FROM CHINESE BASES

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 223, 17 June 1944, Page 7

FROM CHINESE BASES

First Land-Based Raid On Japan (By Telegraph.—Press Assn. Copyright.) LONDON, June 15. The raid on Japan was made by B-J s . and unofficial reports say larse Japanese cities besides Tokio were among the targets cf the American Starnes told the House of Representatives that great de struction had been caused in Tokio by a large number of American planes. , Tokio official radio says that American planes bombed northern Kyushu Isiand at 11 a.m. The raiders concentrated the attack on industrial areas of Moji and Yawata, and caused negligible damage and started two or three fires, mar school in the suburbs .of Kokura was also bombed. About 20 super-Fort tresses and Liberators participated in The radio denied that the capital was attacked. It said that, the Japanese Cabinet met for two hours to hear reports of the bombing. , . , Other Japanese radio stations issued a number of reports minimizing the importance of the attacks. One broadcast said that one or two factories blazed up es a result of bombing. Railway Bottleneck. ' The’United Press of America says that the attack on Moji indicates that one of the super-bombers’ objectives jvas to sever the railway communication system at a bottleneck —the Moji-Shimon-oseki tunnel connecting Kyushu and Honshu Islarfds. It is pointed out that if the entrance to the tunnel was destroyed the railway service could be disrupted for a long time. The tunnel, which was opened two years ago, enables trains from Tokio and Osaka to proceed directly to leading Kyushu ports, including the big naval base of Sasebo and the commercial steamship centre of Nagasaki. The super-bombers used bases in western China constructed entirely by hand by almost 500,000 Chinese farmers, says an Associated Press of America correspondent who was formerly stationed at Chungking. Specific plans for the destruction of Japan from Chinese bases were laid down in Washington in the autumn of 1943, when General Arnold decided at conference with the highest Chinese authorities that such bases were feasible. The “New York Times, in an editorial, says that, contrary to reports that Japan has shifted her war industry to Korea and Manchuria, it is believed that the bulk of her, shipyards, steel-mills, plane factories and other key industries are still concentrated on Honshu and Kyushu Islands. Therefore, large-scale crippling of these centres by bombing will immediately be felt throughout the entire Japanese empire. This is the first time the Japanese homeland has ‘been bombed by land-based planes. Two years ago Mitchells from aircraft-carriers bombed Tokio. The United States War ■ Department announced that the new organization haying jurisdiction over the super-Fortress’s activities was called the “20th Air Force.” Major Task Force. The War Department, in announcing the raid on Japan, released a statement by General Marshall, the United States Chief of Staff, in which he said that the power., of the 829 super-Fortress was so great 'that the joint Chiefs of Staff decided it would be uneconomical to confine the Fortress organization to a single theatre. Therefore, these bombers will remain under the centralized control of the joint Chiefs of Staff with a single commander, General Arnold acting as their agent in directing their bombing operations throughout the world., These, planes will be treated as a major task force in the same manner as naval task forces are directed against a specific objectivc. This type of flexible centralized control ••recognizes that very long-range bombardment is not a weapon for air forces alone. Under the joint Chiefs of Staff, theatre commanders will have a voice in its employment, ensuring maximum effectiveness. The War Department disclosed that 829 super-Fortresses are heavily armoured ships whose bomb-load and range ceiling exceed any other plane. The superFortress is powered with four engines each of 2200 h.p. The wing-span is 141 ft., compared with the Flyitjg Fortress’s 104 ft. The super-Fortress can drop bombs from higher than 30,000 ft. It has a cruising speed of more than 300 miles an hour. Its armament includes .50 calibre machineguns in power turrets and 20 millimetre cannon. Crew, comforts surpass anything in any previous warplane. The cabin is soundproof and four cots and many minor conveniences increase the efficiency of the crew in long flights. The War Department also released a statement bv General Arnold that “the use of the 829 in combat brings actuality to an air force plan made years in advance for truly global aerial warfare. It proves that our planners and engineers, coupled with the capacity of American Industry, are an unbeatable combination. The result is here in a highly complicated and most deadly aeroplane, capable of delivering, the heaviest blows yet known through air power. I assume a heavy responsibility for its employment under the joint Chiefs of Staff, with flj.ll confidence in its potential use. “This makes possible a softening-up attack on Japan very much earlier, than would be possible with the aircraft hitherto known to combat. This mighty weapon advances the bomber line a long way. “Employment of the 829 is just beginning. It goes directly into battle from the production lines and we have much to learn before its full power may be developed. Consequently, the frequency of usage will be carefully determined for some time. From this circumstance let our enemies take what comfort they can while they can.” The “New York Times” Washington correspondent says that General Marshall’s statement is extremely significant because it indicates that the 20th Air Force is virtually a separate air force under the exclusive control of the joint Chiefs of Staff, who are planning global strategy. The highest sources point out that the 20th Air Force thus becomes a weapon of world-wide capabilities