MANUFACTURING HISTORY – A look back in time

MISSION X (Part 2)

World War 2: January 1942. Penang fell to the Japanese a month earlier and Kuala Lumpur is now occupied. It is obvious Singapore could not be held. There is very little time for Sir Laurence to execute his dangerous plan to tow a cache of precious machine tools from Singapore to Australia ahead of the encroaching Japanese who would employ the tools as weapons

Ioutlined my plan to the War Cabinet The Battle of Darwin, 19 February to load the machine-tools on to the Royal Navy floating dock and 1942, was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. Approx. 240 Japanese aircraft tow the lot home to Australia. attacked the town, ships in the harbour "There's no time to lose. I could go and two airfields. Darwin was totally right now”. "What do you want from unprepared. More than 240 civilians and Australian and US service personnel us?" they asked. "I want an aircraft, were killed, including the post master of and one or two fellows to go with me. the Darwin post office, his family and six There's a fellow called Jackson here in Melbourne. Used to be managing young women telegraphists. The 64th, and last, air raid on Darwin occurred on 12 November 1943. In total there were director of the Borneo Company when more than 90 air attacks on northern I was in Singapore. And then there's Australia. Captain John Williams the salvage expert - dependable and resourceful, The-news from Singapore grew worse with a good knowledge of ships.'' "All by the hour. The Japanese were racing right," they said. toward Singapore. There was not much time left. We were refuelling for the Frank Forde (Deputy PM) turned to me long hop to Singapore when a cable and said: "You'll need a lot of money came from Melbourne: "Cabinet desires for this, Mr. Hartnett. I'll fix that up Mr. Hartnett and party not to proceed. immediately." "Yes," said one voice at Malayan situation far too serious. the table. "Make sure he's got plenty Now considered impossible to carry of gold.” out mission." I showed this to the As one man, they rose and wished captain of our aircraft. “What do you me good luck. I left the room, and think?" He thought he could make it. sped back to my office to get ready The prize·was too important. I decided to for a sudden departure. Meanwhile, ignore the cable and carry on. But before cables had gone to all the Chiefs of Services in our pilot could leave Darwin he had to Singapore notifying them of the mission, called Mission X. get a pass-out. His superiors refused to give it to him. So we were Twenty-four hours later Jackson, Williams and I were climbing into stumped by red tape. Our high adventure, upon which so much had a flying-boat at Rose Bay in Sydney, for the start of our flight to depended, had ended in a dismal anti-climax. Singapore. Jackson and Williams hadn't hesitated. I couldn't tell And what happened to the machine-tools? The Japanese got them, them many details, because Cabinet had impressed on me that of course, but I believe someone had the foresight to sabotage secrecy was essential. But then, there weren't many details to tell. It most of the really important pieces before the enemy marched in. was all a half-formed plan in my own mind. Get to Singapore, order, The trip was not entirely wasted. Cabinet asked me to look Darwin cajole, bribe, buy, but get the machine-tools out of Singapore! over very closely and give them a report on the situation there, The flying-boat flew north all that hot summer day. On past Brisbane, from a strictly unbiased observer's viewpoint. I was appalled by over the Barrier Reef, beyond the pretty coral atolls. At dusk we the incredible state of unpreparedness and the complacency. reached Townsville. The town was completely blacked out, except The anti-aircraft defences were meagre and disorganized. The for the Queen's Hotel, which had lights in every window, blazing out few guns were positioned away beyond reach of their ammunition across the Coral Sea like a lighthouse. This annoyed me intensely, supplies. At the R.A.A.F. base they still had a huge concrete arch and I dashed off another of my impetuous memos to someone in at the entrance gates, a perfect landmark for raiding enemy planes. authority down south, complaining about it. "Can't you blow this thing over, or remove it? It's as good as a neon Next morning we flew on, and landed at an R.A.A.F. base at Groote sign to any Japanese pilot who comes over!" I told some Air Force Island. A signal from Darwin was waiting for me. It told us that a officers. They just shrugged. "Oh, don't worry, she'll be right;'' pilot had just landed from Singapore and was about to return. they replied. The couldn't-care-less attitude staggered me. Those Did we want him to wait for us, and take us, or should he return people didn't seem to realize they were at war. They realized it a immediately? I said our captain was confident we could make the few days later, though, when the Japanese came over in force and flight, but would like the officer to go with us. But the pilot preferred pasted the town and the harbour at their leisure. to push on immediately. That pilot got as far as Timor when the Before leaving Darwin I visited a squadron of American P40 fighters Japanese spotted him and shot down his flying-boat. Cabinet had that had just flown in from Brisbane. There were fourteen in all. The heard of the loss of the flying-boat and had assumed it was our American pilots were very young, very tense. They had never been aircraft. Frank Forde went to my home and personally broke the in action. Ten of those fourteen boys were shot down when they news to my wife, Gladys, that I had been shot down. For a few went up to meet the Japanese bomber squadrons as they began hours we were considered dead. But fortunately, the true situation their Darwin bombing raid. was made known to my wife before the day was over. To be continued…