PACIFIC BOMBINGS

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 April 1943, Page 5

PACIFIC BOMBINGS

VIGOROUS ATTACKS CONTINUE BUKA MAIN TARGET 'SYDNEY, April 6. To-day’s communique from General MacArthur's headquarters is:—Dutch New Guinea: Our medium units bombed, the enemy-occupied village of Timika, starting fires. In Sekar Bay our heavy bombers attacked a 4000-ton enemy cargo ship, scoring close misses with 50001 b. bombs. The damage could not be ascertained. Solomons: At Buka our medium bombers executed an extended night harassing raid on the aerodrome and adjacent town areas. For three and ahalf hours our aeroplanes cruised oyer the target, dropping fragmentation bombs on dispersal bays and the runway; and in Chinatown and Kakil numerous intense fires occurred, lasting more than two hours. These appeared to be burning aircraft. Searchlights and anti-aircraft fire of all calibres were encountered. AU our aeroplanes returned. - New Britain: In Wide Bay, one of our heavy units bombed and strafed a small enemy surface craft off Zungen point. In Open Bay one of our heavy units bombed Übili village, and the jetty at Ulamona. At Cape Glouc ester our heavy bombers twice raided the aerodrome, bombing and strafing the runway and dispersal area. New Guinea: At Madang one of our heavy units bombed the aerodrome and building area. At Saidor one of our heavy units strafed villages in the area. One of our heavy units bombed the aerodrome at Finschhafen. One of our heavy bombers at mid-day raided the aerodrome at Salamaua.

Ja¥. SHIPPING STRENGTH

(N.Z.P.A. Special Australian Correspondent.)

SYDNEY, April 6. A Japanese light cruiser is beached at Kawieng. in NeW Ireland. Reconnaissance after the three-day aerial battle in this area, which resulted in at least 12 enemy warships and merchantmen being sunk or damaged, shows that some shipping remains in the harbour. This information was released to-day by a spokesman at General MacArthur’s headquarters. It is thought that some of the ships remaining may be immobilised by damage from our bombing attacks. 'Asked by war correspondents if the enemy shipping concentration at. Kawieng could be taken to mean that earlier heavy Allied attacks on Rabaul, in New Britain, had forced the enemy to make plans for the development of the port of Kawieng to relieve the pressure on Rabaul, the spokesman replied that recent reconnaissance showed that the enemy s shipping concentration at Rabaul remained normal. There was no evidence of a reduction in Japanese strength at that busy base. The war and merchant shipping attacked at Kawieng had been an entirely new concentration and did not comprise vessels moved from the Rabaul area.

AERIAL SUPERIORITY

NEW YORK, April 6

Alter analysing the communiques from the Pacific in the past five weeks in the New York “HeraldTribune,” Major Eliot concludes:— “Whatever trie respective numerical strength, the Allies possess a clearlydefined aerial, superiority. Evidence suggests that the Japanese have been sacrificing quality for quantity. During the period ol' five weeks under review, the Allies have mauq 244 attacks against, ground installations. compared with Japan’s thirty. Allied aircraft have sunk ’qirdajnaged 22 warships, and 63 merchantmen. Th.e Allies have lost no warships. They have lost four merchantmen. The operations have cost Japan 318 aircraft, and the Allies 17. There is no escape from the conclusion that the quality of the Japanese air force is far below that of the American and Australian units.

* KAISER’S SUPER-PLANE.

NEW YORK, April 6

Mr. Henry Kaiser declared his intention of building immediately _ a large metal plane capable of flying 17.500 miles non-stop. He described the plane as of the Flying Wing type which could •be loaded with fuel and bombs and could bring to Tokio havoc and destruction such as was visited on Pearl Harbour. Mr. Kaiser is already building giant plywood planes in collaboration with Mr. Howard Hughes. The first aircraft-carrier constructed at Mr. Henry Kaiser’s shipyards lias been christened by Mrs. Roosevelt the Alazon Bay. Washington has coined a pseudonym for Mr. Kaiser, namely “Sir Launchalot. The Alazon Bay is a new type ol escort carrier. This type is being built for the British and American Navies. There are 11 sister carriers in various stages of construction at Mr. Keiser's yards. The Alazon Bay was launched lour months alter the keel was laid. She has a waterline length ol 487 feet and a flight deck 514 te.et long. Previously Mr. Kaiser promised that these carriers would be launched at the rate ol: from three io six per month.

MR. HUGHES CRITICISED

NEW YORK, April 5. ‘•The Australians could not defend the Pacific islands they demanded at the Paris Peace Conference. They could not defend their own continent when the Japanese approached. Mr. Hughes, the Australian Prime Minister, did not see ahead, and President Wilson too feebly defended the principle which might have saved Australia from its terrors, the British Empire from its losses, and the Philippines from the invader. The formerly isolationist “Chicago Tribune” makes this editorial comment in a scathing attack on Mr. W. M. Hughes, spokesman for Australia at the Paris Peace Conference after the Great War. and still a powerful force in Australian politics. "We look back on Mr. Hughes almost with awe,” says the newspaper, "not tor his matchless achievements but for the lasting mischief one physically infirm man with a cutting tongue could do as representative of a small country. Mr. Hughes insisted on the division of Pacific island spoils so that Japan received all those north of the equator. If any one person put the Japanese in Malaya, Singapore, and Burma, it was Mr. Hughes, who contemptuously dismissed President Wilson’s idea that these islands should be held' in trust by a disintei; r ested nation. Mr. Hughes did jubilantly and offensively what nice handling. ‘ It was his masterstroke of statesmanship which armed the Japanese 'bases for attack.

MR. HUGHES’ DENIAL.

(Rec 12.50 p.m.) , _ SYDNEY, April 7

“The attack must emanate from troglodytes, who still remain in the isolationist camp,” declares Mr. Hughes, replying to the “Chicago Tribune’s” assertion that he was rernonsible for Japan getting the Pacific islands, which she has developed " “The statement is a string of blazing inaccuracies. The truth is the Japanese annexed these islands when the 1914-18 war broke out, and fore--1 stalled an expeditionary force Australia had equipped at the reouest of Britain to take possession of them,

on behalf of the Allied Powers. The Japanese subsequently delivered to Britain what amounted to an ultimatum, in which they made it clear that unless their permanent possession of these islands was assured, they would range themselves on the side of Germany. At that time, I was not Prime Minister, and had never heard of Japan’s demands.” Mr. Hughes added that if President Wilson had opposed the granting to Japan of a mandate over the islands north of the Equator, they would never have got it, “For one thing I am responsible, and that is the grant to Australia of mandates over New Guinea and other islands south of the Equator,” said Mr. Hughes. “But for that, the Japanese would long ago have overwhelmed Australia from bases only a few minutes away from our mainland.”

JAP. PRISON CAMPS.

RUGBY, April 6. The War Secretary (Sir J. Grigg) answering a Commons question said the delegate of the International Red Cross Committee in Tokio had visited six camps near Osaka, and seven near Fukuoka. Telegrams from Geneva specially mentioned the good morale in the latter groups, but there was little further information. Two of the six camps near Osaka contained Dutch from Java. The other four contained Americans and British, the latter from Hong Kong. The officer-in-charge of these camps was said to be correct and understanding in his attitude to the prisoners. There was a prisoner of war doctor in each camp, and the sick were also visited by Japanese doctors. Men were employed in various types of work for which they received working pay. The Japanese provided a certain amount of clothing but more was needed. Food rations were reported satisfactory in quality, but not very substantial, and naturally of the Japanese type. Each man was allowed between 150 to 200 cigarettes monthly. Some British prisoners had already received supplies which were sent, through diplomatic exchange ships. The Red Cross delegate was taking action to obtain more clothing, medical supplies, games and literature. Some tnousands of letters had been delivered to the Prisoners in Japan. and Japanese occupied territory, and a further distribution was in project as the sorting proceeded.

PLANTER’S ADVENTURES

(N.Z.P.A. Special Australian Correspondent)

SYDNEY, April 5. A member of the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, Private J. L. Stokie. is knowm as “the man who fought a single-handed rearguard action ap'ainst the Japanese.” The owner ol a plantation on New Britain, he wa., at Rabaul when the enemy occupied the town in January. 1942. Until March of this year he defied mten sive efforts by the Japanese patrols to capture him. .* . Recently Private Stokie arrived at Port Moresby with three American airmen whom he had located in the New Britain jungle. The airmen were survivors of the crew ot a bomber which crashed in the _ sea ■ >ftn>- a raid on Rabaul. Foi 1 months before they joined forces with Private Stockie, the Americans ■ suffered frightful hardships. They lived with natives, ate grasshoppers, I'zards, caterpillars, and grubs, and wac-ed' a continuous fight against sickness. Two other members ol the party W’ere captured by the Japanese, and a third died. Private Stokie wdnt to his plantation after the Japanese occupied Rabaul. He first submitted to native mumbo-jumbo, designed -to m£ *ke him bullet-proof and invisible to the enemy. The Japanese sent Private stokie two notes inviting him to sur-render—-but he found time to plant 50 acres of native food and 2000 coconut trees before he was compelled m take “avoiding action.” When he heard that American airmen were ip the jungle, he sent them a letter by native carrier. It read. “To the three airmen at --. 1 hear you are with the natives. Il you care to join me, I can arrange it. 1 have plenty of food and a small supply of medicine, and as soon as the north-west season is over I plan to reach Port Moresby by canoe. _ It you earn io come along I can take you. I have had no news since February. Have you any? Cheerio, ana best‘of good luck. The airmen said they knew the writer was an Australian by his “cheerio.” Private Stokie said the natives had reported to him that the Japanese Rabaul were terrified by the Allied air raids. When our bombers appeared they ran for the bush..