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'THE CRASH OF BII-124' |
Date: 19 February 1942
Location: Melville Island, Northern Territory - Australia
Incident: Crash of Imperial Japanese 'Zero' fighter plane, and capture of the first Japanese Prisoner of War (P.W)
The first Japanese prisoner of war captured in Australia and in the South West Pacific war was Sergeant Hajimi Toyoshima, a 22 year old pilot from the carrier Hiryu. He crash landed his damaged aircraft BII-124, on his return back to his aircraft carrier after the first massive airstrike on Darwin.
A local Tiwi (Aboriginal), Matthias Ulungura of Snake Bay settlement witnessed the crash with other local people. Matthias and some other Tiwi's captured Toyoshima and took him to nearby Bathurst Island (see map) to Sergeant Leslie J Powell, of the 23rd Field Company Royal Australian Engineers. They used Toyoshima's own service pistol to escort him to captivity. The unarmed Sgt Powell was on Bathurst Island to maintain demolition installations on the island.
Map of the Northern Territory
188 carrier aircraft and 54 land based aircraft attacked Darwin that day, 5 were shot down with 5 probables claimed by anti aircraft gunners. 243 confirmed dead were counted after this first attack, this figure is under contention as many casualities were not counted in the crowded 'Chinatown' section of the Darwin community. The USS Peary, a United States Navy Destroyer was one victim of the first attack, an attack described later by the Japanese as "using a sledgehammer to crack open a walnut".
Toyoshima's severely damaged aircraft was the first intact Zero captured, and the first time the Allies could view up close the much feared Zero, which at that stage of the War - was sweeping all Allied aircraft before it with its superb handling charactistics.
A photograph taken from Toyoshima after his capture. He is the man standing in the middle.
Upon his capture, Toyoshima gave his identity as Tadao Minami, he claimed to a Sergeant pilot flying from Ambon (Dutch East Indies - now Indonesia) to Darwin, it was under this name he was given the designation of PWJ 910.1, the first Japanese Prisoner of War in the Pacific War.
Toyoshima with Sergeant Leslie J Powell Identification pictures of "Sgt Pilot Minami" (Toyoshima)
(Both of the above images are from the collection of the Australian War Memorial).
Cowra Prisoner of War Camp
Toyoshima was to later die in the infamous "Cowra Breakout", on the night of 4/5 August 1944. He led the mass escape and suicide attack by blowing on a bugle, this bugle is now in the collection of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. 1,104 Japanese prisoners attempted to escape with 241 being killed and committing suicide. Four Australian soldiers were killed during the escape, one civilian accidentally killed and four Australian soldiers wounded. This is the largest successful prison break in history.
Toyoshima's A6m2 Reisen "Zero" laying where it crashed on Melville Island on 19 February 1942.
After the capture of Toyoshima, the Tiwi people who found him were asked to show the location of the crashed Zero. Here Corporal Charles Ellemore, an RAAF guard, is standing on the fuselage with some of the men who captured Toyoshima.
This A6m2 from the Hiryu was used on the attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941. It is most likely a very close colour representation of Toyoshima's Zero*, which was from the same carrier and only 2 months after the Pearl Harbour attack. The 'cobalt blue' stripes on the fuselage represent the 2nd carrier in the 2nd carrier division (1st Air Fleet), the stripe on the tail represents flight leader.
*I am currently making a model of Toyoshima's aircraft BII-124. If anyone could possibly help me with identification of the proper colours used on this aircraft I would be most appreciative! :)
Further Reading:
"Australia's Pearl Harbour", by Douglas Lockwood (1966)
"Darwin 1942, Australia's Darkest Hour", by Timothy Hall (1980)
References:
"An Illustrated History of the Royal Australian Air Force", by George Odgers (1984). ISBN 0 86777 368 5
Australian War Memorial photographic database
"Flying Colours", compiled by William Green and Gordon Swanborough (1990) ISBN 1 85501 097 6
"The north Australian air war 1942 - 44", article by Mark Clayton in the Journal of the Australian War Memorial Number 8, April 1986. ISSN 0729-6274
Garth O'Connell (c) 1999
