Japanese Midget Submarines enter Sydney Harbour.
The boom safety net protection across Sydney Harbour was designed in January of 1942 and its construction began that month. It was located at the narrowest point of the inner harbour entrance, between George’s Head on Middle Harbour, and Green Point on Inner South Head. This protective net was not actually completed until July 1942.
The single-line steel Anti-Torpedo net was supported between piles. The centre portion was complete, but there were still large gaps at both East and West ends.
Eight Magnetic Indicator Loops were in place across the sea floor of the inner and outer harbour entrances. The Loop was designed to produce a signal when a vessel crossed over it.
In the late afternoon of 31 May 1942 three Japanese submarines, sitting about seven nautical miles (13 kilometres) out from Sydney Harbour, each launched a Type A midget submarine for an attack on shipping in Sydney Harbour.
Midget 14, commanded by Lieutenant Kenshi Chuman with Petty Officer Takeschi Ohmori, was the first inward crossing recorded by the Loop system at 8:00 pm. With all the ferry and other traffic passing over the Loops, its significance was not recognised. It wasn’t until about an hour and a half later that it was identified as a Submarine. Permission was sought to open fire but Lieutenant Chuman, hopelessly entangled in the net, solved this dilemma for all concerned. He fired demolition charges which both destroyed the Midget Submarine and her crew of two.
Meanwhile, the other two submarines, one with Sub Lieutenant Katsushisa Ban and Petty Officer Marmoru Ashibe on board and the other with Lieutenant Keiu Matsup and Petty Officer Masao Tsuzuku on board, followed at 20-minute intervals.
Katsushisa Ban proceeded up the harbour with USS Chicago as his prime target but he was having problems staying submerged. Chicago sighted it and fired, but missed. Meanwhile the third submarine was approaching the nets but was sighted by the Patrol Boat Yandra, which attacked with depth charges. After a series of explosions it was not seen again.
By this time, Katsushisa Ban was in position to sink Chicago. Ban fired. His torpedo veered off course, passing well ahead of Chicago. It went under the Dutch Submarine K-9, then under an old Sydney ferry, MHAS Kuttabul, berthed alongside Garden Island, and used as a naval accommodation vessel.
The torpedo finished its run by striking the retaining wall and exploding, lifting Kuttabul high out of the water. It came to rest on the bottom and 19 Australian sailors and 2 British sailors died.
The second submarine had not been sunk by Yandra and was later found in Taylor’s Bay, where it was then attacked by two other boats. The next day (June 1) Navy divers found this midget on the harbour floor.
On 1 June, a registered Loop crossing was recorded at 1:58 am, and the subsequent analysis showed that this was an outwards crossing. It could well have been registered by Katsushisa Ban’s submarine making good his escape after his abortive attempts to sink Chicago.
On June 9, 1942, the four bodies of the crewmen from the two Midgets sunk during the attack on Sydney were cremated at Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs Crematorium, where they were accorded full Naval Honours and their ashes returned to Japan. A memorial plaque for those who took part in this daring but unsuccessful raid on our shipping on May 31 was unveiled at Garden Island.
Sadly, 21 men from HMAS Kuttabul and 4 Japanese sailors were killed on that fateful night but the death toll could have been much higher.
War had already reached northern Australia, and now the southern cities were made bitterly aware that 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.
Note: To learn more of this event on Saturday, 6th July Gillian Lewis from the Australian National Maritime Museum will be our guest speaker. The talk will start promptly at 2:00 pm but please feel free to visit the museum at 1 Bent Street, Concord, early to check out our displays.
This event is free but donations are always welcome and you are invited to stay following the talk to chat with the speaker and our wonderful volunteers.
