Mission to Rabaul - Nonstop action in the South West Pacific 1943

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a new day is coming to New Guinea it comes quietly at first slowly gently pushing back the night sky with its own birth of color it is very still and the air is a little sweet from the scent of rain on the jungle the man can give his heart to a new day and his hopes the man can look up at a new dawn with all his soul and feel it grow into his being and sometimes he will ache with loneliness and in his own way will think of prayer for those who are flying into the coming day well October 1943 the target for today's rebel the striking force will consist of 326 airplanes 114 Michels ATS and 125 lightnings the Mitchells will hit first coming in a treetop heights strafing and dropping parachute fragmentation bombs they will attack rope or pole and buna canal strips the liberators will follow 45 minutes later to destroy shipping in simpson harbour and the man who watches from the ground has given up himself and as part of that mission failure of airplane as part his failure and death of a friend is dying a bit himself no man is left behind on a mission therefore all men have a right to ask is a mission a sudden idea an opportunist impulse what is a mission mission to Rabaul was conceived at a time when the Japanese occupied New Guinea as far as salamullah their air bases formed a shrewdly devised chain of Defense with seldom more than 150 miles between Lynx truck can rebel were the key positions Rob owl the Keystone if the Japanese should lose Rob owl New Guinea New Britain new Ireland truck and the secondary islands would become untenable they announced travails profound significance by building it into the strongest base in the southwest Pacific area gruffly rebel is 500 miles from Port Moresby Port Moresby is 550 miles from we whack we whack is 600 miles from our bow to strike revolt is first necessary to neutralize the right flank as far as north as we whack these are the Bombers best friends the fighters quick destroyers of the air who drive off enemy planes while bombers do their job bikers don't have the range of bombers Marilyn is approximately 40 miles from japanese-held lay and 200 miles from japanese-held we went here was the logical location for fighter strips which would make possible the proposed strikes on we way why's an unique airborne operations perhaps the only one of its kind every man every tool every weapon every drop of gasoline was brought in by air it was not easy men fought the jungle mite and malaria were wet and hungry much of the time the Japanese took a poor view of the whole idea and tried to interfere even shut down several transport but here was a job to do and it was done yes we're ready on time on August 14th Japanese naval air service units relieved army air service units in the New Britain area for operations in New Guinea the enemy is preparing for increased activity both on the ground and in the air most likely in the Salim our area for his position is in danger Marga 60 we whacked bomber strength has been increased from 85 on 3rd August to 115 on 13th August the strips of Wewak are crowded with fighters I'll get 17 the time has come for the fifth Air Force to strike we way early in the morning of 17th August the heavy bombers hit we whacked from six to eight thousand feet more than 84 tons of bombs are dropped many fires have started much damage is done to the strips and to shipping in the harbor for the first time the Mitchells game over this is what they saw and destroyed 115 to 120 Japanese airplanes dalla Mahal was the first enemy area to feel the effects of the Wewak strike by 25th August Allied ground forces were firmly established on a ridge overlooking Salim ala the Japanese ground installations were strong and well defended but there was practically no air opposition air support now becomes a primary function almost every day the Salim our area is stripped 1,000 pound bombs are dropped Japanese are blasted out of coming up to them and Roosevelt Ridge surrounding Salim our the jungle here was defended penetrable the troops needed food medical supplies ammunition this is a jungle trail and these are the native carriers friendly willing tireless they did their best but it could never be good enough so once a game the troop carriers flew into combat unarmed unarmored always with a fighter escort they flew in precise formations over enemy lines to drop the needed supplies Monica sows skin noir mule ball good view other strange names all were supplied by dropping days were saved and countless lives the men with deep affection call them the biscuit bombers now Ellen always in danger mr. Laval fell leymah surely fall the Japanese caught by surprise that we whack tried desperately to establish major forward bases at Hunter Bay and Alexis Hammond and to be is crowded with barges chipping from Hansa Bay the Japanese are sending supplies and men to reinforce the lay Salim our area Hansa Bay is hit by 98 heavy and medium bombers shipping barges ground installations are shattered by the impact of 196 tons of bombs Alexis Alvin here are more supplies and men for the lace alamo area these men and supplies must be prevented from reaching the forward areas continuous reconnaissance indicated most of the supplies were coming from New Britain specifically keg cluster and borgin Bay suddenly in the first days of September the full weight of the fifth air force attack shifted to this area meanwhile day after day a relentless search was made for barges bringing supplies from New Britain to New Guinea large Japanese barge loaded the capacity will carry rations for 6,200 men for one day three barge loads per day will supply normal rations to a Japanese triangular division of 18,000 550 barges will supply normal rations to a triangular division at a distance of 300 miles approximately 250 barges flying between New Britain and New Guinea 94 are sunk in one month the barge business becomes unhealthy and the Japanese lose their stomach for this kind of dangerous living supplies from New Britain diminish oh boy is about 20 miles east of lay the Japanese High Command must have forgotten all about this bit of coast as a possible beachhead or perhaps they were confused by the diversification of the fifth Air Force tactics it is reasonable to assume they believe talimar was the first objective and lay the problem of an indefinite future they were encouraged to believe the last whatever the reason the Japanese are again caught by surprise on the 4th September and precisely 7 a.m. allied troops effect a landing at bulu plantation at the mouth of the busu River play is now cut off from the east pattern took shape rapidly September 5th witnessed the first display of still another offensive weapon the paratroops and once again the troop carriers did their share the objective meds at only 16 miles west of lay oh boy to the east now nads AB to the West the day starts early in this kind of a job the transports have been waiting all night with the doll a paratroopers arrived as planned they had breakfast a good one because no man knows when he will eat again but he doesn't seem to mind at last he'll have a chance to jump into combat he's been waiting a long time waiting in training and now the drudgery is over and the fun is about to begin once again planning and coordination dominate the immediate future of history logical that the mediums will first strafe the area it's logical there should be sufficient fight a cover to keep away any Japanese intruders logic demands there be a smokescreen to hide the operation from the curious or the inhospitable and finally logic leads to an inevitable conclusion take a deep breath then jump the paratroopers are taking Ned Zab the Australian seventh division is moving up the Markham Valley to relieve them they're engineers build pontoon bridges across the Markham River a live small naval craft speed up the Marcum searching for enemy river boats the valley is alive with activity no time was lost in consolidating this new advanced base even as troop carriers brought in men and supplies new strips were already being constructed step-by-step according to plan mission durable came closer there was a driving force an idea which gave tired men no rest it was more than a command was logic sublimated to faith advance the bomber line advanced the bomber line Japanese Air Force suddenly comes to life makes a people attempt to bomb net them there are no fighters at nads F yet not even a cacked but the Japanese have become timid they make one pass hurry away they leave a fire in the kunai grass mist the strip entirely word goes on as if nothing had happened Donna was taken September 11th play was now cut off from every land road Japanese had only two ways of supplying laid by submarine or by air and each must be done at night because of Allied air superiority the Japanese crumble under the sustained attack of heavy and medium bombers the bombing is so intense that an Australian general finally asked that it be stopped remarking the only obstacle in the way of an immediate occupation of leh is the 5th Air Force December 16th at 12:40 lay was taken and the last threat to southern New Guinea in the eastern Australian mainland was eliminated and that hope boy there was no enemy opposition left and so at last we come to lay one of the most beautiful harbors in the romantic South Seas ah it is so peaceful so lovely looking from the terrace across the sapphire blue harbor to the airdrome it thrills us to the very core to observe the heavenly ruins when it once been the homes of the Japanese we wanted to relax here but there was quite an interesting family waiting for us on the strip so we gathered our cameras and hurried off we found the family scattered about the strip to the kind of gay disorder the family had the quaintest names this is Zeke Betty little Sally good old HAMP there's little nil and finally Oscar then we gathered a few souvenirs and regretfully took our departure from this romantic spot Finch Harvin is like a finger pointing threatening Li at Cape Gloucester and Medina japanise worked hard to build up finchhaven as a major face now exposed to every kind of a tank pinch Harvin was next mediums led the way in hitting Langham Act Bay with everything they had 22nd of September Allied forces landed Finch oven near the song river in a perfectly coordinated operation which includes Australian troops American troops and the US Navy all under the constant air cover of the fifth Air Force now the ship is hit not a man lost Japanese were desperately attempting to restore Wewak to its former strength Japanese Army Air Service could no longer stand by helplessly while a tarried ground forces suffered heavy reverses without air support the game the strips were loaded 27th September the time had come to strike we lacked another crushing blow 72 tons of 500 and 1,000 pound bombs 2160 parachute fragmentation bombs were dropped one hundred sixty-seven thousand two hundred seventy five rounds of machine gun bullets were fired an estimated 60 Japanese aircraft were destroyed others were bombed and strafed with unobserved results at least 14 fires were started flames smoke and explosions covered the air drove several anti-aircraft positions were silenced all aircraft returned six weeks it all happened in six weeks out of Maryland and grew the first we waxed right FATA black came of victories of salim our lay Finch heaven out of these can control of the human gulf from the video straight now Cape Gloucester on New Britain was only 65 miles away in six weeks the enemy had lost close to a thousand airplanes had lost valuable territory had lost the battle for air supremacy had lost the initiative October 1943 the enemy is making every effort to strengthen our bowel reconnaissance reveals that some twenty vessels including warships and large and small merchant ships have recently entered the harbor less than one month ago there were 102 fighters 50 light bombers 119 medium bombers since then 100 fighters have been added many have gone to other areas but on October 11 there are 294 airplanes on the strips of Rabaul rebel is also strongly defended on the ground there are approximately 93 heavy 43 medium 188 light anti-aircraft guns of various caliber not counting the guns of the naval vessels in the harbour there are 60,000 troops robell is the most difficult target in the southwest Pacific area sometimes a man will look at the dawn and there will be an emptiness in him for those who did not come back and in his mind he will see the twisted wreckage and the bullet holes and he will wonder at the cost of war lieutenant-general Kenny commanding general fifth Air Force makes a decisive surveyed rebel will be attacked 12th October 1943 a successful mission starts somewhere back in a factory it includes a ship crossing an ocean a harbor meant to unload what the ship is brought this time bombs for a vowel prompt delivery guaranteed there can be no respite for the men of the repair and maintenance echelon there are no new airplanes for this show those that have flown so well must fly again the ground crews do their jobs some will have worked 18 hours they have put their bodies and their brains and their souls into these airplanes and they too are a part of a mission to Rabaul commission is a cumulative process supply maintenance but seemingly mechanical factors of loading machine gun belts of cleaning and installing gun uploading bombs into bomb Bay's 1,000 pound errs 500-pounders parachute fragmentation bombs the mission is a matter of intelligence men have worked weeks even months studying reconnaissance photos intelligence reports how long is the repo post trip 4300 by 600 feet best landmark keep gazelle five miles east the approach to wanaka now airdrome is good but bumpy and strong winds owing to uneven terrain there is a radar installation south of guna canal at UM of at or time is important split-second timing for perfect coordination you will rendezvous over ro Bay at a precise time it will hit New Britain at a precise time having followed a precise course there is more to intelligence should you have to sit down somewhere work your way back from the coast into the mountains then toward Cape Gloucester traveling only at night Gary plenty of silver the natives do not know paper money but avoid the natives as much as possible they are not guaranteed to be friendly patiently ingeniously intelligence puts the parts together and for them each part is their share of a mission to revolve the nun flying crew members have done their jobs as much as they could they have given of themselves now the flying men take over or obey the rendezvous airplanes come in from all directions meet exactly as planned no one wants to miss this first raping of row bow it's a date that's been a long time in the making and at last the fifth Air Force is on its way to keep it he is smooth this day kind of soft pale green guy too is soft and it's blue is the blue of an infant's eyes the white clouds are streaked with the latest pink making a pastel world whether it's fair and warm and it gets warmer closer to the water you apply at an altitude not to exceed 100 feet you will maintain radio silence at all times no matter what happens there is a trick to play on the Japanese a trick having to do without wetting their radar installation maintaining low altitudes will bring the airplanes in under their radar beam use radios balance will keep the air clear it's a long ride more than two hours have gone by it's getting warmer too there it is the coast of New Britain where are the fighters where they are exactly on time and a welcome sight now let's go in and keep a date first wanna canal new Japanese airplanes get off the ground the fighters are waiting the Japanese Hampton thing is hot after him there was a Japanese hemp bloom of black smoke is it's a tombstone and now our purple the vowel is inflamed 100 rounded aircraft are destroyed 51 greatly damaged 26 Japanese airplanes are shot down aerodrome installation suffer heavy destruction there is practically no interception and a kak is relatively weak and inaccurate once again the Japanese were surprised and we wax 17th August it was the Japanese Army Air Service and ribald 12th October it was the Japanese naval air service each apparently suffers from the same weakness each seems to lack the resilience to cope with the various elements of surprise the 12th of October mission to revile was successful because of the planned series of missions that preceded it every serviceable combat airplane of the fifth Air Force fighters bombers troop carriers went out day after day the same squadrons the same pilots the same crews in the same airplane day after day they hit the same targets scripts cut out of the jungle installations hidden under coconut trees no great cities no factories no geometrical spectacles of fire and smoke just more jungle and more coconuts what is a mission a mission is part of a plan the product of intelligence imagination courage sleepless nights a mission will start months before the day of the strike with the scratching of a fighter strip deep in the jungle it will call for ground and naval operations will require the full cooperation of the man with the shovel and the wrench the laboratory and the drafting board it will bring death and pain and the unsaid tears of friends and the bewildered sorrows mothers and fathers and payment for that there can be only one last definition the mission is a step forward on a long and carefully mapped road to victory you

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Channel: ZenosWarbirds

Views: 1,055,930

Rating: 4.6338029 out of 5

Keywords: Rabaul, Fifth Air Force, North American B-25, 43rd Bomb Group, 3rd Attack Group, 8th Fighter Group, 345th Bomb Group, 38th Bomb Group, 348th Fighter Group, 90th Bomb Group, 35th Fighter Group, 475th Fighter Group, 22nd Bomb Group, 15th Fighter Group, New Guinea Campaign, 49th Fighter Group, World War 2 film footage

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Length: 55min 40sec (3340 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 03 2012

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