Caught Japanese With Their Kimonos Up
NEW YORK, April 23,
More than 25 British, American, French and Dutch warships sliced to the rim of Japan’s stolen empire when they devastated Sabang, says a United Press correspondent who witnessed the bombardment. An Allied fleet, which included a United States carrier task force, sailed from Ceylon on April 16 and zigzagged across the Bay of Bengal in open battle formation. Admiral Somerville signalled on April 18: “The target for Allied aircraft tomorrow is Sabang. So far we do not seem to have been spotted, and as the Japs’ habits are regular, I hope to catch them with their kimonos up. Once our presence is known we must expect an attack and must give a good account of ourselves.’’
At dawn on April 19 the first wave of bombers swooped down on their tiny targets. By 7 a.m. swarms of warplanes were rolling over Sabang in a continuous procession. British Barracudas flew alongside American Dauntlesses and Avengers, while around them clustered Corsairs and Hellcat fighters. Bombs hit a powerstation, coaling station, wharf, barracks, radio station and radio location station, Japanese ships in the harbour and grounded planes.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NA19440424.2.72
Bibliographic details
Northern Advocate, 24 April 1944, Page 5
Word Count
194Caught Japanese With Their Kimonos Up Northern Advocate, 24 April 1944, Page 5
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the Northern Advocate. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence . This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in