Wilkie walked up Mt. Kenevi [adjacent to the Kokoda Trail] 11,000
feet altitude. Quite a hike! He found a P-40 a P-39 and a B-25 with
bones on board. Good photos; spectacular country. To learn more about
his trip, read our article about the trip, Journey
To Mt Kenevi
I paid a visit to Popondetta with Frank
Egimbari last weekend. Phil
Bradley had asked for photos of tanks at Buna. I've got two so
far [there's one more in the Nimitz Museum, and another in the Port
Moresby Museum] Probably two or three more out there in jungleland
to locate and photograph. I also found a jeep or two and an old car
that had been cut down and used as an ambulance during the Buna battles.
This is real, ,living history stuff. One [the better ] tank is near
the old Buna Strip, with the tracks and front plate in the grass nearby;
the other is near Embi lakes and seems to have been used for target
practice,after the battles.
Tanks
and Vehicles in Popondetta Area
The first photo is
a 1937/38 sedan [Ford?] cut down for use as an ambulance, and
abandoned after the battle.This was almost certainly captured
by the Japanese during the Singapore / Malay campaign, and shipped,
first to Rabaul, then to Buna and subsequently captured by US
/ Aussie forces; and converted in the field for use as an ambulance.
Real History here. It should be in a museum. The middle
photo is an American tank [M3A1], used by Aussie forces at
Buna, and later recovered to a training range near the Embi Lakes,
where it was used as target practice. The last
photo is a similar tank ,still on the Buna Battlefield.
Em Tasol
John Douglas
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John Douglas writes WWII wreck related
new briefs for Pacific Wreck Database from his home in Port Moresby.
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