Air Raid at Darwin Australia
While operating out of Darwin principally on anti-submarine patrol, Peary was attacked by Japanese dive bombers and suffered 80 men killed and 13 wounded. ... The first bomb exploded on the fantail, the second, an incendiary on the galley deck house; the third did not explode; the fourth hit forward and set off the forward ammunition magazines; the fifth, another incendiary, exploded in the after engine room. A .30 caliber machine gun on the after deck house and a .50 caliber machine gun on the galley deck house fired until the last enemy plane departed. ... Peary sank stern first as a result of the damage.
