WWII Sites of Nouméa

WWII Sites of Nouméa

This is the wreckage of an SBD-III lost on a training mission.

The Guns of the Ouen Toro
by Jean-Claude Tranape The Ouen Toro is a hill standing at the south side of Nouméa. During the Second War World, as part of Australia's contribution, to the defence of New Caledonia, an Australian coastal artillery unit called "robin Force" commanded by Captain Carty - Salmon spent seventh months on Ouen-Toro to install and operate two 6" guns and to train the local. An official Australian paper (D.A.F.P.V.I.V July 1940 to june 1941) said about the two 6"guns for Noumea, "The New Zealand Governement must supply the guns and the installation will be made by the Australian staff".

The two guns battery, were installed on a old stronghold place builted in the year 1897. Here is the entrance of an old and nice underground tunnel. The blazon of the French Navy above the entrance.The lower gun. It has the number 868, and the letter are R.V. (Regina Victoria). The two guns are just in front of the two narrow boatpass in the reef called pass of Boulari and pass of Dumbéa. These guns were never used again the Japanese ships, because the Japanese were stoped at Guadalcanal just in time by the US soldiers.
The upper gun. It was melt in 1901. The number of this gun is 1211. It has the letter E.D. (Edouard VII). At the beginning of the war, my father, Jean TRANAPE, monted the guard there, just before to go with the "Bataillon du Pacifique" to North Africa to fight Rommel at Bir-Hakeim, and El Alamein.

US 1941 Ford Truck
Photos by Christope Thomas, October 2002
The truck look pretty good after 60 years of use and abuse

Interviews & Oral Histories