WAR NEWS

Evening Star, Issue 25472, 1 May 1945, Page 6

WAR NEWS

U.S. HOSPITAL SHIP ATTACKED BY JAPANESE SUICIDE PLANE HITS SURGERY WASHINGTON, April 29. A heavy hospital ship named Corafort was attacked and heavily damaged by Japanese aircraft about 50 miles to tne south of Okinawa on Saturday evening, savs Admiral Nimitz's communique. "A Japanese plane which made a suicide attack is still on the Comfort. The vessel was evacuating wounded from Okinawa, and the •casualties suffered were 29 killed. 33 seriously wounded, and one missing, including patients, passengers, and members of the crew. At the time of the attack she was operating under full hospital procedure, and was clearly marked and ftthy lighted. She is proceeding to port under her own power. The Japanese suicide plane in clear weather and perfect visibility dived directly against the Comfort, gleaming white amid hundreds of drab or camouflaged ships, reports the Associated Press correspondent on board a flagship off Okinawa. The Comfort at first reported she was abandoning ship, but soon found she was able to proceed in spite of damaged rudder mechanism, necessitating hand steering. The ship signalled for doctors and surgical instruments, indicating that the suicide plane hit the after part'of the surgery, where doctors and nurses were busy with the most severely woanded. On the same day, before dawn,'another Japanese plane dropped two bombs near another hospital ship which was .brightly lighted and far from other vessels. Both bombs narrowly missed.

By contrast, the Americans even put up an air patrol over Japanese hospital ships to prevent our planes from bombing them by mistake. The Americans carefully avoided hitting lighted hospital ships in the much-bombed llabaul Harbour.