Recovery of Australian service personnel missing in action from World War II

(RAAF) operated throughout the South Pacific, often without the support of immediate search-and-recovery aircraft. The number of aircraft lost by the combatant nations in the southwest Pacific during WWII is still not known, but is probably more than 1000. Many aircraft were lost over Papua New Guinea. It is estimated that there are still over 500 aircraft with full crews missing in Papua New Guinea (about 300 American, 150 Japanese and 50 Australian), which means that there are more WWII aircraft missing in Papua New Guinea than in any other country on earth. Papua New Guinea offers formidable obstacles to location and recovery of aircraft. The terrain is exceptionally rugged and in many areas impenetrable. Villages are frequently isolated from the outside world and even from adjacent villages