“WONDERFUL TARGET”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 March 1942, Page 3

“WONDERFUL TARGET”

OFFERED AT DARWIN EVACUATED MAN’S CHARGES. NO SHELTER WHATEVER. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) SYDNEY, March 3. Evacuees from Darwin who were involved in the Japanese raid arrived here today and told vivid stories of the severity of the raid and of lack of shelters. Thomas Mackney, who was employed at the aerodrome, said that buildings, hangars and the water tower were painted white and orange. Even the ground staff was tropically clothed in white, making a wonderful target. “There were no shelters whatever and when the Japanese came in waves everyone went for the bush seeking whatever cover was available. The whole business was. disgraceful,” added Mackney. Patrick Murray, a local plumber, said the bombs razed all the trees in front of the house of Darwin’s administrator. Extraordinary confusion occurred in the post office yard, where the postmaster and others were killed. A truck containing a coil of copper wire was stood on its nose in a bomb crater and a coil of cable was hurled 400 yards. Other evacuees described the merciless machine-gunning of scampering citizens who were trying to find shelter, also hairbreadth escapes among patients in the hospital. RAID ON BANDOENG MADE IN POWERFUL STRENGTH. OPPOSED BY HANDFUL OF FIGHTERS. (Received This Day, 10 a.m.) NEW YORK, March 3. A Bandoeng message states that Japanese planes carried out a mass attack on Bandoeng. The action lasted for 90 minutes and there were 102 casualties. A handful of Allied fighters went into action against an enormously superior number of enemy aircraft and at one point 42 bombers and 18 fighters were encountered simultaneously. The anti-aircraft defences were unable to break up the Japanese formations. The bombing was mostly near the aerodrome. DEATH REPORTED ADMIRAL YAMAMOTU. COMMANDER OF JAPANESE COMBINED FLEETS. LONDON, March 3. The Tokio radio has announced the death of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese combined Imperial fleets. No details of how he died were given. The Emperor congratulated Admiral Yamamoto for his daring in attacking Pearl Harbour without warning.