"Wewak - Beaufort, Show"
From Wings, June 1945

Capture of Wewak was primarily a RAAF show. In their most spectacular action to date, the Beaufort's literally blasted the Jap’s out of their cleverly concealed pill-boxes and the AIF walked in over their bomb craters to find the enemy’s last and most heavily defended Northern PNG stronghold strewn with corpses. Ask the 6th Division's veterans now clearing up the unhappy remnants of General Miyaki's once powerful 18th Army what they thought of the Beaufort crews' work in that campaign. You get one answer: "The RAAF prepared the way; we took our positions as they knocked the Nips out." The Army commander formally thanked the RAAF for the surprisingly few casualties suffered by his troops. And that has been the Beaufort boys' main incentive-not bombing huts or villages, but saving AMF lives.The soldiers' confidence in the accuracy of their bombing has been embarrassing at times. They repeatedly called for strikes within 150 yards of their own positions, and on one bash I heard this over the R/T from a Lieutenant down below  "Nice work! We're smothered in dirt, the smoke's --------- awful, but the OP reports there are bits of Nips hanging in the trees everywhere." Actually, the culmination of the Wewak campaign was a triumph of air support.

The Dove Bay landing west of Dabiap, between Wewak Point and Cape Moem, in the enemy's rear, was a masterpiece of co-ordination. Beaufort KO'd the Nip positions commanding the beaches, the Navy ensured that any Jap’s left over kept their heads down, and the AMF went ashore knowing they had as much protection as any shock troops have ever had.How different from 6th Division actions earlier in the war! Results - in the actual landing operation the Army lost one man wounded. I flew over the bay a few hours after the landing and saw some of the troops swimming off the beachhead. The Beauforts made 80 strikes in support of the landing, a climax to months of dull, routine daily strikes in treacherous weather, during which they had dropped more than 8,000,000 lbs of bombs. They needed a show like this to break the monotony.

So there was an air of anticipation when I arrived at Tadji the night before the "Do." In the wing OP's room that night the IO and the senior controller checked last minute details with the AL0's. Throughout the day 57 Beaufort fonts had dropped 100 tons of bombs along the neck of Wewak Peninsula, by the strip, and the report had just come in from the AMF that scores of Jap’s had been buried alive in their caves. There seemed little need for the formal briefing before dawn next morning. Everyone seemed to know his role. Five squadrons were to take part led by W/Cdr Hugh Conaghan, CO of the best known Beaufort squadron, which his been bashing Jap’s for 2 ½ years; W/Cdr 0. B. Hall, AFC, the most experienced pilot in the area; W/Cdr Brian Waddy; W/Cdr Oscar Barton; and G/Capt Tony Primrose, AFC, who had brought his squadron up from another area to be in at the kill. Only one thing was in doubt -weather. Cloud base might not be high enough to allow sufficient safety margin for heavy bombing. Primary and secondary targets were fixed accordingly, Jap entrenchments around Wirui Mission on a ridge commanding the beach and the forces along the shore. Conaghan, the leader, was to make first run with 15 Beauforts on at 07.45; troops would go ashore under cover from 6-inch naval guns at 08.30. Other squadrons were detached for air alert, on call should the landing forces strike opposition.

We took off to split-second schedule. I was with the Wing CO, G/Capt V. E. Hancock, OBE, of Toorak, Victoria, formerly Director of Postings at RAAF HQ. He posted himself to an operational wing and now flies on every bash. Rarely as leader and generally behind an F/O flight commander. We were No3 to Conaghan. Down the coastline astern we found cloud level 1500ft over the ridge, leaving insufficient safety margin. Conaghan immediately ordered us to follow him in across the secondary target. Every bomb-the Beaufort s carried two 500-pounders, four 260s-dropped around the target area. Hancock asked our navigator bomb-aimer how ours had gone. The Nav's quiet "They were all right,” meant they were dead on. We went back later and saw the devastation for ourselves.

Meanwhile, with a Boomerang spotting for them, the naval bombardment had begun, so we detached ourselves from the rest of the squadron to browse around for a look-see. Hancock was keen to watch the results of his careful planning. The cruisers, HMAS Hobart and HMS Newfoundland, and the RAN destroyers Arunta, Warramunga and Swan formed an impressive array in the misty light as the barges skimmed toward the shore. I counted more than 30 craft. As the barges beached, the troops dashing across the beach met crossfire from Jap gun positions on Cape Moem. The spotter had the naval guns on it in a flash.

Hancock then decided to take a look at the clouds over the original target on Wirui Ridge. They had lifted high enough for safe bombing. We reported to the Air Support Controller, F/Lt George Mauger, DFC, on the flagship with the Army GOC, and in went a dozen Beaufort.

Then came the dramatic moment of the show. Over the R/T from the air support officer with the landing forces came: "Strong force of enemy troops moving along tracks near map ref, to intercept its-can you do anything? was pretty to watch the air-alert boys respond. In three minutes they had finished their run. Few Jap's could have survived that blast, and the AS0s precise, "Thank you very much," followed a few seconds later.

We stooged around for four hours until it was obvious things were going exactly as planned. The Beaufort's had again succeeded in their main assignment, saving AMF lives. The landing troops had lost one man wounded. Not bad for the culmination of the PNG campaign! And the Jap's had been there in force. That had been obvious when we made our first run. The little black bursts around us from enemy .5's showed the Jap's had concentrated all their ack-ack around Wewak, and had deliberately held their fire for weeks, waiting for the main assault. Our Beaufort was holed in two places but it was the only one hit.

Back at Tadji all crews were on immediate call in case the AMF struck sudden opposition. Tea and sandwiches on the strip were followed by a call from the Army to bomb and strafe enemy troops on Brandi Plantation, near the neck of Cape Moem. We were Conaghan's No 3 again and, after we had dropped our bombs, the Army called for one Beaufort to find a Jap gun causing trouble. No 3 was detailed, and for the next hour and a half, after the others had gone home, we skimmed the trees in maddening circles trying to find that gun. How I regretted my rashness in flying with a group-captain who thrives on that sort of thing and was obviously determined he would not leave those trees till lie had found the gun! Particularly when our WAG, F/Lt Bill Wilson, of Brisbane, reported the Nips were potting at us with rifle fire!

There was the gun. Round and round over the gardens, up and down the ridges, checking up on one likely position after another until we came across what looked like another bomb crater on the side of a hill. But, on closer inspection, we could see slit trenches alongside. Round again and there was no mistaking it there was the gun. (Next morning a squadron of Beauforts went over and blew the gun and its crew to smithereens.)

More than seven hours at the extremely sensitive controls of a Beaufort is my idea of a hard day's flying, especially after being holed by flak. Hancock differs. On our way home we used up what little petrol we had in our tanks looking for odd Jap’s still left on the tiny islands which skirt the coast between Wewak and Aitape. The Beauforts did their job so well that day, the Army called for only a few sporadic strikes on following days and the Beaufort reinforcements were able to go home two days later. Except for mopping up inland, the Wewak campaign was virtually over. Is it any wonder the boys were surprised when Guinea Gold, announcing the capture, dismissed the RAAF's efforts in one line? The 6th Division boys, whose opinion counted most, were stunned.