February 23, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
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MONDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 1942

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): First American bombing mission against Rabaul.  A group of four B-17s took off from Townsville before midnight on February 22, 1942 an overnight flight arriving arriving February 23, 1942 at dawn to bomb Japanese shipping in Simpson Harbor near Rabaul. Inbound, they experience bad weather that broke up the formation with the B-17s flying individually to the target area with B-17 pilot Speith aborting due to bad weather. Only two B-17s manage to bomb the target, and all are intercepted by Japanese fighters from the 4th Kōkūtai (4th Air Group). Returning, B-17E 41-2446 (aka "Swamp Ghost') runs out of fuel and force lands into Agaiambo Swamp in northern New Guinea. The other B-17s land at 7-Mile Drome near Port Moresby to refuel then is returns to Garbutt Field.

Two B-17s bomb Denpasar Airfield from 27,000' through thick clouds.

Major General Lewis H. Brereton, Commanding General 5th Air Force, departs for India after issuing an order terminating headquarters, 5th Air Force. Until September 3, 1942, units of the 5th Air Force are under control of ABDACOM and then Allied Air Force (SWPA).

IJN: Shortly after 7:00pm, Japanese submarine I-17 surfaced off Coal Oil Point a few hundred yards off the Ellwood Oil Field. Over twenty minutes fired 17 shells from her 14cm deck gun at the Richfield aviation fuel storage tanks on the bluff. The shots were mostly wild, one landing more than a mile inland. The closest shell exploded 27m from one of the fuel tanks. The shelling caused only minor damage to a pier and a pump house.