MET & SMASHED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 June 1943, Page 3

MET & SMASHED

JAPANESE RAID ON DARWIN SPITFIRES’ BEST DAY YET 22 ENEIMY PLANES DESTROYED OR CRIPPLED. ANOTHER DAMAGING ATTACK ON RABAUL. . (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY, June 21. Twenty-two of’ a raiding force of 48 Japanese bombers and fighters were destroyed or crippled by British and Australian Spitfire pilots in a big air battle over Darwin yesterday morning. The greatest number of Spitfires ever thrown into a battle in this area clashed with the raiders. The opposing forces are reported to have been approximately equal in strength.

Describing the engagement, General MacArthur’s communique today says: “Twenty-eight enemy bombers, escorted by 20 fighters, attacked the Darwin area. Our fighters successfully intercepted the attacking force near Cape Gambier, destroying or damaging 22 planes. Of them, nine, comprising six bombers and three fighters, were definitely seen to crash; three, comprising two bombers and one fighter, were falling in flames; and 10, comprising eight bombers and two fighters, were losing altitude and smoking after being shot out of the combat. “Two of our planes are missing. Damage and casualties on the ground arc minor.”

The Japanese bombers attacked at high and low altitudes, dropping small fragmentation bombs as well as high explosives. The result of the ensuing battle was the best achieved by the Spitfires since they arrived in Australia. Our fighters were in- the air and waiting for the raiders.

INEFFECTIVE ENEMY EFFORTS. ■ The Japanese also struck in the New Guinea area, with two raids against Wau. In the first raid, 17 fighters came over. Fifteen acted as a covering protection while two strafed the area. One of these was damaged by our anti-air-craft fire. About an hour and a half later, seven light bombers attacked from 10,000 feet without causing damage or casualties. Bena Bena, 65 miles inland from Madang, has been raided for the fifth time in six days. General MacArthur's communique reports negligible damage and no known casualties.

Many Japanese aircraft are believed to have been destroyed by the Allied bombers which recently pounded the Rabaul airfields. In a non-stop bombardment, 187 tons of high explosive, fragmentation, and incendiary bombs have been unloaded on the Rabaul area in the past 11 days. The latest attack was made yesterday morning by five separate formations of these heavy bombers which discharged 31 tons of explosives ’ and incendiaries against the enemy’s airfield network. In addition to hammering the Vunakanau and Rapopo fields, our bombers ■attacked a new Japanese strip at Keravat, on the west side of the peninsula. This new airfield is stated to be in use.

“Many fires were started at each airfield,” says today’s communique from General MacArthur’s headquarters, and heavy destruction to parked aircraft is indicated. At Vunakanau, the entire dispersal area south of the runway was left in flames which were visible 50 miles away. Heavy anti-air-craft fire was encountered. Enemy night fighters were ineffective. All our planes returned.” Twenty miles out from Rabaul on the homeward journey, the crew of one bomber reported a tremendous explosion near Vunakanau. ACTION IN SOLOMONS. South Pacific correspondents report that Japanese air concentrations in the northern Solomons sector are being subjected to attacks by Admiral Halsey’s bombers. Recent raids have been made on the Kahili aerodrome on Bougainville Island, which is the nearest Japanese bomber base to Guadalcanal since Munda and Kolombangara have been neutralised by repeated attacks. Kahili is 300 miles from Guadalcanal. Other raids by Admiral Halsey’s bombers have been made on Ballale, the Japanese fighter base on Shortland Island, 270 ■ miles from Guadalcanal. American observers anticipate continued heavy air fighting in this area, since they believe that the Japanese can no longer afford to ignore the growing Allied offensive strength in the South and South-West Pacific. The attack on Rabaul was the major Allied offensive activity reported in General MacArthur’s latest communique, but a number of harassing raids has also been made in the past 24 hours. Yesterday afternoon, Boston attack planes and Lightning fighters bombed and strafed Lae aerodrome in northern New Guinea, destroying an enemy fighter on the ground. Bostons also bombed Kela, a village near Salamaua. A Hudson bomber patrolling over the Arafura Sea clashed with an enemy float-plane 165 miles north of Millingimbi. The enemy craft was damaged.

GALLANT WORK DONE BY NET TENDERS IN PACIFIC. PROTECTION OF ALLIED SHIPS. SYDNEY, June 20. “New heroes have been discovered in the Solomons campaign—the American and New Zealand crews of net tenders,” writes an Australian war correspondent in the South Pacific. He adds: “These Cinderella men of the naval service with their 700-ton ships designed for the dull labour of handling tons of unwieldy anti-submarine netting are being thrown out into the front line of the Pacific war. Their ships have become fighting ships. “The netting is placed round ships at anchor in open roadsteads, and enables them to unload with a minimum of risk from torpedoes. For this reason, in the amphibious war in the Pacific, the net tender is playing a bigger part than it did in the last war, when its field of operations was confined to harbour defences. Now net tender crews carry out their jobs under a constant risk of undersea or air attack. They are often in action.”

MANY HITS SCORED

IN ATTACKS ON JAPANESE BASES. IN SOUTH AND NORTH PACIFIC. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.0 a.m.) RUGBY, June 21. A United States Navy communique states: “On Friday night Army Liberators and heavy bombers attacked Japanese installations at Arawa,. in the Gilbert Islands, and a number of hits were scored on enemy positions. Although seven enemy Zeros were in the air over Arawa they did not press any determined attack against the bombers.

“On Saturday night Army Liberators attacked Japanese positions at Kahili in the Buin area and fires were started.

“On Sunday morning Navy Dauntless Avengers, escorted by Army Warhawks and Navy Wildcats, attacked Vila, on Kolombangara Island. A supply dump was hit and a fire was started.

“In the North Pacific on Sunday, Navy Venturas attacked Japanese installations on Kiska, but the results were not observed.

“From all of the above operations all our planes returned.”