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    Rossel Island (Yela) Miline Bay Province Papua New Guinea (PNG)
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RAN Sept 1914

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USN c1942
Location
Rossel Island is located furthest to the east in the Louisiade Archipelago. Also known as "Yela Island".

Wartime History
On March 12, 1942 five floatplanes and their crews from USS Louisville and USS Astoria land off Rossel Island. The pilots were: Ens William J. McGovern, Lt. J. M. Brandt, Ens Layland M. Wilder, John H. Graves and Joseph B. Young. With radio operators: Operators: Miller, Clyde Henry Horn, Lucks, Hugard and Owen.

Afterwards, the U.S. Navy requests the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) search for their missing floatplanes. On March 18, 1942, after a week of searching, Catalina A24-2 piloted by Chapman locates the five planes on the beach at Rossel Island and lands in the lagoon and finds them near the Osborne family house that was vacated in January 1942. The Navy men wanted to burn their aircraft and go to Tulagi because they had run out of cigarettes, but the RAAF convinced them to wait for repair party from Port Moresby which arrived aboard another Catalina. The radio operators were transported to Gavutu on March 27, 1942 and the floatplanes departed March 28, 1942 and were flown to USS Curtiss (AV-4). One hit the ship and was discarded overboard.

Henry Sakaida adds:
"I turned up nothing for 28 March 1942. I checked OS2N and OS2U Kingfishers...nothing. USS Astoria lost four floatplanes (SON and SOC-3 Seagull) on August 9, 1942 at Savo Island, but no pilot casualties. There were Kingfisher losses on March 5, 11, 14 and 22nd...but none recorded for the 27, 29, etc. Nothing from the Astoria on these losses."

W. Ashley Horn (son of Clyde Henry Horn) adds:
"My sister and I were never able to get him to talk about this incident much but I did read about it in Stanley Johnson's book Queen of the Flatops. I also have a newspaper article with an interview of my father."

SBD-3 Dauntless Bureau Number 4531
Pilot Quigley ditched May 7, 1942

SS-144 (S-39) Submarine
Ran aground August 13-14 1942 abandoned

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Last Updated
August 7, 2021

 

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