The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-05-16
YANKS UNLEASH
BLAZING RAIDS
u SMALL CRAFT HIT
Marines Batter More Than
500 Yards Into Capt.
tai OF Okinawa

GUAM, Wednesday, May 16-W&
Hundreds of Pacific fleet carrier
planes destroyed or damaged al
least 357 Japanese warplanes ana
sank or damaged % small craft
in a series of blazing weekend
attacks against airfields and other
on the southern Japa-
nese islands of Kyushu and Shlko'
ku. it was announced today.
The attacks were announced as
U. S. 9th Division Marines, crack
ing the western anchor of the Jap
anese defense line on OkinaWa,
forged across the Asato river and
battered some 500 yards into the
main part of the capital city OF
Naha.
A front dispatch, which had re-
ported the crossing of the Asato
river, also Said that the Marines
were within two miles OF Mana
airstrip, but the size of the force
was not disclosed.
Officially confirming the blister
ing carrier attacks which Tokyo
said had been made by a total
of more than 1880 planes, Adm.
Chester w. Nimitz disclosed that
the American airmen shot SO Japa-
nese planes from the air Saturday
night and by daylight Sunday and
Monday and destroyed SO on the
ground. An additional 108 were
listed as destroyed or damaged
aground and another 70 were
brought under machine gun fire
and rocket attacks with unobserv-
ed results.
A total of 10 airfields on both
islands felt the weight of Amer.
lean rockets, bombs and bullets.
The fields were those from which
japanese suicide planes have been
flying against American fleet
units andnqt was the most num-
Der Of airdromes hit in the steady
pounding of southern Japan by car
rier planes and B-29 Superfort-
resSes.
Nimitz said that two Japanese
motor boats and two luggers were
sunk, and repair ship, seven tor
pedo boats, four luggers small
cargo ship four small craft and a
tug were damaged in the daylight
assaults. Preliminary reports in
Dictated the smashing forays cost
the Americans about 10 planes.
The assault opened Saturday
night when Avenger torpedo planes
struck airfield installations at Ko.
kubu Konoya, Chiran and Kagos-
hima on Kyushu. They shot down
II enemy planes.
Then by daylight Sunday and
Monday, torpedo planes, Heldiver
bombers and Corsair fighters
worked over the barracks, aviation
installations and other buildings on
the Kyushu airdromes Of Saeki,
Oita, Miyakinojo, Kikuchi, Ashiya,
Gannosu, Kofuji, lisa, Uzumi,
Tachiarai, Omura and Hotoyoshi
and on Sinkochi and Matsuyama
airfields on Shikoku island east Of
Kyushu.
In the daylight sorties II planes
were shot down IN addition to those
bagged on the ground and a bar
rage balloon also was destroyed.
In addition, the Americans
struck railroad and other installa-
tons on Kyushu, southernmost Of
the Japanese mainland islands.
They destroyed or seriously darn
aged an oil II ain, four locomotives,
a railroad station, chemical
plant and a number of large build
ings.
On Okinawa, there was no ma.
terial change in the American line
stretching five miles from coast
to coast across the island. The
9Th Marine division in Naha, fight
ing from house to house, threw
back a determined counterattacls
only after a savage combat. The
I'D Marine regiment met the grunt
Of the attack and beat off the
enemy at bayonet point.
The center of the five-mile jap
anes line across Okinawa was split
further by the capture of Chocolate
Drop hill 1900 yards northeast Of
the enemy stronghold of Shuri by
the 18th Army Infantry division
after one of the bloodiest actions
Of the campaign.