GUADALCANAR 'DROME

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 240, 12 October 1942, Page 5

GUADALCANAR 'DROME

BIG JAP. ATTACK LIKELY IMPLICATIONS OF RABAUL RAID

P.A. Cable.

NEW YORK, Oct. 11.

The latest Japanese landings on Guadalcanar, accomplished with strong naval support, are clearly part of extensive preparations for a major attempt to smash the spearhead of the American offensive in the Solomons, says the Washington correspondent of the Associated Press of America. Japanese troops landed in the north-west-ern shore of Guadalcanar from where they are expected to strike in force across the mountainous wilds against the^ Marines' defence positions round~ the aerodrome on the rqlatively level northern coast. Authoritative quarters in Washington declared that American counter-preparations are being made to hold the aerodrome, regardless of the fury of the enemy attack. The New York Times correspondent, Mr Byron Darnton, writing from somewhere in New Guinea, says: The raid on Rabaul was significant, because it demonstrated that the air force here has grown up not only in using more planes than ever before in the 1000-mile round trip across the 8000-foot mountains, but also in the matter of organisation. A raid of this size is conductecl against the hazard of a night take-off with all sorts of chances of getting snarled up, but this one worked perfectly. According to the commander, Lieut.-Colonel Richard Carmichael, a factor in the good showing was the participation of experienced flyers, many of whom had been through the Phillipines and Java. Fortresses roared in over Rabaul from every direction at the rate of one every two minutes, dropping five bombs a minute. They set four main fires, lighting the sky miles away. In the words of Major Elbert Butch Helton, who led one of the sections, "Everybody's been dying to hit the town itself. It is ideal for our purposes because there are

crowded sections with flimsy houses. JAP. WARSHIPS HIT. A Japanese destroyer has been sunk and a heavy cruiser and another destroyer damaged by U.S. bombers off Guadalcanar. A Navy Department communique discloses this and states: "On Monday night last, Navy and Marine Corps divebombers and torpedo planes from Guadalcanar attacked six enemy destroyers which were located by our search planes. These ships were attempting to assist enemy landing operations on the north-western end. One destroyer was sunk and another damaged. "On Wednesday night the enemy continued to reinforce his troops on Guadalcanar. This force contained one cruiser and five destroyers which were covering an enemy landing on the north-western tip of the island. The cruiser received one torpedo-hit and was further damaged by bombs. Four enemy seaplanes were shot down during the air battle which followed and two of our planes were lost. "An ae^oplane observer reported that the cruiser was still burning on Friday afternoon." CO-ORDINATED ATTACKS. Additional details of co-ordinated attacks on enemy shipping concentrations at the Japanese bases on the north-western Solomons reveal that the attacks on Monday last were carried out in three phases. First, carrier-based planes from the Pacific task force attacked enemy ships in the Shortland Islands area and bombed the airfield at Kaita. Secondly, Army heavy bombers from the South-west Pacific Command attacked Japanese bases at nearby islands; and ' thirdly, Army, Navy and Marine Corps land-based aircraft in the South Pacific attacked enemy positions at Buna and Gizo, also at Rekata Bay. At Buna, the parking area was bombed and several planes damaged. At Gizo results were not observed and at .Rekata Bay beach installations were 'bombed and two seaplanes shot down. One seaplane and a small launch were destroyed on the water.