| Item title: | Field diary of 15th Field Machine-cannon Battery |
| Title (kanji) |  |
| Location: | Australian War Memorial (AWM55 5/16) View information about obtaining a copy of this document |
AJRP details | |
| AJRP module: | Australian War Memorial official records |
| AJRP series: | Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) publications |
| AJRP sub-series: | ATIS enemy publications |
| AJRP folder: | |
Location details | |
| Institution: | Australian War Memorial |
| Call number: | AWM55 5/16 |
| Inst. series: | AWM55 |
| Inst. sub-series: | AWM55 5/- |
| Item: | EP-175 part 1 |
Item qualities | |
| Quantity / desc: | 193 pages |
| Access: | Open |
| Item type: | Unpublished, Official |
| Category: | Official diary |
Item content | |
| Creation date (d/m/y): | 31/8/1944 |
| Conflict code: | Pacific War (1941-1945) |
| Keywords: | OFFICIAL DIARIES, BATTLE ORDERS, MILITARY OPERATIONS, ANTI AIRCRAFT |
| Australian unit names: | |
| Allied unit names: | |
| Japanese unit names: | 15th Field Machine-cannon Bty 51st Anti-aircraft Defence Unit |
| Names: | |
| Languages: | English |
| Area: | Ujina (Hiroshima Bay) [Japan–Formosa, Honshû, Hiroshima Prefecture] Rabaul [Melanesia (PNG, Irian Jaya & Solomon Islands), Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain, Rabaul Area] Tuluvu [Melanesia (PNG, Irian Jaya & Solomon Islands), Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain] Lae [Melanesia (PNG, Irian Jaya & Solomon Islands), New Guinea, Huon Peninsula, Lae–Markham River Area] Lae–Markham River Area [Melanesia (PNG, Irian Jaya & Solomon Islands), New Guinea, Huon Peninsula] Salamaua [Melanesia (PNG, Irian Jaya & Solomon Islands), New Guinea, Mubo–Salamaua Area] |
| Content: | This item is an Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) translation of a Japanese publication captured at Heath's Plantation in the Lae-Markham River area on 14 September 1943 during the Huon Peninsula campaigns. This item is a field diary for 15th Field Machine Cannon Battery for the period 27 November 1942 to 28 February 1943. It contains operational orders, organisation charts, comments on the physical condition of the unit, names and distribution of other anti-aircraft units of the 51st Anti-aircraft Defence Unit in the Rabaul-Kokopo area. This diary described the unit's movement from Ujina, Japan, to Rabaul, Tsurubu (Tuluvu) and Lae. Battle reports with sketches are also included for air raids in Rabaul and Kokopo (between 11 February and 15 April 1943). This document revealed to Allied commanders that the Japanese army anti-aircraft units kept detailed records of the approaches taken by attacking airplanes in order to determine the most consistently used approach tracks. This enabled the Japanese to establish hidden machine cannon defences in order to surprise low-flying aircraft. |
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Other information | |
| Notes: | |
| Last modified: | 03/05/2009 09:06:11 AM |
| Source: | AJRP staff |
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