MV ''Neptuna'' was a 5,952 ton cargo motor vessel. She was launched as MV ''Rio Panuco'' in 1924, renamed MV ''Neptun'' in 1931 and finally became MV ''Neptuna'' in 1935. She was sunk during the Japanese air raid on Darwin on 19 February 1942, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

''Rio Panuco'' was built and launched in 1924 in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft (often just called Germaniawerft, "Germania shipyard") was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in W ...

for H. Schuldt's Flensburger Dampfer Co. She traded between Germany and Central America until 1931 when the company went bankrupt in the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. She was sold to

Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...

Line (NDL) of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, who renamed her ''Neptun''. By 1934 was running her on the service between

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and Hong Kong in competition with Burns, Philp & Co. Burns, Philp asked the Australian Government to stop NDL from operating out of New Guinea but the government declined. Darwin 42

Instead the Australian government offered to pay the interest on any money Burns, Philp borrowed to buy her. This was agreed so in 1935 Burns, Philp bought her and renamed her ''Neptuna''. Burns, Philp is an Australian company but it registered ''Neptuna'' in Hong Kong. She operated on the Australia, New Guinea, Philippines, Hong Kong, Saigon service. Saigon in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

(now

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

in Vietnam) was then the main source of supply of rice to New Guinea. Neptuna explosion 19 February 1942

Sinking

In February 1942 ''Neptuna'' was off

Stokes Hill Wharf Stokes Hill Wharf is the main wharf for the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia and is named after Stokes Hill, adjacent. The hill itself was named in 1839 by the commander of HMS Beagle, HMS ''Beagle ...

Darwin, Australia Darwin (Laragiya language, Larrakia: ') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 Australian census, ...

unloading a cargo of

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

, and other armaments. MV Neptuna was sunk on 19 February 1942 during the 9:58 bombing raid in which bombs exploded in ''Neptunas saloon and engine room. Forty-five men died on board including 9 wharf labourers and 36 crew members. Many others were seriously injured and the ship was set on fire. As the crew prepared to abandon her, 100 depth charges exploded,"Loss of the MV Neptuna at Darwin, 19th February, 1942 – Report by John Hyde Ship Surgeon"
National Archives of Australia NAA. B6121, 156B showering the harbour with debris and sending flames and smoke 100 metres into the air. Part of the wreck was salvaged by the Fujita salvage operation in 1960. The remainder still lies in Darwin Harbour at .

References

Boniface, George W. "The Bombing of the MV Neptuna by Japanese in Darwin 1942" in Smith, Alan Carnegie. Outback Corridor. Plympton, S. Aust. : A.C. Smith, 2002. p. 205-213 Buckley, K. and Klugman, K. The Australian presence in the Pacific : Burns Philp, 1914–1946. Sydney : George Allen & Unwin, 1983. McCarthy, Sophie. World War II shipwrecks and the first Japanese air raid on Darwin, 19 February 1942. Darwin : Northern Territory Museum of Arts & Sciences, 1992. Smith, Neil C. With the red duster : Gardenvale, Vic. : Mostly Unsung Military History Research and Publications, c 2006. Steinberg, David Raising the war: Japanese salvage divers and allied shipwrecks in post-war Darwin Bulletin of the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology, v.33, 2009: 11–18

External links

Australia's Merchant NavyPhoto of undamaged ship– Darwin, 19 February 1942 / by Brendan de Burca – Personal recollections of the bombing of Darwin – 1942 / written in 1987 by George W. Boniface.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neptuna World War II merchant ships of Australia Ships sunk in the bombing of Darwin, 1942 Merchant ships sunk by aircraft Maritime incidents in February 1942 Ships of Norddeutscher Lloyd 1924 ships