TWO MORE SUNK IN SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 304, 23 December 1943, Page 5

TWO MORE SUNK IN SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC

JAPANESE VESSELS Direct Bomb Hit Destroys 6000-Ton Merchantman N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 2.30 p.m. SYDNEY, this day. The sinking of two more Japanese ships in the South-west Pacific is reported in General Mac Arthur's communique to-day. In the Kavieng, New Ireland, area a 6000-ton merchantman capsized and sank instantly following a direct bomb hit. A troop transport in the same locality was also sunk and a vessel of undisclosed size was damaged. Off Gasmata, New Britain, Beaufighters destroyed an enemy coastal vessel. Allied bombers have again raided Cape Gloucester, in western New Britain, this time with 205 tons of explosives. "American invasion troops at Arawe, Gilbert Islands, continue their work of consolidating and expanding their beachhead," the communique adds. "Three Japanese air attacks on our shipping and ground positions caused only light damage. Our intercepting fighter patrols shot down 12 enemy dive-bombers and four fighters, with three other planes probably destroyed. "The Australian forces are< still driving northwards ca Huon Peninsula, New Guinea."