Fortress Rabaul Read Online Free PDF

“Bull” Garing, the senior air staff officer at Townsville, regional headquarters for the North East Area. Using phrases like “wasted effort,” “utter failure,” and “extreme disappointment,” Garing battered the squadron’s performance in a letter that concluded with: “The Empire expects much from a few.” Perhaps Garing intended the words to be inspirational, like those of Winston Churchill after the Battle of Britain, but to Lerew the phrase sounded like a load of drivel. Military historian Lex McAulay gives Garing some allowance for his demeanor, describing him as “a fireball” whose short temper and abrasiveness were not uncommon for the time. Garing had earned a Distinguished Flying Cross during the early months of the war in Europe, and he expected everyone in the RAAF to perform as well as he had against the Luftwaffe.
    Fortunately for 24 Squadron, Lerew could tolerate Garing’s abuse. Proud of his Huguenot ancestry, Lerew was stubborn, resilient, resourceful, and occasionally devilish—characteristics that would help him face the numerous challenges that lay ahead.
    Kapingamarangi Atoll was targeted a few more times during the last two weeks of 1941, but something seemed to go wrong with every mission. The worst culprit proved to be the bombs, which too often failed to explode. Still disgruntled, Lerew’s superiors ordered him to write a detailed situation report explaining the squadron’s failures. He complied but his response contained a measure of the “impish irreverence” he had become famous for. Lerew itemized the numerous handicaps his squadron facedevery day: minimal aircrews, lack of maintenance personnel, lack of proper repair facilities, no utility vehicles, poor communication links, miles of rough roads, and finally, “Disappointment in the lack of assistance rendered by the Almighty.”
    To be absolutely certain his superiors understood the level of his frustration, Lerew closed the report with a deliberate jab at Garing: “The Empire expects much, repeat much, of a few.”
    While the Hudson crews struggled to improve their results, the Wirraway flyers had even worse luck. Lerew divided the fighters into two groups, retaining B Flight at Vunakanau and sending A Flight to Lakunai airdrome under the guidance of his second-in-command, Flt. Lt. Wilfred D. “Bill” Brookes. The move was made on the afternoon of December 18, some hours after another encounter with enemy aircraft. Two unidentified reconnaissance aircraft appeared, and four Wirraways attempted to intercept them, but as Brookes later lamented, they were unable to catch the snoopers “ owing to lack of speed .” It was a sorry situation when so-called fighters were not fast enough overtake reconnaissance planes.
    Lakunai was in need of numerous physical improvements, but Brookes’s detachment consisted of only ten airmen and six ground personnel—not nearly enough men for the necessary construction project. Brookes acquired forty Tolai laborers from the local administration, but even with the extra manpower the RAAF men had to roll up their sleeves and work. Together with the natives they built their own living quarters, constructed dispersal areas among the coconut trees of the adjacent plantation, and lined the taxiways with planks to keep the planes from sinking into the soft volcanic soil. Unaccustomed to heavy physical work in such extreme humidity, the airmen cursed the “lower ‘drome.” Their frustrations mounted as torrential rains periodically washed out the roads and disrupted the single telephone line that linked Lakunai with Vunakanau.
    The day after Christmas, a pair of Japanese Type 97 flying boats reconnoitered Rabaul. Again the Wirraways failed to intercept them, so the mechanics stripped the little planes of every unnecessary pound in an effort to increase their performance. The results proved negligible. The Wirraways were simply too underpowered to catch even the largest, heaviest seaplanes