CAUGHT UNAWARES

Waikato Times, Volume 129, Issue 21599, 9 December 1941, Page 4

CAUGHT UNAWARES

BOMBING OF HONOLULU PEOPLE MACHINE-GUNNED (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyripnt, HONOLULU, Dec. 7 Honolulu residents gathered on the hilltops to watch the attack by the Japanese aircraft. Apparently there was no panic, although the population was caught entirely unawares and the first detonations were believed to be merely army or navy target practice.

In Honolulu bombs were rained down indiscriminately. No attempt was made to confine operations to military objectives. In a small town 20 miles from Honolulu people were machine-gunned in the streets. “No one would believe the radio reports when they heard that a Japanese attack had begun,” said an eye-witness in Honolulu. “When the famous seaside resort at Waikiki was bombed the streets were crowded with people. Fires which were started, including one at the Governor’s residence, were promptly dealt with. The wings of the raiders shone brightly in the sunlight and on them could be seen painted the rising sun. The anti-aircraft barrage was terrific and one of the raiders was seen to crash in flames.”

Three fires are stated to be raging in Pearl Harbour.

A state of emergency has been declared in Hawaii.

Parachutists Land

Parachutists appeared near Harbour Point, five miles from the centre of Honolulu, presumably suicide squadrons of saboteurs.

Then the United States Fleet steamed from Pearl Harbour. The sound of heavy gunfire was later heard off the island of Oahu, and gun flashes were seen. It is believed that most of the Japanese bombers operated from an aircraftcarrier, which might have been intercepted. According to a message broadcast by the Panama radio, a Japanese aircraft-carirer was sunk off Honolulu.

Reports, so far not verified, also state that one or more Japanese warships bombarded the outer defences of Pearl Harbour.

The War Department gave a preliminary estimate of 104 dead and more than 300 wounded in the Army and Air Force alone as the result of the bombing of Oahu. These figures do not include civilian casualties. Casualties and Damage

The Governor of Hawaii, Mr Joseph B. Poindexter, talked with Mr Roosevelt late this afternoon and reported heavy damage to life and property in Hawaii. He said another wave of Japanese aeroplanes was just coming over. Battleship Sunk According to a message from Shanghai, the Japanese Domei news agency reported that the battleship Oklahoma had bean sunk at Pearl Harbour. The Tokio correspondent of the Japanese newspaper Osaka Mainichi also reported that a Japanese-Ameri-can naval battle was going on in the Western Pacific.

The Berlin radio reported a big naval engagement between Japanese and British and American fleets in the Western Pacific, in which it was claimed the American battleship Oklahoma set on fire and three other American warships hit