history · 06 April 1942 · 82 years ago
At 0200 hours, B-17 bombers of US 22nd Bomb Group were launched from Seven Mile airfield near Port Moresby, Australian Papua. One hours later, the faster B-26 bombers were launched. Flying toward Rabaul, New Britain, this was the first B-17 combat mission against that location as well as the first B-26 combat mission. The B-17 bombers struck first (despite the fact that the two were supposed to be attacking at the same time), causing no damage. By the time the B-26 bombers arrived, 7 Japanese A5M fighters were already in the air, although they failed to close in on the B-26 bombers. The B-26 bombers caused very little damage.
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