WAR OF BARGES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 31, 5 August 1943, Page 5

WAR OF BARGES

TACTICS OF JAPANESE

COUNTERED BY BOMBERS

(Special P.A. Correspondent.) SYDNEY, August 4. Nearly 200 Japanese barges have been sunk or badly damaged by aircraft and surface units of General Mac Arthur's command during the past ten days. Some of them were up to 140 feet in length; many were being used as troop-carriers.

General Mac Arthur's communique today says that these 200 barges would have been sufficient to provide transport for an entire Japanese division of 15,000 men. A large number of destroyed barges undoubtedly did contain troops, and the.enemy losses, both in personnel and materials, must have been heavy. ■ ~. '".' •' .•.. ~ n -War correspondents suggest that the destruction of so many tiarges, together with much fuel and ammunition, must constitute a crippling loss to the hardpressed Japanese garrisons in New Guinea. In reeent'weeks, there has been evidence that the Japanese are now favouring the use of barges rather than larger ships for transport and Our "aircraft in- intensified attacks during the past few days have sought out and destroyed enemy barges m their hide-outs along the coasts of New Ireland and New Britain and New Guinea, as well as in the Solomons. CRAFT SOUGHT OUT. General Mac Arthur's communique today reports attacks by Mitchell medium bombers yesterday afternoon on a concentration of 20 barges at Borgen Bay, in the Cape Gloucester area of New Britain. Presumably these barges were preparing to. run across to the.Huon Gulf, when they were surprised by a large force of our aircraft. Bombs blew up half the barges which carried a valuable cargo of ammunition. The remainder were either destroyed or badly damaged. ■ >

At Finschhafen, on the New Guinea side of the New Britain-New Guinea suDply route, other Mitchells yesterday discovered nine barges hidden in the Mape River. All were destroyed by our bombs and a large motor-launch was also left blazing. Further evidence of Allied aerial domination of the South-west Pacific sea-lanes was a night attack by a patrolling Catalina on two unidentified enemy vessels in Dampier Straits, western New Britain. It is thought that the vessels were destroyers. Direct hits were scored on one. Two violent explosions followed, and the ship is believed to have been sunk.