LONG-RANGE RAIDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25105, 19 January 1945, Page 5

LONG-RANGE RAIDS

HARASSING JAPANESE FORMOSA AND CHINA COAST Reed. C.30 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 Long-range patrol planes at night harassed Okay ami., Formosa, says General Mac Arthur's communique. Heavy units dropped 93 tons on the Miri aerodrome, supply areas and Darracks in Borneo. Large explosions md fires destroyed three warehouses ind damaged others. Two enemy Dlanes ineffectively attempted interjeption. Night air patrols bombed locks in Brunei Bay and sank a LOOO-ton vessel. A 20th Air Force communique says hat a fair-sized force of China-based Super-Fortresses bombed installations in ;he vicinity of Shinchiku, Formosa, in laylight. Observed results from visual jombing are reported as good. 1 here was no fighter opposition and antilircraft fire was meagre and inaccurate. General Wedemever, -in a cointi unique from Chungking, says: "On Monday the 3 llh Air Force sweep on ,he Yangtse .River shipping destroyed ;wo vessels and damaged four others, md ilso damaged a gunboat. In strikes igainst Hongkong and Canton we deitroyed two enemy aircraft and damaged five others. A sea sweep near Amoy probably sank a 2400-ton tanker, [n other attacks we destroyed 25 loconotives and other rolling-stock, as well is considerable material and much small shipping. From all these missions sight of our aircraft have not returned." The Tokyo radio says 300 carrieroased planes attacked the China coast tor the fourth consecutive day today, striking at the Shanghai district, Hongkong. Canton and Hainan Island. STEAMING IN SILENCE HALSEY'S OPERATIONS ENEMY TAKEN BY SURPRISE ;R«cd. 10.45 p.m.) KK\V YORK, Jan. 18 There is no confirmation of tbo Tokyo report that carrier aircraft struck the China coast for the fourth successive tlay, says the Associated Press correspondent at Pearl Harbour. _ Admiral Nimitz, for the sjecond time in a fortnight, failed to issue a regular communique, indicating that the American warships are steaming in silence for their next move in the big West Pacific offensive. Military observers believe the lack of air opposition to the Third Fleet's raids, also over Luzon, suggests that Japanese air'power his dwindled critically and might never recover. Operations which began on January 2 with an air attack on Formosa are all part of a general pattern, said the Assistant Chief of Staff, Rear-Admiral Schoeffle, who attended the press conference of Mr Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy. He added that the Japanese were caught by surprise in Indo-China, where our forces caused tremendous damage. In that action alone 130,000 tons of Japanese shipping was destroyed in a single day. Since January 2 United States naval forces in strikes from Formosa to IndoChina have sunk 130 Japanese vessels, totalling 250,000 tons, damaged 260 others, and destroyed 400 Japanese

planes. NEUTRAL COLONY RAIDED UNIDENTIFIED PLANES (Reed. 5.35 p.m.) LISBON, Jan. 17 It is officially announced that unidentified planes yesterday morning bombed the Portuguese colony of Macao, China, and hit a naval aviation hangar and a telegraph office and machine-gunned barracks, a -power station and oil depots. Two more planes in the afternoon bombed and machinegunned a semaphore post. Two Chinese were killed. It is emphasised ihat Macao has maintained strict neutrality.