THE PILOT REPORTS:"Attacking below masthead height ..." NEARNESS OF THE FOE: "Attacking below masthead height, we loosed our bombs from less than fifty feet against all enemy merchantmen which were the objectives of this squadron." (From narrative report by Lieutenant Rex Rutland.) Note on ship (6) captain and executive officer on the bridge; the sailor directly behind them firing a rifle at the incoming B-25; the gun crew firing from a twin position aft. The Mitchell, at left is beginning its run well below the 50-foot mark as indicated by the bomb splash.
"This was undoubtedly one of the most effective strikes ever planned and executed in this theater. Although almost no sinkings are actually claimed in the results above, most of the vessels hit were undoubtedly left in sinking condition." (From the official report of the Intelligence Officer of one of the attack squadrons.) |
  
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AUXILIARIES ATTACKED: Twenty-one 500-ton naval auxiliaries of a type not seen before in the Southwest Pacific are subjected to a strafing and bomb attack in these pictures. At left, the target is obscured by an exploding bomb which scored a near miss. Past experience in
mast-height bombardment has proven near misses of this type frequently result in destruction or severe damage to the objective. The bomb, with delayed fuse, bursts within the vessel or goes below the water-line and explodes under the comparatively fragile plates.