AIR OPERATIONS IN PACIFIC

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24226, 6 April 1944, Page 3

AIR OPERATIONS IN PACIFIC

NEWLY-ARRIVED R.N.Z.A.F. SQUADRONS HEAVY BLOWS AT JAPANESE BASES (R.N.Z.A.F. Official News Service) BOUGAINVILLE, April 2. While Rabaul's airfields are being ripped up daily by Mitchell and Liberator bombers after the hopeful Nipponese have patched up the bomb craters of the previous day, other Solomons-based aircraft are systematically cleaning out the enemy's remaining supply centres. Newly-arrived R.N.Z.A.F. Dauntless and Avenger squadrons are taking a hand in this levelling task and their prowess and skill have already won praise from their American colleagues. As a result of their thorough training, which included an exercise with a United States Marine Squadron Unit, the newcomers have found it no effort to slip into the tactics and manoeuvres of actual combat. On Monday R.N.Z.A.F. dive-bombers and glide-bombers formed part of a strong Allied force which blasted underground stores inshore from Talili Bay, north-west of Rabaul. Three of many fires lit by their bombs were still sending up smoke four hours later, and reconnaissance showed. that the destruction of 16 buildings, while 18 revetted .storage bays were destroyed or damaged. After Mitchell bombers had battered Vunapope, smoke from the fires started that day were visible 70 miles away. Then, on top of that blaze, New Zealand Warhawks and United States Lightning and Airacobra fighterbombers, loaded with incendiaries, swooped down to fan the explosions and flames. In these raids Vunapope lost another 23 buildings, some of them being large warehouses. "Smoke and Dust Everywhere" "There was smoke, dust, and debris everywhere," said a New Zealand pilot yesterday after Dauntlesses and Avengers had administered their regular bomb dose to Lukunai airfield. They left the Japanese with 13 new craters to fill. Warhawks and Airacobras descended again on Rataval, in Talili Bay, and burnt up another 12 buildings. Sandwiched in with these closing punches at Rabaul have been sorties over enemy positions at Bougainville, in which supply dumps and gun-posts have come in for an accurate pasting from high explosives and fire bombs. , For two days- running Warhawks struck with great success at enemy pillboxes and supply areas t>n two small bush-clad islands at the mouth of the Tekessi river, south of Allied territory at Empress Augusta Bay. One bomb scored a direct hit on the pillboxes and the other straddled the target areas on both islands. Then two aircraft with incendiaries went in and scattered clusters widely over the main island.

In the words of Wing Commander C. W. K. Nicholls, who led the attack, “the whole island was sparkling with twinkling lights until the real fires started.”

There were four machine-gun posts on this island, but only one was Still firing when our aeroplanes withdrew after making two strafing runs for good measure. Columns dl smoke from the area could be seen at Torokina, eight miles away. Next day Warhawks sallied into the same target and exploded a. fuel dump amid a mass of flames “fend smoke. .