On the night of 31 May 1942, Sydney Harbour was attacked by midget submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy. HMAS Kuttabul, an accommodation vessel of the Royal Australian Navy, was torpedoed with 21 sailors killed. The midget submarines were hunted down and two were sunk. War had already come to 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.

This new account of the night Sydney Harbour was attacked reveals new details of the fight that ensued and sets some of the previous historical accounts right. The text is supported by numerous photos as well as extensive plans of the midget submarines and details of the curious stories following the war, including the discovery of the third midget submarine, sunk off the New South Wales coast.

Details: Non-fiction, published 2022.

Format: Soft cover, illustrations (photographs, plans), 224 pages.

Dimensions: 21.0 cm (h) x 15.3 cm (w).