May 1943 (1)

2 Spitfires take off from an airfield near Darwin.

2 May – Darwin, Australia was bombed by 20 Japanese bombers and Zero fighter aircraft.  This was the 54th airstrike on the country.  The No. 1 Wing RAAF intercepted the enemy planes after the attack and suffered heavy losses.Buildings were damaged, but there were no casualties.  Further data on Australian bombings can be located  here.

5 May – in Alaska,   an 11th Air Force weather reconnaissance airplane over Attu observed a floatplane burning on the water. Fourteen B-24’s, 17 B-25’s, 16 P-38’s, 32 P-40’s, and 5 F-5A’s flew 4 attack missions to Attu and 6 [partly with Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots] to Kiska targets that included Main Camp, a radar site, North and South Head, a runway, and Gertrude Cove installations. Bombs were dropped on Attu installations and fighters strafed and set afire one seaplane and silenced the AA guns.

Dinnertime on Kiska

Japanese forces in Central China began a massive offensive into Hunan Province in an effort to gain territories of rice production.  US commanders that would have liked to put air bases in China were disappointed by intermittent Chinese cooperation with the enemy.

7 May –  5th Air Force B-17’s and B-24’s bombed supply dumps, and other targets at Madang and Madang Airfield.  Meanwhile, Japanese fighters from Wewak were on patrol and intercepted seven B-17s and six B-24s over Madang.  The B-17s reported interception by seven Japanese fighters including two that dropped aerial bombs that missed by a considerable distance. Four B-17s were damaged, one seriously.//

Chindits behind enemy lines, Burma, May 1943.

7-14 May – in Burma, the British offensive into the Arakan finally collapsed and were driven north.  The Japanese retook Maundau and Buthidaung, which put the Allies back to their starting positions.nventional attacks.  A-20’s hit forces in the Green’s Hill area. On Timor, B-25’s pounded Penfoesi.  The B-17F “Reckless Mountain Boys” 41-24518 was lost.   Returning from a mission to Aru , the RAAF Hudson A-16-116 was lost.

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8 May – as part of the Operation Cartwheel, US Dauntless and Liberator aircraft bombed various enemy installations throughout the Solomon Islands.  Three Japanese destroyers were damaged; one seriously.

Port Moresby Station Hospital

9 May –  5th Air Force B-24’s and B-17’s bombed Manokwari, Nabire, Kaimana, Madang Airfield and the Wewak area. B-25’s hit the airfield at Gasmata.

10 May –  the 10th Air Force in Burma had 6 P-40’s bomb and strafe Kwitu, leaving several areas burning fiercely in China.  The 14th Air Force in French Indochina had eight P-40’s fly an offensive sweep against communications in the Nam Dinh and Hanoi areas. Four locomotives and 3 riverboats are destroyed, a train carrying troops and supplies was heavily damaged, and several trucks of troops were destroyed.//

Click on images to enlarge.

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Military Rivalry Humor – 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Farewell Salutes – 

Marvin Alderson – Hartford, SD; US Army, ETO, 3rd Armored Division, Signal Corps, Sgt.

Albert Alderton – Tamahere, NZ; British Navy, WWII

Tony Bruno – Gurnee, IL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-29 gunner

William Halsey III – Huntsville, AL; US Army, WWII, Engineer Amphibian, Major

Joseph Iannuzzi Jr. – Port Chester, NY; US Army, Korea, 2 Purple Hearts, Silver Star

Samuel McNeill – Southern, NJ; US Army, Vietnam, Dental Corps

Francis ‘Fritz’ Reardon, US Navy, WWII

Jordan Spears – Memphis, IN; USMC, Tiltrotor Sq. ’63/Marine Aircraft Group 16, USS Makin Island, pilot

William Tremaine – Wilmington, DE; US Army, WWII & Korea

Joshua Wheeler – Muldrow, OK; US Army, Iraq, Delta Force, Master Sgt., Bronze Stars

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