Sense of humor ‘grows up’ under strain of wartime
Once laughable things now not so funny and average citizen has varied amusement outlook
By Ruth Millett
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Ex-AVG fliers defy danger in transport jobs
‘Flying Tigers’ disbanded, 22 of them join China Aviation Corp.
By Walter Briggs, United Press staff writer
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Chemistry marches to war!
By Dr. C. M. A. Stine, special writer for Science Service
Chemistry may well be the one outstanding factor in victory for the U.S. in this war. Just what the chemists are doing – and what vital resources they supply, is being told in this series of articles written for Science Service by Dr. C. M. A. Stine, adviser on research and development for the E. I. du Pont and Co. The following article is the fourth in the series.
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U.S. Navy Department (July 17, 1942)
Navy Communiqué No. 98
In early June, Japanese naval forces made a two-pronged thrust at our westernmost possessions Midway and the Aleutian chain. The presence in each attacking force of troop transports indicated that these attacks were aimed at capture and occupation. The thrust at Midway was made by approximately 80 ships including 4 carriers, at least 3 battleships, and a large number of cruisers, destroyers, and transports.
A simultaneous thrust was made on the Aleutians employing a far smaller force of approximately two small carriers, two seaplane tenders, several cruisers and destroyers and from four to six transports. The size of the forces involved shows the attack on Midway to have been the primary objective.
The attack on Midway was repelled as described in Navy Department Communiqué No. 97. A resume of operations in the Aleutian Islands to date is given in the following paragraphs.
The first attack on Dutch Harbor and Fort Mears was made at about 6 a.m. on June 3, concurrently with the early stages of the Japanese attack on Midway. Five waves of three planes each, launched from carriers to the southward of Dutch Harbor, participated in the 20-minute attack, which was concentrated on Dutch Harbor and the nearby Army station at Fort Mears.
Three U.S. destroyers, an Army transport, a minesweeper and a Coast Guard cutter were in the harbor, as well as an old station ship, the Northwestern, which had been beached and was used as barracks for contractors’ personnel. The attack was not unexpected, and anti-aircraft crews, who were at their battle stations, both aboard the ships and at the shore batteries, opened fire 5 minutes before the first bomb was dropped. To obtain maneuverability, the ships present got underway, continuing their anti-aircraft fire. No ship was hit during the raid. Two of the attacking aircraft were shot down.
A few barracks and warehouses at Fort Mears and Dutch Harbor were bombed and set afire and a Navy patrol plane which was about to take off with official mail was strafed.
On June 4, Army bombers and Navy patrol planes located and attacked the enemy carriers which had launched the attacking planes.
Several bomb and torpedo attacks were made but results could not be observed.
One enemy plane was shot down during the several reconnaissance flights which the Japanese made over the Dutch Harbor area following the initial raid.
About 5 p.m. on June 4, 18 carrier-based bombers and 16 fighters attacked the installations at Dutch Harbor and Fort Mears. This attack was made simultaneously with an attack on the Army post at Fort Glenn, about 70 miles west of Dutch Harbor on the island of Umnak, where 9 enemy fighters strafed shore installations. Two of the attacking planes were shot down by Army pursuit planes and the remaining withdrew without inflicting damage.
The alarm at Dutch Harbor and Fort Mears was sounded well in advance of the attack and the enemy was met with heavy anti-aircraft fire from ship and shore batteries. The station ship Northwestern was bombed and destroyed by fire. A warehouse and a few fuel oil tanks were hit and set afire, and one empty aircraft hangar was hit.
Casualties amounted to approximately 44 military and naval personnel killed and 49 wounded, and 1 civilian employee killed.
Since June 4, there have been no further attacks on Dutch Harbor, Fort Mears, Fort Glenn or any other U.S. military installations in Alaska or the Aleutian Islands.
Our naval patrol planes, Army bombers and submarines under the unified command of the Navy, have conducted the following attacks on the enemy forces which have made landings in the westernmost island groups which include Attu and Kiska:
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On June 5, Army aircraft attacked an enemy cruiser with undetermined results.
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On June 11, a naval patrol plane reported enemy forces in Kiska Harbor. During the night, this force was attacked by patrol planes and Army bombers. Results were not observed.
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On June 12, enemy ships were observed at both Attu and Kiska, and about 20 tents and temporary structures were observed on the shore at Kiska. The enemy ships at Kiska were attacked by long-range Army aircraft and hits were made on the ships in the harbor but the exact extent of the damage could not be determined.
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Various bombing and reconnaissance missions against Kiska were conducted in the week from June 12 to 18 with no important results or major changes in the situation. Weather prevented observation of Attu.
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On June 18, the ships in Kiska were bombed by Army aircraft, resulting in the sinking of one transport near the center of the harbor.
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All operations from June 21 to July 3 have been covered by Navy Department Communiqué No. 94.
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On July 4, U.S. submarines torpedoed three destroyers off Kiska, sinking two and leaving the third badly damaged. A third destroyer was sunk by a U. S. submarine off Agattu.
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On July 5, a U.S. submarine torpedoed and is believed to have sunk a fourth Japanese destroyer off Kiska.
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On July 6, Army aircraft dropped 56 bombs on the enemy shore installations at Kiska.
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On July 11, Army aircraft bombed an enemy cruiser in Kiska with undetermined results.
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Since July 11, there has been no material change in the general situation.
The military results of the Aleutian campaign to date are as follows:
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The enemy inflicted minor damage to the naval station at Dutch Harbor and the Army post at Fort Mears but did not seriously impair their military effectiveness.
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The enemy has occupied the undefended islands of Attu, Kiska, and Agattu in the westernmost tip of the Aleutian chain and has constructed temporary living facilities ashore.
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At least seven enemy aircraft have been destroyed and our pilots’ reports indicate damage and possible destruction of several others. A number of our aircraft have been lost.
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As previously reported, the following damage has been inflicted on the enemy naval forces since June 3:
| Damaged | Sunk |
|---|---|
| Four cruisers | Three destroyers |
| Three destroyers | One transport |
| One gunboat | |
| One transport |
Operations against the enemy in this area continue.
The Pittsburgh Press (July 17, 1942)
U.S. BOMBS JAPS IN ALEUTIANS
Enemy holds Agattu Isle, Navy reveals
New details of Nipponese attack on base at Dutch Harbor bared
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Labor disputes certified
Washington –
Secretary of Labor Perkins has certified to the War Labor Board disputes at the Fisk Mill, New Bedford, Mass., Windsor Manufacturing Co., and Pyrites Co., Wilmington, Del.
Panama’s anti-sub campaign hailed
Caribbean Defense Headquarters (UP) –
Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews, commander of the Caribbean Defense Area, said today that:
Measures for action against enemy submarines in this area are apparently proving very effective.
Wage ruling costs studied by Roosevelt
President will ask further controls if prices increase
By Fred Bailey, United Press staff writer
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