HEAVY LOSSES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 231, 30 September 1943, Page 5

HEAVY LOSSES

JAPS AT FINSCHHAFEN 60 AIRCRAFT DESTROYED AT WEWAK I <By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright' ; Recd. 9.30 p.m. Sydney, Sept. 29. The Japanese have suffered heavy casualties in sharp fighting in the region of the Bumi River, south of their base at Finschhafen, New Guinea. Australian losses are light. Our forward elements have advancea to Llebbe Creek, west of Finschihafen township. These developments are reported in to-day’s communique from General MacArthur. “The Japanese are outnumbered and outgunned and tire fall of the base is inevitable,” writes the Australian war correspondent. “Haste is being subordinated to policy, tightly pegging the costs of the campaign. Our forces are steadily crowding on the enemy defence line. Close dispositions have greatly limited Allied air support for the ground forces. It is more likely that the enemy's defences will crumble suddenly than that the campaign will develop into a slow, methodical whittling-down of Japanese strength.” Japanese aircraft on Monday made sporadic raids on Allied beach positions and aerodromes in the Finschhafen area but inflicted only slight casualties and caused no material damage. The Japanese suffered shattering losses at Dewak, on the north coast of New Guinea, on Monday, when 200 Allied bombers made a surprise attack on a convoy in the harbour and strong forces of grounded aircraft. The raiders inflicted these losses on the enemy:—Three tankers left ablaze and sinking; four merchant ships sunk or destroyed; 29 barges and luggers sunk or severely damaged; 50 grounded aircraft destroyed; eight fighters shot down and three more probably destroyed. “The enemy’s efforts to re-establish his operational air bases in northeast New Guinea appear to have been again successfully countered,” says today's communique from General MacArthur’s headquarters. “Our heavy and medium bombers in force, with strong fighter escort, executed a surprise attack on the enemy's Wevvak, Boram, Dagua and But aerodromes and on shipping in the harbour. The attack bombers, coming in at a minimum altitude, caught the bulk of the enemy air force on the ground. Some 50 parked aircraft were destroyed and fires started in fuel and supply dumps. Destruction was widespread. In the

harbour a newly-arrived convoy was struck in a mast-high attack, which left three tankers afire and sinking and four merchant, vessels, ranging up to 5000 tons, sunk or destroyed. In addition 29 barges and luggers were sunk or severely damaged. The enemy weakly intercepted with 20 lighters, eight of which were shot down and three more probably destroyed. The rest fled. Intense anti-aircraft fire shot down three of our bombers and u.imaged others. “One of our fighter patrols the previous day reports having shot down six enemy fighters and probably destroyed a seventh.” The planes shot down on Sunday were part of the force of .15 to 20 Japanese fighters which apparently tried to intercept our reconnaissance aircraft, says the Australian war correspondent in New Guinea. It was the early discovery of the enemy concentration of planes and shipping that, enabled the Allied blow to be launched before they could be put into use against us. The attack started with waves .ot Liberators which demoralised the enemy with accurate highlevel bombing. Fires were already raging when Mitchell medium bombers came in to follow up the advantage of the surprise and chaos on the ground. Then almost every minute fresh waves of bombers .swept down on vVewak itself and on Boram, Dagua and But airfields, blowing grounded aircraft to bits and leaving the area a mass of smoking, twisted ruins. Meanwhile, other waves of Mitchells turned on the shipping in the harbour. Apparently not a ship escaped our soaring attack. After unloading bombs the Mitchells fired 160,00 b rounds of ammunition, raking everything that, was left afloat. Pilots said the whole harbour appeared to be ablaze or under a suffocating pall of oil fumes and smoke. A Japanese barge staging point at Hansa Bay, between Wewak and Maciang, was attacked from a low level by Allied fighters. Barges in the bay and. motor traffic on the Nubia Road were effectively strafed. Beaufighters in a sweep over New Guinea destroyed two enemy coastal vessels. In the Solomons Admiral Halsey’s bombers, with fighter cover, attacked gun positions on Kolombangara Island, scoring many hits and starting fires. Fighter patrols over Vella Lavella Island successfully intercepted and dispersed 18 Japanese dive-bomb-ers escorted by 20 fighters. One enemy fighter is shot down without loss. Light attacks were made on Allied positions on the island. The Japanese Air Force made its heaviest raid on the Australian mainland for some weeks on Monday, when 25 planes bombed and strafed Drysdale Mission, on the most northern lip of West Australia. General MacArthur’s communique reports only minor damage and casualties. Apart from Darwin, which has been raided 61 times since Japan entered the war, the enemy this year has attacked three Australian coastal centres— Exmouth Gulf, Broome and Onslow. There wasino damage or casualties in any of thefthree centres.