JAPANESE SEA DEFEAT

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 229, 24 June 1944, Page 7

JAPANESE SEA DEFEAT

Carrier Sunk, Big Ships Bombed (Bv Telegraph.—Press Assn.— Copyright) (Received June 23, 9.25 p.m.) NEW YORK, June 23. In a surprise attack between the Philippines and Marianne Islands on Monday carrier planes of the United States Fleet sank a large Japanese aircraft-carrier, and damaged three other aircraftcarriers, one battleship, one cruiser and three destroyers, and also sank three naval tankers and damaged two others, stated an announcement from Pearl Harbour yesterday by the Pacific Com-mander-in-Chief, Admiral Nimitz.

The American carrier force suffered no ship losses. Two United States carriers and one battleship suffered superficial damage. The communique added: ‘ The action ended at nightfall with the Japanese fleeing. There is no indication that the battle, hai> been resumed."

The secretary of the Navy, Mr. Forrestal, iu a statement said: “In the circumstances our fleet did a magnificent job. The Navy is not going to be satisfied till the Japanese Fleet is wiped out. The Japanese were extremely cautious, and never came very far eastward, so that the bulk of our forces could not engage them. As a result we were able to send home but one air attack at very long range from carriers just before dark. “Some of the Japanese vessels which were damaged may be able to make port and eventually return to ' fight. This is specially true of the warships, only one of which is reported definitely sunk.” • Mr. Forrestalfs statement has confirmed the opinion of naval observers that the engagement was far from a showdown with the Japanese Navy, says the Washington correspondent of the “New York Times.” They expressed regret that early reports lent an exaggerated importance to the battle, and said that what actually happened was that the Japanese Flegt again refused . to stand and fight, whereupon the American units did the best they could to smash them afar with airpower. It was undoubtedly the intention of Admiral Spruance (the Central Pacific commander), to engage the Japanese with the surface units, but the distance was too great, whereupon planes were sent out and a battle was fought at a distance of several hundred miles, as is the pattern of most of today’s engagements. Result for Saipan.

The Pearl Harbour correspondent of the Associated Press says the naval victory has sealed the fate of the Japanese defenders on Saipan, which is outnumbered and outgunned and can no longer expect reinforcements by sea. Though the battle of the eastern Philippines was the most decisive since Midway, and cannot fail to have an immediate conclusive effect on the Saipan campaign, there is growing evidence that the enemy is not yet ready to bring his surface fleet into action against the powerful American Fleet, says the Pear] Harbour correspondent of the “New York Times.” Indeed, the possibility of a battleship engagement is now presumably more remote than it seemed yesterday. However, the enemy is badly hurt, and it can be assumed that as soon as the land battle on Saipan is concluded, or as soon as the Fifth Fleet can relinquish its duties to land-based planes, it will be in a position to make its own search for the battered enemy. Meanwhile, the enemy knows where we are and can come to us for battle if he dares. “Third Greatest Blow.” The Associated Press says .this, constitutes the third greatest single blow dealt to a Japanese battle fleet. All the action was by carrier-based planes. The surface uuits of the fleet never closed. The enemy fleet which Vice-Admiral Mitscher riddled on Monday has now been faily well established as the one which attacked our force on Sunday. The loss of 353 planes from its five or six carriers virtually wiped out its planes, so it had to rely largely on attack for defence. Vice-Admiral Mitscher’s force achieved such a surprise that the enemy was unable to counter-attack. The bad defeat suffered by the Japanese fleet off the Philippines would give mighty impetus to the advance across the Pacific and into the inner defences of Japan, said the Secretary of War, Mr. Stimson. Mr. Stimson pointed out that the superFortresses’ attack on the Yawata steel centre was only the first of many which will be directed against Japan with increasing strength and frequency. The fighting on Saipan was as bitter as any in the Central Pacific, he said.