Imperial Valley press., 1942-07-20
Kiska Harbor May
Become Tomb For
Jap Invasion Hope
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concentrated siack. They came
down to 1900 feet where they could
see to work. The Japs threw up an
umbrella of antiaircraft and one
Liberator caught chunk apparent
ly in the bomb load. He was there
in formation one second and the
next he came apart in a soaring
blast that rocked the other planes.
The remaining four planes re-
vised their techique and climbed to
$4,000 feet to drop their bads, AS
they left, one heavy cruiser lay
flaming in the harbor, hit squarely
BY heavy bombs.
SUB GOES DOWN
Before the day was over the Cata-
linas made seven separate attacks.
One Catalina caught submarine
on the surfce enroute. Before the
sub could rig for. diving the Cat was
on it with load of heavy bombs
The sub broke up and sank with
out firing a shot.
Another Catalina got two near
misses on a large destroyer with
500-pounders and another did the
same with light cruiser. In their
turn the Japs were doing we'll
against the bombers. Antiaircraft.
which is not particularly damaging
to most fast combat planes, is brut-
ally Furnishing to ships as large and
slow as the Catalinas.
The Japs showed signs of dis
couragement and their ships began
to get under way. A Cat delivered
its load on the moving ships and
flew on out to Attu, the last island
of the intercontinental stepping
stones.
PERMANENT BASE
BY night the bombers noted evi-
dence the Japs planned a perman-
ent occupation. Attu showed signs of
construction work and ShorebaSed
Nakajima 81 fighters rose from
Kisa, to meet the American craft.
The harbor was empty of ships
that night. but next day they came
back, appearing in increasing num-
bers throughout the daylight hours.
BY night Kiskas harbor held five
heavy cruisers, two light cruisers,
ten destroyers, two submarines, nine
cargo and transport vessels, and a
dozen Kawanishi flying boats, sea-
plane and landbased observation
and fighter aircraft haunted the
murky sky Other ships were sight
ed arriving from the south.
The fog closed in tight and
stayed most of the day and bomb
ers had to drop their loads through
mist. When the mist rolled back
two Catalinas dropped down to a
thousand feet and dumped a pair of
| heavy bombs each on a destroyer
and light cruiser All were punish
! ing near misses.
ANOTHER LOST
Another liberator was lost during
the day, but the remainder made
direct hits on two cruisers and a
DESTROYER and left them burning.
A torpedo carrying Catalina var
led its routine by attacking a heavy
cruiser standing up to Kiska from
the south. The torpedo went INTO
the water and the peppered plane
zcomed out as the cruiser turned 10
avoid attack. The ship didn't make
it for suddenly a wall of water sky
rocketed along her side and she
lurched suddenly in her course. II
was a clean hit.
Whether she sank is matter for
historians to record. The plane
didn't wait to see.
The first bombing flights yester-
day found something new in the
wav of trouble. Nobody had seen
the jap carriers for several days but
now carrier Zeros were working
over the island. 1t seemed to indi-
cate the carriers close proximity
but no contact was made during the
day.
While American bombers kept up
their round "trip destruction the
Japs made a few tentative stabs
eastward. Observation planes scout
ed along the islands as far as Um-
max. Just east of Dutch Harbor.