Brilliant Interception By Allied Fighters At Darwin

Taranaki Daily News, 25 August 1942, Page 3

Brilliant Interception By Allied Fighters At Darwin

Special Australian Correspondent.

Record bag of 13 planes in one raid.

Rec. 12.45 a.m. Sydney, Aug. 24. Allied fighters at Darwin on Sunday made a record bag of Japanese planes. Four heavy bombers and nine fighters were shot down in what th'e Allied headquarters' communique describes as a "brilliant tactical interception. ' The enemy attacked the aerodrome with 27 heavy bombers escorted by 20 Zero fighters. The Allied fighters suffered no loss. Only slight damage was done to the aerodrome. Dogfights took place at 25,000 feet. A total of 29 raids on Darwin beginning on February 19 has cost the enemy 73 planes. These aircraft comprised 40 Zero | fighters, 32 bombers and one of another jtype. Despite the enemy's advantage in manoeuvreability and ceiling, experierjced Kittyhawk pilots have evidently perf ected a technique for dealing with the high-flying Japanese Zero. Sunday's raid followed a 24-day lull. Darwin was last attacked on July 30 by 27 heavy bombers and 22 fighters. On that occasion the Darwin fighter force shot down nine of the enemy for the loss of one Allied plane. The latest raid was made at noon and was anticipated by Darwin's defenders. Our fighters intercepted the enemy over the sea as they approached from the west. In the first sudden attack three bombers were seen to leave the formation and jettison their bombs and it was obvious they would be unable to reach their base. Watchers on land

could also see the Zeros spiralling down trailing smoke as they fell. The remaining 24 bombers drove on to the target area but a war correspondent describes their attack as "more panic bombing than pattem bombing." Some bush fires were etarted by incendiaries and high exploeives but the service damage was negligible. The Allied patrols used oxygen in the rarified atmosphere in which the fighting occurred. The Japanese were evidently determinej to make full use of their superior ceiling but the defenders eaught them napping. An American pilot states he saw a Japanese airman bale out of his machine — an unprecedented happening over enemy territox-y. However. when i he flew past the parachute there was no one in it. In raids on Darwin the enemy have employed 335 heavy bombers, 54 divebombers and 179 fighters, thus their losses average about 12 per cent. of the attacking forces. The bombs dropped in the area are estimated to exceed 700,0001b in weight. The service casualties are described as "ridiculously few." The damage to service installations has not silenced a single battery gunpost, put any part of the communications system out of action, or prevented any aerodrome from operating. The damage to civilian property has been estimated at £26,000. In dogfights with the Japanese only 17 Kitty- I hawks of the Darwin fighter force have been iost. From this area many 'bombing attacks have been made on enemy-occu-pied territory, and the fact that the aerodrome was a target in Sunday's raid is ' cignificant. After the long lull it was generally felt that Darwin was overdue for a raid by the Japanese, who arrived according to the local prophets a day later than was expected.