Volume Six of this series chronicles aerial warfare in the New Guinea theatre in the critical period of January to March 1943. It can be read alone or as a continuation of the previous five volumes which span the first thirteen months of the Pacific War. January 1943 saw a successful Japanese supply and reinforcement convoy arrive at Lae from Rabaul, in the face of fierce opposition from Allied air power. The fresh troops soon threatened to overrun the Australian mountain stronghold of Wau, before a massive airlift by Fifth Air Force C47s delivered reinforcements just in time. Meanwhile the air war over New Guinea was increasingly fought by newly arrived JAAF units who shared the air war burden alongside their veteran IJN counterparts. Against this background many of the Fifth Air Force bomber squadrons moved up from Australia to Port Moresby. This greatly increased the combat efficiency of these units, enabling, among other things, sustained daily pressure on the Japanese bastion of