Naval Base Perth

Typical PBY Catalina and crew during World War II

One of the longest rescue missions was done from Naval Base Perth by Lieutenant Deede out of Perth with Patrol Wing 10. Deede, Captain Thomas F. Pollock, and one other PBY Catalina flew to Corregidor in the Philippines and rescue 50 key personnel in April 1942. The rescue at US Corregidor Island Base was codenamed Operation Flight Gridiron. The trip was 3,232 miles one way. The PBYs also delivered medicine, Anti-aircraft nose fuses, and radio repair parts to the troops still on Corregidor. The troops on Corregidor did not surrender till May 6, 1942. The PBYs took of on April 27, 1942, and returned May 3, 1942. The first refuel was at Shark Bay by the USS William B. Preston (AVD-7). The next refuel was at Naval Base Darwin, where Qantas Airlines kindly refueled the planes. The cargo was loaded at Darwin and Lieutenant commander Edgar Neale joined the operation. Next fuelling was at Timor. The next spot was on Lake Lanao, just 513 miles from Corregidor. The planes made a risky night landing at 4:30 am on Lake Lanao successfully after US troops flashed a light the magic word to land. A navite banca, outrigger canoe, guided the planes to a place to hide under overhanging trees. The planes were fuelled by the troops there. The planes were lightened to prepare of the rescue. Removed were blankets, oxygen gear, spare food, and repair tools. The emergency rations we kept, but to remove weight, the plane's 50 calibre guns and ammunition were removed. On April 29, 1942, at 6:45 pm both planes took off for Corregidor. In the dark they were able to find Corregidor as oil tank burning on the island. The smoke even gave the crew the wind direction. The planes land at 11:20 pm and two US small craft came out to greet the planes and load the cargo into the boats. A large boat arrived and the three boats, unload cargo and arrived with the rescue personnel. The personnel included: Brigadier General, Major, Commander, Lieutenants, Lieutenant colone, Captain, wives and other troops. April 29, 1942, was Hirohito’s birthday, thus it is thought this is why the planes were able to land and take off without any attacks. The planes returned to Lake Lanao to rest and fuel. One plane took off, but the other with only one small tow boat had problems. In a gust of wind one plane hit a submerged reef and the plane started taking on water fast. The hole was plugged with clothes and some empty gas drums were roped to the tail to stop it from sinking. Then an empty gas drums raft was built and put under the starboard wing. The ground troops used marine glue to patch the two holes with a muslin cloth. A small water pump and bailing were used to clear the plane of water. The repairs and clearing of water was a long and difficult task, but at 4:00 pm the plane took off with the bailing party still working. Once in the air, the water drained out. The damaged plane landed in Darwin, and as soon as they landed, bailing started again. At Darwin, proper repair was done. After the repair the plane flew to Perth, 1400 miles away landing at 1:30 am, the other plane was already there. The planes flew about 7,000 miles, with 3,900 of those miles in Japan control airspace. Over 1,000 was flown without guns. The undamaged plane took 5 ½ days to complete the mission and the damaged plane 6 ½ days. The crew had long flights and little rest on the trip. All the flight personnel were awarded the Silver Star medal.[4][5][6][7]

Albany Submarine Base was founded on March 17, 1942, as a Fremantle Auxiliary Submarine Base at Port of Albany at Albany, Western Australia about 250 miles south of Perth when the submarine tender USS Holland (AS-3) arrived.[13] If Japan attacked Fremantle the complete US Sub fleet could be sunk, so some of the US Subs operated out of Albany Submarine Base. In total 31 submarines were serviced at Albany Submarine Base during the war. Captain Fife started a torpedo target range at Albany in Princess Royal Harbour. A net was set up and the USS Skipjack (SS-184) was used to test Mark 14 torpedo at the net. Port of Albany offered excellent fleet anchorage and Princess Royal Fortress. USS Pelias took over submarine tender duty on July 1942, then was replaced by the USS Fulton (AS-11). Existing port facilities were used, subs were tied to the Albany jetty and a quarantine station was used for the HQ and station. The base was moved to Naval Base Brisbane in August 1942 to prepare for the support of the Guadalcanal campaign. Submarines returned to Port of Albany during the Western Australian emergency of March 1944 out of fear of an attack on Fremantle. The Royal Australian Navy operated a large refuelling tank farm at Albany.[14][15][16]

USS Langley scuttled via torpedo on 27 February 1942 off Java, after departing Perth

To fight the Empire of Japan in Java, 43 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk from Amberley, New Zealand and Bankstown Airport were ordered to fly to Perth to be loaded on the USS Langley (CV-1), the US's first aircraft carrier. The planes landed on Maylands airfield and were towed to the Base at Fremantle. Of the 43 planes sent, only 32 were loaded onto the USS Langley on February 21/22, 1942. The planes were part of the Far East Air Force's 13th Pursuit Squadron. The plane on the USS Langley were to become the 49th Pursuit Group. United States Army Air Forces P-40 pilots and P-40 ground crews also boarded the USS Langley. USS Langley join convoy MS.5 and departed Perth on February 22. On February 27, 1942, on her way to Java, nine twin-engine Japanese bombers attacked the USS Langley off of Tilatjap. The USS Langley was heavily damaged, the crew abandoned the ship and she was scuttled by her escort ships.[18]

On September 12, 1943, a US Navy Vought OS2U Kingfisher No. 2283 with the Scouting Squadron Sixty-One, VS-61, was doing engine test flight. During the test problems appeared and the plane turned upside down and nose-dived into the Swan River. The plane exploded sank killed the two crew members, pilot and Radio-operator. The plane had take off from the Maylands Airfield.[19]