Charters Towers and Chemical Weapons in WWII
Searching the web for “Charters Towers WWII” yields a surprising range of answers. Wikipedia (as of May 2021) reports only “an inland aircraft fuel depot.” Local memories report a surprising level of American presence for a simple fuel depot, but offer only a limited explanation for that presence. A long-secret report from the US 760th Chemical Depot Company shows that Charters Towers was, in fact, central to US-Australian collaboration in an important “what if” war strategy.
A portion of the Toxic Yard at Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia (APO 710)
The Organizational History Report for the US 760th Chemical Depot Company (Aviation), from June, 1943 to October, 1944
Full Report for the 760th, including both the above and their time near Oro Bay, New Guinea
What if the Japanese had used toxic gases in their defense of South Pacific Islands such as Guadalcanal, New Britain, Bougainville and New Guinea? Japan had indeed used mustard agent, phosgene and other toxic chemical weapons against Chinese forces in the years just before World War II and the Allies took very seriously the possibility that similar weapons would be used again. President Roosevelt declared no first use of such weapons, but he also promised retaliation in kind if Japan used them against US forces. The very large US stockpile of chemical bombs at Charters Towers and collaboration with the Australian Chemical Warfare Research Unit were essential to making the option for quick and effective retaliation more than an empty threat.
The Microfilmed History Report is sometimes difficult or impossible to read, but it offers a fascinating range of human, technical and military information. What secrets can you find in the document? Stay tuned for a continuation of the unit history as the 760th moved to New Guinea. There, they had to deal with a multitude of new hazards, including 500-pound cyanogen chloride bombs that exploded spontaneously in the storage racks.