200 PLANES—AND SHIPS

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 September 1944, Page 6

200 PLANES—AND SHIPS

JAP. LATEST LOSSES

U.S.A. BOMBERS ACTIVE (Rec. 12.20 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Sept. 13. Carrier planes continued the attack against the Philippines- on Monday and destroyed . 200 Japanese planes, of which 150 were on the ground. They also destroyed several cargo ships in day-long ' raids on Cedu, Negros and Panay Islands. A Pacific Fleet communique, announcing this, says that preliminary reports are fragmentary, but the air 'operations are continuing 1 against strong enemy opposition. Numerous smaller craft were sunk in- addition to several cargo ships in the initial attacks. ' The communique also reports that search planes bombed and strafed Paramushiro on Sunday. The principal targets were the water front installations along the south coast. Several fires were started and two medium cargo ships near Paramushiro suffered direct bomb hits. Smaller craft were strafed. On the same day Shimushu was bombed by search planes and on Monday Mitchells bombed and strafed a number of vessels in Shimushu harbour, sinking one medium and four small cargo vessels. Two others were damaged. Venturas on the same day bombed and strafed Paratnushiro, Araito and Onnekotan, setting fire to docks and warehouses. Liberators on Sunday dropped 26 tons of bombs on airfields at Iwokima, starting largefires.

Catalinas bombed an ammunition dump on Nauru on Monday and Corsairs hit storage magazine areas on Jaluit. Thunderbolts, using bombs and rockets, attacked the Marianas. LATER.

The Associated Press correspondent at Pearl Harbour said: The wording of the communique suggests an. aeriai battle of major proportions is developing over the Philippines zMchipelago/ Apparently, the Japanese are building up aerial strength the depredations of Admiral Halsey s carriers which began with attacks against the Palau group on September 5.

SAIPAN SUICIDES

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13

Ten thousand Japanese a civilians killed themselves on'Saipan, saic Marine Captain Milton Sperling, addressing 20,000 shipbuilding employees. He added that husbands cut their wives throats, mothers stabbed their children and men shot, stabbeci and bludgeoned their parents. Some committed suicide with hand grenades and others jumped from cliffs. It was inconceivable to the American, yet it was typical Japanese psychology. “The Japanese are fanatics who refuse to surrender even when the situation is entirely helpless.” TOKIO 'EVACUEES. NEW YORK, September 13. Tokio official radio says: The Home Minister, Shigeo Odachi, has disclosed that 1,000,000 of Tokio’s 7.000,000 population have already evacuated the city because of the danger of air raids. ATTACKS ON CELEBES. (N.Z.P.A. Special Australian Correspondent) SYDNEY, September 13. Allied airmen from the South-west Pacific have made another devasiming raid on Japanese positions m tne Celebes. Liberators, attacking m two waves on Saturday, sniasned ainieiciu and shipping with a bomb load of 200 tons. " . ~ x Allied bombers m me last, eight days have dropped more than 1000 tons of explosives on Celebes targets. The main attacks have been concentrated on the big Japanese base at Manado. In Saturday’s raid, aerodromes, barracks, and waterironi installations were hit, a 2000-tpn freighter was sunk, and a 4000-tqn yess&i forced to beach after a direct .hit ano near miss. The latest communique o.i the South-west Pacific Command also reports a large-scale bombing attack on Boeroe (Ceram), where airfields, oil installations, and coastal defences were hit with 126 tons of bombs. Neither over the Celebes nor over Ceram did the Allied bombers encounter fighter opposition, but intense anti-aircraft fire at Ceram cost us three aeroplanes. Night air patrols in the latter area sank or seriously damaged a 3000-ton vessel anti two smaller freighters. . In New Guinea the mopping up or Japanese remnants continues. Five hundred more enemy troops have been killed. 116 prisoners taken, and 25 friendly nationals freed.

(Rec. 1.35 p.m.) SYDNEY, Sept. 14. General MacArthur’s bombers have continued the reduction of the Japanese forward bases in the Celebes, pounding the area with a further .125 tons of bombs. In the past four or five days more than 500 tons of bombs have been dropped on these targets. South-west Pacific Command bombers also raided an airfield near Zaoboanga on Mindanao (Southern Philippines).