| 4 Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina amphibious aircraft of Patrol Squadron 52 (VP-52), the “Black Cats,” over the New Guinea coast. United States Navy Lieutenant Alexander N. McInnis Junior (August 4, 1916 – October 10, 2005) led the flight in Catalina Number 48. VP-52, under the command of United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Hal Sommer (September 6, 1913 – March 27, 2000), was operating at night – “Black Cat” operations – arrived in Namoai Bay, New Guinea on November 20, 1943, to attack Japanese shipping in the Bismarck Sea. The planes were painted black to hide their approach. The Squadron Executive Officer, Lieutenant John M. “Buck” Arbuckle (February 22, 1918 – February 3, 2000), was shot down on November 22, the 1st night of operations, while attacking a Japanese destroyer escort. He later thought an unseen warship opened up, hitting his aircraft and igniting flares. His crew survived the burning flares and sea landing, but 8 of 11 crew members made the 15-mile (24-kilometer) swim to New Ireland, where they were captured. 7 were transported by ship to another Japanese base and were never seen again. Only Arbuckle survived the war. The squadron operated 14 Catalinas from seaplane tenders USS Half Moon (AVP-26) from December 1-18, 1943, and USS San Pablo (AVP-30) from December 19. On December 3, Lieutenant Mcinnis took off at 1805 Hours and searched Saint George’s Channel in Catalina Number 52. He located 4 Japanese warships, which he estimated to be 3 destroyer escorts and 1 fleet destroyer. On the 3rd strafing run, a 20 millimeter (.78 caliber) shell exploded in the radio compartment. United States Navy Aviation Chief Radioman (Aviation Apprentice) Bertrand M. Wilson (December 13, 1920 – December 4, 1943) was wounded and died in the base hospital before surgery the next day. His body was buried in New Guinea and not returned to the United States until the summer of 1948. United States Navy Lieutenant Rudolph Lloyd (August 8, 1909 – November 23, 1994) and his crew made an attack at night on a large enemy freighter in the Bismarck Archipelago under extremely adverse weather conditions on December 10. After dropping their bomb on the target, Lieutenant Lloyd returned and made strafing attacks on the ship until it sank. Lieutenant Junior Grade William M. “Bill” Flenniken (May 5, 1917 – October 5, 1996) claimed his crew sank a medium-size cargo vessel on the night of December 12-13. Lloyd and his crew conducted a night attack on ships in Kavieng Harbor on December 14 during adverse weather conditions. A bombing run was made on what appeared to be a small enemy cruiser or large destroyer, and 2 hits were observed. Lloyd returned to make a strafing pass, but was forced to retreat by intense anti-aircraft fire and the arrival of enemy fighter aircraft. For his courageous actions on the nights of December 10 and 14, Lieutenant Lloyd was awarded the Navy Cross. On the night of December 18, Flenniken found a surfaced “I-class submarine,” and claimed they sank it. The submarine was observed going down by the stern with a number of survivors in the water. This was RO-108, which was heavily damaged but returned to Rabaul. The following night, Lieutenant Commander Sommer sank a medium-sized cargo ship and strafed another larger 1. It was a good night because Lieutenant Mclnnis also hit a merchant type, which, when he departed, could be seen burning from more than 30 miles away. Lieutenant Robert “Bob” Dilworth (- October 7, 2006) scored on a large cargo type on the night of December 23. By the end of the month, the squadron claimed they had sunk or damaged 2 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 2 submarines, and 76,000 tons of merchant shipping in 137 missions. The reality was more complicated; postwar examination of Japanese ships sunk showed they likely only damaged RO-108, and they sank several merchant ships. But the psychological effect of nighttime bombers was incalculable; VP-52 made strong contributions to the destruction of the Japanese merchant fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy and its Naval Air Force. VP-52 completed offensive patrols in the Bismarck Sea on December 31, 1943. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1624.jpg |
| Image Size | 371.93 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2090 x 1648 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 1, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Namoai |
| State or Province | Milne Bay |
| Country | New Guinea |
| Archive | United States Air Force |
| Record Number | 050607-F-1234P-032 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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