Aircraft History
Constructors Number 350. Delivered by Qantas as VH-AFS on October 23, 1941. Assigned to RAAF 11 Squadron on January 30, 192. Next, assigned to 20 Squadron on April 3, 1942.

Wartime History
On the night of February 3, 1942, this Catalina piloted by Captain S/Ldr F B Chapman, 1349 and co-pilot P/O N V Robertson, 400076. One of five Catalinas (this aircraft, A24-5, A24-3, A24-14, A24-17) that participated in a night raid against Japanese shipping in Simpson Harbor off Rabaul. This Catalina was attacked by A5M4 Claudes of the Chitose Kokutai (operating in tandem with the searchlight crews) over the target. Returned to Fairfax Harbor at 2028Z/3.

Mission History
Took off on a daylight reconnaissance mission covering the area between Tulagi and Shortland during the preliminaries to the Battle of the Coral Sea.

This PBY reported it was under attack south of Bougainville, by anti-aircraft fire and the crew reported fighters. Another reference places it over the Solomon Sea, west of New Georgia and south of Bougainville. No further messages were received from the plane and it failed to return to base.

Fates of the crew
This Catalina either ditched or crashed. Engineer Lanigan was either killed in the air or died in the crash.

The rest of the crew was picked up by a Japanese warship and brought to Rabaul as prisoners. They were held as prisoners for six months, until November 4, 1942 when they were bound with wire and decapitated at Matupi.

Memorials
In 1950, a mass grave was uncovered at Rabaul at the foot of Tavurvur volcano (known to Australians as Matupi), and the bodies of the crew were found. The crew are buried in section “H, C” at the Bita Paka War Cemetery.

References
"CATALINA SQUADRONS First and Furthest" by Jack Riddell (privately published) mentions this loss.
11 Squadron diary for February 3, 1942
Royal Australian Air Force History Summary Page references to A24-43 by Michael Moskow

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Last Updated
October 6, 2009

PBY

POW

S 8
E 155