H.M.A.S. KuttabulPrint Page

The monument commemorates those who perished onboard H.M.A.S. Kuttabul on the night of Sunday, May 31st 1942, when 3 Japanese midget submarines entered Sydney Harbour to attack Allied shipping. The memorial is located adjacent to the loss site.

In the late afternoon of 31 May 1942 three Japanese submarines, I-22, I-24 and I-27, sitting about seven nautical miles (13 kilometres) out from Sydney Harbour, each launched a Type A midget submarine for an attack on shipping in Sydney Harbour. The night before, I-24 had launched a small floatplane that flew over the harbour, its crew spotting a prize target – an American heavy cruiser, the USS Chicago.

The Japanese hoped to sink this warship and perhaps others anchored in the harbour. H.M.A.S. Kuttabul, a converted harbour ferry, was moored at Garden Island as an accommodation vessel. The crew of the midget submarine from I-24 had fired at the USS Chicago but missed, the torpedo striking the Kuttabul instead. Nineteen Australian and two British sailors on the Kuttabul died, the only Allied deaths resulting from the attack, and survivors were pulled from the sinking vessel.

Location

Details

Dedication