DARWIN MILITARY MUSEUM
Darwin war history

Pearl Harbor and the Darwin Raids – a comparison

9/4/2019

 
Author
Dr. Tom Lewis OAM

​Pearl Harbor is often compared to the Darwin attack but the similarities are very few.

​Although both were surprise initial raids on an enemy of the Japanese Empire, the destruction caused in each raid was disproportionate in the extreme.
 

Some people say Darwin was “bigger” than the Pearl Harbor strike. The chairwoman of the Northern Territory's Centenary of Federation committee in 2001, Carole Miller, said: “'It was bigger than Pearl Harbour...and it's time the nation knew about this."[1] 
 
Many say: “More bombs fell on Darwin”, a phrase now common in much of the publicity surrounding the commemoration of the first raids.[2] True enough but it is just used to be sensationalist if used without the correlation that the tonnage of bombs which fell on Pearl Harbor was greater: the Japanese were using smaller bombs in the Darwin raid.  It’s a bit like saying the Darwin assaults were more significant than the Nagasaki raid because that attack on Japan only used one bomb.

The following tables shows the statistics of the two raids.
Explosive Ordnance tonnage – Pearl Harbor v Port Darwin

Pearl Harbor - First Wave
Aircraft Number launched Aborts Total attacking Ordnance load Ordnance released Tonnage (kgs)
B5N2 Kates 50 * 1 49 One x 800kg bomb 49 x 800kg bombs 39,200kg
D3A1 Vals 54 3 51 One x 250kg bomb 51 x 250kg bombs 12,750kg
A6M2 Zeroes 45 2 43 Nil Nil Nil
Totals 149 4 100 100 bombs 100 bombs 51,950kg
* - A further 40 Kates were each armed with one 800kg Mk 91 Aerial torpedo, totaling 32,000kg

Pearl Harbor - Second Wave
Aircraft Number launched Aborts Total attacking Ordnance load Ordnance released Tonnage (kgs)
B5N2 Kates 27 Nil 27 Two x 250kg bombs 54 x 250kg bombs 13,500kg
B5N2 Kates 27 Nil 27 One x 250kg bombs
six x 60kg bombs
54 x 250kg bombs
162 x 60kg bombs
6,750kg

9,720kg
D3A1 Vals 81 3 78 One x 250kg bomb 78 x 250kg bombs 19,500kg
A6M2 Zekes 36 1 35 Nil Nil Nil
Totals 171 4 167 321 bombs 49,470kg

Pearl Harbor Total
Weapons Number launched Tonnage (kgs)
Bombs 421 101,420
Torpedoes 40 x 800kg 32,000
Total 461 133,420


Port Darwin - Carrier strike
Aircraft Number launched Aborts Total attacking Ordnance load Ordnance released Tonnage (kgs)
B5N2 Kates 81 Nil 81 One x 800kg bomb 81 x 800kg bombs 64,800kg
D3A1 Vals 71 Nil 71 - one lost after release, MN3304 One x 250kg bomb 69 (2 x hang-ups - Vals returned with bombs) 17,250kg
A6M2 Zekes 36 Nil 36 Nil Nil Nil
Totals 188 Nil 188 152 bombs 150 bombs 82,050kg

Port Darwin - Land-based trike
Aircraft Number launched Aborts Total attacking Ordnance load Ordnance released Tonnage (kgs)
G4M1 Bettys 27 Nil 27 212 x 60kg and one x 250kg 212 x 60kg and one x 250kg 12,970kg
G3M2 Nells 27 Nil 27 318 x 60kg 318 x 60kg 19,080kg
Totals 54 Nil 54 531 bombs 531 bombs 32,050kg

Port Darwin Total
Weapons Number launched Tonnage (kgs)
Bombs 681 114,100
Total 681 114,100


Steve Bullard’s table: Wartime magazine No. 59 Winter 2012
Raid Number of Bombers Number of Bombs Totat weight (kgs)
Pearl Harbor 273 457 133,560
Darwin 205 681 114,100
The comparison is also a rather disingenuous one.  A torpedo strike from a Japanese bomber would do far more damage than a bomb from the same aircraft: as air group leader Fuchida discussed in conferences before the attack: “…the torpedoes below the surface would do more effective damage than bombings from the air.”[4] Torpedoes were not used at Darwin but they inflicted massive damage at the American base. To just compare the weapons by their weight is to miss this point.
 
Some say that more civilians were killed in the Australian raids.[5] Untrue. There were 2,388 lives lost in the Pearl Harbor raids compared to 235 killed in Darwin. It’s generally held 68 civilians were killed at Pearl; 25 were killed in Darwin.
 
What about the ships sunk?
​It has been claimed more ships were sunk at Pearl than in Darwin.[6]  Eleven ships were sunk in Darwin: nine inside the harbour. The largest warship was a destroyer, the USS Peary, with 88 of her crew killed. At Pearl all eight battleships of the US Pacific Fleet, the most important capital ship at the time, were sunk or badly damaged. The size difference between a destroyer and a battleship is immense. The comparison is similar to that of a car set beside a three-trailer truck. The firepower is commensurately similar.
 
Three cruisers – again, big, important ships – five destroyers, and seven other ships were also sunk or grounded. Most ships were raised and repaired, although for many wrecks this took years.
 
The strike at Pearl was a massive loss for American aircraft too, and that raid was far more destructive than Darwin’s. For example, 350 aircraft were destroyed or damaged whereas in the Australian assault 30 were lost.
 
None of this is to say that the 19 February 1942 strikes were insignificant. They were. The attacks were the first on the Australian landmass, and signaled a new and sometimes desperate stage of the war, which if Australians had not stood alongside Americans and prevailed in New Guinea, may well have seen invasion. The writer Douglas Lockwood called his 1960s book, the first published about the raids, Australia’s Pearl Harbour.  It’s a good and deserved title. But the important differences should be emphasized, not minimized, to do historical justice to both of the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Darwin.

​
Sources
Ingman, Peter. Citing, “NavSource Naval History”, http://www.navsource.org/Naval/ijnaf.htm
Smith, Carl. Pearl Harbor 1941 The day of infamy. Osprey. 2001.
Stille, Mark. Tora, Tora, Tora!: Pearl Harbor 1941. Osprey. 2011.
Bullard, Steve. “Were more bombs dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor?” Australian War Memorial. Wartime magazine No. 59 Winter 2012.
Kawano, Capt. Teruaki. The Japanese Navy’s air raid against Australia during the World War 2. Extracts of the Japanese Kodochosho. 1997.

[1] ABC News. http://www.abc.net.au/news/state/nt/archive/metnt-19feb2001-2.htm  Accessed September 2012.

[2] For example in this article, which contains numerous errors:
DARWIN, February 19, 1942,
* 242 Japanese aircraft attack Darwin harbour, town and airfields
* Like Pearl Harbour a total surprise and no air raid sirens sounded
* More than 300 military and civilian personnel killed
* More bombs dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbour
News.com.au. “70 years on, survivors remember the Japanese bombing of Darwin.” http://www.news.com.au/national-old/years-on-survivors-remember-the-japanese-bombing-of-darwin/story-e6frfkxr-1226274422208.  Accessed December 3012.
and in this travel website Darwinhub:
“More bombs were dropped on Darwin than at Pearl Harbour, resulting in 243 deaths.”  http://darwinhub.com/about-darwin/darwin-history/  Accessed November 2012.

[4] Fuchida, Mitsuo. From Pearl Harbor to Calvary. California: eChristian, 2010.

[5] “The Japanese struck with the same carrier-borne force that devastated Pearl Harbor only ten weeks earlier. There was a difference. More bombs fell on Darwin, more civilians were killed, and more ships were sunk.” An Awkward Truth. Publisher’s web site: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741756432 Accessed May 2012.

[6] “…and more ships were sunk.” An Awkward Truth. Publisher’s web site: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741756432 Accessed May 2012.



wwII history
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Darwin Military Museum
    Blog


    Hello and welcome to our blog!

    Here at the Museum we are dedicated to the preservation of Australia's military history.

    In our blog we will uncover the forgotten stories of Australian soldiers, and share fascinating facts about military conflicts both at home and overseas.

    Follow our blog!

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Press Like on FB for more

    Archives

    October 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017

    Categories

    All
    Weaponry
    World War I
    World War II

We would love to have you visit soon!

Location click on the red maker to find us

Contact Us
Phone (08) 8981 9702
Email info@darwinmilitarymuseum.com.au


Credit Cards Accepted
Parking
Service Animals allowed
Restrooms
Free Wifi
Wheelchair Accessible

    Subscribe Today!

Submit
Purchase Tickets
Picture
Follow us on Facebook!
Merchandise
Picture
Donate

Darwin Military Museum
OPENING TIMES & TICKETS

Please note:  We are closed on the 25, 26, 27, 28 December 2020 and 1 January 2021

​OPENING TIMES 7 days a Week

10am - 3:30pm Monday - Sunday 
​We recommend you allow at least 1.5hrs
for your visit.

ADMISSION FEES & ONLINE TICKETS
ADULTS
(16 years +): $20.00
CHILDREN (5 - 15 years): $10.00
CHILDREN (under 5 years): FREE
NT SENIORS (65 years +): $10.00

TERRITORY PASS is available to NT residents
DMM Membership (Friend of the Museum) - Only a
vailable for purchase online - One year entry and 15% off merchandise including the cafe - $25
INTERSTATE/INTERNATIONAL SENIORS (65 YEARS +): $15.00
FAMILY PASS (2 ADULTS, 3 CHILDREN U16): $45.00
UNIVERSITY/TAFE STUDENT: $10.00
CARER OF PERSON WITH A DISABILITY: ​$12.00

SERVING MILITARY MEMBERS: $15

SCHOOL GROUPS: Northern Territory students on excursion
Students 16 years and under during school hours: $2.00 per student
1 adult per 10 students: FREE
EXTRA ADULTS: $18.00

SCHOOL GROUPS: Non-NT students on excursion
Students 16 years and under during school hours: $10.00 per student
1 adult per 10 students: FREE
EXTRA ADULTS: $18.00


Please note we are closed on Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
For hotels nearby, check with HotelsCombined ​
Home
Picture

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL CUSTODIANS
The Australian Darwin Military Museum  acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
Our Copyright & privacy statement All rights reserved  2020
Website by Thompson Media

  • Home
  • Defence of Darwin Experience
  • About
  • DMM Blog
  • Merchandise
  • Online Tickets
  • Donation
  • DMM Membership
  • Function Venue Hire Darwin
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Defence of Darwin Experience
  • About
  • DMM Blog
  • Merchandise
  • Online Tickets
  • Donation
  • DMM Membership
  • Function Venue Hire Darwin
  • Contact