SUCCESSFUL FORAY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 February 1943, Page 4

SUCCESSFUL FORAY

BY AMERICAN SUBMARINES IN NEW GUINEA DESTRUCTION OF ENEMY CONVOY. TOGETHER WITH LARGE DESTROYER. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 10.15 a.m.) NEW YORK, February 9. A United Press correspondent, Mr Frank Tremaine, aboard the submarine Wahoo at a South Pacific base, writes: “When in doubt we shoot,” said Lieutenant-Command-er Dudley Morton, after his return from New Guinea waters, where the Wahoo bagged an 1,800-ton destroyer and an entire four-ship convoy, totalling 30,000 tons. “Lieutenant-Commander Morton relates that the Allies learned that the Japanese had established bases along northern New Guinea, above Salamaua, from which they moved supplies to the fighting area. The Wahoo was assigned to attack these supply lines. The Japanese were reported to have established a base at Wewak, which was not shown on the Wahoo’s military charts, but fortunately was shown on a 25 cent atlas owned by an enlisted man aboard.. Lieutenant-Comman-der Morton took the Wahoo right into the harbour of Wewak, 350 miles north-west of Salamaua, and there torpedoed a Japanese destroyer, which immediately broke in two. He then spotted two freighters and one transport. loaded with 6,000 troops and sank them all. ‘We knocked off the bow and stern of the first freighter,’ he said. ‘The transport was hit amidships and exploded. She blew sky high, and all her personnel was lost.’ ”