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Archive Report: Allied Forces

Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
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RAAF Crest
04.12.1943 8 (Torpedo) Squadron RAAF, Beaufort A9-262, Sqn Ldr. Noel T. Quinn DFC

Operation: Torpedo sweep of St. Georges Channel, New Guinea

Date: 4th December 1943 (Saturday)

Unit No: 8 (Torpedo) Squadron, RAAF, 9 Operational Group

Type: Beaufort

Serial: A9-262 *

Code: UV:?

Base: Vivigani Airstrip, Goodenough Island, New Guinea

Location: Blanche Bay area off the north coast of New Britain

Pilot: Sqn Ldr. Noel Thomas Quinn DFC, 622 RAAF Age 27. PoW Nos. 5785 & 666 ** (1)

Nav (B): Fg Off. Ross Bryan O’Loghlen 400662 RAAF Age 29. Murdered (2)

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Ian Lerwick Mainland 408815 RAAF Age 28. MiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Flt Sgt. Donald McDonald 401714 RAAF Age 30. MiA

* DAP = Department of Aircraft Production which built Beauforts under licence

** Camp No. 5B at Niigata, NW of Tokyo

Above left to right: Flt Sgt. Ian L. Mainland, Flt Sgt. Donald McDonald (From their Service Records)

REASON FOR LOSS:

During the evening of the 4th December 1943 commencing at 16:55 hrs three (6) aircraft took-off from Vivigani Airstrip on Goodenough Island detailed to carry out a torpedo attack against enemy shipping in the St. George’s Channel - Blanche Bay area off the north coast of New Britain.

Vivigani, Goodenough island, Papua. C. 1943-11. Part of a heavy force of Beaufort aircraft of Nos. 6 and 8 Squadron RAAF lining up to take off on the anniversary of the air attack on Rabaul (Courtesy of the Australian War Museum).

The formation was led by Sqn Ldr. Quinn flying Beaufort A9-262. At approximately 19:25 hrs the formation reached their allotted datum point at the southern entrance to St. George's Channel. At this stage heavy weather was encountered and the formation became broken up and only the leading three (3) aircraft, flown by Sqn Ldr. Quinn, Flt Lt. Sayer and Fg Off. Finlay remained in contact.

They changed course to the north and flying at very low-level just north of the Duke of York Islands the formation commenced a turn to port at which point Flt Lt. Sayer lost contact. A few minutes later at approximately 19:36 hrs when about 200 yards behind Sqn Ldr. Quinn, Fg Off. Finlay lost contact because of the poor visibility and nothing further was seen of Sqn Ldr. Quinn’s aircraft.

Very shortly thereafter Fg Off. Finlay sighted an enemy vessel and successfully attacked it and at approximately 19:40 hrs his rear gunner reported an explosion on the vessel they had attacked. About 10 seconds later the gunner reported a second fire, approximately 1000 yards further east of the ship they had attacked. At this stage a searchlight from the shore illuminated the ship they had attacked which was seen to be burning fiercely. Fg Off. Finlay continued on his way home and both fires were still visible until they rounded Cape Gazelle.

(1) Sqn Ldr. Quinn, after he was liberated, described that in total darkness his aircraft had collided with an obstruction about 150 feet above the surface of the water. In the initial collision he struck his head after which he was only dimly aware of the succeeding events. He thought that the aircraft, after striking the obstruction, hit the water bounced and then hit the water again before settling, sinking after a few minutes.

He and Fg Off. O’Loghlen were apparently thrown out through a hole which was torn in fuselage in the initial collision, after the aircraft hit the water for the second time. They were concussed again when the torpedo exploded a few hundred yards away. He was regaining consciousness for the second time when they were picked by a Japanese launch. Neither of them saw the other two crew members at any stage after the crash and believed they died in the aircraft and were lost when it sank.

However, the next day a Japanese Interpreter told Sqn Ldr. Quinn that the other two of his crew had both been picked up alive, but badly injured, and had been taken to hospital. He believed that this was a lie in an endeavour to make him reveal information. The Interpreter further stated that if Sqn Ldr. Quinn offered certain information the two crewmen would get medical treatment otherwise they would be left to die.

He was refused any medical treatment and kept blindfolded and tightly bound. He was not allowed to speak except to answer the questions asked and was not given any food or drink for 4 days.

For the next 10 days he was questioned under the threat of death, except for short periods about noon each day when he and others were tied out in the sun where they were physically abused by passing Japanese soldiers. Each night they were handed over to Navy guards who kept up a similar intimidation programme to answer questions. Giving false or misleading information brought on severe beatings with a knotted rope and the flat of a sword.

Above: PoW card for Sqn Ldr. Noel T. Quinn DFC

On the 24th December 1943 he was flown to Japan and taken to the PoW camp at Ōfuna just outside Yokohama.

The Ōfuna PoW camp was an Imperial Japanese Navy administered camp located in Kamakura outside of Yokohama in Japan. It was the camp where high-value enlisted men and officers, particularly Pilots and Submariner PoWs, were held.

It was established for the purpose of extracting information from prisoners by force. Beatings, clubbing’s, torture exercises, starvation and all sorts of other intimidation methods too numerous to mention were used continuously. There were usually between 40 and 80 prisoners held of Ōfuna, the period varying from a few weeks to 2 years but averaging about 6 months, at the end of which they were handed over to the Japanese Army.

On the 30th September 1944 he was moved to the ŌmorI PoW Camp. Whilst at this camp he was forced together with about 40 other officers to work in a leather shop sewing back packs for Japanese soldiers.

The ŌmorI Tokyo Headquarters PoW camp was an Imperial Japanese Army administered camp located south of Shinagawa in Tokyo.

On 28th February 1945 he was sent to Tokyo PoW camp No.18D at Yokohama “The Brick Yard”. The camp was destroyed in a firebombing and on the 5th June 1945 the prisoners including Sqn Ldr. Quinn were moved to PoW camp No.5B at Niigata.

Camp No. 5B was located about 160 miles NW of Tokyo and was one of the more remote camps in the Tokyo Group of PoW camps. It was situated on the northern outskirts of Niigata, a seaport on the Sea of Japan along the cold and during the winter, very snowy west coast of Honshu island.

The PoWs were declared free on or about the 21st August 1945, but they left by train for Tokyo on 5th September 1945. Some were flown to Manila and others were transported on naval vessels to San Francisco with stops at Guam and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Sqn Ldr. Quinn described that at all of the camps at which he was held, no restraint was placed upon guards, in fact they were encouraged by the Japanese military authorities to harass prisoners as much as possible. Medical attention was none existent. Almost no clothing was issued to prisoners. Food was kept at starvation levels by order which was exacerbated by wholesale pilfering of food by Japanese cooks and guards and with holding Red Cross parcels by the Japanese. Prisoners averaged 40 to 60 lbs below their normal weight. His own weight went down to 95 lbs from a normal of a 150 lbs. Common mal-nutritional diseases were rife. Within the first 6 months at Niigata camp, 97 men died from mal-nutrition, exposure and rough treatment.

Prisoners were not considered PoWs but "captives" who had no status, no rights, no redress of any sort. Protest to camp authorities or to the visiting interpreters always resulted in an increase in the severity of the treatment to the protester.

It was not until the 31st May 1945 that Sqn Ldr. Quinn was reported to be a PoW of the Japanese. After liberation and recuperation he arrived at the No.3 Australian Prisoner of War Reception Group in Manila, Philippines on the 9th September 1945.


Noel Thomas Quinn was born on the 16th March 1916 in Cessnock, New South Wales.

On the 4th September 1939 he enlisted as an air cadet with the RAAF, completing flying training and a commission as Plt Off. on the 3rd May 1940, with a promotion to Fg Off. later that year.

Above: Group portrait of Pilots on No. 8 Navigation Reconnaissance Course, RAAF held at Laverton, Victoria, Australia between 13th May 1940 and 12th August 1940 (Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial)

Left to right: back row:

Plt Off. William Vyner Duckett White DFC, 260624 RAAF. William Vyner Duckett White enlisted on the 30th January 1940 at Mascot, NSW. While assigned to 2 Sqn RAAF, Flt Lt. White DFC was captured by the Japanese in Ambon and executed on the 20th February 1942. He is commemorated with honour on the Ambon Memorial, Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia;

Plt Off. Richard Frederick Wiesener 607 RAAF. Richard Frederick Wiesener enlisted in the RAAF on the 8th January 1940 at Mascot, NSW. Plt Off. Wiesener died on the 13th August 1940, in a flying accident, in the ACT while attached to 2 Sqn RAAF. His remains were cremated in the Rookwood Crematorium, Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia;

Plt Off. Robert Nixon Dalkin 260612 RAAF. Robert Nixon Dalkin enlisted in the RAAF on the 8th January 1940 at Mascot, NSW. Post-war he continued to serve in the RAAF. He was discharged on the 4th July 1968 as Gp Capt. Dalkin, DFC (O21919) while in post at the Department of Air, Canberra, ACT;

Plt Off. Henry Theodore Skillman 625 RAAF. Henry Theodore Skillman enlisted on the 8th January 1940 at Essendon, Victoria. Plt Off. Skillman died in a flying accident near Lapstone, NSW, on the 28th January 1941 while attached to No. 1 Air Navigation School, Parkes, NSW. His remains were cremated in the Rookwood Crematorium, Rookwood, Sydney, NSW, Australia;

Plt Off. Ron Comfort (not identified).

Left to right: Front Row:

Plt Off. Peter Fowler 260646 RAAF. Peter Fowler enlisted in the RAAF on the 8th January 1940 at Mascot, NSW. Post-war he remained with the RAAF and was discharge as a Flt Lt. on the 31st January 1946 while posted to 1 Sqn RAAF;

Plt Off. Barry Hock (not identified);

Plt Off. Harold Roy Croker 290611 RAAF. Harold Roy Croker enlisted in the RAAF on the 19th January 1940, at Pearce, WA. Post-war he remained with the RAAF and was discharged as a Sqn Ldr. on the 28th September 1945 while posted to 32 Sqn RAAF;

Plt Off. Noel Thomas Quinn DFC, 622 RAAF;

Plt Off. Lynne Hunt (not identified);

Plt Off. Paul Maxwell George Metzler 609 RAAF. Paul Maxwell George enlisted in the RAAF on the 1st July 1938 at Launceston, Tasmania. Post-war he remained with the RAAF and was discharged as a Sqn Ldr. (O3105) on 4th March 1959 while posted to RAAF Headquarters, Laverton, Victoria.

He was posted to 2 Sqn, RAAF flying Hudsons and participated in the Sqn's withdrawal from the Netherlands East Indies to Australia. In July 1942 he was posted to 6 Sqn RAAF at Richmond, NSW. In August of that year, he successfully helped an Allied trawler fend off attack from a Japanese submarine off the coast of Moruya after which he was then transferred to 14 Sqn RAAF at Pearce, WA. In October of 1942, while escorting a Catalina flying boat patrol, Flt Lt. Quinn undertook the only known attack by an Australian-based Hudson against a Japanese bomber.

After completing a torpedo training course on the Beaufort, Flt Lt. Quinn was posted to 8 (T) Sqn in April 1943 which was soon operational out of Goodenough Island. Between September and November Quinn had completed 31 operational sorties and 8 strike missions, including a damaging hit on a Japanese light cruiser. On the 1st December Flt Lt. Quinn was appointed CO of 8 (T) Sqn and promoted to Sqn Ldr.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) whilst with 8 (Torpedo) Sqn, RAAF. (London Gazette, 14th December 1943).

In recognition of his final mission with 8 (Torpedo) Sqn, RAAF he was awarded a Bar to the DFC. (London Gazette, 25th June 1946).

Post-war, Sqn Ldr. Quinn served in various administrative positions during which he was promoted to Wg Cdr. in March 1950. He was later appointed the CO of 1 Sqn RAAF during the Malayan Emergency where he piloted Avro Lincolns from 1952 to 1953. For leadership in this position, he was awarded a second Bar to his DFC in 1954.

In August 1953, Wg Cdr. Quinn returned to Australia to command the School of Land/Air Warfare at Williamtown. In 1958 he was promoted to Grp Capt. On the 16th February 1971 he retired from the RAAF with the honorary rank of Air Commodore.

Above: Portrait of Group Captain (Grp Capt) Noel Thomas Quinn DFC and 2 Bars, 622 RAAF. Painted by William Edwin Pidgeon (Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial).

Noel Thomas Quinn passed away on the 13th October 1985 in St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia.


(2) After the Japanese surrender an RAAF search party uncovered thirty (30) bodies from a Japanese Naval execution ground near the Matupi volcano, Rabaul. The majority of the bodies appear to have been executed by decapitation and in some cases the victims had been bound wire before being killed.

Four (4) of the Australians and three (3) Americans had been known to be in the hands of the Japanese Navy in Rabaul and had allegedly been sent away by ship. The other nine (9) identified RAAF airmen were not previously known to have been captured were from 20 Sqn PBY-5 Catalina A24-18.

The recovered remains of two (2) RAAF airmen were never identified as were the remains of nine (9) American servicemen and two (2) unidentified whose Nationality were unknown.

Fg Off. Ross B. O’Loghlen, the Nav (B) from this Beaufort was one of the other four (4) identified RAAF airmen, the other three (3) were:

Sgt. David Stuart Brown 401489 RAAF who was the Pilot from 75 Sqn Kittyhawk A29-38 lost on operations on the 11th April 1942;

Flt Lt. Geoffrey Hubert Vincent 400866 RAAF and WO. John Pretty Bailey 4240 RAAF who were respectively the Pilot and Observer from 8 Sqn Beaufort A9-244 which was reported missing on operations on the 21st October 1943.

The three Americans were from the USAAF, USNR and USN:

1st Lt. Phillip L. Bek, Silver Star (SS), DFC O-724280 USAAF who was the Navigator aboard B-17F 41-24454 lost on the 13th June 1942;

ENS. Philip Kirk Phillis O-251356 USNR and AAM2c. Paul Munroe Mannon 6603207 USN who were a 2nd Pilot and Gunner respectively from a VPB-52 "Black Cats" PBY-5A Catalina #8428 which was lost on the 20th November 1943.

The investigation team were of the opinion, in light of the discoveries that were made, that the total number of prisoners murdered at Matupi over the whole period must have been at least one hundred (100) and likely to be many more.

With one exception none of the Japanese directly responsible for the murders of Allied airmen in this area were brought to trial. These known criminals can be divided into various classes:

Died or killed in action before end of war;

Committed suicide to avoid arrest, e.g. Rear Admiral (Kaigun-shōshō) FUJITA who was responsible for the murder of Flt Lt. William Ellis Newton VC, 250748 RAAF and Rear Admiral (Kaigun-shōshō) KIYAMA who was responsible for some of the murders at RABAUL;

Because of the cunning with which the Japanese had covered their tracks sufficient evidence had not been obtained when investigations closed;

Criminals that were still alive and at large against whom sufficient evidence of guilt had been obtained.

Burial Details:

Above: Rabaul (Bita Pita) War Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC))

Fg Off. Ross Bryan O’Loghlen. Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery H.C.3, Papua New Guinea. Grave Inscription: “REQUIESCAT IN PACE”. Born on the 15th March 1914 in Melbourne, Victoria. Son of Harry Ross and Doris Irene Robertson O'Loghlen. Husband of Phyllis May O'Loghlen of Box Hill, Victoria, Australia.

Above: Rabaul (Bita Pita) War Memorial (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC))

Flt Sgt. Ian Lerwick Mainland. Rabaul Memorial Panel 35, Papua New Guinea. Born on the 11th June 1915 in Warrnambool, Victoria. Son of John Paul and Gertrude Emily Mainland. Husband of Katrine May Mainland of East Melbourne, Victoria.

Flt Sgt. Donald McDonald. Rabaul Memorial Panel 35, Papua New Guinea. Born on the 18th August 1913 in Morwell, Victoria. Son of Angus Finnon and Amy Ruth McDonald. Husband of Margaret Florence McDonald of Morwell, Victoria.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the crew and their families (Dec 2024).

Other sources listed below:

RS 03.12.2024 - Initial upload

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Acknowledgements
Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and Captain François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Andrew Mielnik: Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Polish graves: https://niebieskaeskadra.pl/, PoW Museum Żagań, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
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