When war was war: "..to straff Japanese life rafts.."

Battle of the Bismarck Sea - wikipedia.org
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was a battle in the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between planes of the US Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force, and a Japanese convoy carrying troops to Lae. The task force was destroyed in detail, and the Japanese troops losses were extremely high.
Battle of the Bismarck Sea, 2-4 March 1943 - awm.gov.au
The battle was a disaster for the Japanese. Out of 6,900 troops who were badly needed in New Guinea, only about 800 made it to Lae. The Australian War Memorial states that 2,890 Japanese soldiers and sailors were killed.
Through 4 and into 5 March Allied aircraft were despatched to straff Japanese life rafts and rescue vessels to prevent the large number of Japanese who had escaped their sinking transports from being rescued and arriving in Lea to be rearmed and sent to the front. There was a deadly race for the survivors between Japanese submarines and Allied aircraft. It was a horrible task and one that haunted several of the aircrews for years to come. It is one of the realities of war that they had to be prevented from getting to the fighting in New Guinea. 2,890 Japanese soldiers and sailors were killed in the battle or drowned trapped in their sinking ships or drifting in the wreckage spread. Only 850 reached Lae. Few were battle ready and most had lost their weapons and equipment. No quarter was given or asked.

[Today the UN would hold an enquiry and seek war crime prosecutions.]