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Herbert Kriloff wrote a memoir of experiences that had "stayed with him for life". (Supplied)
One of the last remaining combat survivors from the biggest World War II strike on Australian shores, the Japanese bombing of Darwin, has passed away in Melbourne aged 103.
Key points:
- The contribution of US Commander Kriloff to Australia's wartime history was described as "very significant"
- He was at his post in Darwin harbour when Japanese planes attacked on February 19, 1942
- His ship, the USS William B. Preston, fired "an incredible" 18,000 rounds at the enemy
Herbert Kriloff, a US Navy Commander, has been remembered as "one of the pioneers, in more ways than one, of the alliance between the United States and Australia, which binds our two nations together today".
Commander Kriloff was at his post on the destroyer and seaplane tender USS William B. Preston, in Darwin harbour when Japanese planes attacked on February 19, 1942.
The bombing of Darwin was the worst enemy attack on Australian soil during World War II, and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 235 people — a mix of Australia, American and Japanese, military and civilian.
The attack was largely kept secret from the southern Australian public at the time, so as not to create widespread panic about an invasion.
Renowned military historian Tom Lewis told the ABC that Commander Kriloff's contribution to the allied efforts in the bombing of Darwin, and to the nation's wartime history, was "very significant indeed".
"Survivors of the day are rare indeed now, and Herb was in the thick of the action," Dr Lewis said.
"He was in a ship, which isn't well-known in the attack ... there were 56 ships in the harbour."
Commander's vessel fired off 18,000 rounds
In a statement on behalf of Commander Kriloff's family, Dr Lewis wrote that "one of Preston's charges, a twin-engine Catalina seaplane, had taken off that morning on patrol to scout for Japanese forces".
"The other three aircraft were at their moorings when the incoming fighters and bombers came in from the south-east, having circled around to attack with surprise out of the morning sun," he wrote.
"Within minutes the seaplanes were burning, and the Preston, having loosed her anchor, was accelerating down the harbour to gain sea room.
"That day she fired an incredible 18,000 rounds from all sorts of weapons at her attackers."
Darwin attack 'stayed with him for life'
According to Dr Lewis, Commander Kriloff was later to write a memoir of experiences that had "stayed with him for life".
"Preston was strafed and bombed, and only narrowly escaped collision with the sinking destroyer USS Peary, which sank with 88 men dying," Dr Lewis wrote.
"The Preston made it out of the harbour, stopping at sea to bury 14 of her dead, and then voyaged through Perth and Adelaide to the east coast to get the ship repaired."
After the attack, Mr Kriloff met his wife, Dagmar, in Sydney, and the couple later moved to the US.
After the war they came back to Australia, this time with a daughter, who has survived him, along with two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Dagmar died in 2015, at age 106.
Topics: history, history-education, army, navy, defence-forces, defence-and-aerospace-industries, darwin-0800, melbourne-3000, canberra-2600, sydney-2000