Location
Lat 10° 43' 0S Long 152° 22' 0E Small island group is made up of several small islands in the north-west of the Louisiade Archipelago. It had a brief role as a Japanese base during the Battle of the Coral Sea. To the north-east of Deboyne Group is Misima Island.

Wartime History
The Japanese occupied the area with 10 ships, including the Kamikawa Maru, a destroyer, cruiser, and transports. The Japanese capture 8 POWs in the area (3 Australian Army Signalers and 5 natives). They established a forward operating seaplane base at Deboyne Lagoon.

On May 7, 1942 at the start of the Battle of the Coral Sea a seaplane operating from this location managed to located the US Navy support Group (one battleship, two cruisers three destroyers), 78 miles south of Deboyne at 12:40.

On May 7, 1942 A6M2 Zeros and one A5M4 Claude from Shoho ditched near each other in this vicinity. On May 8, 1942 one A6M2 Zero piloted by PO2c Okura Shigeru from the 14th Shotai from Zuikaku ditched at Deboyne.

On May 10, the Japanese withdrew from Deboyne Lagoon, but Americans continued to bomb the area for nearly a week after the withdrawal.

Several Allied patrols visited this area in late May-early June. Another party visited during July 1942.

Allied Missions Against Deboyne
April 10 - May 16, 1942

Deboyne Seaplane Base
Used by the Japanese during the Battle of the Coral Se

B-26 Marauder Serial Number 40-1402
Pilot Royall, MIA May 10, 1942

Panepompom Island
Panapompom Island, 157m high and wooded, lies nearly in the middle of the lagoon, about 2 miles south of Panaete Island and north of Nivani Island.

Nivani Island
Nivani Island, 94.5m high, small and partly wooded island. Situated about 0.5 mile south of Panapompom Island.

Panaeati (Panniet) Island
Largest island in the group, densely forested with a single conical peak 221m tall. A Wesleyan Mission is located on the western point.

G4M1 Betty Manufacture Number 2271 Tail F-378
Ditched into shallow water off Panaeati, wreckage dragged ashore

Panuwaiyayapuna Island
Small island to the east of the Calvados Chain with several shipwrecks, also at Maneiul Reef.

References
The First Team, pages 205, 207, 257, 268, 341
The number of aircraft the possibly ditched in the lagoon varies in several sources. The First Team page 262 states that four were lost (+ one ditched at Deboyne?)]. "The Campaigns of the Pacific War" (p. 53) says 10 of the torpedo aircraft were shot down, and quotes the war diary of 25th Air Flotilla as one of its sources.

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Last Updated
March 18, 2010