Location
Lat 5° 15' 0S Long 154° 37' 60E  Buka island is about 50 kilometers long by some 20 kilometers wide. Located north of Bonis on Bougainville, seporated by the Buka Passage.

History
Pre-war, occupied by No. 9 Section, C Platoon, under Lieutenant Leverett.  At the beginning of October 1941. No. 3 Section of the First Independent Company, Australian Imperial Force occupied Buka.

Prior to the Japanese occupation, the Australian garrison evacuated Buka to Bougianville island. A Japanese support group entered Queen Carola Harbor on the west side of Buka Island during the morning of March 9, 1942. In addition to minesweeping operations, a naval landing force landed on the island and carried out mopping-up on the coast around the anchorage the following day.

The Japanese expanded the airfield at Buka and constructed another at Bonis. After the American landings on Bougainville, and the failed Japanese counter attacks, Japanese commanders withdrew to Buka Island and fortified three areas for defense. After the American landings at Torokina, Japanese destroyers landed reinforcements of 700 troops from the 17th Army Division, and 25 tons of supplies unapposed on November 6, 1943. Japanese forces occupied the island for the duration of the war, but were neutralized from the air.

Chinatown
A Chinatown area of Buka existed before the war.

American Missions Against Buka
January 14, 1943 - January 14, 1944

Buka Airfield
Built prior to the war by Australians, occupied by the Japanese and used until the end of the war.

G4M1 Model 11 Betty Tail Number K-393
Wreckage scrapped sometime between 1997-1999

Queen Carola Harbor
Located on the eastern shore of central Buka

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Last Updated
November 27, 2009

Map

Buka Island, No. 3 Section, ’A’ Platoon