DCA's Role in the Second World War
by Roger Meyer

How prepared was DCA for the war?

By June 1939 DCA was responsible for 71 Government Aerodromes and 147 emergency landing grounds. There were 215 local aerodromes licensed. Advances had been made in airway and aerodrome lighting, including rotating beacons and obstruction and boundary lights. Strip maps for pilots were being produced. Aeronautical radio facilities were of two types; communications and navigation. Permanent Aeradio stations were being constructed at 17 sites, with temporary facilities at six more. The AWA Coastal Radio Service was, at this time, also used for air-to-ground communications. Ultra High Frequency Lorenz 33 MHz radio range beacons existed at Brisbane, Kempsey, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Launceston, Hobart, Nhill, Adelaide and Perth.

Air Traffic Control had also begun. In March 1937, Aerodrome Control Officers were appointed at Archerfield, Mascot, Essendon and Parafield. Meteorological facilities were also being provided, with full forecasting stations at 12 airports, and secondary stations at 11 more.

So, when war came much had already been done to put in place a civil aviation infrastructure, but much more was needed and DCA was immediately involved in providing it.

Organisation and personnel

The enormous increase in the Department’s responsibilities and activities led naturally to an increase in personnel. The increase resulted, in part, from the many officers who enlisted or were loaned to the defence departments.

In June 1939, there had been 251 officers and employees. There were 275 by June 1940 and 524 by June 1942. On 20 April 1942, the Department was declared a ‘protected undertaking’ under the National Security (Manpower) Regulations. This meant that staff could not leave the Department without special authority. During the war 77 officers of DCA enlisted in the armed forces for full-time service. Eight of these men gave their lives. By 30 June 1946, all but two of the survivors had resumed duty with the Department.

On 13 August 1940 Minister Fairbairn was killed while a passenger on a RAAF Hudson aircraft which crashed near Canberra Airport. Also lost were the Minister for the Army, the Chief of the General Staff, the Vice-President of the Executive Council, a staff officer, Fairbairn’s private secretary, and the aircraft crew.

Fairbairn was followed as Minister in quick succession by Arthur Fadden and Jack McEwan. On 7th October 1941, when the Curtin government took office, A.S. Drakeford became minister. He remained a very effective minister until 1949.

A.B. Corbett was Director-General at the beginning, was almost due to retire, but because of the emergency, his appointment was regularly extended for short periods until 17 February 1944 when Daniel McVey was appointed. As McVey could not take up duty until 5 August, Corbett soldiered on before finally retiring on 4th August. Much of the burden throughout the war was borne by the Assistant Director-General, E.C. Johnston and a small group of senior officers, including the Chief Electrical Engineer, R.M. Badenach, the chief Aeronautical Engineer, A.G. Berg, and the Chief Inspector, Ground Organisation, A.R. McComb.

Australia attacked

On Tuesday, 19 February 1942, the Japanese mounted a heavy bombing raid on Darwin, the first on Australian mainland soil. The civil aerodrome at Parap received a few minutes warning. The ground staff evacuated their offices and took shelter in slit trenches. The Aeradio staff rushed to the radio room to carry out their emergency procedures. An ‘air raid in progress’ signal – QQQ QQQ QQQ de VZDN – was sent out, and repeated by Daly Waters. This was to turn back all civil aircraft which might be on their way to Darwin. The operators then sought shelter in the slit trenches.

At the end of the first raid, staff came back to put out the fires. Unfortunately the aerodrome fire tender was ablaze and the emergency power plant was badly damaged. In the Aeradio room the ceiling had been brought down, and the room was littered with broken valves. The control lines to the transmitter were open-circuited and all the radio equipment was unworkable. Radio staff then drove to the Darwin Coastal Radio Station to report the damage to Melbourne. This message was the first detailed news of the raid received by the rest of Australia.

While this message was being sent a second raid occurred. The radio staff then went to the '11 mile' transmitter site and opened an aircraft watch, backed by the AWA Coastal Radio Station. By early in the afternoon, Darwin Aeradio was back in business.

Bruce Acland, a DCA Aeradio operator (who later received a King's Commendation for Brave Conduct in recognition of his work during the raid), recalled: "The few days after the first big raid are a blur in the memory. We literally worked until we dropped, twenty or more hours at a stretch. I was involved mainly in setting up a station using aircraft equipment and batteries with a petrol charger at a deserted Chinese shop near the civil 'drome. Some of the others were dismantling the transmitters at the 'Eleven Mile' [site] and when they had completed this they took them by train to Katherine. During all this period VZDN was still on the air. Our staff dropped down to three Aeradio and one flight check officer, and the deserted Chinese shop became Darwin Aeradio. We shifted into the OIC’s residence near the civil 'drome getting what food we could from neighbouring houses and the RAAF Mess store on the aerodrome."

Much of the attack on Darwin was aimed at the harbour where the Flying Boat Base was located. The Base was under the control of DCA officer William Wake. During the first attack, five merchant ships were sunk and a further 11 vessels damaged. Hidden by the smoke of burning ships, the QEA flying boat Camilla (VH-ADU) received only minor shrapnel holes. Between the raids she was safely flown out and returned the next day to evacuate the company’s staff.