LORÉ - LAUTEM DISTRICT - WWII IN EAST TIMOR - AN AUSTRALIAN ARMY SITE AND TRAVEL GUIDE

[Edward Willis]

WWII IN EAST TIMOR

AN AUSTRALIAN ARMY SITE AND TRAVEL GUIDE

LAUTEM DISTRICT

LORÉ

8° 38' 43.5" S, 127° 00' 49.8" E

Loré location map [1]

Loré is 21 miles (33 1/2 km.) at a bearing of 158° from Lautem.  It is built on the southern foothills about 3 miles (5 km.) north of Cape Loré and is served by the anchorage of Saenamo.  The country is hilly and covered with fairly dense forest.

It is a posto town with a very small population.  The posto consists of a residence, kitchen and storeroom.  It is surrounded by a coconut plantation, and west of this a maize plantation.  South of the posto is a rest house, stable and store shed.  There are several native houses along the Saenamo road, and, along a track running southeast, some Chinese shops and a native village.  North of the posto is a small stream from which water is brought in a bamboo pipe to a concrete water tank next to the posto. [2]

Loré, Portuguese Timor.  1946-01-04.  The stone walls of the Portuguese posto (Fort).  (Photographer Sgt K.B. Davis) [3]

Loré posto – 12 August 2022

LORÉ – a small posto under the command of the commandant of FUILORO.  Has no resident commandant, but has a native woman of the higher caste who seems to be the local ‘queen’.  She provided food and seemed very friendly.  LORÉ is inland about three kilometres from the sea.  The posto itself comprises one small two story building and two houses of the ordinary bungalow type.  LORÉ was not bombed or machine gunned during the August disturbances. [4]

JAPANESE AIRFIELD AT CAPE LORÉ - 8° 41 S 127° 01' E [5]

Before 1942 was over the Japanese had occupied the Cape Loré area and started building an airfield.

“The Japanese set up an airfield near Cape Loré on the south coast (Sae Namo: [Note] the Japanese called it Sinamo).  Traces of the airfield cannot be found from the satellite image, inferring from the topography and the straight space, it may be the area of the houses that are currently lined up”. [6]

Cape Loré airfield site - - 12 August 2022

HUDSON AIRCRAFT A16-166 SHOT DOWN OVER CAPE LORÉ - 24 DECEMBER 1942

An Australian No. 2 Squadron Hudson aircraft was the first victim of the increased Japanese defensive presence on the south east corner of Portuguese Timor:

"Next morning [24 December 1942] Japanese shipping, four transports and an escorting destroyer, were reported off Lavai on the eastern end of Timor's northern coast and a joint 2 and 13 Squadron strike ordered against them.  Four Hudsons of No. 2 Squadron were to attack first, followed by three from No. 13 Squadron.  Aircraft captains were Flt Lt Austin and FOs Cambridge, James and Johns of 2 Squadron and Flt Lt Rehfisch and FOs Thomson and Warlow-Davies of 13 Squadron.

Hudson aircraft A16-166 engine component displayed at Loré posto - 12 August 2022

All aircraft approached from the east, the initial attack being made by two flights of two.  No direct hits were reported.  Meanwhile, No. 13 Squadron's three had almost overtaken the second flight from No. 2 Squadron and the leader was in the process of making a turn to port when Thomson was seen, instead, to fly straight ahead or of on a tangent, as Doug Osborne, Warlow-Davies' observer, later expressed it.  Almost immediately Rehfisch and Warlow-Davies, who had stayed with the leader, dived to attack, the only other sighting of what was considered to be Thomson's aircraft, A16-166, being after the attack, passing underneath Rehfisch's Hudson.

After the return of the two 13 Squadron crews to Hughes, where one direct hit on the bow of one of the largest merchant vessels was claimed, enquiries as to the missing Hudson were made of No. 2 Squadron but none of their crews in the attack saw A16-166 at any stage.  No explosions or crashes had been seen either, though, and it was hoped that a forced landing had been made and that the crew had survived.

This was not to be, however, the Hudson had, in fact, been shot down, perhaps by a mixture of anti-aircraft gunfire and Japanese fighters.  One of the largest vessels present, the 7,005 ton Maebasi Maru, claimed two Hudsons shot down with her deck guns that day, but with only one Hudson missing, clearly there was an error in this claim.

Post- war it was reported by a former Japanese intelligence officer that at around 1700 hours on 24thDecember a Hudson had been "chased" by two Zeros.  Only one engine was functioning and black smoke was coming from the aircraft which subsequently crashed about one and a half miles south of Cape Loré on the south coast.  The wreckage of a Lockheed, type unknown, was subsequently found near the position indicated, local witnesses confirming that it had been shot down by Japanese fighters, but it is possible that the initial damage had been caused by shipboard gunfire.

Under the circumstances it was considered likely that the wreckage was of A16-166 and the scattered, unburied remains of those aboard were gathered and later buried in the Koepang War Cemetery.  Thomson's crew had only been in the area since 3rd October, their original navigator, Bobbie Nicholls, being sent south in November due to a spinal infection.  Nicholls was replaced by Sgt Reg West, a former navigation instructor from Evans Head.  In addition, Keith Chote, one of "Jock" Whyte's WAGs, was flying with Thomson that day filling in as an extra gunner”. [7]

RAAF Searcher Team Investigation Post War

16 May 1946

Mrs E. Chote

Mie Gunyah

5 Kirk Street

TOOWOOMBA Qld

Dear Madam,

I deeply regret to inform you that your Son, Sergeant Keith Gilbert Chote, who was previously reported missing on air operations is now known to have lost his life on air operations near Cape Loré in Timor on 24th December, 1942.

This change of classification is based on a report received from the Royal Australian Air Force Search Organisation which has located the wreckage of the aircraft in the scrub near Cape Loré.

The bodies of the five members of the crew were found near the aircraft unfortunately, individual identification, as not possible, and the crew will be buried in a comrade’s grave in an Australian War Cemetery.  The Directorate or War Graves Services will communicate to you particulars of the burial.

Interrogation of Japanese prisoners discloses that on the afternoon of the 24th of December 1942, the aircraft was shot down by Japanese fighter aircraft.  It was seen being attacked by two Zero fighters and crashed near the coast, about one and a half miles south of Cape Loré.  A native who witnessed the crash stated that all five members of the crew were killed instantaneously.

The Minister for Air and members of the Air Board desire me to extend to you their profound sympathy.  It is hoped that the accompanying enclosures will be of assistance to you.

Yours faithfully

M.C. Langslow

Secretary

Casualty Section

Albert Park Barracks SC3 [8]

Formal Confirmation of the Deaths of A16-166 Crew Members

CREW:

NAME AND RANK	SERVICE NUMBER	ROLE
Flying Officer G.P. Thomson	405889	Pilot
Sgt J. McA. Dunbar	416661
Sgt K.G. Chote	405542
Sgt R.M. Clark	416653
Sgt R.S. West	405163

P.6 (N)

Investigations conducted in Timor by F/Lt Hamer have established that this aircraft was shot down Japanese fighters and crashed on the afternoon of 24th December 1942 near Cape Loré in Timor.

2.      F/Lt Hamer inspected the wreckage of an aircraft which appeared to have been a Hudson or Ventura.  His informant stated that it had been shot down by Japanese fighters pursuing it from the direction of Lautem (8^o 22’ south, 126^o 55’ east) in February or March 1943.

3.      Informant stated that five or six crew members were killed instantly.  F/Lt Hamer collected the unburied remains of the crew which were still lying scattered in the scrub, and it was established that the remains were of five persons.  It has been impossible to identify the aircraft from the markings and plates removed from the wreckage.  (See extract of report dated 13/1/46 herein).

4.      As there was no record of an R.A.A.F. Hudson or Ventura missing in this area in February or March 1943 further enquiries were made by F/Lt Hamer who obtained from Captain Goto, former Japanese intelligence officer in Portuguese Timor, the following account:

At about 1700 hours (Japanese time, Timor) on 24th December 1942, one Hudson being chased by two Zeros, approached SAENAMO from direction west of CAPE LORÉ.  Only one engine was working.  The plane emitted black smoke and crashed about 11/2 miles south of Cape Loré near the coast.

5.      From experience in other cases it is considered that Captain Goto’s information is reliable and can be accepted.  Since, however, it was not clear from reports whether the wreckage inspected by F/Lt Hamer could have been the aircraft referred to by Captain Goto, F/Lt Hamer was interrogated on this point and stated that the position of the wreckage was quite consistent with it being the Hudson referred to by Captain Goto.

6.      Accordingly, it is considered that although the individuals have not been identified, since the remains of five have been recovered and there is no doubt that the aircraft is A16-166, this crew should be reclassified ‘killed in air operations’. [9]

JAPANESE RADAR STATION AT LORÉ - 08°34'S, 126°59'E

SECRET

JAPANESE RADAR - LORÉ PORTUGESE TIMOR:

1.      On 16 Dec a Radar station (reported as two steel lattice towers about 20 yards apart protruding 20 feet above trees and with standard rotating screen on top) was observed 6 miles N by E of Loré in Portuguese Timor.

Source: Situation Report No, 186 page 7

COMMENTS:

a.      Twelve intercept missions to this area have been made during the past year.  Seven have been negative and five have resulted in the interception of signals considered most probably to have originated from enemy shipping in the area. The last mission was run on 4th October 1943.

b.      Although there is no direct evidence of a Radar in this area, circumstantial evidence indicating that the installation of one might well be expected.

c.       Unfortunately there is no photographic coverage of the area.

d.      The Japanese are thought to have developed a chain of Radars extending from Soemba, thru Timor, Tanimbar and Aroe to New Guinea.  The weak link in the chain appears to be in the absence of a Radar at the eastern end of Timor.

Japanese radar – Netherlands East Indies – July 15, 1945 – Loré location highlighted [10]

e.      An installation at Loré would complete the chain and would give coverage in the direction of interest from the Japanese viewpoint, the south and southeast, and would be well situated with respect to the airstrips at Lautem.

f.       The presence of a Radar in this locality may be regarded as a probability until further evidence is received.

JOEL H. MACE

Lieut Commander RANVR

Assist Director [11]

Cape Loré – site location map

‘LONGEST SPITFIRE RAID OF WWII’ - LORÉ RADAR STATION – 27 NOVEMBER 1944

On the 27th of Nov 1944, five Spitfires from No. 549 sqn RAF and two Spitfires from No.1 Fighter Wing, RAAF in conjunction with four B-25's from No. 2 sqn RAAF plus an ASR Catalina, attacked and destroyed a Japanese radar station at Cape Loré on Portuguese Timor.  The raid was a round trip of some 850 miles taking 4.5 hours.  The Spitfires were first to attack carrying out strafing runs on the installations resulting in the radar tower being destroyed.  The B-25's then destroyed the remaining buildings once the Spitfires were clear. [12]

The Cape Loré, Timor raid of November 27 1944, was known as the longest Spitfire raid of the war and is reported here in detail:

“One day as the American B-25s were returning to their station at Darwin after a raid, one of the crewmen was testing a camera as they flew over Cape Loré on the SE coast of Portuguese Timor.  When the film was developed someone noticed, completely by accident, four little radar aerials sticking up out of the bush.  (The actual position of the radar Installation was 08°34'S, 126°59'E).  The find was reported to Colonel McClusky, Commander of the USAAC Bomber Wing, who sent a couple of spotter aircraft to find these aerials.  They were unsuccessful, so McClusky approached W/Cdr R.C. Wilkinson - 'Wilkie', joint Wing Leader and Wing Commander OPs 1 Fighter Wing to request the RAF Spitfires (to) escort a flight of B-25 Mitchells to the target.  He wanted them to fly in low and hit the target with cannon and machine gun fire and get some smoke going, so the B-25s could come in and bomb the installation.

Wilkie conferred with joint Wing Leader, G/Capt B.R. 'Blackjack' Walker.  Although Walker was the Senior Ranking Officer on the Station, any operations undertaken were under Wilkie's command.  The raid was set for 27 November 1944.  The original force was to be four B-25s, ten Spitfires from 549 Squadron, a Catalina flying boat, two Spitfires from 1 Fighter Wing, being Wilkie and Walker and two spare Spitfires.

In the RAF, once an officer attains the rank of Wing Commander he can have his own initials painted on the aircraft as opposed to squadron letters.  As Wilkie was back on OPs, he had his initials RCW painted on his personal aircraft - this was the only time Wilkie was to fly 'personalized'.

They flew to the Austin Strip (at Snake Bay, Melville Island) where they refuelled for the long flight.  The Spitfires were equipped with standard 97-gallon tanks, plus two 25-gallon wing tanks, a 30-gallon belly tank and an additional 90-gallon belly tank!!

The last two mentioned would have to be dropped before they made their attack.  But out of the 14 Spitfires, only seven were able to take off, the others suffering various fuel line problems!  (Les Bushell was one of them).  Using every inch of the runway the escort staggered into the air for the rendezvous with the Mitchells and headed for Timor Island.

Incidentally, it should be noted that on other occasions the wing tanks could be removed and in their place two 30-gallon barrels of beer could be affixed.  This alteration didn't help the aircraft to fly any further but it was definitely good for morale.

The Spitfires made a low pass over the island and were welcomed by two bursts of light machine gun fire from a tree about seventy yards north of the installations.  Wilkie led the Spitfires in for the attack and beat the area up with cannon and machine gun fire and started a bit of smoke going, they then pulled out and let the B-25s come in and do their stuff.  The bombers scored direct hits and flattened the station.

There was no interception and there were no casualties, all aircraft returning safely to base.  The entire raid took four hours and fifty minutes.  This was the longest Spitfire raid ever flown.

Those who flew the Spitfires were:

G/Capt B.R. Walker DSO	1 Fighter Wing
W/Cdr R.C. Wilkinson OBE, DFM & Bar, C de G	1 Fighter Wing
S/Ldr E.P.W. Bocock DFC	549 Squadron	(A58-341)
F/Lt W.V.B.N. Wedd	549 Squadron	(A58-304)
F/Lt L.F. Webster	549 Squadron	(A58-326)
W/Off A.N. Franks	549 Squadron	(A58-414)
W/Off J. Beaton	549 Squadron	(A58-323)

A group portrait of Supermarine Spitfire pilots of 549 Squadron RAF which formed part of No 1 Fighter Wing, RAAF, who are operating from a base in North Western Australia. Left to right: Back row: Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) J.R. Williams of Cardiff, Wales; Flt Lt W.B. Van N. Wedd of Paris, France; Squadron Leader E.P.W. Bocock DFC of Gazeley, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Commanding Officer of 549 Squadron RAF; Flt Lt L.F. Webster of Barking, Essex; Flt Lt W.H. Walker of Sheffield, England. Front row: Warrant Officer (WO) A.N. Franks of Wolverhampton; WO Jock Beaton of Isle of Skye, Scotland and Flt Lt G.W. Turner of Que Que, Southern Rhodesia. [13]

At a press briefing in Adelaide ‘Record Flight by Darwin Spitfires’, they reported that this flight was led by an Australian.  Wilkie shrugged this off as bad press.  A/Cdr Richard Grice stated, "The longest operational flight ever made by Spitfires, stands to the credit of a Royal Air Force squadron at Darwin, which smashed the installations on Timor recently".  He said the round trip flight was more than eight hundred and fifty miles and there was no loss or damage to the squadron.  He conveniently forgot the Americans' part in the raid.

Grice, who was the Senior Officer of the United Kingdom Army and RAF Liaison Staff in Australia, made a trip to Darwin to congratulate personally the Officers and Airmen on their achievement and brought with him sixty dozen eggs and other Christmas cheer.  It was reported these items were well received by the men.

This extract from Colin Storey's diary, provides some interesting background detail:

Early in November our Commanding Officer, S/Ldr Bocock DFC (he won the award in the Battle of Britain where he shot down five German aircraft) called all four of us Fitter Armourers to his tent.  Hardly surprisingly, we wondered what we had done to deserve it!

He asked us if we would fit two bomb carriers to a Spitfire.  He had made rough drawings of how he thought it could be done and after we examined them, we told him we would give it a go.  The reason behind this request (he said) was that a secret mission was shortly to take place and it would be of great help if the Spitfires could carry two 250-pound bombs.

It took us several days to do the job and the CO then tested them out over the sea.  The test proved that the carriers worked 100% and he was very pleased with us.

The mission turned out to be a raid on Japanese radar installations on Timor Island and would be a round trip of more than 850 miles.  It was then realised that with the extra weight of the bombs, even using belly tanks, the long distance over water would not be safe, so the idea of the Spitfires carrying bombs was shelved.

On 27 November 1944, 12 aircraft in all, including four of ours, made the raid on the base.  The Spitfires went in first.  One of our pilots (F/Lt Wedd) was credited with destroying the radar tower and W/Off Beaton set the main buildings on fire.  The Mitchell bombers (from 2 RAAF Squadron) followed and dropped bombs in the middle of the camp killing most of the Japanese”. [14]

SECRET BLUE DCV/B1/27 NOV (.) (A) DCV/27 NOV 12 X-RAYS (B) RADAR INSTALLATIONS CAPE LORÉ (C)

270055Z TO 270120Z TO 200 FEET (D) SEVEN DUTIES REACHED TARGET FOUR DUTIES MADE THREE STRAFING ATTACKS ON RADAR INSTALLATIONS CLAIMING 90% STRIKES THREE DUTIES MADE TWO ATTACKS ON RADAR AND TWO ATTACKS ON CAMP AREA APPROXIMATELY 100 YARDS NNE OF ANTENNAE ONE FIRE AND TWO OTHER THIN COLUMNS GREYISH SMOKE SEEN AFTER ATTACK MANY STRIKES SEEN ON HUTS AND INSTALLATIONS FIVE DUTIES WENT U/S AT AUSTIN DUE TO AIRLOCKS (E)

SLIGHT LIGHT INACCURATE FROM MG POST IN TREE 70 YARDS NORTH OF RADAR (F) THRU (H) NIL (I)

CINE-CAMERA OF ATTACKS AND COAST AREA NEAR CAPE LORÉ (J) FOUR DUTIES SAW BOMBS FROM FIRST BOMBER FALL IN TARGET AREA TWO SAW REMAINING BOMBERS ALSO HIT TARGET AREA ONE EUROPEAN TYPE HOUSE AND SMALL PLANTATION APPROXIMATELY 3 ½ MILES NNW CAPE LORÉ NIL ENEMY ACTIVITY AT CAPE LORÉ AND ELG (K) 1-2/10 THS CU BASE 4000 FEET VISIBILITY CLEAR OVER TARGET EN ROUTE 5/10 S/CU AND CU BASE 3000 FEET TOPS TO 20,000 FEET VISIBILITY 15 TO 20 MILES (L) CAMP AREA NEAR RADAR INSTALLATIONS COMPOSED OF APPROXIMATELY 7 WOODEN OR BARK COVERED HUTS AND ONE MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING TWENTY FEET SQUARE (M) 703 ROUNDS EACH SAPI AND HEI 20MM 6681 ROUNDS 60/40 .303 API

[TOO: 0720Z] [15]

THE MILITARY HISTORY SECTION TEAM’S VISIT TO LORÉ - 3 JANUARY 1946

Sergeant George Milsom of the Military History Section Team diarised on 3 January 1946 when visiting Loré:

"We were shown a crashed HUDSON bomber in which six Australians had lost their lives; the wreckage was fenced in by the natives.  The most peculiar thing we saw was some Jap defences on the beach below LORÉ; the Japs had put small sharp bamboo stakes up in the sand, thousands of them inclined towards the sea and they evidently anticipated a landing". [16]

[17]

Charles Bush, the war artist with the Team prepared two paintings while they were in Loré.

‘MOTH’ EATON’S VISIT TO LORÉ – 4 DECEMBER 1946

“At Saenamo there is good general anchorage with some shelter from Cape Lore, and also a small sheltered area between two reefs running seawards for about 1/4 mile (1/2 km.) and some hundred yards or so apart.  Small vessels can shelter here in almost any weather, and it fronts a stretch of good landing beach with deep water close in.  There are several buildings on shore and ample cover from the air, with vegetation right on to the beach in places.  There is also some small amount of shelter on the beaches between Saenamo and the Mamaluto River, given by the reefs which separate the beaches.

The reef continues for 2 miles (3 km.) southeast to Cape Lore, a well-marked low promontory with a sandy patch on the point and dense vegetation further back”. [20]

The Australian Consul Charles ‘Moth’ Eaton visited Loré in early December 1946:

“During my last visit to the interior I was particularly interested to see the Japanese defences of Lautem-Cape Loré areas.  I do not know if the full facts are known to our military authorities but at one time some 25,000  Japanese soldiers occupied these areas.  The Japanese camps and defence works along the road between Lautem and Fuiloro were considerable and the camouflage almost perfect.  The Cape Loré beach-head was the best defence work I have seen in Timor; the earth and wire works were extensive.

I also visited the Japanese Cape Loré radar station.  This station is actually on the top of a mountain at the rear of Cape Loré.  I was very interested in this station as I personally took part in an attack on this work in December 1944.  The attack was an interesting one as it was the first time that diaphragm bomb-heads were used in Timor.  The Radar Station had been hit but the extent of the bomb damage was difficult to ascertain as after the attack the Japanese dismantled the remains.  Without doubt the main building was severely damaged by the diaphragm bombs”. [20]

Sign post on the Cape Loré beach-head - 12 August 2022

REFERENCES

[1]     ASPT: Map 1

[2]     ASPT: 34

[3]     https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C221043

[4]     “Road reconnaissance – Fuiloro to Via-Lai-Via – 16 September 42” in [Timor (1941-1942) - (Sparrow Force and Lancer Force) - Operations:] Sparrow Force.  Reconnaissance report of South Coast of Port Timor and Intelligence reports … - AWM 54 571/4/19

[5]     Northern Territory Force war diary June-July 1943

[6]     https://grahabudayaindonesia.at.webry.info/200902/article_8.html

[7]     David Vincent. – The RAAF Hudson story – book two. – Highbury, SA: Vincent Aviation Publications, 2010: 90-91.

[8]     CHOTE Keith Gilbert - (Sergeant); Service Number - 405542; File type - Casualty - Repatriation; Aircraft - Hudson A16-166; Place - Nova Ancora, Australia; Date - 24 December 1942 NAA: A705, 163/96/208: 13.https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=1056202&isAv=N

[9]     CHOTE Keith Gilbert - (Sergeant); Service Number - 405542; File type - Casualty - Repatriation; Aircraft - Hudson A16-166; Place - Nova Ancora, Australia; Date - 24 December 1942 NAA: A705, 163/96/208: 14. https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=1056202&isAv=N

[10]   Craig Bellamy. - Radar countermeasures development in Australia: a case study of multinational co-operation in World War II at Fenton, Northern Territory. - Honours thesis, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, 2015: 219.

[11]   General Headquarters Southwest Pacific Area, Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Section 22 - Current Statements No. CS/No. 0075 - Date 19 Dec43 - NAA: A11093, 676/4A11 PART 2

[12]   Gordon R Birkett ‘The November 1944 raid’ ADF Serials Telegraph News 1 (5) Summer 2011: 9-11. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/newsletter/ADF%20Serials%20Telegraph%20News%20-Summer%202011%20Vers%201.pdf

[13]   https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C279452?image=1

[14]   Victor Possé. - Together up there : the unit history of No. 549 RAF/RAAF Fighter Squadron in Australia during World War Two. – Loftus, N.S.W.: Australian Military History Publications, 2003: 62-63

[15]   Garry Shepherdson “How to read RAAF historical records: coloured signal forms” ADF-Serials Telegraph Newsletter 10 (4) Winter 2020: 99-110. /109/

http://www.adf-serials.com.au/newsletter/ADF-Serials%20Telegraph%20Vol10%20Iss4%20v1d.pdf

[16]   Ed Willis ‘The Military History Section Team’s patrol to the eastern end of Portuguese Timor, 29 December 1945 – 9 January 1946’ https://doublereds.org.au/forums/topic/310-the-military-history-section-team’s-patrol-to-the-eastern-end-of-portuguese-timor-29-december-1945-–-9-january-1946/

[17]   ASPT: Photograph 93

[18]   Note on painting – “Identifiable with panorama sketch in Terrain Study (presumably made by Lt Doig’s party?” https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/ART26156

[19]   https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C168680

[20]   ASPT: 24

[21]   C. Eaton, 'Despatch No. 18, Australian Consulate, Dili, 31 December 1946' in NAA: A1838, 377/1/3 Portuguese Timor Part I.  As Commanding Officer of 79 Wing, Eaton flown in one of the B-25's from No. 2 Squadron in the attack on the Cape Loré radar station.