RAID ON NAGOYA

Grey River Argus, 20 March 1945, Page 5

RAID ON NAGOYA

2,000 TONS' OF! INICENDIARIES DROPPED. NEW YORK, March 18., On Sunday, Super-Fortresses again attacked Nagoya. The 20th. Air Force announced that a very large force of ,Marianas-based Super-Fort-resses attacked industrial targets at Nagoya to-day and dropped a great number of bombs. According to Tokio radio, 1,400 'planes participated in the raid on Kyushu Island, which lasted from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. The U.S. task force remained in adjacent, waters until 5, p.m. The raid was concentrated on airfields, with Kumamoto and other cities on Kyushu, bearing the heaviest attack.- Matsuyama, on the Shikoku and Wakayama prefecture, were also attacked. The Education Minister, Kodama, told the Diet that all schools, except the first or lower grade classes, will be closed on April 1 for one year, so that teachers and students can be closely linged with national defence and mobilisation for war production. Admiral Nimitz stated a strong carrier force attacked air bases and installations at Kyushu on Sunday. (Rec. 10.30.) NEW YORK, March 19. The “New York Times” Guam correspondent says that more than three hundred Super-Fortresses rained upwards of two thousand tons of incendiaries in a second rad on Nagoya. General Lemay said he hoped that the concentrated low-level attack would help complete the ruin of the city’s industrial section begun with not too much success on March 12. The bombs were away as the signal wasi given just as dawn was about to break over Nagoya. The SuperFortresses swooped down to within six thousand feet and unloosed their bombs over practically the same area as in the previous raid. One pilot who went on the previous raid said: “We burned Nagoya for sure this time.” “We burned hell out of it,” reported another pilot, who was over the target thirty minutes. Tokio radio says that incendiaries were dropped chiefly in the business sections. Fires at various points burned for three and a-half hours. Raids in South Japan RESUMED YESTERDAY. ENEMY CLAIMSTIVE WARSHIPS. (Rec. 1.71. NEW YORK, March 19. Tokio radio stated:. On Monday at 6 o’clock an American carrier force resumed attacks again*’! the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. Our interceptor planes at 9 o’clock were engaging in fierce battles against the enemy! planes. Tokio radio claims that Japanese aircraft, attacking the American taskforce raiding Kyushu Island, sank one battleship, one aircraft carrier, one cruiser or canter, and two destoyers, and that they damaged seven aircraft carriers, and two unidentified warships.