UNAVAILING SEARCH

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 1 June 1943, Page 5

UNAVAILING SEARCH

JAPANESE CONVOY ALLIED PLANES ON LOOK-OUT SUPPLIES FOR NEW GUINEA Sydney, May 31. Flying through storms and heavy clouds, Allied reconnaissance bombers have searched without result along the north New Guinea coast for the Japanese convoy of four mediumsized transports escorted by two destroyers thought to be attempting to land reinforcements and supplies in the Hansa Bay area, midway between Wewak and Madang. After a temporary improvement on Saturday, flying conditions throughout the South-West Pacific area have again deteriorated. The convoy was last seen on Saturday evening when a 5000-ton transport was damaged by a near miss and left smoking off the Hansa Bay. The absence of further news of the ships does not mean they have left New Guinea waters. They may be sheltering along the coast under the adverse weather front which protected them on their voyage to New Guinea, hiding them from air observation. If the ships have succeeded in disembarking supplies as well as reinforcements at a point along the coast east of Wewak, the gain will be a valuable one to the Japanese in the area, who have been largely dependent upon limited supplies able to be brought to them by barges hugging the shelter of the coast. However, some commentators suggest that the bombing attack by a single Liberator on Saturday may have caused the convoy to turn out of the range of Allied bombers. This has happened on earlier occasions. DAMAGING AIR STRIKES Despite storm conditions General MacArthur’s bombers on Saturday made a damaging strike against Japanese aerodromes near Wewak. Flying Fortresses dropped 13 tons of bombs, including fragmentation bombs and incendiaries in a pre-dawn raid on Wewak and Boram airfields. To-day’s communique from SouthWest Pacific headquarters reports: “An ammunition dump near an aerodrome was detonated, explosions continuing for ten minutes. Fuel fires were started and numerous other blazes in dispersal areas indicated burning aircraft. Intense anti-aircraft fire, initially encountered, was considerably diminished by the explosions of 1000-lb bombs. Many searchlights were active. Five were put out of action by low-level strafing, these being destroyed and two were probably destroyed.” Liberators made a 1500-mile roundtrip flight to attack Kendari an important enemy base in the Celebes. A jetty and 3000-ton merchant vessel were the principal targets. The movement of Japanese barges along the New Britain coast was interrupted by a Flying-Fortress on armed reconnaissance. At least five barges were destroyed in a sweep covering the Stetten Bay area. The Japanese have been making extensive use of barges to ferry supplies from Rabaul to outlying garrisons, just as they are employing them for supplying outlying New Guinea bases from Wewak. —P.A. Special Australian Correspondent.

MOPPING UP OPERATIONS

(Rec. 10.25 a.m.) Rugby, May 31. The United States Navy Department states: American army forces on Attu continued yesterday mopping up remaining Japanese pockets of resistance. It is believed that only about 200 Japanese remain.—B.O.W.