Evening star., 1945-03-21
AIS Planes Blasted
In Carrier Attack
On Home Fleet
By the Associated Press.

3ASAA ~ l. 441IEAANRS " all-
TIERS, Guam, Mar. 21.-At least
II Japanese warships, including
45,000-ton apprenticeship and
eight aircraft carriers, were
crippled Monday by more than
1000 American carrier planes
which hunted down the bulk of
the enemy home fleet hiding in
Japan's 240-mile-long inland sea.
The audacious raiders from Vice
Admiral Marc A. Mitscher's task
force, penetrating a hitherto un-
touched area which Japan consid-
cred safe for her navy, also de-
stroyed ATS enemy planes Sunday
and Monday and damaged well over
100 more.
Not one American warship was
sunk, although one was damaged
seriously and others suffered minor
blows as the Japanese home-based
air force sent waves of planes
against Admiral Mitscher's armada.
All ships moved away under their
own power.
Combat losses OF the carrier planes
were extremely light"
Most Daring Action.
These first fragmentary accounts
Of the most daring naval action of
the Pacific war were pieced together
today from preliminary report of
Admiral Raymond A. Spruance of
the United States 5th Fleet and
f1rsthano accounts of pilots given
to Associated Press Correspondent
Hamilton w. Faron, with Admiral
Mitscher's task force.
The flyers, who swept over Japan's
major naval bases and scores of air
bases assigned to defend them, told
Mr.. Faron their bombs and rockets
smashed into:
A battleship of the Yamato class
the 45,000-ton Musashi was sunk
last October in the Battle of Leyte
Gulf in the Philippines and her
sistership, the Yamato, was dam
aged. They were JapanS two big
gest battleships)
A battleship converted into a big
aircraft carrier.
Three large aircraft carriers.
Four small escort type carriers.
A heavy cruiser.
A light cruiser.
Four destroyers.
A destroyer escort.
A submarine.
Other Vessels Sunk.
In addition, six small surface
craft, including one oiler, we're sunk
Seven others, including two oilers
and four large cargo ships, probably
were sunk.
(Mr. Faron's at-the-scene fig
ures were bit more definite
than those in Navy communi-
que listing Is to II enemy war
ships damaged, six small
freighters'' sunk and seven
"freighters" damaged, although
the totals conincided)
The carrier planes cratered air.
fields, attacked airplane factories,
destroyed plane hangers, arsenals,
oil stores and workshops
The japanese warships, identified
by Admiral Chester w. Nimitz as
"the principal units of the Jap
anese fleet" scurried for shelter as
the raiders bored in.
Admiral Mitscher did just what
Admiral William F. Halsey said
would have to be done to the jap
anese fleet. He went in after it.
His planes scored the first telling
blow on Japan's Navy since the
enemy was routed off Leyte Gulf
and in adjacent waters of the
Philippines with "a warships sunk,
13 probably sunk and 81 damaged.
Plane Toll Raised to 1,40O.
The Sunday and Monday toll of
more than 575 enemy planes de-
stroyed or damaged in action ex-
tending from Kyushu to Honshu
made total of 400 accounted for
over Japan by carrier attacks. Ad-
miral Mitscher's carrier air arm
knocked out 1872 during two raids in
the Tokyo area last February.
The Monday toll of 80 ships sunk
or damaged was added to the II
battered in the February assaults.
The Mitscher planes had concen-
trated Sunday on knocking out
enemy air bases barring approach
to the heavily fortified inland sea,
bounded by the isalnds of Kyushu,
Shikoku and the western end of
Honshu.
Then he moved his task force
northeast and turned his planes
loose against the very heart of ia