Lat
9° 22' 0S Long 150° 16' 0E Located due west of nearby Fergusson
Island. For its size, Goodenough is the most mountainous island in the world
Japanese Stranded
A group Japanese troops were landed at Goodenogh: 290 Arny and 60 Sasebo 5th
SNLF (Marines). On the September 23, 1943 three G4M1 Betty escorted by nine Zero fighters arrived. The bombers dropped forty-four packages of rations by parachute. There was no news about an additional rescue attempt. However, the troops did learn that Port Moresby had not yet fallen to the Japanese army. From this they could infer that rescue by a relief unit from Buna was an unlikely prospect. [via The Rest of the Story by Richard Dunn ]. They were bound for Taupota, where they would walk overland to Milne
Bay but were caught on the island on August 25th when their transportation barges
were strafed by P-40s, marooning them at Goodenough. Later they were resupplied
by submarine.
Allied Landing
Australian 2/12 Battalion, 18th Brigade from Milne Bay landed from two destroyers on both sides of the island's southern tip
on the night of October 22-23, 1942. During the day of the 23rd intense fighting
occurred. A Japanese prisoner was captured and rather than be forced to talk, bit his tongue off! That
night, 250 Japanese were evacuated by submarine to Fergusson
Island,
and from there taken by cruiser to Rabaul. The remaining defenders were mopped
up and island declared secured by the 24th. It then was developed into
an airfield for Australian and American aircraft and troops as a staging
point operations in New Guinea. The tail of A6M3 Zero Model 32 of 2nd Kokutai based at Rabaul was captured there in 1943.
American Missions Against Goodenough
August 25, 1942 - October 24, 1942
Today
An Australian missionary reported in the early 1970s possibly seeing a Japanese holdout on the island. The only link to Goodenough by plane is via Milne
Bay.
Or on a weekly ferry, Attolls
Queen.
Vivigani
Lat 9° 16' 60S Long 150° 19' 60E Located on the north-east corner of the island.
After the Australian landing on the southern side of the island, the 2/12th Battalion reached Vivigani on October 27, 1942, with accompanying American airfield engineer to survey the airfield. The 2/12th Battalion left the island at the end of December 1942 to head to Buna in destroyers. Thanks to Phil Bradley for historical information.
Vivigani Airfield
Prewar airfield used during the war by the USAAF and RAAF.
DAP
Beaufort
Crashed east of Vivigani
DAP Beaufort Serial
Number A9-480
Pilot Potts, crashed March 5, 1944
