Shadows in the Night

The Untold Story of Sergeant Bram Burrows & the RAAF Black Cats

Many moons ago, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Pauline Burrows during her visit to Darwin. Pauline was on a deeply personal mission: to preserve and share the extraordinary wartime history of her father, Sergeant Bram Burrows.

Bram served as a Fitter Armourer and Technical Air Gunner aboard the legendary Consolidated PBY Catalina A24/309, flying with the RAAF 20 Squadron out of East Arm, Darwin.

To the untrained eye, the Catalina was a slow, lumbering flying boat. But under the veil of absolute darkness, painted in a matte black finish to avoid enemy searchlights, these aircraft transformed into the "Black Cats"—one of the most lethal, versatile, and covert weapons in the Pacific Theatre.

Bram Burrows’ service record reads like a Hollywood espionage script, spanning three of the most perilous covert operations of World War II.

1. Seamine Seeding Operations

The Black Cats specialised in low-altitude, high-stakes night missions. Bram’s crew flew their Catalina deep into hostile territory, dodging anti-aircraft fire to lay seamines along the coast of China and Japanese-controlled shipping lanes. These precise, nocturnal mining operations effectively choked enemy supply lines and disrupted naval movements without ever engaging in open daylight dogfights.

2. Inserting Z Force Commandos

Perhaps the most secretive aspect of Bram’s deployment was his involvement with Z Special Unit (Z Force)—the elite, covert precursor to Australia's SAS. Operating from East Arm, the crew of the A24/309 flew hazardous stealth inserts, planting Z Force commandos deep behind enemy lines. Dropping these operatives into occupied territories via the Catalina's waist blisters required flawless navigation and nerves of steel.

3. The Evacuation of Changi Prison

When the war finally drew to a close, the Black Cats shifted from predators to saviours. Bram and his squadron were among the first to arrive for the humanitarian effort, flying grueling long-range missions to evacuate malnourished Allied Prisoners of War (POWs) from Singapore’s notorious Changi Prison. For many survivors, the sight of an RAAF Catalina touching down on the water was the official signal that their nightmare was over.