The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-12-28
Jop Attacks Seem Likely
Continued from Page D

N>SAANNAASASS anese task force pressed on toward Mindoro Tuesday night and just be- fore midnight began a 20-minute offshore bombardment described of- ficially as 'fruitless and inaccurate. {"
 GA Japanese communique said Japanese warshipS sank four trans ports, torpedo boat and two other small craft and bombarded the San Jose airfield at Mindoro Tuesday night. Supporting aircraft, the com munique said, sank four other tor pedo boats and set several fires near the airfield. Heavy damage to one Japanese destroyer was admit ted.)
 GA Navy Department communique announced the sinking of large Japanese aircraft carrier and 26 other Japanese ships, including sev- en combat vessels, by American sub marines operating in far eastern waters. Another Navy communique said the American destroyer Coop CT and the LISM-2O had been lost off Leyte in the central Philippines "as result of a night action against the JapaneSe)
 Clark Field Hit
 On Luzon, Gen. Douglas MacAr- thurs main objective in the Philip pines, American Liberator bombers attacked Clark Field near Manila for the third straight day, starting large fires in dispersal areas.
 Escorting lightning fighters shot down 13 of 20 intercepting enemy planes. With an additional 39 found to have been destroyed or damaged in the Christmas day att tack, this brought the toll of enemy aircraft in the Manila area in three days to 124.
 A Navy Liberator pilot first sight ed the Japanese naval force ap- preaching Mindoro from the South China sea at AIS D. m. The pilot landed at Mindoro-the first heavy bomber to use the new base-to warn of the Armadas approach, then took off with Mitchell medium bombers to intercept the force.
 The planes again sighted the naval force at g a. m. only 10 miles off the west coast of Mindoro and sailing at 20 knots. While Mitchells buzzed around the destroyers, the Liberator made a four-mile bomb- ing run unmolested in the bright moonlight and scored two direct hits with 500-pound bombs on the battleship.
 One Mitchell blew up and sank a Japanese destroyer. Another de- stroyer was damaged and third left afire, but both the latter two subsequently, sank. The battleship, cruiser and the three undamaged destroyers continued on toward Mindoro and sent shells screaming inland toward American irlstalla- | tions.
 A Mariner from the Seventh fleet inflicted further damage on the surviving units while they were retiring west at high speed. Patrol Torpedo boats attacked and pre- sumably hit the cruiser on the out ward journey, but were forced to break off the engagement by heavy fire from the battleship.
 Three enemy planes were shot down.
 Attack Not Accurate
 Brig. Gen. William c. Dunckel, American commander on Mindoro, reported that the bombardment was neither accurate nor effective, and continued use of the mindoro airstripe indicated they had not been damaged severely. It ap- peared probable that American planes, torpedo boats and shore batteries kept the enemy force far enough out to sea to prevent any accurate fire.
 American patrol planes harassed enemy airfields in the Lubang Is- lands, northwest of Minodoro, and sank a 1,000-ton freighter off Luzon. Other planes sank three small freighters, coastal vessel and a barge in Davao Gulf, Mindanao. In Deytekttnnnr
 On Leyte, American troops killed 827 more Japanese Tuesday in mop ping-up operations. Units of the 77th Division were clearing a small enemy pocket in the mountains northwest of the liberated west coast port of Palompon. Japanese planes caused minor damage in raids on the Tacloban area of northeast Leyte.
 Elsewhere in the Southwest Pa- cific. American planes sank two small freighters and drove a third aground at Borneo and sank or damaged five barges in the Hal- maheras.