Trapped

Following the tragic death of Pilot Officer Peter Thompson, the stranded airmen head south for the Emergency Landing Ground (ELG). At great cost, the airmen make it to the ELG only for Darwin to rule out sending an aircraft to pick them up. With a Japanese patrol closing in, the airmen retreat into the jungle after Timorese villagers warn of an approaching Japanese patrol. Meanwhile, the RAAF makes a request to an ally to attempt a...

The airmen have eaten most of their tinned supplies the previous night, a decision Bryan is beginning to deeply regret. The Japanese raid on Broome on March 3, 1942 has all but ruled out the stranded airmen being rescued by flying boat. Flight Lieutenant Bryan Rofe decides to take a small party north on a supply run and sends another party south in search of beach firm enough to support the landing of an aircraft to get the men. Me...

After narrowly avoiding Japanese paratroopers on the mad drive towards the mountainous jungle, the airmen hike to Timor’s remote north-west coast in the hope of a seaborne evacuation. They have very limited supplies, just some tinned food and a handful of quinine to treat malaria. Time and the harsh conditions are against them. The group’s survival hinges on re-establishing communication with RAAF Station Darwin on an untested 180k...

Trapped is a six part series about a group of Australian airmen stranded on Japanese-occupied Timor during the Second World War. 

Using diaries of the airmen, wartime records and interviews with survivors, Trapped brings to life one of the greatest stories of survival and escape of the Pacific War. A true story of leadership, courage, mateship, and, at times, cruelty and violence that played out on a remote tropical island during o...