Evening star., 1945-07-25
New Worship SheIIing Of japan
Is Reported as Carrier Planes
Hunt Down Remnants of Fleet
Shores of Tokyo Bay
Torget of HoIsey's
Big Guns, Enemy Says
By the Associated Press.

bAAC hsSOSAotCo 1850
American warships repeatedly
shelled two vulnerable sectors OF
the Japanese homeland early
today as 1900 carrier planes
hunted down remnants of the
Emperor'S navy in the Kure ma
val base for the second success
Sive day.
Today's dual air and sea attacks
were a Furnishing follow through on
sweeping air attacks yesterday,
which included this incomplete
score:
Two japanese battleships, two
carriers and three cruisers dam
aged, and Ga enemy planes de-
stroyed or damaged in the continu-
ing assaults on the Kure base and
other Inland Sea areas.
Those results, plus other dam
age inflicted by British carrier
planes and land-based navy bomb
ers, increased to 563 the Number of
ships and to 635 the number of
planes destroyed or heavily damaged
by forces under Admiral Chester W.
Nimitz's Pacific command in the Is
days beginning July 10.
Kanagawa Attack Reported.
The Tokyo radio reported bonn
bardment force of Admiral William
F. Halsey's unchallenged Sd Fleet
moved back toward the approaches
of Tokyo and opened its guns at 2
am. today on Kanagawa prefecture.
Kanagawa is due south of the jap
anese capital. 1t embraces the east
ern shores of Tokyo Bay, including
the Yokosuka naval base where car
rier planes damaged one battleship
yesterday.
This report was unconflrmed. But
Admiral Nimitz previously an
nounced that Rear Admiral j. c..
Jones, jr., led force of cruisers and
destroyers in a predawn lombard
ment today of the Kushimoto sea-
plane base and nearby military in
stallations at the southernmost tip of
Honshu Island. Kushimoto is $50
miles southwest of Kanagawa pre-
lecture. Fifteen cruisers and de-
stroyers took part in this operation.
Night fighters slashed repeatedly
at the enemy throughout last night
to make this the first around-the-
clock attack on Japan.
Combined with 625-plane B-29
strike on Osaka and Nagoya-|
heaviest of the war-and other
Army air raids, the blows of the last
two days were the hardest ever
struck against Japan. Some 1000
planes, in all, participated.
Tokyo's jitters were obvious in its
radio broadcasts.
Seriousness Not Minimized.
The enemy radio made no effort
to minimize seriousness of the
threat as Admiral Halsey's ships
steamed deflantly near the coast
close enough for the cruisers and
destroyers to shell Honshus southern
shore this morning, hammering at
the Kushimoto seaplane base. Shio-
nomisaki airfield and other targets.
Japanese broadcasts reported car
rier aircraft attacking today con-
centrated on airfields and commune
cations facilities on South Central
Honshu. They reported attacks
were broken off in midmorning
after IA raiders were shot down and
SO damaged in two days.
They returned again in the aft
ernoon, Tokyo said, while handful
of Super Fortresses secuted the
capital area, presumably surveying
damage of recent carrier raids and
picking out targets for the next at
tack by B-29s or sea-borne air power.
Gen. Macarthur, meanwhile, re-
ported more than $50 Far East Air
Force bombers and fighters -
grounded four days by typhoons-
slashed anew at Shanghai Sunday.
sinking or damaging 13 warships
and freighters, blasting three big
airflelds and destroying or damag-
ing As enemy planes.
No Air Interception.
The Macarthur communique list
ed destroyer, 3,000-ton freighter-
transport and smaller cargo vessel
sunk, and a 10,000-ton freighter-
transport, a destroyer escort, two
subchasers and six small freighters
probably sunk. There was no air
interception.
Land-based Navy planes added 10
more enemy vessels to the carrier
planes toll of II sunk or damaged
in Tuesdays sweeps over the In
land Sea.
Admiral Nimitz's 30-word COM
munique today, announcing resump-
tion of the carrier attacks, made it
clear that Admiral Halsey is press
ing in for the kill. "Combatant
ships" it said. were the targets
for the second successive day of
sweeps over the great Kure naval
base and Kobe, $50 miles east. Both
are on the Inland Sea.
First fragmentary reports of Ad-