SOLOMONS AIR MASTERY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 17, 15 October 1943, Page 5

SOLOMONS AIR MASTERY

Effect Of Attack

(Received October 14, 9.20 p.m.) SYDNEY, October 14.

“This operation, including the first phase at Wewak, gives us definite mastery in the air over the Solomons Sea and adjacent waters, and _ thereby threatens the enemy’s whole perimeter of defence,” says General MacArthur’s communique, summing up the results of the raid on Rabaul.

“The enemy has sustained a disastrous defeat from the air attacks at Rabaul. With complete secrecy, the mass of our air force .was concentrated and launched against his air and naval forces there, using fields made possible by our occupation late in June of island groups north of New Guinea. (Recently, we crushed the right wing of his air command at Wewak. This time our objective was his left wing at Ralbaul. The division based on Wewak and Rabaul made it possible to use our main mass against first one flank and then the other, thus acquiring in each case superiority of force at the point of comlbat and destroying the force in detail. Shattering Surprise. “The surprise at (Rabaul was as complete as at Wewak. . Mustering every appropriate plane available, we struck at midday. The enemy was caught completely unaware, with his planes, both bombers and fighters on the ground. While our medium bombers raked the aerodromes, our heavy echelon swept shipping in the harbour. Both were covered by our fighters. A total of 350 tons of bombs was dropped and 260,000 rounds of ammunition fired. “Our low-flying medium bombers, striking at the Vunakanau, Rapopo and Tobera aerodromes, destroyed 100 enemy aircraft caught on the ground and severely damaged 51 others. So complete was the surprise that the enemy could put but 40 fighters in the air to defend the target, and 26 of these wore shot down in combat. In all, 177 aeroplanes, or approximately 60 per cent, of the enemy's accumulated air strength at this base, was lost to him in. this attack. Operations buildings, radio installations and many .fuel and ammunition dumps were demolished: or heavily, damaged. Anti-aircraft positions were silenced and a motor transport pool was wrecked. Fires raged throughout the areas. “Five of our planes are missing and others were damaged.”