Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. “The News of The Dav In Pictures*’ Member Of The Associated Press
’ THENOME NUGGET ..~~
VOL. 44. Na. 12. NOME, ALASKA, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 1942. Per Copy is*
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acassar
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II. S. Bombers Boost to 36 Score
jap Ships In Cattle of Macassar
Undated, Jan. 28 (AP) —Giant four-motored bombers,
smashing anew at the Japanese invasion armada in
Macassar Strait, sank a big transport, set another on
fire and straddled a cruiser with sticks of bombs, it
was officially announced. A War Department bulletin
said a formation of eight U. S. Army bombers were
engaged in the attack. One of the bombers was lost. A
direct hit was scored on a cruiser.
Pounding home Japan’s greatest naval disastc-r of
the war, U. S. fliers thus boosted to at least 36, the
number of Japanese ships sunk or damaged in the five
day battle of Maassar Strait, the roadway to the Java
headquarters of General Wavell’s United Nations’ com
mand, which lies between Dutch East Borneo and Cel
ebes Island.
A new communique acknowledged that the Japan
ese apparently had accupied the burned out oil center
of Balik Papan, East Borneo port, on Macassar Strait
it was apparent, however, that the invaders were lured
into a deadly trap set by the Dutch more than a week
ago, when they announced that the Balik Papan oil
fields were destroyed and implied that land defenses
were withdrawn. In accepting the “invitation,” the
Japaensc armada unwarily sailed into a hornet’s nest
of Allied submarines, bombers, and surface warcraft.
There was no immediate estimate available as to
the loss of Japanese lives which presumably ran into
the thousands. While the Dutch listed only 30 Japan
ese troopships and warships sunk or badly damaged.
American accounts put the five-day toll at 36, includ
ing a battleship. Dispatches from Batavia didn’t dis
close whether the battle, in the shark-infested Strait,
still continued after yesterday’s smashing blows by
U. S. bombers.
Jap Battleship Is Believed Sunk
Dutch Place Score At 28 \essels
BATAVIA. Jan. 27 (AP) — Another heavy Japanese
war vessel, believed to be a battleship, was added to
the toll of the enemy’s disasterous effort to run the
Strait of Macassar. In recapitulation, by a Dutch sum
mary. authoritative sources said the three-dav run
ning Dutch and American air and sea assault on a
great Japanese,convoy in the narrow waters between
the islands of Borneo and Celebes, 28 enemy ships
were sunk or heavily damaged and 13 warplanes,
downed. Eleven of the ships were war vessels and 17
were transports.
H.M.S. Barham 1
31,000-Ton Battle
ship Is Sunk
—
London, Jan. 27 (AP) —
The admiralty acknowledg
ed the loss of the 31.000
ton British battleship Bar
ham, which the Axis has
long claimed to have sunk.
British airmen struck
Germany again during the
night, German officials ad
mitting they bombed seven
al northern towns and re
porting they had reached
the outer districts of Ber
lin.
U. S. PLANS RECRUIT
ARMY OF 7 MILLION
London, Jan. 28 (AP) —
U. S. ambassador Winant
told a national defense lun
eheon of U. S. plans to re
cruit an army of 7 million;
men.
GERMAN SUB
SIGHTED 15 MILES
OFF TEXAS COAST
Corpus Christi, Texas, Jan.
28 (AP) — Captain Alva
Bernhard, commander of
the naval air station here,
said a submarine ‘“doubt
lessly German” was sight
ed about 15 miles from
Port Aransas, this morning
and in all probability an
other one is nearby.
SELECT FOOTBALL
COACII U. OF W.
Seattle, Jan. 28 (AP) —
President Sieg announced
selection of Ralph Welch,
University of Washington
freshman football coach, as
head coach succeeding
James Phelan. Welsh also
has been one of the assist
ant varsity coaches and
chief scout for Phelan.
Welch attended Purdue
where he became all Am
erican halfback under;
Phelan’s tutelage.
I
Two Jap Dive
Bombers Downed
Washington, Jan. 28 (AP)
— Two American pursuit
planes shot down 2 Japan
ese dive bombers and dis
abled a third in the Philip
pines in the past 24 hours.
In the communique telling
of this, the War Depart,
said Gen. MacArthur also
reported that two of his
motor torpedo boats engag
ed a formation of enemy
dive bombers, hitting 3 o!
them which were last seen
by the Americans, smok
ing and losing altitude rap
idly.
Tanker Sunk In
Atlantic Tuesday
Norfolk, Va.. Jan. 28 (AP)
— 12 survivors and the
body of at least one crew
member of the torpedoed
tanker Francis Powell,
landed at Chincoteague
and w' 11 be brought to Nor
folk th s afternoon, the 5th
naval district announced
This accounted for at least
30 of the Powell’s normal
ompkment of 32 men.
The tanker was torpedoed j
off the east coast early
Tuesday and 17 seamen
were brought ashore at
Lewes, Delewate last night j
AIR CORPS MAN
COMMANDS U. S.
FORCES IN BRITAIN
A North Ireland Port,
Jan. 27, (AP) — Maj. Gen.
James Channey .rated as
both a combat pilot and
combat observer, of the U.
S. Air Corps, was made
commanding general of
the U. S. Army forces in
the British Isles. Chan
ney's chief of staff is Brig.
Gen. Charles Bolte. Ma.
Gen. Russell Hartle, who
arrived here with several
thousand U.S. army troops
yesterday is commanding
general of the American
forces in Northern Ireland.
Pat Hurley Is New
Minister to New Zealand
Washington, Jan. 28 (AP)
— The nomination of Pat
rick Hurley, Secretary of
War in the Hoover admin
istration, as minister to
New Zealand, was submit
ted to the Senate by the
President who assumed!
that Hurley had already
reached his post. Since the
President announced that
the nomination was being
withheld until he was safe
in New Zealand, a few
days, ago, the President
sent to the Senate for con
firmation, his promotion to
Brigadier General in the
Army.
Pictures Growing
Allied Might
London, Jan. 27 (AP) —
Churchill presented Brit
ain with a picture of grow
ing Allied might and unity
and demanded that Parlia
ment vote confidence in his
government.
Against his frank admis
sion of bad news to come
' from the Pacific battle
front. he told the House of
Commons that the U. S.
I roops which landed in
lorth Ireland were only
■he vanguard of more to
i 'ome. U. S. fighter planes
will he’p defend Britain ag
ainst air assault and U. S.
bombers will join the RAF'
n bombing Germany.
Considerable r e inforce
•n nts have reached Ma
ava in the past week and
‘we are taking many mea
ures with the United Stat
e : to increase the security
of Australia and New Zea
]and. We are sending re
inforcements, arms, and
equipment by the best rout
es,” he said.
Allied Ship Sunk
Near Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico,
Jan. 28 (AP) — The tor
pedoing of an Allied steam
er was reported by a ship
captain who announced on
arrival here that he rescu
ed 71 of the crew and pas
sengers, but indicated that
more than 350 persons are
missing. The rescue ship
officer was Captain Helge
sen of New York. The
steamer was the Coamo of
Puerto Rico.
He said he picked up the
survivors Friday night. 5
days after the steamer was
struck twice by torpedoes
and sunk. The position of
the attack was not given.
Tiie Allied steamer was re
ported to have had about
450 persons aboard: a crew
of 100 and some 350 pas
sengers.
34 Coal Miners
Die In Expl osion
Mt. Harris, Colo., Jan. 28
(AP) — 34 miners per
ished is an explosion in the
Victor American Fuel Com
pany coal mine late last
night. Only four escaped.
Black damp, deadly carbon
dioxide gas filled the shaft
after the blast and imped
ed the work of the rescue
crews who were unable to
reach the victims for near
ly 6 hours. Nearly every
family in this small min
ing community has relativ-'
es employed in the mine.
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Aabove map shows (he Moscow front, where Hitler’s
headquarters at Smolensk was object of Red advance.
Russian Driving Ahead Unchecked
Nazis oO Miles from Latvian Border
Undated, Jun. 23 (AP) — Russia’s armies, pressing
their great winter counter offensive, are reported surg
ing forward unchecked on the threshold of the 250
mile German defense line northwest and southwest of
Moscow. Soviet dispatches reported the recapture of
79 more towns and indicated that Hitler’s retreating
invaders are falling back to the double-row defense
system, a mile and a half in depth, extending from
Velikie Luki to Vyagma to Bryansk. Velikie Luki is
only 80 miles from the Latvian frontier.
On the North African front, British headquarters
said Rommel’s Axis armies shoved the British back
150 miles in three days and apparently have come to
an impasse by a counter drive. The Axis versions of
the struggle differed, for while Hitler’s headquarters
noted merely “reconnaissance activity on both sides,’’
in the Libyan desert, Mussolini’s command asserted
that the British are continuing to retreat eastward.
On the Crimean front, a German bulletin asserted
that Russian reinforcements, which landed on the
southern coast of the Black Sea Peninsula, were beaten
off and almost completely wiped out in several days of
hard fighting.
Russians Threaten Nazi Winter Line
Undated, Jan. 27 (AP)—Russia’s triumphant armies
pressed in a series of deadly flanking thrusts against
Hitler’s headquarters at Smolensk, 210 miles west of
Moscow and advanced through a howling blizzard to
threaten the German winter line anchor at Velikie
Lukie, only 80 miles from the Latvian frontier. Front
line dispatches said the recapture of German - held
Rzhev, 130 miles northwest of Mocow is “expected any
minute.” Heavy Soviet pressue is being exerted ag
ainst Orel, 200 miles southwest of Moscow, and against
Belgorod, at the north end of the Donets River indus
trial basin.
On the north African front, British headquarters in
dicated that Imperial desert fighters stiffened against
the counter offensive of General Rommel’s Axis ar
mies after falling back 80 miles, northeast of Agedabia.
Meanwhile Churchill disclosed in London that British
losses in the Libyan desert campaign totaled about
18,000 killed, wounded and captured, but Rommel
“Lost three times as many.” Churchill declared the
British forces n Libya “were never more than 45,000
men against an enemy of double that strength.”
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