July 21, 1942
(5th AF) B-25 Marauder photographic reconnaissance of the Sananada Point area, with photographic interpretation added.
July 22, 1942
(5th AF) 16 P-39 from the 80th FS "Headhunters", 39th FS, 40th FS, 41st FS were sent to shoot up the Japanese forces unloading from landing barges. Eight P-39's stayed above as top in case enemy fighters arrived from Lae while the other eight went down to shoot up the barges. 39th FS pilot Bob Faurot put his P-39 down so low that his nearly hit the water. During the attack, P-400 Airacobra pilot David S. "Pinky" Hunter made his firing pass and his aircraft was hit by AA fire he opened the door on his P-39 and bailed out, his door blew off his aircraft and almost hit Danny Roberts. In fact, David S. "Pinky" Hunter was taken POW and executed August 31, 1942. His rings were found on a dead Japanese soldier on the Kokoda Trail months later.
September 5, 1942
(5th AF) P-400s strafe Sanananda.
September 15, 1942
(5th AF) B-25s hit Sanananda.
September 16, 1942
(5th AF) A lone B-17 attacks landing barges in the Sanananda area.
September 17, 1942
(5th AF) B-17s hit a beached cargo vessel at Sanananda. P-400s, P-40s, and P-39s strafe and bomb landing barges in the Sanananda Point
area.
September 22, 1942
(5th AF) A B-25 bombs the coastal end of the Sanananda Track.
October 5, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s hit AA positions at Sanananda Point and bomb the village of
Sanananda.
October 10, 1942
(5th AF) P-400s, strike villages in the area of Sanananda.
November 10, 1942
(5th AF) B-26s bomb AA positions and supply dumps along the Sanananda-Soputa Trail.
November 16, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s pound the areas around Sanananda.
November 21, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s and B-25s pound the village of Sanananda in support of Allied
ground forces; the Australian-US force is advancing from Soputa toward Sanananda.
November 22, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s pound trails around Sanananda.
November 23, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s and B-26s pound Sanananda Point.
November 24, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s, B-25s, B-26s, B-17s, P-40s, P-39s, and P-400s hit Sanananda Point and
other targets in the area.
December 4, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s, B-25s and P-400s bomb and strafe Sanananda Point. On the ground, the roadblock [Huggins Road Block] on the Soputa-Sanananda Trail remains precarious as the Japanese maintain attacks
from all sides and hold off US reinforcements.
December 9, 1942
(5th AF) P-40s hit the area along the Sanananda-Soputa Trail.
December 12, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s strafe barges off Sanananda Point.
December 31, 1942
(5th AF) A-20s strafe forces in the Sanananda area.
January 4, 1943
(5th AF) B-26s pound the Sanananda Point area as preparations for the Allied
offensive in that sector underway.
January 5, 1943
(5th AF, US Army) B-26s pound the Sanananda
Point. U.S. Army 128th Infantry Regiment start northwest along the coast toward
Tarakena as preliminary moves to an all-out assault on Sanananda get under
way.
January 6, 1943
(5th AF) B-26s pound the forces in the Sanananda Point area.
January 12, 1943
(Australian Army) M3 Stuart 2565 is disabled moving towards Sanananda.
January 13, 1943
(5th AF) A-20s bomb and strafe the Sanananda Point area and forces along the Sanananda
Track.
January 15, 1943
(5th AF) A-20s strafe the Sanananda Point area as US troops envelop pockets along the Soputa-Sanananda
Track.
January 16, 1943
(5th AF, US Army, Australian Army) A-20s pound the Soputa-Sanananda
Trail. US Army and Australian ground forces open an assault on Sanananda.
January 22, 1943
(US Army, Australian Army) The Papua Campaign ends with the collapse of organized resistance on the Sanananda
front.
