Since then, generations of Australians have been drawn to the stories and folklore of the Darwin action.  But facts have blurred and mythology has thrived.

What of the warning that never happened?  What of the ghost ship actually sunk in the Atlantic a year earlier?  Did a fighter pilot contrive a false combat record?  Did the authorities cover up the raid? Why do Australians know so little about it? This is the book that tests these many Darwin myths and reveals new information: another ship sunk; the actual intent and nature of the attack; the precise extent of the Japanese losses.

The Darwin raid is usually portrayed as a wholesale disaster for the Allies, and a day full of military ineptitude. Carrier Attack shows the defenders were alert and fought with purpose.  Arguably it was the Japanese that wasted much of their attacking strength, and in this way the Darwin defenders avoided a much larger catastrophe.

Carrier Attack provides a timely and fresh analysis of the raid. Most importantly, it draws on specially translated Japanese sources.

Hardback; 234mm x 152mm; 368 pages; many black and white photos;
10 colour maps; 21 colour aircraft profiles; 19 colour ship profiles,
7 index pages, 13 pages of References