Remembering our past: Potshot Memorial, Western Australia

Standing opposite the RAAF's Learmonth airport, this memorial seems to be in the middle of nowhere. During WWII, it 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 dived down and 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.