JAPANESE SHIPPING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25175, 16 March 1943, Page 3

JAPANESE SHIPPING

MOVEMENTS UNCHECKED (N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent) SYDNEY. Mar. 15. Japanese shipping movements about the perimeter oi their Island defences have not been seriously checked by the annihilation of the Bismarck Sea convoy. This fact is made increasingly clear by reports from General 'MacArthur’s headquarters. The eight ships endeavouring to reinforce the enemy garrison at Wewak are thought to be one of two convoys reported by reconnaissance last Thurs- . day 100 miles north-east of Manus Island, in the Admiralty Group. If. as seems probable, Wewak is the destination for one of the convoys, it follows that the ships made a cautious detour through the northern waters of the Bismarck Sea in order to keep outside the effective range of our bombers. In spite of the extreme range? our scout bombers endeavoured to stalk the enemy vessels, ultimately sighting the group of eight ships off Wewak about , noon on Saturday. Their protecting Zero umbrella was probably drawn from Wewak airfields. When the first Flying Fortresse* dived on the convoy by moonlight on Saturday night it was 40 miles northwest of Wewak. It is probable that the ships waited at sea for nightfall to screen their dash into harbour. The distance of the target is reported to be preventing the use of the same fast shuttle bombing tactics that smashed the enemy’s 22-ship convoy a fortnight , ago. From these bases our heavy bombers must make a round trip of more than 1000 miles. ... Increased enemy activity is also reported in the Dutch New Guinea area. : At Raaf Bay, on the south coast near Cape Vandenbosch. four Japanese cargo ships, each of about 4000 tons, were ’ seen during the week-end. One of these was attacked by an Allied heavy bomber, but the results were not ob- > served. The Japanese have been active a . in Dutch New Guinea for some months. They have occupied the port of Mau- • kenau. on the south coast, and are - t known to be using the airfields and seaplane bases which served the Dutch ; amphibian service in peace-time. At Babo, on McLeur Inlet, during the . week-end a Liberator shot down one ; of six intercepting Zeros. . r; “ This increased interest in the western quarter of New Guinea,” says the Sydney Morning Herald’s war correspondent. “has been concurrent with Japan’s building of as many air strips , as possible above high-water mark_on little islands of the Aru Kei and Tenimber groups, between Dutch New ‘ Guinea and Darwin.” ;