TWO JAP CONVOYS

Grey River Argus, 4 December 1943, Page 5

TWO JAP CONVOYS

Bombed Near Rabaul FOUR VESSELS HIT. SYDNEY, Dec. 3. General MacArthur’s communique to-dav reports: Our reconnaissance bombers sank a ten thousand on transport and set fire io £ av jpn° tanker in a night attack off Kaviei New Ireland. Two escorting des trovers received direct bomb hits. The tanker burst into flames for fiftv miles. The transport a i caught fire and was abandoned, and bV S™” D ? C - J3ao--e C °s^fi" e ’ r ' a "rts n a O ga^n ie reported in the Kavieng-Rabaul area. I United States Catalina s and Liberator on reconnaissance, .sighted two nnnvnvs there One consisted of ten convoys uiciu. other corner twelve large ships, ine ouki prised six ships. /iirect hits wi ? h he fl v C e a —on Xtai loss. A ten thousand transport is reported . 0 . was attacked hv Überators.. A hit caused , a 1 This was shin burst into flames abandoned and sank quickly.

HUNDREDS OF JAPANESE BELIEVED DROWNED.

(Rec. 1.15-1 . Mve' be on SS the mnXt mentioned in to-day's communique was sunk. &LLIED NAVAL CONCENTRATIONS 'LONDON, Dec. 2. News Agency despatches pom !° fteto WSt- eamall o“n y this the loosest of the world's batdefronts in the Pacific. One such desnatch from Pacific headquarters says: "Hundred" of islands form concentric rings of defences for the Jap-anese-occupied Philippines and East Indies Around the perimeter of these rings is gathering the greatest naval concentration in history-in addition to hundreds of thousands of Allied troops —all awaiting the order to attack any moment. 'ln British newspapers ‘-wo lines of thought predominate. One is that the United Nations’ plan for the future of Eastern Asia has supplied an effective counter to the much advertised Japanese “new order” for this area The other is that, with the conference an accomplished fact, military experts are already discussing ways and means of setting in motion th" “series of prolonged operations.” which the conference statement warned to be necessary to force Japan to unconditional surrender. ' KAI-SHEK’S RETURN CHUNGKING, Dec. 2. Marsha! Chiang Kai-shek arrived front' Cairo to-day.