The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-12-24
Commander Hughes
 M Official Report
tcontinued from Page D

Only after it was apparent that tho gunboat must sink, Hughes rec port stated, did the attacking planes turn to the three Standard oil steamers the Panay was conveying, and destroy them.
 Hughes report was considered by state department official to support in full details this governments formal protest, and to Justify de- mandg that the Japanese govern. mcnt must, in addition to making full indemnihcation and formal apology, give adequate guarantees that American nationals, their rights and interests in China will be assured of freedom from attack or interference in any manner whatso- ever from Japanese armed forces or other Japanese clements.
 Many Points in Report
 1. The Panay was identified aS aii American vessel by two large hori- zontaI flags ono spread over the f0r- ward top deck and one over the after top deck, botf clearly visible from tho cir from any angle. Each flag measured about i8 feet in length and i4 feet in width and had been freshly repainted. In addition, be- cause of the emergency condition existing, tho Panay had been flying her largest ensign ct the gah both day and night whether underway or at anchor. All 0nsigns, both hori. zontai and vertical were brightly ti- .uninated all night.
 2. Four hours before the Panay WaS bombed, she was boarded by c Japanese army officer and boarding party. Her nationality, destination and mission were fully estabIis1ed.
 3. When the attack was made, the Panay was anchored iIi broad reach of the river. There were no Chinese or other ships in the vlciii- ity, except the American ships she was conveying.
 {. At the time Of the attack, i:27 D. n. The weather was clear with good visibility and no wind. The planes were clearly visible tn spite of their altitude which may not have been as high as reported to me at the time (about 4O0O feeD." 6. The bombing attack continued for about an hour, with the attack. ing planes diving to within 100 tc 200 feet Of the Panay, from which distance the American flags should have been clearly visible. 4 Bombed Continuously
 From then d:T ?, fnJ on the planes bombed ug continuously uIi. tiI about 2:26 ?. iIi," Hughes report said. 'They appeared to be attack ing Us iIl rclaysof two or three each The first group that came over bombed from Q considerable altitude which kept them beyond range ot our Lewis machine guns. Later when the Panay was visibly smashed up they came much closer and not only let go the irbombg from low alti- tudes, of perhaps one or two huTl- dred feet, but also machine gunned our decks, firing as they came down diving
 6. Tt should be remembered that the attacking planes concentrated almost all their efforts Oil the Panay during at least the first half hour, Hughes said.
 2. The planes attacked and ma chine gunried the ssmall boats iil which the Panay's survivors, many of them wounded, escaped to shore.
 6. 4 Japanese surface boat ma chine -gunned the sinking Panay before boarding party of Japanesl soldiers went on beard.
 The report revealed that the Jap- anese army officer, c Lieut.. Mtra- kami, who boarded the Panay be. fore the bombing. questioned Hughes about Chinese troop movements.
 Had No Information
 @I said that the United 9tatel was friendly to both Japan anC China and therefore could not give him any information about the Chinese army"
 Murakami then invited Hughes ts repay his call. ashore. which invi- tation I respectfully declined"
 Four hours later the JapRneas planes appeared and attacked Hughes was wounded by the fiksl bomb explosion. He said:
 ~I lost consciousness for whal must have been only a minute 0l two; when ! came to ! discovered myself on the f,Nsk of the bridge hadly stunned with my head GOV cred with blood and my right ie|