Japan Shells Sydney: War Reaches Australian Shores

Japanese submarine I-24 fired the first shells at Sydney, Australia, at approximately 1:30 AM on June 8, 1942, lobbing ten rounds from its 14-centimeter deck gun toward the eastern suburbs. Most of the shells fell harmlessly into residential areas or the harbor. One hit a house in Woollahra, punching through a wall without detonating. No one was killed. But the psychological impact on a nation that had considered itself beyond the reach of enemy fire was enormous. The shelling followed a more dramatic Japanese incursion one week earlier. On the night of May 31-June 1, three Japanese midget submarines had entered Sydney Harbour and attempted to torpedo Allied warships. One torpedo hit the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors. All three midget submarines were destroyed or scuttled, and their crews died. The bodies of two Japanese submariners were recovered and given a naval funeral with full military honors, a gesture that drew both praise and criticism. Submarine I-24 returned a week later for the shelling, accompanied by I-21, which fired on the industrial port of Newcastle, 100 miles north of Sydney, the same night. The Newcastle bombardment caused no casualties and minimal damage. The attacks were part of a broader Japanese strategy of using long-range submarine operations to disrupt Allied morale and divert defensive resources away from the Solomon Islands campaign. The submarine raids shattered Australia’s sense of geographic immunity. Until 1942, most Australians had viewed the Pacific War as a distant conflict fought by their soldiers in distant places. The attacks on Sydney and Newcastle brought the war to the home front and reinforced Prime Minister John Curtin’s argument that Australia needed American military support rather than relying on the overstretched British Empire. The raids contributed to the acceleration of the ANZUS alliance and the permanent reorientation of Australian strategic thinking from London toward Washington.