Evening star., 1944-01-04
Three Jap Warships
At Kavieng Knocked
Out by Carrier Plane,
33 Enemy Aircraft
Destroyed Over RobouI
And New ireland
BY the Associated Press.

ADVANCED ALLIED HEAD
QUARTERS, New Guinea, Jan. 4.
-Japan'S naval strength is
weaker by two cruisers and one
destroyer which were damaged,
possibly sunk, by United States
Navy carrier planes in an attack
at kavieng. New Ireland.
Another destroyer was in the
group of four warships which were
attacked.
Secretary of the Navy Knox
said today the second destroyer
was badly damaged.)
While the planes from a carrier
force of the South Pacific COM
mand were hammering the enemy
Warships with heavy bombs and
torpedos, other aircraft from South
Pacific bases were destroying 33
japanese planes over Kavieng and
Rabaul, big enemy base in North
eastern New Guinea. Five Ameri-
can planes were lost in the two
raids
The attacks, reported in Gen.
Macarthur communique today, oc-
CURED New Year Day.
American troops of the 9Th Armys
32d Division have secured their OBJ
lectives at Saidor. on the north
coast of New Guinea, where they
made an invasion landing Sunday.
Light Resistance Overcome,
The communique said the Ameri-
cans easily overcame light enemy
resistance, being aided by Liberator
heavy bombers which dropped 1875
tons of explosives in the area from
Helmholtz Point to Sio. Other
bombers left 55 tons at Madane. the
japanese coastal base SIS miles north
of Saidor.
GA delayed dispatch from Sal
dor mentioned the first japanese
air attack on the landing force
which was carried out Sunday.
One man was killed and three
wounded in the raid
Warned by reconnaissance planes
that a japanese naval force of two
cruisers and two destroyers were ap-
preaching Kavieng, where another
carrier-borne plane attack had sunk
an enemy destroyer and two big
cargo ships Christmas Day, the car
rier force sped to meet them.
Fighters and dive -bombers hit the
warships as they neared the harbor
mouth. Bombs and torpedos set the
three vessels af1ame while intense
machine-gun fire sprayed all the
ships.
Jap Fighters Downed.
Weather unfavorable for later
reconnaissance made it impossible
to determine whether the cruisers
and destroyer eventually sank. But
a headquarters spokesman said that
even if they survived the flames it
would be long time before they
could be returned to service, even
should they be repaired at the
nearest enemy repair base at Truk
Thirty Japanese Zero fighters
streaked in to meet Hellcat fighters
which downed II enemy fighters for
sure and four more probables. The
Americans lost two Hellcats and
one dive-bomber. headquarters
spokesman said. A twin-engine Jap
anese reconnaissance plane also was
destroyed and a long-range fighter
which attempted to harass the with
drawing carrier force was shot down,
bringing the total enemy loss to l3.
Eighty Liberator heavy bombers,
Hellcats and Corsair fighters
smashed at Lakunai Airdome in Ra-
laul's chain of airfields. The Lib
orators dropped $50 augmentation
bombs, starting fires and destroy
ing an enemy bomber on the ground,
then Joined the fighters in standing
of thrusts by 80 Japanese fighter
planes.
Aussies Move Northward.
Gen. MacArthur's communiuue
credited the Americans with down.
ing 18 Of the enemy fighters, but
South Pacific headquarters said
later reports listed 20-the. bomb
ers getting ia and the fighters s.
One Liberator and one Hellcat were
lost here, the headquarters spokes-
man said.
The New Year Day raid on Rabaul
tsee PACIFIC, Page Aid