Remembering our past: Potshot Memorial, Western Australia

Standing opposite the RAAF's Learmonth airport, this memorial seems to be in the middle of nowhere. But during WWII, this place was a submarine base and a refueling facility. The Australian armed forces ran anti-aircraft guns, radio and radar stations, and provided fighter cover for submarines. The Allies devised Operation Jaywick in 1942. Disguised as a fishing boat, a ship left Exmouth Gulf for Japanese-controlled Singapore. The crew attached limpet mines to Japanese ships, blowing up seven of them.

The raiders returned safely to Potshot without being found out, and the disguised boat was used for a second operation. In 1943, Japan bombed the Potshot base. In 1945 a cyclone damaged the facilities and they were subsequently closed.