BURMA TARGETS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 170, 21 July 1942, Page 5

BURMA TARGETS

ALLIED BOMBINGS Defensive Power Of American Flying Fortresses British Official Wireless. Rec. 1 p.m. RUGBY, July 20. A communique issued to-day in New Delhi states that on Saturday R.A.F. bombers attacked enemy targets in the Kalamyo area, Burma. Two towns were bombed, buildings were damaged and fires started. A low-level attack was also carried out at Akyab. River steamers were bombed and bombs were dropped in the target area in Kalewa, \vhere fires were started. No aircraft are missing. The defensive power of American Flying Fortress bombers was shown in an engagement described by the United States War Department. A Flying Fortress shot down four of 23 Japanese fighters which engaged it in a two-hour battle over Rangoon recently. One gunner was killed and four of the crew, including the pilot and co-pilot, were wounded. The plane's rudder and controls were shot away and two engines were put out of commission, but the pilot finally landed his plane after six of the crew had left by parachute. Action on the Burma Frontier A strange war of hide and seek is going on along the Burma frontier all through the monsoon lull—a sort of war not read about in communiques, but one that will vitally affect operations when the autumn comes, says the correspondent of the Daily Express at General Wavell's Headquarters. Like boxers sparring, the British in Assam and the Japanese in Burma are weighing each other up. They are concentrating on three kinds of activity: first, sending out patrols through the rain-lashed jungles to locate enemy positions; (2) finding out by air and otherwise enemy strength and judging his plans; (3) consolidating communications. Fresh Imperial troops are having a tough time. Monsoon rains pour down for days, and patrols put up with such weather in flimsy bamboo huts. Troops often wade waist high through swamps, dragging pack mules and keeping rifles and ammunition dry. Snakes, mosquitoes and leeches are frequently encountered.