Dutch Do 24s taking off from Roebuck Bay 1941

Roebuck Bay Seaplane Base, also called Broome Seaplane Base, was located in

Roebuck Bay Roebuck Bay is a bay on the coast of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its entrance is bounded in the north by the town of Broome, and in the south by Bush Point and Sandy Point. It is named after , the ship captained by William D ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

near the town of Broome. The base opened in March 1942 and operated

Consolidated PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wi ...

seaplanes during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The base was used by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

starting in 1942.

History

Roebuck Bay, also called Broome Harbor, is a natural bay offering a protected port on Australia's northwestern shore. Following the loss of

Naval Base Manila Map of Manila, Naval Base Manila is at Cavite in Manila Bay Naval Base Manila, Naval Air Base Manila was a major United States Navy base south of the City of Manila, on Luzon Island in the Philippines. Some of the bases dates back to 1898, t ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, the US seaplanes fled to the Dutch East Indies and then to

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

until these ports were taken over by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...

in March 1942. By December 19, 1941 ten PBY Catalinas were in Balikpapan: VP-101 had P-2, P-3, P-6, P-8, P-9, P-11 and

VP-102 VP-102 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. It was established as VP-18 on 1 September 1937, redesignated as VP-13 on 1 July 1939, redesignated as VP-26 on 11 December 1939, redesignated as VP-102 on 16 December 1940 and disestablished on 18 A ...

had P-23, p-25, P-26 P-2. The seaplanes at

came from

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern border of Java island, on the Mad ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

after Japan's occupation of Java in 1942. Parts of Patrol Squadrons

VP-22 VP-22 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 4D-14 (VP-4D14) on 15 September 1928, redesignated Patrol Squadron 4-B (VP-4B) on 21 January 1931, redesignated Patrol Squadron 4-F (VP-4F) on 17 July ...

, VP-101 and VP-102 of the U.S. Navy's Pat Wing 10 were operating from Roebuck Bay Seaplane Base. By the time the PBYs of Pat Wing 10 arrived at Roebuck Bay Seaplane Base about half of the planes had been lost. The base was also used by the Royal Netherlands Navy after departing Java,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. After the raid on March 3, 1942, PBY operations moved south to

Seaplane Base Exmouth Exmouth Submarine Base, called Operation Potshot, was a United States Navy base at Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia during World War II. Exmouth Gulf on western Australia was selected as the site for US Naval base as it was thought at the time ...

. USS ''Childs'', a destroyer converted into a

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

, was serving the planes at Roebuck Bay, but departed before the raid. ''Childs'' did leave behind a

launch boat Launch is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In naval use, the launch was introduced as a ship's boat to ...

, that saved the lives of many during the raid. The motor schooner ''Nickolbay'' was at Roebuck Bay acting as a seaplane tender at the time of the raid. ''Nickolbay'' was the only transportation to survive the attack, as such transported some from Roebuck Bay to

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

, about 300 miles south. Broome was attacked three more times by Japanese aircraft, but with not much damage. Broome Harbor had been a pearling port since 1883. Roebuck Bay and the Broome Airfield was used for 14 days before the raid by the Dutch as a refueling stop for planes evacuating Dutch East Indies refugee and troops to

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

. In those 14 days over 8,000 Dutch had passed though Broome. The Royal Australian Air Force and US Navy assisted the Dutch in the evacuations.

March 3, 1942 raid

On March 3, 1942 at 9:20 AM nine A6M2 Zeros and a C5M2 plane strafed the seaplanes at the base. The tide was low so most of the planes were far from shore awaiting to be refueled.At the time only two US Navy PBY planes were at Roebuck Bay and no US crews were injured. In the raid 70 people killed and 24 aircraft were destroyed, 15 of the aircraft were flying boats at Roebuck Bay seaplane base. Some of these planes are still in the bay and can seen about a mile offshore in low spring and king tides. The

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

operating the base at Broome thought the base was out of range of Japanese fighters based in

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, al ...

. But the planes used had extra fuel tanks added to make the attack. The town of

Derby, Western Australia Derby ( ) is a town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Derby had a population of 3,325 with 47.2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent. Along with Broome and Kununurra, it is one of only three towns ...

north of Roebuck Bay was also strafed on March 3, 1942.

Losses

Not one aircraft was operational at the end of the attack at 10.30 AM. The aircraft lost in the raid were: *Five

Dornier Do 24 The Dornier Do 24 is a 1930s German three-engine flying boat designed by the Dornier Flugzeugwerke for maritime patrol and search and rescue. A total of 279 were built among several factories from 1937 to 1945. Design and development The Dorn ...

of the

Netherlands Naval Aviation Service The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service ( nl, Marineluchtvaartdienst, shortened to MLD) is the naval aviation branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy. History World War I Although the MLD was formed in 1914, with the building of a seaplane base ...

(MLD) *Four PBY Catalina of MLD, PBY-5 *Two PBY Catalina of the US Navy, PBY-4 # 6 and #7 *Two PBY Catalina of the Royal Air Force, landed from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, by

Tjilatjap Cilacap Regency ( jv, ꦏꦨꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦕꦶꦭꦕꦥ꧀, also spelt: Chilachap, old spelling: Tjilatjap, Sundanese: ) is a regency () in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Cilacap. ...

, Java, PBY-5 *Two Short Empire, S.23 flyingboats, Both owned by

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to Union of South Africa, South Africa, British India, India, Australia and the Far East, inclu ...

of (

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. ...

), one operated by

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the List of airlines by foundation date, world's third-oldest airline sti ...

and one operated by Royal Australian Air Force. **Details: *Dornier Do 24K-1 Serial Number X-1 MLD was sunk. *Dornier Do 24K-1 Serial Number X-20 MLD set on fire and sunk. From Lengkong, Tangerang, Banten landed before the attack at 9:00 AM. *Dornier Do 24K-1 Serial Number X-23 MLD set on fire and sunk. From East Java, landed before the attack, crew and passengers were ashore, maintenance crew was checking plane. * Short Empire, S.23, ''Corinna'' Empire Flying Boat Registration G-AEUC, the first plane to be sunk in the attack, operated by Qantas Empire Airways (QEA). *Short Empire, S.23 ''Centaurus'', Registration G-ADUT Serial Number A18-10, Short Empire, S.23 Centaurus a medium-range four-engined flying Qantas operated by

of London, the boat caught fire and sank, flight crew on board rescued. *Two

PBY Catalina sunk *Two Dutch

with the Dutch Royal Marine Airforce, with women and children were hit in the attack. About 35 to 40 Dutch civilians refugees were killed in the raid, they were on their way south to

Naval Base Perth Naval Base Perth was a United States Navy base near Perth, Western Australia during World War II. Perth was selected as the site for a U.S. Navy base as it was beyond the range of Japanese long-range bombers. The Bombing of Darwin on 19 Februar ...

. *Dutch and British PBY were sunk also in the raid. *B-24A Liberator Serial Number 40-2374 Number 74 was in the air, caught fire just after take-off when attacked and crashed into Roebuck Bay with some loss of life. One member Sgt. Melvin Donoho swam for 36 hours to shore, a distance of about 16 km (9.9 mi). *At Broome airfield, two US

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theat ...

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...

Lockheed Lodestar The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era. Design and development Sales of the 10–14 passenger Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, which first flew in 1937, had proved disappointing, despite the air ...

and two

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and pr ...

bombers were attacked and destroyed. A Netherlands East Indies Airline's (KNILM) DC-3 transports was destroyed also. All seven allied aircraft at the airfield were destroyed. There were no injuries at the airfield, as all were able to find cover.

March 20, 1942 raid

On March 20, 1942 Mitsubishi G4M2 "Betty" medium bombers bombed the Broome Airfield. Attack killed one civilian and did minor damage to the airfield.

Memorials

Raid memorials at Broome: *There are four Broome air raid memorials in Broome: **Broome Air Raid Memorial, town center ** Allied War Memorial Wall in Bedford Memorial Park, lists those known to have been lost **Broome Air Raid 50th Anniversary Memorial at Town Beach overlooking Roebuck Bay **Memorial to the 76 Dutch civilians lost and who were initially buried there, at Town Beach *Dornier Do24K Engine from Royal Netherlands Air Force plane is on display at the Broome Historical Society museum *Dornier Do24K Engines from Royal Netherlands Air Force plane is on display at the departure gate of Broome Airporthttps://www.broomeair.com.au/

References

External links

youtube World War 2 - Defence of AustraliaHeritage nomination
of the site and wreckage by the

Western Australian Maritime Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...

Air raids – BroomeAustralian War Memorial, "Broome, 3 March 1942"
* ttp://www.museum.wa.gov.au/maritime-archaeology-web/content/broome WA Museum website on its Broome Aircraft project {{coord missing, Western Australia Military installations established in 1942 Closed installations of the United States Navy 1942 in Australia Roebuck Bay Seaplane Base Roebuck Bay Seaplane Base