JAPANESE RECCE FLIGHT OVER TOOWOOMBA
DURING WORLD WW2

The father of Wing Commander Rod Brittain told a story as follows:-

"....... During the 1960's an executive from the Japanese parent company Koyo Kogo (Mazda) visited the Toowoomba agency, and during a break produced his own map marked with ornamental lakes which he asked his hosts to take him to see. However, no one knew of any lakes in the Toowoomba area and when the Japanese visitor's map was compared with a town map it was calculated that the 'lakes' were supposedly situated where 7SD was."

"After being taken to 7SD and seeing the igloo hangars which he had thought were lakes when seen from the air, the visitor revealed that the map was made from information obtained when he flew a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft over Toowoomba during the war!"

According to Wing Commander Brittain's father, the Japanese visitor's response to finding out that how they had been tricked was:-

"If I had known that they were storehouses then, I might have dropped a few bombs!"

The Japanese interest in Toowoomba started before the war when a number of Japanese agents were operating in the area gathering intelligence information.

Can anyone tell me more about this flight?

Who was the pilot? What sort of aircraft was it?

Was it from a Japanese submarine or ship or aircraft carrier? Which one?

Japanese Recce flights over Australia during WW2

REFERENCES

Mrs Eve Scott (Ex- WAAAF Sgt. 93984), "Untold & Told Stories of the Air Force - RAAF & WAAAF"

Warrant Officer Murray Moore, "The History of 7 Stores Depot, Toowoomba", 1992 (does anyone have a copy of this one?)

Robert Piper, "The Hidden Chapters - Untold stories of Australians at war in the Pacific", Pagemasters Pty. Ltd., 1995

Tony Matthews, "Shadows Dancing - Japanese Espionage against the West 1939 - 1945"

Can anyone help me with more information?

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 31 October 2000

This page last updated 14 January 2020