Shelling of Newcastle - Bombardment

Bombardment

During the early hours of 8 June I-24 and I-21 carried out brief bombardments of Sydney and Newcastle respectively. The purpose of these attacks was to generate what historian David Jenkins has called an "air of disquiet" rather than inflict significant damage on targets in the two cities. Between 00:15 and 00:20 I-24 fired ten shells which landed in the suburbs of Bellevue Hill, Rose Bay and Woollahra. Only one of these shells exploded, and they caused little damage and only injured one person. While the Sydney Harbour defences spotted I-24's gun flashes, the submarine ceased its attack and submerged before the Australian gunners could open fire on it.

I-21 began her bombardment of Newcastle two hours after the attack on Sydney. At this time submarine was 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Newcastle, and was sailing eastwards as her 140 mm (5.5 in) deck gun was stern-mounted. Prior to the attack the submarine's gun crew had prepared 34 rounds of ammunition; these comprised 26 conventional rounds and eight illumination rounds. The target of the attack was the BHP steelworks in the city.

Between 2:15 am and 2:31 am I-21 fired 34 shells at Newcastle. These rounds landed over a wide area, however, and caused little damage. Only one of the 20 conventional shells exploded, causing damage to a house on Parnell Place. Another shell damaged a nearby tram terminus but did not explode. At 2:28 am the guns at Fort Scratchley near the entrance to Newcastle's harbour opened fire on I-21. The submarine's commanding officer, Commander Matsumura Kanji, continued the bombardment for another three minutes as he believed that it would take time for the Australian gunners to locate the submarine. By the time the attack concluded the fort's two guns had fired two salvos, but none of the four shells struck I-21.