Tragedy Above the Bismarck Sea
More info on the Battle of the Bismark Sea from the IHRA website.
On February 26, 1943, a Japanese convoy was spotted by Allied forces at Rabaul. At this point in the war, the Japanese were trying to build up their strength in New Guinea after losing control of the Solomon Islands. Fifth Air Force would try to keep a close eye on this convoy, but due to the weather, could not watch it for two days. On March 1st, the weather finally cleared up enough for a 90th Bomb Group crew to see the convoy on its way from Rabaul to Lae. The crew immediately reported the situation as well as the size of the convoy. With six troop transports, two vessels carrying aviation fuel, a boat full of Japanese marines, eight destroyer escorts, and 100 fighter planes, this was not a target to be missed. B-17s from the 63rd Squadron were soon sent to bomb the convoy, but were thwarted by…
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Posted on September 25, 2015, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 17 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
I found that photo of the crew of the B17, taken only days before it went down, particularly poignant.
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It was a great article, eh? I was lucky to find it.
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I found my brothers information. What exactly do you need and how best to get it to you?
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Simply put his name, unit, war service (if any), medal(s) (if any you want to mention), rank and/or job and home town right here in the comments. Many of the readers have given the info on friends and relatives for a Farewell Salutes as they know I will treat them as my own, but anything you wish left out – do so, all the info is optional.
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Edward B. Ridley – Oxon Hill, Maryland, Technical Sergeant, USAF, Vietnam Thank you.
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No, thank you! It is an honor for me to include their names here; and now, he can be honored both here in the comments and in the Farewell Salutes of the next post. R.I.P. Sgt. Ridley.
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I thank you very much. I miss the big lug…
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I understand completely.
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That battle was an Epic in it’s making, the sheer strength of numbers and aircraft involved, makes it a monumental production of its kind, and a turning point in the war. To be an eyewitness would have been an extraordinary scene.
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Can you even try to imagine the sounds, smells and organized chaos that erupted for 4 solid hours? I tried to find a picture or painting that perhaps partly depicted what happened, but nothing did it justice in my opinion. I thank you for being such a loyal reader here, Ian!!!!
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Quite frankly it made me visualize a great movie in the making, along the lines of Ben Hur, thousands of participants, air warfare combined with fleets of ships, that could never be visualized except in war, great post gp.
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Thanks, Ian.
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Commented there:
Some really hectic action was crammed into those days.
The Japanese certainly had it in for KA-PHULO-WELA. It was a strange convention, actually, which differentiated between strafing helpless men on the decks of transports as opposed to helpless men dangling from parachutes.
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Nothing in my eyes.
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Thanks for another reblog!
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You are very welcome. Your site holds a lot of very interesting posts!
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Thank you very much. So does yours!
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