TOKIO BATTERED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 65, Issue 195, 31 May 1945, Page 5

TOKIO BATTERED

HEART OF CITY GONE. great mass of ashes, HITTING ENEMY WAR POTENTIAL (N.Z. Press Association— Copyright.) LONDON. May 29. “The heart of Tokio has been wiped out by incendiaries,” says Major-General Curtis Lemay, in a statement quoted in a Guam message. ••More ‘than 51 square miles surrounding the Imperial grounds are a great mass of ashes marking the site of thousands of buildings and residences that formerly housed factories of all types. There are a few fire, blackened ruins of buildings still standing, hut,” said Major-General Lemay, “we destroyed all the targets we set out to destroy. Very little is now left of the Japanese capital. Whatever the Japanese announce can lie taken as correct. We destroyed all the urban area we attacked. If the Japanese persist in continuing the war they have nothing else to look forward to but . the complete destruction of their cities.” After studying the official photographs of the raid on May 26, MajorGeneral Lemay announced that numerous buildings within the Palace grounds were destroyed as well as in the adjacent area. The pictures showed a number of buildings burned to the ground. The Palace was not a target for bombs, but he felt no sympathy for the ravings of the Japanese about Ihe destruction of flie Palace. In the six incendiary attacks against Tokio 50 Superfortresses were lost by enemy action. In addition, small industrial plants nearby and hundreds of individual targets were gutted by the raids. The last two attacks destroyed or damaged 30 to 35 important targets, including 'the Tokio central station and the Kokkusan Electrical Company. These two assaults knocked out 18.6 square miles of industrial Tokio, bringing the total destruction to approximately 46 per cent, of the built-up area and about a fourth of the city’s total area of 213 square miles.

An assessment of the possibilities of destroying the Japanese war potential by bombing is made by the assistant-editor of the “Daily Mail,” Mr Colin Bendall, who, as an air correspondent, made several operational bomber flights over Germany and who is now in the Pacific theatre.

Mr Bendall says that whereas the bombing of Germany look years to develop, it is intended to destroy the Japanese war potential within months. He adds that certain factors make this possible, but so far the Japanese are offering fierce, well-organised resistance. Twice Ihe number of heavy ack-ack guns, many believed to be 88mm. guns made from German designs, defend Tokio. Compared with Berlin, there-are perhaps 200 searchlights and a fanatical if depleted fighter force, phosphorus air mines and rockets, and several mystery weapons, including so-called balls of fire which apparently are flying bombs redesigned to carry suicide pilots. Superfortresses in a great bomb-to-a finish phase have abandoned the icy altitudes for which they were designed and are .bombing Tokio from 5000 feet. Heavy bombers would not dare to slay low over Berlin, but it is possible over Tokio because Japanese radar and other devices are years behind those of the Germens. The Japanese gunners rarely hit what they cannot see, and low cloud gives almost immunity from flak. It is also so tempestuous over Japan that when Superfortresses flew over at high altitudes they met with terrific winds.