ATROCIOUS DEED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 March 1942, Page 3

ATROCIOUS DEED

ATTACK ON DEFENCELESS PLANE MADE BY JAPANESE PILOTS BULLETS AND BOMBS RAINED ON REFUGEES. FOUR •PASSENGERS LOSE THEIR LIVES. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) PERTH, March 16. The story of an inhuman and ruthless attack by Japanese pilots on a Douglas commercial air liner which was evacuating 12 persons near Broome on the day that town was raided by the Japanese has been told by a pilot of the Dutch air line, Mr. W. Smirnoff, who is at present in Perth Hospital with "four bullet-wounds. He said the plane was attacked 60 miles north of Broome, and it crashed in flames on a beach. Four of the passengers died either from wounds or privation. Three Japanese fighters attacked his defenceless plane. Smirnoff was shot through both arms, but he managed to land the plane on the beach, where it burst into flames.

“In spite of our terrible plight, those Japanese fiends went on machine-gun-ning us and finally left us to die,” he saicl. “A woman was twice badly wounded. Our mechanic had a shocking wound in the knee, and I had four bullets through my left arm and one through the right log. Both the woman and a flying officer of the Dutch air force died. “I sent three men to look for water. They were away eight hours and returned without any. “On the next day a Japanese flyingboat passed over and dropped five bombs on us. “Another party was sent for water, and they searched for 20 hours, but came back without any. “The mechanic died on the third day, by which time we were nearly all finished. However, we manager to distil some water from seawater. “I then sent out a party of four to try to find help. They were away for 72 hours, and then, to our great joy, an R.A.A.F. plane flew over and dropped food, medicine, water -and cigarettes, and also a message saying that a rescue party was on the way. We were taken to the Beagle Bay mission and made very comfortable. “My view of the Japanees airmen is that they are not human; they are beasts.” FURTHER DETAILS ATTACK ON AUSTRALIAN ISLANDS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 9.55 a.m.) . RUGBY, March 16. A R.A.A.F. communique says further details of the Japanese attack on islands near Cape York, reported on Saturday, give no casualties. The enemy lost one bomber and two fighters. Several others were damaged. Shortly after dusk the attack began and the . raiders were intercepted by Allied fighters and the enemy formation was broken up. Within a few minutes one Japanese heavy bomber and one “Zero” fighter were shot down in