ALLIED AIR ATTACKS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIII, Issue 24, 28 December 1942, Page 5

ALLIED AIR ATTACKS

WIDE AREA OF PACIFIC. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, Dec. 27. Allied aircraft of the South-West Pacific Command were active over a wide area on Boxing Day. Apart from shooting down eight Zeros over Buna they attacked targets at many points along the 1200-mile arc north and north-east of Australia.

A 6000-ton cargo vessel, bombed off the north coast of Timor, received a direct hit on the bridge. In this sector the new- Japanese airfield at Fuiloro was again strafed, grounded aircraft being destroyed. Supply installations at Laivai were attacked. When 12 Zeros intercepted an Allied reconnaissance unit near the coast of New Britain three were shot down without loss to our planes. This brings the total of Japanese fighters sihot down on Boxing Day to 11. Gasmata aerodrome was also raided and an enemy schooner at Lorengau was strafed. In' New Guinea the enemy aerodrome at Lac was attacked with unobserved results. A Navv Deoartment communique quoted in a Washington cable stales: “Arrnv Flying ,Fortresses from Guadalcanal bombed enemy shipping at Rabaul on December 25. .scoring three direct hits on a large transport or freighter and several .near hits close to three small freighters. Enemy fichtc-s took off but did not attack, our bombers.” Discussing tho attacks on Munda the New York Herald-Tribune says that Washington military circles assort that so long as losses are continuing in their present ratio Munda is a liability rather than an asset, to the Japanese, while offering Americans in tho South Pacific an easy target for further wearing down the enemy strength. The Japanese at Munda have so far lost at least 30 planes compared with two ' American I machines shot down.