TAR BARRELS BURNING after a Japanese bombing raid, May 1943. After the enemy had withdrawn from the area of Wau, months of constant fighting followed in the jungle-clad ridges between Wau and Salamaua, during which time the enemy suffered heavy casualties. On 30 June the islands of Woodlark and Kiriwina, off the northeast coast of Papua, were occupied. This facilitated the movement of troops and supplies by water to that area and gained valuable new airfields for the Allies.
NEW GUINEA
B-24 OVER SALAMAUA, on north coast of New Guinea, during an air raid, 13 August 1943. Smoke from bomb bursts can be seen on Salamaua. While the ground forces were battling with the enemy, aircraft were striking at his bases at Salamaua, Lae, Finschhafen, Madang, and Rabaul as well as at the barges and ships bringing supplies and reinforcements to the enemy in New Guinea.
NEW GUINEA
C-47 TRANSPORT TAKING OFF FROM BUNA, New Guinea (top); low-flying North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers leaving Japanese planes and installations burning on Dagua airfield, one of the enemy’s major air bases in the Wewak area (bottom). Aircraft operating from Port Moresby and from newly won fields in the Buna-Gona area intensified their attacks on the enemy’s bases. A sustained five-day air offensive against Wewak, which began on 17 August, destroyed about 250 planes on the ground and in the air at a cost of only 10 U.S. planes.
NEW GUINEA
