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| Location Lat 9° 4' 0S Long 148° 16' 60E Natunga is located at an elevation of 2,860' / 871m in the Owen Stanley Range of New Guinea along the Kapa Kapa Trail (Kapa Kapa - Jaure Track). Also spelled Natunga. To the southwest is Jaure (Iaure, Taure). and to the northeast the track continues towards Buna. From this location, another rough and difficult track spanned from Natunga to Pongani known as the Natunga-Pongani Track. Prewar and during the Pacific War located in the Territory of New Guinea. Today located in the Ijivitari District of Oro Province in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Today, there are two villages at this location: Natunga and Natunga 2. It is unclear if the wartime era village and present day villages are the same location. Likely Natunga was the original village and Natunga 2 is a newer village. Wartime History On November 2, 1942 the first soldiers from the U.S. Army, 32nd Infantry Division, 126th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion under the command of Major Smith arrived at Naunga and were forced to wait at Natunga and Bofu until November 12, 1942 for supplies to be air dropped to them before continuing their advance towards the Japanese beachhead at Buna-Gona-Sanananda. On November 5, 1942 three transports: C-47 "Dumbo" 41-18568, C-47 41-18498 and C-47 "The Broadway Limited" 41-38615 air dropped supplies to U.S. Army soldiers in the Natunga and Bofu area. During the cargo drop, a supply parachute caught on the tail of one transport causing it to crash nearby. C-47 "The Broadway Limited" Serial Number 41-38615 Pilot Majure crashed November 5, 1942 References HyperWar: US Army in WWII: Victory in Papua pages 115, 121 Contribute
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