HEAVY BLOWS

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13769, 12 October 1942, Page 3

HEAVY BLOWS

JAPANESE AT RABAUL

Big Allied Raids

Great Destruction Caused

London, Oct. 11

In another raid on the Japanese base of Rabaul in New Britain Allied bombers dropped 40 tons of high explosives, causing terrific damage. This raid was carried out on Saturday night and followed a raid on Friday night when over 50 tons of bombs were dropped. Harbour works received a terrific battering, and a large area of buildings was left ablaze.

Referring to the second raid, one of the pilots said, "What we didn't do on the first night we did on the second."

Despatches from the New Guinea area state that there is still no sign of the main Japanese force. General MacArthur and General Sir Thomas Blarney, officer commanding the land forces in the southwest Pacific, have just paid a visit to our front-line positions in New Guinea, and General MacArthur has expressed himself as being- satisfied with what he saw. He spoke to Australian soldiers just before they went into action.

The trail to Koko'da is being continually bomber by Allied aircraft. It is reported from the Solomon Islands front that United States planes attacked six Japanese destroyers engaged in landing operations at Guadalcanar and sank one and damaged another. In another engagement in the Solomons area a Japanese cruiser was hit by a torpedo launched from an aircraft and also a bomb, and four Japanese seaplanes were shot down. The cruiser was seen still burning the next day.