JAPANESE RAID ORO BAY

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23949, 17 May 1943, Page 5

JAPANESE RAID ORO BAY

Sixteen Planes Shot Down

AMERICAN AIR SUCCESS (Special Australian Corresp., N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 10.30 p.m.) SYDNEY. May 16. In another furious air battle over Oro Bay in northern New Guinea on Friday 16 of 45 Japanese raiders were shot down and six more probably destroyed. The Japanese were hurled back before they had caused more than slight damage. This latest performance by Ameri-can-manned fighters ranked with their feat of April 11 in the same area when of 45 enemy aeroplanes they accounted for 17 definitely destroyed and six more probably destroyed. From the latest air combat every one of our pilots emerged unscathed while Allied aeroplane losses are reported as "minor.” This New Guinea success follows close on the heavy Japanese air defeat in all-fighter combat over the Russell Islands, 30 miles north of Guadalcanar in the Solomons. American fighters there shot down 17 and probably destroyed two more of a force of 25 Zeros. The Americans lost five aeroplanes, but two pilots were rescued. General MacArthur’s communique reporting the Oro Bay raid says: “Twenty enemy bombers escorted by 25 fighters raiding the area were successfully intercepted and driven off by our fighters before causing more than slight damage and casualties. In air combat we shot down nine enemy Zeros and seven bombers. Another fighter and five bombers were probably destroyed. Our air losses were minor.” Oro Bay is an important Allied base on the north-east coast of Papua just below Buna. Shipping was the probable objective of the raid, which was made by Mitsubishi medium twinengined naval bombers escorted by Zeros. Lockheed Lightning and Kittyhawk fighters numbering about the same as the Japanese total intercepted the raiders at 20,000 ft, scoring a smashing victory. The Japanese followed their daylight Oro Bay assault with an ineffectual night attack by three bombers on the Buna area. To these offensive air activities by the Japanese Allied bombers have replied with crippling blows against the enemy aerodromes used as bases for assaults on our New Guinea positions. The airfield at Gasma'ta in southern New Britain has been rendered temporarily unserviceable as a result of an attack by Beaufighters and Mitchell medium bombers and Flying Fortresses. Situated on one of a group of small islands offshore, this aerodrome is used as a halfway house by bombers from Rabaul and Kawieng bent on raiding our bases in New Guinea. The aerodrome has been bombed and strafed nine times in seven days. It is only about 6ft above sea level and the wet season in this rainfall belt of 200 in is just beginning. Incessant bombing and strafing will greatly assist the weather in making it one of the least comfort, able of Japan’s south-west Pacific air bases. Enemy aerodromes at Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Wewak and Boram m northern New Guinea, have also been under attack by Flying Fortresses 1 and Liberators. Fires on the Wewak and nearby Boram aerodromes are believed to have indicated burning aircraft,

WAR AGAINST JAPAN

POSSIBLE ALLIED ACTION

SPECULATE IN WASHINGTON: •, . . , WASHINGTON, May 14. The United States landing on the important Japanese base of Attu in the Aleutians is claimed as the first concrete evidence of the speeding up in the war against Japan, An indication of the Allied leaders’ , interest in the Pacific theatre is the fact that the projected meeting of the Pacific War Council on Thursday was postponed until next week because it was inconvenient for Mr Churchill to attend, and he had expressed himself as particularly anxious to take part in the Pacific discussions. The Washington correspondent of the United Press states that Mr Churchill and Mr Roosevelt are believed to be planning a big autumn campaign in Burma to open the route to China and provide bases for an attack on the Japanese homeland. The campaign could not be smarten before the autumn, because the summer monsoon has already begun. However, such an offensive does not preclude strong interim blows against Japan, of which the landing on Attu is the first, The well-known radio commentator, Raymond Gram Swing, states that the meeting between General Mac Arthur and Admiral Halsey also “vividly suggests Pacific action. Both men are supreme in their fields, and there L a reasonable assurance that their meeting will spell combined sea, land, and air operations of an important character.’’ Air Power Needed The New York "Herald-Tribune’s" military commentator states that General Mac Arthur and Admiral Halsey, like Marshal Fpch, believe in “attack, attack.” They will now have the opportunity to put their principles into effect. Some correspondents suggest that attacks in the Pacific will be designed to prevent the Japanese withdrawing their forces to meet the main threat from India, and from concentrating reserves to meet the ultimate attack against Japan itself. The New York “World-Telegram" emphasises the need for more air power in China and the southern Pacific to strike against Japan. The paper states that Australia and China should also be given places on the Allied War Council. It is almost universally accepted that a likely objective for the Allied drive in the Pacific is Japan’s key southern base of Rabaul, which lies in the southwest Pacific command area, states the special correspondent of the New Zealand Press Association in a message from Sydney. A correspondent of the Associated Press states: "At present the Allied forces in the south and south-west Pacific hold positions from which a two-pronged offensive may be aimed at Rabaul. The closest co-ordination is essential for such an offensive, with General Mac Arthur pushing to the north-westward from New Guinea and Admiral Halsey closing in from the Solomons in a pincer movement. Until now, operations by these two commanders have not been directed against the same strategic objective, but they now have the opportunity to organise and co-ordinate major joint operations.” No official'definition has yet been made of the individual responsibilities of the two commanders. The southwest Pacific headquarters goes no further than indicating that in any joint naval, land, and air action within the south-west Pacific area the command would still be General MacArthur’s. Prospects of Action While General MacArthur’s headquarters is reticent about the details of the discussions between General Mac Arthur and Admiral Halsey and about the possibility of a joint offensive action, the war commentators generally see in their meeting the prospects of early action. An American correspondent at an advanced south Pacific base states that it is reported unofficially that General Mac Arthur and Admiral Halsey have planned an offensive stretching from the Marshall Islands through New Guinea to the East Indies. However, most commentators are content to make a more modest assessment of the

possible scope of any Allied offensive in this area. Admiral Halsey flew to Australia a month ago to meet General Mac Arthur. His’ arrival, presence, and departure were closely-guarded secrets. Even war correspondents cautiously referred to him among themselves as “that seafaring gentleman.” However, the admiral’s incognito was partially destroyed on the first day of his arrival. Wearing slacks and a loose leather jacket, he took a stroll down a city shopping centre. People passed him, hesitated, and then turned round for a closer look. It was soon obvious that Admiral Halsey had been recognised. The admiral may have thought that he was recognised from published photographs. which are not ordinarily a good likeness, but the real secret of the discovery was the left breast of his jacket, on which was stencilled his name, •