M13

Morotai Trial M13 was an Australian war crimes trial conducted on Morotai on 12 December 1945. The case concerned the murder of one of the Royal Australian Air Force airmen, Hann, Walters and King, and formed part of the series of prosecutions arising from the executions of Allied prisoners of war on Talaud Island. Private Tanaka Takco of the 211 Regiment, 32nd Division, was charged with bayoneting one of the captured airmen after being ordered to do so by Lieutenant Yabe.

The court found Private Tanaka guilty and initially sentenced him to ten years' imprisonment, later reduced to five years. In reviewing the case, however, the Judge Advocate General concluded that while the finding of guilt should be confirmed, the punishment should be substantially reduced and suggested that no punishment be imposed. The case illustrates the distinction drawn by the reviewing authority between criminal responsibility for carrying out an unlawful order and the degree of moral culpability of a junior soldier acting under direct command. This page summarises the trial, the evidence, the conviction, the sentence and the surviving archival records, including the Judge Advocate General's report.