Evening star., 1945-07-26
Jupon Bombing Seen
Job Of Many Weeks
Targets Picked to Pave Way for
Invasion, Says, Writer
By David Laurence

drgetS T1ckcQ 10 rave Way IOF
Invasion, Says, Writer
By David Laurence
AS far as the dispatches from the
Pacific are concerned, the reader ts
given the impression that q lot OF ships
are bombarding and lot of airplanes
of the Army and Navy and Marine
Corps are dropping bombs in various
parts of Japan. 1t looks at first glance
as If all the different branches Of the
service are doing about the same thing.
But that is not the case.
The objective Of the United States
Navy at the moment is to destroy every
vestige Of the Japanese naval neet and
to test out coast defenses. Obviously,
when the time comes for an invasion,
the protection of landings will be the
responsibility Of the Navy and twill
be necessary for our warships and trans
ports to remain offshore for a con-
siderable length of time. Hence 1t Is
imperative that the Japanese be de-
prived at once of any means of counter
attack from the sea, either by naval
craft emerging from the numerous bays
! and inland seas to make sudden at
tacks on our ships or by operations OF
land-based planes.
The Army Air Forces, flying the SUI
per Fortresses from bases in the Mari
anas, are performing brilliant mission
In destroying strategic targets, including
large factory areas. Inasmuch as the
Super Forts fly at great heights, IL Is
not possible always to drop bombs on
precise targets. The Navy and Marine
planes, flying at lower levels, can do
pin-point bombing.
Ratio of B-2s Hits.
Thus far the statistics show that
about one-fourth of the bombs dropped
by the Super Forts of the Army Air
Forces have been on precise targets.
This ratio will tend to grow better later
on, though it is quite possible that the
strategic targets for B-29s will be ex-
hausted in the next few months and
the principal job of the Army Air Forces
will also be precision bombing with
smaller bombers from bases on Oki-
nawa. The value of Okinawa lies in
the fact that short-range bombers and
fighters can be employed for around
the-clock bombing of nearly every part
of Japan and certain areas on the
China coast.
While the Philippines will be used as
base for supplies and the amassing
of military might generally, they are
1900 miles from Japan, whereas Oki-
nawa is only about 37o miles.
The value of Two Jima-275 miles
from Japan-lies in the fact that the
B-29s from the Marianas have been
able to go to Japan on their long
range journeys and pick up fighter
planes at Two Jima to escort them to
their targets and back
The naval flyers from the decks OF
carriers have had a certain amount of
strategic bombing to do, too, but they
have also selected targets which bear
a particular relationship to operations
Of the Navy. Thus, 1t was necessary
for the naval carriers to destroy par
ticular installations which could be
used to retaliate against the feet and
hence they have bombed naval bases
as well as anchorages where the jap
anese fleet was known to be hiding.
The work of the naval forces-bat-
tleships, cruisers, destroyers and car
riers-ever since the direct strikes on
Japan began last March, has been ef-
fective not only in keeping the Jap
anese feet In hiding but in destroying
naval bases from which Japanese naval
pilots might attempt defense.
Preinvasion Task.
The fact that our Navy Is making an
increasing number of direct lombard
ments on the coast of Japan indicates
that Army and Navy flyers have de-
stroyed or damaged the biggest bases
and that preinvasion preparations are
under way. Undoubtedly for many
weeks to come the American Navy will
be roaming up and down the coast
destroying naval bases and also fac
tories and installations or coast de-
fenses which could possibly be utilized
against an invasion fleet.
The Japanese, of course, cannot
know what places will be selected for
landings and they cannot even guess
the American plan from an examina-
tion of the naval operations of the
last few months, because the objective
of the Navy is to destroy anything and
everything that could possibly be of
value along the Japanese coast line as
well as inside the numerous bays from
which defensive warfare could be
waged.
Although there are always some DIFF
ficulties in co-ordinating joint opera
tions of services in the Army and Navy,
1t is a fact that to date the use Of
weapons above, below and on the sur
face has been well ce-ordinated. There
is job cut out for each of the services
and up to now it can be said that the
job is being done well, even though the
details Of why particular carrier strikes
or bombardments are made BY the
Navy and particular raids are executed
by the Army Air Forces cannot, of
course, be divulged by the military au-
thorities at this time either here or in
the Pacific,
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