SHIPS & PLANES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 May 1943, Page 4

SHIPS & PLANES

JAPANESE LOSSES DURING

APRIL

IN SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC.

FINE ACHIEVEMENTS OF ALLIED AIRCRAFT.

(Special Australian Correspondent.) (Received This Day, 12.5 p.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. During April, aircraft of the South-West Pacific Command sank or damaged 93,000 tons of Japanese shipping, destroyed 60 aircraft for certaoin and probably destroyed 28 more.

The high monthly average of losses inflicted on the Japanese was maintained despite the fact that during the last fortnight the weather conditions wore so unfavourable as to cause a virtual suspension of large-scale, offensive operations in the entire northeastern sector.

Not a single American bomber was lost in raids on Japanese shipping during the month, when the sinkings were: One heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, two Cargo vessels, one oil carrier and one submarine. Four destroyers. two transports and ten cargo ships were damaged. The new skip-bombing technique accounted for almost all of these successes.

This brings the total of Japanese shipping destroyed or damaged in the South-West Pacific area since August 1 last year to 654,980 tons. Of this total, 189.230 tons have been definitely destroyed.

Twenty-six of the Japanese planes destroyed during April were shot down by Allied bombers attacking on emy ships or bases. The remainder were destroyed by Allied fighters, which intercepted mass enemy raids on New Guinea objectives during the middle of the month. About 25 per cent of the Japanese raiding strength was destroyed or probably destroyed.