Broome's Catalina WWII Flying Boat Wrecks
Roebuck Bay contains a sunken armada of World War II flying boat wrecks that are fully visible at tides less than 0.86m. No other place in the world has such a collection of rare and historically significant flying boats. The mud has done a very good job of preserving the aircraft.
At extremely low tides, the plane wrecks are visible to those who wish to walk the kilometre across the Roebuck Bay mud flats from Town Beach.
Submerged by sea, but visible on very low tides, these wrecks are heritage protected and respected by the local community, due to them being 'war graves' of the over 100 lives lost when war came to Broome.
Broome and the pearling industry were impacted by both World Wars. During World War I pearling trade lapsed and hundreds of tonnes of shell were left in warehouses and were ruined. The industry continued after the war, though it never fully regained its earlier momentum.
In February 1942 Allied personnel were ordered to evacuate Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) as an attack by the Japanese was imminent. During February and March over 8000 refugees passed through Broome en route to Perth and Sydney using whatever aircraft was available.
On the 3rd of March 1942, nine Japanese Mitsubishi Zero fighters left Koepang, in Timor, and made a daring air bombardment of Broome. They destroyed fifteen flying boats on Roebuck Bay and six aircraft at the Broome airfield. It is estimated over 100 people died during the attack. Heroic rescues by locals and aircrew saved many lives. The attack left no useable aircraft in Broome. Read more at the Broome Historical Museum website.
To this day, the wrecks of some of the aircraft can be seen at very low tide at certain times of the year.
We recommend you allow an hour to walk to out to the wrecks, and an hour to return to shore. Enclosed shoes are also recommended.
Important Information:
The wrecks are protected under the Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990. Please do not disturb them, do not remove artefacts and do not walk on exposed structures.
Browse these wonderful photos - Credits: 2nd image to Jason Scott, remainder Maddison Hall.
These images have been generously supplied to us by Maddison Hall and are not to be reproduced without permission in any format.
Buy the book 'Broome's One Day War'
Read more about Broome's fascinating history...More information about the flying boat wrecks and the air raid on Broome can be found at the Broome Historical Museum. You can purchase a copy of The Broome Historical Society’s publication Broome’s One Day War (click to order online) from our museum in Broome or purchase at Kimberley Bookshop.
Take a look at an in-depth description of the exposed wreck in Roebuck Bay, complied by Silvano Jung from Charles Darwin University. It contains impeccably detailed diagrams of the wrecks and maps of their locations.
View The Broome Flying Boat compendium: a guide to navigating the Department of Maritime Archaeology archives and collection from the Western Australian Museum's Maritime Archaeology Databases.
Download this fact sheet from the Museum of Western Australia website.
