Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. '* 1 he News of the l)a\ In Pictures** Member of 1 he Associated Press
lNUGGET
VOL. 44. No. 93. NOME. ALASKA. FRIDAY. JULY 24. 1942 P^T c°py 15«
t __ __________________________—— ____ — -
2nd In Series by Keith Wheeler on Aleutian Battle
JAP INVASION HOPES
SINKING IN KISKA FOG
•*»■*■■*
(This i< the second of a .-cries of stories by Staff Correspondent
Keith Wheeler of the Chicago Times or action in the Aieu ian
Islands. Wheeler, attached to United States Pacific Fleet, arrived
in Alaska with a fleet unit- shortly after the Japanese struck on
Dutch Harbor June 3 and was the first accredited correspondent
to reach Alaska. The Chicago Times supplied his stories to the
Associated Press.)
bv Keith Wheeler
At Sea With the Pacific Fleet,
June 18th, delayed, released for
publication by the Navy July 21
(/Pi — Some day when the Japs
are driven out of Kiska and the
Aleutians are blocked as a road
of conquest, the people concern
ed with such things will find
time to hang medals on the men
flying and fighting this com
mand's Catalina flying boats. In a
war where bravery is common
place. there has been nothing to
excell the stubborn courage with
which these handful of men
drove the brash Jap back from
Dutch Harbor and are now
pounding day and night at his
base's on barren Kiska and Attu.
There were few Catalinas here
when the battle began nearly
two weeks ago. If there are more
today, the reason is not that the
crews made prudent use of their
lives and planes. Every day new
planes arrive to replace the fall
en, and they may as well pre
pare to make posthumous awards
As might have been expected,
losses were heavy, heavier than
the censor cares to let me say.
Everybody wrho knew anything
about it, knew now that the Cat
alinas have tough going against
anti-aircraft and Jap fighting
planes.
Catalina, Durable but Slow
The Catalina is the Navy’s
PBY, a huge magnificently dur
able. far-ranging airplane to deal
with long patrol and rough land
ings in these uneasy waters. But
you can’t have everything. They
are big and slow, too. Big, slow
planes are nice targets for the
opposition, and the Catalinas be
gan to eateh it when the first
flight of Jap bombers dropped on
Dutch Harbor.
One was taking off when the
bombers came in but it never got
free of the water. A marauding
Zero cut him up with machine
gun fire, killing two men, wound
ing a third and set the plane
afire as it ran aground. During
the first day another Catalina
was forced down at sea and
abandoned 15 miles from shore.
The next day another was shot
dow-n in flames off Unalaska, her
crew dead at their stations. Still
another went hunting Jap car
riers hiding in the mists, and
didn’t come home. Two days lat
er a patrol boat found pieces of
wreckage and a floating body off
Scotch Cap, Unimak Island. He
got away but a machine gun
burst didn’t leave much left of
him.
In the first 48 hours of the in
vasion. a Catalina landed only
w’hen it was too tattered to fly
any longer or ran out of fuel.
Dimond Demands First
Class Force Be Sent Clean
Out J^ps In Aeutians
WASHINGTON, July 21 </P> —
Delayed — Delegate Dimond call
ed on the War and Navy Depart
ments to send a “first class” force
to Alaska to oust the Japs from
the Aleutians.
Dimond said in an interview:
“We fought the invaders at Mid
way but we haven’t in the Aleu
tians. If we behaved the same
way at Midway, the Japs would
have hud Midway and some of
the Hawaiian islands by this;
time. The Japs are becoming firm
lv e.-tablished in their bases and
have released articles telling
about 'heir successes. If we as
serted ourselves they wouldn’t
have made that progress."
He said newspaper accounts of
the landing tended to confirm his
private reports that the Jap task
f tv has 25.000 troops available.
Battle Begins with
Bomb Delivery June 11
W • the battle began on June
11. singly and in flights of two
or tin■■•e, the workhorse Cata
linas slid across the mile-high
peaks of Kiska volcano and down
on the ships in the harbor. That
day one heavy cruiser, two light
cruisers, a single destroyer and a
half a dozen transports lay an
Tflrorecf there. Five Liberators
launched the first concerted at
| tack. They came dow n to 18,000
I feet where they could see to
work. The Japs threw up an um
brella of anti-aircraft and one
Liberator caught a chunk appar
| ently in the bomb load. He was
! there in formation cne second j
, and the next he came apart in a
| searing blast that rocked the
other planes.
Jap Cruiser, Hit by
Bombs, Brusts in Flames
The remaining four planes re
vised their technique and climb
ed to 18,000 to drop their loads.
They avenged their loss, for as
they left, one heavy cru ser lay
flaming in the hart* r.
Before the day was over the
Catalinas made seven separate
attacks.
j One Catalina caught a sub
! marine on the surface enroute.
! Before the sub could rig for div
ing the “Cat" was on it with a
load of heavy bombs. The sub
broke up and sank without fir
ing a shot. Another Catalina got
i two near misses on a large de
stroyer with 500-pounders and
another, did the same with a
light cruiser. Although “near
miss" sounds harmless enough,
near misses as defined by bomb
ardiers are bombs close enough
to work serious damage on the
target. In their turn the Japs
were doing well against the
bombers. Anti-aircraft, which is
not particularly damaging to
most fast combat planes, is bru
tally punishing to ships as large
and slow as the Catalinas.
In the harbor that day three of
the Japs' huge Kawanishi four
engine flying boats lay moored,
evidence that the Jap holds seri
ous intentions of moving in to
stay. One Catalina dropped low
enough to strafe the cumbersome
flying hayracks and left them
burning. One Catalina came
away bearing more than 100
bullet holes and shrapnel cuts.
Another, attacked by six Japs,
got away but was so badly shot
up it sank while landing.
More Enemy Ships Arrive
The Japs showed signs of dis
couragement and their ships be
gan to get under way. A “Cat”
delivered its load on the moving
ships and flew out on to Attu, the
last island of the intercontinent
Subs Sink 3 More Jap Ships At
kiska. Brings Total of Ship to 11?
WASHINGTON, July 22 </P) — The Navy announc
ed dot U. S. subs sunk three more Jap destroyers in
the vicinity of Kiska. This brought the total to 18 Jap
warships, announced by Army and Navy sources sunk
or damaged in the Aleutians.
The Navy added that several air attacks against en
emy occupied Aleutians were carried out through co
ordinated efforts of U. S. Army and Navy aircraft.
They said the attacks centered on the enemy encamp
ment at Kiska and ships in Kiska harbor, but it was
impossible to observe or appraise results. It was also
added that U. S. Army and Navy aircraft are contin
uing joint operations against the enemy forces occupy
ing the western Aleutians.
a! ;u'T'g stones. Attu. former (
ly in’.at hod by one Aleut fox
farmei ad suddeny become pop
u!o Many landing boats were
drawn, up on the beach and tents
wer pitched on the tundra
shor. B night the bombers not
ed evidence the Japs planned a
perry , n-n; ocupation. Attu show
d sign.- i l construction work
and - -ore-h: .-.-d Nakajima 97
fighters r*.>e from Kiska to meet
the American craft. The harbor
was empty of ships that night,
but m xt day they came back,
appearing in increasing numbers
throughout the daylight hours i
By night Kiska’s harbor held
5 heavy cruisers. 2 light cruisers,
UJ destroyers, 2 submarines. 9
cargo and transport vessels, and
a dozen Kawanishi flying boats,
seaplane and land-based observa '
ticn and fighter aircraft haunted i
the murky sky. Other ships were 1
sighted arriving from the south. |
The fog closed in tight and
stayed most of the day and bomb
rs had to drop their loads thru \
mist. When the mist rolled back I
two Catalinas dropped to a thou
sand feet and dumped a pair of
heavy bombs each in a destroy
er and light cruiser. All wrere
punishing near misses. Both Cat
alinas were hit by anti-aircraft
fragments and one—now disarm
ed—.was chased by a flying boat
but got away.
The Fortress bombers, work
ing over the harbor, discovered
still more evidence of a perman
ent estabishment when ack-ack
fire from the ships got support
from gun empacements on the
hills.
Jap Landing Party
Chased by Catalinas
At Attu the Catalinas chased a
Jap landing party through the
bush, bombing their encampment
and machine-gunning personnel.
At Kiska they blew up the radio
station already erected on the
beach.
A Jap cruiser plane flew east
far enough to survey Atka Bay
that day. He was driven off but
the commander decided to evac
uate ^he weather observers and .
civilians there before they shar
ed the fate of weatherman on
Kiska.
Now and then a 500-pounder
dropped on Kiska would connect
with a ship despite the most
miserable bombing conditions.
Another Liberator was lost dur
ing the day, but the remainder
made direct hits on two cruisers
and a destroyer.
The Catalinas w'orked around
the clock. flying through the
dusk of day time and the wield
half light of the short night. One
trip provoked a mighty explosion
and many large fires among the
Jap ships. Next day a landing
party on Kiska was burning oft
brush on the isand’s southeast
cape, apparently intending to
make a permanent landing field.
TV Japs were taking heavy pun
ishment but showed no signs of
quitting.
Turning Cruiser Hit
By Catalina’s Torpedo
A torpedo-carrying Catalina
varied its routine by attacking a
heavy cruiser standing up to
Kiska from the south. He came
in low, made a long clean run
despite the blast of metal coming
at him and launched his “tin
fish." The torpedo went into the
water and the peppered plane
zoomed out as the cruiser turned
to avoid attack. The ship didn’t
make it Tor suddenly a wall of
water skyrocketed along her side
and she lurched suddenly on her
course. It was a clean hit.
The first bombing flights Jum
17 found something new in the
way of trouble. Nobody had seen
the Jap carriers for several days
but now carrier Zeros were work
ing over the island. It seemed to
indicate the carrier’s close prox
imity but no contact was made
during the day.
Japs' Planes Try Again
But Have Little Lurk
While American bombers kept
up their round trip destruction,
the Japs made a few- tentative
stabs eastward. Observation plan
es scouting among the island.- as
far as Um.nak, just east of Dutch
Harbor.
Several attacks on Kiska were
driven off by Zeros, but others
got through. Army bombers re
ported two direct hits on a heavy
cruiser which resulted in an ex
plosion followed by a soaring
mushroom of black smoke and
yellow flames.
The fight goes on through the
gloom of night and the practic
ally identical gloom of day. No
battle ever fought witnessed con
ditions so viciously unfriendly to
both sides.
Thus proceeds the war of the
mists. When it ends the Jap
dream of conquest may well end
with it.
(Copyright, Chicago Times, Inc.)
ANNENBERG, FREED
FROM U. S. PRISON
ON JUNE 3, DIES
ROCHESTER, Minn. July t/P)
—M. L. Annenberg, 64, who rose
from immigrant peddler’s son to
ruler of a multi-million dollar
racing publications dynasty and
the Philadelphia Inquirer, died
at the Mayo Clinic.
Annenberg was paroled only 7
■weeks ago from the federal pen
itentiary at Lewisberg, Pa., after
serving 23 months of a 3-year
sentence in the largest individual
income tax evasion case on rec
ord.
He had been in poor health
for months and entered the clinic
soon after his release. Pneumonia
developed following an abdomin
al operation July 14.
Ship Experts Discuss Air Transport
PLAN GIANT MARS-TYPE FLYING BOATS
*
.. .. *
PORTLAND, July 22 (I.N.S.)—Plans for mass pro
duction of the 70-ton Mars type of flying boat to solve
the United Nations’ transportation problem will be dis
cussed in Washington shortly by two of the nation’s
top men in the shipouilding industry, Henry J Kaiser,
West Coast industrialist, and Andrew J. Higgins of
New Oreans. Announcement of the forthcoming Wash
ington meeting of the pair was made in Portland by
Kaiser following a telephone conversation with Hig
gins. Kaiser made public his proposal to build 5,000 of
the huge Mars-type planes annually at a Liberty ship
launching in Portland recently.
Kaiser's plan calls for conversion of 9 of the nation’s
present shipbuilding plants, 3 on the Gulf Cou.-t and 3
on the Atlantic coast, into plants to build the flying
boats. They could be in production in 6 months, he said.
PRIVATE AIR LINES TO FLY FOR U. S. ARMY
WASHINGTON. July 22 (/P) — The army gave the
nation's commercial airlines a vastly increased task of
carrying men and materials all over the world, while at
New Orleans, A. J. Higgins, shipbuilder, said he plan
ned to build 70-ton flying boats at his giant shipyard.
At a press conference here, Brig. Gen. Harold George
commanding the air transport command, disclosed that
the army would rely on the commercial air lines to
operate greatly increased numbers of transport planes,
carrying personnel, materiel and mail throughout both
hemispheres. Army flyers will continue to perform the
functions they do now, the new program representing
an addition to existing services by military and com
mercial transport lines.
Serviced By Air
"We are going to have no forces anywhere in the
world that are not and cannot be serviced by air,” Gen.
George said.
Sharing interest with George’s disclosure were Hig
gins’ remarks to a press conference at New Orleans.
Higgins said that the huge yard of the Higgins Ship
building Corporation, recently ordered closed by the
Maritime Commssion on the ground that steel supplies
were insufficient, was originally built with a view to
building flying boats as well as ships.
Now, he said, it is his plan to reopen the yard for the
construction of the air transports. The decision, he said,
resulted from a telephonic conference with Henry J.
Kaiser, Portland. Ore., shipbuilder.
Built On Coast
Higgins said that the flying ships would be built on
the Pacific Coast and possibly on the Atlantic Coast,
as well as at New Orleans. He said he would confer
with President Pmosevelt this week.
There was no indication here that the plan had thus
far received approval.
Congress Committee Approves Bill
Stop Huge Gains by War Brokers
WASHINGTON, July — A measure outlawing com
mission fees on Government war contracts was approv
ed unanimously by the House Naval Committee after
the Navy itself had demanded swift action to “stop pro
fiteering at government expense.”
I The committee action came after three days of pub
lic hearings during which representatives of four firms
of “sales engineers” told of earning close to $2,000,000
; in the past 18 months in fees for obtaining contracts
for manufacturers throughout the country.
Robert Kline, advisor to the office of the under sec
retary of Naval Affairs, told the committee:
“It should be obvious that something is very wrong
and that quick action should be taken to stop profiteer
ing at government expense.
“The fact is that these fees have grown to astronom
ical proportions. The present system is too hard on
the people.”
Kline gave full endorsement to proposed legislation
which would invoke criminal penalties in cases where
I Navy contracts were used to bring tremendous profits
j for war brokers.