KAVIENG BOMBED

Grey River Argus, 6 April 1943, Page 5

KAVIENG BOMBED

DOZEN JAP SHIPS SUNK OR DISABLED Four More Possibles (Special to N.Z. Press Assn.; (Rec. 10.30) SYDNEY, April 5. General MacArthur’s Communique to-day records the successful completion of the battle at Kavieng in the island of New Ireland (northeast of New Britain) against the Japanese concentration or. shipping there.

: The Communique says: In New i Ireland, at Kavieng, on striking again ' before dawn, our heavy, units exe cut•ed co-ordinated low-level bombing ■ attacks on enemy shipping, scoring direct hits with heavy .bombs on I three and possibly four vessels. A (light cruiser or a destroyer was hit i with a- five-hundred pound bomb on the ; foredeck, resulting in an explosion, followed by; clouds of black ] smoke. A direct hit, from mast height, exploded on the bow of a' dej stroyer, while a bomb which overshot., possibly hit an eight-thousand ton cargo vessel anchored close by. ' A six thousand-ton merchant ship reI ceived a direct hit amidships, which was followed by a large explosion. I Bombs were dropped on, another de- \ stroyer, and what was probably a submarine tender, but the darkness and searchlight glare prevented observation of the results. Simultaneously the aerodrome was effectively bombed ai)d neutralised. There was no attempt at interception, and all our aircraft returned. The enemy’s naval concentration at Kavieng has now been completely destroyed, or dispersed, and the Kavieng battle, which commenced on Friday and extended through Saturday and Sunday, can be regarded as completed. In the engagement seven enemy warships of the cruiser or destroyer type, and five' merchant vessels, aggregat- ; ing thirty-six thousand tons, were j either sunk or heavily damaged three I additional enemy destroyers and one ■ eight-thousand ton merchant ship I were attacked, and were possibly l damaged, but accurate observation iof the results was not obtained. Our own losses were limited entirely to damage to the planes, all of which returned to* base. Our force consisted of ten heavy bombers in the first attack, and eight in the succeeding two. Each strike involved a flight of eleven hundred miles. Factors contributing to this decisive victory were special, oattle technique developed for this attack, the neutralisation of enemy airfields, the utilisation of darkness as a screen, and the (accomplishment of an initial surprise effect obtained by an extraordinary extension of our bomber range of attack.”

AMAZING SUCCESS

In Three-day Attack ONLY 26 BOMBERS USED, i • NEW SECRET BATTLE TECHNIQUE. (Special to N.Z. Press Assn.) (Rec. 10.15.) SYDNEY, April 5. The Japanese naval and merchant shipping concentration at Kavieng has been either destroyed or dispersed. General MacArthur’s,latest communique tells a graphic story of the three day attack in which seven warships and five merchantmen were sunk, or were heavily damaged. Specially selected Flying Fortress crews used a new secret battle technique against the enemy ships gathered at the northern end of New Ireland The victory of the strictly limited Fortress fleets (a grand total of only twenty-six planes being employed) ranks with the Bismarck Sea battle as one of the greatest air feats of the war. Only to-day did General MacArthur’s spokesman reveal that the three day action was al carefully planned - battle, and not merely a succession of follow up blows on a chance target. Every pilot was a veteran especially chosen for th e job. No more striking indication of the success obtained could be given than by the official “box score,” which was released to-day. This analysis of the three day battle reads: Warships:—Saturday: Heavy cruiser, four direct hits, sinking: light cruiser, four direct hits, sunk; destroyer, two direct hits, sinking; two destroyers, direct hits, both damaged; two warships, bombed, with unobserved results. Warships:—Sunday: Light cruiser or. heavy destroyer, one direct hit, damaged; destroyer, a direct hit, damaged; destrover, bombed with unobserved results. Cargo ships:—Friday: Ten thousand tonner, two hits, damaged; six thousand tonner, straddled, sinking. Cargo ships:—Saturday: Six thousand tonner, direct hits, damaged. Cargo ships:—Sunday: Seven thousand to eight thousand tonner bombed, with unobserved results; six thousand to eight thousand tonner, hit, damaged; five thousand to six thousand tonner, direct hits, damaged. Over the three days ten merchantmen have been sunk, damaged or liombed with unobserved results. The official story of the attacks indicated that the Japanese “scarcely knew what hit them.” For three days the Allied pilots contrived to continue the element of surprise. On the first day they caught dispersed enemy ships absolutely off guard. Not a bomb was wasted. Several of tne twentv-six bombers employed were engaged, not against enemy shipping, but in neutralising the Kavieng aerodrome. Nevertheless, on the second day of the, battle, a total force: of fewer tha n a dozen planes registered the amazing perfoinnance of scoring eleven direct hits with five hundred pound bombs, in addition to two damaging near misses and two straddlers.”