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No. 200 Flight RAAF
No. 200 Flight was a Royal Australian Air Force special duties flight of World War II. The flight was formed in February 1945 to support the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) and saw action over Borneo and the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) from March that year until the end of the war in August. No. 200 Flight was disbanded in December 1945. History From late 1943 B-24 Liberators of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 380th Bombardment Group were used on occasion to support Allied special operations units in the South West Pacific Area. In July two No. 24 Squadron RAAF B-24s were also modified to drop special operations personnel and conducted operations from Hollandia in this role during August. In June 1944 it was proposed that a specialised RAAF unit be formed to provide air transport for the AIB's Z Special Unit. This proposal was supported, and No. 200 Flight was formed at Leyburn, Queensland on 20 February 1945. Many of the flight's air and ground crew were transfe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roland Griffiths-Marsh
Roland Griffiths-Marsh, (22 April 1923 – 29 December 2012) was an Australian soldier and author. Early life Griffiths-Marsh was born in Penang, then part of the British Straits Settlements, on 22 April 1923 and grew up in Hai Phong, Indochina. On 29 February 1940, at the age of sixteen, he enlisted with the Second Australian Imperial Force, taking his older brother's name and date of birth to ensure entry. Second World War Griffiths-Marsh served in the 2/8th Battalion in North Africa and New Guinea, before being recruited to Z Special Unit, a specialist reconnaissance and sabotage unit that operated behind Japanese lines in South-East Asia. He served in the Semut I operation in North Borneo, and was parachuted behind enemy lines to conduct guerrilla warfare with the assistance of local fighters in early June 1945. He was awarded the Military Medal for his service with Z Special Unit, the award was gazetted on 6 March 1947, dated 2 November 1945. The original recommendati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rebecca/Eureka Transponding Radar
The Rebecca/Eureka transponding radar was a short-range radio navigation system used for the dropping of airborne forces and their supplies. It consisted of two parts, the Rebecca airborne transceiver and antenna system, and the Eureka ground-based transponder. Rebecca calculated the range to the Eureka based on the timing of the return signals, and its relative position using a highly directional antenna. The 'Rebecca' name comes from the phrase " Recognition of beacons". The 'Eureka' name comes from the Greek word meaning " I have found it!". The system was developed in the UK at the Telecommunications Research Establishment by Robert Hanbury Brown and John William Sutton Pringle. Rebecca was essentially an ASV radar fit to a new broadcaster unit, while the Eureka system was all-new. Initial production began in 1943, and the system was used for dropping supplies to resistance fighters in occupied Europe, after delivery of the portable Eureka unit. The US Army Air Force started pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finschafen
Finschhafen is a town east of Lae on the Huon Peninsula in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The town is commonly misspelt as Finschafen or Finschaven. During World War II, the town was also referred to as Fitch Haven in the logs of some U.S. Navy men. History The area was charted by the British navigator Captain John Moresby in 1873–74. Finschhafen was surveyed in 1884 by the German scientist and explorer Otto Finsch who gave his name to the town. A town was built in 1885 as part of the colony of German New Guinea and was named after the discoverer (-hafen = -harbour). In 1886, Johann Flierl and two other Lutheran missionaries settled in the area, creating a Mission station at Simbang. A malaria epidemic in 1891 caused the town to be abandoned by the German plantation owners and government officials. It was resettled afterward and was claimed by the Germans in 1894. It was finally abandoned in 1901. Finschhafen was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army on 10 March 1942 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomon Islands, North Solomons. Its land area is . The population of the whole province, including nearby islets such as the Carteret Islands, Carterets, is approximately 300,000 (2019 census). The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at . The much smaller Buka Island, , lies to the north, across the wide Buka Strait. Even though the strait is narrow, there is no bridge across it, but there is a regular ferry service between the key settlements on either side. The main airport (or airstrip) in the north is in the town of Buka. Bougainville is the largest island in the Solomon Islands (archipelago), Solomon Islands archipelago. Most of the islands in this archipelago (which are primarily concentrated in the southern and eastern portions of it) are par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morotai
Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It has an area of some , including Rao Island which lies to the west of Morotai. It stretches north-south and no more than wide. The island's largest town is Daruba, on the island's south coast. Leo Wattimena Airport is located on the island. Almost all of Morotai's numerous villages are coastal settlements; a paved road linking those on the east coast starts from Daruba and will eventually reach Berebere, the principal town on Morotai's east coast, from Daruba. Between Halmahera and the islets and reefs of the west coast of Morotai is the Morotai Strait, which is about wide. History Morotai was part of the Ternate Sultanate, which was a vassal of the Dutch East India Company by the end of the 17th century. Second World War The Empire o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian First Tactical Air Force
The Australian First Tactical Air Force (No. 1 TAF) was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and naval units fighting the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Area. One of several Allied tactical air forces formed during World War II, it evolved from the RAAF's No. 10 Operational Group, established a year earlier. Following action in the assaults on Aitape and Noemfoor, the group was renamed the First Tactical Air Force to better reflect its size and role. It was beset with morale and leadership issues in early 1945, but recovered to take part in the battles of Tarakan, North Borneo, and Balikpapan. Reaching its peak strength of over 25,000 personnel in July 1945, No. 1 TAF's squadrons operated such aircraft as the P-40 Kittyhawk, Supermarine Spitfire, Bristol Beaufighter, and B-24 Liberator. The formation remained act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also known as West Timor, constitutes part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Within West Timor lies an exclave of East Timor called Oecusse District. The island covers an area of . The name is a variant of ''timur'', Malay for "east"; it is so called because it lies at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Mainland Australia is less than 500 km away, separated by the Timor Sea. Language, ethnic groups and religion Anthropologists identify eleven distinct ethno-linguistic groups in Timor. The largest are the Atoni of western Timor and the Tetum of central and eastern Timor. Most indigenous Timorese languages belong to the Timor–Babar branch of the Austronesian languages spoken throughout the Indonesian archip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago. Sumatra is an elongated landmass spanning a diagonal northwest–southeast axis. The Indian Ocean borders the northwest, west, and southwest coasts of Sumatra, with the island chain of Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, and Enggano off the western coast. In the northeast, the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula, which is an extension of the Eurasian continent. In the southeast, the narrow Sunda Strait, containing the Krakatoa Archipelago, separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of Sumatra is near the Andaman Islands, while off the southeastern coast lie the islands of Bangka and Belitung, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is roughly circular, with a "tail" (Sekotong Peninsula) to the southwest, about across and a total area of about including smaller offshore islands. The provincial capital and largest city on the island is Mataram. Orang Lombok is some what similar in size and density, and shares some cultural heritage with the neighboring island of Bali to the west. However, it is administratively part of West Nusa Tenggara, along with the larger and more sparsely populated island of Sumbawa to the east. Lombok is surrounded by a number of smaller islands locally called Gili. The island was home to some 3,168,692 Indonesians as recorded in the decennial 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 3,758,631 in the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories: the city of Ambon to the south and various districts (''kecamatan'') of the Central Maluku Regency to the north. The main city and seaport is Ambon (with a 2020 Census population of 347,288), which is also the capital of Maluku province, while those districts of Maluku Tengah Regency situated on Ambon Island had a 2020 Census population of 128,069. Ambon has an airport and is home to the Pattimura University and Open University (Universitas Terbuka), state universities, and a few private universities, which include Darussalam University (Universitas Darussalam, UNDAR) and Universitas Kristen Indonesia Maluku (UKIM). Geography Ambon Island lies off the southwest coast of the much larger Seram island. It is on the north side of the Banda Sea, part of a chain of volcanic islands that encircle the sea. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Semut
Operation Semut was a series of reconnaissance operations carried out by Australia's Z Special Unit in 1945, during the final stages of World War II. This operation was the part of the Borneo Campaign, and was undertaken in Sarawak, northwestern Borneo, in support of Allied operations to secure North Borneo. Another closely related operation codenamed Agas was carried out concurrently in North Borneo (present day Sabah). Both operations combined and relayed their intelligence through the Stallion Project to Australian forces and carried out guerrilla warfare against the Japanese in the region with the full support of the local population. A total of four operations were undertaken under the auspices of Operation Semut, concluding in September and October 1945. Background Early in the Pacific War, the Japanese had landed in north-west Borneo and had quickly captured the area's vital oilfields, which had begun contributing to their war effort by 1943. Allied efforts to interdict t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage (4,635,628 tonnes as of 2019) and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft . The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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