Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: No 75 RAAF squadron's defence of Port Moresby

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    brighton, brisbane
    Posts
    33,853
    Total Downloaded
    0

    No 75 RAAF squadron's defence of Port Moresby

    It was a close run thing, At a time when Australia didn't have any front line fighters , Hitler came first, and Curtin demanded Kittyhawk fighter aircraft. "Do you have any pilots to fly them ? " asked the Americans. Did they ever. This is their story.


    Video from the Past [13] - No. 75 Squadron's Defence of Port Moresby - YouTube
    I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food

    A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking

  2. #2
    JDNSW's Avatar
    JDNSW is offline RoverLord Silver Subscriber
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Central West NSW
    Posts
    28,804
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Reminds me of one of the very few war stories told by my late brother in law. When he was first in Port Moresby, they had no fighter defence, and the Japs came over just about every day. He was one of the crew an antiaircraft emplacement on one of the hills surrounding Moresby. One day a flight of fighter aircraft appeared that did not take evasive action, and they got the lot. Nobody told them to expect a flight of Yank aircraft..... I have no idea how accurate this is, but he said it was hushed up at the time. (He signed up as soon as he was eighteen, and rose to WO1 then back to private before rising to sergeant again by the end of the war. I'm not sure what did - he said it was for refusing to salute an officer he reckoned did not deserve it.)
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Hobart
    Posts
    3,300
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Hi,
    I believe some of the first neverhawks got shot at on arrival as they were not expected.
    Cheers

  4. #4
    3toes is offline Wizard Silver Subscriber
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Knaresborough North Yorkshire UK
    Posts
    1,820
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Refusing to salute an officer they did not believe deserved it may have been a thing at the time. An uncle of mine had trouble for the same

    Said they would also target them by figuring out where they were going then spacing themselves out so the officer had an arm going up and down like a windmill

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    brighton, brisbane
    Posts
    33,853
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Warrant Officer Saburo Sakai, Samurai of the air, the man behind the legend, and and an example of what the raw Australian pilots were up against. Even so, they destroyed over 80 Japanese aurcraft, to their 22 lost.


    Saburo Sakai: Samurai of the Air (historynet.com)
    I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food

    A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    brighton, brisbane
    Posts
    33,853
    Total Downloaded
    0
    After being nearly destroyed whilst in Port Moresby, 75 Squadron was reformed and re-equipped, and sent to Milne Bay, where, under the Command of Les Jackson, [ brother of John, KIA] they played a major part in the first land defeat of the Japanese in WW2. A remarkable story of a remarkable squadron.

    The Battle of Milne Bay - The Unknown Turning Point of the Pacific War - YouTube
    I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food

    A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Search AULRO.com ONLY!
Search All the Web!