Show f iiI r 2000 U. U S. S Craft Spill Bombs On Jap T 4 By WILLIAM F. F TYREE GUAM July 24 UP More UP-More More than 1000 American planes planes' pounced on a concentration of Japanese warships at the tha Kure naval base Tuesday and left let it a holocaust of burning wreckage rec age Japanese ground gunners and fighter planes fought back des- des The marked invasion-marked Japanese homeland rocked under un irn n. n aerial blows from some 2000 American warplanes s. s They included a record armada of more mor than S which loosed a torrent of bombs on Nagoya Osaka and five Japanese war plants leet dispatches revealed that the carrier planes swarming all day ever Kure scored direct hits with heavy bombs pa on m two Japanese warships warships' and set fire to a number of others Early reports indicated that task force 3 38 of Adm William Williami i F. F Hals Halseys Halsey's ts Third fleet finally y had bad found a jg g par part of the fj surviving stir sur Japanese fleet perhaps fleet perhaps the major part part and and was pounding pound pound- ing it to pieces i Hoarded l Jap Air Force Stung Into Action i iThe The air force hoarded by the J Japanese p ne e for or- or orth th the eh showdown battle of the homeland was stung to action In the defense of Kur and its warships I Airmen returning to their carrier bases reported numerous dogfights swirling through the smoke clogged skies kIes over Kure I Th They y said the antiaircraft n fire was was' ih the most moat intense they ever evers ever s saw w. w But the pressed home their attacks One veteran squadron alone tangled with 12 speedy Japanese Jap Jap- anese anese fight fighters trying trying- t to intercept intercept- them as they came out of the their r dives over the Kure l ure anchorage orage One enemy plane was downed and one U. U S. S plane w was ws s lost J Yank BlUing Japanese Warship c ii jl i Ensign i Glenn Genn M. M Even of San Diego said laid he hit a warship w nhip with a bomb on his second cond run un over Kure AH n ong th the c carrier force smashed force smashed at military targets tS at eK f f t 1 s fd if it was the base bas was among among Japans Japan's greatest naval centers and might and shelter much of f the enemy fleet Many Japanese warships were caught tiding riding at anchor in Kure harbor on the Inland sea sea United d Pre Press war corr correspondent Richard W W. Johnston on reported from the attacking fleet The Japanese e ships and nd their shore batteries threw up a terrific hail of flak and swarms warms of enemY fighters rose to battle the raiders raiders- but but- Johnston said the American pressed pressed- their attack home with excellent results Tokyo Admits Slight Dam Ships ShiP Tokyo admitted slight damage to warships at K Kure rt but claimed that 30 American mer can planes were shot down or damaged The main air blow at af Kure opened at dawn wb when n Halsey launched his first waves s of fighters dive bombers and torpedo planes from a fleet rendezvous that Tokyo said was somewhere off the southeast coast of Honshu Caught footed flat-footed in the opening minutes of the American America strike the Japanese reacted at first with a terrific antiaircraft barrage Then for the first time since Halsey began his hia fleet assault on Japan on July 10 10 Japanese fighters rOle rose to meet the attacking Americans Climbing through their own blazing flak screen the enemy fliers put up a desperate but apparently futile battle to defend the great naval anchorage By all accounts trickling into fleet headquarters their S die feMe was waa unsuccessful Weather fine fine results excellent was the first terse tene report from Yank bomber pilots landing back backon on their carriers The Kure strike apparently was still sUll in progress long Jong after midday almost 12 hours houns after it be began an Equally lly successful ul results were I expected from the Osaka and NagO Nagoya Na Na- goya gO- raids where a It record fleet ot of f more than B fr from m the Marianas unloaded tons tons' of demolition bombs on the second and third cities clUe of at Japan They See rage Pale e 2 z Column 1 1 Carrier Planes Planes' Pounce i On art Hiding Jap Fleet Continued d from Page One On were practically unopposed d In the theair air sir Tokyo said Kobe I and Kuwana also were brought under wider Attack In all perhaps American i airmen airmen were riding the skies over Japan splattering more than tons tOM of bombs and tens of ot thousands thou thou- sands and s of or machine gun slugs into the enemy homeland Tt Their bombs down into the land and of ot the rising s sun n at t the rate of at 10 tons a minute through the first eight hours hour of the bom bom- A dispatch from United Press Presa war correspondent Ernest t Hoberecht Hoberecht Hobe- Hobe recht with Vice Admiral John S S. S McCain task k force 38 33 off Kure Indicated the carrier planes might have caught a huge concentration tion of ot grounded Japanese aircraft aircraft air air- craft there Our airmen found virgin territory territory territory terri terri- tory this morning tie he reported They pounced on areas where where the Japanese have been hiding a alot alot lo lot of their suicide planes planes' Other Actions Elsewhere on the vast Pacific battle lines these developments too pointed up the accelerating decline of Japans Japan's war power The 1 1 The isolated Japanese e army In do Malaya girded for tor an sn expected Invasion of at Singapore Radio BatAvia admitted that a a. mass evacuation of civilians from the captured British naval base was WM under way 2 An 2 An American task tak force under under- Rear Adm John H H. H Brown Tokyo said It numbered seven broke destroyers destroyers broke loose In the sea Jea of and bombarded in the northern without opposition 3 3 Other Other American warships steamed unchallenged off the ChIna Shina coast on a commerce raiding raiding raiding raid raid- ing foray that sank Jank or damaged several Japanese vessels 4 U. 4 U. U S. S navy planes flank pank or damaged seven enemy ships off Korea and in the Yellow sea ea and aircraft of Gen Douglas MacArthurs MacArthur's MacArthurs MacArthur's MacAr- MacAr thurs thur's command sank 13 more and damaged other craft Mine lne Jap Waters 5 Tokyo 5 Tokyo said from Tom the Marianas flew a record mile 1900 round trip mission tto to to tomine mine the waters off of the northeast northeastern ern coast of Korea during the night within 20 miles of ot the Manchurian Manchurian Man- Man shore The mine laying operation apparently was aimed at choking off Japanese le shipping between the Korean ManchurIan ports orts and we western Honshu 6 Enemy 6 Enemy accounts said three allied submarines surfaced off oft Chichi island in the at 3 a a. m m. Tuesday Tokyo ToI time and shelled shore targets for 30 min min- utes The same Island was bombarded bombarded bombarded bom bom- barded early eary Monday by American destroyers Maj Gen Curtis Le Mays May's air force Coree spokesman announced the B 29 strike within a matter of ot minutes after it began and consequently consequently con- con were able to offer little Information on an its outcome But they revealed that the sky battleships carried tons tOM or more of demolition bombs in their bellies jellies and went Unescorted in blunt contempt for the thc Japanese e eair air defenses j y First reports flashed back from the he attacking crews said s ld they bombed from Crom medium and high altitudes without meeting any aerial opposition Both target cities sites kites of ot some of ot the most important war factories factories fac- fac tories ories in Japan were badly damaged damaged damaged dam dam- aged by earlier tail raids l. l Osaka a city of ot was lost last hit talt in force on June 15 when the B burned out 1675 square miles mile or 25 per cen cent of ot I its up built-up area Nagoya with witha a a prewar population of ot more than was hit last June Juno S. S In that raid 1233 square miles gutted or per cen cent of ot the city were i |