HEAVY DEFEAT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 September 1943, Page 3

HEAVY DEFEAT

SUFFERED BY JAPANESE IN NEW GUINEA AIR BATTLE 48 ENEMY PLANES SHOT DOWN. MANY OTHERS PROBABLY DESTROYED. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) SYDNEY, September 17. The Japanese air force suffered one of its heaviest defeats in the South-West Pacific on Wednesday when Allied bombers and fighters raided aerodromes at Wewak, in northern New Guinea, and shot out of action 59 enemy fighters of a force of possibly 70 in a great battle which raged for nearly an hour.

Forty-eight of the 59 enemy planes were shot down and the remainder probably destroyed. In addition, at least 10 Japanese aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Only one Alllied plane was lost, although a number were damaged. In a special message from his New Guinea headquarters, General MacArthur said; ‘Though almost invariably outnumbersd, the sth. Air Force in moments of crisis never fails me. Swift and sure in attack, tenacious and determined in defence, it has proved itself an ideal weapon of war. Its deadly efficiency has never been surpassed.” Allied raids and air battles in the Wewak area have cost the Japanese about 400 planes in the last four weeks. In an attempt to redress their disastrous losses, the. Japanese are bringing in continuous reinforcements of planes, and their air strength in this theatre is now greater than ever. Today’s communique from General MacArthur’s headquarters, giving details of this latest great Allied victory, says: ‘‘Our heavy bombers, with strong fighter escort, followed up our recent neutralisation of Dagua and But with a heavy attack on the remaining two fields of the aerodrome cluster of the Wewak base, at Boran and Wewak itself. Sixty-six tons of bombs were concentrated in the target area in less than 15 minutes, scoring heavily on the runways and dispersal areas, which contained from 20 to 40 parked aircraft. Direct hits destroyed 10 enemy bombers and started many fires among the others Two large fuel dumps were aflame Some 60 to 76 fighters intercepted in an effort to halt our attacks. For nearly an hour the enemy attacked viciously, but failed to break our formations.

“In a brilliant defence our bombers shot down 39 of the enemy and probably destroyed 10 more. Our fighters accounted for .nine definite and one probable. Our losses in proportion were very light. Some of the bombers were damaged but all reached the base. One fighter is missing and others sustained damage.” The performance of a Liberator formation known as the “Jolly Rogers,” in shooting down 39 enemy fighters, with an additional 11 probables, is regarded as one of the most amazing in the Pacific war. Delighted with their achievement, the bomber pilots returned to their base saying: ‘lf this keeps up we will be able to provide top cover for the Lightnings in the future.” One bomber crew claimed a bag of eight fighters. OTHER DAMAGING RAIDS. Allied air forces also struck a punishing blow against the Japanese in a sweep along the northern coast of New Guinea from Madang south of Finschhafen. The escorted bombers attacked 35 to 40 barges, sinking 15 and either destroying or seriously damaging the remainder Coastal villages were thorpughly strafed and many supply dumps destroyed. An anti-aircraft position at Bostrem Bay was demolished. The sweep was carried out without interception by enemy fighters. The communique also reports night raids on Amboina and Celebes Islands, in the north-western sector of the South-West Pacific. Ambon, on Amboina Island, was attacked by medium bombers which caused fires in the wharf area and in the centre of the town. Heavy bombers dropped 27 tons of explosives on buildings, docks and the aerodrome dispersal areas at Kendari, in the Celebes. v Under the cover of darkness 12 to 15 enemy aircraft ineffectively raided the Darwin area of Northern Australia. In the Solomons Allied night reconnaissance units west of Buka Island bombed and strafed three enemy cargo ships. Heavy reconnaissance units by daylight scored a direct hit with a 5001 b. bomb on a 1500-ton cargo vessel, which was left stationary, and listing.