During the Second World War, Doctors Gully was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Air Force as the northern base and headquarters for Australia's largest flying boat squadrons — the legendary Catalinas, known to their crews as the 'Black Cats'.

 

In 1943 two oil tanks and a pump house were installed at the back of Doctors Gully to support Darwin's strategic naval oil fuel supplies and the Catalina Flying Boat Base and RAAF Marine Section. This infrastructure formed a critical part of Australia's wartime defence network in the Northern Territory, keeping the Black Cat squadrons fuelled and operational around the clock.

 

RAAF Squadrons 20, 42 and 43 were all based at Doctors Gully during the war. In September 1944 they were amalgamated into Number 76 Wing, with its headquarters established at Doctors Gully to coordinate minelaying and reconnaissance operations across an enormous theatre — encompassing Borneo, the Celebes, the Philippines, the coast of China, the Northern Territory, parts of Queensland and western New Guinea.

 

The Catalinas played a daring and decisive role in the Pacific campaign, laying mines in enemy-held ports on missions that often required flying below ten metres above the water to avoid enemy radar detection. These were extraordinarily dangerous low-level operations carried out under cover of darkness — a testament to the skill and courage of the men who flew from Doctors Gully.

 

As the war drew to a close, Doctors Gully took on a deeply human role — serving as a staging point for the delivery of urgently needed medical supplies and the return of prisoners-of-war from Singapore following Japan's surrender in 1945. The camp was disbanded shortly after, closing a remarkable chapter in the history of this small Darwin enclave.