Evening star., 1943-04-04
5 Other Vessels
Destroyed, & Hit
By Subs, Planes
BY the Associated Press.

Blasting at japanese warships
in a pre-dawn raid yesterday,
heavy Allied bombers blew up two
enemy cruisers, left a destroyer
sinking and damaged two others
near Kavieng, New Ireland, the
Allied high command announced
today in Australia.
The big bombers attacked from
masthead height and medium height
with their targets Illuminated by
flares, sinking one light cruiser by
four direct hits with 5OO-pound
bombs and laying four more on a
heavy cruiser that exploded, fling
ing debris 400 feet in the air.
A large destroyer was mortally
wounded in the savage attacks, two
other destroyers were damaged, and
two other Warships were bombed
but results were not observed.
Attack Completed Without Loss.
The attack on the concentration
was pressed home while other bomb
ers swept over the airdrome nearby,
neutralizing it.
With japanese aircraft pinned
down, the Allied planes completed
their attacks without the loss of
ship, the noon communique asserted.
This aerial triumph followed
quickly an announcement that
reconnaissance planes had spotted
numerous ships in the Kavieng
sector, $50 miles northeast of the
Allied base of Port Moresby, New
Guinea, after which bombers scored
hits on l0,000-ton and a 6,OOO-ton
enemy ship.
Other actions in the Pacific in
volving successful attacks on eight
Japanese ships, chiefly by Ameri-
can submarines, were announced
yesterday by the Navy Department.
Bombers of the Aleutians command
were maintaining their heavy
pounding of enemy forces and in
stallations on Kiska Island, the Navy
said.
Subs Sink Jap Ships.
In a late communique. second OF
the day. the Navy said that Amer
ican submarines had sunk one
enemy destroyer and damaged an
other, had sunk one large transport
and two medium sized freighters,
damaged and probably sunk a third
and damaged a fourth.
The eighth enemy vessel blasted
had been reported in an earlier
communique which said that Light
ming and Corsair fighters, presum-
ably from Guadalcanal airfeld, had
attacked and set on fire a small
Japanese cargo vessel at anchor off
Vella Lavella Island in the Cen
tral Solomons.
The submarine actions boosted to
a total of POT the number of enemy
ships successfully attacked by our
undersea craft since the Pacific war
began. This total includes 143 YES
sells sunk, "a probably sunk and 40
damaged.
The latest action over Kiska oc-
CURED Thursday. the communique
related, when a force of Army Lib
arotnr opd Nit oil v,,oJ;,,r. bo,,ho,c
with Lightning flgher escort made
four attacks on enemy installations
and scored hits in the main camp
area.
Flyers Attack Before Dawn.
Today's noon communique from
Gen. Douglas MacArthur's head
quarters told how his planes struck
before dawn at the japanese ship
ping which reconnaissance pilots
previously had reported totaled ap-
proximately $4,000 tons, dispersed
off Kavieng and in Steffen strait.
Striking just before dawn and
taking the enemy largely by sur
prise, our heavy bombers executed
a devastating low level attack on a
warship concentration in Silver
Sound" the announcement said.
Aided by flares, the attack was
pressed home from medium level
and masthead height. -Four direct
hits from skip bombing with 500
pound bombs were scored on a light
cruiser. The vessel was destroyed
and sank Immediately.
"A heavy cruiser received a direct
hit from high level attack and