WELL HARRIED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 April 1943, Page 3

WELL HARRIED

JAPANESE WEWAK CONVOY THREE SHIPS BELIEVED SUNK & ANOTHER BEACHED. FIVE OTHERS PUT TO FLIGHT. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, April 18. Five of the ships in the latest Japanese Wewak convoy have fled to escape the incessant Allied air attack. When last seen they were steaming northward beyond the range of our bombers. Four other merchantmen which completed the enemy’s nine-ship convoy were struck in the raids made from Wednesday night up till early on Friday morning. Three of the ships hit are believed to have been sunk, while the fourth was beached. Vessels hit aggregated 29,000 tons and were: An 8000-ton vessel definitely sunk; a 5000-ton vessel forced to beach; 8000-ton vessel last seen listing and 8000-ton vessel lasta seen listing and settling. Allied pilots making reconnaissance flights over Wewak harbour on Friday morning report that no sign could be seen of the vessel officially announced as beached. It is likely that she also sank. Only five ships fled the harbour, and no trace has been found of the remaining four. In a final raid made early on Friday morning two skip bombing hits with 1000-pound bombs were scored on a 8000-ton ship, which was torn by an internal explosion and immediately began to smoke from stem to stern and settle in the water. The attacks on the ships by Flying Fortresses were maintained till dawn. The ships were in Wewak harbour for only a single night, and the longest period during which they were without attention from our bombers was three hours. ENEMY NEED OF SUPPLIES. Whether the'Japanese are able to carry out unloading operations in such a limited time is not known. Since all the attacks were made under cover of darkness, it is uncertain whether troops as well as supplies were carried. However, most observers believe that the Japanese garrisoning the north New Guinea coast, for which Wewak is the main feeder base, are in need of supplies rather than reinforcements. No hits are claimed against a light cruiser, a destroyer and a small gunboat which escorted the convoy. Combined with attacks on enemy ships our aircraft made neutralising raids on aerodromes from which the Japanese might have been able to send up intercepting fighters. These were successfully pinned to the ground. After repeated disaster has convinced the Japanese that convoys cannot reach their advanced bases at Lae and Salamaua, the enemy are now discovering that the more remote passage to Wewak is also a costly one. Though Wewak lies beyond the range of escorting Allied fighters, our air blockade of the northern New Guinea coast appears to have been extended with gratifying success. ENEMY SHIPS HIT BY AMERICAN BOMBERS IN SOLOMONS. TEN MORE RAIDS ON KISKA. LONDON, April 18. In the Solomons, United States bombers hit a tanker and cargo ship. In the North Pacific the Americans have made ten more raids on Kiska, in the Aleutians.