The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-07-16
Americans Wreck 10
 Jap Strongholds
tcontinued from Page D

with B-29's in addition to the Fly ing Fortresses and Liberators with which It. Gen. James H. Doolittles fliers wrecked Nazi Germany.
 The effect of Giles announce ment was to bring two separate and powerful air arms to bear against Japan, in addition to the navy's carrier forces-the strategic air forces under Gen. Carl Spaatz, and Gen. George c. Kenny's Far East ern air forces, combining the fifth, seventh and 18th air forces.
 Upwards of 1000 carrier planes were on the attack yesterday, blanketing the entire 3,400-square miles of Hokkaido. Official reports said they pounded Sendai on north eastern Honshu and Shibetsu on northern Hokkaido, while radio Tokyo volunteered the information that they also hit the Hokkaido centers of Hakodate, Otaru, Aba shiri, Kushiro, Asahigawa and Obi hiro.
 Simultaneously, powerful sur face flotilla led by the 45,000-ton super r-dreadnaughts Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin, steamed boldly in- to the landlocked port of Muroran on southern Hokkaido and battered the city at point blank range for 62 minutes.
 Moving within 1000 yards of the port, the warships hurled more than 1000 tons of shells into the city. They ripped apart the great Wa nish iron works and the Nison steel works and touched off leaping fires in the sprawling docks and factories along the waterfront, then steamed away without opposition.
 There was land to port, land dead ahead and to starboard, but still the Japanese didn't attack not even 8 pistol shot was fired, reported United Press War Cores pondent Ernest Hoberecht from the bridge of the Iowa.
 Duplicate Attack
 The shelling duplicated a bom- bardment carried out by another task force less than "A hours earli- CT against the Honshu port o1 Kamaishi, also an important stee. center. The American gunners there pumped in 1000 tons or more o1 shellfire and wrecked another big Japanese steel plant along with g large area of the city.
 Dispatches from Halsey's fleet disclosed that his carrier planes 1T the two-day weekend strike sanl GA enemy ships, barges and small craft totaling 53,000 tons and dam. aged another GA totaling 55,0o( tons.
 Among the wrecked vessels were six of the seven railroad ferries ply. ing the coal, steel and iron route between Hokkaido's mines and blast furnaces and the war facortories o1 Honshu.
 In effect, the foray in the mar. row Tsagura Straits severed direc communications between Honshl and Hokkaido.
 Eighty-seven grounded Japanest planes were destroyed or damaged py tIle A1IlSI1CdIl NdVy llySIS 0dL' urday, and they were able to bas only five more Sunday, indicating the growing scarcity of enemy tar gets.
 Since the Third fleet launched it strike against Japan last Tuesda, with a 1000 plane raid on the Toky area, Halsey's raiders destroyed o damaged a total of 434 Planes-al but three on the ground.
 Supporting the fleet strikes, othe American planes from Okinawa an' Two Jima continued the neutraliza tion campaign against the Japanes air bases on KyuShu and Honshl yesterday. Tokyo said more than 27 planes carried out the attack.
 One flight of 100 IWO-based Mustang Fighters bagged 37 Jap anese planes in low-level sweel over airfields in the Nagoya area They described Nagoya, once tn third city of Japan with popula tion of more than 1,000,0 900, as heap of red dust marked by an oc casional chimney sticking up iron the ruins,