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 Long Island 1982  Long Island 1982 |
Location Lat 5.36S Long 147.12E Long Island a roughly hexagonal shaped island in the Vitiaz Strait off the north coast of New Guinea. The island is part of the Bismarck Volcanic Arc. At the northern end is Mount Reaumur with an elevation of 4,199' / 1,280m. At the southern end is Cerisy Peak with an elevation 3,648' / 1,112m. At the center is Lake Wisdom a flooded volcanic caldera with an area of 33 square miles / 86 square kilometers. In 1968, a volcanic eruption created Momot a small island at the south center of Lake Wisdom that is the tip of a volcanic cone. During 1973-1974 the island grew in size from additional volcanic activity. Long Island has a land area of roughly 126.6 square miles / 328 square kilometers with the widest portion of the island spanning 18 miles / 30km. When view from sea level, the island appears elongated with a volcanic peaks at the northern and southern ends. To the northwest is Crown Island and beyond the Bismarck Sea. To the southwest roughly 40 miles / 64 km away is Saidor on the north coast of New Guinea. To the west roughly 98 miles / 157 km away is Madang. To the east is Tolokiwa Island. Prewar The last major volcanic eruption happened sometime between 1630–1700 and devastated the island destroying most or all life. In 1700 named by British explorer William Dampier captain of HMS Roebuck who sailed past the island. To the local inhabitants who speak the Arop language call their island Pono, pronounced po-no. On the New Guinea mainland this island is known as Arop or Ahrup for the local language. Prewar and during the Pacific War located in the Territory of New Guinea. In the modern era, Long Island has five main villages along the coast including Malala (Malola), Matapun (Matafuna, Matafun), Bok, Kaut, Poin Kiau at Kiau Point and Biliau. Today located in Madang Province in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Wartime History During 1943, southern Long Island was used by the Japanese as a staging area for barges operating along the north coast of New Guinea. A small contingent of Japanese were temporarily based on the southern shore. The barge base on Long Island had fuel drums for refueling and may not have been guarded. According to locals, the Japanese were cruel and fired at them to keep away. By November 1943, the Japanese withdrew from the island or were unable to use it due to increased Allied activity. On October 6, 1943 a PT Boat lands a coastwatcher party by rubber boat including three Australians from Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) led by Lt. Hall with Sgt Lionel Veale and Frank Young plus three native police near Point Kiau on the north coast of Long Island. They reported two groups of Japanese on the island but all were withdrawn by November 1943. On December 23, 1943 at 11:45pm another PT Boat led by Major Leonard Kaplan landed with two scouts landed on Long Island and rendezvoused with the coastwatchers already ashore. After learning there were no enemy, Major Kaplan returned to the PT Boat and left his two scouts to continue patrolling and setup lights to help guide the upcoming amphibious landing force. On December 25, 1943 at 2:15pm an Allied landing force of three Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) and five Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) departed Finschafen transporting the U.S. Army 592nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment (592nd EBSR), D Company and followed the north coast of New Guinea bound for Long Island. The rest of Company D were embarked aboard three PT Boats that left Finschafen at 6:00pm and caught up with the landing craft already underway. In total, the Allied invasion force included 185 Americans plus 35 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel from No. 338 Radar Station (338 RS) with LW/AW Mark IA radar plus technical personnel from No. 41 Wing. By 11:45pm the force arrived off Malala on the northeast coast of Long Island. On December 26, 1943 at 2:00am the first wave from the PT Boats uses rubber rafts to land at Malala with two capsizing but no men or equipment lost. At 5:20am the second wave of landing craft attempt to reach shore but the surf soaks some of the radar equipment and they diverted to another beach south of Cape Reamur where the remainder of the force and equipment are landed by 1:00pm. To defend themselves and build a base, the U.S. Army engineers landed with two .50 caliber machine guns, two 37mm guns, four 60mm mortars and four bazookas plus a D9 bulldozer, two jeeps and a trailer with a water tank. Overnight, torrential rains caused Lake Wisdom to overflow and flooding wets equipment. On December 27, 1943 the personnel from No. 338 Radar Station (338 RS) moved their radar and two generators atop a hilltop with an elevation of 150' on the east coast. Due to the wet season rains and humidity, the radar had many equipment failures interfere with operations. Two new generators and a new transmitter were landed by January 27, 1944. Meanwhile, the garrison worked to build defenses, camp sites and supporting facilities. Over a five day period, they cleared a small runway (Cub Strip) 1,500' x 50' for light aircraft. The garrison was resupplied by landing craft from Finschhafen and sometimes by PT Boats. On February 17, 1944 the 592nd EBSR withdraws aboard a LCVP and seven LCMs and earned praise from U.S. Army General Kruger for "by a display of aggressiveness and superior seamanship, accomplished its mission in the face of unusual odds." By early April 1944, as the threat of Japanese was mainly to the west, the radar station was disassembled and moved from Malala using landing craft to Matafuna Point over a one week period. On April 11, 1944 at 7:00pm No. 338 Radar Station (338 RS) resumed operation with their radar searching westward until January 28, 1945 when withdrawn to Madang. Malala (Malola) Lat 5° 16' 10S Long 147° 10' 24E Malala located on the easst coast of Long Island. Matapun (Matafuna, Matafun) Lat 5° 21' 54S Long 147° 1' 15E Matapan is located on the west coast includes Long Island Airport. Ki-43-II Oscar Manufacture Number 5653 Force landed circa January 22, 1944 References NAA "Long Island & S. East portion of Sub Division 7 - Rai Coast. Aug. - Sept. 1932. Madang District. A. Nurton" (NAA: NAA: A7034, 28) (Page 3) On 16th August [1932] I left Gumbi base camp in the launch MV Pahi together with four members of native police. Mr. Murphy, the owner of the launch, accompanying... At 11.30 same night we left for Long Island shortly after midnight a strong S. E. gale sprang up & the vessel battled through it until 3 P. M. the next day, on the 17th, at which our we reached N.W. coast of Long Island. To gain the S. E. coast, where the villagers are, was impossible owing to the severity of the seas. The next day [18 August, 1932] the gale had slightly abated, & Murphy decided to run before it & return to pick me up about 10 days later. For five days, until the 22nd., while awaiting carriers from Malala, I spent exploring that entirely uninhabited locality... In this humanless land it was interesting to note the fearlessness of birds, iguanas, crocodiles, turtles & pigs: all of these being exceedingly plentifully..." (Page 4) "On the 22nd [August 1932] the patrol left [walking], proceeding N. round point Keo... thence south to the village of Malala, a distance of not far short of 20 miles. The patrol reached Malala at dusk..." (Page 5) "I was informed by the natives, whose ancestors, three generations ago, came from one of the Siassi Islands about 20 miles to the S. E., that all of Long Island and Crown Island, was originally thickly populated with villages all round the coast... I estimate by native lore that the eruption occurred about 300 years ago (certainly not more remote than that). The explosion blew the centre of the island out, leaving an elevated crater, now a lake, of about 20 square miles in extent." [RAAF formation and unit records:] No.s 334-338 Radar Station (August 1943 - January 1946) (NAA 638252) Put 'em Across: A History of the 2d Engineer Special Brigade, 1942-1945 (1946) page 65 At Close Quarters (1962) page 198 "The liberation of Huon Gulf forced the PT's to extend their patrols further up the coast of the Huon Peninsula; to the islands to the north, Long Island" The Australian Museum "Long Island, Papua New Guinea: Introduction (1982) by Specht, Jim; Ball, Eldon E.; Blong, R. J.; Egloff, B. J.; Hughes, Ian M.; McKee, C. O.; Pain, C. F. Pub. 164 Sailing Direction (Enroute) New Guinea (1994) pages 214-215 (9.50 Long Island), 268 (index Long Island) Beyond Pongani Mission (2001) pages 248-251 Radar Yarns (1991 revised October 2007) pages ii (Table of Contents), 34-36 (338 RS Long Island), 169 (338RS), 194 (appendix A radar stations) [PDF] Radar Returns - Unit 338 RS Long Island Coastwatchers at War in New Guinea... the 2nd Mission (2002) by Lionel Veale Pub. 164 Sailing Direction (Enroute) New Guinea (2018) pages 219, 268 (index Long Island) Pub. 164 Sailing Direction (Enroute) New Guinea (2020) pages 219, 268 (index Long Island) Contribute
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