Evening star., 1943-05-03
Jap Attack on Darwin
|nf|icts HeavyLos
On Allied Planes
13 Enemy Craft Downed
Or Damaged in Fierce
AustruIiun Air Bottle
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
AUSTRALIA, May 3.-A powerful
fleet of Japanese warplanes-21
bombers and 80 fghters-struck
savagely at the Allied airdrome
near Darwin, Australia, yester-
day and inflicted heavy losses on
Allied fighters in a fierce air
battle.
Spitferes, manned by Australian
and British pilots, rose in force to
intercept. The ensuing battle ragged
over the Darwin area and the Ara
fura Sea to the north. Thirteen
enemy planes were destroyed or
damaged, the noon communique
said.
Our own losses were heavy it
added.
There was no elaboration 1t was
the first time, however, in a year of
aerial warfare in the Southwest Pa
ciflc that a communique had re-
ferred to Allied air losses as heavy.
VA dpcllCSC
broadcast by Berlin and recorded
by the Associated Press. said the
.s7 attacking japanese destroyed 2l4
Allied fighters without loss and,
severely damaged important war
installations)
Three enemy, fighters were de-
stroyed;: one bomber and nine fight
ers were damaged.
Allies Attack Mubo Area.
AS the japanese appeared above
Darwin airdrome, Allied airmen
ranged over enemy targets from New
Britain to Timor The Mubo area,
Is miles south of the japanese base
Of Salamaua, New Guinea, came in
for particularly concentrated at
tack. A medium force of Boston
attack bombers made AZ bombing
and strafng runs over the Green's
Hill area in support of Allied ground
forces.
Mitchell B-25s, raiding the Kai
Islands, sighted a small enemy cargo
ship and chased it aground on a
reef. Another formation of Mitch
ellis made night attack on Pen
foei airdrome at Koepang, Timor.
Numerous fires were started.
A lone Flying Fortress on recon-
naissance over New Britain drove
of seven intercepting Zeros after
damaging two.
The raid on Darwin was the 54th
on that area. The last previous one
was March Is when the japanese
sent in Is medium bombers and "a
fighters. Other recent large scale
japanese attacks in the Southwest
Pacific area were a 1O0-plane raid
on Port Moresby April IL and an
assault by IS to 100 planes on Milne
Bay two days later. japanese losses
in these raids were heavy.
Jap Sub Campaign Efficient.
Meanwhile, an official spokesman
at Allied headquarters, replying to
a question, declared the Japanese
submarine campaign in the South
west Pacific is about as efficient as
the Germans in the Atlantic.
He commented that Allied Ship
ping losses of less than 100000 tons
in the Southwest Pacific are approx
imately 2 per cent loss, as COM
pared to the 21a per cent loss of a
much greater shipping total in the
Atlantic.
Our naval forces have been very
successful in protecting traffic with
in this area bound for Australia
from the United States" he said.
Japanese Imperial Headquar-
ters said in statement broad
cast by Berlin that three large
vessels had been sunk in the
Southwest Pacific by japanese
submarines recently. The broad
cast, heard by the Associated
Press, said a 12,0O0-ton tanker
was sunk in the second half of
April. Since May l, a 12,00O-ton
troopship and an 8,O00-ton
freighter were reported de-
Stroyed.)