More Air Raids but No 75 Squadron Kittykawks Arrive

Figure 16 RAAF ground-crew attempt to extinguish fires after air-raid on the Seven-mile airstrip, 1942. (Photograph courtesy of the RAAF)

Saturday 21 March 1942 was a notable day for Port Moresby because it was then that 17 Kittyhawk fighters of No 75 Squadron RAAF arrived. The story of their relatively brief but wonderfully heroic efforts to stem the advancing tide of Japanese forces ranks with that of the troops who fought in the jungles and the RAAF crew of the Hudsons, Catalinas and Short Empire 'C' Class flying boats. The story has been well told by Harry Robinson (1992). We had mistaken the Japanese Zeros as Kittyhawks, on 24 February, so it was understandable that some machine gunners mistook the arriving RAAF Kittyhawks for Zeros and fired on them disabling three, luckily without injury to the pilots.

The story of the operation of No 75 Squadron RAAF as told by Harry Robinson in the Weekend Australian Magazine 25-26 April 1992 points out that Port Moresby was the last outpost in the path of the Japanese in their advance to the Australian mainland. He tells of the receipt of an enciphered message at RAAF HQ Townsville which when deciphered read 'In the event of an invasion, North Queensland can not be held'. No 75 Squadron assembled in Townsville under the command of Sqn Ldr John Jackson and after a brief familiarisation with the new machines, 17 of the aircraft flew from Townsville via Horn Island to Port Moresby, arriving on 21 March. Within an hour of their arrival aircraft of No 75 Squadron were in the air, shooting down a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft. Next day Jackson led a flight of Kittyhawks which made a strafing attack on Zeros and bombers parked on the Lae aerodrome, destroying 10 and damaging five aircraft for the loss of two Kittyhawks. The Japanese retaliated the following day when, on their 17th raid on Port Moresby, 19 bombers protected by four Zeros bombed and strafed Kittyhawks on the Seven-mile airstrip.

Bureau of Meteorology