Location
Channel between the eastern tip of New Britain and New Ireland. Rakanda is located in the channel.

Missions Against Cape St. George & Cape St. George
December 31, 1942 - October 26, 1944

George Munroe, pilot B-17 recalls:
"For flights over Rabaul, we always looked for safety to St. Georges Channel because it was only a few minutes away to where you would start hitting thunder clouds.  We would go into those thunderheads, something we would never do in the States, and go up... down mainly four or five thousand feet in the blink of an eye. But, the [Japanese] fighters couldn't follow us.  Of course, with that kind of turbulence we were fighting for our lives too, just to stay in the air."

B-25D-1 "Sorry Satchul" Serial Number 41-30056
Successfully ditched, crew strafed by attacking fighters all KIA

F4U-1A Corsair Bureau Number 17915
Pilot Boyington ditched January 3, 1944 taken POW aboard I-181

SBD-5 Dauntless Bureau Number 35971
Pilot Ramsey crashed January 4, 1944 one member of crew survived, taken POW, executed

F6F-3 Hellcat Bureau Number 25853
Pilot Schneider MIA January 9, 1944

USS Argonaut SS-166
Sunk by depth charge attack January 10, 1943 south of St. Georges Channel

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Last Updated
November 18, 2009