Evening star., 1942-06-15

dalcanal," the pilots were told. land
from the point where you will take
of 1t will be q 120-mile shot straight
north to Tulagi Harbor. Go up over
the mountains Of Guadalcanal and
come down out Of them in your
dives for the Japs. Then come home
the same way"
One carrier stood OF to protect
the force from flank or rear attack
and in preparation for launching OF
fighter squadrons to protect th'
other carrier. The airplanes were
launched at 6:15 an, the flrst group
being 18 Douglas monoplane scout
bombers. These were followed In
matter Of seconds by the same num-
Der Of heavy dive bombers. Last OF
less than five minutes behind the
leading scout, were 18 Douglas TBD
three place torpedo bombers.
The scouts spread out In pairs and
beat swift patrol for so miles over
the sea In all directions arounc
Florida, Guadalcanal and Malaita
without going near Tulagi Harbor
This was done as q precaution
against the arrival In the area of an
enemy carrier during the darkness
that also hid our own boats.
Scouts Join Dive Bombers.
None was found and the scouts
managed to join up with the dive
bombers as they approached Tulagi
The torpedo planes climbed Just
enough to get over Guadalcanals
6.000-foot peaks. catching the suns
first rays as they passed over the
jungle gorges and rocky heights.
I'VE found the harbor a busy
place crowded with ships" one dive
bomber told me when he returned
from this raid less than an hour
after his initial departure Every
thing was in there from cruisers to
RATS. Lighters were carrying troops
and equipment from the troop ships
to the shore. One Of those troop
ships was at least q 10000 -tonner
and the others were In the 6 to 9
thousand ton. classes"
Apparently the first japanese
warning was the moan Of an over
speeding engine as the scouts and
heavy dive bombers came plunging
straight down from their height.
Special targets had been selected
by the squadron leaders before these
dives started, the largest transport;
the three cruisers, one being q
heavy cruiser type; three destroy
ers alongside q seaplane tender,
another destroyer anchored alone,
being marked with first assaults.
Down we came" another pilot
said. Not q gun was fired and
we had sitting targets. The only
annoyance was the Jogging Of my
sights as I went through q warm
layer Of atmosphere. You couldn't t
miss. We held the dive, dropped
our stuff, and were away before the
first guns opened on U.s."
Sitting back on the carrier with
the ships officers and the fighter
pilots who didn't 60 out with the
first wave Of bombers, we heard the
calm voices Of the squadron leaders
selecting targets and announcing
that they were on their way. Static
and motor noise always heard from
the fighter plane radios were SO
great that we couldn't tell they had
entered their dives. The first pilots
back to the ship. however, told us
what they had seen.
That whole harbor was being
churned up when looked last" one
man said. There were huge COL
umns Of smoke, water and debris
and the sound Of heavy explosions
could be heard above our engines
"Just as I was leaving the torpedo
planes were coming in low. I could
see their wake trails all over the
harbor. I saw two explode against
q ship and the resulting blast and
water splashes completely hit it. Two
others that missed ships went OH on
the beach. There was complete Hell
in that harbor and the Japs were
running to cover.
Cruiser Began to Settle.
At least two heavy bombs fell
smack on the decks Of the heavy
cruiser, the last Of the dive bomber
pilots said. Huge flames licked 200
feet into the air and the ship stag
gered under the impact. 1t began
to settle at once. he reported. Explo-
sions among the smaller craft tossed
lighters into the air, spilled men into
the water, and shattered to splinters
the wooden auxiliary vessels.
Two torpedoes struck the grouped
tender and the three destroyers.
When the smoke cleared, one de-
stroyer already was under water. A
second was turning over and the
tender was seen to be In trouble,
this flyer said.
An alert scout plane pilot, having
dropped his little" bomb-the
scouts carried more fuel than the
heavy dive bombers and consequent
ly could not carry the heavy bombs
saw a Jap seaplane fighter take
OF from one end Of the harbor. Div
ing on the seaplane, he loosed 100
rounds Of bullets. The enemy plane
went into q slipping dive and
crashed. Then the same pilot noted
five other seaplanes moored close
ashore and shot them up too in q
series Of runs up and down the line.
The pilots reformed as the last
Of their bombs, torpedoes, and am
munition was exhausted and when
noses were counted they found that
not q one was missing.
The carrier had continued to
steam in on Guadalcanal while thu
planes were fighting so that the re-
turn journey for the flyers was only
80 miles-or about half an hours
flight. The formations were as tight
and as full, we noted with amazed
thanks, when they came into sight
as when they left us. The pilots
broke into the landing circle, peel
ing out of formations one at a time
and alighted, hot, thirsty and happy
But the first men back demanded
the utmost speed in refueling and
rearming the planes. They said thai
while much damage had been done
some Of the Japanese warships with
steam up had slipped their anchors
and ned to sea. They wanted to