NO OPPOSITION

Evening Star, Issue 25113, 1 March 1944, Page 5

NO OPPOSITION

RABAUL BOMBED AGAIN FOURTEEN ENEMY BARGES DESTROYED ' (N.Z.P.A. Special Aust. Correspondent); SYDNEY, Feb. 29. More than 200 Allied Solomons-based planes attacked Rabaul on Saturday, and for the eighth successive day they, found the skies clear of Japanese aircraft. The raiding force, which attacked in three waves from the middle of the morning to mid-day, comprised Liberator, Mitchell, Dauntless, and Avenger bombers, escorted by Lightning, Corsair, War&awk, and Hellcat fighters. •' Four targe warehouses were destroyed, three pters wrecked, and 14 barges sunk. At Duke of York Island, just north of Rabaul, a , cargo ship was hit and left sinking. On the last occasion when the Japanese attempted Zero interception over Rabaul they lost : 26 fighters. WEWAK RECEIVES ATTENTION. Wewak, the enemy air base on tha'S New coast, west of Madang.Jk was hit with 153 tons of tombs during - the week-end. The stepped-up offensive has been maintained against Wewak during the past week, when the area has 'been hit with 487 tons of bom'bs in five days. The main targets for the latest raid were airfields ■ at But and Dagua and Aitape. At Birfc ' and Dagua, fires destroyed five parked planes, with four others probably destroyed. At Aitape 18 grounded aircraft were destroyed or damaged. It is more than a fortnight since Japanese fighters took off from Wewak to resist the Allied bombing offensive. They lost seven planes in combat on that occasion. Their subsequent losses in grounded aircraft have been heavy. Wewak has been the chief enemy air base in New Guinea. Continuing their raids on the Admiralty Islands, Allied airmen encountered no fighter or antiaircraft fire from Lorengau or Momota aerodromes. In attacks on Madang and Alexishafen, New Guinea, two parked bombers were destroyed and a gun position, silenced. AMERICANS ON NEW GUINEA. United States troops pushing from Saidor towards Madang have advanced through the villages of Dagur and * Sincor against light opposition from

the scattered Japanese forces. Advanced American positions are now 15 miles west of Saidor, t and the perimeter of the beachhead is also being extended into the jungle behind the coast. NAVAL BOMBARDMENT. It is now revealed that in Friday's naval bombardment of Kavieng, New Ireland, United States destroyers sank a large Japanese tanker and left on fire two cargo ships of 8,000 and 5,000 tons respectively. Two of the attacking destroyers were hit by fire from the shore batteries, suffering minor damage. Seven men were wounded. In the heaviest concentration of naval gunfire yet employed against Kavieng, thousands of 6in shells were poured into the enemy base.