Australian Spitfires

[Jim Oxley]

Originally Posted by rldunn

Another important source of evidence are the wrecks of Japanese a/c shot down (in particular the paucity of the same) over Australia.
RLD

This comment can be quite misleading, so some clarification is deserved.

If one reads the actual combat reports of No.1 Spitfire Wing it's evident that almost all combat took place over water. This is in part due to the location of Darwin (the most common target) on the coast and the fact that it was rare for the Spitfires to be in a position to attack (ie gain sufficient altitude and up sun position) before the Japanese force was retiring. The phrase 'enemy engaged off Bathurst Island' occurs with monotonous regularity.

Very few wrecks have been found on the Australian mainland - whether they be the P-40's of the 49th FG, No.1 Wing or Japanese aircraft. It would be misleading to use this as a guide to the success or failure of any of the combatants from the three nations who fought over Darwin.