Japanese air raid against Morotai

[Laurent Rizzotti]

I tried to edit the above post but it did not work.

I was saying that reports spoke of 15 aircraft destroyed and this very probably covers both US and Australian losses.

According to its war diary, VPB-130 lost one aircraft in this attack but no detail is given (PV-1 Buno 48743 of VPB-130 was lost at Manus that day according to http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLNov44.htm, might have been the right one)

Edited: Find following in CINCPAC report for November 1944:
"Morotai - Night 22nd & 23rd: 9 Jap planes attacked the airfield and destroyed 15 planes (3 B-25, 4 B-24, 1 PV, 7 A-20), and damaged 34 (18 B-25, 8 B-24, 2 PV, 6 A-20) in dispersal areas. One bogey came in low from the south and dropped 15-20 anti-personnel bombs at the NE end of the Pitoe strip from about 2,000 feet. The plane was illuminated and AW hits were observed on it. Eight other bogeys came from the SW at 14,000-27,000 feet, split up, and dropped 1 string of bombs in a dispersal area and 1 on the 13th AF headquarters, in addition to others on the strip and in the water. Three were illuminated and 6 engaged by 20 mm. fire. One is claimed destroyed and 1 probably destroyed. Window was dropped by a majority of the bogeys. Three men were killed and 8 wounded. There were 4 craters in the runway and 4 in taxiways."