Darwin WW2 Catalina Find

Mystery WWII wreck found in Darwin harbour

By Tara Ravens

May 30, 2008 03:01pm

Article from: AAP

JAPAN'S largest resource company has solved a 60-year-old mystery while surveying the seabed in Darwin Harbour.

The final resting place of the last of six Catalina flying boats has eluded historians for decades.

They were brought to Darwin by the American Navy and were an important part of Darwin's defence during WWII, patrolling Australia's northern waters.

NT Minister for Heritage Len Kiely today announced that "an important part of the territory's history" had been located by Japanese gas giant Inpex, which has plans for a $12 billion liquified natural gas (LNG) plant in Darwin.

Geophysical surveys of the seabed are required before Inpex is able to go ahead with laying pipelines and it was while researchers scoured the harbour that they happened across the find.

"This is an exciting find, the site of the last Catalina has been a mystery for over 60 years and now we have the last piece of the puzzle," Mr Kiely said.

Three of the six Catalinas in Darwin were struck during the first Japanese air strike in 1942. They sank in the harbour but no crew members were lost during the attack.

Two men were killed when another Catalina sank after a depth charge accidentally detonated during loading and their bodies were recovered and buried at the Adelaide River War Cemetery.

The fifth Catalina crashed on take-off and sank in August 1945. The crew escaped and Mr Kiely said the wreck can still be seen at very low tides.

The sixth Catalina caught fire before sinking in the harbour.

Darwin Harbour

None of the Catalina sites are war graves or heritage listed, but Mr Kiely said it was important to know their exact position "so they can be properly managed during the construction of any pipelines and infrastructure for the proposed Inpex gas plant".

Lots of juicy links:

www.museum.wa.gov.au/.../fallenangels/a241.html

www.darwin.world-guides.com/

home.st.net.au/~dunn/raaf/11sqn.htm

home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozcrashes/qld190.htm

www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/duigan_terry_...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Aus...

www.starduststudios.com/GeorgePreddyDownunder.htm

http://www.news.com.au/