But many don't realise the attacks went on for nearly two years, with the city enduring dozens of raids.
The Northern Territory capital has marked the 84th anniversary of the February 1942 air assault that killed at least 235 people amid a push to entice more Australians north to learn about their country's war history.
"Most people know that Darwin was bombed ... what they don't know is the extent and the length of time that bombing kept going for," says Jared Archibald, curator of Territory history at Darwin's Museum and Art Gallery NT.
"Australians are very proud of their military history but don't know a lot about it."
Darwin was bombed 52 times through to November 1943 with another 12 raids conducted on other NT centres and airfields, including Katherine and Adelaide River.
The niche market of military tourism is huge in Europe after two world wars while Hawaii's Pearl Harbor, notoriously bombed by the Japanese in December 1941, is a huge tourist drawcard.
In a similar vein, the NT government wants to see military tourism boosted in the Top End and is putting up $3 million to promote it.
Sites to visit include fighter and bomber airstrips, a military museum, field hospitals, war cemeteries, anti-aircraft emplacements and the marks of Japanese bombing in Darwin.
With those come many stories including that of Australian anti-aircraft gunners who found the fuses on the shells were affected by the humidity and were exploding too low to down Japanese aircraft.
At the very place where those guns fired 84 years ago, hundreds of people gathered on Thursday to remember those who died, including 88 American servicemen on the USS Peary, one of many ships sunk in Darwin Harbour.
Acting NT Administrator Michael Grant told those gathered the bombing brought the war to Australian shores.
"The bombing of Darwin is now deeply rooted in our national psyche ... and is by far the most devastating attack conducted on Australian soil," he said.
Mr Grant said one of the heroes as the bombs rained down that day was Roy Sinclair, just released from jail, who worked tirelessly to give first aid to the wounded, earning him a pardon from the governor-general.
Representing Defence Minister Richard Marles, federal MP Luke Gosling said the bombing of Darwin was "profoundly shocking" for Australians who until then had thought the war was "something happening far away".
He said it reminded Australians of the need for military preparedness.
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