RAIDS IN CAROLINES

Grey River Argus, 1 April 1944, Page 5

RAIDS IN CAROLINES

MACARTHUR’S BOMBERS Knock Out Over 150 Planes (Special to N.Z. Press Assn.) .. (Rec. 12.5.) SYDNEY, March 31. Three devastating long-rang P air attacks, this week, two of which took General MacArthur's bombers to.We Caroline Islands for the first time, cost the Japanese a great, number of ’planes either destroyed or damaged. ■The targets were as follows:— Truk, in the Carolines, the key Japanese base in the Central Pacific, where Solomons-based Liberators destroyed forty-nine parked aircraft and shot down from five to twenty ’planes in the air combat. Woleai, in the Carolines, an important Japanese air base, 380 nautical miles south of Guam, where two large fires and many explosions were caused by night attacking South-west Pacafic Command Catalina Flyingboats. Hollandia, in Dutch New Guinea, the chief Japanese air base in New Guinea, where 125 parked aircraft were destroyed or damaged. News of these smashing air blows was given to-day in a special communique from General MacArthur s Headquarters. The attacks were made on Tuesday night and during daylight on Wednesday. They resulted in the most severe air losses inflicted on the Japanese for several weeks. The assaults by , General MacArthur’s bombers on Truk and Woleai suggest that enemy bases m th e Carolines will be squeezed in a two-way air offensive, launcheo from Allied bases in the Central Pacific and South-west Pacific areas. Truk was attacked on' Wednesday, Liberators ' concentrating against Etan Island, where the Japanese have important airfields. Photographs taken following high level bombing runs at neon, show two hundred hits in the target area, the majority among workshops and hangars, parking pens and runv/ays.. Forty-nine parked aircraft (thirty-five fighters, four medium bombers and ten divebomber.;), were blown up Fires covered the area, indicating other heavy destruction. The attacking Libera-j tors first encountered intense antiaircraft fire, and were then engagea by ninety enemy fighters, which for forty-five minutes tried to break up the bombers’ formations. One Liberator was lost with others damageo. The Japanese lost from five to twenty fighters in the battle. Woleai, 460 nautical miles west of Truk, was attacked at midnight on Tuesday by South-west Pacific _Ujnted States Naval Catalinas. Fires were started and intermittent explosions followed. Woleai is probably the most westerly point in the Central Pacific yet raided by ’planes not carrier-based. It is slightly west of Guam, 380 nautical miles to the north, which was attacked by an American task force some months ago. These attacks on th P Carolines follow the northwards advance of General MacArthur’s bomber line by the recent seizure of the Admiralty Islands, Green Islands, and the St. Matthias Group in th P North Bismarck Sen Liberators were also responsible for major destruction at Hollandia, against which enemy air base two strikes were made. Before dawn, on Wednesday a raid on the airfields destroyed sixteen parked ’planes. Then, at daylight, strong formations dropped 15,600 fragmentation bombs on large concentrations of enemy 'planes only recently assembled. In this second strike ninety-two 'planes were destroyed, or were so severely damaged as to be rendered unserviceable. Forty Zeros attacked th e Allied formations. Tney were engaged by escorting Lightnings, which shot down ten Japanese fighters. Seven others were probably destroyed. The Allied losses were negligible. Returning air crews reported that all the airfields in the Hollandia area were left temporarily out of commission. The entire area was blanketed with flames, smoke rising to ten thousand feet. . These raids were a further crippling blow to the Japanese air strength) in New Guinea. Since being forced to move their air concentrations back from Wewak, Hollandia has been the Japanese main assembly area. Recent adverse weather undoubtedly assisted the Japanes P to muster the fresh air strength now so effectively disposed of. These paralysing blows did not mark the limits of air attacks reported from General MacArthur s Headquarters to-day. Rabaul had its twenty-sixth raid of the montn on Tuesday, thirty fires being startea in a supply dump, installation, ana dispersal areas. ’ . Att Wewak, New Guinea ™ne. y five tons of bombs on Wedn ®f started fires. A lugger was sunk. Along the New Britain coast R.AAj 'planes attacked enemy and personnel in weathe .