HEAVY RAID FROM AIR

Southland Times, Issue 25482, 30 September 1944, Page 5

HEAVY RAID FROM AIR

JAPANESE SHIPS DAMAGED U.S. CARRIER PLANES (Rec. 10 p.m.) „ , WASHINGTON, September 29. Carrier aircraft struck hard against enemy shipping and .defence installations in the Visayas group in the Philippines last Saturday, attacking airfields on Cebu, Leyte, Negros, Luzon and Mactan Islands and all shipping found in adjacent waters. Particularly heavy attacks were delivejjpd in Coron Bay between Busuanga Island and Culion Island west of the Philippines, where a number of enemy ships, including two valuable ifleet tankers, were sunk. Seven enemy aircraft were shot down and 29 aircraft destroyed on the ground at several fields which were thoroughly bombed and strafed. The following damage was inflicted on enemy shipping (including the two tankers previously mentioned): One destroyer, one troop transport, three large cargo vessels, three large oil tankers, six medium cargo vessels, five

small cargo vessels, three destroyerescort type vessels all sunk, and two large oil tankers, one large cargo vessel one medium oil tanker, 15 medium cargo vessels, one small transport, 21 small cargo vessels, and two destroyerescort type vessels all damaged, and more than one probably sunk. , In addition, between 20 and 30 small craft were sunk or damaged. JAPANESE SHIPS ATTACKED SULU ARCHIPELAGO (Special Australian Correspondent, N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 9.10 p.m.) SYDNEY, Sept. 29. , Catalina flying boats of General Douglas MacArthur’s command, patrolling at night over the southern Philippines, are taking a .persistent toll of Japanese shipping. In their latest strike they surprised an enemy convoy in the Sulu Archipelago, between Mindano and north-east Borneo. They sank a 10,000-ton transport and damaged a 6000-ton vessel. A huge oil dump was destroyed by Liberators raiding the Geram-Boeroe area.

Adverse weather has hindered air operations in this theatre. . It is now revealed that a few days before Sunday’s record long-distance aerial blow at Batavia (Java), Netherlands East Indies bombers, also based on Australia, made a.flight over Batavia and other centres in western Java. They dropped 150,000 pamphlets printed in Dutch and Malay, telling the people of the latest Allied advances in the Pacific and the successes on the western front, including the liberation of part of Holland. Prisoner of war camps were among the “targets” bombarded with pamphlets.

JAPANESE TROOPS STRAFED

Attack By U.S. Planes

(Rec. 7 p.m.) CHUNGKING, September 28. Planes of the 14th Air Force heavily strafed and bombed 3000 Japanese troops, probably the forward elements of the enemy’s western pincers movement, observed in a wooded area 15 miles north-west of Sinning.

General Joseph W. Stilwell’s communique says that the planes repeatedly attacked large numbers of the enemy south and east of Kweilin, also around the Taohsien, Yuangchow and Yungming areas. Warhawks strafed entrenched Japanese on a hill northeast of Pacching, enabling _ Chinese ground units to take the position. Warhawks on the Salween front destroyed Tingka Bridge on the Burma Road. Fighters north-east of Indo-China strafed shipping, destroying seven boats, also again hit the Dara Bridge across the Monan river in Thailand after the Japanese had begun to repair damage caused by previous bombings.

ARMY COMMANDER IN BURMA

King Confers Knighthood (8.0.W.) RUGBY, September 28. In traditional fashion the King has recognized the signal victory won by the 14th Imperial Army in Burma by conferring knighthoods on the Army Commander, Lieutenant-General W. J. Slim and on all his corps commanders. His Majesty makes it clear that the honours conferred are intended to recognize the valour of the men fighting under the commanders.