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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1151.PDF
JUNE 14TH, 1945 FLIGHT 627 WAR in the Ah Naha Airfield brings Heavy Bombers nearer Japan : Our Casualties are Few : Enemy "Suicide" Pilots Attack British Carrier Flagship THE NAVY THAT FLIES : Aircraft carriers of a British naval task force plough their way through rough seas to attack Japanese targets in Sumatra. COMPLETION of the capture ofNaha airfield on Okinawa,which is about the middle of the Ryukyu group and some 425 miles from Kyushu, the most southerly of Japan's main islands, was one of the most important items of news from the Pacific last week. By all accounts it was a gruelling fight, not only on account of enemy opposition, but because of the prevailing weather conditions which made the going ex- tremely tough; but then, the U.S. Marines are tough troops. The value of this airfield as a heavy bomber base within Japan's inner defence ring needs no stressing and the fanaticism of the defenders can well be imagined, both on the ground and in the air. In- deed Tokyo radio openly describes the operations here as the preliminary to invasion of the home islands. "V Admiral Nimitz has had the con- siderable weight of a British Pacific Fleet task force since the attack on the Ryukyus began on March 26th and up to May 31st this force had been in action on 21 days, fortunately with only light casualties. Actual figures issued from Admiral Nimitz' head- quarters on Guam were 70 killed or missing and 34 seriously injured; the number of minor injuries is not re- ported. A feature of the defence tactics has .been the efforts of the Jap "suicide " spilots to dive their aircraft on to our LAST PATROL: Z for Zebra, a Sunderland V flying boat which flew Coastal Command's last convey escort for the Royal Navy. At 00.01 hours, June 4th, 500 miles south-west of Ireland, the order "Cease Patrol" was received. ships, and one day last week two of these hari-kari experts tried to hurl themselves at Rear-Adml. Sir Philip Vian's carrier flagship. Diving through a murderous barrage from the carrier's guns after getting through the fighter screen covering this and three other big carriers, they came within an ace of succeeding, actually scraping her deck before plunging into the sea. Piloted "suicide" rocket-propelled flying bombs, known as Baka bombs, have also teen used in attempts to break up formations of Superfort- resses, notably during the recent attack on Kobi, an important Japan- ese industrial centre, and it was re ported last week that at least one the bombers was hit over the targe/ But another Baka—thev are sail exceed 400 m.p.h.—missed the leading formation of B-29S and the jylot, los- ing control in what may well have been a high-speed stall, crashed and exploded amid the fires raging below. The pilot of a Jap fighter, however, made no attempt at a suicide crash into any of the raiding bombers when hit by a burst of 0.5m. machine gun fire from one of the Superfortresses, but promptly baled out and para- chuted down into the burning city. Recent projiaiAaeeai£nts from Wash ington*«*rfessthe factfjjfat^although able of i its ovide itical area. r force Air ForcaMs c strong feience ^all to all the merically homeland, it is too defence ints df Japan' he pr/sent
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