Diamantina sailed to collect a passenger and search islands east and north of New Ireland for marooned airmen or sailors. Her motorboat then set out into worsening wind, rain, and seas, forcing everyone aboard to bail while trying to regain the frigate. The crew saw Diamantina's large signal lamps flashing and assumed they were being guided home. Once aboard, they learned that the flashes had actually warned them that their route crossed a minefield. The party's survival turns an ordinary boat transfer into a sharp example of weather, communications, and hidden hazards in Pacific operations.
Notable Point · 1:09:48-1:10:52
A Diamantina motorboat unknowingly crossed a minefield
A small-boat party searching near New Ireland fought through squalls toward signals it mistook for guidance and learned only afterward that it had crossed a minefield.