The story
At dawn, Japanese warships bombarded the invasion beaches at Lae and Salamaua on eastern New Guinea island; the few defending Australian troops of the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles fled into the jungle without putting up an opposition to the subsequent troop landing. At 1200 hours, 5 Hudson bombers attacked Japanese shipping in Huon harbor, lightly damaging transport Yokohama Maru. Later on the same day, B-17 bombers from Horn Island at the tip of Queensland, Australia attacked Japanese positions at Lae and Salamaua, damaging two hangars at the airstrip at the latter location.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.