Squadron Leader Noel Quinn, commanding officer of No. 8 Squadron RAAF, hit an unidentified object while flying his Beaufort aircraft at the altitude of 150 feet. The entire crew of four survived the crash in Saint George's Channel between New Britain and New Ireland, but only Quinn and Flying Officer Ross O'Loghlen would survive the wounds. Both captured by the Japanese, Quinn would later be sent to Japan, while O'Loghlen would remain at the prisoner of war compound in Rabaul, New Britain until the end of the war.
