The story
Japanese troops landed on New Ireland, Bismarck Islands and captured Kavieng. At nearby Rabaul, the last surviving Hudson bomber was used to evacuate the wounded airmen from the hospital on Namanula Hill, taking them to Port Moresby, British Territory of Papua. After sunrise, carrier Akagi and Kaga launched aircraft against Rabaul; they attacked two coastal guns at the cost of 2 Type 99 dive bombers. In the late morning, coast watchers at Watom Island spotted a Japanese fleet, which appears on the horizon for the Rabaul defenders by 1200 hours. In the afternoon, Australian troops began to sabotage airfield facilities to prevent Japanese use after capture; when destroying a bomb store, the resulting explosion was much larger than expected, and it killed several natives and the vibration damaged all nearby radios, thus the last message sent out at 1600 hours would become Rabaul's final radio message.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.