LEFT IN FLAMES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 June 1943, Page 3

LEFT IN FLAMES

MAIN JAPANESE BASE IN TIMOR IN ONE OF MANY ALLIED RAIDS. FLOAT PLANES DESTROYED AT MOORINGS. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, June 13. Koepang, the main Japanese base in Timor, was left in flames on Friday when a force of 15 Liberators blew up a power house and fuel installations with 42 tons of bombs. The attack was the heaviest yet made by General MacArthur's bombers on an objective in Timor. The Timor raid was only one of 16 made by General MacArthur's bombers and long-range fighters in the past 48 hours, when clearing weather has permitted an intensification of our air attacks on enemy strongpoints. A Liberator force rained 19 tons of bombs on Rabaul aerodromes in a pre-dawn attack on Friday. This was the second big Allied attack in two days against Japanese aircraft concentrations there. A further light attack on the Koepang aerodrome was macle on Saturday. The results have not been reported. Beaufighters also did heavy damage on Saturday when they swept over the Japanese seaplane base at Taberfane in the Arui Islands in a surprise lowlevel attack. Six float planes were destroyed at their moorings and two others damaged, while a single intercepting float plane was shot down. Babo. the Japanese base on the McCluer Gulf in Dutch Guinea, was bombed by Catalinas on Saturday. Grounded aircraft were left burning and fires were started in the barracks area near the seaplane base. At Kaimana in the same sector damaging near misses with 5001 b. bombs were scored within 20 feel of a 2000-ton cargo ship. Over the north New Guinea coast, four of our fighters on Saturday encountered a formation of 20 enemyfighters. They attacked and shot down one Zero without loss to themselves. Our Mitchell medium bombers made two strong attacks on Salamaua, bombing and strafing. Direct hits were scored on Nauknuk bridge over the Francisco River. Beaufighters operated in strafing attacks on Komiatum, south of Salamaua on the Japanese supply trail to Mubo.