SEVERE DAMAGE TO JAPANESE FLEET

Southland Times, Issue 24875, 15 October 1942, Page 5

SEVERE DAMAGE TO JAPANESE FLEET

NAVAL AND AIR BATTLE IN SOLOMONS AREA (United Press Association —Telegraph Copyright) (Rec. 9.30 p.m.) WASHINGTON, October 13. Smashing blows against the Japanese Fleet in the Solomons area were delivered by the United States naval and air forces on Monday. One enemy heavy cruiser was sunk, a second cruiser badly damaged and put out of action and four destroyers and one medium-sized transport were sunk in the naval battle which resulted when renewed Japanese efforts were made to land troops on Guadalcanal* Island. The sole United States ship loss was a single destroyer. < This new triumph, which is regarded as perhaps the most heartening news received from the South-west Pacific since United States Marines occupied the Southeastern Solomons, makes a total of 48 Japanese ships sunk or damaged and at least 270 planes destroyed in the group in two months.

The latest success is annnounced in a special Navy Department communique which says:— “On various occasions in recent weeks the Japanese have succeeded in increasing the number of their troops on Guadalcanal by night landings from cruisers, destroyers and small transports. Navy and Marine aircraft from Guadalcanar have persistently attacked landing parties, but air attacks aid not halt the landings. Therefore, a task group of United States cruisers and destroyers was ordered to intercept enemy ships attempting further landings. At midnight on Monday a task group engaged a force of enemy cruisers, destroyers and transports west of Savo Island. After a 30-minutes battle fought with guns and torpedoes the enemy was forced to abandon this landing attempt and withdrew. AMERICAN DESTROYER SUNK “Several United States ships received minor to moderate damage and one destroyer was sunk. Our forces sank a heavy cruiser of the Nati or Atago class, four destroyers and one 5000-ton transport. “Reports to date indicate that as a result of night action and air attacks on Monday the enemy suffered the following minimum damage:— One heavy cruiser sunk. One cruiser badly damaged and put out of action. Four destroyers sunk. One medium sized transport sunk. “One destroyer was our only ship loss in these actions.” This battle was apparently that referred to by the Paris radio. A later Chungking report quotes the Chinese military spokesman as saying that the Japanese Fleet at sea in the Pacific comprises four aircraft-carriers, seven battleships and -a number _of cruisers. The Fleet was reported to have been “recently observed moving south.” SINKING OF CRUISERS Astoria Battered By Shells (Rec. 7 p.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, October 13. Describing the Solomons battle in which three American cruisers were lost, Ist Class Seaman Lynn Hager, who was aboard the Astoria, says he heard the distant sound of aeroplanes and sent a hurried message to the captain. Later flares plunged down from the planes. Then out of the darkness came a blinding searchlight and almost simultaneously a thunderous mass of steel fire closed in on the doomed ship. The Astoria shuddered under the impact of shell after shell. The first salvo struck while some men were still running to j their stations and knocked out one of the Astoria’s gun turrets. “When the Japanese searchlight picked us up we turned and started firing to port,” Seaman Hager said. “It seemed.that ships were attacking us from both sides. Our commander i cut loose at the searchlight, which after a few minutes went up in one big puff. He commented, ‘That’s one Jap who’ll never throw another shell.’ Shells and torpedoes from other Japanese warships continued hitting us J until we were set on fire. The Astoria burned all night and sank in the morning.” Seaman Hager said an American destroyer machine-gunned the sharks in order to save wounded men who were struggling in the water. Seaman Williamson, who was aboard the Quincy when she sank, said: I “While we were in the water a man I close to me who had been badly | shot about, said quietly: ‘I can’t last j over 20 minutes. I’ve got 100 dollars in my pocket if it will do you fellows | any good.” But nobody took it.” ■ ESCAPE OF MARINES Shorts Used For Signalling (Rec. 8.45 p.m.) NEW YORK, Oct. 13. Some Japanese flyers shot down in the South Pacific pleaded for a chance to become American or Australian citizens so they could join the Allied air forces, according to Brigadier-General Perrin, who returned from Australia a month ago. He also told how shorts played a vital part in the rescue of a lost detachment of Marines on Guadalcanar. A pilot flying a dive-bomber over an isolated part of the north shore observed white spots near the beach. He descended to investigate and saw the single word “help,” which a group of Marines, cut off on all sides by the Japanese, had formed by stripping off their shorts and spreading them on the ground. The pilot reported to Marine headquarters and then sent the plane shrieking down repeatedly while the gunner fired the machine-guns to help the Marines fight a way through to the shore. Meanwhile, two rescue boats escorted by a destroyer sped up the coast. The destroyer shelled the Japanese while the Marines drove through to the beach. The rescue boats raced to the shore under a hail of enemy machine-gun fire, which forced them to retire twice, but on the third attempt they reached the shore and took off the entire party.