Warbird Information Exchange

I had never heard of Lt. Robert Oestreicher until I read “ An Awkward Truth” by Peter Grose. This book, published this year tells well the very mixed story of the first bombing attacks by the Japanese on the northern Australian port of Darwin. The first attack was on 19 February 1942 and attacks on northern Australian towns continued over the next 21 months.

The initial attack on Darwin that day was made by planes from the carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu, and consisted of 36 Mitsubishi A6M2 Type "Zero", 71 Aichi D3A "Val" and 81 Nakajima B5N "Kate" This was followed by a second attack from land bases by 27 G4M “Betty” and 27 G3M “Nell”

Lt. Robert G. Oestreicher and Lt. Robert J. Buel had been left behind in Darwin with their 2 unserviceable aircraft when the rest of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron left for Java on 10 February 1942. Lt. Buel was killed on 15 February while attacking a Japanese Kawanishi H6K "Mavis" flying boat that was shadowing the USS Houston and convoy. Lt. Buel and Lt. Oestreicher were both on patrol at the time, but only Lt. Buel could be contacted by radio. Buel was shot down by the rear gunner in the flying boat which itself also crashed.

Lt Oestreicher then joined with newly arrived P40E(?)s of the 33 Pursuit Squadron and formed the only effective aerial opposition to the first attack. There was none to the second. The American planes were not based in Darwin but were passing through en route to the front line in Timor and Java. Ten serviceable aircraft led by Major Pell had tried to follow a lead B-17 to Timor that morning but had to turn back due to fog. On their return Pell and four others headed for the Darwin RAAF airfield to refuel while the other five were wisely kept in the air on patrol duties. Most of the pilots were beginners with less than 20hrs and with minimal gunnery experience and all of the planes were still carrying their drop tanks.

Lt. Oestreicher, one of the few experienced pilots was the first to spot the attacking Japanese force and the only plane of the ten to survive the attack. After avoiding the initial attack with some damage he succeeded in hiding in the clouds until he was able to shoot down two (?) "Vals" and then land safely after the Japanese carrier planes had departed.

Can anyone provide any additional information on this story and on the man himself, both before and after the incident. It is a fantastic tale, equal to those of the Hawk fighter pilots that managed to get airborne on 7 December 1941 yet a search of the WIX archives scored no hits for me.
The internet also hasn’t coughed up much information and what is there is contradictory or unclear.

The Australian Government concealed many details of the Darwin attack to protect morale and this may have led to Lt Oestreicher feat being concealed as well.

Can anyone fill in the gaps, before and after for me or suggest where I should look?

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Chris Mellor

Hi Chris,

Oestreicher's story is certainly an amazing one. Since you've already been researching him, what I've provided is probably old news already, but just in case it's not (and for the interest of others)...

From what I can find, the 3rd Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) was formed on or shortly after January 15, 1942, using pilots of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron that had been evacuated from the Philippines earlier that month, as well as a few replacements fresh from the USA. If Oestreicher was one of the Philippine vets, I would think there's a good chance of him turning up on a group photo or list, as that campaign is fairly well documented. Perhaps research of 3rd Pursuit Squadron or 24th Pursuit Group would turn up something.

The only post-Darwin raid info I found of Oestreicher on-line deals with the repairs to his damaged P-40E "Miss Nadine" and his unsuccessful attempt to ferry the bird from RAAF Daly Waters to Amberly. I am sure WIXers will enjoy the quality profile artwork of "Miss Nadine" (Be sure to scroll all the way to the last page if all you want to see is the profile!).


http://www.clarkjanson.com/histories/PE ... report.pdf


I also found this link interesting, as it identifies the pilot of the Zero which initially attacked his flight:

http://www.netherlandsnavy.nl/Special_darwin.htm

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Thanks Dan

Your first link is fascinating - what a tale of P40 destruction and waste between their arrival in the south of Australia and deployment in the north.
Let alone what happened once they were deployed in those panic times.

It also makes you very sympathetic to the pilots being forced to fly from near Perth to Darwin with minimal navigational aids. Anyone who has flown over this area or driven through it would realise the enormity of the task. My father was an exploration geologist and he has innumerable photos of a 4WD parked next to a scrubby tree in a flat undistinguished expanse. Many are labelled MMBA = miles and miles of bloody Australia.

Does anyone have any more information on Lt Oestreicher before or after this day? I have read that he survived the war but there was no indication of him being involved in anything of signifcance afterwards. Was he a Philippines veteran?

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Chris Mellor

That was a very good read thank you!

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