Darwin 1942: a reassessment of the first raid casualties''),<ref name="awm.gov.au">{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/firstopac/bin/cgi-jsp.exe/shelf1.jsp?recno=100017388&userId=cat&catTable= |title=Australian War Memorial β Catalogue Shelf List |publisher=Awm.gov.au |date=19 February 1942 |access-date=19 February 2014}}</ref> and Rear Admiral [[Kevin Scarce]] (governor of South Australia)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.governor.sa.gov.au/index.php?m=selected-speeches&itemID=497 |title=Homepage | Government House South Australia |publisher=Governor.sa.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014}}</ref> have said there were 250β262 fatalities. However, a plaque unveiled in Darwin in 2001 gave the total as 292.<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Grose|title=An awkward truth: the bombing of Darwin, February 1942|location=Crows Nest, NSW|publisher=Allen & Unwin|year=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5DNwgDOh-eYC&pg=PA192|page=192|isbn=978-1-74176-473-4}}</ref> The plaque indicated 10 sailors had been killed aboard the {{USS|William B. Preston}} but the [[US Navy]] said there were 13 fatalities<ref>"...the ship took stock of her damage. Eleven men were killed, two missing, and three wounded by the bomb hit aft."[https://web.archive.org/web/20050213162243/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w8/william_b_preston.htm]</ref> and Peter Grose, author of ''An Awkward Truth'', said fifteen β he wrote: "With the William B. Preston total corrected to 15, a figure of 297 known dead is the best count anyone is likely to achieve...the full death toll is likely to be a little over 300, perhaps as many as 310 or 320."<ref>Grose, p. 193</ref> Lewis and Ingman have revised that to 14 in their 2013 book ''Carrier Attack''. In 2000, Darwin historian Peter Forrest, who spoke to survivors and researched the attacks for an unpublished book, said (as paraphrased by a journalist), "the first Japanese air raids on Darwin probably killed more than double the official figure of 243", but by 2002 had lowered his estimate to "anything up to double that 243".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-38718802.html |access-date=5 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106071238/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-38718802.html |archive-date=6 November 2012 |title=NT Historian doubles Darwin air raid death toll }}</ref><ref name="abc.net.au">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2002/s485505.htm |title=7.30 Report β 19/02/2002: Darwin marks bombing anniversary |publisher=Abc.net.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113050001/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2002/s485505.htm |archive-date=13 November 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other estimates put the toll far higher: one soldier who was there claimed to have seen barges filled with bodies towed out to sea, a member of one of the burial teams recounted seeing uncounted bodies "shoved in a large hole dug by a bulldozer" (paraphrased), according to some sources, former Darwin Mayor (1921β1922) Jack Burton<ref>The same diary also records 13 ships were sunk on the 19th and that three Japanese submarines were sunk in Darwin Harbour in June and August. This simply did not occur. see "Extract of diary β Darwin 19 February 1942" signed by J.F. Burton 176 McMinn Street, Darwin, extract lists the 64 bombing raids on Darwin by the Japanese in John Andrews Manuscript Collection, in possession of Northern Territory Library, Darwin. NTAS 2924 J.F. Burton "diary extract relating to bombing raids during Second World War 1942" Burton had been Mayor of Darwin in 1921β22. There was no Mayor of Darwin after 1930.</ref> estimated 900 people were killed; Harry Macredie, who helped rescue survivors and recover bodies in the harbour said, "we definitely estimate over 1,000",<ref name="abc.net.au"/> Rex Ruwoldt, one of the soldiers attacked that day, says that a few days after the raid he was told over the field telephone that Army Intelligence estimated 1,100 were killed.<ref name="home.st.net.au"/> According to an AP article about the 50th anniversary of the attacks "some estimates say as many as 1,000 died".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19920219/1476547/australian-pearl-harbor-recalled----darwin-notes-anniversary-of-air-attack | work=The Seattle Times | first=Paul | last=Alexander | title=Australian 'Pearl Harbor' Recalled β Darwin Notes Anniversary of Air Attack | date=19 February 1992}}</ref> Bradford<ref name="home.st.net.au"/> and Forrest<ref name="abc.net.au"/> said they spoke to survivors who estimated as many as 1,500 people died. Stanley, Grose, Rosenzweig,<ref name="awm.gov.au"/> and Tom Lewis<ref>{{cite book|first=Tom|last=Lewis|title=A War at Home : A Comprehensive Guide to the First Japanese Attacks on Darwin|location=Darwin|publisher=Tall Stories|year=1999|oclc=46634368}}</ref> rejected such numbers. The former said "it was certainly not the 1,024 claimed recently in unsubstantiated reports"<ref name="http"/> and Grose wrote "numbers such as 1,100 are fancifully high".<ref name=Grose191>Grose (2009), p. 191</ref> By contrast, there is less dispute over the number of injured during the attacks. The Lowe Commission estimated "between 300 and 400" people were wounded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/bitstream/handle/10070/83913/Lowe_Report.pdf?sequence=1 |title=Pg 9 |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=15 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515081650/http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/bitstream/handle/10070/83913/Lowe_Report.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Lewis said the number was over 400, about 200 of which were seriously injured.<ref name=Lewis>Lewis (2003), pp. 63β71</ref> Womack wrote that 311 were wounded.<ref name="netherlandsnavy.nl"/> Australian military historian Chris Coulthard-Clark put the total between 250 and 320.<ref name="Coulthard-Clark_205"/> Grose wrote: "if 900 or 1100 died, why were the numbers of injured so low? The count of the injured is more accurate, because they were treated in hospital or shipped out aboard the ''Manunda'' [a hospital ship]. The hospitals and ''Manunda'' noted names and numbers of those they treated."<ref name=Grose191/> ===Myths and inaccuracies=== The Japanese raid was unlike the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in that it was launched against a nation that had already [[declaration of war|declared war]] on Japan (on 8 December 1941). It was similar in that it was a successful aerial surprise attack on a naval target that came as a great shock to the attacked nation. While the number of bombs dropped on Darwin (681 bombs weighing {{convert|114100|kg|lb}} by 205 bombers) exceeded those dropped on Pearl Harbor (457 bombs [including 40 torpedoes]) weighing {{convert|133560|kg|lb}} by 273),<ref>{{cite book|title=Rough guide to Australia|author=Margo Daly|page=616|publisher=Rough Guides|year=2003|isbn=1-84353-090-2}}</ref> loss of life was much greater at Pearl Harbor (more than 2,400 people) than Darwin (236 people) due to the presence of capital ships and the catastrophic loss of a single battleship, the {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}}, and its 1,177 men.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{Citation | author1=Rayner, Robert J. | title=The army and the defence of Darwin fortress : exploding the myths of the critical phase, Κ»til September 1942 | date=1995 | publisher=Rudder Press | isbn=978-0-646-25058-8 }}</ref><ref>Bullard, Steven. [http://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/59/ "Briefing: Were more bombs dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor?"] Wartime: Official magazine of the Australian War Memorial. Issue 59 Winter 2012: 4β5.</ref> A frequently repeated myth is that the Australian government downplayed the damage from the bombing raids on Darwin, in a "cover-up".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/media |title=Northern Territory Library | Roll of Honour : Media Coverage of the Bombing of Darwin |publisher=Ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=24 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324113225/http://www.ntlexhibit.nt.gov.au/exhibits/show/bod/roh/media |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mhhv.org.au/?p=4278 |title=The Myth of Government Cover-up in the first Darwin Raids |publisher=Military History and Heritage Victoria|access-date=30 April 2015}}</ref> The newspapers of the day disprove this claim. On the day of the attack the prime minister is quoted on the front pages of most newspapers: "Damage to property was considerable", he said, "but reports so far to hand do not give precise particulars about the loss of life." "The Government regards the attacks as most grave, and makes it quite clear that a severe blow has been struck on Australian soil."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8233704 |title=DARWIN HEAVILY BOMBED IN 2 RAIDS. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |location=Melbourne |date=20 February 1942 |access-date=4 October 2013 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
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