Evening star., 1944-08-21
Super Fortresses
Continued From First Page)

IL damaged. From the co-ordinated
day and night attacks four planes
have been reported lost due to enemy
action"
The Tokyo radio. as usual, mini
mized the effects OF the raids, term
ing damage negligible" and claim
ing that % planes out of total of
80 were destroyed. 1t also asserted
that 20 parachuting American crew.
men were captured. The japanese
broadcasts said the first raid was
against four cities on Kyushu, the
southernmost main island, naming
Fukuoka, Moji. Kokura and Yawata.
The latter. site of numerous heavy
industries, has been hit twice pre-
viously.
Possibility that a big naval base
also was target was seen in the
japanese statement that both raids
were directed at Northern Kyushu
and the western Choguku district" {"
The Once of War Information
identified "Choguku" as Shikoku, a
naval base on the main island of
Honshu. The German DNB
agency. which relayed the Japa-
nese broadcast, said, however, it
was the island of Shikuku, east Of
kyushu.
The 20th Air Force, noting that
the initial attack was the first day.
light operation over Japan proper
since the historic attack on Tokyo
headed by 1t. Gen. James Doolittle
on April 18. 1912, had no informa-
ton on results of the second attack.
Heaviest Of Six Attacks.
Apparently it was the heaviest of
six attacks since the B-29s first took
to the air two months ago to blast
vital japanese war industries and
shipping.
Tokyo broadcast the first news of
the attack. It's initial claim was
that 13 of the raiders were brought
down, three of them by suicide
fighters which rammed the Yank
planes. 1t said the Super Fortresses
flew in more than 10 formations.
The 10th Air Force has ac-
knowledged the loss of only seven
Super FortreSses in the five previ-
Gus air assaults on Japan and oc-
cupied areas, although it has indi-
Gated that other bombers were lost
and some damaged.
The loss of four planes-two by
accident, one by enemy antiaircraft
fire and one nissing-was admitted
in the first major raid which struck
at >Yawata on June Is. Three
planes were listed as not accounted
for after the August 10 attacks or
Palembang, petroleum center in
Southern Sumatra. and Nagasaki
a port and manufacturing city on
KyuShu.
Losses Declared Light.
In the July % raids against An
shan, steel city in Manchuria, and
Tangku. port in Occupied China,
losses were described merely as
light" All planes returned safely
after the July 7 operation, which
had as its targets Yawata, Sasebo
and Omura, important homeland
industrial centers; the Port of
Laoyao on the North China coast
and Hangkow on the Yangtze River.
No losses were reported in an early
June test raid on Bangkok.
Brig. Gen. Haywood S. Hansell, Jr.,
who had much to do with planning
the air offensive against Germany's
war production, is chief of staff of
the Goth Air Force and presumably
is doing similar job on Japan. He
said nearly four months ago that the
Japanese industrial economy had
been studied by military experts for
several years and declared that it
could be destroyed from the air.
The enemy has been reluctant to
admit serious industrial harm, but
the Goth Air Force has said on sew
eral occasions that observed bomb
ing results were reported to be good" "