NEW GUINEA FRONT

Grey River Argus, 20 May 1943, Page 5

NEW GUINEA FRONT

AIR ACTIVITY Wau Again Attacked SLIGHT DAMAGE TO AIRFIELD. ! (Special to N.Z. Press Assn.) (Rec 8.50.) SYDNEY, May 19. The Japanese continued their air attacks against the Allied aerodrome at-Wau in Northern New Guinea on Tuesday with a raid by twenty-five Zeros, some of which carried bombs. Inis followed Monday’s raid by 43 'planes. The attacks appear to be designed to disiupt the passage of supplies to the Australian troops fighting in the Mubo area. Only ten bombs were dropped in the latest raid, but the Zeros then came down from fifteen thousand to fifty feet in order to strafe the airfield. The damage was slight and there were no casualties.

Allied air activity on Tuesday was mostly on a small scale and encompassed the enemy bases of Kavieng, New Ireland, Lorengau, Admiralty Islands, Rabaul, Arawe, Gasmata. Cape Gloucester. New Britain. Finschhafen, Lae, and New Guinea. Catalinas and Beauforts made an attack on Gasmata aerodrome while the only other heavy raid -was a predawn attack on Rabaul’s Vunakanau aerodrome, where fires were started. An encounter near Kavieng in New Ireland resulted in a Liberator on reconnaissance shooting down one of two enemy float-planes over Stetten Strait, which separates New Hanover from New Ireland.