Kittyhawks of 75 & 76 Squadrons RAAF return to No. 1 Strip after strafing enemy positions during the Battle for Milne Bay, August/September, 1942. Overall Print Size: 24 7/8'' wide x 19 1/4'' high. Click here to view the 1942 Newsreel "The Battle for Milne Bay" The feature aircraft, Polly, A29-133, is a survivor of the battle and now resides in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. The Battle for Milne Bay in New Guinea was a story of true grit, determination, and valour; it was the moment when the Imperial Japanese Army tasted defeat on land for the first time in nearly three centuries. In the space of two weeks, the Japanese attempt to capture Milne Bay was halted,and any ambitions they might have held to invade Australia, thwarted. And that victory was due in no small part to the Kittyhawks of 75 and 76 Squadrons RAAF. After the Japanese invaded the north of New Guinea, their main objective was to take Port Moresby in the south. But a heavy defeat at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 put an end to any invasion on Port Moresby by sea: instead they must strike across the Owen Stanley Ranges via the Kokoda Trail. Protecting Port Moresby’s eastern flank was the key strategic natural harbour at Milne Bay, and in June 1942 American engineers, protected by Australian troops, began construction of the first of three proposed airstrips to be hacked out of the steaming jungle. Within a few weeks they had laid the first runway, formed by laying steel matting in almost impossible conditions. With heavy rain falling almost continuously, it was an extraordinary feat. Four days later the Kittyhawks of 75 and 76 Squadrons, RAAF, took up residence, together with a few Hudsons of 6 and 32 Squadrons to provide long-range reconnaissance. On the night of 25 August, 1942, in torrential rain, a Japanese invasion force began their landing in the bay. With the Australian troops bitterly contesting every yard, the fighting was savage and bloody; conditions in the jungle battleground were wet, muddy, and atrocious. At first light the next morning the Kittyhawks and Hudsons immediately joined the battle, flying continuous raids against the Japanese forces. Sortie after sortie, strafing and bombing the enemy troops, their landing barges and stores. For the next eleven days the bitter battle raged, the Australian troops fighting in savage hand-to-hand combat as the Japanese got within yards of No 3 airstrip’s perimeter. But eventually the Japanese were spent as a fighting force. With no hope of reinforcement, they were forced to withdraw. A quarter of their invasion force had been lost. Robert Taylor’s powerful new painting depicts Kittyhawks from 75 and & 76 Squadrons RAAF, returning to No 1 Strip after attacking Japanese positions during the Battle for Milne Bay. Under the starboard wing of the lead aircraft, ‘Polly’, the smoke of action is clearly visible as the Japanese press from their landing site, along the coast towards the airstrip. ‘Polly’, now beautifully restored, resides in the Australian War Memorial Museum in Canberra, a tribute to the men and machines who stopped the Japanese in New Guinea. Prints are signed by RAAF veterans who flew and fought in Kittyhawks with 75 and 76 squadrons at the Battle for Milne Bay. THE LIMITED EDITION: 400 prints numbered 151-550 Signed by TWO Battle for Milne Bay Kittyhawk Pilots. Flight Lieutenant HARRY KERR MID – 76 Sqn
Flight Lieutenant ARTHUR TUCKER – 75 Sqn |
