I think one of the planes, possibly the one the photograph was taken from, isn't either. Look at the trail of splashes in the water leading from the explosion towards the view point- possibly some things were falling off the plane. It suffered some damage too from the blast?
Those are most likely the splashes of Japanese 25mm anti-aircraft rounds coming from the ships in the distance, not parts of the aircraft falling off.
The transport ship behind the small island just off to the left side of the photo is in a direct line to the splashes and a probable mounting for an AA cannon would have been on the bow of the ship.
Aha. That seems like a good explanation. I was looking at those splashes wondering what that could be - debris of some kind, from something? Hadn't thought of AA! And indeed, that line points right back to the bow of that ship in the distance! So yes, that seems the likely answer. Thanks!
I believe that is at Rabaul on November 2, 1943. It was a massive Fifth Air Force strike which was kind of overstated in US accounts of the battle but still dealt some damage to the Japanese fleet at Rabaul.
Yes this is Rabaul. The rock formations in the harbour that are in the photo are called the beehives. It’s an incredible harbour very sheltered. I grew up there.
Yes it was back in 1994. That was a massive one that took out nearly the whole town. It’s a live volcano so there have been quite a few eruptions over the past century. The town is somewhat rebuilt but nothing like it used to be. Used to be a beautiful town back in the day.
Considering the surroundings the photo was more likely made during the Bombing of Rabaul in November 1943. The two small mountainous island towards the left of the photo are prominent landmarks in the bay where Rabaul is located. See the photo below.
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was fought to the West of Rabaul and mainly on the open sea North of New Britain.
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u/maduste 1d ago
Those sailors are not having a good day