MARKED DETERIORATION
JAP. PILOTS IN SOLOMONS
" SHOT DOWN LIKE DUCKS "
(N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent.)
(Ree. 10 a.m.). SYDNEY, October 25. A marked deterioration in_the ability and courage of Japanese pilots is being revealed by the Allied air offensive in the Solomons, says an Australian war correspondent in that area. "The speedy Corsairs and Grumman Hell-cat fighters havo the edge on the Zeros, and the American and New Zealand pilots are having a right royal time, 1 ' he writes. " Often the Japanese fighter pilots prefer to hide in the clouds rather than mix it—and when they do fight they are being shot down like ducks. For instance, 21 Corsairs which encountered 40 Zeros in a sweep over Ballale, in the Shortland Islands, shot down 14 and damaged two without losing a plane themselves." Ballale, which has been under repeated attack by Admiral Halsey's bombers, is a tiny flat island just large enough to accommodate an airstrip. It is an excellent proving ground for raw Allied pilots and bomb aimers.'
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Bibliographic details
Evening Star, Issue 25004, 25 October 1943, Page 2
Word Count
167MARKED DETERIORATION Evening Star, Issue 25004, 25 October 1943, Page 2
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