Terry is called up to serve in the navy during World War II, and turns down a commission in order to see action early.
Dauntless is attacked and sunk by the Japanese during the Battle of the Java Sea; Terry is killed but Warren is among a handful of survivors.
[2] Although the ship in the film, Dauntless, was fictitious, it is based on the real-life HMAS Yarra, which was sunk by the Japanese in 1942 with only 13 survivors.
Shooting began in February 1947 and lasted six months, taking place at Flinders Naval Depot, Camden, and aboard the destroyer HMAS Bataan.
"[9] In later years Quentin Turnour, chief programmer with the National Film and Sound Archive, said the film demonstrated the tendency of Australian war movies to focus on the "reluctant warrior... By the time of Rats of Tobruk we're seeing that very laconic tone, a movie much more about the personal experience.