Florence D was a 2,642-ton steamship built as Lake Farmingdale in Superior, Wisconsin, and launched on 30 April 1919 – one of the many 'Laker' freighters built for the US Shipping Board after World War I. By early 1942 she was a Philippine-registered freighter under US Army charter, part of the desperate effort to run supplies and ammunition through the Japanese blockade to the Philippines.

On 19 February 1942, the day of the first Japanese air raids on Darwin, she was attacked by Japanese carrier aircraft off Bathurst Island. She had picked up survivors of a US Navy Catalina shot down earlier in the day. A bomb hit her forward cargo hold, which held hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition; the bow exploded and she sank almost immediately. Three of her crew – Francisco Beltran, Librado Briones and Mariano Reyes – were killed, as was Catalina crewman Joseph Clifton Shuler. The Don Isidro, another blockade runner, was attacked and lost off Bathurst Island in the same raid.

The wreck was located in December 2008 by Wayne Keeping and publicly identified in 2009. It lies in about 16 m on a sand bottom: the stern is intact and lying on its starboard side, while the forward part of the ship is a confused debris field from the explosion. Coral, sponges and fish have colonised the structure.

Florence D is one of three declared protected zones in the NT (with the submarine I-124 and the Sanyo Maru). A closed-water order applies and entry requires permission from the NT Heritage Branch. It is a war grave in spirit and a heritage site of international significance to Australia, the United States and the Philippines. Recreational divers should regard it as closed; it is listed here for its historical importance and to make the access rules clear.

The wreck lies off the west coast of Bathurst Island, roughly 17 nautical miles offshore near Rocky Point and Caution Point according to OzAtWar. From Darwin (Cullen Bay) the run north-west across Beagle Gulf and up the Bathurst coast is long and exposed – several hours each way. The site is a declared protected zone with a closed-water order: no vessel may enter without written permission from the NT Heritage Branch, so any visit must be arranged as a permitted research or heritage dive.

The adjacent Bathurst coast is also a Tiwi exclusion zone for fishing and landing.

Open water off the west coast of Bathurst Island, exposed to westerly and north-westerly winds. Only feasible in the dry season (May–October) on calm days, early in the morning before the trades build, and at neap slack water. Wet-season monsoon winds, cyclones (November–April) and box jellyfish rule it out.

The long crossing from Darwin means weather windows must be forecast carefully.

Only under permit. A permitted dive would descend a shot beside (not on) the wreck, examine the intact stern lying on its starboard side at about 16 m, then move carefully along the debris field forward where the bow exploded, without touching anything. Live ordnance may be present.

Permit-only heritage site; any permitted dive must follow Heritage Branch conditions (no contact, no removal).

No operator – closed-water protected zone. Access only for NT Heritage Branch-permitted research or commemorative dives.