SATURDAY, 16 OCTOBER 1943
China: Admiral Mountbatten arrives in Chungking.
CENTRAL PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Seventh Air Force): HQ 41st Bombardment
Group (Medium) arrives at Hickam Field from the
US.
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): Fighter patrols are increased from 4 to 8 aircraft
with little effect on enemy marauders over the Hump. 3 A-36's fail to return
from a mission over Sumprabum, Burma. Lost is A-36A 42-84030 (POW, survived).
SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): B-24's bomb Kara
Airfield. 6 B-25's hit the airfield on Ballale.
USMC: Twenty F4U Corsairs from VMF-214 "Black Sheep" from five divisions took off in the morning,
three to escort some SBD's on a strike against Kara Airfield, the
other two flying a fighter sweep. Bolt flew with the fighter sweep, which
Boyington was leading. As they flew over Tonolei Harbor,
they saw that it was filled with Japanese barges. "Nobody
shoot" ordered
the normally aggressive Boyington, who led the eight Corsairs on
a long, erratic route. While Boyington proceeded back to Munda, Bolt
and the rest could only make Vella Lavella Airfield. At Vella, Bolt decided
to fly back to Tonolei Harbor himself, to shoot up those barges. "The
skipper will be pissed," a
pilot warned. Bolt went anyway, and at Tonolei, he blasted one barge
full of troops, an empty barge, a tug, and another small cargo vessel.
Most of the vessels, he left burning and sinking. Back at Munda,
Boyington was indeed "pissed", and the incident became know as "Bolts
War". But Admiral Halsey was more supportive
writing a cable: "That one man war... conducted by Lieut. Bolt
against Jap stuff in Tonolei Harbor, Warm Heart (Stop) Halsey".
USMC: 3d Mar Div, having formed at Guadalcanal for operations against Bougainville, conducts rehearsals in New Hebrides, concluding on October 20, 1943.
Australian Army: 9th Div, forewarned of an imminent attack by a captured document, repels the first in a series of Japanese counterattacks from Sattelberg.
USN: USS Mingo (SS-261) attacks Japanese escort carrier Chuyo north-northwest of Truk, 11°02'N, 151°21'E. Although Mingo claims two damaging hits, the carrier emerges from the encounter unscathed; destroyer Hatsukaze makes a depth charge attack but Mingo escapes without damage.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea,
60+ B-25's attack the Alexishafen area, hit coastal targets between Reiss Point
and Sio, and bomb Wewak Airfield. A-20's bomb and strafe Gasmata. A lone B-24 destroys a patrol craft between Hoskins and Rabaul. Lost on a search and rescue mission is OA-10 Catalina 43-3262 (KIA). Lost on a patrol over Salamaua are P-39N Airacobra 42-18410 pilot Captain James R. Miller (MIA) and P-39N Airacobra 42-19033 pilot 2nd Lt. Wayne H Sturtevant (MIA).
B-24 sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 31 off Cape Lambert, New Britain, 04°00'N, 145°45'E.
In the morning, B-25s from all four squadrons of the 345th BG strike Boram Airfield and hit anti-aircraft defenses and Wewak Airfield, protected by three squadrons of P-38 escort fighters. About 20 Japanese Ki-43 and Ki-61 fighters took off to intercept with only a few minutes warning. They dropped 100 lbs 'daisy cutter' bombs and straffed the area. Many parked aricraft were destroyed or damaged. Lost is B-25D 41-30561 pilot 2nd Lt. Donald L. Stookey (POW / MIA).
Thirty-eight B-25 Mitchell strafers from the 38th Bombardment Group (38th BG), 405th Bombardment Squadron (405th BS) escorted by twenty-five P-47 Thunderbolts from 348th Fighter Group (348th FG) on a low level strike against Alexishafen. At roughly 10:30am, a formation arrived over the target as Ki-43 Oscars from 13th Sentai took off from Alexishafen No. 1 Airfield (Danip) to intercept them at 10:48. During the air combat, three Oscars were shot down. Leaving the target, B-25D "Lucky Star" 41-30183 pilot 2nd Lt Spencer M. Moore (MIA) was damaged by Oscars and ditched southeast of Madang. Also lost P-38 Lightning pilot Lidstrom (MIA).
JAAF: At 8:35am Japanese planes including Ki-48 Lilys from 45th Sentai escorted by Ki-43 Oscars from 13th Sentai attack the Song River area. Over the target, a Ki-48 was slightly damaged and a Ki-43 was damaged returning to land. Allied reports state that six "Sally" [sic Lily] and twenty "Oscars" were involved. Later in the day, a B-24 was intercepted by fighters 80 miles east of Madang per Allied reports.
References
ATIS document on JAAF losses October 16, 1943
October 16, 1943 Mission Over Alexishafen by Richard Dunn
