NAVAL BASE RAIDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24292, 5 June 1942, Page 3

NAVAL BASE RAIDS

JAPANESE OFFENSIVE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS ATTACK FORERUNNER OF OTHER MOVES LONDON, June i A new move by the Japanese is reported in a Washington communique. Two raids were made yesterday on Dutch Harbour, an American naval and sea base in the Aleutian Islands, off the coast of Alaska. In the first raid, which occurred at 6 a.m. yesterday, local time, four bombers and 15 lighters made an attack lasting 15 minutes. A few workshops were set on fire, but no serious damage was done. There were a few casualties. The Xavy Department has announced that the Japanese made their second attack on Dutch Harbour six hours after the first, details of which are not available at present.

Writing in the Xew York Times, Mr. Hanson Baldwin expresses the opinion that Japanese raids on Dutch Harbour will prove to be merely the first of several raids in the near future against the west coast of Xorth America. Moreover, the Dutch Harbour attack may only be a feint to' distract vigilance from points on the west coast whore a full-out raid is intended. It was almost certain that the attackers came from an aircraft-carrier, and American bombers are now hunting against odds in favour of the carrier through fogs and storms which are prevailing there this season. The commander of the Alaskan naval district, Rear-Admiral Freeman, said in Seattle la.st night that the attack was no surprise, and the station was prepared to meet it. Senator Connolly, chairman of the Senate's Foreign Eolations Committee, described it as a .Japanese "face-sav-ing" operation. They had to do something, he said, after we bombed Tokio. Following on the attacks on Dutch Harbour, as a precautionary measure Canadian A.R.P. workers in British Columbia have been placed on the alert. Last night the American Pacific Coast radio stations were silenced. OVERTHROW AUTHORITY SECRET ARMY IN AFRICA LONDON, June 3 A Johannesburg message says that a secret army was formed early last year to overthrow the Union Government, according to the prosecution at the opening of the trial in which 48 men, including 17 police, are accused, of treason. They are allegedly members of -the Ossewa Brandwag storm troop section, which drilled militarily and established factories for the manufacture of grenades and bombs. It had contacts with enemy agents at Laurence Marques, Mozambique, thereby hoping to secure arms, and it also had in its possession documents, plans of shipping and information valuable to the enemy. The accused helped internees to escape and received sabotage instruction. SEVERE LOSSES JAPANESE ATTACK SHIPPING WASHINGTON, June 3 The Navy Department announces that seven United Xations merchantmen, including one United States ship, were shelled and sunk in the Bay of Bengal on April 6. Seven survivors of the United States ship have been landed in Xorfolk (Virginia). Captain Ragnar Kklund, master of the American ship, said the entire group of seven ships was sunk in 40 minutes. He said the Japanese in all sank IS ships in the Bay of Bengal on that day, accounting for every ship Four of the merchantmen were armed and three fired their deck guns_ at the enemy warships, but they failed to score' hits. The Japanese attacked at close range. Captain Kklund said three Japanese cruisers slipped into the Bay of Bengal on the morning of April 6 and sank the 18 merchantmen in one day. A British bomber attacked the enemy warships, setting fire to one. Captain Eklund said the Japanese marksmanship was poor. His ship was hit at least 15 times, but 50 other shells fell all round. "The crew took to tho lifeboats and rafts," ho added. "The ships were about 10 miles from the Indian coast, but it took them until mid-afternoon to reach tho beach, where 350 survivors from the other ships were also landed. About 150 perished." RIOTERS SUBDUED (Reed. 0.50 p.m.) NASSAU, June 3 Conditions returned to normal to-day after yesterday's serious rioting and business establishments have reopened.