The Wilmington morning star., 1945-07-08
1900 PLANES HIT
HOMELAND CITIES
Okinawa Based Craft
Damage Nine Vessels
Off China And Japan

GUAM, Sunday, July 8. -
(R - More attacks on Japa-
nese shipping and air bases
extending from the Ryukyus
up to the coast of Honshu,
where 600 Superfortresses
heavily raided newfoundland
cities without loss Saturday,
were disclosed today in latest
communicates.
Kyushu, southernmost japanese
island, has been raide6 for the
third straight day by Fifth Air
Forces planes newly based on Okin-
away. Gen. Douglas Macarthur
reported from Manila headquarters
which covers the F'ifth's opera
tons. They shot down four OF six
planes encountered Thursday and
probably destroyed the other two,
without loss to themselves.
Attack Ships
Il Off the south coast of Honshu,
Adm. Chester w. Nimitz reported
| today, Mitchell bombers of the
| Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing sent
rockets into four Japanese ships
FRIDAY.
Enemy air bases north and south
|of Okinawa were bounced on Fri
day and Saturday by Marine air
craft which set seven grounded
planes ablaze.
In all Nimitz listed bag of nine
enemy ships, including five cargo
vessels damaged while at anchor
off the China coast in the Yellow
sea yesterday.
The BIOS, making their fourth at
tack in six days, burned and blast
ed five aluminium, oil, rail and in
dustrial centers with 1000 tons Of
bombs in the pre- dawn hours of
Saturday.
No Japanese fighters challenged
the raiding mission, probably the
largest yet, the Goth Air Fore an
nounced today. Anti-aircraft fire
was meager and inaccurate.
Increase Damage
The attacks brought to 30 the
number of Japanese homeland
cities hit by B-29 fire raids. Re-
connaisance photographs showed
the total area of ruins, now accur"
ately observed in Is of the cities,
had reached more than 1875 square
miles.
Crews of the Superfortresses In
Saturdays mission saw fires blaz-
ing through clouds far around Nip
l pon's majestic MT. Full.
The 12,000-foot peak, highest in
\ Japan, reflected towering infernSs
above the Shimizu aluminium pro-
ducing center, Nippon's largest,
and the cities of Kofu and Chiba.
Long lines of refuge vehicles
= were sighted fleeing from Gofu.
The flames at Shimizu ragged to
the waterfront.
Other targets, outside the Mt.
Full area, were the Maruzen oil
refinery, IS miles southwest OF
Osaka, and Akashi, aircraft pro-
: during city near Kobe.
: Most spectacular Of the confla-
f grations was at Shimizu, 20 miles
southwest of Full. The flames
= literally burned the clouds apart,
t reported 1t. Samuel Hooks of
Goldsboro, N. c. He explained the
= phenomenon was eau sed by
thermal air currents.
S Fires we're observed blazing
+ through the clouds above Kofu,
! about Is miles northwest of Full
and smoke columns rose 10000 fe3
above Chiba, 40 miles northeast q
Full, across Tokyo bay.
The conflagration at the Maruzen
refinery blazed through the early
morning darkness like a terrific
tropical sunset" reported Capt.
Carleton Lee of Atlanta, Ga.
Japanese army and navy dis
trict communicates, as broadcast
by Tokyo radio and recorded by
the Federal Communications Com
mission, claimed the BIOS struck
: around midnight Friday and during
: early Saturday and that fires were
U under control by dawn. The COM
5 muniques estimated more than 400
d BIOS participated and failed to
r claim any was shot down.
The returning Bog crewmen said
r Japanese fighter opposition was nil
= and antiaircraft fire generally
l. light.
O Latest reconnaissance photographs
S of previous raid damage showed
4 five square miles of ruins ir
y Himeji, Kure, Kumamoto and Ube
$ on Honshu island and in Hochi or
Shikoku island
t The Hitachi engineering work.
J. near SukegaWa was shown almost
y Continued on Page -Four; Col. u