Lat 10° 37' 0S Long 150° 40' 0E  An island located at the far eastern tip of New Guinea, near Milne Bay. Samarai is a tiny island of 24 hectares in China Strait. It is only five kilometers from the mainland.

History
Prior to WWII, it was the provincial headquarters of the Australian administration in New Guinea. In 1942, the residents fled the island followed by Australian military, they left their houses and possession behind, and the installations on the island was torched by Sgt Les Arnold at the end of March 1942.  Too small for an airfield, it was used as a base for flying boats.  Post war, Alotau became the new provincal headquarters 1968 because of overcrowding and inconvenient location of the island.

Japanese Missions Against Samarai
February 23, 1942
Two sticks of bombs are dropped on Samarai Island.

Samarai Seaplane Base
US Navy seaplane base built in the middle 1943

B-25 Mitchell Serial Number ?

 

China Strait
Located to the east of Samarai. Narrow deep water channel between the south-east extremity of the New Guinea mainland and Sariba Island, 4 miles in legth and .75 miles wide.

B-17E Serial Number 41-2452
Pilot Hawthorne force landing August 9, 1942