In early March 1943, the Japanese sent a large convoy of troop transports, protected by many warship, to defend New Guinea against Allied invasion. The US Army Air Forces' B-17 flying fortresses flew from their base in New Guinea to intercept the fleet.
One B-17 missed the rendezvous point, and the plane's captain decided to attack the convoy alone. Ten Japanese Zero fighters jumped the plane and began raking her with gun fire. The badly crippled B-17 barely made it back to base, with its navigator and two gunners wounded.
One of the wounded gunners, Viljo Salo, said the plane was full of lead, but "the Zeroes had a hard time making any headway against the flying fortresses", which sank or damaged 12 troopships and 10 warships. The Japanese reinforcements never reached New Guinea.
一九四三年三月初，日本派遣一大隊運兵船，由多艘戰艦護送，赴新幾內亞抵禦盟軍。美國陸軍航空隊的B-17空中堡壘轟炸機從新幾內亞基地起飛，前往截擊。
一架B-17錯失了會合地點，機長決定單獨進攻，卻突然受到十架日本零式戰鬥機攻擊，在日機砲火掃射之下，機身重創，勉強飛回基地，領航員和兩個砲手都受了傷。
一個受傷砲手是維爾約．薩洛。他說轟炸機彈痕纍纍，「但零式戰鬥機，在空中堡壘之前，很難討好」。空中堡壘炸沉或擊毀了十二艘運兵船和十艘戰艦。日本那隊援軍無法到達新幾內亞。