ANOTHER SHIP ATTACKED

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23661, 11 June 1942, Page 5

ANOTHER SHIP ATTACKED

SUBMARINE NEAR AUSTRALIA UNSUCCESSFUL USE OF GUNFIRE (Received June 10, 11 p.m.) (N.Z.P.A.) CANBERRA, June 10. A further unsuccessful enemy submarine attack the south-east coast of Australia on an Allied vessel is reported in a High Command communique issued’to-day. This stated that the was by gunfire. The precise locality is at present not revealed. The fact that gunfire only was used in the attack supports the theory put forward about the Sydney and Newcastle‘shillings that the Japanese submarines now on the coast have expended all their torpedoes. ALLIED AIR ACTIVITY RAIDS ON LAE AND SALAMAUA JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CRIPPLED (Received June 10, 11.30 p.m.) SYDNEY, June 10. A communique from General MacArthUr’s headquarters says that 13 Japanese fighters were destroyed or damaged in combat when trying to prevent a heavy attack by Allied air forces on Lae and Salamaua (New Guinea) on Tuesday. Two Allied aeroplanes were lost. This engagement provided the fiercest air battle yet in the New Guinea area, yielding the biggest bag of enemy fighters yet obtained in any sphere of Australian operations. The full communique says that in Timor, at Ermera, Allied aircraft attacked enemy installations. Hits were scored on vehicles and buildings, starting fires. In New Guinea, at Lae and Salamaua, against* strong fighter and antiaircraft opposition, our Air Force heavily attacked enemy occupied areas, starting many large fires. A report from an operational base says yesterday’s Allied air attack in the New Guinea area was the longest-sus-tained daylight raid ever made in the South-west Pacific. The Japanese attempted desperately to prevent the bombers from reaching the target areas, losing at least eight of the latest type Zero fighters, which were seen to crash. Another disappeared through the clouds on fire. A tenth had its propeller shot off far' out ( at sea. Three others were damaged. A strong force of Allied fighters, accompanied by bombers, was over Salamaua, shooting down five Zero fighters. In the first attempt to intercept our machines the Japanese used * a loose string formation, but after three of their aircraft had crashed in the sea they made no further attempts to interfere.

The' bombers,, however, struck a stronger formation of Zeros in tight echelon formation with a single - Zero in the rear. The Zeros and Allied fighters were soon mixed in a series of dogfights, but the Japanese broke off the engagement after two of their aeroplanes went down in flames simultaneously. ' Dog-fight- encounters occurred Lae, our bombers, in spite of heavy clouds, dropping high explosives and incendiaries on the target area, 1 . , . \ / SHIP LOSSES IN INDIAN OCEAN THREE MERCHANT VESSELS SUNK (Received June 10, 9 p.m.) CAPE TOWN, June 10. The Simonstown naval authorities announce that three merchantmen have been lost near the east coast of southern Africa. * A London message states that a Japanese submarine machine-gunned survivors of a native vessel which it had torpedoed, while they were clinging to the wreckage, says the , Colombo correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph. Eleven of the 18 members, of the crew were killed by bullets, drowned, or taken by sharks. The survivors were finally picked up; by a British cruiser. TORPEDOED IN THE ATLANTIC ■I ■ (Received June 10, 11.30 p.m.) - WASHINGTON. June 10. The United States Navy Department announced that a medium-sized Norwegian merchantmen was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic. Forty-three survivors have reached an east coast port. Five of the crew are missing. BRITISH SUBMARINE’S SUCCESS . , ITALIAN VESSELS SUNK (8.0. W.) 'RUGBY, June 9. An Admiralty communique states that His Majesty’s Submarine Turbulent has carried out a very successful patrol in the Central Mediterranean, where she effectively attacked the Axis supply lines to Libya. In the course of her patrol, Turbulent sank three medium-sized supply ships, an Italian destroyer of 1628 tons of the Navigated class, and a small merchant vessel. Two Italian destroyers were sighted escorting two heavily-laden supply ships of medium size. The Turbulent attacked and sank, not only both supply ships, but also one of the escorting destroyers. The third supply ship was part of another convoy. A small merchant vessel laden with explosives was also sunk. The Turbulent is commanded by Lieutenant-Commander John Warwick Linton, R.N., D.S.C., who now has 14 enemy supply ships to his credit. Last year he was awarded the D.S.C. for his determination in attacking three Italian supply ships while he was in command of the submarine Pandora, BLIMPS COLLIDE MEN KILLED IN SECRET EXPERIMENTAL WORK (Received June 10, 11.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, June 9. The bodies of four men who were killed when two Navy blimps collided in mid-air four miles from the New Jersey coast last night, have been recovered from the sea, but a search is continuing for the bodies of eight men still missing. The cause of the crash has not been determined. A Naval court of inquiry is investigating. The blimps were engaged in a secret experiment for the Navy at the time of the crash, but the Navy has not revealed the nature of the. experiment However, the office for Scientific Research and Development at Washington has issued a statement about the tragedy. “These men,” it stated, “lost their lives in an accident encountered in an experimental flight in connexion with important scientific war research, giving their lives for their country as truly |as any soldier or sailor killed in 1 battle.”