RAID BY U.S. DESTROYERS

Southland Times, Issue 25739, 1 August 1945, Page 5

RAID BY U.S. DESTROYERS

TARGETS HIT AT SHIMUZU HONSHU STRUCK BY CARRIER PLANES HEAVY DAMAGE CAUSED IN INLAND SEA ATTACK WASHINGTON, July 31. Third Fleet destroyers entered Suriiga Gulf and bombarded military installations at Shimuzu soon after midnight on Monday, says Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz’s communique. The ships encountered no opposition and no flak until after the bombardment. Preliminary reports of carrier aircraft strikes against military installations on Honshu today show the following damage by United States planes: Fiftyeight aircraft destroyed and 68 damaged on the ground, six small vessels sunk, and 34 damaged, including an escort carrier. British carrier aircraft shot down one plane over the target and one over the naval force, destroyed five and damaged five on the ground, sank a lugger and damaged 12 cargo ships, three destroyers and four destroyer escorts. Photographs shoyz that the battleship Haruna which Navy and Army bombers hit at Kure on Sunday is afloat, but heavily damaged, says the Manila correspondent of the Associated Press. Army Mitchells at Kure on Sunday left a large carrierlisting. The light carrier Katsuragi, which was hit on Saturday by Liberators with 20001 b bombs, is still afloat, with her deck blackened by fire.

The Far East Air Force in the last three days has destroyed or damaged five warships and 91 merchant vessels in Japanese home waters. It is pointed out that the presence of most of the merchantmen around Kyushu and Korea indicated that the enemy is trying to keep his lifelines between Japan and the continent open across the narrow home waters. Previously, the heaviest traffic was from Shanghai and South China . ports.

Final reports of the damage by Am-erican-carrier planes in the strike on Saturday in the Inland Sea area includes a hangar, and three roundhouses destroyed, 13 hangars, two lighthouses, nine factories, oil tanks, barracks and two radio stations damaged, 21 aircraft shot down, 115 destroyed on the ground and 156 damaged on the ground, two destroyers, one destroyer escort, three freighters and a submarine sunk, 10 destroyers and destroyer escorts and 15 freighters damaged, 59 small craft destroyed or damaged, and the heavy cruiser Tone beached. The carriers Amagi and Katsuragi lost large portions of the flight decks and other damage was inflicted on major warships.

SOLOMON ISLANDER’S MILITARY GENIUS Relentless War Against Japanese (Rec. 7 p.m.) SYDNEY, July 31. A powerfully-built native with the most evil-looking face on Bougainville has caused the deaths of nearly 2000 Japanese in the last few months, writes the correspondent of The Daily Telegraph. The native, named Misiami, is described by the correspondent as a power-crazed little tribal Hitler, who is in many ways a genius. The story of Misiami is one of the most remarkable in native history. Insolent and overbearing to the resident authorities, he served many gaol terms before the war, but at no time is he known to have co-operated with the Japanese. Instead, he raised a strong force among his tribal mates and went into action with bows and arrows, knives and spears. Small Japanese parties were often found on tracks with their throats slit. When the Americans invaded Torokina, and particularly when the Australians took over in February, Misiami gave full play to his undoubted military genius. He led his tribe against a Japanese camp and captured several weapons. When he had learned how to handle the weapons he ran the equivalent of a military staff school for other natives. Misiami’s men stood in such high favour with the Australians that intelligence reports often contained the brief announcement: “Our aircraft gave support to partisan forces.”