Authors: Bruce Gamble

Fortress Rabaul (76 page)

BOOK: Fortress Rabaul

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First published in 2010 by Zenith Press, an imprint of MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purposes of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.

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Digital edtion: 978-1-61060-071-2
Hardcover edition: 978-0-7603-2350-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gamble, Bruce.

Fortress Rabaul : the battle for the Southwest Pacific, January 1942-April 1943 / Bruce Gamble.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7603-2350-2 (hbk. w/jkt)

1. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Papua New Guinea--Rabaul. 2. World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, Japanese. 3. World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American. 4. Rabaul (Papua New Guinea)--History, Military--20th century. 5. Air pilots, Military--United States--Biography. 6. Medal of Honor-Biography. I. Title.

D767.99.N444G36 2010

940.54’26585--dc22

2009042353

On the cover: A U.S. Army 5th Air Force raid on the Japanese-held air and naval base

at Rabaul, New Britain.
AP Photo

Maps by: Bruce Gamble

Design Manager: Brenda C. Canales

Layout by: Diana Boger

Cover designed by: Simon Larkin

Printed in the United States of America

*
The famous quote, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant …” is widely attributed to Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Combined Fleet. The line was popularized in two major films,
Tora! Tora! Tora!
and
Pearl Harbor
, but Yamamoto probably did not utter the words.

*
Mt. Hanasaki was the Japanese name for the Mother, largest of the extinct volcanoes adjacent to Rabaul.

*
An iteration of an ancient Chinese expression for long life to the emperor, “banzai” was revived during the Meiji period as a ritualistic war cry.

*
In 1947, then-Group Captain Cohen petitioned to change his legal name. Later knighted, he is known today as Sir Richard Kingsland.

*
Eaton’s B-17, later nicknamed the “Swamp Ghost,” is the most famous war relic in the Southwest Pacific. Private salvagers extracted it in 2006, and following years of controversies regarding ownership, the aircraft left New Guinea aboard a ship bound for the United States as this book went to press.

*
A number of historians have erroneously described Anderson as being captured at Lae and later executed at Rabaul. It’s a simple matter of mistaken identity. Among the crew of an RAAF Catalina shot down on May 4, 1942, was Plt. Off. Francis O. Anderson, the navigator. He was executed at Rabaul six months later, along with the rest of his crewmates.

*
As the first B-17 to return from combat,
The Swoose
conducted a public relations tour of the United States. Pilot Frank A. Kurtz Jr., a bronze medalist in the 1932 Olympics, later became the most decorated pilot in the army air forces. His daughter Swoosie, named for the famous airplane, became a well-known actress. As for The Swoose, it remains the oldest surviving B-17 and the only D model in existence. After thirty years in storage, it is being fully restored at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

*
In December 1948 a team of U.S. Army investigators visited Pease’s bomber and were informed by a native named Nini that “he had observed the plane falling and before it exploded he saw a parachute floating down.” He led the team to the site, wherea few bones were found along with a wallet and “a trinket with a crown on it.” Although no identification was made, circumstances suggest that the ill-fated jumper was the eighth crewman.

*
The Imperial year, or Koki, was based on the year Emperor Jimmu founded Japan (660 BC in the Gregorian calendar), almost 2,600 years before World War II. Generally the last two digits of the year were used when referring to military equipment, such as the Type 99 carrier bomber, which entered service in the year 2599 (1939). From the year 2600 onward only the last digit was used; hence the nomenclature of the Type 0 carrier fighter and Type 1 land attack aircraft.

*
The A-20 was but one of many famed combat planes designed by Edward H. Heinemann during his career with Douglas. Others include the SBD Dauntless, A-26 Invader, A-1 Skyraider, A-3 Skywarrior, and A-4 Skyhawk.

*
A few discrepancies exist between the combat log of Air Group 582 and Tsunoda’s postwar account. Matsunaga and a squadron mate were killed in action on March 10 but not by Corsairs. The credit properly belongs to P-39s of the 347th Fighter Group.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Melbourne, Victoria, 2350 Hours, Friday, January 23, 1942

Chapter 1: Volcanoes, God, and Coconuts

Chapter 2: 24 Squadron

Chapter 3: Gladiators