Evening star., 1942-09-12
Witness Tells of Great Victory
In Rout of Jops at SoIomons
Large Force Attempting to Retoke Islands
Driven OFF in Gigantic Air Bottle

cIlciiiy pldIleS kllOWI1 10 nave DGe0
shot down by our planes and anti
aircraft, it is believed that many
more Japanese aircraft were lost in
night landings or failed to return to
their carriers.
Heavy damage was inflicted on
enemy shipping. The japanese we're
turned back as in the first Coral Sea
battle and their forces dealt stagger-
ing punishment but not completely
knocked out. At this writing, q
fight is still in prospect.
The Japanese invasion force con-
sisted of two main task forces; one
containing carriers with battleships,
heavy and light cruisers and de-
stroyers, and the other centering on
small carrier escorted by one heavy
cruiser and two destroyers. In ad-
dition, there were several other
groups of transports under warship
protection.
In the battle, our aircraft made
four separate attacks The largest
was by our carrier planes on a jap
anese carrier. The carrier planes
also attacked two other Japanese
warship forces while Navy and Ma
rine dive-bombers from Guadalcanal
battered the separate group of Jap
anese warships and transports this
morning
The battle started with an attack
on Guadalcanal airfield early yes
terday afternoon by Japanese car
rier planes and land-based heavy
bombers from Rabaul and Bougain-
vile.
(Rabaul Is on New Britain
Island and Bougainville is in the
Upper Solomons, both northwest
OF GuadalcanaD
A handful of Marine Corps pilots
in Grumman Wildcats and Army
pilots in Aircobras scared to meet
them and in quick, slashing fighting
shot down IL Zeros and 10 twin
engined bombers. Only three of our
pilots were missing in this action.
OF which one was known to have
been killed.
Attack Quickly Broken Up.
The enemy bombing attack was
so quickly broken up that Ma
rine ground installations escaped
damage.
Our scouts located three enemy
carriers and our attack group con-
sisting of dive bombers and tor
pedo planes took OF. They found
the small Japanese carrier at 4:l0
pm. escorted by two destroyers
and one heavy cruiser. The dive
bombers peeled of and plunged at
the Japanese carrier, which went
into tight righthand turn. Bombs
stopped it nearly dead in the water.
Torpedo planes got one hit amid
ship on the heavy cruiser, and an
other torpedo which missed the
carrier hit one of the escorting
destroyers.
One OF our dive bombers shot
down Japanese torpedo plane
which had just taken of from the
carrier deck Our own attack group
escaped with minor damage to one
plane. 1t was hit by q small group
OF zeros circling the carrier. Other
Zeros failed to press home attacks
on our planes and the enemy anti
aircraft fire was relatively light.
Returning to our carriers our dive
bombers encountered enemy dive
bombers and shot down three of
them without our planes receiving
even a scratch. They also sighted
80 enemy dive bombers, torpedo
planes and fighters en- route to
attack our carriers. These enemy
groups, however, failed to find us.
Meanwhile, our task force was ex-
pecting an attack momentarly. 1t
came and developed into the great
est air battle of the war as our
fighter planes ripped into enemy
dive bombers and escort Zeros. 1
watched the attack and the air
battle from the bridge.
japanese planes dropped all around
In great flaming streaks of smoke as
our fighters and anti-aircraft blasted
them. The anti-aircraft guns of our
ships were blazing so continuously
that the ships themselves appeared
to be on fire. Out of an estimated
70 planes In the Japanese attack
group. only 10 got through to drop
their bombs.
The Japanese had planned a CO.
ordinated dive bomber and torpedo
plane attack, but the torpedo planes
never reached their objectives. Our
fighters intercepted IS OF them 40
miles from our ships and quickly
shot down eight, one after another.
1