Evening star., 1942-05-27
; Jap Flying Boats
Bomb Port Moresby
Under HedvyFir
Anti-Aircruft Batteries
Drive OFF Night Raiders;
Bombs Miss Toreet
By TOM YARBROUGH,
Press War Correspondent.

Associated Press War Correspondent.
PORT MORESBY, New Guinea,
May 26 Delayed. - Three big
Japanese flying boats bombed
Port MoreSby fruitleSSly under a
tropical moon last night in the
first after-dark assault here since
February.
The attackers were hurried along
by Allied spotlights and anti-aircraft
gun crews that rocked one from the
raiding formation.
1t was a brilliant spectacle Of
lights and shadows, a sight such as
one might expect to see at worlds
fair.
(The Wednesday communique
from Gen. Douglas MacArthur's
headquarters devoted this para
graph to the Port Moresby
theater:
CThree enemy flying boats
dropped bombs near the airdrome
Monday night without damage.
Our anti-aircraft fire hit one Of
the planes, which was seen losing
altitude. Last night two flying
boats attacked again without
effect"
(Of offensive operations yester-
day the communique said an air
patrol destroyed three of 16 Japa-
nese Zero fighters encountered
over New Guinea. One Allied
fighter was reported lost In the
sharp combat)
Planes Caught in Beams.
The three flying boats droned IN
from the sea and over the palm
fringed hills at about $4,000 feet,
They were promptly caught In the
brilliant intersections of beams from
many searchlights, getting their first
nocturnal workout at this advanced
base 300 miles northeast OF Aus
tralia's Cape York.
The lights had followed them just
a few seconds when the anti-aircraft
guns cut loose. A tongue Of flame
lashed from a hilltop emplacement.
A shell burst sharply. apparently IN
the very midst of the planes.
Anti-aircraft shells kept flying
fast. The shooting appeared re-
markably accurate. One plane
faltered and dropped out Of the
formation as if it had been struck.
but it was officially scored only as
a possible hit.
(This decision, however, was
subsequently amended, for the
plane was listed in the Mac
Arthur communique as hit0
The bombs were dropped all at
once. They fell we'll away from the
target area, which appeared to be
the airdrome. The raiders added
their own IS cents worth to the
color of the aerial fireworks by
firing red Very shells. probably as
signals to each other.
MY grandstand seat was on the
edge of a slit trench. I was just
about to adjust my mosquito net
for the night when the alarm
sounded a mournful "awnh, awnh,
awnh"-hke the action signal on
a warship.
Officers and men walked to the
trenches with the natural discipline
that springs from respect for bombs
remembered.
This place had three night raids
in February, but then it was diff
ferent. The japanese had 1t their
own way, without a sign of opposi-
ton, and the men in the trenches
could do nothing but lie low while
the raiders circled leisurely, picked
out their targets and dropped one
bomb at q time.
Last night the flying boats made
just one dry run" to pick out the
target, then came back from the
sea and dumped their loads in haste
The men in the trenches jeered
and reflected sarcastically on some
thing they had heard on the Toxic
radio-that Allied forces would be
given until midnight last night to
clear out Of the port.