HEAVY ATTACKS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 May 1942, Page 3

HEAVY ATTACKS

MADE ON PORT MORESBY BUT LITTLE DAMAGE DONE. NUMBER OF ENEMY PLANES SHOT DOWN. LONDON, May 15. Yesterday’s enemy attack on Port Moresby, the 50th, was the heaviest of the war in New Guinea. A communique reports that 56 Japanese fighters and nine bombers came over. However, no important damage is reported. Allied planes bombed targets at Rabaul, including shipping, and also enemy objectives in the Solomon Islands. At Rabaul 17 Japanese fighters took the air to intercept the raiders, and seven of the fighters were shot down without loss to the Allies. A previous communique stated that when six Japanese planes came over Port Moresby on a raiding expedition, American fighters promptly shot down two and damaged a third. Raiding bombers were kept at a great height and their bombs fell in the sea. ZONED DEFENCES PREPARATIONS IN AUSTRALIA FOR COMING STORM. THE CORAL SEA BATTLE. SYDNEY, May 14. Australia has been zoned for operations, declares the Minister’ of Air, Mr Drakeford. “Oui' ail' strength has been disposed, with that of America, at points from which it can best operate. Many millions of pounds have been poured out to make these as near perfect as possible in the time available.” The R.A.A.F. and the Americans, he said, had been blasting the Japanese advanced bases to reduce to a minimum the strength the enemy was gathering. When the storm broke, it would break with less violence because of these efforts. In an article which is widely published, Sir Keith Murdoch, chairman of the “Herald and Weekly Times,” Melbourne, says: “The best that can be said is that in scattered fighting on a wide circle of sea and islands centred on the Louisiade Archipelago we have blunted and in part broken the vanguard of the Japanese expeditionary forces. To say that we have smashed a great invasion fleet is sheer folly.” A message from Sydney says that photographs of the Coral Sea battle, taken from United States bombers, disprove the latest Japanese excuse that bad weather prevented the enemy from obtaining a victory. The pictures show clearly that the weather was fine. The first batch of casualties from the battle arrived today at an Australian port. Considerable interest is attached to the disclosure that Admiral Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, commanded the Japanese naval force in the Coral Sea battle. Admiral Yamamoto is credited with having been the great driving force behind the expansion of the Japanese naval ail’ arm to its present proportions, and his presence in the southwest Pacific is held to be significant.