Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Anthony Cooper, NewSouth Books, $34.99.
It has been more than 80 years since the bombing of Darwin, and Anthony Cooper in this special edition offers details and a fascinating history of this unparalleled attack.
Many Australians are aware of the great bombing raid that struck Darwin on 19 February 1942, but few are aware of what followed. For almost two years, the airspace over north-west Australia was routinely penetrated by Japanese raids. This book provides a detailed narrative of the 1943 season of raids, because the defence of Darwin by Commonwealth Spitfire pilots is an important and dramatic national story – but one that has been neglected in Australian history writing.
As Cooper says it: “By telling the story of the Australian and British Spitfire pilots in 1943, I hope that Australians will recover a slice of national memory.”
The 1942–43 air raids on Darwin constituted the only sustained and intensive direct assault on Australian territory in the whole of World War II.
Telling the story of the RAAF’s No. 1 Fighter Wing – composed of both Australian and British Spitfire pilots – Darwin Spitfires explores the little-known 1943 season of air combat over the Top End, recovering important aspects of Australian history. It brings to the attention of the world the heroic exploits of the skilled pilots who did so much to protect Australia and support the Allied effort.
This tome attempts to celebrate and commemorate the spirit of solidarity that characterised the experiences of the No. 1 Fighter Wing.
