PREFACE

In deciding to write this book my primary aim was to canvass and describe the events that took place on the night of 31 May 1942 when the Japanese launched a surprise midget submarine raid on Sydney Harbour.

But, as I began to delve into the incidents surrounding the attack, it became increasingly clear that I had set myself a mammoth task. It was necessary to research a multitude of incidents, which preceded the attack in order to fully understand what happened that befogged night; and when I tried to track down official documents, there were very few to be found. Only one 13-page official report relating to the whole affair had been written and submitted to the Australian Naval Board.

For 64 years the whereabouts of the midget submarine from I-24 became one of Australia’s greatest maritime mysteries, second only to the location of the light cruiser, HMAS Sydney, sunk off the Western Australian coast by the disguised German raider, Kormoran, in November 1941. Japanese historical records confirm the craft did not return to its carrier submarine after the Sydney Harbour attack, and through the intervening years there have been many theories about its whereabouts, intensifying the mystery of what happened to the midget submarine and its crew, Lieutenant Katsuhisa Ban and Petty Officer Mamoru Ashibe. Several unconfirmed reports of its discovery over the years were met with strong editorials espousing that the wreck should be left alone and treated as a war grave for the two crew trapped inside, as would be the wishes of the Japanese people.

Contrary to these assertions, the relatives of the two sailors are anxious for the craft to be found and they have expressed their wishes in separate letters to the Australian Government:

LETTER OF APPEAL

Dear Sirs,

According to the latest news from your country, we have been informed that what is believed to be the midget submarine of the Japanese Navy has been discovered near Sydney Harbour.

If the identity of that object can be ascertained, I have no doubt that it would be the sunken midget submarine on which my elder brother was on board under the command of Lieutenant Ban.

During the war, we were taught that a sailor’s life was to perish as a part of the ocean. However, after the long waiting time for this news, my heart burns with aches for my brother.

I should be most grateful if you would be kind enough to ascertain the identity of this object and allow the remains of the crew to be salvaged. I am aware that my wish is such that causes your Government troubles. I apologise for the damage my brother caused your country during the war.

As all my four brothers were killed in World War II, and none of their ashes have been returned to Japan, I hope you would understand my feelings, being the only surviving member of the family, to wish that just one of my brothers’ ashes could come back.

I thank you most sincerely for your kind attention on this matter.

Signed by ITSUO ASHIBE on 12 April 1978.

LETTER OF APPEAL

Dear Sirs,

I wish to express respectfully my appreciation for the careful attention paid by your Government to the matters concerning my brother Katsuhisa Ban, who was one of the crew of the midget submarine.

Please accept my sincere apologies on behalf of Katsuhisa for the detriment he had caused to your esteemed country. Katsuhisa, having been a member of the Imperial Navy, had to perform his military duties, which necessitated his actions. I am sure that his personal feelings were not resentful of your country. I hope that you would give your thoughtful consideration in this regard and forgive my brother.

I have been deeply impressed with the warm and gallant treatment that your Royal Australian Navy had given to the crew of the two other midget submarines, Lieutenant Matsuo and Lieutenant. Chuma.

I am most grateful for the effort your Government has taken to search for the third submarine of which my brother was a member of the crew.

As his elder brother, it is my life-long wish that Katsuhisa’s ashes would be returned to his homeland and sleep restfully with his deceased parents.

Beyond the sentiments of the past hostilities now being forgiven, I seek your kind consideration on this matter.

Signed by KOICHI BAN on 13 April 1978.

My involvement in this story began in late 1977 when, while carrying out an abalone tagging programme for the NSW Fisheries Department, I came across a wreck in Sydney Harbour, thought to be part of the missing submarine. It was not. Until that time I had hardly been aware, like so many of my generation, that there had been a Japanese raid on Sydney Harbour. As a result of the publicity that followed, I received an interesting letter from a naval veteran who had commanded one of the patrol boats on the harbour the night of the attack. Curiosity aroused, I visited him and he told me his story, which varied from the official account. So, I set out to discover what really happened that night.

The Sydney Harbour raid was as daring as the midget submarine attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and had there been greater loss of life, the conduct of the defences of Sydney would have been revealed. After the Darwin air attack in February 1942, the government had no alternative but to order a Royal Commission, the results of which, had they been publicly released at the time, would have caused an outcry. Even today, the true number of fatalities from the Darwin air attack remains unknown. With the Sydney Harbour attack following so closely, the government could not afford another official investigation.

Today, only a few of our war veterans of that era remain, which has made it difficult, in the absence of documentation, to cover every aspect of the Sydney Harbour attack. It is now evident that military secrecy and government censorship was a major factor as to why few details emerged until many years after the Sydney raid. Had there been an official investigation, it would have revealed serious flaws in the harbour defences, as well as the failure of some personnel; it also would have revealed the gallantry of many Australian defenders.

In this revised edition, I hope I have filled in the gaps in those areas where I felt the first edition was deficient. It wasn’t until after Australia Under Siege was first published in 1982 that many survivors and participants on the harbour that night, and members of the public, came forward with their stories. Additions include further accounts from HMAS Kuttabul survivors, from former crew members of USS Chicago and USS Perkins, the role of censorship in war-time Australia, the role of suicide attacks as a weapon of war, and the theories surrounding the location of the missing Japanese midget submarine.

On 12 November 2006, the missing midget submarine was accidentally discovered in 54 metres of water off Sydney’s Northern Beaches by a group of recreational divers known as No Frills Divers.

Steven L. Carruthers, 2013