JAPANESE CONVOY

Grey River Argus, 1 June 1943, Page 5

JAPANESE CONVOY

FOR WEWAK BASE ~

Shielded by Bad Weather ATTACKED BY BOMBER. SYDNEY, May 31. On Saturday a 5000-ton Japanese transport was set on fire by a Liberator bomber off Hansa Bay, Northern New Guinea. This transport was one of a convoy of six ships, believed to be carrying'troops. Hansa Bay is the landing stage for the powerful enemy base of Wewak, 90 miles to the west. The convoy is believed to have comprised four medium-sized transports, escorted by two destroyers. The Ships had evidently been attempting to discharge their freight under cover of the adverse weather, which last week hampered General MacArthur’s aerial operations. Sighted first by an Allied reconnaissance plane on Friday, the convoy was well out to sea, about 70 miles east of Wewak. The movement of the convoy indicated that the enemy’s ships were 12 miles north-east of Hansa Bay. A 20-year-old Georgian Lieutenant, Lark Martin, was the pilot of the reconnoitring Liberator, which first sighted the ships on Saturday. Anti-aircraft shell fire by a Japanese destroyer accompanying the convoy put the plane’s radio out of commission, and so damaged the hydraulic system that the aircraft was left without landing brakes. Then a patrol of nine Zeros, probably based on the nearby Nubia airfield, was sighted. Five Zeros showed no eagerness to fight, but the remaining four pressed home the attack. After two had been shot down and the third badly damaged, the remaining attacking Japanese fighter broke off the engagement and rejoined its more discreet companions. No subsequent news has been received of the convoy or the damaged transport.

ALLIED SEARCH ELUDED

Has Convoy Landed Men and Supplies ?

BAD WEATHER SHIELDS ENEMY.

(Special to N.Z. Press Assn.) (Rec. 9.40) SYDNEY, Ma'y 31. Allied reconnaissance bombers have searched, but without result, along the North New Guinea coast for a Japanese convoy of four mediumsized transports, which have been escorted by two destroyers, and which are thought to be attempting to land reinforcements and supplies in tne Hansa Bay area, midway between Wewak and Madang. The searching bombers had to fly through storms and heavy clouds. The weather showed a temporary improvement on Saturday. Since then, however, flying conditions throughout the S'outh-west Pacific area have again deteriorated. The Japanese convoy was last seen on Saturday evening, when the live-thousand-ton transport was damaged by, a near miss, and ieft smoking off Hansa Bay. The absence of any further news of the Japanese ships does not mean that they have left New Guinea waters. They may be sheltering along the coast, under the adverse weather front, which has protected them on tneir voyage to New Guinea, hiding them from air observation. If the enemy ships have succeeded in disembarking supplies, as well as reinforcements, at a point along tne coast east of Wewak, this gain will be a valuable one to the Japanese in this area, who have been largely dependent upon the limited supplies able to be brought to them by barges hugging the shelter of the coast. Some commentators suggest, however that the bombing attack by the single Liberator on Saturday may have caused the convoy to turn out of range of the Allied bombers. This has happened on earlier occasions.

Japanese Barges

SUNK ON NEW BRITAIN COAST.

(Rec. 9.20) SYDNEY, May 31. The movement of Japanese barges along the New Britain coast was interrupted by a Flyjng Fortress which was on an armed reconnaissance. At least five of the barges were destroyed in a sweep covering tne Stetten Bay area. The Japanese have been making an extensive use of barges to ferry supplies from Rabaul to their outlying garrisons, just as they 1 are employing them in supplying their outlying New Guinea bases from Wewak.

WEWAK ’DROMES

BOMBED ON SUNDAY. BY FORTRESSES. (Special to N.Z. Press Assn). (Rec. 9.50) SYDNEY, May 31. Despite a prevalence of storm conditions, General MacArthur's bombers on Sunday made a damaging against Japanese aerodromes near Wewak. Flying Fortresses dropped thirteen tons of bombs, including fragmentation bombs and incendiaries, in a raid on the Wewak and Boram airfields before dawn. To-da'y’s communique from the South-west Pacific Headquarters reports: An ammunition dump near one aerodrome 1 was detonated, explosions continuing for ten minutes. Fuel fires were started, and numerous other blazes in dispersal areas indicated burning aircraft. Intense anti-aircraft fire was initially .encountered. It was considerably diminished by explosions of thousand-lb bombs. Many enemy searchlights were active. Five were put out of action b'yi low-level strafing, three being destroyed, and two probably destroyed.” Liberator bombers made a fitteen-hundred-mile round trip Hight to attack Kendari, an important enemy base in the Island of Celebes, between Borneo and New Guinea. A jetty and a three-thousand-ton merchant vessel were the principal targets.

DARWIN AIR BATTLE

RESCUE OF SPITFIRE PILIOT. . SYDNEY, May 30. Only two Spitfire pilots were lost In the big air battle over the Darwin area on May 2. One Australian airman spent sixteen days wandering in the north Australian bush, before he was found by trackers. His plane came down in the sea about ten miles off the coast, but how the pilot came ashore and the story of his subsequent wanderings are not know;n. ne is still in hospital. Two Japanese airmen have been taken prisoner* from an island north of Australia. They were members of the crew of a floatplane shot down in Arafura Sea. A third member of the crew died. -The Japanese airmen spent several days in a rubber raft before they drifted ashore.. Their plane was shot down on May 11, by a Beauflghter which was protecting a small Allied convoy.