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 AWM 1945 |
Location Henry Reid Harbor (Henry Reid Bay) is located in the northeast corner of Wide Bay bordering the southern coast of New Britain roughly 50km south of Rabaul. Henry Reid Bay spans from Tol (Zungen Point) to the east, the mouth of the Henry Reid River empties into Henry Reid Harbor west of Waitavalo. On the western side of the harbor is Brown Island and Kalai. The local name is "Homhovulu Harbor". Prewar and during the Pacific War part of the New Britain District in the Territory of New Guinea. Today located in East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Wartime History On January 22, 1942 two Australian flyingboats S.23 "Calypso" A18-11 and S.23 "Coogee" A18-12 took off form Port Moresby flying via Samarai and on January 23, 1942 at dusk landed in Henry Reid Harbor inside Wide Bay off Tol to rescue Australians assembled in the area including 25 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel plus 24 others including W/O Stanley McCosker and Australian Army signalers and civilians. After four hours loading, both boats departed safely at 7:22pm. Afterwards, S.23 "Coogee" A18-12 returned and rescued 49 more personel. During early February 1942, the Japanese Army landed at Tol and occupied the area including the Henry Reid Harbor area until March 1945. During the night of April 13-14, 1944 PT-133 and PT-132 patrolled inside Henry Reid Bay, spotting eight enemy barges. The pair attacked, sinking four with two destroyed on the beach and damaging two others, making repeated runs on the barges until they expended all their ammunition. During their attacks, the PT-Boats were attacked by an enemy plane that dropped four bombs and made two strafing runs. During March 1945, the Australian Army occupied Tol and immediately began developing the area as a forward operating base. Henry Reid Harbor Seaplane Base A6M2 Model 21 Zero Contribute
Information Last Updated
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 Map 1946 |
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