JAPANESE VESSELS BOMBED

Southland Times, Issue 24871, 10 October 1942, Page 5

JAPANESE VESSELS BOMBED

AMERICAN NAVAL PLANES (United Press Association—Telegraph Copyright) (Rec. 11 p.m.) WASHINGTON, October 8. The Navy Department announced that carrierbased planes in the Northern Solomons damaged five Japanese vessels, including a heavy cruiser. The communique stated: “During recent weeks our long-range reconnaisance aircraft observed a large number of enemy ships concentrating in the Shortland Islands area, south of Bougainville (north-east of New Guinea).

On Monday Navy carrier-based aircraft of the task force under the operational control of ViceAdmiral Robert L. Ghormley, Comman-der-in-Chief in the South Pacific, attacked the enemy ships, while long-range bombers of General Douglas MacArthur’s command co-ordin-ated with a simultaneous raid. Despite unfavourable weather our carrierbased aircraft dam-

aged a heavy cruiser and one transport by heavy bombs, a seaplane tender and two cargo ships by light bombs and strafed one light cruiser and one destroyer in harbour at Shortland Island. “Four four-engined flying-boats were destroyed on the water at Faisi and six more were damaged. Two seaplanes and two bombers were destroyed in the Shortland Island area and Keita airfield was damaged by bombs. The task force suffered no losses in either aircraft or ships.”