GREAT AIR VICTORY

Southland Times, Issue 25025, 10 April 1943, Page 5

GREAT AIR VICTORY

JAPANESE LOSE 37 PLANES (8.0.W.) RUGBY, April & A notable success by American fighter pilots, who shot down 37 Japanese planes in a single action, is reported in a United States Navy communique, which states: “On Wednesday 50 enemy bombers , escorted by 48 Zero fighters attacked American shipping in the vicinity of Guadalcanal’. American fighters shot down 21 Zeros, five dive-bomb-ers and 10 other enemy planes of types not reported. Another enemy plane was later observed crashing. Seven American planes . are missing. One pilot is safe.” The Japanese force of 50 bombers and 48 Zeros was one of the strongest ever sent against American positions in the Solomons, says the United Press Washington correspondent. The communique announcing the raid did not disclose whether any American shipping was damaged, but the decisive victory gained by the American Air Force is regarded as indicating that the enemy failed to gain any notable success against the surface ships. The big aerial battle was the climax of two days of exceptional activity by both sides. “This large-scale Japanese raid on Guadalcanar shipping is apparently an indication of the enemy’s dogged determination to continue attempts to harass and punish the American forces in the Pacific theatres of war regard-

less of cost,” comments The New York Times Washington correspondent. “Despite the loss of many hundreds of planes and tremendous losses of shipping and troops in both Admiral Halsey’s and General MacArthur’s territories the Japanese are continually reinforcing their air strength and boring in for attempted blows, which so far have ended disastrously. “After the fall of Guadalcanar, the Japanese seemed deficient m bomber strength, but the latest raid indicates that this arm has also been reinforced. The Secretary for War, Mr Henry L. Stimson, and the Secretary- of the Navy, Colonel Frank Knox, recently gave a warning of growing Japanese strength in the Pacific but the result of this raid shows that the American forces have also been strengthened.” JAPANESE BARGES BOMBED ALLIED AIR ACTIVITY (Rec. 9 p.m.) SYDNEY, April 9. General MacArthur’s communique states: — NORTH-WESTERN SECTOR Dutch New Guinea, Timika: One of our medium units bombed the airfield. Kaukenau: One of our reconnaissance bombers sighted and attacked a group of enemy supply barges with patrol boat escort moving east off the . coast. Direct bomb hits were scored and the entire flotilla was strafed for an hour. Fires were started on an armed escort vessel and on three of the barges. The remainder were severely damaged. Aroe Islands: One of our medium units strafed a number of enemy coastal vessels in the Arafura Sea. Tenimbar Island, Saumlake: One of our medium units bombed and strafed the jetty area. NORTH-EASTERN SECTOR New Ireland, Kavieng: One of our heavy units bombed the new Panapai aerodrome. New Britain, Übili area: One of our heavy units bombed and strafed enemy installations at Ulamona. New Guinea, Finschhafen: One of our heavy units bombed and strafed the area. EXPLOIT OF SINGLE PLANE The special Australian correspondent of the N.Z.P.A. states that a single R.A.A.F. Hudson made Thursday’s bombing and strafing attack on a group of 12 Japanese supply barges off Kaukenau on the south coast of Dutch New Guinea. • The presence of these barges is not regarded as indicative of any _ fresh move by the enemy. Kaukenau is one of the most easterly points of enemy expansion on the southern coast of Dutch New Guinea, but the Japanese are believed to have constructed an airstrip still closer to the Allied base at Merauke.

COMMANDOS FROM TIMOR EPIC DEFENCE OF ISLAND (Special Australian Correspondent, N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 7 p.m.) SYDNEY, April 8. A party of Australian Imperial Force commandos who were part of the famous guerrilla force that operated in Timor for more than a year have arrived for a well-earned rest. The troops brought with them Japanese serial demands for surrender, worthless bank notes issued by the Japanese Army, as well as other souvenirs of their epic defence of the island. “A pathetic feature of our departure was the grief of our native helpers,” said an officer. “Most of these boys lived, marched and scouted with us for many months. They had come to have a real affection and admiration for our men.” The officer added that worthless bank notes had been lavishly distributed by the Japanese among the natives, many of whom were thus won over to support the enemy. However, those who attached themselves to the Australians remained wonderfully loyal. ' Describing the Japanese as cruel and ferocious, the officer said they fell roughly into three types. The first was the marine. He was gallant, self-reliant and physically a good type. He was better than the ordinary soldiers who were fair physical specimens, but the

remainder ' were undersized and animalesque. Most of the Australians developed a “paunch” from a steady rice diet, rice with lesser quantities of buffalo meat and maize. In some areas, however, tropical fruit relieved the monotony of this diet. Sometimes when rice stocks were exhausted the men lived for days on native maize.