Attack on Sydney Harbour

June 1942

By Tom Lewis

Published by Big Sky Publishing

RRP $24.99 in paperback

ISBN 9781922765383

 

Author Tom Lewis comes to this book with an impressive back catalogue of military history titles.

Lewis, when approached to write a book to mark the 80th anniversary of the attack, was initially sceptical. Was there anything new to add to the story that was already well known?

The basic facts are that on the night of 31 May 1942, Sydney Harbour was attacked by midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy. A vessel of the Royal Australian Navy – HMAS Kuttabul – was torpedoed, and 21 sailors died. The midget submarines were hunted down, and two sunk, while another was found in more recent times.

The attack began with the assembling of five large Japanese submarines, undetected, off Australia’s eastern coast with the three midget submarines carried on their upper aft hulls.

What follows is a detailed account of what took place, including the failures of planning and command that might have prevented or minimised the attack, reserving particular criticism for Royal Navy officer Rear Admiral Muirhead-Gould who had presided over harbour defences for more than two years. This is a detailed book with extensive background on the topics raised. And serves as a timely reminder of the value of a submarine fleet to a maritime nation.

BACKGROUND

War had already come to northern Australia, and now the southern cities were to be made bitterly aware the world-wide conflict had reached them. The midget submarine attack was only the beginning: gun strikes were made against land targets, and more enemy submarines came south, attacking freighters up and down the continent’s eastern coast.

This accounting of the night, by one of Australia’s leading military historians who has served in warfare himself, reveals new details of the fight, and sets some of the previous stories right.

Illustrated with not only photos, the book carries extensive plans of the midget submarines, and details of the curious stories following the war, including the discovery of the third midget submarine, sunk off the NSW coast.

Most importantly, it also argues that two senior naval officers bear most of the responsibility for the enemy’s successes, while shamefully, those naval men who fought valiantly on the night have been neglected in being honoured for their actions.

VERDICT: A new retelling of an important event in Australia’s WWII history.