The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-06

(Continued from Page D 3 3,850-ton pre-dawn raid on syn thetic gasoline plant at Ube and on the industrial centers of Mae bashi and Nishinomiya -Mikage on Honshu, Saga on Kyushu and 1m-' abari on Shikoku.
 Radio Tokyo said some bombs also fell in the big Honshu war production center of Osaka, Japan's second largest city.
 Two Hour Raid
 Maebashi was raided for about two hours and suffered a consid- erable loss," Tokyo said.
 Others in the force of no fewer than 580 B-29s mined enemy waters near Tsurga' and Hagi on the southwest coast of Honshu and around Rashin, in northeast Korea, 21 miles from the Soviet border.
 It marked the first time that the Superfortresses have attacked three of the four main Japanese home islands in single assault. Imabari and Saga had been fore warned of their impending doom in leaflet raids less than 48 hours earlier, while the other two cities were warned in previous leaflet raids.
 Still other blows appeared in the making in the great air and sea offensive softening Japan for in- vasion. A dispatch from the Third Fleet revealed that it still was off the Japanese coast as late as Sat- urday, apparently preparing for a new series of attacks on the enemy homeland
 High-ranking officers of the fleet said the great armada now was so powerful it could steam directly into Tokyo Bay if ordered. Vice. Admiral John S. Mccain, com- mander of the fleets carriers, told newsmen that his airmen were de- termined to hunt down and destroy every plane in Japan before the in- vaSion.
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 Radio Tokyo reported that ex- tensive underground anti-invasion Notifications have been completed on southern Kyushu, only 330 miles north of the American base on Okinawa.
 Granting that enemy mechan- ized units may penetrate part of the fortress, it will surely be des- troyed by Japanese shock units, who are in a position to carry out surprise attacks" Tokyo said.
 Tokyo also claimed that Japanese bomberS had kindled "15 columns of fire" in surprise attack on two American airfields on Oknawa and a third at adjacent Ie island Sun day dawn. American planes were found lined up wing to wing on the runways, Tokyo said.
 Gen. Carl A, Spaatz, commander of the Pacific strategic air forces, announced in communique that large fires were observed in several of the five target areas in today's early morning SuperfortreSs attack. More than 100 of the B-29s drop ped two-ton block-busters on the Ube coal liquefaction plant, syn thetic gasoline factory on the southwest tip of Honshu.
 More than 450 other Superfort- resses dropped hundreds of thou sands of incendiary bombs on Saga, an important Kyushu railway cen ter and service center of Japanese army replacements; Imabari, Shiko- ku port and light industry center; Maebashi, site of the Nakajima air. craft plants, and Nishionomya- Mikage, whose hundreds of small household workshops feed small parts to big factories in nearby Kobe and Oaka. The cities ranged in population from 50,000 to 300,- 900.
 Only light fighter opposition and meager to moderate anti-aircratt fire were encountered. One B-2s was lost.
 A small force of Superfortresse; was revealed to have made the first B-29 attack of the war on Truk 1T the Carolines. It dropped 45 tom of bombs on the long by-passed is- lands Moen airfield Sunday after noon without opposition.