JAPANESE HOMELAND

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 134, 4 December 1944, Page 5

JAPANESE HOMELAND

ATTACK RENEWED

BOMBERS HIT TOKIO

(By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.) Rec. 11 a.m. WASHINGTON, Dec. 3. Brigadier Hansell's Twenty-first Bomber Command returned to Tokio today for a fourth attack against industriar objectives, says a Twentieth Air Force communique. The target was the Musashimo plant of the Nakajima Aircraft Company which was previously bombed on November 24 by the Twenty-first Bomber Command. Good results were reported.

The weather was clear, permitting visual precision bombing to be carried out. One squadron reported that 75 per. cent, of the bombs fell within' the plant area.

The last squadrons reaching the target observed several large fires in the bombing area. These were being whipped up by an unusually high wind.

Late formations encountered moderately strong fighter .opposition. They destroyed four Japanese planes and probably destroyed another eight. One Super-Fortress was lost to fighter action over the target Flack was moderate. - .

A substantial force of Super-Fort-resses based on the Marianas made the attack early on December 3. General H. H. Arnold, commander of the Army Air Forces, said that the raid was the continuation of a 'campaign to destroy Japan's industrial productive capacity.

Tokio official radio said that 70 Super-Fortresses participated in the raid, which lasted for 90 minutes. The damage was declared to be very slight and it was claimed that 15 bombers were shot down. Tokio radio also stated that Superfortresses attacked Yokohama and that fires which broke out in several places in Tokio were "controlled immediately."

Japanese fighters encountered extreme difficulties in attacking the raiders due to a strong wind between 7000 and 10,000 metres.

In addition, Tokio official radio announced that several formations of enemy aircraft were over Tokio at J* -m' on December 3, and Japanese fighters were now intercepting the raiders.