Flt/Lt. Francis George Keefe

On 15 January 1945, No. 14 Squadron RNZAF pilot, Flight Lieutenant Francis George Keefe, was hit by flak while dropping bombs on the Toboi wharf in Simpson Harbour, New Britain. He bailed out of his Corsair and even though he was wounded in the arm, began swimming towards the harbour entrance. The tide turned and he was swept back towards the Japanese-occupied town of Rabaul. Enemy anti-aircraft batteries prevented an American Catalina from landing to rescue him and throughout, Keefe’s comrades from both Nos. 14 and 16 Squadrons, circled overhead to defend the downed pilot from enemy attempts at capture. Just before dusk, a daring low-level rescue attempt was made by an RNZAF Ventura, escorted by Corsairs, which dropped two bamboo rafts near the pilot. Unfortunately, though, the pilot appeared to be lying face down in the water, but he was still alive and was picked up by the Japanese soon after dark. Sadly, he died 15 days later from blood poisoning in a camp at Naga Naga, just south of Rabaul. The tragedy didn’t end there, however. On the way back to base, the Corsairs flown by Keefe’s fellow pilots were confronted by a tropical front. All were low on fuel and had no option but to fly through the storm in darkness, heavy rain and lightning. A total of seven more pilots were lost while trying to get back to base, and none were ever found. The eight Corsairs lost on this day represent the greatest loss of aircraft in a single day or night flying in the history of the RNZAF, and was afterwards referred to as “Black Monday”. Source: Air Force Museum of New Zealand (16 May 2016).

Sources

1. Air Force Museum of New Zealand (16 May 2016) https://www.facebook.com/AirForceMuseumofNewZealand/posts/watercolo...
2. Cenotaph: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/...