OCTOBER 23, 1943
GEORGE DRURY SHOOTS DOWN A 'JAKE'

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PHOTOS AND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS.

George Drury - Pilot A19-111.

On October 23, at 4.15pm the Beaufighters departed Vivigani. The aircraft assigned were A19-90 (White One) Fisher and Lutwyche, A19-157 (White Two) McRobbie and Cooke, A19-3 (White Three) Hastwell and West and A19-111 (White Four) myself and Dave Beasley. At 6.08pm whilst patrolling Cape Orford at 2,500 feet, Dave Beasley sighted a Jake at 6 o’clock, flying at about 1,000 feet. He informed me, then I notified the flight and White Two and I peeled off, followed by White Three. While White One who had problems with their radio receiver continued on alone until they noticed the rest of the flight had gone.
I ranged myself as No. 2 to White Two and went after the enemy plane. We had no trouble in overtaking the Jake which dived to ground level and headed south-west along the coast of New Britain at approximately 200 mph towards Wagin Bay. White Two followed it around Cape Orford at 6.10pm whilst I flew over the land, putting me in a position 300 yards behind and above the Jake on its right hand side.
White Two was first in position to attack the Jake just after rounding Cape Orford at 6.10pm. After chasing the enemy for about 2 miles he opened fire hitting it with no apparent effect, whilst coming under fire from the rear gunner. White Two broke off his attack by making a left turn and climbing to 500 feet. He then flew parallel to the Jake.
The Jake turned as if to head up the Tigmi River valley as I came low over the top of the peninsular and took up position on the right hand side of it tail. I opened fire and the Jake turned left and headed along the coast again. I closed to 200 yards and the Jake’s gunner opened fire in short accurate bursts of what appeared to be .5 calibre. One shell exploded in my port engine exhaust. White Two noted a bright flash on my left engine when the explosive round hit the exhaust.
As I continued to close on the Jake I lightly walked the rudders as mild evasive tactics, giving the enemy a short burst each time he came onto the dot and closed to 150 yards. After the third burst thick black smoke was pouring from underneath the Jake’s engine, the rear gun stopped firing and the plane pulled upwards to about 100 feet, apparently out of control; the rear gunner not visible at this time.
As I passed underneath the Jake, Dave Beasley reported that the engine was now in flames and that the plane had crashed into a hillside 2 miles west of Cape Orford. I turned and made a photographic run over the burning plane. During my attack I had fired 120 rounds of 20 mm cannon whilst my boost and revs to overtake the enemy were plus 4lbs 2,500 revs, my speed being 210 knots.
In daylight the bullet that had hit my port exhaust made no difference to flying the aircraft, but as darkness began falling on the way home I realised I now had a major problem. The bullet had hit the exhaust collector at the point where it took gases from all the cylinders back to the exhaust.
I now had a blinding yellow flame about 10 feet long and 3 feet wide coming from my left engine exhaust across the front of the aircraft almost to the right engine. This made it very difficult to fly, so I called White Two on the radio and he flew in a position above me, slightly to the right and ahead of me, with his navigation lights on.
I flew back to base guided by the aircraft above me, and used the same method as I came in to land. I was able to touch down without problem, however towards the end of my landing run I ran off the strip and wiped out several lights marking the edge of the strip.
When I checked my aircraft the next morning I found that the ground crew had painted a flag for the Jake as well as several landing lights on the side of the cockpit.

Clive Cooke - Navigator A19-157.

On October 23, four Beaufighters were sent to the Cape Cunningham area to intercept a Japanese float plane which used to fly over our coast watcher (later captured and beheaded) at dusk and then do a patrol along the Allied submarine lane. Obviously some irresponsible person had drawn that lane on a map and it had fallen into enemy hands.
Not long after our arrival I spotted the extra plane and gave the alarm, urging John to get to it first. He did that, but overshot after firing a few rounds. He did not hear my instructions to have another go before the rest of the gang arrived as his headphones had pulled from the socket. George Drury in A19-111 had seen what had happened: he slowed down to the speed of the enemy plane and fired into it as he weaved from side to side to confuse the rear gunner who was firing his cannon at George in fact he did manage to damage the Beaufighter’s engine cowl.
I saw the Japanese burst into flames and crash not far from the Coast Watcher’s position near Cape Cunningham. As I was given the task of navigating the flight back to Goodenough in pitch darkness the others must not have known that I had been rated as an ‘Average-Minus’ navigator at OTU.
Of course, I hoped to live on if we crashed in enemy territory. My survival gear included a bicycle tube into which I crammed all kinds of things such as razor blades for trading with natives, a pack of cards so I could continue to play John on my way to becoming a millionaire, matches, chocolate and so on. Each item was separated from the other by string tied around the tube so that the device resembled a string of sausages.
Each ‘sausage’ was marked to identify its contents so that a knife could be used to remove the item without disturbing the other items which would still, be in a watertight compartment. I carried a fully-loaded Smith and Wesson revolver on all flights on a belt around my waist, behind which was a jungle knife with a knuckle duster on the handle. If I were to be captured I intended to take as many of the enemy with me as possible with five of the bullets in the revolver, and then use the last one on myself. I wonder if I would have really had the courage to do that.

Don West - Navigator A19-3.

On October 23, as I said I regarded the Japanese as the enemy and accepted that since they would give us no quarter either in the air or on the ground I would be liked minded. However Len and I were in and accompanying Beaufighter when George Drury and Dave Beasley shot down Jake not far from Gasmata. You could see the Japanese rear gunner firing of his little peashooter which of course was no match for the four 20mm cannons and six machine guns of the Beaufighter. The enemy aircraft was badly damaged faltered in the air tipped one its wings and went straight into the side of a hill and exploded. And I felt momentarily sorry for its crew although only a few moments earlier when I had seen Georges attack I had cheered. But when the aircraft burst into flames I just thought well there goes somebody’s father or somebody’s son. What chance did the poor bugger have, he was blown out of the sky. He might have been one of the few ‘good’ Japanese and there must have been some of them for not everyone, was a vicious brute.

George Dusting - Fitter IIE.

October 23, our kites went out on a late op last night Drury shot down a floatplane. About 0600 a Jap dive-bomber sneaked in and dropped one bomb near a boat in the harbour. The explosions woke me up. Our kites got a 1,000 ton ship and a fuel barge. Left them burning nicely.

Don Kirkwood - Navigator.

October 23, Saturday, good day for the squadron again. On a barge sweep one ship and one barge and one rowing boat destroyed. During late evening a “Jake’ was nabbed and destroyed. He was traveling west along the south coat of New Britain when he was picked up at Cape Orford. McRobbie made a full deflection pass and apparently missed. The Nip immediately whistled in toward the Tigmi River valley but Drury was there first and she was forced to turn out towards sea thus placing George Drury on his tail. He was forced to fly straight and level. The sea was below the hills on his right, Hastwell on his left, McRobbie on top and George behind. An eight second running duel with actual firing put him out for good. The rear gunner copped it first, evidence by his gun flapping aimlessly in the air. He crashed into the hills in flames. And so two or possibly three Nips have met their sought for death and honourable place in the rising sun.