The Allied Air Forces had developed new techniques, such as skip bombing, that they hoped would improve the chances of successful air attack on ships. The Allies had detected preparations for the convoy, and naval codebreakers in Melbourne ( FRUMEL) and Washington, D.C., had decrypted and translated messages indicating the convoy's intended destination and date of arrival.

On 28 February 1943, the convoy – comprising eight destroyers and eight troop transports with an escort of approximately 100 fighter aircraft – set out from Simpson Harbour in Rabaul. The plan was understood to be risky, because Allied air power in the area was strong, but it was decided to proceed because otherwise the troops would have to be landed a considerable distance away and march through inhospitable swamp, mountain and jungle terrain without roads before reaching their destination. A plan was devised to move some 6,900 troops from Rabaul directly to Lae. The Japanese convoy was a result of a Japanese Imperial General Headquarters decision in December 1942 to reinforce their position in the South West Pacific. Most of the Japanese task force was destroyed, and Japanese troop losses were heavy. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troops to Lae, New Guinea.

The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S.

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