Evening star., 1943-12-16
Pacific
air field on Boungainville,
in the Northern Solomons
100 Planes In Attack.
Continued From First Pase.)

American air field on Boungainville,
in the Northern Solomons
100 Planes In Attack.
For seven hours Tuesday more
than 100 Liberator heavy and
Mitchell medium bombers and Bos-
ton attack planes blasted Arawe in
the biggest aerial attack ever staged
in the Southwest Pacific.
Without interference in the air
and but little from ground fire, the
planes also swept the enemy with
l74,000 machine gun bullets. The
blows were concentrated on Amulut
Plantation west of Arawe Village
and on islands at the harbor
entrance.
Many fires were observed and the
devastation Of barges and stores and
among enemy personnel was wide.
spread. All Allied planes returned.
The bomb tonnage far outweighed
the 24s tons dropped on the
enemy's supply center and aviation
installations around Gasmata, east
Of Arawe, last Sunday.
It's nearest rival was the $50 tons
laid on Rabaul, Japanese shipping
and air base on the northeastern
tip of New Britain, October IS, when
1T enemy planes were destroyed or
damaged and scores of war ana
merchant craft were destroyed in the
harbor.
1t. Gen. George c. Kenney, COM
mander Of Allied air forces In this
area. said the Rabaul raid was the
turning point In the Southwest
Pacific war. Tuesdays raid on
Arawe, with the absence OF enemy
interception which has been widely
noted OF late, emphasized claims OF
Allied air supremacy in this theater.
With less bomb weight. but no less
freedom Of the air, planes OF Ad-
miral William F. Halsey. command
er in the South Pacific. pounded
japanese supply points and ground
defenses on Bougainville Island in
the Solomons. where Americans
have established an air strip on
Empress Augusta Bay, only $50
miles southeast of Rabaul
Jap Cruiser Hit in Stern.
In 200 sorties the Solomons flyers
dropped $50 tons of bombs, mainly
on the Bonis supply area on the
north coast Of Bougainville. The
Japanese did not send up even
one plane.
An enemy cruiser was hit in the
siren by two 1,OOO-pound bombs
dropped by American naval Cata-
lima bombers operating of Kavisns,
New Ireland.
Only patrol action was reported
in ground operations in New Guinea
and in the Empress Augusta Bay
area, on Bougainville.
A spokesman at Admiral Halsey's
headquarters declared that the JAP
anese positions on Bougainville,
which once was reported garrisoned
by 10000 enemy troops, is deteri-
Grating steadily.
Marshalis Raided Seventh Day.
I'VE locate the enemys artillery
during the raids and follow up by de-
stroying them" he said. Great
quantities of stores daily 60 up in
flames"
On the mid-Pacif1c front, Admiral
Chester w. Nimitz said 7th Army
Air Force Liberators raided the
Marshall Islands for the seventh
straight day Tuesday, while the Jap
anese retaliated with raids on the
American-held Gilberts.
The Liberators started fires on
the airdrome at Taroa in the Malice
lap Atoll of the Marshalls and
downed one Zero and four others of
a force of II enemy fighters that
attempted interception.
The Japanese raided Tarawa Sun
day and Monday and Maxim Mon
day and Tuesday, doing no damage
at TaraWa but wounding four men
at Maxim.