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Japanese "Operation R":
January 14th 1942: A Japanese brigade group named South Seas Force, "Nankai Shitai" (Major General Tomitaro Horii) left Truk tasked with capturing Kavieng, New Ireland, and #Rabaul, 1,000km S, w/ its deep water harbour & airfields on New Britain

The Japanese invasion force which embarked at Truk (aka Chuuk) was part of a naval task force which included two fleet aircraft carriers, Akagi and Kaga, 7 cruisers, 14 destroyers, and numerous smaller vessels and submarines under the command of Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue.

This Japanese Carrier Strike Force for Rabaul had a combined 177 Fighters and Dive Bombers.
They consisted of Division 1 Koku Sentai (Akagi, Kaga) plus Division 5 Koku Sentai (Shokaku and Zuikaku).
Division 1 was the IJN's elite Strike Force with the best of the best Navy pilots.

Facing the IJN onslaught at Rabaul, the Royal Australian Air Force had 10 lightly armed CAC Wirraway training aircraft and four Lockheed Hudson light bombers from No. 24 Squadron under Wing Commander John Lerew.
This was a peanut awaiting destruction from a massive sledgehammer.

Jan 4 1942: Rabaul came under attack by large numbers of Japanese carrier-based aircraft.
Jan 6, 1942: To make matters worse, 9 land-based Kawanishi HK6 flying boats made a surprise high-level attack on Rabaul.
From 1,000km away, they flew in at 3,600m, safe from the meagre A/A.

Through January, the Japanese Strike Force advanced.
The odds facing the Australians daily worsened.
RAAF HQ threatened to relieve Lerew for his apparent lack of results.
He signalled HQ in Melbourne the Latin motto "Nos Morituri Te Salutamus"- We who are about to die salute you.

January 20: Over 100 Japanese bombers, dive bombers and fighter escort converged on Rabaul led by Commander Fuchida, who had controlled the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Only 1 Wirraway survived the battle over Rabaul unscathed. The 10-minute action killed 6 & wounded 5 #RAAF aircrew.

The Japanese attacks on Rabaul and its two airstrips continued for 2 weeks as the Strike Force approached.
The repeated air attacks gradually destroyed the town plus a visiting Norwegian armed freighter, "Herstein".
Almost the entire crew died in captivity.
Jan 23: Rabaul falls.

January 31: Zero fighters and groundcrew of the Chitose Air Corps moved to Rabaul a week after Japanese troops arrived.
February 2: Kawanishi Type 97 “Mavis” flying boats of the Yokohama Air Corps bombed Port Moresby for the first time.
The air war over New Guinea had begun.
END