Video: 'Bombing of Darwin'

(Thursday, February 19, 1942, 9:58 a.m. Australian Central Daylight Time; during the Bombing of Darwin, part of the Pacific War, part of World War II) — 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked Darwin, Australia, ships in Darwin’s harbor and the town’s two airfields today in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasion of Timor and Java during World War II.

It was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia.

Darwin was lightly defended relative to the size of the attack, and the Japanese inflicted heavy losses upon Allied forces at little cost to themselves.

Video: 'The World At War Ep23 Pacific' (Bombing of Darwin at 1:25)

The urban areas of Darwin also suffered some damage from the raids and there were a number of civilian casualties. More than half of Darwin’s civilian population left the area permanently, before or immediately after the attack.

The number of people killed is disputed. The Lowe Commission, which investigated them in March 1942, estimated 243 victims but, assuming a few were unidentified, concluded “I am satisfied that the number is approximately 250 and I doubt whether any further investigation will result in ascertaining a more precise figure.”