FOR THIRD DAY

Grey River Argus, 19 February 1945, Page 5

FOR THIRD DAY

BOMBING OF TOKIO Kept up by U.S. Navy [Aust. & N.Z. Press Association.] WASHINGTON, February 16. Admiral Nimitz reported on Friday that naval carrier aeroplanes were still attacking Tokio area, where observation had shown substantial damagfe. The Tokio’ radio said on Friday the carrier strike had lasted nine hours. Interceptors scored considerable results. The raiders mainly attacked aerodromes from which interceptors have engaged Super-Fortresses. An Associated Press correspondent on Guam Island said: Returning Super-Fortress pilots who flew over Tokio while Navy Hellcats and Avengers spat death at the capital, said smoke plumed 7,000 feet. Scores of enemy ’planes were damaged on the ground. The Fleet is still silent. Radio conversations between raiding pilot's provided most of the early news of tiie attacks. One pilot was heard saying, “There’s 60 ’planes aground—give ’em Hell!” Another pilot told a companion:. “There’s 50 single-engined ’planes!” A third reported he had burned thre e’planes on the ground and shot down five in the air. A naval spokesman at Washington said the Navy has a pretty good idea of the whereabouts of the entire Japanese Fleet which is still equivalent to a good sized task force. If it emerges it will be eliminated, just as quickly as it takes to sink it. The Navy has. simultaneous operations going on against Tokio, Iwo Jima and Corregidor. We have two good teams available, and there is no question that Admiral Spruance will welcome the emergence of everything the Japanese can assemble. The carrier-based bombers were capable of doing tremendous damage in concentrated industrial areas and other military targets, because of relatively low flying tactics compared with the Super-Fort-resses. 'WASHINGTON, February 17. Admiral Nimitz, U.S.A. Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific, reported on Friday: Our forces to-day have continued a bombardment of the island of Iwojima; in the Bonin Group, south of Japan. Tn spite of bad weather, Iwojima has been severely: damaged. On Thursday Army Liberators bombed Iwijima 'and Chichijima. Preliminary reports indicate that substantial 'damage was inflicted on enemy installations on Iwojima during a bombardment by battleships and cruisers on Friday. Shore batteries which fired on the bombarding forces were silenced by the Fleet, guns. The bombardment is continuing. Carrier aircraft set fire to two luggers and Probably destroyed three bombers on the ground. A Kingfisher seaplane shot down a. Zero. One of our aircraft. was destroyed by flak, but the pilot was rescued. Tokio radio stated that the shelling of Iwojima began on Friday at dawn and was still continuing ten hours later.

The radic quoted a Domei dispatch stating: “Th< bombardment of Iwojima points to the possibility of an enemy attempt at a landing in the near future because, the enemy invariably prefaces his landing operations with large-scale carrier-borne aeroplane attacks. Iwojima is our lookout post against Marianas-based Superfortresses, and the enemy High Command is believed to be in bad need of eliminating this observation point.”

NO OFFICIAL NEWS FROM U.S, CARRIER FLEET.

(Rec. 10.40.) NEW YORK, Feb. 17. Admiral Mitscher’s task force is sli]] maintaining a radio silence. “This indicates that air attacks on Tokio area are entering on the third day, or else that the fleet is shielding its withdrawal,” says the Guam correspondent of the Ass'-ciaieJ Press. Tokio has reported that many of tho Tokio residents were forced to spend practically all of Friday in shelters. A Japanese defence official warned: “We may have to spend most of our lives underground in future, as do the Berliners.” Hei added: “The -only way to be safe from low-flying strafing' carrier ’planes is to stay in dugouts thirty inches below' the ground.” (Rec. 6.30.) RUGBY, Feb. 17.

A Chungking message stated: Fourteenth Air Force ’planes bombed aerodromes at Nanking and Peking on Friday. The 'planes encountered twenty fighters. Twenty-four locomotives were destroyed on the Peking-Hankow railway. Chinesei have captured more ground near Suichwan. The Japanese attack at Man- j yung has been checked. |

THREE DAYS’ RAIDING

JAPS CLAIM 129 PLANES DOWN7O

(Rec. 6.30.) NEW YORK, Feb. 17. Tokio radio said: Six hundred car-rier-based ’planes attacked Tokio on Saturday from 7 o’clock in the morning until 1 o’clock in the afternoon, concentrating on coastal areas, in contrast with Friday's raids on air bases.

Tokio radio claims that Japanese fighters and flak on Friday shot down sixteen ’planes over Hamamatsu, six ever four over the Shizouka prefecture, eight over lhe Kana : waga prefecture, three over Shoshi F'oint, three over D.e Gumma prefecture, and three ewer Oda! > (Rec. 10.30). WASHINGTON, Feb. IS.

Tokio radio stated: One hundred and one eneniy planes were .shot down over Tokio oh Saturday, and 28 on Sunday. The damage done was slight. Seventeen Japanese planes are missing. The American Associated Press comments that Tokio’s claim that ,28 planes were shot down bn Sunday indicates that Xnerican carrier planes were continuing the attack for a' third day. Tokio radio says: Enemy planes attacking Tokio, twice bombed and machine-gunned an express - passenger train at Hamamatsu, killing several passengers. ___