OCTOBER 12, 1943
BIG RAID ON RABUAL
BACK
PHOTOS AND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS.
George Dusting - Fitter IIE.
October 12, the big do on Rabaul started today. The Liberators and Fortresses took on the shipping. The B25s did the strip over and the Beaufighters did some strafing. We lost A19-97, flown by Stone. Had a day off today but this business of the charge damped it somewhat. Had an Alert about 1750 but the Japs went to Dobodura instead.
Leslie Braund - Equipment Officer.
October 12, all our aircraft now at Dobodura for operation to Rabaul. A19-97 Stone and Morris-Hadwell missing. My posting is through to 1RPP on 18th and to 1ED on 22nd Nov. Keep flight lieutenant rank.
Laurie Crouch - Fitter/Armourer.
October 12, up at 0430, down for breakfast and then to strip to prepare Beaus for take-off. Plenty of activity; B25s everywhere. Saw 44 B25s, 60 P38s, 12 Beaus, and 30 B24s off at dawn; an impressive sight as they wheeled and picked up formation for an attack on Rabaul. Later learnt that 280 aircraft participated. Had a swim then to strip at 1400. Crates refuelled and re-armed at Goodenough We lost one crate, A19-97, Flt Lt Stone.
Don Kirkwood - Navigator.
October 12, Tuesday, spent morning at strip operations. Went over to Dobodura during the afternoon to be on standby for the ‘do’. Boys had a very exciting day over Rabaul today. As usual our team was late and a bit of misunderstanding crept in. The B25s were coming home and they were going up and opened fire on them. Over target area, the fighter cover was gone and 30 Zekes ran amok amongst them. One chap (deleted by censor)
Clive Cooke - Navigator A19-3.
Probably the most significant operation in which John and I took part was the first large-scale daylight raid on Rabaul on October 12, 1943. It consisted of about 250 American aircraft and 13 Beaufighters, and our job was to strafe the Tobera airfield at Rabaul to destroy the fighter planes stationed there. We flew to Dobodura the day before the attack, where we were briefed. Being the fastest planes we took off last, intending to catch up with the main body but this was all fouled up due to the heavy dust haze from the aircraft taking off, each one lingering longer for take-off than had been anticipated. The result was that we were late and on the way in to our target we passed the bombers who had attacked shipping with great effect in the Rabaul Harbour as well as some shore installations.
Fifty or more enemy fighters were in the air and waiting for us as we flew into Tobera. Sadly, we lost Dick Stone and Ted Morris-Hadwell in that operation. I had known Ted in 23 Squadron as a Wireless Operator. Our formation leader, Bill Boulton, saw that it was useless pressing our attack as the airfield in front of us was covered in anti-aircraft fire smoke and those Zeros and Haps were coming at us from all directions. His command over the radio was to get out for ‘Home and Mother’ and we did our best to comply with that welcome order.
But we had to put our aircraft through some very violent manoeuvres in order to protect each other’s tails from those very determined enemy planes. One of them did a loop under us at tree top height and yet we were low to the ground ourselves. The ammunition from my rear gun floated around in mid-air at times just like we now see of our Astronauts in Space. John fired at many Japanese but we were just too damned busy to see if they crashed.
Somehow McRobbie and I got a bit separated from the main body of Beaufighters on the way home and I spotted an enemy fighter about to attack us from above and to the rear by about 500 yards. I alerted John to be prepared for evasive action, it being necessary for the appropriate instructions to come from the navigator as he had a good field of vision to the rear. I waited until the enemy had committed himself to attack and then fired a burst or so from the machine gun fitted to my cupola. I had done a lot of air-to-air gunnery in my Wirraway days and felt pretty confident about using the reflector sight. The enemy plane seemed to hover in space and then broke away heading for the sea but I was too intent on looking for any of his mates to watch what happened to it. During the attack my gun had fallen from the gymbal mounting and injured my eye, but I pushed it back into place and fired the few more rounds before the plane fell out of sight.
On return to Goodenough Island, Keith McCarthy, navigator to Bill Boulton, came over and kissed John and I. It appeared that we had chased an attacking plane from their tail at a time when McCarthy’s machine gun had developed a fault and would fire only single shots, needing to be re-cocked for each shot.
Alf Catt - Pilot A19-107.
The Squadron took part in the October raid against Rabaul and for that we went across to Dobodura so that we could join in with the stream of other attackers. The Beaufighters were scheduled to take off last, and the Lightnings which were immediately ahead of us kicked up so much dust that you just couldn’t see where you were going. The Lightnings were supposed to be our top cover, but we saw them only once, and that was when we were going in to the target and they were coming back home.
We ran into Zeros just before we got to our target, the others turned left but I went in over the strip and got taken up by a couple of Zeros. Bill Davis told me that they were firing at us from astern, so I told him to use the gun in his cupola and fire right back at them. He told me that it didn’t work, so I told him to poke his tongue out at them. They chased us for about quarter of an hour, but we were right down on the water.
I had to change petrol tanks at that time and I don’t think I’ve ever switched them over faster than that. One of the Zeros flew in front and tried to cut me off, but he couldn’t do it. We were both at sea level, and we flew wing tip to wing tip for about five minutes. I waved to him and he waved back. We were somewhere around Wide Bay at the time.
The attack on Rabaul wasn’t really our success because our leader fell down on the job in that he took us in at low level right up to the target, which meant that we really couldn’t do anything other that press the trigger and spray bullets around. To make a proper attack, you’ve got to get up first, select your target, and then dive on it. You can’t do a thing unless you get height, dive in, and hold your fire till late.