BRILLIANTLY MET

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 March 1943, Page 3

BRILLIANTLY MET

JAPANESE AIR ATTACK IN PAPUA BOMBERS WITH STRONG ESCORT 25 ENEMY PLANES SHOT OUT OF ACTION. THIRTEEN CERTAINLY DESTROYED (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, March 29. Brilliant Allied fighter interception yesterday shattered the greatest Japanese air concentration that has ever been in action over New Guinea. When the enemy made a raid on Oro Bay, in northern Papua, at midday, Kittyhawks and Lightnings shot out of combat 25 planes from an enemy formation comprising 40 bonibers with a strong fighter escort. The total number of enemy aircraft involved was certainly more than 60. The raid sank one small Allied vessel and damaged another. The Allied plane losses were “extremely light.” The Japanese bomber force consisted of 25 medium bombers and 15 divebombers. Of the large escorting fighter screen 19 planes were destroyed or damaged. The official battle score was: Definitely destroyed: Eleven Zero fighters and two dive-bombers. Shot out of action (damaged, but destruction not confirmed): Eight Zeros and four dive-bombers. . The Allied fighters were already in the air when the Japanese air fleet came over. The big raid on Darwin on February 18 last was one of the few occasions when the enemy’s attacking strength of yesterday had been surpassed in the South-West Pacific. The outcome of the latest action was a further heavy blow to the Japanese attempts to retrieve their air position in this theatre. HARD-PRESSED GARRISON. The virtually unchallenged Allied ail’ supremacy in northern New Guinea has resulted in the semi-starvation of the Japanese garrisons in the Lae-Sala-maua-Mubo area. The supplies reaching these bases by the submarines which have run the Allied air blockade have been totally iandequate and one submarine has already been destroyed by Allied bombing. In their efforts to relieve the hardpressed garrisons the Japanese have developed an overland supply route from Madang to Lae, a distance of about 200 trail miles. This route leads through the Markham Valley, and its use was begun following the destruction. of the Lae-bound convoy in January, when more than 100 of the enemy fighter umbrella were shot down. A few native porter food trains are known to have got through, but on the long journey they were forced to eat almost all the supplies they were able to carry. Thus empty-handed reinforcements increased the food problems of the already undernourished garrisons. ATTACKS ON SUPPLY LINE. Since the Bismarck Sea battle early this month, when .22 Japanese ships were sunk, the movement of supplies by the overland route has increased, and disruption of this supply line has been the purpose of the recent strafing sweeps by Allied aircraft along the Markham Valley. The past week has seen daily attacks on objectives in this area. The position of the enemy garrisons in the Lae-Salamaua-Mubo area is also being steadily worsened by increasing pressure from the Allied ground forces for whom Oro Bay is one supply base. While Australians are maintaining their patrol, initiative in the Mubo area other Allied forces have made an arduous push along the north New Guinea coast from Sanananda and are now close to Morobe. They have reached -the fast-flowing Waria River, about 90 miles north-west of Sanananda, after a hard-fighting trek through, some of the worst country in New Guinea. Reporting other Allied air operations yesterday, the communique says that one of our heavy bombers raided the town of Madang, in New Guinea, causing fires and explosions. At Finschhafen, a medium unit bombed and strafed the aerodrome and wharf area during Saturday night, starting numerous fires. During the day a heavy bomber strafed two heavily-laden motor barges up the coast, destroying both barges and their contents. Under cover of darkness two enemy aircraft raided the village of Kurireda, in the Buna area, causing no damage. Targets bombed by other individual Allied units were at Langgoer, in the Kai Islands. Dobo, in the Aru Islands, and Gasmata and Cape Gloucester, New Britain. . THREAT TO SHIPPING EXPANSION OF JAPANESE AIR FORCE. SYDNEY, March 29. The Army Minister, Mr. Forde, states that at present Japan is building up a force of 2000 planes in her island arc north of Australia. He predicts that these planes will be used for heavier attacks on Allied shipping.