THE EVENING UP OF LOSSES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 294, 13 December 1941, Page 4

THE EVENING UP OF LOSSES

THE process nf evening-up the losses which Japan has infliittd 1 upon the American and British Fleets has already In gun. The battleship Haruns has been destroyed in the region ol t o Philippines, and a cruiser and a destroyer were sunk tn th. neighbourhood of Wake Island. Yesterday the deslructmn ot another enemy battleship was reported. The significance ot th. losses suffered by both sides is that capital ships which, up to now have been remarkably free from damage by air attacks, now seum to be more vulnerable than formerly. In any action against Japan under present conditions it is improbable tiuit battleships will play an important part, and the probability is that Allied air attacks will not become possible until aerodromo nearer to Japan than those now in the possession of the <i< - iii.ici aei< s have been acquired.

The Islands of Japan are isolated from attack by distance, but the situation would change immediately should Russia b< - come the declared Japan, for then airfields would he made available ill very convenient areas for the development of operations. Leaving that consideration aside for the time being, th)' cities ol Japan could be bombed from Dutch Harbour, although rt is possible that such an operation would be an expensive one. and for that reason it may not be undertaken. As Japan moves forward in the various fields of conquest, however, she becomes increasingly vulnerable to attack. The American antiiorities. realising the conditions with which they are now confronted, have ordered the delivery ol 100(1 fourengined planes monthly. The significance of this order needs no elaboration. The production capacity of the United States has already been established far ahead of anything that Japan is likely to be able to attain to, and with the additional strength to this new essential arm the Americans will be able to pile up a margin of points in their own favour in the near future. Japan’s striking power is to-day at its zenith; that is why it has struck evcrvvvhere at once.