Chapter 4 Men Not Expendable; Anzacs on Bougainville; RAAF Pacific; Return to Timor

MEN ARE NOT EXPENDABLE

DURING the three major Australian landings in Borneo the vital beachheads were secured at a cost of less than one per cent of the Australian naval, military and air force personnel committed to the engagements.

This astonishingly low casualty rate was no mere lucky break-nor was it obtained through any weakening of Japanese resolve or fighting power.

Commendable resolve to spare no expense in the use of war material has paid dividends in these operations. The invasions were carefully planned, and the plans executed with ruthless precision. The results speak for themselves.

When one considers the various steps in the plan to reduce the enemy's beachhead opposition to nil on D-day, an appreciation can be made of the thoroughness of the preparations, in which prevention of loss of life in so far as the exigencies of the operation will permit, has a very high priority.

These careful plans to effect a "dry landing", as the troops call beachheads which are secured without a fight, have to be laid with a view to achieving the object of the operation within the stipulated time. The only alternative to such carefully planned landings is to set down a great force on the beach, and let them fight it out against the well-dug-in enemy. Probably the objective could be obtained in the same time, if the invading force was big enough, but the cost in lives would be enormous.

The fact that our leaders consider that their men are not expendable commodities, to be thrown away on bloody beachheads in an effort to save a few paltry pounds' worth of war materials, is one of the reasons why Australians perform so creditably in whatever land, sea or air operation they are briefed to undertake.

Let us examine the steps which lead up to placing an invading force "bloodlessly" on an enemy shore.

It all begins when the initial aerial photographs are taken by R.A.A.F. long-range photographic reconnaissance aircraft, and these are examined by photographic interpretation experts, and the information is used in conjunction with known details of the -area and terrain.

Then the first spate of aggression on the enemy-held territory begins. In the case of the Borneo landings our heavies were out for up to sixty days before the landing. The earlier missions were against enemy airstrips which may be the bases f or aerial attacks on our convoys and troops packed on a precarious beachhead. Having gained mastery of the air, the big bombers turned their attention to the area marked down for the landing. At Balikpapan and Tarakan particular hazards to invading troops were the thousands of gallons of inflammable oil in the huge storage tanks overlooking, the landing beaches. Had these been left intact-a strong temptation in view of the reason for the invasion-the Japanese may have, at the psychological moment of the landing, emptied this oil into the sea and fired it, causing great havoc amongst the invading troops.

Enemy gun positions, shore batteries, pillboxes, barracks, stores, watercraft and motor transport all received attention from the big bombers, and fighter-bombers which stepped up their aerial attrition as the day of the landing drew nearer.

Strict security measures were taken to ensure that no news of the threatened enemy territory leaked out before the convoy sailed. In fact one serviceman in action at Balikpapan, engaged in letter-writing during a lull in action, remarked on the absurdity of writing home from Balikpapan's front line, when, officially, the letter-writer was still on the Atherton Tableland in northern Queensland.

Heavily escorted by aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, destroyer escorts, P.T. boats, and with aircraft of the First Tactical Air Force (R.A.A.F.) and the 13th U.S. Air Force providing, a constant top cover, the huge convoys pulled out from the same base for each of the three Borneo landings. Troops travelled on the heavily armed all-purpose L.S.Ts (Landing Ships, Tank), the smaller L.S.Is (Landing Ships, Infantry), former well known Australian passenger liners doing a real war job as troop transports.

On the night before D-day, engineering experts slipped quietly shorewards from the convoy and removed the under-water obstacles off the beaches to clear the way for the landing of the troops. This most dangerous task was executed with practically no casualties at all three Borneo landings.

The landings were all timed to take place between 0800 and 0900 hours-"gentlemen's hours" commented the troops-but it was the hour which preceded the first Higgins boats hitting the shore which provided the greatest thrill.

The great pre-landing D-day bombardment started off quietly enough. The big naval guns opened up with a few seemingly desultory shots-obviously ranging on to their targets. Then the naval fire was stepped up, as lighter calibre guns from the smaller ships added to the din. Pin-points in the sky soon identified themselves as our pre-invasion air cover, Mitchells, Lightnings, Beaufighters and Liberators. They swept up and down the beachhead, bombing and strafing, while the heavy bombers hovered about to seawards.

The attack was now reaching its crescendo. The smaller rocket-ships moved in shorewards, and when they unloosed wave ,after wave of rockets the new beachhead, and the area for two or three hundred yards behind, began to become just a billow of smoke.

The B24s swept in and, particularly at Tarakan, laid a string of bombs neatly along the foreshore, adding to the dust and smoke and din.

Nothing above the ground could live under such a savage attack - and nothing did.

Suddenly the rockets ceased coming - the rocket-ships had exhausted their ammunition. The aircraft wheeled away, and the naval guns lifted their range. It was the signal for the human assault.

Into the bomb-racked smoking beaches the Higgins boats carried the assault wave, but there was no fire from the ruined and blackened beach defences.

The beachheads were established at practically no cost in lives, and while the infantry probed inland to capture airstrips and meet stern Japanese opposition, they moved secure in the knowledge that at their rear was a firm and rapidly expanding base as men and materials poured ashore.

The exploitation from the beaches was "covered" by the R.A.A.F. - sometimes huge Liberators acting as artillery spotters until pocket-handkerchief-sized strips were laid down to take the tiny Army Co-op. Austers.

This was the pattern of the Borneo landings -a pattern which allowed seasoned Australian troops to get ashore at least without having to prize a fortified toe-hold on land, as in the bloody Dieppe and Normandy landings and, indeed, in some of the earlier invasions in the Pacific.

Shells, bombs, rockets, machine-gun ammunition and armour are expendable and replaceable regardless of cost, but who is there on this earth who can estimate the value in money of the life of one man and determine how much outlay in war materials shall be made to save it?

FLIGHT-LIEUTENANT BERNARD GORDON

ANZACS ON BOUGAINVILLE

ON Gallipoli the Anzac Corps found its origin. In Greece in April 1941 it was revived. On Bougainville, Australian and New Zealand airmen fought together again as Anzacs. The name applied this time to those who supported from the air the Australian ground forces in the land of jungle and swamp.

Integral part of the Anzac trio which had the job of driving the Japs from jungle lairs and strongpoints on Bougainville Island in the Solomons was No. 84 (Army Co-operation) Wing, under Group-Captain W. L. Hely, A.F.C., of Melbourne (V.), whose experience both as a Royal Military College (Duntroon) graduate and as a R.A.A.F. administrator enabled the wing to function smoothly and effectively with the A.M.F. and the R.N.Z.A.F.

It was admitted that the Bougainville campaign depended to a very large degree on the various flying units and without them it would have been longer and more costly in personnel. The campaign marked a new phase in R.A.A.F. operations, for it was the first time the R.A.A.F. had employed a complete Army co-operation wing.

From the operational angle the wing comprised No. 5 (Tactical Reconnaissance) Squadron with Australian-made Wirraways and Boomerangs, which more than earned the nickname "the eyes of the Army"; No. 10 Local Supply Unit, with Australian-made Beauforts, which proved invaluable in dropping supplies and equipment to front-line Army troops, and No. 17 Air Observers' Post, with Austers, whose function was similar to that of the larger squadron.

Each unit with its job clearly defined formed a cog in the mighty wheel which slowly but surely cleared the strongly entrenched Japs from the island.

Arriving early in November 1944, the R.A.A.F. was functioning at full strength by mid-December. After the 2nd Australian Corps had assumed responsibility for the defence of the Torokina perimeter a forward push was made, and in this, as in other actions, the R.A.A.F. Boomerangs and Wirraways played a considerable part, nosing out targets of defended areas, reporting otherwise unknown enemy activity and leading in the R.N.Z.A.F. fighter-bomber Corsairs and correcting their bombing.

This was the first time that the combat team of Australian Army, R.A.A.F. and R.N.Z.A.F. had worked together since the dark days of 1941 in the disastrous Greek campaign. But against the infamous Jap Sixth Division, which was responsible for the rape of Nankin, and Hirohito's Imperial Marines, the Anzac team more than made its presence felt.

Largest island in the Solomons group, Bougainville was to have been the base for the invasion of Australia, but the landing of the American Marines late in 1943 thwarted the Nip plan. Adhering to their custom the Americans were content to establish a perimeter thirteen miles long and about seven miles deep, which included airfields. With the advent of the Anzac team our advance moved swiftly, and by the middle of 1945 the team had driven the Japs from two-thirds of the important island base.

Of the numerous adventures of the R.A.A.F. on Bougainville, by far the most adventurous and unenviable were those of Flight-Lieutenant Gil Cory, of Brisbane (Q.), and Flying Officer Bill Tucker, of Farleigh (Q.), who attempted to play the part of a couple of flying Santa Clauses in a Wirraway. The idea was originated at base a short time before Christmas 1944, and contributions were made of puddings, cakes, smokes, books, and packs of cards for the hard-working infantrymen. Early on Christmas Day containers were packed with the presents and adjusted to a Wirraway which was to drop them to frontline men. Pilot Cory, complete with his mature pipe (his trademark in the squadron) smoking odorously, with Observer Tucker, climbed into the Wirra, which had been specially decorated with sketches of Santa Claus for the occasion and were soon off searching for the green-clad jungle fighters.

The clouds pressed them down to 20 feet above the knife-edge ridges and mountains. Climbing to 4000 feet, the Wirra's engine spluttered and cur, and Cory was forced to use his extensive experience of piloting all types of aircraft to put down the plane with the least possible damage. After landing on a flat piece of land beside a ridge, he crawled out of the wreck with an aching side and gashed legs, Tucker's legs being cut and bruised and his hand injured.

With his pipe still between his teeth, Cory went into conference with his observer. As they were talking, they heard voices. Diving into a bush they were surprised a few minutes later to hear a native saying, "Hallo, American. Me friend. Where you stop." It was the pidgin of an educated kanaka preacher boy who had seen the crash. With him was a party from a mountain tribe. While their wounds were being dressed, preparatory to being carried up a 500-foot cliff to a village, Tucker entertained the natives by removing his false teeth -the first they had seen. These faithful natives led them through the treacherous jungle close to the Jap lines and protected them for twenty-four hours of the day and night. They arrived back at the unit fourteen days after the crash with beards, Jap trophies, their wounds well cared for, tired but full of spirit.

Flight-Lieutenant Harry Griffiths, of Mosman (N.S.W.), was one of the most experienced pilots of the squadron. An original member of No. 453 Squadron of Brewster Buffaloes, he was in Malaya early in 1941 and flew until forced out by the Jap onrush.

Another experienced single-engine pilot was Flying-Officer (now Flight-Lieutenant) Ross Glassop, of Epping (N.S.W.), who earned his laurels with the famous No. 76 Squadron of Kittyhawks.

Using their previous knowledge of tactical reconnaissance and Army co-operation work to great advantage were Flight-Lieutenant (now Squadron-Leader) Ian Curtis, of Ballarat (V.), who earned a D.F.C. in the Buna-Gona campaign in Wirraways, Flight-Lieutenant Mick Agg, of Brighton (V.) and Flight-Lieutenant Harry Saunders, of Nedlands (W.A.). These three were members of No. 4 Squadron, the original Army cooperation unit of the R.A.A.F. which helped the Army in its dogged fight from Kokoda to Sanananda.

From Spitfires to Boomerangs, was the experience of both Flying-Officer Ted Reynolds, of West Maitland (N.S.W.) and Flying-Officer (now Flight-Lieutenant) John McLean, of Camberwell (V.). Both of these lads had pitted their talents in the fast-flying British plane against the Huns over Britain. It was difficult for Flying-Officer Dion Gemmell, of Sydney (N.S.W.), to tote up the various types of aircraft he had flown in ferrying from North Africa to Italy. Flying Officer (now Flight-Lieutenant), Wilfred Pascoe, of North Sydney (N.S.W.), had notched many hours on Kittyhawks flying over the Australian never-never before transferring to Australian-built planes to ferret Jap targets.

Of the navigators, Flying-Officer Peter Fisken, of Kilkenny (S.A.), was the oldest hand and had the second seat in a destructive Beaufighter in the Bismarck Sea show. The majority of the rest of the squadron were not so fortunate, but had done an equally important job instructing the young fledglings on the mainland.

It can be seen that the "eyes of the Army" did not lack experienced pilots. Despite this experience the technique of Army co-operation work was totally different from anything they had yet experienced.

It was necessary f or the pilots to learn to fly more or less automatically at low level while pin-pointing positions with the utmost accuracy. One slip in this work and pilot and aircraft were a "wipe off".

The assignment for which there was the most competition was that of pathfinding for the New Zealand Corsairs. Having previously discovered the target, the Boomer pilot led in a number of Corsairs to the lap lair and indicated either by strafing with tracer or dropping smoke bombs. Then circling at height near by, the bombing of the Corsairs was closely observed and corrections radioed to the heavier aircraft. Praising the squadron, the A.O.C. of the New Zealand Tactical Air Force, Group-Captain G. N. Roberts, said, "The excellent pin-pointing by the Boomerangs has made the job a great deal easier and much more effective, while the accuracy of our bombing has improved immeasurably."

Perhaps the most unspectacular unit of the wing was its Communication Flight, which earlier was made up of Ansons and Beauforts. Later the Ansons were replaced with "Beaufreighters", a transport version of the Beaufort Mark 9, and its name was changed to Local Air Supply Unit.

Although its work was mainly indirect it had an important bearing on the progress of the campaign. Its assignments were equally versatile, including mail and supply dropping to front-line troops, aerial photography, courier and freight runs to garrisons of outlying islands, anti-malarial spraying with the insecticide D.D.T. in areas newly won from the Japanese.

In their photographic work, Flight-Lieutenant Jim McNally, of Artannon (N.S.W.), and his crew largely contributed to the re-mapping of the whole of the island. The appreciation of the survey section of Army Corps was signified in many messages of congratulation. Several members of his crew were on return tours and were backed with plenty of operational flying experience over the jungles.

The commanding officer, Squadron Leader Phil Ashton, of Junee (N.S.W.), a former member of the celebrated Ashton brothers' polo team and recognized as one of the world's best at the game, had previously piloted Beauforts from Home Island, Port Moresby 2nd Milne Bay. Flight-Lieutenant McNally and Flight-Lieutenant Alan Payton, of Brisbane (Q.), were original members of No. 8 Squadron of Beaufort torpedo bombers which took part in the biggest night "bash" on Rabaul's Simpson's Harbour in December 1943- Several other members of the unit had dive-bombed parts of New Guinea in Vultee Vengeances.

Mascot of the unit, who looked more like a schoolboy than a pilot, was small rosy cheeked Flying-Officer Johnny Blomberg, of Coogee (N.S.W.). Watching him pad up his seat with an extra parachute, an American brigadier was nonplussed that the 2o-year-old Johnny was the pilot. At the end of the trip from adjacent islands the tall American looked down at the little pilot, patted him on the head and said, "You might look like a schoolboy, but as a pilot you're tops with me." ~

It has been contended that one of the most important weapons in the S.W.P.A. has been the dropping of leaflets and news sheets to the Japanese. It is impossible to estimate the number of Jap prisoners taken as a result of the influence of such propaganda, but the total is very high. Numbers of such leaflets were taken on each trip by the Beauforts, no matter how short the flight, the total disposed of by the unit running into many millions.

The freight-carrying capacity of the unit's aircraft was increased by a simple invention of Warrant-Officer Jack Caesar, of Fremantle (W.A.). Dissatisfied with the load the aircraft was carrying, this wireless-navigator studiously worked in his spare time and evolved a wooden crate, which fitted into the bomb bays of the aircraft. Constructed with automatically opening and closing doors "Caesar's Crate" replaced the more costly and previously used storpedoes.

Successfully tested on an important mission of dropping barbed wire to a force which was expecting a Jap counterattack, the invention proved its worth in the accuracy and increased load dropped. This barbed wire which was dropped the previous night to the attack was hastily erected around the position and frustrated the "banzai" Nip charge. The result was that nearly 200 Japs were caught in the entanglements and "picked off" at close range by the infantrymen.

The tiny Auster aircraft of No. 17 Air Observers' Post proved their value early in the campaign, as adjuncts at close call to the forward units for observation of artillery fire,

quick evacuation of wounded and the numerous small requirements of the field forces.

With the making of many small strips close to the front lines, casualties were evacuated by Austers from locations which were accessible only after a four-day march. From these strips the wounded could be moved to the coast in twenty minutes. In this manner many lives were saved.

During the early advance, aircraft from No. 36 Squadron of transport Dakotas were attached to the wing. They embarked upon a supply-dropping programme which kept pace with, and in fact, expedited the land operations.

Acting as smaller sister to the Boomerang and Wirraway was the Auster, familiarly known as the "jungle grasshopper". This tiny aircraft, which resembles a child's model, belles its looks, and it helped in no small way in the Anzac advance on the island.

They were the first R.A.A.F. personnel on the island, having been flown from the mainland by R.A.A.F. Dakotas complete with their own Austers. Carefully tucked away in each transport was an unassembled "grasshopper". Arriving on October 23, the small planes were quickly put together with the only tools available-an improvised hammer, screwdriver and wrench-by a ground crew of six airmen and the pilots. The following day the mighty Auster was ready to fly.

But this was the first time the pilots had seen an Auster, let alone fly one. The commanding officer, Flight-Lieutenant Ivor Evans, of Sydney (N.S.W.), who had previously toured with No. 4 Squadron Wirraways and had been in the Buna-Gona show, taxied gingerly to the strip and with the other pilots
watching with fingers crossed, took the air. The flight was successful. The other aircraft of the flight were quickly assembled and the pilots broken in to the tricks of the frail-looking craft. Besides the C.O., two other members of the squadron had flown Wirraways in New Guinea. They were Flight-
Lieutenant Jack Williamson, of Mackay (Q.), and Flight-Lieutenant Cec McKenzie, of Sydney (N.S.W.), who were experienced in Army co-operation work. Their first assignment was to fly Army officers over the area to familiarize them with the type of country they were taking over from the American Marines.

Shortly afterwards, the Austers met their first misfortune. Flight-Lieutenant Cec McKenzie returned from a job with the fabric tom. away from the mainplane. It was found that this fabric was unsuitable for tropical. conditions and the whole of the flight was grounded until modifications were carried out. After a period of inactivity, the flight earned out excellent work on full-time tactical reconnaissances, gleaning information for the Army.

Considering that the "flying jeep" cruises at 8o m.p.h. and flies low, leaving itself more or less a sitting shot for small-arms fire of the Japs, this job was certainly dangerous. So keen were the Army to have the Austers near the front line that they built their own miniature strips, so that in between reconnaissances the pilot could evacuate numerous seriously wounded men who were unable to be moved by road. The advent of the Austers boosted the morale of the commandos and infantrymen, for they knew that if they were wounded they could be evacuated to an Australian general hospital within an hour.

As our troops advanced into a new area, a strip would be laid, and soon the island was dotted with these miniature clearings. The Army was particularly appreciative of the part played by an Auster when a battalion was cut off and isolated for several days. Many lives were saved when Flight-Lieutenant McKenzie dropped a message from headquarters telling the battalion to withdraw.

To Flying-Officer Jim Russell, of Murwillumbah (N.S.W.), goes the honour of having the most exciting experience of the flight. A R.A.A.F. bomber had set out from Torokina to drop supplies to a forward patrol. Ten miles from the appointed spot the bomber crashed and four members of the crew were killed. The only survivor, the rear gunner, Flight Sergeant Neville Gardiner, of New Plymouth (N.Z.), escaped with a broken leg and bums. He was found and cared for by natives until the arrival of an Australian patrol. To get Gardiner out would have taken days of weary carrying and would have meant continually running the gauntlet through Jap territory. R.A.A.F. Wirraways were quickly over the area to drop medical supplies together with directions for attending the patient. Almost at the same time, a small Auster on a recce revealed that there might be room to land, but part of a plantation would have to be levelled.

Uncomplainingly and unhesitatingly, the natives cut down their precious plantation, which was also a citadel to them as a protection from marauding Japs. With their bare hands they grubbed the roots, cleared the stumps and cut down the large trees. Then with their bare feet they stamped down the ground to make it level for the arrival of the Auster. Whilst awaiting its arrival the party lived like lords, even beer was dropped, and Gardiner's spirits rose as the pain left him, although he was apprehensive that the increased activity he was instrumental in bringing about would draw the attention of the Japs, for they were quite near. After three days the small airstrip was completed-just a patch on the top of the hills dwarfed by the mountains.

But the Auster men had not decided who was to do the job. In a sportsmanlike fashion the C.O., Flight-Lieutenant Evans, decided that the fairest way was to draw lots to determine who should have the privilege. Tall young Flying-Officer Jim Russell, who had spent a goodly term instructing on the mainland, won the honour. The strip was treacherous, with a slope from east to west on a grade of about one in six. On his second attempt when almost stopped, the small craft tipped on its nose and the prop was splintered under the weight of the engine.

Back at base another prop was hastily packed and dropped, but a blade was damaged in dropping. A second one dropped safely, complete with directions on the manner of fitting. Toiling in the burning tropical sun, Russell fitted it and the Auster was ready for take-off. Gardiner was loaded lengthwise into the narrow cabin.

With the makeshift strip and the heavy load, it was going to be a tricky take-off. Revving the engine and pushing the joystick forward to its maximum' the Auster fluttered, but the tail hugged the ground. Russell was forced to choose between somersaulting down a steep ravine for 200 feet or swinging off the strip between two stumps. The latter was by far the safer and was chosen. With a rending crash, one wing tore away, the undercarriage crumpled and once again the Auster finished on her nose. And so the attempted rescue was at an end.

With a heavy heart Russell performed the last rites on the tiny ship. After dismantling all valuable components he flooded the cockpit with petrol and burnt the motor and frame, leaving nothing for the Japs.

Then followed the hazardous trek back to base. It was a difficult job for a fit man, let alone an injured one. But the natives working in relays achieved it. Through razor-back country with steep drops on either side, the injured airman was carried. For four days the party felt their way through Jap territory, expecting to meet the enemy at any moment. With hearts full of gladness, a group of green-clad Army men met them at the beach and a few hours later they were back at base.

To the Boomerangs, Wirraways, Beauforts, Dakotas and Austers of the R.A.A.F. goes high praise from the Army and the New Zealand Air Force. Chief of Air Staff of the R.N.Z.A.F. (Air Vice-Marshal L. M. Issitt) has stated, "Australian aircraft are entitled to full credit for the part they played in the unusual type of close support on Bougainville. R.A.A.F. tactical reconnaissance pilots have shown themselves extraordinarily skilful in ferreting out targets for us to bomb. The uninitiated see nothing, but the R.A.A.F. comes back with evidence of the enemy concentrations, strongpoints, guns, pillboxes and supply dumps. The Corsairs are guided to the target by R.A.A.F. Boomerangs and Wirraways acting as pathfinders. We claim to be a good team. The work has speeded the advance of Australian troops and has saved many Australian lives."

FLIGHT-LIEUTENANT GUIDO MAGGIA

R.A.A.F. PACIFIC

AT the opening of the war in the Pacific, the R.A.A.F. had two Hudson and two Brewster Buffalo squadrons in Malaya, a Hudson and a Wirraway squadron at Dar-win, a handful of Hudsons at Ambon, and a small force of Hudsons: and Wirraways at Rabaul.

Throughout the disastrous Malayan campaign, the over-worked Hudsons and Buffaloes fought a losing battle, proving no match for the faster, more maneuverable Jap fighters. The R.A.A.F. was forced back to Singapore and then had to be evacuated. Again the Hudsons were called into service. They carried out long, unescorted daylight reconnaissances, protected convoys of Australian troops, bombed, strafed, rescued hundreds and brought them to safety-to Darwin. The record of NOS. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from north-western Australia, is one of undying labour and courage.

The Japs attacked Rabaul on January 4On January 15, R.A.A.F. Catalinas replied with an attack on Truk, and five days later came the first large-scale air attack on Rabaul. Six R.A.A.F. Wirraways took off to intercept over 100 enemy aircraft. All the Wirraways were shot down, but they accounted for five superior Jap aircraft. By early March, the Japs had control of New Britain, and had occupied Salamaua and Lae.

On March 21, No. 75 Squadron (Kittyhawks) arrived in Moresby, under Squadron Leader John Jackson. For a little over six weeks, this valiant little force of twenty-five Kittyhawks held the Japs at bay while the American Cobra squadrons were assembling in Australia. They accounted for more than forty Jap planes destroyed and a further sixty damaged. Only one Kittyhawk survived.

After the Coral Sea Battle, in which the Japs lost a large naval force, they attacked Milne Bay. Once again, NO- 75 Squadron stood in their path-reformed and re-equipped. With them was No. 76 Squadron, with Peter Turnbull and Bluey Truscott. A flight of Beaufighters and a flight of Australian-built Beauforts were rushed to the spot. In three days of fury, the Kittyhawks and the Australian ground troops smashed back the Japs.

During October 1942, two R.A.A.F. attack squadrons arrived in New Guinea. They were No. 22 Boston and No. 3o Beaufighter Squadrons. The A.I.F. was smashing its way through the Kokoda Pass towards Buna, and the R.A.A.F. squadrons, operating as part of the U.S. 5th Air Force, gave splendid support -bombing and strafing, supply-dropping and flying out wounded. Before the end of the year the Japs had lost Buna and Gona and were being pushed steadily along the coast towards Lae and Salamaua.

On March 1, 1943, a Japanese convoy was sighted in the Bismarck Archipelago. A R.A.A.F. Catalina played an important part in the shadowing of the convoy. When it turned into Vitiaz Strait on Wednesday, March 3, the R.A.A.F. Beaufighters, Bostons and Beauforts took part in the attack, the Beaufighters leading in the low-level attack planes and smashing ack-ack batteries while the U.S. Mitchells, Fortresses and A20s did the bombing. The convoy was entirely sunk.

The R.A.A.F. grew in stature, assembling two squadrons at Milne Bay-one Beaufort and one Hudson. The Beaufighters; and Bostons were moved to Goodenough Island in the D'Entrecasteaux group, with a squadron of Kittyhawks. A Spitfire and a Kittyhawk Squadron were based on Kiriwina Island. From these bases, the R.A.A.F. took control of the sea lanes south of the Solomons and along the coast of New Britain.

Towards the end of 1943, the Beaufighters and Bostons moved on to Kiriwina, and the two bomber squadrons (now Beaufort) were brought to Goodenough Island, supported by a third (a Beaufort torpedo bomber) squadron.

On October 12, the Beauforts made their first night raid on Rabaul. On November 8, Beaufort torpedo bombers attacked shipping in Simpson's Harbour, while Beaufort bombers bombed the airstrips. The Beauforts made many such night raids over Vunakanau and Lakunai airstrips at Rabaul.

Meanwhile, Beaufighters, Bostons, Kittyhawks and Spitfires were striking daylight blows at New Britain's stagings, supply dumps and transport, in preparation for the Allied assault on New Britain. U.S. troops made the Arawe landing on December 15, and the Cape Gloucester landing on December 26.

No. 10 (Operational) Group established itself at Nadzab and operated from Newton airstrip, built by a R.A.A.F. works wing. Vultee Vengeance dive bombers and Kittyhawks began operating from Nadzab on January 13.

The R.A.A.F. squadrons based on Kiriwina and Goodenough kept up a steady programme of telling strikes on Jap positions and lines of communication.

Early in March the U.S. troops landed on the Admiralty Islands. Ground staff of a R.A.A.F. Kittyhawk squadron were landed on the beach during a Jap counter-attack and were forced to take defensive positions and act as ground troops.

On April 22, the R.A.A.F. works wing and advanced party of No. io (Operational) Group, which was now operating as the First Tactical Air Force, landed with U.S. infantry at Aitape. The Americans were simultaneously landing at Hollandia. Two days later, the airstrip was serviceable and R.A.A.F. Kittyhawks flew from Cape Gloucester. A flight of them took off five minutes later and patrolled over Hollandia.

The Beauforts moved on to Nadzab, from whence they struck Wewak, But and Dagua in daily raids. The Kittyhawks Of 78 Wing were ready to move on to Cyclops strip, Hollandia, and the Beaufighters to the strip at Aitape.

During May, the Americans further extended their hold on New Guinea with hard-fought landings on Wakde and Biak Islands. The Kittyhawks Of 78 Wing were used as top-cover and for strafing positions. At Sarmi No. 8o Squadron was called in to dive-bomb the Japs during a strong counter-attack. After the operation the U.S. commander sent a message that the counter-attack had been broken thanks largely to the efforts of the R.A.A.F. Over Biak the Kittyhawks of 78 Squadron encountered a dozen Jap planes. In a short dogfight, ten Japanese planes were shot down for the loss of one Kittyhawk.

On July 2, Noemfoor Island was occupied, and once again advanced works wing units of First T.A.F. made the landing on D-day. They repaired the Kamiri airstrip, and the first R.A.A.F. plane landed on July io.

The Beauforts had, by this, arrived at Aitape and were busy smashing a threatening Jap counter-attack from the direction of Wewak. In constant attacks, the Australian made Beauforts and Beaufighters cleared the way for the ultimate A.I.F. landing at Wewak.

R.A.A.F. airfield construction squadrons did magnificent work throughout these landings, going on with the Americans to Morotai, in the Halmaheras. The Americans took a R.A.A.F. airfield construction unit with them when they landed in Mindanao in the Philippines.

First T.A.F., with its Beaufighters, Bostons, Kittyhawks and Spitfires, settled on to Morotai island, and from there, neutralized a huge area including the Celebes, Borneo, and as far as the southern Philippines.

Throughout the whole of the campaign, R.A.A.F. Catalinas operated on vital missions, reaching as far as the China coast to mine sea channels. No word of praise can be too high for the Catalina squadrons. They reached out to enemy harbours, on searching, mining and bombing missions. No Japanese base in the S.W.P.A. was out of their reach.

From Darwin, an almost separate war had been waged. The R.A.A.F. used Hudsons in the early stages, then Beaufighters, Kittyhawks, Beauforts, Spitfires, Mitchells, Liberators and Venturas.

They helped to prevent the downward thrust from Timor that the Japs were obviously planning. They repeatedly hit Amboina and bases in Dutch New Guinea, preparing the way for the Allied drive. They struck as far as Sourabaya and other bases in the Dutch East Indies. The Hudsons, Beaufighters, Mitchells, Beauforts and Venturas hit our as far as their range would let them. The Liberators and Catalinas did magnificent long range work, and the Spitfires did an excellent. job protecting Darwin from Japanese bombers. In the latter period Australian-built Mosquitoes of a R.A.A.F. photo reconnaissance unit carried out a dangerous job with outstanding success, photographing the enemy's positions as far as the Philippines.

In Bougainville, the R.A.A.F. played a splendid part, using Boomerangs and Wirraways in army co-operation work, co-operating with R.N.Z.A.F. Corsairs. Working with the Australian ground forces, they flew hundreds of sorties as the eyes of the army.

The battle-hardy Australian divisions landed in Borneo in April 1945, after Tarakan had been pounded consistently for weeks beforehand by the R.A.A.F. Liberators bombed strategic points, Kittyhawks, Spitfires and rocket-firing Beaufighters covered the landing troops sweeping down the coast, strafing and wrecking transport and communications. An intensive pre-invasion bombing by R.A.A.F. heavy bombers and a ceaseless vigil by fighter aircraft paved the way for the Labuan, and later the Balikpapan landings.

At the close of the war, wherever Australian troops were operating, the R.A.A.F. was working with them, guarding the skies and doing a heavy artillery job for the army.

FLYING-OFFICER BURTON GRAHAM

RETURN TO TIMOR

THE advance party forced its way through the wildly cheering hordes of Koepang natives who had lined the beach for hours in a hot, broiling sun waiting for their liberators to come ashore.

Suddenly a short under-nourished 16-yearsold boy began shouting more excitedly than the rest.

"Missa Rofe! Missa Rofe!" he yelled, tearing his way through the crowd. He reached the side of a R.A.A.F. squadron-leader who wore the pink and grey ribbon of the M.B.E.

"Why, Trina!" the squadron-leader said "It's certainly good to see you!"

Trina beamed and shouted to the cheering crowd in Malay. After a brief te'te-a'-te'te in Trina's tongue (the airman consulting his pocket dictionary from time to time), the boy led him off to the outskirts of the town. The retinue grew as the party wended its way along the banks of the river. Trina kept shouting "Missa Rofe! Missa Rofe!" and pointing excitedly to his R.A.A.F. companion as he led the way.

The squadron-leader was Bryan Rofe, of Norwood (S.A.), last Australian to leave Timor two months after its capture by the Japanese in 1942. Trina was the boy who worked in the Kwong Ha Chinese cafe' in Koepang, before the war and who helped Rofe and his small party of R.A.A.F. men when they were dodging the Japs before being picked up by an American submarine on April 18, 1942,morc than two months after Timor had fallen.

Rofe and Trina had a lot to talk about that afternoon as they threaded their way out to the bamboo hut which is the residence of Dr Ghabler, an old Eurasian doctor who hid the R.A.A.F. party and risked execution by the Japs in helping them make their getaway.

Ghabler was speechless when he saw Rofe. Tears welled into his eyes as he wrapped his arms around him. Minutes passed before he regained composure sufficient to explain to the squadron-leader that he believed him dead -natives had told him that the Japs had captured and murdered the Australians before they got away after blowing up the strips.

That was why the R.A.A.F. men had stayed behind - to deny the use of Penfoei airfield to the Japs.

Rofe's Malay was obviously rusty after three and a half years, but the two sat down while he told the old doctor the story of how they had crossed through the Jap lines to wait to be picked up. The story of adventure Rofe related to the old doctor is one of the most romantic of the islands war.

His party consisted of five other officers and twenty-three airmen-meteorological people, signals and fitters, etc., who had been stationed at Penfoei when the Hudsons were operating from there when the Japs first came into the war. After the fall of Malaya and the fast advance of the enemy through the N.E.I., the Hudsons evacuated most of the R.A.A.F. personnel on Timor, but this party stayed to destroy what they could and deny it to the Japs.

Then on February ig, three days after the fall of Singapore and the day Darwin was bombed, at 6 p.m. thirteen enemy transports were reported in Semaoe Straits between Semaoe Island and the mainland of Timor. After trying to contact Darwin for hour she did not know that Darwin had been bombed and cut off from the rest of the world -Rofe decided to split his team into two separate parties, each to take one of the two portable transmitters they had retained. Rofe led one party. The other was led by Flying Officer F. G. Birchall, of Melbourne (V.). "

At 2 a.m. one party of three officers and thirteen men set out for Babaoe. At seven o'clock Rofe set out with the rest to reach Army headquarters at Tjamplong. The parties were to meet at a chosen rendezvous on the south coast in a month's time.

They were about seven minutes along the Babaoe Road when waves of Jap bombers passed low overhead and dropped 500 parachute troops about three miles to the rear. They hurried on and caught up with the other party at Tjamplong, where they contacted Brigadier Veale, who, realizing that Koepang and Babaoe would fall at any moment, agreed to the R.A.A.F. party striking for the hills.

It was their intention to move into the hills to the north and then make for the coast in the hope that a flying boat would rescue them.

At Noeataoes, which they reached after an arduous climb across the hills, contact was established with Darwin and arrangements made for a flying boat to rescue the party on the night of March 4, at Kapsali on the coast about fifteen miles away. Although the route to Kapsali led down and out of the hills it was a strenuous march. They had to force a path through heavy jungle and wade along the Kapsali River. The exhausted party reached the rendezvous and waited all night on the beach, almost naked and exposed to attack from millions of sand flies. The flying boat did not arrive. It had been shot up, with several others, at Broome the previous day.

They decided to wait at Kapsali and continue to ask Darwin for a flying boat, but the most they could get was (on Thursday, March 12) a promise that supplies would be dropped on the 13th. On Thursday morning Rofe~ left with a small party for Naiklioe, twenty-five miles north along, the coast, with the hope of obtaining supplies. When he returned-with six blankets, a good supply of rice and some copper sulphate-he found that the supply plane had missed the party.

By this time fever was beginning to take toll. Tropical ulcers were spreading and at times there were only four or five men on their feet. The sick, weakened by fever, would not eat boiled rice, and the corn and two or three fowls obtained from friendly natives did not go far.

On March ig, Flying-Officer Cole, who had gone south to find a landing ground, returned with news of a large beach suitable for the purpose. With the party becoming weaker and the men obviously dying, Rofe decided to move south to Toeakaoes on the coastal plain around the bay between Cape Barate and Cape Koeroes. On the day before the move (March 31) Pilot-Officer Thompson died. He had been in ill health from the beginning, but had carried on with grim determination.

On April i the fitter men who were capable of walking set out under Flying-Officer Arthur, and, on the following day, Rofe, with

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the aid of coolies and horses, followed with the sick. He caught up with Arthur at Kapsali and pushed on with a small party and the wireless to Toeakaoes, as he wished to contact Darwin early on Friday morning while the tides were suitable for landing. Flying Officer Arthur followed with the remainder of the party, reaching Toeakaoes on Friday, April 3- It was Black Friday-wireless operator Corporal Ron Bell contacted Dar-win only to learn that no aircraft was available for rescue, and Arthur brought the news that wireless operator Aircraftman Jim Graham had died on the way from Kapsali.

Darwin sent supplies over again and dropped them by parachute. But although the sick, hungry, desperate men searched for half a day they found no sign of the box of supplies-only an empty parachute.

On April 8, Private L. Clements of the 2/40th Battalion died from a combination of fever and snakebite-he had been working continuously in the cypher office at Koepang. (The 12/40th Battalion now occupying Koepang is the sister battalion of the 2/40th.)

The condition of the men was becoming grave. They had been living on meagre meals of boiled rice and on only rare occasions had they obtained fresh fruit or meat. Tropical ulcers were spreading and becoming worse. Quinine was in short supply and it was impossible to render effective treatment for malaria. As most of the men were down together there was insufficient covering and in all cases they had only one set of clothing, ragged and torn from wading through rivers and trekking through jungle.

They were in this state when a friendly native advised Rofe that a large Japanese patrol was approaching their direction. The natives themselves cleared everything from the village and there was nothing the exhausted party could do except drag themselves into the hills again. Their condition was pitiable and, on April 14, L.A.C. Andrews died. On the same day news came that the Japanese had moved across the island instead of coming south, so the party struggled back to Toeakaoes.

On the following day Bell contacted Darwin and learned that a U.S. submarine, Sea Raven, was coming to rescue them. It would come close in to the shore at a point 1-4 miles south of Cape Koeroes for five nights, commencing on the 13th, and signal "SR" on a Blinken tube at two-minute intervals, to be answered by flashlight or fire shown for periods of thirty seconds.

Rofe immediately sent word to four A.I.F. men living in a nearby village and they joined the party. Toeakaoes was only three miles from Cape Koeroes, and the party spent the night of April 15 waiting on the beach and eagerly watching for the signal that would mean rescue. No signal came, but their disappointment was brief, for Rofe learned from Darwin the following morning that Sea Raven had been in on the 13th and 14th and would return on the nights of the '7th and i 8th.

But they were not in the clear yet. On the morning of Thursday, April 16, the chief of the village told them that the Japanese knew of their presence and delivered the following note:

To the Australian and Dutch Officers and soldiers: The war is over. N.E.I. fell into our hand in succession. On March 9th, all Allied Forces surrendered to us without any conditions. On Timor Island about 1,100 Australians and Dutch soldiers under Lieut. Col. Leggatt and Detiger did the same.

They are enjoying life and waiting for you being supplied with bread, meat and fresh vegetables. Your movements and present location are being supplied to us through Rajahs. If you continue fighting against us there's no way but to conquer you, so come to us with this information and wait for the return of peace with your friends-Japanese Army, March 14, 1942

As he stepped ashore on his return to Koepang the other day, Rofe smiled as he remembered that message; and thought of the stories of incredible brutality now being told by released prisoners.

But he didn't smile when it was handed to him three and a half years ago. The chief told him it would be necessary to head for the hills as soon as possible as a large Jap patrol was being sent to Toeakaoes. The party decided to take a chance and wait for the submarine and on the following day they were joined by Flight-Lieutenant H. A. Cook and Pilot-Officer Leithhead, pilot and second pilot of a Hudson shot down by Zeros near Koepang on April 13

On the same evening the party saw Sea Raven's signals. Fifty-six days had passed since they left Koepang-fifty-six days of forced marches through of wading through rivers, of starving and hiding from the Japs. They were riddled with malaria, tropical ulcers and other ills, and some of them were close to death from starvation and exhaustion.

The submarine was late, having encountered a Jap ship and, as the surf was running high, it was possible only for the fit men who could pull themselves along a line to be taken off by the sub's boat. By the time the boat reached the submarine it was impossible to attempt the rescue of the remainder as the vessel had to be away before dawn.

But the Americans were back the next night for the remainder-seventeen men, of whom only Rofe and Cook were fit (and Cook had a bad shrapnel wound in his right arm).

And so the valiant little party left Timor.

The Sea Raven took them to Fremantle, where they could get hospital treatment not available in Darwin.

Rofe has had many attacks of malaria since but he was easily the happiest man on Timor when I saw him last. For his magnificent work, blowing up the strips and leading his party out to eventual safety, he was invested with the M.B.E. He has been busy since the occupation renewing acquaintance with the loyal natives who helped in those grim days of 1942.

As for Trina - there are no cafe's in bombed and battered Koepang. Thanks to the R.A.A.F., there are no buildings left. But Trina was happy when I left him. He had appointed himself personal valet and wash boy to Squadron-Leader Rofe.

FLYING-OFFICER E.W. TIPPING