IN NEW BRITAIN

Grey River Argus, 24 December 1943, Page 4

IN NEW BRITAIN

TERRIFIC ALLIED BOMBING Enemy Ships Hit (Special to N.Z. Press Assn) (Rec. 9.45.) SYDNEY, Dec. 23. Allied fighters smashed an attempt by a hundred Japanese aircraft to attack the American invasion troops at Arawe, in New Britain. Brilliant Allied interception turned the enemy’s first large scale aerial assault mto disaster. Sixteen Japanese planes were destroyed. Four others were probable destroyed. About half of the attacking force failed to reach targets. The targets included shipping as well as land objectives. The enemy dive-bombers and escorting fighters which managed to penetrate the aerial defensive screen took a severe mauling. Thev caused little damage. It is revealed that Australian-man-ned Spitfires are now being used over New Britain

Massive Allied bombing attacks against the Japanese at Cape Gloucester are being maintained with relentless vigour. Liberators and Mitchells in their latest raid pounded the area with 205 tons of explosives, bringing the total for the oast ten days to more than two thousand tons. Since the beginning of the month Cape Gloucester has received 2500 tons of bombs, and has been straffed with hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. Japanese shinning throughout the South-west Pacific area is being heavily punished. General MacArthur’s communique to-day reports attacks by Catalinas on two vessels in the Northern New Ireland area. Direct bomb hits were scored, and one ship of six thousand ton s capsized and sank instantly. A Liberator from the Solomons sank an enemy transport in the same locality. A Japanese destroyer was. hit north of Massau Island. Long-range fighters destroyed a coastal vessel near Gasmata. in New Britain Australian troops continue to rout the Japanese forces in the coastal belt of Huon Peninsula. The enemy is in disorderly retreat, and is imperilled by the weakened supply line. Enemy dead are strewn along both the coastal and inland trials on the peninsula. Australian tanks entered the village of Hubika, an importast point on the Japanese barge S 1 route, on Tuesday afternoon. They had made rapid progress .from Lakona, two air miles to the south A. count revealed 354 enemy killed/ Some of the Japanese in the area died from starvation. . Captured enemy equipment includes anti-tank guns, mines and flame-throwers.