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Suspension in Action
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Posted By: Nickens, Dan
Date Posted: Sep 29, 2015
Description: What can you say to an invitation to fly a SeaRey in a war zone? A fun-seeking amphibious assault by SeaRey? It seems an easy answer when the battlefield is over seventy years cold.

Later when I reflected on my enthusiastic acceptance, an image of children romping and laughing among tombstones came to mind. Perspective on such a scene would surely vary by one's proximity to the buried. To a loved one's recently bereaved it could be a cruel contrast. To a philosophical Pastor presiding over a funeral perhaps it would be a hopeful sign.

I had never been to the Solomon Islands, but I had read about the World War II battles there. A collection of warplane models employed in the aerial warfare fueled my early yearning to fly. To see the storied places would surely bring a touch of reality to my childhood history lessons. I easily accepted the risks of an appearance of insensitive lark.

The aerial permitting was easy: just provide an itinerary and confirm an ability to broadcast and monitor 118.1. ""Yeah, I can do that."" It turns out that since the Australians came in to rescue the islands during political unrest ten years ago the islands operate under Aussie aviation rules. Need to modify the permit letter to operate a day earlier? It happened without grief on a Friday afternoon.
Date Taken: August 6, 2015
Place Taken: Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Owner: Nickens, Dan
File Name: 1 Guadalcanal Launch 6514.JPG   - Photo HTML
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Category: Yacht_Tending_Solomon_Islands
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Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    The only international airport for the Solomon Islands is in the capital city, Honiara, on Guadalcanal. The airport was completed by the occupying Japanese engineers and Korean labor on August 6, 1942. The U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal and took it from them on August 7, 1942. The Marines renamed it Henderson Field after the first Marine aviator killed in the Pacific War during the battle of Midway.

The airport was abandoned by the military after the war. It was reopened in 1969 as the only international airport for the Solomon Islands. It is now referred to as Honiara/Henderson International Airport. Rumor has it that there have been complaints that it should be called by its Japanese name since they built it. A local guide told me nobody would really care if that happens. Seven decades is apparently long enough for old enmities to be die.

The prop from a downed Japanese Zero is on display at airport. It's not easy to find stuffed in between signs against a dirty wall.

It was an inauspicious start to find a rundown third world airport. It didn't get any better traveling over the major road into town, filed with potholes, traffic jams and surrounded by squalor.

On the way into town there were some infrastructure improvements being made by the Chinese. Signs written in English proclaimed the good civics work the Chinese government is doing. It seems geopolitical realities are subject to major shifts after seventy years. 		     Attachments:  

Desecrated Prop
Desecrated Prop

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    The first test flight was just around the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal near Honiara, so I didn't expect to see much. Wrong. There were three ship wrecks along the shore in just the first ten miles.

One was a Japanese freighter that ran ashore to keep from sinking after being attacked. The Kinugawa Maru was part of a convoy of eleven ships bringing supplies to Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. The convoy was spotted by an American reconnaissance plane and attacked by aircraft from the U.S.S. Enterprise. Seven of the convoy ships were sunk, but the Kinugawa slipped through to offload her troops. She was caught doing that on November 15 by U.S. Marine shore batteries and heavily damaged. Airstrikes were called in and a U.S. destroyer came by to finish the job. The captain of the Kinugawa decided to drive his ship onto the shore rather than let her be sunk. For some reason during the 1960's salvers took the upper deck off.

This part of the Canal was held by the Japanese when the Marines took Henderson Field. The main Japanese base at Raubal sent supplies southeast down the sound between the islands. Sinking of the supply ships left the troops without provisions or ammunition. If the ships got through, supplies had to be taken overland through the tropical jungle over ridges to the fighting at the airport. Many of the casualties on the Japanese side were from starvation and malaria. Some of the starving troops began sneaking into the U.S. encampment, not to kill, but to steal food. This gave rise to stories of thieving ghosts. 		     Attachments:  

Japanese Freighter
Japanese Freighter

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    War isn't the only reason for ship wrecks. This boat was driven ashore by forces of a more mundane source.      Attachments:  

Not a Just War
Not a Just War

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    After lunch the wind starting picking up. The waves got confused between the wind and the swell. It was time to put the water toys away.      Attachments:  

Roughness in the Afternoon
Roughness in the Afternoon

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    It wasn't just the wind that came in the late afternoon. Showers moved from over the island's ridges to the surrounding waters.      Attachments:  

Sunset Showers
Sunset Showers

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    The capital of the Solomon Islands was moved by the British to Honiara after the war. The original capital across the sound at Tulagi just wasn't big enough, and the hastily constructed wartime infrastructure on Guadalcanal was sufficient reason to make the move.      Attachments:  

Downtown Parking
Downtown Parking

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    The downtown waterfront featured a big boat driven through a pier, likely a consequence of peacetime stresses?      Attachments:  

Bad Parking
Bad Parking

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Even the Yacht Club had its own derelict wreck. None of the locals I talked to mentioned a recent tsunami to account for the wreckage. There was, however, much discussion of a flash flood of the Mataniko River, killing scores of people living on its downtown banks. The flooding was attributed to excessive logging in the mountains by Chinese companies.      Attachments:  

Yacht Club Parking
Yacht Club Parking

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Sunga was hired as a local guide and consultant to accompany us on SuRi. It was his first flight in a seaplane. He loved it.      Attachments:  

Local Flyer
Local Flyer

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    There was large agriculture, coconut plantations and cocoa farms, but most of the farms were small family plots. This was the only aquaculture I saw. Sunga told me they are growing water cress.      Attachments:  

Water Gardens
Water Gardens

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Like most tropical islands the shores are usually guarded by shallow reefs. This limits water approaches by amphibious assault vehicles, including SeaReys.      Attachments:  

Coastal Barriers
Coastal Barriers

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    There were brightly colored squares covering many of the beaches and river banks. I asked the Sunga about them. He told me the natives saw the Marines doing that during WWII and had adopted the custom.      Attachments:  

Natural Clothes Dryer
Natural Clothes Dryer

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    The jungle on Guadalcanal is nearly impenetrable. It is thick with everything green and smells of rotting vegetation. There are tangles of vines, snakes, malarial ridden mosquitoes, crocodiles, and razor sharp saw grass in open areas, mixed with steep slopes, quicksand, and vertical rock ridges baking in tropical heat and humidity combining to keep all but the most stalwart out. There are no interior roads other than the one built by the invading armies along the coast. People live next to the beaches or on shallow, short rivers.

It's not all peace and loving between the Solomon Islanders. From 1998 to 2003 "the Tensions" raged on Guadalcanal. Conflict arose between the local natives and immigrants from other islands, particularly Malatia. The immigrants retreated to Honiara and formed their own paramilitary force. The situation deteriorated despite multiple attempts at settlements and the country descended into general lawlessness. Conflict spread to other islands until finally, in 2003, with the country bankrupt and in chaos, the government requested international intervention.

Australia led a coalition of Pacific countries in "Operation Helpem Fren" to restore order. More recently (2006) ethnic tensions mounted over Chinese businessmen and riots broke out. China sent in chartered flights to evacuate its citizens. Australia, New Zealand and Fiji sent in more policemen to quell the violence.

All seemed peaceful enough offshore aboard SuRi. In between us and town was a friendly Australian gunboat. 		     Attachments:  

Interior Village
Interior Village

    
  
Don Maxwell - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Rectilinear buildings, each with its own orientation. So do they submit to a requirement for right angles, or not?     
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Curvilinear structures are allowed, Don. Quonset huts may still be found in use anywhere the U.S. military moved in for more than a few days.     
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    The jungle can be beat back. Logging is a major source of revenue for the Solomons. Chinese companies are happy to help. Heavy equipment and fire bares the hills. When the rains come, the flash flooding washes away the soil and people living in the narrow gullies and river valleys.

There is some danger in any activity on the old battlefields. Munitions are constantly being found and uncovered. An explosive ordinance disposal team paid for by the Australians is still dealing with dangerous war relics. 		     Attachments:  

TerraTransformation
TerraTransformation

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    It was not all about horrors of war long past and ethnic violence. Present elements of beauty abound.      Attachments:  

Peaceful Ending
Peaceful Ending

    
  
Kenneth Leonard - Sep 27,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Great stuff as usual Dan. Living the dream. Sorry there seems to be poor self-governance though. Certainly the islanders have not
had it easy. 		    
  
Mike Reisz - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Thanks for posting. It is a nice read and you get great pictures.     
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Savo island blocks the horizon in the sound running down the middle of the Solomon Islands. It was a convenient waypoint for a SeaRey crossing to the Florida Islands when SuRi left without me (Oh Yeah!).

During the WWII "Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks" Japanese warships used the island to block their approach to Guadalcanal. Attacking at night from behind the island, the Japanese surprised the Allied ships to terrible effect. 		     Attachments:  

Horizon Obscuration
Horizon Obscuration

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Under cover of midnight on August 6, and hidden by storms, a Marine amphibious force attacked Guadalcanal and the Japanese seaplane base at Tulagi in the Florida Islands. The entire operation was called "Operation Shoestring" by the troops because most of their support and supplies was siphoned off for other battles, including the ones Roosevelt was focused on in Europe. Many in the Allied Pacific Command didn't believe the attack could succeed and it got little support. The orphaned invading force had endured a dockworker strike as they prepared to launch from New Zealand. Without the support of the dockworkers they were trying to defend, supplies were loaded by sailors and troops in a pouring rain, ruining many of the supplies. As a result they started the campaign short of naval support, ammunition and most provisions.

Counterattacks by Japanese aircraft on August 7 and 8 convinced Admiral Fletcher to withdraw his defending aircraft carriers on August 8. The Allied supply ships decided that this was their clue to evacuate ASAP, leaving the Marines with less than half of their 10 days of supplies, heavy equipment, and canons.

In response to the Marines' assault, a Japanese armada sailed southeast from their base at Rabual on New Britain to intervene. Through the New Georgia Sound, also known as "the Slot", Japanese ships of war would run the gauntlet through the Solomon Islands between the two sides of the natural channel. On the night of August 8, as the Allied supply ships were hurriedly offloading in preparation for departure, the Japanese fleet slipped around Savo and decimated the warships screening the transports. One Australian and three American cruisers were sunk. Another heavy cruiser was so heavily damaged that it was scuttled. The result was a major naval defeat for the Allies.

Over a thousand Allied sailors were killed. The Japanese suffered only light damage and less than 60 sailors killed in the action. Instead of pressing their attack, however, the Japanese fleet withdrew without attacking the transports. The Allied transports pulled out on August 9. An overwhelming naval victory was lost strategically when the Japanese commander failed to press his advantage.

Seventy three years later to the day, the island peacefully occupied the SeaRey's horizon. 		     Attachments:  

Iron Bottom Sound
Iron Bottom Sound

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Plantations growing coconuts look like a major source of income for Savo islanders. Or, if not, they have plenty of coconut to eat.      Attachments:  

Coconut Glut
Coconut Glut

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Another sinking boat joining the horde of steel rusting on the bottom of Ironbottom Sound? No. Just some kids playing on Savo's shore.

Swimming in water full of ghosts? It's amazing how the decades change the scenery. Or not. Likely the same scene played out in the thousand years before the war. And again today. As if the fierce battles never happened. 		     Attachments:  

Learning to Swim
Learning to Swim

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Friendly waves were common from the women cleaning clothes on the beach.      Attachments:  

Beachlife
Beachlife

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    A short boat ride from Guadalcanal, but a voyage of eternity for the sailors that didn't see August 9 seventy three years back.      Attachments:  

Rounding Savo
Rounding Savo

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Mbike Island is one of the Florida Islands (or "Nggela Islands," if you can say that). It has a nice Florida like look to it, without all the condos.      Attachments:  

UnFloridaLike
UnFloridaLike

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Sunga told me that the native islanders like Americans and the Allies. They were well treated during the war, as opposed to their enslavement by the Japanese invaders. The thing is that now most tourists to the Solomons come from Japan. Relatives of the dead come regularly to pay their respects. They have greatly rehabilitated their nation's reputation with the natives.      Attachments:  

Friendly Folk
Friendly Folk

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Magma crusting over ash? I didn't have time to investigate. As slow as SuRi was crossing the New Georgia Sound, I was slower with my far flung detours.      Attachments:  

Crusty Rock
Crusty Rock

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    There are a limited number of places from which to make an amphibious assault. This was not one of them.      Attachments:  

Jagged Coast
Jagged Coast

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Tulagi was the original capital of the Solomon Islands. The Japanese maintained a seaplane base with floatplanes between the islands. It was a target for simultaneous invasion along with Guadalcanal. The Allied invaders found much fiercer resistance at the capital than from the engineers and construction crews at Henderson Field. As it turned out, however, the battle for Tulagi and its seaplane base was not as important as the battle for Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. That was a just a precursor to the general decline of importance of seaplanes (until now!).

From the looks of the town, it never recovered from the war wounds. It just continues to add wreckage to its coastline. 		     Attachments:  

Recent Wreckage
Recent Wreckage

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    It's not always easy to distinguish wrecks from repair works in progress. Definitely not WWII vintage....except for maybe the steel ship nearby.      Attachments:  

Boats Ashore
Boats Ashore

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Sunk at dock? Or just settling at dock.      Attachments:  

Last Dockage
Last Dockage

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    LST-342 was torpedoed off New Georgia on July 18, 1943 (LST = "Landing Ship, Tank" or "Large Slow Target". The explosion blew it in half and stern section sank, but the bow remained afloat. The bow was towed to Purvis Bay to salvage useable equipment. The missing stern section housed most of the crew. A model of LST-342 can be found at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum ( http://hamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogspot.com/2012/11/uss-lst-342-ship-model.html )

Before it broke in half, the LST-342 was 328' long with a complement of 13 officers and 104 enlisted men. Fortunately there only "several dozen casualties" including 5 African-American mess crew and Navy combat artist McCelland Barclay.

Mr. Barclay was an artist of some notoriety. He produced recruitment posters for the military and movie industry, images for popular periodicals, and the advertisement industry. Though he was over 50 years old, he went to war with the Navy, proclaiming " "A camera cannot catch the human element of a fight, the sweat and blood and courage our boys expend every time they face the enemy." One of his posters seems to portend his fateful encounter with the submarine.

Perhaps some of the mess crew were artists with food. All lost on the LST had valuable lives that were expended in furtherance of the war effort. 		     Attachments:  

Hamptons Road Model
Hamptons Road Model

       Attachments:  

Last Landing
Last Landing

Sub Spotted Poster by McCelland Barclay
Sub Spotted Poster by McCelland Barclay

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    Wasting away in shallow water were a couple of tracked vehicles. One looks like a tracked trailer. Maybe the other was a tank, or maybe it was just a tractor. Were they stopped in their tracks by hostile action, or by mechanical fault, or simply left in place when the troops moved on? There were native huts nearby. No one thought they were worthy of salvage? I didn't stop to find clues to as their story.      Attachments:  

Busted Tracks
Busted Tracks

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    A barge rusting in the shallow water showed no obvious signs of war damage. There was plenty of evidence, however, of the blasting of saltwater. To paraphrase Carl Sandburg: "I am the sea.....see me work."

Or why paraphrase at all:

Grass
By Carl Sandburg

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work-
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and the passengers ask the conductor:
What is this place?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

Source: Cornhuskers (1918) 		     Attachments:  

Blasted Barge
Blasted Barge

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 28,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    A stone pattern in the shallow water is all that remains of what was once a substantial dock. A victim of bombs? Or typhoons? Or salvagers?      Attachments:  

Dock Debris
Dock Debris

    
  
Nickens, Dan - Sep 29,2015   Viewers  | Reply
    The original focus of the Allied assault was the seaplane base at Tulagi. It hosted fifteen A6M2-N Rufe floatplanes. All were destroyed in the battle. Two of the Rufe's (Zeros on floats) were salvaged and shipped to Alameda, CA by the U.S. Navy. SuRi's guests went diving on two of those that remain where they sank.

The Halavo Seaplane Base, Florida Island or Tulagi Seaplane Base later serviced PBYs. None are reported to be lying under the lagoon's waters.

I can confirm that the protected water makes an excellent water base of operations for seaplanes, particularly when no one is shooting at you. 		     Attachments:  

Seaplane Facilities
Seaplane Facilities

    


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