US AND DUTCH AIRCRAFT THAT
ARRIVED IN AUSTRALIA BY SHIP
DURING WWII
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This list below is far from complete. It is based on the limited available information on this topic. I would like to hear from you if you can help me to add new entries. Please provide your sources as well. See my e-mail at the bottom of the web page.
| Date | Ship | Arrived | Aircraft delivered |
| 22 Dec 41 | USAT Meigs | Brisbane | 18 x P-40E Warhawks |
| 22 Dec 41 | USAT Holbrook | Brisbane | 52 x A-24 |
| 13 Jan 42 | President Polk | Brisbane | 55 x P-40E Warhawks, 4 x C-53s |
| 25 Jan 42 | Mormac Sun | Brisbane | 67 x P-40E Warhawks, 1 C-53 |
| 30 Jan 42 | SS Monroe | possibly Brisbane or Melbourne | 70 P-40E Warhawks |
| 2 Feb 42 | Mariposa | Melbourne | 19 x P-40E Warhawks (14 trucked to Geelong, 5 forwarded to SS Bolbrook). 19 P-39D Airacobras also arrived with this Convoy No. 2013 but unsure which ship they were on. |
| 2 Feb 42 | Coolidge | Melbourne | 32 x P-40Es (all forwarded to SS Holbrook). 19 P-39D Airacobras also arrived with this Convoy No. 2013 but unsure which ship they were on. |
| 6 Feb 42 | Hammondsport | Brisbane | 111 x P-40Es (3 diverted to Philippines), 10 x O-47s. Note:- The War Diary for USS Hammondsport on Fold3 shows the ship mooring to Brett's Wharf, Brisbane on 6 February. Other sources incorrectly suggest it arrived in Melbourne on 4 Feb 1942. The War Diary incorrectly states it delivered 120 P-40 airplanes. |
| 20 Feb 42 | Mormac Star | Geelong | 23 x P-40E (pairs of wings), 54 x P-400s (50 forwarded to Athene), 13 x P-39F Airacobras |
| 25 Feb 42 | Hawaiian Merchant | Brisbane | 1 x P-40E Warhawk, 38 P-400 Airacobras, 8 x P-39D Airacobras, 12 P-39F Airacobras, 15 x A-24s |
| 1 Mar 42 | Meriweather Lewis | Brisbane | 31 x P-39F Airacobras (All forwarded to New Zealand) |
| 3 Mar 42 | SS Cape Alava | Brisbane | 1 x P-40E Warhawk plus 3 fuselages for wings arriving on Mormac Star on 20 Feb 42 |
| 5 Mar 42 | Torrens | Brisbane | 40 x P-400 Airacobras, 30 x P-40E Warhawks, 3 x A-20A Havocs |
| 6 Mar 42 | Athene | Melbourne | 10 x P-400 Airacobras (trucked to Geelong), 40 x P-400 Airacobras (forwarded to Noumea) |
| 8 Mar 42 | Mormac Sea | Brisbane | 54 x P-39D Airacobras, 3 x P-40E Warhawks (fuselages only) |
| 8 Mar 42 | Crown City | Brisbane | 20 x P-400 Airacobras, 3 x P-39 Airacobras |
| 9 Mar 42 | SS Robin Tuxford | Fremantle | 19 x P-40E Warhawks. These became the initial 19 aircraft of 77 Squadron RAAF. |
| 21 Mar 42 | William Clark | Brisbane | 15 x P-400 Airacobras, 25 x P-39F Airacobras (all forwarded to New Zealand) |
| 30 Mar 42 | SS Goonawarra | Melbourne | 10 x P-40E Warhawks |
| Mar 42 | Sloterdijk | Fremantle | 7 x CW-22B Curtis Falcons (diverted from Java) |
| Mar 42 | Tjibesar | Fremantle | 14 x CW-22B Curtis Falcons (diverted from Java) |
| 3 Apr 42 | SS Bantam | ? | 10 x P-40E-1 Warhawks |
| 7 Apr 42 | SS Mirrabooka | Melbourne | 10 x P-40E Warhawks |
| 8 Apr 42 | SS Andrea Luckenhack (or Luckenback) | Melbourne | 2 x C-47 Dakotas, 3 x C-39, 2 x P-40E Warhawks |
| Jul 42 | Rufus King | Brisbane | 25 x B-25 Mitchells (ship sank near Moreton Bay) |
| 15 Aug 42 | SS Stephen Field | Brisbane | 45 x P-39 Airacobras - erected at Amberley |
| 23 Oct 42 | SS Hoperidge | ? | ? Spitfires |
| ? | Mapia | Fremantle | 4 x Brewster Buffalos |
| ? | Zaandam | Fremantle | 5 x Brewster Buffalos (crated) |
| ? | Sloterdijk | Fremantle | 10 x Brewster Buffalos |
| ? | Tabian | Fremantle | 3 x Brewster Buffalos |
| ? | Tjibesar | Fremantle | 4 x Brewster Buffalos |
| 1 Jul 43 | USS Nassau | Brisbane | 100 x P-47 Thunderbolts, 45 P-38 Lightnings |
| 21 Jul 43 | USS Barnes | Brisbane | 36 x P-38 Lightnings, 15 x P-47 Thunderbolts, |
| 26 Sep 43 | USS Copahee | Townsville | 45 x A-20 Havocs, 2 x P-47 Thunderbolts, 8 x P-40 Warhawks |
| 1 Jan 44 | USS Copahee | Brisbane | 40 x A-20 Havocs, 7 x P-47 Thunderbolts |
| 16 Jan 44 (date left San Francisco) | USS Fanshaw Bay | Townsville | ? x P-38 Lightnings |
| 7 Mar 44 | USS Prince William | Townsville | 17 x P-38 Lightnings, 17 x A-20-6 Havocs, 3 x P-61-A Black Widows, 15 P-47-D Thunderbolts |
| 11 Mar 44 | USS Copahee | Brisbane | 47 x P-38 Lightnings, 13 P-47 Thunderbolts |
| 7 May 44 | USS Prince William | Townsville | 17 x P-38-5 Lightnings, 16 x A-20-6 Havocs, 3 P-61-A Black Widows, 15 P-47-D Thunderbolts |
| Horace Luckenbach | ? | 9 x A29 (Hudson), 8 x P-40 Warhawks | |
| ? | Meriweather Lewis | ? | 31 x P-39F Airacobras |

NARA photo via Ray Holyoak
P-38G Lightning minus wings and
propellers towed down Boundary Rd, Townsville past
the National Hotel, then across Sandy Crossing to the
Townsville Air Depot on 8
Jan 1943.
P-38G #43-2196 of 9FS, 49FG crashed on engine failure after takeoff in New
Guinea on 10 Oct 1943

NARA Photo via Ray Holyoak
Over Sandy Crossing near Queens Rd on 8 Jan 1943

P-47 Thunderbolt ready to be
unloaded from the escort carrier
USS Prince William in Townsville Harbour 7-8 May 1944
Aircraft Erection Depot Townsville
Aircraft erected by the 81st Air Depot Group at Eagle Farm Airfield
REFERENCE BOOKS
"South Pacific Air War - Volume 2 - The Struggle
for Moresby, March - April 1942"
by Michael Claringbould and Peter Ingman
"NEI Aircraft in Australia"
by Jos Heyman
"Racing the Sunrise: The Reinforcements of
America's Pacific Outposts, 1941-1942"
by Glen M. Williford
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I'd like to thank Gordon Birkett and Terry Popravak for their assistance with this web page.
Can anyone help me with more information?
"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products
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© Peter Dunn 2015 |
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e-mail me |
This page first produced 22 October 2018
This page last updated 11 January 2025