JAPANESE PROGRESS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 January 1942, Page 4

JAPANESE PROGRESS

THE FIGHTING IN MALAYA ENEMY LOSSES. DAMAGE IN SINGAPORE. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, January 27. A Singapore report states that despite determined attacks by our aircraft on an enemy convoy off Endau yesterday, the enemy succeeded in landing a force and transport. Allied bombers hit an enemy cruiser and scored twelve hits on troop transports and another on a large dump of stores on the beach. Barges and landing craft were heavily machine-gunned. Twelve enemy fighters were destroyed and two others probably destroyed and two damaged. The British forces are in contact with the enemy north of Jemaluang. South of Keuang and Ayer Hitam, the enemy has supported his infantry with continuous dive-bomb and machinegun attacks, directed against movement on the roads. Fighting is progressing. In the west fighting is taking place about- Seng Arang. Enemy aircraft raided Singapore yesterday, causing military damage and few casualties. Further damage was caused today. RAIDS ON RANGOON / OVER THOUSAND PEOPLE KILLED. SINCE DECEMBER 23. (Received This Day, 1.5 p.m.) RANGOON, January 27. It is officially stated that 1102 persons have been killed in Rangoon by Japanese air raids since December 23. PLANES HITTING OUT FORCES MORE WIDELY SPREAD. AUSTRALIAN MACHINES SCORE DIRECT HITS. (Received This Day. 1.5 p.m.) SINGAPORE, January 27. There are increasing signs of R.A.F. co-operation in the Malayan campaign. When the enemy struck the forces available to the Malayan Command were small, besides being spread throughout the peninsula, with a large proportion of the fighter strength concentrated at Singapore for the defence of the base which is the enemy’s chief objective but now, with the arrival of Hurricanes the Air Force is able to spare planes to protect front line troops and escort bombing expeditions. This has increased Imperial air activity which is one of the cheering features of the Johore fighting, though the Japanese are still superior in numbers. Fighter sweeps are proceeding daily over the front while attempts to raid the island of Singapore are meeting with, sturdy resistance. An Australian official war correspondent says the Royal Australian Air Force participated in Tuesday’s attack on an enemy convoy off Endau. None of their planes was lost. Hudson bombers scored direct hits on ships. One bomb completely blew out the stern portion of a liner estimated at 10,000 tons. The Hudsons were escorted by Buffaloes, which engaged waves of Japanese fighters whilst the bombers made their runs arcross the ships. JAPANESE LOSSES PLANES DESTROYED IN BURMA ■ AND MALAYA. SINGAPORE, January 26. Since the outbreak of war the Japanese have lost 87 planes over Burma and Malaya, and 36 more have probably been destroyed and 21 damaged, Anti-aircraft defences accounted for 50 of those certainly destroyed. Tomahawks today repulsed a Japanese fighter sweep over the Rangoon area, shooting down three and probably destroying two.