MORE FAIRY TALES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 May 1942, Page 4

MORE FAIRY TALES

ABOUT BATTLE OF CORAL SEA TOLD BY JAPANESE RADIO. i ATTEMPT SEEN TO ELICIT INFORMATION. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) (Received This Day, 12.20 p.m.) NEW YORK, May 21. The Tokio official radio today, in an apparent attempt to elicit information, broadcast further purported details of the Coral battle. It quotes the Domei news agency as saying that the battle was fought on two days, May 7 and May 8. The battle on May 7 was similar to that off Malaya. Powerful British and American fleets were lured into the northern part of the Coral Sea by a feint carried out by a small Japanese aircraft-carrier. “Our naval forces, it is added, “speedily trapped the enemy fleet in an effort to finish it in one fell swoop.” The spokesman then reiterated previous claims about losses inflicted and said the battle was modern in every sense. Several hundred Japanese and •enemy planes violently stormed at each other.

“Although the Japanese were seriously outnumbered,” the statement continues, “we sank two powerful air-craft-carriers with all their planes on board and shot down additional aircraft four times the number of those destroyed with the carriers, proving that Japanese fighting strength in the air is superior to that of the enemy. What surprised us was the desperate retreat of the enemy.” The spokesman then gave a dissertation on American secrecy. In an obvious effort to elicit information, he proceeded: “The Coral Sea has become our patrol zone. This should make it clear who was victorious/’