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120-612: TSMV Manunda was an Australian registered and crewed passenger ship which was converted to a hospital ship in 1940. During the war Manunda saw service in both the Middle East and Pacific Campaigns, specifically New Guinea. She resumed her passenger duties after the war, before being sold to a Japanese company and finally broken up in 1957. In 1927 the Adelaide Steamship Company in Australia ordered

240-458: A Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat on 8 June. They were impressed by the flat areas, the roads and the jetties, all of which would ease airbase construction. On receipt of a favourable report from the party, MacArthur's General Headquarters (GHQ) cancelled Boston on 11 June and substituted Milne Bay. Milne Bay was given the codename "Fall River". The use of place names as code names proved to be unwise, as some supplies were mistakenly sent to

360-458: A shakedown cruise to Darwin , Port Moresby and returned to Sydney, before heading for Suez in the Middle East (she made four trips to the Middle East and Mediterranean between November 1940 and September 1941). She was then despatched to Darwin. On the morning of 19 February 1942, Manunda was damaged during the Japanese air raids on Darwin , despite her highly prominent red cross markings on

480-563: A counterattack with the troops from the 18th Brigade. Orders were also passed for the 30 Kittyhawks at Gili Gili to be flown off to Port Moresby in case the Japanese succeeded in breaking through to the airfield. The attack did not take place, though, and consequently early in the morning on 29 August they returned, albeit minus two aircraft which had crashed during the move. The Japanese convoy arrived off Waga Waga at 8:15 pm on 29 August, and began landing troops and supplies. While this

600-501: A creek. Engaged with sustained machine gun fire, the two assault platoons withdrew back across the creek while elements of another company that was in support moved to the northern flank. Launching their assault, they found that the Japanese had withdrawn, leaving about 20 of their dead. Following this, the 2/9th advanced a further 500 yards (460 m), reaching Sanderson's Bay, before deciding to set up their night location. That night Japanese ships again shelled Australian positions on

720-455: A garrison for Boston on 24 May. The troops were informed that their mission was only to defend against Japanese raids, and in the event of a major attack they would destroy everything of value and withdraw. The Boston project fell through, as a reconnaissance of the area gave an unfavourable report and Elliott-Smith suggested Milne Bay as a more suitable alternative site. A party of twelve Americans and Australians set out to explore Milne Bay in

840-487: A given hull size. Passenger ships are subject to two major International Maritime Organization requirements : to perform musters of the passengers (...) within 24 hours after their embarkation and to be able to perform full abandonment within a period of 30 minutes from the time the abandon-ship signal is given . Transportation Research Board research from 2019 reported passenger vessels, much more than freight vessels, are subject to degradations in stability as

960-513: A hospital ship was, on this occasion honored by Japanese naval units, which raked her with searchlights on three nights running. She made a total of 27 voyages from Milne Bay to Brisbane and Sydney transporting wounded troops. As the war continued, she was relocated as required and she followed the Allied forces the various islands around the Pacific. Six days after the sinking of AHS Centaur ,

1080-561: A new 9,115 GRT liner to provide full-time Australian coastal passenger services, which had previously only been offered by the company on a limited scale. The Twin Screw Motor Vessel Manunda was built by William Beardmore and Company at Dalmuir in Scotland . The vessel was 136 metres (446 ft) in length, with a beam of 18 metres (59 ft). Diesel motors provided power to the two propeller shafts, with

1200-714: A number of Japanese troops were killed, while a large quantity of supplies was destroyed, as were a number of the landing barges which were beached near the KB Mission. Aside from severely hampering the Japanese supply system, the destruction of the landing barges also prevented their use to outflank the Australian battalions. The Japanese did not have any air cover as the fighters based at Buna which were to patrol over Milne Bay were shot down by Allied fighters shortly after they took off and other aircraft based at Rabaul were forced to turn back due to bad weather. Nevertheless,

1320-434: A platoon of Australians who engaged them with Bren light machine guns , the Japanese withdrew just before dawn to the sounds of a bugle call. The Japanese troops who survived this attack were shocked by the heavy firepower the Allied forces had been able to deploy, and the assault force was left in a state of disarray. Early on 31 August, the 2/12th Infantry Battalion began moving towards KB Mission, with 'D' Company leading

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1440-790: A request was made by the Australian Department of Defence that the identification markings and lights be removed from AHS Manunda , weapons be installed, and that she begin to sail blacked out and under escort. The conversion was performed, although efforts by the Department of the Navy, the Admiralty, and authorities in New Zealand and the United States of America caused the completed conversion to be undone. The cost of

1560-408: A result of increases in lightship weight. Passenger vessels appear to be more pressing candidates for lightship weight-tracking programs than freight vessels. Passengers on ships without backup generators suffer substantial distress due to lack of water, refrigeration, and sewage systems in the event of loss of the main engines or generators due to fire or other emergency. Power is also unavailable to

1680-441: A result, on 2 September the 2/9th was moved by barge up to the KB Mission. The next day it took over from the 2/12th and led the Australian advance. With the Japanese position at Milne Bay close to collapse, on 2 September Yano sent a radio message to the headquarters of the 8th Fleet which stated: "[w]e have reached the worst possible situation. We will together calmly defend our position to the death. We pray for absolute victory for

1800-502: A ship's GRT and displacement were somewhat similar in number. For example, Titanic , put in service in 1912, had a GRT of 46,328 and a displacement reported at over 52,000 tons. Similarly, Cunard Line's mid-1930s RMS  Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth were of approximately 81,000 – 83,000 GRT and had displacements of over 80,000 tons. Today, due to changes in construction, engineering, function, architecture, and, crucially, measurement system – which measures functionally all of

1920-526: A ship's internal volume, not just part of it – modern passenger ships' GT values are much higher than their displacements. The Cunard Queens' current successor, the 148,528 GT Queen Mary 2 , has been estimated to only displace approximately 76,000 tons. With the completion in 2009 of the first of the over 225,000 GT Oasis -class cruise ships, Oasis of the Seas , passenger ships' displacements rose to 100,000 tons, well less than half their GT. This new class

2040-498: A stop-gap measure quantities of sticky bombs and anti-tank mines were moved up to the forward units. At 4:45 pm, with air and artillery support, the Australians launched a minor attack upon the Japanese forward positions which were located about 600 yards (550 m) to the east of the mission, pushing the Japanese back a further 200 yards (180 m). Weary from the day's fighting, though, they withdrew to Motieau, west of

2160-500: A top speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Passenger capacity was 176 first class and 136 second class. The ship was launched on 27 November 1928, and completed on 16 April 1929. It was a company policy for all its motor vessels to have a name starting with "M" and the ship was named after an Aboriginal word meaning "place near water". She was the largest ship operated by the Adelaide Steamship Company at

2280-523: A white background. 12 members of the ship's crew and hospital staff were killed, 19 others were seriously wounded and another 40 or so received minor wounds. Manunda was able to act as a casualty clearing station for injured personnel from other ships involved in the attack. She sailed to Fremantle the next day. Captain James Garden was later awarded the OBE , in 1945, for his bravery and skill, both during

2400-547: Is bounded to its north and south by the Stirling Ranges, which at points rise to 3,000–5,000 feet (910–1,520 m) and are covered in Kunai grass and dense scrubland . The main area of firm ground suitable for construction and development is found directly at the head of the bay. In 1942 this area was occupied by plantations of palm oil, coconuts and cocoa, as well as a number of jetties and villages, connected by what

2520-408: Is calculated based on "the moulded volume of all enclosed spaces of the ship", and is used to determine things such as a ship's manning regulations, safety rules, registration fees, and port dues. It is produced by a mathematical formula, and does not distinguish between mechanical and passenger spaces, and thus is not directly comparable to historic GRT measurements. Displacement , a measure of mass,

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2640-425: Is characteristic of an explosive growth in gross tonnage, which has more than doubled from the largest cruise ships of the late 1990s. This reflects the much lower relative weight of enclosed space in the comparatively light superstructure of a ship versus its heavily reinforced and machinery-laden hull space, as cruise ships have grown slab-sided vertically from their maximum beam to accommodate more passengers within

2760-430: Is flat with good aerial approaches, and therefore suitable for airstrips, although it is intercut by many tributaries of rivers and mangrove swamps. Owing to the swampy lands and high rainfall, about 200 inches (5,100 mm) per year, the area is prone to malaria and flooding. After floods, the coastal plains become "virtually impassable quagmires of glutinous mud", and the ground is not suited for development. The bay

2880-507: Is not commonly used for passenger vessels. While a high displacement can indicate better sea keeping abilities, gross tonnage is promoted as the most important measure of size for passenger vessels, as the ratio of gross tonnage per passenger – the Passenger/Space Ratio – gives a sense of the spaciousness of a ship, an important consideration in cruise liners where the onboard amenities are of high importance. Historically,

3000-454: The 25th Air Flotilla discovered the new Milne Bay airfields on 4 August, but was then postponed due to the American landings on Guadalcanal on 7 August. Under the misconception that the airfields were defended by only two or three companies of Australian infantry (300–600 men), the initial Japanese assault force consisted of only about 1,250 personnel. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA)

3120-594: The 46th Engineers of the US Army Corps of Engineers arrived on Bontekoe with airbase construction equipment. Some 29 KPM ships had escaped to Australia after the fall of the Dutch East Indies. They were manned by Dutch and Javanese crews, and were the lifeline of the garrison at Milne Bay, making roughly two out of every three voyages there during the campaign, the remainder being by Australian, British and US ships. Five KPM ships would be lost during

3240-413: The 5th Kure Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF), led by Commander Shojiro Hayashi , were scheduled to land on the east coast near a point identified by the Japanese as "Rabi", along with 197 men from the 5th Sasebo SNLF , led by Lieutenant Fujikawa. It was planned that a further 350 personnel from the 10th Naval Landing Force, along with 100 men from the 2nd Air Advance Party, would land via barge on

3360-674: The Atlantic Ocean between Europe and the United States or travel even further to South America or Asia while cruise ships typically serve shorter routes with more stops along coastlines or among various islands. Both the Queen Elizabeth 2 ( QE2 ) (1969) and her successor as Cunard's flagship RMS  Queen Mary 2 ( QM2 ), which entered service in 2004, are of hybrid construction. Like transatlantic ocean liners, they are fast ships and strongly built to withstand

3480-559: The Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II . Japanese naval infantry, known as Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai (Special Naval Landing Forces), with two small tanks attacked the Allied airfields at Milne Bay that had been established on the eastern tip of New Guinea . Due to poor intelligence work, the Japanese miscalculated the size of

3600-646: The Dutch East Indies . While a Japanese naval operation aimed at capturing Port Moresby was defeated in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May, elsewhere American forces in the Philippines capitulated, and Japanese forces advanced towards India through Burma. Although the Japanese had been defeated in the Coral Sea, another attempt at capturing Port Moresby was anticipated. The Allied Supreme Commander of

3720-560: The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requires passenger ships operating in international waters must either be constructed or upgraded to exclude combustible materials. It is believed some owners and operators of ships built before 1980, which are required to upgrade or retire their vessels, will be unable to conform to the regulations. Fred. Olsen Cruise Line 's Black Prince , built in 1966

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3840-544: The Japanese XVII Army , Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake , requested that Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa 's 8th Fleet capture the new Allied base at Milne Bay instead. Mikawa therefore altered his plans for the Samarai operation, and substituted the capture of Milne Bay, which was codenamed Operation RE , and scheduled for the middle of August. Operation RE received a high priority after aircraft from

3960-495: The siege of Tobruk earlier in the war, consisted of the 2/9th , 2/10th and 2/12th Infantry Battalions . Anti-aircraft and artillery support was provided by the 9th Battery of the 2/3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, the US 709th Anti-Aircraft Battery and the 9th Battery of the 2/5th Field Regiment , while various signals and logistics troops provided further support. With two brigades now at Milne Bay, Major General Cyril Clowes

4080-527: The 2/12th to continue its advance the following morning. That night, a force of around 300 Japanese who had been falling back since they had run into the 61st Infantry Battalion on Stephen's Ridge, encountered positions manned by the 2/12th and 9th Infantry Battalions around the Gama River. In a surprise attack, the Australians inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese. After the battle the Australians estimated that up to 90 had been killed. Following this

4200-480: The 2/9th's sections was held up by fire from three Japanese machine gun positions. Corporal John French ordered the other members of the section to take cover before he attacked and destroyed two of the machine guns with grenades . French then attacked the third position with his Thompson submachine gun . The Japanese firing ceased and the Australian section advanced to find that the machine gunners had been killed and that French had been mortally wounded in front of

4320-583: The 24th Field Company. Field assumed command of "Milne Force", a task force which exercised operational control over all Allied air, land and naval forces in the area, but only when an attack was imminent. He reported directly to Blamey's Allied Land Forces in Brisbane rather than New Guinea Force in Port Moresby. His most urgent tasks were of an engineering nature. While the American engineers built

4440-481: The 25th and 61st Infantry Battalions, along with Americans from the 709th Anti-Aircraft Battery, turned back the attacking Japanese infantry. Further strafing by Kittyhawks followed, and the Japanese were forced to fall back 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the east of Rabi. Following this, for the next two days there was a lull in the fighting. During this time, the Australians consolidated their defences. The 61st Infantry Battalion, despite being seriously depleted from

4560-413: The 6,000-by-100-foot (1,829 by 30 m) runway was covered with Marston Matting , and that water was frequently over it. Landing aircraft sprayed water about, and sometimes skidded off the runway and became bogged. With No. 1 Airstrip operational, work began on two more airfields. Some 5,000 coconut trees were removed for No. 2 Airstrip , and the site was levelled and graded, but its use first required

4680-423: The 61st Infantry Battalion at around 10:30 am on 27 August and, upon arrival at around 5:00 pm, they began to establish their position; with only limited entrenching tools, they found the going difficult. At this point, the troops from the 25th and 61st Battalion were ordered to pull back, having lost 18 men killed and a further 18 wounded, along with an unknown number missing in action. At 8:00 pm

4800-482: The Allied Air Forces, ordered air patrols stepped up over the likely Japanese invasion routes. He also ordered pre-emptive air strikes against the Japanese airfields at Buna on 24 and 25 August, which reduced the number of Japanese fighters available to support the attack on Milne Bay to just six. Over the course of 23 and 24 August, aircraft from the 25th Air Flotilla carried out preparatory bombing around

4920-510: The Allies enjoyed the strategic advantage of possessing superior intelligence about Japanese plans. The Japanese knew very little about Allied forces at Milne Bay, while the Allies received advance warning that the Japanese were planning an invasion. In mid-July codebreakers under the command of Commander Eric Nave informed MacArthur that toward the end of August the Japanese planned to attack Milne Bay. They provided detailed information about

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5040-446: The Australian positions from the Gama River. This lasted throughout the night. The following morning, 1 September, the 2/12th Infantry Battalion went on the offensive again, while a force of seven Kittyhawks attacked the Japanese headquarters around Waga Waga. By this time, the Japanese had abandoned the objective of reaching the airfields and instead sought only to hold off the Australians long enough to be evacuated. This information

5160-418: The Australians in close for attack by pretending to be dead. In response, some Australians systematically bayoneted and shot the bodies of Japanese soldiers. At noon, the 9th Infantry Battalion, a Militia unit from the 7th Infantry Brigade, dispatched two companies to occupy some of the ground that the 2/12th had regained around No. 3 Airstrip and the mission. Making slow going amidst considerable resistance,

5280-471: The Australians nevertheless reached KB Mission late in the day. A force of Japanese remained there, and the Australians attacked with bayonets fixed. In the fighting that followed 60 Japanese were killed or wounded. The Australians were then able to firmly establish themselves at the mission. Meanwhile, the two companies from the 9th Battalion took up positions at Kilarbo and between the Gama River and Homo Creek with orders to establish blocking positions to allow

5400-564: The Australians withdrew back to the Gama River , which was situated 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west. During the night, the destroyer Hamakaze entered the bay to make contact with the Japanese troops and land supplies. The landing force had been out of radio contact since 2:00 pm, and the destroyer was unable to raise it with either her radio or visual signalling devices. As a result, Hamakaze departed Milne Bay at 2:30 am without having landed any supplies. Shortly after dawn, in

5520-412: The Japanese began to employ infiltration techniques in an attempt to pass through the numerous listening posts that had been set up along the side of the track which formed the front of one side of the 2/12th's position. Elsewhere, at the mission, starting at around 8:00 pm, they carried out harassment operations in an effort to distract the Australians and assist their comrades to try to break through

5640-508: The Japanese sent two Type 95 tanks with bright headlights into the plantation. The men from the 2/10th tried to disable them with sticky bombs, but due to the humid conditions the bombs failed to adhere to the Japanese armour. In the fighting that followed over the course of two and a half hours, the Australians suffered heavy casualties. Receiving indirect fire support from the 2/5th Field Regiment's 25 pounder guns situated near Gili Gili, they repelled four frontal attacks. However, by midnight

5760-501: The Japanese were inside the Australian position and in the confusion the 2/10th withdrew in some disorder to a number of scattered positions on the west bank of the Gama, which they reached by about 2:00 am on 28 August. A further assault, however, by tank-mounted infantry forced them back further, moving back through the 61st and 25th Infantry Battalions towards No. 3 Airstrip, which was still under construction, south of Kilarbo. During

5880-452: The Japanese were still pressing on the 61st Infantry Battalion's positions throughout the day. Field, who had command responsibility for the local area, decided to send two platoons from the 25th Infantry Battalion to provide support. Later, the remaining two rifle companies from the 61st were also dispatched, along with their mortar platoon. The muddy track meant that the Australians were unable to move anti-tank guns into position; however, as

6000-469: The Pacific earlier in the war, unlike at Milne Bay, these earlier actions had not forced them to withdraw completely and abandon their strategic objective. Nor did they have such a profound impact upon the thoughts and perceptions of the Allies towards the Japanese, and their prospects for victory. Milne Bay showed the limits of Japanese capability to expand using relatively small forces in the face of increasingly larger Allied troop concentrations and command of

6120-692: The Pacific region had begun in early December 1941 with attacks against British and Commonwealth forces in the Battle of Hong Kong and the Malayan campaign , and against the US Pacific Fleet , much of which was caught at anchor in Pearl Harbor . They rapidly advanced south, overwhelming resistance in Malaya, capturing Singapore in February 1942, and successfully occupying Timor , Rabaul and

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6240-493: The Seas in October 2009. Because of changes in historic measurement systems, it is difficult to make meaningful and accurate comparisons of ship sizes. Historically, gross register tonnage (GRT) was a measure of the internal volume of certain enclosed areas of a ship divided into "tons" equivalent to 100 cubic feet (2.8 m ) of space. Gross tonnage (GT) is a comparatively new measure, adopted in 1982 to replace GRT. It

6360-630: The South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur , decided to establish airbases to protect Port Moresby. To the west, he authorised the construction of an airbase at Merauke in Netherlands New Guinea . Another, codenamed "Boston", was authorised to the east in the largely unexplored Abau – Mullins Harbour area on 20 May. Any Japanese force approaching Port Moresby by sea would have to sail past these bases, allowing them to be detected and attacked earlier; but

6480-407: The afternoon, a number of Kittyhawks and a single Hudson bomber strafed the convoy and attempted to bomb the transports with 250 lb (110 kg) bombs near Rabi Island. Only limited damage was caused to the convoy and no ships were sunk. After this, due to the withdrawal of the only Allied naval presence in the area – Arunta and Tasman  – an RAAF tender was sent to act as a picket in

6600-425: The air, a Japanese force consisting of eight dive bombers with 12 Zero fighter escorts attacked the Allied airfield at Gili Gili. One of the attacking aircraft was shot down, while only a small amount of damage was inflicted. Meanwhile, around the mission as the Japanese reconnoitred Australian positions, the 2/10th Infantry Battalion, consisting of just 420 men, was ordered to the Gama River by Clowes. This operation

6720-503: The air. As a result of the battle, Allied morale was boosted and Milne Bay was developed into a major Allied base, which was used to mount subsequent operations in the region. Milne Bay is a sheltered 97-square-mile (250 km ) bay at the eastern tip of the Territory of Papua (now part of Papua New Guinea ). It is 22 miles (35 km) long and 10 miles (16 km) wide, and is deep enough for large ships to enter. The coastal area

6840-605: The airbase and the garrison, a platoon was diverted to working on the docks and roads. Although the channels in Milne Bay allowed deep draught ships to approach within 40 feet (12 m) of the shore, they had to be unloaded onto pontoons and the stores manhandled onto vehicles, a labour-intensive process. Three Kittyhawks from No. 76 Squadron RAAF landed on the airstrip on 22 July, while additional aircraft from No. 76 and also No. 75 Squadron RAAF arrived on 25 July. They found that only 4,950 by 80 feet (1,509 by 24 m) of

6960-443: The airfield at Rabi. The main Japanese invasion force left Rabaul on 24 August, under Matsuyama's command, at 7:00 am. The fleet was made up of two light cruisers , Tenryū and Tatsuta , as well as three destroyers , Urakaze , Tanikaze and Hamakaze , in concert with the transports, Nankai Maru and Kinai Maru , and the submarine chasers CH-22 and CH-24 . At 8:30 am on 24 August, Milne Bay GHQ

7080-490: The airstrips and wharves, the Australians worked on the roads and accommodation. The small force of sappers had to be augmented by infantry and Papuan labourers. Although malaria was known to be endemic in the Milne Bay area, precautions taken against the disease were haphazard. Men wore shorts and kept their sleeves rolled up. Their mosquito repellent cream was ineffective, quinine was in short supply and many men arrived without their mosquito nets, which were stowed deep in

7200-419: The area, rounding up local villagers, and established a beachhead. Later that evening, two of the small water craft that D Company were using to withdraw to Gili Gili encountered the Japanese landing force. In the firefight that followed, one of the craft – Elevala  – was forced to beach and its occupants forced to return by taking to the jungle on foot, eventually reaching Gili Gili some time later;

7320-575: The attacks, in leading a fire extinguishing team on the ship and in later navigating it by the stars to Fremantle with no navigation equipment and a jury-rigged steering system. In 1943 Thomas Minto, First Mate on Manunda, was awarded the M.B.E. for gallantry and devotion to duty on the Manunda during air raids at Darwin in February 1942. In June 1945 Matron Clara Shumack was awarded the Royal Red Cross. Her Citation included "...On one occasion when

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7440-490: The balance, providing close support to troops in combat and targeting Japanese logistics. Finding themselves heavily outnumbered, lacking supplies and suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese withdrew their forces, with fighting coming to an end on 7 September 1942. The battle is often described as the first major battle of the war in the Pacific in which Allied troops decisively defeated Japanese land forces. Although Japanese land forces had experienced local setbacks elsewhere in

7560-635: The base in the east had other advantages too. Bombers flying missions to Rabaul and other Japanese bases to the north from there would not have to overfly the Owen Stanley Range , and would not be subject to the vagaries of the weather and air turbulence over the mountains. For that reason, an airstrip suitable for heavy bombers was desired so that they could stage there from Port Moresby and bases in northern Australia. The Commander in Chief of Allied Land Forces, General Sir Thomas Blamey , selected

7680-414: The bay offered significant advantage to defending forces, lined as it was with numerous creeks which slowed movement and obscured firing lanes. Throughout 3 September, the 2/9th Infantry Battalion came up against significant resistance; in one engagement that took place around mid-morning along a stream to the west of Elevada Creek they lost 34 men killed or wounded as they attempted to force their way across

7800-471: The bay, ready to provide early warning of the approaching Japanese. Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Clowes decided to shorten his lines and passed the order for D Company, 61st Infantry Battalion, which had been sent to Akioma in the east, to withdraw back behind 'B' Company at KB Mission and reposition itself at the No. 3 Airstrip at Gili Gili. A shortage of water craft, however, delayed D Company's departure until

7920-441: The brief engagement around KB Mission, they had lost 43 men killed and another 26 wounded. As the 2/10th withdrew, the 25th Infantry Battalion, which had moved forward from Gili Gili to relieve the 61st, deployed around the airstrip and at Rabi, Duira Creek and Kilarbo, laying mines in key locations. The airstrip proved a perfect defensive location, offering a wide, clear field of fire, while at its end, thick mud served to prevent

8040-502: The coast behind the Australian defenders, the Japanese quickly pushed inland and began their advance towards the airfields. Heavy fighting followed as they encountered the Australian Militia troops that formed the first line of defence. These troops were steadily pushed back, but the Australians brought forward veteran Second Australian Imperial Force units that the Japanese had not expected. Allied air superiority helped tip

8160-474: The coastal track, and was headed by two light tanks. Although they lacked anti-armour weapons, the Australians were able to turn back the Japanese attack. At this stage, the Japanese suffered a serious setback when their base area was heavily attacked at daylight by RAAF Kittyhawks and a Hudson aircraft, along with B-25s , B-26s and B-17s from the US Fifth Air Force . As a result of the attack,

8280-401: The code word Ultra which covered a number of codes including the Japanese naval code JN-25, decrypted a message that disclosed that a Japanese submarine picquet line had been established to cover the approaches to Milne Bay, Willoughby predicted that an attack was imminent. In response, MacArthur rushed the 18th Infantry Brigade to Milne Bay. Major General George Kenney , the commander of

8400-414: The command of Brigadier John Field , began arriving to bolster the garrison. The brigade consisted of three Militia battalions from Queensland , the 9th , 25th and 61st Infantry Battalions . They brought with them guns of the 4th Battery of the 101st Anti-Tank Regiment, the 2/6th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery, and the 2/9th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, along with the first Australian engineer unit,

8520-445: The construction of at least two 60-foot (18 m) bridges, so work moved to No. 3 Airstrip near Kilarbo. Its construction was undertaken by the 2nd Battalion of the US 43rd Engineers (less Company E), which arrived on 4 August. That day Japanese aircraft began to bomb and strafe Milne Bay, focusing upon attacking the airfields and the engineers as they worked. Four Zeros and a dive bomber attacked No. 1 Airstrip. One Kittyhawk

8640-603: The control of the Australian Shipping Control Board. During the process of converting it into a hospital ship, the No. 1 Hold was deemed to be dangerous and never rectified. One death was recorded (that of Second Officer Rupert Mafeking Blunt) and several officers were injured due to the complications with the design. She was converted into a hospital ship at Sydney in compliance with the Geneva Convention Regulations and

8760-533: The course of two hours, destroyed them all and stranded their former occupants. After the initial sighting, the main invasion force, consisting of the heavy naval screening force and the two transports, remained elusive until the morning of 25 August. In an effort to intercept it, US B-17s operating from bases at Mareeba and Charters Towers in Queensland, were dispatched, although they were unable to complete their mission as bad weather closed in. Later in

8880-472: The crew of the ship to operate electrically powered mechanisms. Lack of an adequate backup system to propel the ship can, in rough seas, render it dead in the water and result in loss of the ship. The 2006 Revised Passenger Ship Safety Standards address these issues, and others, requiring that ships ordered after July, 2010 conform to safe return to port regulations; however, as of 2013 many ships remain in service which lack this capacity. After October 1, 2010,

9000-536: The danger from malaria was not yet appreciated at Milne Bay. The 55th Infantry Battalion's companies were already badly afflicted by malaria and other tropical diseases, and were withdrawn and sent back to Port Moresby in early August, but the garrison was further reinforced with Second Australian Imperial Force troops of Brigadier George Wootten 's 18th Infantry Brigade of the 7th Division , which began arriving on 12 August, although it would not be complete until 21 August. This veteran brigade, which had fought in

9120-454: The empire and for long-lasting fortune in battle for you all". "Lying across the [air]strip were dozens of dead Japs... As our officer crossed in the vanguard a Jap, apparently wounded, cried out for help. The officer walked over to aid him, and as he did the Jap sprang to life and hurled a grenade which wounded him in the face. From then on the only good Jap was a dead one, and although they tried

9240-494: The evening of 25/26 August after requisitioning three luggers Bronzewing , Elevala and Dadosee . At around 10:30 pm, the Japanese main force, consisting of over 1,000 men and two Type 95 Ha-Go tanks, had made landfall near Waga Waga, on the northern shore of the bay; due to an error in navigation they came ashore about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of where they had intended, placing them further away from their objective. Nevertheless, they quickly sent out patrols to secure

9360-523: The fighting in Papua. Work on the first airfield, which became known as No. 1 Airstrip , had commenced on 8 June, with the area near Gili Gili being cleared by Papuan workers under the supervision of ANGAU and by US 96th Engineer Separate Battalion personnel. Company E of the 46th Engineers began working on it on 30 June. In addition to the runway, they had to build camouflaged dispersal areas for 32 fighters, taxiways and accommodation for 500 men. To support

9480-482: The first American troops to engage in ground combat in New Guinea. Elsewhere, the 2/12th Infantry Battalion began moving forward from Waigani to enable it to join the fighting later as a counterattacking force. They, along with the 2/9th, were subsequently tasked to carry out an attack from No. 3 Airstrip to KB Mission. Meanwhile, the Japanese also sought to reconfigure their forces and Mikawa decided to reinforce

9600-412: The force that would land at Taupota were also received at this time. In response to this sighting, after the initially poor weather had cleared, 12 RAAF Kittyhawks were scrambled at midday. The barges were spotted beached near Goodenough Island where the 350 troops of the 5th Sasebo SNLF, led by Commander Tsukioka, had gone ashore to rest. The Australian pilots then proceeded to strafe the barges and, over

9720-441: The forces that were already ashore. These reinforcements, consisting of 567 men from the 3rd Kure SNLF and 200 from the 5th Yokosuka SNLF, left Rabaul on 28 August. At around 4:30 pm an RAAF patrol spotted the Japanese convoy – consisting of one cruiser and nine destroyers  – and subsequently reported this to the Allied headquarters. Believing that further landings were about to occur, Clowes cancelled his plans to begin

9840-400: The inexperienced 7th Infantry Brigade a defensive role, guarding key points around Milne Bay from seaborne or airborne attack, and kept the veteran 18th Infantry Brigade in reserve, ready to counterattack. Lacking accurate maps and finding that their signals equipment was unreliable in the conditions, the Australian command and control system consisted largely of cable telephones, or where there

9960-447: The lines of the 25th and 61st Infantry Battalions. In the early evening, Japanese ships shelled the Australian positions and later, at 10:00 pm, the Japanese launched a heavy attack on the Australians which continued sporadically through the night. By 4:00 am the following morning, the Japanese began to employ infiltration and deception techniques to try to outflank the Australian positions. Anticipating an armoured attack at dawn,

10080-422: The mission. The Australians then attempted to break contact and withdraw towards a creek line where they hoped to establish a defensive line as darkness came. The Japanese stayed in close contact with the Australians, harassing their rear elements. The men from B Company then sought to establish their position, while the 2/10th Infantry Battalion made preparations to move eastwards towards Ahioma, passing through

10200-408: The movement of Japanese tanks. Around dawn the advancing Japanese troops reached the airstrip and, under the cover of field artillery and mortars, they launched an attack. Although the Australians did not know it, the tanks that were supporting the attack became stuck in the mud and were subsequently abandoned; they would later be discovered by an Australian patrol on 29 August. Meanwhile, troops from

10320-430: The north shore of the bay, but without causing any casualties among the defenders. On 4 September, the Australian advance continued as the 2/9th moved up the coast either side of the coastal track. After about one hour, the advance company struck a Japanese defensive position at Goroni. Throughout the day the Australians worked to outflank the position before launching an attack at 3:15 pm. During this action, one of

10440-588: The northern coast of the peninsula at Taupota, in Goodenough Bay, from where it would strike out over the Stirling Ranges to attack the Australians from behind. Following the battle, the chief of staff of the Japanese Combined Fleet , Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki , assessed that the landing force was not of a high calibre as it contained many 30- to 35-year-old soldiers who were not fully fit and had "inferior fighting spirit". Naval support

10560-469: The numbers of soldiers to expect, which units would be involved, their standard of training, and the names of the ships that the Japanese had allocated to the operation. MacArthur's Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Brigadier General Charles A. Willoughby , had anticipated a Japanese reaction against Milne Force, and interpreted the Japanese reconnaissance on 4 August as foreshadowing an operation. After Allied Naval Forces signals intelligence, given

10680-400: The other, Bronzewing , was holed and of its passengers, 11 were killed either in the engagement or by the Japanese following their capture. By dawn of 26 August, advancing west along the coast with armoured support, the Japanese had reached the main position manned by troops from B Company, 61st Infantry Battalion, around KB Mission. The Japanese force moved through the jungle at the edge of

10800-496: The predominantly Australian garrison and, believing that the airfields were defended by only two or three companies , initially landed a force roughly equivalent in size to one battalion on 25 August 1942. The Allies, forewarned by intelligence from Ultra , had heavily reinforced the garrison. Despite suffering a significant setback at the outset, when part of their small invasion force had its landing craft destroyed by Royal Australian Air Force aircraft as they attempted to land on

10920-443: The previous fighting, were ordered back to the perimeter around the airstrip, subsequently deploying around Stephen's Ridge, tying in with the 25th Battalion's positions between the coast and Wehria Creek. Fire support was provided by mortars from the 25th along with Vickers machine guns from the 61st and .30 and .50 calibre machine guns mounted on the American half-tracks . The American engineers and anti-aircraft gunners became

11040-559: The real Fall River , in Massachusetts . The first troops arrived at Milne Bay from Port Moresby in the Dutch KPM ships Karsik and Bontekoe , escorted by the sloop HMAS  Warrego and the corvette HMAS  Ballarat on 25 June. Karsik docked at a pontoon wharf that had been hastily constructed from petrol drums by Papuan workers, who had been recruited by ANGAU and who subsequently assisted in unloading

11160-593: The removal of hospital ship markings. Manunda ' s final wartime voyage was to New Zealand transporting civilian passengers. During the war she carried approximately 30,000 casualties to safety. After the Japanese surrender, Manunda was despatched to Singapore to repatriate ex-POWs and civilian internees who had been imprisoned in Changi Prison . She also sailed to Labuan in Borneo to pick up ex-POWs and civilian internees from Batu Lintang camp . Manunda

11280-641: The rigors of the North Atlantic in line voyage service, but both ships are also designed to operate as cruise ships, with the amenities expected in that trade. QM2 was superseded by the Freedom of the Seas of the Royal Caribbean line as the largest passenger ship ever built; however, QM2 still hold the record for the largest ocean liner. The Freedom of the Seas was superseded by the Oasis of

11400-587: The roundabout work came to £12,500, and kept Manunda out of service for three months. On 9 June 1943, communications between the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the subject of hospital ships contained a section referring to the Manunda incident as a response to the attack on Centaur , with the conclusion that the attack was the work of an irresponsible Japanese commander, and that it would be better to wait until further attacks had been made before considering

11520-528: The same fate, with heavy Japanese casualties, including the Japanese commander, Hayashi. At this point, Commander Minoru Yano , who had arrived with the Japanese reinforcements on 29 August, took over from Hayashi, and after the survivors of the attack had reformed in the dead ground around Poin Creek, he led them about 200 yards (180 m) north of the airstrip in an attempt to outflank the 61st Infantry Battalion's positions on Stephen's Ridge. After running into

11640-463: The same trick again and again throughout the campaign, they were dispatched before they had time to use their grenade. "Our policy was to watch any apparent dead, shoot at the slightest sign of life and stab with bayonet even the ones who appeared to be rotten. It was all out from then on, neither side showing any quarter and no prisoners were taken." – Sergeant Arthur Traill, 2/12th Infantry Battalion, Australian Army. The terrain in this part of

11760-680: The ship was in Darwin it was badly damaged...It was especially during this period that MATRON SHUMACK displayed very great calmness and exceptional devotion to duty, and her quiet and confident manner was an inspiration to all her fellow workers". After a refit in Adelaide, she went to Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea , where she acted as a floating hospital for the Allied forces who were stationed there. She spent several nights in Milne Bay, during attacks by Japanese warships, but her status as

11880-477: The ships' holds and took several days to unload. A daily dosage of 10 grains (0.65 g) was prescribed but Field's troops were told not to take their quinine until they had been in the area a week. By this time, many had become infected with the disease. The Director of Medicine at Allied Land Forces Headquarters was Brigadier Neil Hamilton Fairley , an expert on tropical medicine. He visited Port Moresby in June, and

12000-419: The ships. The troops included two and a half companies and a machine gun platoon from the 55th Infantry Battalion of the 14th Infantry Brigade , the 9th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery with eight Bofors 40 mm guns, a platoon of the US 101st Coast Artillery Battalion (Anti-Aircraft) with eight .50 calibre machine guns, and two 3.7 inch anti-aircraft guns of the 23rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery. Company E of

12120-804: The suburb of Manunda in Cairns was named after the ship. In 1975 the neighbouring suburb of Manoora was named after its sister ship. Passenger ship While typically passenger ships are part of the merchant marine , passenger ships have also been used as troopships and often are commissioned as naval ships when used as for that purpose. Passenger Ship Types: Passenger ships include ferries , which are vessels for day to day or overnight short-sea trips moving passengers and vehicles (whether road or rail); ocean liners , which typically are passenger or passenger-cargo vessels transporting passengers and often cargo on longer line voyages; and cruise ships , which often transport passengers on round-trips, in which

12240-492: The third position. Despite his wounds he was conscious and could talk and was aware of what he had done. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his "cool courage and disregard of his own personal safety" which "saved members of his section from heavy casualties and was responsible for the successful conclusion of the attack". By the end of the 4th, the Japanese force included only 50 fully fit soldiers; all

12360-488: The time, and as a result of her success the company commissioned a larger, faster sister ship, Manoora , which was completed in 1935. She arrived in Australia in June 1929 to begin her duties on the Australian coastal trade, running passengers and cargo between Sydney , Fremantle , Melbourne and Cairns . In late 1929, Manunda rammed Birkenhead Wharf in Adelaide. The declaration of war saw Manunda fitted out as DEMS ship ( Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship ), under

12480-493: The track at the eastern end of No. 3 Airstrip by the sea, and at 3:00 am on 31 August they launched their attack. Advancing over open ground and illuminated by flares fired by the Australians, the first Japanese attack was repelled by heavy machine gun and mortar fire from 25th and 61st Infantry Battalions as well as the 46th Engineer General Service Regiment, and artillery fire from the Australian 2/5th Field Regiment. A further two banzai charges were attempted only to meet

12600-508: The trip itself and the attractions of the ship and ports visited are the principal draw. There are several main types: Although some ships have characteristics of both types, the design priorities of the two forms are different: ocean liners value speed and traditional luxury while cruise ships value amenities (swimming pools, theaters, ball rooms, casinos, sports facilities, etc.) rather than speed. These priorities produce different designs. In addition, ocean liners typically were built to cross

12720-445: The way and struggling through muddy conditions along the track, which had been turned into a quagmire due to the heavy rain and equally heavy traffic. After passing through the 61st Infantry Battalion's position, at around 9:00 am they began their counterattack along the north coast of Milne Bay. As the Australians went they were harassed by snipers and ambush parties. They also encountered several Japanese soldiers who tried to lure

12840-433: Was alarmed at the ineffectiveness of the measures being taken to combat the disease, which he realised was capable of destroying the entire Allied force in Papua. He made sure that the 110th Casualty Clearing Station left Brisbane for Milne Bay with a fully equipped pathological laboratory and a large quantity of anti-malarial supplies, including 200,000 quinine tablets. However, some equipment was lost or ruined in transit, and

12960-504: Was alerted by an RAAF Hudson bomber near Kitava Island , off the Trobriand Islands , and coastwatchers that a Japanese convoy was approaching the Milne Bay area. HMAS  Arunta  – escorting the transport SS Tasman  – left the Milne Bay area and sailed for Port Moresby after learning of the invasion force. Reports of the second Japanese convoy, consisting of seven barges, which had sailed from Buna carrying

13080-645: Was appointed to command Milne Force, which was placed under the control of New Guinea Force, now commanded by Lieutenant General Sydney Rowell , on 12 August. Clowes' headquarters was formed in Sydney at the end of July and was flown up to Milne Bay. He arrived with some of his staff on 13 August, but had to wait until the rest arrived before he could formally assume command of Milne Force on 22 August. By this time there were 7,459 Australian and 1,365 US Army personnel at Milne Bay, of whom about 4,500 were infantry. There were also about 600 RAAF personnel. Clowes assigned

13200-457: Was badly planned and did not have a clear purpose; it was launched as both a reconnaissance in force and a counter-attack, but evolved into an attempt to establish a blocking force at KB Mission. Moreover, while the Australians had no knowledge of the strength or intentions of the Japanese, no force would be able to reinforce the battalion once it moved outside the main defensive lines near the airstrips. The 2/10th's forward patrols made contact with

13320-669: Was decommissioned in September 1946 and refitted. She returned to service on 2 April 1948, transporting passengers around the Australian coast. In September 1956 she was withdrawn from service and sold to the Japanese Okadagumi Line, who renamed the vessel Hakone Maru . The company's plans for the ship did not eventuate, and she was broken up the next year in Japan, arriving in Osaka for scrapping on 18 June 1957. In 1973

13440-580: Was described by Major Sydney Elliott-Smith of the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU) as a "modest 'road' system" that was, in actuality, only a dirt track 10–12 metres (33–39 ft) wide. The area was sparsely populated, although there were a number of villages along the track. Ahioma was situated the farthest east, and together with Gili Gili in the west, it bounded Lilihoa, Waga Waga, Goroni, KB Mission, Rabi and Kilarbo. The Japanese thrust into

13560-418: Was destroyed on the ground, while a Kittyhawk from No. 76 Squadron shot down the dive bomber. Following this, the Australians established a workable radar system to provide early warning. On 11 August, 22 Kittyhawks intercepted 12 Zeroes. Despite their numerical advantage, the Australians lost three Kittyhawks, while claiming four Japanese Zeros shot down. On 11 July, troops of the 7th Infantry Brigade , under

13680-470: Was not enough line available, runners. The soft ground made movement by road and even on foot difficult. Japanese aircraft soon discovered the Allied presence at Milne Bay, which was appreciated as a clear threat to Japanese plans for another seaborne advance on Port Moresby, which was to start with a landing at Samarai Island in the China Strait , not far from Milne Bay. On 31 July the commander of

13800-427: Was not known by the Allies, however, who were in fact expecting the Japanese to undertake further offensive action. In this regard, the 2/9th, initially with orders to join the 2/12th's counterattack, was delayed an extra day after an erroneous intelligence report from MacArthur's headquarters warning Clowes of a renewed Japanese attack forced him to briefly adopt a more defensive posture. The attack did not occur and, as

13920-899: Was one such ship, but was reported to be headed for inter-island service in Venezuelan waters. The International Ice Patrol was formed in 1914 after the sinking of the Titanic to address the long-outstanding issue of iceberg collision. Passengers and their luggage at sea are covered by the Athens Convention . Battle of Milne Bay [REDACTED] 7th Infantry Brigade [REDACTED] 14th Infantry Brigade [REDACTED] 18th Infantry Brigade [REDACTED] RAAF [REDACTED] Special Naval Landing Force Naval support from: [REDACTED] 8th Fleet The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September 1942), also known as Operation RE or

14040-718: Was taken over by the authorities on 25 May 1940, and entered service as AHS Manunda on 22 July 1940, under Captain James Garden, previously the captain of the Adelaide Steamship Company Manoora and Commodore of the Adelaide Steamship Fleet. The general hospital based on board was commanded by Lt. Col. John Beith, and members of the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) on board were led by Matron Clara Jane Shumack (1899–1974). Manunda sailed on

14160-415: Was taking place the warships shelled Allied positions around Gili Gili and by 11:30 pm, had completed their landing. The shelling was not significant, however, and no casualties resulted from it. Throughout 30 August, the Australians carried out patrolling operations while the Japanese laid up in the jungle in preparation for an attack that night. Later that night the Japanese began forming up along

14280-435: Was to be provided by the 18th Cruiser Division under the command of Rear Admiral Mitsuharu Matsuyama . The Japanese enjoyed some initial advantage in the form of possessing two Type-95 light tanks . After an initial attack, however, these tanks became marooned in the mud and abandoned. They also had control of the sea during the night, allowing reinforcement and evacuation. Countering these Japanese tactical advantages,

14400-442: Was unwilling to conduct the operation as it feared that landing barges sent to the area would be attacked by Allied aircraft. Following an argument between IJA and Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) officers, it was agreed that the Navy would have responsibility for the landing. As a result, the assault force was drawn from the Japanese naval infantry, known as Kaigun Rikusentai (Special Naval Landing Forces). Some 612 naval troops from

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