PHILIPPINES ENCOUNTER

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 December 1944, Page 4

PHILIPPINES ENCOUNTER

JAP. NAVAL LOSSES AERIAL ATTACKS WIDESPREAD . WASHINGTON, Dec. 27. “An enemy naval force comprising one battleship, one heavy cruiser, and six destroyers was located approaching Mindoro at dusk, and was immediately attacked by medium bombers and fighters and P.T. boats,” says a communique from General MacArthur’s Headquarters in the Philippines. “The repeated air assaults forced the enemy to withdraw after some fruitless shelling of the coastline. Three destroyers were sunk and hits were scored on the battleship and cruiser. Light enemy air attacks on ground positions caused minor damage. Three enemy aeroplanes were shot down. “General mopping-up operations on Leyte Island have continued, units of the 77th Division clearing a small pocket of enemy resistance in the mountains north-east of Palompon. Enemy aeroplanes, in local raids in the Tacloban area, caused minor damage. “Heavy bombers and fighter escorts affain attack Clark air base, on Luzon Island, starting large fires iij the dispersal areas. Twenty enemy aeroplanes attempted interception, 13 being shot down by fighters. We lost one. Thirty-nine aeroplanes, not previously reported, were destroyed or damaged in the attack on Monday. The total number of enemy aeroplanes destroyed in the last three days on this airfield is 124. “Our patrol aeroplanes harassed aerodromes on Lubang Island, sank a 1000-ton freighter, and shot down two enemy float planes at Laoag, on . the north-west coast. “Heavy units concentrated o 9 tons on the Puerto Princesa aerodrome and the Palawan runway, heavily damaged parked aeroplanes, and destroyed fighters. They bombed waterfront installations in Masbate harbour. Heavy and medium bombers hit aerodromes and shipping at Zamboanga and Davao, Mindanao, caus- • ing fires and explosions. Theree small freighters, a coastal vessel, a barge, and a jetty were destroyed in ; Davao Gulf. “Heavy units dropped 161 tons on I Sandakan, Kudat, and Jesselton airfields, in Borneo, hitting runways and railway shops. Patrol aeroplanes de- ; stroyed two small freighters and drove a third aground. They harassed > harbour facilities at Tawao and Bru- , nei Bay. Air patrols bombed the ’ Manado powerhouse and installations • at Maganget and Kendari, in the Cel “Medium and light bombers con- . tinued neutralisation attacks on Hal- ’ mahera bases, dropping more than . 160 tons on aerodromes, bivouacs, and supply defence areas. Fires ana ' explosions were caused. Naval air patrols demolished a bridge and two warehouses.” RAID ON TOKIO. WASHINGTON, December 28. Taking advantage of the first real- . ly clear weather encountered over Tokio, a sizeable force of Super- - fortresses bombed a teeming industrial sector for an hour and a-half, and also shot down perhaps the ; greatest number of enemy planes yet destroyed over Honshu. The Jap- , anese unsuccessfully employed a new defence technique, using smudge pots : for a smoke screen. , NEW YORK, December 28. Tokio radio reported that minor • formation of Superfortresses dropped incendiaries in the Ibaraki prefecture north of Tokio to-day. The United Press Saipan correspondent says that late photographs oi ' the Superfortresses’ raid against Tokio to-day clearly showed twelve bomb bursts on the Musashino air- ■ craft factory. The bursts covered most of the fifty acre plant which ’ may be safely assumed to be no l longer running to schedule. Superfortress crews said that they strung a ’ bombing pattern one mile long, three blocks wide, in Tokio’s dock areas. • JAPS. RAID SAIPAN. ■ (Rec. Noon). NEW YORK, December 28. , The only damage done by the Japanese warship Foray against Mindoro appears to be two grass fires, • says the Associated Press correspondent in Mindoro. Not a single shell crater marred’the airfield. During the running patrol and torpedo-boat engagements, some American craft were • inadvertently attacked by their own i aircraft. . Demonstrating the difficulty of et- ■ fectively knocking out enemy air bases, 20 Japanese bombers raided the > Saipan Superfortress base within 24 hours of the co-ordinated naval and air bombardment of Iwojima from which the raiders are believed to have come, says the Associated Saipan correspondent. Only a few of the enemy planes got close enough to drop bombs on Saipan. One of our planes was set on fire and five others were damaged. One American personnel was killed and .seven injured. Four of our night fighters destroyed three Japanese planes and flak shot down one, probably destroyed a second and : also damaged a third. JAP. AERIAL WEAKNESS. SYDNEY? December 28. In a gloomy survey of the war situation to the Jaoanese Diet, Admiral Yonai, the Minister of the Navy, said the Pacific war had entered its decisive stage in the Philippines. A broad- : cast of his speech was intercepted by the Commonwealth Department of ; Information’s listening post. Declar- . ing that control of the air was neces- ; sary to carry out operations, Admiral Yonai added: “We feel keenly that air control of the Philippines, which was originally in our grasp, has been contested in most intense battles, and recently we cannot refuse to admit that it has been to some extent seizby the enemy.” He admitted that American ail raids on Japan’s aircraft industries were aggravating the situation. Admiral Yonai concluded with an appeal to the Japanese people to give everything to make possible a strong Japanese counter offensive, since it was imperative to defend the Philippines “resolutely to the death.” NEW TYPES OF AIRCRAFT. LONDON! December 27. Rear-Admiral Ramsay, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, told the Press: There is evidence of a general improvement in the Japanese aircraft recently encountered in the Pacific. Therefore the Navy is making an effort. to rush the large-scale production of several new types of fighting aircraft, which at present are showing every promise of maintaining a technical lead. Certain types of carrier planes, developing multiple threat characteristics, could be used as strafers, dive-bombers, and rocketlaunchers. We shall retain in-fight-ers, inherently designed for air combat as the best means of coping with’ the enemy air threat, which is expected to develop in increasing intensity.