Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-04-16
|liberator on Mighty
Honandia Raid Finds
zeros Few and Warv

(The following eyewitness &C
count OF an air raid on a Japo-
nese base in Nep Guinea was
torttten By Master Tech. Serqt.
Samuel E. Stavisky OF Chelsea,
| Mass, and Washington, q Nd
rtne Corps combat correspondent,
and distributed by the Associated
| Press
SOMEWHERE IN NEW GUINEA,
April 3 Delayed From the waist
Of a participating Army Liberator I
witnessed today the mightiest aerial
assault yet undertaken in the South
west Pacific, crushing blow on the
three airdrones at Hollandia, Dutch
New Guinea, largest Japanese air
base within striking distance of the
Army 5th Air Force bombers.
The destructive power of more
than 800 planes, including 233 heavy
and medium bombers, was concen-
trated in so furious minutes of
attack. Scores of grounded planes
were demolished and rs more were
shot down.
The heaviest load of bombs
dropped in this war area, $50 tons
Of high explosives and parachute
controlled augmentation bombs,
smashed and disrupted the Japanese
antiaircraft defenses, installations,
fuel dumps, stores and equipment
over q five-mile sector.
Pilots Get Final Briefing.
asked to go on the strike because
had already seen the effectiveness
Of the 5th Air Force from the
ground when the Marines invaded
Cape Gloucester Now I wanted to
see from the air how they blasted
out the path for invasion
1t was still dark when I arrived
at the airport signal tower for the
final briefing, at which the pilots
receive last available instructions
and informations.
At the runway. I met the crew of
my" Liberator, veterans of Is COM
bat missions over Wewak, Hansa
Bay, Kavieng and the Admiralty
Islands. But this was to be their
first jaunt to Hollandia. so they were
eager and expectant.
In symmetric VS.. we roared north.
up the Markham Valley and along
the Stanley Range, running easily,
smoothly. AS we approached Wewak,
the left waist gunner said, Last
time up this way, we were jumped
by two Zekes." But there were no
| Zekes this time.
Soon Over Target.
/ We were high now, over 10000
feet, and soon were over our pin
point target. an antiaircraft position
on the Hollandia airdrome.
Bombs away" cried the bombar-
dier. Our ship rocked.
I tried to follow the downward
trace of our eight 1OOO-p pound
bombs. but piece of cloud obscured
the view. Instead, I watched scores
of bombs from companion planes
fall, hit, explode in columns of
flames and smoke.
The right-waist gunner was grim
ming. He pointed for me to see.
Out there was an Oscar tangling
with P-38. My eyes were riveted
on the Zero, which swung of and
poured down at us.
Our gunners sprayed the Oscars
path with tracer-lit shells. About
300 yards away the Jap plunged in
an abrupt vertical dive. We felt
certain the Oscar was hit, but both
we and the Jap were moving too
fast for us to learn whether it was
true kill.
Two Zeros Fail to Close.
Two enemy planes tagged us for
a while off our left, and the left
waist gunner literally begged them
to attack us, but they held of until
scattered by dive-screaming Light
ming.
Ten minutes or so after striking
the airstrip it was discovered that
our gas had run low and that it
was impossible to transfer gas from
the extra tanks because the pump
had gone wrong. To save gas and
make the fastest, shortest way
home, we left the formation and
went off alone. Some of the crew
kept to the guns; some tried to
make the pump work. We all
watched the gas gauge.
We all breathed easier when. gas
almost gone, we reached an emer-
gency fighter field, landed and
gassed up. But a half hour later
we began perspiring all over again,
and with good reason. For when
we reached our home base, the
wheels damned and refused to lower
for 10 minutes.
For our P-38 escort, the raid was
also happy hunting. with "a enemy