MINOR RAIDS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 July 1942, Page 3

MINOR RAIDS

MADE BY THE JAPANESE ON TOWNSVILLE & DARWIN. VIGOROUS ALLIED ATTACKS ON ENEMY BASES. (British Official Wireless.) LONDON, July 26. Japanese planes have made small-scale night raids on Darwin and also, for the first time, on Townsville. There were no casualties in either town. A correspondent says that judging by the results the Japanese trouble and expense in sending the planes over were not justified. No damage was done at Townsville, and at Darwin, though there was a bright moon, the. bombs fell wide. The Allied forces have kept up their attacks on the new Japanese base at Buna, north-east of Port Moresby, and also attacked Lae. A south-west Pacific communique yesterday stated: “At Buna, New Guinea, Allied dive-bombers and fighters continued to attack enemy barges, stores and installations with demolition and incendiary bombs. Forty-five thousand pounds of bombs Avere placed in the target area, causing large fires. Direct hits Avere scored on an anti-aircraft battery, Avhich was silenced. A number of enemy cargo ships were unable to unload, being forced to withdraw northAvard.

Though its peace time population was only 31,000, Townsville is economically an important port, and it has obvious strategic importance. It is 748 miles north of Brisbane. The nearest Japanese base is in the Buna-Louisiade area of New Guinea, roughly 700 miles away.. FIERCE BLITZ MAINTAINED BY ALLIES. AGAINST NEW ENEMY BASE. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, July 26. An Allied headquarters communique reports the most intensive air activity which has yet occurred in the southwest Pacific area. Four enemy planes raided Townsville shortly before midnight. Their target is not disclosed, but the communique states that all the bombs fell wide of the mark and no casualties or damage resulted. Throughout Friday and yesterday Allied bombers and fighters maintained their fierce aerial blitz against enemy forces at the Gona Mission, near Buna. Yesterday two enemy planes were shot down in dogfights over the mission station. One of‘our fighters is missing. Retaliation raids to relieve the pressure on their forces at Gona were begun by the Japanese on Friday, when 18 bombers, escorted by 16 fighters, attacked an aerodrome at Port Moresby. The official communique reports no casualties and only slight damage. This attack was followed by the night raids on Darwin and Townsville.

The violent air action, coupled with the Gona landing, is generally accepted as a clear indication that the Japanese are now ready to resume their southward drive with an offensive against Port Moresby as the first major move. The air raids on Darwin and Townsville were probably intended to weaken the Allied power of reinforcement from these bases. Further raids are to be expected. The dive-bombers which have made their first appearance in the southwest Pacific war zone are twin-en-gined Douglas A.24’s. This machine was originally put into production for naval use, but was adopted by the United States Army last year. It is admitted that the enemy activity in the Buna area may alter the entire complexion of the aerial warfare in the south-west Pacific. It makes increasingly difficult the Allied efforts to blast the Japanese bases. American planes flying to Rabaul must now find a new route, since Buna is in direct line between Port Moresby and this main enemy southward base. American correspondents are again urging the speedy dispatch of additional air strength to Australia. “Several squadrons of heavy Liberator bombers would make a big difference to the situation,” says Mr Jack Turcott, writing to the New York “Daily News.” It is now reported that the Japanese made their initial landing at Gona on Wednesday under very favourable conditions. The sea was dead calm. The Japanese warships heavily bombarded the mission station before their troops landed. An American pilot who was responsible for sinking a 10,000-ton enemy transport on Wednesday said his bombs fell right across the transport and the barges alongside it. “The bombs seemed to go straight down the funnel, and everything on the ship buckled and broke up,” he said. THREAT TO MORESBY SUPPOSED JAPANESE AIMS. CONJECTURE IN LONDON. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 25. Following upon the long spell of quietude as far as land action in the south-west Pacific was concerned, some speculation has arisen in London regarding the objects of the recent operations of the Japanese on the northeast coast of New Guinea. The general impression is that this forecasts a fresh attempt to capture Port Moresby, whose fall would prevent Allied warships from passing west through Torres Straits (between New Guinea and Queensland) to attack the Japanese. It is true that there is only a' packroute between Buna and Port Moresby which would cause difficulties to invading forces, but having regard to the Japanese skill in the use of lightlyarmed troops in operating over unfavourable terrain these might not be insuperable. The ultimate intention of the Japanese, may, therefore, be a renewed attack on Port Moresby from the land, air and sea.