ARMS FOR CHINA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 88, Issue 5, 7 January 1944, Page 5

ARMS FOR CHINA

FLOWN FROM INDIA BURMA ROAD ECLIPSED (By Telegraph —Press Assoe.iation—Copyright/ Reed. 6.15 p.m. London, Jan. 5. More military supplies arc now reaching China by air from India over the Himalayas than formerly went along the Burma Road. Reuter’s Now Delhi correspondent says that this was officially revealed when secrecy was removed regarding the 20-months’ old India-China wing of the Air Transport Command which is part of the U.S.A.A.F. The movement of munitions along China’s aerial lifeline has shown a phenomenal upsurge during 1943. The tonnage transported in December, 1943, was ten times that of December, 1942. American pilots are flying day and night. Many with only a minimum of preliminary training, take up huge heavily-laden and completely unarmed two or four-engined planes to 17,000 feet and over the “hump," as they call the route over the Himalayas, along the skyline boulevard to China. Thev fly unescorted within easy distance of Japanese lighters—the most dangerous stretch of airline in the world. t Chinese Advance. A Chungking message says that the Chinese have, captured all the villages surrounding "bwchihkow, the Japan-ese-held river port, north of Tungting Lake. A Chinese communique reports that the Chinese are now advancing towards Owchihkow. The Chinese Minister of Information, Liang Han-chao stated that the Chinese armies were ready to launch a general offensive in 1944, but this was contingent upon Appied operations in other theatres. He added that augmentation of the Allied air strength in China would be particularly helpful to any extensive Chinese offensive. General Stilwell’s communique states that fighter-escorted Liberators dropped 10 tons of bombs on the Japanese base at Pampang, in Thailand, where enemv installations apparently were gutted. Fighter-bombers attacked Japaneseoccupied Pingka in western Yunnan and started extensive fires.