RECORD U.S. NAVY COUP

Grey River Argus, 13 September 1944, Page 5

RECORD U.S. NAVY COUP

IN THE PHILIPPINES Big Convoy Wiped Out 52 SHIPS AND MANY SAMPANS DESTROYED. ALSO 68 PLANES. WASHINGTON, Sept. 11. . A communique from the U.S. 1 acific Fleet stated: On Friday canierbased aircraft struck enemy airfields and other military objectives on Mindanao, bombing and straiing airfields at De Monte, Valencia, Cagayan, Buayan and Davao. Enemy aircraft were encountered near our carriers, five over Cagayan and one over Davao, all being shot down. Approximately 60 enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Barracks, warehouses and hangars were hit at the several aerodromes attacked. Enemy waterfront installations at Matin’a, Cagayan and Surigao were also bombed. A convoy was discovered oft Hinatuan 'Bay, consisting of 32 loaded coastal cargo ships and 20 sampans. Pacific Fleet cruisers, destroyers and carrier aircraft brought the convoy under attack, destroying all the enemy ships. In addition, enemy shipping found in Sarg.an Bay, Davao Gulf, also near Cagayan and Surigao, was attacked, resulting in the sinking or probable sinking of 16 small cargo ships, one medium cargo ship, one patrol craft, and many sampans and the setting on fire of two small cargo ships, and at least 17 sampans. Our aircraft losses in the operations were very light, .and our surface ships were undamaged . . „ , (Rec. 11.5) WASHINGTON, Sept. 11. A spokesman of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour stated: F’art of the Third Fleet, under the command of Admiral Halsey, carrid out the first carrier strike against the Philippines. , , A United Press correspondent points out: The Japanese lost more ships in this strike than in any other single engagement of the war. A Fleet communique reports carrier aircraft attacked Palau islands on Saturday, and dropped over SO tons of bombs, and fired numerous rockets. Ack-ack emplacements and other defence installations were attacked on Angaur, Pelehu and Koror Islands. Numerous fires were started on Koror Island. A destroyer and a cargo ship, believed to have been heavily damaged in previous raids, were again attacked. Armv Liberators bombed Faramushiro on Saturday and NavyLiberators attacked Faramushiro again before dawn on Sunday. Mitchells discovered and bombed _ a convoy under way near Paramushiro on Saturday. Liberators hit runways and air facilities on Iwojima with 37 tons of bombs on Saturday. Seven to ten enemy lighters were intercepted, five or six of them being destroyed. A Navy search plane bombed and strafed a small tanker west of Iwokim.a, leaving it in flames and probably sinking. Single planes bombed Pagan Island on Friday. Fighter planes attacked Rota on Saturday. There was no interception ' at either place. Mitchells bombed an airfield and defence installations on Ponape on Friday. Liberators hit an airstrip, and ack-ack gun positions on Nauru on Saturday. Further neutralisation raids were carried out against enemy held positions in the Marshalls on Friday and Saturday, when Liberators, Corsairs and Dauntlesses hit gun positions, ammunition dumps .and bivouac areas on Wotje, Mili and Jaluit.

Air Raids in Celebes MACARTHUR’S SUPPORT. FOR U.S. NAVY IN PHILIPPINES. (Special to N.Z. Press Assn) (Rec. 9.30) SYDNEY, •Sept. 12. Ten Japanese airfields along a 50mile stretch from Dutch New Guinea to Celebes Island, were the main targets for MacArthur’s bombers last Saturday. These raids assisted towards neutralising 'the enenrj air power which might have been employed in counter-attacks against the American naval task force which launched F'riday’s sensationally successful strike against the big _ Japanese convoy near Mindanao,. in the Southern Philippines. The main blowby South-west Pacific bombers was on the Mapanget airfield, near Manado in the Celebes, where 160 tons of explosives were dropped. The to : al bomb load delivered on Japanese bases in the Celebes during the past seven days has exceeded seven hundred tons. Airfields and shipping have been the chief objectives. .There has been no enemy air opposition to the latest raids. United States Navy Catalina flyingboats, maintaining their night patrols over Mindanao area', added to. Japanese shipping losses in the area by scoring direct bomb hits on two seven-thousand ton freighters. A weak resuscitation of Japanese offensive air power in this theatre was evident on Saturday night, when .ten enemy bombers raided the Allied airfields on the Owl and Biak Islands, on Dutch New Guinea. American night fighters shot down two of the raiders. U.S SUBMARINES SINK FIVE VESSELS A Navy communique stated:— United States submarines in the Pacific and Far East sank one destroyer, one escort vessel, one gunboat, four medium cargo vessels, and two small tankers.